eee Neate etter ees atone St ae Nay wrt meni ene i. Tana ag a na ae wing weg For Seeieacte efter to ce 2 Ei ee hedis hea Gireniv bokis | fe ad in ue be ee. OF Aristotle 2% his pee Than robis roche orfrdele or po ae i ty nn th : hes Nati i : iu ant i hl ii LL OR 801k 4 7 et tes Nature A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SOIENCE VOEUNEE XXX! NOVEMBER 1884 to APRIL _ 1885 “To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.’—WoRDSWORTH, wo. > London and FHetv Pork MEA. C MOEA AIN.. A-N:D* €:O: 1885 A ay Mie a 2 s < ate sit f ace Fe, FESS ae f i : ak ¢ ie s wv fe 9 “ ‘ i ae ah Sage ee i * : . ; 7 aa it Wadaa® cas ; é ' meee > ; iM | ¥ . a ae ee a : 1 ees ~ ; — Pal ch se ae ae EA pt i EAI hes als i Fi * 5 i " nes -_ : 4 _ a : ye : t , . ry a —/ ’ _* ‘ ; Nature, Fune v1, 1885] EN DEX ABEL (Sir Frederick, F.R.S.), Accidental Explosions Produced by Non-Explosive Liquids, 469, 493, 518 Abney (Capt., F.R.S.), on Radiation, 523 Abnormal Season in the Niger Delta, Prof. J. P. O’Reilly, 578 Aboriginal Tribes of Western China, 252 Aborigines of Australia, the, 205 Actiniz, the, 198 Action of very Minute Particles on Light, J. Spear Parker, 481 Adenine, Dr. Kossel on, 380 Aérostat (L’), Dirigible de Meudon, W. de Fonvielle (see a/so Balloons), 109 Afghan Boundary Commission, 158. Afghan, North, Border Tribes, Prof. A. H. Keane, 220 Afghanistan, Geology of, 281 Africa: African Natural History Museum at Brussels, 17 ; Capt. Becker’s African Expedition, 19; Lieut. Delizie’s Ex- pedition, 66; Boundaries of French North-West Africa, Faidherbe, 90; the People of Eastern Equatorial, H. H. Johnston, 379; Proposed German Expeditions to Central, 516; Return of the Austrian African Expedition, 613 ; on the Foundation of European Colonies in, L. Paladini, 613; the Stone Bridge over the River Temcha, Count Augusto Salimbeni, 613; Recent Acquisitions of Spain in West Africa, 614 After-Glow, Solar Corona and, Henry F. Blanford, F.R.S., 192 Agassiz (Alexander), Resignation of his Fellowship of Harvard . College, 393 Agrarian Meteorology, Prof. G. Cantoni, 618 Agriculture: Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, 137 ; Agricultural Education, 137; on the Higher Teaching of Agriculture, Rev. J. B. McClellan, 167; Lectures on Agri- cultural Science, 407 Air-Breathers, Ancient, Ben. N. Peach, 295 Air-Currents, the Generation of Whirling, Dr. Boernstein, 284 Aitken (John), Pupil of the Eyes during Emotion, 553 Alabama, Meteorology in, 180 Alaska, Exploration of, 443 Alhama, Earthquake at, 322 Albrecht (Prof.), the Swimming-bladder in Fish, 380 Aldebaran : Occultations of, 181, 322; on March 21, 442 ; May 15, 612; Ancient Occultations of, 539 Algiers, Earthquake at, 322, 396 Allen (Rev. F. A.), Polynesian Antiquities, 18 Algol, Minima of, 91 Amat (Dr.), the Beni M’Zab, 256 America: Academy of Natural Sciences : Meeting at Newport, 16; on the Denudation of the Two Americas, T. M. Reade, 17 ; American Journal of Science, 41, 46, 94, 256, 422, 521; Meteorology in America, 91, 394; American Summer Zoo- logical Stations, Ralph S. Tarr, 174; American Storm Warnings, 197; American Journal of Mathematics, 189 ; American Entomology, Lieut. Casey on ‘* Stenini,” 250 ; American Geology, 256; American Journal of Archeology, 279; Marine Biology in America, 395; New American Clock, 438 ; Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 455 ; ‘‘ American Naturalists,” 448 ; Education in America, 467; Lobster Fishery in, 467 ; Report of American Museum of Natural History, 563 America, South, Thouar’s New Expedition to, 66, 323 Amezaga’s (Commodore de) Collection, 64 Amsterdam Geographical Society, 159 Amu-Darya, the Basin of the, 590 Anciennes Mers, les Organismes problématiques des, Marquis de Saporta, 386 Ancient Air-Breathers, Ben. N. Peach, 295 Ancient Chinese Geography, 58 Ancients, the Use of Artificial Teeth by the, 578 Andalusia, the Earthquakes in, 277 ; M. Nogues on, 417 Anderson (J. G. S.), Earthquake, 316 Anemometer Readings, Kite-Wire Suspended, E, Douglas Archi- bald, 600 Angelus on the ‘‘ Messenger of Mathematics,” 172 Animals, Arctic, Colours of, R. Meldola, 505 Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 569 Annam and Tonquin, Mineral Wealth of, 181 Annisquam Marine Laboratory, 395 Ants’ Nests, Birds Breeding in, Wm. Davison, 438 Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine, Prof. M. Foster, 479 Antedon rosaceus, Pentacrinoid Stage of, Dr. W. B. Carpenter, BRIS: 27; Anthropological Institute, 95, 186, 306, 330, 379, 427, 474, 498, 595 Anthropological Notices, Leyden, 396 Anthropometric Measurements, Cost of, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 150 Anthropometric Per-Centiles, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 223 Anti-Cyclones and Cyclones, H. Hildebrandsson, 75 Antiquities, Malayan, Prof. A. H. Keane, 478 Antwerp International Exhibition, 107 Apospory in Ferns, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S., 151, 216 Application of Science, New, 154 Arago, Centenary of the Birth of, Proposal to Celebrate the, 441 Archzology of Tunis, the, 203 Archzology, Proposed British School of, at Athens, 320 Archer (Thos. C.), Death of, 394 Archibald (Prof. E. Douglas), an Account of some Preliminary Experiments with Biram’s Anemometers Attached to Kite Strings and Wires, 66; an Error in Ganot’s Physics, 361, 505 ; Kite-Wire Suspended Anemometer Readings, 6007 Architecture, Bird, Chas. Dixon, 533 Archives des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, 41 Arctic Animals, Colours of, R. Meldola, 505 ; Wallace, 552 Alfred k. 1V INDEX [Wature, Fune 11, 1885 Arctic Exploration, Lieut. Greely upon Future, 350 Argentine Expedition to the Chaco, 229, 300 Argentine Institute of Geography, 159 Argyll (Duke of, F.R.S.), How Thought Presents Itself among the Phenomena of Nature, 433 Armstrong (H. E., F.R.S.), Natural Science in Schools, 19 Aronsohn (Herr), Discovery of a Thermal Centre in the Cere- brum, 48 Artificial Teeth, the Use of, by the Ancients, 578 Asia, Central, Beliaffsky’s Explorations in, 251 Asiatic Society of Japan, 587 Association of Assistant Mistresses, 279 Astronomy: Astronomical Column, 18, 65, 91, 137, 158, 181, 228, 251, 280, 322, 370, 396, 419, 442, 468, 515, 539, 588, 612; Telescopes for Astronomical Photography, A. Ainslie Common, 38, 270; Astronomical Phenomena for the Week, 265, 301, 323, 351, 370, 396, 420, 443, 468, 493, 515, 540, 565, 589, 612; Views of Hindu Astronomers on Form and Attraction of Earth, 298; the Warner Astronomical Prizes, 321; Liverpool Astronomical Society, 321; Early Astro- nomical Expeditions to the Cape, 370; Proposal to Extend the Decimal System to Astronomical Distances and Time, 441 Athens, Proposed British School of Archzeology at, 320 Atlantic, the Meteorology of the, 501 Atmospheric Absorption, S. P. Langley, 46 Atmospheric Influences, Effect of, in Varying the Distance at which Lights are Visible, 490 Atomic Weights, Variations of the, FE. Vogel, 42 Atti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, 258 Attraction, Exercises in Calculating, Prof. Lampe, 211 Attraction (Solids of), Note on Calculations respecting, Prof. Lampe, 260 Aurore, E. Brown, 458 Aurora Borealis, Dr. Sophus Tromholt, 128 Aurora at Christiania, Dr. Sophus Tromholt, 479 Aurora, the Recent, Willoughby Smith, 506 Author’s Gratitude, an, Dr. Richard Wormell, 409 Autumn Flowering, J. J. Murphy, 54 Autumnal Foliage, the Fall of, A. T. Fraser, 388; Rev. Geo. Henslow, 434; Rey. A. Irving, 482 Autumnal Tints of Foliage, H. C. Sorby, 105 Austen, Godwin- (Robert A. C., F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of, 104 Australia: Proposed Australasian Association, Prof. Liversidge, 40; Prof. Sars’ Experiments with Australian Lake-Mud, 64 ; Marriage Customs among Australian Aborigines, Sir John Lubbock, 186; Notes on the Aborigines of, 205; Proposed Canoe Voyage on Australian Rivers, 205; Wragge’s New Meteorological Observatory, 227; the Geographical Society of Australasia, 4433; lendenfeld’s Survey of the Australian Alps, 469; Australian Fossil Chzlostomatous bryoz0a, 475 5 Baron von Miiller on Australian Plants, 587; New Meteoro- logical Station in South, 64; Earthquake in Western, 396 Austria: Earthquake in, 17; Return of African Expedition, 6133; Services rendered by the Austrian Navy to Geographical Science, Herr von Haardt, 18 Austro-Hungarian Geography, Umlauft’s, 183 Avyé-Lallemant (Dr. R.), Obituary Notice of, 229 Aymonier’s Explorations in Indo China, 183 Bacillus, the Cholera, 97 Backhaus (Capt. E.). Earthquake experienced at Sea, 348 Backhouse (Jas.), Bos primigenius, 482 Backhouse (T. W.), Sky-Glows, 28 ; Iridescent Clouds, 192, 360 Bacteriology, 49 Bagnall (J. E.), Elected Associate of Linnean Society, 321 Bailey (G. H.), Science Teaching in Schools, 338 Bailey (W. H.), on the Reign of Law in relation to Engineering Work, 250 Baily’s (Waller) Instrument for showing Equilibrium of Three Forces acting at a Point, 329 Balbi (Prof. Eugenio), Death of, 17, 159 Balfour (Dr. Bayley), Chair of Botany at the University of Glasgow resigned by, 441 Balloons: Third Trip of the Meudon Balloon, 41; ‘‘ L’Aérostat Dirigible de Meudon,” W. de Fonvielle, to9 ; Honours con- ferred on the Officers of the Meudon Steering Balloon, 157 ; Balloons in the Soudan Campaign, 368; Ballooning in America, 394; Ballooning and Electricity, 467 ; Photography from Captive Balloon in Paris, 564 cat | Baltic, the Level of the, 156 Baltimore Lectures, Sir William Thomson’s, F.R.S., 407 Bangor, University College, Laboratories at, 320, 391 Barnard’s Comet, 18, 158, 280, 540 Barrenness of the Pampas, Edwin Clark, 263, 339; Arthur Nicols, 289 Bartoli Cell, the, 203 Barry (A. de), ‘‘ Comparative Anatomy of the Vegetable Organs of the Phanerogams and Ferns,” 213 Basalt-Fields of New Mexico, Arch. Geikie, F.R.S., 88; C. E. Dutton, 88 Batson (Alf.), Earthquake in Spain, 200 Batteries, New Primary, 203 Battery, Jablochkoff’s New, 203 Becker’s (Capt.) African Expedition, 19 Bee, Reproductive Organs in the, Cheshire, 209 Bee, the Honey-, W. H. Harris, t Bees and Flowers, G. W. Bulman, 409 Bees as Storm- Warners, 587 Bee-Keeping in India, 1 Beetles, Lieut. Casey on ‘‘ Stenini,” 250 Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club, Annual Report of the, 418 Belgian Telephonic Service, 90 “* Belgique Horticole,” 328, 423 Beliafisky’s Explorations in Central Asia, 251 Bell ( Alex. Graham), Hereditary Deafness, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 269 Bell (Prof. F. Jeffrey), Forbes Memorial, 103 Bemrose (H. Arnold), Tracing-Paper Screen, 409 Ben Nevis, Ascent of, by Rey. John M‘Kintosh and Colin Livingstone, 490 Ben Nevis, on the Formation of Snow Crystals from Fog on, Rk. T. Omond, 532 Beni M’Zab, the, Dr. Amat, 256 Bentham (George), Will of, 249 Bentley (Robert), Student’s Guide to Systematic Botany, 51 Bergh (Dr.),.on the Nudibranchs and Onchidia of the Chaddenger Expedition, 165 Berkeley Research Fellowship, 155 Berlin: Academy of Sciences, Prize for Leibnitz Anniversary, 277; Geographical Society of, 516, 590; Meteorological Society of, 120, 284, 331 ; Physical Society of, 96, 211, 260, 308, 356, 475; Physiological Society of, 48, 187, 212, 259, 380, 404, 452, 547, 619 — Bernburg, Opening of Prehistoric Tombs near, 64 Berry (Geo. A.), Civilisation and Eyesight, 386 Berzelius and Wohler, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., 196 Bhamo, the Destruction of, 205 Binary Star a Centauri, 158 Biological Association, Marine, 63, 89 Biology, Marine, in America, 395 Biram’s Anemometers, an Account of some Preliminary Ex- periments with, attached to Kite-Strings or Wires, Prof. E. Douglas Archibald, 66 3ird Architecture, Chas. Dixon, 533 Birdkilling Plants: the Pisonias, R. H. Govett, 23 Bird, New, in Natal, Rev. James Turnbull, 554 Bird’s Nest, Edible, Jos. R. Green, 126 Bird’s-Nest Soup, E. S. Layard, 82 ; Mr. Pryer on, 562 Birds Breeding in Ants’ Nests, Wm. Davison, 438 Bishop (S. E.), Krakatoa, 288 Bixby’s (H. L.), New System of Weather Warnings, 441 Black River Tribes in Tonquin, 300 Blackness of Tropical Man, A. T. Fraser, 6 Blanford (Henry F., F.R.S.), Solar Corona and After-Glow, 192 Blood-Pressure in Capillary Vessels, Prof. Du Bois-Reymond’s Method of Determining, 212 Blood-Vessels of the Test in the Tunicata, Evolution of the, W. A. Herdman, 247 Blue Rays, a Method of Isolating, for Optical Work, H. G. Madan, 263 Blumentritt (F.), Account of the Negrito Tribes in Luzon, 18 Bodinus (Dr. Heinrich), Death of, 156 Boeddicker (Otto), a Large Meteor, 194 ; on the Aspect of Mars in 1884, 210 Bogmeien (Dr.), the Generation of Whirling Air-Currents, 204, Bois-Reymond (Prof. Du), Method of Determining Blood- Pressure in Capillary Vessels, 212 Nature, June tt, 1885) 5 INDEX Mf Boletin de la Institucion libre de Ensefianza, Meteorological __ Branch of the Observatory attached to, 349 Boletin de'la Academia Nacional de Ciencias, 419 Bombyx mori, Morphology of, Dr. Tichomirow, 620 Bonaparte (Prince Roland), the Population of Dutch Guiana, 469 Bonavia (Dr. E.), Fly-Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars, 29 Bonney (Prof. T. G., F.R.S.), the Canadian Geological Survey, 265; Resignation of his Post as Secretary of the British Association, 416 Boomerang in India, Arthur Nicols, 389 Borealis, Aurora, Dr. Sophus Tromholt, 128 Borneo Coal-Fields, Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 583 **Bosnien, Land und Leute,” Adolf Strausz, 192 Bos primigenius, Jas. Backhouse, 482 Boston Society of Natural History, New Arrangements of the Library, 40 Botany : Students’ Guide to Systematic, Robert Bentley, 51 ; Journal of Botany, 70; Bower and Vines’s Practical Instruc- tions in Botany, 136; Importance of Government Botanic Gardens, 155; Botanical Record Club, 369; Facilities for Botanical Research, 460; Botany of Jamaica, Mr. Morris, 538 (see also Flora) Bottone (S. R,), the ‘‘ Dynamo,” how made and how used, 52 Boulders, Scotch, 395 Bourke (Capt. J. G.), Snake Dance of the Moquis of Arizona, E. B. Tylor, F.R.S., 429 Bourne (Alfred Gibbs), Hydriform Phase of Lymmnocodium sowerbit, 107 Bove (Lieut.), Second Expedition to Terra del Fuego, 138 Bower and Vines’s Practical Instructionin Botany, 136 Brakes, Continuous Automatic, 84. Bramwell (Sir F., F.R.S.), on Recent Engineering Inventions, 249; Recent Engineering Patents, 420 Brandy as a Fish Restorer, 350 Bread, on the Healthy Manufacture of, Benjamin Ward Richard- son, F.R.S., 148 Breeding of the Quadrumana, Arthur Nicols, 54 Brehm (Dr. Alfred), Death of, 64 ** Brigades topographiques,” Departure of Sixtcen, 350 Brisbane Botanic Gardens, 155 British Association for the Advancement of Science, 37; Presi- dents of Sections, 155; Visit to Canada, 249; British Association and Local Societies, 482 British Government, the Distribution of Scientific Works Pub- lished by the, 7 British Islands, Flora of the, Sir J. D. Hooker, 191 British Museum : Lectures, H. Cecil on, 298 ; Catalogue of the Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum, R. Lydekker, 597 ; Hume Collection expected at the, 610 ; the Staff of the Zoo- logical Department of the, 610 Brittany, Prehistoric Smithy discovered in, 136 Brock (Geo.), the Five-Bearded Rockling, 70 Brockhurst (W.), Seeding Power of Double Daffodils, 118 Brodie (Fredk. J.), Rainfall of 1884, 56 Brown (E.), the Aurore, 458 Brown (J. Croumbie), ‘‘ Forestry in the Mining Districts of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia,” 124 Brown (M. Walton), ‘‘On the Observation of Earthshakes or Tremours in order to Foretell the Issue of Sudden Outbursts of Firedamp,” ‘‘A Theory of Mine Ventilation,” 312 Brown (Prof. Crum), Hexagonal System of Crystallography, 546 Brown (Prof. W. G.), Sky-Glows, 5 ; Iridescent Clouds, 315 Brussels: African Natural History Museum, 7; the Spanish Earthquake Felt in, 249 Bryn Mawr College, 255 Bryozoa, Australian Fossil Chilostomatous, A. W. Waters, 475 Buchanan (J.), Campbell Island and its Flora, 23 Buckland Museum Collection at the Inventions Exhibition, 587 Buckman (James), Death of, 89 Buckton (G. B., F.R.S.), Civilisation and Eyesight, 407 Budden (W.), Government Scientific Books, 81 Buddhist Theory of Evolution, J. Starkie Gardner, 55 Bulletin de l’Académie Royale de Belgique, 258, 422, 592 Bulletin de I’ Académie des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg, 423 Bulletin of the Essex Institute, 418 Bulletin de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, 257 Bulletin de la Société de Géographie, 118, 280 Bulletin de la Société Géographique de Belgique, 323 Bulletin de la Société des Naturalistes de Moscou, 258 Bulman (G. W.), Bees and Flowers, 409 Burch (Geo. J.), Some Experiments on Flame, 272 Busch (Prof.), Illustration of the Laws of Ossification, 547 Bushe (Col. C. K.), Human Hibernation, 482 Busk (Geo., F.R.S.), Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Chad- Zenger, Report on the Polyzoa, 146 Busk (K.), Hibernation, 317 Butterflies of Europe, Henry Lang, M.D., R. McLachlan, F.R.S., 122 Buysman (Dr. M.), Influence of Direct Sunlight on Vegeta- tion, 324 Bywater (Rey. M. J.), a Cannibal Snake, 264 Cacao-Bug of Ceylon, Dr. Henry Trimen, 172 Caillaud (Romanet de), on Tonquin, 138 Caiman-Brac, Carribean Sea, Underground Noises heard at, on August 26, 1883, Dr. F. A. Forel, 483 Calculating Machines, Joseph Edmondson, 570 Calculus, Differential, for Beginners, Alex. Knox, 527 Caldwell, Ceradotus Embryos, 236 California, Discovery of Ancient Tattooing Instruments in, 299 Californian Migrants, 280 Callaway (C.), the Granitic and Schistose Rocks of Donegal, 546 Cambon (M.), Pumice from Krakatoa found in Madagascar, 611 Cambridge: Philosophical Society, 16, 403, 451, 499, 572; Natural Science at, 107; Dr. G. J. Romanes, F.R.S., appointed Rede Lecturer at, 277 Camera Obscura in Torpedo Work, 389 Cameron (A. G.), Fuller’s Earth as a Filter, 389 Cameron’s (W.), Map of the Malay Peninsula, 300 Campbell (John Francis), Death of, 394 Campbell Island and its Flora, J. Buchanan, 23 Canada: Visit of the British Association to, 249; Meteorology in, 250; Bell Telephone Patent Void in the Dominion of, 347; Ethnological Work included in the Geological Survey Publications of, 348 ; Weather in, 537; Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., on the Canadian Geological Survey, 265 ; Canadian Salmon and Sea Water, 370 Canal Commission, Krao, 323 2 Cancri, Variable Star S, 419 Cannibal Snake, Rev. Edward F. Taylor, 264; Rev. M. J. Bywater, 264 Canoe Voyage (Proposed) on the Australian Rivers, 205 Cantoni (Prof. G.), Agrarian Meteorology, 618 Cape, Early Astronomical Expeditions to the, 370 Capellini (G.), a Fossil Ziphioid, 618 Capillary Coefficients of Liquid Carbon Compounds, Schiff and Traube’s Experiments on the, 204 Capillary Vessels, Blood-pressure in, Prof. Du Bois-Reymond’s Method of Determining, 212 Caporali (Prof.), Psychogenesis, 64 ; La Nuova Scienza, 394. Capron (J. Rand), Civilisation and Eyesizht, 359 Capsules, Supra Renal Effect of Removal of, Prof. G. Tizzioni, 619 Carbon Compounds (Liquid), Schiff and Traube’s Experiments on the Capillary Coefficients of, 224 Carex, New Zealand Species of, T. F. Cheeseman, 23 Carnivora, Natural History Sketches among the Wild and Domesticated, Arthur Nicols, 240 Carpenter (Dr. W. B., F.R.S.), Pentacrinoid Stage of Amtedon rosaceus, 27 ; Human Hibernation, 408 Carpenter (Herbert), Report on the Stalked Crinoidea collected during the Challenger Expedition, 573 Carpentry, Elementary Principles of, Thomas Tredgold, 525 Carracciolo Expedition, the, Commander de Amezaga’s Collec- tion, 64 Carter (R. Brudenell), Civilisation and Eyesight, 386 Cartilage in Invertebrates, Chemical Composition of the, Dr. Halliburton, 283 Casein, Dr. Weyl on, 404 Casey (Lieut.), on Stenini, 250 Catalogue of Earthquakes, Jos. P. O'Reilly, 351 Cataracts on the Parana River, 66 Catchpool (Edmund), an Unnoticed Factor in Evolution, 4 Caterpillars: Fly Maggots Feeding on, Dr. E. Bonavia, 29; .2R, McLachlan, F.R.S., 54; F. W. Elliot, 54; F. N. Pierce, 82; J. H. A.Jenner, 103 vl INDEX (Nature, Fune 11, 1885 Cats, Manx, Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 316 Caucasus, Physiography of, 18 Cecil (Henry), on the British Museum Lectures, 298 ; Krakatoa, 506 Celsus and his Works, Lectures on, 157 Census of Roumania, Last, 42 Centauri, Binary Star a, 158 Central Asia, Beliaffsky’s :xplorations in, 251 Ceradotus Embryos, Caldwell, 236 Cerebrum, Thermal Centre in the, Discovery of a, Herr Aron- sohn, 48 Ceylon, Cacao-Bug of, Dr. Henry Trimen, 172 Chaco, Argentine Expedition to the, 229, 300 Challenger : Zoology of the Voyage of, Sa on the Polyzoa, Geo. “Busk, F.R.S., 146; Zoology —Vol. X., 165; Report on the Stalked Crinoidea collected during the, Herbert Car- penter, 573 Chatel, Our Future Watches and Clocks, 241 Cheeseman (T. F.), New Zealand Species of Carex, 23 Chemistry : Chemical Society, 47, 119, 163, 209, 424, 474, 498, 523, 618; Anniversary Meeting, 490; Chemical Research in Great Britain, Prof. W. N. Hartley, 78 ; Chemical Notes, 204 ; Experiments Suitable for Illustrating Elementary In- struction in Chemistry, Profs. Sir H. E. Roscoe and W. J. Russell, 229; Teaching Chemistry, M. M. Pattison Muir, 262; Principles of Chemistry, M. M. Pattison Muir, 502 ; Recent Progress in Chemistry, W. H. Perkin, F.R.S., 568 ; Inorganic Chemistry, Edward Frankland, F.R.S., and Francis R. Japp, Prof. M. M. P. Muir, 576 Cheshire, on the Reproductive Organs in the Bee, 209 Chester New Museum, Chas. E. De Rance, 363 Chicago, Dearborn Observatory, 251 China: South-Western China Trade Routes, 19; Dr. Mac- gowan’s Account of the Cholera Epidemic of China in 1883, 41; Ancient Chinese Geography, 58; Chinese Ethnology, De Lacouperie, 63 ; Chinese Vegetable Soap, 118 ; Chinaand the Origin of Gunpowder and Firearms, 156; the Geography of China, M. L. Simonin, 158; China and Turkestan, 156 ; Pronunciation of Chinese Names, F. Porter Smith, 173; Chinese Fossil Quarries, 181; Telegraphs in China, 181 ; Death of a Great Chinese Mathematician, 227 ; the Abori- ginal Tribes of Western China, 252; Chinese Primitive Celephone, 321 ; Population Statistics of China, Sir Richard Temple, 397 ; Chinese Superstition with regard to Persons in an Epileptic Fit, 418; Fetichism in China, 442 ; Mathemati- cians and Astronomers of China and Foreign Countries, 491 ; Treatment of Suicides in China, 514; Geology and Geo- graphy of China, Rey. Alex. Williamson, 516; Chinese Insect White Wax, 615 Chisholm (G. W.) and F. W. Rudler, ‘‘ Stanford’s Compen- dium of Geography and Travel,” 287 Chladni, Note on an Experiment by Chas, Tomlinson, F.R.S., 617 Cholera: Epidemic of 1883 in China, Account of, Dr. Mac- gowan, 41 ; Cholera Bacillus, 97 ; Ozone and Cholera, 187 ; Dr. Klein on Cholera, 521; Inoculation for, in Spain, 611 Christiania, Aurora at, Dr. Sophus Tromholt, 479 Chromatological Speculations, Krukenborg’s, C. A. MacMunn, E27, Cincinnati Society of Natural History, 162 Cirencester Royal Agricultural College, 137 Cirripedia of the CEE Expedition, Dr. P. P. C. Hoek, 166 City and Guilds of London Institute, 510 Civilisation and Eyesight, Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., 340, 407 ; J. Rand Capron, 359; R. 3rudenell Carter, 386 Geo. A. Rerry, 386; G. B. Buckton, F.R.S., 407; J. W. Clark, 433; Col. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S., 457; Sydney Lupton, 458; Major Allan Cunningham, 458; H. B. Guppy, 503; Chas. Roberts, 552 Clark (Edwin), Barrenness of the Pampas, 263, 339 Clark (J. W.), Civilisation and Eye-ight, 433 Clark (J. Edmund), Iridescent Gionds 148 Clark (Latimer), Bane Meridian Conference, Tables for 1885, 336 Claus (Dr. C.), E jementary Text-Book of Zoology, 191 Claypole (E. W.), Time in the United States, 459 Clayton (H. H.), Our Future Clocks and Watches, 217 Clemenshaw (E.), Spectrum Analysis, 329 Clock, New American, 438 Clocks, Greenwich, Change in Reckoning, 226 125; Transit Clocks and Watches, our Future, 201 ; Ernest G. Harmer, 803 B. J. Hopkins, 128; H. H. Clayton, 217; Chatel, 2413 Edward L. Garbett, 317 Cloud-Glow Apparatus, 439 Cloud-Measurement, Dr. Vettin, 284 Clouds, Iridescent, Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 148, 315 ; J. Edmund Clark, 148; T. W. Backhouse, 192, 360; James I’Anson, 193; W. W. Watts, 193; Dr. H. Geelmuyden, 264 ; Prof. W. G. Brown, 315 ; Prof. C. Michie Smith, 338 Clouds, Shadow on, Alfred H. Tarleton, 361 Clouston (Rey. Chas., LL.D.), Obituary Notice of, 104 Coal-Dust at Neunkirchen in Germany, Experiments with, W. Galloway, 12 Coal-Fields, Borneo, Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 583 Coal Question, the, Sydney Lupton, 242; a Scientific View of the, Dr. G. Gore, F.R.S., 357 . Cochin-China, the First Railway in, 349 Coffee-Planting near Rome, 65 *“Cold-Wave Flag,” the, 226 Cole (Sir Henry), Rev. Newton Price, 309 Collecting Desmids, 292 Collier (C. C.) and F. Pollock, Frost Formation on Dartmoor, 216 Collins (J. H.), the Geology of the Rio Tinto, 402 Colne Fish Culture Establishment, 394 Colour, 58 Colour-Blindness, Dr. Konig, 187 Colour-Impressions, Duration of, on the Retina, Nichols, 46 Colouring Matters, Susceptibility of the Different Tissues to, Prof. Ehrlich, 547 Colours of Arctic Animals, lace, 552 Colquhoun’s Shan Country Expedition, 323 Columbia, Geography of, Dr. A. Hettner, 614 Columbus’s First Letter, 397 Colvin (Prof. Sidney), Proposed Lectures at the Royal Institu- tion, 349 Comets: in 1717, 419; Barnard’s, 18, 158, 280, 540; Encke’s, 65, 182, 228, 280; Halley’s in 1456, 588; Tempel’s, 1867 I., 323, 468; Wolf's, 65, 91, 137, 280, 322, 396; Comets of Short Period, 280 ; Free Hydrogen in Comets, Prof. C. Piazzi _ Smyth, 314 Comma-Bacterium, Dr. Koch and the, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 168 Common (A. Ainslie), Electric Light for Lighthouses and Ships, 125 ; Telescopes for Astronomical Photography I., 38, 270 Compass-Improvement in the United States. 299 Conch-Shell, a Royal, 492 Conference, Prime Meridian, W. Ellis, 7 Congo Kingdom, Limits of the New, 541 Continuity of the Protoplasm in Plant Tissue, Walter Gardiner, 390 Continuous Automatic Brakes, 84 Constants, Voltaic and Thermo-Voltaic, Dr. C, R. A. Wright, R. Meldola, 505; Alfred R. Wal- 47 Cook (Prof, A. J.) and C. M. Weed, on Injurious Insects, 16 “* Codrdonnées Paralléles et Axiales,” Maurice d’Ocagne, 551 Cordova, Meteorological Observations made by Oscar Deering at, 419 Corea: Meteorology in, 202; Gowland’s Journey in, Parliamentary Report on, 441; Exploration of, 589 Corleone, Earthquake in, 156 Cornu’s Experiments on Solar Phenomena, 204 Cornwall, New Pliocene Deposit at St. Erth, S. V. Wood, 71 “* Correspondance Botanique,” New Edition af Prof. Morren, 42 Cosmogonic Theory of M. Faye, Dr. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 506 Cosmographic Society, the Nuremberg, Dr. Ruge, 65 Cost of Anthropometric Measurements, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 150 Crania Collected during the Cha//enger Expedition, 166 Crinoidea, Stalked, Collected during the Chad/enger Expedition, Report on, Herbert Carpenter, 573 Cross-Breeding, Invigoration of Potatoes by, Melvin, 290; Worthington G. Smith, 316 Crossing, Echium, Dr. Michael Grabham, 360 Crows, Attack on Dog by, 368 ** Crustacea decapoda Pontica littoralia,”” M. Waldemar Czer- niawsky, 418 397 3 246; James Nature, Fune 11, 1885] INDEX Crustacean, Air-Breathing, of the Silurian Period, 157 Crystalline Reflection, on a Remarkable Phenomenon of, Prof. G. G. Stokes, 565 Crystalline Rocks of the Scottish Highlands, Arch. Geikie, FE.R.S., 29 Crystallography, Hexagonal System of, Prof. Crum Brown, 546 Cuba, the Fauna of, 537 Cunningham (Major Allan), Civilisation and Eyesight, 458 Currie (James), Forest-Trees in Orkney, 434 Cutaneous Perceptions of Temperature, Prof. Eulenberg on, 259 Cutaneous Points of Sensation, Investigations of, Dr. Gold- scheider, 619 Cyclones and Anticyclones, Distribution of the Meteorological Elements in, 75 Cymbulia, Dr. John D. Macdonald, F.R.S., 617 Czerniawsky (M. Waldemar), ‘‘ Crustacea decapoda Pontica littoralia,” 418 Dachstein Mountains, Glaciers in the, 17 Daffodils, Double, Seeding-Power of, W. Brockhurst, 118 Dance, Snake, of the Moquis of Arizona, Capt. F. G. Bourke, 429; Prof. Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 429 Danckelman (Dr. von), Injuries Caused by Lightning in Africa, 127 Danish Expedition in Greenland, 69 Danish Forests, the Struggle between Trees in, 63 D’Arsonyalle and Deprez, Galvanometer of, 86 Dartmoor, Forest Formation on, F. Pollock and C. C. Collier, 216 Darwin (Prof. G. H., F.R.S.), ‘* World-Life or Comparative Geology,” Alex. Winchell, 25 ; Awarded Royal Medal, 62 ; Cosmogonic Theory of N. Faye, 506 Davis (J. R.), Habits of the Limpet, 200 Dayison (Wm.), Birds Breeding in Ants’ Nests, 438 Day (Mrs. E. A.), Sky-Glows, 5 Day (Francis), Hybridisation among Salmonide, 599 Day (R. E.), Exercises in Electrical and Magnetic Measure- ment, 262 Daytime, Meteor Visible in the, Rev. J. Graves, 102 Deafness, Hereditary, Alex. Graham Bell, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 269 Dearborn Observatory, Chicago, 251 Decimal System, Proposal to Extend it to Astronomical Dis- tances and Time, 441 Decoy, Wild Fowl, Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, Bart., 102 Delaford Park, Fish-Culture Establishment, 394 De la Rue’s Diaries, 107 Delizie’s (Lieut.) African Expedition, 66 Delouel (M.), Explorations of the Malay Peninsula, 516 Denning (W. F.), the Long Durations of Meteoric Radiant Points, 463 Density, Mean, of the Earth, Konig and Richarz’s Plan for scertaining the, 260, 484 Density of the Earth, Methods of Determining the, Prof. Alfred M., Mayer, 408 Denudation of the Two Americas, on the, T. M. Reade, 17 Deprez (M. Marcel), a New Telephone, 202 Deprez and d’Arsonval, Galvanometer of, 86 Desmids, Collecting, 292 Dianella cerulea, Petalody of the Ovules and other Changes in a Double-Flowered Form of, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 487 “* Differential Calculus for Beginners,” Alex. Knox, 527 Dinosaurian Reptiles, Classification and Affinities of, Prof. O. C. Marsh, 68 Disease-Germ Myth, 55 Disease Micro-Organisms and Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 2 Divers (Dr. Edward), Accident to, 226, 277 Dixon (Chas.), Bird Architecture, 533 D’Ocagne (Maurice), ‘‘ Codrdonnées paralléles et Axiales,” 551 Deering (Oscar), Meteorological Observations made by, at Cor- dova, 419 Dog, Attack by Crows on a, 368 Donegal, the Granitic and Schistose Rocks of, C. Callaway, 546 Double-Star 7 Equulei, 612 Double-Star Piazzi XIV., 212, 3906 Double-Stars, Measurement of, 467 Doubrof’s Explorations in Mongolia, 397 Drawing, Nature-, W. H. Fisk, 160 Drift, the Feannette, R. S. Newall, 102 Druce (G. Claridge), Flora of Oxfordshire, 611 Dublin: Experimental Science Association, 164 Dublin Royal Society, 210, 330, 498 Dust, Prof. Oliver J. Lodge, 265 Dutton (C. E.), Basalt- Fields of New Mexico, 88 Dyer (W. T. Thiselton, F.R.S.), the so-called South Plant of Egyptian Art, 127; Apospory in Ferns, 151, 216; the Life- History of the Lycopodiacex, 317 ; Gardiner’s Researches on the Continuity of Vegetable Protoplasm, 337 Dynamics : Walter Baily’s Instrument for showing Equilibrium of Forces, 329; Elementary Treatise on, Benj. Williamson, F.R.S., and Francis A. Tarleton, 384; Molecular, Sir Wil- liam Thomson, F.R.S., Prof. Geo, Forbes, 461, 508, 601 ; Molecular, Prof. Geo. Fras. Fitzgerald, 503 “¢Dynamo,”? How Made and How Used, S. R. Bottone, 52 Dynamo-Electric Machines, Magneto- and, 313 Early Maturity of Live Stock, 582 Earth, Views of Hindu Astronomers on Form and Attraction of, 298 Earth, Methods of Determining the Density of the, Prof. Alfred M. Mayer, 408 Earth; Mean Density of, Konig and Richarz’s Plan of Investi- gation for Ascertaining, 260, 484 Earthquakes : J. G. S. Anderson on, 316 ; in Algiers and Savoy, 396 ; at Alhama, Styria, Valparaiso, and Algiers, 322; in Anda- lusia, the, 277; M. Nogues on, 417; in Western Australia, 396 ; in Austria, 17, 227 ; in Corleone, 156; in France, 108 ; at Geneva, 563; in North Japan, Prof. Milne, 417; Recent Japanese, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 581 ; in Italy, 227 ; at Lexden, 279; Lexden, R. Meldola, 289; in Manchuria, 279; in Norway, 279 ; at Rome, 563; in Spain, 227, 237, 370, 418, 563, 610; F. Gillman, 199; Alf. Batson, 200; Dr. Eschen- hagen on, 491; Felt in Brussels, 249; in Switzerland, April 13, Prof. Forel on, 610; Shocks felt at Temesvar, Southern Hungary, 418 ; at Tokio, of Oct. 15, 1884, J. Milne, 150; Earthquake of April 22, 1884, R. Meldola, 135 ; Earthquakes in England and their Study, W. White, 172; Recent Earthquakes, Dr. F. A. Forel, 289 ; W. A. Sanford, 289; Dr. M. Eschenhagen, 339 ; Edward Parfitt, 339 ; Earth- quake at Sea, Capt. E. Backhaus, 348; Earthquake Table, Tokio, 322 ; Earthquake Measurement, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 4 ; Dr. H. J. Johnston-Lavis, 53; Earthquakes and Terrestrial Magnetism, W. Ellis, 262; Earthquakes and Fire-Damp, W. Galloway, 312 Earthworm, Frederick Lewis, 127 Earthworms in New Zealand, Habits of, A. T. Urquhart, 23 Echium Crossing, Dr. Michael Grabham, 360 Eclipse, Lunar, Recent, Wentworth Erck, 28 Eclipse of Thucydides, B.c. 431, August 3, 91 Eclipses: Total Solar, of 1914, August 20, 21, 228; on Sep- tember 9, 588; some of the Meteorological Results of the Eclipse of May 6, 1883, 601 Edible Bird’s Nest, Jos. R. Green, 126 Edinburgh : Institution of Civil Engineers, 451 ; Mathematical Society, 72, 164, 259, 403, 475, 595; Proceedings of, 148 ; Royal Physical Society of, 95, 210, 283, 330, 451, 524, 5953 Royal Society of, 107, 187, 210, 283, 330, 403, 428, 546 Edmondson (Joseph), Calculating Machines, 570 Education: Over-Pressure in Elementary Schools, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, 73; Indian and Negro Education, 202 ; Associa- tion of Assistant Mistresses, 279 ; the ‘‘ Itinerant”” Method of Science Teaching, Hewitt, 280; Russian School for Mussul- mans at Tashkend, 322; Education, Report of the Commis- sioner of, in the United States, for the Year 1882-83, W. Odell, 435; Education in America, 467; Education in the Southern States of America, Rev. A. D. Mayo, 514 Edwards (M. Milne-), Serious Illness of, 416 Eel’s Heart, the, Dr. McWilliam, 329 Eggs of Fishes, Prof. McIntosh, F.R.S., 534, 555 Eggs of Monotremes, W. Baldwin Spencer, 132 Egypt and Luxor Climate, 157 Egyptian Art, the so-called South Plant of, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S., 127 Egyptian Sanitary Board, Scientific Microscopist and Analyst, Want of, 348 Ehrlich (Prof.), Susceptibility of the Different Tissues to Colour- ing Matters, 547 Elasticity, Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of, Karl Pearson, 456; Prof. Alex. B. W. Kennedy, 504 vill Electricity : Electric Light for Lighthouses and Ships, A. Ainslie Common, 125; Electrical Lighting of Private Houses in Paris, 298 ; Semaphore and Electric Light at Shanghai, 603 ; Effect of Electrical Current on Rate of Thinning of Liquid Films, Prof. Reinold, 186; Electrical and Magnetic Measure- ment, Exercises in, R. E. Day, 262; Electrical Units, Dr. R. Wormell, 314; Electrical Exhibition at the Paris Observatory, 491; Electrician’s Pocket-Book, G. Wigan, Prof. A. Gray, 51; International Society of Electricians, 180; Dr. C. R. A. Wright on Voltaic and Thermo-Voltaic Constants, 47 ; Prof. Guthrie’s Text-Book of Electricity and Magnetism, 156 ; the Bartoli Cell, 203; the Pabst Cell, 203; Electric Con- ductivity of Phosphide of Tin Wire, 203; Jablochkoff’s New Battery, 203; on the Analogy between Heat and Elec- tricity, Prof. G. F. Fitzgerald, F.R.S., 210; Ballooning and Electricity, 467; Prof. Fleming on Curves of Incandescent Lamps, 523; Heat and Examples in Electricity, H. H. ~ Turner, 526; Ricco’s New Electro-Magnet, 204; Reynier’s Experiments on Electromotive Forces, 203 ; Measurements of the Electromotive Force, Dr. Kayser, 308 Elementary Schools, Over-pressure in, 149 Elkin’s (Dr.) Investigations with the Heliometer, 321 Elliott (F. W.), Fly-Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars, 54 Ellis (Alex. J., F.R.S.), Musical Scales of Various Nations, 446, 4 Ellis (William), Prime Meridian Conference, 7; Earthquakes and Terrestrial Magnetism, 262 Embryogny, Influence of Magnetism on, Prof. Maggiorani, 618 Emmerig, on Bees as Storm-Warners, 587 Emotion, Pupil of the Eyes during, Dr. Samuel Wilks, 458 Encke’s Comet, 65, 182, 228, 280 Encyclopedia of Natural Sciences, Trewendt’s, 16 Engineering College at Firth College, Sheffield, 46 Engineering Inventions, Recent, Sir F. Bramwell, 249 Engineering Patents, Recent, Sir Fred. J. Bramwell, F.R.S., 420 Engineering Work, the Reign of Law in Relation to the Uni- fication of, W. H. Bailey, 250 Engineers and Shipbuilders, Institution of, in Scotland, 130 England, Earthquakes in, and their Study, W. White, 172 Engler’s ‘* Botanische Jahrbiicher,” 592 English Mathematics, Modern, Prof. Henrici, F.R.S., 151 Entomological Society, 330, 427, 523 Entomology in Michigan, 16 Entomology : Lieut. Casey on ‘‘ Stenini,” 250 eg a Chinese Superstition with Regard to Persons in an, 41 Equations in Multiple Quantity, the Genesis of an Idea, or Story of a Discovery Relating to, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, BRRES-.35 Equulei, Double-Star y, 612 Erck (Wentworth), Recent Lunar Eclipse, 28 Ernst (A.), Injuries caused by Lightning in Venezuela, 458 Erosion of Glass, 388 ; Dr. William M. Ord on, 360 Eschenhagen (Dr. M.), Recent Earthquakes, 339; on the Spanish Earthquake, 491 Escriche (Prof.) on Geographical Parks, 614 Essex Field Club, 395 Ether, the, on Structure of Mechanical Models illustrating some Properties of, Prof. G. F. Fitzgerald, 570 Ethnology : Ethnological Work included in the Canada Geo- logical Survey’s Publications, 348 ; Ethnology of the Sudan, Prof. A. H. Keane, 40; Prof. de Lacouperie on Chinese Ethnology, 63 ; Ethnology of Tonquin, 280 ; Outline of Classi- fication of the Human Species, Prof. Flower, F.R.S., 330 Etna, New Mud-Crater, 65 Eulenberg (Prof.), on the Sense of Temperature, 259 Europe, Butterflies of, Henry Lang, M.D., R. McLachlan, F.R.S., 122 Europe, the Northernmost Extremity of, 127; W. Mattieu Williams, 54, 150 Evans (Edwin H.), a Pugnacious Frog, 55 Evolution : an Unnoticed Factor in, Edmund Catchpool, 4; J. Jenner Weir, 194; Buddhist Theory of, J. Starkie Gardner, 55 ; Evolution of the Blood-vessels of the Test in the Tunicata, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 247 Ewing (Prof. J. A.), Earthquake Measurement, 4; Experi- mental Researches in Magnetism, 304; Recent Japanese Earthquake, 581 Exhibition (Paris) of 1889, the Proposed Iron Tower, 108 INDEX Exhibition, K6nigsberg International Industrial and Polytechnic, 279 “ Explorador,” 371 Oat Explosions, Accidental, Produced by Non-Explosive Liquids, Sir Frederick Abel, F.R.S., 469, 493, 518 Eye in Insects, Compound Vision and Morphology of the, Dr. B. T. Lowne, 433 ; Sydney J. Hickson, 433 : Eye in Zonula zinnii, the Structure of the, Dr. H. Virchow, 80 ee Insects’, Benjamin Lowne on the Morphology of,’ Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 504, 578 : Eyes, Pupil of the, during Emotion, Dr. Samuel Wilks, 458 ; John Aitken, 553 Eyesight, Civilisation and, Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S., 340, 407 ; J. Rand Capron, 359; R. Brudenell Carter, 386; Geo. Berry, 386; G. B. Buckton, F.R.S., 407; J. W. Clark, 433 ; Col. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S., 457; Sydney Lupton, 458; Major Allan Cunningham, 458; H. B. Guppy, 503; Chas. Roberts, 5 52 Face- Urns Discovered in Pomerania, 203 : Faidherbe (Gen.), Boundaries of French North-Western Africa, go Fall of Autumnal Foliage, Rev. Geo. Henslow, 434; Rev. A. Irving, 482 Far-Sightedness, Dr. Emil Metzger, 506 ; J. Hippisley, 553; | Rev. E. Hill, 553; J. Starkie Gardner, 578 Farrer (Sir J. H.), on the Metric System, 64 Fauld’s (Henry) ‘‘ Nine Years in Nipon,” &c., 288~ Fauna, Mediterranean, 201 Fauna of Cuba, 537 Faunas of the Mediterranean and Red Seas, on the Cause of the Dissimilarity between, Prof. Edward Hall, F.R.S., 599 Faye (M.), Cosmogonic Theory of, Dr. G. H. Darwin, F.R. S24 06 Fel (Charles) and the Manufacture of Optical Glass, 347 Ferns, Apospory in, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S., 216 Ferns, Vegetative Organs of the Phanerogams and, A. De Bary, 21 Fetichism in China, 442 Field (Fred., F.R.S.), Death of, 537 Filter, Fuller’s Earth as a, A. G. Cameron, 389 Findlater (Dr. A.), Death of, 226 : Finmarken, Proposed Norwegian Hydrographic Expedition to, 614 Finsbury Technical College, 63; Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson appointed Principal and Professor of Physics at, 441 Finsch (Dr. O.), Departure of, 109 Firedamp, on the Observation of Earthshakes or Tremors in Order to Foretell the Issue of Sudden Outbursts of, M. Walton Brown, W. Galloway, 312 Firth College, Sheffield, Engineering College at, 46 Firth of Forth, on the Salinity of the Water in the, Hugh Robert Mill, 541 Fish: Are Fish Attracted by Artificial Illumination ?, 17; the Paradise Fish, 109 ; Flying Fish, Do they Fly or Not ?, Robert W. S. Mitchell, 53; Dr. J. Rae, F.R:S., 101; Dr. KS Mobius, 192; Fish of the Oxus, 252; Highest Temperature endurable by various Species of Fish, 350; Brandy as a Fish- Restorer, 350; Proposed Fish Museum, 369 ; the Swimming- Bladder in Fish, Prof. Albrecht, 380 ; Fish-Culture Depart- ment at the Inventions Exhibition, 537 ; Fish-Culture Fishery at Delaford, 587; Buckland Museum Collection at the Inven- tions Exhibition, 587; National Fish-Culture Association, National Present by the American Government of Land- Locked Salmon, 563; United States Fish Commission, Ralph S. Tarr, 128; at Wood’s Holl, Alf. C. Haddon, 294 ; Fish- Hatching in Norway, 280; Eggs of Fishes, Prof. McIntosh, F.R.S., 534, 555; Pearl Fisheries of Tahiti, 545 Fisher (Prof.), Metallic Thermographs, 620 Fisk (W. H.), Nature-Drawing, 160 Fitzgerald (Prof. G. F., F.R.S.), on the Analogy between Heat and Electricity, 210; Molecular Dynamics, 503 ; on Structure of Mechanical Models illustrating some Properties of the Ether, 570 Flame, some Experiments on, Geo. J. Burch, 272 “Flatland,” R. Tucker, 76 Fleischl (Dr. E. von), on the Double Refraction of Light in Liquid, 204 151, [Nature, Fune 11, 1885 . Nature, Fune 11, 1885}* INDEX Fleming (Prof.), on Curves of Incandescent Lamps, 523 Fletcher (Thomas), Smokeless Houses and Manufactories, 513 Flora of the British Islands, Sir J. D. Hooker, 191 ; of Camp- bell Island, J. Buchanan, 23 ; Characteristics of the North American Flora, Prof. Asa Gray, 229, 253; Flora of North- West Mexico, 278; of Norway, Olsen, 63 (See a/so Botany) Flower (Prof. W. H., F.R.S.), Outline of Classification of the Human Species, 330; Classification of the Varieties of the Human Species, 364 Flowers out of Season, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 13 Flowers, Bees and, G. W. Bulman, 409 Fly-Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars, Dr. E. Bonavia, 29; R. McLachlan, F.R.S., 54; F. W. Elliott, 54; F. N. Pierce, 82; J. H. A. Jenner, 103 Focal Lines, W. N. Shaw, 185 Fog, Cost of a, 348 Fog on Ben Nevis, on the Formation of Snow Crystals from, R. T. Omond, 532 Foliage, Autumnal Tints of, H. C. Sorby, 105 Foliage, the Fall of Autumnal, Lieut.-Col. St. T. Fraser, 388 ; Rey. Geo. Henslow, 434; Rev. A. Irving, 482 Fonvielle (W. de), ‘‘ L’Aérostat dirigible de Meudon,” 109 Forbes (H. O.), Proposed Exploration of Botany and Zoology of New Guinea, 18 Forbes Memorial, Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell, 103 Forbes (Prof. Geo.), Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., Molecular Dynamics, 461, 508, 601 Forbes (F. B.), Chinese Vegetable Soap, 118 Forel (Prof.), on the Solar Corona of 1884, 41 ; Earthquake in Switzerland, April 13, Prof. Forel on, 610; Recent Earth- quakes, 289; Underground Noises heard at Caiman-Brac, Carribean Sea, on August 26, 1883, 413 Forest Trees in Orkney, James Currie, 434 Forests (Danish), the Struggle between Trees in, 63 Forestry in the Mining Districts of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia, J. Croumbie Brown, 124 Forestry in Tunis, 537 Forms of Leaves, Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., 398, 479; Rev. Geo. Henslow, 434; R. A. Rolfe, 600 Forms, Peculiar Ice, W. J. McGee, 480 Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum, Catalogue of, R. Lydekker, 597 Fossil Quarries, Chinese, 181 Fossil Tracks of Invertebrate Animals, Prof. W. C. William- son, F.R.S, 571 Fossil Scorpion, Lindstrém’s, 136 Foster (Prof. M.), Antananarivo Annual* and Madagascar Magazine, 479 Foster (W. E.), Monthly Reference Lists, 90 Foucault’s and Ahrens’s Polarising Prisms, on a Modification of, H. G. Madan, 371 Fountains, Illuminated, at the Healtheries, 11 Four-Dimensional Space, 481 Fowl, Decoy, Wild, Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, Bart., 102 France: Earthquakes in, 108; Endowment of Research in, 180 ; the Site for the Centennial Exhibition, 181 ; Growth of Meteorological Science in, Hervé-Mangon, 369 ; Madagascar and, Geo. A. Shaw, 406 Franklin (Edward, F.R.S.) and Francis R. Japp, ‘‘ Inorganic Chemistry,” Prof. M. M. Muir, 576 Fraser (Lieut.-Col, St. T.), Blackness of Tropical Man, 6 ; the Fall of Autumnal Foliage, 388; Exceptional Whiteness in Tropical Man, 505 Free Lectures, William A. Tilden, 409 French Colonies. New Atlas of, by Henri Maget, 42 Frog, A Pugnacious, Edwin H. Evans, 55 Frost-Formation on Dartmoor, F. Pollock, C. C. Collier, 216 Fujiyama, Danger of an Eruption of, 610 Fuller's Earth as a Filter, A. G. Cameron, 389 Future Clocks and Watches, Our, B. J. Hopkins, 128 Galloway (W.), Experiments with Coal-Dust at Neunkirchen in Germany, 12; Earthquakes and Firedamp, 312 Gallwey (Sir Ralph Payne, Bart.), Wild Fowl Decoy, 102 Galton (Francis, F.R.S.), Cost of Anthropometric Measurements,. 150 ; Anthropometric Per-Centiles, 223 ; Hereditary Deafness, Alex. Graham Bell, 269 Galvanometer of d’Arsonval and Deprez, 86 Ganot’s ‘‘ Physics,” an Error in, E. Douglas Archibald, 361, 505 | | Garbett (Edward S.), our Future Clocks and Watches, 317. Gardiner (Walter), Continuity of the Protoplasm of the Plant Tissue, 390 Gardiner’s Researches on the Continuity of Vegetable Proto- plasm, Prof. W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S., 337 Gardner (J. Starkie), Buddhist Theory of Evolution, 55; Far- Sightedness, 578 Garman (S.), Polynomials in Zoology, 413 Gas Furnace, Regenerative, New Method of Heating in the, 7 Gas, the Cost of, Burnt in a Fog, 348 Gawdry (M. Albert), on the New Gallery of Paleontology at the Paris Natural History Museum, 490 Geelmuyden (Dr. H.) Iridescent Clouds, 264 Geikie (Arch., F.R. S.), Crystalline Rocks of the Scottish High- lands, 29 ; Basalt-Fields of New Mexico, 88 Geissler’s Tubes, Prof. Neesen’s Investigations into, 476 Geminorum, the Variable Star U, 65 Geneva, Earthquake at, 563 Geodesy and Measures of Precision, T. W. Wright, 167 Geography : Geographical Notes, 18, 65, 137, 158, 182, 204, 228, 251, 280, 300, 323, 350, 371, 397, 443, 469, 493, 516, 540, 564, 589, 613 ; Ancient Chinese Geography, 58; Geo- graphy and Geology of China, Rev. Alex. Williamson, 516 ; Physical Geography of the Malayan Peninsula, Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 152; Proposed Geographical Bureau, :182 ; Geography of International Austro-Hungary, Prof. Um- lauft’s, 183 ; Holberg’s Services to Geography, 252; Stan- ford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel, F. W. Rudler and G. W. Chisholm, 287 ; Geographical Conference, Mel- bourne, 300; Geographical Work in Russia, 328; Geogra- phical Society of Australasia, 443 ; Geographical Society of Paris, 43 ; Physical Geography of the Malayan Peninsula, L. Wray, 459; German Geographical Congress, 516; Geo graphy of the Pescadores, 540; Geography of Port Ha nilton, 540; Geography of Columbia, Dr. A. Hettner, 614 ; Prof. Escriche on Geographical Parks, 614; Geographische Blatter of the Bremen Geographical Society, 516 Geology : Geology of the Route between Quetta and the Hel mund, Griesbach, 41 ; New Pliocene Deposit at St. Erth, S. V. Wood, 71; Geological Society, 71, 163, 235, 305, 393, 402, 426, 449, 475, 546, 570; Medals of, 393; Geologists’ Association, 135, 258, 403, 5943; Geology of the Mersey Tunnel, 136; American Geology, 256 ; Geology of the North- West Highlands, 258 ; Canadian Geological Survey, Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.RS., 265; Geology of Afghanistan, 281 ; Geology of Russia, 299: Geology of New Zealand, 305 ; Manual of Geology, John Phillips, F.R.S., A. H. Green, 334; a Plea for the Experimental Investigation of some Geological Problems, Dr. H. J. Johnston-Lavis, 338 ; Geology of the Rio Tinto, J. H. Collins, 402 ; the Boulder- Clays of Lincolnshire, A. J. Jukes-Browne, 402 ; Survey of the Australian Alps, R. von Lendenfeld, 469 ; Geology and Geography of China, Rey. Alex. Williamson, 516; the Granitic and Schistose Rocks of Donegal, C. Callaway, 546 ; Geology of the Pescadores, H. B. Guppy, 553; Geological Maps of Japan, 564; Further Notes on the Geology of Pale-- tine, with a Consideration of the Jordan Valley Scheme, W. H. Hudleston, F.R.S., 614 Geometrina of New Zealand, E. Meyrick, 23 German Geographical Congress, 516 German Investigation of Central Africa, 89 German Polar Expeditions, Exhibition of Furs worn by the, 42 Germany, the Rainfall of, Dr. Hellmann, 548 Gillman (F.), Earthquake in Spain, 199 Ginseng, the Drug, 441 Glacial Action, Supposed, in Pennsylvania, Lewis, 41 Glacier Motion, Coutts Trotter, 328 Glaciers in the Dachstein Mountains, 17 Glaciers, the Old, of the Pyrenees, 157 Gladstone (Dr.-H., F.R.S.), Over-Pressure in Elementary Schools, 73 Glasgow University, Address of Lord Rector, 512 Glass, Erosion of, 388 ; Dr. William M. Ord, 360 Glass, Tempered, 413 Glaucoma, New Method of Treating, based on recent Re- searches into its Pathology, G. Lindsay Johnson, 3 : Glazebrook (R. T., F.R.S.) and W. N. Shaw, ‘Practical Physics,” 477 Glazier (Capt. Willard), Discovery of the True Source of the Mississippi, 252 x INDEX [Nature, Fune 11, 1885 Glow, Cloud-, Apparatus, 439 Glow-Lamps when raised to High Incandescence, on the Pecu- liar Behaviour of, W. H. Preece, F.R.S., 545 Glow, Noon-, D. J. Rowan, 102 Glow, Rosy, about the Moon, Robert Leslie, 102 Glows, Sky-, W. G. Brown, 5; Mrs. E. A. Day, 5; Surgeon Thomas Leeming, 5 Glucinum, on the Atomic Weight of, Prof. Humpidge, 473 Godard (Louis), Death of, 394 Godeffroy (Johann Cesar), Death of, 441 é Godman (F. Du Cane, F.R.S.) and Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., Valuable Collections presented to the Nation by, 441 Godwin-Austen (R. A.), Death of, 89 Goldscheider (Dr.), Cutaneous Points of Sensation, 619 Gore (Dr. G., F.R.S.), Scientific View of the Coal Question, 357; on Transfer Resistance, 522 Gore (J. E.), Mira Ceti, 459 Gothard (Von), on the Periodicity of the Changes in the Spec- trum of B Lyrze, 467 Government Scientific Books, W. Budden, 81 Govett (R. H.), Bird-Killing Powers of Pisonias, 23 Gowland’s Journey in Corea, 397 Grabham (Dr. Michael), Echium-Crossing, 360 Graff (Dr. L. von), on Myzostomida of the Chal/enger Expe- dition, 165 Grant (Sir Alex.), Death of, 107 Graves (Rev. James), Meteor Visible in the Daytime, 102 Gravitation, Experiments on Constants of, Dr. Konig and Dr. Richarz, 475 Gray (Prof. A.), Electrician’s Pocket-Book, G. Wigan, 51 Gray (Prof. Asa), Characteristics of the North American Flora, 229, 253 Great Britain, Chemical Research in, Prof. W. N. Hartley, 78 Great Britain and Ireland, Edible Mollusca of, M. S. Lovell, 124 Greek, the Study of, at Harvard College, 395 Greek Government, the, and Wilhelm Miiller’s Monument, 226 Greely (Lieut.) upon Future Arctic Exploration, 350; Expe- dition to the Malay Peninsula, 590 Green (A. H.), ‘‘Manual of Geology,” John Phillips, F.R.S., 334 Green (Jos. R.), Edible Bird’s Nest, 126 Greenland, Danish Expedition in, 69 Greenwich Clocks, Change in Reckoning, 226 Griesbach : Geology of the Route between Quetta and the Hel- mund, 41 Griffiths (G. S.), Climatic Vicissitudes of Victoria, 466 Grishimailo’s=(Dr.) Investigations in the Natural History of Turkestan, 251 Groth (Ernest R, G.), Solar System, 215 Guiana, Dutch, the Populations of, Prince Roland Bonaparte, 469 Guinet (M.), his Museum illustrative of the Religions of the East, 157 Guldberg (Dr. G. A.), Whale Exhibition in Hamburg, 362 Gun, the Maxim, 414 Gunpowder and Firearms, the Originators of, 156 Guns, Steel, 530 Guppy (H. B.), Civilisation and Eyesight, 503 ; Geology of the Pescadores, 553 Guthrie (Prof.), Phenomena of Mixture of Liquids, 47 ; Text- Book of Magnetism and Electricity, 156 Haardt (Herr von), on Services Rendered by the Austrian Navy to Geographical Science, 18 Haddon (AIf. C.), United States Fish Commission at Wood’s Holl, 294 Halbinsel, die Pyreniaische, Dr. Moritz Willkomm, 124 Hall (Maxwell), Rotation of Neptune, 193 s Halley’s Comet in 1456, 588 Halliburton (Dr.), Chemical Composition of the Cartilage in Invertebrates, 283 Hamburg, Whale Exhibition in, Dr. G. A. Guldberg, 362 Hansen-Blangsted, the Struggle between Trees, 63; Extension of the Metric System, 369 Harmer (Ernest G.), Our Future Watches and Clocks, 80 Harris (W. H.), the Honey-Bee, 1 Harrison (W. Jerome), New Method for the Teaching of Science in Public Elementary Schools, 175 Hart (Ernest), Scientific Aspects and Issues of the International Health Exhibition, 138 Hartley (Prof. W. N.), Chemical Research in Great Britain, 78 Hartog (Marcus M.),-on the Nature of Lichens, 376 Harvard College and the Study of Greek, 395 Hauer (Dr. Franz Ritter von), appointed Intendant of the Im perial-Royal Natural History Museum, Vienna, 440 Havana, Meteorology of, 361 “*Hayti; or the Black Republic,” Sir Spencer St. John, Prof. A. H. Keane, 98 Hazen (H. A.), Tornadoes, 46; Work of the U.S. Signal Office under, 580 Health Exhibition, Illuminated Fountains at the, 11 ; Health Laboratories as the Result of the, 121; Scientific Aspects and Issues of the, Ernest Hart, 138; Rats in the Buildings and Grounds of, 442 Healthy Manufacture of Bread, Dr. Benjamin Ward Richardson, F.R.S., 148 Heat and Electricity, on the Analogy between, Prof. G. F. Fitzgerald, F.R.S., 210 ; Examples in, H. H. Turner, 526 Heating in the Regenerative Gas Furnace, a New Method of, 7 Heenan (R.), on the Tower Spherical Engine, 490 Heis (Paul), Explorations in Meikong, 65 Heligoland, Rain Conditions in, Dr. Hellmann, 120 Heliometer, Dr. Elkin’s Investigations with the, 321 Hellmann (Dr. G.), on Certain Regularities in Succession of Weather, 611; Rain-Conditions in Heligoland, 120; the Rainfall of Germany, 548 Helmersen (Geo.), Death of, 440 Helmund, Geology of the Route between Quetta and the, Griesbach, 41 Hemisphere, Northern, Relative Frequency of Storms in the, 293 Henninger (M.), Death of, 90 Henrici (Prof., F.R.S.), Modern English Mathematics, 151 Henslow (Rey. Geo.), Fall of Autumnal Foliage, 434; Forms of Leaves, 434 Herdman (Prof. W. A.), Evolution of the Blood-vessels of the Test in the Tunicata, 247 Hereditary Deafness, Alex. Graham Bell, F.R.S., 269 ‘Heroes of Science,” T. C. Lewis, 50 Hervé-Mangon, Growth of Meteorological Science in France, 367 Hettner (Dr. A.), Geography of Columbia, 614 Heun (Dr. Karl), Science Note-Book, C. H. Hinton, 51 Hewitt (W.), the ‘‘Itinerant”” Method of Science Teaching, 280 Hibernation, R. Busk, 317 Hibernation, Human, Alfred H. Hulk, 361; Dr. W. B. Car- penter, F.R.S., 408 ; Col. C. K. Bushe, 482 Hick (Thos.), the Continuity of Protoplasm in Plant Tissue, 459 Hicks (Henry), Geology of the North-West Highlands, 258 Hickson (Sydney J.), Retina of Insects, 341 Higgins (Rev. H. H.), on Museums of Natural History, 109, 564 Highlands, Geology of the North-West, 258 Hildebrandsson (H.), sur la Distribution des Eléments Metéoro- logiques autour des Minima et des Maxima Barométriques, 75 “* Hilfsbuch fiir den Schiffbau,” Hans Johow, 100 Hill (Rey. E.), Far-Sightedness, 553 Hindu Astronomers, Views of, on Form and Attraction of Earth, 298 Hinton (C. H.), Science Note-Book, Dr. Karl Heun, 51; the Porograph, 329 ; Scientific Romances, 431 Hippisley (J.), Far-Sightedness, 553 Hochstetter (Ferdinand von), the Late, 61 Hogs (Dr. P. P. C.), Cirripedia of the Chadlenger Expedition, I Holberg’s Birth, Bicentenary of, 252 ; his Services to Geography, Francis Galton, 252 Holden (Prof. Edward S.), Tables of Star-Gauges, 40 ;-a Tornado Photographed, 106 Holmesdale Natural History Club, 492 Honey-Bee, W. H. Harris, 1 Honey-Glands in Pitchered Insectivorous Plants, on the Distri- bution of, J. M. Macfarlane, 171 Hopkins (B. J.), Our Future Watches and Clocks, 128 Horne (J.) and B. N. Peach, Report on the Geology of the North-West of Sutherland, 31 Nature, Fune 11, 1885) Hospitalier’s (M.) ‘‘ Formulaire Pratique de l’Electricien,” 51 Howden (Dr.) Naturalists’ Field Club, 564 Hoyle (Wm. E.), Loligopsis ellipsoptera, 339 Hudlestone (W. H., F.R.S.), Further Notes on the Geology of Palestine, with a Consideration of the Jordan Valley Scheme, 614 Hulk (Alfred H.), Human Hibernation, 361 Hull (Prof. Edward, F.R.S.), on the Cause of the Dissimilarity between the Faunas of the Mediterranean and Red Seas, 599 Human Hibernation, Alfred H., Hulk, 361; Dr. W. B. Car- penter, F.R.S., 408; Col. C. K. Bushe, 482 Human Species, Classification of the Varieties of the, Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., 364 Hume Collection expected at the British Museum, 610 Humpidge (Prof.), on the Atomic Weight of Glucinum, 473 Hungary, South, Tobacco Worm in, 64 - Hunter and Modern Science, Prof. John Marshall, 368 Hunterian Lectures for 1884, ‘‘ Mammalian Descent,’ W. Kitchen Parker, Dr. Geo, J. Romanes, F.R.S., 358 Hutton (Capt. F. W.), Land Mollusca of New Zealand, 23 Huxley (Prof., P.R.S.), Etching of, 156 Hybridisation among Salmonide, Francis Day, 599 Hydriform Phase of Lymmnocodium sowerbii, Alfred; Gibbs Bowme, 107 Hydrogen, Free, in Comets, Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 314 Hydrographic Office of the U.S., Annual Report, 157 puyiperaphic Expedition to Finmarken, Proposed Norwegian, 14 Hydrostatics and Pneumatics, Key to Magnus’s Class-Book of, John Murphy, 314 Hygiene, Meeting in Aid of Parkes Museum of, 368 TAnson (James), Iridescent Clouds, 193 Ice Forms, Peculiar, 299; B. Woodd Smith, 5, 193, 264 Dr. John Rae, F.R.S., 81; John D. Paul, 264; W. J McGee, 480 Iceland, the New Volcanic Island off, W. G. Spence Paterson, 37; Prof. Alfred Newton, F.R.S., 149; Explorations in Iceland, III., Th. Thoroddsen, 173 ; Volcanic Ash-Showers in, 283 ; the Late Winter in, M. Thorlacius, 537 Ichthyological Collections from the Malay Peninsula, 586 Illuminated Fountains at the Healtheries, 11 Illumination of Microscopes and Balances, 440 indie, Bee-keeping in, 1; the Boomerang in, Arthur Nicols, 399 Indian and Negro Education, 202 Indo-China, Aymonier’s Explorations in Indo-China, 183 Ingleby (Dr. C. M.), Solar Phenomenon, 264 Injuries Caused by Lightning in Africa, Dr. Von Danckelman, 127; in Venezuela, A. Ernst, 458 “*Tnorganic Chemistry,” Edward Franklin, F.R.S , and Francis R. Japp, M. M. Pattison Muir, 576 Insects, Eye in, Compound Vision and Morphology of the, Dr. B. T. Lowne, 433; Sydney J. Hickson, 433; Dr. B. T. Lowne on the Morphology of, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 504, 578; Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 528 Insects, Injurious, Cook and Weedon, 16; Miss Omerod’s Report on, 587 Insects, Retina of, Sydney J. Hickson, 341 Insects, Tomatoes as a Prophylactic against, 202 Insect-White Wax, Chinese, 615 Insectivora, the Skull in the, W. K. Parker, F.R.S., 377 Institution of Civil Engineers, 249, 497, 524 Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, 130 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 279, 324, 418, 533, 562 Interference-Curves known as ‘‘Ohm’s Fringes,” H. G. Madan, , 83 Inventions Exhibition, 340, 395, 465, 611 ; Fish Culture Appli- ances at the, 349, 537 Invertebrates, Chemical Composition of the Cartilage in, Dr, Halliburton, 283 Tridescent Clouds, Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 148, 315 ; J. Edmund Clark, 148; T. W. Backhouse, 192, 360; James I’Anson, 193; W. W. Watts, 193; Dr. H. Geelmuyden, 264; Prof. W. G. Brown, 315; Prof. C. Michie Smith, 338 Iron and Steel, Principles of the Manufacture of, Lowthian Bell, F.R.S., 333 Irving (Rev. A.), Fall of Autumnal Foliage, 482 Island, the ‘‘ New” Volcanic, off Iceland, W. G. Spence Paterson, 37 ; Prof. Alfred Newton, F.R.S., 149 INDEX Xl Islands, Discovery of New, by Norwegian Explorers in the Spitzbergen Seas, 350 Isolating Blue Rays for Optical Work, a Method of, H. G. Madan, 263 Asvestia, 19 Italy, Earthquakes in, 227 ‘* Ttinerant ” Method of Science Teaching, Hewitt, 280 Jacobsen’s Polar Collection, 90 Jahrbiicher fiir Wissenschaftliche Botanik, 257 Jamaica, Botany of, Morris, 538 Japan: Proposed Subterranean Observatory in, 63; Meteoro- logy in, 202, 203 ; the Magic Mirror of, 249, 264; a Strange Japanese Custom, 260 ; the Japanese Village at Knightsbridge, 277; Railways in Japan, 348 ; Japanese Learned Societies, 352; Prof. Milner on Earthquakes in North Japan, 417; Recent Japanese Earthquake, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 581; Seis- mology in Japan, 467, 515; Ancient Stone Implements of, M. Kanda, 538; Geological Maps of, 564; Japanese Snakes, 87 ; ee (Francis R.), and Edward Franklin, F.R.S., ‘‘ Inorganic Chemistry, M. M. Pattison Muir, 576 Java, Volcanic Eruption in, 610 Feannette Drift, the, R. S. Newall, F.R.S., 102, 280 ; Feannetle Expedition, Relic of the, 66 Jeffreys (Dr. J. Gwyn, F.R.S.), Death of, 208 ; Notice of, 317 Jenner (J. H. A.), Fly Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars, 103 Johnson (Geo. Lindsay), New Method of Treating Glaucoma Based on Recent Researches into its Pathology, 3 Johnston’s (H. H.), Kilimanjaro Expedition, 228; the People of Eastern Equatorial Africa, 379 Johnston’s New Map of England and Wales, 444 Johnston’s Maps, 516 Johnston-Lavis (Dr. H. J.), Seismographs, 29; Earthquake Measurement, 53 Johow (Hans), Hilfsbuch fiir den Schiffbau, too Jolly (Dr. Philip von), Death of, 226 Joly (J.), a Paraffin Photometer, 330 Jordan Valley Scheme, Further Notes on the Geology of Palestine, with a Consideration of the, W. H. Hudleston, F.R-S., 614 Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 448 De Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Treland, 94 Journal of Botany, 70, 328, 422 Journal of the Franklin Institute, 283, 569, 591 Journal de Physique, 162, 303, 354, 592 Journal de Physique théorique et appliquée, 569 Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, 448 _ Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society, 162, 304, Obituary Teal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 353 Judge (Mark H.), Sunday Question, 54 j Jukes-Browne (A. J.), the Boulder Clays of Lincolnshire, 402 Jupiter, Ancient Occultation of, 370 Justice, Tardy, 578 Kanda (Mr.), Ancient Stone Implements of Japan, 538 Kayser (Dr.), on Measurements of the Electromotive Force and Resistance of Improved Noé Thermo-Generator, 308 Keane (Prof. A. H.), Ethnology of the Sudan, 4o; ‘*‘ Hayti, or the Black Republic,” Sir Spencer St. John, 98 ; North Afghan Border Tribe, 200 ; Malayan Antiquities, 478 ; the Samsams, 530; ‘* Timbuktu,” Dr. Oscar Lenz, 550 Kennedy (Prof. Alex. B. W.), onthe Terminology of the Mathe- matical Theory of Elasticity, 504 Kilimanjaro Expedition, H. H. Johnston’s, 228, 301 Kirk, Olearia Traillit, 23 Kite-Wire Suspended Anemometer Readings, E. Douglas Archibald, 600 Klein (Dr. E., F.R.S.), Micro-Organisms and Disease, 2; on Cholera, 521 Knivskjerodde, Error in Mattieu Williams’s Note on the, 17 “‘ Knots” and ‘‘ Nauts,” 280 Knox (Alex.), ‘‘ Differential Calculus for Beginners,” 527 Koch (Dr.), and the Comma-Bacterium, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 168 , Kolbe (Prof. W. H.), Awarded Davy Medal of Royal Society, 62 Konig (Dr.), Colour Blindness, 157 Xil Konig (Dr.), Measurements of Colour, Sense, and Visual Acuteness of Zulus, 476 Konig (Dr.), and Dr. Richarz’s Experiments on the Constants of Gravitation, 475 Konig and Richarz (Drs.), Plan for Ascertaining Mean Density of the Earth, 260, 484 K6nigsberg International Industrial and Polytechnic Exhibition, 279 Korsel (Dr.), Adenine, 380 Krakatoa Eruption, the, 279; S. E. Bishop, 288 ; Henry Cecil, 506 ; Pumice from, found in Madagascar, 610 Krao Canal Commission, 323 Kremser (Dr.), Meteorological Observations on Schneekoppe, 548 Krukenberg’s Chromatological Speculations, C. A. MacMunn, 217 Laboratories, Bangor, 391 Laboratories, Scientific, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., 409 Lacouperie (Prof. de), Chinese Ethnology, 63 Lake Region Reported to Exist in the North-Eastern Part of the Provinces of Quebec and in Labrador, Expeditions Dis- patched to Explore the, 350 Lake-Mud (Australian), Prof. Sars’ Experiments with, 64 Lamb’s Prize for Sanitary Essays, 321 Lampe (Prof.), Exercises in Calculating Attraction, 211 ; Notes on Calculations respecting Solids of Attraction, 260 Lamplugh (G. W.), Sky-Glows, 28 Landolt (Prof.), Contrivance for Recovering the Products of Sublimation, 211 La Nuova Scienza, Prof. Caporali’s, 394 Lang (Dr. Henry), ‘‘ Butterflies of Europe,” R. McLachlan, RSs 222 Langley (J. N., F.R.S.), the Paralytic Secretion of Saliva, 570 Langley (S. P.), Atmospheric Absorption, 46 Lankester (Prof. E. Ray, F.R.S.), Dr. Koch and the Comma- Bacterium, 168; Dr. Benjamin Lowne on the Morphology of Insect’s Eyes, 504, 578 Lantern Screen, Rev. Chas. J. Taylor, 388 Lapland, Swedish Exploration of, Dr. F. Swenonius, 613 Lartigue (M.), Death of, 60 Latitude, Proposed Observations for, at U. S. Naval Obser- vatory, 300 Latzel (Dr. R.), Myriopods of Austria, 526 Lauth (M.), Discovery of a New Porcelain, 227 Lavis (Dr. H. J. Johnston-), a Plea for the Experimental Inves- tigation of some Geological Problems, 338 Lavisato (Dr.), on Tierra del Fuego, 252 Layard (E. L.), Bird’s Nest Soup, 82 Leaves, Forms of, Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S., 398, 479; Rey. Geo. Henslow, 434; R. A. Rolfe, 600 Lectures, Free, William A. Tilden, 409 Leeming (Surgeon Thomas), Sky-Glows, 5 Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, 156; Inaugural Address, 514 Le Mouvement Géographique, 397 Lemstrom (Selim), Results of the Scientific Expedition to Sodankyla, 372 Lena Meteorological Station, 16 Lena Delta, in the, &c., G. Melville Phillips, 287 Lendenfeld (R. von), Survey of the Australian Alps, 469 Lenz (D. Oscar) ** Timbuktu,” Prof. A. H. Keane, 550 Leslie (Robert), Rosy Glow about the Moon, 102 Lewis (Fred.), Earthworms, 127 Lewis (T. C.), Heroes of Science, 50 Lewis on Supposed Glacial Action in Pennsylvania, 41 Lexden Earthquake, 279; R. Meldola, 289 Leyden Anthropological Notices, 396 Libraries, Report of Manchester Free, 135 Lichens, on the Nature of, Marcus M. Hartog, 376 Lick Observatory, California, 18, 180 Light, Wave Theory of, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., ol, 115; Onthe Double Refraction of, in Liquids, Dr. E. von Fleischl, 204 ; Action of very Minute Particles on, J. Spear Parker, 481 ; Proposed Experiments for Redetermining the INDEX [Wature, Fune 11, 1885 Lighthouses and Ships, Electric Light for, A. Ainslie Common, 125 Lightning, Injuries caused by, in Venezuela, A. Ernst, 458 ; Magnetisation by Lightning, 211 ; Injuries caused by Lightn- ing in Africa, Dr. Von Danckelman, 127 ; Lightning in the Tropics, J. J. Meyrick, 194; Lightning-Conductors, Col. Arthur Parnell on, 80 Limpet, Habits of the, J. R. Davis, 200 Lindesberg, Mirage at, 42 Lindstrém’s Fossil Scorpion, 135 Line Divider, 275 Linnzan Society, 70, 118, 209, 235, 321, 355, 496, 523 Linnzeus, Statue of, at Stockholm, 610 Liquids, Phenomena of Mixture of, Prof. Guthrie, 47 Liquids, Non-Explosive, Accidental Explosions Produced by, Sir Frederick Abel, F.R.S., 469, 493, 518 Li Shan-Lan, Death of, 227 Live Stock, Early Maturity of, 582 Liverpool Astronomical Society, 321 Liverpool Corporation Free Lectures, 367 Liversidge (Prof.), Proposed Australasian Association, 40 Lobster Fishery in America, the, 467 Lodge (Prof. Oliver J.), Dust, 265 Loligopsis Ellipsoptera, Wm. E. Hoyle, 339 Léme (Dupuy de), Death of, 320 London School Board, Report of the Committee on Technical Education, 205 London Society for Extension of University Teaching, 226 London, Proposed Teaching University for, 145, 159, 352, 394 Lortigue (Henri), Death of, 156 Lovell (J.), Quinquefoliate Strawberry, 601 Lovell (M. S.), Edible Mollusca of Great Britain and Ireland, 124 Lowe (E. J.), Large Meteor, 150 Lowne (Dr. Benjamin T.), on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 504, 528, 578; Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 528 Lubbock (Sir John), Marriage among Australian Aborigines, 186 ; Forms of Leaves, 398, 479 Ludwig (Prof. Carl) Awarded Copley Medal of Royal Soci+ty, 62 Lunar Eclipse, Recent, Wentworth Erck, 28 Lupton (Sydney), the Coal Question, 242; Civilisation aid Eyesight, 458 Lushington (Dr.), Scientific Work at a University, 512 Luxor and Egypt, Climate of, 157 Luzon, Negrito Tribes in, F. Blumentritt, 18 Lycopodiacez, the Life History of the, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, Banos. Sy, Lydekker (R.), Catalogue of the Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum, 597 Lymnocodium Sowerbii, Wydriform Phase of, Alfred Gibbs Bowme, 107 Lynn (W. T.), First Principles of Natural Philsophy, 77 Lyre, 8-, on the Periodicity of Changes in the Spectrum of, Von Gothard, 467 McClellan (Rev. J. B.), on the Higher Teaching of Agriculture, 16 7 Macfarlane (J. M.), on the Distribution of Honey-glands in Pitchered Insectivorous Plants, 171 McGee (W. J.), Peculiar Ice Forms, 480 McGill College, Montreal, 586 MacGowan’s (Dr.) Account of the Chinese Cholera Epidemic of 1883, 41; on the Chinese as the Originators of Gunpowder and Firearms, 156 McIntosh (Prof., F.R.S.), Eggs of Fishes, 534, 555 McLachlan (R., F.R.S.), ‘‘ Butterflies of Europe,” Henry Lang, M.D., 122 ; Fly-Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars, 54 Maclay (Dr. N. de Miklouho-), Temperature of the Body of Monotremata, 600 McLeod (Prof. Herbert), a Sunshine Recorder, 319 MacMunn (C. A.), Krukenberg’s Chromatological Speculations, 217 Macpherson (Joseph), the Earthquakes in Andalusia, 277 Macropus Venustes, 109 McWilliam (Dr.), the Eel’s Heart, 329 Velocity of, at the Paris Observatory, 441 ; New Arrangement | ‘‘ Madagascar and France,” Geo. A. Shaw, 406; Antanana of the Apparatus of the Rotating Mirror for Measuring the Velocity of, M. C. Wolf, 517 rivo Annualand Madagascar Magazine, Prof.M. Foster, 479 ; Pumice from Krakatoa Found in, 611 Nature, Fune 11, 1885] INDEX xiii Madan (H. G.), on the Interference-Curves known as ‘‘ Ohm’s Fringes,” 83; a Method of Isolating Blue Rays for Optical Work, 263; on a Modification of Foucault’s and Ahrens’s Polarising Prisms, 371 Maget (Henri), New Atlas of the French Colonies, 42 Maggiorani (Prof.), Influence of Magnetism for Embryogeny, 618 ; Magic Mirrors, Japanese, 264 Magnetic and Electrical Measurement, Exercises in, R. E. Day, 262 Magnetic Disturbance, G. M. Whipple, 530 Magnetism and Electricity, Prof. Guthrie’s Text-Book of, 156 Magnetism, Experimental Researches in, Prof. Ewing, 304 Magnetism, Influence of, on Embryogeny, Prof. Maggiorani, 618 Magnetism, Terrestrial Earthquakes and, W. Ellis, 262 Magnetisation by Lightning, 211 Magneto- and Dynamo-Electric Machines, 313 Magnus’s Class-Book of Hydrostatics and Pneumatics, Key to, John Murphy, 314 Magyar Expedition for Exploration of Urals, 541 Mailly-Challon (M. de), Journey in Manchuria, 565 Malay Peninsula, Physical Geography of the, Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, 152; L. Wray, 459 ; Cameron’s Map of the, 300 ; Geography of the Malay Peninsula, 371 ; Explorations of the, M. Delouel, 516 ; Ichthyological Collection from, 586 Malayan Antiquities, Prof. A. H. Keane, 478 Mammalia, Fossil, in the British Museum, Catalogue of, R. Lydekker, 597 Mammalian Descent, Hunterian Lectures for 1884, W. Kitchen Parker, F.R.S., Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 358 Mammoths Discovered in Siberia, 16 Man, Prehistoric, Daniel Pidgeon, 102 Man, Tropical, Blackness of, A. T. Fraser, 6; Exceptional Whiteness of, Lieut.-Col. A. T. Fraser, 505 Manchester Free Libraries, Report of, 135 Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 95, 571 sane Earthquakes in, 279 ; M. de Mailly-Chalon’s Journey In, 505 ees Prize offered for Essays on Uses of Nitrate of Soda as, 4 Manx Cats, Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 316 Marche (Alfred), Explorations in Philippine Archipelago, 137 Marine Biological Association, 63, 89 Marriage Customs among Australian Aborigines, Sir John Lubbock, 186 Mars in 1884, Otter Boeddicker, 210 Marsh (Prof. O. C.), Classification and Affinities of Dino- saurian Reptiles, 68 Marshall (Prof. John), Hunter’s Modern Science, 368 Martin’s (Joseph) Journey in Unknown Siberia, 397 Maps, Geological, of Japan, 564 Maps, Johnson’s, of England and Wales, 444 Masai Country, Joseph Thomson’s Explorations in the, 18, 343 Mason Science College, Report of, 611 Massowah, Materials for a Meteorological Station sent to, 442 Masters (Dr. Maxwell T.), Flowers out of Season, 13 ; Petalody of the Ovules and other Changes in a Double-Flowered Form of ‘* Dianella Czerulea,” 487 Mathematical Scholarships, Weekly Problem Papers, with Notes intended for the use of Students Preparing for, Rev. J. J. Milne, 314 Mathematical Society, 71, 162, 283, 402, 496, 546 Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, Terminology of the, Karl Pearson, 456; Prof. Alex. B. W. Kennedy, 504 ‘Mathematics, Pure and Applied, a Synopsis of Elementary Results in,” &c., G. S. Carr, 100; Modern English Mathe- matics, Prof. Henrici, F.R.S., 151; Messenger of Mathe- matics, Angelus, 172; American Journal of Mathematics, 189 ; Death of a great Chinese Mathematician, 227 ; ‘‘ Mathe- maticians and Astronomers of China and Foreign Countries,” 491 ; ‘‘ Lehrbuch der Elementaren Mathematik,” V. Schlegel, 123 Maturity, Early, of Live Stock, 582 Maxim Gun, 414 Mayall (J.), Nobert’s Ruling Machine, 571 Mayer (Prof. Alfred M.), Methods of Determining the Density of the Earth, 408 Mayo (Rey. A. D.), Education in the Southern States of America, 514 Measurement, Earthquake, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 4 Measurements, Cost of Anthropometric, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 150 “Mécanique, Eléments de, avec de Nombreux Exercises,” 78 Mechanical Engireers, Institution of, 324 Medical Teaching, Oxford, Physiological Laboratory and, 414 Mediterranean Fauna, 201 Mediterranean and Red Seas, on the Cause of the Dissimilarity between the Faunas of the, Prof. Edward Hull, F.R.S., 599 Meikong, Heis’s Explorations in, 65 Melbourne Geographical Conference, 300 Melbourne Observatory, 419 Meldola (Raphael), Earthquake of April 22, 1884, 135 ; Lexden Earthquake, 289 ; Colours of Arctic Animals, 505 ; Appointed Professor of Chemistry at Finsbury Technical College, 586 Melvin (James), Cross-Breeding Potatoes, 290 Memorial, Forbes, Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell, 103 Meridian, Prime, Conference, W. Ellis, 7; Conference, 15; M. Jansen’s Report on, 136 Merida, Dr. Siever’s Proposed Exploration of the Cordilleras of, 41 Mersey Tunnel, Geology of the, 136; Opening of the, 368 “Messenger of Mathematics,” Angelus on, 172 Metallic Thermographs, Prof. Fisher, 620 Meteors: H. Sadler, 530; Meteor at Miilheim, 64; a Large Meteor, E. J. Lowe, 150; Otto Boeddicker, 194; Meteor in Michigan, 298; Appalling Meteor at Sea, 514; Meteor Visible in the Daytime, Rev. James Graves, 102 ; the Long Duration of Meteoric Radiant Points, W. F. Denning, 463 Meteorology: Proposed Bibliography of, 63; American, 91, 394; Meteorology of Magdeburg, 106; in Roumania, 156 ; in Alabama, 180 ; Signal Service Weather Review, 180 ; in the Corea, 202 ; in Japan, 202, 203 ; in Canada, 250, 537 ; High- Level, 261 ; Meteorology of Havana, 361 ; Red Sunsets and the Zodiacal Light, Rev. Edw. Reynolds, 514; of Rousdon, 5373 of the Late Winter in Iceland, M. Thorlacius, 537; of the Atlantic, 501; the Rainfall of Germany, Dr. Hellmann, 548; Scottish Meteorological Society, 590; Agrarian Me- teorology, Prof. G. Cantoni, 618; Dr. G. Hellmann on Certain Regularities in succession of Weather, 611; Lena Meteorological Station, 16 ; New Meteorological Station in South Australia, 64 ; the Distribution of the Meteorological Elements in Cyclones and Anticyclones, 75 ; Meteorological Observatory in Tonquin, 91 ; Wragge’s New Meteorological Observatory, 227 ; Meteorological Observatory, Tokio, 321 ; Meteorological Observations made by Oscar Doering at Cor- dova, 419; Meteorological Observations on Schneekoppe, Dr. Kremser, 548 ; Meteorological Society, 548, 620 ; Journal of the Scottish Meteorological Society, 261 ; the Forest Me- teorological System in Prussia, Prof. Miittrich, 33¢ ; Growth of Meteorological Science in France, Hervé-Mangon, 368 ; Annual Report of the French Central Meteorological Depart- ment, 562; Meteorological Results of the Total Solar Eclipse of May 6, 1883, 601 Metric System, Sir T. H. Farrer on the, 64 ; Extension of the Hansen-blangsted, 369 Metrical System, Sir Wm. Thomson on the, 62 Metzger (Dr. Emil), Far-Sightedness, 506 ; Rock-Pictures in New Guinea, 527 Meudon Steering Balloon, 41, 157 Mexico (North-West), Flora of, 277 Meyer (Dr. Hans), ‘‘Eine Weltreise. zweijahrigen Erdumsegelung,” 502 Meyrick (E.), GEcophoride of New Zealand, 22; Geometrina of New Zealand, 23 Meyrick (J. J.), Lightning in the Tropics, 194 Michael (A. D.), New British Oribatida, 617 Michigan, Entomology in, 16; Meteor in, 298 Micro-Organisms and Disease, Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 2 Microscopes and Balances, Illumination of, 440 : Microscopy, Nobert’s Ruling Machine, J. Mayall, jun., 571 Migrants, Californian, 280 Mill (Hugh Robert), on the Salinity of the Water in the Firth of Forth, 541 Milne (J.), Tokio Earthquake of October 15, 1884, 150 Milne (Rev. J. J.), Weekly Problem Papers with Notes intended for the use of Students preparing for Mathematical Scholar- ships, &c., 314 ‘‘Mine Ventilation, a Theory of,” M. Walton Brown, W. Galloway, 312 Plaudereien aus einer xiv INDEX [NMature, Fune 11, 1885 Mineral Wealth of Annam and Tonquin, 181 Mineralogical Society, 524 Minima of Algol, 91 Mining Districts of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia, Forestry in, J. Croumbie Brown, 124 Minor Planets, 228 Mira Ceti, Variable Star, J. E. Gore, 459, 468 Mirage at Lindesberg, 42 Mirror, the Magic, of Japan, 249, 264 Mississippi, Discovery of the True Source of the, Capt. Willard Glazier, 252 Mitchell (Robert W. S.), Do Flying-Fish Fly or Not ?, 53 Mittheilungen of the Vienna Geographical Society, 614 Mixture of Liquids, Phenomena of, Prof. Guthrie, 47 Moquis of Arizona, Snake Dance of the, Capt. J. G. Bourke, Dr. Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 429 Morphological Significance of Swimming-Bladder in Fish, Prof. Albrecht, 380 Morphologische Jahrbuch, 449 Morphology, Compound Vision and, of the Eye in Insects, Dr. B. T. Lowne, 433; Sydney J. Hickson, 433; Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 504, 578; Dr. B. T. Lowne on, Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 528 Morphology of Bombyx mori, Dr. Tichomirow, 620 Morris (Mr.), Botany of Jamaica, 538 Motella mustela, Geo. Brock, 70 Mound-Builders of U.S., Origin of the, C. E. Putnam, 563 Mobius (Dr. K.), Flying-Fish do not Fly, 192 Molecular Dynamics, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., Prof. Geo. Forbes, 461, 508, 601 ; Prof. Geo. Fras. Fitzgerald, 503 Mollusca, Land, of New Zealand, Capt. F. W. Hutton, 23 Mollusca, Edible, of Great Britain and Ireland, N. S. Lovell, 124 Mongolia, Doubrof’s Explorations in, 397 Monotremata, Temperature of the Body of, Dr. Miklouho-Maclay, 600 Monotremes, Eggs of, W. Baldwin Spencer, 132 Monthly Reference Lists, W. E. Foster, 90 Monuments, Ancient, of Ohio, Prof. F. W. Putman, 42 Monakow (Dr. von), Central Origin of the Optic Nerve, 404 Moon, Rosy Glow about the, Robert Leslie, 102 Morren (Prof.), ‘‘ Correspondance Botanique,” New Edition of, N. de 42 Muir (M. M. Pattison), Teaching Chemistry, 262; ‘‘ Inorganic Chemistry,” Edward Franklin, F.R.S., and Francis R. Japp, 576; ‘‘ Principles of Chemistry,” 502 Miilheim, Meteor at, 64 Mull, Isle of, Attempted Acclimatisation of Whitefish in, 611 Miiller’s (Wilhelm) Monument, the Greek Government and, 226 Miiller (F.), Palaeography of the Philippine Islands, 538 Multiple Quantity, Equations in the Genesis of an Idea, or, Story of a Discovery Relating to, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, BRES:5 35 Munich Geographical Society, 589 Murder, Russian Law as Regards, to be enforced among all Natives under Russian Rule, 349 Murphy (John), ‘‘ Key to Magnus’s Class-Book of Hydrostatics and Pneumatics,” 314 Murphy (J. J.), Autumn Flowering, 54 Murray (Alexander), Obituary Notice of, 318 Museums of Natural History, Rev. H. H. Higgins on, 109, 564 Museum, Chester New, Chas. E. De Rance, 363 Museums, the Collections at South Kensington, 465 Muscial Scales of Various Nations, Alex, |. Ellis, F.R.S., 466, 488 Mussulmans at Tashkend, Russian School for, 322 Miittrich (Prof.), the Forest Meteorological System in Prussia, 331 Myriopods of Austria, Dr. R. Latzel, 326 Myth, A Disease-Germ, 55 Myzostomida of the Challenger Expedition, Dr. L. von Graff on, 165 Nachrichten von der K. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften und der Universitat zu Gottingen, 522 Natal, New Bird in, Rev. James Turnbull, 554 National Fish Culture Association, Highest Temperature En- durable by various Species of Fish, 350 National Smoke Abatement Institution, Meeting of the Council, 9 Natal History of Turkestan, Dr. Grishimailo’s Investigations with the, 251 Natural History Museums, H. H. Higgins, 564 Natural History Sketches among the Carnivora, Wild and Domesticated, Arthur Nicols, 240 Natural Science in Schools, 19, 28; Walter A. Watts, ror; Prof. Sydney Young, 126 Natural Philosophy, First Principles of, W. T. Lynn, 77 Naturalists’ Field Club, Dr. Howden on, 564. Nature-Drawing, W. H. Fisk, 160 Nature, How Thought Presents Itself among the Phenomena of, Prof. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., 422, 529; Duke of Argyll, 433 ‘*Nauts” and ‘‘ Knots,” 280 Naval Architects, Institution of, 533 Naval Observatory, Washington, 251, 442, 472 Navigation, the Self-Instructor in, W. H. Rosser, 597 Negrito Tribes in Luzon, Account of, F, Blumentritt, 18 Negro and Indian Education, 202 Neisen’s (Prof.) Investigations into Geissler’s Tubes, 476 Neptune, Rotation of, Maxwell Hall, 193 Netherlands, Proposed Fresh Trigonometrical Survey in the, 514 Neunkirchen in Germany, Experiments with Coal-Dust at, W. Galloway, 12 Nevill (Geoffrey), Death of, 367; Obituary Notice of, 435 New England Meteorological Society, 40 New Guinea, Forbes’s Proposed Botanical and Zoological Expe- dition to, 18; New Work on, 371; Rock-Pictures in, Dr. Emil Metzger, 527 New Haven, U.S., Peabody Museum at, 510 New Mexico, Basalt-Fields of, Arch. Geikie, F.R.S., C. E. Dutton, 88 New Zealand, Cécophoride of, E. Meyrick, 22; Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 22; Campbell Island and its Flora, J. Buchanan, 23 ; Habits of Earthworms in New Zea- land, A. T. Urquhart, 23; Land Mollusca of, Capt. F. W. Hutton, 23; New Zealand Species of Carex eheeseman, 23 ; Geometrina of New Zealand, E. Meyrick, 23; Geology of New Zealand, 305 Newall (R. S., F.R.S.), the Jeannette Drift, 102 ; Newall’s Night-Watches, 108 ; on ‘‘ Nauts” and ‘‘ Knots,” 280 Newfoundland, Geography of, 590 Newton (Prof. Alfred, F.R.S.), the ‘‘New” Volcanic Island off Iceland, 149 Nicols (Arthur), Barrenness of the Pampas, 289 ; the Boomerang in India, 389; Breeding of the Quadrumana, 54; Natural History Sketches among the Carnivora, Wild and Domesti- cated, 240 Niger Delta, Abnormal Season in the, Prof. J. P. O’Reilly, 578 Nikitine’s Map of Saghalin, 138 Nikitinsky’s Experiments on Tea-Leaf Ash, 369 Nipher (Prof.), Law of Duration of Maximum Rains, 41 ‘“Nipon, Nine Years in,’’ Henry Faulds, 288 Nitrate of Soda as Manure, Prize offered for Essays on, 466 Nitro-Glycerine, in Pensylvanian Oil Well, Extraordinary E ffect of Explosion of, 108 Nitrogen, on the Oxides of, Prof. W. Ramsay and J. T. Cundall, 474 Nobert’s Ruling Machine, J. Mayall, 571 Nogues (M.), on the Andalusian Earthquakes, 417 Noises, Underground, heard at Caiman-Brac, Carribean Sea, on August 26, 1883, Dr. F. A. Forel, 483 Non-Explosive Liquids, Accidental Explosions produced by, Sir Frederick Abel, F.R.S., 469, 493, 518 Noon-Glow, D. J. Rowan, 102 North Afghan Border Tribes, Prof. A. H. Keane, 220 North American Flora, Characteristics of the, Prof. Asa Gray, 229, 253 Northern Hemisphere, Relative Frequency of Storms in the, 293 Northernmost 150 : Norway, Fish Hatching in, 280 ; Earthquake in, 279 ; Proposed Hydrographic Norwegian Expedition to Finmarken, 614; Norwegian Explorations in the Spitzbergen Seas and Discovery of New Islands, 350; Norwegian Flora, Olsen, 63 November Meteors, 18 Extremity of Europe, W. Mattieu Williams, Nature, Fune 11, 1885] INDEX XV eee ee 0 0 0 Nudibranchs, Dr. Bergh on, 165 Nuremberg Cosmographic Society, the, 65 Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italianico, 70 Obi, Signor Sommier’s Voyage down the, 323 Observatories : Lick Observatory, California, 18, 180 ; Proposed “Subterranean Observatory in Japan, 63; Washburn Obser- vatory, Wisconsin, 137 ; Dearborn Observatory, Chicago, 251 ; Naval Observatory, Washington, 251, 442; Melbourne Ob- servatory, 419 Observatories, Ornithological, 90 Occultation of Aldebaran on February 22, 181, 322 ;on March 21, 442; on May 15, 612; Ancient Occultations of Aldebaran, 539 Occultation, Ancient, of Jupiter, 370 O'Connor (Capt. Edwardo), Official Report on his Recent Ex- ploration of the Upper Simay (Rio Negre) and Lake Nahuel- Hualpi, 351 Odell (W.), Report of the Commissioner of Education in the U.S. for the Year 1882-83, 435; Aims and Methods of the Teaching of Physics, 578 (Ecophoridze of New Zealand, E. Meyrick, 22 Ohio, Ancient Monument of, Prof. F. W. Putman, 42 **Ohm’s Fringes,” on the Interference-Curves known as, H. G. Madan, 83 Oil-well in Pennsylvania, Extraordinary Effect of Explosion of Nitro-Glycerine in, 108 Olearia Traillii, Kirk, 23 Oliver (Prof. Daniel, F.R.S.), Awarded Royal Medal, 62. Olsen (J.), Norwegian Flora, 63 Omond (R. T.), on the Formation of Snow Crystals from Fog on Ben Nevis, 532 Onchidia, the, Dr. Bergh, 165 Ophir, Scandinavian Land of, 303 Optic Nerve, Central Origin of the, Dr. von Monakow, 404 Optical Glass, Charles Feil and the Manufacture of, 347 Optical Phenomenon, Singular, 128 Optical Work, a Method of Isolating Blue Rays for, H. G. Madan, 263 Optics : Dr. Uhthoff’s Experiments on Visual Acuteness, 476 ; Dr. KGnig’s Measurements of Colour, Sense, and Visual Acuteness of Zulus, 476 Organic Spectra, New, 326 Organisms, Micro-, and Disease, Dr. E. Klein, F.R.S., 2 Ord (Dr. William M.), Erosion of Glass, 360 Ore Deposits, Treatise on, J. Arthur Phillips, F.R.S., 405 O'Reilly Jos. (P.) Catalogue of Earthquakes, 351 ; Abnormal Season in the Niger Delta, 578 Oribatide, New British, A. D. Michael, 617 Orion-Nebula, Variable Star in the, 18 Orkney, Forest-Trees in, James Currie, 434 Ornithological Observatories, 90 Ossification, Illustrations of the Laws of, Prof. Busch, 547 Over-Pressure in Elementary Schools, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 73, 149 Ovules, Petalody of the, and other Changes in a Double- Flowered Form of Dianella cerulea, Dr. Maxwell T. Mas- ters, 487 Oxford Medical Teaching, Physiological Laboratory and, 414 Oxford University Museum, Additions to, 180 Oxford, Vivisection Discussion at, 440, 453 Oxfordshire, G. C. Druce’s Flora of, 611 Oxus, the Fish of the, 252 Oyster-Beds on Sleswick Coast, 90 Oyster Fishery in the U.S., 515 Ozone and Cholera, 187 Pabst Cell, the, 203 Paladini (L.), on the Foundation of European Colonies in Africa, 613 Palzography of the Philippine Islands, Herr F. Miiller, 538 Palestine, Further Notes on the Geology of, with a Considera- tion of the Jordan Valley Scheme, W. H. Hudleston, F.R.S., 614 Palinurus lalandit, Prof. T. J. Parker, 23 Pampas, Barrenness of the, Edwin Clark, 263, 3393; Arthur Nicols, 289 Pancreas Extract, New Base in, Dr. Kossel, 389 Paradise Fish, the, 109 Parana River, New Cataracts on the, 66} Parfitt (Edward), Recent Earthquakes, 339 Paris : Academy of Sciences, 24, 47, 72,95, 119, 164, 187, 211, 236, 259, 283, 307, 331, 355, 379, 393, 403, 428, 451, 475) 500, 524, 547, 572, 595, 018; Opening of the Paris Central School, 40; Paris Pneumatic Postal Service, 90, 107; the Proposed Iron Tower, Exhibition of Paris, 1889, 108 ; Paris Centennial Exhibition, the Site for, 157; Paris Biological Society, 180; Paris University Students’ Association, 226 ; Paris Geographical Society, 228, 300, 371, 469; Electrical Lighting of Private Houses in Paris, 298 ; Proposed Experi- ments for Re-determining the Velocity of Light at Paris Obser- vatory, 441 ; Electrical Exhibition at Paris Observatory, 491 ; Museum of Ethnography, Paris, 541; Photography from Captive Balloon in Paris, 564 ; Paris Central School of Arts and Manufactures, 584; Project for Making a Seaport of Paris, 586 Parker (J. Spear), Action of Very Minute Particles on Light, 81 4 Parker (Prof. T. J.), Palinurus lalandit, 23 ; Parker (W. Kitchen, F.R.S.), Mammalian Descent, Hunterian Lectures for 1884, Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 358; the Skull in the Insectivora, 377 Parkes Museum, 135, 349; Mansion House Meeting in Aid of, 368 Parks, Geographical, Prof. Escriche on, 614 Parnell (Col. Arthur), on Lightning Conductors, 80 Particles, Very Minute, Action of, on Light, J. Spear Parker, 481 Patagonia (Southern), Steinmann’s Journeys in, 281 Patents, Recent Engineering, Sir Frederick J. Bramwell, F.R.S., 420 Paterson (W. G. Spence), the New Volcanic Island off Iceland, 37 Paul (John D.), Peculiar Ice-Forms, 264 Peabody Museum at New Haven, U.S., 510 Peach (Ben. N.) and J. Horne, Report on the Geology of the North-West of Sutherland, 31 ; Ancient Air-Breathers, 295 Pearl Fisheries of Tahiti, 545 Pearson (Karl), Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, 455 Penck (Dr.), the Old Glaciers of the Pyrenees, 157 Pennsylvania, Supposed Glacial Action in, Lewis, 41; Ex- traordinary Effect of Explosion of Nitro-Glycerine in Oil- Well, 108 Pentacrinoid Stage of Axtedon rosaceus, Dr. W. B. Carpenter, F.RS., 27 Peoples, Mode of Reckoning Time amongst various, 217 Per-Centiles, Anthropometric, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 223 Perkin (W. H., F.R.S.), Recent Progress in Chemistry, 568 Perthshire Society of Natural History, 63 Pescadores, the, Geography of, 540; Geology of the, H. B. Guppy, 553 ; Petalody of the Ovules and other Changes in a Double-Flowered Form of Dianella cerulea, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 487 Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 281, 300 Petrography, Scope and Method of, J. J. H. Teale, 444 Phanerogams and Ferns, Vegetative Organs of the, A. De Bary, 213 Phenomena, Astronomical, for the Week, 265, 301, 323, 351, 370, 396, 420, 443, 468, 493, 515, 540, 565, 589, 612 Phenomena of Nature, How Thought Presents itself among the, Duke of Argyll, 433 Phenomenon, Singular Optical, 128 Philadelphia Academy of Science, Bureau of Scientific Informa- tion in connection with, 40 Philippine Archipelago, Marche’s Exploration; in, 137 Philippine Islands, Palzography of, Herr F. Miiller, 538 Phillips (G. Melville), ‘‘ In the Lena Delta,” &c., 287 Phillips (John, F.R.S.), ‘‘ Manual of Geology,” A. H. Green, 334 Phillips (J. Arthur, F.R.S.), “Treatise on Ore Deposits,” 405 Phosphorus (Perchloride of), Accident from Heating, 277 Photographing a Tornado, Prof. Edward S. Holden, 106 Photographs by Amateurs, Exhibition of, 418 Photography from Captive Balloons in Paris, 564 Photography, Astronomical, Telescopes for, A. Ainslie Common, 38, 270 Photometer, a Paraffin, J. Joly, 330 Physical Arithmetic, A. Macfarlane, 551 Xvi Physical Geography of the Malayan Peninsula, Rev. J E. Tenison-Woods, 152; L. Wray, 459 Physical Notes, 203 Physical Society, 47, 144, 186, 329, 450, 523, 570, 596 Physics, Aims and Methods of the Teaching of, W. Odell, 578 Physics, Ganot’s, an Errorin, E. Douglas Archibald, 505 Physics, Practical, R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., and W. N. Shaw, 477 Physiography of Caucasus, 18 Physiological Laboratory and Oxford Medical Teaching, 414 Piazzi XIV., 212, Double-Star, 396 Pidgeon (Daniel), Prehistoric Man, 102 Pierce (F. N), Fly-Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars, 82 peer (R. H.), Elementary Text-Book of Trigonometry, 14 Pisciculture, 395 ; Fish Culture Establishment at Delaford Park, 394. Pisonias, Birdkilling Powers of, R. H. Govett, 23 Planets, Minor, 228 Plant Tissue, Continuity of the Protoplasm of the, Walter Gardiner, 390; Thos. Hick, 459 Plants, on the Distribution of Honey-Glands in Pitchered Insecti- vorous, J. M. Macfarlane, 171 Pliocene Deposit at St. Erth, New, S. V. Wood, 71 Pneumatic Postal Service, Paris, 90, 107 Polar Collection, Jacobsen’s, 90 Polar Expedition, Relics of the eannette, 66 Polar Regions, Exhibition of Fur Clothing worn by the German Expeditions, 42 Polarising Prisms, Foucault’s and Ahrens’s, on a Modification of, H. G. Madan, 371 Poljakow (J. S.), ‘‘ Reise nach der Insel Sachalin in den Jahren 1881-1882,” 337 Pollock (F.), C. C. Collier, Frost-Formation on Dartmoor, 216 Polynesian Antiquities, 18 Polynomials in Zoology, S. Garman, 413 Polyzoa, Report on the, “Zoology ‘of the Voyage of H.M.S Challenger,” Geo. Busk, F.R.S “ 146 Pomerania, Face-Urns Dieeececa in, 203 Porcelain, Discovery of a New, 227 Porograph, the, C. H. Hinton, 329 Port Hamilton, Geography of, 540 Postal Service, Paris Pneumatic, 90, 107 Potatoes, Invigoration of, by Cross-Breeding, 246; Cross- Breeding of, James Melvin, 290 ; Worthington G. Smith, 316 Poydessau (M.), Death of, 394 ‘* Practical Physics,” R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., and W. N. Shaw, 477 Prehistoric Man, Daniel Pidgeon, 102 Prehistoric Smithy discovered in Brittany, 136 Prehistoric Tombs at Santa Lucia, 17; Opening of, near Bernburg, 64 Precision, Geodesy and Measures of, T. W. Wright, 167 Preece (W. H., F.R.S.), on the Peculiar Behaviour of Glow- Lamps when Raised to High Incandescence, 545 Prestwich (Prof., F.R.S.), Underground Temperatures, 399 Price (Rey. Newton), Sir Henry Cole, 309 Prime Meridian Conference, 82; W. Ellis, 7 ; F.R.S., 125 ; Latimer Clark, 125 Prjevalsky (Col.), Explorations in Thibet, 19 ; Supposed Dis- covery of the Sources of the Yang-tsze- kiang 8, 351 “* Prophetic Almanack a Hundred Years ‘Ago,”” 492 ** Protective Resemblance,” An Instance of, 316 Protoplasm, Dr. Jules Schaarschmidt, 290 Protoplasm in Plant Tissue, Continuity of the, Walter Gardiner, 390; Thos. Hick, 459; Gardiner’s Researches on, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S., 337 Pronunciation of Chinese Names, F. Porter Smith, 173 Prussia, the First Meteorological System in, Prof. Miittrich, R. Strachey, 331 Pryer (Mr.), Bird’s Nest Soup, 562 Psychology, a System of, Daniel Greenleaf Thompson, 190 Psychogenesis, the First Genesis of, Prof. Caporali, 64 Pupil of the Eyes during Emotion, John Aitken, 553; Dr. Samuel Wilks, 458 Putnam (C, E.), Origin of the Mound-Builders of ithe U.S., 563 Putman (Prof. F. W.), Ancient Monuments of Ohio, 42 Pyrenees, the Old Glaciers of, 157 INDEX (Nature, Fune 11, 1885 Quadrumana, Breeding of the, Arthur Nicols, 54 Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 448 Query, A, 578 Quet (M.), Death of, 109 Quetta and the Helmund, Geology of the Route Between, Griesbach, 41 Quinquefoliate Strawberry, J. Lovell, 601 Radiant Points, Meteoric, the Long Durations of, W. F. Denning, 463 Radiation, Capt. Abney, F.R.S., on, 523 Rae (Dr. John, F.R.S.), Peculiar Ice-Forms, 81 ; Do Flying Fish Fly ?, ror Railways : Submarine, between Messina and Reggie, Proposed, 227; Universal Time and the Railways, 275; Railways in Japan, 348 ; the First Railway in Cochin China, 349 Rain-C onditions in Heligoland, Dr. Hellmann, 120 Rainfall of 1884, Fredk. J. Brodie, 56 Rains, Maximum, Laws of, Duration of, Prof. Nipher, 41 Ramsay (Prof. W.) and J. T. Cundall on the Oxides of Nitro- gen, 474 Rance (Chas. E. De), Chester New Museum, 363 Rats in the Buildings and Grounds of the Health Exhibition, 442 Rayleigh (Lord, F.R.S.), Resignation of the Cavendish Pro- fessorship, 62 ; on Civilisation and Eyesight, 340, 407 Reade (T. M.), ‘‘ On the Denudation of the Two Americas,” 17 Reale Accademia dei Lincei, 618 Reale Istituto Lombardo, 257, 304, 448, 473, 569 Reay (Lord), on a Faculty of Science, 320 Reckoning Time, Mode of, amongst Various Peoples, 217 Recorder, a Sunshine, Prof. Herbert McLeod, 319 Red Seas, Mediterranean and, on the Cause of the Dissimilarity between the Faunas of the, Prof. Edward Hull, F.R.S., 599 Red Sunsets and the Zodiacal Light, Rev. Edward Reynolds, 514 Redman (J. B.), Abnormal High Tides—River Thames, 241 Reed (Sir E. J.), Stability of Ships, 238, 285 ; Relative Efficiency of War-Ships, 416, 432 Reflection, Crystalline, on a Remarkable Phenomenon of, Prof. G. G, Stokes, 565 Regel (Dr. F.), ‘‘ Entwickelung der Ortschaften im Thiiringer- wald,” 241 Regenerative Gas Furnace, New Method of Heating in the, 7 Reinold (Prof.), Effect of Electrical Current on Rate of Thinning of Liquid Films, 186 “‘Reise nach der Insel Sachalin in den Jahren 1881-82,” J. S. Poljakow, 337 Rendiconti de Reale Istituto Lombardo, 304, 448, 473, 569 Keptiles, Dinosaurian, Classification and Affinities of, Prof. O. C. Marsh, 68 Report of the Commissioner of Education in the U.S. for the Year 1882-83, W. Odell, 435 Research, Endowment of, in France, 180 Retina, Duration of Colour-Impressions on the, Nichol, 46 Retina of Insects, Sydney J. Hickson, 341 Revue d’Anthropologie, 256 Reynier’s Experiments on Electromotive Forces, 203 Reynolds (Rey. Edw.), Red Sunsets and the Zodiacal Light, 514 Rho (Dr. F.), Sociology of Tahiti, 613 Rhytina Stelleri, on a Skeleton of, H. Woodward, F.R.S., 570 Ricco’s New Electro-Magnet, 204 Richardson (Benjamin Ward, F.R.S.), on the Healthy Manu- facture of Bread, 148 Richarz, Dr. Konig and, Plan for Ascertaining Mean Density of the Earth, 260, 484 Rio Tinto, Geology of the, J. H. Collins, 402 River Thames—Abnormal High Tides, J. B. Redman, 241 Rivista Scientifico-Industriale, 47, 94, 258, 399, 449, 473, 569, 592 Roberts (Chas.), Civilisation and Eyesight, 552 Rock-Pictures in New Guinea, Dr. Emil Metzger, 527 Rockling, the Five-Bearded, Geo. Brock on, 70 Rocks, Crystalline, of the Scottish Highlands, Arch. Geikie, F.R.S., 29 Rolfe (R. A.), Forms of Leaves, 600 Romances, Scientific, C. H. Hinton, 431 Romanes (Dr. G, J., F.R.S.), appointed Rede Lecturer at Cambridge, 277; Manx Cats, 316; ,‘ Mammalian Descent,” Nature, Fune 11, 1885] INDEX XVil Hunterian Lectures for 1884, W. Kitchen Parker, F.R.S., 358 ; Mr. Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes, 528 Rome: Coffee-Planting near, 65; Earthquake at, 563; Reale Accademia dei Lincei, 618 Roots, H. Marshall Ward, 183 Roraima, 342, 416, 607 Roraima Expedition, Im Thurn’s, 183 Roscoe (Prof. Sir H. E.), and Prof. W. J. Russell, Experiments Suitable for Illustrating Elementary Instruction in Chemistry, 229 Rosy Glow about the Morn, Robert Leslie, to2 Rotating Mirror for Measuring the Velocity of Light, New Arrangement of the Apparatus of, M. C. Wolf, 517 Rotation of Neptune, Maxwell Hall, 193 Roudaire (Col.), Death of, 277 Roumania, Last Census of, 42 ; Meteorology of, 156 Rousdon, Meteorology in, 537 Rowan (D. J.), Noon-Glow, 102 Royal Academy of Sciences, Belgium, 162 ; Extraordinary Com- petition, 491 Royal Geographical Society Award of Medals, 562 Royal Institution Lecture Arrangements, 136, 513 Royal Meteorological Society, 210, 306, 320, 427 Royal Microscopical Society, 209, 306, 320, 426, 571, 617 Royal Society, 283, 304, 328, 354, 377, 399, 423, 449, 473; 522, 545, 570, 592, 617 ; Award of Medals, 62 ; Anniversary, 109 ; Meetings for Fellows and their Friends, 440 Royal Society of New South Wales, 235, 465 Royal Society of Public Medicine of Belgium, Recent Monthly Tables of, 416 Rudler (F, W.), and G. W. Chisholm, ‘‘ Stanford’s Compen- dium of Geography and Travel,” 287 Rugby Observatory, 467 Ruge (Dr,), the Nuremberg Cosmographic Society, 65 Ruling Machine, Nobert’s, J. Mayall, Jun., 571 Russell (Prof. W. J.), and Prof. Sir H. E. Roscoe, Experi- ments Suitable for Illustrating Elementary Instruction in Chemistry, 229 Russia, Geology of, 299 ; Geographical Work in Russia, 328 ; Russian Law as regards Murder to be Enforced among all Natives under Russian Rule, 349 Rye (Edward Caldwell), Death of, 347 Saharan Inland Sea, the, 369 Saillard (M.), Discovery of Prehistoric Smithy by, 136 Salimbeni (Count), Stone Bridge Over the River Temcha, 613 Salinity of the Water in the Firth of Forth, Hugh Robert Mill, 541 St. Elmo’s Fire, Display of, 158 St. John (Sir Spencer), ‘‘ Hayti, or The Black Republic,” Prof. A. H. Keane, 98 Saliva, the Paralytic, Secretion, J. N. Langley, F.R.S., 570 Salmon, Canadian, and Sea Water, 370 Salmonidz, Hybridisation among, Francis Day, 599 Salvin (Osbert, F.R.S.) and F. Du Cane Godman, F.R.S., Valuable Collections Presented to the Nation by, 441 Samsamis, the, Prof. A. H. Keane, 530 Sanford (W. A.), Recent Earthquakes, 289 Sanitary Essays, Lamb, Prizes for, 321 Saporta (Marquis de), ‘‘Les Organismes Problématiques des Anciennes Mers,” 386 Sars’s (Prof.) Experiments with Australian Lake-Mud, 64 Sartorius (Ernestine), Three Months in the Soudan, 407 Saturn, Rev. T. W. Webb, 485 Saturn, the Brightness of, 228 Saturnian System, 65 Savoy, Earthquake in, 396 Scales, Musical, of Various Nations, Alex. J. Ellis, F.R.S., 466, 488 Scaphyrincus Kaufmanni, 252 Scandinavian Land of Ophir, 303 Sceloglaux Albifacies, W. W. Smith, 23 Schaarschmidt (Dr. Jules), Protoplasm, 290 Schleswig Coast, Oyster-Beds on, 90 Schiff and Traube’s Experiments on the Capillary Coefficients of Liquid Carbon Compounds, 204 Schlegel (D.), ‘‘ Lehrbuch der Elementaren Mathematik,” 123 Schneekoppe, Meteorological Observations on the, Dr. Kremser, 548 School Board Committee, London, Report of the, on Technical Education, 205 Schools: Natural Science in, 19 ; Natural Science for, 28 ; Prof. W. A. Shenstone, 52; Walter A. Watts, ror; Prof. Sydney Young, 126; New Method for the Teaching of Science in Elementary Public, W. Jerome Harrison, 175; G. H. Bailey, 338; Over-Pressure in Elementary Schools, 149; Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 73 Science, a Faculty of, Lord Reay, 320 Science and Surgery, 213 Scientific Aspects and Issues of the International Health Exhi- bition, Ernest Hart, 138 Science in Victoria, 301 Science, Heroes of, T. C. Lewis, 50 Science, Natural, for Schools, 28; Prof. W. A. Shenstone, 52; Walter A. Watts, ror; W. Jerome Harrison, 175; G. H. Bailey, 338 Science, New Application of, 154. Science Note-Book, C. H. Hinton, Dr. Karl Heun, 51 Scientific Books, Government, W. Budden, 81 Scientific Expedition to Sodankyla, Results of Selim Lemstrém’s, 372 Scientific Laboratories, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., 409; ** Scientific Romances,” C. H. Hinton, 118, 431 Scientific University, 549 Scientific Work at a University, Dr. Lushington, 512 Scientific Works, Distribution of, Published by the British Government, 7 Scorpion (Fossil), Lindstrom’s, 136 Scotland, Boulders in, 395 Scotland, Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in, 130 Scottish Geographical Magazine, 469 Scottish Highlands, Crystalline Rocks of the, Arch. Geikie, F.R.S., 29 Scottish Meteorological Society, 590 ; Journal of the, 261 ; Half- Yearly General Meeting, 490 Screen, a Lantern, Rev. Chas. J. Taylor, 388 Sereen, Tracing Paper, Chas. J. Taylor, 435; H. Arnold Bemrose, 409 Sea, Earthquake Experienced at, Capt. E. Backhaus, 348 Seismographs, Chas. A. Stevenson, 29 ; an Apology, Dr. H. J. Johnston-Lavis, 29 ; Seismological Society of Japan, 417 ; Prof. Milne on Earthquakes in North Japan, 417 ; Proposed Obser- vations on Ben Nevis, 298 ; Seismology in Japan, 467, 515 Self-Instructor in Navigation, W. H. Rosser, 597 Selkirk (Earl of), Obituary Notice of, 606 Semaphore and Electric Light at Shanghai, 603 Severtsoff (N.), Death of, 440 Shadow on Clouds, Alfred H. Tarleton, 361 Shan Country Expedition, Colquhoun’s, 323 Shanghai, the Semaphore and Electric Light at, 603 Shaw (Geo. A.), ‘‘ Madagascar and France,” 406 Shaw (W. N.), Focal Sines, 185; R. T. Glazebrook, ‘‘ Practical Physics,” 477 Sheffield, Engineering School at Firth College, 46 Shenstone (Prof. W. A.), Natural Science in Schools, 52 Shipbuilders and Engineers, Institution of, in Scotland, 130 Ships, Stability of, Sir E. J. Reed, 238, 285 Ships, War, Relative Efficiency of, 381, 454; Sir E. J. Reed, F.R.S., 432 Short Period, Comets of, 280 Siberia: Mammoths Discovered in, 16 ; Discovery of Forgotten Immigrant Community in, 183; Sulphur Deposits in, 298, 395; a Summer in, Signor Stephen Sommier, 323 ; Joseph Martin’s Journeys in Unknown, 397 Sicily : Proposed Submarine Railway to Mainland, 227 Siebold (Karl Theodor Ernst von), Death of, 537 ; Obituary Notice, 554 Siemens (Sir William), Sir Frederick Abel on his sudden Death, 89 Sievers’ (Dr.) Proposed Exploration of Cordilleras of Merida, 41 Signal Office, U.S., Work of, under Gen. Hazen, 580 Silliman (Prof. Benj.), Death of, 277; Obituary Notice of, 343 Sitzungsberichte der Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft-Isis, 473 Sitzungsberichte der Physikalisch-medicinischen Societat zu Erlangen, 399 Skull in the Insectivore, the, W. K. Parker, F.R.S., 377 Sky-Glows, W. G. Brown, 5; Mrs. E. A. Day, 5; Surgeon XVill Thomas Leeming, 5; T. W. Backhouse, 23; G. W. Lam- plugh, 28 Smith (B. Woodd), Peculiar Ice-Forms, 5, 193, 264 Smith (F. Porter), Pronunciation of Chinese Names, 173 Smith (John Lawrence), Obituary Notice of, 220 Smith (Prof. C. Michie), Iridescent Clouds, 338 Smith (Willoughby), the Recent Aurora, 506 Smith (Worthington G.), Cross-Breeding Potatoes, 316 Smith (W. W.), Sceloglaux Albifacies, 23 Smithy, Prehistoric, discovered in Brittany, 136 Smokeless Houses and Manufactories, Thos. Fletcher, 513 Smyth (Prof. C. Piazzi), Free Hydrogen in Comets, 314; Irid- escent Clouds, 148, 315 Snake, Cannibal, Rev. Edward F. Taylor, 264; Rev. M. J. Bywater, 264 ’ “€ Snake Dance of the Moquis of Arizona,” Capt. J. G. Bourke, Dr. Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., 429 Snakes, Japanese, 587 Snow Crystals from Fog on Ben Nevis, On the Formation of, R. T. Omond, 532 Society of Telegraphic Engineers, Premiums, 298 Sodankyla, Results of the Scientific Expedition to, Selim Lemstrom, 372 Sodium Battery, Jablochkoff’s New, 203 Solar Corona of 1884, on the, Prof. Forel, 41 Solar Corona and After-Glow, Henry F. Blanford, F.R.S., 192 Solar Eclipse, Total, of 1914, August 20-21, 228; on Sept. 9, 588 ; of May 6, 1883, and some of the Meteorological Results of the, 601 Solar Phenomena, Cornu’s Experiments on, 204 Solar Phenomenon, Dr. C. M. Ingleby, 264 Solar System, Formation of the, 194 *« Solar System,” the, Ernest R. G. Groth, 215 Solids of Attraction, Notes on Calculations respecting, Prof, Lampe, 26 Sommier (Signor Stephen), a Summer in Siberia, 323 Sonklar (General), Death of, 394 Sorbonne, the New, 180 Sorby (H. C.), Autumnal Tints of Foliage, 105 Soudan Campaign, Balloons in, 368; Maps of, 371; Three Months in the, Ernestine Sartorius, 407 Soup, Bird’s Nest, E. L. Layard, 82 South America, Political Geography of, 590 South Georgia, 327 South Kensington Aquarium, 349 South Kensington Museum Collections, 465 South Plant of Egyptian Art, the so-called, W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S:, 127 Southern States of America, Education in, Rev. A. D. Mayo, 14 Bence: Four-Dimensional, 481 Spain, Earthquakes in, 227, 237, 370, 418, 563, 610; F. Gill- mann, 199; Alf. Batson, 200; Dr. Eschenhagen on, 491 ; Inoculation for Cholera, 611 ; Recent Acquisitions of, in West Africa, 614 Spectra, New Organic, 326 Spectrum Analysis, E. Clemenshaw, 329 Speculations, Krukenberg’s Chromatological, C, A. MacMunn, 21 Breer (W. Baldwin), Eggs of Monotremes, 132 Spitzbergen Seas, Norwegian, Explorations in the, Discovery of New Islands, 350 Sporer (Prof.), Sun-Spots, 120 Squall, Peculiar, 108 Stability of Ships, Sir E. J. Reed, 238, 285 Stalked Crinoidea Collected during ‘the Challenger Expedition, Report on the, Herbert Carpenter, 573 Stanford’s Maps, 516 ‘«Stanford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel,” F. W. Rudler and G. W. Chisholm, 287 Stanley (H. M.), Banquet to, at Berlin, 108 Star, Binary, @ Centauri, 158; Double-, Piazzi, XIV. 212, 396 ; Double- y Equulei, 612 Star-Gauges, Prof. E. S. Holden’s Tables of, 40 Stars, Variable, 322, 442, 604, 612; in the Orion-Nebula, 18; S. Cancri, 419 ; Mira Ceti, 468 ; U Geminorum, 65 Statistical Society : Catalogue, 16; Jubilee of, 368 Steel Guns, 530 Stein (Prof. F. von), Death of, 277, 394 Steiner’s Exploration of the Xingu, 300 INDEX [Wature, Fune 11, 1885 Steinmann’s (Dr.) Journeys in Southern Patagonia, 281 “*Stenini,” Lieut. Casey on, 250 Stevenson (Chas. A.), Seismographs, 29 Storm Warnings, American, 197 Strabo, the Geography of, 541 . Strachey (R., F.R.S.), Prime Meridian Conference, 125 Strasburg, New University of, 557 Strawberry, Quinquefoliate, J. Lovell, 601 Strausz (Adolf), ‘‘ Bosnien, Land und Leute,” 192 Stocker (M.), Death of, 350 Stockholm Royal Academy of Sciences, 236, 332, 428, 572, 620 ; Academy of Sciences, 120 ; Society of Natural Sciences, 48, 356; Statue of Linnzus at, 610 Stokes (Prof. G. G.) ona Remarkable Phenomenon of Crystal- line Reflection, 565 . Stone Implements of Japan, Ancient, Mr. Kanda, 538 Stoney (Prof. G. Johnstone, F.R.S.), How Thought Presents itself among the Phenomena of Nature, 422, 529 Storms, Relative Frequency of, in the Northern Hemisphere, 293 Sturrock and Meek’s Contrivance for Indicating 24 hours on Watch Dials, 349 Styria, Earthquakes in, 227, 322 Sublimation, Prof. Landolt’s Contrivance for Recovering the Products of, 211 Submarine Railway between Messina and Reggie, Proposed, 227 Subterranean Observatory in Japan, Proposed, 63 Sudan, Ethnology of the, Prof. A. H. Keane, 40 Suicides in China, Treatment of, 514 Sulphur Deposits in Siberia, 298, 395 Sunday Question, Mark H. Judge, 54 Sunday Society, 513; Conference, 466 Sunglows in Sweden, 42 Sunlight, Direct Influence of, on Vegetation, Dr. M. Buysman, 2 Sunshine Recorder, Prof. Herbert McLeod, 319; at the Royal Meteorological Society, 320 Sun-spots, Prof. Sporer, 120 Surgery, Science and, 213 Sutherland, Report on the Geology of the North-West of, B. N. Peach and J. Horne, 31 Sweden, Sun-glows in, 42; Rising of the Coast of, 156 Switzerland, Earthquake in, on April 13, Prof. Forel on, 610 Svenonius (Dr. F.), Exploration of Swedish Lapland, 613 Sydney : Linnean Society of New South Wales, 307, 451, 572 5 Royal Society of New South Wales, 331 Sylvester (Prof. J. J., F.R.S.), the Genesis of an Idea, or Story of a Discovery Relating to Equations in Multiple Quantity, 35 Tahiti, Pearl Fisheries of, 545; Sociology of, Dr. F. Rho, 613 Tardy Justice, 578 Tarleton (Alfred H.), Shadow on Clouds, 361 Tarleton (Francis A.) and Benj. Williamson, F.R.S., ‘‘ Ele- mentary Treaties on Dynamics,” &c., 384 Tarr (Ralph S.), United State Fish Commission, 128 ; American Summer Zoological Stations, 174 Tashkend, Russian School for Mussulmans at, 322 Tattooing Instruments (Ancient) in California, 299 Taylor (Rev. C. J.), a Lantern Screen, 388; Tracing Paper Screen, 435 Taylor (Rey. Edward F.), a Cannibal Snake, 264 Tea-Leaf, Ash, Nikitinsky’s Experiments on, 369 Teaching of Physics, Aims and Methods of the, W. Odell, 578 Teaching University for London, Proposed, 145, 159, 352, 394 Teale (J. J. H.), Scope and Method of Petrography, 444 Technical Education, Report of the London School Board Com- mittee on, 205 Teeth, Artificial, found in Etruscan Tombs, 564; the Use of, by the Ancients, 578 Telegraphs in China, 181 Telegraphic Engineers, Society of, Premiums, 298 Telephonic Service, Belgian, 90 Telephone, a New, 202 Telephone, Becquerel’s New, 466 Telephone, Primitive, in China, 321 Telephoning Long Distances in France, 249 eases for Astronomical Photography, A. Ainslie Common, 35, 270 fi Nature, Fune 11, 1885] INDEX XIX Temesvar, Southern Hungary, Earthquake Shocks Felt at, 418 Tempel’s Comet, 1867, II., 323, 468 ‘Temperature, on the Sense of, Prof. Eulenberg, 259 ‘Temperature, Highest, Endurable by Various Species of I"ish, 350 ‘Temperatures, Underground, Prof. Prestwich, F.R.S., 399 Temperature of the Body of Monotremata, Dr. N. d2 Miklouho- Maclay, 600 Tempered Glass, 413 Yemple (Sir Richard), Population Statistics.of China, 397 Tennant (Col. J. F., F.R.S.), Civilisation and Eyesight, 457 Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity, Karl Pearson, 456; Prof. Alex. B. W. Kennedy, 504 Terra del Fuego, Lieut. Bove’s Second Expedition to, 138 ‘Terrestrial Magnetism, Earthquakes and, W. Ellis, 262 Yhalén (Prof. Tobias R.), Awarded Rumford Medal of Royal Society, 62 Thames River—Abnormal High Tides, J. B. Redman, 241 ‘Thermo-Generator (Improved. Noé), Dr. Kayser, 328 Thermographs, Metallic, Prof. Fisher, 620 Thibet, Prjevalsky’s Explorations in, 19 Thienemann (A. W.), Death of, 89 Yhomas (Sidney Gilchrist), Death of, 347 Thompson (Daniel Greenleaf), a System of Psychology, 190 Thompson (Prof. Sylvanus P.) appointed Principal and Professor of Physics at the Finsbury. Technical College, 441 Thomson (J. J.) appointed Professor of Physics at Cambridge, 179 Thomson (Joseph), ‘‘ Through Masai Land,” 343 ‘Thomson (Sir William, F.R.S.), on the Metrical System, 62; Wave-Theory of Light, 91, 115; on the Laboratories at University College, Bangor, 320; Baltimore Lectures, 407 ; on Scientific Laboratories, 409 ; Molecular Dynamics, Prof. Geo. Forbes, 461, 508, 601 TYhorlacius (M.), the Late Winter in Iceland, 537 Thorpe (Prof. T. G., F.R.S.), Berzelius and Wohler, 196 Thoroddsen (Th.), Exploration in Iceland, III., 173 Vhouar’s New South American Expedition, 66, 323 Thought, How it Presents Itself among the Phenomena of | Nature, G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., 422, 529 Thucydides, Eclipse of, B.c. 431, August 3, 91 ‘* Thirringerwald, Entwickelung der Ortschaften im,” Dr. F. Regel, 241 Thurn’s (Im) Roraima Expedition, 183 Tibet, Official Communication with, 204 Tichomirow (Dr.), Morphology of Bombyx mort, 620 Tides, Abnormal High, inthe River Thames, J. B. Redman, 241 Tierra del Fuego, Dr. Lovisato on, 252 Tilden (William A.), Free Lectures, 409 “Timber,” 564 “¢Timbuktu,” 251; Dr. Oscar Lenz, Prof. A. H. Keane, 550 Time, Mode of Reckoning, amongst various Peoples, 217 ; Uni- versal Time and the Kailways, 275; Time in the United States, E. W. Claypole, 459 Tin, Phosphide of, Electric Conductivity of, L. Weiller, 203 Tints, Autumnal, of Foliage, H. C. Sorby, 105 Tissues, Susceptibility of, to Colouring Matters, Prof. Ehrlich, 547 ‘Yizzioni (Prof. G.), Effect of Removal of Supra-Renal Capsules, 619 Tobacco-Worm in South Hungary, 64 Tokio, Earthquake of October 15, 1884, Ji Milne, 150; Earth- quake Table of Tokio, 322 Tomatoes as a Prophylactic against Insects, 202 Tombs, Prehistoric, at Santa Lucia, 17; near Bernburg, Open- ing of, 64 Tomlinson (Chas., F.R.S.), Noteonan Experiment by Chladni, 617 Yonquin : Meteorological Observatory in, 91 ; Romanet de Cail- laud on, 138; Mineral Wealth of Annam, 181; Ethnology of, 280 ; Explorations in, 300 Tornado Photographed, Prof. Edward S. Holden, 106 Tornadoes, H. A. Hazen, 46 Torpedo Work, Camera Obscura in, 389 Total Solar Eclipse of 1914, August 20-21, 228; on September 9, 588; of May 6, 1883, some of the Meteorological Results of the, 601 Tower Spherical Engine, R. Heenan on, 490 Tracing-Paper Screen, H.'Arnold Bemrose, 409 ; Rev. Chas. J. Taylor, 435 Tracks, Fossil, of Invertebrate Animals, Prof. W. C. William- Son} Bakes 5n 5 7k Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 22 Transactions of Victoria Royal Society, 108 Transfer-Resistance, Dr. G. Gore, F.R.S., 522 Transit Tables for 1885, Latimer Clark, 336 Traube and Schiff’s Experiments on the Capillary Co-efficients of Liquid Carbon Compounds, 294 Trees,. Forest, in Orkney, James Currie, 434 Trees, the Struggle Between, Hanson-Blangsted, 63 Tribes, North Afghan Border, Prof. A. H. Keane, 220 Trigonometrical. Survey in the Netherlands, Proposed Fresh, 514 Trigonometry, Elementary Text-Book of, R. H. 148 Trimen (Dr. Henry), Cacao-Bug of Ceylon, 172 Tropical Man, Blackness of, A. T. Fraser, 6; Exceptional Case of Whiteness in, Lieut.-Col. A. 1. Fraser, 505 Tropics, Lightning in the, J. J. Meyrick, 194 Tromholt (Dr. Sophus), Aurora Borealis, 128 ; Christiania, 479 Trotter (Coutts), Glacier Motion, 328 Tucker (R.), ‘‘ Flatland,” 76 Tunicata, Evolution of the Blood-Vessels of the Test in the, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 247 Tunis, the Archxology of, 203; Forestry in, 537 Turin, Royal Academy of, Prizes, 277 Turkestan and China, 156 Turkestan, Dr. Grishimailo’s Investigations into the Natural History of, 251 Turnbull (Rev. James), New Bird in Natal, 554 Turner (HU. H.), Examples in Heat and Electricity, 526 Turner (Prof. W.), Craniology and the ‘‘ Challenger’ Expedi- tion, 166 Tyler (Alfred), Obituary Notice of, 226 Tylor (Prof. Edward B., F.R.S.), Snake Dance of the Moquis of Arizona, Capt. J. G. Bourke, 429 Pinkerton, Aurora at Uhthoff’s (Dr.) Experiments on Visual Acuteness, 476 Umlauft (Prof.), Geography of Austro-Hungary, 183 Underground Noises Heard at Caiman-Brac, Carribean Sea, on August 26, 1883, Dr. F. A. Forel, 483 Underground Temperatures, Prof. Prestwich, F.R.S., 399 United States: Fish Commission, Ralph S. Tarr, 128; American Summer Zoological Stations, 174; Alfred C. Haddon, 294; Annual Report of the Hydrographic Office, 1573 Science in the, 202; United States Weather Service, 226 ; Compass Improvement in the United States, 299; Pro- posed Observations on Latitude at United States Naval Observatory, 300 ; Naval Observatory at Washington, D.C., during the Year beginning January 1, 1885, 472; Harvard College and the Study of Greek. 395; Report of the Com- missioner of Education in the, for the Year 1882-83, W. Odell, 435; Time in the United States, E. W. Claypole, 459 ; Oyster Fishery in the, 515; Work of the United States Signal Office under Gen, Hazen, 580 Units, Electrical, Dr. R. Wormell, 314 Upper Limay, Rio Negro, and Lake Nahuel Hualpi, Capt. Eduardo O’Connor’s Official Report on his Recent [xplora- tion of the, 351 Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia, Forestry in the Mining Dis- tricts of the, J. Croumbie Brown, 124 Ural Regions, Magyar Expedition for I’xploration of, 541 Urquhart (A. T.), Habits of Earthworms in New Zealand, 23 Universal Time and the Railways, 275 University College, London, Chemical and Physical Society of, 135 University Intelligence, 45, 94, 143, 162, 186, 209, 282, 353, 377, 448, 591, 616 University, Scientific, 549 University, Scientific Work at a, Dr. Lushington, 512 University, Teaching, for London, Proposed, 145, 159, 352 Valparaiso, Earthquake at, 322 Variable Stars, 322, 442, 604, 612: S Cancri, 419 ; U Gemin- orum, 65; Mira Ceti, 468; Variable Star in the Orion Nebula, 18 ; Varieties of the Human S , Classification of the, Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., ~~» XX INDEX [Vature, Fune 11, 1885 Vegetable Protoplasm, Gardiner’s Researches on the Continuity of, Prof. W. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S., 337 Vegetation, Influence of Direct Sunlight on, Dr. M. Buysman, 24 Velocity of Light, Proposed Experiments for Re-determining the, at the Paris Observatory, 441; New Arrangement of the Apparatus of the Rotating Mirror for Measuring, M. C. Wolf, 517 Venezuela, Injuries Caused by Lightning in, A. Ernst, 458 Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin, 118 Vettin (Dr.), Measurement of Clouds, 284 Vibration, Note on Experimental, by Chladni, Chas. Tomlinson, E.R-S.; 617 Victoria Institute, 235, 283, 330, 475 Victoria, Science in, 301; Climatic Vicissitudes of, G. S. Griffiths, 466 Vienna, Imperial Academy of Sciences, 48, 72, 120, 144, 164, 212, 356, 500; Imperial-Royal Natural History Museum, Dr. Franz Ritter Von Elauer appointed Intendant of, 440 Virchow (Dr. H.), the Structure of the Eye in Zonula sinnit, 380 Vision, Compound, and Morphology of the Eye in Insects, Dr. B. T. Lowne, 433 ; Sydney J. Hickson, 433 Vivisection Discussion at Oxford, 440, 453 Volcker (Dr. A., F.R.S.), Death of, 136 Vogel (E.), Variation of the Atomic Weights, 42 Volcanic Island off Iceland, the New, W. G. Spence Paterson, 37; Prof. Alfred Newton, F.R.S., 149 Volcanic Eruptions in Java, 610 Volcanic Ash-Showers in Iceland, 280 Wallace (Alfred R.), Colours of Arctic Animals, 552 Ward (H. Marshall), Roots, 183 War-Ships, Relative Efficiency of, 381, 454; Sir E. J. Reed, F.R.S., on, 416, 432 Warner Astronomical Prixe, the, 321 Washburn Observatory, Wisconsin, 137 Washington Naval Observatory, 251, 442 Watch Dials, Sturrock and Meek’s Contrivance for Indicating | 459 | Wright (Dr. C. R. A.) on Voltaic and Thermo-voltaic Con- 24 Hours on, 349 Watches, Night, Newall’s, 108 Watches and Clocks, Our Future, 36, 201 ; Ernest G. Harmer, | 80; B. J. Hopkins, 128; H. H. Clayton, 217 ; Chatel, 241 ; Edward L. Garbett, 317 Water in the Firth of Forth, on the Salinity of the, Hugh Robert Mill, 541 Waters (A. W.), Australian Fossil Chilostomatous Bryozoa, 475 Watts (Henry, F.R.S.), the Late, 225 Watts (Walter A.), Natural Science for Schools, 101 Watts (W. W.) Iridescent Clouds, 193 Wave-Theory of Light, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., 91, 115 Wax, Chinese Insect-White, 615 Weather Service in the United States, 180, 226 Weather-Signals in America, 91 Weather Warnings, H. L. Bixby’s New System of, 441 Webb (Rev. T. W.), Saturn, 485 Weed (Clarence M.) and Prof. A. J. Cook, Injurious Insects, 16 Weiler (L.), Electric Conductively of Phosphide of Tin Wire, 203 Weir (J. Jenner), an Unnoticed Factor in Evolution, 194 ““Weltreise, Eine. Plaudereien aus einer zweijahrigen Erdum- segelung.” Von Dr. Hans Meyer, 502 Westropp (H. M.), Death of, 368 Weyl (Dr.), on Casein, 404 Whale Exhibition in Hamburg, Dr. G. A. Guldberg, 362 White (W.), Earthquakes in England and their Study, 172 pubitensh, Attempted Acclimatisation of, in the Isle of Mull, II Whiteness, Exceptional Case of, in Tropical Man, Lieut.-Col. A. T. Fraser, 505 Whipple (G. M.), Magnetic Disturbance, 530 Wiedemann’s Annalen, 303 Wigan (G.), Electrician’s Pocket- Book, Prof. A. Gray, 51 Wild Fowl Decoy, Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey, Bart., 102 Wilks (Dr. Samuel), Pupil of the Kyes during Emotion, 458 Williams (W. Mattieu), the Northernmost Extremity of Europe, 54, 150 Williamson (Rey. Alex.), Geology and Geography of China, 516 Williamson (Benj., F.R.S.), Francis A. Tarleton, ‘‘ Elementary Treatise on Dynamics,” &c., 384 Williamson (Prof. W. C., F.R.S.), Fossil Tracks of Inverte- brate Animals, 571 Willkomm (Dr. Moritz), ‘Die pyrenaische Halbinsel,” IT. Spanien, 124; Earthquakes in Spain, 610 Winchell (Alex.), ‘*‘ World-Life or Comparative Geology,” Prof. G..H. Darwin, F.R.S., 25 ! Windsor and Eton Scientific Society, 539 Wisconsin, Washburn Observatory, 137 Wohler, Berzelius and, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R S., 196 Wolf (M. C.), New Arrangement of the Apparatus of the Rotating Mirror for Measuring the Velocity of Light, 517 Wolf’s Comet, 65, 91, 137, 280, 322, 396 Wood (Searles V.), New Pliocene Deposit at St. Erth, 71; Obituary Notice of, 318 Woods (Rey. J. E. Tenison-), Physical Geography of the Malayan Peninsula, 152 ; Borneo Coal-Fields, 583 | Wood’s Holl, United States Fish Commission at, Alf. C. Haddon, 294 “World-Life ; or Comparative Geology,” Alex. Winchell, Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 25 Wormell (Dr. Richard), ‘‘ Electrical Units,” 314 ; an Author's Gratitude, 409 Woodward (H.), F.R.S., on a Skeleton of Rhytina stellerd, 570 | Wragge’s (Clement L.) New Observatory, 227 Wray (L.), Physical Geography of the Malayan Peninsula, stants, 47 Wright (Dr. Thos., F.R.S.), Death of, 62 ; Obituary Notice of, 103 Wright (T. W.), Geodesy and Measures of Precision, 167 Xingu, Steiner’s Exploration of the, 300 | Yakutsk, Trade in Children in, 397 Yang-tsze-kiang, Col. Prjevalski’s Supposed Discovery of the Sources of the, 351 Young (Prof. Sydney), Natural Science in Schools, 126 Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, 449 Zhob Valley, Survey of, 109 Ziphwid, a Fossil, G. Capellini, 618 Zodiacal Light, Red Sunsets and the, Rev. Edward Reynolds, 514 Zonula sinnit, Structure of the Eye in, Dr. H. Virchow, 380 Zoological Gardens, Additions to the, 17, 42, 65, 71, 91, 109, 137, 158, 181, 203, 227, 250, 280, 300, 322, 350, 370, 396, 419, 442, 468, 492, 515, 530, 564, 588, 612 | Zoological Society, 71, 119, 163, 305, 355, 403, 474, 523, 617 Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger, Report on the Polyzoa, Geo, Busk, F.R.S., 146 Zoology, Elementary Text-Book of, Dr. C. Claus, 191 Zoology, Polynomials in, S. Garman, 413 Zulus, Measurements of Colour-Sense and Visual Acuteness of, Dr. Konig, 476 A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE "© To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.” —\NORDSWORTH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1884 TWO BEE BOOKS A Collection of Papers on Bee-keeping in India. Pub- lished under the Orders of the Government of India, in the Revenue and Agricultural Department, 1883. (Cal- cutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1883.) The Honey-Bee: its Nature, Homes, and Products. By W. H. Harris, B.A., B.Sc. With Eighty-two Illustra- tions. (London: The Religious Tract Society, 1884.) “TES thin folio issued by the Indian Government is very redolent of red-tape, since it contains not only a ae number of reports from forest and district officers, and other persons in various parts of India, but also the whole of the official correspondence, memoranda, and indorsements connected with the same. Moreover, it is almost a misnomer to call it a collection of papers on “Bee-keeping,” since at least nine-tenths of the reports state that domesticated bees are quite unknown in their districts ; and the bulk of the matter (nearly a hundred pages of close print) is occupied with accounts of native methods of taking the combs of wild bees and preparing the wax, and with very imperfect descriptions of the various kinds of honey-producing bees in each district, The general result of the inquiry, as stated in a “ Resolu- tion ” of the Revenue and Agricultural Department, is the following :— “The industry is unlikely ever to be one of great im- portance in India. It can only be followed in the hills, where flowers abound throughout the greater part of the year, or in forests, where food is equally plentiful. In the populous country of the plains, bee-keeping as a general industry seems impracticable. Under these circumstances there is little or no call for action on the part of the Government.” Notwithstanding this somewhat depressing outcome of a laborious inquiry, some interesting details may be found in the storehouse of facts here brought together. At the commencement of the Report attention is drawn to Moorcroft’s account of bee-keeping in Cashmere :— VOL. XXxXI.—NOo. 784 “ Their domestication there is so general that in some parts of the country a provision is made for hiving them in every house as it is being built. Spaces are left empty in the walls about 14 inches in diameter, and 2 feet, the average thickness of the walls, in length, which are carefully lined with a mixture of mortar, clay, and chopped straw, and closed at the inner end with a flat tile. There are ten or a dozen of these hives built into the walls of every house. The bees are hived exactly as in Europe, but the comb is gathered differently and in a way well worth following at home. It is done by the father of the house removing the flat tile, and at the same time blowing the smoke of a smouldering wisp of straw he holds in the other hand vigorously through the hive, on which the bees at once leave the hive, and he gathers in their store of honey. He then replaces the flat tile at the inner end of the hive, and the bees, after recovering their stupefac- tion, gradually return to it. The same colony of bees thus produce honey year after year in the same hive, and generation after generation, and have probably done so from the original Aryan settlement of the Cashmere Valley. In consequence of their being thus literally domiciliated with the human race, the bees of Cashmere are milder in their manners than those of any other country, although they have a most villainous sting when unduly provoked to use it. Their honey is as pure, and clear, and sweet, Moorcroft says, as the finest honey of Narbonne.” In a statement on bee-culture in Cashmere by a zemindar, it.is said that hives are now very numerous, as they have been on the increase for several years, and the method of keeping them is very similar to that described by Moorcroft. But Mr. R. Morgan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Madras, protests against the recommenda- tion of smoking out the bees, as barbarous. It is, how- ever, no doubt well suited to native wants, as hives are not required to be indefinitely increased, and there is no sale for swarms. A very simple mode of bee-keeping is described as practised by the people of Mysore :— “In March or April they besmear the concave part of an old earthen pot with honey-wax, make holes in the pot, take it to the jungles, and place it upside-down on a piece of wood or a slab of stone. The bees are attracted to the pot by the smell of the wax, and, when the person intending to domesticate m finds, after a trial of four or six days, that they hay, n to remain in the pot, he goes to the jungle ona ght, removes the pot after i 2 NATURE having covered it with a blanket, and places it either on a tree near or under the eaves of his house, or in any adjoining place. Each man keeps pots varying in num- ber from one to four. He need not do anything beyond keeping the pots as aforesaid. They store honey between April 15 and June 15 ; and between the latter date and the end of July the keeper gathers it in, leaviiig a small portion to serve as food for the bees.” Mr. R. Morgan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Madras, gives an interesting account of the honey-bees of the Wynaad. He says that the best honey-producing flower of Southern India is the Strobilanthes, of which there are numerous species, which almost all flower once in seven years, dying down entirely, and afterwards a fresh growth springing up from seed. The Strobilanthes is a shrubby genus of Acanthacez, mostly3with blue or purple flowers, and the statement about their flowering only once in seven years is probably a popular delusion, like that of the Aloe flowering once in a century. The bees build their combs on the ledges of inaccessible precipices, often overhanging rivers, or on lofty horizontal limbs of the largest forest trees, and the combs are usually 33 to 4 feet in length and 2 feet in diameter. The natives take the honey on dark nights by means of long cane or bamboo ladders, either erected against the tree or rock or suspended from above, and they carry torches, and knives to cut away the combs. The bees are roused by the glare of the torches, but do not sting, although in the day- time they are terribly pugnacious, and many a sportsman and traveller has barely escaped with his life after dis- turbing them. Mr. Morgan states that he can give numerous instances of men, cattle, horses, and even fowls and pigeons being killed by these bees. The Deputy Conservator of Forests, East Salween, describes some remarkably large combs, one of which was 7 feet long and 6 feet deep in the widest part. The bees are fond of particular trees, and he states that on one Kanyin tree (Dipterocarfus alatus) he counted no less than thirty-nine combs, some of prodigious size. The trees are here ascended by means of pegs driven in the trunk, as in Borneo, and the bees are partially stupefied by a smoke torch. These are samples of the better kind of reports that have been obtained from hundreds of districts in India. There is a monotonous similarity in large numbers of them, and it may be doubted whether the information afforded is worth the labour and cost it has entailed. Mr. Harris’s little volume on “ The Honey-Bee ” affords a striking contrast to the preceding work, both in its elegant get-up and excellent illustrations, its wide range of matter, and the clearness and condensation of its style. It treats in a pleasant and well-informed manner not only of bee-keeping but of the bees themselves and all that relates to them. We have a chapter on the literature of bees, from the Egyptian monuments and the Vedas to Shakespeare, Huber, and modern writers. Each subject is treated in a separate short chapter, so that we have chapters on “ The Queen Bee,” “ The Workers,” “ Wax,” “ Bee-bread,” &c., and even one on “ Mead,” including its use in ancient times and Queen Elizabeth’s receipt for its manufacture. Hives, tl emies, and the Diseases of Bees are all separately tr as walt as their “ Intel- $ | Vov. 6, 1884 lect and Instinct,” their “ Relation to Flowers,” and the “ Superstitions connected with Bees.” From so condensed a work it is difficult to find pas- sages suitable for extract, but the following illustration of the powers of intellect manifested by bees may be taken as a fair specimen of the author’s style :— “Again, let us revert to the manufacture of queens by the workers. If at the time of the removal or loss of the mother-bee in any way, there should be unhatched prin- cesses in the hive, no attempt will be made to follow the course adopted in the absence of such royal progeny. In the dattery case—that is, when there is no royal brood— there must be a distinct conception, first, of their bereave- ment; secondly, of the hopelessness of a sovereign appearing in the ordinary way. Then a judgment is formed of the proceedings necessary for making a queen, and action immediately follows. Not only so, but as if to secure themselves against the repetition of their calamity, they prepare not ove queen, but sevevad, so that, if the first which comes to maturity be lost, there may be others in reserve. A further act of definite judgment appears in this ; for if one only were produced and lost, they would be powerless to repeat the process, as all the rest of the worker brood would, in the meantime, have advanced far beyond the stage at which its transformation would be possible. The bees then, with admirable prevision, for- bear to risk all the future of their community on one hope of a queen.” In adducing the construction of the cells as a proof of pure instinct of the highest order, Mr. Harris is hardly on secure ground, since he omits to notice the researches of Mr. Darwin proving that the method of cell-building is very simple, and consists, fundamentally, in forming cir- cular cells the size of which is determined by that of the bee’s body, and gnawing away all the superfluous wax in the angles till the hexagonal form is produced. He is also hardly justified in the statement that “all these and other circumstances connected with the construction of their dwellings attest the possession of an innate faculty needing no instruction from the elders of the hive.’ The last statement (which we have italicised) is surely un- provable, and as every young bee necessarily begins work in the midst of her elders, and has done so during the countless generations of the past, it seems more probable that a considerable portion, though not perhaps the whole, of the bees’ wonderful constructive power, is due to direct imitation and instruction. On the whole, we can recommend this little book as a very comprehensive summary of what is known about bees and bee-keeping, at once attractive to the young who wish to learn something about these marvellous little creatures, and at the same time containing all the information necessary for the beginner in apiculture. The illustrations are both well chosen and_ beautifully executed, and the work is altogether so daintily got up as to render it especially suited for a gift to intelligent boys and girls. A. R. W. DR. KLEIN ON Micro-Organisms and Disease. BRIS: HERE can be no doubt of the value and excellence of this little book. Dr. Klein is one of the very few men in this country who are continually working and experimenting with Bacteria and similar forms. His MICRO-ORGANISMS By E. Klein, M.D., (London: Macmillan and Co., 1884.) Vow. 6, 1884 | structions and advice as to methods of study are invalu- able, and his opinions on the numerous debatable ques- tions connected with micro-organisms entitled to the highest respect. Dr. Klein has descended, as it were, from his position of experimentalist and observer, in order to place before the scientific public in a compact form a 7ésué of what is known at this moment concern- ing disease-producing micro-organisms. He classifies these organisms as Micrococci, Bacteria, Bacilli, Vibriones, Spirobacteria, Yeast-fungi, and Mould-fungi, and gives _ seriatim under each head, accompanied by numerous _ figures, often original, an account of such forms as have _ been found in association with disease. He refers the _ reader to the original writings in which this or that _ organism has been described, and whilst he sometimes _ judiciously throws doubt on a claim to pathogenic powers, he is entirely relieved from the responsibility of a critic in all cases by the disclaimer in his preface and by the fact that he obviously intends to leave the question in most cases to further inquiry. As an illustrated cata- logue of reputed pathogenic Schizophytes, with references to original authorities, the work is invaluable. At the same time Dr. Klein does, as so ripe a student of these questions must, commit {himself to very definite opinions on some of the great problems of what it is con- venient to term “ Bacteriology.” Dr. Klein clings to the belief that speaking broadly the forms known as Micro- cocci, Bacteria, Bacilli, Vibriones, and Spirilla breed true and are to be recognised as true genera, This opinion is traceable to the fact that his studies have been chiefly (like those of Koch, who holds a similar view) carried out on parasitic (ze. pathogenic) Schizophytes. And it is highly probable that it is more difficult (in some cases impossible) to break down the specific form by change of environment of a parasitic Schizophyte than of free-living kinds. But Dr. Klein has himself shown (p. 109) that Bacillus (B. anthracis) when cultivated in a certain way becomes Micrococcus (torula-form), and other similarinstances are to be found in his book. Had he dealt with free-living Schizophytes as well as parasitic ones, he would have found ample evidence of the transformation, in the course of growth and division, of Micrococci into Bacteria, of these into Bacilli, and of these into Vibriones and Spirilla, and of each of these directly or indirectly into the other forms. The instability of the forms presented by par- ticular kinds of Bacteria does not however imply, as has been assumed by some writers (Billroth ¢.g.), that there is only one “species” of Schizophyte. Such use of terms would lead to the statement that there is only one “ spe- cies” of organism in all creation. The instability of the forms of Schizophytes merely implies that the range of presently observable specific characters taken as a whole (which forms the true limits of what mankind at the moment calls a “species”) is zo¢ simply and directly coincident with the range of one particular and readily observed set of characters, namely, those of form. A great deal more depends upon the question of transmuta- bility of the forms of Schizophytes than is admitted, at present, by pathologists. We would merely warn them that the doctrine of fixity of the forms of pathogenic Schizophytes is as much an assumption and as much to be received with caution as is the contrary doctrine of the universal transmutability of such forms. One great NATURE 3 fact is certain, viz. that some Schizophytes do exhibit the positive evidence of change of form in the course of growth under varying conditions. Dr. Klein has a most interesting chapter on the conver- sion of innocuous into pathogenic organisms and vw7ce versa, in whigh he criticises with great ability the results of Buchner and Nageli on the one hand, and of Pasteur on the other. Valuable as such critical dissertations are, Dr. Klein will agree with us in thinking his experiments of greater value. We shouldibe’sorry were the test-experiments which they suggest to be delayed in consequence of the apparently satisfactory character of the reasonings which he and others have very properly adduced. The fact is that the proportion of what we know by careful experiment and observation in reference to Bacteria and their allies— as compared with what we must soon know and can see how to know if only time and ability are directed to the research—is so small that conclusions and generalisations are not useful except as suggestions to those who are in the thick of the “work. More experiment, more trial of every conceivable condition of growth and _ nutrition, applied to every kind of Schizophyte observed and yet to be discovered, is imperatively called for. Who can say that much is known as yet about these organisms, when even so earnest a student of them as Dr. Robert Koch did not know that his so-called “ cholera comma-Bacillus” occurs in the mouths of nearly every healthy man, woman, and child ? Dr. Klein ‘has rendered a generous service to future students of Bacteria by the publication of this little book. The woodcuts are very abundant, and sufficient to give an idea of the forms as they appear when stained by coloured reagents. The botanical and chemical aspects of the Schizophytes are necessarily not dealt with in this treatise. E. Ray LANKESTER OUR BOOK SHELF A New Method of treating Glaucoma, based on recent researches into its Pathology. By Geo. Lindsay Johnson, M.A., M.B., B.C. Cantab. (H. K. Lewis, 1884.) ee as TuIs little drochure is written by a Cambridge graduate who has devoted considerable time and attention to the study of diseases of the eye, and who has devised a new and very serviceable form of ophthalmoscope. The pro- position he endeavours to establish is “that the ordinary method of treatment for glaucoma by iridectomy, though highly successful in acute forms of the disease, is never- theless both uncertain and unsatisfactory in the chronic condition of glaucoma.” The truth of this proposition all those who have had large experience in the performance of operations on the eye will freely admit : the reason is less easy to give. Dr. Johnson describes the lymphatic system of the eye, and adduces evidence to show that the aqueous humour is secreted by the ciliary processes and posterior surface of the iris, whilst it is drained off by the canal of Fontana, and the meshwork at the corneo-iridal angle. Any circumstance obliterating this angle is apt to induce glaucoma. It is certainly not due to swellings of the lens, since Brailey has shown that the lens is smaller in the glaucomatous than in the normal eye, but Dr. Johnson thinks that acute glaucoma may be referred to swelling and inflammation of the ciliary processes, whilst in chronic glaucoma there are slow and gradual changes in the ciliary body and an the | around the angle of the anterior chamber, whi is opinion explains the : 4 NATURE [Wov. 6, 1884 se eae different effects of iridectomy in cases of acute and chronic glaucoma. Dr, Johnson then proceeds to describe an operation which he terms scleral paracentesis, and de- scribes as new, but which we have seen performed both by Mr. Hancock and by Mr. Power many years ago. In point of fact, Mr. Hancock’s operation was a scleral para- centesis, and his view, which is not altogether incorrect, and was based on observation, was that in glaucoma a circumcorneal depression could be seen which he imagined to be due to the ciliary muscle, and his section, made with the same instrument recommended by Dr. Johnson, namely, a Wenzel’s double-edged knife, was made through the sclera with the object of dividing the ciliary muscle ; and the excellent results obtained in some cases show clearly that the escape of the vitreous which followed the incision, accompanied, when the anterior chamber was opened, by the aqueous humour, was quite enough to afford relief to all the symptoms and to restore vision, even if the spasm of the ciliary muscle was quite imaginary. We do not, however, wish to deprive Dr. Johnson of the credit of having thought out this method of procedure, though he may rest assured that he will meet with many cases of chronic glaucoma that will derive no benefit from scleral paracentesis, and that he will have to be careful in promising success from his operation in such cases. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interestingand novel facts.] An Unnoticed Factor in Evolution Two observed biological facts seem to oppose great difficulties to any explanation on evolution principles ; difficulties admitted by evolutionists as well as their opponents. I mean— (1) The fact that varieties produced by artificial selection, however divergent, are always fertile among themselves, while species supposed to have been produced naturally by an analogous process are often not mutually fertile even when very slightly divergent ; and (2) The fact that species evidently derived from a common ancestor, and differing only in small points of marking, though not fertile with one another, are often found side by side in places where it would seem that cross-breeding must prevent any division of the ancestral species into divergent branches. The first seems to require that a period much greater than that of artificial selection should be necessary to produce sterility between descendants from the same ancestor; a supposition which would require an almost incredible period for evolution as a whole. The second seems to require that many species now intermixed should once have been geographically separated, sometimes in cases where this is very difficult to imagine. Both these difficulties are completely removed if we suppose mutual sterility to be not the veszd¢ but the case of divergence. As far as can be judged, ‘‘sports” are as likely to occur in the generative elements (ova and spermatozoa) as in other parts of the body, and from their similarity in widely unlike groups it seems certain that a very slight variation in these elements would render their owner infertile with the rest of its species. Such a variation occurring in a small group (say the offspring’ of one pair) would render them as completely separate from the rest of their species as they would be on an island, and divergence (as Wallace has sufficiently shown) would begin. This divergence might progress to a great or a small extent, or even be imper- ceptible, but in any case the new species would be infertile with the species it sprang from. If this theory be admitted, we must distinguish between varieties and species by saying that the former arise by spon- taneous variations in various parts of the body, and only gra- dually become mutually infer us becoming species), while the latter arise sometimes in y, but sometimes by spon- taneous variations in the generative elements, and are in this case originally mutually infertile, but only gradually become otherwise divergent. I would suggest the following tests, and should be glad of any facts, from experience or from books, which can help in applying them :— (1) Ifthis theory is true we ought to find species (incipient) mutually infertile, but not otherwise distinguishable ; and s (2) We ought to find that island and other isolated species which have arisen not by limited fertility but by geographical instead of physiological separation are often mutually fertile even when as widely divergent as the artificial varieties of dogs or pigeons. EDMUND CATCHPOOL The Grove, Totley, Sheffield, October 23 Earthquake Measurement IN an article on ‘‘ Earthquakes ” in last week’s NATURE (p. 608), Dr. H. J. Johnston-Layis takes exception to the records of earthquake motion which I have published, on the ground of their complexity, and pronounces the Plain of Yedo unsuitable for earthquake observations. Now this seems to me to be a very eclectic way of treating earthquakes. We can measure earthquakes only where we find them, and I suppose the first qualification in a site for an earth- quake observatory is that there should be plenty of earthquakes. The Plain of Yedo possesses this qualification in a very high degree ; and if the disturbances which occur in it are of a very much more complex character than our @ fvzor7 notions about earthquakes may have led us to expect, it is not the Plain of Yedo that is to blame. I fully agree that on a rocky formation the results will be dif- ferent from those I found on an alluvial plain, but the instru- ments and methods which have been successful on the one are just as applicable to the other. The seismometers which have been used in Japan will serve to measure, with equal accuracy, earthquakes of a similar degree of destructiveness in other places, whatever be the nature of the ground. And several of the types already employed need little more than a change of scale in their construction to suit them for such formidable con- vulsions as the Ischian earthquake, to which your correspondent refers. In describing and figuring a number of proposed seismographs, Dr. Johnston-Lavis has very frankly disclaimed a technical know- ledge of mechanical construction, and for that reason all minute criticism of his suggestions may be withheld. If however he will refer to the Zramsactions of the Seismological Society of Japan, or to my ‘‘Memoir on Earthquake Measurement,” he will see that some of the devices he suggests are not new. The plan of registering the amplitude of a pendulum’s motion rela- tively to the earth by making the bob draw up a thread through a hole in a plate fixed below it was used some years ago by Dr. G. Wagener ; and a massive slab free to roll on spherical balls formed in 1876 the seismometer of Dr, G. F. Verbeck. It was re- invented a year or two ago by Mr. C. A. Stevenson, and de- scribed by him before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts. The theory of the apparatus is discussed in §§ 31-32 of my memoir. Dr. Johnston-Lavis’s plan of recording the azimuth of a movement by means of numerous electric contacts and ‘‘a pile of electro- magnets” is a very retrograde step from the perfectly successful method, used in Japan, of resolving all horizontal movements into components along two fixed directions, these components being independently recorded in conjunction with the time. Speaking of the use of the common pendulum as a seismo- meter, the author says that by using a short pendulum we may measure oscillations of short period, and by using a long pendulum we may measure slow earth-tiltings. Almost the reverse of this is the case. A short pendulum acquires, by earth . movements of short period, a swing which cannot be distin- guished from the movements we wish to measure, and whose extent depends on the accidental agreement of its period with theirs ; but a short pendulum can be properly used to record slow earth-tiltings, with respect to which it is sensibly dead- beat. A long pendulum can be used to measure short-period movements; it can also be used (and its only advantage over ashort pendulum is greater sensitiveness) to measure slow tiltings, For vertical motion Dr. Johnston-Lavis condemns (but with- out giving any reason) my own and another vertical-motion seismograph—which theory and experience agree in proving trustworthy—and proposes an instrument in which a weight drives a clock-train furnished with a centrifugal speed-indicator. The changes of apparent weight of the driver caused by the earth’s and-down motion are to cause fluctuations in the speed of the iven train, which are to be recorded in conjunction with the time. The plan is, I think, new, but a less direct method of measuring vertical movement could scarcely be imagined. The ver with diminished amplitude and retarded phase, and super- posed on them there will be fluctuations following no rule, due 9 inconstant friction and to mechanical imperfection of the train, as well as the continuous acceleration which follows the starting ofthe mechanism. To interpret the records would be altogether mpracticable. The design of aseismograph is a problem in applied dynamics hich has of late years received a number of very satisfactory olutions. Of instruments capable of determining earthquake “movements in absolute measure, and with reasonable exactness, there is now no lack ; and it would be a pity if their wider employ- ‘ment were in any way retarded by the publication, on the au- thority of Dr. Johnston-Lavis, of suggestions which may fairly be said to lie outside the sphere of practical seismology. University College, Dundee, October 27 J. A. Ewine The Sky-Glows THE description of the sky-glows as seen by Prof. A. S. Herschel may justify an account of some seen near the Univer- sity of Virginia, Virginia, during the past spring, from notes made at that time. February 25.—For several days before this date there were (ifone may so call them) the normal glows at and after sunset. On this day there was seen a single pink ray with well-defined edges, about 4° broad, perpendicular to the western horizon, reaching half way to.the zenith. March 24.—Ten minutes before sunset, the sun being behind a small cloud, the bright oval ‘‘glare” in the west, which pre- ceded nearly all the after-glows, was seen with its centre at an elevation of 15° (all these heights are rough estimates). It was Io” in diameter, and was surrounded by a band of a hazy red- dish ashen colour (this band was usually seen with the ‘“‘glare”’) about 5° wide, which deepened in tint towards the horizon, and there spread out on each side of the ‘‘glare” so as to form a somewhat triangular support for it. At 6.30 the sunset. No colour had yet appeared on the eastern horizon. The ‘‘ glare” now seemed almost triangular in shape, with the deepest ashen tints at the lower corners. As the sun descended, the ‘‘ glare” diminished in intensity from the apex of the triangle. At 6.35 there was a ruddy colour on the eastern horizon, which spread in a triangular shape, apex upward, to a height of 25° to 30°, and at 6.40 was an exact image of the ‘‘glare” in the west, except that there were clear red tints instead of ashen, which were deepest at the lower corners of the triangle. The colour triangle then gradually rose from the eastern horizon, apparently following the sun, till at 6.48 the pink tint appeared in the western sky, increased in intensity, and was deepest at an ele- vation of 60°. The colour in the east was now gone. (Several attempts were made to observe the passage of colour across the zenith, but in no case was there success.) The western horizon was dazzling topaz-yellow, above the yellow pale blue, then faint pink to the deepest pink. The pink gradually descended toward the horizon, and when within 20° merged into the ordinary sunset colour at 7.0. The general phases of the glow were as follows :—Triangular ashen haze with oval ‘‘glare ” in west, base of triangle on the horizon at sunset. Ten minutes a triangular ruddiness in east, with base on the horizon. nother ten minutes, pink in the west. Ten minutes more, colour disappears. This succession was also noticed on March 15. On March 4 the glow in the west reached its most intense colour twenty minutes after sunset, but lasted twenty minutes, disappearing forty minutes after sunset. On this evening (March 24) at 6.45, a cloud in the western sky, there being then no pink there, at an elevation of 35°, was coloured pale pea-green. This colour of the clouds floating at an elevation of 35° was seen on other days, while the clouds above and below retained their ordinary appearance. March 26.—After the same phenomena as detailed in the last, even to the colour of the clouds, twenty minutes after the dis- appearance of the first glows, at 7.20 there was a pale rose-glow at an elevation from the western horizon of 30° to 35°, which NATURE fluctuations in speed will follow the changes of pull exerted by the. reached almost to the Pleiades, of which six were then visible. This second glow lasted about twenty minutes, and seemed to descend to the horizon. It was almost identical with the first, but fainter. March 29.—Same as preceding, without second after-glow ; tints extended 60° to 70° from horizon. These after-glows were noticed more or less during April, July, and September, and here in Cambridge during this month there have been several vivid displays. W. G. BROWN Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., October 23 I BEG to inclose you an extract from a letter lately received by me from my cousin, Mr. Leeming, in the hope that it may interest some of your readers. ELLEN A. Day Greycoat Hospital, Westminster, October 24 Extract from a Letter written by Thomas Leeming, Surgeon and Naturalist on Board H.M.S. ‘“‘ Gulnare,” on the Admiralty Survey off Newfoundland “ Galtois, Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland, September 12, 1884 ‘« There is one thing I have more than once forgotten to men- tion to you, that is, an unusual appearance in the sky there has been now for some months, which I think must be connected with the red sunsets of last winter. In the finest weather the sun has always about it a haze (not watery) extending some 20° or 30°, white in the day-time, but as the sun nears the horizon the sky has a pale salmon or ochrey tint. In the immediate neighbourhood of the sun, the sky is of a vivid whiteness. This .appearance continues some time after sunset. I have tried more than once to reproduce this effect, with water- colours, but without success. Let me know if you have observed or heard of anything of the same kind. I may also mention that there has been until lately a great scarcity of stars ; even on the fairest and darkest nights very few visible under the third magnitude, and the Milky Way scarcely to be seen at all. Things, however, are mending in this respect. ” Peculiar Ice Forms WALKING up from Chamounix to the Montanvert a fortnight ago, I came upon a form of ice which I think can hardly be of common occurrence, as I have not met with any description of it, and have only once before seen it, and then also on the same mountain side, and under similar conditions of season and weather. The bank, which in this particular spot slopes at an angle of about 45°, and faces the north, is bare of vegetation for some 30 ~ feet in depth, and 100 to 120 feet in length, the hillside above being clothed with moss, ferns, and the usual undergrowth. This bare slope was almost covered with a coating of ice nearly four inches in depth, and of very curious structure, being formed in four layers, the three upper layers each about an inch in depth, and the lowest, which rested on the soil, being from five- eighths to three-quarters of aninch. Each layer was composed of an aggregation of filaments or elongated crystals, one-sixteenth of an inch and downwards in diameter, and all of a length equal to the thickness of the layer, ranged side by side like organ-pipes or basaltic columns, and with pyramidal ends; the bottom points of one layer resting on the top points of the one below, so that the layers could be easily detached one from the other. The whole mass was pierced by vertical cylindrical cavities from half to a quarter of an inch or less in diameter, and in most cases penetrating from top to bottom, so that a pencil-case could be dropped through endways. A horizontal section presented somewhat the appearance of Gruyére cheese, minus the colour of course, and with the solid part showing the crystalline form described above. The mass had evidently been pushed up from below, because, while the ice itself was perfectly white and colourless, it was covered at the surface by a layer of dirt which might very likely have concealed it from observation if it had not happened to be broken. There was a good deal of snow higher up—nine inches at the Montanvert—and the weather was fine, with bright sunny days and hard frost at night. This particular part of the bank was in shade all day, and hardly ed at all. I imagine that the porous detritus forming th of the bank was under- lain by hard rock (though it cur to me at the time to ascertain if it was so, and at pth), and that the water 6 NATURE [Vov. 6, 1884 —_——_ IY OSS resulting from the melting by the sun of the snow above had percolated down to the hard substratum, along which it had run till it reached the place where the bare earth above it no longer protected it from radiation, and it then cooled and crystallised in this curious way, pushing itself up by.expansion in so doing, each layer being the work of one night’s frost. If this is correct, it is not difficult to understand what I assume to be the comparative varity of this form of ice, since it would be seldom that all the necessary conditions would co-exist. May I add, as the result of seven seasons’ experience, that no one who has not tried it knows the charm of Switzerland in October. It is too late, of course, for high ascents, and the flowers are nearly gone ; but an ordinary visitor, so long as he avoids the mists and clouds of the lowlands, by keeping at an elevation of three thousand feet and upwards, will find that the brightness and crispness of the air, the evjoyableness of the sun- shine (which in August can at best be /o/erated), the purity of the fresh snow, giving grandeur and beauty to lower heights which in summer are mere barren rocks, and the glory of the autumn colouring, not to mention the freedom from the plagues of heat, flies, and tourists, render October in Switzerland the most enjoyable month of the year. B. Woopp SMITH Hampstead, October 31 The Blackness of Tropical Man A DECISIVE paper on the subject would have to be prepared elsewhere, but Hindostan presents an excellent field for amass- ing information with regard to the effects of an extraordinarily powerful sun on the human frame’s exterior. In a very interest- ing article in NaTure for August 21 last (p. 401), ‘* Why Tro- pical Man is Black,” the cause is set down to the nerves of the skin being one and all highly sensitive to light, the optic nerves being merely some of those of the epidermis highly specialised by long-inherited modification, and the necessity for placing over them a pigment which will absorb light. Other- wise the intense nerve vibrations from a light of double degree power would soon degrade the tissues of the individual and exhaust his vitality. It would have been all the better if a little more had been said about the way in which a patch of dark pigment cells round the transparent skin of the nerve endings, to be exalted into a special sense, heighten the rates of vibration; or how the selected tissue, at the same time securing the transmission of heat, as the constant accumulation of heat-waves behind it, throws the molecular constituents of the protoplasm ‘‘into the highest rates of vibration possibly obtainable with the means at disposal.” Before turning to the experience India affords, it has to be nvuced that, taking the centre of Europe as the standard of whiteness, it is not only going south that the population becomes successively blacker, but that there is a dark-skinned tendency in the races lying in the other direction, towards the Polar re- gions. Besides this, exposure in the bright days of August on the moors in the British Isles has the effect of browning the white skin exposed to light, and making it on the face and hands for a short time only a shade lighter than the lightest Indians. ane can only be by the solar rays producing pigment in the skin. On the contrary, the experience of Europeans in India is that the sun there does not burn ; if anything, it rather whitens them and pales the complexion. It is only on certain occasions, when the sun is obscured by rain-clouds, it is cool, and the diffused light is of a particular but unascertained actinic quality, that the skin of a European is sunburnt. One may ride all day in the hottest sun and have no trace of sunburning. j Also were light the sole cause of a protection for the skin being required, this would be supplied by the clothing Euro- peans invariably have, except on hands and face; and they would be placed in about the same favourable position as the natives, if not more so, as those of the latter of the class of labourers prefer working almost entirely without clothes. What is dreaded by Europeans all over India, and extending into Afghanistan, is the “ Indian sun,” when it is elevated more than ten or fifteen degrees above the horizon ; and it is chiefly the head which it affects, and which has to be protected by non-conducting materials, forming the strange head-gear of the tropics. The playing of the sun on the rest of the body is disagreeable, but not dangerous, Light and heat are one and the same, so that the nerves of ~~ sight are only a select number of those with which the skin is full, higherstrung ; but it is noticeable that, though heat is felt by any nerves of the skin indiscriminately, they are insensible to minute differences of heat, or in the periods of the heat-rays, so that no sense, so to speak, is conveyed by them. That is— though, as we know, all objects reflect as many heat-rays of different kinds as they do visual rays—we are not conscious of” their form by a reception and discrimination of the varying periods of the heat-rays ; we do not consciously see by heat. The effect the Indian sun has on European health, sunstroke being said to be the work of a few minutes, shows that the nerves of the skin are sensitive to some rays besides those of light. In fact, the sun’s rays of Hindostan must contain rays not found in the sunlight of most other parts of the world, which moreover penetrate the European’s white skin tissues and clothing, while the natives can let it beat upon their bared heads with complete impunity. There has never been a sufficiently minute comparison made between the pure solar diffraction spectrum, from the lowest lines to the highest, of India and that in other countries, such as Great Britain, America, the West Indies, and Australia. In many respects the West India Islands are as tropical as the East Indies, but those who have resided in the former and coming to the latter declare there is some quality they feel in the Indian sun that is absent in the West Indies; they can wear a simple straw hat in the one place, but could not attempt it any- where throughout India. If the spectra were juxtaposed, it would no doubt be found that groups of rays in some portion of it, whether at the red or the violet end, were present to a much larger extent in the light of the Indian sun than either in Aus- tralia or the West Indies. It is of the greatest importance, in order to clear up this question, as well as to science in general, that those who have the means and time should analyse the spectra and give the results. The only test available is sensation at present, but this is unmistakable, because, in addition to the burning feel of 140° Fahrenheit, there is a peculiarly unpleasant sensation even in the shade, whether it is that of a tree, an umbrella, a thin tent, or even a walled room with a window, if there is no veranda. This can only come from invisible rays to which all but the thickest coverings are pervious, and which the skin and tissues admit freely. European ‘‘colonists”’ are, happily for themselves, unknown in India, and the race would immediately die out, as it is only by frequent visits to temperate climates that a European can preserve health. But if they did exist it is open to doubt if a white skin would ever become black. It is commonly supposed that the Black Jins of Cochin are converted Hindoos. The difference that a change in dress and diet makes in these is singular, many being termed Portuguese, for example, who are pure natives descended from converts whom the Portuguese for the most part made forcibly. As a rule, the higher the caste andthe higher in the scalea native of India is, the whiter he is ; and the lower the caste and hotter the mean temperature of the place, the blacker. But this is not invariably the case, as the outcasts who work in leather in Upper India are rather lighter than some of the Brahmans. However, latitude has mst effect, and wherever the sun is hottest all the year round the blacker the natives, down to the equator of heat shown on the atlases. The configuration of the country, how- ever, shows that the shades of colour are due to successive waves of conquest from the north, and the Northern Asiatics, who were nearly white at first, degenerate the farther south they come, and are unfit for labour. A blackness of skin, therefore, confers an immunity from the effects of the sun, so that those having it can labour in the heat in a way that would soon cause the lighter races to give in. Black radiates quicker than white, and though black coats are by no means unknown to Europeans in India, who are as often in those as in coats of any other colour, the black skin of the labourer would throw off accumulated heat much more quickly than if white, and perhaps in a ratio worth calculating. This must be one of the reasons; and it may be noticed that the exterior of buildings is frequently tinted a slate colour with this view, in India, instead of being whitewashed. Still a more ready dissipation of heat is not the only advan- tage imparted by a pigmentary blackness in the human skin ; and it is to be inferred that the real protection consists in there being a few of the invisible solar rays of the spectrum in tropi- cal light injurious to man, which nevertheless possess unusual penetrative energy, and go through a thickness of what are ordinarily considered opaque substances, but which are inter- ted by the contents of the epidermic pigment cells largely developed in the African, a little more sparingly in Hindoos, d not absolutely wanting in the sunburnt excursionist or portsman in our own country. The Australian will tell you that he has done hard work—in a shade temperature of 100°—in the sun in a light wideawake and ‘ot felt exhausted ; while continuous labour of some hours in puch less heat—75° in the shade and exposed to the sun—in indostan would be simple destruction of the European’s powers of exertion with all a Bond Street hatter could devise on his head. A. T. FRASER _ Equator of Heat, India, October 1 The Distribution of Scientific Works Published by the British Government I HAVE read Dr. Valentine Ball’s letter in your journal of October 30 (p. 634) expressing his astonishment that the scien- tific Reports of the British Government are not presented to the leading American scientific institutions. It may surprise Dr. Ball to learn that the Treasury recently refused to present one of the largest scientific libraries in Dublin with copies of the Challenger Reports on the ground that their “‘ free list ” was too limited ! Gate: A NEW METHOD OF HEATING IN THE REGENERATIVE GAS FURNACE NG the present age, which may be called that of Electricity, the sister science of Heat is not receiv- ing so much attention at the hands of the natural philo- sopher as itdid formerly. But still there remain some scien- tific men who are giving a life-long attention to it—MM. Hirn and Berthelot in France, Herren Clausius, Helm- holtz, and Frederick Siemens in Germany, Mr. Joule and Sir William Thomson in this country. During the late Sir William Siemens’s lifetime, the one brother worked here in the science of Heat, the other in Germany, and the work of both was applied everywhere ; now Mr. Frederick Siemens works alone, and, from the recent evidence of that work, it promises to play an im- portant part in the economical application of fuel. Mr. F. Siemens has recently had an opportunity given him of bringing his views forward in this country, having read a paper at the Chester meeting of the Iron and Steel Insti- tute on a new method of heating in the regenerative gas furnace, in which he treated the practical side of the question, whilst in the discussion of the same paper he gave his views on the theory of the subject. Mr. F. Siemens’s investigations have led him to the conclusion that combustion can only be perfect, and be maintained perfect, if the space in which it takes place is sufficiently large to allow the gases to combine out of contact with solid materials. Having proved by actual experiment that solid substances interfere with the formation of flame and that flame injures solid substances with which it comes in contact, he brings forward an hypothesis to account for the phenomena. According to the electrical hypo- thesis, which Mr. Siemens prefers, flame is the result of an infinite number of exceedingly minute electrical flashes, the flashes being due to the exceedingly swift motion of gaseous particles, and a solid body which opposes itself to these flashes is cut by them, whilst, the motion being more or less arrested by the solid body, the flame is damped. Another important deduction from these investigations is that combustion should be considered in two stages or periods, which may be respectively called active and neu- tral. In the first the purely chemical combination of the gases takes place, during which, as soon as the tempera- ture of ignition has been reached, the whole of the heat of the highest possible intensity is produced, of which a large portion is given off by radiation, whilst in the second the temperature having fallen in the proportion of NATURE the heat given off by radiation, the remainder of the heat which is no longer of an active character, is best trans- mitted by conduction. For the purpose of utilising this portion of the heat, as well as for raising the temperature of the gas and air before combustion, the regenerators are requisite which form an essential feature of all fur- naces worked at an intense heat on the Siemens principle, care being taken to design the furnace so that the gases shall have combined perfectly before the products of combustion are allowed to pass away. Mr. Siemens in applying his investigations to practice insists that flame must not be allowed to impinge upon bodies to be heated, but must simply heat the bodies by radiation, and furnaces must be so constructed as to allow the flame to develop out of contact, not only with the substance on its bed, but with the walls and roof of the. furnace itself; it thus follows that large furnaces must replace small ones, and to meet the objection that the loss of heat into the atmosphere must increase in the pro- portion of the area of the furnace, Mr. Siemens explains that the heat developed in the furnace increases in a much larger ratio than its increase in area, because flame radiates in every direction from every portion of its entire volume, while a solid substance radiates from its external surface only. The details of construction of metallurgical and glass furnaces and of steam-boilers are given in the paper in question, and need not be considered here; the main point is that furnaces heated on the radiation principle have been proved both in Dresden and at Landore to have been economical of fuel, whilst the saving in the materials treated from reduced oxidation and in the construction of the furnace has been found to be very great. There is another point of view of this important ques- tion which is daily demanding and commanding more attention, and that is the abatement of the smoke nuisance. As is well known, smoke is but incomplete combustion, and the only way to get rid of it is not to produce it. Mr. Siemens insists that this can only be effected by not permitting flame to touch any substance whatever so long as it exists in the active condition ; for, just as carbon is precipitated upon a glass rod put into an ordinary gas flame, so is it with any flame whatever its temperature ; but the greater the difference of tem- perature between the flame and the body brought into contact with it the greater will be the amount of smoke produced. Mr. Siemens tells how in Dresden he suc- ceeded in extending his works, without the production of smoke, by the application of the system of heating he recommends, and trusts that here also not only may smoke be abated, but that the public may also derive benefit by manufacturers being able to supply goods at cheaper rates owing to being able to economise their fuel and the material heated within the furnaces as well as that of which the furnaces are constructed. THE PRIME MERIDIAN CONFERENCE HE greatly extended and ever increasing intercourse, both commercial and scientific, which has grown up between different nations in modern times has naturally caused especial attention to be drawn to the question of assimilation of the different systems of reckoning em- ployed. Weights and measures and money have been already dealt with more or less successfully, but always with steady advance in the direction of unification. More recently, and in like manner because of practical diffi- culties and inconveniences, unification of the methods of counting longitude and time has in its turn become a question pressing for solution by the establishment of some international agreement in regard to all matters relating thereto. The subject became first systematically discussed at the Conference of the International Geodetic Association 8 NATURE held at Rome about a year ago, and the recommenda- tions then formulated have since been further considered at a special International Conference recently assembled at Washington, the delegates at which, in some cases scientific men, in others the ambassadors accredited to the United States, were instructed by their respective Governments specially for the settlement of the questions of a prime meridian and universal time. Their final recommendations on the principal points involved are now before the world. Unlike the related question of weights and measures, that of time becomes to a great extent simplified by the circumstance that no assimilation of units is necessary, since in the reckoning of time there exists one natural unit which already all nations alike employ, that of the solar day, divided in all centres of civilisation into twenty-four hours, each hour into sixty minutes, and each minute into sixty seconds, and reckoned generally from midnight to the midnight following. In the business and concerns of any single centre no anomaly arises, but if we travel to the east or west of our centre, say from Greenwich, we change—not our manner of counting time —not our unit—but only the zero from which we begin to count, that is, midnight in our new position will occur at a different absolute time. Thus midnight at Paris occurs nine minutes of time before midnight at Green- wich, and this difference between the natural time of the two places is their difference of longitude. The practical navigator carries with him charts on which longitude is marked as reckoned from some par- ticular meridian. Whilst some nations use the Green- wich meridian, others employ that of their own capital city or observatory, so that longitudes become differently reckoned on the charts of different nationalities. This, as regards practical navigation and in many questions of geography, was one inconvenience. For many years all clocks throughout Great Britain have been regulated to Greenwich time. This causes no appreciable inconvenience in other parts of the country, because, on account of its small extent in the easterly and westerly direction, the natural time at any place (as referred to the sun) differs solittle from Greenwich time that no violence is done to our conceptions of morning and evening as referred to the clock, whilst the advantage of having one standard time throughout the country is, in these days, enormous. Similarly the time of Paris is used in France, and so on. In the United States of America a more natural division into sections has been made, each having its own standard time, about which we shall have more to say further on. The standard time thus used throughout each particular country or section of country, whilst satisfying entirely internal needs, fails, on account of the difference existing between the standard times of adjacent countries, to meet international re- quirements, not only in questions of scientific interest, but also in matters commercial. The standard time counted in any district must continue to regulate its civil affairs, but for the efficient control of those of international con- cern, such as the railway, telegraphic, postal, and steam- ship services, an extension of the same principle to the whole globe by the establishment of some system of universal time, for use in conjunction with local standard time, became very desirable, for although such universal time could not be suitably employed in the ordinary way, the importance of its adoption in matters of international interest had become abundantly apparent. One other point. In civil affairs the day is counted from midnight, whilst astronomers count from the noon following, render- ing troublesome conversions from one system to the other frequently necessary. These were other questions re- quiring consideration. Clearly therefore the time had come for promoting a better understanding on points of this kind. The re- commendations of the Roman Conference briefly stated [Vov. 6, 188 were, that the initial meridian should be that of Greenwich, corresponding to the point midway between the piers of the Greenwich meridian circle, since such meridian fulfilled all the requirements of science, being already that most used and best likely to be generally accepted ; also that longitude should be counted from the meridian of Green- wich in one direction only, from west to east, that is to: say, the longitude of Berlin would be oh. 54m., and that of Dublin 23h. 35m. The Conference further recom- mended, for purposes for which universal time would be convenient, that the universal day should commence at mean noon of Greenwich time, and be counted from oh. to 24h., as was proposed in America in the year 1879, by Sandford Fleming and Cleveland Abbe, a proposi- tion which had received the support also of well-known astronomers. It may be added that a proposition to’ assimilate the astronomical day with the civil day, and adopt it as the universal day, being scantily supported, was lost. So far as regards the Roman Conference. Their pro- posals served to indicate the points requiring consider- ation, so that, attention having been thus directed to the whole question during the year since elapsed, the dele- gates attending the recent Washington Conference had full opportunity of forming deliberate opinion thereon. Weare not yet in possession of the full discussions of the Conference, but we know their decision on all essential points. The recommendation of the Roman Conference that the meridian of Greenwich should be the universal prime meridian was confirmed. But on the question of reckoning longitude the Conference resolved that it should be counted from Greenwich in two directions up to 180°, the east longitude to be pws, and the west longi- tude 7zznzs, in this particular departing from the recom- mendation of the Roman Conference. The Washington Conference also disagreed with the resolution of the Roman Conference in regard to universal time, declaring the universal day to be the mean solar day to commence for all the world at the moment of mean midnight of the initial meridian, coinciding with the beginning of the civil day, and to be counted from oh. up to 24h., a propo- sition which, as already mentioned, had been debated at the Roman Conference. Protocols were approved which will be made the basis of an international convention fixing Greenwich as the prime meridian. Practically, therefore, the recommendations are :— (1) That the prime meridian be that.of Greenwich. (2) That longitude be counted from this meridian in two directions up to 180°, calling east longitude p/ws and west longitude szzz05. (3) That the universal day be the Greenwich civil day, commencing at midnight and reckoning from oh. up to 24h. After full discussion at two Conferences we may believe that, regarding scientific requirements on the one hand and practical considerations on the other, the conclusions arrived at are the best which, under the circumstances, were possible. We may now proceed to consider in various ways their practical bearing. First, as affecting matters nautical and geographical. By the adoption of Greenwich as the prime meridian (which, if that of any one place were to be selected, was clearly from its extensive use the one which had by far the strongest claim to consideration), and by the reten- tion of the system of counting longitude east and west up to 180°, all British maps and charts (already exten- sively used by most other nations) and all tables of longitude as hitherto prepared remain still in harmony with the recommendations of the Washington Conference. And since foreign nations thus so largely use charts which refer to Greenwich, the use of this meridian is likely in time to become universal. This being so, some labour of calculation might also be saved, for, considering that large portions of the existing astronomical and nautical Nov. 6, 1 884] NATURE 9 ephemerides of different countries are prepared mainly for the purposes of navigation, and that these ephemerides are calculated generally for different meridians, should charts on which longitude from Greenwich only is counted come into universal use, such separate calculation would become unnecessary. A certain uniformity has already been arrived at, our own Vautical Almanac, the American Ephemeris, and the German Nautical Almanac being all alike calculated for the Greenwich meridian, with the result, however, that now a mass of information for navi- gators—practically identical information—is repeated in three separate works. This hardly saves labour, and it seems not unreasonable to suppose, as regards the needs of navigators, that one book might in some way be made to serve for all. It may be remarked that the counting of longitude in both directions up to 180° instead of continuously from 0° to 360° has, as regards navigation, advantages. Because, when counted in both directions, a navigator or traveller, in journeying round the world and changing his reckoning of longitude from east to west, or from west to east, as the case may be, at the same time that he makes the change of one day in his date (of course somewhere near the 180th degree of longitude) will always correctly pro- duce the Greenwich date, necessary when the Vawézcal Almanac has to be referred to, by simple combination of his local time and longitude, whereas if longitude be reckoned from oh. to 24h., and the navigator makes, as before, the change of one day in his date in the usual way at or near the 180th degree of longitude, which he must do if his date is to be in harmony with that of the countries which he will next approach (America if voyag- ing east, Australia if voyaging west) it will be necessary, when between longitude oh. and 12h. west, after sub- tracting the longitude (always east) from the local time, to further add one day, in order to produce the correct Greenwich date. It will be understood that a chronometer, though showing Greenwich time, does not indicate the day, only hours and minutes, &c., so that a voyager has to depend for the correct Greenwich date on his own numeration of days and a proper consideration of his longitude. Then as regards the question of universal time, first in relation to our own country. Greenwich mean solar time, or Greenwich time reckoning from midnight and counting from oh. to 24h., being adopted as the international uni- versal time, is such as is shown on all railway clocks throughout Great Britain, excepting that the railway clocks require twelve hours to be added to their indica- tions during the afternoon hours, that is, rh. railway time is 13h. universal time, and so on. Thus the time of any circumstance or phenomenon occurring in Great Britain will be properly given in universal time by dropping the suffix a.m. or p.m., and in the afternoon adding twelve hours. October 20, 9h. a.m., and October 20, 3h. p.m., become in universal time October 20, gh., and October 20, 15h. But independently of this the counting of hours from oh. to 24h. is desirable also in civil affairs generally as being in itself explicit, and rendering unnecessary the distinguishing a.m. and p.m. If clocks, when convenient, were constructed so as to indicate hours in this way, instead of counting from oh. to 12h. twice over, it would tend to familiarise people with the 24-hour system with- out at all forcing its use; or the division into twelve might be retained in clocks and watches, and two sets of hour figures engraved. The use of the system will, how- ever, extend on account of various practical advantages. The plan could be introduced with benefit into railway time-tables, especially those dealing with long routes, in which the distinction between morning and afternoon is far from explicit. Morning hours would be 0, 1, 2, &c., afternoon hours 12, 13, 14, &c. In other countries in which, as in England, the standard time employed is that of some one city or observatory, such time similarly reckoned from midnight, and counted from oh. to 24h., would be used for all internal affairs. But to give the epoch of any occurrence in universal time it would be necessary to subtract from the time noted the longitude east from Greenwich of the city or observatory whose time is used, or add thereto the longitude west. Whilst it is absolutely necessary for the regulation of the internal affairs of a country that the time of one meridian should be employed throughout, as in Great Britain, it is also important that the time so used should not be violently out of joint as it were with the natural day. In our diminutive Great Britain no inconvenience arises, as has been mentioned ; but in America, owing to the vast extent of the country in an easterly and westerly direction, it becomes necessary to make some arbitrary division. The railway companies of Canada and the United States, for regulation of the time on railways, have solved the difficulty in the following way :—Four different meridians being selected, those of 5, 6, 7, and 8 hours west of Greenwich, four separate districts are created, in each of which the time of one of these meridians is employed. By this means a great step in the unification of time has been made, because on this plan the minutes and seconds in each district are the same as the minutes and seconds of Greenwich time, and also therefore of universal time, the actual universal time in each district being at once found if required by simply adding 5, 6, 7, or 8 hours respectively to the local standard time. But it may be asked, if the surface of the earth be divided into districts counting in each, for use in civil affairs, the time of some particular place or meridian con- tained therein, what is the particular need of universal time? The question has been already touched upon ; but let us illustrate. A telegram received at a telegraph office in India in the afternoon for transmission to Lon- don would arrive in the morning, according to the local time reckoned at these places. Is there nothing here that for some considerations it might not be desirable to arrange differently ? Would it not be useful to have the power of indicating universal time in conjunction with local time, if necessary? And so also in other affairs. And in matters of science, especially the observational sciences, the introduction of universal time for use when required would be in many ways beneficial. When an astronomer has gathered together for discussion a long series of observations of, say, a new comet, made perhaps at many different observatories, one of the first things that he has to dois to reduce the times of observation to that of one meridian. Again, observations of solar and other physical phenomena cannot be properly collated unless the times are reduced to one standard. Or, in magnetism, on the occurrence of a great magnetic storm, how much would the comparison of the records obtained at different places be here also facilitated by the use of universal time ? There might be some disinclination as regards fixed observatories to give results in universal time, because of the fractional difference of longitude. But in civil affairs, admitting the practicability of adopting the system In- augurated in America, of forming districts and employ- ing as local standards of time secondary meridians dis- tant from Greenwich by integral numbers of hours, as before described, the indication of universal time in con- junction with local standard time becomes a matter of great simplicity. Objection may be made to the system because of the variation, amounting to half an hour, which would exist, between the natural day and the clock time employed, at the extreme borders of the districts so formed, but the Greenwich time long used in Cornwall differs (without reckoning the effect of the equation of time) twenty-three minutes from the natural time without inconyenience arising. Indeed, taken in conjunction with what has been done at the Washington Conference, the fe) NATORE [| Nov. 6, 1884 scheme is, outside of the Conference, the first really scien- tific step that has been taken in the practical unification of time throughout the world. Whether the number of meridians might be doubled is perhaps a question, but, as it stands, the scheme is extremely simple. For since the minutes and seconds counted in the several districts are the same as the minutes and seconds of Greenwich or universal time, the mere addition of another hour hand to the clocks in common use, placed in the proper position and travelling with the ordinary hour hand, would enable either local standard time or universal time to be read off at pleasure from the one clock. The ordinary hour and minute hands might be blacx and the additional hour hand of a lighter colour, in which way sufficient dis- tinction would be produced. Such clocks should show hours from oh. to 24h. Or the conversion might be made in other ways. Referring to the American division before described, all entries might be distinguished as “local standard time,” and a precept added to indicate that, to obtain universal time, 5, 6, 7, or 8 hours must be added, as the case may be. Or denoting the times as “standard times on the 5th meridian west,” &c., the variation from universal time is at once shown. The reader will probably now have grasped the special merit of this system, the readiness with which either local time or universal time can be together indicated. It may be interesting to show how the American plan of division into districts defined by hourly meridians would work if applied generally to the countries of the world. A scheme in regard to some of these countries is herewith annexed. Longitude from Greenwich of “meridian to be employed for local standard time Local time at which universal date changes Countries Great Britain, France, and ) SiSEnRON | MA brah certain | ge pinot Norway, Sweden, Germany, } t we Aude, and Italy... : Hien CEL Hi eee Western Russia, Turkey, 5 and Egypt... — oo Zi res Western India Blea Ying Aol a9 Eastern India Ghvaaes Olt os Western Australia Bh es Shines South Australia... <.. |... ghey 4) Ohves Victoria, New South Wales, fo! ih and Queensland ote Se EL OD cee New Zealand mohs 5 Noon California Sheree 8h. west 4h. evening Eastern America (Washing- 1 1 ton) ... 5a. 55 7A. ” In east longitude decrease, and in west longitude increase, the local standard time by the hours of longitude to obtain universal time. The scheme in fact resolves itself into adopting in any country the time of the nearest integral hourly meridian. Russia would become divided in some such way as America. In each case the minutes and seconds of local standard time would be similar to those of Greenwich or universal time, change of the hour, according to the precept given at the foot of the table, converting the local standard time at once into universal time. We are quite aware that a scheme of this kind can scarcely be expected yet to take practical shape, but it seems well to point out generally the direction in which with the least incon- venience a satisfactory solution of the problem of counting universal time in conjunction with local time may be possible. The right hand column of the preceding table indicates, in regard to the universal day proposed by the Conference, the hour of the local civil day at which, in the several districts, the universal date would change, the civil date | of course changing at midnight. It will be remarked that | in all countries in east longitude as far as Australia, the change of universal date (following that of the same civil date) takes place generally in the morning hours, before the business hours of the civil day, the universal and civil dates being then in accord until civil midnight. In America the universal and civil dates are in accord | from civil midnight until towards the next evening when the universal date changes (before change of the same civil date). In all these cases the change of universal date occurs at an hour well away from business hours. Only in New Zealand would there be inconvenience, the change of universal date occurring at civil noon, twelve hours after change of the same civil date. Knowing approximately the local time at which the universal date changes, a clock fitted with an additional hour hand in the way described would indicate at once the precise time of change. The resolution of the Washington Conference further expresses a hope that as soon as practicable astronomical and nautical days may be arranged everywhere to begin at mean midnight, which would simplify any desired con- version into the proposed universal time. Passing by the nautical aspect of the question we may remark, that astro- nomers as a rule count their mean solar day of twenty- four hours from noon, commencing twelve hours later than the civil day of the same date, and the day is thus understood in all published observations and astronomical works. There is another consideration, somewhat fanciful perhaps, that astronomical observations being taken mostly at night it seems objectionable to make a change of date at midnight in the middle of a series of observa- tions; but this carries now with it much less weight since attention to solar phenomena has so increased observation by day. It was perhaps felt at the Con- ference that the lo-:al civil and astronomical days should correspond as a matter of convenience in itself, and as simplifying the relation of both with the proposed uni- versal day, thus promoting the use of the latter as might become convenient, either in civil or scientific affairs. To effect such correspondence, one of the days had to be altered, but since any proposition to change the local civil date at noon could not be seriously entertained, it was better that the astronomer should assimilate his day with the civil day. Indeed it was formerly the practice in France to employ the astronomical day, commencing at midnight, in the construction of planetary and lunar tables. The proposed change in the time of commencement of the local astronomical day will involve some present awkwardness from the circumstance that the different astronomical ephemerides are calculated for astronomical time as hitherto reckoned, in addition to which our own Nautical Almanic is prepared several years in advance. Temporary inconvenience more or less there must be, but the new reckoning, when fully established, will be found to possess some distinct advantages. As concerns the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, the Astronomer-Royal proposes to adopt the recommendation of the Washington Conference by commencing on January I of next year to count the astronomical day from the midnight preceding the nominal civil date, thus bringing the Greenwich astro- nomical day into correspondence with the Greenwich civil day, which is the universal day of the Conference; he proposes further to alter the indication of the public clock at the entrance gate of the Observatory, so that oh. of the clock shall also commence with midnight: all being counted from oh. to 24h. The -time reckoned within the Observatory and that shown on its external wall will then be in accord. So far the astronomer. If, in addition, the civilian would relinquish the use of the confusing a.m. and p.m., and instead count the hours also from oh. to 24h., beginning with midnight, all parties would then be using the same system for reckoning both days and hours of the day. WILLIAM ELLIS Nov. 6, 1884 | THE ILLUMINATED FOUNTAINS AT THE HEALTHERIES OW that the most successful of International Exhi- bitions has been closed, we are able to give the final result of the accumulated experience that has been obtained in connection with the working of the illuminated fountains, which excited unqualified admiration. Even on the last night we believe new experiments were tricd, and next season these fountains are likely to be finer than ever. “T wonder how it is done?” This was one of the remarks most frequently heard in the dense crowd which nightly surrounded the large fountain at the Health Exhibition, watching the many party-coloured jets of water as they rose and fell with an ever-varying combina- tion of brilliant hues. It is believed that an account of the means employed to produce these gorgeous and novel effects, and of the way in which the water and lights were managed, cannot fail to interest our readers. The water-supply is obtained from the West Middlesex Water Company by means of a nine-inch main, which is connected to one of their mains in Kensington Gore. As the water is paid for according to quantity used, it has to be measured, and in order to effect this with as little loss of pressure as possible, the water is passed through three eight-inch Tyler meters, which are to be seen at the north-west corner of the grounds in the vicinity of the fountains. These meters are connected at each end by a four-way junction piece to the nine-inch main, and they were afterwards supplemented by a_ twelve- inch one on a separate branch. From the four meters the main passes under the water into the central chamber in the basin, and it there branches into three pipes, two of nine inches diameter, and one of six inches. The two nine-inch pipes go round the two sides of the chamber, which is twenty feet square, and are connected together at the opposite side, thus forming a loop round the chamber. Off this main are taken the supplies to the four rings of jetsin the basin, and also for the jets on the top of the chamber, each ring having two supplies at opposite sides in order to equalise the pressure. The third branch, which is in direct continuation of the main from the meters, is gradually reduced to three inches, and supplies the centre jet only. All the supplies are furnished with screw valves worked by hand wheels. The jets on the top of the chamber consist of the centre jet and four other jets placed at the four corners ; each of these jets is surrounded by a ring of twelve small jets, and there are also four dome and convolvulus jets placed between the corner jets. The supply to the four corner-jets is controlled by a plug- valve, so that they can be rapidly turned on and off. It is by this means that the jumping of the centre-jet is produced, the momentum of the water flowing through these jets being sufficient, on the sudden closing of the valve, to jerk the centre jet thirty feet higher than the point which it reaches from the pressure of the mains alone. In order to light up the various jets on the top of the chamber, five circular sheets of glass two feet in diameter are let into the flat roof of the chamber, one under each jet. The pipes leading to these jets go through the roof close to the edge of the glass, and are then bent over it and upwards again, so as to bring the jet itself exactly over the centre, and it is under these panes that the lighting apparatus is placed. This consists of a simple bracket lamp with rack and pinion worked by hand for feeding the carbons, and a third-order holophote lens twenty-two inches in diameter. The carbons are placed at an angle of about 20° with the horizon, and the bottom carbon is the positive one, in order to have the crater turned upwards. The axis of the top carbon is also slightly above that of the lower one, although parallel to NATURE é j 11 it. The carbons are eighteen millimetres in diameter, and the current is about sixty amperes. The five lamps are connected in parallel. Each lamp is inclosed in a case to protect the men from the light. Above each holo- phote is placed a frame with five grooves, in which run five frames containing the different coloured glasses by which the various colours are produced. When first erected the jets were provided with glass bottoms, and a small lens was placed above the holophote so as to concentrate the centre portion of the ray on the interior of the rising column of water. It was however found that this arrangement considerably reduced the height of the jet, on account of the eddies produced in the chamber at the bottom of the jet, and also diminished the amount of light thrown on the spray, and it was therefore abandoned. The principle of interior lighting of a stream of water was applied to three jets from the top of the Corinthian columns erected on each side of the statue of the late Prince Consort, and for this purpose two two-inch pipes were taken up each column, and connected with a cistern from which issue three jets, each illuminated from behind / by an electric lamp with twelve-millimetre carbons and twenty-ampere current. These lamps are in parallel arc on the same circuit as the large lamps in the centre chamber, suitable resistances being inserted. It was found that the two supplies provided did not allow of a column of water of sufficient diameter being thrown from each jet to prevent its being broken up by the wind, and as it was impossible to increase the supply while the Exhibition was open, these effects were rarely used. The current for these eleven lamps, amounting to 420 amperes, is generated by a compound shunt-wound Simens By machine placed in the electric light shed. The armature of this machive is built up of copper strips with spaces between, and is thus especially adapted for the work it has to do, which at times is very severe, as, the lamps being hand-fed, the arc is not struck as rapidly as in an automatic lamp, and the machine is therefore short- circuited for an appreciable space of time on starting or relighting any lamp. The electromotive force at the machine is eighty-four volts. From the machine the current is conveyed to the small hut near the meters by two well-insulated cables of nineteen strands of No. 12 copper wire, and from the hut it is distributed to the island lamps by an insulated cable of nineteen No. 10 wires 12 NATURE [| Vov. 6, 1884 inclosed in a lead pipe, and to the columns by two cables of seven strands of No. 12. A separate return cable runs from each jamp to the hut, where it is connected to the necessary resistances, made of strip iron, and from there back to the dynamo through two cables of nineteen No. 12’s. There is altogether very nearly a ton of copper in the various leads and branches. _ Besides these leads the centre chamber is connected to the circuit of the Sun light machine, so that, should any accident occur to the main circuit or michine, Sun lights could be substituted for the hand lamps. As the falling spray cuts off the light from below when the jets are at their highest, a light is placed in the top of the clock tower to illuminate the top of the jets. _This light is a focus-keeping Siemens automatic lamp, and takes a current of fifty amperes, supplied by a small Crompton-Burgin machine. The lamp is inclosed in a cast-iron casing swung on trunnions, and in front of it is a fifth-order holophotal lens by Messrs. Siemens. The various coloured glasses are fixed in frames or sashes arranged with counterweights, in the same way as an ordinary window. Some of the best effects of colour are also obtained by sheets of gelatine, of which a large number are fastened end to end, and fixed to two rollers, so that they can be wound from the one to the other, and thus passed through the beam of light. As the men in the centre chamber cannot see the effects they produce, it is necessary to direct them from the outside, and this is effected by an elaborate system of electric bells and disks, which are worked from the clock chamber below the last-described holophote. In this chamber sits Sir Francis Bolton, with a treble row of “pushes” in front of him, all labelled, by touching any of which a corresponding disk or bell is worked in the island. There are four bells—a call bell, an “on” bell, an “off” bell, and a lamp bell—and two indicator boards with eight disks each, and one with four. One board is for the water valves, which are each painted a different colour, with the corresponding colour on the disk, and the second board for the coloured glasses over the holo- photes. The disks onthesmall board refer to the corner lamps, and by their means Sir Francis can direct any colour to be placed over any one of the lamps by touching the push corresponding to the lamp and the push marked with the colour which he wishes to show. The working of the holophote at the top of the clock is directed in the same way. EXPERIMENTS WITH COAL-DUST AT NEUNKIRCHEN [IN GERMANY URING the course of the last summer the Royal Prussian Fire-damp Commission has carried out a series of experiments in the Saarbriicken mining district with the view of ascertaining the influence which coal- dust has, alone and in conjunction with fire-damp, in propagating explosions in mines. The apparatus and the mode of experiment were suggested by retired Bergwerks- director and Bergassessor Hilt, of Aix-la~Chapelle, who is a member of the Commission, and the results hitherto obtained have been of the most interesting kind. The experiments are conducted at the Royal Coal- Mine, Konig, near Neunkirchen, where there is a blower of fire-damp at a depth of 131 yards below the surface. The quantity of fire-damp given off by this blower amounts to about 0°9 cubic foot per minute, consisting of 86 per cent. of light carburetted hydrogen mixed with air, &c. It has been in existence for the last two years. The fire- damp is brought a distance of 1200 yards in pipes, and collected in a small gasometer whose capacity is 176 cubic feet. Dr. Ad. Gurlt of Bonn lately called my attention to the fact that over two hundred experiments made with this apparatus on a large scale had proved the correctness of my theory of great colliery explosions (Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. xxiv. p. 354, &c.), and at the same time suggested that a visit to Neunkirchen would be of interest. Accordingly I proceeded to the scene of the experi- . ments on October 25, accompanied by Mr. Wm. Thomas Lewis, one of the members of the Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines, and we were met there by Dr. Gurlt, who had travelled from Bonn for the purpose, and by Herren Prietze, Nasse, Margraf, and Kreuser, directors and assistant-directors of Kénig Grube and other Royal mines of the neighbourhood. Herr Margraf, under whose superintendence all the experiments are and have been made, has most kindly furnished me with a detailed description of the apparatus and of the experiments wit- nessed by Mr. Lewis and myself, and I am glad to avail myself of, and shall endeavour to reproduce, his account as nearly as may be, allowance being made for the diffi- culties of exact translation. The experiments are made in a_ horizontal wooden gallery 167 feet long, closed at one end, and having a horizontal branch gallery 33 feet long standing out at right angles to it at a distance of 93 feet from its closed end. Both the main gallery and the branch consist of elliptical rings of double T-iron lined internally with planks 1°6 inch thick, which abut closely together and are grooved and feather-jointed lengthwise. The greater axis of the ellipse stands vertically, and is about 5 feet 7 inches long; the lesser axis is 3 feet 11 inches long. The main and branch galleries are both em- bedded in the pit-heap to such a depth that the rubbish is level with their top on one side and reaches to three- quarters of their height on the other side. Along the exposed part of the latter side there is a row of windows, thirty-two, in the main gallery, and three in the branch gallery, situated somewhat more than a yard apart. ‘They are formed of sheets of glass about % inch thick set in cast-iron frames. There are also a number of openings in the top of the main gallery, one of which, near the closed end, is an ordinary man-hole, which can be closed by a man-hole door like that of a boiler, and serves as a means of ingress and egress. The others are circular, about 9 inches in diameter, and are lightly closed with wooden plugs attached to chains, which act as safety valves. All these openings assist in the removal of after- damp after an explosion. The closed end of the main gallery is sunk about 3 feet 9 inches into a block of masonry whose dimen- sions are 12 feet 4 inches long, 9 feet 9 inches wide, and 13 feet high. Seven cast-iron cannon, with a bore similar to that of a shot-hole in hard ground, are built into the block in the position shown in the figure opposite, so that their mouths are flush with the face. There are two holes near the top, two near the bottom, and three in the middle, grouped symmetrically in relation to the two axes of the ellipse. The middle hole is 37 inches deep by 1°57 inch in diameter ; the others are 314 inches deep by 1°37 inch in diameter. The axes of the two upper and of the two lower holes are placed in such a position that they form the angles of a four-sided regular prism whose apex is situated in the axis of the main gallery at a distance of 164 feet from the face. The axes of the three middle holes constitute a bundle of rays which meet at the same point as the last. Wooden hoops pro- jecting inwards from the sides are placed at various dis- tances apart in the main gallery within the first 654 feet from the face. By fastening cloth diaphragms to these hoops, compartments of various capacity can be formed, that of the first next the face being 705 cubic feet. The shots are fired electrically with Abegg’s fuses by means of an exploder made by Mahler and Eschenbacher of Vienna. The charge, which consists of 230 grammes, or about half a pound, of powder, occupies a length of 8°64 inches in the central hole, leaving room for rather ] over 28 inches of stemming, and 11 inches in the other 10les, leaving about 20 inches for stemming. _ The coal-dust is strewn upon the floor of the gallery from the face towards the open end in a layer of about 117 inch thick immediately before firing the shots. The weight of dust in each ten yards of length is about thirty pounds. It has been found in practice that, notwith- standing the upward direction of their axes, the shots next the floor produce the greatest disturbance of the coal-dust and give rise to longer coal-dust flames than any of the others. In all the experiments witnessed by Mr. Lewis and myself, ove shot-hole cnly, namely, one of the two next the floor, was charged and fired. The charge consisted of 230 grammes of blasting-powder each time, and the _ tamping was damp clay. Both ends of the branch gal- 7 payee closed with a double board brattice 1°96 inch thick In the first experiment neither coal-dust nor fire-damp was employed, and the tlame of the shot was seen through the windows to be a little over 13 feet long. | is S—e = z = =F 1 === = =F = == : =f $$ e = — = -= r = z = 4 = = === sf = ——— SSS SSS ¥ == = = SSS In the second experiment a length of 65 feet of the floor of the main gallery was strewn with coal-dust from Camphausen Colliery in the Saarbriicken mining district. The shot gave rise to a loud detonation, and the resulting flame filled the gallery to a distance of 884 feet. When the thick black after-damp had been drawn off by means of two of Korting’s exhausters, placed over two of the safety-holes and worked with compressed air, it was found that the inner brattice of the branch gallery had been bro%en, and small globules of coke were observed lying on the surface of the remaining coal-dust. In the third experiment a length of 130 feet of the floor of the main gallery was strewn with coal-dust from Pluto Mine in Westphalia. When the shot was fired, the flame traversed the whole length of the gallery with great velocity, and came out at the open end to a distance of 16 feet, being thus altogether 183 feet long. Notwith- standing the entire absence of fire-damp, this was a true explosion of the most violent kind, and the clouds of after- damp which streamed from every opening darkened the air in the neighbourhood of the gallery for two or three minutes. The brattice at the inner end of the branch gallery had not been replaced before this experiment, and the one at its outer end was broken into small frag- “a NATURE 13 ments, some of which were thrown to a distance of 115 feet. The flame was also seen to emerge from the branch gallery to a distance of several yards. The coal-dust remaining on the floor after the explosion was covered with a sooty film, in which coke globules were found embedded. The brattice at both ends of the branch gallery was now replaced, and the floor of the main gallery swept clean as usual. In the fourth and last experiment coal- dust from Pluto Mine was strewn on the floor for a distance of 65 feet from the face. A diaphragm of prepared canvas was fastened in the gallery at the point where the space inclosed between itself and the face amounts to 705 cubic feet. A volume of 35 cubic feet of fire-damp was intro- duced into this space, and complete diffusion was effected by beating the air with cloths. The mixture of fire-damp and air thus obtained is not inflammable or explosive by itself, and shows a cap of only 1,5; inch high on the re- duced flame of a safety-lamp. ‘The firing of the shot produced a flame 190 feet long, accompanied by a report like a thunder-clap. The inner brattice of the branch gallery was broken, and drawn several yards into the main gallery, but the outer one remained intact. Some idea of the great force of the two last explosions may be gathered from the following facts :—An ordinary mine railway, beginning on a level with the floor of the main gallery, extends away from its open end in the direction of its length, and ascending at an angle of 4°. An ordinary mine waggon, loaded with iron so as to weigh altogether 15} cwt., was standing on the rails at the mouth of the main gallery when the shots were fired. When the third shot was fired, it was driven up along the rails to a distance of 23 feet, and when the fourth shot was fired, it was literally hurled along the railway by the force of the explosion to a distance of 524 feet, being driven off the rails and running on the ground for the last six feet. The boards constituting the end of this waggon next the gallery were broken, but not torn off. A small beam 4 inches square, bolted across the rails at the mouth of the gallery, so as to form a stop for the waggon, was torn from the bolts which held it, and sent flying after the train. Lastly, a shower of stones and debris was raised by the blast which swept out of the mouth of the gallery, and some of the pieces carried upwards of 100 feet. The foregoing facts appear to me to be well worthy of the attention of all who have any interest in the prevention of explosions in mines. W. GALLOWAY FLOWERS OUT OF SEASON HE untimely flowering of trees and shrubs, like. the occurrence of the extraordinary gooseberry, 1s a subject which crops up at such regular intervals as almost to belie the epithet applied to it. Nevertheless, the very frequency of the comment is an indication that the matter is ill understood. The ordinary time-rate for the production of new cells, new leaves, new flowers, and so on, varies as we see within wide limits. Equally obviously those limitations are 1m- posed by the conjoint effects of inheritance and of external conditions, such as climate or food, or both. An annual plant rushes through its life in hot haste as it were: save and except in the seeds of such plants there is compara- tively little building up or maturing of new tissues to be done, and proportionately still less stores of potential food to be accumulated. If, on the one hand, the requirements of such plants are less than in the case of perennials, their exigencies are, on the other hand, more pressing. What they take from the soil, or atmosphere, what power they derive from solar light and heat, must be got quickly or not at all. One illustration of this is afforded by the paucity of annual species in the Arctic regions or at high altitudes. Neither heat nor light is absolutely deficient in such situa- -_- 14 NATORE [Vov. 6, 1884. tions, but the length of time during which they are avail- able is too short to allow annuals to profit by a sufficiently large aggregate to enable them to mature their seeds. Before they can accomplish their purpose, they are over- taken by frost and their activity is put a stop to. The energy of perennials, it is true, may be checked in the same manner, but they have been enabled, before the evil day arrived, to lay up stores of nutriment available for use when the increasing heat and light of the following year shall once more quicken their activity. The work to be done is spread over two or more seasons instead of one, and the chances of success are thus correspond- ingly enhanced. But if we suppose the conditions to be uniformly and continuously favourable, the abrupt cessation “of growth will no longer be manifest, the annual will cease to be an annual, the perennial will not die down in winter, the growing points of the buds will not incase themselves in scales, vegetation will be continuous. Such halcyon conditions find their nearest realisation in moist equatorial climates like that of the Malay peninsula and adjacent islands. But even there the realisation is not perfect. Something happens to disturb the balance; and even if the conditions are generally uniform there is always the idiosyncrasy of individual plants to forma disturbing factor. Again, such conditions, though favourable to the continuance of vegetation, are less propitious to the establishment of fructification. The formation of stem, leaf, flower, even of fruit, is one thing, the maturation of the seed and of the embryo-plant within it is another; and the conditions propitious to either are correspondingly different. The ripe seed makes in proportion larger demands on the plastic matters formed as a result of metabolism, and has almost invariably the same composition according to its species, but this cannot be said with equal truth of any other part of the plant. Again, the conditions for growth, that is, mere increase in bulk, are different, in degree at least, from those which favour progressive development or metamorphosis. Speaking in general terms, it may be said that vegetation approaches its end where fructification shows signs of commencement. There is indeed no fixed line of demar- cation to be drawn, but while morphologically there are gradations and intermediate forms, physiologically there are also transitions, and periods of instability. It is easy to understand how this happens, and how it is the diver- gences are not greater. These matters indeed partake so much of the nature of truisms, that some apology might almost be needed for insisting on them, were it not that they are absolutely essential for the due comprehension of the phenomena of untimely blooming. It is also desirable to draw attention to the fact that there is naturally a wide range in the period during which vital activity manifests itself even in individuals of the same species, and as these individuals vary in colour, stature, &c., even when derived from the same stock, so others may vary in their “ time-rates.” This is specially noticeable in the case of the horse-chestnut, and is perhaps more often manifest in the form of precocious development in spring than in that of tardy growth in autumn. In most cases the plant has to attain a certain age before it produces flowers, but occasionally we find individuals so precocious that they are scarce out of the seed before they burst into flower. A cocoa-nut has thus been seen in flower while the husk of the fruit was still attached to it. Gardeners, according to their requirements, have freely availed them- selves of these individual differences by selecting for per- petuation late or early varieties. The whole subject of the “chronometry of life,’ it may here be mentioned, formed the text of a valuable lecture by Sir James Paget, atthe Royal Institution, many years ago. Cases of unseasonable blossoming may be ranged under three heads, according as growth and development are : (1) prolonged beyond the ordinary time ; (2) premature or manifested aforetime ; (3) renewed after a short interval of arrest. Categories (2) and (3) differ in detail rather than in essence, as will be explained further on. Taking the cases of continuous or prolonged growth first, it is easy to see that many of them are due to a . continuance of favourable conditions. A long spell of summer without excessive heat or drought will insure a longer period of blooming ; flower will succeed to flower so long as the weather and the natural changes in the tissues. of the plant, according to age, are held in abeyance. How small are the exigencies of some plants in these matters. may be illustrated by the fact that there are few days in the year when a daisy or a white deadnettle may not be found in bloom, at least in the southern half of England. It is necessary, however, to introduce some qualification, because one has only to look into one’s garden to see that in spite of apparently favourable conditions many plants are not to be induced to continue blooming. Although in duration perennial, in the matter of flower- ing they behave as annuals. Something in their organisation forbids the prolongation of the blooming period. That this is so is at least rendered highly probable by the circumstance that the same reticence is exhibited under cultivation. Asan illustration of an oppo- site character, may be mentioned the prolongation of the blooming period even under relatively adverse circum- stances which has been brought about by the art and selec- tion exercised by the gardener. Take roses, for instance, only one of many that might be cited. Our fathers had to be content with what we now call summer roses, roses of great beauty and exquisite fragrance, but which they ~ must have wept to see “haste away so soon.” Now- adays, the case is very different, there is a whole legion of so-called “hybrid perpetuals ” marked in the catalogues of the nurserymen as H.P. By their agency a second crop of roses is assured, while some will continue in favour- able seasons to expand their blooms in succession up to Christmas. This prolongation of the flowering season has been brought about by combining by means of hybridisa- tion the robust qualities of European roses with the continuous blooming tendencies of the Indian rose. Many varieties of pear, the common laburnum, the Wistaria, Weigela, the hybrid Serberzs stenophylla, some rhododendrons, currants (Azées), exhibit this phenomenon, the flowers being produced on the ends of more or less prolonged shoots, as strawberries under like circumstances produce their flowers on the ends of the “yunners” of the year. The premature development of flowers in autumn has a better title to be called unseasonable, because the phenomenon is really due to the unfolding of flowers which, under ordinary circumstances, would remain passive till the following spring. There is not, as in the former case, a new formation or a continuous growth, but merely what the French appropriately call fewraison anticipée. And here for a moment it may be allowable to call attention to an essay of Linnzeus entitled Prolepsis Plantarum, little read nowadays, although based on facts, and containing much that is still worthy of consideration. For kim a flower was a shoot with lateral outgrowths, a morphological conception that would still satisfy a German transcendentalist. But, further, this shoot and its out- growths were supposed to represent the outcome of six ordinary years’ work contracted into one. A flower was, according to this theory, a shoot in which the differentiation of parts instead of being spread over six years was hurried on and completed within one season. For Linnzus leaves represented the work of one year, bracts that of the following one, sepals of the third, petals of the fourth, stamens of the fifth, and the pistil that of the sixth year. It is not necessary to discuss the mor- phological aspects of this theory, but it is relevant to our present purpose because it emphasises the relation of leaf-shoot to flower—a relation enunciated about the same e, and independently one of the other, by Wolf and Linnzus, and thirty years before Goethe propounded a similar notion. Moreover, it brings into prominence not only the morphological relation of shoot and flower, but one manner in which the time of production of the shoot and of the flower respectively may be varied, a subject having an immediate bearing on the question of umseasonable flowering. If, says Linnzeus (Pro/efs7s, § iii.), “4 shrub which has been grown in a pot, and has borne flower and fruit every year, be transferred to richer soil im a hot-house, it will produce for many years numerous leafy shoots, but no fruit. From which it may be inferred ‘that the leaves are produced from the same source whence the flowers previously sprang, and so in turn what now tends to form leaves would, by this agency of Nature, be converted into flower ifthe same tree were again placed in a pot so as to confine the roots ; hence gardeners desirous of obtaining a more plentiful crop of strawberries, cut the fine roots of the plants in spring before they transplant them, in the hope that they will produce more abundant flowers and fruit.” Here we see the same principle laid down as that upon which gardeners act when they wish to secure flower and fruit by cutting off the supplies, and thus making the plant, to a greater degree, de- pendent on the elaborated reserve stored up in their tissues. This is effected by growing plants in small pots, root-pruning, transplanting, ringing, and other processes, all of which tend to diminish root-absorption, and by dis- turbing the balance between it and other processes, to check vegetation, and in so far to promote the formation of flower. Charles Martins relates the production on a very large scale of inflorescence on the Agave, in Algeria, as the direct consequence of the excision of the leafbuds by a troop jof French cavalry, who hacked the plants with their sabres as they passed, and thus, by preventing or checking growth in one direction, stimulated it in another. In like manner I have seen flowers produced on the “ suckers” of Az/anthus glandulosa when the plant was quite young, on the roots of Pyrus japonica, and on a sucker of Agave, as the result of injury, probably in all, certainly in some, of the instances. The frequent production of flowers out of season on newly transplanted trees is accounted for in like manner. But many trees are flowering this autumn which have not been slashed with sabres nor moved by more peaceful weapons. ne such tree, a horse-chestnut, I lately (September) saw, in which one limb, and one only, was full of young leaves and flowers, while the remaining limbs were fast losing their foliage. The reason for this partial production of bloom I was not able to divine ; possibly it may have had some relation to injury to a certain portion of the root-system in more or less direct connection with the particular branch, but I have no evidence to offer in support of such a guess. In speaking previously of one modification of unsea- sonable flowering dependent on activity protracted beyond the customary period, it was mentioned that the flower was in such instances developed at the ends of long slender shoots formed during the course of the summer. In such cases the shoot ends in a flower-bud instead of a leaf-bud as is usually the case. The conditions are no longer favourable for the extension of the shoot, and the energy of growth is diverted to the production of flower. But in the laburnum, in many fruit-trees, such as the apple and pear, the fruits are normally borne on short thick branches called by the gardeners “spurs.” These are very interesting physiologically, as possessing inter- mediate transitional characteristics, such as those before alluded to, between vegetation and seed-production. In form, these spurs are short and thick, with very narrow interspaces between the leaves, and they bear a cluster of buds which ultimately all develop into flowers, or in which the central and terminal one is a leaf-bud. _ Inter- nally these spurs are soft and spongy, with a great prepon- | | a NATURE : - -s> 15 derance of cellular over fibro-vascular or woody tissue. The cells are moreover filled with starch. We have evidently here got to do with store-places, analogous to that fur- nished by the tuber of the potato and other formations, in which food, or matter capable of conversion into food, is stored up for future use at the growing points ; in this case for the formation of fruit. Flowers are occasionally produced on these spurs out of due season: the flower- bud destined fora following season bursts into activity this year, affording an instance of a true flewraison anticipée ; but more often, according to my observations, when an untimely flower is produced (especially in the apple), it is from the development of a flower in the central bud of the spur, which is usually a leaf-bud as aboye stated. In such a case, then, we have not only an alteration in the character of the bud, but a change in the period of its expansion. A converse illustration to that just given is afforded by a case recorded by Mr. Berkeley, in which a bud of a walnut, which in the ordinary course of things should have produced a female inflorescence in the following spring, was developed in the autumn as a leafy shoot. Renewal of growth after temporary arrest, “ recru- descence” as it is sometimes called, occurs normally in the pine-apple, Eucomis, Metrosideros, and other plants. Abnormally, I have met with it in Cy¢isus nigricans, the common wallflower, (Enothera, and many others. It hardly differs from the first category mentioned in this note except in the fact that the new growth is the direct continuation of the old and not an entirely new lateral formation. It differs from the terminal bud of a “ spur, in that the latter is normal as to position even if developed out of season, whereas in the class of cases now under consideration the activity of the growing point, which usually ceases with the development of the last flower, is exceptionally continued. One other circumstance deserves mention, and that is the rarity with which true fruit, or at least ripe seed, is produced as a result of these untimely flowers. Some- times, of course, ripe seed is produced ; a plum is before me as I write the seed of which is as perfect, to all appearance, as that of the first crop could have been, But in the majority of the pears and apples which come under one’s notice at this unseasonable period, the fruit is there (in the popular sense), but the core, which is in a botanical sense the true fruit, is absent, or, if present, the seeds it contains are usually abortive. Botanical readers will readily see the morphological reason why, and phy- siologists will recognise that in such cases the deviation from the ordinary course is not so great as it appears upon the surface, and the action of the “environment ¥ is not so potent as it appears to be at first sight. , To sum up: these cases of unseasonable flowering appear to be due either to continuous growth and development, to renewal of growth after a longer or shorter period of arrest, or to the development of a flower-bud in the place of a leaf-bud. What pro- duces these changes? To this no more precise answer can be given than has already been alforded. The absolute nature of the change, structurally and morpho- logically, depends upon the nature of the inducing causes, and varies accordingly; the degree of change may depend simply on the increased or prolonged intensity of action of the same causes which promote natural growth. MAXWELL T. MASTERS NOTES Tue Washington Prime Meridian Conference closed on November 1. Protocols were approved, which will be made the basis of an international convention, fixing Greenwich as the prime meridian. MANCHESTER is determined to have the British Association in 1886, and its invitation will almost certainly be accepted. 16 NATURE [WVov. 6, 1884 THERE is no truth in the statement which is being repeated so often that Baron Nordenskjold intends to lead an expedition into the Antarctic regions. Ty a letter from the Sagastyr Meteorological Station on the Lena, dated March 20, and appearing in the last issue of the Zzvestia, M. Yurgens informs the Russian Geographical Society that twenty-six years ago a mammoth was discovered in the delta of the Lena, twenty-three miles from the station. Its head and tusks had already been taken away by a Russian merchant at the time of the discovery of the body, and the Yakuts of the neigh- bouring settlement have taken a leg, several ribs for making spoons, as also parts of its skin for straps, and fat for painting their sledges. The body is lying on the right side in the lower part of a crag of alluvial deposits thirty feet high. The interior is said to be quite safe. Dr. Bunge went to the place pointed out by the Yakuts, and undertook regular excavations for a distance of 350 feet, the expedition not being sure that the Yakuts have shown the right place : they consider it a sin to take from the earth what it does not give itself. The work is very hard, the excavations being made in a frozen mass of snow, ‘‘as hard as sugar,” M. Yurgens says. While the work was at a lull, news was received of another mammoth’s body discovered only six years ago on the Moloda River, left bank tributary of the Lena, joining it thirty-five miles above Siktyakh, which has remained still untouched. If the news is confirmed, M. Yurgens will make an excursion to discover it. IN a subsequent letter, dated April 16, M. Yurgens writes that M. Eigner has made magnetic measurements to the east of the station as far as Ust-Yansk. Full measurements were made at ten places, notwithstanding frosts of — 30° to — 40° C. Mr. Yurgens will make the same measurements to the west of the station. Preparations are already made for the return journey. Several magnetic instruments had to be packed at the end of April and sent on sledges to Bulun. M. Eigner proposed to leave the station at the same time, while MM. Bunge and Yurgens intended to stay at Sagastyr until June 15. THE following papers were entered to be read, Science states, at the Newport meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, Oct. 14 to 16:—On the columella auris of the Pelycosauria, E. D. Cope ; the brain of Asellus and the eyeless form of Cecidotzea, A. S. Packard; on the theory of atomic volumes, Wolcott Gibbs 5 on the complex inorganic acids, Wolcott Gibbs; notice of Muy- bridge’s experiments on the motions of animals by instantaneous photography, Fairman Rogers; notice of Grant’s difference- engine, Fairman Rogers; on the thinolite of Lake Lahontan, E. S. Dana; on the Mesozoic coals of the North-West, R. Pumpelly ; on the work of the Northern Trans-Continental Survey, R. Pumpelly ; the grasses mechanically injurious to live-stock, William H. Brewe ; on gravitation survey, C, S. Peirce ; on minimum differences of sensibility, C.S. Peirce and J. Jastrow ; researches on Ptolemy’s star-catalogue, C. H. F. Peters; on the operations of the U.S. Geological Survey, J. W. Powell ; the motion of Hyperion, Asaph Hall ; remarks on the civilisa- tion of the native peoples of America, E. B. Tylor; some results of the exploration of the deep sea beneath the Gulf Stream by the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross during the past summer, A. E. Verrill ; recent progress in explosives, H. L. Abbot ; on an experimental composite photograph of the members of the Academy, R. Pumpelly ; report on meridian work at Carlsruhe, W. Valentiner ; on the algebra of logic, C. S. Peirce. THE meeting of the Cambridge Philosophical Society next Monday at 3 p.m. will be marked by the number and import- ance of the biological papers communicated. One will be by a lady, Miss F. Eves, Lecturer at Newnham College, on some experiments on the liver ferment. Mr. W. F. R. Weldon will contribute a paper on the supra-renal bodies, on which he has previously made valuable contributions. development of the study of vegetable morphology and physio- logy under Dr. Vines will be further evidenced by Mr. Walter Gardiner’s paper on the supposed presence of protoplasm in the intercellular spaces, and Mr. J. R. Green’s, on a proteid occur- ring in plants. Prof. Michael Foster is the new President of the Society ; Mr. Trotter, Mr. Glazebrook, and Dr. Vines are the Secretaries ; and Prof. Cayley, Prof. Macalister, and Mr. Glaisher are the new Members of Council. THE Statistical Society has issued in one handsome quarto a Catalogue of their most useful collection of books. The Cata- logue has been compiled with great care, and on a simple and intelligible plan. The library is deemed to be a class library, and no classification therefore is attempted, the books being arranged in alphabetical order, with reference to size, under their authors’ names or otherwise, as described in the preface. Secondly, their are no ‘‘ d/ind entries,” z.e. each entry, including cross-references, gives sufficient particulars, including size, to _ enable any person to recognise the book he is looking for, if there, and at the same time indicate to the attendant, without further reference to the Catalogue, where the book is to be found. Such features are a great comfort to the student. MICHIGAN, like most other States, is going in for economic entomology. We have received a pamphlet of 31 pages on Injurious Insects, emanating from the Entomological Laboratory of the Michigan Agricultural College, in which Prof. A. }. Cook and Mr. Clarence M. Weed are the principal writers. Several of the usual American pests are noticed, and some are figured. We are sorry to say the figures are original, for although the practice of borrowing clichés has extended in the States to a degree that is almost nauseating, the results are usually satis- factory, and had the practice been followed in this instance it would have been to the advantage of this Michigan College. Probably for the first time in America the ubiquitous ‘‘ Painted Lady” (Vanessa carduz) is stigmatised as ‘‘ injurious”; it is accused of devouring hollyhock, centaurea, and borage. The same insect in Europe, a few years ago, was driven to extremes in order to find anything that would agree with it, and nearly caused a panic with the worshippers of ‘‘ absinthe,” by destroy- ing the wormwood crop in the Canton of Neufchatel (Switzer- land). There are some very useful and suggestive statistics (by Mr. Weed) on the food relations of birds, frogs, and toads (the paper being a ‘‘ Thesis for the degree of Master of Science ”’). The first part deals with the food of young birds, in which the American robin (a thrush, and not to be confounded with oz redbreast) figures largely, as do also the ‘‘ blue bird”’ and others. Lepidopterous larvz are the main food, but apologies have to be made (especially in the case of the blue-bird) for the number of spiders destroyed. In the case of young ‘‘robins” the mol- luscous element is small ; probably it would be equally small in this country with regard to yourg thrushes or blackbirds, their beaks not being sufficiently strong to enable them to do the shell- breaking. The statistics with regard to frogs and toads do not appear to be of importance one way or the other. Frogs and toads destroy insects (or ‘‘ Arthropods” in the broad sense), but we fancy the particular food depends upon the conditions under which the individual Batrachian finds itself. WE have much pleasure in calling attention to the issue, from the Breslau house of Eduard Trewendt, of four new numbers of that comprehensive work, the ‘‘ Encyclopedia of Natural Sciences”—the 38th number of the first, and the 23rd to the 25th numbers of the second division. The 38th number of the first division brings the ‘‘ Dictionary of Zoology, Anthro- pology, and Ethnology” as far as Gewohnung (Habitua- The remarkable recent _ Nov. 6, 1884] NATURE 17 tion), and we need only refer in particular to the history of arthropology, of our knowledge of the Mollusca, Reptilia, and Amphibia, the writers of which occupy the front rank in their respective departments. The map of the ‘‘Zoo- logical Regions,” appended to Reichenow’s interesting article on the ‘Geographical Distribution of Animals,” will be much appreciated. The new numbers of the second division contain a continuation of Ladenburg’s ‘‘ Alphabetical Manual of Che- mistry,” with which might close two goodly volumes of this work. As physical chemistry has found an excellent repre- sentative in Prof. Eilhard Wiedemann, so is also industrial chemistry set forth by men of the first ability, whose con- tributions here will be prized by a wide circle: ‘‘ Chlorine,” by Prof. Heumann (with numerous woodcuts), ‘‘ Chinoline,” by Dr. L. Berend-Kiel, and ‘‘Cyanic Compounds,” by Prof. Jacobsen. Nor must we omit mentioning the ‘‘ History of Chemistry ” (in No. 23), written for the ‘‘ Alphabetical Manual of Chemistry” by Prof. G. Hoffmann of Kiel. The ‘‘ Alpha- betical Manual of Mineralogy, Geolozy, and Palzontology,” continued with No. 24 of the second division, has now advanced to the end of the article ‘‘ Krystallgestalten und Krystallogra- phie” (Crystal Formations and Crystallography), which, along with the preceding article on ‘‘ Crystals,” by Prof. Kenngott, furnishes a yery handsome contribution to the work in question, both articles being, moreover, very copiously illustrated. Finally, we have to announce that there will next appear a new botanical number which, among other things, will contain the beginning of a treatise on ‘‘ Schleimpilze,” by Dr. W. Zopf. eae ate SOME 154 prehistoric tombs near Santa Lucia by Tolmein, (Gorizia), have been lately examined by Dr. Marchesetti, the director of the Trieste Museum. Their contents were conveyed to Trieste ; the excavations will be continued :at the instance of the Adriatic Natural History Society, fora period of about two years. During last year Dr. Marchesetti examined another burial-ground, viz. that of Vermo, near Mitterburg (Istria), which belongs to quite another period. Mr. T. MELLARD READE, C.E., F.G.S., in his presidential address to the Liverpool Geological Society this session, ‘‘ On the Denudation of the Two Americas,”’ showed that 150,000,000 tons of matter in solution are annually poured into the Gulf of Mexico by the River Mississippi; this, it was estimated, would reduce the time for the denudation of one foot of land over the whole basin—which time has hitherto been calculated solely from the matter in suspension—from 1 foot in 6090 years to I foot in 4500 years. Similar calculations were applied to the La Plata, the Amazons, and the St. Lawrence, Mr. Reade arriving at the result that an average of 100 tons per square mile per annum are removed from the whole American continent. This agrees with results he previously arrived at for Europe, fr m which it was inferred that the whole of the land draining into the Atlantic Ocean from America, Africa, Europe, and Asia contributes matter in solution which if reduced to rock at 2 tons to the cubic yard would equal 1 cubic mile every six years. For several years the Director of Telegraphs at Haugesund (Norway), Herr A. Reitan, has been making experiments for the purpose of solving the problem whether fish seek places in the sea which are artificially illuminated. In order, however, to make experiments on a larger scale than hitherto, and if possible to demonstrate the value of such illuminations at great fisheries, he has received some specially-constructed electric lamps from Brussels, with whick he will continue his experiments during the autumn. Tue Natural History Society of Rhineland and Westphalia held their autumn meeting at Bonn. Among the papers read we note those on the forest vegetation of the extreme north- western portion of the Himalayas, by Dr. Brandis, and on the present state of the Phylloxera question in the Rhenish vineyards, by Prof. Bortkau. AT Schrems (Lower Austria) a violent shock of earthquake was felt on the night of October 8-9 at ten minutes past mid- night. It was preceded by a subterranean rolling noise, lasting several minutes. The phenomenon was also observed at Zwettl and at Gmiind. THE glaciers in the Dachstein Mountains have again diminished considerably at their lower extremities. Prof. Simony has recently taken a large number of photographs of the summit of the Hohe Dachstein, of the Gosau Glacier, and the Karls ice- field, in order to execute future measurements. The surface of the lowest layers of the Karls ice-field has sunk between 2°5 and 3°2 metres since last year, and the lower end of the Gosau Glacier has receded more than twice that amount. Since about 1849 this glacier has receded more than 600 metres. We have repeatedly referred to Hayek’s ‘‘ Grosser Handatlas der Naturgeschichte” (published by Moritz Perles, Vienna), which has now reached its completion. THE death is announced of Prof. Eugenio Balbi, Professor of Geography at Pavia University, a son of the celebrated geo- grapher, Adriano Balbi. Born at Florence on February 6, 1812, he died at Pavia on October 18 last. THE Natural History Museum, established by the Committee of the International African Society at Brussels, grows in extent daily. The most recent additions are the skeletons of a chim- panzee, a gorilla, a crocodile, and a sea-cow. The Director of the Karema Station on Lake Tanganyika has forwarded a large collection of birds. ** 4 NORWEGIAN” writes to point out two errors in Mr. Mattieu Williams’s note on the northernmost promontory in Norway. “To call the Knivskjzrodde a ‘low glaciated tongue of rock’ is hardly correct. The ridge is a couple of hundred feet high at least. I have before me a photograph of the cape, taken last summer by Dr. Sophus Tromholt, and which will shortly be placed before the public. The elevation is very considerable. Mr. Williams further states that there are magnificent capes abounding around the North Cape; others are above 1000 feet. This is incorrect. The highest mountain on the coast of Arctic Norway is the North Cape, viz. 974 feet. A belief has for many years prevailed in Norway that Knivskjzrodden jutted further into the ocean than the North Cape, but it has only been proved this summer.” THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include two Rhesus Monkeys (AZacacws rhesus) from India, presented respectively by Mr. Richard Armytage and Mrs. E. A. Russell ; a Roseate Cockatoo (Cacatua rosetcapilla) from Australia, presented by Miss N. Simonds ; a Northern Mocking Bird (AZimus polyglottus) from North America, pre- sented by Mr. Thomas G. Venables ; a Grand Eclectus (Zclectus roratus) from Moluccas, presented by Miss Lawson ; two Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), British, presented by Mrs, Pigou ; an Undulated Grass Parrakeet ((7elopstttacus undulatus) from Aus- tralia, presented by Mr. F. Hale, F.Z.S. ; a Water Rail (Xad/us aguati-us), a Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) from Norfolk, pre- sented by Mr. T. E. Gunn ; a Common Chameleon (Chameleon vu.garis) from North Africa, presented by Mr. W. G. Brinkley ; an Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) from the Mississippi, presented by Mr. R. M. Middleton; a Greater White-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua cristata) from the Moluccas, deposited ; a Black-headed Caique (Caica melanocephala) from Demerara, purchased ; a Cape Ant Bear (Oryeleropus capensis) from South Africa, received on approval. 18 OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN BARNARD’s CoMET.—The following ephemeris of this comet for Greenwich midnight is deduced from the elliptical elements of Dr. Berberich, of Strasburg, which assign a revolution of 54% years :— R.A. N.P.D. Log. distance from 1884 We See é ; arth Sun INoy.16)).... 22 5 32)... MOL 27:8 >... O;004T WeOnLgGs 8... — 10128... 100) 50°3) ... (0:01 47, TO)... ——) 15920)... 100) 13°3 --. 010253)". O25 WA os 3 Je) Milica | CR) Sots aan Chto HS) U4 — 24 51... 99) O37... O10463) 2.5 Os2nee 16 ... — 29 30... 98 25°2 ... 0'0567 (ors <4) —" 34 96) =2. 197) S0'1!=.. (010670 F-orzron ZOWsed — BON Sol nes G7) U5 shee OF01772) 22... 22 43 7 ... 96 41°4 ... 070874 ... 0:2259 The theoretical intensity of light on November 6 is 0°39, and on November 22, 0°24. As previously remarked, it is very desir- able that observations of this comet for position should be con- tinued as long as practicable, that its mean motion may be deter- mined with sufficient precision to enable a trustworthy estimate of past planetary perturbations to be obtained. The general resemblance of the elements to those of the short-period comet of De Vico in 1844 will render such an investigation one of much interest. THE NovemMBer METEORS.—The earth arrives at the de- scending node of the first comet of 1866 on the afternoon of Thursday, November 13, and a watch may be favourably insti- tuted on the night of that day for meteors of the stream which appears to lie in the comet’s track. Oppdélzer’s definitive elements give for the radiant point, R.A. 150°:2, N.P.D. 67°:2 (equinox of 1866). THe Lick OBSERVATORY, CALIFORNIA.—The following is an extract ofa letter from Prof. Edward S. Holden, Director of the Washburn Observatory, University of Wisconsin, dated October 17 :—“‘T have just returned from the Lick Observatory, where I have mounted a beautiful meridian-circle by Repsold of 6 (French) inches aperture. It has north and south collimators of the same aperture, and its axis is a telescope of 2°5 inches aper- ture, which is viewed by an east (or west) collimator for con- trolling the azimuth, &c. There are two circles, each divided to 2’, one fixed, the other movable by a wheel and pinion, so that it is not essetia? to determine the division errors of any lines except those for each 1°, and those 2" lines belonging to 4 degrees, 90° apart. The room is double throughout, a wooden building 40 X 40 feet inside of a structure in louvre-work, which gives a continuous air space all around; and this air space is connected with a tall ventilating tower which enables the free circulation of air to be maintained. It appears to me to be in all respects satisfactory. The Lick Observatory now needs only its 36-inch refractor to be complete, and they hope for this within three years.” It will be remembered that this Observatory is situate on the top of Mount Hamilton. VARIABLE STAR IN THE ORION-NEBULA.—The late Prof. Schmidt found that the star which he distinguishes as 14 (Bond 822 = Liapunov y), which follows @ Orionis 34°3s., and 5’ 5” to the south of it, disappeared at minimum in his 5-feet refractor, and at maximum reached 9°5m. On April 3, 1878, it was estimated 12°8, equal to Bond 784, but before the end of the month it rose to 9'7. The star may deserve frequent observation. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES THE Rey. Francis A. Allen has issued a reprint of the paper read by him at the late Congress of Americanists in Copen- hagen on Polynesian antiquities. The stupendous Cyclopean monuments, platforms, terraces, walls, colossal statues, scat- tered over the South Sea Islands are graphically described, and regarded as forming a connecting link between the ancient civilisations of Asia and America. The theory is that America was mainly peopled by two streams of migration from Asia—a nomad Mongolic, proceeding directly by the Straits of Behring, and now represented by the Apaches, Utes, Comanches, and other wild tribes of California, Oregon, Colorado, &c. ; and a semi-civilised, proceeding from Further India and China across the islands of the Pacific Ocean to Mexico, Central America, NATURE [Vov. 6, 1884 and Peru. On their way across the archipelagoes these peoples left traces of their presence in Micronesia, Hawaii, Tahiti, and especially Easter Island, the last-named distant only some 2600 miles from the mainland of South America. The resemblances between these monuments and those of Peru and Mexico are dwelt upon, and they are further compared with those of Java (Boro-Boro), Cambodia (Angkor-Vaht), and others in Southern Asia. The theory, which is not altogether novel, is supported by other arguments based on con- siderations of traditions, usages, religions, languages, and the like, brought together from various sources not always of a trustworthy character. Itis suggested that the Chinese tradition of the discovery of Fusang by the monk Hoén-Shin may not be altogether an idle tale. Allusion is made to Schooleraft’s exploded legend of Hiawatha; and some more than doubtful authorities are referred to in proof of the affinities between the American languages and those of Japan, North-East Siberia, and Indo-China. Nevertheless, if not always critical, the paper is learned and lucid, and worth reprinting, if only for the great number of data here brought together as bearing directly or indirectly on the point at issue. HERR VON Haarpt contributes an instructive memoir to the last number of the Proceedings of the Vienna Geographical Society on the services rendered to the progress of the geo- graphical sciences by the Austrian nayy. A brief historical survey is given of the famous Movara Expedition round the world (1857-59); of the survey of the Adriatic coastlands by Capt. T. Ritter (1871) ; the simultaneous determination of the magnetic relations in the same waters by Lieut. J. Schellander ; the expedition of the Ayzedrich and Donau to the East Asiatic seaboard (1868) ; the second voyage of the Dozaw to Asia and South America (1874-76) ; the circumnavigation of Borneo by Capt. T. F. von Oesterreicher ; the circumnavigation of Africa by the Helgoland and Friedrich (1874-75) ; the voyages of the Pola to Jan Mayen and the Arctic Ocean (1882-83); Wey- precht’s discovery of Franz-Josef Land, &c. The memoir con- cludes with a brief reference to the expeditions now in progress or promised in the near future, such as that of the Sada to Australasia (1884-86); of the Arora to South America (1884-85) ; of the Hegoland to the West African seaboard, and of the Frzdsberg to the Indian Ocean. THE same periodical contains the first part of what promises to be a very valuable contribution to the physiography of Cau- casia. Much useful information is here brought together from the latest sources regarding the orography, river systems, ad- ministrative divisions, and statistics of that region. The present area of the northern section (Cis-Caucasia) is given at 4037 German geographical square miles, of the southern (Trans- Caucasia), 4400 ; total, 8437, or 2740 more than that of the British Isles. To this journal F. Blumentritt also sends an account of the little-known Negrito tribes of the district of Principe in the Island of Luzon, Philippine Archipelago. These aborigines, collectively known as Atas (Aetas), and showing distinct physical resemblances to the non-Malay wild tribes of Malacca, are being gradually evangelised by the Spanish missionaries stationed at Baler. Hemmed in between the semi-civilised Tagalas and the fierce Ilongotes, both of mixed Malay stock and speech, they have already been largely affected by Malay influences. But although their language contains numerous Tagala words, ex- pressions, and even grammatical forms, its fundamentally distinct character has heen clearly determined. For the purpose of com- parison useful vocabularies of about 150 words are appended in five languages: Spanish, Tagala, Negrito of Mariveles (Bataan), Negrito of Zambales, and Negrito of Baler (Principe). AT the opening meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on Monday, Mr. Joseph Thomson gave an eloquent and highly interesting account of his recent explorations in the country of the Masai. Both the country and the people are of the greatest interest to science, and, as was shown last week, Mr. Thomson’s botanical collections are decidedly novel. One or two zoological novelties he has also obtained, and we shall be glad to have the detailed account of his discoveries, which will appear in his forthcoming work. Ir appears from the Anglo-Mew Zealander and Australian Zimes that Mr. H. O. Forbes, F.R.G.S., is organising a scien- tific expedition with the view of exploring the botany and | zoology of the Mount Owen Stanley Mountains, the great cen- Nov. 6, 1884 | tral range of the eastern peninsula of New Guinea. Mr. Forbes has been allowed 4oo/. by the British Association and 250/. by the Royal Geographical Society towards the expense of _ the expedition. _ The party will start early in December, though it is not expected to get into active working before May next, in consequence of the necessity for procuring trusty carriers from the Moluccas. Mr. Forbes will break his journey at Batavia, in order to proceed to Amboyna, where he hopes to find his men. He will then return to Batavia, and sail for Thursday Island, proceeding thence to Port Moresby. He proposes to ascend the course of one of the rivers which flow from the moun- tains to Redscar Bay. Should the natives prove friendly and the food-supplies sufficient, Mr. Forbes does not despair of reaching the other coast of the peninsula; but in any case the exploration of the Mount Owen Stanley Range would be of itself _ asatisfactory achievement. The mountain travelling is declared to be dangerous to any but very experienced travellers. News has reached St. Petersburg from Col. Prjevalsky, the indefatigable explorer in Thibet, whose expedition appears to be distinguishing itself in feats of arms as well as discoveries of science. A telegram v/@ Kiatcha, dated August 20, says :— “The difficult task of the expedition has been successfully accomplished. During the three summer months we traversed 1000 versts of North-Eastern Thibet. We first descended from Zaidam, 400 versts south, over the sources of the Yellow River to the Blue River, which it was found impossible to cross, and then we explored the large lakes in the upper course of the Yellow River. One lake was named ‘Russian,’ another ‘Expedition’ Lake. Their height was 13,500 feet, the sur- rounding country being a mountain plateau rooo feet higher. Along the Blue River lies a mountainous, but woodless and Alpine country. The climate of the localities passed through was terrible. The whole of the summer was cold, with rain and snow ; at the end of May there was sharp frost, in July we had snowstorms like those of winter, while the amount of alluvium deposited by south-western monsoons from the Indian Ocean is so great that in summer Northern Thibet is converted into an almost continuous marsh. Wild animals and fish are abundant, the birds and flora poor, but original. The Tanguts live on the Blue River, and near the lakes of the Yellow River. Here we were twice attacked by about 300 mounted marauders, and the heroic conduct of my companions, armed with Berdan rifles, saved the expedition. We soon repulsed the first attack on July 25, and subsequently destroyed the Tangut camp A week later a fresh party from another Tangut tribe attacked us. For two hours on the banks of the Yellow River we repelled the mounted brigands with repeated volleys from our rifles ; and when we took the offensive the Tanguts retreated behind the knolls, and in turn began volley-firing. We were most fortunate, all coming off safe and sound, only two of our horses being wounded, while forty of the brigands were killed and wounded in the two encounters. We now go to Western Zaidam. We shall establish a depot at Hast, and during the winter explore the surrounding localities.” Dr. GERHARD ROHLFs leaves for the West Coast of Africa by one of the German war-ships under Admiral Knorr, and has been intruste1 with a special mission by the German Government. Carr. Becker and some other Belgian officers are about to proceed to Zanzibar, thence to start for Lake Tanganyika, They intend to cross this lake, and to found a station on its western shore. Thus the line of stations across Africa, which the Inter- national African Society has planned, will be completed. On the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika, between this and the sea- coast, there are four stations: Kondoa, in Usagara ; labora, in Unyanyembe ; Kakoma, in Uganda ; and Karema, on the shore of the lake. On the western side there are over fifty stations between the lake and the Atlantic. THE subject of trade-routes into South-Western China is now engaging attention in France, and has caused much discussion in the periodical press. The various methods of reaching Sze- chuan and Yunnan which have from time to time been suggested by explorers are dismissed in their turn as impracticable. From the side of India we have the Brahmaputra, which is navigable almost to the Chinese frontier, and the Irrawaddy vz@ Bahmo. These are described as useless on account of the obstacles offered by lofty and almost impassable ranges of mountains ; the Meinam from Bankok would only land us in the Shan States ; the Meikong, through Cambodia, was tried by Lagrée, but was found quite unfit for navigation on account of its numerous rapids and NATURE 19 cataracts. In China we have the Sikiang—which offers an almost straight line from Canton into Southern China, and was followed by Mr. Colquhoun in his recent attempt to cross through the Shan States into British Burmah—and the Yang-tsze-kiang, but both of these routes, according to French writers, are closed to trade by Chinese hostility Thus every possible route has been tried and found wanting, with one exception, viz. that by the Songkoi or Red River of Tonquin. By means of this new possession of France the trade of the two great provinces of South-Western China, say the French writers, can be tapped, and in no other way. Their wealth, it is said, will be poured down the valley of the Red River into the hands of the French traders at Hanoi and Haiphong. With regard to routes mentioned only to be dismissed as impossible, nothing need be said here. Their merits and defects may be found described in a score of English works by explorers on the spot ; but so far as the Red River is concerned, no proposition either way can be laid down with safety. Beyond Hanoi it is but little known, and its upper waters above Honghoa are almost wholly unknown to Europeans. But one Frenchman has ever ascended or descended the river, and when M. Dupuis made his courageous journeys more than ten years ago, he did so under circumstances which rendered geographical observation impossible. All that M. Dupuis can say (and European knowledge is confined to his information) is that with an escort, and with Chinese passports, he was able to come down the river in a small junk, and to ascend it again with several junks laden with arms and ammu- nition. Even at the present moment the whole river from Honghoa to Laokai on the Chinese frontier is in the hands’ of the Black Flags. Moreover it has been stated that after leaving the Red River the route would have to cross a lofty mountain range, and pass through the most desolate region in Yunnan. The river may offer an excellent trade route ; but in the present state of our geographical knowledge of Upper Tonquin all that can be said with certainty is that nobody knows whether it 1s so or not. Happily the French lose no time in thoroughly studying the countries which they occupy, and as soon as a state of peace has been reached in Indo-China we shall be in a position to decide the question ; until then anything written about the navi- gation of the Red River above Honghoa is mere speculation, and valueless for practical purposes. Tue last number of the Zzvestia of the Russian Geographical Society contains three interesting papers by M. D. Ivanoff on the Pamir, embodying the results of the last year’s expedition, and giving a lively summary of our present knowledge as to this very interesting region. A E. Regel contributes to the same number a note on his journey to the Shugnan; A. Wysheslay- tseff describes the burial customs of the Tchuvashes; and P. A. Putyatin contributes a note on the pottery of the Stone Age. The same issue contains, moreover, accounts of the geodetical and cartographical work done in 1883 by the military top »graphers and by the Hydrographical Department, and several notes. NATURAL SCIENCE IN SCHOOLS? HOWEVER fully it may be admitted by the few that it is important, nay essential, that all members of the com- munity, whatever their station or occupation, should during their schol career receive some instruction in the elements of natural science, the general public have not as yet had brought home to them with sufficient clearness that, just as a knowledge of foreign languages is essential to all who are brought into intercourse with foreigners, so in like manner is a correct knowledge of the elements of natural science of direct practical value to all in their daily intercourse with Nature, apart from the pleasure which such knowledge affords. In fact, judged from a purely utilitarian standpoint, the advantages to be derived from even the most elementary acquaintance with what may be termed the science of daily life are so manifold tha’, if once understood by the public, the claims of science to a place in the ordinary school course must meet with universal recognition. To quote Huxley*: 1 On the Teaching of Natural Science as a Part of the Ordinary School Course, and on the Method of Teaching Chemistry in the Introductory Course in Science Classes, Schools and Colleges.” Paper read at the Edu- cational Conference of the International Health Exhibition by Henry E. Armstrong, Ph.D , F.R.S., Sec.C.S., Professor of Chemistry in the Finsbury Technical College. : : k 2 This writer's “‘Introductory”” to Macmillan’s Science Primers, and his ‘‘Physiography: an Introduction to the Study of Nature,” should be studied by all who wish to know what science is and how it should be taught. 20 “Knowledge of Nature is the guide of practical conduct; .. . any one who tries to live upon the face of this earth without attention to the laws of Nature will live there for but a very short time, most of which will be passed in exceeding discomfort : a peculiarity of natural laws, as distinguished from those of human enactment, being that they take effect without summons or prosecution. In fact, nobody could live for half a day unless he attended to some of the laws of Nature ; and thousands of us are dying daily, or living miserably, because men haye not yet been sufficiently zealous to learn the code of Nature.” But it is also and mainly on other and far higher grounds that we should advocate universal practical teaching of the elements of natural, and more particularly of so-called physical, science : viz. that it tends to develop a side of the human intellect which. I believe I am justified in saying, is left uncultivated even after the most careful mathematical and literary training: the faculty of observing and of reasoning from observation and experiment. It is entirely from this latter point of view that I shall venture to propound a scheme for teaching the elements of that branch of physical science with which I am most intimately acquainted. This Exhibition affords some few noteworthy illustrations of the way in which the importance of teaching the elements of natural science has received practical recognition in our schools. Thus we have indications of the work being done by the Bir- mingham School Board ; the London School Board call atten- tion to their system of training pupil-teachers in science; Mr. Robins shows plans of one of the best, if not the best equipped school chemical laboratory—that of the Manchester Grammar School. Also, it is well known that at many of the larger schools, such as Clifton College, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, St. Paul’s, Giggleswick, and the North London Collegiate School for Girls, ample provision is made for teaching one or more branches of natural science ; and not a few other examples might be quoted. But in how large a proportion of the schools through- out the country is such training neglected? and there is much cause for complaint in the fact that, in those schools in which science is taught, it is after all in most cases but a kind of ““refuge for the destitute,” only those who have failed on the classical side and those judged to be inferior in intellect being turned over to the so-called modern side. This is probably due to a variety of causes: to the ignorance already referred to of the public of the importance and value of such training, or it would be demanded of the schools; to the ignorance of even the barest elements of science of the majority of teachers in charge of schools ; to the want of good science teachers and of suitable books ; to the supposed expense of teaching science ; and lastly—and I believe this to be the most important of all the causes which operate against the teaching of science—to the imperfection of our method of teaching: there can be little doubt, in fact, that the majority of teachers of the generally recognised subjects who have themselves no scientific knowledge see clearly enough that very little good comes of teaching science in the manner in which it is commonly taught in schools. The great objection to the method at present in vogue appears to me to be that it is practically the same whether science is taught as a part of the general school course, or whether it is taught professionally ; in other words, a lad studies chemistry, for example, at school in just the same way as at a science col- lege, the only difference being that he does not carry his studies so far at school as at college. This, I believe, is the primary fault in our present system. In my opinion, no single branch of natural science should be selected to be taught as part of the ordinary school course, but the instruction should comprise the elements of what I have already spoken of as the science of daily life, and should include astronomy, botany, chemistry, geology, mechanics, physics, physiology and zoology—the olla fodrida comprehended by Huxley under physiography, but which is perhaps more happily expressed in the German word Naturkunde—in so far as is essential to the understanding of the ordinary operations and objects of Nature, the teaching from be- ginning to end being of as practical a character as possible, and of such a kind as to cultivate the intelligence and develop the facul- ties of observing, comparing and reasoning from observation ; and the more technical the course the better. The order in which these subjects should be introduced is matter for discus- sion ; personally, I should prefer to begin with botany, and to introduce as soon as possible the various branches of science in no particular order but that best suited to the understanding of the various objects or phenomena to which the teaching for the time being had reference. The extent to which instruction of this kind is given must entirely depend on the class of scholars. NATURE - [ Vou. 6, 1884 There are few teachers capable of giving such instruction, and fewer books of a character suited to ordinary requirements, The development of such a system will, in fact, require the earnest co-operation of a number of specialists; but apart from the difficulty of securing efficient co-operation, there is no reason why some such scheme should not be elaborated at no distant date. If action is to be taken, however, there must be no delay, or the opportunity will be lost. I trust that this meeting will be prepared to give much attention to this question, and that it may be possible to continue the discussion on other platforms, as it is fundamentally important and deserving of the most serious con- sideration of educationalists. No doubt it will be said that the object of introducing the teaching of science into the school course is to afford mental training of a particular character, not the inculcation of useful knowledge, and that this end can be secured by teaching well some one branch of science. Admitting that this has been the case, however, there is no reason why it should be in the future : if while developing the intellect it be possible—and it certainly is—to impart much valuable informa- tion ; and if—as it certainly is—the teaching be rendered easier and more attractive because it has direct reference to the familiar objects and operations of Nature. We cannot, indeed, any longer afford to grow up ignorant of all that is going on around us, and without learning to use our eyes and our reasoning powers ; we cannot afford to be unacquainted with the funda- mental laws of health; but we must ever remember ‘‘ that knowledge of Nature is the guide of practical conduct,” and no effort must be spared to render our system of education an effectual preparation and truly adapted to the exigencies of prac- tical life. The female educators appear already to have grasped the importance of such teaching, and under the guise of domestic economy much that I advocate is being taught in girls’ schools ; it is to be hoped that ere long something akin to the domestic economy course in girls’ schools will find a place in boys’ schools. To pass now to the consideration of the mode of teaching my own special subject in science classes, such as those held under the auspices of the Science and Art Department, and in the introductory course for students in science schools and colleges generally. To deal first with the former. Inspection of the syllabus for the elementary stage, together with the study of the examination papers of the past few years, will show that the student is mainly required to have an elementary knowledge of the methods of preparing, and of the properties of, the commoner non-metallic elements and their chief compounds. There is thus practically no distinction to be drawn between the knowledge re- quired of students under the Science and Art Department, and of those who are making the study of chemistry the business of their lives. But surely it is not the function of the Science and Art De- partment to train up chemists, and I am satisfied that it is neither their desire nor their intention to do so ; their object undoubtedly is to encourage the teaching of chemistry as a means of cultivating certain faculties, and in order that the fundamental laws of chemis- try may be understood and their commoner applications realised. It is not difficult to understand how the system has grown up and why it is maintained ; I not believe it is because the Depart- ment consider it a satisfactory one ; but they know full well that a better system is not yet developed, and that it would be unwise to legislate far in advance of the intelligence and powers of the majority of the teachers. With all deference, however, I venture to add that the programme has been drawn up too much from the point of view of the specialist, and that too little attention has been devoted to it from the point of view of the education- alist. The course I am inclined to advocate would be of a more directly useful character. There is no reason why in the begin- ning attention should be confined to the non-metals, especially when certain of the metals enter so largely into daily use ; and provided that it involve no sacrifice of the opportunities of deve- loping the faculties which it is our special object to cultivate by the study of chemistry, there is no reason against, but every reason for, selecting subjects of every-day importance rather than such as are altogether outside our ordinary experience, such, for example, as the oxides of nitrogen: even chlorine, except in relation to common salt, might be omitted from special study. The presumed distinction between so-called inorganic and organic chemistry should be altogether put aside and forgotten, and the elements of the chemistry of the carbon compounds introduced at a very early stage in order that the phenomena of animal and plant life might come under consideration. To give the barest possible outline of a programme, I would include such subjects as the following in the syllabus :— The chemistry of air, of water, and of combustion; the Nov. 6, 1884] NATURE 21 distinction between elements and compounds ; the fundamental laws which regulate the formation of compounds and the chemical action of bodies upon one another (¢.e. the nature of so-called chemical change); the chemical properties of the metals in _ ordinary use, with special reference to their uses and the action upon them of air, water, &c. ; the composition of natural waters ; the distinction between fats, carbohydrates and albuminous sub- stances in so far as is essential to the understanding of the relative values of different foods and respiration and growth in animals and plants (outlines of the chemistry of animal and plant life, in fact) ; the nature of the processes of fermentation, putrefaction, and decay. ’ The instruction in these subjects should in all cases pe 1n- parted by means of object-lessons and tutorial classes ; lectures pure and simple should, as far as possible, be avoided. The students should by themselves go through a number of practical exercises on the various subjects. I would abolish the teaching of tables for the detection of simple salts, the teaching of analy- sis as at present conducted being, I believe, .in most cases of very little if any use except as enabling teachers to earn grants. In schools and colleges in which chemistry is taught as a science, and ostensibly with the object of training young people to be chemists, it is the almost invariable practice that the student first devotes more or less time to the preparation of the commoner gases, and then proceeds to study qualitative analysis ; quantitative determinations are made only during the later period of the course. I believe that the system has two great faults : it is too mechanical, and does not sufficiently develop the faculty of reasoning from observation ; and actual practice in measure- ment is introduced far too late in the course. It is of great im- portance that the meaning of the terms equivalent, atomic weight, molecular weight, should be thoroughly grasped at an early stage, but according to my experience this is very rarely the case ; there is no such difficulty, however, if the beginner is taught to make a few determinations himself of equivalents, &c., as he very well may be. It is not necessary here to enter into a more detailed criticism, but I propose instead to give a brief description of a modification of the existing system which in my hands, in the course of about four years’ experience, has fur- nished most encouraging results, and which I venture to think is worthy of an extended trial. Instead of merely preparing a variety of gases, the student is required to solve a number of problems experimentally: to determine, for example, the composition of air and of water ; and the idea of measurement is introduced from the very beginning, as the determination is made quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Each student receives a paper of instructions —two of which are printed as an appendix to this paper—which are advisedly made as bare as possible so as to lead him to find out for himself, or inquire, how to set to work ; and he is par- ticularly directed that, having made an experiment, he is to enter in his notebook an account of what he has done and of the result, and that he is then and there to ask himself what bearing the result has upon the particular problem under consideration, and, having done so, he is to write down his conclusion. He is thus at once led to consider what each experiment teaches: in other words, to reason from observation, Apart from the mental exercise which this system affords, if the writing out of the notes be properly supervised, the literary exercise which it also affords is of no mean value. In illustration, I may here very briefly describe the manner of working out the second problem in the course. The problem being to determine the composition of water, the student receives the instruction :—1. Pass steam over red-hot iron brads, collect the escaping gas, and apply a light to it. (N.B. The gas thus produced is called hydrogen.) He is provided with a very simple apparatus, consisting of a small glass flask contain- ing water, joined by a narrow bent glass tube to an iron tube (about 9 inches long and 4 to } inch wide) in which the brads are placed, a long glass tube suitably bent for the delivery of the gas being attached to the other end of the iron tube, Plaster of Paris is used instead of corks to make the connections with the iron tube. The iron tube is supported over a burner, and heated to redness ; the water in the flask is then heated to boiling, and the steam thus generated is passed over the brads ; the escaping gas is collected over water in the usual manner. Having made this experiment, and observed that, on passing steam over red-hot iron, the gas hydrogen is produced, the student proceeds to consider the bearing of this observation. The hydrogen must obviously be derived either from the water or from the iron, if not from both. Those who already know that iron is iron, so to speak, at once infer that the hydrogen is derived from the water: it is, however, pointed out that, even if it be known that iron is a simple substance, this observation taken alone does not prove that hydrogen is contained in water. 2. The student next learns to prepare hydrogen by the ordin- ary method of dissolving zinc in diluted sulphuric acid, and makes a few simple experiments whereby he becomes acquainted with the chief properties of the gas. 3. Having done this, he is instructed ‘‘to burn dry hydrogen at a glass jet underneath a cold surface and to collect and exa- mine the product.” The product is easily recognised as water, and the immediate answer to the question, ‘‘ What does this observation teach ?” is, that since iron is absent, taken in con- junction with Experiment 1, the production of water on burning hydrogen in air, the composition of which has already been determined, is an absolute demonstration that hydrogen is con- tained in water. 4. Having previously studied the combustion of copper, iron, and phosphorus in air, and having learnt that when these sub- stances burn they enter into combination with the oxygen in air, the student is also led to infer from the observation that hydro- gen burns in air producing water, that most probably it combines with the oxygen, and that water contains oxygen besides hydro- gen. It may be however, it is then pointed out, that the hydrogen, unlike the phosphorus, &c., combines with the nitro- gen instead of with the oxygen, or perhaps with both. He is therefore instructed to pass oxygen over heated copper, weighing the tube before and after the operation, and subsequently to heat the ‘‘oxide of copper” in a current of hydrogen. He then observes that water is formed, the oxygen being removed from the copper: and since nitrogen is absent, it follows that water consists of hydrogen and oxygen, and of these alone. 5. By repeating this last experiment so as to ascertain the loss in weight of the copper oxide tube and the weight of water produced, the data are obtained for calculating the proportions in which hydrogen and oxygen are associated in water. In practice the only serious difficulty met with has been to induce students to give themselves the trouble to consider what information is gained from a particular observation ; to be prc- perly inquisitive, in fact. I cannot think that this arises, as a rule, from mental incapacity. When we consider how the child is always putting questions, and that nothing is more beautifully characteristic of young children than the desire to know the why and wherefore of everything they see, I fear there can be little doubt that it is one of the main results—and it is indeed a lamentable result—of our present school system that the natural spirit of inquiry, inherent to a greater or less extent in every member of the community, should be thus stunted in its growth, instead of being carefully developed and properly directed. Having in the manner which I have described studied air, water, the gas given off on heating common salt with sulphuric acid, and the ordinary phenomena of combustion, the student next receives a paper with directions for the comparative study of lead and silver (see Appendix). The experiments are chosen so as to afford an insight into the principles of the methods ordinarily employed in qualitative and quantitative analyses, and the student who has conscientiously performed all the exercises is in a position to specialise his studies in whatever. direction may be desirable. The system I have thus advocated undoubtedly involves far more trouble to the teacher than that ordinarily followed, but the student learns far more under it, and I assert with confidence that the training is of a far higher order, and also of a more directly useful character. I believe it to be generally applicable, and that it would be of special advantage in those eases in which only a short time can be devoted to the study of chemistry, as in evening classes and medical schools. At present the only practical teaching vouchsafed to the majority of students in our large medical schools is a short summer course, during which they are taught the use of certain analytical tables: as a mental exercise the training they receive is of doubtful value ; the know- ledge gained is of little use in after life, and the course certainly ought not to be dignified by being spoken of as a course of Practical Chemistry ; ¢es¢-¢wbing isthe proper appellation. It is not a little remarkable also that even the London University Syllabus nowhere specifies that a knowledge even of the elements of quantitative analysis will be required of candidates either at the Preliminary Scientific or First M.B. Examination, and this, too, when, as is well known, an analysis to be of any practical 2B?) value must almost invariably be quantitative. It is little less than a disgrace to the medical profession that a subject of such vital importance as chemistry should be so neglected. If, however, we are to make any change in our method of teaching science, if we are to teach science usefully throughout the country, two things are necessary: teachers of science must take counsel together, and the examining boards must seriously consider their position. There can be little doubt that in too many cases the examinations are suited to professional instead of to educational requirements ; and that the professional examina- tions are often of too general a character, and do not sufficiently take into account special requirements. APPENDIX PROBLEM: TO DETERMINE THE COMPOSITION OF AIR N.B.—Immediately after performing each experiment indi- cated in this and subsequent papers, write down a careful de- scription of the manner in which the experiment has been done, of your observations and the result or results obtained, and of the bearing of your observations and the result or results obtained on the problem which you are engaged in solving. Be especially on your guard against drawing conclusions which are not justified by the result of the experiment; but, on the other hand, en- deayour to extract as much information as possible from the experiment. 1. Burn a piece of dry phosphorus in a confined volume of air, ze. in a stout Florence flask closed by a caoutchouc stopper. Afterwards withdraw the stopper under water, again insert it when water ceases to enter and measure the amount of water sucked in. Afterwards determine the capacity of the flask by filling it with water and measuring this water. N.B.—The first part of the experiment requires care and must be done under direction. 2. Allow a stick of phosphorus lashed to a piece of stout wire to remain for some hours in contact with a known volume of air confined over water in a graduated cylinder. After noting the volume of the residual gas, introduce a burning taper or wooden splinter into it. N.B.—The residual gas is called nitrogen. 3. Burn a piece of dry phosphorusin a current of air in a tube loosely packed with asbestos. Weigh the tube, &c., before and after the experiment. 4. Repeat Experiment 2 with iron borings moistened with ammonium chloride solution. Preserve the residual gas. 5. Suspend a magnet from one arm of a balance; having dipped it into finely divided iron, place weights in the opposite pan, and when the balance is in equilibrium, set fire to the iron. 6. Pass acurrent of dry air through a moderately heated tube ‘containing copper. Weigh the tube before and after the experi- ment ; also note the alteration in the appearance of the copper. 7. Strongly heat in a dry test tube the red substance obtained by heating mercury in contact with air. At intervals plunge a glowing splinter of wood into the tube. Afterwards note the appearance of the sides of the tube. (Before performing this experiment ask for directions.) N.R.—The gas obtained in this experiment is named oxyyven. 8. Heata mixture of manganese dioxide and potassium chlorate in a dry test tube, and at intervals plunge a glowing splinter into the tube. This experiment is to acquaint you with an easy method of preparing oxygen in quantity. g. Prepare oxygen as in Experiment 8, and add it to the nitrogen from Experiment 4 in sufficient quantity to make up the bulk to that of the air taken for the latter experiment. Test the mixture with a burning taper or splinter. 10. Dissolve copper in nitric acid and collect the escaping gas (nitric oxide) ; add some of it to oxygen and some of it to air. tt. Filla large flask provided with a well-fitting caoutchouc stopper and delivery tube with ordinary tap water and gradually heat the water to the boiling-point ; collect the gas which is given off in a small cylinder and add nitric oxide to it. Also collect a sufficient quantity in a narrow graduated cylinder and treat it as in Experiment 2. COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SILVER AND LEAD SILVER.— Symbol, AG. (Argentum). Atomic weight, 107°67. Specific heat, ‘05701. LEAD.—Symbol, PR. (Plumbum). Specific heat, 03140. I. Determine the relative density of lead and silver at a known temperature by weighing in air and in water. } Atomic weight, 206°47. NATURE ‘y [Vov. 6, 1884 2. Separately heat known weights of lead and silver for som® time in the air, allow to cool, and weigh. 3. Separately convert known weights of lead and silver into nitrates, and weigh the latter. From the data thus obtained calculate the egzivalents of lead and silver. 4. Convert the known weights of nitrates thus obtained into chlorides, and weigh the latter. 5. Compare the action on lead and silver of chlorhydric acid ; of dilute and concentrated sulphuric acid, using the acid both cold and hot ; and of cold and hot nitric acid, 6. Using solutions of the nitrates, compare their behaviour with chlorhydric and sulphuric acids, hydrogen sulphide, potas- sium iodide, and potassium chromate. Ascertain the behaviour of the precipitate formed by chlorhydric acid when boiled with water, and when treated with ammonia solution. 7. Compare the behaviour of lead and silver compounds on charcoal before the blowpipe. 8. Tabulate the results of your experiments with lead and silver in parallel columns. #23 Ascertain whether the substances given you contain lead or Sliver. ; to. Determine silver in an alloy of lead and silver by cupel- ation. II. Study the method of determining silver volumetrically by means of a standard solution of ammonium thiocyanate. Deter- mine the percentage of silver in English silver coinage. 12. Determine silver as chloride by precipitation. 13. Dissolve a known weight of lead in nitric acid, precipitate it as sulphate, collect and weigh the latter. 14. What are the chief ores of lead and silver? How are lead and silver extracted from their ores? How is silver separated from lead? How is it separated from burnt Spanish pyrites ? What are the chief properties and uses of lead and of silver? State the composition of the chief alloys of lead and silver. TRANSACTIONS OF THE NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE OLUME XVL. of the Zramsactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute contains the more important memoirs laid before its eight incorporated Societies during the year 1883 and the first weeks of 1884. It forms a bulky volume of about 650 pages, and is illustrated by 44 plates. It speaks a great deal for the energy of the able editor, Dr. James Hector, F.R.S., that he has in so short a time reduced such a mass of material into order, and that the volume should be issued in May of this year. While we think the illustrations still leave something to be desired as to their general style and execution, this volume is extremely creditable to the colony, and the amount of accurate research re- corded will, if continued, soon make New Zealand one of the most completely investigated regions of the world. Of the 57 articles selected from the papers read before the local Societies, 25 relate to zoology, 22 to botany, 5 to geology, 1 to chemistry, and 4 to miscellaneous subjects. While of the titles of these papers we append a classified list, some few of them merit a more par- ticular reference. Mr. E. Meyrick contributes a third series of his descriptions of New Zealand Microlepidoptera, treating this time of the Gicopho- ride. This is the principal family of the Tineina in New Zealand, as is also the case in Australia. Some 67 species are recorded, of which 55 are particularly described, but the total number of species it is thought will be much more considerable. In New Zealand the family constitutes about a sixth of the entire Micro- lepidoptera, in Australia it forms more than a fourth, whilst in Europe it is about a thirtieth. It seems strange that, while this family occupies so prominent a position in both New Zealand and Australia, no species as far as is yet known is common to both. Fourteen genera are found in New Zealand; of these ten are endemic, three occur also in Australia, and one is cosmopolitan. Of the three genera shared with Australia, two (Eulechria and Phleeopola) are large and typically Australian genera, represented in New Zealand by three species, obviously mere stragglers ; the third (Trachypepla) is a typical New Zealand genus, probably of considerable extent, and is represented in Australia by two species only, evidently also stray wanderers. Of the ten en- demic genera, none are yery closely related to Australian forms. It would therefore appear that, while it is not improbable that a slight interchange of species has taken place at some not exceed- ingly remote period, it seems nearly certain that the group is of much more ancient origin, and was derived from another and quite tinct region. Incidentally Mr. Meyrick suggests an affinity with South America, but in a collection made by the Rev. T. Blackburn in the Hawaiian Islands, the Gécophoride appeared be altogether absent, their place being taken by a peculiar group of Gelechidz. _ Mr. Meyrick also contributes a monograph of the New Zea- Jand Geometrina. He does this with some diffidence, owing to he difficulties he has laboured under of consulting type specimens and of the absence of works of reference. A large number of published names are reduced to the rank of synonyms; some go species are added to thelist, which now stands at 89. n addition to the description of both genera and species, analytical tables of these are given throughout, and the mono- graph appears to be such as will enable the student to easily identify his captures and will still induce him to the further study of this group, and especially to the transformations of the _ species contained in it. Capt. F. W. Hutton gives a very important revised list of the land Mollusca of New Zealand. From the ample collections _ that have passed under his examination, he has been enabled to determine satisfactorily all but a very few of the described "species, as well as to indicate fairly their distribution in the islands. The list contains 116 species, of which 13 remain unknown to the author. Seven have been introduced from England. The den- tition of 60 and the internal anatomy of 26 species have been described by Capt. Hutton in vols. xiv. and xv. of the Zransac- tions. So far as at present known, one-half of the species are con- fined to the North Island, one-quarter to the South Island, and one-quarter are common to both. The closest connection of the ‘land molluscan fauna would appear to be with North Australia, but there is a considerable generic affinity with the faunas of New Caledonia, Polynesia, and South America. An interesting paper on the habits of earthworms in New Zealand is contributed by Mr. A. T. Urquhart. The species are not named, but with such wonderful opportunities as Mr. Urquhart _ possesses for making a collection of these, may we hope that, in ad- dition to his following out his painstaking observations as to their habits, he will also advance science by making a careful collection of the forms and placing them in the hands of some of the able naturalists of the Auckland Institute for description? It will be remembered that Darwin assumes that in old pastures there may be 26,886 worms per acre, and that Henson gives 53,767 worms per acre for garden ground and about half that number in corn- fields. Mr. Urquhart gives, as the result of his investigations of an acre of pasture-land near Auckland, the large number of 348,480 wormsas found therein. It being suggested to him that in his selection of the spots for examination he may have uncon- sciously selected the richest, the experiment was again tried in a field seventeen years in grass. A piece was laid out into squares - of 120 feet, and asquare foot of soil was taken out at each corner ; worms hanging to the side walls of the holes were not counted, and in one hole, where the return of worms was a blank, the walls were crowded with worms. As a result there was an aver- age of 18 worms:per square foot, or 784,080 per acre. Although this average is very striking when compared with that of Henson, it is worthy of note that the difference between the actual weight of the worms is not so marked. According to Henson, his average of 53,767 worms would weigh 356 pounds, while Mr. Urquhart finds that the average weight of the number found by him came to 612 pounds 9 ounces. Apropos of a description of the head in Pakinurus lalan- dii, by Prof. T. Jeffery Parker, founded on specimens which happened to be brought on board at the Cape of Good Hope during his voyage to New Zealand, we have a very natural classification of the species of this genus offered to us. The genus Palinurus, Fabr., would contain three subgenera. For the species in which the stridulating organ is absent and the proce- phalic processes are present Prof. Parker proposes the very ap- propriate generic name of Jasus ; while for those forms in which the‘stridulating organ is present and the procephalic processes are absent he would reserve the name Palinurus, Fabr., retaining Gray’s subgenus Panulirus for the longicorn species. He notes that, omitting P. Jongimanus and P. frontalis, of which he could obtain no definite information, all the species of Jasus are con- fined to the Southern Hemisphere (Ethiopian and Australian Regions) ; and those of Palinurus are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere ; while those of Panulirus occur in both Hemi- spheres. Dr. Walter Buller furnishes a series of notes on some rare NATURE =a species of New Zealand birds. Sceloglaux albifacies, the laugh- ing owl, has been found by Mr. W. W. Smith in deep fissures of the limestone rocks at Albury, near Timaru. After many futile efforts Mr. Smith bethought himself of smoking them out ; after a few whiffs the owls began sniffing, and then in a few moments quietly walked out ; four were captured. They soon became quite tame. On waking up at nightfall, their call was ‘* precisely the same as two men cooeying to each other from a distance.” The male is the larger and stronger bird, with a harsher cry. The female performs most of the duty of hatching. They showed a decided perference for young rats, but would eat beetles, lizards, mice, or mutton. The crannies of the rocks in which they make their nests and live during the day are dry, very narrow at their entrance, and often five or six yards in depth. While casting their feathers they become almost naked, and two of Mr. Smith’s birds while in this state were stung to death by a swarm of bees which passed through the wire netting of their cage. Mr. R. H. Govett gives some startling facts as to the bird- killing powers of Pisonia brunoniana or P. sinclairit. _A sticky gum is secreted by the carpels when they attain their full size, but is nearly as plentiful in their unripe as in their ripe condition. Possibly attracted by the flies which embalm themselves in these sticky seed-vessels, birds alight on the branches, and on one occasion two Silver-eyes (Zosterops) and an English sparrow were found with their wings so glued that they were unable to flutter. Mr. Govett’s sister, thinking to do a merciful act, col- lected all the fruit-bearing branches that were within reach, and threw them on a dust-heap. Next day about a dozen silver-eyes were found glued to them, four or five of the pods to each bird. She writes :—‘‘ Looking at the tree one sees tufts of feathers and legs where the birds have died, and I don’t think the birds could possibly get away without help. The black cat just lives under the tree, a good many of the birds falling to her share, but a good many pods get into her fur, and she has to come and get them dragged out.” Ina note Mr. T. Kirk says that Pesonta umbelli- Sera, Seeman, = P. sinclairit, Hook.f., is found in several localities north of Whangerei, both on the east and west coasts, also on the Taranga Islands, Arid Island, Little Barrier Island, and on the East Cape, possibly in the last locality planted by the Maoris. The fruiting pericarp is remarkable for its viscidity, which is usually retained for a considerable period after the fruit is fully matured. It can be readily imagined that small birds tempted to feed on the seeds might easily become glued to a cluster of fruits. Among new species of plants collected on Stewart Island by Mr. Kirk, he describes a beautiful new Olearia (O. “azl/zi), called after his old and valued friend C. Traill, who has done so much for the natural history of Stewart Island. It forms a large shrub from five to twelve feet high. The terminal panicles are from four to nine inches long. ‘The disk florets are purple. It is one of the most striking plan's in the New Zealand flora, and one we hope we may soon see in cultivation. Mr. Kirk also, among other important contributions, publishes notes on Car- michaelia with descriptions of new species, one of which, C, uniflora, seems to be the same as a new species, with the same specific name, described in a paper read the sane night before the Wellington Philos»phical Society by Mr. J. Buchanan. Mr. J. Buchanan gives an interesting account of Campbell Island and its flora. The island, thirty miles in circumference, is three good days’ steaming from Wellington. Peat abounds, and the soil is extremely damp in the low-lying regions. The highest altitude is 1500 feet. Only a day and two half-days were available for botanical research, but five species were added to the flora, of which three were new. Many of the species had large and showy flowers, such as Celmisia vernicosa, Hook. f., and the various species of Pleurophyllum. These and the like were confined within an altitudinal range of 500 feet above sea-level, but the shrubby forms, such as species of Coprosma, Drachophyllum, Veronica, and Myrsine, ranged from sea-level, where they were most abundant, to the highest altitude. An Alpine flora may also be recognised, as a few plants were only found at the highest altitude, such as Gentiana concinna, Hook. f., and Tyineuron spathulata, Hook. f. Mr. T. F. Cheeseman contributes a yery valuable revision of the New Zealand species of Carex, admitting 40 species, of which 25 are peculiar to the country ; of the other fifteen found elsewhere, eleven are recorded from ‘Tasmania and Australia, nine of these are found in Europe, North and West Asia, and North America, seven in Southern or Eastern Asia, six 24 NATURE | Vov. 6, 1884 in temperate North and South Africa, and four or five come from extra-tropical South America. We can only direct general attention to Mr. Justice Gillies’ important paper giving the result of his experiments in 1882-83 on the production of sugar from Sorghum, which seem to have been most successful, and to give promise of a good future for sugar-making in the colony ; and to Mr. W. Arthur’s report on the brown trout introduced into Otago. Zoology.—E. Meyrick, New Zealand Microlepidoptera and Geometrina ; R. W. Fereday, new species of Cidaria; T. H. Potts, on a species of Mantis ; W. M. Maskell, on new Coccidz ; Geo. M. Thomson, new Crustacea and Pycnogonida ; C. Chilton, New Zealand sessile-eyed Crustacea; T. Jeffery Parker, on Palinurus ; A. T. Urquhart, habits of earthworms; Capt. F. W. Hutton, revision of land Mollusca, of recent Rhachiglossate Mollusca, new species of Mollusca; H. B. Kirk, Anatomy of Sepioteuthts bilineata ; Dr. J. von Haast, occurrence of the Red Phalarope in New Zealand ; Dr. W. Buller, notes on rare birds ; Prof. T. J. Parker, on the occurrence of some rare fishes ; Dr. Hector, notes on New Zealand ichthyology. Sotary.—W. Colenso, further contributions to New Zea- land botany; J. D. Enys and T. Kirk, Botrychium lunaria in New Zealand; T. Kirk, botanical notes, descriptions of new species of plants; J. Adams, the botany of the Thames gold- fields ; A. T. Urquhart, the spread of the Eucalyptus ; J. Buchanan, notes of new and rare plants, Campbell Island and its flora ; Charles Knight, Lichenographia of New Zealand ; T. F. Cheese- man, additions to New Zealand flora, revision of the genus Carex (New Zealand species). Chemistry.—J. A. Pond, the pottery clays of Auckland district. Geology.—R. M. Laing, thermal springs at Lyttelton; H. Cox, new minerals ; Captain F. W. Hutton, the lower gorge of the Waimakariri; D. Sutherland, discoveries near Milford Sound. Miscellaneous.—W. Arthur, brown trout introduced into Otago; Mr. Justice Gillies, Sorghum experiments, 1882-83 ; Coleman Phillips, the law of gavelkind, a reply to Messrs. George and Wallace. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES PARIS Academy of Sciences, October 27.—M. Rolland, President, in the chair.—Remarks on the first volume of the late M. Dumas’ ‘* Discours et Eloges Académiques,” presented to the Academy by M. J. Bertrand.—Note on contaminated waters in connection with the spread of cholera, by M. Marey. A careful study of this epidemic since its first appearance in Europe, together with some personal observations in Paris and other parts of France, have convinced the author that the disorder is propagated chiefly through the medium of water. All other influences are of secondary importance, so that to secure the purity of drinking- water in every affected locality should be the first care of the sanitary authorities. —On the formation of saltpetre in plants, by MM. Berthelot and André.—On the oxidation of copper, by MM. Debray and Joannis.—On the laws determining the pene- tration of the rolled plates of ironclads by projectiles, by M. Martin de Brettes.—On the employment of the aqueous solution of the sulphuret of carbon for the destruction of Phylloxera, by M. A. Rommier.—Account of an easy process for rapidly pre- paring solutions containing sulphuret of carbon in large quantities, by M. Ach. Livache.—Observations of the lunar eclipse of October 4, made at the Observatory of Lyons (Brunner 6- inch equatorial), by M. Gonnessiat.—Observations of the comets of Barnard and of Wolf made at the Observatory of Lyons (Brunner 6-inch equatorial), by M. Gonnessiat.—On a representation of the exponential function by an infinite product, by M. R. Lipschitz —On the equilibrium of a homogeneous segment of a revolving paraboloid floating on a fluid, by M. Em. Barbier.—Measure of the horizontal component of ter- restrial magnetism by the method of amortisement, by M. J. B. Baille-—Note on the relation between temperatures and pressures of the protoxide of liquid carbon, by M. V. Olszewski. —On some reactions of chlorochromic acid, by M. Quantin. The oxide of carbon acting alone on chlorochromic acid changes it to a green sesquioxide of chromium and to a violet sesquichloride. The simultaneous action of the oxide of carbon and of an excess of chlorine changes integrally the oxychloride of chromium to a sesquichloride.—Chemical analysis of the apatite (phos- phate of calcium) occurring at Logrozan in Spain, by M. A. Vivier. — On a graphic granite with large crystals of chlorophyllite from the banks of the Vizézy near Mont- brison (Loire), by M. F. Gonnard.—Heat of combination of the compounds of hydrogen and oxygen, by M. A. Boillot.— On the phenomena accompanying the solar corona at present visible in the Alps, by M. Duclaux. These phenomena are regarded as purely atmospheric, the sun being merely the lumi- nous source. The solar corona itself is attributed to normal although rare causes, and is considered as analogous to the halo so often observed round the moon, when the atmosphere is charged with moisture.—Observation of the solar coronas during the aérostatic ascents of October 23 and 24, by MM. A. andG. Tissandier.—Note on solar energy and the oscillations of the magnetic needle, by M. Duponchel. From the observations made from the middle of the sixteenth century down to the present time the author infers that the secular variations of the needle are due to the action of a new ultra-Neptunian planet which he names the Oceaz, and which may have a revolution of about 467 years. This planet must have passed through the longitudes 80° and 260° about the years 1580 and 1813, and should now be in the longitude of 314° in the con- stellation of Capricorn.—Note on the employment of hydrosul- phuric acid for discharging colours, by M. A. Gérardin. This acid, discovered by M. Schiitzenberger, and now extensively employed, produces remarkable effects, acting by reduction, contrary to chlorine and oxygen, which act by oxidation. This property seems capable of important industrial application.— Note on distilled water used for drinking-purposes, by M. A. Hureau de Villeneuve. The author argues that the price of distilled water might be greatly reduced by obtaining it from steam-engines at work in mills; that it is neither unpalatable nor difficult to digest ; that it generally contains a sufficient quantity of air, and that the absence of calcareous salts is rather an advantage than a drawback. CONTENTS PAGE Two:Bee'Books, 0.5 ie. © = 2) See eee I Dr. Klein on Micro-Organisms, By Prof. E. Ray Wwankester, ARGS: civ iat; ec ee Oe 2 Our Book Shelf :— Johnson’s ‘‘ New Method of treating Glaucoma” .. 3 Letters to the Editor : — An Unnoticed Factor Catch poole vixsuisni) coiiss | nian eee Earthquake Measurement.—Prof, J. A. Ewing . . 4 The Sky-Glows.—W. G. Brown; Mrs. Ellen A, Day; Surgeon Thomas Leeming, R.N. .. . 5 in Evolution. —Edmund Peculiar Ice Forms.—B. Woodd Smith ..... 5 The Blackness of Tropical Man.—Lieut.-Col, A. T. Fraser (RIES oc, o. age, cilvieoldemcn Cae 6 The Distribution of Scientific Works Published by the BritishiGovernment.—G. F/B . 5... 328 7 A New Method of Heating in the Regenerative Gas Furnace” 4... 5 so mee Cao eee ee 7 The Prime Meridian Conference. By William Ellis 7 The Illuminated Fountains at the Healtheries. (///us- talked) *s Ca ee, on BY RS Se sae TE Experiments with Coal-Dust at Neunkirchen in Germany. By W. Galloway. (/iustrated).... 12 Flowers out of Season. By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters. 13 DS ol rary engines Gog eer GS ottipse 4 4 ae") TS Our Astronomical Column ;— Barnard’siComet: .°. fs <6 ss 2 ee LS MhewNovember Meteors -) eens cen LS The Lick Observatory, California . ....... =. #18 Variable Star in the Orion-Nebula ........ 18 Geographical Notes. ... . 18 Natural Science in Schools. By Prof. Henry E. Armstrong, PhiD ska RS. 0s a acie asintel nee LO Transactions of the New Zealand Institute .... 22 Societies and Academies ...... “NAPRGRE 25 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1884 WORLD-LIFE World-Life; or, Comparative Geology. By Alex. Winchell, Professor of Geology in the University of Michigan. Pp. 642. (Chicago: Griggs, 1883.) At the present day cyclopedic knowledge has become very rare, and a scientific man is generally like a miner intent on his own special shaft, and too often care- less or ignorant of the general plan of the whole mine of science. The work of the collator and summariser is thus continually rising in importance, and care, patience, and judgment are now more requisite than ever before. Although these scientific “ consolidation acts” can hardly fail to be open to criticism, yet every man of science must receive them with gratitude, for they afford him a general view of his science, and furnish him with a useful repertory of reference. In this work Prof. Winchell’s field is very wide, when he undertakes to collate astronomy, cosmogony, and geology, in the widest acceptation of these terms. So many subjects does this book touch on that it will only be possible within the limits of an article to give a general view of its scope. The author’s reading has been exten- sive, and we are glad to observe that copious references are provided. He expounds with care, although perhaps sometimes too diffusely, the views of many writers, and thus brings to a focus a great mass of literature, and his own speculations are generally interesting, although not always above criticism. As already indicated, this work is intended to give a general survey of stellar and planetary systems, to note the marks of evolutionary processes revealed by the tele- scope, to discuss various cosmogonic theories, to examine the probable life-histories of nebulz, suns, planets, and satellites, and to consider the influences under which the surfaces of planets are modelled and transformed. Modern cosmogony is properly a department of physics and dynamics ; but when states of matter irreproducible in the laboratory, and the mechanics of systems too com- plex for rigorous mathematical treatment, are dealt with, moderation in the general reasoning employed has not always been duly observed. No one can doubt that speculation is of the highest scientific importance, but it is also equally certain that in work of this kind a descend- ing scale may be formed, beginning with speculations founded on rigorous mechanical principles and ending with wild and lunatic fancies. Every writer on such topics must, I suppose, sometimes question himself with misgiving as to where in such a list his name would stand. Mr. Winchell appears to treat all speculations with judgment, although one is sometimes tempted to think the exposition over-elaborate and the consideration too patient. The first part or book is entitled “ World-Stuff,” and begins with a good account of meteors and meteoric dust, The author thinks that, according to Mr. Aitken’s theory of the formation of fog, the highest clouds in our atmosphere reveal the presence there of a very fine dust, probably of cosmic origin. The sunset-glows of last winter appeared VOL. XXXI.—No. 785 : to illuminate clouds at an unusual altitude : may not these clouds have owed their existence to the very dust which caused the glow ? The zodiacal light is then described, and is attributed to swarms of meteorites circulating round the sun, and the visibility of the light on both horizons simultaneously is taken as showing that the orbits of some of them are greater than that of the earth. The author also suggests the probability that swarms of meteorites circulate about the planets as satellites. Comets, whose association with meteorites is now generally accepted, are described. Later (p. 77) the author writes :— “The phenomena of the tail, especially in the vicinity of aphelion, are such as would result if we could conceive the nucleus of the comet surrounded by an aura extend- ing on all sides as far as the remotest limits of the tail, and could recognise the tail as merely a /#minous shadow cast by the nucleus in intercepting certain radiant energy proceeding from the sun... . The tail would be, there- fore, not a material form moving with the comet, but something perpetually renewed, while the older and more distant emanations disappear from visibility.” That theory which divides the tails of comets into three classes, according to the gas of which they are formed, is not given." The nebulae are then passed in review, and are well illustrated by drawings. They are classified as amor- phous, spiral, spiro-annular, annular, and planetary, and the class is taken as giving an indication of the stage of evolution. In the case of a spiral nebula, such as that in Canes Venatici (Fig. 8, of. cz¢.), it seems difficult to believe that we view the whole. And we suggest that the great mass of the gas is non-luminous, the luminosity being an evi- dence of condensation along lines of low velocity, accord- ing to a well-known hydrodynamical law. From this point of view the visible nebula may be regarded as a luminous diagram of its own stream-lines. In the second chapter the author enters on the genera- tion of heat in nebular masses. The discussion appears unsatisfactory, and as it is a matter of primary import- ance, I propose to make some criticisms thereon. The usage of mechanical and thermic terms is loose, so that it is somewhat difficult to determine the author’s meaning. The question is concerning the generation of heat in a contracting nebular mass, and on p. 86, § 9, he concludes :— “Tt is true, then, that contraction develops heat, and that its development delays final refrigeration; that is, the progress toward final refrigeration is not as rapid as the amount of radiated heat implies. But it is not true that contraction (from cooling) can have developed the whole amount of heat at any time existing in the mass, or can even maintain a body at a constant temperature.” From this conclusion I venture to dissent, and in order to show my grounds I will give a paraphrase of the author’s argument, as far as I am able to grasp it. Let there be two similar planetary spheres with layers of equal density similarly arranged, and let the linear dimensions of the smaller (or say configuration 8) be 1-7th of those of the larger (or say configuration a) ; or, * This was sketched by Prof. Ball in his late lecture at Montreal, but I have unfortunately forgotten the originator’s name c 20 NATURE [| Mov. 13, 1884 in other words, let @ and a/z be any corresponding radii of a and fp. Let the mass, however, contained within radius @ of a be equal to that within radius a@/7 of 8; so that 8 might be formed from a by simple contraction ; and suppose both systems to be in hydrostatic equilibrium. Then it is easy to show that if p be the density at any point of a, the corresponding density of 8 is 7%p; and if @ be the pressure at the same point of a, the corresponding pres- sure of 8 is 72*f; and lastly, the modulus of elasticity being pdf/dp at any point of a, the corresponding elasticity of 8 is 724pdp/dp.* Now if we suppose the mass to have contracted from a state of infinite dispersion to the configurations a or f, there must in each case be a certain exhaustion of potential energy of mutual attraction of matter, develop- ing heat in the mass. Then it may be shown that if 7 is the exhaustion of energy of the matter within a radius a in passing from infinite dispersion to configuration a, the exhaustion of energy of the matter within a radius a@/7 in passing from infinite dispersion to configuration is 7.” The same is also true of any stratum in course of its contraction. If we take a succession of configurations with radii infinity, 1, $, $, &c., in harmonic progression, a constant amount of heat will be generated in passing from any one configuration to the next. Now let us suppose that in course of contraction neither convection, conduction, nor radiation takes place ; then if the temperature in the condition of infinite dis- persion be zero, and if the specific heat be constant, the temperature of any stratum @ of a being 6, that of stratum a/72 of B will be 76. In this case pd, being density multiplied by absolute temperature, becomes, in passing from a to 8, 7‘pd. If, therefore, the modulus of elasticity varies as density multiplied by temperature, we have the elasticity in 8 74 times that of a. But we have already seen that pdf/dp is augmented in passage from a to B by the factor z*. Hence the hypotheses as to arrangement of strata, specific heat, and law of elasticity are such as to insure equilibrium in every configuration, if it holds in any. This law of elasticity is that of the tsothermal contraction of a so-called perfect gas. Now Mr. Winchell’s argument appears to me to be that, when there is loss of heat by radiation, there is necessarily deficiency of temperature to make up the elasticity, and thus equilibrium is impossible unless we look for heat from other causes. He does not seem to notice, however, that it will be far nearer the truth (if any such physical hypotheses can be said to be near thereto) to take the elasticity from the adiabatic contraction of the perfect gas, which we know to vary as p6, where y=1'408. With this law the argument breaks down. In any case the constancy of specific heat, the similarity of successive configurations, and the law of elasticity of “ perfect ” gases are untenable. In order, however, to do justice to the author I must point out that he attributes later the supply of heat to “conglomeration,” which differs I presume from * The reader acquainted with Laplace’s theory of the earth's figure will have no difficulty in proving this, or even a simple acquaintance with hydro- static principles will suffice. ? The exhaustion of a homogeneous sphere of mass M and radius a is ?uM°*/a, where y is the attractional constant. Hence for a heterogeneous sphere we have yan pzatda. If p becomes m3p and a becomes a/n, obviously the exhaustion becomes # times as great as before. “contraction” in the supposed absence of hydrostatic equilibrium in successive stages, and in the irregularity of the masses concerned. The paragraph in this chapter on nebular rotation appears to clothe the matter in an unnecessary mystery. Surely we may admit that the existence of a nebular mass with an absolute zero of resultant moment of momentum is highly improbable; and if the expanded nebula has finite resultant moment of momentum, then mwst the agglomerated nebula rotate. Even with zero momentum the nebula might perhaps divide into two portions with equal and opposite momenta. We next come to paragraphs on nebular annulation and the “spheration” of rings. The intractability of these problems to mathematical treatment renders the discussion highly speculative, but the author seems to treat his subject with discretion. The second main division of the work bears the title of “Planetology.” An elaborate survey of the solar system is given, with a consideration of the arguments for and against the nebular hypothesis. ‘The fact that the inner satellite of Mars revolves in a period shorter than that of the rotation of its planet is regarded as a great difficulty in the acceptance of Laplace’s theory. Our author, whilst suggesting as an explanation a diminution of the primi- tive period through the influence of a resisting medium, refers favourably to the theory that solar tidal friction has retarded the planet’s rotation whilst leaving the period of the satellite unaltered. I have myself regarded the fact of which we speak as a very striking confirmation of the importance of tidal friction in planetary evolution. :. Faye’s modification of the nebular hypothesis, in which the planetary annuli are supposed to arise in the interior of the nebula, is criticised by Mr. Winchell with some success. An account is also given of Spiller’s theory, That author rejects the annuli entirely, and supposes the planets to arise by a combination of tidal action with centrifugal force. The formation of the planet is sup- posed to take place after the central mass has reached the condition of igneous fluidity. “Tt is manifest that a separated planetary mass must produce a tidal swell of some magnitude upon the fluid central mass. . . . Atsome perihelion of the planet there- fore—concurring perhaps with a conjunction of planets— the centrifugal tendency of the equatorial portion of the central fluid mass would exceed gravitation, and the tidal swell would be lifted bodily frorn connection with the central mass. . . .”? Neptune generated Uranus, Uranus Saturn, and so on. Now I venture to say that Spiller could not have made any numerical estimate of the efficiency of a planet’s tidal action on the sun, or he could not have proposed this fantastic theory.? It would therefore hardly have seemed to me worth while to have referred to this passage had not Mr. Winchell stated that this theory might be regarded as a prototype of one of my own. I had suggested that when the earth, then without a satellite, was rotating in four or five hours, the free period of oscillation of the fluid planet would be almost the same * P. 213, of. cit. ? For such an estimate see a paper “On the Tidal Friction of a Planet attended by several Satellites, &c.”’ (PAid. Trans. Part 2, 1881). On p. 515 it is shown that, supposing the coefficient of viscosity in the sun to be the same as that in the earth, then the increase of earth’s orbital moment of momentum due to earth’s tides in the sun is 1/1r3000th part of that due to sun’s tides on the earth. See also Table III. p. 526. Nov. 13, 1884] _ that the surface would harden into a crust. NATURE 27 as the period of the solar semi-diurnal tide, and that the solar tide might undergo such kinetic augmentation as to rupture the planet. A piece torn off might form the moon. The suggestion was only thrown out tentatively, and it might perhaps have been better had it been sup- pressed. The whole essence of the suggestion lies, how- ever, in the approximate identity of the free and forced periods of oscillation, and this reasoning has no place in Spiller’s theory. In considering the history of a cooling planet, the author is opposed to ‘Sir William Thomson, and concludes It seems to me that the time is hardly ripe for a very confident opinion on the point. A large place is given in this book to the influence of tides in the evolution of a planet. A description is given of the tidal retardation of planetary rotation and the recession of the satellite ; and the chapter is in fact prin- cipally a résumé of my own papers. The author is at one with me in rejecting Prof. Ball’s view, that an enormous exaggeration of marine tides can have taken place within geological history. He is inclined to adopt the view that the trends have been imparted to our great continents by means of the wrinkling consequent on tidal friction in a primitively viscous mass ; but he hardly notes, as I pointed out, that if this be so we have to accept a continuous adjustment of the general ellipticity of the earth to a figure of equilibrium, without obliteration of the wrinkles. The suggestion is thus perhaps placed in almost too favourable a light. On p. 282 Mr. Winchell speaks as though solar tidal friction is adequate to cause a sensible lengthening of the year, so that in earlier ages it was sensibly shorter. It is impossible to admit the correctness of this view, as I have elsewhere shown.! In a section on orogenic forces we have, amongst much other interesting matter, an account of M. Favre’s experi- ment, in which a layer of clay is placed on a tense elastic membrane, which is then allowed to contract : an illustra- tion of many of the facts of mountain geology is thus furnished. In the following chapter the author follows the various lines of argument by which limits are placed on the age of a planet, and by a subsequent geological discussion endeavours to derive a time scale ; but I feel incompetent to judge of the worth of the conclusion. We may regret to find the revival in this place of Prof. Haughton’s argu- ment, viz. that the absence of a measurable nutation of 306 days proves the enormous antiquity of the elevation of Europe and Asia. The argument is, I think, worthless, as I believe that Prof. Haughton now admits.” The principal topics dealt with in the rest of the book are the geology of the moon, the physical condition and habitability of other planets, and the final effects of tidal friction. The fourth main division of the book is historical, and contains a review of the evolution of cosmogonic theories, with an exposition of the speculations of Kepler, Descartes, * Phil. Trans. Part 2, 1881, p. 524: “ From this it follows that, if the whole of the momentum of Jupiter and his satellites were destroyed by solar tidal friction, the mean distance of Jupiter from the sun would only be increased by r/25000th (sisprinted 1/250oth) part. The effect of the destruction of the internal momentum of any other system would be very much less.” ? See Proc. R.S. February 19, 1878, No. 186, p. r, ‘‘On Prof. Haughton’s Estimate of Geological Time.” Leibnitz, Swedenborg, Kant, Lambert, William Herschel, and Laplace. From the account which has now been given of this work it must be evident that Mr. Winchell set before himself a task of portentous magnitude, and that he has performed it conscientiously. The criticisms which have been made should not impair the conviction that the student of this group of subjects will find his work of great value. G. H. DARWIN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space ts so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) The Pentacrinoid Stage of Antedon rosaceus In compliance with Prof. Herdman’s request, I have to state that my experience—acquired during seven years of consecutive dredging in Lamlash Bay (1855-61)—is in entire accordance with his own. Although the most active period of reproduction in Axtedon rosaceus is undoubtedly (as stated by Sir Wyville Thomson) the earZy part of the summer, so that the Pentacrinoids which spring from the ova then matured and fertilised are ready to drop off their stems in the succeeding autumn, yet I never failed to obtain Peséacrinoids in all stages, as well as Axtedons still ‘‘in fruit,” throughout the months of August and Septem- ber. In fact, the whole of my study of this type—which, as regards the skeleton, is fully recorded in my memoir in the Philosophical Transactions for 1865, and of which, as regards the soft parts, a general account is given in the Proceedings of the Royal Society for 1876, was carried out during those months ; my official duties keeping me in London until after the first week in August. I may take this opportunity of directing the attention of those interested in Crinoidal structure (1) to a communication I have recently made to the Royal Society (Proceedings, May 29) on the Nervous System of the Crinoids ; (2) to a paper by Prof. A. Milnes Marshall in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Sctence for July last ; and (3) to a paper by Dr. Carl Jickeli of Jena, in the Zool. Anzeiver, 7 Jahrgang, No. 170.—The doctrine I propounded on this subject nearly twenty years ago (that the quinquelocular organ contained in the centro-dorsal basin of Antedon is a nerve-centre, and that the radial cords issuing from it, which traverse the calcareous segments of the arms and pin- nules, and give off branches to the successive pairs of muscles, are nerve-trunks), though supported by the experimental evidence which I published in 1876, and by the careful microscopic inves- tigations of my son, Dr. P. Herbert Carpenter, has not been accepted by Zoologists generally ; being for the most part either ignored altogether, or pooh-poohed as ‘‘ evidently” fallacious, because inconsistent with homological theory. When I made my recent communication (1) to the Royal Society, summing up the very remarkable confirmatory evidence afforded by my son’s inquiries, and referring (as Prof. Marshall had kindly enabled me to do) to the then unpublished results of his experiments (2), which entirely tallied with my own, Prof. Huxley, while admitting the strength of my case, remarked that the position I assign to the nervous system of the Crizoidea is as anomalous (in relation to that of Echinoderms generally) as it would be for a Vertebrate animal to have its spinal cord lying along its ventral surface. In reply, I asked, ‘‘ What more proof can you ask for, of the nervous function of the quinquelocular organ and radial cords?’’ The only additional evidence that Prof. Huxley could suggest, was the result of electric stimulation. Before my paper was published in the Proceedinxgs, Ilearnt (3) that this experiment had been actually tried four years ago by Dr. Jickeli, whose results entirely confirmed my doctrine. It is to be hoped, therefore, that those who have so confidently and persistently clung to a homology, which is in direct contra- diction to the most complete and conclusive proof that experi- ment can afford—supported as this is by the large body o 28 NATURE et, [Vov. 13, 1884 anatomical and histological evidence summarised in my recent paper—uwill now see that unless they can disprove the statements of Prof. Marshall, Dr. Jickeli, Dr. P. Herbert Carpenter, and myself, they are bound to admit my doctrine, and to show how their theoretical homology is to be reconciled with it. WILLIAM B. CARPENTER 56, Regent’s Park Road, London, N.W., November 3 Natural Science for Schools Tue thoughtful and suggestive paper of Prof. Armstrong in the last number of NaTuRE (p. 19) is to be com- mended to the attention both of science teachers and of the head masters of our schools. It is undoubtedly true that, with few exceptions, science is still either completely neglected by our schools or handled in a way which does not at all tend to advance its interests. When it is made a ‘‘ refuge for the desti- tute,” or considered only fit for those intellectually unequal to the study of classics and mathematics, no wonder that observant head masters conclude that little good is to be got from it. As a science master of many years’ experience (having been in fact responsible for the introduction of science into /wo of the schools named by Prof. Armstrong as exceptions to the universal indifference), you will perhaps allow me to call attention to the importance of Prof. Armstrong’s paper, and to give the conclu- sions to which my own experience has led me. The importance of clearly understanding the purpose with which science is to be studied, and the distinction to be borne in mind between the best curriculum for those who are to be pro- fessed chemists and those who will not carry the study of chemistry beyond their school-days is obvious ; but I wish to point out how entirely science masters are at the mercy of examiners, both of University examiners, periodically examining a school, and of examiners for open scholarships. My own experience is to the point. Fully persuaded of the uselessness of attempting to make an analytical machine out of the ordinary school-boy giving two or three hours a week to chemistry for two or three years, and of the very small amount of education to be obtained from such a course, I endeavoured to model my instruction in practical chemistry much upon the lines adopted by Prof. Armstrong, and exemplified in the appendix to his paper. When the examinations came, it was duly explained to the examiner that the course of instruction adopted had been unusual, but, all the same, the papers set were of the usual kind :—‘‘ Analyse the mixture A,” ‘‘ Determine the metals and acids present in the solution B,” &c. On such a paper, of course, the boys failed, and a depreciatory report was sent up by the examiners, with the result that the governors of the school thought it their duty to interfere, and request that ‘‘ more atten- tion should be given to practical chemistry.’”’ Consequently my attempt had to be abandoned, and we returned to our ‘‘ test- tubing.” Scholarship examinations, being presumably of those who will carry the study much further, may more reasonably demand a knowledge of the ordinary methods of analysis, but I am glad to see that a considerable change has taken place in the papers set, and that now the questions proposed are often such as to place the mechanical analyst at a disadvantage, and to encourage the intelligent observation and interpretation of phenomena. Prof. Armstrong of course writes as a chemist. But there can be no doubt that certain portions of physics are educationally more useful, and it seems to be only the difficulty of arranging practical work in physics which has led to the present state of things, where practical science work in schools means nearly always practical chemistry. But Prof. Armstrong’s protest against allowing this to degenerate into ‘‘test-tubing” should not be disregarded. There seems also no reason why elementary instruction in science—whether chemistry, or botany, or physio- graphy—should not deal frs¢ with the familiar things of every- day life. I think much more training is to be got by deter- mining, as Prof. Armstrong suggests, the composition of air, the relative combining weights of silver and lead, &c., than by seeing made any number of oxides of nitrogen, and listening to a description of their properties. There is, however, considerable difficulty in arranging easy methods of determining chemical equivalents which, in inexperienced hands, shall give results not too wide of the mark. If a boy gets out the atomic weight of oxygen as 9 when the book says it is 16, or finds the latent heat of steam to be 300 and . illuminated in a somewhat similar manner. something when it ought to be 536, he begins to disbelieve in the precision of the statements made, and it is unfortunately im- possible for a beginner to make accurate determinations of com- bining weights. Less erratic results can, in fact, be obtained in certain selected physical measurements. The ‘‘bareness ” of printed instructions is, as Prof. Armstrong remarks, a distinct advantage to the good student, by compelling him to think for himself, but it is fatal to the unintelligent student, to whom ‘‘ thinking” is the very hardest work he is called upon to do. : SCIENCE MASTER The Recent Lunar Eclipse My object in writing is to confirm in some degree the peculiar appearance of the disk, noticed in your last number (vol. xxx. p- 632). The eclipse was seen here under the most favourable circumstances : the obscuration was so great that the disk could barely be discerned with the naked eye, and the copper colour usually seen was not noticed. Having watched the moon well into the umbra, my attention was diverted for a while, but, on looking again, at 9.35 G.M.T., I was surprised to see a portion of the north-east quadrant pretty strongly illuminated ; my atten- tion was again diverted, but on looking a second time at 10.35 G.M.T., I observed a portion of the south-east quadrant 9.35 At both times the moon was well within the geometrical umbra. But the remark- able feature was that on both occasions the boundaries of the illuminated portions were, approximately, circular, and convex toward the axis of the umbra, indicating that the refracted solar rays producing these illuminations had crossed the axis of the shadow-cone previous to impinging on the lunar disk. The portions of the refracting annulus of the earth’s atmosphere concerned in producing these effects were those superincumbent on the Southern Indian Ocean and the North Atlantic. WENTWORTH ERCK Shankill, Co. Dublin, November 4 The Sky-Glows IN using the word ‘‘ corona” to designate the coloured glare which has accompanied the sun during the past year, I had no intention of employing it in its astronomical sense, but in its ordinary meteorological meaning—which ‘‘ G. M. H.” (NATURE, circles on cloud and haze frequently to be seen round the sun and moon, and classed by some observers with halos. By calling the circle now visible round the sun a “corona,” I mean that in appearance and probable optical cause it is more like a meteorological corona than like a halo. May I be allowed to point out a misprint in the first paragraph of my last letter (vol. xxx. p. 633), where it should read ‘‘un- usual sky phenomena ”—the world zzz:versa/ haying been printed for znausual, T. W. BACKHOUSE Sunderland, November 8 AFTER sunset this evening there was a peculiar pink flush in the western sky here similar to that which attracted so much attention in England last year. Twenty-five minutes after the sun had gone down, the colour was so vivid as to be reflected from the snows of Mount Baker (10,700 feet), which is about seventy-five miles east of this place. Shortly afterwards it dis- appeared, but reappeared thirty-five minutes later, prolonging the twilight and making the stars look green, finally dying away very gradually. Tbe weather for the past twelve days has been very wet, and to-night’s is the first clear sunset in that time. Nov. 13, 1884] Fourteen days ago, when on the Fraser River, eighty miles from here, I saw after sunset a very brilliant aurora borealis. I write this thinking there may be a repetition of the phenomena in England, in which case this note may possess interest. G, W. LAMPLUGH Victoria, Vancouver Island, October 13 Peculiar Ice Forms THE ice structures observed by Mr. Woodd Smith (November 6, p. 5) are evidently the same as were described in vol. xxi. p- 396. I have often seen such fibrous masses since, under cir- cumstances which left no doubt of their being mainly due to prolonged condensation of aqueous vapour from the air; the fibres, white like asbestos, and covered only by a very thin layer of earthy particles, rising from a hard subsoil. The absorption of aqueous vapour by the soil, especially on mountains, seems not yet to be duly appreciated, although it is proved by the many springs issuing at short distances below the summits, and has been insisted upon already in Er. Darwin’s ‘*‘ Botan. Garden” and ‘‘Phytonomia”’ (chap. xi. 2). ‘‘ Rainfall being the source of all water-supply ” (NATURE, vol. xxx. p. 375) is a statement hardly to be maintained. W. Freiburg, Badenia, November 8 Seismographs—An Apology I AM just in receipt of the inclosed letter from Mr. Charles A. Stevenson, in which he claims the original idea of the actuating mechanism in the /or720n2/al component setsmograph I have lately described in these pages, and he includes a copy of his paper to justify his remarks. I therefore think it my duty to offer my apologies to him for not having given him full credit for his invention so far as it goes, although I have zsconsciously done him wrong. Naples is unfortunately very badly off for modern scientific works and Proceedings of Societies, both as regards the National and the University libraries, and as far as I know no copy of Mr. Stevenson’s paper exists in the town, except the one he has now sent me. Perhaps I may be permitted to point out that Mr. Stevenson’s seismograph, so far as it is described, would be almost useless for the following reasons :— (1) The inertia of the upper glass plate would be insufficient not to be affected by the slight movement conducted through the ivory balls to it, This is the reason I use the very heavy lead disk. (2) No earthquake shock is perfectly horizontal, so that Mr. Stevenson’s instrument would only be fit to register the hori- zontal component of the earth-wave, and would fail to do this, since if the angle of emergence was appreciable it would be jerked up off its supports, and consequently would simply register a series of interrupted lines. This is why I introduced the upper balls and resistance plate. (3) If the instrument was disturbed by an earth-wave of large amplitude, the registering arm would pass beyond the border of the smoked plate (unless the apparatus was of very great dimen- sions, so failing to fulfil the conditions of the British Association), where the needle would drop out, or fall so low as to prevent the return of the arm over the plate. (4) If the earthquake was of some seconds’ duration and com- posed of many varying movements, as is generally if not always the case, a network of irregular curves would remain on the glass that would be quite unintelligible. If a thing is to be done, it is advisable to do it well, and it is less possible to have accurate registers of earthquake shocks than of the force and direction of the wind, barometric pressure, or any other meteorological phenomena. The requirements of the British Association with regard to expense, size, and portability of seismographs, will not permit anything like an accurate inves- tigation of geodynamics. In conclusion, should I have overlooked and appropriated the ideas of any other inventor, I shall be happy to fully acknow- ledge them if sufficient evidence is given (as in the above case) of priority of publication. H. J. JoHNsTON-Lavis November 7 45, Melville Street, Edinburgh, November 3 I NOTICED recently in NATURE (vol. xxx. p. 608) an article by you in which you describe a seismograph for recording earth- quake shocks, which would appear to be your own invention NATURE 29) from reading the paper. No doubt the method of making the record, springs, and upper balls are your own invention, but the principle on which the seismograph there described acts is, as far as I know, mine or my father’s. I inclose the paper in which it was first described, and I would be glad to learn from you if you forestalled me. CHARLES A, STEVENSON Dr. Johnston-Lavis, Naples Fly-Maggots Feeding on Caterpillars A FEW months ago I had a caterpillar of Papilio erythronius, which I found on a lemon-tree. I put it into a card-box, and fed it daily on lemon-leaves. The box was covered with cloth tied tightly all round the opening. After some days, the cater- pillar fixed itself to the side of the box, and turned into a chrysalis in the usual way. One day on opening the box, instead of finding the chrysalis changing into its usual colours and markings, it was dark all over. A few days more, on re- opening the box, I found six fully-developed cream-coloured maggots at the bottom of the box. I was rather puzzled to con- jecture how these maggots got into a box three inches high, with a bit of cloth tied all round the opening. I put the maggots into a little box with some earth under a tumbler. They immediately buried themselves in the earth. In a few days I found six chrysalides, and some days later there were six ordinary house- flies buzzing within the tumbler. I then examined the dark chrysalis of the P. exythronius, which was evidently dead, and found it only a se//, All its interior had been consumed by the six maggots. It is evident that these maggots in their infant stage had already been in the body of the caterpillar when I boxed it. The latter had gone through its transformation as if nothing was the matter with it, although, if one could have interrogated it, probably it would have complained of mysterious gnawings and creepings in its interior. A time, of course, came when, for want of nerve-centres and other organs, the chrysalis could not go on with its development into the perfect Papilio. The six maggots having had a full meal, found their way out of the Papilio’s chrysalis in order to undergo ¢/ezy transformation. I knew that the larvee of the Ichneumonidz fed on the live bodies of caterpillars, but I did not know that the larvee of the house-fly did so also. E. BONAVIA Etawah, India, October 18 THE CRYSTALLINE, ROCKS OF) TATE, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS VER since the discovery of Silurian fossils in the rocks of North-West Sutherland, it has been recog- nised that in that region lies the key to the structure of the Scottish Highlands. Accordingly, when in the pro- gress of the Geological Survey, the mapping of the High- lands had to be undertaken, I determined that a detailed survey of the Sutherland ground on the scale of six inches to a mile should be made as a basis for the work. In the summer of last year a surveying party under the charge of Mr. B. N. Peach was stationed there, with instructions to begin by mapping the Durness Basin. This duty was satisfactorily accomplished before the end of the season. The Silurian series of Durness was ascertained to be about 2000 feet thick, and to consist of numerous successive zones, which were traced on the six-inch maps and dis- criminated in such a way as to be recognisable should they be found to occur in the more complicated region to the east. With this necessary groundwork well esta- blished, the Eriboll tract was attacked this summer by Messrs. Peach and Horne. I had never myself had an opportunity of studying the Eriboll sections, which, from the days of Macculloch down to the present time, have been such a fruitful subject of discussion. It was a special injunction to the officers now intrusted with the detailed survey of the region to divest themselves of any prepossessions in favour of published views and to map the actual facts in entire disregard of theory. By the close of this last season the structure of the Eriboll area had likewise been traced upon the six-inch maps, and I then went north to inspect the wor. From time 30 NATURE [Vov. 13, 1884 to time during the summer, reports had been made to me of the progress of the survey, but, though from the published descriptions of that tract, 1 was aware that its structure must be singularly complicated, and although apprised of the conclusions to which the surveyors, step by step and almost against their will, had been driven, I was hardly prepared for the extraordinary geological structure which the ground itself presented, or for the great change necessitated in the interpretation of the sections as given by Murchison. No one cursorily visiting the ground could form any notion of its extraordinary complication, which could only be satisfactorily unravelled by patient detailed mapping such as had never yet been bestowed upon it. With every desire to follow the interpretation of my late chief, I criticised minutely each detail of the work upon the ground ; but I found the evidence altogether overwhelming against the upward succession which Murchison believed to exist in Eriboll from the base of the Silurian strata into an upper conformable series of schists and gneisses. The nature of this evidence will be best understood from the subjoined report, which, at my request, Messrs. Peach and Horne have prepared. As the question of the succession of the rocks in the North-West Highlands is still under discussion, | think it right to take the earliest opportunity of making this public declaration. It would require more space than can be given in these pages to do justice to the views of those geologists, from Nicol downwards, by whom Murchison’s sections have been criticised, and to show how far the conclusions to which the Geological Survey has been led, have been antici- pated. When the official memoirs are published, full reference will be given to the work of previous ob- servers, to which, therefore, no further allusion is made at present. The most remarkable features in the Eriboll area are the prodigious terrestrial displacements, to which there is certainly no parallel in Britain. Beginning with gentle foldings of the rocks, we trace these becoming increasingly steeper on their western fronts, until they are disrupted and the eastern limb is pushed westwards. By a system of reversed faults, a group of strata is made to cover a great breadth of ground and actually to overlie higher members of the same series. The most extraordinary dislocations, however, are those to which for distinction we have given the name of Thrust-planes, They are strictly reversed faults, but with so low a hade that the rocks on their up-throw side have been, as it were, pushed horizontally forward. The dis- tance to which this horizontal displacement has reached is almost incredible. In Duress, for example, the over- lying schists have certainly been thrust westwards across all the other rocks for at least ten miles. In fact, these thrust-planes, but for the clear evidence of such sections as those of Loch Eriboll, could not be distinguished from ordinary stratification-planes, like which they have been plicated, faulted, and denuded. Here and there, as a result of denudation, a portion of one of them appears capping a hill-top. One almost refuses to believe that the little outlier on the summit does not lie normally on the rocks below it, but on a nearly horizontal fault by which it has been moved into its place. Masses of the Archean gneiss have thus been thrust up through the younger rocks and pushed far over their edges. When a geologist finds vertical beds of gneiss overlying gently inclined sheets of fossiliferous quartzite, shale, and lime- stone, he may be excused if he begins to wonder whether he himself is not really standing on his head. The general trend of all these foldings and ruptures is from north-north-east to south-south-west, and the steep westward fronts of the folds show that the terrestrial movement came from east-south-east. | Corroborative evidence that this was the direction of the movement is furnished by a series of remarkable internal rearrange- ments that have been superinduced upon the rocks. Throughout the whole region, in almost every mass of rock, altogether irrespective of its lithological characters and its structure, striated planes may be noticed which are approximately parallel with the thrust-planes, and are covered with a fine parallel lineation, running in a west- north-west and east-south-east direction. These surfaces have evidently been produced by shearing. Again, many of the rocks near the thrust-planes, and for a long way above them, are marked by a peculiar streaked structure which reminds one of the fluxion-lines of an eruptive rock. The coarse pegmatites in the gneiss, for example, as they come within the influence of the shearing, have had their flesh-coloured feldspar and milky-quartz crushed and drawn out into fine parallel laminee till they assume the aspect of a rhyolite in which fluxion-structure has been exceptionally well developed. The gneiss itself coming into the same powerful mill has acquired a new schistosity parallel with the shearing-planes. Hornblende-rock has been converted into hornblende-schist. Moreover, new minerals have likewise made their appearance along the new divisional planes, and in many cases their longer axes are ranged in the same dominant direction from east-south-east to west-north-west. Murchison believed that the Silurian quartzites and limestones of Eriboll pass up under, and are conform- ably overlain by, his upper gneiss. It is quite true that they are so overlain ; but the overlying rocks, instead of having been regularly deposited on them, have been pushed over them. What, then, are these overlying rocks ? Though they have undergone such intense alteration during the process by which they were moved into their present position that their original characters have been in great measure effaced, lenticular bands occur in them which can certainly be recognised. Some of these bands are unquestionably parts of the Archaean gneiss; others are Silurian quartzite, and in one case we can detect a large mass of the Upper Duress limestone. Traced eastwards, however, the crystalline characters become more and more pronounced until we cannot tell, at least from examination in the field, what the rocks may origin- ally have been. They are now fine flaggy micaceous gneisses and mica-schists, which certainly could not have been developed out of any such Archzean gneiss as is now visible to the west. Whether they consist in part of higher members of the Silurian series in a metamorphic condition remains to be seen. The occurrence of a band of crystalline limestone and calcareous schist, which has been traced for many miles above the great thrust-plane, certainly suggests that it represents the upper part of the calcareous Durness series attenuated and altered by the intense shearing which all the rocks have undergone. This much at least is certain, that the schistose series above the thrust-plane is partly made up of Silurian strata, and has received its present dip and foliation since Silurian time. Having satisfied myself that Murchison’s explanation of the order of sequence could not be established in Eriboll, I was desirous to see again, in the new light now obtained, some of the Ross-shire sections for the description of which I am responsible. Had these sec- tions been planned for the purpose of deception they could not have been more skilfully devised. The paral- lelism of dip and strike between the Silurian strata and the overlying schists is so complete as to prove the most intimate relationship between them; and no one coming first to this ground would suspect that what appears to be a normal stratigraphical sequence is not really so. But the clear coast-sections of Eriboll, where every disloca- tion is laid bare, have now taught me that I have been mistaken, for the parallelism in question is not due to conformable deposition. The same kind of evidence of upthrust and metamorphism which these coast-sections reveal can be traced southwards for a distance of more Nov. 13, 1884 | than ninety miles. The task of unravelling the geological structure of these southern regions will be much facilitated by the remarkable persistence of the Sutherland Silurian zones, some of which, with their characteristic features and fossils, are as well marked above Loch Carron as they are at Loch Eriboll. In south-western Ross-shire the platform on which the Silurian rocks rest is a thick mass of Cambrian red sand- stone. In the great upthrow, it is this sandstone platform which has there been pushed over the limestones and ‘quartzites. On the west side of Loch Keeshorn, the red sandstones, in their normal unaltered form, rise up into the colossal pyramids of Applecross; but on the east side, where, at a distance of little more than a mile, they overlie the limestones, they bear so indurated an aspect that they have naturally been classed with the quartzose members of the Silurian series. Traced east- wards they present increasing evidence of intense shear- ing ; fluxion-structure makes its appearance in them, with a development of mica along the divisional planes, until they pass into frilled micaceous schist, in which, how- ever, the original clastic grains are still recognisable. They finally shade upwards into green schists and fine gneiss which merge into coarse gneiss with pegmatite. The short space within which ordinary red feldspathic sand- stone and arkose acquire the characters of true schists is a point of some importance in regard to the change from the unaltered Silurian strata of the Southern Uplands into the metamorphic condition of the Highland phyllites, grits, &c. Obviously the question of chief importance in connec- tion with the structure now ascertained to characterise | the North-West Highlands relates to metamorphism. That there is no longer any evidence of a regular conformable passage from fossiliferous Silurian quartzites, shales, and limestones upwards into crystalline schists, which were | supposed to be metamorphosed Silurian sediments, must be frankly admitted. But in exchange for this abandoned belief, we are presented with startling new evidence of | regional metamorphism on a colossal scale, and are admitted some way into the secret of the processes whereby it has been produced. From the remarkably constant relation between the dip of the Silurian strata and the inclination of -their reversed faults, no matter into what various positions the two structures may have been thrown, it is tolerably clear | that these dislocations took place before the strata had been seriously disturbed. The persistent parallelism of | the faults and of the prevailing north-easterly strike of the rocks indicates that the faulting and tilting were parts of one continuous process. The same dominant north- easterly strike extends across the whole Highlands, and | also over the Silurian tracts of Southern Scotland and the North of England. There is reason to regard it in | all these regions as probably due to one great series of terrestrial movements. These must have occurred some time between an early part of the Silurian period and that portion of the Old Red Sandstone period represented by the breccias and conglomerates of the Highlands. In the Central and Eastern Highlands the slates, phyl- lites, grits, quarizites, and limestones which, along the southern border, are scarcely more altered than their probable equivalents among the Silurian rocks of the Southern Uplands, have been greatly plicated, and have assumed a more or less crystalline structure. But when these changes were brought about, there lay to the north- west a solid ridge of Archean gneiss and Cambrian sandstone which offered strong resistance to the plication. The thrust from the eastward against this ridge must have been of the most gigantic kind, for huge slices, hundreds of feet in thickness, were shorn off from the quartzites, limestones, red sandstones, and gneiss, and were pushed for miles to the westward. During this process, all the rocks driven forward by it had their NATORE ] gt original structure more or less completely effaced. New planes, generally parallel with the surfaces of movement, were developed in them, and along these new planes a rearrangement and recrystallisation of mineral con- stituents took place, resulting in the production of crystal- line schists. This metamorphism certainly occurred after early Silurian times, for Cambrian and Lower Silurian strata, as wellas Archean rocks, have been involved in it. It is obvious that into the problems of Highland geology, always admittedly obscure, a fresh element of difficulty is introduced. At the same time the aid fur- nished by a minute study of the Sutherland sections is so great that we may hope to attack these problems with more success than has hitherto seemed probable. The work, too, is not of a kind to be attempted in a few hasty scampers over the ground. It will require patient detailed mapping. But when the great base-lines have once been accurately traced, the difficulties will doubtless begin to diminish, and, like the pieces of a puzzle, the various segments of the Highlands will then be found to range themselves in their proper places. ARCH. GEIKIE Report on the Geology of the North-West of Sutherland IN the north-west of Sutherland the most ancient rocks belong to the Archean series, and present a great uniformity in lithological characters. They consist mainly of coarse hornblendic gneiss, with distinct zones of gray and pink granitoid gneiss, in which the mica is more abundant than the hornblende. Lenticular veins and bosses of hornblende-rock and hornblende-schist, some at least of which are evidently intrusive, occur in the gneiss, while the presence of small kernels of cleavable horn- blende and actinolite forms another characteristic feature of the series. Veins of pink or white pegmatite abound, sometimes parallel with the foliation of the gneiss and sometimes traversing it in all directions. These, how- ever, are distinct from dykes of pink granite, which also intersect the gneiss and coarse pegmatites, and are them- selves crossed by later pegmatite-veins. Here and there, indeed, the branches of a pegmatite-vein can be seen to return upon themselves and traverse the main trunk from which they start. Where the Archazean rocks have been recently stripped of their former cover of Silurian quartzite, bands of green epidotic eneiss appear among them, and a soft green mineral with a greasy lustre (agalmatolite ?) is there characteristic of the superficial parts of the pegma- tite-veins. The highly crystalline Archeean rocks are overlain un- conformably by a succession of conglomerates, grits, and sandstones, regarded by Murchison as the equivalents of the Cambrian system of Wales. In the course of the work of the Geological Survey in the present region they have been divided into certain zones, which, though they need not be stated here, as they have no bearing on the main question to which this paper is devoted, may prove to be of considerable importance in unravelling the geo- logical structure of the districts further south. Between the Cambrian sandstones and the overlying quartzites at the base of the Silurian series there is a complete discordance. To the west of the Kyle of Durness, for example, the Cambrian sandstones dip to the north-west, while the overlying quartzites dip to the south of east. Moreover, as the observer passes east- wards to the shores of the Kylé, the Cambrian sandstones are bed after bed transgressed by the quartzites, which eventually rest directly on the Archzean gneiss. The Silurian strata in the Durness area (A in Section) consist of a calcareous series at the top; a middle series, com- posed partly of calcareous and partly of arenaceous strata; and an arenaceous series at the base. The various sub divisions of the strata are given in descending order in the subjoined tabular statement. 32 (VII. DurINE Group Fine: 6 A VI. CROISAPHUILL GROUP ea V. BALNAKEIL GROUP C. CALCAREOUS SERIES ... - Fine IV. SANGOMORE GROUP.. III. SAILMHOR GROUP II. E1LEAN DuBH GROUP Fine: I. GHRUDAIDH GROUP . 2) | NATURE c. Fine-grained, | Mov. 13, 1884 eae light gray limestones, with an occasional dark fossiliferous band. cleaved, lilac-coloured limestones, full of flattened worm-casts ; fossils distorted by cleavage. Iternations of black, dark gray, and white limestone, with an occa- sional fossiliferous band, like zone (a) of this group. Tassive, dark gray limestone, chiefly composed of worm-casts which project above the matrix on weathered surfaces. Near the base are several lines of small chert nodules. This is one of the most highly fossiliferous zones in the Durness Basin. Alternations of dark and light gray limestone, highly fossiliferous, with occasional impure, argillace jus, unfossiliferous bands. Most of the beds are distinctly cleaved, and contain few worm-casts. granular dolomites, alternating near the top with cream-coloured or pink limestone. Near the base are two or more bands of white chert, one of which is about 5 feet thick. Massive, crystalline-granular, dolomitic limestones, occasionally fossili- ferous, charged with dark worm-castings set in a gray matrix; large spheroidal masses of chert near the base. This limestone is locally known as ‘‘the Leopard Stone.” white, flaggy, argillaceous limestones and calcareous -grained, As yet no fossils have been found in this division. shales. Dark leaden-coloured limestones, occasionally mottled, alternating near the top with white limestone. About 30 feet from the base there is a thin band of limestone charged with Serpzlztes Maccullochit, and a similar band occurs at the base. At the base lies a massive band of quartzite and grit, passing upwards UPPER ZONE B, MIDDLE SERIES (partly Alte calcareous and partly arenaceous)... doc MIDDLE ZONE Cale: ( e ) LOWER ZONE | ( Fine UprErR ZONE A. ARENACEOUS SERIES... [ Fe LOWER ZONE ( The Silurian strata in the Durness area are arranged in the form of a basin, truncated on the east side by a fault that brings them against the Archean gneiss, and thus disconnects them from the Eriboll area, with which they were certainly at one time united. Of the identity of these strata in the two areas there cannot be the smallest doubt. We have recognised them zone by zone, completing the proofs of this identity by detecting in the south and central parts of the Durness Basin the represent- atives of the middle series, viz. the ‘ Fucoid-beds” “ Serpulite-grit,” which had not previously been noted in that area. Though subject to local variations in thick- ness, these zones are singularly persistent, and, from their marked lithological characters and fossil contents, consti- tute admirable horizons in unravelling the complicated geological structure of the region. A rich assemblage of fossils has been obtained by the Surv ey from the various fossiliferous bands indicated in the foregoing table, com- prising Trilobites, Annelids, Cephalopods (A Vautilus, Lit- nites, Orthoceras, Piloceras, &c.), Heteropods, Gastero- pods, Lamellibranchs, Brachiopods, Corals, Sponges, and Foraminifera. As yet this collection has not been ex- amined in detail, but from observations in the field it is probable that some of the limestone zones will be found to be characterised by particular fossils. and | into carious dolomitic grit, crowded in patches with Serpzlites Maccullochii, more especially in the decomposed portions (Serpu- lite-Grit). rnations of brown, flaggy, calcareous, false-bedded grits and quartzites with cleaved shales. areous mudstones and dolomitic bands, weathering with a rusty brown colour, traversed by numerous worm-casts, usually flattened, and resembling fucoidal impressions. These beds are often highly cleaved. This and the overlying zone form the ‘* Fucoid-beds” of previous authors. -grained quartzites, perforated by vertical worm-casts and burrows becoming more numerous towards the top of the zone (‘‘ pipe- rock” of previous authors). These beds pass downwards into massive white quartzites. alse-bedded flaggy grits and quartzites, composed of grains of quartz and feldspar. At the base there is a thin brecciated conglomerate, varying from a few inches to a few feet in thickness, containing pebbles of the underlying rocks, chiefly of quartz and orthoclase, the largest measuring about 1 inch across. A striking feature of the Durness Basin is the amount of displacement of the strata by faults ; indeed, this feature is so characteristic of the highest limestone zones that it is difficult satisfactorily to compute their thickness. But from the base of the quartzite to the top of the cal- careous series the total thickness of Silurian strata cannot be less than 2000 feet. In Sangomore Bay, near the vil- lage of Durine, the highest limestone zone is overlain by shattery quartzite, striped fissile schist, frilled schists, and gneiss. Though unquestionably resting upon the lime- stone and sharing in the normal faulting of the district, these crystalline strata do not prove a conformable upward succession, as has been naturally enough supposed. The key to the reading of this and of the corresponding sec- tion at Farrid Head is to be sought in the Eriboll tract. The Silurian rocks of the Durness Basin are separated from those of Loch Eriboll (B in the Section) by a pro- minent ridge of Archzean gneiss, the eastern slope of which is covered by a cake of quartzite. Along the crest of the chain the basal breccia is exposed, overlain by the lower zone of false-bedded grits (No. 3) and the upper zone of “pipe-rock” (No. 4 in Section). As the eastern de- clivity of the ridge is greater than the dip of the quartz- ites, the observer, on descending the slope, crosses the basset edges and dip-slopes of the latter strata, and eventu- Nov. 13, 1884 | NATURE 33 ally finds himself again on the old platform of Archean gneiss exposed by denudation (see Section). Both the zones of quartzite are then once more met with in their normal order, the highest beds exposed on the western shore of Loch Eriboll belonging to the horizon of the “pipe-rock.” On the eastern shore, at Ant Sron, on the crest ofa low anticlinal arch of the “ pipe-rock,” there is an excellent section of the middle series between the quartz- ites and the limestones. The two subdivisions of the “ Fucoid-beds ” (No. 5) and the “ Serpulite-grit ” (No. 6 in Section), which are typically developed at that locality, pass underneath the Serpulite-limestone at the base of Group I., exactly asthey doat Durness. The dark-leaden- gray limestones of the lowest group (I.) are then rapidly succeeded by flaggy limestones (Ant Sron, Chorrie Island, Heilim) and dolomitic limestones which, probably the equivalents of the Eilean Dubh Group in Durness, are the highest members of the series here represented (No. 7 in Section). A careful search among the Eriboll limestones has failed to bring to light any organic remains save Sevfulites and certain minute spherical bodies which may prove to be Foraminifera. A similar dearth of fossils characterises the two lowest zones in Durness, so that this feature is common to both areas. The non-occurrence of the higher fossiliferous limestones in Eriboll may be accounted for by the remarkable geological structure of that region which is now to be described. As the observer passes eastwards along the magnificent quartzite sections on Crag Dionard and Conamheall, south of Loch Eriboll, he cannot fail to note the numerous flexures of the strata, and especially the peculiar type of their sharp anticlinal folds. As a rule, the eastern limb of each of these folds dips at a gentle angle to the south- east, while the west limb is highly inclined, vertical, even inverted, or sometimes broken by a reversed fault the effect of which is to bring lower over higher beds. These reversed faults (¢¢¢ in Section) become more numerous eastwards. They are admirably displayed both in ground-plan and dip- section on the shore north of Heilim, where they repeat the various zones ranging from the “ pipe-rock” to the Eilan Dubh limestone (Group II.). The strike of the reversed faults ranges on the whole with that of the strata tra- versed, and their hade is inclined at a higher angle than the dip of the latter, the difference generally amounting to about 10°. Inland from the coast-section, north of Heilim, to the base of Ben Arnaboll, the zones just men- tioned are constantly repeated by a complicated system of reversed faults and folds, the general inclination of the strata being towards the south-east. As that hill is ap- proached, the displacement produced by these faults in- creases in amount ; hence the observer meets with beds occupying a lower geological horizon the further east he travels. At length this intricate system of faults and folds culminates in a great dislocation which, for convenience Smut CTT CRIT EG Le Ce tata, ot SS a = DIAGRAM-SECTION OF DuRNESS-ERIBOLL REGION. zo. Gneissose Flagstones, &c. 7- Durness-Eriboll Limestone—Upper Series 2. Sandstones and Conglomerates Fhe 9. Siliceous Schist «(NEWER 6. Serpulite-Grit } . é Smeiee Cuani tite, &c, | ARCHEAN Frilled Schist ... 1. ...(Gweiss 5. Fucoid-Beds_ Sj MIG N alg OME pete CPcits, Granite, Eeguate Se Gxees *\Green Schist oe 4. Piped Quartzite ... ow. Genines "(False-bedded Quartzit 3\Basal Breccia Lower ” . A= Durness Area; p= Eriboll Area; ff = Normal Faults ; tt = Reversed Faults and “ Thrast-planes” ; Dotted lines =continuation of normal faults and thrust-planes. of description, and to distinguish it from the ordinary reversed faults, may be termed a 7hrust-plane. By means of it a great mass of coarsely crystalline gneiss with peg- matite-veins, in places upwards of 400 feet thick, is placed above the Silurian rocks (see Section). A careful examina- tion of the mass which caps Ben Arnaboll clearly proves that z¢ rests transgressively on all the zones of the Silurian rocks, from the lower zone of the quartzites (false-bedded grits) upto the limestone which overlies the Serpulite-grit. Owing partly to its low hade and partly to subsequent folding, the outcrop of this thrust-plane resembles that of an ordinary overlying formation cut into a sinuous line by denudation. It is admirably seen in dip-section on the east and north slopes of Ben Arnaboll, whence it can be followed round the west face of the hill, descending into the valley on the west, then bending back on itself, wind- ing round the north slope of Druim Tungi, and entering Loch Eriboll in Heilim Bay. It reappears at the base of Crag-na-Faolinn, and has been traced still farther to the south, while northwards it can be followed to the Whitten Head, at the mouth of Loch Eriboll. That the gneiss thus brought up on Ben Arnaboll and elsewhere is in reality the Archzean gneiss is evident, for two reasons. First, its lithological characters agree with those of the typical Archzan area to the west, save in certain cases where the original features have been effaced by the crushing to be afterwards described. Near the thrust-plane, this effacement is complete, but in the heart of the mass the normal characters of the Archzean rocks, including in some instances their characteristic north-west strike, are retained. The rocks consist of coarsely crystalline hornblendic gneiss and pink granitoid gneiss, with lenticular veins of hornblende-rock and kernels of cleavable hornblende, while massive veins of pink pegmatite are well developed. The soft greenish mineral (agalmatolite?) already mentioned as characteristic of the gneiss, where now or lately covered with quartzite, occurs here in the pegmatites, and veins of epidosite are abundant. Second, at various localities the brecciated conglomerate and false-bedded quartzite at the base of the Silurian strata are found resting on these crystalline rocks. Further, the unconformable junction can on one line be traced continuously for more than a mile. There can be no doubt, therefore, that this mass is really a fragment of the old platform of Archzean rocks on which the Silurian strata were deposited. The occurrence of this Archzean gneiss in its present position above much younger rocks is doubtless to be ascribed to the same cause which elsewhere has resulted in foldings of the strata. In the present instance we see an attempt, as it were, to establish an anticlinal fold of the type already described as occurring to the west, with a steep westward and gentle eastward slope. The west limb however has here given way along a great dislocation or reversed fault, while the eastern limb has been driven forwards until the Archean rocks have been carried over the truncated edges of the Silurian strata. The vertical beds of the basal quartzites are still 34 NALORE [ Vov. 13, 1884 to be seen on the west limb of the anticline on Ben Arnaboll, Crag-na-Faolinn, and on Whitten Head (see Sec- tion). The quartzites on Druim Tungi, and indeed all the Silurian strata on the east side of Loch Eriboll, between Heilim and Crag-na-Faolinn, form part of a syncline which has been pushed westwards in front of the anti- cline along this thrust-plane. This structure explains the origin of the inversion of the Silurian rocks along the junction line east of Camas-an-Duin, and the occurrence of the lower limestone groups in a shallow trough at Eriboll. Of special interest is the occurrence of a small outlier of Archean gneiss on the crest of a hill (Sithean- na-Cuag) north-west of Ben Arnaboll. This mass rests on the Fucoid-shales, Serpulite-grit, and limestone. Though now isolated by denudation, it was obviously originally continuous with the mass on Ben Arnaboll, and it thus furnishes striking proof of the westward extension of displaced gneiss, and of the thrust-plane on which it travelled. The effects of this great movement on the Silurian strata which have been over-ridden by the gneiss are somewhat remarkable. The pipes or vertical worm-tubes in the quartzites have been flattened, drawn out, and bent over in a direction perpendicular to the strike of the thrust-plane. The false-bedded grits and quartzites pre- sent a streaky appearance resembling fluxion-structure, due to the elongation of the fragments of orthoclase- feldspar and the quartz grains. The fine-grained rocks, especially the compact quartzites and the Fucoid-beds, are highly cleaved, the strike of the cleavage-planes being parallel with that of the thrust-plane, and this parallelism being maintained quite irrespective of any variation in the direction of dip of the strata next the gneiss. On the surface of the cleavage-planes also there is a series of parallel lines like slickensides which will be described presently ; and lastly, there is a slight development of sericitic mica along many of the cleaved surfaces. No less important is the alteration produced on the overlying Archeean gneiss. In the heart of the mass, as already stated, there is little apparent change, but near the thrust- plane the beds are drawn in towards it till their strike roughly coincides with that*of the thrust-plane. The inclosed hornblende merges into a green chloritoid product, the hornblendic gneiss has been converted into a fine green schistose rock, while the quartz and feldspar of the pegmatites have been drawn out into streaky or wavy lines, so as to assume somewhat the appearance of rhyo- lites. Finally a new set of divisional planes has been super- induced on the mass, the strike of which is parallel with that of the plane of thrust. Again, there is clear evidence to show that the thrust- plane just described was followed by minor movements of a similar nature in the gneiss itself, whereby different portions of the mass were made to slip over each other. Uccasionally a thin lenticular mass of the bottom-quartzite has been caught in these planes of disruption. But all these evidences of displacement are merely the precursors of a still more powerful thrust-plane, which has been traced continuously from the shore east of Whitten Head to the crest of Crag-na-Faolinn, and at ntervals for many miles to the southward into the Assynt country. The strike of the strata overlying this plane is, on the whole, north-north-east and south-south-west, with 2 general east-south-easterly dip, usually at comparatively low angles. Though roughly parallel with it, this greater thrust-plane here and there overrides the lower or more westerly one, for the rocks on its upper side may be seen to pass across all the zones of the Silurian series up to the limestones. A recognisable and tolerably persistent order of succession has been observed in the rocks on the upper side of this thrust-plane. At the base, and resting on different platforms, there usually lies a belt of striped fissile schist, followed by green schist with alternations of gneiss, which, though it has lost nearly all trace of its original foliation, is probably a portion of the Archzan gneiss. A number of lenticular masses of Silurian quartzite occur on this horizon between the Whitten Head coast and Crag-na-Faolinn. In some cases, the basal breccia and portions of the overlying false-bedded grits are clearly seen resting on the Archzan rock, the planes of foliation of the gneiss being roughly parallel with the bedding of the quartzites. On closer examination, however, it is observable that successive folia of the gneiss impinge against the basal breccia. In other cases, wedges of the false-bedded grits, without the basal breccia, are caught between two thrust-planes. Per- haps the most remarkable example of these isolated masses of Silurian rocks, is the limestone intercalated among the green schists, on the hill-slope above Eriboll House. This mass appears to belong to one of the higher limestones of the Durness Basin which have not elsewhere been noticed in the Eriboll area. It lies not far above the great thrust-plane, and though its relations to the schists are not as well shown as could be desired, its presence here is evidently due to the same series of move- ments that brought in the intercalations of quartzite. Passing eastwards we find, next in order, a belt of frilled green schists (No. 8 in Section) with a well-marked cal- careous zone near the top, which has been traced from the shore east of Whitten Head for a distance of ten miles in a south-west direction, and which extends still further to the south. To these succeed a thin band of compact siliceous schists (No. 9 in Section) overlain by hornblendic and micaceous gneiss, which is succeeded by a great development of gneissoid flagstones (No. 10) with occasional bands of hornblendic and micaceous garnetiferous schists. This order of succession in the rocks above the upper thrust-plane is also recognisable far to the west in Sango- more Bay and on Farrid Head in the Durness area, It is evident that there has been an extraordinary amount of movement of these rocks along the upper thrust-plane, since they override all the other rocks pushed forward by the lower thrust-planes in the Eriboll area, and rest directly on the limestones of the Durness Basin. The thin band of shattery quartzite between the striped fissile schist and the limestone in Sangomore Bay isa frag- ment of the false-bedded quartzite zone which has been pushed forward along the surface of the thrust-plane,—a characteristic feature of the thrust-planes in Eriboll. The microscopic characters of the rocks from the dif- ferent zones above the upper thrust-plane have yet to be studied. Much fresh light may thence be expected on the modus operandé of the processes involved in the extraordinary lithological changes which the rocks have undergone. Meanwhile a careful examination of the various masses in the field points very clearly to the nature of these processes. The striped green fissile schist which occurs along the thrust-plane presents an exceedingly compact texture with a remarkable streaked structure which at once recalls the fluxion-lines of an eruptive rock. Still more conspicuously is this structure displayed by the masses of pegmatite in the gneiss ; they lose their ordinary character and assume more that of rhyolite. The intercalations of quartzite are marked likewise by the same streaked appearance, their compo- nent particles of quartz and feldspar being all elongated in one common direction. The gneiss associated with the schists above the thrust-plane, though its original foliation can still.in places be detected, has had a new set of schistose planes superinduced in it which are on the whole parallel with the thrust-plane. Bands of horn- blendic gneiss merge into hornblende-schist and chlorite- schist, and these again into finely-frilled schists. All these new structures, which are quite independent of the original bedding or foliation of the rocks, were obviously connected with the production of the great thrust-plane, with which they lie more or less parallel. They point to ov. 13, 1884] enormous mechanical movements under which, as the rocks sheared, the individual particles were forced over each other in one common direction, viz. from east- south-east to west-north-west. Further evidence of this “mechanical movement is supplied by certain abundant fine parallel lines, like those of slickensides, which occur almost everywhere on the foliation-surfaces or other parallel divisional planes. They are especially well developed among the striped fissile schists and the gneissose flag- stones. These lines run in the same general direction already mentioned (E.S.E. to W.N.W.). In many cases it may be observed that the component particles of the rocks are oriented in this same direction, while original quartz-veins are drawn out into parallel rods. Another important feature connected with these rocks is the development of minerals along the new planes of schistosity. In particular, the abundance of sericite mica is noteworthy, the longer axes of the crystals of which lie in a direction parallel with the slickenside-lines. Other micas, hornblende, actinolite, and garnets have also made their appearance along the same planes. This re- crystallisation becomes more pronounced the further east one advances from the outcrop, or passes upwards from the great thrust-plane. ; This accumulated evidence points to the conclusion that in the north-west of Sutherland the rocks have been powerfully affected by one grand series of terrestrial movements whereby new structures have been super- induced upon them. Among these changes the original characters of the rocks have been more or less completely effaced, and new crystalline structures have been produced. Although a normal upward succession from the Silurian strata into an overlying series of schists cannot be main- tained in the north of Sutherland, it is nevertheless certain that the displacements and metamorphism here described are later than Lower Silurian time. It is also evident that these great changes had been completed before the time of the Lower Old Red Sandstone, the conglomerates and breccias of which rest upon and are made up of fragments of the crystalline schists. One final feature of the Durness and Eriboll area remains to be noticed. The geological structure of this region has been further complicated by the subsequent folding of the strata, and by a double system of normal faults (// in Section) which affect the strata and thrust-planes alike. One set of normal faults trends north-north-east and south- south-west, while another, which appears to be newer, trends more or less at right angles to these. By these two systems of later dislocations, the thrust-planes with their low hade have been intersected and shifted precisely as if they had been ordinary boundary-planes between two geological formations. Much of the difficulty, indeed, which has been from the first experienced in unravelling the complicated structure of this region may be traced to the effect of the intricate network of reversed and normal faulting. The very preservation of the Durness Basin is due to two normal step-faults, one of which lets down the quartzites more than 1200 feet, while the other brings the whole Silurian Basin down to the sea-level. B. N. PEACH JOHN HORNE THE GENESIS OF AN IDEA, Ok STORY OF A DISCOVERY RELATING TO EQUATIONS IN MULTIPLE QUANTITY VENTURE, even at the risk of appearing egoistical, to call the attention of a wider circle of English mathematical readers than are likely to notice it in the pages of the Comptes Rendus, to what appears to me a remarkable discovery in the theory of matrices, or, in other words, of multiple quantity which has lately pre- sented itself tome. It seems to me the more necessary to do so because the nature of the theorem which NATURE 39 constitutes the discovery would hardly be suspected from the leading title of the note in the Comptes Kendus in which it is contained, being indeed an after-thought, so that the sting of the paper has to be sought for in its tail. Hamilton, of immortal memory, has given, in his “Lec- tures on Quaternions,” a solution of a certain quadratic equation in gwaternions, those algebraical entities which (building upon a suggestion in Prof. Cayley’s ever-memor- able paper! on matrices, in the PAzlosophical Transactions for 1858 or thereabouts) I have, with the general concur- rence of all who have given attention to the subject, found means of identifying with binary matrices or algebraical quantities of the second order, and this succeeded in determining the True Place of Quaternions in Nature. Now, what Hamilton has done for an equation of the second degree of quantities of the second order, the theorem in question effects in a much more simple and complete manner for a similar sort of equation of any degree and relating to quantities of any order. The history of the discovery in question constitutes in itself, it seems to me, an interesting chapter in Heuristic. This is how it came about. Hamilton’s equation admits of six solutions or roots, which arrange themselves naturally in three pairs, and stand in im- mediate, and what we algebraists call rational, relation to the three roots of a cubic equation, or rather to the six square roots of those three roots. From this it fol- lows immediately that one single condition must be suf- ficient to reduce the number of distinct roots of the equa- tion in quaternions or binary matrices from six to four, inasmuch as, when two roots of the cubic referred to become equal, two fazrs of roots of the original equation must coincide. It naturally therefore became an object of interest to obtain the quantity which, equated to zero, ex- presses the condition of equality of two roots of this cubic, which of course may be effected by means of a well-known formula for finding the discriminant of a cubic equation; but the quantity so obtained directly from the cubic is of an exceedingly complex form, and leaves the mind entirely unsatisfied as to its true internal composition, just as from a handful of diamond dust it would be impossible to infer the crystalline form which constitutes the true idea, the vazson or facon d’étre of the glittering gem. Again and again my mind reverted fruitlessly to the subject until, on September 28 last, pacing the deck of the splendid Dover and Calais boat, the /zvécta, under the vivifying and genial rays of a bright and benignant sun, the idea occurred to me that the form to be determined must be subject to satisfy a certain partial differential equation, and without the aid of pen or pencil I suc- ceeded, ere the voyage was half over, in identifying the discriminant of the cubic with that of a biquadratic of the simplest imaginable constitution possible : in technical language, supposing x2++ ¢*-+7=0 to be the equa- tion in question, I discovered virtually that the desired discriminant is identical with that of the biquadratic form which is the determinant of the binary matrix (or the tensor squared of the quaternion) # 2° + gx + treated as if 2 were an ordinary quantity. Starting from this point it was easy to infer all the possible cases of equality which could occur between the six roots ; and, more than that, to classify under thirteen classes all the principal cases that could present themselves in the solution of the equa- tion, not merely for the general case when there are six actual and determinate roots, but even for those cases when some of the roots pass off into infinity and become conceptual instead of actual, or else, without passing to infinity, remain actual but contain arbitrary constants. This more-than-anticipated complete solution of the problem before me was in part suggested by the opening ! This paper constitutes a second birth of Algebra, its avatar ina new and glorified form. See introduction to “ Lectures on Universal Algebra” in the sixth volume of the American Mathematical Journal, 36 lines of a memoir by M. Darboux on the solution of a biquadratic equation in Liouville’s journal, with which its eminent author, my colleague in the Institute of France, providentially presented me shortly after my arrival in Paris, and which led me to see that the three pairs of solutions of the Hamiltonian equation must stand in immediate conceptual relation to the three pairs of sides of the complete quadrangle formed by a certain conic related to the form Aa* +9 x +-~ (in fact the deter- minant of the matrix A «+ gv +~+7w) with the fixed conic v—uw. Now comes the turning point, the avayywpios of this strange eventful history. ** There’s a Divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will.” ! Seized with a sudden and fortunate attack of bronchitis, which confined me to my bed, and in the access of noc- turnal fever which that state induces, my thoughts reverted with increased activity to this geometrical figure. It became clear to my inner sense that there ought to be an immediate relation between the biquadratic deter- minant of the form f1+?7+9¢+*-+~7,spoken of above, and the three pairs of its roots, and seizing my courage with both hands, I made bold to declare to myself that the functional parts of the six zdentical equations to the six roots ought to be the three pairs of conjugate quadratic factors of the biquadratic in question. But if this should turn out to be true, it became impos- sible not to suspect, or even more than half believe, that an analogous statement must admit of being made for a unilateral equation (¢.e. one in which, as in Hamilton’s, the multipliers of each power of the unknown matrix + he all on the same side (whether to the right or left) of it) whatever might be the degree of the equation, and what- ever the order of the matrices concerned. In other words, supposing fx =o to be such equation, and ¢x=o to be the identical equation to any one of its roots, px ought to be contained as an algebraical factor in the determinant of the matrix #2 when, for the moment, x therein is regarded as an ordinary quantity. If this were so, then the reciprocal theorem would necessarily be true (on account of the determinant referred to being in general irreducible), viz. that, supposing @ to be the order of the matrices concerned, every algebraical divisor of it, say px, of the degree , must be the identically-zero function to one or the other of the matrices + which satisfy the equation fx =0, and consequently it would be only necessary to combine, according to a well-known method of elimina- tion, the given form /x with each in succession of the derived forms, which constitute a brood or litter as it were, issuing “ de son propre sein,” to obtain all the roots of fx by solving the ordinary algebraical equation det. (/2) = 0, and that thus the solution of the unilateral equation would depend on the solution of an ordinary equation of the de- gree 72 w, 72 being the degree of fin x, and o the order of the matrices concerned: the number of the roots of fx would therefore be the number of ways of combining 7 things Il (7 w) Tol (z7—1)0 self-created difficulty, a phantasmal projection of my own brain, to block up the way, and throw doubt and discredit on all that precedes. Supposing = 2, the number : 2m (2% — I 2 of roots thus ascertained would be 7” ‘7” ~ 1); or 272° — 71, a) @ and o together, z.e. But herein arose a and for 7 = 3 would be 15. Now, in the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine for May last, whilst I had shown that 27* — 7 is the number of roots of a unilateral equation in quaternions of the degree 7, and of the trinomial or Jerrardian form, I thought I had proved the number of solutions of a complete cubic equation in quaternions to be 21 (upon which I based the formula T It is one of Descartes’ “ self-evident primary truths” that nothing which has happened could not have happened otherwise. NA LORE | Vov. 13, 1884 n (na? — 2+ 1) for a unilateral equation of quaternions of the degree 7. There was then the choice to be made —to abandon the conjectural theorem, or to admit an error in the supposed determination of the number 21. I felt no hesitation in making my election, especially as there was a loop-hole for error in such numerical determi- nation, inasmuch as no actual arithmetical calculations had been made, but the order of a certain system of equations which ought to be equal to the number of roots of fx was inferred from calculations in which all numerical quantities were left in blank ; it was therefore quite possible (how- ever unexpected the fact) that some of the leading coefficients of the resolving equation of the degree 21 might become zero,! and consequently that the order might fall below (although it could not rise above) that number. To my gratified surprise my faith met with its reward, for I soon found an easy proof of the remarkable theorem which I have ventured, in emulation of a phrase of Cauchy, to call a “ pulcherrima regula,” which will appear in the number of the Comptes Rendus next forth- coming after this date, and which may be summed up approximately in the following words :—£very latent root of every root of a given unilateral function tn matrices of any order, is an algebraical root of the determinant of that function taken as tf the unknown were an ordinary guantity, and conversely every algebraical root of the determinant so taken ts a latent yout of one of the roots of the given function.» This constitutes a marvellous exten- sion (to a matrix implicitly given by a unilateral equa- tion) of the already no-little-marvellous Hamilton-Cayley theorem of the identical equation to a matrix given explicitly. My good genius met me on the deck of the /7vécta, and only left me three weeks later on board the returning steamer from Boulogne. There my pleasing algebraical dream came to an end. J. J. SYLVESTER New College, Oxford, October 26 OUR FUTURE WATCHES AND CLOCKS | OMEN BIS long the use of the letters “a.m.” and “p.m.” for distinguishing the two halves of the civil day may survive, it seems probable that the more rational method of counting the hours of the day con- tinuously from midnight through twenty-four hours to the midnight following may before long come into use for a variety of purposes for which it is well adapted, even if it should not yet be generally employed. It seems proper, therefore, to consider in what way ordinary watches and clocks could be best accommodated to such a change in the mode of reckoning. To place twenty-four hours on one circle round the dial instead of twelve hours as at present seems the most natural change to make ; but, in addition to a new dial, it would involve also some alter- ation in construction, since the hour hand would have to make one revolution only in the twenty-four hours instead of two. And there would be this further disadvantage, that the hours being more crowded together, the angular motion of the hand in moving through the space corre- sponding to one hour would be less—in fact, one-half of its present amount. It is to be remembered that, in taking time from a clock, persons probably pay small attention to the figures, either those for hours * Or else that its functional part might be composite and throw off an irrelevant factor. * In terms more precise as regards the converse the theorem runs as follows : —The identically-sero function to a root of {x ts a factor of the determinant to fx, and conversely every factor of that determinant of degree equal to the order of x 1s identically zero. 3 A letter just received from MM. Hermite informs me that M. Poincarré, in a paper presented by him to the Institute on Monday last, takes up the wondrous tale of multiple quantity so largely treated of by me in recent articles in the Comftes Rendus. The subject could not be in better hands. The ball is served, and the most skilful and practised players—the Cayleys, the Lipschitzes, the Poincarrés, ‘the Weyrs, the Buckheims (and who knows how many more?)—stand round ready to receive it, and keep it flying in the air.—November 8. Nov. 13, 1884] or minutes, the relative position of the hands on the dial probably at once sufficiently indicating the time to most persons without any need of refer- ence thereto, but it would be by no means so easy to pick up the hour from a circle containing twenty-four, and especially in the case of public and turret clocks. There is also the question of change of the motion-work to which allusion has been already made—necessary if the hour-hand is to make one revolution only in twenty- four hours—a practical question in regard to which the watch- or clock-maker could probably best speak. There is another way of adapting ordinary watches and clocks to the twenty-four hour system, which, if the watch is intended only for the reckoning of local time, seems deserving of consideration. It consists in making the hour figures shorter, not necessarily at all less distinct, and placing two circles of figures round the dial, an inner circle with hours from o to 11, and an outer circle with hours from 12 to 23. The hour-hand would thus point to rand 13 and to 2 and 14, &c., at the same time, it being understood that the hours 0, 1, 2, &c., would be reckoned in the morning, and the hours 12, 13, 14, &c., in the afternoon, a convention to which people would probably soon accommodate themselves. On sucha plan a watch would only require a new dial, no change of wheelwork being necessary, so that it could be very readily applied to existing watches, and so sooner promote the use of the twenty-four hour system. Persons might perhaps object to the introduction of two hour-circles from an artistic point of view. But, after all is said, the question whether one circle containing twenty-four hours, or two circles having twelve hours in each, be preferable, is one to be settled only by a consideration of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the two proposals, in regard to which it would be interesting to learn what business men and others on the one hand, and _ practical watchmakers on the other, may have to say. There are conditions under which the one circle of twenty-four hours would certainly be the more advantageous, and clearly it would be well that one system only should if possible be used. As regards clocks, there is the further question of striking the hours. For public clocks we could not go on to twenty-four. It may be a question whether in large towns one stroke only at each hour might not be a suffi- cient indication, though even this rule probably could hardly be universally applied. THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE Ae a meeting of the General Committee of the British Association held at the Royal Institution on the 11th instant, Sir Lyon Playfair was elected President for the meeting at Aberdeen next year. It was resolved to request the following to accept the office of Vice-President for that meeting :—The Duke of Argyll, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, the Earl of Aberdeen, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Sir William Thomson, James Matthews, Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Dr. Alexander Bain, Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen, the Very Rev. Principal Pirie, and Prof. W. H. Flower. The following were elected Local Secretaries: Prof. G. Pirie, Dr. Angus Fraser, and Mr. J. W. Crombie; Local Treasurers : Messrs. Robert Lumsden and John Findlater. The fol- lowing appointments were also made:—General Trea- surer: Prof. A. W. Williamson, Ph.D., F.R.S.; General Secretaries: Capt. Douglas Galton, C.B., F.RS, and A. G. Vernon Harcourt, F.R.S. ; Secretary : Prof. Bonney, D.Sc., F.R.S. ; Ordinary Members of the Council: Capt. W. de W. Abney, Prof. W. G. Adams, Prof. R. S. Ball, J. F. La Trobe Bateman, Sir F. J. Bramwell, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, Dr. Warren De La Rue, Prof. J. Dewar, €apt. Sir F. J. Evans, Prof. W. H. Flower, Dr. J. H. NATORE 37 Gladstone, J. W. L. Glaisher, Lieut.-Col. H. H. Godwin- Austen, J. Clarke Hawkshaw, Prof. O. Henrici, Prof. T McK. Hughes, Dr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, Prof. H. N. Moseley, Admiral Sir E. Ommanney, W. Pengelly, Dr. W. H. Perkin, Prof. Prestwich, the Right Hon. George Sclater- Booth, Dr. H. C. Sorby, Sir R. Temple ; Auditors : John Evans, D.C.L., Treas.R.S., Dr. Huggins, F.R.S., and George Griffith, M.A. Invitations for the year 1886 were received from Bir- mingham, Bournemouth, and Manchester, and after a discussion (in which the representatives of Manchester expressed their willingness to withdraw in favour of Bir- mingham for the year 1886, but their earnest hope that the Association would not fail to visit them in 1887), it was agreed, set con., to accept the invitation from the town of Birmingham for the year 1886. The report of the Council relating to the rules concern- ing the representation of local scientific societies at the meetings of the Association and the establishment of a Permanent Committee as a means of union between them and the Association were sanctioned, and it was resolved in accordance with a recommendation from the Council to present the die for the medal which is about to be founded at McGill University, Montreal, in commemora- tion of the visit of the Association to Montreal. THE NEW VOLCANIC ISLAND OFF ICELAND Ae the end of July this year the light-keeper at Cape Reykjanes, the south-west point of Iceland, reported that a volcanic island had risen in the sea a few miles off the cape. Reykjanes has long been noted as a centre of volcanic activity, and from time to time islands have arisen and submarine eruptions have occurred in its neighbourhood. In the year of the great Skaptdrfell eruption, which proved so fatal to Iceland, 1783, an island appeared off Reykjanes, only to disappear again after a very brief existence. Only a year or two ago an eruption of considerable violence occurred in the sea, not far from the spot where the new island appeared. Columns of steam and clouds of dust, mingled with occasional glowing masses of fused rock, were seen to rise out of the sea, and large quantities of pumice were thrown up and drifted ashore on the neighbouring coast. Being desirous to learn as much as possible about the new island, I visited Reykjanes on September 9. The cape, like the greater part of the surrounding district, is entirely covered with lava; not far from the sea lie a number of boiling pools of considerable size, from whose agitated muddy waters arise the columns of steam that give the cape its name, Reykjanes (Smoking Cape) ; over a large area surrounding the pools the earth is perforated by steam jets and small mud boilers, and the traveller must pass warily over its treacherous surface, for under the thin and yielding upper crust lie beds of soft many- coloured clays, boiling hot, permeated by steam and mixed with sulphur. On a projecting cliff about 150 feet high stands the lighthouse, a low octagonal stone house, and from the point a line of islands, four in number, runs out to the south-west, the nearest being about seven miles, and the farthest about sixteen miles, from the cape. Of these only the nearest two, Eldey or Melseekken (the Meal-sack, so called from the guano deposits that whiten the top of its bleak cylindrical mass), and Eldeyjard- rangur, are usually visible from the lighthouse. The farther two, Geirfuglasker and Geirfugladrangur, are chiefly interesting as having been formerly frequented by the Great Auk or Gare-fowl (Alca zytpennis), now appa- rently extinct. When I reached Reykjanes, rain and mist obscured the sea, Eldey could only with difficulty be seen, and the new island was quite invisible. I waited patiently for better weather, employing the time in examining the boiling springs and hot clay-beds, which are similar to 38 those of the Krisuvik sulphur mines, and the so-called “orcelain rock,” a bed of very pure, white, and compact siliceous sinter or geyserite, deposited by some long extinct boiling spring. It was not till the afternoon of the next day that the weather cleared up a little, and a long and patient watch from the top of a hill behind the light- house was at length rewarded by the discovery of a dim spot on the horizon, which close observation through a good telescope showed to be the new island. It was quite invisible to the naked eye, but the light-keeper assured me that he had often seen it in clear weather, without a glass. When first seen, on July 29, its shape was that of a truncated cone with a slight depression on the top, and a considerable hollow half way down the slope on the north side. On August 5 and 6a series of violent earthquake shocks occurred, which shoo and split the masonry of the lighthouse and damaged the lamps. For several days the new island was obscured by mist and rain, and when it again became visible its shape was considerably altered : a large part of the slope on the south side had slipped down into the sea, where it now lies, forming two little hillocks close to the foot of the main mass, and leaving a steep face nearly perpendicular towards the bottom. On the north side there is shoal water extending some distance from the island. The length of the island is about one- The New Volcanic Island off Reykjanes, Iceland. The island as it now appears. third greater than its height. It lies nearly west-south- west of Reykjanes, and considerably to the north-west of | Eldey. Two French naval officers who visited Reykjanes and made observations of the island about a fortnight before I arrived there, estimate its distance from the coast at nine or ten miles, but I believe it to be consider- ably greater. When first seen the island was perfectly weather distinguish by the aid of his glass a perceptible whitening of the upper part, due no doubt to the droppings of the myriads of sea-fowl which frequent the neigh- bouring islands and coast, and have apparently at once taken possession of the new island. INA OTE “) = [| Vov. 13, 1884 by shoals and reefs ; landing is at all times difficult and dangerous, even in the best weather, and quite impossible if the sea is at all disturbed ; and as, since the discovery of the island, the weather has been for the most part stormy, intending explorers have been deterred by the dangers of the passage. Singularly enough, a French war-vessel and a Danish gun-boat which passed Reyk- janes shortly before my visit failed to see the new island. From the direction in which the new island lies, and its apparent distance from the coast, I am inclined to think that it must lie near to the Geirfuglasker (Gare-fowl Skerry), one of the four islands above mentioned, which lies somewhat to the north-west of the line formed by the other three, and which, being low and flat, cannot be seen from Reykjanes. It is not impossible that the new island is merely an addition to or upheaval of the old Geirfug- lasker, which, by heightening it so as to make it visible from the shore, would produce the impression that a new island had risen. This view is held by some of the fisher- men on the coast who are familiar with the islands, but the point cannot be definitely settled till the island is visited. W. G. SPENCE PATERSON, H.B.M. Consul for Iceland British Consulate, Reykjavik, September 27 TELESCOPES FOR ASTRONOMICAL PHOTOGRAPHY I. EFORE giving any suggestions as to the best kind of telescope to use, and the best methods to follow in the application of photography to astronomical observa- tion and record, it may be more convenient to mention briefly what can be done in this way, particularly as the subject will be new to many who have not followed closely what has been recently done. I wish to mention (1) That photography has now shown itself to be capable of giving us pictures of nebule that are superior to those made by eye and hand. (2) That anything that can be seen by the eye with a telescope of a certain size can be photographed, and, further than this, stars that are too faint to be seen in this telescope can yet be photographed by it with sufficient exposure. (3) That portions of the heavens of several degrees extent each way can be photographed, and stars therein of a magnitude smaller than that shown on the best existing charts or maps, pictured in their proper relative positions and magnitudes in a quicker, better, and more accurate manner than by the plan hitherto used. (4) That it is possible thus to make a complete series of such pictures embracing the whole heavens, that will be practically free from human error. (5) That each individual nebula, cluster, or group of stars, can also be taken on as large a scale as possible, and form a supplement to the picture-maps on the smaller scale. (6) That though such pictures may y | differ slightly from the eye observations, owing to the black, but now the light-keeper tells me he can in clear | different colours of light not affecting the eye and the sensitive plate in the same manner, they would have the | enormous advantage that they could be compared directly | with other pictures, taken, after the lapse of any number of | years, under conditions that there would be no difficulty It is a singular fact that none of the usual volcanic | manifestations seem to have announced or accompanied the rise of the new island; no earthquakes were felt, no smoke or fire seen, and no pumice found floating on the sea. The island seems to have risen calmly and silently, without a soul being aware of its appearance, till, on July 29, the light-keeper happening to look out to seaward, dis- | covered it. For aught that any one knows to the contrary, it may have been there for many days before he happened | to see it. No one has yet visited the island itself ; the sea off Rekjanes is almost always rough, and the currents are | very strong round the cape; the islands are surrounded | in making almost identical. (7) That there are other applications of this new power, as in direct enlargements of the surface of the moon piece by piece, of the planets, of double stars, and close clusters, and indirectly in the dis- covery of planets, either major or minor, by the simple process of direct comparison of star pictures taken at inter- vals, when the actual position ofa planet will be recorded at each date. If there be a planet beyond Neptune, such a plan as this is perhaps the only way to detect it, especially if it is now near the Milky Way, where stars of its probable magnitude cluster so thickly that no process other than this could be used to chart the stars and detect movement. If these things can be done, and I most ou. 13, 1884 | NATURE 39 confidently say they can, then it must be admitted that nothing short of a revolution in observational astronomy must result, to the enormous gain of astronomy. I speak relying entirely on my own work and experi- Bets, which I shall refer to in detail further on, and | am strengthened in my opinions by what I hear has been done in a similar direction elsewhere, though I have not, except in one case, seen any of the actual work done. _ The possibilities that are thus opened out really border on the marvellous. As has been already said by some one else, a library may now be made, not of books full of descriptions and figures, the accumulated work of many men working many years, each on his own system, but of pictures written on leaves of glass by the stars them- selves. Such a work will mark an epoch in astronomy, and its value increase as long as astronomers exist. No one can doubt for one moment the importance of such a work, nor the fact that, now it is possible, any delay in doing it will be a direct loss to astronomy. How it is to be done— whether by the slow process of letting it be done by the disjointed efforts of many amateurs of astronomy, or by being properly taken in hand and finished by united effort and proper means in the course of a few years—remains to be seen. I propose to make some suggestions as to the practical part of this work in the selection of the best kind of tele- scope and mounting, the methods of working, the work to be done, and some other matters in connection. The most important matter is no doubt the selection of the best instrument to work with: of the two kinds of tele- scopes now in use, the reflector seems to be the most | suitable for this work, though a reservation may be made in favour of the refracting principle where large fields on a small scale are required. Both kinds of tele- scopes when of moderate dimensions, that is, not more than 18 inches aperture, are so nearly alike as optical instruments that the chief distinction worth noting, neglecting for the present one or two points where they differ, and altogether such points as are rather matters of individual prejudice on the part of the observer than qualities or defects in the instruments, is that of cost, the reflector being very much less expensive to make. It is true that the refractor has been hitherto generally considered the most satisfactory in use, and has been preferred when expense has not been a consideration of importance. I think this may be rather due to the greater care that is bestowed upon the more expensive instrument, both in the making of the object-glass and the mounting, than to any real difference that there is between them, ‘The first cost of the raw material alone differsimmensely. For the reflector one disk of glass alone is required, and if it is only properly annealed it need not be optically pure. There is only one surface to work, though it is of importance that this should be properly figured, this is not a difficult matter, yet there is little doubt it has often been very imperfectly done in many so-called reflecting telescopes. For the refractor two disks of glass are required ; they must be optically pure, and their first cost alone is more than is often spent on the reflector, including the mount- ing. These disks must be wrought on four surfaces to proper curves, and time often spent afterwards in per- fecting the object-glass; when this is done, the cost is found to be so great that it is felt to be worth a costly mounting. We cannot then be surprised that the better made and mounted telescope should be chosen, but that does not decide the question, Which is the best optical in- strument? Nor can this question be decided definitively, because the images formed by each differ. If we look with a reflector at a bright star, the image is seen as an intensely bright point of light, dazzling to the eye if the telescope is large, and we see rays or coruscations round it of an irregular shape that are never steady. I think this effect is not due to the telescope, but is entirely sub- jective, and caused by this extremely small point of light exciting only a very small portion of the retina; for by proper precautions the light can be reduced, and these rays and the dazzling effect got rid of. With stars less bright it is not so pronounced, and on planets or objects of sensible magnitude it ceases entirely. The image of such a bright starin the refractor is quite of another kind : it is seen as a small disk of light of sesszble diameter sur- rounded by the well-known system of diffraction rings and outstanding colour. This disk of light though small, has a different effect on the retina: it can be seen as a shape, pretty steady and free from too much dazzling glare. It is here that the refractor has such an advantage for micrometrical work, permitting bisections to be made with such precision. The adjustments of the object-glass are considered more constant than those of the speculum, and though the troubles attending the reflector are much exaggerated, they have existed in the arrangements usually adopted. For certain instruments such as the transit-circle, where the connection between the optical axis and some part of the instrument has to be maintained, the object-glass issuperior to the speculum ; a tilt of the former that would not have an appreciable effect on the position of the image of a star would in the other displace this image twice the amount of tilt. Both kinds have certain advantages, according to the use they are put to, and it is really not of much conse- quence which is the best instrument of this size. I[t is when we begin to consider the effect of increased size and all its attendant difficulties that the question of the suita- bility of either for the purpose of photography has to be answered. ; With the reflector increase of size means proportionate increase in other qualities, in light-grasping power, in defining, and in separating power. With the refractor the greater absorption of light due to increased thickness reduces the light-grasping power, and definition becomes a matter depending not upon the optician but upon the glass-maker; the correction for colour, which even in theory is approximate only, becomes more difficult, and the defects due to the necessarily imperfect correction become more apparent—and these two facts alone show that as the refracting telescope gains in size it becomes more and more unsuitable for photography. Moreover, when the aperture of the two kinds of tele- scopes under consideration is the same, the focal length of one must be something like twice that of the other, and that means that the image is four times less bright, and there does not seem to be any indication that the focal length of refractors can be very much reduced. This is only one part of the question, the next and_ most important one is that of actual cost or difficulty of con- struction. Inthe case of the refractor the preliminary difficulty in getting the lumps of glass out of which the lenses have to be made is so great that the increase of the size beyond 30 inches seems at the present moment very doubtful—they may reach 3-foot, or even 4-foot aperture, but it is most unlikely : the cost alone, good or bad, would be simply enormous, and such a size may be for the present left out of consideration. With the re- flector the case is entirely different: from what has been said, it is easy to see that the gain by increase of size is proportionate here, and that only mechanical difficulties have to be met. Mirrors of glass covered or coated with silver for the reflecting surface are now in existence of 3- and 4-foot aperture ; larger are in hand, and can be made at a cost absurdly below the cost of even a possible refractor: the only limit that I can see here is that of glass, and the limit in this case stops not at 30 inches, as with the refractor, but at something like 70 inches, and that and nothing else of a constructive character prevents the reflector being made much larger, and size is a great 40 NA TORE [ Vou. 13, 1884- thiag in photography. Itis, in the case of eye-observation, a fact that you could positively have a telescope too big for the eye to use, but any increase that is at present possible in the reflector would only add to its photographic power. The optical arrangements of the reflector are so varied that I propose to tre.t of them in detail for the purpose of indicating the most suitable. A. AINSLIE COMMON NOTES THE following is the list of officers, &c., to be proposed at the anniversary meeting of the Royal Society, December 1, 1884 :— President, Prof. Thomas Henry Huxley, LL.D. Treasurer, John Evans, D.C.L., LL.D. Secretaries : Prof. George Gabriel Stokes, M.A., D.C.L., LL.D., Prof. Michael Foster, M.A., M.D. Foreign Secretary, Prof. Alexander William Williamson, LL.D. Other Members of the Council: Capt. W. de Wive- leslie Abney, R.E., William Henry M. Christie, Astronomer- Royal, Prof. George H. Darwin, M.A., F.R.A.S., Warren De La Rue, M.A., D.C.L., Robert Etheridge, F.R.S.E., F.G.S., Sir Frederick J. O. Evans, K.C.B., Prof. William Henry Flower, LL.D., Prof. George Carey Foster, B.A., Sir Joseph D. Hooker, K.C.S.1., Prof. Henry N. Moseley, M.A., F.L.S., Hugo Miiller, Ph.D., Capt. Andrew Noble, R.A., C.B., Lord Rayleigh, D.C.L., Prof. J. S. Burdon Sanderson, LL.D., Lieut.-Gen. R. Strachey, R.E., C.S.1., Prof. J. J. Sylvester, Wilden IDC Urry IOI GRIB) ProF. LIvERSIDGE, of the Sydney University, sends to the local press a suggestive cominunication in connection with the recent meeting of the Briti:h Association in Montreal, and the invitation forwarded by the Victorian Premier to visit Melbourne next year, Feeling how insurmountable for the present are the obstacles to such a visit, the writer proposes what appears to be avery wise alternative. Instead of looking forward to a near visit from the Association, he suggests, as a preliminary step, a federation of the various scientific societies in Australia, Tas- mania, and New Zealand into an Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science on the lines of the British Associa- tion. A first meeting of the new Association might be held in Sydney on the hundredth anniversary of the colony, which with the combined attractions of an International Exhibition might induce a fair number of scientific visitors from England to take part in the proceedings. After the first meeting gatherings could take place annually, or every two or three years, as might be agreed upon by the members, in various parts of Australasia. The writer concludes with the remark, which few will gainsay, that such an Association would tend greatly to advance the sciences in the colonies, and in many ways materially favour their progress elsewhere. ACCORDING to Szzence, Prof. E. S. Holden, Director of the Washburn Observatory of the University of Wisconsin, has lately collected all the data available for the discussion of the law of distribution of the fixed stars, so far as this is determinable from the method ofstar-gauging. The data were c \llected from a com- parison with the results of a series of star-gauges in progress with the 15-inch equatorial of the Washburn Ob ervatory ; and they in- cluded (1) the 683 previously published gauges of Sir W. Herschel, with the places brought down from 1690 to 1860; (2) the 405 unpublished gauges of Sir W. Herschel, extracted from his observing-books, and generously placed at Prof. Holden’s dis- posal by Lieut.-Col, John Herschel (these also reduced to 1860) ; (3) 500 counts of stars from the published charts of Dr. C. H. F. Peters ; (4) 983 counts of stars from the unpublished charts of Dr. Peters, from the Paris charts as revised by him, and from the unpublished ecliptic charts of Prof. Watson ; (5) 856 counts of stars from the unpublished and published charts of Dr. J. Palisa, These, with the data from Sir J. Herschel’s 605 southern gauges, and Celoria’s Durchmusterungz of the stars between 0° — and + 6°, complete the very valuable collection of data which Prof. Holden has brought together in convenient tabular form, and from which one of his most important conclusions is, that the method of star-gauging must be applied to the study of comparatively small regions, and that the results from these are then to be combined into larger groups. Prof. Holden hopes that these tables may serve the valuable end of finally disposing of the:fundamental assumption that the stars are equally scattered in space, and may bring about the study of their distribution on a more general basis. THE Boston Society of Natural History have adopted a policy with regard to their library which, if generally followed, would make scientific libraries more generally useful. The Society send such books as can be replaced to students in any part of the country. The receivers of course pay the cost of carriage, and, in addition, strangers are required to deposit a sum equal to twice the market-value of the books so lent, as a guarantee against loss. A BUREAU of scientific information has been formed in Phila- delphia, composed of officers and members of the Academy of Science, whose duty shall be the imparting, through correspond- ence, of precise and definite information upon the different departments of science. The organisation is purely voluntary. The Secretary is Prof. Angelo Heilprin, of the Academy of Science. THE new buildings of the Central School at Paris were opened last week by M. Rouvier, the new Minister of Com- merce and Agriculture. A number of speeches were delivered on the occasion, from which we learn that as many as 5000- French engineers owe their training to this institution since its foundation fifty years ago by the late M. Dumas and others. The object contemplated by the erection of this institution was to check the predominatingly theoretical character of the in- struction imparted by the Government schools and to remodel the engineering education in France according to the English standard. About ten years ago the establishment was purchased by the Government, but the teachers have held as closely as possible to the lines on which its teaching was originally laid down. Mr. STANFORD, of Charing Cross, has issued a reprint of the paper on the Ethnology of Egyptian Sudan, contributed by Prof. A. H, Keane to the November number of the Yournal of the Anthropological Institute. This monograph, which will be welcome to all interested in the eventful drama now in progress in the Nile Valley, contains a summary but comprehensive survey of all the races between Egypt and the Equator, which are grouped in five main divisions: Bantu, Negro, Nubian, Semitic, and Hamitic. Much light is thrown on the obscure relations of these peoples to each other, and a clear picture pre- sented to the reader of the manifold ethnical conditions in those regions. The tabulated schemes of all the Sudanese races with their numerous subdivisions, seem to be very complete, and will help to a better understanding of the reports daily received from the scene of the operations undertaken for the relief of Gen. Gordon and the Egyptian garrisons in the Sudan. THE first annual meeting of the New England Meteorological Society was held in Boston on the 21st ult. The papers read were :—On rain-gauges, by Mr. Fitzgerald ; rainfall maps, by Mr. Davis; weather observers in New England, by Prof. Upton ; the establishment of a meteorological station on Blue Hill, Mass., by Mr. Rotch. WITH reference to our recent note to the effect that Prof. Hugo Gyldén, Director of the Stockholm Observatory, had Nov. 13, 1884] NATURE 41 “accepted a professorship at the Gottingen University, we are informed that the celebrated astronomer will, in consequence of _ the generous offer made to him by the King of Sweden, remain in his native country. Pror. F. E. NipHer finds, according to Science, from data taken from Dr. Engelmann’s observations at St. Louis, Mo., lasting over a period of forty-seven years, that the duration of “maximum rains is inversely proportional to the violence, or that the product of violence into duration is constant. This constant _is the amount of water which may fall in a continuous rain, and is, for Dr. Engelmann’s series of half a century, about § inches. A rain of 5 inches per hour may last one hour. A rain of 4 inches per hour may last an hour and a quarter ; and sucha rain Dr. Engelmann observed. A rain of 24 inches per hour may last two hours, and several such rains were observed. A rain of Tinch per hour may last 5 hours. Each of these cases would be a 5-inch rain. For a longer period of time than fifty years it is likely that greater rains than 5 inches may be observed. The same is to be said if observations are to be taken over a wider area of country. In fact, a rain of 6 inches in three hours occurred near Cuba, Mo., some years since. This would increase the value of the constant from five to six, but otherwise the relation will probably remain unchanged. The importance of this law, Scéece points out, is very great in engineering, where*the capacity of sewers, culverts, and bridges must besuch as to carry the water. A more general investiga- tion which Prof. Nipher is now making will determine the rela- tion between the violence, duration, and frequency not only of maximum but of all rains. This work, when completed, will enable an engineer to construct the water-ways of bridges of such a capacity that they will probably stand a definite number of years before they are washed away. This number of years will be so determined that the interest on ‘the invested capital during the probable life of the bridge will equal the possible damage when the destructive flood comes which the engineer determines shall destroy his work. The running expense of maintaining the bridge is then the least possible. In the October number of the American Journal of Science Mr. Lewis discusses the validity of observations on supposed glacial action at eleven points in Pennsylvania south of the ter- minal moraine, all of which he has visited. He concludes that they are all non-glacial, some being simple water-worn gravels, others being ice-rafted boulders, while the scratches reported in two localities are pronounced to be plant-fossils. The glacial action reported in Virginia needs, it is said, similar re- examination. THE Meudon balloon made its third trial trip last Saturday. Starting at 12.15 noon, when a slight south-west breeze was blowing, it drifted in the direction of the Boulogne racecourse, and after arriving in the vicinity of that place, a distance of about a mile from its starting-point, obeying the motive power controlling its movement, it retraced its journey and alighted at the place from which it had ascended at one o’clock, having thus taken three-quarters of an hour to finish its trip of two miles altogether, going and coming. It is said, however, that the motive power of the voltaic elements was not quite so efficient as had been anticipated. AT the last meeting of the Geographical Society of Hamburg, Dr. Sievers gave a short sketch of a journey of a year’s duration which he intends making in the Cordilleras of Merida in Vene- zuela. Geographical investigation has, so far, not touched this region. Humboldt travelled through the eastern part from Cumana to Caracas, the Ilanos of Caracas and Calabozo, and the districts in the Upper Orinoco, but he did not visit the Cordillera region of Merida. Later travellers also, including Godazzi, whose work was otherwise thorough, did not reach the place. Dr. Sievers will examine the region geologically, and obtain as many measurements of heights as possible. THE report of a journey from Seul, the capital of Corea, to Songdo, by Mr. Aston, a consular official in Corea, has been published. The difficulties of travel in the country appear to have been much exaggerated; the people are friendly to strangers, and the discomforts are not greater than in China. ACCORDING to a telegram from Calcutta, Mr. Griesbach, the geologist with the Afghan Boundary Commission, describes the route between Quetta and the Helmund as presenting features very similar to those in the Pishin valley and Candahar, namely, a system of precipitous, deeply eroded ridges, extending from north and south to north-east and south-west. Extensive post- Tertiary deposits fill the intervening valleys. The south-west extremity of the Ghazarband range is composed of sandstone shales and grits of the Flysch facies of Eocene rocks. A series of low hills and valleys stretch between Canjpai and Nushki, which from their composition appear to be merely continuations of the Kojah Amran range, but near Galiahah the formation is distinctly younger, the epoch being mostly trap-rock, which in places bursts through the Cretaceous limestone overlying it, and locally converts it into white marble. Nor the least valuable of the many excellent reports published in the course of the year by the Chinese Customs department is that of the medical officers on the health of the various ports at which they are stationed. These gentlemen deal frequently with subjects of wider interest than the sanitary condition and health of certain limited portions of the Chinese Empire. Thus in the last reports, Dr. Macgowan, of Wenchow, gives an account of the cholera epidemic which visited China last year. He states, on the authority of a native author, that Indian or Asiatic cholera first made its appearance in China in 1821, medical tradition attributing its origin to the Straits of Malacca, whence it was brought to Fokhien in a junk. It subsequently spread southward to Canton, and from thence to other provinces. In 1825 a great outbreak occurred at Ch’un-Ching. on the Yangtsze, and thence the disease travelled slowly northward, visiting Corea and Japan, where it became extremely virulent. It has since been endemic in China, sometimes becoming epidemic, occasionally extending over the whole of Eastern Asia, and at other times confining itself to a province or part of a province. Dr. Macgowan states that the native doctors treated the disease as common cholera, and did not cure one in a hundred ; and he concludes that Indian cholera in China differs from the common cholera of the country only in its epidemic character, the former being migratory, the latter stationary. In the Archives des Sciences physiques et naturelles, Prof. Forel of Morges has a paper on the solar corona of the spring of 1884, of which the following is a summary. In Switzerland, in the course of the present year, has been observed an extra- ordinary optical phenomenon consisting of a reddish corona of large diameter surrounding the disk of the sun, as well as of a reddish tint on the white clouds. This corona has been visible since the beginning of the year, and during the months of July and August it was constantly seen. _ Visible from high altitudes whenever the sky was clear, it was generally lost lower down, hidden probably by the light from lower layers of dust in the atmosphere. The corona is probably occasioned by dust settling in the higher layers of the atmosphere where they are protected from meteorological variations of the lower layers. This dust would be of uniform dimensions, and of a mean diameter of about 07003 mm. In the absence of any other ex- planation, M. Forel refers this phenomenon to the brilliant crepuscular illuminations of last winter, and attributes these 1 42 luminous objects to the volcanic dust of the eruption of Kraka- toa of August 27, 1883. In Za Mature M. Tissandier describes the corona as observed in two balloon ascents on October 23 and 24. M. HENRI MAGE? is about to publish in Paris an atlas of the French colonies and foreign possessions. The work, which will consist of twenty-five maps, will be brought out with the assistance of eminent French colonial geographers. The maps will be of large size, in three or four colours, and some of them have obtained a silver medal and a diploma of honour, at the recent Geographical Exhibition at Bar-le-Duc. It will be com- pleted in five parts, the first of which has already appeared. This contains maps of (1) New Caledonia, (2) Central Africa (the Congo and the Gaboon), (3) Tonquin, (4) Madagascar, (5) the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. The second part will contain maps of Réunion, Tahiti, Guadaloupe, Senegal, and the New Hebrides. WE have again to welcome the appearance of a new edition (the tenth) of Prof. Morren’s most useful ‘* Correspondance botanique.” Since the appearance of the ninth edition (in 1881) the list of ‘‘ gardens, chairs, museums, and botanical reviews and societies throughout the world,” including also the addresses of all private working botanists known to the editor, has again undergone considerable enlargement—we hope an indication of a gradual spreading of interest in botanical science. Dr. BRUDENELL CarTER has issued in a separate form his now celebrated letter to the Zzmes on ‘‘ Eyesight and Civilisa- tion” (Macmillan and Co.). He has taken the opportunity to introduce a few explanatory diagrams. Pror. F. W. PurMan has sent to the Zeader a full account of his recent explorations amongst the so-called Liberty Group of Mounds on the Harness estate, Ohio, first surveyed and described by Squier and Davis in 1840. In their great work on “*The Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley” these archzologists describe five small mounds within the great square of twenty-seven acres. Most of these, as well as three others represented on their plan just outside a ‘‘ gateway” on the east side of the larger forty-acre square have been much reduced by cul- tivation. All have nowy been carefully examined, two—evidently burial-places—yielding objects of considerable interest. The human bones were much decayed ; but amongst the other finds were copper plates, ear-rings, and celts, slate and stone orna- ments, some large beads covered with copper, and in one instance with silver over the copper, and many other objects, all of which have been deposited in the Museum of Caiubridge University. In another large mound north of the same spot an extensive bed of ashes and charcoal yielded much pottery, pieces of cut mica, some grass matting with charred seeds, nuts, acorns, and bones. Near the eastern corner of the great square stands the largest mound of the whole group, which in future Reports of the Pea- body Museum will be referred to as the ‘ Big Mound of the Liberty Group.” It is 160 feet long by 80 to go wide, and 13 to 18 high, and appears from the portion so far examined to be a burial-place of a remarkable character. Some 4o feet from the centre, at the northern end, twelye chambers were opened, and yielded charred mats and cloth in which the bodies had evidently been wrapped, besides various burnt objects, such as copper plates, ear-rings, shell beads, ahd long flint knives. In two of the chambers skeletons were found stretched at full length, with a copper plate on one of them, the action of which had pre- served the structure of a finely-woven piece of cloth. In the other chambers the bodies had been burnt on the spot, as shown by the relative position of the bones and by the fact that in two instances portions of the bodies had fallen beyond the fire, and so escaped burning. Other discoveries made early in the present year in two of the pits by some boys, under the guidance of NATORE [Mov. 13, 1884 Mr. Wilson, yielded a great variety of objects which have also been secured for the Peabody Museum. Important links have thus been obtained between the builders of this great mound and neighbouring earth-works in the Scioto Valley and the con- structors of the remarkable group on the Turner estate in the Little Miami Valley. Mr. ELLs, of 90, New Bond Street, has now on exhibition a number of garments, fur-lined and fur-covered, which were used by the German Polar Expeditions of 1882. In both cases the furs were hardly worn at all. The first expedition, which wintered from August 21, 1882, to September 12, 1883, in Kingawa Fjord, Cumberland Gulf, 60° 15’ W. longitude and 60° 36’ N. latitude, and as there was a perfect calm through the winter, the furs were not necessary ; similarly the second expe- dition, which wintered in the island of South Georgia (36° 5’ W. longitude and 54° 32'S. latitude) from August 21, 1882, until September 5, 1883, found the temperature equally mild. The furs were lent for exhibition by the Imperial German Polar Commission. THE last ‘census of Roumania gives a total population of 4,424,961, of which 2,276,558 are males, and 2,148,403 are females. According to religious sects there are 4,198,664 orthodox Greeks, 134,163 Jews, 45,152 Roman Catholics, 28,903 Protestants, 8734 Gregorians, 8108 Armenians, and 1323 Mohammedans. The foreign element in the population is composed as follows :—28,128 Austrians, 9525 Greeks, 3658 Germans, 2822 English, 2706 Russians, 2631 Turks, 1142 French, 167 Italians, and 539 of various nationalities—in all 51,138 persons. The urban population numbers only 781,170, while the rural population is 3,643,783. ON October 16 a mirage was seen at Lindesberg, in Central Sweden. It represented a large town with four-storied houses, a castle, anda lake. The phenomenon was observed for about fifteen minutes. THE red sun-glows have recently been observed in the far north of Sweden. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Barbary Ape (AZacacus zanuus) from North Africa, an Anubis Baboon (Cyvxocephalus anubis) from West Africa, a Siamese Blue Pie (Urocissa magnirostris) from Siam, presented by Mr. R. B. Colom; a Ring-tailed Coati (Masua vufa) from South America, presented by Mr. C. M. Courage ; six Alexandrine Parrakeets (Paleornis alexandri), a Blossom- headed Parrakeet (Paleornis cynocepha/us), a Banded Parrakeet (faleornis fasciatus), from British Burmah, presented by Mr. Eugene W. Oates, F.Z.S.; two Ring-necked Parrakeets (Paleornis torguatus) from India, presented respectively by Mr. W. G. Burrows and Miss Perry; a Weka Rail (Ocydromus australis, white var.) from New Zealand, presented by Mr. J. Satchell Studley; a Brown Capuchin (Cebus fatecllus) from Guiana, two Pronghorn Antelopes (Azit/o apra americana & 2 ) from North America, deposited ; a Great Grey Shrike (Zamius excubitor), six Curlews (Miumenius arquata), British, purchased ; a Blue-winged Teal (Querguedula cyanoptera 6) from South America, received in exchange. VARIATION OF THE ATOMIC WEIGHTS oh HE annexed list contains all the elements except a few very little investigated. If the whole numbers in columns are taken to be each the weight of nine atoms in the gaseous state, and a comparison is made with the best determinations of vapour- densities on record, the result is as follows. The first nineteen determinations are Deville and Troost’s, and are to be found in Comptes Rendus, xlv. (1857) p. 823; lvi. (1863) p. 893; Ix. (1865) p. 1222; lxiii. (1866) p. 20. . . +3Cd ] 3A13Cl, 3Al,Br, 3Fe.Cl, 3Ta,Cl, 3Nb,Cl, 3Nb,Cl,0, 3Zr,Cl, 3Hg,Cl 3H,N,Cl 3H,N,Br 3H,N,I 3H,N,C,H;Cl 3H,N,ClHgCl 3H,N,IHgl 3C1 3H¢gCl 3As50¢ 3P,S; .3P3Cl 3As3Cly 3Bi,Cl, 3PbCl At 1046°-1089 3Ti,Cl, 3Sn,Cl, 351, HI 38i,Cl, Il 3Sb,Cl; 3Sb,(CyHs), Il II 3In,Cl, ' NATURE 43. a | s Observed at Cale. sp. gr. I] . o | 4433 500 & 1040 47425 I 10°529 564 10°6 I 575416 1420 5°68 I | 9'0513 1390 &1439 9°04 I | 39253 Monro 3) See I : 9°3514 | 350 & 440 9°348 I 18°772 440 18°62 I 11°3834 440 11°395 2 9°836 & 350 | 96 2 9°5208 350 | 9°6 2 7654 440 & 860) 7°88 2 80815 440 8°15, 2 8-3085 "21 8°35 Mitscherlich 4 M 0°9294 350 & 1040| 1°005 4 1°7144 860 reve 4 2°5457 440 2°59 4 1°4143 350 144 4 3°3134 440 35 4 | 6°546 359 | 6-49 I 2°47 | 2°47 Berzelius I | 5611 5°54 Mitscherlich I 8°9358 8°89 V. Meyer I 70655 7°03 Mitscherlich j, x | 9°536 ; 9°8 = Mitscherlich 1 fecieah ke: 13°85 Mitscherlich I 7°758 7°67 V. &C. Meyer 2 4814 4°85 Mitscherlich | 4°875 Dumas | 2 6°3383 | 6°3, Dumas | 2 111871 1116 = Jacquelain we 9°536 meanof4exp.=9°5 Roscoe! 2 | 678808 6°836 Dumas 2 9°1898 | g'199 Dumas 2 | 3°6944 3°6 Dumas 2 5°9572 5°939 Dumas 2 8°07 8:1 Roscoe & Schorlem- mer (‘‘Chemistry ”) 2 7°3773 ‘ 7°438 Lowig & Schweitzer? | 2 7°7698 7°87. V. & C. Meyer * Proc. Roy. Soc. XXVil. Pp. 427. 2 Journ. Chem. Soc. v. p. €9. The agreement in all cases is such that, considering the diffi- culties with which the determination of vapour-densities is attended, it is not likely that other atomic weights could be chosen to obtain like good results. If now the weights in column ¢ are taken to be the weights of a single atom for each element in a certain solid or liquid state, the percentages of oxygen in the following chlorates agree closely with the values found by experiment,? to wit :— 1ooAgClO, contain 25°0525 O found 25°0795 O Stas “A 25088 O Marignac tooAgBrO, contain 20°34 O 20°349 O Stas 1ooAglO, 9 16°9619 O 16°9747 O Stas 17°047 O Millon 100K BrO, An 28°7307 O 28°6755 O Marignac 100K 10, aa 22°4227 O 22°473 O Millon 1ooNaClO, » 45'0672 O 45°0705 O Penny The agreement in these instances is as good as with the adopted weights ; but it is complete also in the following cases, in which there are great discrepancies with the prevailing atomic weights :-— 100PtCl,KCl contain 69°362 PtCl, and 30°638 KCl 69°417 ha 30°583) ,, Berzelius 69°318 30°682§ ,, Seubert Mean 69°367 ” 30°6325 55 a ore Syneliel = sce A 117°825 AgCl 11779606 ,, Seubert The agreement of the mean of -the percentages of Berzelius and Seubert with the calculated values is complete ; the dis- crepancy between the amounts of silver chloride is small and within the limits of errors of observation. But the percentages of platinum and chlorine in PtCl, arrived at by the two experi- menters are widely different, viz. :— 40°424 Pt; 28°993 Cl Berzelius 40°I97 ,, 5 29°21 ,, Seubert The true weight of the chlorine follows from Seubert’s analysis of the ammonium salt— I00H,N,PtCl, yield 1947954 (AgCl)s Seubert obtained 192°846 ” His rate between the silver chloride Pt and the potassium salt gives a His rate between the silver chloride and the ammonium salt gives... ) ”” the latter rate is therefore at fault, and 100 parts of the ammonium salt correspond to 194°694 AgCl, if the rate is the same as with the potassium salt; the difference between this number and 194954 is within the limits of errors of observation. The rate 100 c 10° x (AgClx), gives HyN,CIPtCl, = 70°84883, and the 194°954 33/3 g ACN ’ rate 09°36 KCI gives PtCly = 53°95833 3 HyN,Cl is there- 30°538 195°002 Clarke = 196°871 ae fore 16°8905, and as the weight of H,N; is not in doubt and = 5°74468, Cl is = 11714583, as in column /. With this weight of chlorine all discrepancies disappear, while the weights recal- culated from the same data vary between Pt = 194°314 and 196°871. It is moreover minutely confirmed by the results obtained from all the other elements of the same group. BOCES! 410226 Os ; 28°5027 Cl; 30°4747 KCl 28-9024 ,, 30°4596 Berzelius’s percentage of chlorine is again too large, very nearly to the same extent as the chlorine found by him in the potassio- platinum chloride, while the percentage of the potassium chloride is very exact. 40°638 ,, », Berzeliu I The experimental values are those recalculated by Prof. F. W. Clarke (Smithsonian Miscell. Coll.,” vol. xxvii.). 44 rooIrCl,N,H,Ci contain 44-3600 BE 43°732 3, Seubert roolrCl,KCl_ ) contain _j 40°3874 5 3 288097 Cl; 30°803 KCI 39°88 ,, 29°291 ,, 30°82 ,, Seubert 29 ” Berzelius The same discrepancies as in the case of the platinum salts present themselves: as the percentage of the potassium chloride is exact, that of IrCl, follows ; and, as to the weight of the chlorine, the difference of the percentages found by the two experimenters shows that there is the same cause of error as in the correspond- ing platinum salt. 100PdCl.2KCl} _. Phe. eo a contain j 32 678 Pd; 21°4512 Cl; 45°8708 KCl 32°69 ,, 45°892 The agreement is here as good as complete ; but the values actually derived from these data vary from Pd = 104°674 to 110796, owing to the value of the weight assumed for chlorine. 2-416 ),, », Berzelius 100Rh. NagCl,.Cl3 contain— 27°1468 Rh; 45°6215 NaCl; 27°2317 Cl ZTO9A ys ASUS TTL Wes 27°329 ,, Berzelius 1ooRh. 2KC1.Cl, contain— 29°1276 Rh ; §41°6537 KCl; 29°2187 Cl BSI) GT op” loys The agreement is almost complete in the case of the sodium salt, and not doubtful in the other, because the weight of KCl is certain. The values for rhodium derived from the sodium salt are very discordant, varying from 102°98 to 105°696. tooRu.2KCI.Cl e Bes 29. ereres | 28'9984 Ru; 41°7297 KCI; 29'2719 Cl Berzelius Numbers actu- 2 ‘ i ally found C8 COU is: 430 m5 ) eds Mean of the 3 28-78 fk ; f Claus experiments ASG By Gee) JOR The calculated amount of ruthenium is undoubtedly the actual percentage, because 28°91 Ru were found in the second experi- tment as 28°96 in the first ; and the weight of KCl not being doubtful, that of chlorine can only be as calculated. The results which have been derived from these data are most discordant, viz. Ru 96°854—107 "19. The weights of column s give Og = 16 and S,; = 16; those of column ¢, Og = 15°31914, S3=15. ... There is consequently a difference of the chemical proportions in the two states which explains many anomalies encountered in analytical work, and among others the following :—Berzelius observes (Page. Ann. ‘vill. p. 16) that, from causes which he has been unable to discover, the atomic weight of sulphur cannot be derived from the specific gravities of the gaseous compounds H,S and SO,, the numbers obtained being so high that the discrepancies exceed the limits of possible errors of observation. He had obtained S = 2017165 from the analysis of PbSO,; Thénard and Gay-Lussac’s weigh- ing of H,S gave S = 203°9 ; his own weighing of SO,, 207°58. His weight for O being too, these 207°58 S represent 407°58 SO,, which with S, = Og give S = 203°79, practically the same as the value derived from the other gaseous compound. The two numbers 203°9 and 203°79 reduced to the value of the weights of column 7 give respectively 191'056 and 191°053. Berzelius’s number 201 “165 corresponds to the value of column % H being = 1; with H = 0°95745, the actual weight, it becomes 192°605. The three numbers in hydrogen units—r5:292, 15°284, and 15°408—though from different causes all too large, agree with each other as well as can be expected under the circum- stances, and the difficulty disappears therefore with the adoption of the weights of columns s and 7 for the two different states. This being so, it is to be expected that for other states the weights will also be still further different, and this conclusion is fully confirmed by the facts. Let the weights of column ¢ be = I, then the weights of the states a, 6, and ¢ are as follows :— @ = 0°999104 ; 6 = 0°997338 ; ¢ = 0'99468. Instead of such loss of weight there may be a gain to the same NATURE [Mov. 13, 1884 extent, as, for instance, in the state ; = 1002662. There are still other variations which are multiples of a, 4, ¢, as— a! = 0799866 ; = = 0°99424 ; cb = 0'99203. The evidence of the reality of these weights appears from the following comparison with some of the very best experiments on record. The numbers marked with an asterisk are derived by the volumetric method, which, in consequence of variation of the atomic weights, yields in all cases more or less faulty results. 1ooKClO, contain... 60°87379 KCI = 1 60°81927 ,, a Wl Mean 60°84653 Mean of all experi- 60'846 j Berzelius, Penny, Pelouze, ments on record Marignac, Gerhardt, Maumené, Stas 100Ag = ¢ yield 132°8426 AgCl 5 Berzelius, Turner, Penny, Mean os all Seat 132°8418 ,, Marignac, Maumené, ments on record Dumas, Stas 10ooAg correspond to 69°0244 KCl =a 69'°062 ,, ~Marignac ( 69°10345 ,, Stas 114°8733 AgS = a? 114°858i ,, Dumas, Stas, Cooke 86°4733 5, (Be ieee ; « a5 2erzelius, Svan erg, an 86°4733 5 ( Strave ; 541258 NaCl *54°2076 ,, Pelouze, Dumas, Stas 1574707 AgNO, = 6 1o0Ag yield 100AgCl yield Io0Ag correspond to 100Ag yield Mean of 7 experi- | ae r 157°472 do SES Mean of all experi- < : i S aOR ey } 157°479 »» Penny, Marignac, Stas 1o0AgN30, _ corre- , Enontiles 84°35994 AgCl 84°3743. ,, Tumer, Penny 1tooAgN;O, corre-) 1 .o a spond iS 43°8331 KCl=a “43°8715 ,, Marignac, Stas 100KCl = a yield... 135°6532 KN,0, =c 1356423 ,, Stas ; 135°6345 ,, Penny 1ooK ClO, wo 82"5033ay 82°500 on Penny 1ooNaClO,_,, 798917 NaN,O, = 79°8823. ,, Penny 10o0NaCl ed 145°435 ” — a 145°4164 », Penny 145°4526 ,, Stas RCOP EC AE OA creo bas Ne contain = 64°664 ,, Marignac 64°6065 ,, Liebig and Redtenbach tooAgC,H,O, = c) a= contain y 359 3367 5 59°2806 ” 9 ” tooAgC HO; = e\ 62°0621 contain ee ea tee 62°0016 ,, nh 1o0BaCl yield 138°0494 AgCl 138°07 s» Berzelius An aA 112°251 BaSO, 112°I19 >> Turner 112°175 »» Berzelius tooCaCO, =c yield 56:0312 CaO = 1 = - ; Dumas, Erdman, and General mean 560198 ,, Marchand 1ooCaCO; = yield 136°0037 CaSO, = 1 136°0525 ,, | Erdman and Marchand 100Pb »» 146°4418 PbSO, 146°4262 Berzelius, Turner, Stas 10oPbO » 135°853 oy 135°804 » Tumer NATURE ov. 13, 1884 | 45 . 1 TooPbSO, yield 109°2444 PbN,O, = 4 | é bl 7 w x t 109°307 5, Turner 100Pb » 159798 ” | | | 4 159°9743 5, Stas Li sol) 22) p2eg6550 ul cyan 70235) 7333/03 MooPbN,O, = 6 ,, 67°3799 PbO = 1 Ca Sal) lf | 6723656 | 39°0824 | 40°082 | 387666) 6 ; 67'4016 ,, Svanberg oh : latest 1526 | 2a SRE 23'051 | 23°333| 3 I rrespond ; Ss - | 118 |12°68817 | 39°7564 | 39°109 | 39°333) 3 Beeeec! correspo } 29°5607 LiCl = ; Rb . | 256 |27°5269 | 86-2424 | 85°520 85°333| 3 ie Mg «| 36 | 3°8537 | 24°15 24°014 | 24 6 t 29°584 ,, Mallet, Troost Sr . | 132 |14°1303 | 88°5498 | 877575 | 88 6 - 3 We Bye at ir Ba .. | 206 |20°05183 138°1915 |137°007 |137°3 6 Reese correspond 39°2692 b Pb . | 306 |32°7566 205°2748 |206°946 |204 333 6 *39°358 ,, Stas as | 324 SA OBSAG7H108 C748 posaes 108 aes 33 aes TP oak 5 ~ s .. | 398 |42°605 133°496 |132°918 |132" 3 100LiCl = ; yield 162°6508 LiN,O, = ¢ H 1°73 Fo3xgr5 | : 1'0023| 1 5 162°5953 ,, Stas N -- | 14 | 1°48936 | 14 14029 | 14 9 : z O | 24 | 2°5531 | 16 16 16 6 IooTI yield 130°38969 TIN,O, = & - F ia 5 | Boca lege ope es Experiment 8 130°38907 ;, Crookes ie NS I NE) 19'027 | 19°333) 3 Misecchtoexper-\.... Cl 4 107 \11'14583 | 34°9236 35451 | 357666, 3 Sante f 1307398 Seve ab pp Br -- | 243 |25°3125 | 79°3125 | 79°951 | 81 3 $ I .. | 387 |40°3125 |126°313 |126°848 |129 3 100G,0,(SO,)3.12HO = c¢ contain— B i | Ir | 1°14583 | 10°771 | 10°966 | 11 ro 14.1694 GO G -- | 14 | 1745833 | 9°072 9106 | 9°333| 6 14°169 ,, Nilson and Pettersson g +3, || TSn| alee. | aaeee aC 12 6 : i .. | 22 | 2°29166 | 28°722 | 28-2 29° 12 Seanez s O40; —c contain— Al Sel) 8 B66 seer 27°075 28 333 9 27:23) MeOi St ip .. | 320l373333\ || 31331 || 31029 || 32 9 _ 2773665 5, Svanberg & Nordenfeldt | 7j | 42 | 4°375 54°833 | 49°961 | 56 7 ESE asia: 476 oS eal .. | 44 | 475833 |143°61 138844 |146°666 30 Bienen ty eel 47°627. ,, Marchand and Scheere | S_ - | 4815 31°33 | 32°058 | 32 6 ments Di .. | 50 | 5:20833 |146°875 |144°906 |150 27 100H,N3.SO,4.3A1OSO 3.24HO = cé contain— ME =. |- 60. | 6725, 88°125 | 90°023 | 90 13°5 11'2814 AlO Yb .. | 62 | 6°45833 |182°125 |173°158 |186 27 Mean of 10 experi- pee Ce ... | 64 | 6°6666 |139°26 |140°747 |142°222) 20 Os 112793 5, Mallet Se ..| 66 | 6°875 | 4370833 | 44°081 | 6 100H,N,S0,.3GaOSO3.24HO = cé contain— a HOS nee ee aes Pe G89 i 189325 GaO ; As .. | 76 | 7°9166 | 74°417 | 75:09 | 76 9 189596 ,, Lecoq de Boisbaudran V eS) sa 5079166 | 51°373 | 52 6 These determinations include the most classical labours on Oe ie go $°3333 aes Danae 33 333 S record, and the general agreement with the calculated numbers Fe x se ee ter ee 9 57° 6 is surprising, and the more conspicuous in the cases in which the | yj; | “ 19523 eae aaeee 6a 333 6 efforts of the experimenters to exclude error have been pushed | G, es 9375. sre 5 eA || Gada! to the utmost limits, as in Stas’s syntheses and in Prof. Crookes’s Sn ee pee ie ate a EAA a synthesis of thallium nitrate. Notwithstanding the difficulty in | G, ae 2 5°33 Ga6Gom NG oe 6. 6 this case, because the element is the heaviest of all so far dis- NG ae 28 era “gts a 4 coyered, one experiment has yielded the identical calculated | 7, © ats lee ae eos rae Pereee 2 number, and the mean of all deviates from it only by 0’00131. Ta ens || rae eae 166 “ee 186 i 2! 188° 16. Moreover the same weights recur in similar compounds; all | ¢ | Oe 4'5 3 444 5 y 2 rd “a 5 Se 120 |12°5 78°333 | 78°978 | 80 6 nitrates, for instance, have a lower value than the corresponding Sb SAG |RFEHD 123°375 |120°231 126 chlorides and sulphates, and the value is the lower the greater Wie el are Fe oe oes 18 aa 1189333 Bs the composition, as in the alums. The evidence is such that no | yy, |” ae reese Sroi6 eee ee 33 6 doubt seems to be admissible as to the reality of a variation of Cd | a Tec Sle ee 113° 33| 6 the atomic weights. This conclusion is independent of any value Tm | ae 13° me 114-888 yee eases 6 of the atomic weights ; for the discrepancies exhibited in the | 7), ce Bee 2e6 Baan 333° Be 237°333 ie results of Prof. Clarke’s recalculations from the same experi- U | a I 666 5 pies ee 2 B 5°33 nS mental data above quoted are inevitable if the variation of the | > I é oe 166 iar 5 foes feces é atomic weights is not taken into account. In ¢ units Ag is ae BA eeae = oe F eee a 9 10809679 if H = 1, calculated from the weights of column ¢; | ,, 7 ae Bones ee Se pigse love Cl in the gaseous state is = 35°66 ; the calculated weights corre- Teale ie wal Aes nos Fr =:822 Pie) 200 2 spond therefore, within the limits of experimental errors, to the PE aa Nas 35 Be oe ans ee fea eer Bap 666 6 atomic, but the weights are those of different states. H Bary 3h pe ‘875 ae pa mace! ayn 6 The difference between the weights of the gaseous and the ae Oe oee eer ee A 8-951 baeeen 6 other states is very considerable ; the weight of 3 molecules of Ra oo | 318 33°125 Togner6 tones FAG 3 H,N,I. Hg, for instance, is = 378 in the state of gas, 354°734 in | 320 Beoaeee 104°444 |104°235 1106 "666 3 in ¢ units, 352°847 in units = c ; the discrepancies are so great | pq AG 133-0583 106°403 |105"981 l108°666| 3 that they exceed by far the limits of possible errors, and as from | py” pee é a ai 708 ences lea 3 the comparisons made it appears certain that the different values es 4°375 mca ee) ie are realities, the only explanation is that the atomic weights | ————— —— = vary. Ifin new experiments, in which the possibility of varia- 3 no ae 4 ee tion is kept in view, all discrepancies which actually exist should San Francisco, California, July 24 IDE VEE disappear, variation will be established beyond all doubt. It will then be in order to inquire into its cause. How the weights of the table have been obtained is, for the present, unessential ; it is only necessary to add that column v contains Prof. Clarke’s recalculated weights, and column z# the same values calculated from the weights of column ¢, column x giving the number of atoms represented in each instance. Column w shows the corre- sponding weights of the gaseous state. These columns have been added for the sake of comparison. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The following gentlemen were on Monday, November 3, elected to Fellowships at St. John’s College :— C. M. Stewart, M.A., First Class in Natural Sciences Tripos of 1879, author of several papers on chemical subjects, and Master 46 NAT ORE [Mov. 13, 1884 at the Newcastle School, Staffordshire; J. Brill, B.A., Fourth Wranger in 1882, Assistant Professor of Mathematics in Uni- versity College, Aberystwith ; W. F. R. Weldon, B.A., First ‘Class in the Natural Sciences Tripos of 1881, author of a num- ber of papers in Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, formerly Demonstrator to the Professor of Zoology and in the Morpho- logical Laboratory ; A. R. Johnson, B.A., Sixth Wrangler and First Division in the Mathematical Tripos of 1882-83 (new regulations), author of papers in the Messenger of Mathematics, &c, ; G. F. Stout, B.A., First Class in the Chemical Tripos of 1881-82 (new regulations), and First Class (with distinction in Metaphysics) in the Moral Sciences Tripos of 1883; G. B. Mathews, B.A., Senior Wrangler in 1884, Professor of Mathe- matics in the University College of North Wales, Bangor. It is worth noting that Pure and Applied Mathematics, Che- mistry, and Biology have been markedly recognised by this election. Dr. Donald MacAlister has been appointed University Lec- turer in Medicine, and Dr. Bushell Annington University Lecturer in Medical Jurisprudence. Mr. Walter Heape has been approved by the Board for Biology and Geology as Demonstrator in Animal Morphology, on the nomination of the Lecturer in that subject, Mr. Sedgwick. Prof. Sidgwick, Prof. Adamson (Owens College), and Messrs. James Ward and J. S. Nicholson are appointed Ex- aminers for the Moral Sciences Tripos. Mr. A. R. Forsyth of Trinity College is appointed Examiner | in the Mathematical Tripos (Third Part) in January next, in the place of the late Mr. R. C. Rowe. In reference to our note a fortnight ago (vol. xxx. p. 649), we should state that, at Trinity College, Major Scholarships of the value of 80/. a year, which may be raised to 1o0/. subsequently, are open for competition in Natural Sciences as well as in Classics and Mathematics to persons not yet in residence, with the usual restriction as to age. SHEFFIELD.—Another step has been taken in the formation of the new Engineering School at Firth College, Sheffield, in the appointment of Mr. W. H. Greenwood to be Professor of Metallurgy and Mechanical Engineering, and Mr. Ripper to be Assistant Professor of Engineering. It may be in the memory of our readers that the City and Guilds of London Institute made a grant about eighteen months ago of 3o00/. a year to the Firth College in aid of the establishment of a Chair of Engineering. Since then additional subscriptions have been promised for five years to the amount of 550/., together with a capital sum of over 10,0007. A site for laboratories and shops has been obtained, and these will be proceeded with as soon as possible. It is hoped that the special advantages of Sheffield will make it the central school of metallurgy, especially for iron and steel, in the kingdom, and the Committee intend to spare no efforts in rendering it a complete and effective one. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS The American Fournal of Science, September.—On the amount of the atmospheric absorption, by S. P. Langley. From nume- rous observations taken at sea-level or at an altitude of nearly 15,000 feet, the author is led to infer that the mean absorption of light as well as of heat by our atmosphere is probably at least double the usual estimate of about 20 per cent. He also believes that fine dust particles, both near the surface and at a great altitude, play a more important part in this absorption, both general and selective, than has been hitherto supposed.—A study of tornadoes, by Henry A. Hazen. In this paper the author examines some of the ordinary theories that are advanced for explaining the origin and development of these destructive phenomena. After showing some of the seeming difficulties involved in these theories, he proceeds to point out a few of the characteristics of the outbursts, with a view to opening up fresh lines of investigation, upon which a further advance may be made towards a true knowledge of the forces underlying them. He is inclined to think that J. Allan Broun’s theory, attributing torna- does to the direct influence of the sun’s electricity upon the moisture of the air, or possibly to the indirect effect from the sun’s heat, is more satisfactory than the numerous theories of friction, evaporation, condensation, sudden changes of tempera- ture, and the like.—On the absorption of radiant heat by carbon dioxide, by J. E. Keeler. The author considers it probable that to the action of CO, in the atmosphere is due one or more of the great gaps in the invisible part of the solar spectrum which the discoveries of Prof. Langley show to be much more extensive than had hitherto been supposed. He further regards it as certain that some other agent than this gas contributes essen- | tially to the total absorptive power of the atmosphere, so that a method of analysis based on this power, in which the effect of | the second agent is neglected, cannot lead to correct results.— Note on the Triassic insects from Fairplay, Colorado, by Samuel — N. Scudder. These fossil remains present an assemblage of forms altogether different from anything hitherto found in the Palzeozoic series on the one hand, or in the Jurassic beds on the other. They seem to show a commingling of strict Jurassic forms with a larger proportion of types which may be called Upper Carboniferous or Permian, with a distinct Jurassic lean- ing. Hence the probability that the beds in which they occur belong to the Triassic or intermediate formation.—On the flexibility of Itacolumite, by Orville A. Derby. From observations made on this extensive series of quartzose rocks occurring in the gold and diamond regions of Minas Geraes, Brazil, the author infers that the peculiar property of flexibility attributed to them is not an original characteristic, but only a surface character, a phase of weathering or decay brought about by percolating waters.— On the age of the glazed and contorted slaty rocks in the vicinity of Schodack Landing, Rensselaer County, New York, by S. W. Ford.—On the relations of the mineral belts of the Pacific slope to the great upheavals, by Geo. F. Becker. The views of H. P. Blake and Clarence King regarding the parallelism of the series of mineral belts on the Pacific slope to the great mountain ranges, and attributing the deposits themselves to the solfateric action accompanying the ejection of igneous rocks, have since been mainly confirmed. But, independently of any theory, a conclusion of economical importance evidently follows from the fresh facts recently brought to light. A great majority of all the rich ores west of the Wahsatch Range occur in belts following the western edges of distinct geological areas—the Cretaceous in Utah, the Palzeozoic and Carboniferous in Nevada and Arizona, the Jura-Trias in East California, &c. Hence analogy points to the neighbourhood of the still unexplored por- tions of these contacts as the most promising for future dis- | coveries of the precious metals.—Notice of the remarkable marine fauna occupying the outer banks off the sonthern coast of New England, No. 9, by A. E. Verrill.—Brief contributions to zoology from the Museum of Yale College, No. lv.—Work of the steamer A/datross in 1883.—Geology of the Blue Ridge, near Balcony Falls, Virginia, by John L. Campbell. October.—On the duration of colour-impressions upon the retina, by Edward L. Nichols. Taking up the subject where it was left fifty years ago by Plateau’s researches, the author concludes, from a protracted series of experi- ments: (1) that the study of the duration of colour-impres- sions produced by different portions of the spectrum tends to confirm Plateau’s results; (2) that the persistence of the image is a function of the wave-length producing it, being greatest at the ends of the spectrum, and least in the yellow ; (3) that it decreases with the intensity of the ray producing it ; (4) that it is not the same for all eyes; (5) that the duration is in inverse order to the luminosity of the colours producing it; (6) that each wave-length of the visible spectrum produces three primary impressions, red, green, and violet, of which the green is the most evanescent, violet the most persistent ; (7) that the duration of the retinal image depends upon the length of time during which the eye has been exposed, decreasing as the exposure increases.—Description of a fulgurite from Mount Thielson, Oregon (one illustration), by J. S. Diller.—On the paramorphosis of pyroxene to hornblende in rocks (two illustra- tions), by Geo. H. Williams.—On the southward ending of a great synclinal in the Taconic Range (with a map and several illustrations), by James D. Dana. The section of the Taconic Range here dealt with extends about 150 miles along the. western border of New England, mainly between Middlebury, in Central Vermont, and Salisbury, in North-Western Connecticut. The conclusions arrived at regarding the synclinal character of the system and the Lower Silurian age of the rocks agree with those of Sir William Logan, except that he made the limestone to precede instead of to include the Trenton group.—On supposed glaciation in Pennsylvania, south of the terminal moraine (with a map), by Prof. H. Carville Lewis. The author considers that all the existing surface phenomena may be explained by the action of running waters and other causes independent of glacia- tion.—History and chemical analysis of a mass of meteoric iron Nov. 13, 1884 | found in a head-stream of the Red River, Wichita County, Texas, by J. W. Mallet. The analysis yielded iron over 90 per _cent., nickel over 8, a little cobalt, tin, phosphorus, copper, sulphur, graphitic carbon, silica, and a trace of manganese.— ‘The life and work of Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas, by J. P. ~Cooke.—Account of a new meteorite discovered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on May 15, 1883, by J. R. Eastman. The ‘analysis of the fragment now in the Smithsonian Institute yielded: iron 94°543, nickel 3°815, cobalt 0°369, insoluble residue 0118. Rivista Scientifico-Industriale, September 15-30.—Origin of atmospheric electricity, of thunder-clouds and volcanic eruptions, by Giovanni Luyini.—Description of an automatic and con- tinuous registrator of electric energy transmitted at a given part of a circuit, by Prof. Rinaldo Ferrini.—On the electric conducti- vity of greatly diluted saline solutions, by Dr. Giuseppe Vicen- tini.—On a system of electro-chronometric bells adapted to private residences, by Giuseppe Bianchedi.—Note on the Walker railway-carriage break, by Angiolo Villa.—On a new system of simultaneous telegraphy and telephony, by M. Van Rysselberghe.—Descriptive notes on the fauna of Sardinia, by Prof. A. Costa. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LoNDON Chemical Society, November 6.—Dr. Perkin, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—It was announced that a ballot for the election of Fellows would take place at the next meeting of the Society (November 20).—The following papers were read :-— On the action of aldehydes and ammonia upon benzil (continued), by F. R. Japp and S. C. Hooker. In previous papers two general reactions have been studied relating to the joint action of aldehydes and ammonia upon similar bodies ; in addition, a third totally distinct reaction occurs, which is investigated in the present paper. The authors have studied the action of salicyl- aldehyde and ammonia upon benzil. A condensation-product, C.gH»,N.O,, was obtained, which proved to be dibenzoyldi- hydroxystilbenediamine. By the action of dilute hydrochloric acid, the hydrochloride of a new base, Cj,Hj,N.0., was formed ; its platinum salt, picrate, sulphate, diacetyl derivative, &c., were prepared and examined. The authors have also studied the action of furfuraldehyde and ammonia upon benzil.—Isomeric modifications of sodium sulphate, by S. U. Pickering. The author has determined the heat of dissolution of effloresced sodium sulphate heated to various temperatures. He concludes that there are two modifications: one formed by not heating above 150°, the other being produced at temperatures from 150° to the fusing-point of the salt.—On some vanadates of the amines, by G. H. Bailey. The author has prepared and studied a considerable number of these bodies, and has compared them with the corresponding vanadates of the alkalies —Contributions to our knowledge of acetoacetic ether, part 1, by J. W. James. —On magnesium hydrosulphide solution and its use in chemico- legal cases as a source of hydrogen sulphide, by E. Divers and T. Shimidzu. The authors prepare this solution by passing ordinary hydrogen sulphide into a flask containing magnesia suspended in water. By heating the solution to 60°, a steady stream of hydrogen sulphide free from hydrogen and from hydrogen arsenide is obtained.—On the origin of calcium thio- sulphate: an emendatory note to a paper on calcium hydro- sulphide, by E. Divers. The author concludes that there is essentially only one method of forming the thiosulphate, z.e. by the union of sulphur with calcium sulphite. Physical Society, November 8.—Prof. Ayrton in the chair. —Mr. Kavargee was elected a member of the Society.—Prof. F. Guthrie read a paper on certain phenomena attending mix- ture. Ina previous paper Dr. Guthrie had noticed the increase of volume attending the separation of triethylamine and water effected by heat. The present paper is an account of a more thorough examination of this and allied phenomena. Experi- ments conducted with a number of different liquids showed that mixtures can be arranged in two distinct classes. Of the first a mixture of water and ether is an example: when shaken up together they mix, heat is evolved, and a diminution of bulk takes place. If any excess of ether present is poured off, and the lower clear liquid Aeated in a sealed tube, it becomes turbid owing to the separation of the ether. This is accompanied by an increase of bulk and adsorftion of heat. Triethylamine and NA TORE 47 water and diethylamine and water are mixtures belonging to this class; the temperature of separation is a function of the ratio in which the two liquids are present. A typical case of the second class is a mixture of alcohol and bisulphide of carbon. These mix with one another in all proportions above 0° C. with zncreas’ of bulk and absorption of heat. Upon being cooled to about — 17° C. they separate. The separation of a mixture of ether and water and of a mixture of alcohol and the bisulphide was shown. In these cases the action is regarded as a chemical one, and generally an excess of one liquid or the other is present. To determine the combining proportions two methods were used. In the first a number of mixtures of the same two liquids in different proprtions were taken, and the rise or fall of tempera- ture produced by their mixture measured. When this was a maximum, there might be assumed to be no ‘dead matter’’ present. In the second method, which is more delicate, but more laborious, and which was used when the approximate com- bining proportion had been found by the first, the change of volume produced by mixture was noted ; when this increment is a maximum, the liquids are present in their combining propor- tion. These experiments gave very concordant and definite results: for example, the molecular compound of ether and car- bonic sulphide is represented by the formula C,H,,O,2CS,, and that of chloroform and carbonic sulphide by CHCl,,CS,. A striking confirmation of this view is afforded by the behaviour of the vapour-tension of a mixture. The temperature being constant, if the vapour-tension is plotted with the percentages of the more volatile liquid as abscissze, the curve is, for a mix- ture of two liquids which have no chemical action upon one another, as the iodide and bromide of ethyl, a straight line. For ordinary mixtures, however, this is not the case. bat tel) ce len (eed cecal ee ne The Butterflies of Europe. By R. McLachlan, 2s) ah Ph er Cate omer Doe nade cH Elementary Mathematics . 3 Our Book Shelf :— Lovell’s ‘‘ Edible Mollusca of Great Britain and Ire- EX Nike eC erON Acca GCmownL a om OMogdlo 6 US! Brown’s ‘‘ Forestry in the Mining Districts of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia” = eae Willkomm’s ‘‘ Pyrenaische Halbinsel” . 124 Letters to the Editor :— The Prime Meridian Conference.—Gen. Richard Strachey, F.R.S.; Latimer Clark ..... 125 The Electric Light for Lighthouses and Ships.—A. Ainslie'Common) . 6.05 Sale fe een neeanenae 25 Natural Science in Schools.—Prof. Sydney Young 126 The Edible Bird’s-Nest.—Jos. R. Green. ... . 26 The so-called South Plant of Egyptian Art.—W. T. Thiselton Dyer, FoR |S. ae ei) Cnn Nesey Earthworms.—Frederick Lewis ........ 12 Injuries caused by Lightning in Africa.—Dr. von Danckelman).) cy ciee) «ae uote ie) 1h usw no ea The Northernmost Extremity of Europe.—A Nor- STE SomioncMONnO ONO MouUe i Go oa. a a). U2y/ Our Future Clocks and Watches.—B. J. Hopkins. 128 Singular Optical Phenomenon.—X. e26 The Aurora Borealis. —Dr. Sophus Tromholt . . 128 The United States Fish Commission. By Ralph S. Tarr NPR ne caidas ch omoabeiaeds (uz: The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders -in Scotland sieaerenc tetas ma pentie Velo e hie ie mee The Eggs of Monotremes. By W. Baldwin Spencer. (Zilustrated) . 4 Pam OnO med Ont option ook, Use Niotes)eicmencre- melon 5 5) 0 135 Our Astronomical Column :— WroltgsiGometrsagaee mie oni ben ater 137 The Washburn Observatory, Wisconsin . 137 GeopraphicaliNotes= \..1-5r ims te eo) Scientific Aspects and Issues of the International Health Exhibition. By Ernest Hart dice gHiGhs) University and Educational Intelligence . 143 Societies and Academies. ....+-.+-++++-s 144 NATURE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1884 A TEACHING UNIVERSITY FOR LONDON AN MOVEMENT, which first began to shape itself into form at the Educational Conference at the Health Exhibition, made its first formal public appearance at the house of the Society of Arts on Monday afternoon. The crowd of well-known and much-occupied men with which the room was filled was at least an earnest of something more than a discussion of a mere speculative project ; and the speeches made, though revealing, as might be expected, a considerable diversity in point of view, were listened to with a closeness of attention which indi- cated a pretty confident belief that the movement was not likely to evaporate in mere debate. Lord Reay opened the proceedings with an address, which was admirably conceived both in tone and matter. If subsequent speakers scarcely can have been said to have carried on the discussion on the same level, this may be attributed to the fact that the report submitted to the meeting for adoption by Lord Justice Fry embodied an amount of detailed suggestion which the meeting was naturally not in any way prepared to assimilate without a good deal of consideration. Every one knows that we have in London a body bearing the title of a University. Every one, at least who has looked into the matter, knows equally the immense services which this institution has rendered in raising the standard of middle class education. But a University all the same, in any intelligible sense, it is not. It is essentially nothing more than a Government Department for giving, after examination, academic certificates. Nor, as Professor Lankester very properly pointed out, is it, any more than the Home Office for example, an institution which, because its head-quarters happen to be in London, is locally identified with the metropolis in the same sense in which the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are identified with the places in which their work is carried on. The operations of the University of London are, in point of fact, more wide-reaching than those of any other Government office, and are, indeed, co-extensive with the Empire itself. In one aspect the whole movement may be regarded as an outcome of the nascent municipal feeling in the life of the metropolis. The Examining University, for reasons stated above, does not, and in its present form never can, satisfy the reasonable desire that the metropolis should possess that academic crown which is worn by every other great capital in the world. The disembodied spirit of what might be brooding over gloomy examination halls may strike a wholesome terror into the hearts of candi- dates, and sustain a certain feeling of emancipation in the hearts of candidates; but it cannot, and does not, excite any enthusiasm in either. Nor has the cold officialism of Burlington Gardens ever treated with more than a lofty disdain the more humanly organised institu- tions which furnish the victims who pour into its portals. The movement to constitute a Teaching University is undoubtedly in some degree due to a reaction against this state of things. Those whose business “is to teach, know VOL. XXx1I.—NO. 790 145 now-a-days that a great deal depends on the way teaching is done. It is here that the educational bodies of the metropolis feel their isolation. There is no central authority to gather their representatives into its fold and smooth away the individual difficulties in the way of common action and” bringing into harmonious coopera- tion the dual business of examination and teaching. Life is getting appreciably shorter now ; the thread of existence. has more knots though its length remains the same. The time that can be given to education out of an ordinary existence cannot be indefinitely expanded. Method must be brought in to economise labour in instruction, This isa very different thing to cramming ; it is on the contrary a scientific mode of directing the educational attack in the most effective way. Here the rulers of the University have shown themselves most deficient in sympathy ; they have turned an obdurately deaf ear to the entreaties which have been repeatedly addressed to them by the Convocation of the University to get “touch” with the teaching bodies. And, what is perhaps even still more irritating, though, as remarked at the meeting, for the most part, laymen in education, they still issue in a purely doctrinaire spirit directions which of course from the nature of the case haye the binding force of edicts at the actual seats of education. Dr. Carpenter, with an official optimism excusable enough in one who has devoted a lifetime to loyal and honest work, contended, it is true, that the university was blameless in this respect. But those who are familiar with the other side of the shield know how far this is from being the feeling in teaching institutions. Manchester has already broken away from the rule of Burlington Gardens, and it can scarcely be doubted that had the University of London shown a more conciliatory attitude with regard to the formation of Boards of Studies, the present movement would in all probability have taken a very different shape. Itis proposed, then, alongside of the existing examinations to have a Teaching University. This it is also intended should examine and grant degrees. It may be thought that this is going too far, and that it is not desirable that the one thing should becomea mere mechanical reflection of the other. But the risk is small; the principle is now- a-days accepted by all who have really studied the matter, that teachings and examinings must be in the hands of the same persons ; but this does not imply that the same individuals should control both. Nor, it must be admitted, is this merely a matter of interest to the teaching bodies. The imperfect educational discipline to which a large pro- portion of the candidates who frequent the examination rooms of the university have been subjected, leads to an inordinate amount of rejections. This creates the mis- conception in the public mind, that the examinations are unreasonably severe. The real fact is that the candidates are badly prepared. In this way the want of cooperation between teachers and examiners becomes indirectly a real obstacle to educational progress. So far we have endeavoured to give our readers an ac- count as distinct as we have been able to gather of the forces which have initiated this movement, and the aims which are desired by it. We cordially sympathize with both, and it is because we do so that we must now indulge in a little criticism on the scheme as put forward by Lord Reay’s committee. In the first place, we found it difficult H 146 to believe that the creation of a new university with full powers in the metropolis is ever likely to come within the bounds of political possibility. It is not that the Govern- ment will be inaccessible, but that it will be difficult to persuade general public opinion of the necessity of such a course. We believe that it will in the end be necessary eventually to come to terms with the existing university. The fact that eleven members of its Senate have joined the movement, shows that that body at any rate contains a powerful element discontented with its present asphyxia- tion by red tape. What, however, we do hope to see is the federation of our scattered educational bodies in Lon- don into Faculties, which would be practically universities in all but the name, and the representatives of which should have a leading voice in the management of the Central University. The only speakers who really evinced at the meeting a clear idea of their own policy, were the representatives of the Medical profession. Prof. Marshall showed with singular lucidity that the altered character of medical education has made the continued isolation of the smaller medical schools a practical impossibility. Not merely has technical instruction gone beyond the capacity of the junior members of the medical staff who are usually told off for it, but the appliances required are too costly for all but the wealthier schools to provide efficiently, and the teachers are themselves wanted for the more minute and careful clinical instruction which is now everywhere demanded. The Medical Schools will therefore combine, perhaps, into some four great groups, for purposes of education and the organisation of laboratories, just as the small colleges at Oxford and Cambridge have combined for purposes of intra-collegiate lecturing. Once federation has begun, the foundation of a medical faculty for London is only a question of time. This will come about, probably, what- ever the fate of the more general movement. But such a faculty would undoubtedly be found to be politically a body to whose just claims in direct medical education the University of London would find it impossible to lend a deaf ear. The faculty of law may also shape itself into existence, | though, it must be admitted, the elements of its form are, at present, very dim and shadowy. To balance these we want a faculty of literature and science, and the materials for these are to be found in a federation of University and King’s Colleges, as sug- gested by Prof. Lankester. If the representatives of such a faculty were allowed a proper share in the councils of the existing University, it is not obvious why such a federation should be intrusted with a separate degree- giving power. We now come to what appears to us the weak point in the scheme. A university may impart knowledge ; it may test its quality when imparted ; but that which has ever been the peculiar glory of university life, is to enlarge its bounds. But except a few well-expiessed sentences which fell from Lord Reay, and a sentence put into the con- clusion of the report very much with the air of an after- thought, this very important matter does not seem to have received very much attention. Now the most melancholy feature about such elements of university organisation as already exist in London, is its displayed incapacity to retain its best men, There is an obvious dearth of such NATURE 0 [ Dec. 18, 1884 posts as would satisfy their legitimate ambition. No sooner amongst us does a man rise to the first rank at any seat of education, than sooner or later he is drafted off to one of the universities in the provinces. To take the first instances that come to hand: Cambridge has robbed us of Michael Foster, and Oxford of Burdon Sanderson, while the greatest biological teacher of the day is driven from England by ill-health after a life toilsomely spent in the lowest order of teaching— drudgery. What is absolutely essential to add lustre and distinction to the work of a Metropolitan University is a body of University Professors who would take charge of the higher studies, which never can be properly cared for by bodies sedulously occupied with the very serious business of the higher education. What we hope then some day to see is the University of London equipped with a proper staff of Regius Professors, who themselves would be at the least an invaluable bond of union between its own too abstract isolation and the living reality of the actual teaching bodies. Although we could have wished for greater insistence on this—as it seems to us—most vital point, we cannot but entertain the highest hopes of the usefulness of the pre- sent movement. It has some of the notes of healthy organic development; it has at least spontaneity and individual activity, which have always been the founda- tions of political achievement amongst us. At the worst, mere effervescence is better than stagnation, and we think there is more in this movement than effervescence. In any case we cannot too warmly tender our expression of acknowledgment to public men like Lord Reay and Sir George Young, who have spared neither pains nor labour in the purely patriotic Jabour of giving our own too inarticulate murmurings definite form and expression. THE POLYZOA OF THE “ CHALLENGER” EXPEDITION The Zovlogy of the Voyage of H.M.S. “ Challenger.” Part XXX. “Report on the Polyzoa—the Cheilo- stomata.” By George Busk, F.R.S., V.P.L.S., &c. (Published by Order of Her Majesty’s Government, 1884.) HE description of the Polyzoa collected during the expedition of the Challenger was undertaken by Mr. Busk, and the first part of his Report, comprising the Cheilostomatous forms, or those in which the mouth of the zocecium or cell is provided with a movable lid which shuts down over the polypide when retracted, has just been published. The investigation of this important part of the Chad- Jenger collections could not have been placed in better hands. As an authority on the zoology of the Polyzoa, Mr. Busk stands pre-eminent ; and the present admirable Report of 216 pages and 36 plates bears testimony to a laborious and conscientious investigation, the value of which as a contribution to our knowledge of the multitude of forms associated under the name of Polyzoa cannot be over-estimated. The number of species of Cheilostomatous Polyzoa in the Challenger collection is 286, and when these came into Mr. Busk’s hands he found no less than 180 of them Dee. 18, 1884 | new. In one genus alone, that of the Retepore, the number of known species has been raised by the dredgings of the Challenger from 31 to between 50 and 60. The determination and definition of species in a collec- tion so large as that of the Ciad/enger Polyzoa, and in a group of organisms in which the differences are far from being always strikingly obvious, cannot but be a work of great labour. The critical examination of the species in such a genus as Refefora, for instance, which is repre- sented in the Challenger collection by 23 species, and Cellefora, which is represented by no fewer than 31, requires no ordinary patience, and the author must be congratulated on haying so far brought to a conclusion labours which, in order to be conscientiously performed, must be often wearisome and monotonous. Among the most important contributions of the Report to the systematic zoology of the Polyzoa is the revision which it contains of Adeova and allied genera. A critical comparison of the species of Adeona with species belong- ing to other genera which had been hitherto placed among the Escharide has necessitated the founding of a new family, Adeonec, in order to include the whole in a single natural group. This family has several peculiarities, among which the most interesting is the possession by all the species of three different kinds of cells, which the author terms zocecial, ocecial, and avicularian. Ocecia of the ordinary type are entirely absent, and their function appears to be performed by special cells which differ in form from the others. When decalcified these ocecial cells appear as thick-walled sacs, containing in most cases an ovoid mass, which resembles the contents of an ordinary ocecium, and like these is almost certainly embryonal. Mr. Busk has further made the important observation that in some of them there is lodged instead of this mass a polypide similar to those inhabiting the zocecial cells, and he concludes that the embryonal mass is derived from a polypide, which it finally replaces. Among other peculiarities of the Adeonez is one which, notwithstanding its apparent triviality, derives importance from its constancy. This consists in the universal presence of a projecting point at each end of the base in the avicularian mandibles both large and small. In doubtful fragments this character alone will often indicate the affinities of the species. The descriptions of the new species are throughout the work drawn up with that care and precision which charac- terise all Mr. Busk’s zoological writings, while the absence of redundant description and the exclusion of characters not necessary for the diagnosis, give to his definitions a conciseness which will be appreciated as it deserves by all who require to consult the Report. In a large proportion of the diagnoses the author has had recourse to the chitinous elements of the skeleton. These are the so-termed opercula or oral valves, and the chitinous parts of the avicularia and vibracula; and a very large number of accurately-executed outlines are given in order to show the various forms assumed by these elements in the different species. The employment of the chitinous elements in the classification and descrip- tive zoology of the Polyzoa is due entirely to Mr. Busk, who has convinced himself that “their value for these purposes cannot be over-rated, while their importance NATOR 147 extends far beyond the mere distinction of genera and species.” The descriptions of the species are of course necessarily confined to the hard parts, whether calcareous or chitinous, for, except in living examples, it is rarely possible to determine any facts of importance regarding the soft parts of the colony. The author, however, gives two highly instructive figures of the avicularia of Bicellaria pectogemia, in which the muscular apparatus and other soft parts of these curious and still enigmatical bodies are clearly and beautifully represented. In one of his figures of Carbasea moseleyt also—a form in which the calcareous walls are quite transparent—there is a very interesting view of the polypides in the interior of their cells. The distribution of the species, geographical and bathy- metrical, finds a prominent place in the Report. An instructive map is appended in which the oceans traversed by the Challenger are divided into seven regions, three being to the north and four to the south of the equator, each including go” of longitude. In each of these regions the stations from which any species of Polyzoa were obtained are indicated. The bathymetrical range varies within wide limits. The greatest depth which yielded any species to the dredge was 3125 fathoms, in the North Pacific region. From this vast depth four species were procured, and between it and quite shallow water a great number of stations of very various depths are recorded. One of the most unexpected facts brought out in the Report is the very wide bathymetrical range enjoyed by certain species. Thus C7zbrz/ina monoceras is one of the four species brought up from 3125 fathoms in the North Pacific, while the same species was obtained from 1325 fathoms in the South Pacific, from 69 fathoms in the South Indian or Kerguelen region, from 55 fathoms in the South Atlantic, and from 35 fathoms in the Australian region. This striking difference in the depths inhabited by one and the same species is, however, exceptional ; and so is the wide range of geographical distribution which is here presented by a species occurring at great depths. The study of the bathymetrical distribution of the Challenger Polyzoa shows that “the extent of geographical distribu- tion is to a considerable degree correlative with the bathymetrical, the wider geographical distribution being in most instances coincident with the shallower depths.” To this law another striking exception is afforded by the beautiful genus Catemzcel/a, a genus very rich in species, which, though from comparatively shallow water, are almost exclusively confined to the Australian region. The thirty-six beautiful plates which illustrate the Report are all that could be desired. Clearly and faith- fully drawn, they place in the hands of the zoologist facilities for the determination of the species which, with the descriptions in the letterpress, leave no excuse for erroneous diagnosis. Though the Report is confined to the species obtained during the expedition of the Chad/enger, the number of these is so large, and the descriptions and figures so exact, that the work will possess a classical value, and be found indispensable by every student of the Polyzoa. GJ. A. 148 NALORE | Dec. 18, 1884 OUR BOOK SHELF On the Healthy Manufacture of Bread. A Memoir on the System of Dr. Dauglish. By Benjamin Ward Richardson, M.D., F.R.S. (London: Bailliére, Tyn- dall, and Cox, 1884.) THIS pamphlet is another of Dr. Richardson’s labours in the cause of public health. It deals mainly, as the title implies, with healthy bread, and especially with the sys- tem of the late Dr. Dauglish of Malvern for baking what is now generally known as aérated bread. The advan- tages of the aérated process are stated by the author to be that the destructive influence of fermentation is prevented. There is no chemical decomposition of the flour whatever, and therefore no loss of material, while the rising of the dough is just as effectively carried out. The aérated bread contains, therefore, all the gluten and all the albuminous food of the wheat, out of which the living tissues are constructed, as well as the food which ministers to the animal warmth and vital activity. More- over, much labour to the baker is spared, and the knead- ing by hand is wholly dispensed with—a matter of some consideration to delicate or fastidious persons. The gradual steps by which the process has been worked out, from the incubation of the idea in the brain of Dr. Dauglish to the modern aérated process of baking are fully traced by Dr. Richardson, who describes also the different effects of fermentation and aération on the different qualities of flour, the economic and sanitary advantages of the new system to the workmen (by no means the least important part of the subject, as those who recollect Mr. Lakeman’s report on the London bakeries, and who read Chapter IX. of this little work, will acknowledge), and the public advantages of the aérated bread in relation to health. An appendix con- tains a brief memoir of Dr. Dauglish. Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society. Second Session, 1883-84. Our readers have seen from time to time in our “Society” Notices the titles of papers read before this young but from the outset vigorous body, and must have often wished for a more intimate acquaintance with their con- tents (as the odoriferous steam issuing from the cookshop tempts the hungry “ Arab” to enter and feed). We are glad to find, from the volume before us, that the Society is in a position to print its Proceedings, for we now know how interesting the papers are. They are not, like some other papers nearer home, caviare to the general, but they deal with matters which come home to every mathe- matical teacher. Mr. Mackay writes on the circles asso- ciated with the triangle, viewed from their centres of similitude ; Mr. Muir, on the condensation of a special continuant ; Dr. Macfarlane, on voting ; Prof. Chrystal, on an application of matrices to spherical geometry, on a problem in partition of numbers, &c. Mr. Allardice fur- nishes some useful notes on spherical geometry and trigonometry ; Mr. Browning, some illustrations of har- monic section; Mr. Barclay, notes on the teaching of elementary geometry (abstract only), and Mr. Traill, proofs of the theorems as far as “ Euclid” i. 32, from first principles. Other papers are: a good concise ac- count of Pascal’s “ Essais pour les Coniques” by Mr. Macdonald ; the hypothesis of Le Bel and Van’t Hoff, by Prof. Crum Brown; on the representation of the physical properties of substances by means of surfaces, by Mr. Peddie; and a joint account of the problem “La Tour d’Hanoi” (one of displacements), by Messrs. Allardice and Fraser. With these Proceedings are bound up Prof. Tait’s introductory address on Listing’s “ Topo- logie,” which, our readers will remember, has been pub- lished in the Philosophical Magazine (January 1884, pp. 30-46, with plates), and Mr. Muir’s Presidential Address entitled “The Promotion of Research; with Special Reference to the Present State of the Scottish Univer- sities and Secondary Schools” (delivered February 8, 1884). Elementary Text-Book of Trigonometry. By R. H. Pinkerton, B.A. (London: Blackie and Son, 1884.) Tuis elementary text-book of 176 pages contains all the essentials for obtaining a knowledge of trigonometry proper. It might be used either by those who desire merely a thorough grounding in the elements, or, as a first book, by those who intend to take a full analytical course. The arrangement is good, the text well written, and the examples, worked and unworked, are numerous and judiciously chosen. The introductory chapter on the measurement of angles is particularly commendable. We should prefer, however, not to write “7/3 radians” but “77/3 radian,” reading it “#z-thirds of a radian.” It may be suggested also to a writer who has the courage to introduce reforms, whether the time has not come for dispensing with the so-called ¢adlogsines, tablogcosines, &c., and using only logsines, logcosines, &c. Tabular log functions are, according to our experience, well-meant aids which only hinder. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as shortas possible. The pressure on hts space ts so great that it ts impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) Iridescent Clouds ON Thursday evening, December 11, about fifteen minutes after sunset, in the south-west direction as seen from the Royal Obser- vatory here, were two rather large clouds about 10° or 12° high, and below them several much smaller ones, all of them of the most brilliantly iridescent colours and nothing but bright colour, of a kind I do not remember to have seen before, though they were not improbably like some described by several of NATURE'S correspondents last year. The principal cloud, some 5° or 6° long and 2° or 3° across, exhibited a diagonal band of glowing green, passing through blue into exquisite violet on either side, while it was fringed nearly all round by dull red. The second largest cloud, a little below and rather to the east- ward of the first, exhibited all the same colours in similar diagonal bands, but unconformably with the places of the bands of the first produced down to it ; though both may have had their bands at right angles to a ray from the sun long since set, but directed on their centres. The sky behind them and all around was singularly dark and sombre, so that these iridescent clouds, in the brightness and richness of their colouring, reminded one more of mother-of-pearl inlaid in a black tea-tray than any ordinary sunset sky. The smaller clouds of the same kind lower down gradually lost the central green band and passed into yellow and orange, but were still phenomenally bright specks of luminous material on the dark general background. All this towards the south- west ; while west and north-west the sky was nearly clear, and exhibited, in a sunset-illumined sky ‘‘ proper,” a fairly fine but quite ordinary set of thin cirro-stratus rolls of cloud, warmly coloured on one side and cold-gray shaded on the other, like any corporeal body in the same exposure. Lower down still on the horizon was a heavy cumulo-stratus cloud, which the west wind presently brought up to eclipse the green and blue iridescent clouds, proving that they were higher than it, though not so high as the dark cirrus haze to the south- west that had served so well to set forth their brilliant and unusual colouring. C, PIAZZI-SMYTH Edinburgh, December 13 A STRIKING phenomena, apparently a new phase of the cloud-glows, was widely witnessed here on the 13th, and I myself noticed it, though on a much less scale, and in the north- NATURE 149 Dec. 18, 1884 | east, on the 11th. About 3.30 p.m. the upper edge of a dark, very lofty haze cloud, stretching almost straight from alt. 15° in the south-south-west, to about alt. 20° in the north-west, was fringed with prismatic colours, in parts thrice repeated, separating the dark haze cloud from a bright white haze, like that often seen of late near the sun, which itself was nearly setting. The lumi- nous haze was widest, about 5°, above the sun, and was also, but far more faintly fringed, with a hazy blue sky above. It lasted until 4.20, but at 4.10 the dull cloud was a deep violet, and the bright haze a steel blue. They both seemed to dis- appear in the dusk, but the bright glow reappeared about 4.40 p.m. On both occasions the phenomenon lasted long after sunset, and the cloud was quite distinct from the feathery cirri on which, if near the sun, one so often sees prismatic effects. On the 11th the two small oblong clouds affected had the colours in regular bands, in one round a dark, in the other round a bright centre, reminding one of Newton’s rings. J. EDMUND CLARK York, December 15 The “New” Volcanic Island off Iceland KNowI1Nc the interest which, from their association with the later years of the Gare-fowl’s existence, I have long taken in the islets lying off the south-west point of Iceland, Prof. Liitken has most kindly sent me a copy of the Copenhagen newspaper Dagbladet for the 7th of this month, containing an article by Capt. C. Normann of the Danish Royal Navy, in command of the ship Ay//a, during her recent scientific voyage to Greenland, a distinguished officer and an eminent authority in Arctic mat- ters. The article is long—too long for my powers of translation —but, with the friendly help of a Danish young gentleman of this University, I have mastered it, and find it exceedingly entertaining. It treats of the island which, as already announced in these columns (vol. xxxi. p. 37) and elsewhere, is said to have been lately thrust up, as other islands have before been known to be upthrust (at least temporarily) in that volcanic neighbourhood. According to the statement of Mr. Consul Paterson (/oc. cit.) it is said to have been first observed by the lighthouse-keeper at Reykjanes on July 29 ; and it would seem that news of its apparition speedily reached Reykjavik ; but unfortunately, says Capt. Normann, there was then no ship there available to make search for it. Ratherless than a month later, however, the Dufleix and Romanche, of the French navy, arrived at that port, and the commander of the former, animated with the laudable desire to determine the position of the new island, and if possible to effect a landing upon it, resolved to do so in the course of his homeward voyage, and, with that intent, set out after ashort delay. To the surprise of allat Reykjavik, he, as he subsequently informed the French Consul there, could find no trace of the object of his search on August 24. On the de- parture of the Dupleix, however, the commander of the Ro- manche dispatched two of his officers, equipped with proper instruments, by land to Reykjanes, thence to take the bearings of the new island. On August 26 they undoubtedly saw an island corresponding in position with what they expected to see, and reported accordingly to Reykjavik, where Capt. Normann’s Fylla had arrived on the 25th, on her homeward voyage. The Danish commander, equally enthusiastic in the cause of scientific discovery, accordingly left Reykjavik early on the morning of the 27th, and soon after mid-day his ship was off Reykjanes, whence he pursued a course along the northern side of the bank from which the Fowlskerries emerge, seeing nothing of the new island, it is true, but that time the weather was thick, However, he passed cautiously (as well became a navigator in water liable to volcanic upthrusts) along the whole range, and even beyond the furthest of the emerged skerries—the Geirfugla- drangr or Grenadeerhuen, when it began to grow dark, and also to blow. Next morning he turned back, running still along the northern side of the bank. It was clear and beautiful weather, and the rock just named, as well as Eldey or Melseekken, the innermost of the range, stood out in bright sunshine. Breakers marked the position of the old Geirfuglaskér, which sank beneath the wayes in 1830, and the neighbouring coast of Iceland, as well as the inland fells, was plainly visible, but nothing in the shape of a ‘‘new” island was to be seen. So he came b«ck to about midway between the Meal-sack and Reyk- janes—the lead giving a depth of eighty fathoms of water. Thence, thinking that after all there might be some mistake in the reported position of the island, he put his ship’s head about, and ran along the southern side of the bank. But again was he disappointed, for no new island met the anxious gaze of all on board. It remains to be said that a day or two later the Romanche came to the same spot, but alas, nothing new was to be found— notieven a pumice-stone by which, as Capt. Normann remarks, all decent volcanic islands are expected to indicate their position, even when submerged. Still, the form of the “new” island went on gratifying the vision of the lighthouse-keeper at Reykjanes ; and, as Mr. Paterson has told us (Zoe. cit) it was seen by him through a telescope on September 9. I do not for a moment doubt that both he and previously the officers of the Romanche saw what was pointed out to them as the “new” island; but, from all that has been said before, and from my own knowledge of the locality, gained during a two months’ Stay at Kykjuvogr and the neighbourhood in 1858, neither do I doubt that Capt. Normann is perfectly right in asserting that the supposed ‘‘new” island is a very old friend of mine—the Geirfugladrangr or Grenadeerhuen before mentioned—the outer- most of the emerged Fowlskerries, and our best thanks should be given to that gallant and scientific officer for dispelling the mystery. ALFRED NEWTON December 14 Overpressure in Schools I HAVE carefully read Dr. Gladstone’s article on over-pres- Sure. Over-pressure is due more to the action of inspectors and teachers than to the requirements of the Code ; e.g. a teacher in my district has a first class in an infant school, the children being all about six years of age. Owing to the unusual bright- ness of the children and their regular attendance, the teacher has had no difficulty in training her class in the three R’s for first standard work, which, under ordinary circumstances, they could not do until they were a year older and ina higher class. What is the result? An inspector visits that school, finds the children can do much more than is required by the Code, and, without reflecting ow this has been accomplished, he gives a good report for that class. The following week he visits another school in the same neighbourhood and examines a similar class 3 these children, he finds, are not so far advanced as those ex- amined the previous week, and therefore he makes a less favour- able report, thinking that the teaching-powers are not so good, although the children have really been quite as well taught, and are fully up to the requirements of the Code. When the report comes to the latter school, the teacher cannot understand how it is that the class has not gained the report it deserved, until by and by she hears indirectly what has been accomplished at the school previously examined. Then she says, “ If they can do it at that school, we can do it here.” Hence over-pressure. If inspectors did not examine beyond the Code, teachers would not train children for a higher standard than the Code requires. Dr. Gladstone says, ‘‘‘Teachers used to be paid partly from the Government grant, and thus had a pecuniary incentive to press forward the feeble so as to insure a pass.” ‘That is quite true, but teachers will be found in the future to be quite as anxious as they were in the past as to the results of the examina- tions. They know quite well that now the salaries are fixed, and do not depend on results, it would be said directly that they did not take the same interest in their work as formerly if perchance the schools passed a less favourable examination, and on this point they are keenly sensitive. Dr. Gladstone advocates *‘ varied and appropriate occupations in infant schools.” It is no doubt very monotonous for little children to be kept closely to the study of the three R’s, but there are very few who really like the Kinder Garten as taught in our infant schools, unless it be the Kinder Garten games: it is zot play, but hard work for such little ones to do. It is im- possible for the work to be taught successfully when a teacher has too large a class under her control ; in Belgium an assistant mistress has a class of fifty children with a pupil teacher to help her, and then no doubt Kinder Garten can really be carried out with beneficial results to the children, but in the London Board schools, where an assistant teacher has seventy or eighty or even more in her class without help, how is it possible to obtain good results? If Kinder Garten is to be taught with success there ought to be a Kinder Garten mistress appointed by the Board to teach it to the children, and I think there are very few teachers who would not agree in this. Of course it would entail extra expense, but it would be an expense more beneficial to the 150 WATOURE | Dec. 18, 1884 children than some that are indulged in. These I believe to be the views of nearly all teachers as well as those of myself, who am but a ScHooL TEACHER December 8 The Tokio Earthquake of October 15, 1884 AT 4h. 21m. 54s. a.m. the inhabitants of Tokio were awakened by a sudden and violent earthquake. In Yokohama, which lies about sixteen miles south-west by south from Tokio, the disturb- ance was noted at 4h. 21m. 38s., that is to say, sixteen seconds before it was felt in Tokio. The chief source of error in these time-records—if error exists—will probably be due to observers at different stations having noted time at different portions of the disturbance, the length of which, as determined by the sensations of those who made the records, was about one minute, but, as recorded by a seismograph, between five and six minutes, At the commencement of the disturbance four complete waves were described in three seconds, but at the end of the disturbance the motion became so slow that each wave occupied from two to three seconds. From a record taken by Mr, K. Sekiya, a gentleman whose especial duty it is to attend to the earthquake phenomena of this country, it would appear that the maximum range of motion may have reached 42 mm. The maximum acceleration per second per second was about $00 mm., that is to say, the intensity of the earthquake or its destructive power was similar to that which would be experienced by a building standing on a carriage which was suddenly caused to moye with a velocity of about one foot and a half per second, or if, such a carriage having gradually acquired such a velocity, it had been suddenly arrested. The result of the earthquake was to overturn a few chimneys in Yokohama and to crack one or two in Tokio. Our last severe earthquake was on February 22, 1880. On that occasion in Yokohama very many buildings lost their chim- neys and were unroofed, whilst in Tokio the damage was chiefly confined to loosening tiles and shaking down plaster. Had our buildings in Japan been constructed like those in England, it is probable that this last shake would have caused about the same amount of damage as that which was so recently caused by the late disturbance in Essex. From the observations on direction, coupled with what has been said about time, it seems that the ‘earthquake had its origin in Yedo Bay, at or about the same point as that which was determined for its severe predecessor. It may here be remarked that nearly all the heavier earth- quakes which are felt in Tokio and Yokohama practically have had a common centrum. They are not large earthquakes as measured by the area shaken, but they are severe because we are near to their origin. The earthquake of 1880, according to a record furnished by one of Palmieri’s instruments, had an intensity of 78°, whilst the recent earthquake, the actual intensity of which, as deduced by its destructive effect, was much less, is given as 95°. These intensities measured in degrees really indicate the height to which a certain quantity of mercury in a bent tube was caused to wash—the height of the ‘‘wash” being measured by the turning of a pulley connected by a string to a small weight floating on the surface of the mercury. It would seem evident that the magnitude of the records obtained in this manner must among other things depend upon the duration of the earthquake, the period of its waves, and the depth of the mercury contained in the tube. For reasons such as these, records like those just given cannot be regarded as anything more than roughly approximative. Tn connection with the remarks made on the amplitude it may be stated that the seismograph by which the record was taken was situated on soft soil in the flat portion of Tokio. This amplitude, had it been recorded on the hard ground of a hill, probably would not have exceeded 25 mm. One of the most remarkable points connected with this disturbance were the changes in level as observed by the dis- placement of specially arranged pendulums, which took place before the shock, and again about six hours afterwards. J. MILNE Large Meteor One of the Jargest meteors that I have seen for some years appeared at 7h. 15m. 15s. this evening. lt began as a speck, north of Vega, at about 4° greater altitude than that star. The course was perpendicalarly down, only disappearing by passing below the horizon. It was 2° east of Vega on descending to the altitude of that star, and by that time had increased to fully a quarter the apparent size of the moon, and this size it main- tained whilst above the horizon. The colour was an intense blue, and there was left a streak of orange-red elongated sepa- rate stars in i's track, and this streak was about 1° in length, although the separate stars of which it consisted disappeared almost as rapidly as they were formed. The stars, like the meteor, increased in size and brilliancy from a mere point, and instantly vanished on attaining their maximum brightness. Each moved perpendicularly down for the length of about half a degree, and left a continuous momentary streak. None of these stars were seen within half a degree of the meteor, and their ignition was confined to the centre of the meteor’s path. Their size was tolerably equal, being about that of a second-magnitude star. The speed of the meteor was unusually slow, it being visible for nearly six seconds. The shape was circular in front and cuneate behind (bluntly conical). Its brillianey was great, considering the presence of a nearly full moon. Shirenewton Hall, near Chepstow, E. J. LowE December 4 The Cost of Anthropometric Measurements ALLow me to correct an absurd typographical blunder in the account of my anthropometric laboratory at the Healtheries, which appears in Mr. Ernest Hart’s lecture at the Society of Arts. It originally occurred in the Yournal of the Society of Arts, whence it was copied into your columns (p. 142) last week. The effect of the error to which I refei is to make the statement that the cost of measuring each person at the labora- tory in seventeen different ways was 3/., whereas it should have been 3¢. The subsequent argument, based on the extreme cheapness of the process, becomes in consequence unintelligible. I write myself to make the correction, because the part of Mr. Ernest Hart’s address which refers to the anthropometric laboratory was written for him, at his request, by myself. I regret I had not an opportunity of revising it in proof. FRANCIS GALTON The Northernmost Extremity of Europe As ‘fa Norwegian” now fully admits that the pretended discovery of Capt. St6rensen is no discovery at all, but an ele- mentary fact well known and long known to Norwegian geographers, I need not discuss that question any further, but I must protest against his reference to Sdnsberg’s ‘‘ Norge,” which is the joint production of some of the most eminent men in Norway. SOonsberg is the ed%tor and publisher. Amongst the writers who have co-operated to produce the national ‘‘ Handbook” are the following :—Lieut.-Col. Broch, Chief of the Geographical Survey of Norway (he is the largest contributor, and the writer of the words I quoted), Prof. H. Mohn, Prof. T. Kjerulf, Prof. Rasch, Prof. L. K. Daa, Sorens- kriver, H. Thoresen, J. B. Halvorsen (the well-known writer),: Reaureauchef Kjer, and Secretary Mohn, Th. Boeck (Royal plenipotentiary), J. N. Prahm, Cant. Scharffenberg, E. Mohn, Lieut. Flood, Capt. Overgaard (the Inspector of Forests), Horbye, Lieut. Langeberg, and Mr. Langeberg, K. Lassen, Dr. Kahrs, Lieut. Solem, O. T. Olsen, Capt. Bang, Capt. Haffner, and Sorenskriver Nannestad. All these names are given in the preface, and the contributors of each carefully specified. This was kn»wn to ‘“‘ A Norwe- gian ” when he wrote his last letter, for he refers to that same preface, and yet asserts that Sonsberg ‘‘never claimed the least geographical authority for a faulty and crude guide to tourists”? (his own italics). That preface is written for the express purpose of claiming such authority and thanking the authors. It makes special claim in a special paragraph of the geographical authority of the ‘head of the Geographical Sur- vey,” Lieut.-Col. Broch, whose name, Sénsberg says, ‘‘ offers a sufficient guarantee of correctness.” The anonymous ‘‘ Norwegian,” in further disparagement of the book, states that in this preface ‘‘the author himself says that for reasons explained it has many faults.” I will quote this very damaging confession. It is as follows :—‘‘ A few errors and misprints will be found here and there.” A list of them is given. After this the flippant misrepresentation of my preten- sions in the last paragraph of the letter is not surprising, and demands no further notice. I make this protest, knowing that NaTurr is largely read by Dee. 18, 1884] NATURE 151 well-educated Norwegians (who all read English as a matter of course). They cannot fail to be indignant if such unjust treat- ment of a national work, which genuine Norwegians understand and appreciate, is allowed to pass unrefuted. Besides waich, Englishmen in search of available and reliable infor on con- cerning Norway might be grossly misled. @ dia W. Marrieu WitTLIAMs APOSPORY IN FERNS PARAGRAPH in the report in NATURE (p. 119) of the meeting of the Linnean Society for November 20 last contained what is, to the best of my belief, the first pub- lication of one of the most interesting botanical observa- tions which has been made for some time. As it is quite possible that this brief record may escape the notice of a good many botanists, I venture to give the matter a little more prominence. At the meeting referred to, Mr. E. T. Druery made a second communication (the first did not, I think, receive any record) upon a singular mode of reproduction in Athyrium F ilix-femina, var, clarissima. \n this fern the sporangia do not follow their ordinary course of develop- ment, but, assuming a more vegetative character, develop more or less well-defined prothallia, which, according to Mr. Druery’s observations, ultimately bear archegonia and antheridia. From these adventitious prothallia the production of seedling ferns of a new generation has been observed to take place in a perfectly normal way. Mr. Druery very kindly offered at the meeting to supply me with some of his material. This reached me on November 29, and I immediately placed it in the hands of my friend Mr. F. O. Bower, who was engaged in other research connected with the vascular cryptogams in the Jodrell Laboratory of the Royal Gardens. Although in the material sent me the abnormal development of the sporangia had not proceeded very far, Mr. Bower obtained evidence which, as far as it went, was entirely confirma- tory of the correctness of Mr, Druery’s observations. With appropriate cultural treatment prothalliform bodies have already made their appearance, but have not yet reached the stage at which archegonia and antheridia are developed. They are, however, furnished with root-hairs. This is, however, not all. Mr. Bower placed himself in communication with Mr. Druery, and paid a visit to his collection of ferns. By the kindness of this gentle- man he was allowed to bring away specimens of another fern (Polystichum angulare, var. pulcherrima) which alto- gether eclipses the A¢hyrzwm, remarkable as that is. In the Polystichum the apex of the pinnules grows out into an irregular prothallium, upon which Mr. Bower with little difficulty was able to demonstrate at Kew the exist- ence of characteristic archegonia and antheridia. In this case the production of the prothallium is not even asso- ciated locally with the sporangia, but it appears asa direct vegetative outgrowth of the normal spore-bearing plant. The oophore is a mere vegetative process of the sporo- phore, a suppression of the alternation of the two genera- tions which exceeds even that which obtains in the flowering plant. Mr. Druery’s discovery, for which I have borrowed Mr. Bower's convenient term Apospory, is the direct converse of the Apogamy in the fern, discovered by Prof. Farlow. Inthis the sporophore is a vegetative outgrowth from the oophore. The parallel phenomena in the life- history of the moss have been known forsome time. But this point and all detailed observations at present available will be dealt with in the communication which Mr. Bower will make at the meeting of the Linnean Society this (Thursday) evening. While every merit must be attributed to Mr. Druery for the first observations of this important fact, he has with great liberality allowed Mr. Bower free liberty to discuss the histological and theoretical points involved. 1 The obvious possibilities of discovery with regard to the reproduction of ferns may now be regarded as ex- hausted. It may be interesting to give the dates of the different steps :— 1597 Gerarde Observed seedling plants near parents. 1648 Ceesius Sporangia, 1669 Cole Spores. 1686 Ray Hygroscopic movements of sporangia. 1715 Morison Raised seedlings from spores, 1788 Ehrhart Prothallium. : 1789 Lindsay Germination of spores. 1827 Kaulfuss Development of prothallium. 1844 Nageli Antheridia. 1846 Suminski Archegonia. 1874 Farlow Apogamy. 1884 Druery Apospory. Royal Gardens, Kew W. T. THISELTON DYER MODERN ENGLISH MATHEMATICS? OU will xemember that two years ago it was announced from this chair that the Council had settled the con- ditions under which the De Morgan Medal should be given, and that the first award would be made at the anniversary meeting of 1884. I have now to make the announcement that the Council! has decided that the first medal should be given to Prof. Cayley, in acknowledgment of his work in the theory of invariants. As this is the first award of the medal, I may remind you of its origin. Soon after the death of De Morgan, some of his admirers started a subscription for the double purpose of having a bust executed and founding a medal to be given in his memory. The é4ws¢ now adorns the | library of the London University, where also his valuable collection of books is preserved. The meda/ was offered to the Mathematical Society, and its Council accepted’ the honourable duty of determining its award. There is a peculiar fitness in the medal being thus connected with our Society ; for this Society was founded with the active co-operation of De Morgan by a number of his advanced students, among whom his talented son George, who died soon afterwards, took the lead. De Morgan himself was the first President, and our Proceedings begin with a very characteristic opening speech by him. The medal is to be given for eminent original work in mathematics, and no more fitting memorial than this could in my opinion be devised for a man who spent his whole life in carefully preparing the foundation for such work by his teaching and his writings. De Morgan was pre-eminently a teacher. His most original work does not so much increase our stock of mathematical knowledge, but is concerned with mathe- matical reasoning, and with exact reasoning in general. In the opening speech referred to, De Morgan himself divides exact science into two branches, ‘he analysis of the necessary laws of thought, and the analysts of the necessary matter of thought. His own work belongs to the former. He was a logician much more than a mathe- matician in the ordinary sense of the word, and when reading his mathematical works I have always had the feeling that he studied mathematics not so much for its own sake as on account of the logic contained and exem- plified in it. I once made this remark in the Professors’ Common Room of University College, when an old col- league of his turned round and said, “ You are quite right, he told me so himself.” In this work De Morgan did not stand alone. We may almost take him as a type of his period. It has often struck me as a noteworthy fact that in England, after the long pause in mathematical activity, the work taken first in hand was investigation into the very bases * An address delivered by Prof. Henrici, F.R S., at the annual meet- ing of the London Mathematical Society (November 13), on the occasion of presenting the De Morgan Memorial Medal to Prof, Cayley; F.R.S. 152 NATORE [| Dec. 18, 1884 of mathematics and more particularly into mathematical reasoning. These investigations became partly a mathe- matical analysis of logic itself and partly a logical analysis of the laws followed by the symbols and operations used in mathematics. De Morgan worked in both directions ; we have his “ Formal Logic” and his “ Double Algebra.” Operations were studied quite independently of the meaning given to the symbols. Originally the symbols stood for concrete things, and each operation had its concrete meaning. At present symbols are sometimes used without giving them any meaning whatsoever, and without defining them at all, and then the operations for combining these symbols are arbitrarily defined, with the sole restriction that they do not contradict each other. Each new set of operations thus establishes a calculus. If afterwards any entities can be found which can be combined by operations answering the characteristics of the operations used in the new calculus, then the latter may be employed for a theory of those entities, and its results will allow of an interpretation. These entities themselves may be anything, concrete things, or logical concepts, or ordinary algebraical quantities. Thus the ground was already prepared for greatly ex- tending the realm of algebra and the scope and power of algebraical operations, when the genius of Prof. Cayley conceived the idea of invariants ' which has given rise to that marvellous growth of our science which has suddenly brought England again far to the front. It was known from Gauss’s investigations that for quad- ratic expressions a certain combination of its constants, its determinant, exists, which has the following property. If the quadratic expression be transformed into another by a linear substitution, then the determinant of the transformed expression is obtained from that of the original expression by multiplying it by a factor which depends solely on the substitution used. Afterwards Eisenstein discovered that a similar theorem holds for a cubic expression of one variable. These isolated facts suggested to Cayley that combinations of constants having this property must exist for all alge- braical expressions. The problem was how to find these. The manner in which this has been solved I need not restate here, but I wish to call your attention to the fact that the symbolic methods worked out by the school of mathematicians referred to have been of the greatest use in the development of the theory of invariants, which could scarcely have been brought to its present perfection without it. It would be an impertinence for me to say much either in praise of Prof. Cayley’s work or in justification of the Council’s choice. Prof. Cayley has invented and worked out the theory of invariants, and in steady life-long work connected it with nearly every branch of mathematics, enriching everything he touches, and everywhere throwing open new vistas of future work. The Council of the Mathematical Society in selecting Prof. Cayley as the first recipient of the De Morgan Medal, and thus doing homage to his genius, did so not s0 much with the idea that it could add honour to his name as that they might add honour to the medal by connecting his great name with it, and thus increase its value for all future recipients. And it is befitting that a body like the London Mathematical Society should give formal expression to the reverence and admiration in which it holds the greatest among its members. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE MALAYAN PENINSULA PN2 some remarks of mine on the mountain system of the Malayan peninsula have already appeared in NATURE, perhaps the following summary of the results * Prof. Cayley, priority in favour of the late Prof. Boole. Algebra,” p. 204. when returning thanks, distinctly waived the claim of See also Salmon’s “ Higher of ten months’ explorations in the State of Perak will be interesting. The State of Perak is comprised between the sea (Straits of Malacca) and the main central chain which runs along the centre of the peninsula. Its boundaries are, roughly : north, the River Krian ; south, River Ber- nam; west, the ocean; east, the main central chain. Be geology may be briefly described as consisting of (1) An immense granite formation, rising into ex- tremely sharp and precipitous parallel ridges having nearly a meridional direction. This granite passes fre- quently into slates and schists. The prevailing colour is blue. (2) A Paleozoic formation of slates, mottled sand- stones, and clays, forming outliers or detached portions. It is found most abundantly at the foot of the ranges, whence it usually dips away conformably to the slopes of the hills and mountains. It has evidently been subject to great denudation. (3) Limestone in detached outliers, or isolated hills ot precipitous character, showing much denudation. It is stratified or crystalline. No fossils have been found yet, but is probably of Palaeozoic age. From its wide exten- sion throughout Perak, where it crops out in so many places, it may have once covered the whole of the granite and Paleozoic clays. (4) Drifts and alluvium from the ancient streams and river beds. These are formed of the material from all the preceding deposits. All the tin deposits of the country are in these drifts. The ore occurs in a manner very similar to the alluvial gold in Australia, that is to say, in “leads,” which are the ancient or modern river beds. Above these alluvial deposits there is the usual alluvial surface soil, for the most part supporting a very dense vegetation. The tin deposits hitherto found are all stream tin. No lodes have yet been worked, though there are some in the mountains round the sources of the Perak River. The ore is almost always cassiterite in small abraded crystals. It is of a peculiar blackish-gray or brown aspect. Any person with a little experience would be able to distinguish between tin sand from Australia and that of Perak. The former is rather rich in gems, such as sapphires, rubies, hyacinths, garnets, topazes, and zircons. I have never seen any in Perak; but there is a good deal of fluor-spar, tourmaline, and less frequently wolfram. The most of the workings are on the western slopes at the foot of the mountains. I cannot recall any instances of mines on the eastern slopes, but the wash or drift seems to have been greater on that side. The matrix of the tin seems to be in the upper part of the granite at its junction with the Paleozoic clays. In the lower part of the clay there is also a small quantity of tin. In the drift the tin is always found in nearly the lowest levels, lying in one or two strata from one foot to five feet thick. It is mingled with fine drift sand and gravel. Its position is, I think, due to the repeated sifting and washing it has been subject to in the streambed. But as it is generally covered by from ten to thirty feet of ma- terial destitute of tin, the inference is that only one part of the granite was very rich in the metal. The stream tin deposits lie upon (1) kaolin clay, or partly decomposed granite ; (2) granite ; (3) Palaeozoic sandstones and clays. In the latter case the stream has come from the denudation of a portion of the same strata on the upper slopes of the hills. On the highest granite ridges, or those above 5000 feet, there is found a distinct vegetation. Three or four of the genera are Australian (Ae/aleuca, Leplospermum, Podocarpus, Leucopogon), and two of the species (Lepto- spermum and Leucopogon) are common Australian forms. Similar facts have been observed in Borneo, but I have Dec. 18, 1884] NATURE 159 not heard that they had been observed in the Malay peninsula. Nothing of the kind is seen on the lower slopes of these mountains even 100 feet below the summit. This Australian flora may be the relics of an ancient flora, which once included the Eastern Archipelago. But it does not appear why the species should be confined to the tops of the mountains. They grow in a much warmer climate in Australia. There are no table-lands in Perak; the mountains are all sharp ridges. There is not the slightest sign of any recent upheaval of the coast-line, while the evidence of subsidence is equally absent. But the land is rapidly encroaching on the sea owing to the immense alluvial wash brought daily from the mountains in this land of heavy rains. Thus the shores are fringed with large mangrove swamps which yearly extend, and the Straits of Malacca form a shallow sea full of mud banks and shoals. The seas are consequently rather poor in certain forms of marine life to which muddy sediment is un- favourable. Though the tin has been worked for centuries, only a comparatively small portion of the country has been worked out or worked at all. I consider that the deposits in Perak are practically inexhaustible. The mining in- dustry is almost exclusively in the hands of the Chinese, who are almost the perfection of colonists for a country like this. Malays are not good miners. Gold is found associated with tin, but small, scaly, in sparing quantity, and only in one or two places. There are only two instances known to me of the occurrence of recent volcanic rocks: one is in the Kinta River valley, the other on the western face of a small group of mountains not far to the east-south-east of the island of Penang, and near the Karau River. The rocks appear to be basaltic dykes, but the thick jungle and surface weathering prevented a proper examination. The mountain system of this native State consists of detached groups of mountains which cover the west side of this part of the peninsula, an almost continuous range close to the sea in the Straits of Malacca. These groups of mountains form parallel chains about thirty miles Jong, with a direction a little oblique to the true meridional line. Sometimes they are wholly detached groups, so as to allow rivers from the eastward to pass between them. Such an instance is seen in the ranges between the Kinta and Perak rivers. This group ter- minates to the north so as to allow the River Plus to pass to the westward and to the south so as to give an outlet to the Kinta. Both rivers join the Perak River, which flows round another group (Gunong Bubu), and then flows into the sea in the Straits of Malacca. The islands of the coast, such as the Dindings and those off the State of Keddah (Pulo Leddas, Pulo Lankawi, and Pulo Buton, known as the Buntings), are probably portions of similar groups, and so are Pulo Penang and the attendant islands. These groups and those on the mainland usually run in sharp parallel ridges, variously modified by oblique spurs, which at times connect the main chains forming watersheds which throw off small streams north-east and south-west. The following are the principal groups of mountains known to me, beginning at the south :—— Dindings Islands.—Off the coast in front of the Din- dings River (Dinding, Malay for boundary or partition), lat. 4° 12’ N., there is a series of islands of moderate elevation not exceeding rooo feet in their highest peaks. They are granite, rich in tin, with a little fine scaly gold. They are densely clothed with jungle, and have fringing reefs of coral. I have visited three or four of these islands, and they are all of the same character. On the mainland there is a cluster of hills called the False Dindings, from the fact that at a short distance they look like islands. These are also granitic, and tin occurs in the alluvial beds derived from them. They give rise to small rivers, such as the Dindings and its tributaries. Gunong Bubu.—North-east of this group, but quite detached from it, is a series of parallel mountain ridges with a uniform trend of north-north-east. These ridges are eight or nine in number. ‘The central one is the highest, culminating in Mount Bubu, a fine peak of about 5600 feet elevation. All the ridges are granitic, with occasional patches of metamorphic schists, all more or less rich in tin. A remarkable character in this range is that all the ridges are extremely steep, and frequently interrupted by granite precipices of 1000 feet and more. Gunong Bubu is only accessible in one or two places, the summit being surrounded by escarpments of rock of great height. Many small streams join the Perak River and the sea from this range. The Kaugsa and Kenas both flow into the Perak to the eastward. In an ascent made by me to the summit of Mount Bubu I was able to explore some of the sources of both these rivers, which afford a home to many a rhinoceros, but few other animals except monkeys (f/ylobates, Semmnopithecus, and Macacus). The rivers descend many hundred feet in a series of cas- cades, giving rise to some of the finest scenery in the Malay peninsula. North of Mount Bubu this group of ridges falls away abruptly, leaving a narrow pass (Gapis Pass) between them and the next group. This pass is about 400 feet above the level of the sea, and therefore too elevated to permit of any river outlet. Mount Poudok.—In Gapis Pass, or rather at the eastern end of it, there is an isolated hill of highly crystalline limestone. It is an outlier of the great Paleozoic lime- stone formation already referred to. It is about 400 feet high, and quite precipitous. Its junction with the granite or Palaeozoic clays is not visible. Its bright blue and red precipices crowned with dark-green jungle makeit a singular and beautiful object, but there are many similar in the State. Mount Ijau.—North of Gapis another group of ranges succeeds, culminating in Mount Ijau (Malay for green) at about 4400 feet above the sea. This cluster of ridges appears to me to be of nearly the same dimensions as the Mount Bubu group, but not so high by 1000 feet or so. I estimate that each group is from twenty to twenty-five miles long, and fourteen to sixteen broad, covering an area of about 400 square miles. This, however, is only a rough estimate formed from views I have been able to obtain from the summits of other mountains. I have not been able to examine personally the termination of the Mount Ijau group on the north. From the sea one is able to perceive a distinct pass like that of Gapis. It is probably about the same height, and does not form the outlet of any river from the eastern side. Kurau Group.—North of Gunong Ijau is another group, which I do not know how to distinguish except that it forms the watershed of the Kurau River. Its highest point is a mountain which is also called Ijau by the Malays. I have not ascended the peak, but it seemed to me less elevated than Mount Jjau to the south. ; Mount Tnas.—What the Malays of Keddah call Mount Inas is the highest point of another detached group north of the Krian and Selama Rivers. I have been within a few miles of the foot of this mountain, and it seemed to me to be somewhat over 4000 feet high, and the highest point of an isolated group of ridges. Keddah Peak.—North of Mount Inas, in the State of Keddah, there is, close to the sea, a detached group of mountains, at the foot of which the Keddah River flows. Keddah Peak is the highest summit,—probably over 4000 feet high. This is in what is called Lower Siam, in which I have only travelled to a very trifling extent north of the Krian River, the boundary of Perak State. In the north of Perak, near Patani, we have other groups of mountains. An Italian explorer named Bozzolo, who 154 NATURE - hE : > | [ae ec a > . | Dec. 18, 1884 has lived many years in Siam, assures me that he has | | visited it’at Goping, and at the limestone hills, where travelled round the Gunong Kendrong group at the head of the Perak, and that it is quite detached from any other hills. Perak River.—The whole of these groups are sufficiently connected to prevent any drainage from the central range flowing directly to the west coast of the peninsula. Thus the Perak River, which has its sources in the Keddah and Patani Mountains flows to the southward for over 180 miles. Inits course it is joined by two important rivers from the eastward, namely, the Plus and Kinta, Plus Rivey.—The Plus River has its sources in the high mountain groups east of Mount Inas, and in the main range. It flows round the southern end of a group called by some the Bukit Panjang Range, and then joins the Perak. Kinta Ranges.—South of this junction is a group of mountains called by some the Kinta Ranges. This group is about twenty-five miles long. It is perfectly detached from all the others, having a generally north and south direction, but sending off spurs from its west side a little to the west of south. The group is entirely granitic, but on its lower slopes has thick deposits of limestone belonging to the formation already referred to, above and below which tin is worked. For about twenty- five miles this range separates the valley of the Perak River from that of the Kinta, which flows on its eastern side, The highest peaks rise to about 3750 feet above the sea, and give rise to small streams which all flow into the Perak. There is a remarkable uniformity in three or four of the highest summits, which are about the centre of the chain, Mounts Merah (red), Prungin, &c. They are all within a few feet of the same height. From these mountains the range falls away gradually to the south, and sends off two considerable spurs to the south-west. Where it ceases the River Kinta joins the Perak. Kinta Valley.—The valley of the Kinta River is about as wide as that of the Perak. The river flows, like the Perak, on the eastern side of the valley. The eastern tribu- taries are many and important. On the sides limestone granite and schistose slates crop out. To the eastward there are many detached hills of limestone fronting the main central chain. They form very characteristic fea- tures in the landscape, from their precipitous outline, and the brilliantly coloured faces of blue, green, and bright red rock. They are also distinguished by a different vegetation. Perak Valley.—The valley of the Perak River is bounded by the groups of mountains already described on the west ; on the east by the Kinta Range, and north of the Plus by the Bukit Panjang Range. The river flows on the eastern side of the valley ; this is owing to the many spurs and outliers on the eastern sides of Mounts Bubu and the Ijau Ranges. It seems as if there had been much less denudation on the eastern than on the western sides of the range. This may be owing to the prevailing rains falling more abundantly on the western than on the eastern sides of the mountains. As a consequence of this the tin workings appear to be, with little exception, on the western sides of the ranges, where the waste and wash has probably been greater. Batu Kurau.—Between Mount Bubu Range and Mount Ijau Range and the sea there are no hills except small outliers, mostly of Paleozoic clay, which have evidently belonged to the]ranges. But north of the Larut River there is an isolated limestone mountain near the Kurau River. This is called Batu (stone or rock in Malay) Kurau. It is very similar to Mount Poudok in the Gapis Pass. It is quite unconnected with the main range, and rises out of the plain between the spurs which form the valley of the Kurau River. There is also a small detached range dividing the valley of the Krian River from that of the Kurau. Main Kange.—Of the main range I know but very little from personal observation, having only the tin is worked on the Diepang River. But I have travelled along the most of the Kinta Valley skirting the base of the range either on foot or in boats. I have also traced the valley of the Kampar River. The geology is like the rest of the country, mainly granite, slates, and limestone, with traces of basaltic rocks. The general structure of the range can best be judged from some of the mountains to the westward. It forms a most impos- ing boundary to the whole of the western horizon. In the north, about the sources of the Plus River, there is a mountain of rounded outline, probably over 6000 feet high. The range there declines a little, with a somewhat ser- rated outline, but generally over 3000 feet. At a point corresponding with the latitude of about the centre of the Kinta Range, or opposite the Gapis Pass, the chain in- creases in elevation to perhaps over 5000 feet, and in the distance is seen a peak which must be over 8000: feet high. I know no name for this hill, but it is the most distant mountain usually seen. South and west of this the chain rises into a grand cluster of peaks, the highest of which is over 7000 feet. This is Gunong Robinson. It looks higher than the Sugar-Loaf Hill as seen from Gunong Bubu, but then it is much nearer. From Gunong Robinson the range declines to the southward, but is still a bold series of picturesque peaks, many of which must be over 6000 feet. It has been asserted by more than one observer that to the south of the point where the range is lost sight of from Arung Pura, there is a high mountain occasionally visible higher than any other in the main range, and {probably over 12,000 feet. This I have not seen, but I am convinced that there are many things yet to be learned about the most elevated portions of this mountain chain. Seen from any point of view, it forms a magnificent mountain prospect. Its mysterious unexplored recesses are rendered more gloomy than any scene in the world from the dense forest and the masses of vapour and cloud with which they are always clothed. A few savage Sakies are the only inhabitants. I may add that perhaps in no country in the world is exploration rendered so difficult from the extraordinary thickness of the jungle and the steepness of the mountain ridges which unceasingly cross the traveller’s path. Penang, September 8 J. E. TENISON-WooDs A NEW APPLICATION OF SCIENCE R. FERRIER’S researches on the brain, to which we have often drawn attention in these columns, have lately received an application of the most startling character. What this application is cannot be better stated now than in the accompanying letter, signed “E.R.S.,” which appeared in Tuesday’s 7zes. We shall return to this subject next week. ‘While the Bishop of Oxford and Prof. Ruskin were, onsome- what intangible grounds, denouncing vivisection at Oxford last Tuesday afternoon, there sat at one of the windows of the Hos- pital for Epilepsy and Paralysis, in Regent’s Park, in an invalid chair, propped up with pillows, pale and careworn, but with a hopeful smile on his face, a man who could have spoken a really pertinent word upon the subject, and told the right rev. prelate and the great art critic that he owed his life, and his wifeand child- ren their rescue from bereavement and penury, to some of these experiments on living animals which they so roundly condemned. The case of this man has been watched with intense interest by the medical profession, for it is of an unique description, and inaugurates a new era in cerebral surgery ; and now that it has been brought to a successful issue, it seems desirable that a brief outline of it should be placed before the general public, because it illustrates vividly the benefits that physiological explorations may confer on mankind, shows how speedily useful fruit may be gathered from researches undertaken in the pursuit of knowledge and with no immediate practical aim, and reveals Dee. 18, 1884 | impressively the precision and veracity of modern medical science. : “This case, then—this impressive and illustrative case—is that of a man who, when admitted to the Hospital for Epilepsy and Paralysis, presented a group of symptoms which pointed to tumour of the brain—a distressing and hitherto necessarily fatal malady, for the diagnosis or recognition of which we are indebted to bed-side experience and post-mortem examination. But while clinical and pathological observations have supplied us with knowledge which enables us to detect the existence of tumours of the brain, they have not afforded us any clue to the situation of these morbid growths in the brain mass, and it was not until Prof. Ferrier had, by his experiments on animals, demonstrated the localisation of sensory and motor functions in the cerebral hemi- spheres that the position of any diseased process by which they might be invaded could be definitely determined. By the light of these experiments it is now possible in many instances to map out the seat of certain pathological changes in these hemispheres with as much nicety and certainty as if the skull and its cover- ings and linings had become transparent, so that the surface of the brain was exposed to direct inspection. And thus in the cease to which I am referring, Dr. Hughes Bennett, under whose care the patient was, guided by Ferrier’s experiments, skilfully interpreted the palsies and convulsive movements which the man exhibited, and deduced from them that a small tumour was lodged at one particular point in his ‘‘dome of thought,” and was silently and relentlessly eating its way into surrounding tex- tures. Not more surely do the fidgetings of the electric needle intimate their origin and convey a meaning to the telegraph clerk than did the twitchings of this man’s muscles announce to Dr. Hughes Bennett that a tumour of limited dimensions was ensconced at a particular point of a particular fold or convolu- ba of the brain—the ascending frontal convolution on the right side. “¢ Very brilliant diagnosis this, it may be remarked, and nothing more. A conclusion has been arrived at which, should it prove correct, will gratify professional pride ; but as it cannot be con- firmed or refuted until the poor patient is no longer interested in the matter, and cannot be made the basis of any active interfer- ence, no great advance has been made after all, and vivisection has yielded only some barren knowledge. Until quite recently, criticism of this kind would have been justifiable in a sense, butnow it is happily no longer possible, for another series of experiments on living animals, undertaken by Profs. Ferrier and Yeo, have proved that through our power of localising brain lesions we may open a gateway for their removal or relief. The old notion that the brain is an inviolable organ with zo/i me ¢angere for its motto—a mysterious and secluded oracle of God that simply falls down and dies when its fane is desecrated by intrusion—has been dissipated by these experiments ; and we now know that under punctilious antiseptic precautions the brain, in the lower animals at any rate, may be submitted to various operative procedures without risk to life or fear of permanent injury. Emboldened by this knowledge, Dr. Hughes Bennett devised a way of help- ing his patient whose disease he had diagnosed with such re- markable exactitude, and gave him one chance, if he had the courage to embrace it, of saving his life and recovering his health. “‘The patient had the position in which he stood faithfully explained to him. He was told that he laboured under a malady which medicines were powerless to touch, and that if left un- assisted he must die ina few months at latest, after prolonged sufferings similar to those which had already brought him to the verge of exhaustion, and which could be only partially alleviated by drugs ; but that one outlet of escape, narrow and dangerous, but still an outlet, was open to him in an operation of a formid- able nature and never before performed on a human being, under which he might, perhaps, sink and die, but from which he might, perhaps, obtain complete relief. The man, who had faith in his doctor, and no fine-spun scruples about availing him- self of the results of vivisectional discoveries, eagerly chose the operation. On the 25th ult. accordingly, Mr. Godlee, surgeon to University College Hospital, in the midst of an earnest and anxious band of medical wen, made an opening in the scalp, skull, and brain membranes of this man at the point where Dr. Hughes Bennett had placed his divining finger, the point corresponding with the convolution where he declared the peccant body to be, and where sure enough it was discovered. In the substance of the brain, exactly where Dr. Hughes Bennett had predicted, a tumour, the size of a walnut was found—a tumour which Mr. NATURE 155 Godlee removed without difficulty. The man is now con- valescent, having never had a bad symptom, and full of grati- tude for the relief afforded him. He has been snatched from the grave and from much suffering, and there is a good prospect that he will be restored to a life of comfort and usefulness. In that case he will be a living monument of the value of vivisection. The medical profession will declare with one voice that he owes his life to Ferrier’s experiments, without which it would have been impossible to localise his malady or attempt its removal, and that his case opens up new and far-reaching vistas of hope- fulness in brain-surgery. Many men and women will hence- forth, there is reason to anticipate, be saved from prolonged torture and death by a kind of treatment that has been made practicable by the sacrifice, under anzesthetics, of a few rabbits and monkeys.” NOTES THE Council of the British Association for the Advancement of Science has requested the following to allow themselves to be nominated as Presidents of Sections for the meeting at Aberdeen, which begins on Wednesday, September 9, 1885 :—Section A (Mathematics, &c.), Prof. J. C. Adams ; Section B (Chemistry), Prof. Armstrong ; Section C (Geology), Prof. Judd ; Section D (Biology), Prof. McIntosh ; Section E (Geography), General Walker ; Section F (Economics), Prof. J. Bryce; Section G (Mechanics), Mr. B. Baker ; Section H (Anthropology), Mr. F. Galton. WE learn with pleasure that M. Mascart was on Monday last elected a Member of the Academie des Sciences, Paris. THE Berkeley Research Fellowship has been given by Owens College, Manchester, to Mr. G. H. Fowler of Keble College, Oxford. An opportunity is thus given to Mr. Fowler of carrying on his work on the anatomy of the Zoantharian corals. THE immense economical importance of Government botanic gardens, especially in young colonies, is well shown by the last report of the Curator of the Gardens in Brisbane. Omitting the distribution of ornamental trees, shrubs, &c., to the gardens of public institutions, as well as that of ornamental pot plants, we find that economic plants have been distributed on a very large scale. The demand for these has been unprecedentedly large, and no application is ever refused so far as itcan be supplied. About 3000 economic plants were sent out during the year; these con- sisted chiefly of various kinds of coffee, tea, cocoa (7heobvoma cacao), cinchona, and vanilla. Grafted Indian mangoes and plants of the Brazilian nut (Bertholletia excelsa) have been given to likely growers, and the demand for the latter is so great that application has been made to the universal feeder of these insti- tutions, Kew, for more. Besides acting as a collecting and distributing .agency, the Brisbane Gardens do what is per- haps of even more value, viz. ascertain by experiment the condi- tions under which certain foreign plants will grow best in the colony. The most important trials recently have been with regard to cinchona, which, Mr. Pink shows, may by care in its early stages, be successfully cultivated in Queensland. The hop plant has been tried, and appears a success, IO cwt. being the produce per acre the first season, while in Eng- land under similar circumstances it is only 4 cwt. Sugar is at present the staple of the colony, but no efforts are spared to dis- cover new kinds elsewhere which may be better adapted to the place. 100 tons of various kinds of cane, chiefly from Mauritius, were sent to planters during the year. Economic and valuable timbers also receive much attention, and the gardens have now ready for transplanting 20,000 trees of various kinds, including cedars, olives, silky oak, English oak, English ash, poplars, and chestnuts. The recent experiments have conclusively shown that Queensland can introduce among her staple produce-crops such valuable and remunerative products of the soil as coffee, hops, 156 and cinchona. As an example of the care and labour devoted to the work, it may be mentioned that every method of cultivat- ing the cinchona in Ceylon and South America was tried in the gardens without much success ; and finally Mr, Pink was com- pelled to devise a method of his own, which proved successful. WE regret to announce the death of Dr. Heinrich Bodinus, for many years Director of the Berlin Zoological Gardens ; he died at Berlin on November 23 last. Also of Dr. Karl von Vierordt, formerly Professor of Physiology at Tiibingen University ; he died at that place on November 22, aged sixty-seven. La Nature records the death of M. Henri Lortigue, to whom is due the practical introduction of the telephone in most of the large towns in France, and who was in many other respects a man of scientific note. In 1855 he was employed by Leverrier, the Director of the Paris Observatory, who was then organising a series of meteorological observations, to superintend the instru- ments by which, by means of photography and electricity, the slightest variations of the barometer, thermometer, and compass were recorded. In 1859 M. Lortigue took charge of the tele- graph service on the Chemin de Fer du Nord, and received a gold medal for his various inventions of semaphores, automatic whistles, &c. In 1880 he was Director of the Société des Télé- phones. He was also a botanist and entomologist of note, and has left behind him some excellent collections in natural history. THE part of Turkestan bordering on China and comprising the countries retroceded by Russia, is now entirely incorporated with the Chinese Empire, and will form henceforward the 19th Province. WE have received from Messrs. Collins of Glasgow the new edition (twentieth thousand) of Prof. Guthrie’s well-known “«Text-Book of Magnetism and Electricity.” Not only has the present edition been carefully revised, but it contains a supple- mentary chapter by Mr. C. V. Boys, referring chiefly to the practical applications which have been made of electricity during the last few years, such as the telephone and microphone, dynamo machines, electric light, secondary batteries, &c. Electric and magnetic units are also referred to at some length. Our readers will be glad to know that the Fine Art Society announces the publication of an etching of Prof. T. H. Huxley, after the picture painted by Mr. John Collier, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1883. The etching is the work of the distinguished etcher, M. Léopold Flameng, and corresponds in size with the portrait of the late Mr. Charles Darwin, painted and etched by the same artists, and published by the same Society last year. AN examination of a series of water-marks set in 1750 all round the Swedish coasts, from the mouth of the Tornea to the Naze, in order to settle a dispute between the Swedish astro- nomer Celsius and some Germans, as to whether the level of the Baltic has been rising or sinking, shows that both parties were right. The gauges were renewed in 1851, and again this year, and have been inspected regularly at short intervals, the observations being carefully recorded. It appears that the Swedish coast has been steadily rising, while that on the southern fringe of the Baltic has been as steadily falling. The dividing line, along which no change is perceptible, passes from Sweden to the Schleswig-Holstein coast, over Bornholm and Laland. The results have lately been published by the Swedish Academy of Sciences ; and it appears from them that while during this period of 134 years the northern part of Sweden has risen about 7 feet, the rate of elevation gradually declines as we go south- wards, being only about 1 foot at the Naze, and nothing at Bornholm, which remains at the same level as in the middle of the last century. The general average result would be that the Swedish coast has risen about 56 inches during the last 134 years. NEA TOL | Dec. 18, 1884 THE Central Geodynamic Observatory at Rome recently re- ceived notice from Corleone, in the province of Palermo, of another violent shock of earthquake, making the fourth in Italy in less than a fortnight. The first occurred on November 23, at 7.30 p.m., on the eastern slope of the Western Alps, and coincided with the reawakening of Vesuvius. The second, at midnight on the 27th, extended from the same region to Switzer- land and Lyms on the north, and to the Liguarian coast of Italy. The third, at midnight on the 29th, shook Cosenza and Paola in Calabria. The fourth touched Sicily at Cerleone at four o’clock in the afternoon of the 5th inst. During this period an unusual agitation had been noted in the seismographic instru- ments at Rome and elsewhere in Italy. Prof. Di Rossi, Direc- tor of the Geodynamic Observatory, announces the early publi- cation of very interesting observations taken at Rocca di Papa, comprising the alterations in level, and in the temperature of subterranean waters. A NOTICE has just been received from M. Hepites, who has long been carrying on meteorological observations in Roumania, to the effect that the Roumanian Government has decided on the establishment of a meteorological organisation, and has voted the necessary funds. The Central Institute is being built at Bucharest. The organisation was started July 1. M. Hepites is the director. In a paper recently read before the Shanghai branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Dr. Macgowan affirms the claims of the Chinese to be the originators of gunpowder and firearms, This claim was examined in an elaborate paper some years ago by the late Mr. Mayers, and decided by him in the negative. Dr. Macgowan admits that gunpowder as now used is a European discovery. Anterior to its granulation by Schwartz it was a crude compound, of little use in propelling missiles ; this, says the writer, is the article first used in China. The incendiary materials stated by a Greek historian to have been employed by the Hindus against Alexander’s army, are stated to have been merely the naphthous or petroleum mixtures of the ancient Coreans, and in early times used by the Chinese. The ‘‘stink- pots,” so much used by Chinese pirates, is, it appears, a Cam- bodian invention. Dr. Macgowan states also that as early as the twelfth or thirteenth century the Chinese attempted sub- marine warfare, contriving rude torpedoes for that purpose. In the year 1000 an inventor exhibited to the then Emperor of China ‘‘a fire-gun and a fire-bomb.” He says that while the Chinese discovered the explosive nature of nitre, sulphur, and charcoal in combination, they were laggards in its application, from inability to perfect its manufacture, so, in the use of fire- arms, failing to prosecute experiment, they are found behind in the matter of scientific gunnery. In The Hull Quarterly and East Riding Portfolio, edited by W. G. B. Page, Sub-Librarian of Subscription Library, Hull, will appear, during the year 1885, interesting articles by T. M. Evans, President of the Literary and Philosophical Society, Hull, on the ancient Britons and the lake-dwelling at Ulrome in Holderness ; A. C. Hurtzig, C.E., on some tidal and engin- eering features of the River Humber ; and William Lawton, on the meteorology of Hull. THE Leicester ‘‘ Literary and Philosophical,” now entering upon its jubilee year, appears to be a flourishing society ina flourishing town. Over 300 members distribute themselves into five sections, containing many ladies as Associates, and both making outdoor excursions for practical observation, and holding evening meetings at which lectures are given, professional as well as amateur, followed at the latter by discussions. These lead to the collection and distribution of valuable knowledge of archeology, literature, and economics ; of astronomy, physics, a lad Dec. 18, 1884] NATURE ey and chemistry ; of geology, where the exposures made by local railway cuttings are carefully studied and recorded ; of biology (combining botany and zoology); and of zoology, specially directed to the study of the animals of the county, a list of which will be published asit approaches completeness. Some of these productions are not among the abstracts at the end of the Report, being reserved for publication in ‘‘another place.” These papers are read in a new lecture-hall adjoining the Museum, another institution which, though not very extensive, is in a most active state of growth and improvement. A new curator has led to a thorough rearrangement of the zoological collection in such cases and surroundings as show the specimens in their natural habitats, with index sketches attached to each case, supplying names, &c., hanging near. So large an outlay has been made upon these cases, that only 4 per cent. of the expenditure has been devoted to fresh objects. A large increase in the number of visitors has followed these reforms, and nothing, we venture to say, would so increase the attendance at a museum as the introduction of variation instead of rigid order, and the contributions from South Kensington can best assist in this “‘moyvement.” It seems hardly possible than an institution like this should be frequented by persons engaged in business when the hours of opening it are only the middle hours of the business day, viz. from ten till four, and the fact that on a holiday like Whitsun Monday 97 persons per hour were admitted during the daytime, and 353 persons per hour were admitted in the evening, shows that, here at any rate, the latter hours are the favourite hours also. Why, on the same ground, should a series of ‘*popular” lecturettes be given at three o’cloek in the after- noon ? Dr. A. PENCK has recently studied the old glaciers of the Pyrenees in detail, and has found remarkable differences between them and the Alpine glaciers of the Ice period. Even at that remote period the Pyrenean glaciers were of far smaller extent than those of the Alps—in the western part of the Pyrenees indeed there existed not a single one. Wherever traces of glaciers could be found they were accompanied by lake beds ; these have by now been filled up for the greatest part, at least in the lower altitudes, the only lakes still existing being situated in altitudes of between 1500 and 3000 metres. WE have received a pamphlet on the climatic conditions of Luxor and Egypt, with especial reference to invalids, by Dr. Maclean (H. K. Lewis). The author spent three years as an invalid and also in the practice of his profession in Egypt. There are several meteorological tables and diagrams, and very much information of all kinds for the traveller, although the traveller who wants to escape the English winter is the special object of the writer’s solicitude. Pror. LINDSTROM, the keeper of the palzontological col- lections at the Stockholm Museum, has made an interesting discovery amongst a number of petrefacts obtained from the Island of Gothland. It is an air-breathing crustacean from the Silurian period, the first specimen of the kind yet found. Pror. GUSTAV VON HAYEK, the author of the well-known ‘© Atlas of Natural History” (published by Perles of Vienna), has received the gold medal for arts and sciences from the Emperor of Austria, in recognition of the excellence of the work referred to. WE learn from Scfence that Commander Bartlett’s annual report on the operations of the U.S. Hydrographic Office makes a good showing for activity and enterprise. Lists of Jight-houses and “Notices to Mariners,” in which bearings are given in degrees from true north, instead of magnetic bearings in points, as formerly, have been liberally published ; the official corre- spondence with other hydrographic offices has been increased ; and a complete set of the charts issued by all nations is kept on file, and is always at the service of the public for the determina- tion of any questions relating to hydrography. The only vessel engaged in making surveys during the year was the Aamger, on the west coast of Mexico and Central America ; but it is strongly recommended that new surveys be undertaken in several regions where they have long been wanted. The charts of the northern coast of South America are mostly based on old Spanish surveys dating back to 1794. ‘* Watson’s Rock,” latitude 40° 17’ N., longitude 53° 22’ W., in the path of North Atlantic traders, has been reported so many times that its existence ought to be definitely settled or unsettled. The recommendation of previous hydrographers with regard to surveys of the Caroline and Mar- shall Islands, in the equatorial Pacific, should no longer be neglected ; they lie in the belt of the tradewinds and westerly current, the natural highway of vessels crossing the ocean to Japan, China, and the East Indies, and require immediate exa- mination. In the North Pacific alone there are over 3000 reported dangers that need decisive observation. In many cases the same island has half a dozen different positions, with as much as fifty miles between the extremes. It is urged that every naval vessel be provided with modern sounding-apparatus, by which even deep-sea measures can be quickly made, and required to sound wherever the charts show no depths reported within twenty miles on any side ; and it is desired that a ship should be fitted out expressly to make investigations into ocean tem- peratures at all depths, and thus obtain data necessary to com- plete the determination of the actual oceanic circulation. M. GuINET, a rich burgher of: Lyons, having spent some years of his life and 200,000/. of his money in the erection and furnishing of a museum, recently opened in his native town, intended to illustrate the religions of the East, has further applied to have the establishment transferred to Paris, where it would be likely to interest and instruct a larger number of visitors. He has, in addition, offered to consign the whole into the hands of the Government under certain conditions, an offer which has been accepted. A number of priests belonging to the Buddhist and Brahmanic religionss are to be brought to Paris, and at fixed salaries employed in translating historical and liturgical books connected with their respective faiths. THE French Government have bestowed fresh honours on the officers of the Meudon steering balloon, one of them having had his name put down on the list for the distinction of a ‘‘ Chef de Bataillon,” while another has been made a knight of the ‘‘ Légion d’Honneur,” and a third, who was wounded in preparing the hydrogen gas, has had the same distinction awarded him. At the same time that we observe the services of these gallant officers so well appreciated, we learn that the steering balloon has been dismantled without undergoing any new experiments, nor do we hear that the Commission appointed by the Academy of Sciences to report on the balloon has published any verdict respecting it. THE Municipal Council of Paris having been called on to vote on the question of a site for the Centennial Exhibition of 1889, have selected the Champ de Mars, the ground on which former exhibitions were held. This unexpected vote on a matter to which in the circumstances of the case great importance was attached has caused a considerable amount of sensation. “©Cgisus and his Works” was the subject of the first of a course of lectures during the current session, delivered at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, by M. Laboulbene. The course | is to be devoted to a history of the principal discoveries in medicine and surgery, and the lectures are to appear in the | Revue Scientifique. 158 NATURE ' | Dec. 18, 1884 A Commission has been appointed by M. Cochery to deter- mine the conditions of security requisite for laying electric cables to transmit currents of high tension. This step has been taken in connection with the experiments conducted at Creil and the Gare du Nord with the Marcel-Deprez system, as well as others which may be in preparation. THE observer at the meteorological station on the summit of the Obir (Carinthia) reports that on October 11, at 8.15 p.m., he saw a beautiful display of St. Elmo’s fire. The points of the vanes, the telephone wires, and the tops of the posts supporting this wire shone brilliantly in a whitish-blue light. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Bonnet Monkey (Macacas sinicus 2), a Macaque Monkey (MJacacus cynomolgus 5) from India, pre- sented by Mr. John Roberts ; a Bonnet Monkey (MJacacus stni- cus 6) from India, presented by Mr. David McCance; a Montagu’s Harrier (Circus ciénerascens), European, presented by Lord Lilford, F.Z.S.; a Banded Gymnogene (Polyboroiides typicus) from West Africa, a Gold Pheasant (Z/Zaumatlea picta 6 ) from China, an Indian Python (Python molurus) from India, deposited ; three Lions (Feds eo), born in the Gardens. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN THE BINARY STAR a CENTAURI.—In the last number of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Mr. E. B. Powell, so fayourably known for his excellent measures of double-stars, made during his residence in India, has a note in which he gives reasons for concluding that the period of revolu- tion of this most interesting binary is longer than has heen assigned by the later calculations of its orbit, and, instead of a period of 774 years, which is about that found by Dr, Elkin, he considers that one of 86 or 87 years is better supported by the earlier observations, viz. those by Richaud at Pondicherry in December, 1689, and by Feuillée at Lima on July 4, 1709. The results of an investigation by Dr. Doberck, communicated to the writer early in 1879, rather tend to support Mr. Powell’s con- clusion. Dr. Doberck’s elements, which are professedly only provisional ones, are as follow :— Periastron passage ... 1875 "12 NOG eipreIeee: deals ee hee 25 32 Angle between the lines of nodes and apsides 45 58 Inclination 79 24 Excentricity 0°5332 Semi-axis major ... 18°45 Period of revolution “88-536 years. In this orbit the angle and distance at the epochs of the observa- tions of Richaud and Feuillée would be :— 1689°95 Position, 14°9 Distance, 9°54 L70O5L ... 7" 200/ 8K E. ) 14°74. ENCKE’s CoMET.—The elements of this comet for the ap- proaching perihelion passage are as follow, according to the calculations of Dr. O. Backlund of Pulkowa :— Perihelion passage 1885, March 7°6523 G.M.T. Longitude of perihelion 158 32 45'0 ) Mean ascending node 35 334 36 54°6 > Equinox Inclination bir 12 54 Bs) 1885'0 Angle of excentricity 57 45 20°5 Mean daily sidereal motion 107297311 The corresponding period of revolution is 1207°86 days. An ephemeris for January will appear next week. BARNARD’S CoMET.—Prof. Frisby of Washington has calcu- lated elliptical elements of this comet from observations made at the Naval Observatory between August 12 and October 20, and therefore extending over sixty-nine days. The period of revolution in his orbit is 1878°65 days, or 5*143 years, but this element does not appear to be as yet very closely determined, much less so indeed than in the case of the second new comet of short period detected during the present year by Wolf. In Prof. Frisby’s orbit the distance of the comet at aphelion from the orbit of Jupiter would be 0°705, the aphelion distance being 4/683, therefore considerably within the orbit of the planet ; at the ascending node the comet’s dis!ance from the sun would be 1°552, and at the opposite node 3°942. Taking these conditions into account, it would appear probable that it has been long moving in its actual orbit. The comet, however, belongs most likely to the fainter class of those revolving in short periods, and in the present year has been observed under somewhat favourable circumstances: it approaches nearest to the earth when the perihelion passage takes place between a fortnight and three weeks earlier than in 1884. On November 20, M. Perrotin observing with the Gauthier-Eichens equatorial of the Observa- tory of Nice, aperture 0°38 m., found the comet near the limit of vision for that instrument ; he remarks :—‘‘ Pour la rendre sensible 4 l’ceil et bien saisir sa position exacte, on était obligé dagiter legérement la lunette en ascen-ion droite, tantét dans un sens, tantot dans l’autre.” The position determined for that evening was as follows :— Noy. 20 at 7h. 25m. 38s. Nice M.T. R.A. 22h. 38m. 21-85s., N.P.D. 97° 18° 2074”. The Observatory of Nice (Mont-Gros), established through the munificence of M. Bischoffsheim of Paris, is in longitude oh. 29m. 12°2s, east of Greenwich, and in latitude 43° 43’ 167. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES Tue correspondent of the Zimes with the Afghan Boundary Commission, writing from Khwaja Ali on October 16, describes the march of the expedition from Quetta to the Helmand. The geologist, Mr. Griesbach, describes the geological features of the country as much the same as those seen in the Pishin and Candahar country, viz. steep, deeply-eroded mountain ranges with a general strike of north, south to north-east, south-west, the intervening valleys being filled by Post-Tertiary deposits, which form extensive plains and glacis. The ranges of hills are more or less continuations of ranges, which are crossed by the Quetta-Candahar road. After leaving Kanak, one crosses the south-western end of the Ghaziaband range, which is com- posed of sandstone, shales, and grits of the ‘‘ flysch” facies of the Eocene rocks. Beyond that range one enters the southern ex- tension of the Lora plain of the Pishin. The white and coloured clays of the Siwaliks, seen from Dina Karez in the Pishin, are again seen (afar off) from Panjpai, and no doubt they underlie most of the Post-Tertiary deposits which form the surface of these wide valleys). The low ridges between Panjpai and Nushki are composed of sandstones, flaggy limestone beds, and friable shale, identical with the ‘‘ Soliman” sandstone, and entirely belonging to the Lower Cretaceous series. The contact between the hippuritic limestone and the trap contains in the Candahar district gold (with traces of nickel) and galena ores. The water found below the surface is the natural drainage from the hills, contained in the gravels and sands of the Post-Tertiary fan deposits, inclosed between the clays of the Siwaliks below, and the recent conglomerate (a kind of kankar) above. Dr. CHAVANNE, who visited the Congo by order of the Brussels Geographical Society, has returned to Lisbon for a short period in order to recruit his health, which has suffered by the tropical climate.—Herr Flegel, who was preparing for a new expedition into the Benué districts, is also detained in Europe by ill health.—The Russian traveller, M. Piasecki, well known through his travels in China in 1874, is about to start on another exploring expedition to that country under the patronage of the Emperor of Russia and the Grand Duke Wladimir. In a recent number of the Revue Scientifique there is a long article by M. L. Simonin, on the geography of China. The area of the whole Empire of China is estimated at 11,574,356 square kilometres, z.e. the largest empire in the world next to that of Russia, which is 21,702, 230 square kilometres. China proper, however, is only 4,024, 690 square kilometres, 7.2. two- fifths of Europe, seven times the size of France, and fifteen times that of Great Britain. With regard to the population of China it is not possible to give precise and absolutely trustworthy numbers, there being no proper official census in force in the Empire. The statistician of the Imperial Chinese Customs sets down the actual population of China at 250,000,000. A census drawn up in 1882 for fiscal purposes, and cited by the United States Minister in China, gives 255,000,000 as the number of the population. In the lower basin of the Yang-tse-Kiang as Dec. 18, 1884] many as 420 people are to be found crowded within the limits of One square kilometre. The total debt of the Government is reckoned at 266,000,000 francs, of which 214,000,000 francs have been contracted within the Empire itself, leaving only 52,000,000 frances of foreign debt. The army is composed of two large bodies : the Tartar army, including the Manchoos and the Mongols ; and second, the Chinese army. The Tartar army, guarding Pekin, the frontiers, and the coast, comprises the army of Manchooria of 30.000 men, the Mongolian army of 20,000 men, the Turkestan army of 40,000, and lastly the army occupy- ing the maritime provinces, numbering 100,000. The Chinese army proper is distributed throughout the eighteen provinces, and performs the functions of police in addition to its military duties. Its number ranges from 20,000 to 100,000 in each pro- vince, according to its population and its defensive requirements. The navy in 1879 was estimated to comprise fifty-six ships armed with 283 guns, and manned by 5860 marines. Since that date, however, the fleet has been largely developed. LP Exploration states that the Geographical Society of Amster- dam is about to acquire the fac-simile of the most ancient map known, and which represents the Roman Empire as it was in the time of Augustus. It isformed of eleven folding maps, which make one large map 84 metres in length. The original is in the Royal Library at Vienna, which purchased it in the sixteenth century from the estate of Conrad Peutinger of Augsburg, a circum- stance which gave the map its name of Zadula Peutingeriana. Peutinger purchased it for go ducats. The original, which is dated 1265, was the work of a Dominican monk of Colmar. THE deaths are announced of two Italian geographers and travellers, Eugenio Balbi and Carlo Guarmani. The former was the son of the celebrated Adrien Balbi, and was born at Florence in 1812. After several years’ travel in Europe, he finally returned to Italy, where he devoted all his energy to the study of ethnography and geographical science. His principal works are: ‘*Gea”’; ‘‘I monumenti della geografia nell’ evo medio e moderno”; ‘‘L’Italia nei suoi naturali confini.” Guarmani had travelled widely, and in his last years was one of the correspondents of the geographical review of Milan, LEsploratore. Tue Institute of Argentine Geography has decided to organise an expedition into the Andes of Patagonia. The explorers will leave Lake Nahuel-Huapi, and will then undertake a detailed investigation from a geographical point of view of the Argentine slope of the Andes, following it to the Straits of Magellan. The head of the expedition will be Capt. Moyano, who has been instructed to present a report to the Institute at the earliest possible date, indicating the plan of work, the instruments, and other objects necessary, as well as an approximate estimate of the expense. The Federal Government will be requested to grant the co-operation of the troops stationed on the frontiers of Limay, as well as to send a sloop-of-war to act where possible in concert with the expedition. A TEACHING UNIVERSITY FOR LONDON N connection with our leading article this week we append the following Plan for Promoting a Teaching University for London, which was discussed at the meeting :-— A sub-committee was appointed on Monday, November Io, to draw up a plan, in accordance with the objects of the Association for promoting a Teaching Univer-ity which are as follows :—(1) The organisation of University Teaching in and for London, in the form of a ‘Teaching University, with Faculties of Arts, Science, Medicine, and Laws. (2) The association of University Examination with University Teaching, and direction of both by the same authorities. (3) The conferring of a sub- stantive voice in the government of the University upon those engaged in the work of University Teaching and Examination, (4) Existing Institutions in London, of University rank, not to be abolished or ignored, but to be taken as the bases or com- ponent parts of the University, and either partially or completely incorporated, with the minimum of internal change. (5) An alliance to be established between the University and the Pro- fessional Corporations, the Council of Legal Education as repre- senting the Inns of Court, and the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Surgeons of London. The Sub-Committee, consisting of Lord Reay, Chairman, Prof. John Marshall, F.R.S., Ex-P.R.C.S., Dr. W. M. Ord, NATO RE 159 F.R.C.P., Mr. F. Pollock, Barrister-at-Law, Mr. R. S. Poole, British Museum, Dr. P. H. Pye Smith, F.R.C.P., Prof. G. C.W. Warr, King’s College, Prof. A. W. Williamson, University College, and Sir George Young, met and considered the subject of reference, and submitted the following proposed plan of a Teaching University for London for the consideration of the Committee, on Monday, the r5th inst. :— (a) THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TEACHING UNIVERSITY. —To be founded on (1) the Facz/ties or Constituent Bodies ; (2) a Board of Studies for each Faculty ; (3) a Governing Body or Council. (1) Zhe Council.—To consist of Members representative of— (z) The several Faculties. The proportion of representatives of the Faculties to the whole number of the Council to be at least one-third. (2) The Senate of the University of London. (c) The Council of Legal Education. (d) The Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Surgeons. (e) It should be a point for future consideration whether other Public Bodies should be directly represented on the Council, e.g., the Authorities of the British Museum, of the Royal Academy and Royal Society, of the Incorporated Law Society, and of the Institute of Civil Engineers. (f) Colleges and other Educational Institutions associated with the University. The amount of representation and the qualification for direct representation on the Council to be de- termined, in each case, having regard both to the nature and the amount of the educational work performed by the Associated Institution. (zg) Endowing Bodies, ¢g., the Crown, if the Teaching University should receive State endowment ; the Corporation and Companies of the City of London, if they contribute to endow the University. Representatives of Associated Institutions and Endowing Bodies not to exceed one-third of the whole number of places on the Council. (2) Zhe Boards of Studies.—To be elected by each Faculty. Some additional Members might be appointed by the Council. The Board to advise in all matters relating to the Faculty, and to exercise authority in such matters as are delegated to it by the Council. Facilities to be provided for joimt meetings and action of two or more Boards of Studies when necessary. The Board to appoint some or all of the representatives of the Faculty upon the Council. If any are appointed by the Faculty direct, they should also be ex officio Members of the Board. (3) The Faculties.—To consist for electing purposes of— (a) Teachers: being Professors, Lecturers, or persons of equivalent standing, in the Colleges or Educational Institutions associated with the University. (2) Examiners for the time being in the Teaching University and in the existing University. (c) Additional Members, to be appointed by the Council, on the recommendation of the Board of Studies. There might also be Honorary Members of Faculties, including Graduates in that Faculty, of the Teaching University ; Mem- bers of Convocation of the existing University according to their Degrees; recipients of degrees honorts causd, and so forth ; such Honorary Members having the right to attend and vote only at a General Meeting of the Faculty, to be summoned on requisition when necessary. (6) RELATIONS OF THE TEACHING UNIVERSITY WITH OTHER Bopres.—(1) Zhe La isting University.—Vhere might be one Chan- cellor, with two Vice-Chancellors, the Teaching University and existing University constituting one University in two depart- ments. The Degrees might, if necessary, be distinguished by their designation in some suitable manner. The Senate of the existing University would remain unaltered, would be appointed as at present, and would control the present Examinations and confer Degrees, without interference. Convocation might ac- cept the Graduates of the Teaching University as full Members. The Teaching University might, so far as is practicable, find a place of meeting at Burlington House, together with the existing University. (2) The Professional Corporations.—Degrees in Law, Medi- cine, and Surgery to be recognised as qualifyiug fo ¢anto for Call to the Bar or for Licence to practise, the power of Calling to the Bar or of conferring Licences to practise being reserved to the existing Authorities. The previous Examinations of the Teaching University to receive recognition by those Authorities, such as is now given to the Examinations of existing Universities. 160 (3) Colleges, Educational Institutions, Special Schools, and In- stitutions for Purposes of Research.—Each Associated Institution to remain unaffected in any way, save in so far as it might be willing to adopt the recommendations of the University Council. The School of Law of the four Inns of Court to be an Asso- ciated Institution, and its Professors and Examiners to be Mem- bers of the Faculty of Law, but without further direct represen- tation on the Council than that already given to the Council of Legal Education. The recognised Hospital Schools of London to be Associated Institutions, and their Professors and Lecturers tto be Members of the Faculty of Medicine, The direct representation of the Hospital Schools on the Council being difficult, owing to their number, it might be pro- vided that they should all have one representative,-at least, on the Board of Studies of the Medical Faculty. Schools of Fine Art and ‘Technical Schools employing Teachers, some of whom are not engaged in what can be called, strictly speaking, University work, if composing part of an As- sociated Institution, to be admissible as Special Schools of the University, and their principal Teachers to be Members of the appropriate Faculties. Junior Schools forming part of Associated Institutions to be admissible similarly as Special Normal Schools, for the purpose of training Teachers. Institutions for purposes of Research to be admissible as Special Schools, and their Principals or principal Members to be eligible as additional Members of the appropriate Faculty. Educational Institutions, of which the work is either in kind or quantity insufficient to entitle them to rank as Associated Institutions, while at the same time partaking of a University character, to be similarly admissible as Special Schools. (c) WorK OF THE TEACHING UNIVERSITY.—The Teaching University to obtain power to confer the usual Degrees, either by way of supplemental Charter to the University of London or otherwise, after such course of study and examination as may be determined on. As means and opportunity will allow, the Teaching University to appoint Professors in the more advanced studies, and for purposes of original research. The Council to negotiate with Associated Institutions for the increase of facilities for common attendance at lectures, labora- tory work, and admission to Libraries and Museums, and for the concentration of teaching within one or more of such Institu- tions, or within the University itself, in such studies as may appear desirable. The extent to which it may be found possible to blend the examinations of the Teaching University with those of the exist- ing University, of the Professional Corporations, or of other Examining Bodies, to be determined hereafter, full liberty of action being reserved to the respective Authorities. Professors, Lecturers, &c., who are Members of the Faculty, to have the title of *‘ Professor, Lecturer, &c., of (or on) ——— inthe proposed University ; the first blank denoting the College or Institution with which they are connected, pre- ceded by the title (if any) by which their Chair or other office is known. Students in Associated Institutions and Special Schools to be at liberty to become Undergraduates in the Teaching University, or to obtain Degrees as at present from the existing University. Signed on behalf of the Sub-Committee, Reay, Chairman NATURE-DRAWING 2 BEFORE explaining the objects aimed at in the new drawing classes proposed to be formed in University College School, to be called Nature-Drawing Classes, let us look back and note briefly what we have achieved up to the present time, and gather if we can from it what kind of foundation we have for the work we are about to do, and what our necessities are in order to secure success. Of the past I am able to speak with some authority, having been connected with the drawing classes in this school for nearly forty years. That we have achieved a very considerable success is proved by the high position these classes are known to hold as compared with similar classes in other public schools ; also by the fact that every boy who has 1 An address by W. H. Fisk, in part delivered at University College School, Gower Street, London. SAI MOSSE. [ Dec. 18, 1884 taken the ‘‘ Trevelyan Goodall Art Scholarship” in the school and has competed for the Slade Scholarships in the Slade Schools of Fine Art in University College has, without an exception, succeeded in securing the object of his ambition, and in the case where two of our boys were competitors at the same time, they succeeded in carrying off both scholarships, and all in competi- tion with students older than themselves. Now it is evident that such remarkable success must rest on some very sound foundation. Though there is no doubt that our method of teaching may account in part for this, and in no small part, yet by far the larger part of the foundation of this success has been laid by the zeal, energy, and intelligence in teaching displayed by the assistant drawing-masters, and I desire frankly, and without any reservation whatever, not only to acknowledge their signal ability and their right to the merit due from the results, but also to acknowledge my own indebtedness to their loyalty in giving effect and unity to the method of teach- ing, without which our success could never have been secured. The teaching has hitherto ranged from the drawing of simple geometrical forms to the drawing of the figure from the antique, together with mechanical drawing, model drawing, and perspec- tive. And now I have a word for the younger boys, who, sometimes, may find the repeated drawing of curved and other lines a little wearisome, but they may rest assured that they are doing valuable work, and acquiring an invaluable power, for it is mainly in the combination of these curved lines, in the perception of their grace, and the power to render them accu- rately and freely, that the expression of the most beautiful frm, and even the recognition of it, at length becomes possible. That curriculum in our public schools is best which has the greatest elasticity, and is not bound so closely within the four walls of precedent that it is deprived of the power to expand in any direction to meet the necessities of the times. That the teaching of drawing in our public schools has not advanced adequately to meet these necessities will be, in most cases, frankly recognised by the teachers themselves. But the fault does not lie at their door. It is the ‘‘ governing bodies” of our public schools, and the outside public, who are to blame. The past low estimate of both alike as to the utility of drawing as a serious study has proved the detriment to its advance. Both have recognised in drawing little more than a sort of harmless amuse- ment to keep children out of mischief when not otherwise employed. Both have been blind to the influence which the imitation of beautiful forms must needs have on the minds of the young, and, yet more, to the influence it must have in after life. A love for beautiful form goes far towards making a beautiful life. While due effect is given to the utilitarian side of educa- tion, the esthetic side cannot be ignored, but through literature and art the zesthetic phase of the student’s mind should be deve- loped as widely as possible, and, as a help to this, Prof. Huxley has publicly stated his conviction that it should be made adso- lutely necessary for everybody for a longer or a shorter period to learn to draw, and that there is nobody who cannot be made to draw more or less well. It is proposed to arrange the new nature-drawing classes under two broad divisions, namely, landscape-art and science-art. Let us deal first with the proposed study of landscape-art, and, in order to make the direction these studies are to take the more clear, it were as well to state the direction they are not to take. They are not to take their direction on the old lines of making, in a blind, ignorant way, copies from the flat to be ‘‘ finished off” by the more or less facile pencil of the master, and sent home as the work of the pupil at the close of the term. The influence of such palpable dishonesty can only be bad, and the more bad because of the openness with which the fraud is com- mitted. It may be asserted that no fraud is intended, but is not almost every child sensible that there is a very real fraud, to which he has been made a party without his consent, when he shows his drawings and is praised for work he is well aware is not hisown? Moreover, do you think he does not recognise how frequently and casi/y the fraud succeeds? But enough ; let us dismiss it—it is bad. In the ‘‘nature-drawing” classes in University College School, landscape-drawing from the flat will be used only to secure with the pencil and the brush that technique absolutely needful. Concurrently, lessons will be given in the shape of lectures on natural phenomena, towards inducing a close, intelligent observation of them, in the belief that a boy will net draw an object—a cloud or a tree from Nature —any the worse, or with any the less interest, because he knows something about it, some scientific facts concerning it. Drawing is a record Dec. 18, 1884] NATURE 161 of thought as well as of observation, and the measure of thought, as applied to form, is in exact ratio to the knowledge of the causes of it, and the knowledge of them the measure of intelli- gent delight in observing and recording their results. Accept this as a fact—art cannot be divorced from science, for it is science which teaches us to see truly, and by art we render the truth we see. In representing the human figure, this has been a recognised fact for perhaps over two thousand years. They who have drawn the figure finely have been earnest students of anatomy. Yet the anatomy of landscape-forms has been persistently ignored by all but a very few. The recognition of the anatomy of landscape as an art-study is a very modern recognition indeed. Yet to see truly in order to render truly is of as paramount importance in the representation of landscape as in that of the figure. Indi- vidual form is a correlation of scientific facts, a knowledge of which enables us to understand its structure and to imitate its appear- ance with correctness. It is mainly with these that we have to do if we would represent a mountain, a tree, a cloud. It is true that all forms are modified by their environment—by a ceaseless struggle with the varying conditions by which they are sur- rounded—while the modifications are the result of scientific facts as the forms themselves are. So, if we would represent objects truly, science alone can be our guide; for it is science which teaches us to see truly, not through the medium of our fancy, but through the exercise of our intelligence. Thus, for example, in these nature-drawing classes, the structural forms of mountains of granite, downs of chalk, hills of limestone, will be presented and explained side by side with the forms as they at present exist, and which are the results of modifications produced by “persistent disintegration and denudation owing to the action of rains, frosts, winds, glaciers, streams, &c., during vast lapses of time. So with the structural forms of trees and their environ- ment—whether of Coniferze on the limits of the snow line ; or trees ina dense forest-growth or on the outskirts of a wood ; within the Arctic Circle or in tropical regions; affected by climatic extremes, by drought or excessive moisture ; the free access of light or through its deficiency ; by the repeated action of winds mainly in one direction distorting the tree, or their influence in many giving a healthy stimulus to the circulation of the sap.1_ It is needless further to pursue the explanation of the plan it is proposed to carry out in landscape-art ; enough has been explained to make clear the object in view and the method to be pursued. But the student must be prepared for many objections which will be raised: by painters careless of truth, and by some scientists who will insist on divorcing science from art because they feel their own minds chained by love of minute and beautiful detail, not thinking it possible for other minds to assert their freedom ; by painters too lazy to enter the field of science, and who will assert that the mission of the artist is to represent what he sees, or rather what he fancies he sees, no matter whether he sees truly or falsely ; or by people who, mis- taking a certain deftness of handling for a true representation of natural phenomena, will exclaim, ‘‘ Surely, if such landscape- art as we have has been sufficient in the past to secure public applause, will it not suffice to retain that applause for the art of the future? or are canvases to be crowded with illustrations of botany, geology, meteorology, bryology, and a host of other ‘ologies,’ and then to be called Jandscape-art?*”” Such talk as this is common enough, but it is sheer nonsense. To the true aitist applause is a very small matter: he will not look to the market for the measure of his success, but he will gauge the quality of his own work, whether it be true or whether it be false. The one question with him is whether his picture is to be a painting of fancies which have no existence except in the idle mind of the ignorant painter, or is it to give us a represent- ation of facts: in short, is it to be true or is it to be a sham ? No true artist will ignore scientific truth, for he knows that it is next to impossible truly to generalise a multitude of like forms when he is ignorant of the special characteristics of any one individual form of the group. He will not ignore scientific truth, for that truth is the concrete foundation of all noble, all poetical art. There is one sovereign antidote to that poison so dreaded by some timid minds, viz. the chance that rigid illus- tration of scientific fact will dominate the work, and the anti- dote lies in the zwdividuality of the artist. He will clothe all truth with the poetry of his own nature—with the force of his own character. He will be humbly and faithfully dependent on _* Until the student can go direct to Nature he will draw and paint, in the higher classes, from water-colour studies which have been executed entirely out of doors, and of which a large number have been kindly lent by different artists. science for his £vowledge of all form, but it will be on himself that he will depend for that exfvesston of it through the medium of a psychical truth which is extra-scientific, and transcends in beauty the visible form of all natural truth, of which it is at once the sublimation and the epitome. That division of the nature-drawing classes which I purpose to call science-art, presents in its plan a fourfold object. (1) To induce youths while yet at school to take up, seriously, some branch of natural science, with a view,‘eventually, to original investigation, and to afford them a power, both with pencil and brush, of accurately recording the results of their observation. (2) To supply that demand which Mr. Norman Lockyer informs us is now being made by scientific men, that students in science shall be able to draw. (3) To supply intelligent and artistic draftsmen for scientific purposes and for the illustrating of scien- tific works. (4) Mainly and especially to engender in young men, before they leave school to enter on the business of life, a love for the pursuit of scientific truth as being amongst the keenest amusements and the truest and most enduring pleasures of life. In the ultimate purpose of any instruction lies the test of its future usefulness to the student and to society at large. The teaching of children has in it as much the making of the history of a nation as fighting battles and making laws, and earnest teaching is amongst the grandest employments of life, provided it be noble and useful and good. The teaching which is an inducement to a proper use of time goes far to create an en- vironment which will be beneficial to maintenance and pleasure of life mentally and morally alike, and I know of no better use of time than that of scientific inquiry, which should be en- couraged in all our public schools. So with drawing. By uniting it with the pursuit of science it will cease to be subject to that derogation it at present suffers through those who regu- late, both within and without, the curriculum of our schools. But here in University College School the governing body is, as is well known, liberal to a fault, and the head master takes considerable interest in this new departure in the teaching of drawing. Time will not permit me to dwell long on the plan to be adopted in the classes for science-art. At the commencement one or more scientific subjects will be selected. In connection with these the collecting of objects will be encouraged for pur- poses of investigation and illustration, but collecting for the mere sake of collecting will not be countenanced. Let us take ento- mology as an example. The student will capture the larve of a few moths or butterflies. Of each of these larvee he will make careful coloured illustrations from time to time, according to the results of the changes they may undergo. Faithful drawings of the plants they are fed on will be required, also of any evidences of mimicry, defensive or otherwise. Further drawings will be required of the cocoons of such of the larvz as form them, also of the chrysalis and of the fully developed insect (together with its eggs) and of whatever mimetic peculiarities it may present. From time to time original papers will be required stating minutely the observations made while the insect is being reared. Afteratime the more advanced pupils will be required to pursue their investi- gations into its anatomical structure and functions, with the use of the microscope. A lucid mind will guide the hand to lucid drawing—the last is, as it were, a photograph of the first. The habit of clearly defining the object in the mind will lead to clear and definite work with the pencil. To students in science the securing of this power while at school will enable such to meet the requirements of science-teachers, and will be a source of economy of time and toil. This will form a branch of the teaching in the scicnce-art classes. Moreover it will be the foundation for realising the third object in view, viz. to supply intelligent and artist‘c drafts- men for scientific purposes, and for illustrating scientific works. In this branch something more—much more—will be required of the pupil than faithful and intelligent exactness of outline of form. For instance, if the boy is drawing some vegetable form, he will be required to observe, closely, not only the peculiarities of the structure, but the Zaéz¢ which is the exemplar of the mind of the plant. Further he will be shown wherein the physical beauty rof the plant resides, and wherein lies that beauty which is suggestive of some psychical power which, for a purpose beyond that of mere physical form, has tinted the butterfly’s wing and the corolla of flowers§ fertilised by humming-birds. With such instruction there is no reason why the illustrations in works on natural history should not as far transcend most modern illustrations as these transcend those ina nurseryman’s catalogue. bi al 162 NAT ORE [ Dec. 18, 1884 But the chief aim of the science-art classes will be to encourage a pursuit of scientific truth for its own sake, not for the sake of displaying talent in making beautiful drawings to be praised for them, nor for the money to be got for them when drawn, but, simply and only, for the sake of the TRUTH, which will yield us pure and incessant pleasure all our lives, and engender a sincere reverence for the Creator who has clothed his truths in wrappages of beautiful blossoms, and pure crystals, and opalescent clouds ; in wrappages, too, which appear mean and even ugly, but they are wrappages only ; even sin—that, too, is a wrappage, and looks very ugly, and is very revolting, but it covers some good, some truth which lies hid in every human heart, if we will only seek to find it. There is a vast amount of real art-power unutilised, and so wasted, in our public schools, through narrowness of purpose in the teaching. It has been so amongst ourselves, though what we have done we have done thoroughly. We have laid a sound foundation in close observation of beautiful form and acquisition of technical power in representing it. In adding to it these nature-drawing classes, we have nothing to unteach. The field of work is simply widened that the power may be the more effectually utilised with more pleasure and with greater profit to the studert, not only while at school, but as a pursuit in after life, and possibly drawing many from pleasures which are ugly, coarse, bad, and fleeting. This is a view of nature-drawing which parents might think about not without profit to their children. The pursuit of scientific truth, whether in the shape of landscape- art or of science-art, is a very noble pursuit, a very lasting pleasure ; besides which science and art cannot fail to be mutually benefited, mutually advanced, in the long run, by such a conjunction as this, for indeed art loses her right hand when divorced from science, and science loses her right hand when divorced from art. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The following have been elected to the General Board of Studies:—Mr. H. M. Taylor, by the Special Board for Mathematics; Prof. Liveing, by the Special Board for Physics and Chemistry; Dr. Vines, by the Special Board for Biology and Geology. The election to the Cavendish Professorship of Experimental Physics will take place on December 22. The endowment of the professorship is 850/. a year. The provision of 100 additional microscopes for the Biology Schools has been sanctioned, and a small charge will be made to students for their use. Mr. C. T. Heycock, of King’s College, has been approved ee Teacher of Chemistry, under the regulations for medical study. The Syndicate for obtaining plans for a Geological Museum and Chemical Laboratory has been re-appointed. Clare College offers to give scholarships of from 4o/. to 60/. for Natural Science by examination, beginning March 19 next. The subjects will be{Chemistry and Chemical Physics, Botany and Geology. A fortnight’s notice will be required. Candi- dates, who must be under nineteen on the day of examination, must also pass in Elementary Latin, Greek, and Mathematics. It is announced that in the next Fellowship election at St. John’s College (November 2, 1885) regard will be paid to candidates’ original dissertations or other writings, the candidates to be prepared to be examined in the subject-matter of the same. Candidates may also be examined in special subjects chosen by themselves, provided they give full and precise information re- garding such subjects not later than June 1.. The performance of the candidates in the University and other examinations will be regarded. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS fournal de Physique, October 1884.—The constitution and origin of group B in the solar spectrum, by M, L. Thollon (one plate).—On the colour of water, by M. J. L. Soret.—The effect of the electrical state of the surface of a liquid on the maximum vapour-tension of the liquid in contact with the surface, by M. R. Blondlot (one figure).—On the measurement of the maxima and minima electromotive forces in cells with a single electro- lyte, by M. Emile Reynier (two figures).—Standard cell for the measurement of electromotive forces, by M. Emile Reynier.— On the chemical theory of accumulators, by M. Emile Reynier. —On the electrolysis of solid glass, by E. Warburg. Fournal of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society (Physical Section), vol. xv., 1883.—On an air-calorimeter, by N. Hesehus. —On a differential air-calorimeter, by W. Preobragenski.—On the critical temperature of isomerides and bodies belonging to the same homologous series, by A. Nadejdine.—New applica: tion of Carnot’s theorem, by B. Sresnewsky.—On an algebraic transformation and its applications to mathematical physics, by by N. Slouguinoff.—On the focal properties of diffracted rays, by M. Mertching.—On the peculiar properties of caoutchouc, by N. Hesehus.—Method of determining the mean tint of a multi-coloured surface, by Th. Petronchewsky.—On the cause and the law of the change of electrical resistance of selenium by the action of light, by N. Hesehus.—On the relation between the magnetic moment of a bundle of iron wire, its mass, and the diameter of the constituent wires, by P. Bakmetieff.—Note on organ-pipes, by P. Bakmetieff.cOn some phenomena of permanent magnetism, by P. Bakmetieff.—On the luminous phenomena accompanying electrolysis, by N. Slouguinoff.—On the theory of gratings traced on curved surfaces. Royal Academy of Belgium, Nos. 9 and 10, 1884.—Among other communications is a paper by Dr. J. Macleod deseribing some interesting particulars respecting the structure and homo- logies of the anterior intestine of the Arachnides. In the Phalangides he has found a gland of the same nature and function as the coxal glands recently described by Prof. E. Ray Lankester as belonging to the Lzmu/les, the Scorpionides, and the - Araneides tetrapneumones. In the czls-de-sac, moreover, of the male gland of the 7xomdidium holosertceum, he has found, in all the individuals examined by him, ovules situated between the mother-cellules of the spermatozoides, though there was no question there of a functional hermaphroditism.—A paper by Emile de Borchgrave gives a graphic sketch of the history of Etienne Douchan, Emperor of Servia, and the Balkan Peninsula in the fourteenth century, and of the events which led up to the battle of Kossoyo, the grave of the liberty and greatness of Servia. Cincinnati Socrety of Natural History.—In the October Fournal are two papers by U. P. James: one describing four new species of fossils from the Cincinnati group, the other treat- ing of Conodonts and fossil annelid jaws. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMTES LONDON Mathematical Society, December r1.—J. W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The Rev, T. C. Simmons, Christ’s College, Brecon, and Mr. W. J. Ibbetson, Clare College, were elected members.—Mr. Tucker read a paper on a group of circles connected with the nine-point circle considered as the locus of the intersections of orthogonal Simson lines. If PL, P M, PN are the perpendiculars from any point of the circum-circle on the sides B C, CA, AB of A BC, then ZN is a Simson line: if POP’ be a diameter, then the Simson line L' M' N’, corresponding to P’, intersects Z AZM at right angles in a point Q, on the nine-point circle, which is also the inscribed circle of the tricusp, enveloped by the Simson lines. These properties were stated in a paper by Steiner (‘‘Crelle,” Band liii.). In the present paper points 7, m, 2 are taken on PZ, PM, PN, such that Z7= K.PL, Mm=K.PM, Nn=K. PN. It was shown that the lines 77 7, 7’ m' n’ intersect at right angles on a system of circles whose centres lie on the line con- necting the circum-centre and ortho-centre (4) of ABC, that the sets of Q points (as above) lie on another straight line through H: that the circles are inscribed in tricusps, the points of contact lying on three straight lines symmetrically situated and passing through A. In the special case of nul- radius, 7.e. when the (A) circle becomes the ortho-centre, it was seen that the images of any point on the circum-circle with regard to the three sides lie on a straight line through 47.—Mr. Tucker then read parts of a paper by Mr. R. A. Roberts, eutitled “Notes on the Plane Unicursal Quartic.’—Two posthumous notes by the late Dr. Spottiswoode, P.R.S., were communicated, viz. on quadratic transformations, and to find whether a (certain) quadratic transformation be possible.—The Treasurer (A. B - Dec. 18, 1884 | NATURE 163 Kempe, F.R.S.) made a short communication as to the mode of proof of the well-known theorem that, if d DBECFA be a hexagon in a plane, and if d BC be collinear and D £ F be also collinear, then the intersections of the opposite sides of the hexagon are also collinear.—Mr. G. Heppel stated the following property of the equation to a central conic, ax*+4+2hxy+ hy" + c = 0, which he had not met with in the ordinary text- books, The co-ordinates being rectangular, then, in the case of the ellipse, if A be + *, the major axis passes through the first c 2 ach quadrant ; in the case of the hyperbola, if “be —*¢, the transverse c axis passes through that quadrant. This property is proved by 2 3 supposing the equation transformed to , + ee = 1, and then transforming back again, so as to make the equation identical with the original equation. The comparison of coefficients gives the above law.—The President communicated a result he has obtained in elliptic functions, which will appear in a forth- coming paper. . Zoological Society, December 2 —Dr. St. George Mivart, E.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—Col. Biddulph exhibited a stuffed specimen of the Wild Sheep of Cyprus (Ozis ophion), sent for presentation to the Iritish Museum by Sir Robert Bid- dulph, the High Commissioner of Cyprus.—Col. Biddulph also exhibited three heads of the Wild Sheep of Beluchistan, named Ovis blanfordi by Mr. Hume, and drew attention to their simi- larity to Owes cycloceras from the Salt Range, which led him to express doubts as to the distinctness of Ouis blanfordi as a species. —The Secretary called the attention of the meeting to the death, on July 5 last, of the Greater Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa), presented to the Society by the late C. Telfair, Esq., in July 1830, which had thus passed fifty-four years in the Society’s Gardens, and made some observations on a peculiar habit of this species. —A communication was read from the Rev. A. M. Nor- man and the Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, containing an account of the first portion of the Crustacea Isopoda dredged during the expeditions of the Porcupine, Lightning, and Valorous. The memoir contained descriptions of the representatives of the three families Tanaidae, Apseudidee, and Anthuride obtained during the several expeditions. A great number of new forms, chiefly from deep water, including several genera (Sphyraphus, Also- tanais, and Tanaella among the Tanaide, and Axthelura, Hyssurva, Cyathura, and Calathura among the Anthuridz), were described.—Mr. G. E. Dobson, F.R.S., exhibited a diagram designed to illustrate the evolution of the Mammalia, after Huxley.—Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell read the fifth of his series of studies in Holothuroidea. The present paper gave some further information on the characters of the Cotton-Spinner (Holothuria nigra),—Mr. J. Bland Sutton read a paper on the parasphenoid, the vomer, and the palato-pterygoid arcade of the vertebrated skeleton. Mr. Sutton came to the conclusion that the para- sphenoid of fishes was the homologue of the vomer of mammals. —Mr. G. A. Boulenger, F.Z.S., read some notes on the edible frogs introduced into England, which he referred to two forms— Rana esculenta typica of France and Belgium, and Rana escu- lenta lesson@ of Italy.—A communication was read from the Count T. Salvadori containing remarks on certain species of birds from Timor Laut.—A communication was read from Mr. E. P. Ramsay, C.M.Z.S., containing the description of a sup- posed new species of Flycatcher from New Guinea, proposed to be called AAzpidura fallax.—Mr. F. Day read the third of his papers on races and hybrids among the Salmonide. The author gave an account of how the salmon, which had been raised in fresh water at Howietown, had been artificially spawned ; and pointed out that all the hybrids between the salmon and the trouts had proved sterile, while the hybrids between the trouts and the chars had proved fertile. Geological Society, November 19.—Prof. T. G. Bonney» F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Nicol Brown, James Charles Chaplin, Herbert W. Hughes, and Rev. Samuel Pilling were elected Fellows; Prof. A. L. O. Descloizeaux, of Paris, a Foreign Member, and Prof. Hermann Credner, of Leipzig, a Foreign Correspondent of the Society.—The following communications were read :—Note on the resemblance of the upper molar teeth of an Eocene mammal (WVeoflagiaulax, Le- moine) to those of 7rztjlodon, by Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B., F.R.S. In this paper the author referred to the genus Weo- Plagiaulax, described by M. Lemoine from the Eocene of Rheims, as presenting premolars so like those of the Mesozoic genus Plagiaulax as to have suggested the above name, while the true molars in the upper jaw resembled those of South African genus 77ity/odon even more nearly than those of A/icrolestes and Stereognathus, with which the latter were compared. The lower molars of Weoflagiaulax have only two, instead of three, longi- tudinal series of tubercles ; and the author suggested that this may have been the case also in Tritylodon; and that the detached molars, on which the genus A/Zicrolestes is founded, may also belong to the lower jaw.—On the discovery in one of the bone-caves of Creswell Crags of a portion of the upper jaw of Zlephas primigenius, containing, 7 situ, the first and second milk-molars (right side), by A. T. Metcalfe, F.G.S. The specimen exhibited to the Society and now described was obtained from one of the Creswell bone-caves, hefore the commencement of their systematic exploration by a Committee of the British Association. The bone-caves are in the Lower Magnesian Limestone of the Permian, not far from the southern limit of that deposit near Nottingham. The locality was described, and it was shown that the ravine in which the caves occur has been cut in the limestone by the little river Wollen, which probably began by excavating a cavern the whole length of the ravine. The roof of this cavern must have fallen in, and the minor lateral caverns, in which bone-deposits are found, are now similarly being converted into side ravines. The fossil was found in ‘‘ Pin-Hole Cave,” the most westerly on the north or Derbyshire side of the ravine, about six inches below the base of the surface-soil, here four inches deep. The cave has been described in the Society’s Journal (vol. xxxi. p. 679), by Rev. J, M. Mello, who in 1875 obtained from this spot bones of the Arctic fox (Cass Jagopus). As the particular mammoth teeth (first and second milk-molars of the upper jaw) occurring in the fossil were wanting in the National Collection, the author has undertaken to present the specimen to the British (Natural History) Museum.—Notes on the remains of Elephas primigenius, from the Creswell bone-cave, by Sir R. Owen, K.C.B., F.R.S. The author noticed the various descriptions by Cuvier and him_ self of milk-molars of E/ephas primigenius, and pointed out that all hitherto known were found detached. The present is the first known occurrence of the two earliest milk-molars zz sztu. The specimen discovered by Mr. Metcalfe isa portion of the fore part of the maxilla of a very young elephant with the teeth of the right side preserved, the corresponding teeth of the left side and their sockets having been broken away. Of the two teeth thus obtained descriptions and measurements were given. The first tooth is much worn, but only the anterior portion of the second has undergone wear, the two hindmost divisions of this tooth not having risen into use. It is shown that these first teeth of E. primigenius differ much less from the corresponding milk- molars of the Indian elephant than the later teeth do, the thick- ness of the constituent enamel-plates being but little less in proportion, and the principal distinction being the greater relative breadth of the second molar, especially towards the base of the crown.—On the stratigraphical position of the Lower and Middle Jurassic 7rigoniz of North Oxfordshire and adjacent districts, by Edwin A. Walford, F.G.S. The author spoke of the value of the 7yigonie as stratigraphical guides, and of the wealth of the Oolitic deposits of North Oxfordshire in number of species as well as of individual forms. He alluded to the recent discovery by Northampton geologists of Z7igonza literata and 7. pulchella in the centre of their county. By the presence of certain Trigonie as well as of corals and bored stones he endeavoured to prove the extension of a stratum at the base of the Clypeus- grit at Fawler, as far as Hook Norton, alsoin North Oxfordshire, where the bulk of the Inferior Oolite was of an altogether different type. In Mr. Walford’s list were nearly thirty species and varieties from the Bajocian beds. To the lower horizons there belonged but one local form, and no species of special stratigraphical value. The presence of a few other fossils sup- posed to be characteristic was the only evidence of beds below the zone of Ammonites murchisonig. Series C, which appeared to be of the age of the lower 7rigonia-grit, had yielded the greater part of the 77zgoni@ mentioned, several of them being peculiar to the horizon, whilst others were local species. The higher beds had yielded some apparently undescribed forms, whilst hitherto unrecorded species were quoted from the Great Oolite and Forest Marble. One species (7. (ycettii) was described as new. Chemical Society, December 4.—Dr. Perkin, ERG President, in the chair.—The following papers were read :— 164 NATURE [ Dec. 18, 1884 On calorimetric determinations of magnesium sulphate, by S. U. Pickering. The author finds that, when the ordinary hepta- hydrated salt is heated to 100°-130°, it retains about 1% mole- cule of water. This excess of one-ninth may be expelled by heating to 150°-160°, but, if this temperature be exceeded, some anhydrous salt is formed. The numbers obtained with the monohydrated salt were 12,131 cal. ; with the anhydrous salt, 20,765 cal.—On condensation compounds of benzil with ethyl alcohol, by Miss M. E. Owens and Dr. F. R. Japp. By the protracted action of very dilute alcoholic potash upon benzil in the cold, the authors have prepared in large quantity a body, C39 H 404, fusing at 200°-201°, and crystallising from alcohol with a molecule of alcohol of crystallisation. No acetyl derivative could be prepared. A second condensation-product, CygH5404, fusing at 232°, was also obtained.—Note on the solubility of certain salts in fused nitrate of soda, by F. B. Guthrie. The author has experimented with the sulphates, chromates, and carbonates of barium, strontium, calcium, and lead.—On certain deriva- tives of isodinaphthyl, by A. Staub and Watson Smith. The authors have endeavoured, by gentle oxidation of this body, to form the corresponding naphthoic acid. Cold strong nitric acid, however, produces a tetranitro body ; dilute nitric “acid in sealed tubes formed phthalic acid, and permanganate gave a similar result. Chromic acid in glacial acetic acid produced isodinaphthylquinone, a yellow amorphous powder melting at 250°-260°. EDINBURGH Mathematical Society, December 12.—M. A. J. G. Bar- clay, President, in the chair.—Mr. P. Alexander, Lady Mar- garet’s College, Glasgow, contributed a paper on failing cases of Fourier’s theorem, remarks on which were made both by Dr. Muir, who read the paper, and by Prof. Chrystal.—Dr. Muir gave a note on a function of two integral arguments ; and Mr. A. Y. Fraser discussed the number of conditions determin- ing geometrical figures. DUBLIN Experimental Science Association, November 19.—On Boakes’s siphons of sulphur dioxide, by Prof. E. Reynolds, | F.R.S.—Photometric measurement of lighthouse illumination, by T. Syle, University student —On photometers made of paraffin, by J. Joly, B.E. This was an arrangement based on the remarkable difference of appearance presented by a piece of cracked paraffin about the plane of the crack, if placed in an unequally illuminated field. Two similar slabs of paraffin laid together on smooth faces show this effect very well. If the illumination about the plane of contact be brought to equality, the appearance of discontinuity vanishes. The close proximity of the fields to be compared confers great sensibility on the arrangement. The effect is due to the complete dispersion of the light in the translucent paraffin, thereby causing a large amount of it to be totally reflected at the plane of contact, across which, therefore, but little of the light received on either side passes. PARIS Academy of Sciences, December 8.—M. Rolland, Pre- sident, in the chair.—Note on the photograph of a tornado taken by J. N. Robinson Howard last August in Dakota, United States, by M. Faye.—Final researches on antiseptic intravascular coagulation, by M. L. Gosselin. —Observations of Wolf's Comet made with the 8-inch equatorial at the Obser- vatory of Bordeaux, by M. G. Rayet.—Observations of the same comet made with the meridian circle at the same observa- tory, by M. G. Rayet.—On the inversion of the integrals, by M. Appell.—On a trigonometric formula of inter- polation deduced from two formulas already established applic- able to even and odd functions respectively, by M. G. Fouret. —On a generalisation of continuous fractions, by M. H. Poin- caré.—On the integrals of certain functional equations, by M. G. Keenigs.—Note on the numerical results required for the cal- culations of compressed gas manometers, by M. E. H. Amagat. —On the application of Ingenhonz and de Senarmont’s processes to the measurement of the relative thermic conductibilities of different substances considered as isotropic, by M. Ed. Jannettaz. —On some practical processes for examining the luminous spectra of bodies to which the method of Lecog de Boisbaudran is inapplicable, by M. Eug. Demarcay.—On_ ferrocyanhydric abelian | acid and the nitroprussiates, by MM. A. Etard and G. Bémont- —On the optic inactivity of the cellulose of cotton, and on the | rotatory power of the gun-cotton of photography, by M. A. Béchamp.—Chemical analysis of the so-called ‘‘forte-graine” beetroot in the second year of its growth, by M. H. Leplay.— On the inertia of the retinal apparatus and its variations accord- ing to the exciting colours, by M. Aug. Charpentier. From experiments made during the last few years, the author con- cludes that the inertia increases with the refrangibility of the stimulating rays. Hence more light is absorbed or used up in producing the luminous sensation for the blue than for the green rays, for the green than for the yellow, and soon tothe red. He further shows that any increase of intensity for any given colour requires all the more light in proportion to its greater refrangibility.—On the disease of the vine known by the name of Jourrzdié, by MM. G. Foex and P. Viala. This disease, which is common in the South of France, and especially in Provence and Roussillon, is attributed to a species of fungus first observed by R. Hartig, and by him named Dematophora necatvix.—On the presence of the middle carboniferous measures in Anjou, by M. Ed. Bureau.—The results are given of a geo- logical survey of this district undertaken during the present year by the author and his brother, the Director of the Natural History Museum of Nantes.—Tables of atmospheric move- ments between the parallels of latitude 30° S. and 80° N. for November 20, 1879, and January 1, 1880, based on the baro- metric charts prepared by M. Léon Tisserenc de Bort, by M. Poincare. VIENNA Imperial Academy of Sciences, November 13.—Ke- searches into the intimate structure of striated muscle-fibre, by A. Rollett.—Determination of the orbit of the planet Adria, by E. von Heerdtl—Remarks on the physical constitution of the atmosphere, by N. Herz.—The botanical results of Polack’s expeditions to Persia in the year 1882, by O. Stapf.—Report on the plants collected by F. Luschan in Lycia and on the Nimroud Dagh, by the same. CONTENTS PAGE A Teaching University for London. . . 145 The Polyzoa of the ‘‘ Challenger” Expedition 146 Our Book Shelf :— Richardson’s ‘‘ Healthy Manufacture of Bread ” 148 “* Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society” 148 Pinkerton’s eee Text-Book of Trigono- metry”. : 5 ise 148 Letters to the Editor : _ Iridescent Clouds—Prof. C, Piazzi-Smyth; J. Edmund Clark . 148 The ‘New” Volcanic Island off Iceland. '—Prof. Alfred Newton, F.R.S. Fist 149 Over-Pressure in Schools. School Teacher x 149 The Tokio ue of October 15: ee I. Milne 5 150 Large Meteor. =F if ‘Lowe . c oreo 0) UGS The Cost of a eopemetie Measurements.— Francis Galton, F.R.S. . 150 The Northernmost Extremity of | Europe. —_w. Mattieu Williams 150 Apospory in Ferns. By Prof, Ww. T. Thiselton Dyer, F.R.S. . 151 Modern English Mathematics. By Prof, Henrici, EIRSSe ee pee au Physical Geography of the ee ‘Peninsula. “By Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods : ye per RD A New Application of Science . 154 Notes 155 Our Astronomical Column :— Dhe Binary Starje)Gentaun . <2) | estes Encke’s Comet Beto cae 158 Barnard’s Comet . 158 Geographical Notes . . . 3 158 A Teaching University for London ‘ 159 Nature-Drawing. By W. H. Fisk 6015 6 160 University and Maneational Intelligence . 162 Scientific Serials . oleh Mtehh Mb eee wet) wETO2 Societies and Academies. .... . Oo Bln do oe THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1884 THE “CHALLENGER” REPORTS Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. “Challenger” during the Years 1873-76 under the Command of Capt. George S. Nares, R.N., F.R.S., and Capt. F. T. Thomson, R.N. Zoology—Vol. X. (Pub- lished by Order of Her Majesty’s Government, 1884.) OLUME X. of the “ Challenger Reports ” consists of over 630 pages of text, and is illustrated by 80 plates ; it contains Parts xxvi. to xxx. of the Zoological Reports, all of which have been brought out under the able management of Mr. John Murray. It speaks a great deal for the energy and speed with which the publication of these Reports is conducted, when one notes that the whole of the manuscript of this large volume was only handed in between July 1883 and July 1884, and that a portion of Dr. R. Bergh’s memoir had to be translated. The Report on the Nudibranchs is by Dr. R. Bergh. Judging from the number and variety of species of this group already described from tropical seas, it is probable that it is to the tropics we should look for the head- quarters of the group, and no doubt many and interest- ing species are yet to be discovered there. As few shallow-water dredgings were made during the cruise of the Challenger, it is not to be wondered at that the number of Nudibranchs collected was but twenty- five, including only one deep-sea form. The majority of the forms belonging to the Phylliroide and oli- diadz collected during the cruise are pelagic, and are represented by the genera Phylliroé, Glaucus, Fiona, &c.; some are littoral, such as F¥anolus australis, a single specimen of which was taken in the Arafura Sea, and one like the last referred to a new genus and species, Cuthonella abyssicola, was taken with the trawl in the Faroe Channel from a depth of 608 fathoms. Several new species belonging to the Tritoniade are described. Of the Dorididze, two new genera and several new species are diagnosed. Of these the most interesting is Bathy- doris abyssorum. his differs from all others of the family in the semi-globular form of the body, which is somewhat like that belonging to the genus Kalinga of Alder and Hancock, and which it also resembles in the characters of its branchia, these being composed of several separate branchial tufts, also in the development of soft conical papillae upon the back. It has no frontal appendage, and the dorsal margin is very slightly pro- nounced. This new genus would appear to form a remarkable connecting link between the Tritoniadze and the Dorididz. The only specimen found was taken from a depth of 2425 fathoms, at Station 271, in the middle of the Pacific. Mr. Murray tells us that the body of the living animal was gelatinous and transparent, the foot was of a dark purple colour, the tentacles brown, and the gills and other external organs orange. In an appendix, Dr. Bergh describes the only Onchi- dium in the Challenger collection as O. melanopneumon. Only one specimen was taken in shallow water, at Kan- dara, Fiji. Although some would regard the Onchidia as allied to the Nudibranchs, Dr. Bergh considers this view entirely erroneous. With regard to their phylogeny they VOL. XXxXI.—NO. 791 NAO ERLE 165 have really nothing to do with Nudibranchs, and in a quite recent article in Gegenbaur’s Morphologisches Fahrbuch (Band x. Heft 1, p. 172), he refutes the recent views of J. Brock. For comparison with the new species details of the anatomy of O. fomganum and O. verrucu- Jatum are given. This Report is illustrated by fourteen plates, for the most part devoted to anatomical details. Dr. L. von Graff’s Report on the Myzostomida col- lected during the voyage may be regarded as in some sense a continuation of his monograph on this interesting and little-known group. Of the 68 species enumerated in this Report, 52 appear as new. These Myzostomes are small disk-shaped animals, living attached to Crinoids, about whose affinities there has been up to the present a good deal of doubt, some placing them among the Worms near Tomopteris, others, as Dr. von Graff, among the Arachnids near the Tardigrades ; and the discovery of a new form among the Challenger collection seems to confirm the correctness of this latter view. The author’s class of Stelechopoda embraces the Tardigrades, Lin- guatulids, and Myzostomes, thus constituting a group of very lowly organised Arthropods. This Report shows that the Myzostomida do not form so uniform a group, either as to their habits or structure, as was formerly thought. It is prefaced by a very neat though brief account of the general structure of Myzostoma as far as it is known, with a graphic coloured diagrammatic repre- sentation and most minute details as to the general mor- phology, from which we condense the following important statements. While all the hitherto known forms were characterised by the peculiar radial arrangement of the organs of the body, several species are here described in which this arrangement is entirely lost; in some (J/. JSolium) the body is greatly lengthened and the parapodia and suckers are found arranged in two parallel lines, while in a new genus (Stelechopus) not only has the external radial symmetry disappeared, but not even are the muscular septa and parapodial muscles convergent ; hence, if, as the author believed long ago, the radial arrangement was an adaptation to the mechanism of fixation, or of the peculiar type of fixation, the want of it as in Stelechopus, which doubtless is a freely moving form, must be regarded as the primitive arrangement, and thus intensifies the affinity to the Tardigrades. It is interesting to find several forms entirely unprovided with suckers, though in some they may exist as mere rudi- mentary bodies; in one species (M/. calycotyle) the suckers are stalked. The suggestion so aptly made by yon Willemoés-Suhm that some of the Myzostomida were in all probability dicecious, has been amply verified by Dr. von Graff’s researches. The two sexes when in- habiting the same cyst are at times unlike in appearance, the female being usually fifty to a hundred times as large as the male. The cyst-producing Myzostomes are of importance alike to the zoologist and the palzeontologist, for these cysts have been found on the stalks of fossil Pentacrini, and as Dr. von Graff is continuing his inves- tigations into the fossil form, he will be most grateful to any palzontologists who, having collections of fossil Cri- noidea under their care, would examine the specimens and if they should notice the appearance of little pustules at the base of the pinnules, would communicate the facts to him. Of the sixty-seven species of Myzostomes I 165 NATURE ae — ball a 1 ee [ Dec. 25, 1884 described, it must suffice to mention that elaborate illus- trations are to be found of all the new ones, while Plate XVI. is altogether devoted to the illustrations of Sfe/e- chopus hyecrint. The body in this new type has a general similarity toa Tardigrade. Unfortunately the few specimens found being mounted in Canada balsam were somewhat altered in contour, but enough remained to surely indicate that the lateral margins of the body are nearly parallel in the middle, and become somewhat narrowed at either end. There is a conical caudal appendage. The largest specimen measured 3°5 mm. long, with a greatest dia- meter of 9mm. ; the cuticle was chitinous ; the parapodia, five on each side, were independent in action one of the other. The specimens were taken from species of Hyo- crinus and Bathycrinus, off the Crozets, at depths of 1600 and 1375 fathoms. All the beautiful plates (sixteen in number) are from drawings by the author. Dr. P. P. C. Hoek concludes his Report on the Cirri- pedia by the present series of chapters on the anatomy of the group. Unfortunately, the new forms of the deep- sea material being often represented by single specimens, it was impossible to work out their anatomy in any detail ; but some excellent work has been done on forms formerly known. Thus the subject of the “comple- mental” males of Scalpellum is treated of, and every justice is done to the investigations of Darwin, who in 1851 first called attention to the strange phenomenon. “When we consider how much the methods of micro- scopical research have been improved in the thirty years which have elapsed, and that the male of Scalpellum vulgare which Darwin investigated is only 0’7 mm. in size, we can only wonder at the thoroughness of the infor- mation which he has given, and at the soundness of the conclusions at which he arrived.” Dr. Hoek observed the complemental male in nineteen out of the forty-one new species described in the first part of the Report, but the unique specimens were not, and could not without spoiling them, be thoroughly examined. The structure of these males varies: some do not show a division of the body into a capitulum and a peduncle ; a second group, while not showing either, are furnished with rudimentary valves; and a third not only have these latter but also show a distinct capitulum and peduncle. Another chapter treats of the anatomy of the complemental male in Sca/- pellum ornatum, one of the largest known. The subject of the Cypris-larvze, of the segmental organs in the Cirri- pedia, of the cement apparatus, of Darwin’s “ true ovaria” (believed to be a pancreatic gland), the eye in Lepas, and the gyncecial organs, are also treated of and illustrated in six very beautifully executed plates from drawings by the author. During the Challenger voyage human crania and skeletons were collected at several of the ports at which the ship called. These were intrusted to Prof. W. Turner for examination, and his first Report on the Human Crania forms part of the present volume. The crania were from the Admiralty Islands, the Sandwich Islands, the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Terra del Fuego, Pata- gonia, and the Bush Race from South Africa. In another Report the other bones brought to England will be de- scribed. In the present Report, Prof. Turner has not restricted himself to the examination and mensuration of the skulls collected during the Challengers voyage, but has, whenever possible, studied along with them skulls from the same localities, so that his Report may be looked on as an essay on the craniology of certain races of man. In all, there are described and tabulated one hundred and forty-three crania from aboriginal people who had lived in a state of uncivilisation. Not one of the skulls examined was metopic, though in a young male Aus- tralian, a Loyalty Islander, and in two New Guinea skulls traces of the frontal suture were seen in the glabella. In no skull was the malar bone either wholly or partially divided into two by a suture. In the skull of one Chatham Islander a wormian bone attained the magnitude of an intraparietal bone. In a good many of the crania epipteric bones were found in the pterion on one or both sides, but Prof. Turner points out that the squamoso-front 1] articu- lation in the region of the pterion is to be regarded as an individual peculiarity, and is not a racial character. In each group of skulls, except the Fuegian, specimens with an infra-orbital suture were met with, a suture which, though of by no means rare occurrence in the human skull, has had very little attention paid to it by anatomists. A mesial third occipital condyle was present in an Admiralty, a Sandwich, a Chatham Islander, and in a New Zealander. As several of the peculiarities noted are normal conditions in other mammals, they must be re- garded when occurring in man as reversions to a lower type. It becomes of interest, therefore, to inquire if such reversions occur more frequently in savage than in civilised races. To such an inquiry Prof. Turner answers, that, while the number of skulls he reports on is certainly too limited to base any broad generalisations on as to the relative frequency of occurrence of particular variations in the different races, yet there is obviously a larger pro- portion of important variations to be met with among them than would occur in a corresponding number of skulls of the white race. As results of the study of the races of men described in this Report, Prof. Turner points out that in South Africa, in the southern part of South America, and in Australia, races of men exist distinguished by the small capacity of their crania, by their low intel- lectual development, and in the case of the Bushmen and Fuegians, by their small stature and generally feeble physical configuration. The Australians and the now extinct Tasmanians were under the average size of Europeans. In the islands to the south and east of the great Asiatic continent, the Andamanese and other Negrito tribes are distinguished by their small stature, microcephalic crania, and low state of intelligence. “It is not unlikely that these people may in the early un- written periods of human history have had in their respective continents a much wider range of distribution than at present, and have been gradually pushed south- wards into their present restricted areas by the advance of the races, more powerful in both intellectual and physical development, which we see around them. If on their displacement they failed to mix with their invaders, their physical characters would remain pure. For isola- tion and interbreeding carried on through many centuries would necessarily preserve and even intensify the charac- teristic peculiarities of each race.” This Report is accom- panied by an atlas of seven plates. The concluding Report in this volume is on the Cheilo- stomatous Polyzoa, by George Busk, F.R.S., with thirty- six plates, of which a detailed notice, by Dr. George J. Allman, appeared in our last week’s number. Dec. 25, 1884] NATURE i167 GEODESY AND MEASURES OF PRECISION A Treatise on the Adjustment of Observations, with Applications to Geodetic Work and other Measures of Precision. By T. W. Wright, B.A., C.E., late Assistant Engineer United States Lake Survey. (New York : D. Van Nostrand, 1884.) HIS treatise will be found a valuable addition to the literature of geodetic operations ; the title is, how- ever, misleading,—it implies a discussion of the various corrections required to allow for the effects of tempera- ture, refraction, &c.; such corrections, however, are either omitted or only superficially dealt with, and the principal subject-matter is the adjustment of unavoidable errors by the method of least squares. The work commences by a discussion of the various causes of error, and several practical hints are given as to how to diminish them. A remark in connection with personal error is worth quoting :—“ A good observer, having taken all possible precautions with the adjustments of his instruments and knowing no reason for not doing good work, will feel a certain amount of indifference towards the results obtained. The man with a theory to substantiate is rarely a good observer, unless, indeed, he regards his theory as an enemy and not as a thing to be fondled and petted.” In the second chapter the usual law of error is stated, and the method of least squares is deduced therefrom, together with formulz for calculating the mean square error, the probable error, and the average error. The author points out that the name “ probable error” is unfortunate, and so we think ; he is also of opinion that the average error might with advantage be more used than it is at present as a measure of the precision of a set of observations. This chapter is concluded by a most instructive discussion on the laws of error, based on various assumptions as regards the number of sources of unavoidable error. It is first supposed that there is only one source of error, and that all errors between certain limits are equally probable; the curve of error then becomes a finite straight line. The next case considers two independent sources of error, the curve then becomes two straight lines intersecting on the axis of y at an angle of 45°. In the third case three sources of error are assumed, and the curve of error is shown to consist of three parts, which together form a close approximation to the usual curve of error. The method of least squares is further developed in the succeeding three chapters, and applied to the adjustment of the direct observations of one unknown, to indirect and to condition observations. Various methods of solving the numerous resulting equa- tions are given, both rigorous and approximate ; amongst the latter the method of solution by successive approxi- mations as used in reducing the primary triangulation of the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain is strongly recom- mended. The author also recommends the use of a calculating machine, or of Crelle’s Tables, in order to diminish the arithmetical labour. The remainder of the work is devoted to applying the foregoing to triangulation, to base-line measurements, to spirit levelling, to trigonometrical levelling, to the gradua- tion of line measures, to the calibration of thermometers, and to the discovery of empirical formule. The applica- tion to triangulation is treated very fully, and several methods of solving the necessary equations are given and exemplified by means of examples. One of these examples is the adjustment of the angles of a quadrilateral taken from the Survey of the Great Lakes of North America, executed by the United States engineers ; three methods of solution are given, one of them being that adopted by the United States engineers. The author remarks very truly that it is a waste of time applying the rigid methods of adjustment to tertiary or even to secondary triangulation, and he proposes a method of successive approximations by first adjusting the angles at each station for the local conditions, and then using these adjusted values for the further adjust- ment in connection with the side and angle equations of the net. It may be mentioned that the reduction of the secondary triangulation of Great Britain, now being carried out, is effected by a graphic method applied after the angles have been locally adjusted; this method is found to give excellent results with far less labour than even an approximate method of calculation. The criti- cism on the title of the work is well exemplified in the chapters on base-line measurements and on the gradua- tion of line measurements. For instance, there is no mention of the corrections required to be made to a base- line measurement to allow for errors in alignment or of level, for the effects of temperature and for reduction to sea-level. We think that at any rate a sketch of these and other sources of error and their methods of adjust- ment would not have been amiss. The adjustment of the errors of trigonometrical levelling is very fully considered, and one of the examples proposed for solution is the adjustment of the levels taken trigono- metrically during the triangulation executed to determine the axis of the St. Gothard tunnel. The following remark is, we think, worth quoting :— “ Closely allied to the preceding (elimination of accidental errors) is the common idea that if we have a poor set of observations good results can be derived from them according to the method of least squares, or that if work has been coarsely done such an adjustment will bring out results of a higher grade. A seeming accuracy is ob- tained in this way, but it is a very misleading one. The method of least squares is no philosopher’s stone ; it has no power to evolve reliable results from inferior work.” An excellent feature in the work is the illustration of the text by means of examples, embracing almost every possible case that occurs in practice. Some of these examples are fully worked out, others are proposed as exercises. Most of them are derived from geodetic work carried out in the United States. In conclusion we can strongly recommend this book. OUR BOOK SHELF On the Higher Teaching of Agriculture. . B. McClellan, M.A. Constable, 1884.) Nor the least among the benefits of the International Health Exhibition was the series of Conferences held in connection therewith; and of these, one of the most valuable was the Conference on Education held in August last. Dr. Armstrong’s paper on science-teaching in By the Rey. (Edinburgh: T. and A. 168 NA TORE [ Dec. 25, 1884 schools has been already noticed in NATURE (vol. xxxi, p. 19), and the paper before us, by the Principal of the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, is another pro- duct of the Conferences. The author looks on agriculture broadly, as extending, like the theme of the poet of the “ Georgics,’— «c |. . super arvorum cultu per corumque Et super arboribus,” and in a well-reasoned and well-written paper pleads for the teaching of the natural sciences, their facts, laws, methods, and applications to agriculture, to those who have the direction of agriculture in this country, or who seek fortunes in the soils of new countries. Cowley, two centuries ago, asked, “‘ Who is there among our gentry that does not entertain a dancing-master for his children as soon as they can walk? But did ever any father provide a tutor for his son to instruct him betimes in the nature and improvements of that land which he intended to leave him?” Though this reproach is not deserved so much now as when it was written, it is still not wholly unmerited, and will so remain until those who have the possession and management of landed property shall re- ceive some special training such as that sketched out by Mr. McClellan. This training, if fairly common, would do far more to mitigate agricultural depression than any amount of piecemeal legislation. The paper is a useful addendum to Mr. Jenkins’s recent report on agricultural education, and it may be commended to the attention of landowners and others connected with agriculture. The Text of Euclid’s Geometry. Book I., uniformly and systematically arranged. With a discussion of Euclid’s application of logical principles, copious notes, exer- cises, and a figure-book. By J. Dallin Paul, R.N. (Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1884.) THIS is a “prodigious” work of 182 pages demy 8vo, printed on excellent paper, with clearly-drawn figures, devoted to the “ painful” elucidation of all the difficulties to be found in the first book of Euclid’s Geometry, with such other matter as hath been adumbrated in the above- cited title-page. The road may be an easy one to walk in, all stones of offence being carefully put on one side or so rearranged that the wayfarer may not stumble as he saunters along it, but it certainly is a long road. The tendency of modern agitation a few years ago was to con- dense our text-books with a view to get up geometry in the minimum of time, but experience has taught us that in the majority of cases junior boys are very tender-footed, and cannot be driven along the geometrical path, and so there has been a reversion to the “grand old” book with many an aid to lure the young into paths not naturally attractive to them. We do not find fault with these attempts—we have recently noticed in these columns two admirable editions of the “ Elements,”—but Mr. Paul has taken, we think, an extreme course: at some perhaps not distant date, if this sort of editing is catching, we shall have a similarly got-up work devoted to Euclid’s treatment of isosceles triangles with a preliminary chapter on an axiom. Our author has had so much to do with Euclid that his views of life have possibly got to be Euclid-tinted, and he sees nothing but Euclid! It would be no wonder, for his own words are, in deprecation of the presumption of adding another edition to the many that have gone before, “having been teaching Euclid almost daily for the last twenty years to pupils who, before coming under his tuition, had learnt something of geometry from the dif- ferent text-books in use during that time, he ventures to think that this experience has made manifest to him the principal advantages and disadvantages of these numerous works, and thereby enabled him to present the proposi- tions in the form most likely to be of educational value to those who are beginning either to learn or to teach the subject.” We have allowed the author to put so much in evidence that the majority of our readers may gather that this is not “just the book they wanted” for themselves, and yet may see the scope of Mr. Paul’s labours. We cannot commend the author’s action in placing the notes on the propositions in the early part of the book ; experience has shown him that when placed in their usual position at the end they are passed by, but their actual position here offends os eye, and will not, we fancy, secure the writer’s object. We regret that the writer has spent so much time and thought to so little purpose, as we believe, for we cannot imagine who will be the public that will purchase his book, its size and price are a bar to its introduction into school use. We close with remark- ing that there is a good deal that may be of use to (say) a pupil-teacher, or to one who is not strong in geometry and yet has to teach young pupils ; but much, if not all, of this, can be got in handier text-books. A good feature is the placing at the end the particular enunciations of the propositions with the diagrams placed in positions very different from those which they had in the text: this would enable a pupil to test his acquaintance with the subject. 18s 105 Von Dr. (Jena, Das kleine botanische Practicum fiir Anfanger. Eduard Strasburger. Mit 114 Holzschnitten. 1884.) A BOOK by Prof. Strasburger, entitled “ Das botanische Practicum,” has recently been reviewed in NATURE, and recognised as a most valuable addition to botanical literature. The same author has now produced a con- densed edition of the same book under the heading given above. The more important of the facts distributed through the 600 pages of the first and larger edition are here collected into the smaller space of 250 pages, an arrangement which is obviously better suited to beginners. It was specially remarked in the review of the larger edition that the efficient study of the various types named would occupy the average student a longer time than the author of the book appeared to think. This smaller edition will obviate the difficulty by supplying the ele- mentary student with a shorter course of study, while the larger book will no doubt be found more useful as a book of reference for more advanced students, or as providing a curriculum for those who will make botany their pro- fession. The merits of good type and excellent illustra- tions are to be found in this smaller book in as high a degree as in the earlier and larger edition. On Bs LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] Dr. Koch and the Comma-Bacterium THE article published in NATURE of December 4, setting forth Dr. Koch’s well-known theories with regard to the connection of a comma-shaped micro-organism with cholera, serves very efficiently as the text for one who desires to point out the deficiencies in Dr. Koch’s observations and reasonings on this subject. The article is the most favourable statement which can be made on the side of those who accept Dr, Koch’s conclusions, and is toa certain extent not quite fair to his opponents, since his original statements are not clearly separated from the subse- quent statements which he has made in reply to criticisms. In opposing Dr. Koch’s conclusions, it is desirable at the very first to state clearly that those who accept them appear to labour under two important misconceptions, the first being that Dr. Koch is, and has been for a long time, acquainted with every form (and the complete history of every form) of Schizomycetes or Bacteria existing, whether in the healthy body or in disease, . Dec. 25, 1884] or in non-parasitic conditions ; the second being that no one, with the exception of Dr. Koch and one or two of his pupils, has any real first-hand knowledge of Bacteria which is of any moment. It is hardly necessary to insist in the pages of a scientific journal upon the fact that these really are misconcep- tions: Our knowledge of the Bacteria is in its infancy—and Dr. Koch’s knowledge of them is no more than that which an industrious worker may be expected to have gained in the course of very special observations in regard to a limited class of these organisms (the pathogenic class) extending over a few years. On the otherhand, the study of Bacteria has been prosecuted from three separate points of view during the past fifteen years by a number of observers, who may be grouped according to their point of view as the botanists, the chemists, and the patho- logists. It is undeniably the fact that neither the chemists nor the pathologists have given much heed to the work of the botanists, and that the results attained by the three groups of workers have not been brought into harmony. To the medical world the special investigations of the pathologists alone are familiar, and undue weight has been given on the one hand to generalisations which ignore the more widely-based conclu- sions of the botanists, and on the other hand to the introduction into the pathological arena of methods of study which are not new or original, but have been borrowed from the botanists, whose opinions are nevertheless ignored or dismissed with little consideration. As examples of these tendencies I may quote the reiterated assertion by Dr. Koch, and the pathological school, of the conclusion (upon which they base many very momentous arguments) that the forms and the activities of Bacteria are absolutely fixed and limited—that micrococci only produce micrococci, bacilli only bacilli, spirilla only spirilla, and that none of these forms yary from generation to generation, or can be produced from another of these forms, and that a micro-organism producing a particular disease or a particular ferment cannot in the course of generations lose the property of producing that disease or that ferment, and vice versé that one not having such properties cannot, in the course of human experience, acquire them. This axiom of the pathologists as to fixity of form and property, is entirely opposed to the con- clusions of the botanists, who reason from a much larger area of observation. Such authorities as Nageli, Cienkowski, and de Bary are amongst those who maintain, in opposition to the pathological specialists, that wide range of form and wide range of physiological activity are possible in one species or ‘‘ race” of Bacteria. To this subject I propose to revert in detail, on a subsequent occasion. As an example of the borrowing of methods by pathologists from botanists, I may quote the fact that it is customary in the writings of patholegists to attribute the gelatine method of cultivation to Dr. Koch, and to attach some additional weight to his conclusions on the ground that he has originated this and other ingenious methods of research. As a matter of fact, the gelatine method of cultivation, which is only a modification of the potato-slice method, is due to the botanist Brefeld (as acknowledged by Koch himself). Whilst it appears that there has not been on the part of the pathologists engaged in the investigation of Bacteria such an acquaintance with, and appreciation of, the work of the botanists as would be conducive to sound conclusions, it is true that the chemists also have frequently failed in the same way. Much of the work of M. Pasteur on Bacteria is difficult, if not impossible, to verify or to use in any way, on account of the fact that he has not, in prosecuting his studies on these minute plants, made correct use of the conceptions and terminology of the botanists, and has on the other hand used that terminology erroneously and in a special sense. Dr. Koch has given a very remarkable proof of the isolation of his knowledge and work from that of the botanists (among whom without question the most trustworthy conclusions in this department of knowledge are likely to be found) by his use of the term ‘‘ spore” in his description of the tubercle-bacillus discovered by him. The ‘‘spore”’ of a bacillus, as shown more especially by the minute studies of the botanist Oscar Brefeld, is a very special structure formed within the filament of the bacillus by a modification of a fart of its protoplasm, and pro- vided with its own special capsule. Koch actually describes the whole of the constituent protoplasm of a tubercle-bacillus which has a moniliform arrangement as a series of ‘‘ spores,” although it is quite clear that there is nothing in common between the arrangement of the entire protoplasm of a bacillus in the form of a string of micrococci and the periodic and special NATURE 169 elaboration of the spores of the hay and anthrax bacilli. The so-called ‘‘spores” of the tubercle-bacillus are spores only in the sense that all segments of bacteria which can be detached and multiply are spores (Arthrosporez of de Bary) and do not justify the distinction which Koch makes when he states that the tubercle-bacillus is characterised by producing spores, whilst stating that spirilla, such as the spirillum of relapsing fever (which breaks up into segments capable of growth), donot produce spores. Bearing in mind these facts as to the attitude of different schools of bacteriologists, let us examine the claim put forward A, Outline of the bacillus of glanders (which Koch says resembles the comma F). 8, Diagram of Bac#llus subtizs of hay infusion during sporulation; 2, sheath of the bacillus ; 4, transverse septum ; ¢, coat of a spore ; @, content of a spore ; e, protoplasm surrounding the spore, which disappears entirely when the latter is fully formed ;_/, empty or sterile segment. C, Tubercle bacillus ; the protoplasm is arranged in moniliform masses (e), which are erroneously called “spores” by Koch. p, Diagram of hay bacillus in vegetative state ; the protoplasm is arranged in block- like masses (e), comparable to the moniliform masses of c. E, Spirillum dividing into commas. F, Commas (stated by Koch to be identical in form with the glanders bacillus, fig. 4). by Dr. Koch, and on behalf of Dr. Koch, by the writer in Nature of December 4, p. 97, to have discovered that a certain comma-shaped bacterium is the cause of cholera. The writer in NATURE gives a summary of the various peculiarities of growth, form, and properties which Dr. Koch states he observed to be characteristic of a micro-organism occurring in the intes- tine of persons dead of cholera. He then observes: ‘‘ Micro- organisms presenting all these characteristics are the bacilli described by Koch; organisms presenting only some of the characteristics, such as microscopical appearance, but differing in other points, are not Koch’s comma-bacilli.” To this con- clusion, it is quite impossible in our present state of knowledge to assent. Its acceptance by the writer of December 4 renders it improbable that he will ever be convinced that Dr. Koch has formed an erroneous conclusion. The pretension put forward on behalf of Dr. Koch amounts to this, viz., that he has ascertained all the properties of this organism, that he cannot possibly have made any mistake, and that it is more probable that this organism has, since Dr. Koch left India, disappeared from existence, and been replaced by another very much like it, but not quite the same, than that any subsequent observer should be able to correct the hurried observations a by Dr. Koch when he was there. Sucha pretension, wete it advanced in regard to an animal or plant belonging to a group of exceedingly well- defined and highly-organised species would be unreasonable, but when put forward in relation to a representative of a group consisting of such minute, unstable, protean, and ill-understood species as are the Bacteria, must lead us to question altogether the impartiality and critical faculty of those who make it. | Admitting, however, for a moment that Dr. Koch’s comma- bacillus is as peculiar as he supposes, admitting, as Dr. Koch originally implied by his silence as to the existence of other comma-shaped bacteria, that it is utterly unlike anything at present known in shape as well as in its action on gelatine, Dr. Koch has not proved or even rendered it greatly probable that this comma-bacillus is the cause of cholera, even when we accept his statement that ‘‘he has always found the comma-bacilli constantly accompanying cholera, and that he has never found them elsewhere.” In the first place, it is quite certain both from Dr. Koch’s reports and from the observations of others, that cases of cholera occur in which these commas are not abundant, in fact are insignificant in quantity ; and in 170 NATURE the second place, great as bas been Dr. Koch’s activity in the study of Bacteria, the fact that he and others with whom he is in relation have not found the ‘‘comma-bacilli” elsewhere does not render it at all improbable that other observers might find them elsewhere. This fallacy, viz., as to the perfection of Dr. Koch’s knowledge of all possible forms and modes of occurrence of Bacteria, I have already pointed out above. On the supposition that these comma-bacilli zever occur except in the choleraic process it is of course impossible to maintain (see the article in NATURE of December 4, seciion (7), p. 98) that the choleraic process merely favours the growth of the commas. But Dr. Koch admits that they occur and flourish outside the human body, in immediate connection with cholera dejecta ; also that, when artificially cultivated, they flourish on substances not derived from the human intestine. What proof is there that they do not naturally continue so to flourish? Dr. Koch offers none—he merely tells us that he has failed to show that they do. It is not at all impossible, on Dr, Koch’s own showing, that they do—and if they do, what becomes of the argument as to the impossibility of their introduction from external non-choleraic conditions into the human body ? The suggestion is also considered by Koch (and is cited in the sect on of the article already mentioned) that, ‘‘as a result of the disease (cholera), conditions ari-e which cause the transformation of some ordinary bacterium into comma-bacilli.” But, say Koch and his English disciple, there is no evidence of such rapid transforma- tion of o.e form of bacterium into another, Here we meet with the special axiom of the pathologists to which I have already referred. The opinion of those who are entitled to the very greatest consideration, namely, the botanists Nageli, Cien- kowski, and de Bary, is that there 1s evidence of such rapid trans- formation of one form of bacterium into another. Without going further than the case Cited by the writer in NATURE as ‘‘merely” an alteration in pathogenic action, we have the instance of the attenuation of the virulence of anthrax bacilli, and we have also the case of the complete change of form of that same bacillus into nostocoid chains of spherical elements when cultivated on pork broth as shown by Klein. These two cases are by no means isolated ones (see my own researches on Bacterium rub scens, and also those of Zopf), but were they so they would be sufficient to establish the possibility of such changes in other Bacteria and to des roy the argument based on the assumption that such change is impossible. The ‘‘only conclusion which remains” (see paragraph (c), section (7), in the article referred to) is therefore NOT that these bacilli and the cholera processes stand in the relation to each other that the commas are cause and the cholera effect. On the contrary, the only conclusion which remains is that WE DO NOT KNOW whether the commas although not detected by Koch may not be present in some parts of the healthy body, or flourishing outside it on organic matter, or m»y be the result of the trans- forsation of some other bacterium, or may be the cause of cholera. And the only way in which that ignorance can be removed ha. been very cle rly recogni ed by Dr. Koch and all other recent writers, previous to the atteuspt made by Koch in 1884 to pesuade the medical and scientific world that he had discovered the cause of choler . The obscurity and uncertainty surrounding the Bacteria is such that no value can be attached to any asserted connection of a micro-organism wit! a disease as the cause of that di-ea e, which is no: ba:ed upen the experimental produc- tion of the disease by the inoculation into healthy animals of ‘pure cultures” of the suspected micrs-organism. Dr. Koch’s earlier statements on this subject are so precise and apt that I cannot do better than quote them here. He says in a pamphlet published in 1882, entitled ‘* Ueber die Milzbrandimpfung ” :— ‘¢The position which I take up is briefly as follows :—It is not yet proved that all infectious diseases are caused by parasitic micro-organisms, and consequently in each particular disease the proof of the parasitic character of the disease must be furnished. The first step towards this proof consists in the careful investi- gation of all those parts of the body affected by the disease, in order to establish the presence of the parasites, their distribution in the diseased organs, and their relation to the tissucs of the body. . . . It is not until a thorough knowledge has been ob- tained in this way as to whether micro-organisms are prcsent in the diseased parts, at what points they are present in perfect purity-—whether, for instance, in the lungs, spleen, heart’s blood, or elsewhere—that the attempt can be made to obtain the proof that these micro-organisms are of a pathogenic nature, and that [ Dec. 25, 1884 they are more especially the cause of the disease in question. With this object in view, they must be isolated by means of ‘pure cultivation,’ and when they have been freed in this manner from all particles of the diseased body originally adhering to them they must be introduced by inoculation into the same species of animal in which the disease was observed, or, if that should not be possible, into animals in which the disease in question is known to occur with unmistakable symptoms. . . . An example is afforded by the disease known in man as erysipelas. It has been known for a long time that in this disease micrococci con- stantly are found in the lymph-vessels of the skin. Bzt dy this knowledge it certainly was not proved that the micrococci are the cause of erysipelas. Now, however, that Fehleisen has recently succeeded by excision of portions of skin from erysipelas patients (with every precaution against contamination by other bacteria which might be accidentally present on the skin) in rearing these micrococci in ‘ pure cultivations,’ and in producing typical erysi- pelas by inoculating the human subject with these isolated micrococci, there can no longer be any doubt that the micrococci are, in fact, the cause of erysipelas, and that the latter is to be regarded as a parasitic disease.” This is the kind of proof which we require in the case of the comma-bacillus, and its supposed causal relationship to cholera. Dr. Koch has not succeeded in obtaining that proof. He has tried, and has failed, to produce cholera by inoculation of ** pure cultivations ” of his ‘‘comma.”’ Cholera,,at present, is not known as a disease in animals. Nevertheless, Dr. Koch has urgently and persistently declared that he considers it to be proved that the comma-!acillus is the cause of cholera! After repeated and public declarations of this conclusion, he is now making experiments by introducing his ‘‘ comma-bacillus,” not through the mouth, but by fistula: into the intestine of rodents. Those who know the history of experiments on the production of cholera in mice and other rodents will not be convinced, even should Dr. Koch succeed in producing choleraic symptoms in this manner, since the readine s with which cholera-like processes are induced in these animals by abnormal conditions is such as to render them unfit subjects for these researches. II. We may now revert to ome of the statements made by Dr. Koch, which in the preceding remarks we haye accepted without criticim. Even when this method is pursued, we find Dr. Koch’s conclusions unwarrantable ; they will appear still more so when we examine his position in detail. The writer of the article in Nature of December 4 has omitted to notice a very important charge brought by Dr. Lewis against Dr. Koch, after the publication of Dr. Koch’s address to the Medical Con- ference at Berlin in last August. Dr. Koch, also, has remained entirely silent in re.ard to this matter. It would be a very im- portant thing if he would even now frankly reply to it. Dr. Koch and his defender assert that the ‘‘comma-baoilli” were found by Dr. Koch in cholera cases in Egypt, and also in specimens of intestine sent to him from India previous to his yoing there. Dr. Timothy Lewis, ou the other hand, asserts that Dr. Koch had not recognised the ‘*comma-hacillus ” previously to his visit to India, and that in Egypt Dr. Koch attributed the causing of cholera to a totally different organism from that which he put forward_after his arrival in India, and that, although he had thus shifted his ground, Dr. Koch did not admit at the time, and has not since admitted, that he was at one time convinced that cholera was caused by one organism, and a few months after was con- vinced that it was caused by another. This charge is of importance for two reasons. If true, it must tend to lessen the confidence reposed by some in Dr. Koch’s conclusions ; and, secondly, it must also lessen our belief in the candour with which he states all the circumstances attending his observations and inferences. The following quotations from the official reports sent h me at intervals by Dr. Koch, coupled with the fact that he has not replied to Dr. Lewis on this point, though he has replied to him on other points, seems to leave little room for doubt that Dr. Lewis is perfectly correct in the very grave charge which he has br ught against Dr. Koch. In his report from Alexandria, September 17, 1583, Dr. Koch says :—‘‘ These bacteria are rod-shaped, and belong accordingly to the genus bacillus; they resemble mo t nearly in size and form the bacilli found in glanders” (which are straight: see woodcut, fig. A). In his report from Calcutta, dated January 9, 1884, he says:—‘‘The microscopic examination demonstrated the presence of the same bacilli in the cholera intestine as had been found in Egypt.” In a further report, dated February 2, Dec. 25, 1884 | NATURE 171 1884, we at last get the following remarkable statement :—‘‘ The bacilli are not quite rectilinear, like other bacilli, but slightly curved, like a comma. The curvature is sometimes sufficient to give the bacillus a semicircular form” (see woodcut, fig. F). I think that it is abundantly clear that: the organism selected by Dr. Koch in Egypt as the cause of cholera is not the same organism as that which he selected when in India, and that, although he is aware of that fact, he has not explicitly stated it, but has on the contrary (as does the writer in NATURE) endea- voured to give the impression that they are the same organism. A further point of great importance as affecting the validity of Dr. Koch’s theories, with regard to the connection of what he calls the comma-bacillus with cholera, is the statement of Dr. Lewis which is abundantly confirmed, and is not disputed by Koch, viz. that comma-hacilli, indistinguishable in appearance from those occurring in cholera cases, are quite common in the mouths of healthy persons. There is no doubt whatever that this is the c se, although no record of the fact is to be found in any published treatise or paper on Bacteria, and that it was not commonly known to bacteriologists previou-ly to Dr. Lewi,.’- announcement of it in last September. The writer of the article in NATURE of December 4 hardly gives full effect to the importance of this point, since he cites Dr. Koch’s reply to Dr. Lewis at the same time that he records Dr. Koch’s earlier statements. Setting aside for the moment Dr. Koch’s reply to Dr. Lewis, let us examine Dr. Koch’s statements bearing on this subject, at the time when he announced his supposed dis- covery of the cause of cholera. He wrote from India that the organisms which he identified as the cause of cholera were of peculiar form, and ‘‘ on account of its peculiar form, I have given to it the name of comma-bacillus.” Throughout his subsequent wrilings, previous to the publication of Dr. Lewis’s report by the Army Medical Department, Dr. Koch speaks of his cholera- organism as ‘Ae comma-bacillus. He does not mention that any micro-organism similar to it in form is known to him. Had he been acquainted with one commonly occurring in the mouth, he would certainly have said, ‘‘ The cholera comma is very like one occurring in the mouth, but differs in such and such ways.” So far from this, he expressly says that no similar organism occurs in the human body, and states that he has failed to. find an organism like the comma-hacillus in (amongst other places) the human mouth. No subsequent statement (after Lewis’s pub- lication) can affect the evidence which we have here that Dr. Koch was not acquainted with the comma” which occurs in the human mouth. After Dr. Lewis had shown that a ‘‘comma-bacillus’’ indis- tinguishable from Koch’s ‘‘comma-bacillus” occurs in the healthy human mouth, and that accordingly—if we may suppose, from their identity of form and close association, that the two organisms are identical in every respect—the fundamental pro- position of Koclfas to the exclusive association of his comma- bacillus with cholera utterly breaks down, Dr. Koch replied as follows—(1) that the occurrence of a comma-bacillus in the mouth had long been familiar to hacteriologists (he did not say, it is to be noted, that it had long been familiar to him) ; and (2) that this comma-bacillus of the mouth will not grow upon neutralised cultivating-gelatine, whereas that from the intestine will, and that accordingly there is no ground for regarding them as identical species. It seems to me in the highest degree improbable that Dr. Koch was acquainted with the mouth-comma when he published his conclusions as to the cause of cholera. If he was acquainted with it, it is undenia’ le that he committed a very grave fault in not drawing attention to it, and pointing out then and there the differences presented by cultures of the two commas. I have fairly conclusive evidence before me of the fact that Dr. Koch was not acquainted with the comma-bacillus of the mouth two years ago, when he published his large report and coloured plates on the tubercle-bacillus. In one of the drawings in that work he gives a delineation of the chief forms of micro- organisms occurring in the mouth, in order as he says to enable other observers to guard themselves against any confusion of the tubercle-bacillus with the micro-organisms which are nor- mally present in sputa. Mo commua-like organism is figured in that drawing or mention:d by Dr. Koch. As to the cultures of the ‘“‘comma” from cholera intestines on the one hand, and fom the healthy mouth on the other, differing in respect of their properti-s or their sensitiveness to conditions of alkalinity and neutrality, I venture to say that, taking into consideration the whole history of the case, it is not sufficient for Dr. Koch to tell us in an abrupt way that such differences exist. There is no reason to accept as final and perfect Dr. Koch’s account of the characters of the comma associated with cholera, and I -hould greatly prefer to have the comparison of the conditions of growth of the commas from these two sources made by some one who is not, as Dr. Koch must unfortunately be, so very seriously biased in one directi n. I think there is some reason to expect that we shall hear from Dr. Klein as to the result of his inportial experiments, now being carried on in Calcut!a, that the comma which occurs in the healthy 1: outh behaves in precisely the :ame way under cultivation, and is in fact as in appearance the same organism «s the comma which occurs in the intestines of cholera patients. La-tly, I may record a protest against Dr. Koch’s ext:a- ordinary te m ‘‘comma-bacillus.” 1 have already pointed out that Dr. Koch uses botanical terminology loosely. The word ““baci!lus ” has been by common consent restricted to the de- scription of such rod-like forms as Koch first as-ociated with cholera as the result of his Egyptian work. To prefix the word “comma” to this, was perhaps a method of ayoiding unpalatable explanations. At the same time it is utterly inconsistent with the sense of the words. What Koch calls ‘‘comma-bacilli”” may for convenience be termed ‘‘commas.” They are well known to botanists as the segments of a spirillum (see woodcut, fig. E), the result of the breaking up of a spirillum into little pieces, one corresponding to each turn of the spire. They have been clearly figured and their nature recognised by Zopf. The ‘commas ” of the human mouth and intestine are undoubtedly related to a spirillam which is frequently found in association with them, and would not have caused any astonishment or been stigmatised as ““peculiar”” in form by an ob erver who had that ade uate knowledge of the natural history of the Schizomycete- in general which Dr. Koch has in many ways shown that he does not possess. E. Ray LANKES*ER [We desire merely to make one remark with regard to the foregoing letter. The article referred to was prepared at the request of the Editor with the view of putting before the scien- tific public a fair and complete statement of Ir. Koch’s case. The writer of the article requests us to state that he did not, except in the last paragraph, give any views of his own, and holds himself perfectly nevtral in the matter, bis mind not being at all made up on the subject.— Ep. ] On the Dis'ribution of Honey-Glands in Pitchered Insectivorous Plants THE four genera of pitchered insectivorous plants at present in general cultivation are Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, and Cephalotus. Attention was drawn to the minute structure and physiological action of the first three of these by Sir J. Hooker in his celebrated presidential address to the British Association in 1874, while the structure and morphology of the last was treated of by my master, Prof. Dickson (Journal of Botany, 1878, 1881). Both observers pointed out an attractive surface studded with honey-glands, which constituted the lid part, a conducting surface, either of an exceedingly smooth nature (Nepenthes), or beset with small downward-directed hairs (Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, Cephalotus), and in most cases a glindular surface (Nepenthes, S. purpures, and Cephalotus), the secretion from which directly or indirectly assisted in diges- tion of animal products. In Sarracenia and Darlingtonia there was found in addition a defentive surfac’, covered with long deflected hairs. A year ago Prof. Dickson further drew attention to a set of magnificent attractive glands along the free edge of the corru- gated rim in Nepenthes, which he named ‘‘ marginal glands.” My attention has recently been directed to all the genera, and I propose stating here the main results. A detailed account of the comparative re ults obtained by examination of the different species in the young and adult condition will shortly be presented to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Nepen'hes.—Examining a pitcher of Veitch’s beautiful hybrid, NV. Mastersiana, \ observed on its outer surface what seemed to he the small openings of honey-glands. When microscopically examined, they were found exactly to resemble those on the inner lid surface, except that the gland fossa was deeply hol- lowed out, and opened externally by a small orifice, while its inner surface was clothed to within a short distance of the orifice 172 NATURE [ Dec. 25, 1884 by the gland tissue, very much as in spheeriaceous fungi the cavity of the perithecium is lined by asci. But even in this they agreed with the lid glands noticed by Dickson in WV. /evis, and termed by him ‘‘ perithecioid.” Careful study of the outer lid surface revealed a few similar glands. On comparison of the species and hybrids grown in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, a like condition was found to occur in all. The presence of these on the outer pitcher surface of WV. ampullaria isinteresting, since in it the lid is rudimentary, directed back, and destitute of glands on its inner surface. At Prof. Dickson’s suggestion I then examined the expanded lamina, and was agreeably surprised to find that glands were scattered rather sparingly over its upper, but pretty abundantly over its under, surface, especially near its junction with the stem. The tendril intervening between the lamina and pitcher also possessed them, and in some cases they were of very large size. Passing to the stem, it was found that some species had them very sparingly, others in considerable number, but while re- sembling those on the leaf externally, they were sunk much deeper in the tissue of the cellular layer, and strikingly reminded one of a simple animal gland. After a comparative study of the different species I was induced to look at the sepals, as our garden curator, Mr. Lindsay, had mentioned to me that a very copious secretion of nectar took place in flowering. A complete pavement of glands the same in size and appearance as those on the inner lid surface of the pitcher, was spread over the upper epidermis of each. In Hooker’s elaborate monograph of the genus (‘‘De Cand. Prod.,” vol. xvii.) these are mentioned, though their complete resemblance to the latter is not indicated. A few large ‘‘ peri- theicoid” glands may also be seen on the lower epidermis, and in flowers of JW. bicalcarata (for opportunity of examining which I am indebted to Mr. Courtauld of Braintree), these attain rela- tively a gigantic size. We see, therefore, that in Nepenthes, with its dicecious flowers, the same structure, which by their secretion attract insects for aiding in fertilisation, also lure them to the pitcher, so that their dead bodies may help in the nutrition of the plant. Sarracenia.—Mellichamp pointed out (Gardner's Chronicle, 1874) that honey-glands are present not only on the lid, but also on the external projecting wing of the pitcher. I find, how- ever, that, as in the last genus, they are diffused over the whole outer surface, including the lid; further, that in some of the species (.S. variolaris and S. rubra) there are external upward directed hairs, as in some of the Nepenthes. On the outer surface of the three bracteoles and of the sepals the glands are likewise numerous, and will undoubtedly be insect attractors for promoting cross-fertilisation. Durlingtonia.—Vhis genus agrees with the last, except that the glands are very simple, being one- or at most two-celled. I have not as yet examined the flower, though there can be little doubt but that in it a like condition will occur. C.phalotus.—Prof. Dickson, in studying this genus, noticed glands not only on the lid and outer pitcher surface, but even on the ordinary foliage leaves. I therefore required to deal only with the flowers. Scattered among the ‘‘ encapsulating” hairs on the peduncle, bracts, and six sepals, were many glands identical with those of the leaves, though rather smaller ; but further, the peculiar glandular processes intervening between the stamens and carpels seem to be the same mounted on cellular outgrowths of the receptacle. Nepenthes, Sarracenia, Darlingtonia, and Cephalotus are therefore found to agree fundamentally in their morphological arrangements for physiological purposes, though referable to orders widely separated systematically. J. M. MACFARLANE Botanical Laboratory, University of Edinburgh Earthquakes in England, and their Study As no record of the most recent earthquake shock in England has yet found a place in the pages of NATURE, perhaps I may be permitted to give the following slight details, collected from the daily papers of Lancashire and London for November 15 :— A shock of earthquake (‘‘severe,” yet causing no actual injury) was experienced at Clitheroe, and in the neighbourhood, on the evening of November 14. At about 5.10 p.m. a terrific report, resembling loud thunder, was heard, instantly followed by a strong vibration of the earth, sufficient to induce the in- habitants to run out of their houses into the streets in a terrified state. i At Low Moor, where the shock seems to have been felt most strongly, the wife of a man named Wilkinson fainted with fright. A waggoner on the road states that his two horses were nearly thrown to the ground. Much excitement prevailed throughout the borough and neighbourhood of Clitheroe, especially at Low Moor. A lurid glare noticed in the sky at the time of the disturbance. —-5.10 p.m., sun set at 4.10—is mentioned in connection with the occurrence, but that appearance was, in all probability, only one of the sunset-glow effects with which we have lately become so familiar, and had nothing to do with the shock. The circumstance that this particular part of Lancashire is much subject to earthquake disturbances, makes it specially im- portant that no details of their occurrence be lost to science. Within the last fifty years at least six well-authenticated shocks have been recorded,—in 1835, 1843, 1868, 1871, 1873, and 1884,—and this list might easily be extended. Lancashire, indeed, may be considered as one of the chief areas of disturb- ance in England, and after Comrie, in Perthshire, perhaps the most important centre of seismic action in Great Britain. While writing upon this subject, perhaps I may be allowed to offer the suggestion that, as the study of seismology is now one of such growing importance, it would be of considerable interest to many if a small space were set apart in the columns of NATURE every month, devoted specially to the record of current earthquake action, and kindred convulsions, in a scientific manner. It is my experience, as one who has for some time been engaged in collecting certain facts of these phenomena from various sources, that no sufficiently precise and complete records of the necessary facts, as may thus be readily transferred to the annals ‘of exact science, are anywhere available. The general observations of seismic disturbance as heretofore de- scribed, are usually not only scanty in the matter of their detail, and often dressed up still with a superstitious flavouring, but also, for lack of ¢he ght class of observation, are too frequently merely vague and useless statements of wrong facts, generally in favour of doubtful hypotheses ; and these are allowed to take the place of a well-ordered treatment of the real state of the case, upon a proper scientific basis. WILLIAM WHITE 55, Highbury Hill, N., December 9 The Cacao-Bug of Ceylon THE note by Mr. Distant in-your number for October 30 (p. 684) may perhaps lead its readers to think that the insect which has lately been the subject of a report to the Ceylon Goyern- ment has been wrongly identified by me as He/ofeltis anteniz, Sign. As that report will, however, before this have reached England, the matter will probably have been set right. I am not an entomologist, nor have I here the opportunity of refer- ence to Signoret’s original description or to other descriptive works ; but the insect is, without any doubt at all, that which is well known—too well known—in Assam and in Java as He/o- pels. In the former country it is the destructive tea-bug or ““mosquito-blight,” ! and in the latter it is the notorious pest of the cinchona plantations. As to the fragments which reached Mr. Distant, they were apparently insufficient for identification, further than with the family Reduviide. The cacao-tree harbours a host of Hemiptera, and planters are very apt to confound the innocent with the guilty. Its only formidable enemy in this order of insects, however, so far as I have seen, is the /e/opeltis, HigNRY TRIMEN Royal Botanic Garden, Peradeniya, Ceylon, November 21 The ‘‘Messenger of Mathematics” I THINK it is right that attention should be publicly directed to the exceedingly irregular appearance of the AZessenger of Mathematics, In the case of a magazine of its size and character there is ro reason whatever why it should not be published on the first of each month. The ‘‘ heavy” mathematical journals may be permitted to turn up when their editors please ; but the case of a monthiy meant to foster a taste for mathematical in- vestigation among junior mathematicians is entirely different ; indeed, the good such a magazine is calculated to do is almost nullified by irregular publication, The AZessenger is always * Since my report was written, Mr. Wood-Mason’s short treatise on the ea-bug has reached us here. Dee. 25, 1354] more or less irregular : just now, however, it is drawing so longa breath that one fears that its last message has been carried. We are now in the middle of December and the Octvber number has not yet been heard of ! ANGELUS The Pronunciation of Chinese Names SoMEWHAT after date, I beg to return to the subject of Anglo- and Franco-Chinese orthography, referred to in Narure, vol. ¥xx. p. 592. Ina short paper of mine published in the Preceed- ings of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxii. No. 6, 1877, I alluded to the desirability of a uniform or fixed ‘“‘ Roman equiva- lent” for Chinese characters standing for names of places, &c. I inclose a copy of this paper for insertion if desirable. To my mind the Italian vowels, &c., come nearest to the sounds of the Chinese characters. Zvze-King, meaning ‘‘ Eastern Capital,” is the usually accepted form of 7Vonguin, or Ton-Kin, the terminal g being but slightly sounded. Shang-haz, the ‘‘ Upper Sea,” or the place ‘‘of going up to the sea,” should be pro- nounced with the g, and is so spoken (Shanghai) by English and American authorities. Dr. Wells Williams has, I believe, in manuscript a standard Chinese Gazetteer of the World, in which all proper names likely to be used in telegraphy, newspapers, &c., are smoothly transliterated into Chinese characters. For translations from Chinese it is very necessary to adopt some such plan as Dr. Hunter has suggested for Indian names. Although his plan has come too late into the field to induce people to spell Calcutta as Kolkata, this is hardly the case as yet with Chinese names. The old native names of places should always be literally preserved. How much more beautiful is the «ld Franco-Indian name Stadaconda than Quebec for the scene of the death of Wolfe! I should be glad to co-operate or correspond with any interested in this matter, so prominent and important at the present juncture. F. PORTER SMITH Hillworth House, Shepton Mallet, December 12 EXPLORATIONS IN ICELAND? THe Lava DESERT OF ODASAHRAUN III. HE second part of my programme included the ex- , ploration of the western and southern portions of the Odd®ahraun Desert. In this journey I spent a fort- night during the latter half of August, a thoroughly rough and arduous time, on account of the very unsettled weather alternating between cold and rain, tempestuous gales, snowstorms, and sand-hurricanes. My journey extended to 240 English miles, but only two oases of grass were discovered the whole way. Along the skirts of Vatnajékul, throughout the whole extent of the lavas and sand plateaus which form the northern fringe or border intersecting it from Odaéahraun, not one single blade of grass, nay, not even signs of mosses or lichens, are anywhere discoverable, hence we were obliged to pro- vide ourselves with fodder for the horses in the shape of hay, oats, and maize dough. The results of the journey are in every way as good as, under the circumstances, I could have anticipated. Now at last the whole of Oddéahraun, with its surrounding wildernesses, has been explored. The weather was often enough sufficiently clear and fair to give me an opportu- nity to note all that required surveying The few who have travelled over various parts of these deserts before me have seen next to nothing, on account of bad weather. Odaéahraun, as stated in a former letter, is the largest lava- desert not only in Iceland, but in all Europe; the main por- tion of it has been formed by volcanic activity in Iceland | in prehistoric times ; but since the discovery of the island, even down to our own day, the region has witnessed a succession of eruptions. The various lava-flats form one plateau, the bounds of which are determined on the east | by Jokulsa in Axarfjérd, south by Vatnajokul, west by Skjdlfandafljét, north by Myvatn. At its southern ex- | tremity it rises to 3200, at its northern to from 1400 to NATUR: 1500, feet above the level of the sea. Altogether I took | * Continued from vol. xxx. p. 585. | there about two hundred barometric and trigonometrical elevations and surveys. The separate lava-flats are due to about twenty separate volcanoes, honeycombed by hundreds of craters. Several of the separate lavas are, to the extent of many tens of square miles, one unbroken flat lava-field as it were ; others, again, all torn up and disrupted, in some cases almost, in others entirely, im- passable. The substratum of Oda%ahraun is palagonite- tuffand breccia, over the top of which is spread the doleritic lava, the origin of which dates from before the Glacial period. Above all the modern lavas have flowed. All the mountains that tower above the lava consist of palagonite breccia ; along their roots and spurs are frequently found rows of craters, as well as those shield-fashioned volcanoes from which the lavas have welled out. The largest volca- noes have been built up entirely by lava-floods, which have flowed successively over each other, so as to form enormous conyexities presenting an equal inclination to every side, but so slight as to amount to only a few degrees. This kind of volcano, which in the north country is generally designated by the name of Dyngja, reaches in Iceland nowhere such dimensions as in OdaSahraun, as for instance Kolldtta-Dyngja, Trdélla- dyngja, Kerlingar-Dyngja, Ketil-Dyngja. In some places many rows of craters are ranged together along rifts from north-east to south-west, as on Reykjanes, and in Dyngjufjoll, where the craters around Askja and along the slopes of the mountains are practically innumerable. In Odaéahraun proper hardly any water is found ; rain sinks through the lava, and emerges again from under its edges in many small rivers and springs. ‘The southern- most portion of Oddéahraun has already been buried under glacial mud and sand from Vatnajokul, incessantly poured over its edge towards the north by innumerable glacial rivulets, that mostly vanish into the underlying sands and the lavas over which they are spread. Some of the larger streams, however, find their way eastward to Jokulsé in Axarfjord, and a few into Skjalfandafljot. In consequence of the elevation of Odadahraun above the level of the sea, and of its waterless condition, it is a region almost barren of vegetation: On the drift-sand a few tufts of Elymus arenarius or stray specimens of Statice armeria and Cerastium alpinum may be found. Round the skirts of Oddéahraun, where the water wells forth, a good deal of vegetation shows in some places, especially along the western fringes, in the valleys of Skjalfandaflj6t, where summer-pastures form the sheep-walks of the inhabitants of Bar’ardal. On the eastern side of Odasa- hraun there are only two oases—Herdubreiéarlindir and Hvannalindir, and here the vegetation is confined to the banks of springs, its most distinguishing feature being the Angelica archangelica, which grows in small clusters or bushes everywhere along the banks of the brooks. There occur likewise some species of the slighter kinds of willow, such as Salix glauca, S. phyllicifolia, S. herbacea, as well as a few species of heather. Over the watered shingle-flats about Heréubreidarlindir there are spread in parts red carpets of the lovely French willow-herb (Z/o- bium angustifolium). Insect life is very poorly represented, hardly anything being visible, save a few Diptera. To the south of Oddéahraun not a plot of grass is to be seen, except at Geesav6tn, in Vonarskaré, where the vegetation is of the scantiest kind, comprising indeed little more than the Salix herbacea. Along glacial streams no sign of vegetation is ever apparent here ; what little occurs grows along fresh-water springs. _ It might be imagined that such a volcanic region as Odad®dahraun would be rich in hot springs, solfataras, &c. But such is not the case. The main portion of the lava is now so old, that all such volcanic phenomena seem to have died out. Of warm springs only two may be said to be still in existence, both on the western side of the lava ; yet they are only lukewarm (respectively 333° and 353° C.) About Gzesavétn such springs obviously once 174 NATURE [ Dec. 25, 1884 exi-ted, but they have now almost entirely vanished (their temperature having sunk to from 5°to7° C). Dyngjufjoll, especially the valley of Askja, are the only localities in these regions, where volcanic manifestations of this character are now to be seen ; and there hot springs, clay- pits, sulphur-mines, and fumaroles of every kind are well developed. But these appearances are to be connected with an enormous eruption which occurred as late as 1875. Throughout the whole of OdaSahraun I have come upon no traces of subterranean heat, except at the places here mentioned. About the peninsula of Reykjanes which I explored last year, many more signs of activity were found, which seems to show that in that locality the volcanic disturb inces are to be referred to a later period than those of OdaSahraun. The northern edge of Vatnajékul has never been examined before. In my journey I was enabled to take the various elevations of this glacier,and found that at its western extremi y, in the neighbourhood of Vonarskar®, it rises to its greatest height, over 6000 feet. East of this point it becomes lower, until it rises again about Kverkfjoll, where an upheaval is perceptible right across it from north to south. From the hollow, or lowest point, the largest glacier in Iceland has taken its course. It is important that this glacier should be carefully examined, but its exploration would require a long time, for it is almost impossible to make a lengthened stay here, on account of the utter barrenness of the region, and the roughness of the weather. In this journey I succeeded in solving the geo- graphical riddle, which of the many rivers of Iceland is the longest. It has hitherto been assumed that J6- kuls4 in Axarfjord was the longest, 100 English miles; | and that next to it came Bjdrsd, 96 miles long ; but I have now ascertained that bjdérsa is by far the longest river in Iceland, its course being about 120 miles, while J6kulsa is only 95. Hitherto, also, it has been supposed that the sources of Jokulsa were situated in the spurs of Kistufell ; they are really twenty miles further to the east, under the western slopes of Kverkfj6ll. The sources of bjdrsd are situated in the north-westerly portion of Sprengi andr, to the north-west of I\jérSungsalda. bjorsa, too, carriesa greater volume of water than Jokuls4. On a July day the latter carries, midway between its source and its mouth (viz. at GrimsstaSir) 14,500 cubic feet of water per second, but Pjorsé at the proportionate point (at Bjdrsdrholt) carries 17,600 cubic feet in the same space of time. Akreyri, September 7 TH. THORODDSEN AMERICAN SUMMER ZOOLOGICAL STATIONS ] N the United States there has been during the past ten years a great increase in the advantages for the study of zoology. Not only has this increase been manifested in the colleges, but also by the facilities for summer study at the sea-shore. At present we have on the Atlantic coast five stations where there are facilities for students to carry on investigations. These laboratories are of two kinds—one where only the advanced student is allowed to study, the other in which any one manifesting a sufficient interest in Nature may be allowed a chance to work upon the marine animals; these latter are them- selves divisible into two classes—one in which regular Instruction is given, and the other where the student is supposed to study for himself under the direction of an efficient instructor. The laboratory at Beaufort, North Carolina, connected with Johns Hopkins University, is intended as a place where students of the University, and somewhat advanced students from other colleges, can spend the summer in advanced work. It has attained for itself a reputation equalled by no other laboratory of its character in the country, because of the excellence of its work. Being supported by a regular fund, there are advantages con- nected with it which one will not find in other laboratories which are dependent upon subscriptions. Some excellent specialists spend their summers at this station, and the character of their work is shown in the bulletins pub- lished from the laboratory. Although Beaufort is not remarkably rich in variety of forms, still this is counter- balanced by the abundance of certain very interesting animals, for the study of which no better place than Beaufort can be found. As the Gulf Stream strikes on this coast, there are many interesting embryos found in the water. The building is a two-storied house made to serve as a laboratory, and it is placed within a few feet of high-water mark. The location is a low sandy shore ina rather warm climate, but this is necessary on that coast where nothing else is found. for collecting purposes a steam-launch and sail-boat are used. It is under the direction of Prof. W. K. Brooks, who has done much towards making it what it now is. Much further north, at Newport, Rhode Island, is another laboratory of a somewhat different character. It is under the charge of Prof. Alexander Agassiz, who, with a few assistants and some advanced students from Har- vard College, carries on his investigations on the sea- shore. Dr. F. Walter Fewkes and C. O. Whitman study regularly at this laboratory. Because of its private character it should rather be classed with the former private laboratories which investigators were accustomed to establish at some favourite place on the sea-shore than with the general laboratories for students, though a certain limited number are admitted each summer. The advantages for study are limited, and the locality rather poor. In the southern part of Massachusetts, at a place called Wood’s Holl, the chief marine station of the United States is stationed. Thisis the Laboratory of the United States Fish Commission. Since 1871 the Fish Commis- sion has each year been located at some point on the New England coast, investigating principally the specific characters of the marine fauna. Prof. Baird, the Com- missioner, has had the direction of the Commission since it was first originated, and with the assistance of such eminent American naturalists as Goode, Bean, Verrill, Smith, and Sanderson Smith, the previously unkown New England fauna has been thoroughly studied, and certain parts of the North Atlantic deep sea carefully studied. For many years all the work has been done by specialists employed by Government, in a poorly adapted laboratory ; but now a new building is being erected for the express purpose of serving as a laboratory, and it will be fitted up with all the modern conveniences for zoological and microscopical study. Being supported by an ample Government fund, it is expected that there will be a good library connected with it, and we know that there will be a supply of large aquaria, and that all neces- sary chemicals will be supplied. In addition to the tables for regular employées, there will be room for a limited number of students from some of the larger colleges, who will thus be offered the finest advantages for zoological study to be found in America. For the use of the laboratory there is a steam-launch, and many small boats, while the two steamers dlbatross and fish Hawk are constantly bringing in material from the deep sea and surface of the ocean. Wood’s Holl is excellently adapted for the pur- poses of a summer laboratory, both because of climate and variety and abundance of animal forms. The work already done from the old laboratory is of world-wide renown. This ends the list of those laboratories intended solely for advanced students. Of the other class, the Summer Institute at Cottage City, Mass., isan example. This is a summer educational institution covering a wide variety of subjects, and intended for teachers who are willing to a i, i ee Dec. 25, 1884] MATEO TEE as spend their summers in quiet study. Courses of lectures are given in various subjects, one of which is natural | history, and the students can, if they choose, supplement their course by laboratory study. It is exceedingly ele- mentary, and none but beginners attend. Of a similar character, but of more importance, was the Summer School of Natural History at Salem, Mass., under the direction of Prof. E. S. Morse. The principle upon which this school started was wrong. The origin- ators seemed to have the idea that courses of lectures were essential to the success of the school. Such lee- tures, if delivered by men of reputation, were costly, and to meet the expenses of the school a large attendance was necessary. But in America the sciences are not studied by a sufficient number of people to supply such a school, dealing in a limited branch of science, with enough students to defray the cost of lectures ; and few students can afford to pay large tuition fees. So it was that the Salem School had to depend entirely upon outside aid for its continu- ance, and this being withdrawn, the school was obliged to break up a few years ago. It is, indeed, unfortunate that it was obliged to do this, because it was filling an important place in American scientific education by originating an interest in teachers of the public schools for this branch of study, and thus raising the standard of scientific teaching in the lower schools. If a regular fund could be placed at the disposal of some body of scientific men for the purpose of giving instruction to teachers in this way, it would be an important thing ; but unless such regular support be established, other less expensive means of instruction in natural history for beginners must be looked to. At Annisquam there is another laboratory, under the direction of Prof. Alpheus Hyatt, which has an entirely different plan for teaching beginners. At this laboratory both beginners and advanced students are allowed to study upon paying a merely nominal sum. No special instruction is given, but there is an instructor, Prof. J. B. Van Vleck, avho helps the beginner over hard places in his studies. The student is given some animal to make a study of, and he is advised to examine it critically, dissect it, and make drawings of the parts, all without the aid of a book ; and then, having found out all he can without aid, he is given some book to verify his observations. In this way the student goes through all the important groups of marine invertebrate animals, often learning for the first time that he can really see things for himself without the aid of books. The powers of observation are brought into play, and the first foundation of a suc- cessful student of Nature are thus laid. How much prac- tical benefit this met'od of instruction will have in making original investigators cannot be told at present, because the school has been in operation for such a short time. The amount of knowledge possessed by the students at the end of the summer, compared with that with which they started, is certainly encouraging. That this is the proper method of teaching natural history has been satis- factorily demonstrated to those in charge by the results. Both sexes are admitted, and preference is given to those who are going to make use of the facts which they learn, either in teaching or in special investigation. The build- ing is a plain one-story-and-a-half house, situated at the water’s edge. It is well lighted and firm, and aquaria on each table are furnished with water from a tank filled by a windmill. For collecting purposes there are common boats, and Prof. Hyatt has a schooner yacht, in which he frequently takes parties from the laboratory upon dredging expeditions. Fifteen was the average number of students last summer, and they came from all parts of the country, being mostly teachers in small colleges and schools, and a few medical students and special investigators. In its inception it was intended for beginners, but advanced students are welcomed and given the best tables. The one unfortunate thing about this laboratory is that it is | not established on a firm money basis, depending each year upon a grant of money from the Woman’s Edu- cational Society of Boston, which each year, so far, has generously given the funds for its maintenance. Neither the director nor the instructor receive salaries for their work, but furnish their summers free to the cause. For the purpose of making collections there is no better place on the eastern coast of the United States, with the excep- tion, perhaps, of Eastport, Maine. The variety of animals is immense, and their abundance is also great, every con- dition necessary to an extensive fauna being present. The last laboratory which we shall notice is the one which has long since passed out of active existence, in fact which died with its founder, the elder Agassiz. It was an immense building of wood on the island of Penikese, in Massachusetts, the outermost of the chain known as the Elizabeth Islands. The location was poorly chosen, for the fauna in the vicinity is poor, and there was no regular communication with the mainland, which was twenty miles distant. At one time during its brief exist- ence it had a very large attendance, beginners particu- larly being attracted by the name of the eminent director. Lectures were given and laboratory practice was allowed each student. At this school such men as Fewkes, Faxon, Brooks, Whitman, and Alexander Agassiz, who have since become eminent in American science, received some of their first instruction in natural history. The death of Agassiz ended the institution, which if it could have been kept up under his direction would no doubt have equalled if not excelled any similar institution in the world. It is doubtful if even under Agassiz’s direction this stupendous school could have been carried on, for we understand that the money basis was very insecure, and certainly the expenses were very heavy, and the tuition charges light. RALPH S. TARR ON A NEW METHOD FOR THE TEACHING OF SCIENCE IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + eyes desirability of imparting to children some know- ledge of the principles of science is now so gene- rally agreed upon that this paper will be devoted not to the argument that science-teaching is necessary, but to a description of a method by which it may be successfully and thoroughly carried out. In the “Code” under which the system of Govern- ment education is carried on in this country, science is mentioned under two heads:— ; | (1) As a “class-subject” (optional) which may be | taught to any or all of the seven “Standards” under which the children are classed, and (2) Asa “specific subject” (also optional) which may | only be taken by the children in Standards V., VI., and VIl. The specific subjects named are— 1. Algebra. | 7. Botany. ‘ 2. Euclid and Mensuration. 8. Principl s of Agriculture. 3. Mechanics. | 9. Chemistry. 4. Latin. Io. Sound, Light, and Heat. 5. French. 11. Magnetism and Electricity. 6. Animal Physiology. | 12, Domestic Economy (Gi7s). Either one or two (but not more than two) of these specific subjects may be taken by a child, The course in each subject is divided into three parts, so that a child must remain at school for three years in order to com- plete the study of any one subject. ah The grants paid are at the rate of 1s. fora “fair” or 2s. for a “good” pass in class-subjects, and 45. per pass in the specific subjects. t By W. Jerome Harrison, F.G.S, Science Dem=nstrator for the Bir- | mingham School Board. The greater portion of this article. was read as a ! communication to the International Conference on Education, held at the i Health Exhibit.on in July last, and is here reprinted by permission of the | Executive Council. 170 WAT ORE [ Dec. 25, 1884 To be successful in a public elementary school any scheme of instruction must be based upon the conditions of the Code. To these conditions, as they now stand, the following exceptions may be taken :— (a) The teacher is forced to choose between geography and science as a class-subject. He may take ez¢her, but he cannot take doth. As a rule he takes geography. It is to be hoped that in the future this restriction may be removed, and that a simple course of object-lessons on plants, animals, manufactures, &c., which would fulfil the requirements of science as a class-subject, will be given in addition to those lessons on geography which are really indispensable. (6) The three years’ course in a specific subject is too long, now that the child does not begin the study until it enters the Fifth Standard. Taking the case of the boys and girls presented for examination during 1883 in the Birmingham Board schools, we find in Standard V. 1864 children ; in Standard VI. 482; in Standard VII. 85. Tracing back the eighty-five Seventh Standard children, we find that they are the residue of 427 Sixth Standard children of 1882, and of 1223 who passed the Fifth Standard in 1881. It would probably be better to reduce each specific subject to a two years’ course, and to allow Seventh Standard children to be examined in the work of the ¢wo previous years. CHOICE OF SuBJECTS.—In considering what science Fic. 1.—Hand-cart used for conveyiny appara‘us from school to school. subjects to select from those named in the Code, much will depend upon local conditions. Generally speaking, for boys’ schools mechanics should be chosen, and for girls’ domestic economy. As a second subject in town schools, either chemistry or magnetism and electricity may be recommended for boys, and animal physiology for girls. In country schools, principles of agriculture for boys, and botany for girls, will be found very suitable. In the new Seventh Standard School, lately opened by the Birmingham School Board, there is an excellent work- shop, fitted up with carpenters’ benches, forge, lathe, &c., for forty boys. For this school I have drawn up a syllabus of a (proposed) new specific subject, entitled “Principles of Tools and Properties of Materials.” OBJECTIONS TO SCIENCE-TEACHING.—In time past three principal objections have been urged to the intro- duction of science-teaching into public elementary schools. These objections are :— (1) Want of Qualified Teachers—The ordinary teachers and pupil-teachers of our schools have not, as a rule, the sound knowledge of principles and practised powers of manipulation which are necessary in order to teach science with power and effect. (2) Want of Time.—To prepare for a science-lesson, and to properly clean and put away the apparatus, requires more time than our closely-worked school- teachers are able to give. Some have also urged that “time” cannot be spared from the study of the “three R’s,” in which they consider incessant mechanical practice to be necessary. (3) Cost of Apparatus.—To teach science practically— and it should be so taught to be of any value—a con- siderable sum must be spent in the purchase of apparatus. Thus the apparatus required for the three stages of mechanics costs about 75/, and for domestic economy 65/., and this is a considerable expenditure for a single school. THE ITINERANT MEPHOD OF SCIENCE-TEACHING.— A method by which the principal objections urged against science-teaching in elementary schools may be overcome was suggested a few years ago by Col. Donnelly and Prof. Huxley, and it is not the least of the many services which these gentlemen have rendered to science and to education. This method has been carried out on a large scale, and with the most gratifying success by the School Boards of Birmingham and Liverpool, and the object of the present paper is to describe the manner in which the work is done in the former town. The principal features of the itinerant method of science-teaching are as follows :— (1) A science demonstrator is appointed, who should combine a practical knowledge of school-work and power to teach large classes with a thorough acquaintance with the branches of science which he is to teach. (2) A “centre” is chosen in connection with some particular school, where a class-room may be set apart, or (better) a subsidiary building erected, where apparatus can be kept and the experiments prepared. (3) A hand-cart must be provided (Fig. 1), into which the boxes containing the apparatus fit, and can so be conveyed from the science-centre to school after school by a strong youth. In this way one set of apparatus will serve for many schools. In each schooi department there must be a trestle-table, which should be placed in front of the class as the time for the science-lesson draws near. The hand-cart is brought to the school, the youth carries in the boxes, unpacks the apparatus, and places it upon the table. Then the science demonstrator walks in and gives the lesson. Afterwards the youth packs up the apparatus in the boxes, replaces them in the hand- cart, and marches off to the next school. (4) A time-table is drawn up showing the exact time at which the science-lesson is given at each school, and its duration (forty-five minutes will be found suitable). A syllabus of each year’s course of lessons must also be prepared (which should be distributed to the class- teachers and children), so that the subject may be gone through in a systematic way. Asa rule it will be found possible for each science demonstrator to give four lessons per day, or twenty per week. Fach class should receive a lesson from the demon- strator at least once a fortnight. At each science-lesson the ordinary teacher of the class is present, and takes full notes of the matter given. During the intervening week the class-teacher vecapitulates the science-lesson, giving such additional or new illustrations as he or she may be able to provide. The children then either write a general ac- count of the lesson or answer three or four questions upon it, and the papers worked are submitted to the science demonstrator when he next visits the class. It is plain that the itinerant system fairly meets the objections which have been urged against the introduction of science-teaching on the grounds of want of qualified teachers, want of time, and cost of apparatus. It also secures systematic and continuous teaching throughout the school year. The teaching is practical, and every fact or law is demonstrated experimentally. Wherever eight or ten schools are within a reasonable distance of each other, this plan may be carried into effect. Voluntary schools may combine with Board schools (as is done in Liverpool) to secure the services of a science demonstra- Dec. 25, 1884 | tor, or small towns near to one another (asin Lancashire and Yorkshire, or in the Black Country), may unite for the same end. APPLICATION OF THE ITINERANT SYSTEM OF SCIENCE- TEACHING IN BIRMINGHAM.—It was in June 1880 that I received my present appointment from the Birmingham School Board. Since that time the work in which I have been engaged has received the unanimous approval of the Board, but I ought especially to acknowledge the encouragement received from the Chairman—Mr. George Dixon—and from Dr. Crosskey, and the valuable advice given by the able and experienced Clerk to the Board, Mr. G. B. Davis. Three assistants have been appointed, with a junior laboratory assistant, and two youths who work the two hand-carts which we now employ. The regular science staff thus includes seven individuals, whose salaries amount to 750/. per annum. In connection with the new Icknield Street School an admirable laboratory has been erected, at a cost (with fittings) of 1450/., in- cluding a lecture theatre to seat eighty, a chemi- cal laboratory and store-room, and a demon- strator’s room (Fig. 2). About 400/. has been expended in the purchase of apparatus. There are now thirty schools under the Bir- mingham School Board, attended by nearly 40,000 children. In each of the thirty boys’ departments Me- chanics is taken as a specific subject by every boy in the Fifth and higher Standards ; six depart- ments take magnetism and electricity as a second specific subject. In each of the thirty girls’ departments Domes- tic Economy is taken as a specific subject by every girl in the Fifth and higher Standards ; three departments take animal physiology as a second specific subject. At the request of the teachers a few Fourth Standard children of exceptional ability are al- lowed to attend the science-lessons, since it is found not merely to do them good mentally but to induce them to remain longer at school. The total number of children now receiving instruction in science in the Birmingham Board schools is, in round numbers :— Mechanics) 9) 9-2.) 2-25) 2400! boys Magnetism and Electricity ... 300 ,, Domestic Economy 1800 girls Animal Physiology 100 ,, In the framing of the syllabuses a wide inter- pretation has been given to these subjects ; thus under the head of domestic economy as much elementary chemistry and physiology are taught as will enable an intelligent girl to comprehend the familiar facts of home life. As a rule two science-teachers and two youths go with each hand-cart, so that the lessons to boys and girls go on simultaneously in each school. By this plan each hand-cart can visit four schools (eight departments) daily, while with a single teacher only two schools (four depart- ments) could be visited. The same lesson is given to class after class throughout the week. It is previously very carefully prepared by the science-demonstrator, is written out in full by him, and the experiments are tried over and the apparatus packed on Saturday morning, so that everything is ready for the start on Monday morning. In each science subject there is but ove stage taught in each school. Children entering on the subject join in at the second or third stage, as the case may be, so that all the children in any one department form one class, work- ing at the same stage of the same subject. This plan NATURE 177 simplifies the work wonderfully, and it is found in practice that the science subjects taken may be as conveniently commenced at any one of the three stages into which each is divided in the Code as at any other. Each stage stands quite by itself, and each may be considered in turn as forming an introduction to the other two. RESULTS OF THE SCIENCE-TEACHING IN BIRMINGHAM. —The visits of the science demonstrator have been wel- comed both by the teachers and children of the Board schools. The teachers have earnestly co-operated in the SHED FOR HANDCARTS NY I PORCH iil ( LECTURE THEATRE DOWNDRAUGHT LECTURE TABLE MASTER'S ROOM HOM AYWLN3IWN373 SMivdvddy YO4 GYvOsdND SLN3ONLS t HO4 HON39 DNIMHO, CENTRAL HALL OF SCHOOL Seale of Feet Fic. 2. work, and much of its success is due to their efforts. With the children, the science-lessons have proved extremely popular. There is invariably a good attendance on the day of the science-lesson. Among the boys the half timers then muster strongly, often getting leave to come in for that lesson only, and sitting with bare arms and rolled- up aprons, just as they have run from their work. In the same way big girls, who cannot escape from tyrannical babies, beg leave to bring their charges into the class- room ; and I know of many a case where “mother” has been persuaded to change her “ washing-day” because it 178 clashed with the day of the demonstrator’s lesson in domestic economy. The teaching has evidently been carried home, for an irate landlord visited one school to “\know what they meant by teaching children that his houses were not fit to live in!” the said houses being built “back to back,” a practice the evils of which are pointed out in one of our domestic economy lessons. The large number of papers, essays, mechanical drawings, models of apparatus, &c., exhibited by the Birmingham School Board at the Health Exhibition will give some idea of the results of the work and of the eager manner in which it has been taken up by the children. So far from the science-lessons having interfered (by taking up time which would otherwise have been spent on the three R’s) with the ordinary school work, the unanimous testimony of the teachers is that the increased intelligence of the children enables them to do their Standard work more easily. The idea has been very prevalent that by in- cessant mechanical practice excellence in the “three R’s” can be secured ; but the fact is that unless the intelligence be cultivated, no subject can be properly learnt. True education is culture of the mind, and mechanical acquire- ments have nothing in common with culture. Applying to the matter the practical test of the Govern- ment examinations by Her Majesty’s inspector, the results come out in a very satisfactory way. Number of passes Percentage of Year in specific passes in the subjects three R’s 1878 121 81°3 1879 424 82'0 1880 ! 841 84°7 1881 1724 88°4 1882 3114 92°6 1883? 3150 89°6 Another pleasing fact is the much larger number of children now found in the upper Standards. In 1879 (the year before the introduction of science-teaching) the percentage of children examined in Standards IV. to VII. was only 19°5; it is now 33°7. The following extracts from the published reports of the Birmingham School Board prove that, in the estima- tion of those best able to judge, the teaching of science has proved a success. 1880.—* An important addition to the work of the Board schools has been the introduction of experimental lessons in elementary science. A science demonstrator has been appointed, and has now commenced work.” 1881.—‘In June 1881 the Board decided to appoint an assistant science demonstrator. The lessons in ele- mentary science had proved so successful and attractive, that it was felt to be unfair that such advantages should be denied to some schools while they were afforded to others.” “ These science-lessons are fully answering our expecta- tions; the children are very attentive and much interested in the work; and, in addition to the useful knowledge they gain, their general intelligence is being developed.” 1882.—“ The success of the science-teaching has been strongly marked, both by the papers worked by the can- didates for the science scholarships, and by the greater development of intelligence shown in regard to other subjects.” “As the teaching of science in Board schools has now become exceedingly popular, and many of the children have made considerable progress, six scholarships of tof, each have been founded in connection with the Science and Art Department.” “Upwards of one thousand boys are now receiving admirable lessons in elementary science in the Board * Science demonstrator appointed June 1880. * Mundella Code introduced, by which Literature (in which 1435 passes were made in preceding year) was removed from list of specific subjects The general require nents of this Code being higher, there was a slight drop in the percentage of passes for this year NATURE i [ Dec. 25, 1884 schools, and the result of this teaching is little less than marvellous.” 1883.—* The teaching of elementary scienc2 in the Board schools has developed considerably during the year, the scholars taking great interest in it, and the results shown by the examinations being such’as to prove that the knowledge imparted has been largely retained.” “Two great steps in advance have been made by the present Board. One is the establishment of science classes. The remarkable success which has attended these classes has been frequently alluded to, and is generally known.” Science Scholarships.—Twelve science scholarships of 1oZ, per annum have now been established in connection with the Science and Art Department. The boys who obtain these scholarships, together with an equal number selected as showing special aptitude for science, spend each Friday afternoon at the science laboratory in the study of analytical chemistry. All those hitherto ex- amined have passed (and a large number in the first class) at the May examinations of the Department. There are also two valuable science scholarships by which boys may pass from the Board schools to King Edward’s Grammar School, and thence to the Mason Science College, their parents meanwhile receiving allow- ances of 152. and 25/. per annum for their support. These scholarships are very keenly competed for, the usual number of boys examined being over 200. The examiner, Prof. Poynting, M.A., of Mason College, reports as follows :-— 1882,—“ Hardly any of the questions in my paper could have been answered without independent thought on the part of the candidates, and I had but very few answers showing a want of such thought. The boys showed that they had seen and understood the experiments which they described, that they had been taught to reason for them- selves upon them, and that they were not merely using forms of words which they had learnt, without attaching physical ideas to them.” 1883.—* The paper worked by the boy who stands highest on the list was an excellent one, and showed con- siderable power. ‘The next five boys also deserve special mention as having done very good work. I think the general style of work sent in was very satisfactory. The | average was not so high as last year, as the third stage of the subject was far more difficult, and the paper set was also much harder, but I think that quite as much ability was shown on the part of the candidates, and that the evidence of careful teaching was quite as strong.” Mr. Richard Tangye—the head of the great firm of Tangye and Co.—has taken a warm personal interest in the work, and his aid and countenance have been most valuable. He testifies strongly to the great improvement of his young “hands” since the introduction of the School Board system in Birmingham. Summing up the matter, the results which we hope to obtain from this science-teaching, and which indeed have already manifested themselves, are :-— (1) The general quickening of the intellectual life of the school. (2) The imparting of scientific knowledge and method to children which will be us2ful to them in after life, and which will cause many of them to continue their science- studies in evening classes.' (3) The discovery of children of exceptional ability, and their support by means of scholarships. (4) The instruction of the school-teachers in scientific principles, which they may apply to the general work of the school. Evening Work in Science.—The work done among the teachers by means of evening science classes in connec- ' The last Report of the Birmingham and Midland Institute speaks of the influx of youths into the evening science classes—‘ the result doubtless of the science-teaching now carried on in the Board schools.” Dec. 25, 1884 | tion with the Science and Art Department has been of an important character. The Birmingham School Board employs about 800 teachers, and it now provides educa- tion, by means of training classes, for about 450 (the pupil-teachers and uncertificated assistants). The growth of the science work in this direction will appear from the following table :— Number of Number of Year Certificates First Class Certi- | Gross Grant obtained ficates awarded 1881 24 ee fo) £18 1882 gr 18 £108 1883 100 24 £124 1884. 173 33 £197 It is very important to elementary school teachers to do well in science, since (by a regulation of the Education Department) those who have passed in science have a certain number of marks added to those which they obtain for other subjects at the Queen’s Scholarship and Certi- ficate Examinations, through which all these teachers have subsequently to pass. Electricity and magnetism has been taught to the pupil- teachers, and physiography to the assist«nts. When evening science lectures are given, however, no school-work can be done by the demonstrators in the afternoon of the same day, as the time is taken up with the preparation of the experiments, &c., for the evening lectures. The Board possesses an excellent optical lantern presented by Messrs. R. and G. Tangye as a token of their appreciation of the science-teaching and with its assistance the science demonstrator gives popular evening science lectures in the various schools, taking subjects such as will be likely to awaen the interest and increase the intelligence of the children, as “‘ Wild Animals in the Zoo,” “ The Star-lit Sky,” “Two Days in London,” “A Voyage to the Moon,” &c. Occasionally, on fine evenings, the elder children are shown the moon, planets, double- stars, &c., through a three-inch achromatic telescope (refractor). These expositions tend to attract children to school, and to improve the regularity of the attendance. Cost OF THE SYSTEM.—The following rough balance- sheet for the year 1883-84 shows the very small cost at which the work of science-teaching is carried on in Birmingham :— Receipts. PE Ge Half of Government Grant on specific subjects... 160 0 0 Grant from Science and Art Department 150 0 O Expenditure. Salaries ER ahr ara BEE ere 750 0 O Interest on cost of buildings and apparatus 70 0 O Renewal of apparatus and cost of materials 50 0 0 4970) 0) 10 Net cost to the Board 4560 per annum. As a penny rate yields 6000/., it will be seen that the cost of this system, by which more than 4ooo children, distributed over sixty school departments, receive regular NATURE and practical science-lessons, amounts to only one-tenth | of a penny in the pound, or to 9/. Ios. per annum for each school department. It must be remembered also that the full benefit of the system has not yet been reaped, and that the grants will certainly continue to increase. Credit has only been taken for one-half of the grant for the specific subjects. TEX?T-BooKs.—Failing to meet with works exactly suitable for the wants of the children, the science-lessons in mechanics and in domestic economy have been written out in full, and are now published by Messrs. T. Nelson and Sons. Similar works on magnetism and electricity and on chemistry are nearly ready for issue. Each work consists of three small volumes corresponding with the 179 three years’ course prescribed by the Code. These books have already been adopted by the School Board for London, the Irish Intermediate Education Board, and other important educational bodies. SCHOOL MuseuMs.—For use in object-lessons, and as a constant source of pleasure and instruction, a small collection of typical objects stored in a glass-fronted cupboard ought to be placed in every school. Such cupboards are now being supplied to the Birmingham Board schools, and it has naturally fallen to the lot of the science demonstrator and his staff to assist in the mounting, naming, and classification of the objects with which the cupboards are, at little or no expense to the Board, to be filled. CONCLUSION.— Since the commencement of this system of practical instruction in science in Birmingham, many eminent men have visited the schools to see it in opera- tion, and they have been unanimous in their approval. In the “Instructions to Inspectors” issued by the Educa- tion Department, the system receives official sanction and commendation :—* You will often find that these (specific) subjects are most thoroughly taught when a special teacher is engaged by a group of schools to give instruc- tion in such subjects once or twice a week, his teaching being supplemented in the intervals by the teachers of the school.” The Commissioners for Technical Education visited the Icknield Street Centre a few months ago, heard science- lessons given, and examined fully into the work. In their valuable Report, recently issued, they say :—“ We could hardly overstate our appreciation of the value of the plan of giving instruction in natural science by special teachers as carried out in the Board schools of Liverpool and Birmingham, where the employment ofa well-qualified science demonstrator insures the sound character of the instruction, whilst the repetition of the lesson by the schoolmaster enables him to improve himself in the methods of science-teaching.” Within the present year the work has been crowned by the opening of a Technical School for Seventh Standard boys, situated in the centre of the town, and fitted with an admirable laboratory (for forty boys), lecture-theatre, workshop (for forty, with three lathes), room for drawing, class-rooms for the ordinary subjects, and a capital dining-hall, &c. The building has been adapted, fitted (at a cost exceeding 2000/.), and presented rent-free to the Board by Mr. George Dixon. This school will con- stitute the last link of the chain of elementary education supported by the town, and who can doubt that in it will be laid the foundation of many a good work, both for the individual and the community. \ NOTES Mr. J. J. THomson has been elected to fill the post of Cavendish lrofessor of -xperimental Physics in the University of Cambridge in succession to Lord Kayleigh. A numerously signed requisition to Sir Wm. Thomson to become a candidate was declined. CAMBRIDGE was cz féle on Monday. Peterhouse, the oldest collegiate institution in the University, was celebrating the six-hundredth anniversary of its foundation, It was stated at the dinner that one-third of the present Fellows were Fellows of the Royal Society. Ir is announced that the International Sanitary Conference, which Signor Mancini proposed some time ago, will meet at Rome in February or March. Later on another Conference, also suggested by Signor Mancini, will meet to consider the possibility of some agreement for the mutual execution by the Signatory Powers of legal judgments. 180 Wel PORE [ Dec. 25, 1854 THE monthly weather review of the Signal Service, prepared, as announced for the first time in the August number of Sczence, by Second Lieut. W. A. Glassford, has come to be a quarto of twenty-eight pages, with five charts. This is a good growth from the four small pages and three charts of the first issue, eleven years ago. Then, the headings were storms, anti-cyclonic areas, temperature, precipitation, peculiar phenomena and facts, rivers, and cautionary signals: now, all these subjects are treated in much greater detail ; and among the many additional topics there may be mentioned atmospheric pressure and its range (illustrated by a new style of chart), Atlantic storms and ice, range of temperature, frosts (illustrated by a chart for August 9 and 25), winds, local storms, tornadoes and thunder- storms, sunsets, drought, two and a half pages onithe « arthquake of August 10, meteors, and notes of State:weather services for Alabama, Nebraska, Tennessee, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, and Georgia. The storm-tracks for the month are remarkably regular, and, with insignificant exceptions, all lie north of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence: no tropical cyclones were felt along the sea-coast. Nine tornadoes are reported, and many violent thunderstorms. Some of the results of the special studies of the latter, undertaken by Mr. H. A. Hazen during the past season, take form in a brief summary, from which it appears that the mean distance and direction of the 900 thunderstorms reported in August, from the centre of the broad cyclonic storms in which they occurred, was 515 miles, a little west of south. A full account of these studies will be of much value and interest. Most of the observations on meteors are of small value, and, at best, they have but an etymological connection with a weather-review. THE completion of the Lick Observatory is stated by Scéevce now to depend upon the successful making of the disk of glass for the objective of the large telescope. The main dome cannot be made till the focal length of the large equatorial has been determined. A MEMBER of the Institute of France has brought forward a scheme for the foundation of a number of annuities, of the value of 807, 160/7., and 240/., to aid scientific men in the prosecution of experimental work, offering to subscribe 200/. towards the realisation of the scheme out of his own pocket. If the Go- vernment, who will soon have to decide on the application of Giffard’s legacy of over 200,000/., thought fit to patronise this scheme, they have the means of giving it practical embodiment on an extensive scale. In commemoration of the services to astronomy rendered by the French observers of the transit of Venus in 1874, the French Government have placed in the National Library of Paris a large monumental vase, designed and manufactured at Sevres, bearing the following inscription : ‘‘ La République Frangaise a MM. Janssen, Bouquet de la Grye, André, Fleuriel, Herault, Mouchez: Passage de Venus sur le Soleil en MDCCCLXXIV. Hommage du Gouvernement Frangais au Science.” This vase, about 2 m. high by 1 m. broad, at present standing at the entrance of the Reading Room of the Library, will remain there for public inspection for some time, after which it will be re- moved to the Gallerie Mazarine, which contains a collection of rare manuscripts and other treasures. A NUMBER of scientific men in Paris having founded a club called ‘‘La Science,” for the purpose of dining together at stated times, recently entertained M. Chevreul at a banquet. The toast of the occasion was proposed by M. Jamin, the new Perpetual Secretary of the Academy of Sciences. M. Pasteur has been nominated Chairman of the next banquet. A similar club was instituted six years ago under the name of ‘‘ Banquet de la Presse scientifique.” IN his discourse on re-election to the Presidency of the Bio- logical Society of Paris, M. Paul Bert stated that he had intended endeavouring to summarise the work of the Society during the preceding five years that he had held the office. But he found the task so difficult on account of the mass of facts presented by the publications of the Society, and the brevity of the papers, that he decided to abandon the idea. He promised, however, in future, at the commencement of the annual sessions, to sum up rapidly the progress realised during the preceding one. The scientific world will doubtless look forward with interest to the annual statements of the advance of biological research thus promised. THE Museum of the International Association at Brussels has just received a large collection of birds of all kinds, sent from Karema by Lieut. Storms ; and also a collection made by Mr. Stanley during his last visit to the Upper Congo, consisting of utensils, furniture, musical instruments, arms, &c. THE laying of the foundation-stone of the new Sorbonne buildings will take place in a few days, the houses which covered the site intended for the new edifice having been all pulled down and the ground around the old Sorbonne to the extent of several acres having been levelled. The new buildings are to be pushed on rapidly, and the plans connected with the under- taking contemplate giving quite a new aspect to this part of the Quartier Latin. The enlargement of the Sorbonne was projected by Napoleon III. some years before 1870, and he had so far made a beginning with the work as to pull down several houses, and with all due state lay the first stone towards the additional struc- tures in contemplation. The ‘‘ first of the first stones” so laid down has been removed, though there is a rumour current that after search this first stone has not been found, and people are at a loss to know what has become of it. At all events the laying of the second of the first stones of the new Sorbonne will shortly be celebrated with becoming ceremony. THE International Society of Electricians has decided to hold an exhibition in January next, on the occasion of the first general meeting. The exhibition, which will last several days, is to be held in the rooms of the Observatory of Paris, which have been lent for the purpose by the director. ACCORDING to the Oxford Magazine there have been several interesting additions lately to the collection of casts in the Uni- versity Museum. By the side of the skull of a Dinotherium now stands the skull of a Mastodon. Casts of the complete skeleton of Halitherium, the curious Miocene Sirenian which possesses distinct though small hind limbs, and of the hind and fore feet of the gigantic Zywanodon Bernissartensts, the original of which is one of the chief features of the Natural History Museum at Brussels, have also been added. AN exhibition of the arts, industries, and natural productions of the Malay Archipelago was opened under the patronage of the Government of the Dutch East Indies at Batavia last month. The productions of Penang, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak are largely represented. Pror. MELL, director of the Alabama Weather Service, announces that through the liberality of the chief signal officer and of several railways ; daily weather signals predicting changes of weather and temperature, will in future be displayed at upwards of 100 t-legraph stations in the State of Alabama. The predictions will be received by the director at an early hour every morning from the Signal Office at Washington, and then promptly distributed along the railways. On paying about six dollars, the cost of the signal flags, any town or telegraph station will receive free telegraphic warning of the daily weather changes. Only about five minutes are required to set the flags. A similar ‘ a Dec. 25, 1884 | NATURE LSE extension of weather signals has been for some time in operation in Ohio and in a portion of Pennsylvania. THE last Consular Report from China, published as a Parlia mentary Blue-Book (China 6A Trade Reports), contains the appendixes to the annual report of the English Consul at Tchang. They deal with the animal, fossil, mineral, and vegetable products of the Ichang district. A considerable part of the flora appears to be employed only for medicinal purposes. The extracts from Mr. Gardner’s diary of his travels through the province are sometimes extremely interesting ; his account of a visit to the fossil quarries is especially so. Three kinds of fossils found in the district are staples of trade, the pagoda stones Orthoceras), kosmos stones (Ammonztes), and the ‘‘stone swallows.” The first is found in the slate, and is cut, and either framed as a picture, or made into ornamental furniture. The Ammonites receive the name of ‘‘kosmos stones” from their resemblance when polished to the Chinese symbol for kosmos. The so-called stone swallows are ground down, and, like much else in that region, used as medicine. These are fossil bivalves, and the nanie is given to them because the natives believe that they fly about underground in the same way that the swallow flies in the air. The fossil cutters appear to _be a separate guild, and mostly converts to Christianity. The tools are merely a saw andachisel. They prod about the slate until they find an Orthoceras, which they think will be perfect ; they then cut out a slab, which they saw into two or three thin planks, so that the fossil looks like a white picture of a pagoda on a black ground. These various fossils are close together in a region at least thirty miles long, and Mr. Gardner thinks that there is hardly a cubic foot of the limey slate which does not contain a fossil or the fragment of one. THE most recent link in the long chain of telegraph lines | which is spreading with such rapidity over China is the land line from Shanghai to Canton. A line from Pekin to Tientsin was opened a few months ago, and the capital of China was connected directly with London. Now the capital of Southern China is joined with the metropolis in the north ; and as Canton was put in communication by telegraph with the frontier of Tonquin at the outbreak of the present political troubles in the latter district, the telegraph now stretches in an unbroken line from Pekin in the north to the most southern boundary of the Chinese Empire, and a message either from London or Pekin might reach the head-quarters of the Chinese forces on the Tonquin frontier in a few hours. graph line in China was one about six miles in length, stretching from Shanghai to the sea, and erected to inform the mercantile community of the arrival of vessels off the mouth of the river. The next important line constructed by the Chine e Government will probably be one uniting Pekin with the great northern lines across Siberia at Kiachta. This will have to cross the whole of Mongolia, and will give the capital of China a third alternative telegraph route to Europe, a matter to which some political im- portance is believed to be attached in China. As already pointed out in NATURE, this extraordinary development is due solely to political considerations. A COMMISSION appointed by the French Government to consider the best method of developing the mineral wealth of Annam and Tonquin has just issued its report. It lays down a programme for a mining mission, which it has been decided to send out there, and suggests the appointment of two separate missions. The duty of the first of these would be to ascertain whether the metalliferous deposits stated by Annamite docu- ments to exist in two north-western provinces of Tonquin do actually exist there, and how far it would be possible to work them profitably. The second should investigate the copper deposits of the delta, and subsequently extend its labours into Annam. A draft mining law for these regions has also been Four years ago the only tele- | proposed. Its special provisions are those relating to the mutual rights of the owners of the soil and those who have been granted concessions to work the mines; to administrative intervention (which it is recommended should be as rare as possible) with private mine owners. The broad policy laid down by the Com- mission is very liberal, not only to the natives, whose rights or alleged rights are to be scrupulously respected, but also to other nations, whose subjects are, for mining purposes, to be placed on the same footing as Frenchmen. Work, it is said, can take place at once on the coal-measures known to exist on the coast of Tonquin, as well as in the adjacent islands. THE several correspondents of Za Lumiére El-clrique, who have been sent to report on the progress of electricity in America, have returned to Paris, and are preparing their reports, which will be published next year. THE site for the Centennial French Exhibition has been selected. It is to be held on the Champ de Mars, which belongs to the War Office, but will be given up to the city of Paris. A part of the Champ de Mars will be sold for building purposes. The Central Palace of the Exhibition will be made permanent and used for yearly exhibitions like those held in London at South Kensington. Pror. T. C. MENDENHALL, Scéence states, has been appointed Chief Electrician of the U.S. Signal Bureav. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Silvery Gibbon (Hy/obates leuciscus 9 ) from Java, presented by Mr. C. H. A. Hervey; a Bonnet Monkey (Alucacus sinicus) from India, presented by Mrs. J. N. L. Boljahn ; a Common Roe (Cafreolus capre@a), British, presented by Mr. C. Hambro ; a Common Rhea (Xhez americana 6 ) from. South America, presented by Lady Brassey, F.Z.S. ; a Tawny Owl (Syrvium aluco), European, presented by Mr. W. P. Clark ; a Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) from Australia, presented by Mr. R. O. S. Ogilby ; a Greater Black-backed Gull (Zarus marinu,), British, presented by Mr. T. E. Gunn; a Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), a Common Gull (Zevus canus), three Greater Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus), three Black-headed Gulls (Lavzs ridibundus), British, presented by Mr. W. H. Fielden, C.M.Z.S. ; a Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus lalandii) from South Africa, 2 Brush-tailed Kan- garoo (/elrogale penicillata 9 ) from New South Wales, a Hairy- fronted Muntjac (Cervulus crinifrons 6), two Michie’s Tufted Deer (Zlaphodus michianus & 9) from China, a Tawny Owl (Syrnium aluco), European, a Hobby (Falco suibutco’, British, d-posited ; two Common Guillemots (Zomzia (oie), a Razor- bill (A/ca forda), British, purchased. E OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN OccuLTATIONS OF ALDEBARAN.—The next series of occulta- tions of Aldebaran visible at Greenwich commences on February 22, 1885, and terminates on October 6, 1887. The dates and mean times of immersion and emersion are as follow :— Immersion Emersion 5, Sirk h. m. 1885 February 22 a7) 5 50 March 21 II 43 below the horizon November 22 9 48 10 57 1886 January 16 7 48 8 49 April 8 oS 5 54 November 12 18 27 19 16 1887 January 6 T2017 13,15 March 2 5 47 6) 4 October 6 15 20 16 2 There are therefore eight occultations in this series in which both immersion and emersion are visible, and one in which only the immersion occurs while the star is above the horizon at Greenwich. In the last series, wh’'ch commenced September 28, 1866, and ended on August 2, 1869, ten occultations were: wholly visible. . 182 NA DORE [ Dec. 25, 1884 Occultations of Aldebaran are on record as far back as the year A.D. 491 ; it is stated in the Chinese Annals that the star was occulted at Nankin on March 29. Apparently the first occultation observed in Europe was found by Bullialdus in a ‘Greek manuscript, which thus describes it :—‘* Anno 225 Dio- cletiani, Phamenoth 15 in 16, vidi Lunam sequentem claram | Hyadum post accensas lucernas, digiti unius ad summam semisse. Videbatur autem occultasse ipsam. Stella quippe apposita erat parti, per quam bisecatur limbus Lune illuminatus.” Bullialdus makes the date A.D. 509, March ri, and anapproximate calcula- tion shows that he is correct. New moon fell about 7h. G.M.T. on March 6. ENCKr’s CoMET.—This comet at its present return will be observable in these latitudes in the early evening hours before perihelion, The following ephemeris is for 6h. G.M.T. :— ne R.A. Decl. Log. distance from 1885 hem. Ss , j Earth Sun Jan. t ... 22 55 26 +3 57°83 0°1526 ... O°1309 222150, 18: 4 05 3 +. 22 57 12 4 34 fe PD TES 07 4 65 Bee 2250) 13 4 98 O°1500 ... O*'1120 O23) LONE 4 133 Dts CR} HO) 4 16°9 fice eh ee 6) 4 20°7 Ol 23% 3) 32 4 24°7 0°1462 ... O°O917 TOs 23) 4 5 4 28°9 Uh... 23) 5 10 Aasere, Cee 23) 10) 7, 4 377 1 ne 8} af 5 4 42°4 O'I4IO ... 070699 TAN. 923) 18 35 4 472 15... 23 9 46 4 522 16 ... 23 10 58 4 573 Uy) Bea ey eae 5 26 0°1344 ... 0'0463 HOw. 2 Sebo i2, 5 80 19 23 14 44 By ss) 20M a 2O EEO. 2) 5) LORE POE cay 8} GP we) 5 248 0'1261 ... 070206 222 3NLS) AO 5 307 BE on ERO) A 5 366 2k oy 3} BU 5 42°6 DO cy a) Dy 5 48°7 o'r1ss ... 9°9926 Bones 230240 LE 5 54°8 Pe] ae EWA BY/ 6 10 AS a CL! GO 7e2 29 23 28 31 6) 1355) ee2) (OTO33) | --wONOOTO 30) <2 23730 0 6 19°7 30)... 23,32 29 +6 25°0 The intensity of light expressed in the usual manner is 0°27 on January 1, and o’51 on the last date of the ephemeris. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES AN interesting | roject was laid before the Associated Swiss Societies of Geography at their meeting at Berne last month, by M. Miillhaupt. He suggested the formation of an international geographical bureau for the following purposes :—(1) To carry out the resolutions arrived at by the International Geographical Congresses. (2) To ma'.e exchanges every month, or oftener if need be, between the eighty odd geographical societies ; in place of each society sending its own publications in eighty different directions, it would only have to send them all at once to the bureau, which would do so. This, he claims, would save both time and money. (3) To publish, in the four or five principal languages, a summary of the contents of the publications of the various ge graphical societies; instead of each society being forced to do this for itself, a single examination would suffice to put them all aw courant with what has been done all over the globe. There would in this way be the further advantage of knowing what was published by societies like the Geographical Society of Japan, the publications of which are in a language not genera'ly known in Europe. M. Miillhaupt thought that the idea was not a difficult one to be carried out ; the expenses would be shared by the numerous societies interested. These contain approximately 38,000 active members, and doubtless the countries having an interest in the pr gress of the geographical sciences would take part in a central organisation of the nature here suggested. THE last number (Band xi. No. 8) of the Verhandlunyen der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berln contains two papers on | about them, West Africa: one accompanivd by an excellent map, by Herr Flegel, of his recent journey along the Niger to Adamawa; the other, by Herr Reichenow, on the Cameroons, and the German colony there. Dr. Lopez writes on the Argentine States, and the importance of the “serman element in the foreign population there. THE investigation of the subterranean course of the Re a River has been actively pursued for some time past by the Coast Section of the German and Au trian Alpine Society. The Reka is that mysterious river which, coming from the Schneeberg in Carniola, loses itself in the caves of the Karst, and after a sub- terranean course of more than thirty kilometres, breaks out of the ground near Sian Giovanni di Duino, is then called the Timavo, and eventual'y flows into the Bay of Monfalcone. Already, on March 30 last, a j art of this subterranean course was investigated by a party starting from the village of St. Can- zian, where a celebrated cave is situated, into which the Reka f lls with thundering noise when the water is high. In Septem- ber a second exploration was made. The first subterranean cave is called the Rudolfslome ; it was from here the explorers started in two boats. First, they passed a canal about sixty metres in length, very narrow, and bounded by rocky walls one hundred metres in height ; then a large cave was reached, where the party landed and fastened the boats, as waterfalls and rapids pre- vented further progress in boats. The underground journey was now cotinued on the rocky banks, the river being crossed seve- ral times on ladders. Thus six waterfalls were passed, and a seventh was reached. Altogether the explorers penetrated to a distance of between two and three hundred metres underground. BULLETIN No. 5 of the U.S. Geological Survey is, Science remarks, a dictionary of altitudes in the United States, compiled by Henry Gannett, chief geographer of the Survey. It is essen- tially »n extension of the ‘‘ Lists of Elevations,” prepared by the same author for Hayden’s Survey ; but, with the present broader organisation of the Geological Survey, the lists now appropriately include the whole country, while the earlier editions were con- cerned chiefly with the region west of the Mississippi. A list of authorities fills eight pages, and railroad abbreviations occupy eight more ; then the States and stations follow alphabetically. the number of altitudes given being about 18,000. It is stated thar the collection of railroad profiles for Pennsylvania is excep- tionally complete and admirably adjusted, making the portion of the dictionary referring to that State by far the fullest and most satisfactory. By an unfortunate oversight, it is not stated whether the base level is high, mean, or low tide. AT the recent meeting of the Ethnological Section of tle Imperial Russian Geogra;hical Society a paper was read de- scribing Adrianow’s journey through the Altai Mountains in 1881. The traveller was only able to take four companions, on account of the meagre funds at his disposal ; nevertheless he was able to obtain excellent results, and to penetrate hitherto unknown regions. Although the southern slopes of the Altai Range have already been the object of investigation of various students, such as Pallas, Ledebur, Humboldt, and others, the eastern part of the region, the vast districts between the River Tom and the Government of Yenisei, have been almost a fe77@ incognita. Adriangw’s expedition started from the town of Kustnetsk, crossed the River Lebed, examined Lake Teletsk, touched Chulshman, Jan, and Agalan, crossed the Shayshal Pass, advanced to the River Kemchik, and sought for and found the sources of the Yenisei. They travelled through the region through which the river flows to the town of Yeniseisk, where the expedition came to an end. Throughout the journey Rus ians were found only around the sources of the Yenisei and on the River Usg. The population of the Altais is composed of sectaries who emigrated thither during the last century; their existence was wholly unknown until 1868, when they were by chance disc »vered by a Russian officer who was surveying there. Adrianow met similar colonies at Tobut on Koko-nor. These were founded in 1800. The colonists are described as savage and predatory. Besides these the traveller visited the so-called Black Tartars, on the rivers Koudoma and Luida—a tribe which has only once before been visited and described. They are regarded as descendants of the great Finnish and Turanian tribes, but hardly anything in an anthropological sense is known The travellers also brought back a considerable number of pictures of monuments and works in stone, which exist among the Sajans and in Mongolia. Those of monuments | to the dead are very interesting; some of them are merely ee ae ; y Dev. 25, 1884 | NA RORE 183 conical heaps of stones, while others are laid quite flat and are surrounded by a circle of larger stones; a third kind exhibit a primitive art of stone-cutting, the stones bearing a distant resemblance to the human body. Frequently around the graves the bones of horses which had been brought as sacrificial offer- ings, were found, as were also certain Runic inscriptions. M. ADRIANOW, in his journey through the Altais, notices the existence in these regions of iminigrant communities which have been forgotten and which have been re-discovered by chance. It is also reported from St. Petersburg that a similar discovery has been made elsewhere in Siberia. In the course of a prolonged inspection of his province, the Governor of Irkutsk (Governor- General of Eastern Siberia ?) came across a town called Ilim, with 500 inhabitants, 150 houses, and four ancient churches, with remarkable relics of Cossack times. It is stil under the republican rule of a vetche, or public assembly, convoked by a bell, as in old Novgorod the Great, although the new municipal institutions were supposed to have been applied to that part of the Empire ten years ago. Not one of the inhabitants can read or write. AN important geographical work on Austro-Hungary is now being produced in parts by Mr. Alfred Holder, the publisher, of Vienna. The author, Prof. Umlauft, gives in alphabetical order the names of the various States and peoples of the Austro-Hun- garian empire, as well as those of the more important districts, mountains, rivers, and towns, with their meanings. He does not, however, confine himself simply to present names, but also gives the forms employed formerly and the various changes which the name has undergone from the earliest times down to th- present day. The work is thus historical and philological. The total number of names treated will be between six and seven thousand. The first part, which ha appeared, contains Io041 names, from Aa to Donau. Geographical names, it is said, not only have their history, they are themselves pieces of history. The distinction between the German and Slay names of places is characteristic. The great majority of the German village Mames are connected with those of persons, probably the founders or original owners, more rarely with that of the patron saint. Thus Simmering comes from Simoning, Hiitteldorf from Utendorf, Hadersdorf from Hadrichsdorf, Kalksburg from Chadalhohisperg (7.e. mountain of one Chadalhoh), Domsdorf from Dominiksdorf. The change wrought in course of time in so se names has been very great, and renders their explanvtion difficult. The Slav names, on the other hand, are mostly taken from the position of the place or some peculiarity in the neigh- bourhood. They also manifest great stability of form, and it is only in their Genmanising that they have materially altered. Thus the Czech Brloh becomes in German Bierloch, Ratibor Rothwurst, and Radoina Rothweim. The Czech Lhota, which means simply a settlement which is free from taxation, assumes in German such various forms as Oehlhiitten, Elhotten, Ellgoth, Wellhotten, Welhiitten, Wellhiitten, Mehlhiittel, Malten, and others. Even real German names have undergone the same eccentric change, and names which in their original form are quite clear in their meaning have by a slight change become in- comprehen-ible ; thus Donnersmark is really Donnerstagmarkt, or Thursday Market. It may be remembered that some articles in the 7mes during the autumn, followed by a long correspond- ence, did much interesting and valuable work of this kind for English place-names, though of course in a less regular and systematic form. Mr. Im TilURN’s Roraima expedition left Kalacoon on October 16 with three boats and crews of seventeen Pomeroon and two Mazarooni Indians, and on the following day they ascended the first falls of the Essequibo. Simultaneously with their departure from Kalacoon, an expedition for Roraima, under the.charge of a commercial botanist named Siedel, left Bartica for Koraima v7@ Mazarooni. The two parties will probably mect on the mountain. M. AYMonIeR, a Saigon official, has recently returned fro n a journey of exploration in Indo-China. He left Saigon at the end of September last year to explore Southern Laos, and made a collection of the ancient Cambodian inscriptions. Having explored the intervening country, he reached Bangkok at the end of June last, and here he renained for some time to com- plete his studies on the Siamese kingdom. ‘The result of his travels will shortly be published in the ‘‘ Excursions et Recon- naissances,” and he will aft rwards proceed on another journey of exploration in Annam. ROOTS?! IN treating of the roots of plants this evening, I may request you to dismiss from your minds any expectations or apprehensions of marvellous descriptions of tropical or rare roots on the one hand, or of a list of the peculiarities of various kinds of roots or so-called roots on the other, though it is not improbable that some of the facts will be, in part at least, new to some of you, as they certainly are to many people. I do not propose even to put any new discoveries before you. It has seemed much more to the purpose to show, as well as time will permit, that a vast amount of interesting and important information can be derived from a proper and systematic study of the roots of a common ‘plant— information, moreover, which is important alike to the scientific botani:t and to the practical agriculturist, two people who find they have more and more in common each day they come to know one another better. As the diagrams must in part have told you already, I propose that we meet on ground familiar, to a certain extent, to every one ; and the sequel will show, I hope, that we have in no way acted unwisely in taking each other into confidence on the subject of an ordinary root, such as is well known to all of us. So much is this the case, that our study may be confined for the most part to the root of the common broad bean and a few other plants of our gardens. [The lecturer then shortly described the germination of the common bean, maize, and a few other plants, and illustrated by diagrams the mode in which the first or primary root of the bean seedling emerges below, as the young seedling shoot (or plumule”) prepares to force its way upwards to the light and air. Next followed a short consideration of what this voof may be said to be.] Anticipating matters to a certain extent, it may be shortly described as an organ for fixing the rest of the plant to the substratum, or soil, from which it absorbs certain food- materials. By confining our attention to this typical and well- known form of root, we may avoid any complexities resulting from the consideration of the more extraordinary cases occurring among the lower plants, or among curious aérial epiphytes, parasitic or otherwise, and other abnormal forms—forms which would demand several lectures by themselves. The roots we have to consider, then, are organs for anchoring the rest of the plant firmly into the soil, and for absorbing cer- tain matter dissolved in water from that soil. Obviously, we may do well! to see, fi st, how the root gets into the soil; and secondly, how it accomplishes its objects when there. When the young root first peeps forth from between the coats of the seed, it is seento have its tip directed downwards towards the centre of the earth. Now this is not an accident ; for if the seed be turned over, so that the apex of the root is made to turn upwards, its tip soon bend; over, and again becomes directed downwards. [Mr. Ward then proceeded to explain, as shortly as could be done without detailed experimental evidence, that this persistent turning earthwards of the young root is due to a peculiar property, almo t of the nature of a :ensitiveness. or perception to the influence of gravitation, and is not due merely to the weight of the organ. ] Next, evidence has been obtained to show that the tip of the root has a slightly rocking or swinging movement, which is more or less of the nature of the movements so well known in the case of the stems of twining plants ; the tip of the root, in fact, not only moves earthwards, but tends to describe a very steep spiral as it doesso. These successive very slight noddings to all sides of the tip as it proceeds in a line directed towards the centre of the earth are extremely slight, it must be borne in mind, but they may aid the point of the root to wriggle its way between the particles of earth in a loose soil, or to run down any crevice or hole it meets with. Thirdly, in addition to its determined tendency to descend, though in a very slightly spiral course, the tip of such a root as we are describing has been found to be peculiarly sensitive to the contact of solid bodies. This extremely curious phenomenon could only be fully described by references to experiments and matters which we have scant time for. It must suffice, there- fore, to state that there is evidence to show that the exteme tip of the root, on coming in contact with a hard resistant body, is caused to turn aside from that body, and if it comes simulta- neously into contact with two bodies, one of which is harder than the other, it is caused to bend away from the harder of the t Abstract of a lecture delivered before the Manchester Horticultura Society, in the old Vow. Mall, Manchester, on November 6, by H. Marshall Ward, M.A., Fellow of Chri:t’s College, Cambridge, and Assistant Lecturer in Bo:any at the Owens College 184 A TOUTE . . 7 : bo os |, 4 te ie [ Dec. 25, 1884 two. This property is all the more curious because, at a portion of the root a very short distance behind the tip, contact with a solid body causes that part of the root to curve over the touching body, much in the way that my finger is now curved over this wooden pointer. As already stated, time will not admit of our examining these very remarkable matters more closely—they form subjects for lectures in themselves. But we have not yet finished our survey of what these sensi- tive tips of the roots are capable of. Experiments show that they turn towards a wet surface or atmosphere—a fact of great importance, and one which no doubt lies at the base of the ex- planation of the choking up of drain-pipes, &c., by the roots of neighbouring trees. Further, the apex of the root of such a plant as the bean we are considering avoids the light—avoids it as energetically as the leaves and green parts turn towards it. The two facts thus tersely put, viz. that the tip of the root tends towards a damp spot and avoids an illuminated one, are of course also in agreement with the rest of the behaviour of our germi- nating bean, and hence the root descends into the damp, moist, granular soil. It is now time to see what sort of structure this wonderful root-tip possesses, and to inquire whence comes the impulse which drives it forwards into the soil—for it will be seen that while the forces producing the various curvatures which have been referred to tend to guide the apex of the root downwards between the particles of soil, towards the darker, moister, deeper parts, they cannot be expected to drive it into the soil. In the first place, the tip is a firm, conical, smooth body, covered with a slippery, loose root-cap, as seen in the diagrams. Now, it cannot be too carefully borne in mind that the true tip of the root, beneath the covering cap, is resistant and somewhat elastic ; it consists of multitudes of minute tightly-packed cells, each densely filled with protoplasmic substanze containing very little water, and of a consistency resembling in some degree that of awell-made, hard-set jelly. Perhaps, indeed, a better idea of it may be gained if the conical tip of the root is compared to a firm, re- sistant jelly, cut up by delicate partitions into multitudes of minute blocks, which, however, are not separated from one another at all. In any case, it is clear that such a cone, if steadily and slowly driven by a persistent force from behind, is admirably adapted for penetrating between the particles of soil, especially if we bear in mind the following facts: (1) the cone is protected by a slippery cap of loose cells, which prevents the abrasions of the particles of soil from injuring the cells beneath ; (2) the driving force is steady and continuous, and directed vertically, ze. along the axis of the cone ; (3) the tip oscillates slightly from side to side, and is thus probably (though not to any very great extent) in- sinuated between the-earthy particles, no doubt being aided to a certain extent by other properties to which allusion has been made. It is of course obvious that the last thing we should expect of such a cone is that it could take up quantities of water from the soil: its structure is clearly in no way adapted for such a purpose, if only from the fact that there would be nowhere for the water to effect an entrance. And now comes the question, What is this steady, continuous driving force from behind? Well, it is due to the simultaneous elongation of the hundreds of thousands of little cells situated a short distance behind the more rigid cone we have just examined. No doubt it seems a hard fact to grasp—that the absorption of water, and the intercalation of minute particles of substance in the interior of the cells shown in this diagram should be capable of steadily driving the apex of the root into the soil ; but it is a fact nevertheless. Perhaps youjwill apprehend the matter more clearly if I offer you a well-known illustration which, it is true, does not exactly cover all the facts, but which will, at any rate, aid you in overcoming some initial difficulties. You are well aware that a wedge of wood driven firmly into a crack in a rock and then moistened, swells, and that it may swell so powerfully as to fracture the rock ; very well, the elongation of the cells behind, which steadily drives the firm cone of the root forwards, Is to a great extent due to the absorption of water, which causes each cell to grow longer. I say to a great extent, because, while the water is, on the one hand, absorbed in a slightly different way and enlarges the volume of each cell to a much greater extent, there are, on the other hand, forces at work which cause new particles of substance to be added to those originally composing the cells, and so fix the cells, as it were, in their condition of greater elongation, strengthening them at the same time. But this is not all. Besides growing longer, and thus driving the apex steadily forwards, the cells behind increase in diameter, and so push aside the particles of the soil with a force which would astonish you if I entered into figures ; this, how- ever, can only be adverted to here, since we must now pass to the explanation of one or two other points. It is clear that, great as is the driving force supplied by so many elongating cells—and, of course, it is upon the simulta- neous action of countless thousands of cells that the driving power depends—it would soon cease to be of much use unless a holdfast were insured at some point behind, ‘This brings me to the consideration of an extremely important matter, and one on which I hope to make you quite clear. At first, while the root is still very young (as in this diagram), the weight of the seed above, with that of any soil covering it, seems to suffice to afford the necessary points of application ; and this will doubtless be supplemented immediately afterwards by the increase in diameter of the upper part of the root. When the root has attained some little length, however, a striking change takes place in its behaviour to the surrounding soil. First, let me call your attention to the following points, as illustrated by these diagrams. When the young primary root has attained a length of about four to six or eight inches— depending on circumstances which we need not occupy time in examining—the older portion nearest the seed has ceased to grow in length, and its surface is becoming clothed with a dense covering of very delicate hairs, which will be referred to in future as the ‘‘ root-hairs.” Each root-hair is an extremely slender sac —a sort of long tubular bladder, in fact -which possesses in virtue of its peculiar organisation an extraordinary aptitude for taking up water, and for attaching itself to the particles of soil with which it comes in contact. These facts are well illustrated by reference to these diagrams, to which I wish your attention for a few minutes. From the delicacy of these root-hairs, and from their springing at right angles from the surface of this part of the root, radiating in all directions between the particles of soil, to which they immediately proceed to glue themselves, it is obvious that they are saved from being torn away as the tip of the root is slowly driven forwards between the particles of soil; if they were to arise on the tip itself, or on the parts which are elongating be- hind it, they would infallibly be removed by the abrasion of the particles of soil. Instead of this, however, they become de- veloped on the parts behind in successive multitudes as those parts cease to elongate. At the same time, the thousands of points of attachment es- tablished by the root-hairs afford the holdfast which becomes more and more necessary as the apex of the root is driven further and further forwards, and as the weight of the aérial parts of the plant, with their increasing surfaces exposed to wind and weather, become larger. Meanwhile, leaving aside for the moment the consideration of how these millions of root-hairs take up the water and food- matters from the soil, the young root has been making prepara- tions for obtaining a still firmer and wider holdfast on the soil, which will, at the same time, enable them to absorb water and food-materials at millions of new points further and further removed from the centre at which the primary root commenced its operations. To understand this, I must call your attention to this diagram, showing how the branching of the root proper is brought about. In the interior of the growing root a number of cells begin to multiply at certain points, and to form the young beginnings of lateral roots or rootlets ; further back you see these young lateral roots upheaving the tissues of their parent root as minute knobs. By this time, however, these portions of the mother root have ceased to grow in length, and thus the tender little tips of the lateral roots can protrude and be pushed into the soil around without danger of being dragged off or injured, as they would inevitably be if this part of their mother root were still actively elongating. Notice carefully the exquisite adapta- tion to the circumstances, though brought about in a slightly different manner ; no time is lost in the preparation of the young root branches within the tissues of the parent root, but the tender tips, as in the casé of the root-hairs, only proceed to grow radially into the surrounding soil when the growth of the mother root in a direction across their long axes has ceased. Time will not allow of our examining these matters more in detail ; but I cannot avoid calling your attention to the fact that these lateral roots are sensitive to gravitation in a manner dif- ferent from the primary root—they grow, not straight down towards the centre of the earth, but across the vertical, it may be more or Jess inclined, in different cases. In other respects they aes Dec. 25, 1884] resemble the primary root generally, in their turn producing root- hairs and daughter roots, which radiate from them in all direc- tions into new portions of the soil, as shown in this diagram. I need not do more than point out to you that it would be difficult to conceive of a series of adaptations better calculated to insure that the various parts of the root-system come succes- sively in contact with the whole mass of soil traversed ; and when your eyes follow mine over this diagram, you will agree that matters have become so arranged, so to speak, between the roots and the soil, that every part of the latter is laid under contribution. Notice how this vertical cylinder of earth is first bored through by the primary root, and then traversed in all directions by the root-hairs, in a wave, as it were, passing from above downwards. Next come the lateral roots, burrowing in all directions from the main shaft, and each in turn demanding toll from the cylinder around it by means of its wave of root- hairs. Then follow tunnelings along the lengths of each of these rootlets, and on all sides at right angles to them, until every nook and cranny has been investigated by these enterprising rootlets and their prying root-hairs. Quite apart from all else, therefore, the root-system obtains a greater and greater holdfast on the soil by driving its tips in on all sides. But Imust now draw your attention to some matters which throw even more light on our subject. The root-hairs, as they develop successively from above downwards on the primary root, or on the lateral rootlets, come into the closest contact with the particles of soil—contact so close and firm, in fact, that they cannot be torn away without injury. There are experiments to prove that their cellulose walls become actually moulded and gummed on to the solid particles of quartz, slate, and other rocks of which ordinary soils are composed, and this diagram shows how we can lift up a relatively large cylinder of soil adhering to the root-hairs of a young seedling. Now you are probably aware that the sort of soil in which a healthy plant flourishes contains air-bubbles as well as water in the interstices between the particles, and into which the root- hairs become insinuated. Bearing this in mind, you will have no difficulty in understanding from the diagram how the root- hairs absorb the aérated water necessary for their well-being. I need simply make the additional remark that each little bag-like root-hair takes up the liquid water through its permeable walls into its interior, in some respects very much as a bladder full of a solution of sugar or salt would absorb water if placed in it. But this water taken up by the root-hairs and passed on/into the rootlets and so on up the stem (a process for which pro- visions are made which we cannot go into here), is not pure water ; it contains, besides air, certain small proportions of the soluble matters found in all soils. It is, in fact, much like ordinary drinking-water from a well or spring, which always con- tains some matters in solution. But the roots want certain other minerals, which will not dissolve in pure water to a sufficient extent under ordinary circumstances. Well, the root-hairs, in making use of the oxygen which they, like all other living bodies, require, give off small quantities of acids which aid the solution of these more refractory matters. And now I have finished—not because the subject is exhausted, but because the time at our disposal is. I hope the object has been attained, and that you fully realise how well worthy of study is a common living root. Not only is it instructive as a simple object of dissection, a subject upon which I have had no time to dwell, but the peculiar properties which stamp it asa living organ themselves afford material for much thought and investigation. When we go further, however, and see how the structure and the functions depend upon one another, some very curious reflections thrust themselves upon us ; and if time had allowed us to look at these matters from the other platforms of view—to see how old errors have gradually been explained away on the part of ob- servers, and how what may be called improved adaptations have arisen in the evolution of the root as an organ—these reflections would have obtained in depth. But we have taken a glimpse at matters still more comprehensive : we have touched upon that important question of the relation of the root to ils physical environment, and it i$ not difficult to see numerous points where the struggle must have been intense before the plastic substance of the root was enabled to meet the requirements necessary before it could become a dweller in the land. The evidence of progress and adaptation to its environment on the part of the root is, in fact, so striking and conclusive, that we might take it as a text fora sermon on evolution were such necessary. I have been strongly tempted to occupy some more time with reference to the jnteresting phenomena shown by roots which cling to trees and NATURE : 185 walls, &c., or which rob other plants of food-materials ; and had time allowed, I would have liked to say a few words about some other adaptations, such as those by means of which roots become pulled up taut in the soil. However, these and other matters cannot be even mentioned, and, indeed, each one deserves a lecture to itself. FOCAL LINES \ HEN a pencil of light proceeding from a luminous point is incident upon a prism, the rays after refraction do not as a rule diverge from a point, but from two short lines at right angles to each other at some distance apart depending on the angle of incidence of the pencil. These lines are known as the focal lines of the pencil. Ifthe edge of the prism be vertical and the axis of the pencil lie in a horizontal plane, the focal lines are respectively horizontal and vertical. The position of the horizontal line is independent of the angle of incidence of the pencil, its distance from the prism being the same as that of the luminous point, or with the notation of Parkinson’s ‘‘ Optics” (p. 88)— W=U The distance from the prism of the vertical focal line is, on the other hand, dependent on the angle of incidence, its position being given by the formula— _ cos?’ cos*y cos’ cos" The image of an object viewed through the prism will appear between the two focal lines, and will be formed by the circles of least confusion. The two focal lines will coincide in position, and they, and the circles of least confusion, will consequently be- come points if @ = @’, that is, if the prism be placed in the posi- tion of minimum deviation. All these phenomena of refraction by a prism, which are of great importance to the spectroscope, may be verified in a very striking manner by using as an object a piece of wire gauze, placed so that one set of wires is horizontal and the other vertical, and illuminated by a sodium flame placed behind it. If the light pass directly from the gauze to the prism, the focal lines are of course virtual, but they may be easily viewed and their positions identified by means of a telescope which will focus an object at a short distance. For one position of the eye-piece of the telescope the vertical wires are seen distinctly while no horizontal wires are seen ; whereas for another position the horizontal wires may be focused, but then the vertical ones are no longer visible unless the prism is in the position of minimum deviation. Between these two positions of the eye-piece is a third, for which a blurred image of the gauze is seen corresponding to the circles of least confusion. The positions of the lines may be determined by ascertaining where an object must be placed, when the prism is removed, so as to be in focus in the telescope for the two positions of the eye-piece corresponding to the two focal lines respectively. The experiment is, however, much more striking if the focal lines be made real by interposing between the gauze and the prism a convex lens of somewhat long focal length. The vertical and horizontal images may then be viewed by means of an ordinary watchmaker’s glass, or, better still, by a telescope eye-piece mounted behind a second gauze with its wires set at 45° to the horizon, With this arrangement the images cor- responding to the two focal lines can be seen very clearly, and their distances from the prism accurately measured. It is very interesting to place the prism first in the position of minimum deviation, and focus the magnifier upon the image of the gauze, showing both horizontal and vertical wires clearly defined ; then on gradually turning the prism the vertical lines disappear completely, leaving a set of horizontal bars across the uniform field, thus verifying the first formula cited above. If however, the eye-piece be drawn back some way, a badly- defined image of the gauze can be obtained corresponding to the circles of least confusion, and, on withdrawing the eye-piece still further, the horizontal lines disappear entirely, while the vertical lines come out sharply defined as a set of vertical bars across a uniform field. As the experiment was arranged here, with a prism of about 9° and the horizontal focal line about two feet from the prism, the distance between the two images was fully six inches when the prism was turned through an angle of about 15° from the position of minimum deviation. The properties of the focal lines formed by a pencil incident 1 lt, 186 NATURE | Dec. 25, 1884 obliquely upon a lens can be verified in an exactly similar manner. It follows from the formule given in Parkinson’s ““Optics ” (p. ror) that, with the usual notation— uw—- Uy wv, : Be SSO u— Uy, 2 The verification of this formula by the method of observation described above has been found to be a very useful and satisfac- tory class experiment. W. N. SHAW Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The election of Mr. A. Marshall as Professor of Political Economy will be welcomed by all who knew the value of his work when formerly in residence as Lecturer at St. John’s College. The Senate has sanctioned the recommendation that 700/. be expended on the purchase of microscopes for the biological classes, on which sum interest at 4 per cent. is to be paid, a small terminal charge being made to the students for the use of the microscopes. The Botanic Garden Syndicate have recommended the increase of the stipend of the Curator of the Botanic Garden from 150. to 200/. The Syndicate have watched with interest the zeal and skill with which Mr. Lynch has applied himself to the conduct and development of the garden. ‘The improvement during his curatorship has been very considerable, in fact remarkable ; and the reputation of the garden among botanists and horticulturists, both at home and abroad, has risen so much that it is now con- sidered to hold a place in England second only to the Royal Gardens at Kew. Sir Joseph Hooker has said that the Garden, under Mr. Lynch’s able management, is rapidly rising to emin- ence as one of the very best in Europe. ‘The Syndicate express their strong approval of the assistance which Mr. Lynch’s intelligent appreciation of the requirements of botanical teaching has enabled him to render to the University. Dr. GILBERT, Professor of Rural Economy at the University of Oxford, and the associate of Sir J. B. Lawes in the Rotham- sted experimental work, has accepted the post of Honorary Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, rendered vacant by the death of Dr. Voelcker. Mr. D’ArRcy WENTWORTH THOMPSON, B.A., was on Mon- day elected Professor of Biology, University College, Dundee. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Physical Society, December 13.—Prof. Guthrie, President, in the chair.—The following communications were read :—On the effect of an electrical current on the rate of thinning of a liquid film, by Profs. A. W. Reinold, F.R.S., and A. W. Riicker, F.R.S., read by Prof. Reinold. In 1877 the authors communicated to the Royal Society an account of some experi- ments upon the electrical resistance of liquid films. The results then obtained showed that there was some disturbing influence present, and the authors now find this to be the action of the current upon the film itself. The films experimented on were, as in the original experiments, cylindrical and vertical, formed upon two coaxial platinum rings which are the electrodes by which an electric current can enter or leave the film. The mode of formation of these films and the precautions necessary to keep them from gaining or losing moisture by condensation or evaporation have been already described before the Royal Society (Phil. Trans., 1881, part 2). When such a film, just formed, is left to itself, it shows a set of colours of different orders arranged in horizontal bands ; as it thins under the action of gravity, these bands gradually broaden out, and descend ; a black band soon appears at the top, which likewise extends downwards. Ifa current is now passed downwards through the film, the motion of the colour-bands is accelerated, showing that the effect of the current is to assist gravity in thinning the film ; the black band, however, becomes in part or entirely white. This upon examination is found to be due to the following action ; the film is not directly dependent upon the upper ring, but is attached to it by a comparatively thick mass of liquid. The action of the current is to transfer liquid in its own direc- tion, thus, like gravity, thinning the film; the mass of liquid, however, on which the film hangs, by this same action is forced down into the black portion, which consequently becomes white. If the current be passed upwards, the reverse effects occur: the downward motion of the bands is retarded, or, with a strong current, reversed. The explanation is precisely the same as before: the liquid is transferred along the film in the direction of the positive current ; it sometimes collects in the form of pendent drops attached to the upper ring ; these increase in size, and stream down the sides of the film. Prof. Reinold then formed a plane film between two horizontal wires ; the film was illuminated by the lime-light, and its image projected upon a screen; the motion of the ban’s of colour in the direction of the current produced by fifty Grove’s cells was clearly shown.— In a discussion which followed upon the transference of matter with the current, Prof. Ayrton described some experiments recently made by Prof. Perry and himself, which showed that certain metals were carried through mercury in the direction of the current. Mr. Boys remarked upon the apparent inertia of the film; the current seemed to require time to develop its action, no motion of the colour-rings being visible for some seconds after making the current.—Dr. Stone exhibited a tuning-fork interruptor commutator. This is an instrument for reversing an electric current through a circuit a given number of times per second. From the free end of a spring, kept vibrating in unison with an electrically maintained fork, by an electro- magnet in the circuit of the fork acting upon an iron armature attached to the spring, project two small aluminium plates, side by side, but insulated by ebonite from the spring and from each other. These are connected by fine wires, which do not inter- fere with the vibration of the spring, to screws upon the base of the instrument, to which the poles of a battery are joined. The motion of each plate is arrested upwards and downwards by aluminium-stops, so that there are four such stops arranged at the corners of a rectangle. They are connected in pairs diagonally, and each pair is in communication with one end of the external circuit. Thus, when the spring is up, the current flows to the aluminium plates, and is transmitted through the circuit in one direction; when the spring is down, it flows by the lower stops in the opposite direction. The electromotive force is thus reversed in the circuit twice as many times as the fork vibrates per second.—Mr. Lewis Wright exhibited his new oxy-hydrogen lantern microscope. Details of this instrument will shortly be published. Geological, medical, and biological specimens were exhibited upon the screen with great distinct- ness, the definition being singularly perfect under the highest powers. Anthropological Institute, December 9.—Prof. Flower, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The election of Miss Miiller was announced.—Sir John Lubbock read a paper on marriage customs and relationships among the Australian aborigines. Many tribes are divided into families or gentes, and no man may marry a woman of his own gens. For instance, among the Mount Gambier (South Australia) natives every man is a Kumite or a Kroki, every woman a Kumitegor or a Krokigor. No Kumite may marry a Kumitegor, nor a Kroki a Krokigor. In many cases the divisions are more complex, but the general principle is that no man may marry a woman of the same gens as himself. These divisions often extend through many tribes and over hundreds of miles. But while these restrictions are im- posed on marriage, on the other hand, in one sense, every man is considered as a husband of every woman belonging to the gens with which he is permitted to marry ; so that, as Messrs. Fison and Howitt forcibly put it, he may have 1000 miles of wives. But though we may call this marriage, and it is a right which in old times was generally, and to a certain extent still is, recog- nised as perfectly legal and respectable, it does not help us to the origin of marriage in our sense. ‘* Communal marriage’ (as he had proposed to call it) was no doubt aboriginal, and founded on natural instincts. But how did the institution of “individual marriage” arise? ‘* Individual marriage ” cannot be derived from ‘communal marriage,” because, however much the gentes may be subdivided, the wives must remain in com- mon within the gens. Messrs. Fison and Howitt did not, he thought, sufficiently realise the fundamental distinction between these two customs. They spoke of both as ‘‘ marriage,” and indeed we had no other word for them. Yet they were radi- cally distinct, and even opposite in their characteristics. Sir John Lubbock had suggested, in his work on the ‘‘ Origin of Civilisation,” that, while in such a state of things no man could | Dec. 25. 1884] NATORE 187 appropriate a woman belonging to his own tribe exclusively to himself, still that, if he captured one belonging to another tribe, | he thereby acquired an individual and peculiar right to her, and she became his exclusively, no one else having any claim to, or roperty in, her. He considered that this explained the preva- ence of the form of capture in marriage, first pointed out by the late Mr. McLennan in his excellent work on ‘‘ Primitive Mar- riage,” but which Mr. McLennan attributed to the prevalence of exogamy, or the custom of marrying outside the tribe ; while, on the contrary, Sir John Lubbock maintained that individual marriage was founded on capture, because this could alone give a man an exclusive right. This view has recently been contested | by Messrs. Fison and Howitt, but Sir John replied in detail to their arguments, and supported his suggestion by strong evi- | denc*, some even taken from their own work.—The Director (Mr. Rudler) read a paper on the Jeraeil or initiation ceremonies of the Kurnai tribe, by A. W. Howitt, F.G.S., in which the author gave a detailed account of a Jeracil at which he himself was present, and drew attention to the manner in which it difers from, or has resemblance to, the Kuringal of the Murring. EDINBURGH Royal Society, December 1.—Thos. Stevenson, C.E., Presi- dent, in the chair.—Mr. Stevenson made some remarks in connec- tion with his election as President.—Sir W. Thoms .n communi- cated a paper on the distribution of energy between colliding groups of molecules, in which he drew attention to Boltzmann’s extension of a theorem given by Clerk Maxwell for the first time twenty- four years ago. He pointed out that, while Maxwell made his simple theorem the basis of his kinetic theory of gases, Voltz- mann’s extension would, if true, be fatal to that theory. Prof. Thomson also stated that the proofs of Boltzmann’s theorem are not satisfactory. The theorem itself seems improbable, and cannot be accepted unless rigidly demonstrated. He wished to draw the attention of mathematicians to the subject, so that the truth of the theorem might be tested. Prof. Crum Brown re- marked that, even in the simplest cases to which the theorem might be applied, there seemed no accordance between its results and actual fact. Prof. Tait stated that the truth of the theorem had seemed to him to be so doubtful that he had called the attention of the Society to it two sessions ago, and had also referred to the matter in his_recently-published book on ‘‘ Heat.”—Sir W. Thomson then communicated a paper on the dynamics of reflection and refraction in the wave-theory of light. He gave a complete n athematical theory of reflection and refraction of light supposed to consist of vibrations in homogeneous elastic media of different densities and rigidities in the two substances through which the sight was considered to pass. The theory confirmed the views of Stokes, Lorenz, and Rayleigh, that the density of the lumini- ferous ether is different in different transparent substances, while its effective rigidity is equal.—Sir W. Thomson then gave a paper on Kerr's discovery regarding the reflection of light from a magnetic pole. Faraday’s observations on the action of magnetism on polarised light passing through transparent substances. The plane of polarisation of light reflected from a polarised magnetic pole is rotated through a definite angle in a direction opposite to the conyentionat direction of the Amperian currents. Some time passed before Kerr’s results were obtained by any other ob- server. Kundt finally succeeded in verifying them, and added the new discovery of the rotation of the plane of polarisation of light passing through a transparent film of iron. In his paper Sir W. Thomson gave a dynamical explanation of these pheno- mena.—Prof. Tait exhibited a new form of apparatus for deter- mining the compressibility of water. Formerly he measured the compression produced by a given pressure. In his new method he measures the pressure required to produce a given ; formations from the neighbourhood of Rheims, by M. V. Le- compression. His arrangement allows him to make any number of measurements in rapid succession at any one temperature. Then the temperature can be raised, and corresponding measurements made without once opening the compression- apparatus. Thus experiments which formerly would have taken weeks for their completion could now be accomplished in a single afternoon. Rude results only have been obtained as yet with the old very massive compression-apparatus. These seem to show that the diminution of compressibility at higher pressures becomes less at highe: temperatures, and may possibly even become an increase for the first few hundred atmospheres pres- sure. Butno very definite statements can be made till the new, light but strong, apparatus now being made is available for experiment. PARIS Acedemy cf Sciences, December 15.—M. Rolland, Pre- sident, in the chair.—On the forms of the surface of the lumi- nous wave in an isotropic environment situated in a uniform magnetic field : probable existence of a peculiar double refraction in a direction normal to the lines of force, by M. A. Cornu.— On the algebraic relations between the hyper-elliptic functions of the -order, by M. Brioschi.—On the determination of a special case of isomerism in the acetones, by M. G. Chancel.— On a method of inoculating the large ruminants with the virus of tuberculosis, by M. G. Colin. The experiments made on these animals afford a means of exactly measuring the period of incubation of the tuberculous elements, and determining the time required for the tubercules to pass to the state of transparent granulation. —On the variations of the ozove present in the atmo- sphere during the late outbreak of cholera in Paris and Mar- seilles, and on the advantages obtained from ozoneine, by M. Onimus. In both places there was a perceptible diminu- tion of the atmospheric ozone during the prevalence of the epidemic, while a marked difference was observed between the ozonometric c ndition of the air this year compared with the preceding. In Marseilles the mean for July of this year, when the epidemic was at its height, was 0°86; that for the corre- sponding period in 1883 as high as 2°17. In Paris the mean for November was 0°44 and 1°82 respectively. The author infers, not that the absence of ozone is the cause of the disorder, but that it is a favourable condition for its development, while it is certain that the pre:ence and persistence of ozone helps. ma- terially to arrest its progress. His experiments with Beck’s preparation of ozoneine on men and animals were attended with excellent results, and produced no ill effects, even when adminis- tered in large doses. Its action affects chiefly the central nervous system, on which it produces a sedative effect, tending to show that this region is the main seat of the malady.—On the theory of the figure of the planets, by M. O. Callandreau.—On a trigonometric formula of interpolation applicable to any values of the independent variable quantity, by M. G. Fouret.—On the sections of mathematical functions, by M. Laguerre.—On the conditions necessary to determine the photometric value of intense foci of light, whether electric or solar, by M. Ber- thelet.— On some processes of practical spectroscopics, by M. Eug. Demargay.—On the mutual attraction of bodies in solu- tion and of solid bedies immersed, by M. J. Thoulet. The author shows that, when a salt is dissolved and a solid body immersed in the solution, an attraction is set up between the two substances altogether independent of any chemical action, and that this attraction is in direct proportion to the surface of the solid body.—Note on the dissociation of the hydrate of chlorine, by M. H. Le Chatelier.—Contributions to the study of brucine, by M. Oechsner de Coninck. It is shown that, like feeb : ' cinchonine, brucine contains in its molecule a tetrahydruret Kerr’s discovery forms an extension of | of quinoleine. Thus is again confirmed Wischnegradsky’s hypothesis that the pyridic and quinolic bases exist in the state of hydrurets in the fixed alkaloids.—On the formation of the shell of the egg of Scyllium canicula and Scjllium catulus, by M. E. Perravex.—On the biological development of the Chelifer group of Arachnida, by M. Ch. Robin.—On the structure of the digestive apparatus of Cantharis vesicatoria, Epicauta verticals, Lylta fabricti, L. atra‘a, and some other members of the Can- tharides group of insects, by M. Alph. Milne-Edwards.—On the anatowical structure of the peduncles, compared with that of the ordiniry axes and of the petioles in plants, by M. E. Laborie.—Account of two specimens of abnormal growth in the mushroom family, by M. Ed. Heclel—Generic character- teristics of Pleuraspidotherium, amammifer of the Lower Eocene moine.—On the fo:sils of the Carboniferous strata found in a well recently sunk at Lubiére in the Brassac Basin, by M. Grand’Eury.—Note on the periodical recurrence of the ciepuscu- lar glows, by M. J. J. Landerer. The recent reappearance of this phenomenon precisely at the same period as last year is re- regarded by the author as an argument in favour rather of a cosmic than of a volcanic origin.—M. Mascart was elected a member of the Section of Physics, to replace M. Jamin, recently appointed Perpetual Secretary. BERLIN Physiological Society, November 14.—Dr. Konig spoke on colour-blindness. A ray of light decomposed by calc- 188 spar into two polarised beams perpendicular to each other showed, after passing through a quartz plate, when viewed through a Nicol prism, two halves of different colours in the field of vision of the ocular lens, the colours of these halves varying with the position of the Nicol prism. In the case, however, of a so-called colour-blind or bichromatic eye there was a position of the Nicol prism in which the tw» different colours in the halves of the field of vision appeared alike. The position in which the colours appeared alike was not always the same, but varied with the thickness of the quartz plate, with the intensity of the light examined, and with the individuality of the bichromatic eye. An instrument of this description was therefore an apparatus that might be depended on for the detec- tion of coiour-blindness. Normal eyes, in whatever position the Nicol prism might be held, saw different colours ; c»lour- blind eyes, when the Nicol prism was held in a certain position, saw similar colours. ‘The person whose eyes were to be tested was made to look through the apparatus towards one or other source of light, and if at last, after a greater or less number of turns of the Nicol prism, he saw but one colour, then that person was proved to be colour-blind, The examination ofa large number of persons—about fifty—who confounded red and green colours, usually distinguished as red- or green-blind, resulted in showing that, with an equal intensity of light, and with the same apparatus, a part of the colour-blind, on the Nicol prism being placed in a certain position, saw similar colours, while the remainder observed a corresponding similarity of colours with aiother position of the Nicol prism, this second position pro- ducing the same result for all persons of that category. The colour blind being by this means separated into two sharply- defined groups, neither shading into each other nor into the group of normal eyes, it was a matter of much interest to in- vestigate whether these two groups of colour-blind eyes showed any other characteristic peculiarities. Among the methods adopted for determining the colour-blind, that of examining their spectrum, which was said to appear always shortened in different ways in the different cases of the red- and green-blind, was largely applied. It was seen, however, that there were so many particulars to be taken into account as affecting the extent of the spectrum, even in the case of sound eyes, that that method was by no means available for the precise and distinctive measurements here required. Another method, that of determining the neutral point, seemed well adapted for exact physical utilisation. was known, Young’s theory of the perception of colours assumed that in the retina there were three different nerve-elenients per- ceptive of colour: one perceiving red, another green, and the third violet. elements were traced as ordinates on the spectrum as abscisse, three curves would appear, of which the first would have its maximum in red, the second in green, and the third in violet. If all three nerve-elements were acted on with equal force by a stimulus of light, then the sensation of white was produced ; but if they were affected in different degrees, then the sensation of partial colour was the result. In the case of the colour-blind there was, according to this theory, one curve wanting, the red, or green, or violet. The two remaining ones, in that case, must now cut each other in one point, and at the spot where this point hit the spectrum, the colour-blind person, his colour- perceptive elements thereby being affected with equal force, must see white: at that spot was the neutral point. The finding of this neutral point by means of a movable slit through which a spectrum could be viewed was, however, attended with several inconveniences prejudicial to precision. Dr. Konig had there- fore constructed a special apparatus for ascertaining the neutral point. [This was described at length by the speaker in his communications to the Physical Society, NATURE, vol. xxix. pp. 168, 496.} In nine persons, some of whom were red, and others green-blind, the neutral points were determined, and the fol- lowing observations made: (1) The neutral point was able to be measured with great precision in each case of colour-blindness, the average error being at the greatest, 0°4 millionth of a milli- metre, wave-length, and in the least o*r millionth of a milli- metre. (2) The neutral point in thecase of all colour-blind persons, green- as well as red-blind, was situated at one spot of the spectrum, in the green-blue, between the wave-lengths 492 and 505 millionths of a millimetre. A division of the colour- blind into two groups, such as could be so exactly carried out with the leucoscope, was, however, not possible through deter- minations of the neutral point, for on the leucoscope colour- blind persons of different descriptions had their neutral points As | NATURE If the perceptive capacities of each of the nerve- | [| Dec, 25, 1884 quite close to each other, while eyes leucoscopically alike had their neutral points most remote from eachother. (3) With increasing intensity of light the neutral point was displaced in all cases of colour-blindness towards the more refrangible end of the spectrum. Among the results of the measurements referred to, that cited under (2) was of extreme interest for the theory of colour-blindness, One conclusion it yielded was that the idea of the nature of colour-blindness derived from Young’s theory received no sup- port from the experimental examination of the consequences deduced from it. Dr. Konig had occasion quite recently to examine a so-called violet-blind person, and another who was totally colour-blind, but he had not yet had time to reduce the measurements he had carried out respecting these two cases, and would therefore reserve further particulars of them to another opportunity. The fact established in (1), that with the apparatus constructed for ascertaining the neutral point separate small sections of the spectrum may be so sharply marked off and determined according to their undulatory length, induced Dr. K6nig to make use of this apparatus for investiga- tions respecting the colour-perceiving capacities of normal eyes. In co-operation with Dr. Dietrici he had first examined the degree of sensitiveness to distinctions of colour in the different parts of the spectrum between 650 and 430 millionths of a milli- metre, undulatory length, and gave a summary of the results thereby obtained which he had already communicated to the Physical Society (NATURE, xxix. 496, xxx. 308). It deserved here, however, to be brought prominently forward that the maximum of colour-sensibility of the two normal eyes coincided with that spot of the spectrum at which the neutral point occurred in the colour-blind, and that this maximum of colour- sensibility shifted, in the same way as the neutral point, with increase of the intensity of light towards the blue end. The further investigations contemplated by Dr. Konig relate to the colour-sensibility beyond the wave-lengths 650 and 430 mil- lionths of a millimetre, and determinations in regard to colour- contrast. CONTENTS PAGE The ‘‘Challenger” Reports ... 165 Geodesy and Measures of Precision 165 Our Book Shelf :— McClellan’s ‘‘ Higher Teaching of Agriculture” . 167 Paul's ‘“Dext of Euclid’s Geometry.” © = = = )eeuntos Strasburger’s ‘‘ Kleine botanische Practicum fiir Anifcin gers (ie: See ie-bomien -G conete Satan een 168 Letters to the Editor :— Dr. Koch and the Comma-Bacterium.—Prof, E, Ray Lankester, F.R.S. (Z//ustrated) . : 168 On the Distribution of Honey-Glands in Pitchered Insectivorous Plants.—J. M. Macfarlane . 171 Earthquakes in England, and@ their Study.— William Wihitegs. .) a a E72 The Cacao-Bug of Galen De Henay) Trimen 172 The Messenger of Mathematic.—Angelus .... 172 The Pronunciation of Chinese Name:.—F. Porter Smith : . 2 LEP sep Svat & eee ed BLES Explorations in iceland: Ill. “is Th. Thoroddsen 173 American Summer Zoological Stations. By see S. Tarr 174 On a New Method for the Teaching of geen in Public Elementary Schools. By W. Jerome Har- rison. (Z/lustrated) 175 Notes sme tie lohtol tad Molec Goo 179 Our Astronomical Column : — Occultations of Aldebaran . 181 Hnckels!@omet? Gary 2 vis .[) (7 coe Rice en MLO, Geographical Notes .. . Sates ac 182 Roots. By H. Marshall Ward, M. A cn Oe Ota 183 Focal Lines. By W. N. Shaw . : 185 University and Educational Intelligence 186 186 Societies and Academies. ..... —ae Ue, TN AMEE Fe F THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1885 THE “AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICS” American Fournal of Mathematics, Pure and Applied. Published under the Auspices of the Johns Hopkins University. Vols. v., vi., vii., Part I. (Baltimore: Isaac Friedenwald, 1852-4.) HE general features of this ¥omsna/ have been clearly indicated in the notices of the previous volumes (see NATURE, vol. xxii. p. 73, vol. xxvii. p. 193), and we need only remark under this head that these original characteristics have been maintained throughout the numbers now under our consideration. : Prof. Sylvester was the editor-in-chief until his return to this country ; now the mantle has fallen upon his suc- cessor, Prof. Newcomb, under whose auspices vol. vii. is being published. Dr. Thomas Craig has been the assistant editor during the issue of all the numbers. The chief papers treat of the higher algebra. In this branch the contributions of Prof. Sylvester naturally loom large. They are “ On Sub-Invariants, z.e. Semi-Invariants to Binary Quantics of an Unlimited Order,” “ Tables of Generating Functions, reduced and representative for certain Ternary Systems of Binary Forms” (the “Tables ” were calculated by Messrs. Durfee and Ely), “A Con- structive Theory of Partitions, arranged in Three Acts, an Interact, and an Exodion,” a most valuable contribu- tion to the theory, written with the author’s characteristic fervour, but perhaps the gem of the collection is the first instalment of the “Lectures on the Principles of Uni- versal Algebra.” We naturally turn next to the papers by Prof. Cayley. These are a “ Note on a Partition-Series,” “ A Memoir on Seminvariants,” following up a “remarkable” discovery by Capt. Macmahon, which leads to the conclusion that the theory of seminvariants is a part of that of symmetric functions, and three sets of tables, viz. non-unitary partition tables, seminvariant tables, and tables of the symmetric functions of the roots, to the degree 10 for the form— I+ dx+cxe/12+...=(1 — ax) (1 — Bx) (I — yx)... Following in the wake of these leviathans, Mr. Durfee contributes “‘ Tables of the Symmetric Functions of the Twelfthic,” and “The Tabulation of Symmetric Func- tions”; Capt. Macmahon writes on “ Seminvariants and Symmetric Functions,” “ Symmetric Functions of the 13'*,” and “ On Perpetuants ”; he is also the author of a short “ Note on the Development of an Algebraic Frac- tion,” the moving cause of which is a previous article by M. Faa de Bruno, entitled ‘‘Sur le développement des fonctions rationnelles,” which in its turn owed its origin to a note by Prof. Sylvester in the Fohns Hopkins Circulars. Mr. J. Hammond, another worker in this field, has a paper “On the Solution of the Differential Equation of Sources,” in which he gives a disproof of Prof. Sylvester’s fundamental postulate, a discovery which he first com- municated to the London Mathematical Society. Mr. G. S. Ely applies the method of graphs to compound par- titions, and Mr. Morgan Jenkins gives a proof of a theorem in partitions, and furnishes a note on Prof. VOL. XXXI.—NO. 792 189 Sylvester’s constructive theory of partitions, mentioned above. We pass from this group of subjects, which centres more especially round the name of Sylvester, and come to papers on elliptic functions in one or other of the forms under which that branch is now ranged. M. Faa de Bruno has a long article on “ Quelques applications de la théorie des formes binaires aux fonctions elliptiques ”; Dr. Craig contributes several papers, viz. “ Some Elliptic Function Formule,” “On a Theta-Function Formula,” “On Quadruple Theta-Functions” (two papers), “On Theta-Functions with Complex Characteristics,’ and “On Certain Groups of Relations satisfied by the Quad- ruple Theta-Functions.” Prof. W. W. Johnson presents a proof of the imaginary period in elliptic functions ; Mr. A. L Daniels communicates three notes on Weierstrass’s methods in the theory of these functions; and Prof. Cayley, ina memoir on the abelian and theta functions, reproduces, with additional developments, the course of lectures which he delivered at the Johns Hopkins Uni- versity in the early months of 1882. The other papers on algebraical subjects may be grouped together. They are :—“‘ On Division of Series,” by Rev. J. Hagen; “ Tables for Facilitating the Deter- mination of Empirical Formule,” by A. W. Hale; “On the Development of an Algebraic Fraction,’ by Dr. Franklin ; some papers “On the Theory of Numbers,” by A. S. Hathaway; “Sur une formule relative 4 la théorie des fonctions d’une variable,’ by M. Hermite ; “Calculus of Direction and- Position,” by E. W. Hyde ; “Compound Determinants,” by C. A. Van Velzer (written before the author had seen Mr. R. F. Scott’s paper in vol. xiv. of the London Mathematical Society’s Proceed- mugs), in which is discussed Picquet’s proof of a theorem of Sylvester’s. Mr. McClintock writes on the resolutions of equations of the fifth degree, a subject which is also handled by Mr. G. P. Young, who in addition discusses the principles of the solution of equations of the higher degrees. Mr. G. S. Ely furnishes some notes on the numbers of Bernouilli and Euler (adopting a name given by Sylvester), and gives a useful bibliography of Ber nouilli’s numbers. Such lists as these are of great service to workers. Dr. Story defines the absolute classification of loci to be that classification which is not altered by any real linear transformation, and which is identical with the ordinary classification in so far as the latter is inde- pendent of all consideration of the nature of the infinite elements of the loci ; a part of this classification has been made (as Dr. Story remarks) in essence by Prof. Sylvester in the PAz?. Mag. (February 1851). The title of the paper is “On the Absolute Classification of Quadratic Loci, and on their Intersections with each other and with Linear Loci.” The same author also contributes two articles on the non-Euclidian geometry: one is a con- tinuation of a paper by him in vol. iv., and in it are given a number of formule relating to distances, angles, areas, and volumes; the other is entitled “ Non-Euclidian Pro- perties of Conics,” and contains an application of Prof. Cayley’s projective measurement, generalised by Klein, and still further extended by the author in the paper just cited, to the conic. Dr. Franklin discusses some points in the theory of K 190 cubic curves by a novel method, but not many new theorems are the result; and Mr. E. W. Dayis gives an expression for the co-ordinates of a point on a binodal quartic curve as rational functions of the elliptic functions of a variable parameter. The only purely geometrical article is one by Mr. B. Alvord, entitled “The Intersection of Circles and the Intersection of Spheres.” The problems discussed are to draw a circle which shall make a given angle with three given circles; to draw a sphere which shall cut each of four given spheres at a given angle ; and then two Steinerian problems, viz. to draw a circle which shall cut four given circles at the same angle (angle unknown), and the analogous problem for five spheres. The number of solutions in each case is given, and there are four plates containing thirteen figures. Prof. C. H. Smith supplies a graphic method of solving spherical triangles. There is a single astronomical article on certain pos- sible abbreviations in the computation of the long-period inequalities of the moon’s motion due to the direct action of the planets, by Mr. G. W. Hill, who states that Hansen has characterised the calculation of the coefficients of these inequalities as extremely difficult, but he himself thinks that, if the shortest methods are followed, there is no ground for such an assertion. Prof. Turazza gives a note (which the editor had mis- laid for three years), “ Di un nuovo teorema relativo alla rotazione di un corpo ad un asse.” The only physical paper is Prof. Rowland’s, “On the Propagation of an Arbitrary Electro-magnetic Disturb- ance on Spherical Waves of Light and the Dynamical Theory of Diffraction.” The classical paper by Stokes “On the Dynamical Theory of Diffraction” is discussed ; in addition the author treats of the general problem of spherical waves of light, which he has not seen considered anywhere else. We think the titles of the papers and a perusal of their contents quite bear out Mr. Glaisher’s opinion, pro- nounced in his notice of the previous volumes (vol. xxvii. ubi supra), viz. that “the volumes represent a consider- able amount of mathematical work, a fair proportion of which may have real influence on the advancement of the science.” Some readers might like to have a more diversified bill of fare set before them, but no one can say that what is offered is not generally first class. The form of the Fournal lends itself admirably to the im- portant tables with which it has been enriched from its earliest days. We are glad to find this young work maintaining its early promise, and we wish for it even a higher success in the days to come. A SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGY A System of Psychology. By Daniel Greenleaf Thomp- son. 2 vols. (London: Longmans, 1884.) P SYCHOLOGY, like other sciences, may be regarded as a pure science, or as a set of generalisa- tions capable of application to practice, or as material for a philosophical construction. Mr. Thompson has treated it, for the most part, in the spirit of a scientific inquirer. He does not stop to make applications to practical questions, and although he is not without meta- physical views of his own, it is evident that he is inter- NATURE [ Fan. 1, 1885 ested in psychology more for its own sake than for the sake of its bearing on his theory of the universe. There is, therefore, no need to discuss here the questions in dispute between the empirical school to which Mr, Thompson belongs and its various critics. As he has treated psychology so much in the scientific spirit, we may confine ourselves to indicating the kind of work he has done in his own special line. Some have denied that psychology is a science, on the ground that it does not make progress; but it is only necessary to compare Locke’s “ Essay” with any modern work in which the treatment is not altogether inadequate, in order to see that progress has been made both in accuracy of description and in refinement of analysis of psychological facts. The admiration that must be felt for what Locke was able to do only makes the comparison more conclusive so, far as the establish- ment of the scientific character of psychology is con- cerned. In criticising any new book, then, we ought to ask whether the author has made any advance on his immediate predecessors. We ought, in fact, to apply to the .particular author we are criticising the test of pro- gress to which psychology as a whole may be submitted. Mr. Thompson’s book will emerge successfully from an examination such as that which is here suggested. In dealing with many special questions he goes beyond the later English psychologists just as they themselves have gone beyond Locke. A student might very well begin with the sixth part ot Mr. Thompson’s book, entitled “The General Develop- ment of States of Consciousness,” in order to get at the author’s more important results, and then read the parts that come before it to understand more fully his general view of his subject, and the parts that come after it for new details. In this division of his work, the author brings out very clearly. the difference between “ presentative” and “representative” states of consciousness, and shows the influence of this difference in the spheres of feeling and of will, aswell as of cognition. Emotional states are classified according to their relation to the environ- ment, which may take the form of “pleasurable interest in external objects” or of “ aversion to external objects.” The chapter on ‘volitional development” (the first of the second volume) deserves the special attention of the psychological student. Mr. Thompson’s introduction into the view he gives of the external world in its relation to mind (in Part III.), of a sort of Cartesian conception of “matter” as including “space,” must be at least alluded to as likely to be found interesting both by physicists and metaphysicians. Although philosophy and science are now too much specialised for an idea of this kind to have any direct influence on research, yet all discussion between philosophers and men of science of the more general terminology of the sciences, and especially of physics, must have some effect in compelling clear defini- tion of terms on the part of physicists and at the same time in keeping philosophic thought in contact with its basis of scientific law. Mr. Thompson might perhaps have given a_ better account of the introspective method in psychology if he had had fuller possession of the idea of mind as some- thing common to all individuals ; if he had been able to show more clearly that it is not simply the individual ——— Ss Fan. 1, 1885 | NATURE 191 mind, but rather the general human mind, that the psy- chologist analyses. His omission to make it clear that psychology is really the science of human nature, and not a mere description of the mental states of an indivi- dual, or of as many individuals as possible, does not, how- ever, destroy the value of his results. When he describes the science of psychology as being a sort of resultant of the contributions of various people who “ chronicle their states,” this is only an imperfect description of the method of psychology and of what it implies. To state the case in this way is to lose sight of the fact that society is an organism, and to consider it as an aggregate of isolated individuals ; but, without any elaborate analysis, we may show that the introspective method of Mr. Thompson and of the older psychologists really implies more than the examination of any number of individual minds merely as such. There is probably quiteas much minute observation of mental states to be found in literature with no scientific pretensions,—in novels and autobiographies, for example, —as in books of psychology, Why has this kind of “introspection” first of all a literary, and only second- arily a scientific, interest? Is it not because the states of mind described are regarded as states of a particular mind, because they are merely elements in the description of some one personality, because they have no distinct reference to a law of mind in general? Of course some things in books of psychology have only a personal interest, and some things in books of pure literature may have a scientific interest; but there is no difficulty in distinguishing the two kinds of “introspection” when we meet with them, or in recognising them as essentially different. - The scientific character of the introspective method as being one that yields general conclusions is quite evident in Mr. Thompson’s book, in spite of his omission defi- nitely to point out this character. It has already been said that his “System of Psychology” furnishes new evidence of the progressive character of psychological studies. We may conclude by saying that, although in some respects an unequal book, it is decidedly an im- portant contribution of America to the treatment of psychology on the lines with which English readers are most familiar. OUR BOOK SHELF The Student’s Flora of the British Islands. By Sir J. D. Hooker, K.C.B., &c., &c. Third Edition. (London : Macmillan and Co., 1884.) THE lover and collector of our wild plants may congratu- late himself on the number of botanists of the first rank who have devoted their energies to his service. Bentham, Hooker, and Babington haveall of them written hand-books of the British flora, all of them excellent in their way. In the one now before us we have the well-known lucidity of description characteristic of the author combined with the most recent extensions of our knowledge as regards British plants. Very great care and labour have been ex- pended in bringing the “ Student’s Flora” abreast of the most recent discoveries. The number of species of flowering-plants added to the British flora since the pub- lication of the last edition in 1878 is not inconsiderable, indeed is surprising, considering the limited extent of the field and the number of workers on it. In addition to the introduction of these new species, the limits of species and sub-species have been carefully revised, and the “critical” genera submitted to the criticism of ex- perts ; the genus Pofamogeton having been, in particular, revised by Mr. Arthur Bennett. Nor has the physiologi- cal side of the subject been neglected. For the first time, as far as I am aware, in any local flora of import- ance, the characters of the genera concerned in the pro- cess of fertilisation are given, especially those illustrated by the writings of the late Hermann Miller. Under the diagnosis of each genus it is stated—as far as is known —whether the plants belonging to it are wind-fertilised, insect-fertilised, or self-fertilised; whether honey is secreted in the flower or not ; and whether the stamens and stigma ripen together, or, if not, which is the earlier. The result is that the field-student has now a hand-book of the characters of the plants that he meets with in wood and field, by stream and bog, and on the mountain-side, more complete than any which has heretofore been ready to his hand. A. W. B. Elementary Text-Book of Zoology. General Part and Special Part, Protozoa to Insecta. By Dr. C. Claus. Translated and edited by Adam Sedgwick, M.A., Fellow and Lecturer of Trinity College, Cambridge, with the assistance of F. G. Heathcote, B.A., Trinity College, Cambridge. (London: W. Swan Sonnen- schein and Co., 1884.) PROF. CLAUus’s “ Elementary Text-Book of Zoology ” has long been known as an excellent introduction to this branch of biology, and there was a certain charm in the way in which the introductory chapters, constituting the “ General Part” of the work were written, that marked out the “ Lehrbuch der Zoologie” as something different from many of the text-books that had preceded it. Its well- merited success in parts of the Continent where German is spoken is a matter of congratulation, and Mr. Sedg- wick has translated it “ with a view of supplying the want which,” he tells us, “has long been felt by teachers as well as students in this country, of a good elementary text-book of zoology.” It appears to us a pity that with this local demand for a good introduction to zoology, there should be apparently no other way of supplying it than by translating the works of our illustrious neigh- bours. It is certainly not the way that the schools of the great Continental centres are supplied, nor do we believe that it is from any want of original power to supply the need among our own zoologists. This view of the subject apart, the English student of zoology will find this transla- tion of Claus’s “ Lehrbuch” a very excellent introduction. It is true that he may now and then note that it was not written for him, that the illustrations of specific forms referred to are not always, even when they might have been, within his easy reach; that some of the contribu- tions of his countrymen are referred to as if they had first appeared in a foreign tongue, and that many very im- portant ones are overlooked, but these will be scarcely difficulties in his way ; and if they are, on application to an intelligent teacher they will be soon got over. The original German has, with a few “unimportant exceptions, been closely followed throughout,” but has it not been too closely adhered to, when it has been left altogether untranslated, as it apparently has been in the case of many very familiar families of insects? In some of these, too, the English equivalents are not perhaps of the best; thus Acanthiadze (skin-bugs). In welcoming this attempt to introduce Prof. Claus’s most useful work to the English reader we have no wish in any way to criticise the treatise in detail. It is got up in a very creditable manner, though a little more uniformity in the style of printing the technical words would have been desirable ; thus, on the same page we find the words “Cirripedia ” and “ Malacostraca” in roman and in italic type, and specific names are not italicised in all cases, ut 192 while sometimes such English words as “insect,” “spider,” “scorpion” will be in one form of type, and sometimes in another. These are trifles, but still they are worth attending to, and they do not detract from the general merit of this translation, which we would freely place in the hand of any student. Bosnien, Land und Leute. By Adolf Strausz. (Vienna, 1882-4.) 2 vols. AFTER the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria in 1878, the want of an authoritative and com- prehensive treatise on those hitherto neglected provinces of European Turkey soon became manifest. This want is fully supplied by the present work, on which the author has been engaged for the last four years, and for the composition of which he has qualified himself by re- peated visits to the region he has undertaken to describe. The first volume, issued two years ago, is mainly his- torical and ethnographic, and embodies a complete history of the country, from the arrival of the Slavs in the fifth century, down to the Austrian occupation in 1878. Special sections are devoted to the various ethnical elements, Mohammedan and Christian Bosnians, Jews, Albanians, Zinzars, and Gypsies. These are all ade- quately treated, except the Zinzars (Macedo-Roumanians or Kutzo-Vlacks), the account of whom is confusing and even contradictory. The author seems unaware that their true relations to the surrounding populations, and especially to the Roumanians, now settled in Moldavia and Wallachia, north of the Danube, have been placed in a clear light by the recent investigations, especially of Roesler and P. Hunfalvy. The volume concludes with a series of social sketches, in which the habits and customs, legends, traditions, religions, national aspirations of the people are ably dealt with. The second volume, whose publication was delayed by various causes till the present year, is perhaps the more important of the two. It-contains a complete description of the provinces, their geographical features, climate, fauna, flora, natural and industrial resources, administration, present condition and future prospects. On all these points the author speaks with great authority, and brings together a vast amount of information at first hand. Although bitterly opposed to the Austrian occupation, he believes that the in- habitants will eventually acquiesce in a step which political considerations had in any case rendered inevitable. The area of the country is given at about 52,000 square kilo- metres, an estimate based on recent but still incomplete surveys. The population, given by the Salname of 1877 at 2,047,000, was reduced by the census of 1879 to 1,158,000, of whom 448,000 were Mohammedans, 496,000 Orthodox Greeks, 209,000 Roman Catholics of the Latin rite, and 3400 Jews. The work unfortunately appears without either map or index, for which two meagre tables of contents are poor compensation, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as shortas possible. The pressure on his space ts so great t tat it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) The Solar Corona and After-Glow THE inclosed extract from a letter from the Rey. A. W. Heyde, resident at Kailang in Lahoul, a hill state in the North- West Himalaya (N. lat. 32° 34’ 10”, E. long. 77° 4' 10”), 10,000 feet above sea-level, gives an interesting notice of the solar corona and after-glow, and affords some reason for the inference hat the conditions producing these appearances have been per- tistent, although they may not have been observed in the cloudier 5 NATURE — foe [ Fan. 1, 1885 and more hazy atmosphere over the plains of India. Mr. Heyde’s letter is dated November 3 :— “The corona round the sun has been visible since my last letter to you in July, whenever the sky was clear. It was not always equally distinct, but never entirely absent. It is beauti- fully distinct to-day. The same has been the case with the after-glow, which no doubt results from [the same conditions as] the corona.” The following extract from the same letter is also of interest :— “‘T think I have mentioned already, in former letters to you, that since about twelve or fifteen years the latter half of August and the whole of September and October have become very unsettled as regards the weather, rain or snow occurring now often during these months, which, as a rule formerly, were a time of fine, clear weather. These untimely precipitations inter- fere very unpleasantly with the haymaking and harvesting in the valley now nearly every year, of which many complaints are heard. . . . A similar experience is made in Ladak and other parts of the Western Himalayas. Officers who took part in the triangulation of Ladak during the four or five seasons between 1860 and 1870 say they never could have done their work if at that time the sky over Ladak had always been so cloudy, and the high ranges so frequently enveloped in clouds, as is now the case.” In corroboration of this last remark I may mention that the hopes that had been entertained of obtaining a valuable series of actinometric observations at Leh, for which purpose two trained observers were deputed to that station rather more than a twelvemonth ago, have been so far grievously disappointed. The atmosphere of Leh was believed, on the reiterated assurance of former residents, to be remarkable for its clearness and free- dom from cloud and haze. From the actinometric registers received during the past year, and the notes which accompany them, this appears to be very far from the case. Henry F. BLANFORD Meteorological Office, India, 4, Middleton Row, Calcutta, November 21, 1884 Flying-Fish do not Fly FLYING-FISH ave incapable of flying for the simple reason that the muscles of their pectoral fins are not large enough to bear the weight of their body aloft in the air. The pectoral muscles of birds depressing their wings weigh, on an average, 1 of the total weight of the body, the pectoral muscles of bats #5, the muscles of the pectoral fins of flying-fish only 3. The impulse to which flying-fish owe their long shooting passage through the air is delivered, while they are still in the water, by the powerful masses of muscle on both sides of their body, which are of much greater breadth than in the case of the herring or any other fish of their own size. The ‘‘ flickering of the fins,” which Dr. John Rae (NATURE, December 4, p. 102), like many others before him, takes for a rapid muscular movement of the pectoral fins, is only a vibration of their elastic membrane, and is to be referred to the same laws as those which govern the flapping of a tight-set sail when a ship under a stiff breeze is driving close to the wind. The flapping or vibration at once springs up whenever the sail gets parallel to the wind. The more rapidly a flying-fish darts out of the water, the greater is the momentum with which the air presses on its out- spread pectoral fins. Should, now, the atmospheric pressure induce these fins into a horizontal position parallel to the wind, their vibration is a necessary result. Let the outspread pectoral fins of a dead flying-fish be held horizontally before the open- ing of a pair of bellows, and the fins will be seen to vibrate as soon as the current of air passes under them. For full proofs of the accuracy of these propositions I beg to refer to my paper, “The Movements of Flying-Fish through the Air” (Leipzig, 1878). Zoological Institut, Kiel, Dec. 15, 1884 K. Mosius Iridescent Clouds In addition to the particulars given in NATURE for December 18, 1884 (p. 148) of the brilliantly-coloured clouds, the fol- lowing observations made here may be interesting. They were visible every day from the 6th to the 13th instant, except it be on the 9th, and at all times of the day, but only strikingly noticeable near sunrise and sunset. The colours did not appear ——- — ’ Fan, 1, 1885 | on them when they were very far from the sun, they then being simply white. I did not see any dark ones, as described by J. E. Clark ; indeed they always struck me as being very thin, merely like a nearly flat sheet. They tended to be arranged in bands like ‘‘ Noah’s Arks,”’ and, while their texture was smoother than most cirrus clouds, they were more or less striated transversely. On some afternoons [ noticed in many cases a feeble smoke-like prolongation, or tail, on the east side of the cloud ; this had no colouring. They had thus sometimes a striking resemblance to an aurora, differing essentially, how- ever, in their real position being horizontal, while the auroral band and rays are almost vertical. Their direction also was quite different : on the 11th at 8°15 a.m., and 13th at 3°40 p.m. I noticed that the strize pointed to east by south. In shape they approached parallelograms apparently ; really, to rectangles ; sometimes they were very perféct rectangles. One of the most striking clouds was, however, a perfect right-angled triangle in form. Their motion was very slow. Some time after sunset they were so bright as to give a material amount of light, and to make the dust-circle around the sun look quite dim. They were evidently at a great height, though they looked lower than pie dust-wisps. They were incapable of producing an ordinary halo. Like Prof. C. Piazzi-Smyth, I can say that I have no recol- lection of seeing any clouds of the kind before. I saw nothing like them at the time of the grand sunsets last autumn, and I think he is mistaken in supposing any of the phenomena then seen were of the same character. T. W. BACKHOUSE Sunderland, December 22, 1884 REFERRING to the letters which have appeared in these columns on the subject of ‘‘Iridescent Clouds” as seen at Edinburgh and York on the evening of December 11, a very similar phenomenon was seen at Derby at sunrise on that day, and was thus described in the Derby Express the same evening :— “About half an hour before sunrise the eastern half of the sky was covered with a dense pallium of cirrus cloud. About 30° above the horizon was seen what appeared to be an elongated opening in the dark grey of the cloud. Through this spindle- shaped opening the sky was of an intense emerald colour. The strangest part of the phenomenon, however, occurred shortly before eight o’clock, when the vivid green had given place to a mass of brightness comprising all the prismatic colours arranged in bands transversely, each of the primary colours shading gradually into its neighbour in the same manner as in a solar rainbow. The appearance was now not unlike a huge many- coloured eye set ina dark uniformity of cirro-stratus. As the sun arose the colouring faded, and when the solar orb was several degrees above the horizon the phenomenon remained as a patch of brightness upon a silver-grey vapour, and was somewhat similar in appearance to an imperfectly formed parhelion. Its position, however, with regard to the true sun, showed at once that the phenomenon was not of the parhelion class.” Colle 1 THE iridescent cloud effect mentioned by your correspondents (see NATURE, p. 148) was well seen here on the 13th about 4 p-m., and was very much as described by Mr. Clark. Three distinct bands of colour were seen just at the upper edge of a dark slate-coloured cloud towards south-west, and two faint ones on the clearer sky above. I write specially to remark on the nature of the colour of these bands. They were not prismatic colours as mentioned by Mr. Clark, but unmistakable ézter- ference or residual colours, the lowest bright purplish pink, shading into green, the next the peculiar light brick red seen in Newton’s rings, and a very recognisable colour, also shading into green, and the rest pink and green, of similar colour to the lowest. There can be, I thiuk, no question that this was an interference-phenomenon, and | hope some of your correspond- ents may be able to give the rationale of it. Fairfield House, Darlington JAMeEs I’ANSON I sEE notes in NatuRE, December 18, 1884 (p. 148), on iridescent clouds. I observed similar appearances on the York- shire Wolds, between Market Weighton and Brough, on December 6 and again on December 13, 3-4 p.m. ; but instead of the clouds being totally coloured, only the edges of rifts in a thick cloud-mass were so tinged. The phenomenon was much finer on the latter date, the rift being much larger and the NATURE 193 colours more widely dispersed at one end, so that a rose tinge occupied there the whole of the acute angle of the gap. Broseley, Shropshire W. W. Watts The Rotation of Neptune SEVERAL circumstances delayed my observation of the planet Neptune this autumn until November 24. On that and the two following nights the light of Neptune was compared with the light of the star B.A.C. 1072 ; and, assuming that the light of the star was steady, that of Neptune was found to undergo appa-- rently regular variations, but much smaller than they were last year. The observations were combined in the following manner :— The magnitude, 7, at any time, ¢, was assumed equal to m, + ksin nx (¢ — ¢,), where 7, was the mean magnitude at the time 4, & one-half the variation between maximum and minimum, and 7 equal to 360° poze year, which gave 7‘92h. as therotation-period. Subtracting m’, the unknown magnitude of the comparison star, which is, how- ever, of about the seventh magnitude, we have or 45°45, according to the observations of Neptune last m — m' =m, —m' + ksinn (t — 4); and by assuming approximate values, by introducing corrections, and by solving the rr equations corresponding to the 11 observa- tions by the method of least squares, it was found that m, — m' = 0°86 k Gnd i¢ = Noy. 24d. 13‘o1h. G.M.T. ° The preceding epoch of maximum will be found by subtracting 1‘98h. ; and similarly the following epoch of minimum will be found by adding 1‘98h, Now these observations were made without special care, and consequently the probable errors were larger than they should be in comparison with the small variation ; but on the night of November 29 every care was taken to obtain accuracy in the photometric measures, and the following results were ob- tained :— -m = hk =10520 t, = Nov. 29d. 11'72h. G.M.T. The following is the comparison of observation and computa tion :— : Kempshot M.T. mM > Diff. mag. 1884 Nov. 29 (7 — 1’) oC, + mm. Obs. Comp. 7 10 tes O'oL 0'92 —o'ol 8 26 1°03 1°02 +0'O1 TOMES 0°88 088 0°00 127 0°64 0°63 +0O'01 It should perhaps be added that Kempshot is 5*19h. west of Greenwich. By comparing the epoch on November 29 with the corre- sponding epoch on November 24, we find that 15 rotation- periods occupy 118*71h., so that each rotation-period is 7"914h., which may be considered identical with the period found last year. MAXWELL HALL Jamaica, December 1, 1884 Peculiar Ice-Forms CrRCUMSTANCES have prevented my replying earlier to Dr. Rae’s letter in NATURE of November 27 (p. 81). The situa- tion of the ice described in my letter of November 6 (p. 5) precludes the possibility of its having been a remainder from last winter’s snow, since it was only some fifteen hundred feet above the valley of Chamounix, and exposed during the summer months to daily sunshine. Jn fact, the mid-day sun only just failed to reach it on the 17th of October. In the Neues Jahrbich fiir Mineralogie for 1877 (referred to by Dr. Wetterhan of Freiburg in NaTuRE, vol. xxi. p. 396) 1s an article by Dr. G. A. Koch giving an elaborate description and discussion of a very similar ice-structure, formed under very similar circumstances, which he observed on October 18, 1875, near St. Anton in the Arlberg. He also quotes other cases observed on the Wormserjoch in the Tyrol, and by Prof. Doenitz 194 NATURE ; 5 ge 4 (an. 1%, 1885 in Japan. In all these, as well as in the case of the hills near Freiburg mentioned by Dr. Wetterhan, the soil appears to be a porous detritus with a hard substratum. At St. Anton, as at Chamounix, the hill-side sloped at an angle of about 50°, with a northern aspect, and in both cases and in Japan the phenomenon occurred in the autumn, a season often characterised, esp2cially at high elevations, by cold nights and genial days. Dr. Koch calls it ‘‘sederbar” and “cane eigenthtimlich,” and it is plainly not of common occurrence. Dr. Koch’s explanation of the phenomenon is virtually the same as had occurred to me, except that both he and Dr. Wetterhan appear to consider that the water was derived by ab- sorption from a moist atmosphere. In none of the descriptions, however, is there any mention of what was one of the mo t striking features of the ice which I tried to describe, viz. its division into distinct layers, each layer being of uniform depth ; and this, showing as it does that the crystallisation was inter- rupted, and not continuous, seems to make it more probable that the water was supplied from. below. The cylindrical perfora- tions were, no doubt, caused by the presence of pebbles or small lumps of earth too dense to allow the ice-crystals to penetrate them, and too heavy to be pushed up. The layer of dust on the surface was much thinner in my case than in Dr. Koch’s, which was no doubt due to accidental difference in the soil. A friend in the country tells me that on a bright winter’s day two or three years ago he picked up a piece of a dead beech- branch which was covered with filamentous ice, such as is de- scribed by the Duke of Argyll and others in NATURE (vol. xxi. pp- 274, 302). He brought it home, and, having examined it, left it out in the sun, when the crystals of course soon vanished. Next morning, however, he was surprised to see that they had all reappeared as before. The water from the melting ice had again filled the pores of the wood, and again been extruded in the same crystalline form. Now, if the highest temperature to which they had been exposed during the day had been 32° F., and a fresh supply of water had been afforded from any source to the wood, then neither would the ice have melted nor the water frozen ; until the temperature fell again at night, when a fresh formation of crystals would have taken place, which would have pushed up those previously existing, and the result would have been a formation similar to that described in my letter. It seems more probable, therefore, that the moistening took place from below, as I suggested. Hampstead, December 20, 1884 B. Woopp SMITH Lightning in the Tropics My experience confirms the remarks of Dr. Von Danckel- man in NATURE (p. 127) respecting the little damage done by lightning in tropical climate-. In the plains of India at the commencement of the monsoon, storms occur in which the lightning runs like snakes all over the sky at the rate of three or four flashes in a second, and the thunder roars without a break for, frequently, one or vwo hours at atime. During twelve years’ residence in India I heard of only two human beings and, I think, three buildings being struck, although in parts of Lower Bengal the population amounts to more than 600 to the square mile. I always attri- buted the scarcity of accidents to the great depth of the stratum of heated air next the ground keeping the clouds at sucha height that most of the flashes pass from cloud to cloud, and very few reach the earth. This idea is supported by the fact that in the Himalayas, at 6000 feet or more above the sea, buildings and trees are frequently struck. I have seen more than a dozen pine- trees which had been injured by lightning on the top of one mountain between 8000 and gooo feet high. In the British Islands thunderstorms are said to be more dangerous in winter than in summer, and sucha fact, if true, can be explained by the very thin stratum of air then intervening between the clouds and earch. J. J. Meyrick London, December 19, 1884 An Unnoticed Factor in Evolution I AM surprised that the letter of Mr. Catchpool in Nature (vol. xxxi. p. 4) has remained unnoticed by your correspondents. His hypothesis that mutual sterility may be the cause, not the result, of specific divergence, is, I think, quite in accordance with many observed facts. The buffalo and the ox, the sheep nd the goat, have lived for ages side by side without, as far as I am aware, a hybrid between either of them haying been pro- duced. Mule or hinny hybrids between the horse and the ass are obtained easily, but the offspring is rarely fertile, so rare, that the British Consul at Granada told me, when I was there, that he had never known of a case, although in Spain mules exist in thousands. Amongst bovine animals many species pro- duce hybrids which are apparently perfectly fertile; those between the Indian ox and the gayal, species of different genera, Bos and Lrbos, are common, and their fertility is shown by the existence of numerous intermediate hybrids. There is living at the Zoological Gardens at the present time, a hybrid between the Indian ox, the gayal, and the bison, and, by her side, a hybrid between herself anda bison. The offspring of the cross between many species of ducks are perfectly fertile. This I have repeatedly seen in the case of the hybrids between the tufted duck and the pochard. TF think there is another zzno- ticed factor in evolution. The scent of animals plays an im- portant part in their sexual relationships, and ‘‘ sports” in this respect are as likely to occur as in the organs of the body ; thus the peculiar odours of the sheep and the goat may be mutually repulsive. J. JENNER WEIR Chirbury, Beckenham, Kent, December 15, 1884 A Large Meteor A MAGNIFICENT meteor was observed here last night. Its path lay from the west of ¢ Hydrae towards the west of 7 Mono- cerotis. Its head could not exactly be said to explode but broke up and extended suddenly considerably along its course, emitting a deep red and bluish white light, the latter of a most extra- ordinary brightness, for a moment quite sufficient to allow print to be discerned. It disappeared very near Ith. tgm. 6s. M.T. Dublin, and left a bluish white trace behind it, which could still with certainty be perceived seventeen minutes after the meteor had disappeared. Orro BOEDDICKER Birr Castle Observatory, December 23, 1884 THE FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM ! HE aspect of the heavens, the appearance of the planets, do not give us the least idea of the solar system. In order to understand it well, we must in imagination quit our world altogether, and remove our- selves to a distance, so as to embrace in one glance the little system of which so ordinary a star as our sun occupies the centre. Around the sun there move eight primary planets at very unequal distances. Of these planets six have satellites ; that is to say, they in their turn are centres of little systems reproducing the solar system in miniature. Thus the Earth has a satellite, the moon ; Mars has two, Jupiter four, Saturn eight, Uranus four, and Neptune, the most distant, has one. A striking thing in this system, that which makes it unique, is that the sun turns on its own axis from right to left, and all the planets with- out exception revolve around it in the same direction, almost in the same plane, that of the rotation of the sun, and describe orbits very nearly circular. Would not one say that a vast gyratory movement | animates all these bodies, and that the secondary systems of the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, &c., are little whirlpools moving in the primary one? Such was the idea of Descartes. If the solar system does not actually consti- | tute a whirlpool, it was originally formed by a movement of this nature in the nebula which gave it birth. The sky exhibits here and there a large number of gigantic masses of extremely rarefied matter, like the mists of chaos, without shape, having undergone only that degree of condensation necessary to create a feeble light. We require usually a powerful telescope to distin- guish them, and then we can see them by thousands in the heavens ; these are edule, When you visit an observatory under the escort of an astronomer whom you know, tell him several days before- hand that what you wish is not to gaze at the moon, or the planets and their satellites, or the fixed stars, double * Translation of an article by M. Faye inarecent number of L’Astronomie. Fan. 1, 1885] or treble, white or coloured, but only to examine the nebulze of various degrees of condensation. Your wishes being thus indicated, the astronomer will point out to you the most characteristic objects, he will calculate their exact positions, will prepare his most powerful telescope, and then you will be able to make an interesting journey into space. The nebula of Orion has not a clearly defined form ; one region more brilliant than the rest can be distin- guished, where the condensation of the chaotic matter is rather far advanced. In all other parts the light is feeble, and one can detect long streamers of matter of which it is impossible to predict the action. The nebula of Andromeda is one of the most remark- able objects in the heavens. It hasan almost geometrical form, and in the centre it exhibits a most distinct con- densation. The nebula of Leo presents nebulous rings in course of formation. Finally, the curious double nebulz of Virgo, Aquarius, &c., are evidently very near their ultimate transformation into stars. It would be easy to multiply the intermediate stages, and to show, for example, some nebulous stars presenting the penultimate phase of this series of transformations, which commences with a feebly luminous mist without shape, and finally arrives at one or many suns variously connected. Needless to say, we are not present at these transformations, but we are like the botanist who in the forest studies the trees in their different degrees of deve- lopment. Thus the creation of the universe is carried on, so to speak, under our eyes. In the beginning nebulz separated out from a universal chaos; in the end, in- candescent stars, or other globes so small that we cannot see them, because their formation has produced so little heat that their light is already extinct. Let us imagine that, owing to some cause of which we shall presently speak, the spirals of a whirling nebula are transformed into nebulous concentric rings, governed by a common movement of rotation. In reality there exist in the heavens objects of this description; for example, the annular nebula in Lyra. If such as these are rare, it is because they usually do not possess great stability. It is onlya transitional form. In reality, in virtue of the differences of linear speed which predominate there, and because of the mutual attraction of their parts, the least cause will lead to eddyings, which, being obliged to follow somewhat the same road with rather different speed, reunite and are lost in a single nebulous mass, where, little by little, all the material of the rings will be absorbed. This nebu- lous mass, excited by a rotation in the same direction as that of the ring, will in its turn give birth to a planet surrounded by satellites revolving in the same direction and in the same plane. We have a series of nebulous rings, some of which show the eddying condensation which ends ina mass of planets. At the same time the enormous quantity of material which in the midst of the original nebulz was not used up in the rings, has little by little reunited in the middle, very slowly at first, but afterwards very quickly, giving rise to a central globe, a Sun, turning on its own axis in the same direction and in the same plane as the planets. We thus see how a slow whirling movement, more or less indistinct, would be able to be governed so far as to give rise to these circular rings, all of them concentric and situated in the same plane. It is necessary and sufficient for this theory that the solar nebula has been, in the first instance, spherical and homogeneous. In such a mass of matter the internal gravity resulting from the attraction of all the molecules varies in a direct ratio with the distance from the centre. The particles or the small bodies which move in such a medium, where the rarity is inconceivable, necessarily NATURE 195 describe ellipses or circles round the centre zz the sume time, whatever may be their distance from that centre. Thenceforth the existence of rings rotating in one piece, with the same movement, is quite compatible with this condition of gravity, and if a whirling motion has pre- existed, some of these spirals, which are not so very different from circles, will have little by little become transformed into the rings previously described, owing to the small amount ot resistance at the centre. Let us take a step further. In virtue of the force of attraction these rings tend generally to break up and to form a nebulous spherical mass, which in the end contains all the material of the ring. Now these secondary nebula must necessarily be endowed with the same direction of rotation as that of the rings. Phenomena exactly like those of the primary nebula will then take place; that is to say, they will resolve themselves into concentric rings, then into a central globe. In their turn, the rings will be condensed into other very small balls—satellites revolving round each planet, always in the same direction, whilst the planet will turn on its own axis exactly in the direction and in the plane of these secondary rings. It is thus that these things have come about. By a lucky chance some rings of the little secondary system of Saturn have escaped destruction, and have not been formed into satellites. I attribute their existence to the extreme thinness of these rings and to their rapid rotation. We should now have finished the explanation of the solar system if this system did not offer a striking peculiarity, apparently in complete contradiction with what has pre- ceded. Of the eight large planets revolving round the sun six have satellites, and thus form secondary worlds, exact representations of the solar world which includes them. After what I have said, all the rotations and revolutions ought to be in the same direction, and, what is more, in the “direct” direction. Now in the secondary worlds of the two planets furthest off—those of Uranus and Neptune— the rotations and revolutions of the satellites are in the opposite direction, that is to say, ”etvograde. Must we believe that the theory that I have put before you is false? It is not false, but it is incomplete. And here we come to one of the most interesting points in the history of science. Newton and Laplace believed that all the rotations, all the revolutions must be in the same direction. Laplace went further, and applied to this question the theory of probabilities. In working on the planets and satellites as known in his day, his analysis showed that, if a new planet or satellite was discovered, the chances were tens of thousands to one that the revo- lution of this or that satellite, or the rotation of this or that planet, would be direct, like all the others, and he added that this probability is much greater than that of historical events which we accept with the utmost con- fidence. The study of the satellites of Uranus, and the discovery of the system of Neptune, however, has at once destroyed this probability, and the celebrated cosmogony of Laplace. This in fact by an ingenious process derives all the planets from the sun, but it can only give to the planets and satellites relations and revolutions in the same direction from one end of the solar system to the other, whilst in fact they are direct in the first half and retrograde in the second. Let us actually complete our theory. In the primi- tive nebula, homogeneous and spherical, where the presence of rings revolving round the centre ought not to alter anything in the law of internal gravity, we have seen that this gravity varies in a direct ratio with distance from the centre. But, later, the sun was formed by the reunion of all the matter not wanted for these rings ; this has produced an empty space around it. Therefore the law of gravitation in the interior of the system thus modified became quite different. Under the action of the preponderating mass of the sun (that of the rings was not 196 IMAI MOD 5 B, [ Fan. 1, 1885 the 7ooth part of it) the internal gravity has varied, not in the direct ratio of the distance, but in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance from the centre, and that is the state of things to-day. In this last case the method of rotation of a ring of diffused matter entirely changes. Let us hasten to say that this alteration does not hinder the ring from existing. Saturn is the proof of it. But whilst, according to the law of gravity first in operation, the linear velocity of revolution in these rings increased with the distance; according to the second, this velocity on the contrary decreased in the ratio of the square root of this distance. In the first case, when the ring will have degenerated into a secondary system, that is to say, into a nebula with exterior rings, and finally into a planet with its satellites, the rotation of the planet and the revolution of the satel- lites will be in the same direction as the movement of the original ring, that is to say, the motion will be “ direct.” In the second case the secondary system thus formed will be retrograde. What are we to conclude from this? It is evident that the planets from Mercury to Saturn, included in the central region, were formed according to the first law, when the sun did not yet exist or had not acquired a preponderating mass; and that the planets included in the exterior region, which was by far the larger, were formed when the sun had already come into existence. If then it should be discovered that Venus had a satellite, its motion would be direct. If a planet were discovered outside Neptune, its rotation and that of its satellites would be retrograde. Here we have at last arrived at a conclusion of the greatest interest: the earth is much older than the sun. If it were otherwise—if, as Laplace would have said, its formation had been long after that of the sun—all would have been changed in the aspect of the skies: the stars would rise in the west and set in the east ; the moon would have a retrograde motion, like the satellites of Uranus and Neptune. Let us add that at that time it was further from the centre than it is now; for when the matter which was outside the terrestrial orbit had passed over it to be reunited in the interior to orm the sun, as the attraction of the latter gradually preponderated, the revolution of all the planets within the orbit of Uranus was accelerated. These planets approached the sun at the same time that their satellites receded from them. Finally, the actual state was attained, with the stability which characterises it, when the mass of the sun, having become enormous, could attract nothing more from the original nebulous matter, and had at last created around itself an empty space. The universe has grown out of chaos, that is to say, out of a mass of matter excessively rare, without shape, occupying a vast space and moving in various directions, in virtue of which this chaotic matter was divided into separate masses. It is by the progressive condensation of these masses of chaotic matter towards certain centres * Laplace believed that in the nebulous rings derived from the sun (according to his hypothesis)—rings which will have belonged to the second case as they would be exterior to the sun—the friction of different con- centric layers would have had the same effect as what occurs in the atmo- sphere of a planet, which ends in moving altogether with the central globe. In this way the ring will have taken on the movement of the first form, that 1s to say a rotation ; its outer marginal layers will have had a greater linear speed than that of the layers nearer the centre, and its condensation will have given place to satellites with direct motion. It is easy to show that this manner of looking is not altogether exact (in proof of this we can point to the rings of Saturn). The layers of an atmosphere press on one anothe further, the external layers only resist by their inertia to the communic tion of the rotatory movement which tends to establish itself between the central globe and the extreme layers of its atmosphere. But, in a nebulous ring, the concentric layers do not press one on the other as in an atmosphere, for each one moves in virtue of its own speed at its distance from the sun. Further, the retardation of the layers situated near the extreme edge as compared with the internal layers is not due to their inertia, but to the laws of their motion. If then the solar system has been created in accordance with the hypothesis of our great geom vn, all the planets would have revolved round the sun in the direct direction, but their rotations and their satellites would be retrograde. of attraction that the innumerable stars have been formed. Their incandescence comes from the heat de- veloped during the act of their formation, The amount of their heat is limited; they will end by being ex- tinguished. Amongst all the systems, which are infinitely varied, which have grown out of the condensation of this primary chaos, the solar system may be regarded as a very special case. The primary nebula which gave birth to it was spherical and homogeneous. In separating itself from other portions it had carried with it traces of a slow whirling movement. These motions were soon regulated, thanks to that particular law of internal gravitation resulting from its shape and its homogeneousness. Nebulous rings were thus formed in the same plane long before the appearance of a central condensation. They gave birth to nebulous masses also moving in this plane, in the same direction and in circular orbits, around their common centre, The secondary systems formed in the same way into these partial nebulae can be definitely separated into two categories: those which preceded the formation of the sun, revolving on their own axes in “direct ” directions ; whilst the secondary systems, the furthest off, formed after the sun, revolve in a retrograde direction. ‘These strange phenomena which are presented by our solar system, are doubtless, by a rare exception in the universe, only the natural consequences of the initial conditions and of the laws of mechanics. BERZELIUS AND WUHLER HE “Jugenderinnerungen eines Chemikers,” which the late Prof. Wohler contributed to the Yowrnal of the German Chemical Society in 1875, contains a delight- ful sketch of the personal relations in which the great German chemist stood to his illustrious master ; and Dr. Hofmann’s account of Wohler’s life and works, published in the same journal for 1882, serves to fill in the details of the picture. The story of Wohler’s visit to Stockholm, of his intercourse with Berzelius, and of the influence which it exerted on the development of his scientific life, are now well known to chemists. All the papers left by Berzelius are in the possession ot the Swedish Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, and among them are the letters which he received from Wohler. Some time before his death Wohler presented his letters from Berzelius to the Academy with the injunc- tion that they were not to be published before the close of the present century. Some extracts from the letters of Wohler, on the publication of which no restriction was made, have recently been given to the world by Dr. Edy. Hjelt of Helsingfors,' from which we may gather some | notion of the wealth of material which will be at the dis- posal of him whose lot it is to write the personal history of the chemistry of this century. Wohler’s letters to Berzelius extend from 1823 to 1846, and are 230 in number. In all probability the corre- spondence was continued up to the time of Berzelius’s death in 1848, but the letters of the last two years are not contained in the collection. The greater portion of the letters from Wohler consist of accounts of his investi- gations, of discussions of scientific questions, of critical opinions on new works and new theories, and of memora- bilia of the chemists of the time. Many of the letters have reference to the translation of Berzelius’s “ Jahres- berichten ” and his large “ Manual of Chemistry” into German. Nowand again we have a gossiping letter, rich in a quiet humour, and occasionally illustrated by quaint characteristic sketches. First in order of time comes Wohler’s application for a place in Berzelius’s laboratory, dated July 17, 1823, and next is his grateful acknowledg- * “Bruchstiicke aus den Briefen F. Wohlers an J. J. Berzelius.”” Heraus- gegeben von Dr. Edy. Hjelt. (Berlin: Robert Oppenheim, 1884.) Fan. 1, 1885] NATURE 197 ment of Berzelius’s prompt and cordial acquiescence in his wish :— “Wie sehr freue ich mich auf diesen Winter,’ he writes, “wo ich mich einmal so ganz con amore der Chemie ergeben kann, ohne die Zeit in andere, mehr oder weniger fremdartige, nicht so ansprechende Studien theilen zu miissen.” Wohler remained about a year in Stockholm ; he was wont to speak of his stay with Berzelius as “eine nicht zu berechnende Wohlthat.” As to Berzelius, no one of his pupils lay nearer to his heart than Wohler. In the selection of his letters it is obvious that Dr. Hjelt has been loyally mindful of the condition imposed by Wohler. Doubtless much of the correspondence had reference to letters of Berzelius, and therefore to matters which the world can only know of in the twentieth century. The letters which we are permitted to see have, however, a great interest from the light they shed on the writer’s character, and from the accounts they give of the origin of those fruitful discoveries which have made the names of Liebig and Wohler inseparable. How that partner- ship originated need not be told again. It seems, how- ever, that in more than one letter Berzelius had expressed his conviction that Wohler’s share in the work was but imperfectly recognised. That Wohler was, in fact, the mainspring of much of their labour is now known, but he himself writes, ‘What matters it, however, when the business in hand profits thereby, and such is assuredly the case. We two, Liebig and I, have dissimilar kinds of talent ; each, when in concert, strengthens the other. No one recognises this more fully than Liebig himself, and no one does me greater justice for my share of our common work than he.” In the following letter we get a glimpse of Liebig’s mode of work :— “The days which I spend with Liebig slip by like hours, and I count them as among my happiest. His apparatus for organic work seems to me most excellent, and he is a master, of almost pedantic exactitude, of organic analysis. But in all that relates to inorganic analysis, as, for ex- ample, filtration, use of lamps, &c., one sees throughout the imperfect French methods. He uses neither a filter- stand, nor good filters, nor usually a lamp. . . .” Liebig’s earncstness, and restless energy, and fiery im- pulsiveness, brought him unfortunately into frequent conflict with his contemporaries. It was almost inevitable that he and Berzelius should sooner or later come into collision. Nothing in the letters is more charming than the manner in which Wohler sought to maintain peace between his friends, constantly seeking to excuse the one to the other. He writes of Liebig to Berzelius :— “He is thoroughly upright, honourable, and generous, but passionate and inconsiderate.” At another time he wrote :—“ He who does not know him intimately would hardly realise that at bottom he is one of the most good-natured and best fellows in the world.” It is somewhat remarkable that Wo6hler, although trained in a school of which analysis was made the pre- dominant characteristic, should have failed to discover any new elementary body, even whilst constantly occu- pied with the examination of rare minerals. We all remember the story of Vanadis and the “Schalk” Wohler, who failed to woo her with proper assiduity. It now appears that the element thorium also slipped through his fingers unperceived. “Also,” he wrote, “eine analoge Geschichte mit dem Gotte Thor, wie mit dem Gottin Vanadis.” Wohlers triumphs were won in organic chemistry. ‘‘ The organic chemistry of to-day,” he wrote in 1835, “is enough to make one quite dazed. It is like the primeval forest of the tropics, full of the most curious things; an immense thicket without exit and without end.” One of the most historically interesting letters of the series is that in which he communicates to Berzelius his memorable discovery of the synthesis of urea— ohne dazu Nieren oder iiberhaupt ein Thier, sei es Mensch oder Hund, nothig zu haben.” It now appears that the transformation of ammorium cyanate into a body which gave no reactions for either cyanic acid or ammonia was observed by Wohler whilst in Stockholm, but the signi- ficance of the change escaped him for the time. How, almost accidentally, he returned to the subject, and how by three or four decisive experiments he establishes the nature of the new body, is shown in the letter. Berzelius had not then invented the word “isomerism.” For a time, indeed, his conservatism rebelled against the con- ception. Wohler’s words in reference to urea— This is therefore an incontestable example that two absolutely dissimilar bodies can contain the same proportion of the same elements, and that it is merely a difference in the mode of combination which brings about the dissimi- larity in their properties”—must have paved the way for Berzelius’s conversion. How strange; too, the follow- ing sentence must have sounded in 1828! “May not this artificial formation of urea be regarded as an example of the production of an organic substance from inorganic materials ?” The witty and sarcastic letter which appeared in the Annalen for 1840, in which “ S.C. H. Windler, aus Paris,” sought to ridicule the substitution theory of Dumas, was at the time generally ascribed to Liebig, but we know now that it was written by Wohler for the amusement of Liebig, “ohne dass ich aber im Entfernsten daran dachte dass er so toll sein wurde ihn in den Annalen Abdrucken zu lassen.” Wohler not unfrequently amused himself and_ his friends with ad/otria of this kind. The well-known flash which attends the crystallisation of plate sulphate of potash was on one occasion thus explained :—“ Die Lichtfunken bei krystallisirenden Salzen hangen mit einer gleichzeitig im Krystall vor sich gehenden isomeris- chen Umsetzung der Bestandtheile zusammen, z. B. ein krystallisirtes Schwefelsaures Kali konnte eigentlich unter gewissen Umstanden KSO, or KO;SO geworden sein. Nun aber arrangiren sich plotzlich die Atome zu IKkOSO, und dabei blitzt es, weil in dem einem Falle Kalium zu Kali, und in dem anderen unterschweflige Saure to Schwefelsaure verbrennt. Ich will diese Idee an Kastner verschenken.” Berzelius died on August 7, 1848, after a long illness. Almost his last words had reference to Wohler. Wohler always spoke of their friendship as one of the brightest memories of his life, and we are told that even to the last the eyes of the old man would glisten when the name of Berzelius crossed his lips. T. E. THORPE AMERICAN STORM WARNINGS HE Meteorological Office, through the co-operation of the Chief Signal Officer of the United States War Department, has commenced to issue notices of the current Atlantic weather, and it so happens at the very commencement of the system that the frequent occurrence of storms in the vicinity of the British Islands, as well as out in the open Atlantic, has afforded a favourable oppor- tunity for testing the value of this extension of our weather knowledge. As a specimen showing the nature of the information, we append a copy of the notice issued on December 19 :— “The Chief Signal Officer at Washington, U.S., re- ports that, at 4 a.m. on the 16th inst., in lat. 42° N., long. 60° W., with the barometer at 29'4 inches, there was a fresh gale from south, veering to west.” A subsequent notice was issued, showing that the same storm was met with eight hours later, and had advanced rapidly to the east-north-eastwards. It appears highly probable that the disturbance in question was the same 198 WAT ORE [ Fan. 1, 1885 as that which passed swiftly across our islands during the night of the 19th to 20th, and had its centre off Yar- mouth at 8 a.m. on the 20th, having travelled about 2600 miles in four days and four hours, or at the rate of twenty- six miles an hour. This rate is somewhat high for an average extending over so long a period, but it is in ac- cordance with former experience for an isolated storm- centre, and is fully supported by the high rate of progress the storm had when traversing England. The barometri- cal gradients in the rear of this storm were very steep, and the difference of pressure was accompanied by a heavy gale on the 20th over the whole of the southern portion of our islands. We are glad to see that the Meteorological Council are taking steps to ascertain the atmospheric changes which are going on over the Atlantic, since the weather of that ocean has such an important bearing upon that of the British Islands. It is now no longer a matter of specu- lation as to where the weather comes from which strikes our coasts, but the synchronous charts which have been prepared by the Meteorological Office, both under Ad- miral FitzRoy and the subsequent governing body, as well as by Leverrier, Hoffmeyer, Neumayer, and the Signal Service of the United States, amply prove that in the north temperate zone of the Atlantic, at least, there is a regular movement of the weather-systems from west to east, or, more strictly, from some point between west and south-west towards east and north-east. These weather- systems not only embrace storm areas, but, to a very large extent, all the ordinary weather changes. It is our intention here, however, to limit our remarks to the ques- tion of storms and unsettled weather, as not only being of primary importance, but the conditions with such weather will, although of a more pronounced type, illus- trate in avery great measure almost all other meteorological changes. Probably the enterprising proprietors of the Wew York Herald have done more of late years than all other au- thorities put together to popularise the fact that our weather changes traverse the Atlantic, but the notion, if nothing more, of the easterly translation was in existence 180 years ago, for Daniel De Foe, in his discussion of the great storm of 1703, inclines to the opinion that it came from America, since, as he says, “they felt upon that coast an unusual tempest a few days before the fatal 27th of November.” The United States Signal Service has for several years past published monthly track charts of all storm-centres in the North Atlantic, and the most cursory examination of these is sufficient to prove that very valuable informa- tion might be transmitted to Europe from America with respect to the weather experienced by trans-Atlantic steamers on their outward passage. Prof. Loomis, who has devoted considerable attention to the tracks of Atlantic storms, has calculated the average velocity of storm-centres in the Atlantic Ocean to be fourteen miles an hour, and has shown the rate of progress to be less over the sea than over either America or Europe. Some other authorities have given rather a higher rate of progress than Prof. Loomis, but when a large number of instances is taken it will not be found that the average rate exceeds twenty miles an‘hour, and probably this rate is the safest that our present knowledge of the subject will allow. The charts of the United States Signal Service for 1879, which exhibit the tracks of ninety-two distinct storm-centres in the Atlantic, show the average rate of progress of all these storms to be eighteen miles an hour. From this it will be seen that, with the speed now attained by many of our principal steam-vessels engaged in the trans-Atlantic trade, if a storm is met anywhere to the westward of the mid-Atlantic, a vessel .can, on arrival at a port in the United States, transmit timely notice to Europe that a storm has been experienced, and such notice will serve as a caution to our home authorities to be on the alert for any evidence of our outlying stations indicating the approach of the storm until its subsequent arrival, or until ultimate proof is obtained that it will not strike our shores. The fact that a storm is blowing out in the Atlantic will also probably be valued by command- ers of vessels who are leaving port bound westwards. The Atlantic gales differ so materially from each other in their character that any information which will convey the nature of an impending storm, either to vessels out- ward bound or to those engaged on our coasts, will be of the highest importance. It sometimes happens that the whole of the northern part of the Atlantic is taken up with one vast disturbance, the wind blowing with the force of a gale over an area having a diameter of upwards of 1500 miles, and occasionally extending from the coast of America to Europe. On the other hand, several disturb- ances may exist at one time between the two continents, and in this case a vessel is no sooner out of one storm than she enters the margin of another, and these condi- tions may last throughout her passage. This will be readily seen from the synchronous weather work already referred to; and, if further proof is wanted, it is to be found in the frequency with which storm-centres pass either over our islands or in their immediate vicinity, and in sufficient proximity to influence our winds and weather, if not near enough to give gale force to the wind. The British Islands are probably less favourably situated for the successfulissuing of storm warnings to ourown coasts than any other country, since they are in the direct path of the Atlantic storms, and they have not the advantage of any stations within reasonable distance to the westward beyond their limits by which they may be warned, so that it often happens that a storm is almost upon us before its approach is foreseen. An attempt was made some years ago to moor a vessel at the entrance to the English Channel and to connect it by a telegraph cable with our coast, but the attempt was a failure, and experience has shown that the step now taken by the Meteorological Office to obtain Atlantic weather information is the only one which promises success. THE ACTINIE* HIS is a work which contains far more than it promises. Though commenced with the intention of describing only the Actinians (sea-anemones) of the Bay of Naples, it has extended until it includes all the species known; and although at first sight it seems nothing more than an ordinary systematist’s manual—a dry dictionary for the specialist—it turns out on closer examination to have a clearly-marked individuality of its own. In its preface the author remarks, with a tinge of dry humour which here and there ripples the clear pre- cision of his style, that in these days of papers full of histological detail, or rich with plates of caryolitic figures, embryological sections, or genealogical trees, his big book, apparently so purely systematic, may at first excite among his scientific brethren a smile of compassion, if not indeed a word of contempt. Far, however, from renouncing his intellectual birthright of wider scientific aims, he claims with justifiable pride to have produced (and ata self-denying outlay of time and toil not excelled by that of any histological investigation) no mere arid cata- logue of genera and species, but a summary of the whole past of actinology, and a new starting-point for the future. He promises, too, a second volume, in which the anatomy, histology, and development, the physiology, dis- tribution, and phylogeny, will be discussed, and no doubt as exhaustively. : ; The bibliography alone is well worth notice, for its scholarly precision and thoroughness furnish a royal road 1 «Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel. Le Attinie.” Monografia del Dr. Angelo Andres. Vol. I. Bibliografia, Introduzione, e Specigrafia. (Leipzig : Wilhelm Engelmann, 1284.) Fan. 1, 1885 | to their next investigator, for whose benefit also the most elaborate system of general and special indexes is pro- vided. The history of actinological progress is critically exposed, and even the humblest species-maker scrupulously receives his tiny share of immortality, while the veriest trifles of etymology, popular nomenclature, or culinary use, are not forgotten. Far more important, however, is the clear schematic account of actinian anatomy, with a recast morphological nomenclature, and thereupon follows the plan of the mono- graph, where our author briefly outlines the general view of biology and of the relations of its sub-sciences which domin- ate the work. This agrees largely with that usually adopted in this country (cf. Prof. Huxley’s article, “ Biology,” in the “ Encyclopedia Britannica”), but differs from it in some important respects, notably in the separation of taxonomy into Sfecigrafiaand Sistematica. Next follows a keen re-discussion of the conception of sfeczes, and the limits of gezws and variety. The last he proposes admit- ting as a rule, and then by giving variety an analytic and genus a synthetic aim, and making both changeable as systematists find expedient, he hopes to keep the concep- tion of species near a more constant average. After some useful remarks on nomenclature, the systematic detail is entered upon, and the known species (520 or more), with their endless varieties, described with exquisite minute- ness. Numerous diagrams aid the work of identification, and the volume concludes with thirteen magnificent plates, which reflect the greatest credit alike upon the author’s pencil and the care of his lithographers, Messrs. Werner and Winter. The classification differs so much from existing ones as almost to be new. Two new fami- lies, Edwardsine and Stichodactyline, are created ; the Thjanthide are almost abolished, the A/znyadine wholly so. If space permitted, one or two trifling criticisms might be offered, if only to accent the general praise; yet it is better to welcome the book unreservedly as a new sign of the scientific sezazssazice of Italy, and its author as hence- forth one of its leaders, who has learned philosophic breadth from the “ Origin of Species” without losing the detailed accuracy of the “ Monograph of the Cirripedia.” A word finally as to the splendid series of monographs to which this belongs, and which, together with the Challenger volumes, mark an epoch in biology. Is it not lamentable that such works—which, if not yet indeed, in time-honoured phrase, “books which no gentleman’s library should be without,” are certainly needed in every public library, and which even no local natural history society can afford to be without—should be limited to an impression of, after all, only a few hundred copies by the apathy or ignorance of the scientific public ? Pac: THE EARTHQUAKE IN SPAIN ae earthquake of wide extent and unusual violence took place on Christmas night in the southern pro- vinces of Spain and in the neighbourhood of Madrid. The accompanying map may give some idea of its extent. As many of the towns and villages of Granada, Malaga, and Andalusia are unconnected with the capital by tele- graph, the full extent of the damage is not yet known, but enough information has been received to mark the present as among the most destructive earthquakes of recent years, No precise observations as to time or direc- tion have yet reached this country; and the officials at the Madrid Meteorological Observatory are reported to have made no observations at all, for there were no funds to purchase instruments for such a purpose. Madrid itself was within the disturbed area, but it was probably on its extreme north edge, for the effects of the shocks there were slight, and were confined to the rattling of windows, the ringing of bells, and the like. But in the three southern provinces the destruction was great and wide- NATURE 199 spread, involving in many cases considerable loss of life. There were several shocks, overthrowing whole villages and burying the inhabitants in the ruins. In Arenas del Rey 40 persons were killed, in Albuequeros 150, in Olivar 10, and in Cajar 12, and similar numbers in many of the towns and villages of the three provinces. The number of killed on the whole is put down in Madrid, from the reports of the local officials, at more than 1000, Even in large cities such as Granada, Malaga, Jaen, and Seville great damage was done, and much excitement prevailed. The inhabitants encamped in the open air through fear of fresh shocks. At Granada the front of the Cathedral was seriously injured, but the Alhambra was untouched. There is much discrepancy in the reports as to the dura- tion of the earthquake: some village authorities have reported ten distinct shocks, while in other cases it is stated that there were seismic disturbances intermittently on the 26th, 27th, and 28th, the three days succeeding the great earthquake. This is especially reported from Jaen, where there should be ample means of corro- borating the statement. At Cadiz a panic occured in the theatre; in Malaga the Cervantes Theatre was much injured. It is noticeable that a sharp fall of the barometer was noticed all over the south of ay = LA, Santander * iS NT ly ara Spain in the afternoon before the earthquake, and that there have since been frequent fluctuations. There is some doubt whether the number of persons who have lost their lives will not far exceed a thousand, inasmuch as the reports, as they grow more detailed, instead of diminish- ing, largely increase the original estimates. At Periana, in Malaga, a landslip ona mountain in the neighbourhood destroyed a church and 750 houses, from the ruins of which the dead and injured were being taken: similarly at Loja half the houses were overwhelmed. The town of Alhama in Andalusia is reported to have been completely destroyed, with 300 persons. A report is published with regard to Albunuelas, stating that goo persons are believed to have been killed under the houses thrown down by the earthquake. This would be about one-half the popula- tion of the town. At Antequera the shocks have left three churches in a dangerous condition, and the inhabitants are camping in the fields; the Cathedral at Seville, especially the Giralda tower, is much damaged; at Granada the richer classes are living in their carriages, which are stationed on the public promenade ; the others camp out in the squares and open spaces; at Cordova the inabitants are flying from the town. The loss in the town of Malaga is put down at 100,900/., 227 buildings being injured. It would appear that five distinct shocks took place in this town on Christmas night, and three on the following morning. Five shocks on Friday and 200 NATURE | Yan. 1, 1885 Saturday are reported from Antequera, and nine from Archidona. That the disturbance has not yet ceased is shown by the report from Torrox that the shocks were renewed there on the morning of the 29th, shaking the foundation of the Town Hall, and causing cracks in the walls of other houses; while other violent shocks are reported from Malaga and Granada on the evening of the 30th, one at 7 and the other at 10 o’clock. Inconnection with these after-shocks, a report from Tarvis, in Carinthia, states that an earthquake was felt there on Sunday, which by the oscillation it caused cracked the walls of many houses. The Spanish earthquake was not felt in the north and north-western provinces. No precise informa- tion as to the times of the shocks at the various places has been received. At Xerez and Cadiz, according to one account, the first smart shocks occurred shortly before 9 o’clock, and other slighter shocks about mid- night and 4 o’clock the next morning. At Ciudad Real no damage appears to have been done, beyond the alarm to the inhabitants, who passed the night in the open, fearing a recurrence of the shocks. At Velez Malaga and Malaga proper several shocks injured the theatre and the churches, the falling masonry killing several persons. The clocks are stated to have stopped in various parts of Andalusia at from ten to seven minutes before nine, which may therefore be taken as the time of the first shock. We have received the following correspondence on the subject of the earthquake :— YESTERDAY, 25th, at 8h. 53m. p.m., slight earthquake in Madrid : two distinct shocks in 3 to 5 seconds ; house bells set ringing and lamps and other suspended objects swinging ; the oscillations were almost due east and west, which gives north and south as the direction (rough) of seismic disturbance. This was evidently stronger in some parts of the town than others, as out here it produced no effect outside, whereas according to this morning’s paper much alarm was produced in some streets by people rushing out of their houses. But earthquakes are very uncommon in Madrid, and this accounts sufficiently for the scare. There really was no particular cause for alarm. Official telegrams report shocks felt at about the same time in Cadiz, Malaga, Granada, and Cordova. F. GILLMAN Quintana, 26, Madrid, December 26, 1884 I HAVE reason to believe that this commotion extended to England. On the night of December 25 I left my family quietly seated round the fire at 10 o’clock. Being in bed myself at about 10.20, I perceptibly felt a shock of earthquake such as I have often experienced in the vicinity of Naples, and I said to my wife, who came up shortly afterwards, “I have felt a distant shock of earth- quake. if there is nothing moving downstairs,” which from the distance of the offices there certainly was not. The motion, we learn, was from south to north, and the usual rate of movement corresponds well with the time of the occurrence—say 6 minutes to 9 at Madrid. The Rookery, Ramsbury, Wilts ALFRED BATSON THE HABITS OF THE LIMPET HE following observations upon the habits of the common limpet (Pate//a vilgata) were made during last July at the Scottish Marine Station, Granton, Edin- burgh. I am much indebted to Mr. John Murray, the manager of the Station, for kindly placing its resources at my disposal, and a'so to Mr. J. T. Cunningham, B.A., the director, for much kind advice and assistance. The 47% is moored in the centre of a flooded quarry, upon whose faces large numbers of limpets are to be found. As parts of these faces are almost or quite ver- tical, it was easy to take a boat round and make observa- tions during all states of the tide. The few that were made bear on the feeding and locality-sense of the form in question. By far the larger number of limpets “roost” upon rocks whose only covering consists of minute green algze and nullipores, together with numerous acorn barnacles. These last are seen to be of very unequal degrees of “cleanness,” some being covered with vegetable growth, others quite white and bare. Those immediately sur- rounding a limpet or group of limpets are invariably free from algze. As might have been anticipated, Patella is the cause of this freedom. At low tide anyone on the look-out can hear a quick, regular, rasping sound in all directions, and see numerous limpets slowly crawling about. Scrutiny of any particular individual shows that the rasping noise is caused by strokes of the radula, which speedily scrapes away the incrusting algae. Whilst “on the feed” a limpet moves steadily on, pretty much in a straight line, and continually sweeps its elongated snout from side to side, feeling out probably suitable patches whereon to graze. When such a one is dis- covered, it is gradually licked quite clean. If the patch happens to be the surface of a moderate-sized barnacle, the circular lip is completely spread over it, almost tempt- ing one to believe that the crustacean is about to be “sawn out.” Such, however, is not the case, “* house- cleaning” being the sole end in view. Indeed, limpets are often serviceable to one another by thus clearing away esculents growing upon their shells. To secure a dinner, a good deal of licking is requisite, and perhaps this habit may help to account for the inordinate length of the tongue-ribbon. Certainly it must be used up at a very great rate. But this is not the only, though I believe the chief, way in which the limpet feeds. Those individuals which live near large sea-weeds, such as Fucus, feed extensively upon them, as their gnawed condition testifies. I can speak confidently in this matter, having caught more than one limpet in the act. The operation was as follows :— The edge of a thick flat part of the thallus was seized by the lip (as a traveller might commence on a colossal sandwich), and being, I suppose, held firmly by the upper jaw, a semicircular “bite” was gradually excavated by successive scrapes of the radula, the edges of the bite being bevelled on the under side. So far as my observa- tions extended, limpets do not feed when covered by water, but always settle down firmly before the rising tide reaches them. The intervals between which any particular limpet feeds seem to be very irregular; but, as a rule, the largest limpets are apparently least fond of long fas‘s. In regard to the second point, the locality-sense, great doubt seems to existin the minds of naturalists asto whether limpets go back to the same place to roost. I believe the question was answered in the affirmative long since by a Mr. King, but, as far as is known to me, he did not publish any details of his observations, and this is my excuse for giving an outline of mine. Following a suggestion of Mr. Murray, | marked a number of limpets with white paint, and made corresponding marks near their “ scars” with a view to “keeping my eye on them.” As Dr. S. P. Woodward remarks, it seems probable from an @ prtore point of view, that limpets have a settled home, for they occupy scars, often sunk to a considerable depth, which exactly correspond to the outline of the shell. My ob- servations, made on numerous specimens of various sizes, completely confirm Mr. King’s opinion, and the method of marking rendered cases of “mistaken identity” quite out of the question. The greatest distance from its scar at which I noticed a marked limpet to be, was about three feet ; yet this distance, though extremely rough, and covered with barnacles, was re-traversed without difficulty. The ex- cursions from the roosting-places were made in any direction where food offered; so there were nothing like beaten tracks formed. But a limpet always returns home before the rising tide reaches it, and invariably Fan. 1, 1885 | roosts with its snout pointing in the same direction. As might be expected, this direction is only constant for individuals. As the shape of the scar corresponds exactly with the shape of the shell, comfort, of course, could only be gained and a firm hold effected by limpets roosting permanently in the same direction on their scars. The question now arises, What sense is employed by the limpet in finding its way back to its scar ? The appreciation of locality displayed is certainly, for so simply-organised an animal, very keen. The sense of sight is evidently out of court, for an eye like the limpet’s, consisting of no more than a sensitive cup, could do little if any more than dis- tinguish between light of different degrees of intensity. The tentacles seemed at first sight to be extremely likely organs to use for the purpose, and to decide this I excised those of two marked individuals which were off their scars. One speedily found its way back; the other seemed confused by the operation for several days, but after that time was found on its scar. This shows a remarkable power of memory, unless the scar was found by accident, which is possible, as the individual was near home when the operation was performed. But even in that case the scar must almost certainly have been remembered. Thus, the tentacles do not seem to be the means by which home is returned to. The sense of smell then suggested itself, and it occurred to me that one reason why limpets kept on their scars when covered by the water was to pre- vent the “ scent ” of the track traversed from being washed off. With a view to determine this the space between a wandering limpet and its scar and the scar was carefully washed again and again with sea-water. In spite of this the limpet in question readily found its way back again. Further experiments are, however, needed on this head, for any ordinary washing would be very ineffective com- pared with the prolonged soaking the tide would effect in the case of a limpet (like the one just mentioned) living some distance below high-water mark. Still some limpets live so near this last that they are covered but a very short time, and yet these remain on their scars during that time. Hence I think some other motive probably induces them to remain firmly fixed to their scars when under water. Of course they can hold on best when so fixed, and this suggests the most likely reason for the habit, ze. to avoid being washed off the rocks by the tide. I am inclined to think that the snout plays some part in helping the limpet to get home, as this organ is extremely sensitive, and certainly plays an important part in discovering suitable food. I intend carrying on more extended observations with a view to the more com- plete elucidation of this puzzling question in regard to the limpet’s locality-sense, but this preliminary notice may possibly be of some interest. J. R. Davis University College of Wales, Aberystwith THE MEDITERRANEAN FAUNA}? ERY welcome to all zoologists, especially to those living in Europe, will be the first part of what promises to be a most useful work on the animals known to inhabit the Mediterranean Sea. For more than twenty-five years Prof. J. Victor Carus tells us he has been collecting the materials for such a volume, and now that he has to be congratulated on the appearance of so much of it, we trust it may not be long ere we shall be enabled to announce that it is complete. The first part gives a list of the Coelenterates, Echinoderms, and Worms. The next will treat of the Arthropods, Mollusks, and Verte- brates. The author on mature deliberation resolved to omit from the enumeration the Protozoa and Sponges, not seeing his way to give of these satisfactory detailed diagnoses, and also because, while Haeckel and others * “Prodomus Faune Mediterranez, sive Descriptio Animalium maris Mediterranei incolarum quam comparata silva rerum quatenus innotuit adjectis locis et nominibus vulgaribus eorumque auctoribus in commodum Zoologorum congessit Julius Victor Carus.” Pars 1. Coelenterata, Echino- dermata, et Vermes. (Stuttgart, 1884.) NATURE 201 have done a good deal towards increasing our knowledge of the Mediterranean Protozoa, and Oscar Schmidt and others have done the same with the Sponges, yet the groups have not been rigidly systematised in the same way, for example, as the Ccelenterates. In the Prodomus, a diagnosis of each sub-order, family, genus, and species is given, with the synonymy of each species, its general distribution, and then its known habitats in the Mediterranean. When the species has been found only in the Mediterranean it is specially marked, the only exceptions we notice to this rule being in the case of the parasitic worms, and from the nature of their hosts they are just as likely as not to be found out of bounds. We have examined the list of the species with a good deal of attention, and have been greatly struck with the immense care that has been evidently used in its compilation. Many of the records and descriptions of these species are not to be found in monographs or special treatises on the fauna of certain well-known bays, like those of Naples, Marseilles, &c., but lie scattered over the numerous pages of our periodical literature, often difficult to be got at; indeed, in some few cases, we notice the record of the habitat is based on the authenticated examples in museums. In admitting some doubtful species on the authority of authors of good repute, Prof. Carus has acted wisely, for, should it be necessary, a stroke of a pen would suffice to reduce these to synonymic rank, while, should they be ultimately approved of, they are already in their places. This Prodomus is dedicated to Sir Henry Wentworth Acland, K.C.B., who for these long years past has taken so much interest in zoology in connection with Christ Church, Oxford, and who well merits this tribute of respect and confidence from Prof. Carus. Those whose knowledge of zoology in Oxford only dates from the period of the New Museum, and who have no leisure for mastering the details of the past, may not be aware how much the col- lection of zoology and comparative anatomy owes to the labours of Victor Carus, who collected, we believe, for Sir Henry Acland during a great part of 1850, at the Scilly Islands, the series of British Invertebrates then placed in Christ Church Museum, and now Prof. Carus, having taken a larger area within his grasp, associates this Pro- domus of its Fauna with our Oxford Professor, as a sign and token that he has not forgotten those earlier days. OUR FUTURE CLOCKS AND WATCHES N connection with what we have said before on this sub- ject we give a drawing of the new dial in use on some of the American railways where the new system is already 24 at work, the clocks indicating a certain number of hours plus Greenwich, according to the longitude of the section. 202 INA TURE [¥an. 1, 1885 The intersection of the two circles of figures serves the purpose of giving day hours inside and night hours out- side. NOTES THE Congress of the United States some time ago appointed a joint committee of senators and representatives to consider the organisation of the different bureaux of the Government. This special commission is now hearing the depositions of wit- nesses. The evidence of Major Powell, Director of the Geo- logical Survey, has just been published. The principal feature of this document is the proposal to give the adminis- tration of the different bureaux to the Smithsonian Institution. It should be noted that the National Academy of Sciences passed some time back a resolution asking that a special adminis- tration should be created for the purpose. The Committee of the Academy recommended the establishment of a physical observatory to investigate the laws of solar and terrestrial radia- tion, and their application to meteorology, with such other inves- tigations in exact science as the Government might assign to it ; and they also recommended that the functions of the Bureau of Weights and Measures, now performed by the Coast Survey, be extended so as to include electrical measures. THE Bureau of Navigation of the U.S. Navy Department announces that the computations and discussions of the obser- vations and experiments for determining the velocity of light have been completed, and are being prepared for publication. THE Fourth Circular of Information of the United States Bureau of Education reports the meeting of the Superintendents of National Education at Washington in February last, one of the largest of such meetings ever held. The principal papers read were on the subjects of Indian and Negro education. One speaker, who reported the former of these races to trust too much to memory and direct observation and too little to reasoning, nevertheless considered them worthy to be absorbed into the white population, though as an inferior element. “ This may be the best for the Indians, for the most hopeful view of another speaker who upheld the return of their educated youth to their old homes as a civilising power to the whole body, was that **not more than five out of thirty were given up as hopeless” ! But as eminently qualified and well-paid men are required for eyen this result, and nature will probably protest strongly against the deterioration of a higher race by a lower one, the most satis- factory consideration seems that the Indian population is de- creasing. But not so the Negro; and the inability of the Southern States to overcome the rapidly increasing mass of ignorance now cast upon them has led to the drawing up of a very cautious Act for the supply of national assistance to this necessary work during the next five years only. It is interesting to note that the Peabody Trustees are becoming quite an autho- rity in educational matters. Another subject fully discussed, but, like the above, requiring little discussion in our country, was the advantage or disadvantage of a ten minutes recess during a three hours’ school sitting ; social, would not be felt here. Out of our reach also, we fear, is the pleasanter matter of the plantation of trees as memorials of each great man or event at an annual school holiday. An interesting account given of the composition of those touching lines, ‘‘ Woodman, spare that tree,” concluded an eloquent paper on behalf of the practice. In an account of European technical education a very high place is awarded to the Swedes, who want nothing but qualified teachers. While one speaker urged that technical training should be the groundwork of edu- cation, and not a branch of fact-knowledge, another thought, the objections to it, some of them that looking on at various manufactories and writing an account of what had been shown and explained to them, was of more as sometimes resembling the aurora borealis. general value. The immense increase of crime in the United States among educated young men was cited by one who ex- pressed an enthusiastic belief that the greatest check to it would be the organisation among children of societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Dr. B. Joy Jeffries read a paper on colour-blindness, urging that the three primaries are red, green, and violet ; that blindness to the latter is so rare that practically colour-blindness means blindness to red or green; urging also the danger of persons with such deficiency being employed in many occupations, and the necessity of an experimental method of finding it out. The Fifth Circular of Information consists of information and suggestions with regard to the great educational department of the New Orleans Exposition now opening, at which gathering the Superintendents of Education are to meet in the ensuing year. HERR JADRINTSOW of St. Petersburg is about to publish, in Russian and German, a work on the Uralo-Altai, and Ugro- Turanian tribes of Siberia. ACCORDING to the Colonial Mail a statement comes from the Cape Colony which is deserving the attention of botanists. It is alleged that insects shun the land on which tomatoes are grown; and the cultivation of the Lycopersicon esculentum is accordingly recommended in all cases where it is possible to grow it—under fruit-trees, for instance, since the tomato will thrive in the shade of other trees, which few other piants will do—for the sake of the virtues attributed to it as a prophylactic against the inroads of insect pests. It would be interesting to know whether the tomato has been observed to exercise any such effect on insects elsewhere—in Canada, for instance, where the fruit is so popular—or whether it is only in warmer climates, like that of the Cape, that its peculiar powers are brought into play. M. Marcer DEpReEzZ, the well-known electrician, is not con- fining his labours exclusively to the transmission of electrical force to distant places. In conjunction with others he has patented a new telephone based on a new principle of vibration, and dispensing with the use of voltaic elements. The lease of the Compagnie générale des Téléphones being about to expire, the Municipal Council of Paris have held a protracted sitting on the question whether the lease should be renewed or not. In the course of the discussion it was proposed to grant the renewal of the lease provisionally for a month, in order to give the new apparatus a fair trial. The further discussion of the question has been postponed to the next meeting. Tue last number of the ALittheilungen der deutschen Gesell- schaft fiir Natur und Volkerkunde Ostasiens, Heft 31, contains a paper by Mr. Knipping, on weather telegraphy in Japan, which has already been referred to in NATURE. Besides de- scribing the agencies at present at work in connection with the Central Meteorological Observatory, Mr. Knipping suggests a reorganisation of service, especially as regards the lighthouses ; the number of stations would then be eighty in place of twenty- four, and the increased value of the service for practical as well as for scientific climatological purposes would be proportionate. Herr Mayet gives the first part of a full and interesting descrip- tion of his visit to Corea with the German mission which went there last year for the purpose of making a treaty. If continued on the same scale, it will be the most comprehensive and accu- rate account of Corea, its Government, people, laws, &c., yet published, When at the capital, Seoul, the members of the mission noticed, from a hill in the grounds of their residence, the extraordinary sunsets of October in that year; but no special observations were made, because they believed that the beautiful phenomenon was the usual accompaniment of fine weather sunsets in Corea. It is described Frequently it was Fan. 1, 1885 | NATURE 203 only a uniform brilliant brightness, the centre of which was the spot at which the sun had gone down; other evenings the sun shot rays like long fingers, of a darker colour, athwart the glow, and in one evening the change of the light and darker colours of the evening red were like the incessant wavings of the folds of a perpendicular curtain. The effect of the phenomenon on the ignorant and superstitious inhabitants of Seoul, was of more immediate importance to the writer and his companions than its scientific aspects. They regarded it as a sign of trouble, war, and misfortune. Heavy rain which fell soon after averted any disaster from this cause. A COMMISSION has been nominated by the President of the French Republic to investigate the archeology of Tunis, and report on the best method of preserving the ancient monuments of that country. A considerable number of specially-qualified French scholars have been appointed, and M. Ernest Renan has been named President of the Commission. A SARCOPHAGUS with four face-urns has been recently found at Garzigar, near Késlin (Pomerania), and has been sent to the Antiquarian Provincial Museum of the Pomeranian Antiquarian Society at Stettin. A similar discovery was made last year at Klein Barkow (another Pomeranian village). Round one of the urns there was placed a bronze necklace, consisting of a stout bronze wire supporting eight so-called spectacle-spirals as orna- ments. Prof. Berndt has proved in his work on Pomeranian face-urns, that they are really of Greek origin, dating from about the years 100 or 200 B.c., when Greek agents or factors went to live on the shores of the Baltic in order to trade with their home country in amber, furs, &c. Prof. Lindenschmidt (Mayence) and Dr. Schliemann indorse this opinion. THE Imperial Japanese Meteorological Observatory has (according to the Jafan Mail) issued a volume containing a series of monthly weather summaries for the months March to December 1883, each summary being accompanied by a map. The first weather map in Japan was issued on March 1, 1883, and the compilation therefore begins with that month. The greater part of the issue is occupied by twenty maps, indicating the tracks of centres of areas respectively of high and low baro- meters for the ten months dealt with, copious notes prepared from the daily telegrams being also furnished. For each month there is given the number of areas of high and of low barometer, with a short synopsis of the course of each, the place and date of highest and lowest temperature and barometric pressure, the number of gales, heavy gales, and hurricanes reported, with their localities, the occasions on which rain or snow fell, and the number of warnings issued. Lists are also given of the light- houses from which gales were reported. These summaries are followed by monthly meteorological tables and illustrative maps, commencing two months earlier, and extending therefore over the whole of the year 1883. In these we find the mean tempe- rature, mean pressure, altitude and rainfall for each month at twenty-two stations, and at the end there is a similarly prepared table for the whole year. The series closes with maps indicating by different degrees of shading the rainfall over the various parts of the empire during the twelve months, the aggregate rainfall for the year being shown by similar means in a final map. AT the meeting of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, held on December 17, the following office-bearers were elected :— Presidents: Benjamin N. Peach, F.R.S.E., John A. Harvie- Brown, F.R.S.E., Rey. Prof. John Duns, F.R.S.E. ; Secre- tary: Robert Gray, V.P.R.S.E.; Assistant Secretary: John Gibson ; Treasurer: Charles Prentice, F.R.S.E. ; Hon. Libra- rian : R. Sydney Marsden, F.R.S.E. ; Council : Patrick Geddes, F.R.S.E., Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S.E., Johnson Symington, F.R.C.S.E., Andrew Moffat, John Hunter, F.C.S., Robert Kidston, F.G.S., A. B. Herbert, William Evans Hoyle, M.R.C.S., F.R.S.E., Prof. James Geikie, F.R.S., Prof. J. Cossar Ewart, F.R.S.E., G. Sims Woodhead, F.R.C.P.E., Hugh Miller, F.G.S. ' We have received the October number of the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. It contains a continua- tion of Mr. Crosby's paper, meeting the objections advanced by Dr. Wadsworth against the author’s views of the stratigraphy of the Boston Basin, It also contains a description, by Q. E. Dickerman and Dr, M. E. Wadsworth, of an olivine-bearing diabase, from St. George, Maine ; as also the beginning of a paper by Thos. T. Bouveé, on the genesis of the Boston Basin and its rock-formation. Messrs, MACMILLAN AND Co. will very shortly publish a translation of the work of Dr. Hertel of Copenhagen on Over- Pressure in Middle-Class Schools in Denmark, with an intro- duction by Dr. Crichton Browne. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include an Indian Civet (Viverricula malaccensis) from India, presented by Mr. W. Getty ; a Bengalese Cat (Felis ben- galensis) from India, presented by Mr. G. T. Egan; a Grey Parrot (Pszt/acus «vithacus) from West Africa, presented by Mrs. Whitelow ; a Kestrel (Zinnunculus alaudarius), a Sparrow Hawk (Accipiter nisus), British, presented by Mr. T. E. Gunn; a Broad-fronted Crocodile (Crocodilus frontatus), a Nilotic Crocodile (Cvecodilus vulsaris) from West Africa, presented by Mr. J. M. Harris ; an Undulated Grass Parrakeet (Me/opsittacus undulatus) from Australia, deposited; two Golden-winged Woodpeckers (Co/aptes auratus), a Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) from North America, a Black-tailed Hawfinch (Coccothraustes melanurus) from Japan, two Red-headed Finches (Amadina erythrocephala) from South Africa, two Banded Parrakeets (Paleornis fasciatus), from India, received in exchange. PHYSICAL NOTES SEVERAL new primary batteries are in the field, and there are more to come, An iron cell invented by Dr. Pabst of Stettin is finding great favour in Germany. Its electrodes are carbon and wrought iron dipping into a solution of ferric chloride. It is practically unpolarisable and self-regeneratir g. Itjworks at the expense of iron and of the oxygen of the air, which is absorbed into the liquid, whilst ferric oxide is deposited at the bottom of the cell. Its electromotive force is about *78 of a volt. The Pabst cell ought to prove of value for domestic electric lighting, as its internal resistance is low and its constancy remarkable. ANOTHER primary cell has the peculiarity that the element consumed in the liquid is carbon. In this cell—the invention of Profs. Bartoli and Papasogli—the electrodes are platinum, and a compacted mixture of retort coke and Ceylonese graphite. The exciting liquid is hypochlorite of soda. The electromotive force is, however, only ‘2 of a volt at the most. M. JABLOCHKOFF announces another battery of great scientific interest. A small rod of sodium weighing about § grammes is squeezed into contact with an amalgamated copper wire and flattened. It is wrapped in tissue paper and then damped with three wooden pegs against a plate of very porous carbon. This completes the element. The moisture of the air settles on the oxidised surface of the sodium. It works without any other liquid. The E.M.F. is 2°5 volts, but the resistance is as great as 25 ohms. M. LAzARE WEILLER has shown that the phosphide of tin, drawn into wires, possesses a higher electric conductivity than platinum or iron. M. Emi.& Reynier has made some very interesting experi- ments on the maxima and minima electromotive forces obtained from cells of one electrolyte. For this purpose he constructed two cells, one for determining the maxima and one for determining the minima electromotive forces. His maximum cell consists in giving the positive electrode as large a surface as possible—about 30 square decimetres—while the negative electrode consisted of a wire of 3 mm. diameter. The positive electrode was bent round 204 in the form of a sharply corrugated circle, and the negative electrode was placed in the centre, so that the resistance should be low, it varied from ‘2 to 4 ohms according to the liquid used. The E.M.F. was practically constant during its determination, as the current drawn from the cell was only about ‘oor ampere. The minimum cell was of similar form to the maximum, only the positive electrode was in the centre and was a wire of about o*5 mm. diameter, and the negative electrode was in the form of acylinder. By using cells of these forms he was able easily to change either of the electrodes or the electrolyte. The method of determining the minima electromotive forces was to short- NATURE circuit the cell for several hours, and immediately on opening the ; circuit to determine the E.M.F. The following are some of the results that he obtained with an electrolyte of acidulated water, 2 parts in 1000 being sulphuric acid :— Electrodes E.M.F. in volts Negative Positive Maxima Minima Zine, ordinary . Carbon 1°22 0°04 s, amalgamated ... Carbon 1°26 0°226 >, ordinary ee head ates 0°55 oO'l44 »» amalgamated ... Lead ... 0684 O°152 >, ordinary ... Copper 0'94 o'194 », amalgamated ... Copper 1‘072 0°272 35y) (Ordinary, =. ... Lron 0°429 0'309 », amalgamated ... Iron cay, ew ©OPA7ON eR IO 323 50) 5A ... Zinc, ordinary ... — ...<0'09 Tron . Copper (0;40/tolO 5 Ee AN experimental reproduction on the screen of the pheno- menon of the solar halo has been recently brought before the Physical Society of Paris by M. Cornu. M. Cornu also dis- cussed the phenomenon of the pink corona which has been visible around the sun during the past few months. He thinks it has its seat in the atmosphere at an elevation considerably higher than the level of the cirrus clouds which give the common ring- halo of 22°. According to M. Cornu the polarisation of the sky has been ‘‘ profoundly modified” by the present phenomenon, especially when viewed through red glass. S1GNor A. Ricco sends us a Jengthy memoir on a new form of electro-magnet invented by him. It consists of a sheet of iron rolled into a spiral round an iron core, the convolutions being separated by oiled paper. The current traverses the coiled sheet, which thereby becomes powerfully magnetised. A spiral of forty turns of insulated copper wire is added outside. The lifiing power of this magnet appears to be very great in propor- tion to its weight. A PAMPHLET on the system of simultaneous telephony and telegraphy invented by F. van Rysselberghe has lately appeared from the, pen of M. Ch. Mourlon, secretary of the Societe belge d’Electriciens. Dr. E. VON FLEISCHL recently communicated to the Viennese Academy a paper on the double-refraction of light in liquids. Concentrated solutions of tartaric acid and of various sugars were employed, also certain active oils, in a compound hollow prism resembling a Fresnel’s quartz combination in its general disposi- tion. The research proves the existence of doubly-refracting liquids ; but they possess no optic axis. The wave-surfaces are in every case two concentric spheres. CHEMICAL NOTES ATTENTION was lately drawn in these Notes to Schiff’s recent researches on the connections between the capillary coefficients of various liquid carbon compounds and the structure of the molecules of these compounds (see also NATURE, vol. xxx. p. 618). The same subject has very recently been examined by J. ‘Traube (er. xvii. 2294). Traube thinks that the differ- ences between the various capillary elevations observed by Schiff are too small to allow of trustworthy conclusions being drawn : he has therefore undertaken a series of observations with aqueous solutions of various classes of carbon compounds. Inasmuch as the capillary elevation of water in a tube of *34 mm. radius is about 41°5 mm., while that of most liquid carbon compounds does not exceed 25 mm., Traube concluded that there will probably be well-marked differences between the capillary ele- yations of aqueous solutions, and mixtures of aqueous solutions, of definite concentration, of various compounds of carbon. The height in capillary tubes was determined for each solution for varying degrees of concentration, and the results are stated for eS Oe eee [| Fan. 1, 1885 equal weights of compounds in equal volumes of solution. From these results Traube draws the conclusions :—(1) The capillary elevation of the solution of a compound decreases as concentra- tion increases ; the differences of elevation are not equal for equal increases in concentration. (2) The capillary elevations decrease in a homologous series of carbon compounds as molecular weight in- creases. (3) Isomeric compounds in solutions of equal concentra- tion donot always exhibit equal capillary elevations. Schiff’s gene- ralisation, that the number of molecules of isomerides raised by capillary action is equal, does not hold good for aqueous solu- tions of isomerides. As in Traube’s experiments the liquids examined were of equal concentration, it follows that the ratios of the capillary elevations are equal to the ratios of the masses of the dissolved compounds raised in the capillary tubes. Calling the capillary elevation 2, and the specific gravity of the solution s, Traube considers the product 7s, which he calls the capillary coefficient of the solution, ‘The value of / is condi- tioned by the chemical constitution of the compounds examined. If # = molecular weight of compound in solution, then the : h . pea difference between — for solutions of two compounds, within Mm certain limits of concentration, is a constant which depends only on the relative concentrations of the two solutions. The values h 3 ; 5 , gas of — for an homologous series, dealing with solutions containing mn equal masses of the compounds in equal volumes, are referred to h ¢ the value of “ for the first member of the series, and the m differences thus obtained, when calculated for a tube Imm. radius, are called the specific capillary constants of the com- pounds in the series. The values of this quantity are almost wholly dependent on the nature of the solution, perhaps only on the nature of the dissolved substance, and are independent, within certain limits, for each homologous series, of the absolute concentration of the solutions, and are scarcely, if at all, dependent on temperature. Traube thinks he is justified from his experimental results in concluding that the differ- ences between the capillary elevations of the solutions of two analogous compounds arein the same ratio as the mole- cular weights of the compounds. Thus, let 4, and /,, re- present the capillary elevations of two solutions, of different concentrations, of the compound with molecular weight ™; and let 4g and 4g, represent the capillary elevations of two solutions, of the same concentration as those of the former compound, of an analogous compound with molecular weight #,. Then, according to Traube, We ite therefore P * F . mM If, therefore, 2., 4a,;, &c., are determined, the ratio — can be m - 5 We, found ; and if # is known, the value of the molecular weight of the second compound (7,) can be calculated. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES WE are glad to see that at last there is some probability of the almost unknown but certainly interesting country of Tibet being opened up to outsiders. We know the frequent but un- successful efforts which Prjevalsky and others have been recently making to penetrate to Lassa. But now the 7Zimes Calcutta correspondent informs us that the Regent of the Tashu Lama at Shigatze has sent a most cordial reply to the letter which Mr. Macaulay despatched to him from the frontier through the agency of the Governor of Kambajong, and has also addressed a letter to the Viceroy. With these letters, besides the silk scarves which ordinarily accompany Tibetan correspondence, the correspondent understands he has sent some relics of the late Tashu Lama himself, and has asked Mr. Macaulay to send him a Tibetan-English dictionary and j-hrase-book and some scien- tific instruments. This is the first official communication re- ceived from Tibet for about a hundred years. The correspondent suggests that the Government should put our relations on a firm footing by sending at once a friendly mission in connection with the identification which takes place this year of the infant in whom Tashu Lama is supposed to have been born again. Fan. 1, 1885 | NATURE 205 THE town of Bhamo, in Upper Burma, the destruction of which by the Kakhyen tribes is reported from Rangoon, is one well known in the exploration of South-Western China in recent years. The route so often traversed from Shanghai to Rangoon by the Yangtsze, Talifu, and the Irrawaddy passes through Bhamo. It is mainly a trading town, from which the carayans start into Yunnan, as here the navigation of the Irrawaddy ceases. The first modern explorer to visit it was Mr. Cooper, the traveller ‘‘in pigtail and petticoats,” who journeyed so courageously throughout South- West China during the Mohammedan rebellion. The Indian Government was disposed at that time to pay more attention to a trade route into Yunnan than they appear to have been recently, and the importance of Bhamo on the route from British Burmah was recognised by the appointment of an agent to reside there, and gather information useful for commerce in these regions. Mr. Cooper, the most competent man for the post, was selected, but the good work which he was doing was cut short by his death one night in his tent near Bhamo, at the hands of one of his Burmese guards. At Manwyne, not far on the Chinese side of Bhamo, Mr. Margary was murdered in 1876, when on his way from the Yangtsze and Talifu, to meet Col. Browne’s expedition, whick advanced from Rangoon along the Irrawaddy, through Bhamo. A year later it was visited by the Commission of English officials under Mr. Grosvenor, which went to in- quire into Margary’s death; and, on account of the place being within easy reach of Rangoon and Mandalay by the river, it has been frequently visited by officials of the Indian Government, such as Cols. Browne and Fytche and Major Sladen. The latter’s journey had for its ob- ject the removal of dangers to traders on the route from the Kakhyens, and he succeeded in coming to an understanding with the chiefs to keep the route open. Within the last few years McCarthy, on his way from Shanghai by the Japanese route, and Colquhoun from the capital of Yunnan, passed through the town. It was a small stockaded settlement of Chinese and Shan traders, with a lower order of Burmese, and there is a French missionary station at the place, while some Americans are also engaged in missionary work there and at Mauwyne. The Kakhyens inhabit the greater part of North- Eastern Burmah, between the Irrawaddy and Salween, and live mainly on the~trade between China and Burmah, either as brigands and robbers or as carriers on the river and roads. In addition, they appear to trade a little on their own account. The grounds of their destruction of the town are unknown, but it is probably due to their predatory habits, the comparative wealth of the town as a central trading station in the region, and the weakness and incompetence of the native government of Upper Burmah, especially in a wild and remote border-land, such as that in which Bhamo is situated, and of which it is the capital. AN interesting expedition has been undertaken by Mr. Shaw; anaturalist and artist of Sydney, New South Wales. He pro- poses to make a canoe voyage down the Lachlan, Murrum- bidgee, and Murray rivers, his object being to enlarge our knowledge of the interior river-systems of Australia, and of natural history. The cost of the expedition is borne by the Town and Country Journal of Sydney, in which the artist’s sketches will no doubt appear. WE learn from the Australian papers that Mr. E. M. Curr of Victoria has been engaged on a work on the customs, language, and origin of the aborigines of Australia. Portions of the manu- scripts were, early last year, sent to England to be submitted to the Council of the Anthropological Society. The Society has expressed the opinion that the Government of Victoria should publish the vocabularies and a record of the customs of the aborigines, as, otherwise, valuable information might be lost for ever. It is expected that arrangements will be made for the publication of the work at the public expense. REPORT OF THE LONDON SCHOOL BOARD COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION WE are glad to publish the following Report on Technical Education which has been presented to the London School Board. The recommendations contained in it were passed on December 18, 1884, with a small modification in No, 5. The only one which received any serious opposition was No. 6, which relates to the Swedish Slojd system, but this ultimately passed by a majority of two to one. (1) Constitution of Committee On February 1, 1883, the Board passed the following reso- lution :—‘‘ That a Special Committee be formed to consider and advise how far the Board may facilitate Technical Education, or co-operate with those bodies that are carrying it on.” On February 8, 1883, the Board resolved :—‘‘ That the Special Committee on Technical Education agreed to by the Board on February 1, 1883, consist of the following Members :—Mr. Roston Bourke, Mr. Bousfield, Mr. Bruce, Sir Edmund Currie, Miss Davenport Hill, Prof. Gladstone, Mr. Heller, Sir Arthur Hobhouse, Mr. Lucraft, Miss Muller, Rev. Henry Pearson, Mr. Lee Roberts, Mr. Whiteley, Mr. Mark Wilks, and ex officto the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Board.” At the first meeting Prof, Gladstone was appointed Chairman of the Special Committee. Nine meetings of the Committee have been held. (2) Lnformation from Gentlenjen The Committee commenced their deliberations by endeavour- ing to obtain information from gentlemen who were interested in, and had studied, the subject. The following gentlemen accordingly attended the Committee by invitation, and gave their views on the subject :-—Dr. Sil- vanus P. Thompson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Uni- versity College, Bristol ; Mr. H. Trueman Wood, Secretary of the Society of Arts ; Mr. Philip Magnus, B.Sc., B.A., Director and Secretary of the City and Guilds of London Institute for the Advancement of Technical Education, and one of the members of the Royal Commissicn on Technical Jnstruction. The statements of these gentlemen are set out in detail in the Appendix to this Report. (3) Lnformation from School Boards The Committee also obtained information from the clerks of the Glasgow, Manchester, and Sheffield School Boards respecting the steps taken by these Boards respectively for the instruction of children in technical education. Glasgow, Allan Glen’s Institution.—At the reqiest of the clerk of the Glasgow School Board, Mr. A. Crum Maclae, Secretary of Allan Glen’s Institution, Glasgow, replied, furnish- ing information respecting the technical instruction in that institution, and inclosing—(1) a prospectus of the school foi 1883-84; (2) a report of the proceedings at the distribution of prizes and certificates in December, 182 ; (3) a copy of a paper on the ‘‘ Relation of the School to the Workshop,” read_before the Philosophical Society of Glasgow in December, 1882, by David Sandeman, Chairman of the Weaving Branch of the Technical College, and E. M. Dixon, B.Sc., Head Master of the Institution. Manchester School Board.—TVhe Clerk of the Board, in reply to the inquiry of the Committee, furnished information to the effect that the Board have no present intention of starting a technical school ; that this work had been taken up by the trustees of the Manchester Mechanics’ Institute, who have con- verted that institution into a technical school; that the Board have introduced a lathe and a group of joiners’ benches into class-rooms of two of their schools, and each scholar in the higher standards of the school takes his turn at the manual ex- ercises, receiving one or two lessons a-week, a joiner being present to give the instruction. No extra charge is made for the instruction. One of the schools is the lowest under the Board, where two-thirds of the children are admitted free, the other being attended by children of artisans and small shopkeepers. Sheffield Schcol Board.—The Clerk of the Board gave particu- lars respecting the admission, the examination, the fees, the subjects of instruction, and the results of the Central Higher School established in that town. In the workshop attached to the school the practical work contemplated will include—(1) the production of simple but perfect geometrical forms to teach accuracy and skill in the use of tools; (2) the construction of models in wood for use as examples in model drawing ; (3) the construction of simple apparatus to illustrate, by actual experi- ment, the principles of levers, pulleys, wheel and axle, the crane and strain on beams with different positions of load ; (4) the mechanics of the roof, arch, and bridge ; (5) for more ad- vanced pupils the construction of apparatus illustrating lessons in machine construction, applied mechanics, building construc- tion, and mechanical engineering. It is added that there is a system of scholarships by means of which from fifteen to twenty specially clever boys and girls will be enabled to pass from the 206 NATURE [| Fan. 1, 1885 ordinary schools to the technical instruction at the Central Higher School. : (4) Action of British Association and Social Science Congress The Committee were officially informed by the chairman that a resolution had been passed in 1883 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science requesting a Special Committee ““to consider the desirableness of making representations to the Lords of the Committee of Her Majesty’s Privy Council on Education in favour of aid being extended toward the fitting-up of workshops in connection with elementary day schools or evening classes, and of making grants on the results of practical instruction in such workshops under suitable direction.” The said Committee waited to see the Report of the Royal Commis- sioners, and expressed their approval of recommendation ((), which practically covers the same ground. The Social Science Congress has made a presentation to the Education Department to a similar effect. (5) Aecommendations of the Royal Commissioners on Technical Education During the deliberations of the Committee the second Report of the Royal Commissioners on Technical Education, containing their recommendations, was published, and the Committee sub- mit, for the information of the Board, the recommendations as to public elementary schools, as follow :— (a) That rudimentary drawing be incorporated with writing as a single elementary subject, and that instruction in elementary drawing be continued throughout the standards. That the In- spectors of the Education Department, Whitehall, be responsible for the instruction in drawing. That drawing from casts and models be required as part of the work, and that modelling be encouraged by grant. (2) that there be only two class subjects, instead of three, in the lower division of elementary schools, and that the object lessons for teaching elementary science shall include the subject of geography. (c) That, after reasonable notice, a school shall not be deemed to be provided with proper ‘‘ apparatus of elementary instruc- tion” under Article 115 of the Code, unless it have a proper supply of casts and models for drawing. (d2) That proficiency in the use of tools for working in wood and iron be paid for as a ‘‘ specific subject,” arrangements being made for the work being done, so far as practicable, out of school hours. That special grants be made to schools in aid of collections of natural objects, casts, drawings, &c., suitable for school museums. (e) That in rural schools instruction in the principles and facts of agriculture, after suitable introductory object lessons, shall be made obligatory in the upper standards.1 (/) That the provision at present confined to Scotland, which prescribes that children under the age of fourteen shall not be allowed to work as full-timers in factories and workshops, unless they have passed in the Fifth Standard, be extended to England and Wales. (6) Zhe Slojd System of Handicraft in Sweden The Committee have received valuable information respecting a system of instruction in handicraft, which is largely adopted in the elementary schools of Sweden. Two mistresses under this Board, Miss Warren, head mistress of the infants’ department of the Carlton Road, Kentish Town, School, and Miss Clarke, head mistress of the infants’ department of the Campbell Street, Maida Vale, School, were allowed an extended summer vacation, in order that they might visit Herr Abrahamson’s Institution at Naas, near Gothenburg, in Sweden, where instruction is given in handicraft. This institution is established and maintained by Herr Abrahamson on his own estate, for the purpose of training teachers in the system, in order that the teachers may be able to carry it out in their schools. The Governments of some other countries were invited to send teachers to Nias to learn the system, and through Miss Lofving, formerly Superintendent of Physical Education under the Board, the invitation was extended to two mistresses of the schools of the Board. Hence the visit of Miss Warren and Miss Clarke during last summer. These mistresses have returned with diplomas received from Herr Salomon, the Director of the “Slojd” Seminarium at Naas, for having successfully completed the set of articles required for the first course of the system. Miss Warren stated that during the two months leave of * This recommendation will not apply to London schools. absence which had been granted to her and Miss Clarke, they had, at the invitation of Herr Ab:ahamson, visited his institu- tion, with the object of becoming acquainted with his system of instruction in handicraft. The work done is carried out in wood, and the general term of ‘‘ Slojd” is applied to it. Work- ing in wood is considered the most useful, as by working in this material the advantages claimed for the system are obtained more easily and completely than by the adoption of any other material. Miss Warren exhibited to the Committee forty articles in wood, selected from the, 100 articles, forming the course of instruction, which she had made during her visit. The system of instruction is divided into what is called the ‘‘ Naas” system, from the estate on which it is carried out, and the ‘‘ Artisan” system. The ‘‘Naas” system differs from the ‘ Artisan” in that it is not called a trade, the work, mainly in wood, being carried out under the superintendence of a teacher, and not being sold. The work is done in a room fitted with benches, the room being about the size of one of our smaller halls. Only one teacher is in this room. The tools used all come from England and America. The cost of the tools per child is about 30 kronor, or 32s. 6d. The cost of the wood for 100 models is, 27 Szweden, about 15 kronor, or 16s. A complete set of the tools required could be obtained for about 4/. 1os. ; The object of the system is not so much to produce the articles as to educate and train the child itself. The promoters of the system claim for it five distinct advantages :— (1) It produces in a child a loye of manual labour. (2) It promotes the development and training of a child’s hands and fingers. (3) The child learns order and exactness. (4) It educates a child’s observation and perceptive faculties. (5) It teaches self-reliance. The school hours in Sweden are from 8 a.m. to I p.m., with an interval of a quarter of an hour about eleven o'clock. The instruction in ‘* Slojd” is usually taken in the afternoon, About two and a half hours on three days a week are devoted to this work. ‘Sl6jd” is encouraged and paid for by Government, but is not compulsory. Children begin the work at about ten years of age. It is a punishment for a child to be withheld from it. Everything made is a zse/2/ article, the making of toys being prohibited. The articles when finished are given to the children as an encouragement. The child who does not succeed in the ordinary subjects of study is frequently encouraged on being suc- cessful in ‘* Slojd.” (7) The Peripatetic System of Science Teaching in Birmingham In the course of their deliberations the Committee have noted and carefully considered the system of science teaching adopted by the Birmingham School Board. This system is sometimes called the ‘‘ peripatetic” system. ‘The elementary science ‘is taught in accordance with a syllabus, by a practical demonstrator and assistant (who visit each boys’ and girls’ department once every fortnight), and by the teacher of the school. The Science Demonstrator for the Board (or an Assistant Demonstrator) gives one lesson fortnightly of about forty minutes’ duration to the boys in the Fifth and higher Standards in each school. The lessons are illustrated experimentally by specimens and apparatus carried from school to school ina hand-cart. Between the visits of the Science Demonstrator at least one lesson is given to the same class by the teachers of the respective schools (as a rule by a teacher who was present at the Demonstrator’s lesson, and took full notes of it), and a written examination on the subject- matter of the lesson is also held. The answers are corrected by the class teacher and submitted to the Demonstrator at his next visit to the school. A general examination in elementary science is held yearly.” The syllabus for boys comprises de- monstrations on force, the mechanical powers, machines, parallelogram of forces, &c.; and that for girls demonstrations on the structure of the human body, circulation and respiration, the organs of digestion, the nervous system, the nature of food and its preparation, apparatus for cooking, how to maintain the body in health, the sick room, diseases of children, accidents, &c. (8) Corclusions After considering in all its bearings the whole question of the introduction of technical education and training into the schools of the Board, the Committee are of opinion that there is at present too little instruction for boys which is calculated to train and exercise the hand and fingers, so as to fit lads more efficiently Fan. 1, 1885 | NATURE 207 for situations where skilled manual labour is required. In this respect boys are worse off than girls. It is only in the drawing lesson that the boys receive any training of the hand, whilst girls obtain it in the needlework and cooking lessons as well. The Com- mittee do not consider it desirable to attempt to teach any special | trade or handicraft in the schools of the Board ; but they are of opinion that in boys’ departments greater attention should be paid to the teaching of ‘‘ elementary science” and to freehand drawings from models ; that mechanical drawing and modelling in clay should be introduced ; that the peripatetic plan of teach- ing mechanics should be tried as an experiment in some district in London ; and that, as an experiment, arrangements should be made for the establishment of a class for the elementary in- struction of boys in the use of tools as applied to working in wood, the attendance being voluntary and out of school hours. The Committee desire to express their high appreciation of the services rendered by Mr. Thomas Smith, and the zeal with which he has assisted them in their work. (9) Recommendations The Committee accordingly submit for adoption the following recommendations, which are intended to apply to boys’ depart- ments only :-— (1) That it is not desirable to attempt to teach any special trade or handicraft in the schools of the Board. (2) That the instruction in drawing commence with Standard I. and be carried out according toa graduated scheme laid down for each standard. (3) That increased attention be paid to freehand drawing from models in all schools, and that mechanical drawing and modelling in clay be introduced into certain schools. (4) That greater attention be paid to the teaching of “‘ ele- mentary science” in the schools of the Board. (5) That the peripatetic plan of teaching ‘‘mechanics” be tried in some district or districts of London. (6) That, as an experiment, arrangements be made for the establishment of a class for the elementary instruction of boys in the use of tools as applied to working in wood, the attendance being voluntary and out of school hours. (7) That the above resolutions be referred to the School Management Committee, with instructions to carry them into effect. 2 (8) That the sum of ro/..be paid to Mr. Thomas Smith, Prin- cipal Clerk of the School Management Department, as remu- neration for his extra services in connection with this Committee. (J H. GLADSTONE, Chairman B. LUCRAFT H. D. PEARSON (Signed) APPENDIX Statements of Dr. Silvanus P. Thompson, Mr. H. Trueman Wood, and Mr. Philip Magnus I. Statement of Dr. Silvanus Thompson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at University College, Bristol, made before an informal meeting of the Committee on Technical Education, April 17, 1883. Prof. Thompson stated with regard to drawing, that in his opinion the drawing taught and paid for by results by the Science and Art Department was not of the character which he con- sidered should be taught. The subject he wished to see taught was what he liked to call industrial drawing, by which he meant that a block of wood or metal being placed before the children, they should execute from it drawings showing it in two or three different ways, exactly in the fashion in which workmen’s draw- ings are made. Drawings made to scale represented in the workmen’s fashion would be very much more valuable than the drawings executed under the regulations of the Science and Art Department. Industrial drawing such as this may be made applicable to all kinds of work, carpentry, masonry, &c. He then described a lesson on drawing given in Paris on the general mechanism of tools. The lesson consisted in the master sketching roughly on the blackboard the outlines of certain pieces of machinery. He had neither compasses nor ruler. Every line had a distinct meaning, and every single detail was labelled. ‘The boys were then told to make proper working drawings from this sketch. This kind of training seemed to him a very valuable thing. To know how to ‘‘read” a drawing is much more important than to turn out a highly-finished work of art. The main difficulty in introducing such a system would be that it would have to be created. No instructor in technical education had yet made it worth his while to evolve a system. Prof. Thompson suggested that a section of certain schools might be devoted to the teaching of handicrafts. Some of the ordinary handicrafts in wood or metal would be good subjects to commence with. It would be better to try the experiment in one small school unless the Board are prepared to go to a very great expense. He considered that a good deal might be done in training the hand and the eye by the introduction of clay modelling. As illustrating the value of modelling in clay, he stated that in Paris the masters’ union for the manufacture of jewellery had established a little school for teaching the knowledge and _prac- tice of art required in making jewellery. In this school there is modelling in clay and wax, drawing from the cast and from the flat, and also a little actual model work. Warious works of art are hung round the room, and from the cast the pupils model in clay. After that there isa course of modelling in wax. The children are about nine or ten years of age. Some begin their attendance here as early as eight. Cutting stone and carving in wood are good subjects. Plas- tering is merely pouring plaster into a mould, and mechanics is not of a very technical order. He doubted whether glass- blowing wonld be useful. The opinion of the union was greatly against the increase in the number of apprentices. Glass-blowing was taught at a disadvantage in England, because the union would not sanction each master having more than one boy. The subjects that might be taught to girls are wood carving, vellum painting, the making of artificial flowers, and dress- making. Engraving would be expensive. A great deal of chain-making is don2 by female labour, but there is not much to learn in it. He knew of no place where these handicrafts were carried on, with the exception of a few orphanages. II. Statement of Mr. H. Trueman Wood, Secretary of the Society of Arts, made before the Special Committee on Technical Education, June 13, 1883. Mr. H. Trueman Wood gave the Committee some informatio about the origin of the City and Guilds Institute for the Ad- vancement of Technical Education, with the foundation of which he had been associated. The work which that Institute was now engaged upon the Committee would have more fully set before them by Mr. Magnus. He gave a brief sketch of the movement which, originating in a proposal to establish a Technical University in London, had resulted in the formation of the City Institute, with its ‘‘Central Institution” now in course of erection at South Kensington, and its Technical Schools in Finsbury and Lambeth. He also described the system of Technological Examinations which, originated by the Society of Arts, had been taken over by the Institute, and developed to its present condition by the aid of a scheme of payment on results, similar to that of the Science and Art Department. Mr. Wood, in reply to various questions put by Members of the Committee, gave the following additional information :—As regards those who attended the school in Finsbury, he could not speak with any knowledge, but he did not think that the larger proportion of them were artisans ; he believed they were chiefly clerks and young people of the usual science student class. Some of them, he understood, were boys from the Middle-Class School in Cowper Street. He did not know of any school where boys of the artisan class of twelve or fourteen years of age could go and learn the use of tools, and he was not aware of the existence of any such school in England. Hestated that he was strongly of opinion that mechanical drawing should be taught in all elementary schools. The industrial training given in indus- trial schools was, of course, one form of technical education, but he should scarcely include this in what should be taught in elementary schools. He was of opinion that it was not possible to give definite technical instruction in elementary schools ; the children were too young, and, in many cases, it could not be said which trade they would follow in after-life. He did not himself see how more could be done than was being done in Birmingham, where, he understood, practical teaching in ele- mentary science was given to the children. Such teaching as this he believed to be most valuable, and the best possible preparation for the specialised technical instruction which would come later on. Elementary mechanics should certainly be taught and should be illustrated by suitable apparatus. He quite 208 agreed that general instruction in handicraft would be useful, teaching children the use of tools without reference to special trades, and, he believed, the experiment of fitting up a work- shop in one school was one that was worth trying, and would not be, in his opinion, very costly. He left, as an open question, whether such workshop should be used in playtime, or during the ordinary school hours. III. Statement of Mr. Philip Magnus, B.Sc., B.A., Director and Secretary of the City and Guilds of London Institute for the Advancement of Technical Education, and one of the members of the Royal Commission on Technical In- struction, made before the Special Committee on Technical Education, July 4, 1883. Mr. Philip Magnus gave the following evidence :— He stated that there is a double object in the establishment of the Central Institution, now in course of erection at South Kensington. On the one hand, it is intended to give the highest technical education to persons preparing to become engineers, manufacturing chemists, and managers of industrial works, and other persons engaged in scientific research in its application to particular trades. On the other hand, it is especially intended as a training school for technical teachers. The latter function of the institution is considered the more important, because the experience of all persons connected with technical education has shown that there is a great need of duly qualified technical in- structors in all parts of the kingdom. It is very likely that arrangements will be made by which teachers will be able to come up to London in the summer months and to obtain lessons in applied science and in the best methods of technical teaching. As regards the students who attend the Technical College, Finsbury, he wished to say emphatically that a large portion of them are artisans, ‘There are indeed two classes of students who attend the Finsbury Technical College: one class coming in the daytime and the other in the evening. The evening stu- dents are almost all engaged in industrial work, and very few of them are clerks. Of those who attend in the daytime, he might say, none are clerks. A few have already been engaged in in- dustry, and, feeling the want of technical instruction, have given up their trade to devote a year or two to study; but the great majority are youths who intend to follow industrial pursuits, and are carrying on their studies with that object. The total number of students in attendance at the College in the evening classes is 621, of whom 132 are apprentices admitted at half the usual fee. Of the day students there are at present about roo in attendance, the school being opened under its present organisa- tion only in February last. These students come from various middle-class and higher grade schools. A fair proportion of boys are expected to come from the Cowper Street schools, im- mediately adjoining the college. At the same time it is hoped that pupils will come to the College from other schools of the same grade. It is indispensable that the boys to be admitted should have a good knowledge of arithmetic and of the rudi- ments of mathematics ; z.e. they should be able to solve simple equations and understand thoroughly the first book of Euclid. In answer to the question whether the Finsbury Technical College could be made available to boys from elementary schools, Mr. Magnus said he saw no reason why boys from the higher grade of elementary schools, possessing a knowledge of elementary mathematics, should not be admitted into the College. In answer to the Chairman, he said it would be well for candidates for admission to have some knowledge of the prin- ciples of science, although such knowledge is not absolutely necessary, as some of the Professors of the College stated that they would almost as soon commence the teaching of science as continue the instruction of badly taught students. The limit of age for the admission of students is fixed at four- teen. Students entering at fourteen, having a fair knowledge of the elements of algebra and geometry, and an acquaintance with some of the principal facts of physical science, would be well able to go through the prescribed courses of the Finsbury College ; and such knowledge might be acquired by boys who had passed through the higher Standards, and had taken mathe- matics and mecwanics as specific subjects. Mr. Magnus thought it would be preferable that boys leaving the Board Schools should be selected about the age of twelve or thirteen, and drafted into higher elementary schools where they might receive the necessary instruction in mathematics and NATURE 4 [ Fan. 1, 1885 science, and that they should be drafted from these higher elementary schools to the Finsbury Technical College. The subjects taught at the Finsbury College are practical science, including physics, mechanics, mathematics, and chem- istry, mechanical and freehand drawing, handicraft work, French or German, or both. In the workshops the students are taught to work in wood and metal at the bench and at the lathe. They learn not only the use of tools, but to chip, file, turn, and to con truct simple apparatus. (Mr. Magnus here put in evidence his address at the opening of the Finsbury College, as well as the programme of in- struction. ) Apprentices and workmen attend the evening classes to learn the more difficult operations of their trade, and to gain an insight into the processes of which they cannot always obtain satisfactory explanation in the shop. It is to correct the effects of extreme division of labour that evening technical classes are most needed. As regards carpentry and joinery, the institute is now endea- vouring to devise a scheme of evening instruction in connection with the technological examinations, which will probably lead to the establishment of evening classes in this subject in several provincial towns. Having been asked how the School Board might aid in the development of technical education, Mr. Magnus said that the Board might aid in various ways. Instruction could be given in the elementary schools in machine drawing. Better instruction might also be given in freehand drawing, of the defects of which the institute’s ex- aminers in technology generally complain. In a large number of schools workshops might with advantage be established, in which a certain number of the more advanced boys might have the opportunity of gaining instruction in the use of tools, in the same manner as is done in the primary schools in France under the new Act. It would be a great advantage to the boys on leaving elementary schools, be their occupation what it may, to have acquired the facility of using their hands, and to have gained a knowledge of the properties of different kinds of wood, as well as of iron and other metals, which could only be obtained by working these substances themselves. By the establishment of workshops in schools, the boys, when apprenticed, would advance more quickly in their career, and reality would be given to their scientific instruction as well as to their lessons in me- chanical drawing. He considered the great want of this country to be higher elementary or intermediate schools of a technical character. As regards the scheme of education to be given in such schools, he referred to his address on ‘‘ Technical Instruc- tion in Elementary and Intermediate Schools,” delivered before the Society of Arts. He thought that scholars who distinguished themselves at the ordinary elementary schools should be sent to technical schools of this description in preference to such schools as the City of London School or King’s College School. Here, in England, education is too distinctly and exclusively literary. We want schools in which practical science, mathematics, and modern languages shall be the chief instruments of education. It has been the object of the City and Guilds of London Insti- tute partly to supply the deficiency by supplementing the existing educational machinery. The Central Institution at South Kensington will, doubtless, exert considerable influence on all schools leading up to it. It will show that there is a school of the same grade as the ancient Universities, giving a practical scientific training instead of a literary or theoretical education. The selected boys from primary schools should be led up to the Technical University or Central Institution rather than to the existing Universities, where they are too often drafted into professional careers which are already overcrowded. In answer to an inquiry as to the view Mr. Magnus held as regards the value of the study of English literature in schools, Mr. Magnus stated that he attached the highest importance to the study of English literature in higher elementary schools as developing the imagination and giving pupils a taste for reading. Besides mechanical and freehand drawing, pupils having a taste for art should be taught modelling, the study of which is not sufficiently developed in this country. , He considered that geometry should be taught practically without Euclid ; whilst Euclid is very valuable to those who wish to become thorough mathematicians, he thought that very few of those who learn the elements of Euclid derive any practical benefit from the study. Abroad, geometry is generally taught without Euclid. Fan. 1, 1885 | NATURE 209 As regards the technological examinations, Mr. Mangus said | Malay Archipelago.—On the growth of trees and protoplasmic that four years ago the institute took over these examinations from the Society of Arts, which had previously conducted them under somewhat different conditions. The candidates have increased very much during these four years, especially those in mechanical trades. At the time of the transfer of the examinations, the number of candidates was 212, whereas this year, 1883, the number of candidates amounted to 2397. ~ The Council of the Institute are very desirous that scholar- ships should be established in connection with the Finsbury College and other similar technical Colleges throughout the kingdom, to enable promising pupils to carry on their education at the Central Institution. If children could be taught sufficient mathematics and elementary science to be transferred from the Board schools to the Finsbury College, or to some other techni- cal school, and thence to the Central Institution, he considered the ladder of technical education would be complete. He thought that the Board might further aid in assisting technical education by the loan of its rooms for the formation of evening classes, it being always understood that, in order that the instruction should be of any use, it must be of a practical character, and that the classes should be well furnished with all necessary models, apparatus, &c. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Mr. THOMAS PuRDIE, Ph.D., B.Sc., Associate of the Royal School of Mines, has been appointed Professor of Chemistry in | the University of St. Andrews, vacant by the retirement of Dr. Heddle. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Linnean Society, December 4, 1884.—William Carruthers, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—The following were elected Fellows of the Society:—The Hon. F. S. Dobson, W. A. Haswell, Geo. W. Oldfield, Dr. G. W. Parker, M. C. Potter, T. J. Symonds, W. A. Talbot, and J. H. Tompson. — Mr. W. T. Thiselton Dyer exhibited :—(1) Examples of leaves of Sagitlaria montevidensis under different modes of cultivation, the changes thus induced as regards size and general facies being most remarkable, so much so that they might be deemed widely separate genera, The small leaves were from a plant raised from seeds collected in Chili by Mr. J. Ball, F.R.S., and sent to Kew in 1883, and grown in a pot half submerged in the Nymphea tank. The enormously large leaf and spike were those of a plant raised from seeds, ripened at Kew, and sown in spring (1884). When strong enough the plant was planted in a bed of muddy soil, kept saturated by means of a pipe running from the bed to the Vymphea tank. (2) A special and peculiar instrument called a ‘‘Ladanisterion,” from Crete, it being a kind of double rake with leathern thongs instead of teeth, and used in the collecting of gum Labdanum, a drug now dropped out of modern pharmacy. The instrument in question was procured for the Kew Museum by Mr. Sandwith, H.M. Consul in Crete. (3) A collection of marine Algz from West Australia, brought to this country by Lady Broome.—A paper was read by Dr. Francis Day on the relationship of Indian and African fresh-water fish-fauna. In this communication the author refers to certain papers of his, read before the Society on previous occasions, but he more particularly deals with the differences shown between his own statements therein and those subsequently given by Dr. Giinther in his ‘‘ Introduction to the Study of Fishes.” Dr. Day is inclined to believe that in the consideration of Indian fish distribution there seems a possibility that certain marine forms, for example, the Acanthopterygian Za/es, the Siluroid family Ariinze, and others have been included among the fresh- water fauna by Dr. Giinther, whereas fresh-water genera, such as Ambassis, several genera of the Gobies, Sécydium, Gobius, Eleoteris, &c., have been omitted from the fresh-water fauna of India by Dr. Giinther. Thus Dr. Day attempts to show that there may be less affinity between the African and Indian regions, so far as fresh-water fishes are concerned, than there is between his restricted Indian region and that of the Malay Archipelago. He adds that of 87 genera found in India, Ceylon, and Burmah, 14 extend to Africa, 44 to the Malay Archipelago, whereas out of 369 species only 4 extend to Africa and 29 to the continuity, was a paper by Mr. A. Tylor, giving his experiments in the curvature assumed by branches, particularly those of the horse-chestnut. He pointed out that the terminal bud is con- stantly directed upward, but is straightened out at a later stage of growth. Further, he found that terminal buds, when directed by being tied against a tree-trunk or plank, invariably turned away from the obstruction irrespective of the incidence of light. When the growing points of neighbouring branches were turned directly towards each other, they mutually turned aside or one stopped growth. Some co-ordinating system was necessary to enable the parts to act in concert, and he attributes this to a continuity of the threads of protoplasm.—A paper was read on Fleterolepidotus grandis, a fossil fish from the Lias, by James W. Dayis. The author describes the specialities of this form, and remarks that the genus had been instituted by Sir Philip Egerton for certain forms closely related to Lepidotus, but differing in their dentition and scaly armature. The 7 grandis has interest, among other things, in the attachment of the dorsal and anal fins with the series of well-developed interspinous bones, in the peculiar arrangement of the articular apparatus of the pectoral fins, and in the heterocercal form of the tail. Chemical Society, December 18, 1884.—Dr. Russell, F.R.S., in the chair.—The following gentlemen were elected Fellows :—W. P. Ashe, Sir B. V. S. Brodie, Bart., J. F. Ballard, W. Briggs, M. T. Buchanan, W. G. Brown, H. M. Chapman, W. H. Eley, J. Frost, T. P. Hall, HH. J. Hodges, H. Jackson, F. Johnson, J. D. Johnstone, G. F. Kendall, C. W. Low, F. M. Mercer, P. C. Porter, V. E. Perez, A. Rickard, K. B. B. Sorabji, R. B. Steele, H. Smith, E. G. Smith, C, Thorn, W. Tate, P. C. Thomas, T. Wilton, J. H. Worrall, W. C. Wise, W. H. Wood.—The following paper was read :— Chemico-physiological investigations on the cephalopod liver and its identity as a true pancreas, by A. B, Griffiths, The author could not detect any bile acids or glycogen in this organ, but a ferment obtained from it by glycerine converted starch paste into sugar, and formed from fibrin, obtained from the mus- cular fibres of a young mouse, leucin and tyrosin, the latter body giving, with a neutral solution of mercuric nitrate, a red pre- cipitate. It was announced that at the next meeting, January 15, Prof. Thorpe would read a paper on the atomic weight of titanium, and-that Dr. Frankland would give a lecture in February on chemical changes produced by micro-organisms, Royal Microscopical Society, December 10, 1884.—Rey. Dr. Dallinger, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Crisp ex- hibited Dr. Cox’s radial microscope, a simplified form of Mr. Wenham’s stand.—Mr. J. Mayall, jun., exhibited a new stage which he had devised, in which the thin upper plate was abo- lished and a frame to hold the slide substituted, which is not liable to flexure.—Mr. Crisp also exhibited Ward’s eye-shade, Bausch’s adapter for a spot lens, and Kain’s mechanical finger. —Mr. Rosseter’s paper on the gizzard of the larva of Corethra plumicornis and its uses, and one of Mr. G. F. Dowdeswell, on variations in the development of a Saccharomyces, were read and discussed.—A communication was read from Dr. Cox, the President of the American Society of Microscopists, expressing scepticism as to the possibility of making sections of diatoms so thin as those claimed by Dr. Flogel, as recently published in the Society’s Zvansactions.—Mr. Parsons exhibited the hydroid form of Limmocodium Sowerbii, the fresh-water Medusa which he had found in April last at the Botanic Gardens, Regent’s Park.—Dr. Zenger’s method of mounting diatoms so as to show both sides was explained, and some mounts exhibited. —Mr. Cheshire gave a résumé of his paper on some new points in the anatomy of the bee. It has long been known that the queen bee, in common with many insects, stores the spermatozoa she receives from the male in a small sac, which is called tke spermatheca. A long chain of evidence has also satished entc- mologists that in some way these spermatozoa are transferred to those eggs which are to be converted into undeveloped females known as workers, but the manner of this fertilisation has not hitherto been demonstrated. By carefully dissecting ont a spermatheca with its attachment to the oviduct unbroken, and then byneedle-knives cutting through the trachea which incloses it completely, the spermatheca and its valve may be isolated. It is then seen to be accompanied by a long dou)le gland having a centrally-placed duct, provided with a sphincter muscle near its junction with the aperture of the spermatheca. The sperma- theca itself carries a sphincter and three muscles, ‘wo to aid and 210 NATURE [ Fan. 1, 1885 one to antagonise its action. The glandular secretion acts as a vehicle for carrying the spermatozoa, as liberated, towards the oviduct. Another gland, previously unknown, now adds its secretion, and serves to bring the spermatozoa into proper separation from each other. The common oviduct is not a simple tube, as formerly supposed, but carries in its centre a pouch of delicate membrane, and very like the recurved tail of a lobster. Two muscles, having for their especial purpose the direction of the egg in transit to the ovipositor, carry the egg, if a worker is to be produced, into this central pouch, and bring it into contact with the spermatic fluid, when a spermatozoon enters its micropyle. If a drone or male is to be produced, it takes a lower path in the right or left oviduct, and a side path to the ovipositor, and so avoids the pouch and escapes fertilisa- tion. Siebold’s theory of parthenogenesis in the bee is thus ana- tomically demonstrated to be accurate.—Dr. Van Heurck’s paper on the resolution of Amphipleura into ‘‘ beads” was read, and gave rise to a long discussion.—The meeting resolved to send a contribution to the memorial now being raised in America to the late R. B. Tolles, the eminent optician. Royal Meteorological Society, Dec. 17, 1884.—Mr. R. H. Scott, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. C. H. Cotton, Mr. S. A. Jolly, L.R.C.P., and Rev. C. J. Taylor, M.A., were elected Fellows of the Society.—The following papers were read :—On the reduction of temperature means for short series of observations to the equivalents of longer periods, by Dr. Julius Hann, Hon.Mem.R.Met.Soc. The author has recently carried out an investigation into the climate of the Alpine dis- tricts of Austria, and in doing so he has endeavoured to reduce the monthly and annual means of all the temperature observations from the districts in question during the interval from 1848 to 1880, and in some places to 1884, to the mean for the thirty years’ period 1851 to 1880. In this paper Dr. Hann describes the methods he adopted to reduce observations at mountain sta- tions for short periods to the equivalents of longer periods.— The diversity of scales for registering the force of wind, by Charles Harding, F.R.Met.Soc. The object of this paper is to call attention to the confusion that exists in the systems in use by various countries for registering wind-force, whether instru- mentally or otherwise, and to show the need of action for im- provement.—Report on the phenological observations for the year 1884, by the Rey. T. A. Preston, M.A., F.R.Met.Soc. The salient features of the weather during the period embraced in this report, viz. October 1883 to September 1884, were: the mild winter, the cold April, the hot August, and the long period of drought, which at the end of September began to be seriously felt, The general effects on vegetation have been: the prolonged existence of many of the autumn species, the great loss of wall-fruit, the failure of bush fruits, the plentiful supply of strawberries as long as they lasted, but the time was short ; the good hay harvest, although it was light in quantity ; the good corn crop, the unusually plentiful potato crop, and the great abundance of wild fruits. EDINBURGH Royal Society, December 15, 1884.—Mr. Robert Gray, Vice-President, in the chair..—Dr. Sang read the first part of a paper on the theory of the tides.—Mr. J. T. Cunningham gave a communication on the nature and significance of the structure known as Kupffer’s vesicle in teleostean embryos.—Prof. Turner discussed the relation of the alveolar form of cleft palate to the incisor teeth and the intermaxillary bones.—Mr. T. Andrews, F.C.S., gave a paper on the apparent lines of force on passing a current through water. Royal Physical Society, Dec. 17, 1884.—B. N. Peach, F.R.S.E., F.G.S., President, in the chair.—The following communications were read :—On Loligopsts and allied genera, by W. E. Hoyle, M.A. (Oxon), F.R.S.E., &c. The author reviewed all the species which have at various times been re- ferred to the genus Zo/zgofszs, and indicated the different genera to which they should be relegated ; the genera Leachia, Lesueur, and Zaonius, Steenstrup, were fully characterised ; Desmoteuthis, Verrill, was considered, and shown to be synonymous with Taonius.—Mr,. Hoyle also exhibited, with remarks, a specimen of Strongylus contortus (Rud.).—Mr. J. R. Henderson, M.B., of the Scottish Marine Station, Granton, read a communi- cation on additions to the fauna of the Firth of Forth. Specimens were exhibited of forty-five species new to the district, including the following :—Astrorhiza limicola, Hale- cium sp. (probably new), Ascandra variabilis, Tomopteris sp., Nymphon hirtum, Corophium tenuicorne, Nyctiphanes (Thysano- phoda) Norvegica, and Podopsis Slabberi (new to Britain).— Mr. F. G. Pearcey explained a method of hardening friable and decomposed rocks, sands, clays, &c., so that sections may be made of them for microscopical purposes. During the cruise of the Challenger, he said, there was obtained a large collection of oceanic deposits, whose structure could not be accurately deter- minéd without making transparent sections. On account of their extreme friability this was found impossible by the usual methods, and it was therefore necessary to find a mode of rendering them hard and compact. After many experiments and much labour, a method was devised which had proved successful, and which would be found of great service to mineralogists, geologists, and others, in the investigation of soft rocks. It consisted in the introduction of a foreign substance to cement the «grains together, and so render the material capable of being cut into sections. The substance used for this purpose was a solution of gum copal in ether, the ether being evaporated after the ma- terial had been soaked in the preparation, and the residuum carefully dried. Mr. Pearcey minutely described the various processes to be followed, and exhibited specimens illustrative of the results obtained. Mr. Hoyle spoke of the necessity of having mud and ooze examined by the polariscope, and bore testimony to the value of the method of doing this, which was due to Mr. Pearcey’s patience and perseverance.—A note on the breeding of the Marsh Tit (Pavzs palustr7s, L.) in Stirlingshire during the present year (1884), with exhibition of nest and eggs, was read by Mr. William Evans, F.R.S.E.—On abnormal dentition in a Dingo (Cais dingo), specimen exhibited, by Andrew Wilson, L.D.S.—Mr. A. Gray exhibited, with remarks, a live specimen of the Water Spider (Avgyroneta aquatica) from Luffness Marshes. DUBLIN Royal Society, Nov. 17, 1884.—Section of Physical and Experimental Science. —Prof. J. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., in the chair.—After an introductory address by the chairman the following communications were read :—Notes on the aspect of the planet Mars in 1884, by Otto Boeddicker, Ph.D., communi- cated by the Earl of Rosse, F.R.S. The notes are accompanied by thirteen drawings of the planet, representing the following longitudes of Mars’ central meridian :—(1) 12°°6 (March 23), (2) 24°°9, (3) 28°°3 (March 22), (4) 38°'o (March 23), (5) 730 (March 17), (6) 137°°8 (March ro), (7) 261°°8, (8) 267°°4 (April 2), (9) 279°°4 (April 1), (10) 286°°7, (11) 303°°2 (Feb- ruary 24), (12) 307°°6(April 1), (13) 317°°4 (February 24). When compared with Schiaparelli’s charts they admit of the identification of the following spots :— South: Sabzeus Sinus, Deucalionis Regio, Thymiamata, Margaritifer Sinus, Aurorze Sinus, Mare Cimmerium, Hesperia, Syrtis Minor, Syrtis Major, and a trace of CEnotria or Japygia; Worth: Lacus Niliacus, Nilus, Alcyonius Sinus, Astapus; on the dsk-middle traces of these canals: Gehon, Indus, Hydaspes, Ganges, Cyclopum, Phison, Euphrates. Sketches Nos. 1 to 4 show when the mark- ings in longitude 10° lie on the disk-middle, the sp-nf direction of Deucalionis Regio, but when they lie near the preceding limb the sf-np direction of Thymiamata prevails so considerably that the angular shape of the two Sinus Sabzeus and Margaritifer may be entirely overlooked, and only the one or the other direction perceived and ascribed to them. Lacus Niliacus is seen interrupted on Nos. 1 and 4, so as to resemble its appearance on Schiaparelli’s chart of 1882 ; and Nilus is seen double on No. 13—which makes it probable that a trace of Schiaparelli’s gemination of lines was perceived at Birr Castle. During the time between Nos. 7 and 8, Syrtis Minor became much darker, and Syrtis Major became visible ; this, as it can- not be due to the planet’s rotation, is probably due to changes in its own atmosphere. Alcyonius Sinus appeared much darker than either in 1879 or 1881. Sketch No. 5, which at time of drawing was considered difficult but fairly good, does not show any spots capable of certain identification. A comparison with other drawings of the same period may explain this.— On the volatilisation of zinc from German silver alloys at high temperatures, by A. R. Haslam ; communicated by Prof. C. R. Tichborne. Alloys of known composition were heated in a current of hydrogen, and weighings taken at intervals of one hour. The chief loss in weight was found to take place in the first hour, and the loss was greatest in the alloys that were poor in nickel. The author concludes that nickel has the effect of re- tarding the volatilisation of the zinc.—On the analogy between heat and electricity, by Prof. G. F. Fitzgerald, F.R.S. It was Fan. 1, 1885] NATURE Ay pointed out that the analogy, as usually drawn between heat and electricity, namely, to liken temperature to potential and quantity of heat to quantity of electricity, is not the true analogy, inasmuch as the product of temperature and quantity of heat is not of the nature of energy, and that the true analogue of quan- tity of electricity is quantity of entropy. In this case a non- conductor of electricity is a non-conductor of entropy, 4e. a non-conductor of heat. As the quantity of electricity is the same at all parts of a circuit, and as it requires a perfect heat- engine to transfer entropy from one temperature to another un- diminished, conductors must be of the nature of perfect heat- engines. It was further pointed out that a molecular structure of ether similar to that of a gas could be assumed, the motions of whose molecules might be polarised in such a way by differ- ences of temperature that, although no heat was conducted, it would be thrown into a state of stress which would explain electrostatic phenomena. It was explained that this was a step beyond that made by Maxwell in his ‘‘ Electricity and Mag- netism,” where he avoids any hypothesis as to how electric displacement produces mechanical stress. The author stated, however, that the object of this communication was not to bring forward this doubtful hypothesis, but, by drawing attention to this analogy between heat and electricity, to prevent the danger at present imminent of its being supposed that the analogy be- tween electric displacements and the motions of an incompres- sible fluid is the only analogy possible, and of this mere analogy being consequently mistaken for a likeness.—Howard Grubb, F.R.S., exhibited a star map photographed by the Rey. T. E. Espin. Natural Science Section.—V. Ball, F.R.S., in the chair.— On a new species of Halcampa. ‘This is the first recorded ex- ample of the genus in Ireland, and it proves to be a new species, for which the name 7. Andresit is proposed. It was found at Malahide, Co. Dublin.—Mr. G. Y. Dixon exhibited a living and some preserved specimens of Peachia hastata from Dolly- mount Strand, Dublin Bay. This is the first Irish locality.— The Chairman exhibited geological maps of Canada and of the United States, with specimens of Laurentian rocks and minerals. PARIS Academy of Sciences, December 22, 1884.—M. Rolland, President, in the chair.—On a new method of measuring the heat of combustion of carbon and organic compounds, by MM. Berthelot and Vieille. The present paper is limited to the determination of the heat of combustion for cellu- lose (coton) and the various carbons used in the manufacture of gunpowder.—Description of a microscopic element by means of which it may be possible to determine the various groups of Cynthiadz, by M. de Lacaze-Duthiers.—Remarks on the “Cours d’exploitation des Mines,” presented to the Academy by M. Haton de la Goupilli¢re.—Remarks on the volume of the Connaissaance des Temps pour 1886 and the Annuaire pour 1885, presented to the Academy in the name of the Bureau of Longitudes by M. Faye.—Note on the indeterminate equation x — Ky? = 2, by M. Maurice d’Ocagne.—On the thermodynamic potential and the theory of the voltaic pile, by M. P. Duhem.—Descrip- tion of a diffusion photometer, by M. A. Crova.—Note on the heat of combustion of the ethers of some acids of the fatty series, by M. W. Louguinine. The author’s experiments lead to the general conclusion that the heat of combustion of an acid is perceptibly equal to that of the ether of the same acid, less the heat of combustion of the' corresponding alcohol, regard being had to the number of molecules of alcohol in reaction.— Note on the a-ethylamidopropionic acid, by M. E. Duvillier.— Observations on the optic activity of cellulose in connection with M. Béchamp’s recent communication, by M. Alf. Levallois —On the cutaneous anesthetic action of the hydrochlo- rate of cocaine, by M. J. Grasset. It is shown that the hypodermic injection of o’or gr. of the hydrochlorate of cocaine produces in man a sharply limited zone of cutaneous anzesthesis without general phenomena, and with slight local consequences, although lasting long enough to per- form a certain number of surgical operations.—Influence of the variations in the centesimal composition of the air on the intensity of the respiratory functions, by M. L. Frédéricq.—On the spinal bone in the series of vertebrate animals, by M. A. Lavocat.—Note on the constitution of the zeticulate rhizopods, by M. de Folin.—On the Acari dwelling in the quill of birds’ feathers, by M. E. L. Trouessart.—On the existence of phanerogamous Asterophyllites, by MM. B. Renault and R. Zeiller.—On the Kersanton formation in the Croisic district, Loire Inférieure, by M. Stan. Meunier.—On a phenomenon of crystallogeny in connection with the fluorine of the Cornet rock near Pontigabaud, Puy-de-Déme, by M. F. Gonnard —Results of the analysis of the masses of boiled beetroot, made with a view to determining the quantity of chloride of potassium and nitrate of potassium contained in it, communicated by M. H. Lepley. The quantity of these salts in 100 kilogrammes of root was found to be :— Max, Min. Mean. 3 4 (Gr. Gr. Gr. Nitrate of potassium 342 43 131 Chloride of potassium ... a 207 65 143 BERLIN Physical Society, Noy. 21, 1884.—Prof. Neesen reported on acase of magnetisation produced by a stroke of lightning, the distribution of which had been examined by a former pupil of the speaker. The lightning had struck the clock of a church tower, and so strongly magnetised it that it was only by great force that the pendulum could be moved from its position of rest, while the clock had to be taken to pieces and the mag- netised iron parts demagnetised by means of heat. The most strongly-magnetic part was a Usshaped piece of cast-iron, the two perpendicular and downward-directed legs of which bore the edges for the pendulum. The distribution of the magnetism in this piece of iron was as follows :—Not far from the lower ends (at about a third of the height) was a neutral point on both sides, the inferior piece on one side being north polar, on the other side south polar. On the side having the north pole, south polar magnetism was found above the neutral point, extending above the middle line and beyond, so as to take in about the upper third of the other leg. Thereupon followed an upper neutral point, between which and the lower neutral point of this side was found north polar magnetism. The two lower neutral points were the spots where the two legs of the U-shaped piece of iron were connected by a horizontal iron pin. Other effects of the lightning were not to be found either in the clock or on the church tower.—Prof. Neesen further produced a galvano-plastic high relief of iron, of a dull silver-gray, which in fineness of detail far surpassed the productions of the silver galvano-plastic art. The method by which this was produced was still kept secret by the manufacturer.—Prof. Lampe com- municated some interesting results arrived at by his pupils in exercises in calculation. One problem was to calculate the attraction of a homogeneous mass of certain form on a material point of its surface, if the attraction of the same mass in globular form on the pole was equal to 1. The calculation was first made for a flattened ellipsoid, in which the attraction on the polar point was known to be greater than 1. With increase of oblateness the attraction increased up to a maximum, for which the magnitude of the attraction and the eccentricity of the meridian curves were calculated. After this maximum the attraction abated, with further increase of oblateness, and the eccentricities of those meridian curves were calculated for which the attraction was equal to 1, as also of those for which it was equal to 0°5. Similar calculations were made for the elongated ellipsoid. In this case the attractions on the polar point became continually less, and only the eccentricity of the meridians was calculated, in which the attraction was equal to 0°5. Another exercise was to calculate the attraction of a circular cylinder on the middle point of a terminal plane, when the relation of the radius, 7, of the terminal plane to the height, 4, changed. In this case, too, with a certain relation of A to x a maximum of attraction was found, which was more than I but yet less than the maximum in the case of the flattened ellipsoid. After this maximum the attraction declined as well with increasing % as with increasing 7, and the two relations of A to y, in which the attraction was equal to 1, were found. Finally, in the case of the circular cones, the attraction on the apex was calculated, and here, too, the maximum was deter- mined, being, however, less than 1, and the cone was determined in which the attraction on the apex was equal to the attraction on the centre of the fundamental plane.—Prof. Landolt described a simple contrivance used by him for recovering the products of sublimation. A test tube, of glass in the case of bodies easy to sublime, of platinum in the case of bodies difficult to 212 sublime, was closed at the top by a stopper through which passed two small tubes, one reaching to the bottom, the other coming out below the stopper. The first small tube was con- nected with the condenser, and by this means the tube became permanently cooled. The cold tube was let down into the vessel in which the substance to be sublimed was being heated, and the products were obtained on the outside of the little tube, from which they could be easily removed. By a platinum tube in the platinum retort the speaker received molybdenous acid crystals, and, by the heating of lime, microscopic lime crystals. —Prof. Landolt further described an arrangement of a sodium lamp for a polarimetric apparatus in which a uniformly bright flame was produced, and he also showed a theodolite with a glass scale, which could be read by transmission of the incident light, thus facilitating observation. Physiological Society, November 29, 1884.—Prof. Wal- deyer exhibited a microscope-stand which he found very practic- able, both for the ease and security with which it enabled a micro- scope to be turned in any direction, and for the way in which it allowed the use of any system of lenses.—Prof. Du Bois-Rey- mond spoke on the difficulty of determining the blood-pressure in the capillary vessels, and discussed the method he had adopted in his lectures for the presentation of correct views on this matter. As was known, the blood-pressure in the capillary vessels had hitherto been determined by placing a small glass plate on a spot of skin and then estimating the pressure that was necessary to render this spot void of blood. By this method, however, the elasticity of the inter-capillary tissues was left out of account, and the results were therefore vitiated, so far as the determination of the pressure in the capillaries was concerned. The exact state of the case, which it was difficult for any experi- mental examination to come at, was, in the first place, able to be determined only under ideal conditions. In the current of an incompressible and inexpansible fluid through a system of pipes under a given propelling force the rate of current was always in inverse proportion to the cross section, while, with the distance of the propelling force, the pressure abated at a rate proportionate to the resistance, ¢.e. it sank more rapidly in narrow, and more slowly in wide, tubes. If a tube were widened by splitting it into two branches of equal calibre, the proportions between lateral section, yate of current, and pressure remained thesame. If, onthe other hand, the bore became as large again as before, the rate of cur- rent sank toa half, while the pressure decreased but little. If, again, a capillary network were intercalated into the system of pipes, the rate of current fell only in proportion to the enlarge- ment of the total cross section; the pressure, on the other hand, sank considerably on account of the resistance presented by the capillaries, and the curve of pressure showed a very steep decline in relation to the abscissze of the zero-line. If the capil- laries again merged into simple tubes, the cross section became less, the rate of current proportionally greater, while the pressure again sank but slowly. In the middle of the capillary system the pressure, in accordance with known laws, amounted to half the initial pressure. In the circulation of the blood the cross sections of only the larger arteries and veins were known; the cross section of the capillary system was unknown. Under the ideal conditions, however, which formed the basis of the above scheme this cross section might be calculated from measurable rates of current. Suppose the rate of current of the blood in the capillary vessels equal to o'8 mm. per second, and that in the aorta equal to 500 mm. per second, then the current in the latter was 625 times as swift as that in the capillaries, and the cross section of the whole capillary system must be 625 times as large as that of the aorta, or the diameter of all the capillaries was twenty-five times as large as the diameter of the aorta. The curve of pressure sank slowly in the arterial system. In the capillaries the great resist- ance required a very considerable difference of pressure, and the curve of pressure sank, therefore, very considerably ; to sink more slowly in the veins down to beneath the abscissa line, z.e. the pressure in the veins in the neighbourhood of the heart became negative. In the middle of the capillary system the pres- sure, inaccordance with this view, was equal to half the pressure in the ventricle. Should the arteries in consequence of the con- traction of their smooth muscle-fibres become narrower, the point where the pressure in the capillaries was equal to half the heart’s pressure shifted nearer to the arterial system. If, on the other hand, contractions or obstructions occurred in the veins, this point came closer to the venous system. Such a presentation of the case gave a view of the conditions of cross section and NATURE oe a ee [ Fan. 1, 1885 pressure in the capillaries, and offered a basis for experimental investigations. A scheme of the same kind might be applied to the system of lymphatic vessels, for which the average pres- sure in the blood capillaries must be taken as starting pressure. —Prof. Fritsch related an optical phenomenon he had perceived during the microscopical examination of certain objects, a phenomenon he described as due to monocular stereoscopic vision. Certain pictures, in particular those of the transverse section of the principal nerves of the electric organ, made a decided impression of a funnel-shaped depression such as was otherwise obtained only in the binocular contemplation of the well-known stereoscopic figures. It was especially easy for him to receive this impression on moving his eye from side to side. By producing the arrangement he had referred to at the next sitting of the Society, he would ascertain whether other eyes received the same impression of the picture. VIENNA Imperial Academy of Scienzes, December 4, 1884.— On the scientific usage of orthogonal axonometers, by C. Pelz.— On the mechanical theory of electricity, by T. Tanuschke.—On energy and coercive state in the magnetic field, by G. Adler. — On the consumption of some foods in the intestinal tract of man, by H. Malfatti.—Contribution to a knowledge of some hydro- products of cinchoninic acid, by A. Weidel and K. Hazura.— On the action of the sun-spectrum on the haloid compounds of silver, and on the raising of their sensibility to some parts of the spectrum by colouring-matters and other substances, by T. M. Eder,—Computation of the orbit of the planet Russia 232, by N. Herz. December 11, 1884.—On morin, part 2, by R. Benedikt and K. Hazura.—Communication on the determination of nitrogen, by G. Czeczetka.—Studies on the compounds prepared from animal tar; part 5, on collidine, by H. Weidel and B. Pick. December 18, 1884.—On deformation of the plane of light- waves in the magnetic field, by E. von Fleischl.—Contributions to the explanation of cosmic-terrestrial phenomena ; part 2, on aurora borealis, by T. Unterweger.—On Kjehldahl’s method for determining nitrogen, by G. Czeczetka.—On central eclipses of the sun of the twentieth century, by E. Mohler. CONTENTS PAGE The ‘‘American Journal of Mathematics” .... 189 A System of Psychology. .......-..+.+ 490 Our Book Shelf :— Hooker’s ‘‘Student’s Flora of the British Islands” . 191 Claus’s ‘‘ Elementary Text-Book of Zoology”. . 191 Strausz’s ‘‘ Bosnien, Land und Leute” ..... 192 Letters to the Editor : — The Solar Corona and After-Glow.—Henry F. Bilanford FG RiSiy cece) 1 tre elle he) aca a te a Flying-Fish do not Fly.—Dr. K. MGbius_.... 192 Iridescent Clouds—T. W. Backhouse; C. J. P. ; James Anson; W. W. Watts ...... 192 The Rotation of Neptune.—Maxwell Hall. . 193 Peculiar Ice-Forms.—B. Woodd Smith. .... 193 Lightning in the Tropics.—J. J. Meyrick .... 104 An Unnoticed Factor in Evolution.—J. Jenner Lisste es atom oa theo oro o-oo + —tQ4 A Large Meteor.—Otto Boeddicker . . ~ 194 The Formation of the SolarSystem.......-. I94 Berzelius and Wohler. By Prof. T. E. Thorpe, FR So ll wie hae Ee Le American Storm Warnings ........-+-+. I97 The vActinice 4 ack td ca mee CO ONC at The Earthquake in Spain. By F. Gillman ; Alfred Batsony i (U7/sstr2tcd)) eos coe) ete keene ne LD The Habits of the Limpet. ByJ. R. Davis. -.. 200 The Mediterranean Fauna.........-+.. 201 Our Future Clocks and Watches. (J//ustrated) 201 INKot Pees biG o o Wierd GEcMOn ne Orr o oo Ooo. (ee PhysicalsNotes) Seem n= «ls de ROO Chemical Notess se. ech .- fe) cement terete one tom Geographical Notes ... . . . 22 5 ee ee + 204 Report of the London School Board Committee on Technical GUCAtION 05 Wel slat Miele mon) ieee OD University and Educational Intelligence . . . . . 209 Societies and Academies. .... 2-2 ++ +++ + 209 NATURE 213 THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1885 SCIENCE AND SURGERY | eg the earliest ages, the functions of the brain have been a fascinating study to cultivated minds, and the greatest intellects of all ages have occupied themselves in attempting to solve its difficult and complicated problems. With the ancients this was a favourite pur- suit, and engrossed the thoughts and talents of their most illustrious philosophers. Owing to the absence of exact methods of scientific observation and experiment, the conclusions on this subject were for many centuries of a purely speculative character, and the errors and fallacies thus deduced have been handed down and accepted till comparatively recent times. Modern investigations have, however, thrown a flood of light on the question, and although much still remains in the dark, the former obscurity has of late years been brightly illumined by the lamp of science. The accumulated clinical experience of ages had left knowledge on the cerebral functions in a state of confusion and uncertainty, and owing to the ob- vious difficulties and complications associated with disease, the results, however significant, were at best imperfect. That the brain should be subjected to direct physiological experiment was, until modern times, never attempted. During the last generation only has the practicability of this been demonstrated, and numerous observers have, by direct operations on the brain substance of animals, arrived at new conclusions as to its functions, and greatly revolutionised our ancient conceptions on the subject. Evidence has also been given against the zol/ me tangere theory, and abundant proof has been adduced of the fact that the brain may be handled, irritated, or partially destroyed without necessary danger to life. One of the latest developments of this method of investi- gation has been the discovery of those centres in the cortex which preside over voluntary motion, which have been, more especially by Prof. Ferrier, differentiated and localised with great precision. This important know- ledge has been arrived at by an extended series of ex- periments conducted on living animals, in which, by observing the several effects of stimulating or destroying limited areas of their brains, the different functions of these special localities have been determined. A topo- graphy of the cerebrum has thus been constructed, in which the various faculties have been mapped out, but these, unlike the illogical visions of the phrenologists, have stood the test of sceptical criticism and rigid experimen- tal inquiry. Researches of a purely scientific nature, carried out only with the object of elucidating truth and advancing knowledge, without immediate prospects of material gain, have in this instance led to most important and useful practical advantage. Armed with the knowledge acquired on animals in the laboratory, the physician has been enabled to utilise at the bedside the conclusions thus arrived at for the service of human beings. Clinical experience combined with morbid anatomy had already enabled the medical man to suspect the presence of disease in the brain, but as to its precise locality he was formerly in doubt. Now, however, guided by the recent revelations of physiology, he is enabled to predict the posi- VOL. XXXI.—NO. 793 tion in a large number of cases with great certainty and precision. Evidence of this is afforded by the proceeding adopted in a case of disease, notice of which has lately appeared in the medical papers. It appears that a man presented a series of symptoms which enabled Dr. Hughes Bennett to diagnose a tumour of the brain, that it in- volved its cortical substance, that it was probably of limited size, and that it was situated at a certain definite spot. The skull was trephined over the suspected region ; there a tumour was found and removed. On recovering from the immediate effects of the operation the patien was and continued for three weeks in a satisfactory con- dition. He was perfectly intelligent, his functions, except for certain defects of motion caused by the disease, were normally performed, and there was an absence of all the distressing symptoms from which he had formerly suf- fered and from which he must necessarily soon have succumbed. Unfortunately, at the end of this time a complication, incident to all serious surgical operations supervened, from which the patient ultimately died. The unhappy termination of this particular case does not in any way detract from the importance of the principles which it involves. It still remains a signal triumph of diagnostic accuracy, a precision mainly attained by exact experimental research. It is, moreover, further proof that by utilising this improved knowledge the surgeon may not only remove disease from the brain, but that he may do so without necessary shock or risk to the nervous system, and that the procedure, under modern antiseptic precautions, need not be attended with greater danger than may follow any other severe surgical injury. This interesting and instructive case will doubtless inaugurate a new era in medical practice, for although this particular individual has succumbed to measures adopted to avert his otherwise certain death, the experience thereby gained is sufficient to encourage further efforts in a similar direction which may prove beneficial to others. In the Marshall Hall oration of last year Prof. Ferrier remarked, “ There are already signs that we are within measurable distance of the successful treatment by surgery of some of the most distressing and otherwise hopeless forms of intercranial disease, which will vie with the splendid achievements of abdominal surgery.” He further added, reflecting on the success which had attended brain operations on animals, “I cannot but believe that similar results are capable of being achieved on man himself.” That distinguished physiologist cannot but feel gratified that his prophetic words have been partially realised. DE BARY’S “VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF THE PHANEROGAMS AND FERNS” Comparative Anatomy of the Vegetative Organs of the Phanerogams and Ferns. By A. De Bary. Translated by F. O. Bower and D. H. Scott. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884.) N 1861 a plan was drawn up in Germany to provide a series of hand-books or text-books on botany, which should treat of the science as it existed at the time ; four of these books were completed, De Bary’s “ Vergleichende Anatomie der Vegetations-organe der Phanerogamen und Farne” (published in 1877) being one of them. This 1b; 214 NATURE | Fan. 8, 1885 book, as is well known, proved to be a masterpiece of industrious research, accurate treatment of facts, and critical sifting of details; its influence soon became apparent, not only on the best teaching and text-books of our time, but also on those engaged in original research in various directions. This marked influence was not confined to Germany, but affected the teaching in this country also; and some of us were so fortunate as to come under that influence before more antiquated methods of treatment had rendered difficult the task of receiving the new impressions. Mr. Bower and Dr. Scott have now prepared a transla- tion of this treatise, and those best acquainted with the original will be foremost in congratulating them, not only for having placed the work in the hands of English workers and students, but also for the manner in which it has been accomplished. In commenting upon the plan of the book, it should be borne in mind that the basis of classification is anatomy, and anatomy only, and this accounts for many peculiarities in the mode of treatment. The introduction sets this forth clearly, and shows the kind of difficulties to be avoided in the scheme. Students will gain by carefully reading this able introductory por- tion, which contains an admirable account and criticism of the relations of the tissues to the meristem from which they are derived, and the vexed question as to the best mode of classifying the systems of tissue in mature parts. The great difficulty of course is in the case of what Sachs terms the “fundamental tissue”—7z.ec. the tissue which remains after the dermal tissue and fibro-vascular system have been removed. De Bary finds it necessary to cut this up into several forms and systems of tissues, as was to be expected from the mode of treatment. Sachs has lately again maintained that on the whole the “funda- mental tissue ” is best regarded as one system. Thisand other discussions as to the relative value of systems of tissues certainly owe much to the point of view started from, and it is not easy to see how De Bary could avoid the further dissection of the larger systems of tissues. As matter of fact he is constrained to adopt six chief forms of tissue, various groupings of which constitute the systems of tissues. These are: (1) Cellular tissue (epidermis, cork, and parenchyma) ; (2) sclerenchyma ; (3) secretory structures ; (4) vessels (this word is Z7achee in the German, and “vessels” does not express its in- tended meaning accurately); (5) sieve-tubes; (6) milk- tubes (¢.e. laticiferous vessels). Intercellular spaces form- ing the subject of an appendix. This preliminary classi- fication, as would be expected, presents difficulties here and there, and it will be seen that the structures designated “secretory” afford exercise for the utmost ingenuity in classifying them anatomically. Having laid down the lines along which the plan of the work is to run, so far as these forms of tissue are con- cerned, De Bary then proceeds to review and criticise the views held as to the differentiation of the various groups of tissues from definite layers or portions of the meristem of the growing-point. Hanstein’s classification into dermatogen, plerome, and pleriblem is well known; as is also the calyptrogen of Janczewski. We cannot here enter into details, but must refer the student to this excel- | lent summary, merely stating that the facts do not allow | of Hanstein’s classification being extended to all the cases, though it must be admitted as true for very many. Nor have later investigators succeeded in establishing a system of classification of the tissues comparable to that of the animal embryologist. This of course complicates the matter, and accounts in part for the plan followed in the second part of the book, which treats of the arrange- ments of the forms of tissue referred to above, and of the changes in their primary arrangement brought about by secondary changes, e.g. growth in thickness, &c. In Part I. the first chapter deals with cellular tissue, the portion concerned with the epidermis and its structure being particularly interesting and important. De Bary’s account of the stomata has long been known, but many facts relating to those peculiar forms known as water- pores or water-stomata will be new to the student un- acquainted with the original. The description of the cuticle and cuticularised layers of the outer walls of the epidermal cells, and the facts as to the occurrence of wax on their exterior are very important, and must afford the basis for all future work on these subjects. A striking example of De Bary’s critical power and ability to deal broadly as well as in detail with large series of facts are evident in his remarks on those troublesome organs known as glands. It may well be doubted whether we shall ever have a satisfactory classification of the various ‘‘ secretory structures” on anatomical grounds solely; it must be admitted, however, that the most satisfactory account of these bodies, as a whole, is given in the present book. De Bary limits the term gland to epidermal secretory organs—all others are to have definite names implying their different position, &c. This necessitates the sepa- rate treatment of reservoirs of secretions, and laticiferous vessels as contrasted with epidermal or dermal glands on the one hand, and intercellular spaces which contain secretions, &c., on the other; the difficulties arising from various causes are in part met and discussed, but there are some still outstanding. Having treated of the forms of tissue in the first seven chapters, Part II. of the book commences with Chap. VIII. The first section (Chaps. VIII. to XIII.) is con- cerned with the primary arrangement of the forms of tissue. The vascular bundles are here dealt with in great detail from two points of view: (1) with reference to their course or distribution in the stems, leaves, and roots ; and (2) as regards their structure. The first aspect of vascular bundles is almost unknown in England, and most teachers have ignored it altogether. It is important, however, and although they must not be ranked or compared with structures occurring in other organisms, we must not forget that the supporting and conducting systems of a higher plant are represented by its wood and trachez, | while its sieve-tubes have equally important duties to perform. This being so, there is no less reason for studying the course and distribution of the vascular bundles (and the same remark applies to laticiferous vessels, reservoirs of secretion, and even strands of scleren- chyma) in a plant, than for tracing the distribution of the various conducting, supporting, and secreting tissues and organs in a higher animal. Already the investigations promise to bear fruit, as witness Koch’s descriptions of the course and endings of sieve-tubes in the leaves, and also the various points of anatomy which throw light on a oe “i > & Fan. 8, 1885 | NATURE 215 the discussion as to the ascent of water in wood. No doubt it is too early to anticipate where these researches may lead; meanwhile every botanical student should learn the course of the vascular bundles in several typical plants, say, among others, Lathyrus, Clematis, a Palm, Tradescantia, a Fern such as Asfidium, and Egutsetum. This should be done not only with reference to the distri- bution of these important structures, but also in order that the study of transverse sections may become some- thing more than the impression of a pattern on the memory, as it too often is. The bearing of these matters on the older views which confined the attention too much to the typical palm-type for the Monocotyledons, and to a few restricted examples of Dicotyledonous stems is obvious. Some very important points exist also with reference to the structure of the vascular bundles, a matter which should be studied as De Bary studied it, in connection with the above. Students are seldom led to understand that the terminations and interconnections of vascular bundles often differ considerably from the enlarged por- tions of the bundles, or “ bundle-trunks,” as the translators term them. The classification of vascular bundles into collateral, concentric, and radial has become better known of late years ; but even now too little attention is paid to the subject of the structure and development of the vascular-bundle system in roots. This should be all altered now, for it is difficult to imagine better guidance for teachers and students than is afforded by the work under review, and specialists will not be able to dispense with it. Want of space prevents our entering further into some other weighty matters in this portion of the work. No doubt some difficulty will be felt by the uninitiated with regard to De Bary’s treatment of the subject of scleren- chyma. The key to the difficulties consists in the fact that however convenient it may be to regard the sclerenchy- matous fibres of the ‘“hard-bast” as part of the “ fibro- vascular” bundle, sclerenchyma may be regarded as a form of strengthening tissue which recurs in various positions, and may therefore be treated separately —that which occurs as strengthening tissue associated with the vascular bundles being called bast-fibres, and treated as part of the bundle (which then becomes “ fibro-vascular ”) for no other reason than because it is convenient, and the name is an established one. Simple as the matter is when understood on anatomical grounds, we fear that confusion will still ensue from want of care in apprehend- ing the state of the case; this will be due to no fault on the part of the translators, however, for the portions of the book dealing with these particulars leave little to be desired. The second section of Part II., treating of the secondary changes produced in the arrangement of the tissues by growth in thickness, forms a part of the book which has had much influence on text-books since it was written. The account of the growth in thickness by means of a cambium zone is excellent, and should be carefully studied by every botanist. The concluding portions of the book are in some respects more adapted for the specialist than for the ordinary student, but we do not advise the latter to neglect them on that account; on the contrary, much of the foregoing information becomes clearer when con- trasted with the more abnormal processes observed in the forms there treated of. The facts are somewhat more isolated, however, and can only become important in proportion as the earlier parts of the book are under- stood ; moreover, work remains to be done among the more anomalous forms. Enough has been written to show that no botanist will be able to dispense with the work, and it only remains to point out one or two faults in the translation, and perhaps to mention a few trivial matters which might have been put better. Such phrases as “a numerous group of large... cells (p. 21), “the morphologically lower leaf-surface ” (p. 319), and “quite a few rows” (p. 372), are somewhat harsh, and result from the close ren- dering of the original; objection may also be taken to such employment of compounds as “ air-and-water- containing” (p. 210) and “many-layered, chlorophyll- containing parenchyma ” (p. 226). It is true that students of science who read much German find less difficulty from the recurrence of such forms in English than might be expected, but many will regard them as serious blemishes which render the book more difficult to read. Commelyna (p. 40) becomes “ Commelina,’ subsequently (p. 270 e.g.) we believe the former is correct, the latter being the German spelling. “ Equiseta” and “ Gramina” (e.g. p. 213), and “ Orobanches” (p. 384) are not elegant. The reference to Fig. 207 on p. 467 is wrong, that figure concerning Cyé/sws. No doubt the misprint stands for 200. The translators are responsible for several terms which will be new to English botany, and we must admit our indebtedness to them for attempting to introduce definite English equivalents for such terms as “ Biindel-stamme,? “Holz-strange,” “Neben-zellen,” and “Ersatz-faserzellen.” Whether “ bundle-trunks,” “ligneous bundles,” “subsidiary cells,’ and ‘‘intermediate cells” respectively will be generally accepted as the equivalents in English remains to be seen. Personally we regard them with favour, as serviceable representatives of terms which have their uses. However, we can do no more here than congratu- late the translators on having placed one of the most im- portant scientific works of the day in the hands of British botanists in a satisfactory form; and we no less heartily congratulate those botanists who have been debarred from reading it in the original German on the rich store so well placed before them. OUR BOOK SHELF The Solar System. By Ernest R. G. Groth, Pp. 34. (London: John Bale and Sons, 1884.) THIS book contains a very imperfect account of the nebular hypothesis of Laplace and Kant, with certain variations which must be incorrect, because they violate mechanical principles, and with certain speculations which are valueless because they are based on mere imagination. The author does not realise the relativity of force and motion, for on p. 9 he asks: “If a body be acted upon by no force, why should it move at all ?” On p. 11 we learn how axial rotation originates when a nebular mass revolves orbitally about a centre of force. The explanation depends on the different orbital motion of the nearer and further parts of the nebular planet. As far as this goes it should, when properly applied, give us M.D. 216 NATURE | Fan. 8, 1885 negative rotation in the planetary mass, but we here fird it used to explain positive rotation. The author states that the planets are “hurled” or “projected ” from the sun ; but he does not see that even if some deus ex machind were just to prevent the other- wise inevitable fall back into the sun, the eccentricity of the orbit must be very large instead of very small. On p. 14 we find that “it is moreover manifest that each individual planet must from time to time have had its orbit greatly extended ” by the reduction of the sun’s mass on the birth of each planet. It is, however, the fact that the orbit of Jupiter, for example, would be scarcely appreciably altered were this process reversed, and were all the planets interior to Jupiter either suddenly in- corporated with the sun or annihilated. On this same page we learn “that in a system of particles revolving about a fixed centre, the momentum, that is the sum of the products of the mass of each into its angular velocity (sic ital), and the distance from the common centre is a constant quantity.” Does it not follow that when a planet moves in an elliptic orbit, so that its distance from the centre of force is ze¢ constant, there is of constant moment of momentum? What then becomes of the generally accepted conservation of areas in elliptic motion? The fanciful explanation of the inclinations of the planetary orbits, and of the obliquity of the planetary axes, need not be stated; but we observe that “the northern hemisphere, being that which contains more land than the southern, was directed away from the sun at the time it (the earth) was projected away from that body,” and this, together with the context, shows that the northern hemisphere is here supposed to be heavier than the southern. The fact of course is that the hemisphere antipodal to Spain, by its greater density, attracts the sea away from the Spanish hemisphere and leaves our half of the globe drier than the other half. The asteroids arise from the rupture of a planet X, which in cooling had been converted into a vast Rupert’s drop (p. 21): ““What a scratch does for the Rupert’s drop, the pull occasioned by Jupiter’s attraction effects for the doomed planet: the thin crust is rent, and forth in a thousand different directions fly his meteoric fragments.” On p. 23 we find that the Glacial period was a sudden catastrophe, and that the fleeing mammoths were caught by the intense cold and frozen to death. At the end of the work the author emphasises the analogy, long ago pointed out, between the system of Saturn and his satellites and of the sun and his planets. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space ts so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] Apospory in Ferns My note in Nature (p. 151) on the remarkable mode of reproduction in ferns discovered by Mr. Druery has brought me two friendly communications, both of which deserve a few words. Dr. Vines reminds me that in an article on the proembryo of Chara, published in the Journal of Botany (1878, pp. 355-363), he had suggested that this structure is homologous with the spore-bearing generation (sporophore) in mosses. His arguments in favour of this view are extremely ingenious, if not wholly con- vincing. At any rate, if his theory is correct, the sporophore in this plant remains in a rudimentary condition, ‘* producing no spores, but giving rise to the oophore by the lateral budding from one of its cells.” Hence, he concludes, ‘‘ we may speak | of this plant as ‘ aposporous,’ using a word which is symmetrical with the term ‘apogamous,’ applied by De Bary to those ferns in whose life-history no process of sexual reproduction occurs.” We must give Dr. Vines, I think, the credit for first clearly defining in terms the aposporous condition as the converse of apogamy, though the phenomenon was first observed by Pring- sheim in the Moss in 1876 (AZonatsb. d. Konigl. Akad. der Wiss. cu Berlin, 10 Juli, 1876). At any rate, according to Dr. Vines’s view, what is only an occasional abnormality in the moss and the fern is the normal state of things in Chara. The distinguished Italian botanist and traveller, Signor Odoardo Beceari, points out to me that the structures now known as archegonia and antheridia had been observed in Salvinia natans as early as 1834 by Savi. I had not overlooked the paper in which priority for the discovery was claimed for Savi by Marcucci (Wuove Giorn. Bot. Lt. i. pp. 198-208). But the brief chronological table which I gave in my note had refer- ence only to ferns proper (//:ces) and not to the heterosporous group of the /7/ic¢n@—the Rhizocarpee. W. T. THISELTON DYER Frost Formation on Dartmoor ON the afternoon of Tuesday, December 30, 1884, about 3 p-m., we were on Yes Tor, near Okehampton, long reputed the highest point of Dartmoor, though it is understood that the new survey now in progress brings out the neighbouring summit of High Willhayse a few feet higher. For about 200 feet below the Tor the ground was frozen hard. It was free from snow, the weather having been fine for several days, but everything was white with hoar-frost. On the rocks of the Tor this frost assumed a form of singular beauty, and, we think, not a common one. At least, neither of us can match it in either English or Alpine experience, or remember to have seen an account of anything like it. On the first impression the walls of the granite masses which make up the Tor looked as if covered with feather-work ex- quisitely wrought in congealed snow. The feathers (to call them so provisionally) overlaid one another as thickly as real plumage, and ranged in length from one inch or less to five or six inches, being smaller on the flat and recessed surfaces of the rock, and larger on the jutting and exposed ones. They lay almost wholly on the eastward, that is (as the weather then was, and for some days had been) the windward side of the Tor ; and their tips pointed roughly in that direction, with the sort of uniformity one would get by laying down a great number of branches or feathers all one way. It is impossible to describe the richness of this natural decoration. Only the finest Oriental workmanship could come near the effect produced by the infinite and minute variety which this tapestry of frost-flakes combined with one dominant form and direction. Something of the same type, but far less perfect, may be seen on a mussel-covered rock at low water. Still more curious was the appearance of the Royal Artillery flagstaff which surmounts the Tor. It was loaded (on the windward side, like the rocks) with a solid fringe of the same formation, but in longer and thicker flakes. We judged it to be full six inches deep, and at first thought it must be supported by a string attached to the staff, but there was, in fact, no string at all. Close examination of the individual flakes revealed great beauty of structure. They were mostly of an elongated lozenge shape, like a squared spear-head, but sometimes more like tongues of flame. ‘Their contours and delicate surface-markings showed them to be built up of laminz, into which they were easily resolved by a slight blow. These laminz again split up into crystalline needles parallel to the longer diameter of the flake, that is, in the line of the imaginary spear-shaft. Only photography or very careful drawing (for neither of which had we the means, time, or skill) would clearly convey the details of the formation. As to the physical explanation, we conceive that the process must have been set up bya thin layer of mist (probably in a very finely-divided state to begin with) drifting against the rock and freezing to it. Successive accretions brought in the same way would gradually produce the display of giant hoar-frost which we have imperfectly described. The details of form and structure we leave to be considered by those who have made a special study of ice-crystals. But it seems fairly obvious that for such a result there must be a concurrence of many favouring conditions. There must be a clear frost without snow, which of Fan. 8, 1885 | NATURE 217 course would destroy and obliterate these delicate forms. There must be a steady set of wind, enough and not too much of it, and the air must be saturated with moisture in a certain state of molecular division. Some of these data might, perhaps, with the resources of a modern laboratory, be settled by experiment. If the experiment succeeded it would be an extremely pretty one. F. PoLLock C. C. CoLLiErR Woodtown, Harabridge, South Devon, January 2 Krukenberg’s Chromatological Specuiations My attention has been lately called to a recent publication of Dr. C. F. W. Krukenberg, entitled ‘‘ Grundziige einer Ver- gleichenden Physiologie der Farbstoffe und der Farben,” in which some remarks and misstatements occur relative to my work, which in self-defence I feel I am not justified in letting pass without comment. (1) With regard to his observations on the colouring matter obtained by me from the integument of certain invertebrates, and which I called ‘‘ dermochrome,’’ I do not see why I should have left it unpublished because three-quarters of a year before he had found that “ lipochromes”’ were widely distributed in the animal kingdom. I found that lutein and heematoporphyrin occurred together in a peculiar combination, and said so. I suppose the offence lies in the name ‘‘lutein.” This word must now, according to Krukenberg, be got rid of, because he has chosen to call it ‘‘lipochrome.” Perhaps, after all, ‘‘ lutein ” is more appropriate, as it does not mean fat pigment ; for this pigment occurs where there is no fat, e.g. it is not derived from fat in the Corpora lutea, Krukenberg bases his conclusions mainly on the reactions of the solid pigment with nitric and sulphuric acid and iodine, but I hope to have something to say on this point before long. (2) Krukenberg maintains that the chlorophyll of cantharides is due to that in the intestines of these beetles. He committed himself to this theory at an early stage of his investigations, before he knew of Pocklington’s observations ; but after seeing the abstract of my paper read at the meeting of the British Associa- tion at Southport in 1883, in which I called attention to Pock- lington’s work, he makes it appear that he knew all about it long ago, which is not fair. Now since Pocklington and I obtained chlorophyll from the e/y¢re of these beetles, I do not think the above theory can be accepted, except it can be proved by Krukenberg that the intestine ramifies through the e/ytre. (3) Krukenberg says that Z ‘‘ assume” that the chlorophyll spectrum seen by me in the integument of the larva of Pieris rape is due to chlorophyll in that situation, whereas it is really due to chlorophyll-holding masses in the intestine. I never did “fassume” anything of the sort. I said distinctly at Southport that it was due to food chlorophyll in the intestine, as could easily be proved, for on emptying the intestine the chlorophyll band could no longer be seen. This must be a wilful misrepre- sentation, as he acquired the knowledge of Pocklington’s work from the same abstract in which my explanation occurs. (4) He further says that my knowledge of the literature of the subject must be great when I assume that he has confused ‘“anthea green” and “diatom yellow,” whereas I said distinctly ‘it would appear, according to Geddes” (see Geddes’ paper in NATURE, vol, xxv. p. 303) that he had confused them. I may, however, now observe that his supposition that the colour- ing matter of the yellow cells of Axthea is what he calls a ““hepatochromate”’ can easily be disproved ; all that is necessary is to add a little caustic potash or caustic soda to its alcoholic solution when the colouring matter becomes completely altered ; for this reason any deductions drawn from Krukenberg’s ‘‘saponi- fication method ” in this case are of little value. (5) Krukenberg says he had found ‘‘chlorophyll-like stuffs ” in the livers of animals before I had done so. I am sure this statement is open to question, as his spectra are not accurate re- presentations of what is seen in solutions of erterochlorophyll. In most cases only one or two bands are shown by him, and the other proofs brought forward by me are not given in the accom- panying text. If his own test for a true chlorophyll be accepted, I can, and hope shortly to, show that animal chlorophyll is a true chlorophyll, and can be obtained in the crystallised state, * The papers in which my observations on the subjects referred to were published are i—Proc. Roy. Soc., 1883 (No. 226); Proc. Birmingham Philos. Soc., vol. iii., 1883; and Brit. Assoc. Reports, 1883. and the crystals are the same as those obtained by Dr. Hansen, an abstract of whose work will be found in this journal (vol. xxx. . 224). E (6) It is further suggested that the darkening of the bands in solutions of ‘‘ echinochrome” (a pigment whose spectrum I have lately described) produced by adding sulphide of ammonium, is caused by precipitation of certain ingredients. This is not the case. The same appearance is produced by stannous chloride and other reducing agents. I have, however, lately succeeded in isolating this pigment, and can confirm my former results. I hope to publish shortly an account of the spectra of its solutions. (7) Krukenberg makes it appear that I have said that the green gland of the crayfish contains hemoglobin. I never said so. The statement was this: ‘‘ In the green gland of one crayfish a band was detected which, I think, was due to reduced hematin, but it was absent in the second specimen examined.” Perhaps Krukenberg thinks that hemoglobin and hematin are the same. (8) Iam made responsible for the statement that the eye of the house-fly contains hemoglobin ; I never said so, nor can I agree with Krukenberg that it gives no band. It gives a band at D, and is not similar to the pigment of the eye of Cephalopods, which he assumes to be the case. I leave the inferences to be deduced from the above statements to others ; but I must protest against Krukenberg’s treatment of my work. Itis at least satisfactory to know that my experience is not unique, as other English, German, French, and Italian workers receive an equally fair treatment by Dr. Krukenberg. Wolverhampton, Dec, 23, 1884 C. A. MacMunN Our Future Clocks and Watches I WOULD suggest, as a modification of ‘R. B.’s” suggestion’ in Nature (p. 80), that the striking of the clocks on the twenty-four system might be varied at each quarter of the day, so as to indicate the time without so much striking. Thus, I (a.m.) to 6 might be indicated by the usual method ; 7 could be indicated by two strokes, a pause, and one stroke ; 8, by two- strokes, a pause, and two strokes; and so on to 12; 13, by three strokes, a pause, and one stroke ; and soon to 18; 19, by four strokes, a pause, and one stroke; and so on to 24,. which being thus indicated by only ten strokes would require less effort to count, and make less noise than by the old system Dials might be modified in the same way. Instead of twelve there would be only six divisions around the dial, and the quarter of the day could be indicated by a small wheel revolving behind a peep- hole, or by a third hand (which could be very short) revolving once a day over four divisions or quadrants, marked on the dial near the axis. People, however, would seldom or never need to look at this. Thus would be done away all the objec tions urged by Harmer. The hour-markings are only conven- tional signs any way, and it does not make any especial differ- ence in what way the hours are indicated if people would only accustom themselves to the use of the twenty-four hour system in speaking and writing. H, H. Clayton Ann Arbor, Michigan, December 20, 1884 MODE OF RECKONING TIME AMONGST VARIOUS PEOPLES pee recent Prime Meridian Conference at Washington has attracted attention to the methods employed at various periods, and amongst peoples in different stages of civilisation, to reckon time. Dr. Robert Schram, on October 24, read an interesting paper on this subject before the Geographical Society of Vienna, in which he dealt chiefly with the Chinese, Hindoos, and the Jews. The three units of measurement given by Nature herself are the rotation of the earth on its own axis, the revolution of the moon in its orbit, and that of the earth around the sun; these are wholly independent of each other, and neither is an aliquot part of the others. But from the earliest times efforts have been made to connect these units; there is the attempt to balance all three, which gives the luni-solar year, or those to connect the day with the course of the sun or of the moon, from which we get the solar or lunar year. In the earliest times the most complicated of these, the luni-solar year, in which it 218 INA TO TE | Fan. 8, 1885 was sought to connect and equalise all three units, was the one most inuse. This is comprehensible when we recollect that now we want to fix single days as far back or in the future, as we wish, and that therefore this form of year appears complicated to us; but in primitive times it was really the most simple form of all, for the sun and moon relieved man of the trouble of reckoning days, and in the months and seasons wrote large on the face of Nature herself the hours and minutes, if we regard the days as seconds. A glance at the heavens or at the sur- rounding vegetation must have told primitive man the most that he wanted to know of the passage of time, and have supplied the deficiencies of his calendar. How the luni-solar year came direct from Nature herself, and also how it was to be taken as an approximate method only, may be seen in the most ancient form of the Jewish year, which was so regulated that the feast of Passover should ‘be celebrated when, during full moon the barley, which was required as an offering, was ripe, and it must be in the first month of the year, which was then Nisan. Twelve months then were counted from this; but if at the end there was no prospect that the barley would be ripe in fourteen days, a second month, Adar, was simply intercalated, and the new year began with the next new moon. But when an exact and rigid measurement of time is required, this form of year is simply perplexing. The three main types existing down to our own day of the luni-solar year are the Chinese, the Hindoo, and the Jewish years, and each of these is treated by Dr. Schram | in turn. With the Chinese, as in the case of almost every luni- solar year, every month begins with the new moon, and the first month is that in which the sun is in Pisces, the second that in the course of which it enters Aries, and so | on. But if the sun in the course of a lunar month does not enter into a new zodiacal sign, it is regarded as an intercalary month, and receives the number of the previous month, with a marx of distinction. In this way months of 29 and 30 days succeed each other, but there is no fixed rule for this succession, nor for the place of the | intercalary month of the year, nor for the succession of the intercalary years, and as the commencement of all the months and years have to be astronomically calculated, the whole year is somewhat uncertain and fluctuating, for a few minutes, or even seconds, may alter the beginning of a month by a day, and cause a difference in the inter- calation of a month. It is difficult, too, to say according to what tables the astronomical data in the more ancient periods were calculated, so that it would be a matter of much uncertainty to transfer a date into another chrono- logical system, if it were not for the circumstance that the Chinese from the most remote antiquity employed a cycle of 60 days for reckoning the days, much as we employ the week, without regard to the movements of the sun or moon. The uncertainty of the year which prevents the fixing of a precise day two or three years hence has ren- dered the calendar an indispensable vade mecum, The compilation of the calendar has thus become a work of vast importance, which the State has taken on itself and committed to the care of an Imperial mathematical tribunal, presided over by a royal prince. When the work is periodically completed it is presented with great pomp to the members of the Imperial family and to the mem- bers of the Government. The years are counted among themselves in two ways, employed simultaneously. The official year is the fourth, fifth, or as the case may be, of the reign of the Emperor, although even this is subject to alteration; while there is also a series of cycles of 60 years each, every individual year having a distinguishing name of its own. These years are named on a system universal in Eastern Asia, which is based on a combina- tion of one name from ten Kaw or “ roots,” with one from twelve Chi or “branches.” This peculiar method of form- ing a cycle by the combination of two smallercyclesisfound | among the Japanese, Manchus, Mongols, and Thibetans, all of whom use the 60-year cycle formed from the cycles of 10 and 12 years ; also among the Aztecs a cycle of 52 years, formed from one of 4 and 13 years, is found, which led Humboldt to believe in an infusion of Asiatic ideas in Mexico. The years are more rarely given in a 12-year cycle, each having the name of some animal ; this is also universal in Eastern Asia. The Juni-solar year amongst the Hindoos was based on a sidereal solar year, the twelve months of which, though of unequal lengths, were of fixed duration down to the minutest fraction of time. Thus the solar month Chaitra was 30 days, 20 hours, 21 minutes. 2 seconds, and 36 thirds. The day, however, had 60, not 24 hours. The year began with the new moon immediately preceding the commencement of the solar year. But if two lunar months began in the same solar month, the first was intercalated. In case no lunar month fell in the solar month, then that year would lose one of its ordinary months, but at some other part of its course it would have two intercalary months. Every month among the Hindoos has its proper name. The new moons with which they commence are calculated with great exactness and according to inflexible rules, so that it is easier to go back than in the Chinese system. Still there is a difficulty, on account of the various systems employed at different early times. The fact, too, that the day is the thirtieth part of the lunar month, and thus shorter than the natural day, introduces an element of doubt into calculations of this nature. The years are reckoned from 0; the first year of the era is 0, the second 1, the third 2, and so on, so that the number given to any one year is that of the preceding one. The 60-year cycle is also employed, but it is not formed from the combination of two cycles: each year has its own name. It is based on the course of Jupiter and con- tains five revolutions of that planet; but as the twelfth part of a revolution of Jupiter is only 361 days, 1 hour, 36 minutes, while the sidereal year contains 365 days, 15 hours, 3! minutes, 31 seconds, 6/3rds, a new re-arrange- ment is from time to time necessary, and a year of the cycle has to be periodically omitted. There are three separate rules for calculating when this is to be done. As eras are employed by the Hindoos for reckoning years, the cycle is of less importance. These eras are them- selves divided into cycles of varying lengths. The current era is the Kali Yuga, or Iron Age; 4985 years of it have already passed, so that it is little younger than the era of the creation ; but according to Hindoo notions it has still a vast course to run, and it isan age of which not only the beginning but also the end is precisely known. It is to last in all 432,000 years, and the earlier periods run as follows :— Kali Yuga, or Iron Age 432,000 years Dvapara Yuga Aan a 864,000 ,, Treta Yuga, or Silver Age ... 1,296,000 ,, Krita Yuga, or Golden Age ... 1,728,000 ,, These four form a so-called Maha Yuga, or Great Age, of 4,320,000 years. Of these Maha Yugas there are 71, giving 306,720,000 years, plus a twilight of 1,728,000, give 308,448,000 years, being the length of a patriarchate. There are fourteen of these patriarchates, or 4,318,272,000 years, which, with a dawn of 1,728,000 years, give 4,320,000,000 years, being a kalpa or zon of Hindoo chronology. But the ages extend beyond this, for an zon, or kalpa, is only one day of Brahma ; his night is of the same length, and 360 such days and nights form a year of his life, which lasts Ioo of these years. The present age is the Kali Yuga of the 28th Great Age of the 7th patri- archate of the first zon of the second half of the life of Brahma, who is therefore 155,521,972,848,985 years old at present. But Brahma’s whole life is only a wink of Siva’s eye! Another form of the luni-solar year is that of the Jews. Fan. 8, 1885] NATURE 219 In its later and more developed form this does not rest on observation or on fluctuating astronomical calculations, but on a comparatively simple cycle, based on a fixed month and year. Everything is settled beforehand: the intercalary month and year are inserted at stated periods. The system is the nineteen-year metonic cycle : nineteen solar years give 235 lunar months, in the course of which the 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19th years are intercalary, a month being inserted between Adar and Nisan. The months are successively 29 and 30 days long, the times of each being settled. But simple as this appears, various circumstances have conspired to render Jewish chronology very complicated. Such are the inclusion of small frac- tions of time in calculating the new moon for the new year, and the frequent religious precepts dislocating the arrangement for the beginning of the year ; so that there are years of 353, 354, 355, as well as those of 383, 384, and 385 days. The years were reckoned regularly from the creation of the world, which is placed on October 7, 3761 B.C. Having thus discussed the forms of the luni-solar year still in existence, Dr. Schram refers to those formerly in use by various nations. cycle of nineteen lunar years, with seven intercalary months in every cycle, thus approximating to nineteen solar years. The months were of 29 and 30 days, and the years were reckoned by Olympiads of four years each. Subsequently Calippus brought the metonic cycle closer to solar periods by the omission of one day in every 76 years. Among many peoples the modes of reckoning time do not deserve the name of a system. The Otaheitans used the changes of the moon, and the growth of the bread- fruit; the Makha Indians on Cape Flattery the moon, and the seasons, of which latter they distinguished two, the cold and the warm ; the Muysca Indians, according to Humboldt, had 37 lunar months in their cycle, and 20 of these cycles formed a larger one. Where there were no religious festivals connected with the new or the full moon, people gave up the Juni-solar year altogether, and adopted the solar year only, confining themselves to bringing day and night into connection with it as far as possible, and paying no regard to the moon’s course. It was soon found that the solar year was approximately 365 days in length, and this we find first in the year of the ancient Egyptians. They divided their solar year of 365 days into 12 months, each of 30 days, to which they added 5 supplementary days. The years were counted according to the reigns, and the Canon of Ptolemy is a chronological table giving the commencing years of the various kings. The same form of year is found amongst the Persians, with the difference that the supplementary days were added to the 8th and not to the 12th month. Their months had names, not numbers, and their years were reckoned from the accession of Jezdegird, an era from which the Persians, especially in some parts of India, still count their years. It is remarkable that so inexact a year, originating so long ago, should have existed through centuries down to our own day, although its incorrect- ness was early recognised. The Egyptians, for whom the time of the rising of the Nile, at the ascent of Sirius, was of great importance, noticed soon that the occurrence came later and later in their year, and that if the Dog-star rose one year on New Year’s Day, four years later it was the second day, eight years the third, and so on. On this they based the Sothis, or Dog-star period of 1461 Egyptian years, in the course of which Sirius rose successively on every day of the year. Then came the knowledge of the year of 3654 days, which is tolerably exact, and of this there are several forms of years. In Egypt the change to the more exact reckoning was accomplished in a simple way. The months of 30 days and their names were retained, but to three of them in succession 5 days were The Greeks also employed the | added, and every fourth year the supplementary day gave 6 days to 1 month. This form of year is called the Alex- andrian, and it is used at present by the Copts in con- nection with the Diocletian era. This year of 3654 days was carried to Rome by Cesar, where the method of counting time was in disorder ; and henceforth in Rome the year was of this length, the months consisting of different numbers of days, in place of the Alexandrian supplementary days. This system forms the foundation of our calendar, and is the well-known Julian reform. A peculiar form of the year of 3654+ days was that of the ancient Mexicans. Their solar year consisted of 18 months of 20 days each ; at the end of the year 5 supplementary days were added, and at the end of 52 years, 13 more days. The old Icelandic year also was very peculiar. The unit there was the week of 7 days, and in order to make the year an exact number of weeks, there were 12 months of 30 days each, with only 4 supplementary days at the end. Then at the end of 6 or7 years another week was added, so that the ordinary year consisted of exactly 52 weeks, while the leap year had just 53. The year of 365} days was, how- ever, a little too long, andin about 128 years there was an error of 1day. In the Julian as well as in the Alexandrian system an improvement was found. The former was re- formed by Pope Gregory XIII., not so much in the form of the year, as in the method of intercalating. In every year divisible by 100 the intercalary day was to be omitted ; but in those divisible by 400 it was to be intro- duced. Shah Shelal Eddin reformed the Alexandrian system by an ordinance that when the intercalation had taken place every fourth year for 7 or 8 times, the next time it should not take place till 5 years had elapsed. In other words every seventh or eighth leap year was to be the fifth, not the fourth year. Thus there would be 7 leap years in 29, or 8 in 33 years. The last attempt to reform the Alexandrian system was made during the French Revolution, partly with the object of introducing the decimal system into time reckoning, partly also to get rid of all reference to Christianity or any other form of confession. The year which was then introduced was. based on the Alexandrian year, but the intercalation was. different. The months, consisting of 30 days each, re- ceived the names of Vendémiaire, Brumaire, Frimaire, _ Nivose, &c., and were divided into 3 decades of to days each, which took to some extent the places of the weeks. The intercalation was not cyclical, but based on exact astronomical calculations, and it was decreed that the | first Vendémiaire should commence with the day on which, according to exact Paris time, the sun entered the autumnal equinox. It is easy to see that this method of intercalating could not exist long without reform, even if there were no independent objections to it, for it has all. the defects of the Chinese year. The years were counted from the proclamation of the Republic. The lunar year is the last portion of his subject treated by Dr. Schram. All that can be said about it occupies but a small space. Here a balancing of the days and of the course of the moon alone is required, the movements of the sun, and the change of the seasons being wholly disregarded. The Turks and Arabs use this year, and indeed it is common all over the Mohammedan world. The vear has'12 lunar months ; but the Turkish year can hardly be called a year in our sense of the term, with its regular succession and return of the seasons. In the course of 33 years the beginning of this year ranges over the whole of the seasons. If a Turkish festival comes: one year in the depth of winter, 16 years later it will be at midsummer. The 12 months have 30 and 29 days; in the leap year the last month has 30 instead of 29 days. In a cycle of 30 years, the leap years are the 2nd, 5th, toth, 13th, 15th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 26th, and 29th years. The years are counted from the flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina, 220 NATURE [ Fan. 8, 1885 THE LATE FOHN LAWRENCE SMITH HE following information relative to Dr. John Law- rence Smith of Louisville, U.S.A., who died on October 12, 1883, in his sixty-fifth year, is abstracted from a sketch of his life and work, prepared by his friend, Prof. Silliman, at the request of the American Academy of Sciences. John Lawrence Smith was born near Charleston, South Carolina, on December 17, 1818. ‘Even as a child of four years, and before he could read,” says his friend, Dr. Marvin, “he was familiar with the operations of simple arithmetic ; at eight he was prepared for the study of algebra, and at thirteen was studying the calculus.” At the age of seventeen (1836) he entered the University of Virginia, and for two years devoted himself to the study of chemistry, natural philosophy, and civil engi- neering. For twelve months after leaving the Univeristy he acted as assistant engineer on the Charleston and Cincinnati railroad, but relinquished the post with a view to the study of medicine. While still a student in Charleston he made known to chemists (1839) the use of potassium chromate as a reagent for distinguishing be- ‘tween the salts of barium and strontium; and in the same year he published a paper on a new method of making permanent artificial magnets by galvanism. In 1840 Mr. Smith proceeded to his medical degree, submitting as a graduation thesis an essay upon the com- pound nature of nitrogen. His father being a well-to-do merchant, Mr. Smith was able to continue his medical studies ; for this purpose he travelled to Europe, and spent his winters at Paris under Dumas, Orfila, Pouillet, Despretz, Becquerel, Dufrénoy, and Elie de Beaumont, and his summers at Giessen under Liebig. In 1842 ap- peared his elaborate paper on “The Composition and Pro- ducts of Distillation of Spermaceti,” probably the first -extensiue work in organic chemistry undertaken by an American chemist. In 1843 he began medical practice, though chemical research was more congenial to his taste ; and, in fact, during the next four years, he found time to contribute important work towards the improvement of -analytical methods in chemistry. At this time he also acted as assayer for the State of South Carolina, studying its marls, ores, and cotton-bearing soils. Able reports on these subjects led to his selection by the Secretary of the United States as professional adviser of the Sultan of Turkey in the matter of the introduction into that country of American methods for the culture of cotton. “ Find- ing, on his arrival in Turkey, that an associate proposed to inaugurate the cultivation on a plan doomed to failure, he was about to return to America, when he received from the Turkish Government a commission to explore the mineral resources of the country. He entered at once, with his customary zeal and intelligence, upon the work, and in the four years of his residence in the Sultan’s dominions, in spite of many vexatious restric- tions, he opened up natural resources which have ever since added an important item to the revenues of the Porte. His memoir on emery (1850) was equally im- portant, both from a scientific and economic stand-point. Before his observations ‘On the Geology and Mineralogy of Emery, made in Asia Minor, little was known of the mode of occurrence of this useful mineral. The island of Naxos had long been almost the only locality, and the supply from this source was limited and the price exces- sive, and no geologist had found an opportunity of study- ing the mineral associations of emery or its relations to corundum. Smith’s sagacity as an observer, his originality in discussing new methods of examination, his patience and conscientious fidelity in executing his work, are all conspicuous to the student of this memoir. From the study of the mineralogical associations in which he found the emery of Asia Minor, he felt convinced that the search for like associations elsewhere would be rewarded by the discovery of emery or corundum. With this view he addressed Prof. Silliman, requesting him to test the correctness of his observations upon known localities of corundum in the United States. The associate minerals were immediately found and reported. Later on, Smith had the opportunity of seeing the accuracy of his views demonstrated at the emery mine of Chester, Hampden County, Massachusetts, which Dr. Charles T. Jackson had discovered by use of the key of its associate minerals, as suggested by Smith, the locality having been before regarded only as an iron mine.” Weary of the life he led in Turkey, and irritated by the obstacles thrown by the Turkish officials in the way of any real mineralogical exploration of the country, Dr. Smith resigned his appointment in 1850, and returned to America. He married in 1852, and in the same year succeeded to the chemical chair in the University of Virginia, which he retained for one year; it was at this time that he published the method of determining the alkalies in silicates which is now in general use. From 1854 to 1866 he was Professor of Chemistry at Louisville, but finding the restraints of a professorship distasteful, he, in the latter year, resigned the chair, and afterwards devoted his scientific work almost wholly towards the investigation of the chemical nature of meteorites, pub- lishing nearly fifty papers on that subject. Having been successful in collecting illustrations of no less than 250 falls, he was very anxious that the collection should be kept together, and with this view he negotiated its sale for 2000/. to Harvard College; the news of the conclu- sion of the purchase only reached him on the last day of his life. Since his death the sum received from Harvard College has been presented by his widow to the American Academy of Sciences for the institution of a “ J. Lawrence Smith medal for researches on meteoric bodies.” “Dr. Smith’s personal character possessed a charm which won all who came within the sunshine of his genial nature. His sturdy manliness and integrity was com- bined with an almost feminine gentleness. During the years of the Civil War, while his affiliations and life-long associations were inseparably united with his native south, he deplored the sad conflict with a spirit bowed as under a personal sorrow ; but none heard a word from him which partook of bitterness or animosity, and no shadow passed across the path of his old friendships.” Dr. Smith had no children, but he founded and amply endowed an orphan home in Louisville, his adopted city. For the last two or three years he was in delicate health, owing to a chronic affection of the liver ; and on August I, 1883, a severe attack of the disease compelled him to take to his bed, from which he never rose again. With- out acute suffering he passed peacefully away on Friday, October 12, at three in the afternoon. By his direction, his funeral was of the most simple character and without an eulogy. His life closed as he had lived, peacefully, with uncomplaining endurance of suffering. His last words were: “Life has been very sweet to me; it comforts me. How I pity those to whom memory brings no pleasure!” THE NORTH AFGHAN BORDER TRIBES fe a paper on “Afghan Ethnology,” published in NATURE, January 22, 1880, a comprehensive survey was given by this writer of all the varied racial elements in Afghanistan. Here it is proposed to deal exclusively and somewhat more fully with the northern peoples lying along and about the new boundary line proposed to be laid down between the now conterminous Anglo-Indian and Russian empires. Were the importance of ethno- logical studies understood or recognised by British statesmen, it would be needless to insist upon an accurate knowledge of the tribal relations in this border-land Fan. 8, 1885] NATURE PPO iL before determining the future line of demarcation between the two States. As matters stand, nothing can be done beyond supplying a few authentic data, which, if not too late, may possibly help our Boundary Commissioners to appreciate the gravity of the situation. Politicians of eminence have in recent times spoken flippantly of a great and consolidated Afghan people, one | in origin, speech, usages, national aspirations, in friendly alliance with the British 747, destined to constitute a for- midable bulwark of the Indian Empire against the further encroachments of the northern Colossus. Those who have conjured up this pleasant vision, and shaped their policy in the belief of its realisation in our days, are doubtless well meaning persons ; but they are not prac- tical men of business, dwellers rather in dreamland than sober inhabitants of this planet. Afghanistan is not the home of one, but of many peoples, differing widely in race, language, customs, in some cases even in religion and | political institutions ; nor are the> materials at hand by which these heterogeneous fragments could be welded into a single body politic for many generations to come. A mere glance at the accompanying sketch map will suffice to show that the Afghan race proper, since the death of Nadir Shah (1747) heir to the former Persian masters of the land, nowhere even approaches the northern frontiers, except in the Herat district towards the north- west. Notwithstanding their great elevation, the moun- tain ranges stretching from the Hindu-Kush, through the Koh-i-Baba and parallel Safed-Koh and Siah-Koh chains westwards to Khorasan, constitute neither an ethnical, a political, nor even a complete physical parting line between the Afghan plateau and the Turkestan low- lands. The Hindu-Kush itself doubtless forms a distinct | “divide” for the waters flowing north to the Oxus, south to the Indus basin. Further west, also, all the head streams of the Murgh-db, or River of Mery, have their English Statute Miles Q 10 20 30 40 $0 100 150 60° Longitude E.of Greenwich | GALCHA 7) a « < o sources on the northern slope of the Safed-Koh, probably the Paropamisus of the ancients. But here the mountain barrier is completely pierced by the Heri-rud, which | takes its rise south of the Koh-i-Baba, and, after flowing | a long way west between the Safed-Koh and the Siah- Koh, trends northwards beyond Herat to the Turkestan | steppe. Politically, also, the rampart is broken all | along the line, both slopes from Kashmir to Persia being claimed and hitherto recognised as integral parts of Afghan territory. Thus the whole of Afghan Turkestan, of Badakhshdn, and the more remote north-eastern pro- vinces of Wakhan and Shugndn, are comprised within the Aralo-Caspian hydrographic system. A clear idea of these geographical features is necessary to a right understanding of the racial conditions in this extremely intricate ethnological region. From before the dawn of history constituting a natural parting line be- tween Irdn and Turdn, it has, nevertheless, been so repeatedly crossed and re-crossed by the contending | floods of migration and conquest, advancing now from the north, now from the south, that throughout the historic period it appears to have always been occupied by peoples both of Mongolic and of Caucasic stock. At present the former are found mainly in the western section, between the meridians of KAbul and Herat, the latter thence eastwards to the Pamir and Indus, each on both slopes of the Iranian escarpment between the 34° and 40° parallels. Of the two the Caucasic appears to be the aboriginal, the Mongolic the intruding, element ; and | by many ethnologists the upland valleys of the “ Indian Caucasus ” are regarded, if not as the cradle, at least as the centre of dispersion of the Aryan branch of the Caucasic group. Hence, those members of the Aryan family still occupying both slopes of the Hindu-Kush are supposed to be found, so to say, 27 sz¢z, that is, in undis- turbed possession of their primeval homes from the first. Such are, on the south side, the so-called SIAH-POSH, or SIAH-PosH Karirs (“ Black-clad Infidels”), and further 222 NATURE | Fan. 8, 1885 east the numerous communities often collectively known as DARDS; on the north side the BADAKHSHI, WAKHI, and SHUGNANI, to whom, with the other kindred high- landers of Roshan, Darwdz, and Karateghin, beyond the Oxus, Ch. de Ujfalvy has applied the collective term GALCHA. That all are fundamentally of one stock there can be no doubt, although much uncertainty prevails regarding their position in the Aryan family. The northern group(Badakhshi, Wakhi, Shugndni) have long been brought within the sphere of Iranian culture. Some are Parsivdn, that is, Parsi-zaban, or “ Persian- tongued”; others, especially in Wakhan, still retain much of their primitive speech, which appears to be intermediate between the Indic and Iranic members of the Aryan family. But all are at least nominal Moham- medans of the Sunni sect, and recognise the supremacy of the Amir of Kabul. In view of future political intrigue on this extreme north-east frontier, it will be desirable to bear in mind the close affinity and common sympathies of all these communities on both sides of the Upper Oxus. Even more interesting, and in some respects more im- portant, is the southern group of Siah-Posh Kafirs, who occupy the upland valleys between Kohistaén and the Swati district, and even visit the northern pastures west of the Dora Pass, crossing the Hindu-Kush at an altitude of some 16,000 feet. In these mountain fastnesses they have hitherto succeeded in preserving intact not only their primitive speech, usages, and religion, but even their political independence. Although included within the limits of the Amir’s possessions, no Afghan ventures to penetrate into their territory, which till quite recently was almost a ¢erva tncognita. By Major Tanner, and the few other Europeans by whom they have been visited, they are described as of a pure Caucasic type, with regular features, blue and dark eyes, hair varying from brown to black, and altogether the most European in appearance of all Asiatic peoples. With the British rulers of India they claim kindred, trace their descent from Alexander the Great, differ from other Asiatics in the use of chairs and tables, and speak a pure Aryan dialect, showing marked affinities to Sanskrit. Some few in the extreme south and west have become assimilated in speech and religion to their Afghan neighbours, and these Safi and Nemchi, as they are called, serve as the medium of com- munication between the two races. For obvious reasons the masters of India should cultivate the friendship and alliance of the Siah-Posh highlanders, who, from the name of their most powerful ga/z, or tribe, sometimes take the collective name of Kamoji. The south-western slopes of the Hindu-Kush north of Kabul are held by several little known tribes vaguely known as KOHISTANI, or “ Hill men.” They occupy the whole district between Kafiristin and the Koh-i-Baba. They are mainly Tajiks, that is, Iranians, probably de- scended of Persian settlers in pre-Mohammedan times, and still speak a rude Persian dialect. Although now Mohammedans of the Sunni sect, they appear to be an unruly people, owing a reluctant allegiance to the Amir, in this and some other respects differing from the other Tajiks found dispersed in settled communities elsewhere in Afghanistan and throughout the whole of Central Asia. The name, referred to the root ¢é7 = crowm, is supposed to mean “crowned,” indicating the imperial race that once held sway from the Bosporus to the Indus. But the sceptre has long passed from Irdn to Turdn even in Persia itself, where the reigning dynasty belongs to the Qajar tribe, of Turkoman stock. As already stated, both slopes of the North Afghan highlands are in almost exclusive possession of Mongolic peoples from the Koh-i-Baba to Herat, east and west, and from Afghan Turkestan southwards to the Ghor uplands. Here both branches of the Mongolo-Tatar group are represented, the Mongols proper by the HAZARAHS and the AIMAKS, the Tatars by the TURKOMANS and the KATAGHANI UspEcs. With the Hazarahs are some- times grouped the JEMSH{DIS and Firuz-Kuol! of the province of Herat. But both of these numerous com- munities appear to be fundamentally: of Iranian stock, although the type has to some extent been modified by contact with the surrounding Mongolo-Tatar tribes. Thus it appears that, as above remarked, the Afghans proper nowhere occupy any territory along their northern frontier, but, except at Herat, have everywhere been driven into the interior of the plateau by the intruding Central Asiatic races. It is further to be noted that although they hold the Usbegs of the Tirband-i-Turkesta4n escarpment and of the Turkestdn lowlands in military subjection, they have hitherto failed to reduce either the Aimaks of the Ghor district or the Hazarahs of the Koh-i- Baba and Safed-Koh ranges. The direct route from Herat to Kabul through this region has not only never yet been traversed by any European explorer, but is absolutely inaccessible to the Afghans themselves. Hence it is that the military and trade route between these two points is deflected a long way southwards to the Helmand basin and to Kandahar, whence it laboricusly creeps up through the Ghazni highlands to the Kabul valley.1 Hence also the vast strategic importance of such places as Kandahar and Girishk on the Helmand, which depends, not, as is generally supposed, so much on the lie of the land, as on the ethnical conditions of its inhabitants. The future masters of the Aimak and Hazarah tribes will not only secure the rich prize of the Ghor region, with its untouched mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, coal, sulphur, rubies, and emeralds, but will also command the direct and natural route from Herat to the Indus, vz@ Kabul and Peshawar. Meantime, these Aimaks and Hazarahs, neglected by our statesmen, continue to interest our men of science alone. Their flat features, tawny complexion, scant beard, oblique eyes, and prominent zygomatic arches, betray their common Mongolic descent, while the somewhat rude Persian dialect generally spoken by both implies long contact in their new homes with Iranian culture. Both are also Mohammedans; the Aimaks of the Sunni, the Hazarahs of the Shiah sect, in this respect differing from all other Mongolian tribes, who are exclusively Buddhists. Another proof of Persian influence is the settled life of the Hazarahs,” who have long ceased to be nomads, and now occupy permanent villages of small thatched houses. Of late years they have begun to migrate towards India, where they find employment on the public works. The Aimaks, or Char Aimaks, that is “ Four Hordes,” so named from their four main divisions, occupy, besides the Ghor country, extensive tracts on the northern slope of the border ranges, on the hills encircling Herat, and -eyond the frontier in Khorasan. Some communities in the Herat district have preserved their mother-tongue, and their chief tribe even still bears the Mongol name of Kipchak. They also retain the old «dz, or tents made of felt or skins, and usually grouped round a central tower or stronghold occupied by the chief. They are described as altogether more savage and ferocious than their Hazarah neighbours, and are even said to drink the blood of the slain in battle (Elphinstone). With the fall of Mery all the hitherto independent Turkoman tribes passed under the sceptre of the “ White Czar,” except the SARIKS and the SALORS. Soon after that event the Sariks of the Merv oasis gave in their sub- mission to the number of about 10,000 families. When that district was invaded in 1860 by the Tekkés, the Salors, its original masters, withdrew higher up the Murghab valley, where they are still found within and about the Afghan frontier, on the route between Merv and 1 The direct route is little over 360 miles, the detour by Kandahar about 550. : i : ‘i * Probably so named from the Persian Aasév =a thousand, in allusion to their numerous tribal subdivisions. eo Fan. 8, 1885 | NATURE 223 Herat, They do not recognise the authority of the Amir of Kabul, and should the Czar, who is about to assume the title of “ Emperor of Central Asia,” claim the allegi- ance of this outlying Central Asiatic tribe, here will be a fruitful source of future complications. Their submission would at once advance the Russian frontier far into Afghan territory and up the Murghdab valley to within easy distance of Herat from the north. The route in this direction is well known, and constantly traversed by traders from Khiva, Bokhara, and Samarkand. It ap- pears to present no greater difficulties than the more westerly route crossing the Barkhut ridge recently sur- veyed by Lessar. There remain to be mentioned the KATAGHANI US- BEGS, who form the bulk of the population in Afghan Turkestan. They belong to the same ethnical group as the Usbegs of the Khanates, and have even some settle- ments in Bokhara beyond the Oxus. They are mostly agriculturists and traders, Sunnite Mohammedans of pure Turki speech, and bear with reluctance the hard yoke of their Afghan masters. Their sympathies are entirely with their northern kinsmen, and as the country (Kunduz, Balkh, Maimene) belongs geographically to the Aralo-Caspian basin, it is difficult to see how further rectifications of frontier can ultimately be prevented in this direction. Exponents of advanced public opinion in Russia already openly claim the whole of this region to the crest of the Hindu-Kush as properly belonging to the ruler of Central Asia, and their arguments are largely based on ethnological grounds. Table of the North Afghan Border Tribes Caucasic STOCK Tribe Locality Population * y { Siah-Posh ... Kafiristan ... 150,000 + / Badakhshi ... Badakhshan 160,000 = | Wakhi Wakhan 3,000 © | Shugnani Shugnan 25,000 ‘Kohistani_... KobiSkan pag ose) el Local Committee). THE mean-time clocks at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, were put forward twelve hours a little before midnight of December 31, in order that the commencement of the civil day and the astronomical day might be identical from January 1, 1885. The public clock near the entrance to the Observatory will thus indicate the hours as recommended by the Wash- ington Conference—z.e. reckoning from oh. to 24h., start- ing from midnight. As the Greenwich observations for 1885 will not be printed until 1886, the proposed method can be tried for a year before the necessity of deciding on its adoption will arise. In writing to the Rev. T. E. Espin, President of the Liverpool Astronomical Society, the Astrono- mer-Royal says :—‘* The change that we propose to make at Greenwich is for the present provisional only, as it appears essential that it should be generally accepted by astronomers before it is introduced into any published observations I am very anxious to avoid the confusion which would result from two systems of reckoning time being in use among astronomers. But as regards the ordinary public, it seems to me clear tnat for civil reckoning the day must commence at midnight, and in order to assist in familiarising the public with the reckoning from oh. to 24h., I propose on January I to alter our public clock (which is numbered from oh. to 24h.) by 12h., so that it will show civil reckoning instead of the old astronomical reckoning.” CHEMISTS will regret to learn that Dr. Edward Divers, Prin- cipal of the Imperial College of Engineering, Tokio, Japan, has met with a very serious accident, which it is feared will result in the loss of one of his eyes. He is understood to have been engaged in work in connection with the theory of acids, when a bottle, supposed to contain terchloride of phosphorus, exploded, causing him very severe injuries. Dr. Divers is well known as the author of many valuable chemical papers read before the Royal and other scientific societies. Mr. ALFRED TyLor, F.G.S., who died on December 31 last, will be remembered as a promoter of technical education at a time when its vital importance was little recognised, and the English manufacturing mind was generally set against it. He was intimately associated with Dr. von Steinbeis, whose energy in this direction did so much to give the little kingdom of Wur- temburg its industrial prominence in Germany. Mr. Tylor’s work, ‘* Education and Manufactures,” arising out of his Jury Report on Metal Work at the Exhibition of 1862, was translated into German under the title ‘‘ Industrie und Schule” (Stuttgart, 1865), and also appeared in Swedish. Mr. Tylor sat for some years on the Council of the Geological Society. His geological papers relate principally to the flow of rivers as connected with the erosion of valleys and the deposit of gravel-beds; they contain much systematised information, for instance, as to the mechanical action of the Mississippi and the Ganges. It is well known that his study of river-valleys and drift-gravels led him to the hypothesis of a post-glacial time of enormous rainfall, which he called the ‘ pluvial period.” The term, though not generally accepted, is found of use, to judge from its not unfre- quent appearance in geological works. THE death is announced, at the age of seventy-four years, of Dr. Andrew Findlater, for so many years connected with the editorial department of Messrs. W. and R. Chambers. Dr. Findlater wrote several of the scientific volumes in Chambers’s well-known ‘‘ Educational Course,” and edited a revised edition of the ‘‘ Information for the People.’ But his most important undertaking was the editing of ‘‘ Chambers’s Encyclopedia,” the scientific articles in which hold so high a place, mainly through Dr. Findlater’s knowledge, discernment, and tact in obtaining the right men to act as contributors. Dr. Findlater was offered the editorship of the new edition of the “ Encylopzedia Britannica,” but was induced to decline it. WE read in the German papers that the Greek Government has offered to supply the marble, as it did in the case of Lord Byron’s monument in England, for a national monument to be erected to Wilhelm Miiller, the father of Prof. Max Miller, in his native town of Dessau. Wilhelm Miiller is best known as the poet of the ‘‘ Miiller-lieder,” beautifully set to music by Schubert. But the Greek Government, in the name of the Greek nation, wished to express its recognition of the great services rendered to the cause of Greek independence by Wilhelm Miiller, ‘‘the Philhellenic Tyrtecus,” whose ‘‘ Griechenlieder” belong to the classical literature of Germany. Committees have been formed in Germany, Italy, Greece, and America. The English committee consists of Mrs. Jenny Lind-Goldschmidt, Sir Theodore Martin, Sir Robert Morier, Sir George Grove, J. A. Froude, and Prof. Buchheim. Subscriptions are received by Messrs. Williams and Norgate, 14, Henrietta Street, W.C. BAVARIAN papers report the death, after a short illness, of Dr. Philip von Jolly, Professor of Mathematical and Experi- mental Physics in the University of Munich, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. A NEW association has been established among the students of the University of Paris. The first step of this institution has been the organisation of a public manifestation in honour of M. Chevreul, the director of the Museum, who is just com- pleting his 1ooth year. He is the first French academician who has reached this advanced age since the death of Fontenelle, who died about 1750, a few days before completing his century. A little before his death Fontenelle was heard to say to one of his friends asking if he complained of some illness, ‘‘I have no suffering, but I am feeling merely an increased difficulty of living.” WE learn from Scéence that the ‘‘cold-wave flag,” whose use has been inaugurated by the U.S. Signal Service during the past autumn, is intended to be displayed not only at the regular Fan. 8, 1885 | stations of the Signal Service, but also at as many railway- stations and post-offices as possible, in order to spread the widest notice of the coming change of weather. The service cannot at present undertake to provide the flags or to pay for special telegrams to numerous local display-stations ; but the cost of the flags (white, six feet square, with a two-foot black square in centre) is moderate, and can easily be borne by those interested in securing early indications of falling temperature ; and in several parts of the country the telegrams are sent to all the stations on certain railroads that co-operate with the Signal Service, and thus promptly distribute weather forecasts to the towns along their routes. It is probable that the coming year will see a considerable extension of this kind of weather service- M. JAMIN, the Perpetual Secretary of the Paris Academy of Sciences, has published, in the January issue of Revue des Deux Mondes, the essay on balloons, which we announced a few weeks ago. The academician takes a very moderate view of the success of the Meudon and Point du Jour experiments. THE terrestrial disturbance in Southern Spain, which began with violent earthquake shocks on Christmas night, still con- tinues, and other earthquakes are reported from Austria and Italy. From Vienna information comes of repeated shocks on the 4th inst. in the hot-spring district of Southern Styria, during which some slight damage was done, while on the afternoon of the same day a shock, perhaps of the same earthquake, was felt at Susa, near Mont Cenis, and one of greater force on the morning of the fullowing day (January 5) at Velletri, near Rome. The seismic instruments at the observatory in Rome and at Rocca di Papa showed unusual activity on the 5th and previous days, especially at midday, and at night the mineral springs in the Island of Ischia have risen in temperature. It would thus appear that the present is a period of unusual seismic disturbance throughout Southern Europe. In Spain no day has passed since the 25th ult. without one or more severe shocks in the dis- turbed area. On the 31st ult. the tenth violent shock in a week occurred in Granada—the people left their houses for the night —and up to that date 10,000 people had left the town altogether. On the same day and on the Ist inst. shocks continued at Jaen, Torrox, Malaga, Benamargoza, and Velez Malaga. At Torrox buildings were thrown down, and the town has been wholly abandoned. At Nerja the church was damaged, and at Arenas del Rey 500 persons were either killed or injured. On the Ist inst. and the morning of the 2nd fresh shocks were felt at Nerja, Algarrobo, Granada, and Malaga. A number of towns and villages are reported completely destroyed and deserted. On the 2nd shocks were felt along the Mediterranean coast of Granada and Malaga. Up to noon on the 3rd inst., according to official statistics, 673 bodies were recovered from the ruins of towns in the province of Granada alone. On that day the shocks were renewed in Loja, Alhama, Jaen, and Velez Malaga, fissures being made in the ground. The town of Alhama, which has suffered most severely of all, is composed of two parts, the upper and lower. During the earthquake on Christmas night the upper town, situated on the side of a valley, fell into the lower portion. Over 1500 houses were destroyed, and more than 300 dead were recovered up to the 4th inst. It is calculated that 10,000 head of cattle were killed. Besides this, five churches, five convents and hospitals, the town-hall, the prisons, clubs, and theatre were destroyed, and 7000 people rendered homeless. On the 5th a sharp shock occurred at Granada a few minutes after 6 in the evening, and some slight shocks were felt at Malaga. AT the Royal Institution, Prof. H. N. Moseley will, on Tuesday next (January 13), begin a course of five lectures on “Colonial Animals, their Structure and Life Histories” ; Prof. Dewar will, on Thursday (January 15), begin a course of eleven lectures on ‘* The New Chemistry”; and Dr. Waldstein will, NATORE 227 on Saturday (January £7), begin a course of three lectures on “Greek Sculpture from Pheidias to the Roman Era.” The Friday evening meetings will begin on January 16, when Prof. Tyndall will give a discourse on ‘‘ Living Contagia.” ACCORDING to the North China Herald there died a few months ago at Pekin, the greatest Chinese mathematician of the present century. His name was Li Shan-lan, and he was Professor of Mathematics at the Foreign College in the Chinese Capital. He differed from the mathematicians of Europe in this respect, that he denied the non-existence of a point. ‘‘A point,” said Prof. Li, ‘‘is an infinitesimally small cube,” and in saying this he only reproduced the theories of Chinese sophists 2000 years ago. A great writer of that age put into the mouth of a sophistical being, whom he called the god of the northern sea, the following theory, which has its bearing on Prof. Li’s heterodox views about a mathematical point: Subtlety is the occult part of the minute. Be a thing subtle or gross, it seems to me that it must have a form. A formless or unsubstantial thing cannot be distinguished as gross or subtle, discriminate as minutely as you will. What can be spoken of is the gross or palpable part of an entity; what can be imagined only is its subtle part or essence ; but I take it that what is neither gross nor subtle can neither be talked of nor imagined. M. LaurTu, the superintendent of the porcelain factory at Sévres, is said to have discovered a new porcelain, which is far superior to the famous old Sévres. After ten years’ experiment and investigaticn he thinks he has produced a porcelain identical with that of China. Not only does it lend itself to artistic decoration, but it takes all kinds of glazes, and surpasses in beauty the colours obtained in China. A PROPOSITION to connect Sicily with the mainland, by a submarine railway from Messina to Reggio, has been made by the Society of Engineering of Venice. It has been laid before the Minister of Public Works, who has referred it to a technical commission. <7.0) N.N.W.5 Aug. 16 a.m 2 3 below x o below ne) Ss: | Babel o 3 above x 4 above ny as N. Sept. 2 ,, 2 7 below 1 6 below er W.S.W. _ = eee “ Trinity x 6 above TO Ww. N.W.6 5 o 7 above Tee-Gi 35 ae) W. Nov. 6 ,, Dede eros 2.0) 55 my E.N-E.7 Dec. 20 ,, Op Sibelowmee--mrecenOy 0 ts5 2 2 N N.W.8 = LES OMOM sy Oe ey ha mG} N. J. B. REDMAN 6, Queen Anne’s Gate, Westminster, S.W., January 5 Our Future Clocks and Watches Ir is to be hoped that the absurd dial of which you give a drawing will not come into general use. Why not adopt the convenient shape which for more than a century has been in use 1 Wind Influence. ? Northerly Influence. 3 Still felt. 4 Wind blowing right up the estuary. 5 Sewage up to Westminster with this tide. © N.N.W. day before. 7 Maximum tide of year; W.N.W. gale day before. 8 Gale and remarkable fall of barometer = 29° 10’. 242 NWA TPO RL [ Fan. 15, 1885 on the continent for some jewelled watches ? :—a is the shape of the visible dial; c is the minute hand; D is the second-hand (sometimes dispensed with) ; Eis an aperture in the dial through which is seen the hour, brought there by the hourly revolution of the wheel B; Bis awheel (and in watches of the size of a shilling a series of wheels or a metallic band rolling round a drum of special construction for those tiny watches) immediately under the dial, set in motion once every hour, and bringing the corresponding numbers under the aperture E. CHATEL Jersey, January 5 THE COAL QUESTION T is generally admitted that the amount of coal existing below Great Britain at such depths that it can be worked is limited, that large quantities of coal are annually used, and that even the partial exhaustion of the fields, accompanied, as it must be, by a rise in price, would seriously affect almost all our manufactures, and greatly endanger our commercial supremacy. But if we attempt to go further, and say how long our supply of coal will last, we meet with very different estimates. Nearly a hundred years ago the question was discussed by Mr. John Williams, and though the insufficiency of the data did not allow him to give a definite answer, he at least showed the vital importance of the subject. In 1861, Mr. Hull, by taking into account the area of all our coal-fields and the thickness of the workable seams, calculated that the total available coal in Great Britain was 79,843,000,000 tons; this result was shown by a second calculation to be slightly too low. Further, he assumed that the output of coal, which was then 86,000,000 tons, could not rise much above 100,000,000, and there- fore that our supply was sufficient for eight centuries. Four years later Prof. Stanley Jevons, in an admirable essay on “ The Coal Question,” accepted the more impor- tant of Mr. Hull’s data, but showed that they would bear a very different interpretation, and that, instead of the eight centuries spoken of by Mr. Hull, “rather more than a century of our present progress would exhaust our mines to the depth of 4000 feet.” He then shows that the absolute physical exhaustion of the fields is improbable, but that before the twentieth century is far advanced the output of coal will probably be checked by a rise in price so considerable that Fngland will be unable to compete | in manufactures with other nations still enjoying the pro- | fusion of coal to which her present commercial prosperity is so greatly due. viewed and strengthened by Prof. Marshall in 1878 (“ Coal, its History and Uses”), with the aid of more recent statistics ; and the present paper is intended to give a short and simple account of the present state of the question from the physical side, with the omission of the more difficult and dubious arguments which may be drawn from Political Economy. The arguments of Prof. Stanley Jevons were so con- clusive, and his results so alarming, that a Royal Com- mission, of which the Duke of Argyll was chairman, was appointed, in 1866, to investigate the probable quantity of coal contained in the coal-fields of Great Britain. In 1871 the Commission reported that the coal-fields already These theories and results were re- | in use still contained 90,207,000,000 tons of coal, and that concealed coal-fields as yet unopened, near Doncaster, Bir- mingham, and elsewhere, probably contained 56,27 3,000,000: tons more, or that, in all, 146,480,000,000 tons of coal were available. Since that time about 1,780,000,000 tons of coal have been raised, leaving as the available supply in 1884 about 144,700,000,000 tons. Subsequent investiga- tions show that this estimate is probably considerably too high. These results were intended to include all beds a foot and upwards in thickness lying within 4000 feet of the surface, though it was rendered probable at the same time that the amount of coal below 4000 feet is not very large. The reason for excluding all beds less than a foot thick is that, at present prices, it is found unprofitable to work them, and hence, except in a few special cases, they are left untouched, though rendered worthless for the future from the disturbance of the strata occasioned by working the other beds. Though we may assign no limit below which it is im- possible to work, the cost of mining increases so rapidly with increased depth that the price of coal must rise very seriously before even the 4o00-foot limit can be reached. This increase of cost depends upon various causes. The mere sinking of three shafts like those of Murton, which are said to have cost 300,000/., burdens the undertaking, if it last fifty years, with an interest and sinking fund at 4 per cent. amounting to 13,9657. per annum. More power- ful winding and pumping engines mtst be employed, and from the great expense of shaft-sinking, larger areas must be worked from one shaft, necessitating extra expense in underground haulage, ventilation, and supports. Further,. each actual coal-hewer requires a larger amount of assist- ance to secure his safety and to remove his winnings in a deep pit. A coal-hewer working at an open seam on the surface of the ground would only require one labourer to wheel away the coal, while in a deep mine each hewer requires about three men to attend to the removal of the coal, the pumping, and ventilation. The high temperature of the rock at great depths is also an important factor in the expense of deep mining. In England there is found to be a uniform temperature of 50° F. about 5c feet below the surface ; but this temper- ature is found to increase 1° F. for every 60 feet descended, so that at 4000 feet the temperature of the rock will be’ about 116° F. And though this temperature is not suffi- ciently high to prevent working, and might be lowered a few degrees by ventilation, it will cause a considerable increase in the expense, both from the lassitude and extra pay of the men, and the larger amount of air required, which even now at Hetton amounts to 450,000 cubic feet per minute. ‘These difficulties account for the manifest reluctance | to sink deep pits, for the high price charged for the coal from them, and for the fact that the 4000-foot limit has not yet been approached. In 1846 the Messrs. Pemberton’s pit at Monkwearmouth reached 1720 feet; in 1858 the Astley pit at Dukinfield reached 2100 feet; in 1869 the Rosebridge pit at Wigan reached 2448 feet ; in 1881 the Ashton Moss pit near Manchester reached 2688 feet ; and though the Lambert pit in Belgium has been worked at 3490 feet, the circumstances were exceptional, and it is certain that the commercial success of such a pit in England would necessitate a price of coal far higher than it at present Is. The early estimates of the annual output of coal are so unreliable that it is useless to go back further than 1854, when “ Mineral Statistics” were first carefully collected by Mr. Robert Hunt, and even in these returns the amouuts for the first few years are possibly as much as three per cent. too low, from the difficulties of overcoming the fears of the coal-owners as to the uses which might be made of them. These returns have been collected and arranged by Mr. Meade, in his “Coal and Iron Industries: Fan. 15, 1885 | of the United Kingdom,” from which Columns I. and V. of the following table have been for the most part taken. Since the amounts of coal used are very large, and great accuracy cannot be expected in inquiries of this nature, it is convenient to take as the unit of our calcula- tions 1,000,000 tons of coal instead of our ordinary unit, the ton. This unit may be expressed in several different ways: a cubic yard of anthracite weighs about 2700 lbs., and of bituminous coal from 2090 to 2400 lbs., hence on an average a cubic yard of coal weighs aton ; and our unit of 1,000,000 tons is a cub‘cal block of coal 100 yards each way, or a bed of coal a mile square and a foot thick. Column I. in the following table gives the annual output of coal since 1854, and the total output during the thirty years, which amounts to 3,245,100,000 tons. Amount of Coal in Milion Tons hel If. | III. eeLve Vv. ear Won CEURLLEUSS eae || eee 1 | Exported | | 64 7+3 (w-1)| 62°85 X 17035 | 65°5 X 10325 | } 1854 | 64°7 64°77 | 62°9 65°5 34 1855 | 64:5} 6777 650 67°6 51 1856 | 66°6 7o°7 | 67°3 69°8 59 Reames | 7807) «|| 2 697 72°1 68 1858 | 65:0 76077) 7220 74°4 66 1859 | 72°0 79°7 74°6 76°9 7 1860 | 340 82:7 77°3 79°4 74 1861 | 86°0 85°7 | 80'0 81°9 79 1862 | 81°6 88°7 82°8 84°60 8"4 1863 | 86°3 917 85°7 87°4 83 1864 | 92°8 94°7 88°7 go'2 8-9 1865 | 98:2) 97°7 gs 931 9°3 1866 101°6 100°7 950 g6'I Io'l 1867 | 104°5 103°7 98°3 99°3 10°6 1868 | 103°1 106'7 IO1°7 102°5 11‘0 1869 | 107°4 109°7 | 1053 105°8 10°7 1870 | 1104] 112 1090 109°3 I1°7 1871 | 117°4 115°7 112°8 112°8 12°7 1872 | 123°5 118°7 116°S 116°5 132 1873 | 127°0 121°7 120°8 120°3 12°6 1874 | 125°! 124°7_ | 125°1 } 124°2 139 1875 | 131°9 rays 7 4) 129°4 128°2 | 14°5 1876 | 133°3 130°7 | 1340 132°4 16°3 1877 | 1346) 133°7 | —-138°6 136°7 15°4 1878 | 132°6 136°7 | 143°5 I4t'l 15°5 1879 | 13470} 139°7 | = -148°5 145°7 16°4 1830 | 147°0 1427) | 1537 150°4 | 18°7 188r | 154°2 145°7 | 1591 1553 | 19°6 1882 156°6| 148°7 164°7 160°4 | 209 1883 163°3| 15177 170°4 165°5 | -22°8 Totals |3245°1| 3246 3245°1 3251 351-7 A few comparisons may enable the mind to grasp the real meaning of these enormous figures. It was calculated by Sir Henry Bessemer that the output of coal, 154,000,000 of tons for the single year 1881, would suffice to build 55 Great Pyramids, or to rebuild the Great Wall of China, and to add a quarter to its length! In 1883 the output was 163,800,000 tons, which would form a column a mile square and nearly 164 feet high ; or would build a wall from London to Edinburgh 400 miles long, and 45 feet 9 inches high and thick, or another round the world 24,000 miles long, and 5 feet 11 inches high and thick ; or, if the Straits of Dover are 21 miles across and 600 feet deep, would make an embankment across them 22 yards wide: while the total output for the 30 years would build a round column 9 feet 4 inches in diameter, which would reach 240,000 miles high, the distance of the moon. The numbers show considerable fluctuations—as might be expected from the variety of accidental circumstances, such as new inventions, the mean annual temperature, and the state of trade, which affect the amount of coal used— but, on the whole. a very rapid increase ; the output for NATURE 243 1875 being double of that for 1854, and that for 1883 double of that for 1862. If we assume that the increase in annual output would be constant were it not for accidental circumstances, we can represent the actual numbers, with fair accuracy, by an arithmetical series of which the first term is 64°7, and the last 151°7, the increase in annual output being 3, and the total amount 3246 (Column II.). Further it has been’ shown that the coal still available in 1884 is 144,700,000,000 tons, and we may assume that the output in 1884 will be at least as great as that in 1883, or 163,800,000 tons. Hence, if the output of coal continues to increase at the rate of 3,000,000 tons annually, our supply will last for 261 years, or will be exhausted about A.D. 2145. But this calculation is open to several objections, and the numbers as shown by Prof. Stanley Jevons may bear a much more serious significance. It is improbable that the annual difference should always remain the same, and in fact, in the calculated series (Column II.), while all the early terms are higher than the real outputs, the later terms are lower, showing that the difference itself probably increases. If we calcu- late the series backwards we have no output at all about 21 years before 1854, a result we cannot agree with, and for all years before 1833 a negative output, a result we cannot understand. Hence it is probable that the results may be better expressed by another kind of series. Theory and experience show that the same causes always produce the same effects, unless fresh circum- stances intervene to modify the effects produced. Thus the population of England, which was about 9,000,000 in 1801, became 18,coo,000 in 1851, or doubled in 50 years ; hence, if no new causes intervene, we should expect it to double again in the next 50 years, or to become 36,000,000 in 1g01. This is usually expressed by saying that social statistics in general show uniform multiplication in uniform periods, or obey the compound-interest Jaw, or form a geometrical series. As an example of this law let us examine a little more closely the population of England and Wales. The increase for each 10 years since 1801 is itself perpetually increasing, or the numbers must be ex- pressed by a geometrical series of which the ratio is nearly 11147, and not by an arithmetical series. Wear 1.000 coo Increase in Calculated Inhabitants len Years | ae (x -1) | 8°89 X% 17147 | 1SO1L 8°89 | 8389 ISii 10°16 1°27 | 10°20 1821 12°00 1°84 11°70 IS3L 13 90 I gO 13°42 1841 15°91 2°01 | 15 39 1551 17 93 2°02 17°65 1561 2 O07 2°14 20°24 1871 22°71 264 22°22 ISSI 25°97 2°26 26°63 ous 147 °54 i 147 34 From the dependence of the numbers representing the annual output of coal upon the number of inhabitants, it might be expected that they also can be expressed by a geometrical series, and this has been shown by Prof. Stanley Jevons to be the case. According to his calcula- tions the ratio of the series is about 1°035, or the rate of increase of the output is about 33 per cent. per annum, and it may be assumed for the reason before given that the sum of all the outputs is likely to be more approximately correct than the single output for 1854 The annual out- puts calculated from these data are given in Column III., and show a fair approximation to the actual numbers, though the first term is rather low, and the last six terms are nearly as much above the true results as those in the 244 NATURE [ Fan. 15, 1885 arithmetical series were below them. In fact, either from a prolonged fluctuation in trade, or from the operation of the cause we are discussing, the outputs for the last six years have not increased so rapidly as the previous numbers would lead us to expect. The outputs for the years 1854-77 are very fairly expressed by a series of which the first term is 63’9 and the ratio 1°0355, but sthis series makes the last six terms far too high. Again the ratio 1°03 gives 71 as the first term, and makes all the early terms considerably too high. In short, the fluctuating numbers in Column I. seem to be best expressed by a series of which the first term is 65°5 and the ratio 1°0325; the outputs calculated from these data are given in Column IV. It is easy also to calculate backwards and obtain earlier terms in the same series, thus for 1840 an output of 43,000,000 tons is given, and for 1800 one of 11,700,000, instead of Mr. Hull’s conjecture of 36,000,000 and 10,000,000 tons respectively. And taking the true output of 163,800,000 of tons in 1883 andthe ratio 1°0325, we can calculate the probable output for any future year. Thus for 1901 we obtain 282,000,000 tons instead of 331,000,000 as calculated by Prof. Stanley Jevons. Further, a well- known formula gives the sum of any number of terms of the series, or we can calculate in how many years the amount of coal raised will be equal to any given amount, say to the 144,700,000,000 tons remaining i1 1884. Making the calculation, we find that if the present rate of increase in the consumption of coal of 34 per cent. per annum continues, or, in other words, if our output of coal continues to double every 22 years, our total supply will be exhausted in 105 years from 1884, or about A.D. 1990. Of course no one can suppose that our consumption will continue to increase until it comes to a sudden and final end, but only that within a comparatively short period our output of coal must reach a maximum, and then gradually diminish as it becomes more scarce and expensive. These calculations, then, seem to force upon us one of four possible conclusions :—Some new source of energy may be found to supply the place of coal; a larger pro- portion of the energy contained in our coal may be utilised, so that an output as large as the present one may produce a much larger amount of useful work ; coal may be im- ported from other countries to supply our deficiencies ; or lastly, the commerce and manufactures of England may pass into a stationary or retrograde condition. Coal is used directly as a source of heat in our domestic fireplaces, as a source of mechanical energy indirectly in our steam- gas- air- and electric-engines, and as a heating and reducing agent in our metallurgical furnaces. A pound of fairly good coal will heat about 13,000 lbs. of water through 1° F., and in an ordinary steam boiler about 8000 of these units of heat are utilised, which suffice to turn rather more than 7°3 lbs. of water at ordinary tem- peratures into steam. But the unit of heat is able to do work to the extent of raising 775°4 lbs. through one foot in opposition to gravity. Hence, by burning one pound of coal, rather over 10,003,000 foot-pounds of work may theoretically be obtained. A first-rate steam-engine does effective work to the extent of about one-ninth of the theoretical amount. Hence, in round numbers, a pound of coal will do 1,000,000 foot-pounds of work, or as much work as is done by 32 ordinary men in ascending the 202 feet to the top of the Monument. According to Péclet, a pound of average coal contains “804 lb. carbon, 0519 lb. hydrogen, and ‘0787 Ib. oxygen, and would there- fore theoretically suffice to reduce 84 lbs. of hematite with formation of 5$ lbs. of iron. Any complete substitute for coal must be able to perform each of these three duties of coal. It seems improbable that any new source of energy on the large scale will be discovered, though possibly small engines may be driven by some form of explosive, and hence tides, winds, and waterfalls alone, have to be con- sidered as substitutes for coal. According to Sir William Thomson, energy in the form of electricity might be con- veyed for 300 miles through a copper rod with a loss of only 20 per cent. from such a waterfall as Niagara, and stored up in secondary batteries for distribution. It is only necessary, without going into details of expense, to point out that we have no monopoly of winds, tides, or torrents, such as we have had of coal, and in fact, were they the sources of energy, we should compete with our neighbours rather at a disadvantage. The next point to consider is how far more economical methods of obtaining and using our coal may reduce the output. It has been already pointed out that, as with coal at its present price it is not commercially possible to work seams less than a foot thick, all such coal is wasted. Large quantities of coal also are more or less unavoidably wasted in the processes of cutting and carrying, and it seems as if any great reduction in this amount must be accompanied by a considerable rise in price. The uses to which our coal is applied, may, for the pur- poses of this inquiry, be roughly grouped under four heids—mining and metallurgy ; manufactures, an1 loco- motion on land and sea; domestic uses, including the supplies of gas and water ; and lastly, for export. Under the first three heads, no doubt, large saving is possible, but it is not likely to be begun except under the pressure of a scarcity of coal, when the high price of the coal will cause the introduction of more expensive and more efficient machinery. By far the most important metallurgical operation is the production of iron, which may therefore be taken as an example of the others. In 1785,7 tons of coal were used per ton of pig-iron produced, which sank to 5 tons about 1800. The introduction of the hot blast in 1829 caused a further drop to 34 tons in 1840; and that of regenerators in 1857 caused a further fall to 2} tons in 1875. But the increase in the quantity of iron manufactured renders the actual saving of coal very small. In 1881, 18,300,000 tons. of coal were used in making 8,300,000 tons of pig-iron, and a nearly equal amount of coal was required to convert five-eighths of the pig into wrought iron and steel. So that, in all, the iron-works required 34,700,000 tons of coal. Experience seems to show that, though our best steam- engines give an efficiency of one-ninth, and the efficiency of air- and gas-engines is even higher, except in special circumstances, it is commercially preferable to use less efficient engines; the saving of coal at present prices. being more than compensated for by the higher cost of the better engine. It is possible, however, that in the future electric engines may be used of far greater efficiency than our present steam-engines. On the other hand, the high rates of speed now demanded both for passengers and goods necessitates the consumption of large quantities of coal. Thus on a level railway a ton of load requires a pull of about 16$ lbs. to draw it at the rate of 29 niles per hour, while, if the rate be increased to 50 miles per hour, the pull is nearly 33 lbs. Hence th2 13,500 loco- motives in Great Britain will require much more coal to drag the same loads at the higher rate. Our merchant navy also is being rapidly converted from sailing into steam vessels ; in the 14 years 1866-1879, the number of sailing vessels decreased 5600, while the steamers ¢7creased 2200; and the steamers engaged in the foreign trade used in 1881 5,200,000 tons of coals, in 1882 5,600,000, and in 1883 6,400,000. The aggregation of people in towns requires the use of coal for the production of gas or electric lighting, fre- quently for the removal of sewage and refuse, and for the supply of water. Possibly the most wasteful use to which coal is applied is our common domestic fireplace. But it would require an enormous increase in the price of coal to induce the average Englishman to convert his genial, Fan. 15, 1885 | NA TORE 245 wasteful, open fireplace into the dull, though economical’ Continental stove. The trade in coal and coke, especially to France, Ger- many, Russia, and Sweden, has reached very considerable dimensions, and is, in fact, the fourth most important of our exports. In Column V. it will be noticed that the 3,490,000 tons exported in 1854 have become in 1883 22,800,000 tons, worth more than 8,000,000/., or in thirty years the export of coal has multiplied more than six times. Any considerable lessening in this amount would of course seriously affect the balance of our trade with other countries. It seems hardly necessary to meet the objection that when our own stores are exhausted we may import coal from other countries. A few considerations will show the fatlacy of such reasoning. The nearest stock of coal on which we can hope to draw is that in Canada and the United States. The former supply is plentiful, but much of it is badly situated for exportation. In the United States coal is found in Virginia, Utah, and the Western States, and the basin of the Mississippi and its tributaries contains coal-fields estimated to cover 200,000 square miles, and to contain about 38 times as much available coal as Great Britain. According to Mr. Hull, these fields could as easily supply an output of 2,704,000,000 tons as we can one of 90,000,000. Putting aside the commercial difficulties dwelt on by Prof. Stanley Jevons in the way of converting a large export trade in our staple raw material into an immensely larger import trade, the fact that even now the rivalry with the ingenuity and perseverance of the American manu- facturers, aided though we are by their high tariff, demands all our skill and energy, and the almost universal law that manufactures cluster round the source of power, the phy- sical difficulties of such a traffic would be enormous. Suppose a steamer similar to the /araday capable of carrying 6000 tons, and so swift as to be capable of making 13 trips from America in the year; she would annually bring 78,000 tons of coal, or it would require a fleet of 2100 such ships to supply even our present re- quirements. And if the coal could be supplied to our shipping in American ports at Ios. a ton, we should have annually to pay America 81,900,000/,, an amount not far below our present national income. The further cost of carriage across the Atlantic and delivery in English towns, must raise the price of coal to many times what we at present pay. We are brought, then, face to face with the last of the four above-mentioned possibilities. Before very many years are past we must expect that the scarcity of coal in England will cause a considerable rise in price, which will directly affect all such branches of trade and manu- factures as depend upon coal, and indirectly all other branches. What this means in the former case will be evident from a brief consideration of the uses to which coal is applied, a few instances of which have already been given. Let us take one instance of the latter class—the importa- tion of food-stuffs. The increase in the population of England per square mile, which was 37 in 1066, 75 in 1528, 140 in 1780, 241 in 1831, and 443 in 1881, higher than any civilised country except Belgium, has taken place far more in manufacturing than in agricultural districts, and has necessitated a great change in our supply of food. Previous to 1780, though luxuries were imported, the staple food-stuffs, corn, meat, cheese, &c., were produced at home; now, on the other hand, we import more than one-third of our meat, half of our cheese, and nearly two- thirds of our wheat. Owing to our luxuriousness and to this large importation of food, averaging 212 lbs. annually per head, the average annual cost of food per head in England, 13/. 9s., is higher than that in any other country. When by the scarcity of our coal our pre-eminence in -heapness of manufactures becomes a thing of the past, the 68 years about 144,000,000/. have been paid off. means of paying for this food will gradually cease, and the pressure of population, together with the increased cost of the necessaries of life, by emigration, by an increased death-rate, and by a reduced birth-rate, will change the England of to-day into a country like the England of 1780, —a country with a comparatively scanty population, with few manufactures, supporting themselves by the produce of their fields, and looking back on the England of to-day as the Spaniard now looks back on the Spain of Philip II. —of Philip, the husband of Mary of England, the ruler of Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, the Milanese, of Mala- bar, Coromandel, and Malacca—of Philip, whose father had sent Cortez to conquer Mexico, and Pizarro to Peru, and who himself, by the conquest of Portugal, had annexed the valuable province of Brazil. Loo‘ing at such a picture, is it impossible that the England which now rules over 8,600,000 square miles, containing 283,000,000 inhabitants, should shrink to its former limits of 122,0c0 square miles, with 8,000,000 inhabitants ? Finally, let us consider if anything can be done to defer or mitigate this change in the condition of our descendants. After discussing and rejecting the expediency of limiting or taxing our output or export of coal, on the ground that any such measure would impose a serious burden upon our manufactures and commerce, and in fact produce the very result we are trying to avoid, Prof. Stanley Jevons proposed that instead of relieving ourselves by the re- mission of taxation, we should relieve our descendants by making a serious effort to pay off the National Debt. The amount of the debt, which was 990,000,000/, in 1815, was 839,918,4432. in 1857, and 756,376,5197. in 1883. Thus in He pro- posed that the probate, legacy, and succession duties, as being in reality capital and not income, should be applied to this purpose. These duties amounted in 1883 to about 5,600,000/7., and would suffice to pay off the National Debt in about 55 years. These proposals have been in part carried out. The amount of taxes remitted has of late years been considerably reduced, and in 1883 termin- able annuities were created, which in 20 years will reduce the debt by 173,000,000/. i On the other hand, the rapid increase in local obliga- tions to some extent renders nugatory this attempt at national economy. It is somewhat difficult to obtain accurate data on these points, but the bonds of the Metro- politan Board of Works, of Liverpool, of Manchester, and of Leeds, quoted on the Stock Exchange, represent a sum of 34,000,000/., and no doubt other towns are following far too rapidly in the same direction. Of course some of this expenditure represents profitable enterprises, such as the supply of gas and water, but it is to be feared that a considerable amount has been spent in ways less directly or indirectly remunerative. If, then, we are unable to arrest the action of those physical and commercial laws which will press with more and more severity on our descendants, let us do what we can to mitigate their fate by using every exertion to avoid unnecessary increase in our obligations, and to reduce those transmitted by our fathers. It would probably be well also to appoint a fresh Royal Commission to investi- gate more accurately than has yet been done the various data upon which these calculations depend, to make more widely known any improvements made during the last thirteen years which may prolong the duration of our coal, and to consider the most important financial questions which are involved in this inquiry. And at last, when the worst comes to the worst, we may take comfort from the thought that, beyond the four seas, new Englands, as yet hardly conscious of their capacities, stretch east and west, and that the New Zealander, who a few years hence may moralise on the last stone of London Bridge, will mingle reverence with his philosophy, for he will be no dark-skinned, far-off cousin, but a ruddy, healthy grandchild. SyDNEY LUPTON NATURE [ Yar. 15, 1885 INVIGORATION OF POTATOES BY CROSS-BREE DING See interesting experiments on the potato were tried at Reading last summer. Most persons are aware that changes which are called “improvements” from a plants of the farm and garden in recent years by ‘ hybri- dising,” and that the usual result of hybridising plants is to invigorate them. Mr. Darwin explains the law which horticulturists avail themselves of in the improvement of plants when he says, ‘“ All forces throughout Nature tend towards an equilibrium, and for the life of each organism it is necessary that this tendency should be checked ” “Animals and Plants under Domestication,” vol. ii. p. 130). He adds, hence “the good effects of crossing the bre d, for the germ will be thus slightly modified or acted on by new forces.” The invigoration consequent on changing seed corn from one district to another is due to the same causes, as well as the “evil effects of close interbreeding prolonged during many generations, during which the germ will be acted on by a male having almost identically the same constitution.” It would not be easy to ascertain the history of cross- breeding in gardens. Hybridisation has been called “a game of chance played between man and plants.” All the great breeders of florists’ flowers, and of fruits and vegetables, have practised the art successfully, but as regards the potato recent investigations have shown that ! the law of “changed conditions” has not been obeyed. The term “hybridising,’ as used by horticulturists, is a relative expression, referring sometimes to the crossing of widely distinct forms, and in other cases to the injurious union of closely connected forms. Hitherto the breeding of potatoes has involved this vicious principle of too close interbreeding, no other plant of the farm having been more constantly intercrossed. Some years since the cross-breeding of English and American potatoes was extensively practised, and to some extent, undoubtedly, the “‘ conditions of life” of the varie- ties which were brought together from either side of the Atlantic were changed ; but the cultivated potatoes both of England and America belong to the same species, and having both alike become enfeebled and subject to the same disease, the experiment of interbreeding failed in its object. Under these circumstances a [veteran breeder wrote, “T have come to the end of my tether!” and he gave up the breeding of potatoes in despair. This year he has recommenced it, working hopefully with the aid of a new species, and owing this new departure to the sugges tion of the eminent botanist Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., of Kew. Mr. Baker undertook a scientific examination of the various tuber-bearing species of Solanum, for the pur- pose of ascertaining whether S. ¢uéeroswmn, the cultivated potato, might not possibly be invigorated by hybridising it with some other species of the family. Writing in the Fournal of the Linnean Society, Mr. Baker says :— “The subjects of the differential characters, the rela- tionship to one another, and the climatic and geographical individuality of the numerous types of tuber-bearing Solanums are of great interest both from a botanical and economic point of view. As there are many points which are still to be unravelled, I propose in the present paper to pass in review the material which we possess in Eng- land bearing on the question. It was at the instigation of Earl Cathcart that I undertook the inquiry; and in carrying it out I have gone through all the dried speci- mens at Kew, the British Museum, and the Lindley Her- barium, have carefully studied the wild types which we grow in the herbaceous ground at Kew, and have visited the extensive trial-grounds of Messrs. Sutton and Sons at Reading, whose collection of cultivated types in a living state is probably the most complete in existence.” _and continual inquiry. commercial point of view have been effected among the Bearing in mind that the potato, the most productive of our food-plants, has become the most uncertain among them in regard to its annual produce, it is not surprising that it should have been the subject of voluminous writing But, in spite of all the pains which have been expended on this stricken esculent, no one but Mr. Baker seems to have recognised the outrage of in-and-in breeding to which it has been subjected. It seems doubtful whether the numerous breeders were aware that the cultivated potato had been made the sub- ject of continual in-and-in breeding, since it had never been crossed out of its own family during the 250 years of its highly artificial treatment in this country as a cul- tivated plant. Yet this has been the case, as Mr. Baker shows in his enumeration of the six tuber-bearing species of the plant. As the habitat as well as the distinctions of species of Solanum affect the subject, the following brief details have been taken from Mr. Baker’s paper :— “(1) S. ¢uderosum.—Andes of Chili, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Columbia; also in the mountains of Costa Rica, Mexico, and the South-Western United States. “(2) §. Maglia.—Shore of Chili, down south as far as the Chonos Archipelago ; also likely Peru. (3) S. Commersoni—Uruguay, Buenos Ayres, and Argentine Territory, in rocky and arid situations at a low level. “ (4) S. cardiophyllum.— Mountains of Central Mexico, at an elevation of 8000 to gooo feet. (5) S. Fameszi..-Mountains of South-Western United States and Mexico. “ (6) S. oxycarpum.—Mountains of Central Mexico.” According to Bentham and Hooker, the great genus of Solanum—the largest in the world—-consists of decidedly distinct species, and if we omit some of the so-called species which are really only varieties of S. éeberxosum, these six species alone bear tubers. In attempting improvement by crossing the cultivated potato, it is useless to continue the system of interbreed- ing with its own varieties ; and, on the other hand, the lesser forms of wild potatoes, such as S. Famesz, a plant of eight or ten inches in height, must be rejected. Mr. Baker recommends two species as best for the breeders’ purpose, S. Magléa and S. Commersont. Both these kinds yield good crops of fair quality under cultivation, and they possess the advantage of coming from a moist climate. Chis is a point of great importance. When Mr. Darwin, a young naturalist in 1835, was writing his account of “The Voyage of the Aeag/e,” he mentioned having seen the potato growing wild on the shores of the islands of the Chonos Archipelago, in South America, and he thought it surprising that the same plant should be found in the damp forests of those islands and on the sterile mountains of Central Chili, where a drop of rain does not fall for more than six months. The explanation of this anomalous circumstance is that the potato of the islands and low- lands belongs to a different species from that of the mountains, the latter being identical with the cultivated potato of Europe and America, while the former is S. Maglia, which is at any rate hardy, vigorous, and healthy, and in all respects apparently well suited for crossing with the cultivated sorts. This is the potato which Mr. Baker recommends. Earl Cathcart had asked him for any sug- gestions that a botanist might be able to offer to breeders founded upon scientific knowledge of the potato generally and of the geographical distribution of the family. On this part of his inquiry, Mr. Baker observes that potato-growers work upon the assumption that the one purpose of the plant’s existence is the production of potatoes, which is in fact only an incident in its life. S. J/aglia has been grown at Kew among the herbaceous plants since 1862, and in that dry sandy soil, without manure, it produces few if any tubers, or only of small size. On the other hand, two tubers were sent to Chis- wick and grown there in the gardens of the Royal Horti- Fan. 15, 1885 | NATURE 247 cultural Society in richly-manured land, and the produce proved abundant, yielding, the first year, 600 tubers as large as pigeons’ eggs. The constitutional effects of the ab normal production of tubers which high farming occasions have been often noticed. On this point Mr. Baker says: “ Any plant brought to the tuber-bearing state is in a dis- organised, unhealthy condition, a fitting subject for the attacks of fungus and aphides.” It frequently happens, moreover, that the cultivated potato loses its power of producing flower and of repro- ducing itself by means of seed. The illustrious horticul- turist, Thomas Andrew Knight, discovered the relationship of tuber to fruit, and demonstrated with great clearness the principle that, in proportion as plants or animals waste in one direction, they must economise in another. Know- ing the difficulties that lay in the path, Lord Cathcart | intrusted some tubers of S. AZaglia from the coast of | Chili to those eminent potato-breeders, whose collection of varieties Mr. Baker refers to as the largest in the world, Messrs. Sutton and Sons of Reading. Afzer very careful treatment of the tubers, which were about the size of walnuts, the young plants were committed to the open ground, where, making our story as short as possible, they grew vigorously and produced numerous blossoms having white corollas, which are characteristic of wild | potatoes, the corollas of cultivated breeds being purple and lilac. But whatever the seed-bearing capabilities of S. Maglia may be at Valparaiso and in the Chonos Archipelago, when growing in a state of nature, it did not produce a single seed in Messrs. Suttons’ trial-grounds, except in the case of some blossoms which were hybri- dised. It is needless to describe the particular means by which this delicate operation was effected. It happens, however, that the manipulator was the same veteran breeder who had grown despondent about potatoes until this new departure had been achieved. Last winter he had reached the end of his tether. Since then he has hybridised Solanum Muglia, and is anticipating the conquest of new potato worlds in his old age. The crop at Reading this first year is good, and the tubers are as large as those of ordinary potatoes. The foliage is luxuriant, growing as high as a common table. Certain other sorts have shown no capacity for “im- provement.” .S. famesiz, for example, grows at Reading only eight or ten inches high, and would scarcely be recognised as a potato except by a botanist. .S. Com- mersoni, known by the synonym Ofvoudi, from tie name of a French naval surgeon who brought it to Brest from Goritti Island, at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, was obtained last spring by Messrs. Sutton from M. Blanchard of the Gardens of the Naval Hospital at Brest. Messrs Sutton have wisely acted throughout these trials under scientific advice, and S. Commeersovi had been named by Mr. Baker as one of the few species which are known at present to have shown a capability of “improvement.” Unfortunately it resisted all the attempts that were made last summer at Rerding to hybridise it with the cultivated sorts. We may hope, however, to become possessed of this and other hybrids before breeders have travelled far on the road which has now been opened to them. Previous attempts to over- come the potato disease had been mainly directed to the doctoring of the soil, or plant, and to direct attacks upon the disease. Every gardener and farmer may now wel- come the birth, so to speak, of a hybrid, which, we may hope, will enable the potato plant to resist the attack cf parasites, and especially those of the devastating fungus Peronospora infestans. Hae ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE BLOOD- VESSELS OF THE TEST IN THE TUNICATA T is well known that the test or outer tunic in most Simple Ascidians is penetrated by a system of tubes containing blood. These “ vessels” were shown in 1872 by Oskar Hertwig 1 to be developed as ectodermal evagin- ations containing prolongations from one of the blood- sinuses of the underlying mantle. Each vessel is divided longitudinally into two distinct tubes by a septum of con- nective tissue, and after ramifying through the test may be found to terminate, generally close to the outer surface, in one or more rounded enlargements or bulbs which are usually known as the “terminal knobs” (Fig. 5,8). The two blood-tubes join in the terminal knob where the septum ends, and this allows the blood which flows outwards through the one tube to turn in the bulb and flow back Fic. 1.—Clavelina lepadiformis. Ynlarged from a specimen dredged off Dartmouth. 47, branchial aperture ; @¢., atrial aperture ; 47.s., branchial sac; ¢., test; 7z., mantle; @., cesophagus; s¢., stomach; 7, intestine ; 7, rectum}; e7., endostyle; 2.g,, nerve ganglion; s., stolon; B, part of the stolon becoming enlarged to form a bud. along the other tube. Thus temporarily the one tube acts as an artery and the other as a vein, but of course they exchange functions at each reversal! of the heart’s action. This system is usually regarded as being merely the blood-supply to the test; but Lacaze-Duthiers* has pointed out that the hair-like projections from the test to which sand-grains adhere in most Molgulida, are merely special developments of the terminations of the vessels, and I have suggested* that they are also homologous with the vessels in the stolon of the Clavelinide from which buds are produced (Fig. 1). Natural size. Natural size. | Fic. 2.—Crona tntestinal’s from Lamlash Bay, Arran. Fic. 3.—Ascidza aspersa from Lamlash Bay, Arran. The extent to which this blood-system of the test is developed varies greatly in the different species of Simple Ascidians. In some, such as Ascidéa plebera and Corella parallelogramma (Fig. 4), it is very rudimentary, if indeed it can be said to be present; while in others, such as Ascidia mentula, Ascidia meridionalts, and Ascidia 4 Untersuchungen tiber den Bau und die Entwickelung des Cellulose- Mantels der Tunicaten,” Jenaische Zeitschrift, Bd. vii. p. 46. 2 Archives de Zoologie expérimentale et générale, t. iil. p. 314, 1874 5 and Comptes Rendus, t. \xxx. p. 600, 1875. 3 Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin. 1879-80, p. 719. 248 NATURE [ fan. 15, 1885 reptans, the test is penetrated in all directions by a well- developed system of tubes with large and numerous terminal bulbs. A series of Simple Ascidians could be formed showing all conditions between these two ex- tremes, and also exhibiting very varied arrangements in regard to the disposal of the vessels in the test, their modes of branching, and the relative numbers and sizes of the terminal bulbs. But perhaps the most interesting modifications of all are those met with in some of the members of the remarsable deep-sea genus Cz/eolus. There we find a great development of the vessels and their enlargements just on the surface of the test, and separated from the surrounding medium by a very thin layer of tissue. When describing this system in 1882,' I suggested that in these species it might act as an acces- sory organ of respiration, and I have lately shown” that an investigation into the condition of the corresponding system of vessels in some of the Compound Ascidians supports this idea, the chief arguments in favour of which are. (1) The disposition of the tubes and cavities in the different regions and layers of the test, and the anatomical characters of the system. (2) The relation which exists in many groups of Asci- dians between the branchial sac (the chief organ of respiration) and the system under discussion,—where the branchial sac is large and highly developed, the vessels in the test are few and small ; but where the branchial sac is small, simple, and apparently inefficient, the vessels in the test are numerous, of large size, and disposed in such A ots The posterior part of the left side of Fic. 4.—Corella parallelogramma. j Twice the natural size. v., the the test of a specimen from Loch Fyne. system of vessels. amanner as to suggest that they are concerned in the aération of the blood. It is obvious that it would be advantageous to an Ascidian if its test could act even to a slight degree as an accessory respiratory organ, by allowing the blood circulating in its superficial layers to be brought into such close relation with the external medium as to render possible a certain amount of oxidation. And consequently itis easy to ima- gine the process of evolution of such a complicated system as we find in Czleolus murray? from a few simple vessels like those in the test of Covel/a parallelogramma (Fig. 4). But it is probable that the common ancestor of Simple and Compound Ascidians had no blood-spaces in its test. There are none in the “ Haus” of the Appendiculariidz ; and in Clavelzna, which may be regarded as nearer to the first Simple Ascidian than any other form known, there are no vessels in the test except those of the stolon. Some structure must therefore be looked for from which the first respiratory blood-system of the test may have been evolved, and such a structure is to be found, I believe, in the gemmiparous stolon of the Clavelinide. Clavelina (Fig. 1), which from other independent evidence I regard as the most primitive form of Simple Ascidian known to science, is one of the so-called “Social” Ascidians in which the members of the colony are united by a creeping stolon containing “ vessels” (that is a prolongation of the ectoderm and the mantle, and a blood-tube) which place the circulatory systems of * “Zoological Reports of the Challenger Expedition,” Part xvii. pp. 90 and 279. 2 Proc, Lit. and Phil. Soc., Liverpool, session 1884-85. the various members in communication, and from the ends of which, in prolongations of the test (as at B, Fig. 1), new members are produced by gemmation. It is possible that this system may act in some slight degree as a respiratory organ, but its chief function, and probably its only one, is the asexual production of new individuals. The ancestors of the remaining Simple Ascidians diverged from the ancestors of the Clavelinidz, and lost the power of reproducing by gemmation, but in many of the least modified of the Ascidiidz we still find processes from the posterior end of the test which contain vessels, and so closely resemble the stolon of Clavelina in all particulars that there can be no doubt that they are per- sistent rudiments of that structure. In Ciona, which is certainly one of the most primitive of the Ascidiidee, vessels are only present in the posterior part of the test, and here we frequently find them drawn out into long processes of the test, which have the greatest possible resemblance to stolons (Fig. 2), and are doubtless their homologues, although they no longer function as bud- preducing organs. They are useful as adhering organs, and they have probably to a slight extent commenced to perform a respiratory function. NY Tt De Fic. 5.—Vessels in the surface layer of the test of Ascidia mammidata as seen in a section magnified about 40 diameters. B, small part ofthe system more highly magnified; a.v., afferent vessel; ¢.v., efferent vessel ; t.k., terminal knob; ¢., surface of the test. I imagine then the first stages in the evolution of the “respiratory” vessels to be as follows :—As the ancestors ? of the Ascidiidz lost the power of reproducing by gem- mation, the vascular stolons became rudimentary, until they were useful merely as adhering organs. For some time they would only be produced at the posterior end of the test (their original position in the Clavelinidz), but in course of time they would extend further forwards along the left side of the body (the side upon which most Simple Ascidians lie) so as to anchor the animal more securely, and we even find them occasionally in this condition in Czona intestinalis and in Ascidia aspersa (Fig. 3). They would then probably (in some not very remote ancestor of Czona) begin, while still acting as adher- ing organs, to be of some slight use in respiration, and would, consequently, by the action of natural selection, be evolved gradually into a larger system of vessels extending over a wider area of the test. And here might be shown a series of the Ascidiide passing from Ciona (Fig. 2) through Core/la (Fig. 4), and Ascidia plebeia, in which the system is still very feebly developed and confined to the posterior half of the left side of the a 1 See phylogenetic table in ‘* Challenger Reports,” part xv Pp fam. 15, 1885] NATURE 249 test, by gradual stages to Ascidia mammillata (Fig. 5)» where the vessels are numerous all over the test, branch fregly in its outer layer, and terminate close to the surface in large ovate bulbs, which are usually found filled with blood-corpuscles. The only part of this history which presents any diffi- culty is the passage from the Clavelinid to the Cionid arrangement, from the gemmiparous stolon to the first traces of a respiratory system of vessels. This can, I believe, be most satisfactorily explained by assuming that the rudimentary stolons after they had lost their primary function became useful as adhering organs (Figs. 2 and 3), and consequently were retained or possibly increased by the action of natural selection, until their respiratory function became established. I hope to work out the modifications of the system throughout the various groups of Ascidians in detail, and the results will probably be given in Part II. of the Report on the Cha/lenger Tunicata. : W. A. HERDMAN NOTES THE Council of the Royal Astronomical Society have awarded their gold medal to Dr. W. Huggins for his researches on the motions of stars in the line of sight and on the photographic spectra of stars and comets. The presentation takes place at the annual meeting next month. This is the second time that Dr. Huggins has received the medal, he having, in 1867, in conjunction with the late Prof, Miller, received it for his researches in astronomical physics. THE will of Mr. George Bentham, who died in September last, has been proved by Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and the Right Hon. Sir Nathaniel Lindley, the executors, the value of the personal estate amounting to over 23,000/. The testator bequeaths, among other sums, 1000/. each to the Linnean Society of London and the Royal Society Scientific Relief Fund. The residue of his real and personal estate is to be held upon trust to apply the same in preparing and publishing botanical works, or in the purchase of books or specimens for the botanical establishment at Kew ; or in such other manner as his trustees may consider best for the promotion of botanical science. AT the meeting of the Colonial Institute an Tuesday, Gen. Sir Henry Lefroy read a paper on the meeting of the British Association in Canada. Sir Lyon Playfair, M.P., referred to the visit of the British Association as marking a point in the advance of civilisation. Canada’s position of haying federated, not under the pressure of war, but in a time of profound peace, was unique in the history of the world. The science of Great Britain belonged to the Empire, and it was right that Canada should be the first to try to federate the science of the United Kingdom, and distribute it over the Empire. What Canada wanted was not pure science, but applied science, to bind to- gether her vast territory by railways. But knowing that applied science did not come except pure science preceded it, Canada had had the forethought and wisdom to welcome that pure science to the Dominion. Sir Lyon gave a humorous account of an adventure he had in a wild part of Ottawa with a Scotch mining manager. It turned out that the manager, when in Scotland, had attended the Mechanics’ Institute at Glasgow, and afterwards the evening classes at the Andersonian Institution, obtaining a knowledge of chemistry and mineralogy, which had stood him in good stead on emigrating to Canada. From his compatriot he (Sir Lyon) heard of many other Scots of a like type, all of whom had got on well, from the scientific education they had acquired at similar institutions. For such men he did not know any better country than Canada to find openings for getting on in the world. Prof. G. T. Bonney spoke at some length of the interesting geological formation of Canada, and said he believed that the district north of the St. Lawrence was rich in valuable minerals, and that exploring parties for their discovery should be organised to supplement the systematic geological survey which was being slowly conducted. He con- demned the wasteful treatment of the forests that was going on in some of the parts he had visited, and suggested that it was a matter which should engage the attention of the Dominion Government. On Tuesday evening Sir Frederick Bramwell gave an address at the Institution of Civil Engineers on his assuming the chair for the first time since his election as president. Sir Frederick’s subject was suggested to him by the forthcoming Exhibition of Inventions, his address consisting mainly of a review of some of the most remarkable recent inventions in the application of science to engineering. Sir Irederick has apparently given up hope of our being able to put the tides to any practical use, and hints that Khartoum might have been relieved long ago had our aéronauts been as inventive, or our War Department as enterprising, as those of France. M. Cocuery, the French Minister of Posts and Telegraphs, was present, on January 2, at Rouen to witness some interesting experiments in telephoning to a great distance. The object was to test the results of the application between Rouen and Havre, a distance of 90 kilometres, of M. Van Rysselberghe’s system of instantaneous transmission. The experiment was perfectly successful, and during more than one hour, messages were ex- changed between Rouen and Havre. The Minister announced, on leaving Rouen, that the communication would be open to the public in about a fortnight. Since January 1 the first tele- phonic offices have been open in Paris, and it is probable that communication will soon be established between Paris and Rouen. Mr. LANT CARPENTER lectures on Sunday at the Sunday Lecture Society, on ‘‘The Life and Work of Sir William Siemens,” illustrated by experiments, diagrams, and the oxy- hydrogen lanterns. Mr. Carpenter has, we understand, obtained- some special materials, of which he will make use in his lecture. ReEportTs from Brussels state that the Spanish earthquake, or a similar simultaneous earthquake, was felt at the Royal Obser- vatory there. The Observatory is stated not to be provided with special instruments for recording earthquakes, as these phenomena are so rare and slight in Belgium. It is said that on December 26 last, the day succeeding the first great shock of the Spanish earthquake, one of the astronomical clocks in the principal meteorological station in the Boulevard de lObservatoire was stopped, and the other went irregularly. The officer charged with attending to them perceived that the pillars on which they rested had been displaced, and were no longer vertical. On the evening of the same day, M. Lagrange, when about to make some observations, noticed that the large telescope was also displaced. It appears from this that the undulations of the crust of the earth, which have had such disastrous effects in Spain, extended as far as Brussels, and although their effects were not generally appreciable in the latter city, yet they were noticeable in the case of delicate instruments, such as astronomical clocks. It would be interesting to have a precise, authentic statement on this subject, and also to learn whether similar effects were noticed anywhere else in Europe during the last week of the old year. AT a recent meeting of the German Asiatic Society of Japan a paper was read by Dr. H. Muraoka of Tokio, on the magic mirror of Japan. It is generally supposed that its magical quality was discovered only recently ; but it was, says Dr. Muraoka, known for a long time in Japan, Old ladies have 250 NATURE [ Faz. 15, 1885 told him that in their youth, fifty years since, they frequently noticed, when at toilet, that the reflection of the sun from the mirror on the wall or ceiling contained the figures or letters on its back. It is said to have been known to the Romans in con- nection with some of their mirrors, and any one concealing a mirror possessing this quality was arrested as a sorcerer ; but the authority for this statement is not given. The subject is engaging considerable attention, as will be seen from the fact that in recent years a list of fourteen writers on the subject is quoted, from Stanislas Julien, in 1847, to Messrs. Ayrton and Perry quite lately ; and, as the subsequent discussion showed, there are omissions even in this list. These writers, especially the two latter, have demonstrated beyond doubt that unequal convexities in the mirror beget its magical quality. The polished surfaces are convex, but the convexity is not continuous, and is broken in certain places. After going over what had already been done on the subject, and its results, the author described his own investigations. The riddles of the mirror are far from being all answered by the discovery of unequal convexity. For example, how is the inequality caused—by pressure, heat, or by changes in the molecular tension of the metal plates ? The writer tried many experiments to answer the question, and he succeeded by means of chemical agents in drawing lines on the flat bac’s of a mirror, which were reproduced on a reflected image from the front. His results are: That the irregularity in the convexity is caused by the grinding, which alters the molecular tension, that the magic mirror may be produced at will (it was generally sup- posed to be the work of chance alone), and that the magical quality attributed to it is not confined to Japanese bronze, but is common to all firm, elastic substances. A curious process em- ployed by mirror-workers is described by Dr. Muraoka : it appears to be one of the secrets of the craft. If the surface of a mirror has been made concave by mechanical pressure, the injury is not repaired, as might be expected, by hammering the other side, or otherwise forcing the metal back into its place. ‘Ihe workman takes an iron tool with rounded, but slightly rough, top, and rubs the concave portion of the mirror in all directions, until a fine network ofscratches has been formed. The place then rises of itself, and, instead of being concave, becomes more convex than the rest of the surface. This convexity is then shaved away-with a knife made for the purpose, until it becomes even with the rest of the mirror. When this is done the whole surface is again ground, polished, and amalgamated. A STRANGE Japanese custom has, according to the Jap. Mail, been brought to light by the working of the conscription law. The head of a certain family was instructed that the time had come for his son, whose name was on the census list, to undergo medical examination prior to actual enlistment. The father lost no time in informing the authorities that the indi- vidual referred to, though bearing a male name, wa; his daughter. He explained that having lost two daughters, both about one year old, he had been driven to this expedient to keep the third alive. It appears, further, that in many districts of Japan people still resort, in their anxiety to prolong the lives of their children, to the custom of bestowing upon their offsprings names ordinarily given to infants of the opposite sex, whenever death has made frequent visits to their households. The present case occurred in the capital. AN important memoir by Lieut. Casey on the North American species of beetles of the sub-family Svenizi has just been pub- lished. It extends to over 200 octavo pages, and describes in minute detail nearly 170 species, of which the greater part are new, and should form one of the most important contributions to systematic entomology in the States that have appeared. “* Stenus,” in the broad sense, is well defined as a whole, but is notoriously difficult in detail. When genera become unwieldy owing to the mass of species included, it is a convenience to students if they can be split up by recognisable divisional cha- racters. Acting on this idea, Casey has split ‘‘ S/ezzs” imto Stenus and Areus, on tarsal structure. This subdivision equally affects European (and even British) species. Mr. ALDERMAN W. H. BaILey, as President of the Man- chester Society of Engineers, gave an interesting inaugural address on the roth inst., his subject being ‘‘The Reign of Law in Relation to the Unification of Engineering Work.” “The reign of law,” Mr. Bailey stated, ‘‘is imperial in the domain of the engineer. He deals with forces which have de- finite, fixed values. If he perceives a quantity ora force he knows that he can identify the same measure or quantity of the like whenever he meets with its equivalents under equal condi- tions. We know that chance does not rule, and if there be con- ditions that are indefinite or obscure to us it is not because there is no law, but because we are ignorant of its records.” This text Mr. Bailey illustrated by reference to the necessity of exact measurement, supporting his position by numerous examples. Pror. F. ExLGar is about to deliver a special course of evening lectures, in the University of Glasgow, upon ‘‘ The Buoyancy and Stability of Ships.” The course will consist of twelve lectures, commencing on the 22nd inst. These lectures are intended not only for students of this branch of the science of naval architecture, but also for the convenience of draughts men and others who are employed in shipyards during the day, and who are unable to attend the regular University classes. In the report of the Meteorological Service of Canada for 1884, attention is again called to the advisability of establishing a marine department in connection with the Meteorological Ser- vice for the purpose of organising a system of observations on the ocean by steamers crossing the Atlantic and by those trad- ing with ports in Brazil and the West Indies. Canada, having great shipping interests, should, it is thought, take her part in the great international work now going on of charting the meteoro- logical conditions prevalent over the Atlantic, and in the general development of ocean meteorology. Such observationsin the North Atlantic would, it is stated, be of great value, especially in per- fecting knowledge of the movements of a particular class of storms. Recent investigations on the subject of the climatic relations of Canada to European countries show that the Dominion has the latitudes of Italy, France, Germany, Austria, the British Islands, Russia, Sweden, and Norway, and has as many varie- ties of climate as have those countries. ‘here is greater cold in winter in many of the latitudes of Canada than in corresponding latitudes in Europe, but the summers are about the same. The most southern part of Canada is on the same parallel as Rome, Corsica, and the northern part of Spain; it is farther south than France, Lombardy, Venice, or Genoa. The northern shores of Lake Huron are in the latitude of Central France, and vast territories not yet surveyed lie south of the parallel of the northern shores of Lake Huron, where the climate is favourable for all the great staples of the temperate zone. Wir the new year Coswos, the well-known French scientific journal, will enter ona new period. The size will be increased, in order that larger illustrations may be introduced. It will in future consist of 64 columns, two on a page, each of which will contain more matter than its present page. THE additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the past week include a Pig-tailed Monkey ( Wacacus nemestrinus 8) fron Java, a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynomolgus ) from India, a Vulpine Phalanger (Phalingista vulpina 2) from Australia, presented by Mr. J. Church Dixon ; a Mouflon (Ovis musimon 8) from Corsica, presented by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, K.G. ; a Vulpine Phalanzer (Pz Uinvista vulpina) an. 15, 1885] NATURE 251 from Australia, presented by Mr. B. C. Parr ; a Short-toed Eagle (Circartus gallicus) from Suez, presented by Capt. H. E. Robbins ; a Lacertine Snake (Ce/opeltis /acertina) from North Africa, presented by Mr. R. F. Sibbald ; a Rose-crested Cocka- too (Cacatua mouccensis) from Moluccas, deposited ; a Black and Yellow Hawfinch (A/jcerobus melanoxanthus) from Yark- land, a Pastor (Stu: nia ——) from the Andaman Islands, four Starred Tortoises (Zestudo stellata) from India, a Tuber- culated Tguana (/ewana tuberculata) from South America, purchased. OUR ASTFONOMICAL COLUMN THE NavaAL OBSERVAYORY, WASHINGTON.—The Report of the Superintendent of this establishment, Commodore S. R. Franklin, to tie Navy Department, for the year ending October 31, 1884, has been issued. Great stress is laid upon the import- ance of commencing the buildings for the new Observatory. The present site is stated to be notoriously unhealthy, and the buildings are in a dilapidated state, and, as the ground for the new Observatory has been purchased and the plans made and approved, the Superintendent urges that Congress should be appealed to during the coming ses-ion for a portion at least of the funds required for the new Observatory. His estimate ‘‘ For the purpose of erecting a new Naval Observatory and necessary buildings upon the site purchased under the Act of Congress, approved February 4, 1880,” amounts to 586,138 dollars, or approximately 120,000/. The 26-inch equatorial was chiefly employed in observations of the satellites of Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Mars; in the case of Uranus, the observa- tions were confined mostly to the two outer satellites, and have now been discontinued, as the favourable time for determining the position of their orbits has passed. Since this instrument was mounted in 1873 observations of the faint satellites of the planets have constituted its main work, and the laborious discussion of the observations, with the view to the correction of orbital elements, was commenced in earnest in August 1883, and is now in a very advanced state, particu- larly as regards the satellites of Saturn. A report from Prof. Harkness, in-charge of the work for the Transit of Venus Com- mission, is ap, ended : the measurements of the negatives obtained at the various stations was completed last August ; the number of photographic plates giving satisfactory results is 932 for the northern and 639 for the southern hemisphere. Prof. Harkness enters into details with respect to these measures, and the method of conducting them, for which reference must be made to the report. The Superintendent regrets that the printing of the Washington observations is not so advanced as is desirable, and proposes applying to Congress for a sum of 1000/. annually for a few years, in order to bring up work to date, after which a smaller sum would allow of the due publication of the obser- vations. THE DEARBORN OBSERVATORY, CHICAGO.—The report of the Director of this Observatory, Prof. G. W. Hough, dated June 18, 1884, has been received within the past week. The work with the 18-inch equatorial was confined, as usual, during the previous year to the observations of a few special objects, includ- ing Pons’s comet of 1812 on its reappearance, difficult double- stars, the planet Jupiter, and the satellites of Uranus. Thirty- two new double-stars, most of which are difficult, were detected. The companion of Sirius was measured by Prof. Hough on eleven nights, and by Mr. Burnham on ten nights, the mean result being 1884°185 Position, 36°°6 ; Distance, 8’°45. which, with the observations of recent years, seems to indicate that the period of revolution of the companion is longer than that indicated by theory. The disk of Jupiter was observed on every favourable occasion, and micrometric measures made on the principal spots and markings, including the great red spot first remarked in 1878. With best vision the colour of this object in 1883-84 was ‘‘unmistakably a pale pink.” The spot is stated to have naintained its size, shape, and outline during the five years it has been observed at Chicago ; in this respect experience there has not fully accorded with the impressions of some observers, that the spot had “lost its outline, and become merged in a faint belt on the following end.” The most marked change has been in its degree of visibility, but it was seen at Chicago as long as the planet was observable. Prof. Hough adds that from 1879 to 1883 the spot had a retrograde drift in longitude upon the surface, or, in other words, the apparent rota- tion of Jupiter was increased from gh. 55m. 340s. in 1879 to gh. 55m. 38°4s. in 1883. During the last opposition this drift appears to have nearly ceased. The mean period from Sep- tember 12, 1883, to June 11, 1884, comprising 660 rotations, 1s gh. 55m. 38°5s., and the mean for the whole five years of ob- servation is gh. 55m. 37‘0s. The report is accompanied by six tinted Jithographs of the appearance of Jupiter’s disk. Saturn was frequently examined with the view to detecting markings on the rings, but all observations so far in this direction have been negative. While the rings have been sharply defined, and even the boundary of the dark ring well seen, ‘nothing indicating a division in the outer ring has ever been noticed.” This is not in accord with the conclusion of many other observers provided with telescopes of less optical capacity than the Dearborn refractor. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES A SO-CALLED ‘‘envoy” of the Mayor of Timbuktu, lately arrived in Paris, has been received by the French President, and introduced to the Geographical Society at its last meeting. On this occasion it was stated that there is no Sultan or military authority in this famous metropolis of Negroland, but only a body of merchants who yearly elect a kind of mayor from amongst themselves. This statement is not quite correct, and, as little is known regarding the internal affairs of the city, the following facts will be acceptable :—For over 200 years Tim- buktu has been administered by a ‘‘ Kahia,” a kind of burgo- master, originally appointed by the Emperor of Marocco from the Moorish Andalusian family of Er-Rami some time after the expulsion of the Arabs from Spain. The office became hereditary in this family, and the present Kahia, or ‘‘ Amir,” as he now affects to call himself, is Mu- hammed Er-Rami, whose Negroid features are the result of long alliances with the surrounding Souhray population. He commands little influence, and is practically a mere puppet in the hands of whichever of the rival Arab, Imosharh (Berber) or Fulani (Fulah), factions happens for the time being to have the upper hand. The Imosharhs command the whole district be- tween Timbuktu and Arawan, and their Sheikh or ‘‘ Sultan,” Eg-Tandagumu, seems to draw his chief supplies from the plundered caravans passing through his territory. The Arabs, as in the time of Barth, are still ruled by the head of the illus- trious El-Bekay family, a branch of the Kuntza tribe, whose present chief is Sheikh Abadin, His policy has long been to side with the Fulani, whose power here, as elsewhere in the Western Sudan, is constantly on the increase, and who threaten to be- come absolute masters of Timbuktu unless this place falls into the hands of some European power advancing from the west or penetrating up the Niger valley from the south. ACCORDING to the Zurkestan Gazette, Dr. Grishimailo, the traveller and entomologist, has concluded his investigations into the natural history of Turkestan for the present. He began his travels in the Fergana Valley, and from thence he went into the Altai region, which he examined thoroughly. In the course of the summer he visited Osch, Arawan, Nankat, Utch-Kurgan, Shahimardan, Karakazyk, Koksu, Vekelik, the River Balykty, Karamuk, and Zanku; on his return- he visited Karamuk, Jirgetal, Sarzbulak, Kok-su, Altyumazar, and went on foot through the Trans-Altai Mountains to Bordooba and Karakul. The geological collections are very considerable. In lepidoptera alone there are 17,000 specimens, amongst them being many new kinds. The expedition was also a success from an ethno- graphical and anthropological point of view. Many heights were measured and thermometrical observations made throughout the whole journey. The traveller met many evidences of the exi-t- ence of a glacial epoch in Central Asia: amongst these are men- tioned the presence of forms in Thian-shan, which hitherto have only been found in Labrador, Greenland, Lapland, and the Swiss Alps. Next year Dr. Grishimailo contemplates visiting the western offshoots of the Thian-shan range, because this locality has never yet been examined thoroughly from a geo- logical point of view. Ar the last meeting of the Geographical Society of St. Petersburg, M. Beliaffsky made a communication respecting the journey which he undertook in order to explore the central road 252 NAT ORE | Fan. 15, 1885 leading to the interior of Central Asia. This road is much shorter than the usual route, but was considered until very lately as the worst and most difficult. But upon examining the ob- stacles presented by the road, and principally the alleged im- possibility of effecting a passage through Mertvy, Koultouk, Oust-Oust, &c., M. Beliaffsky found the assertion to be erroneous, and therefore pronounces himself in favour of the road he has explored. In order to render it still more easy, he proposes that regular communication should be established on the Caspian Sea between Astrakhan and Cesarewitch Bay, that two light- houses, at least, should be constructed ; that a steam navigation service should be established on the Amu-Doria, and a road practicable for vehicles made through the sands between the Amu-Doria and Khiva. THE last (xi.) of Mr. Lansdell’s series of interesting letters from Central Asia in the 7%mes, describes his journey by boat down the Oxus, from Charjui to Khiva. In referring to the fish of the Oxus, he mentions the Scaphyrincus, a kind of sturgeon, the discovery of which in Central Asia, a few years ago, made quite a flutter among the students of ichthyology by reason of its resemblance to one of the North American sturgeons, which was found for a long time in the Mississippi only, until Fedchenko discovered one in the Syr Daria, and subsequently M. Bogdano- vitch found another species in the Lower Oxus. The Oxus fish is known as Scaphyrincus kaufminni. M. Bogdanovitch points out its interest from a geological point of view. “ In the Paleozoic period,” he says, ‘‘ the ganoid fishes used to inhabit all the waters of the world in a great number of forms, comprising almost entirely the ichthyological fauna of that period. At the period of the Devonian formation this group of fishes seems to have reached its highest development, and in the strata of this forma- tion are preserved the most numerous remains of its representa- tives. In the succeeding geological period this group appears to fall and die out, giving place to a group of Zédeosted or bony fishes, which inhabited at that time all the waters of the world in a number of forms.” On December 3, 1884, was celebrated, in the Scandinavian kingdoms, the bi-centenary of the birth of Ludwig Holberg, “*the northern Moliere”’ Prof. Erslev took advantage of the occasion to bring to the notice of the Danish Geographical Society the services to geography of the great dramatic poet in his generation, When Holberg was appointed Professor of _ History and Geography in 1730, the latter science was in a bad plight everywhere, and especiaily in Denmark. According to the curriculum, the Professor had to hold a reading once a fort- night on geography, but it is not known whether these readings actually took place. Holberg’s great interest in geography is evident, not only from his own geographical writings, but also from many of his observations elsewhere. Ie betook himself with much eagerness to the study of the subject ; in a preface to Van Howen’s ‘‘ Journey to Russia” (1743) he recommended others to write similar descriptions of their journeys. His own first geographical work was a description of Denmark and Norway (1729), the second ‘‘An Account of the Celebrated Norwegian Commercial City, Bergen” (1737), which is said to be useful even still. His third work was a geographical text- book in Latin, entitled ‘* Ludovici Holbergii Compendium Geographicum in usum Sudiosi Juventulis,” of which there were several editions both in Copenhagen and Leipzig. The work was translated into English in 1758, with a small universal his- tory by Holberg. Some editions of it belong now to the class of bibliographical rarities. His work was edited after his death by Pastor Jonge, but Holberg’s fifty-eight small obtavo pages grew into seven large quarto volumes. Capt. WILLARD GLAZIER, of the United States Navy, has communicated to the English Royal Geographical Society his discovery of the true source of the Mississippi. This has long been a vexed question, and in June, 1881. Capt. Glazier organised and led an expedition with the object of finally settling the matter. The expedition proceeded in canoes via Leech Lake to Lake Itasca, and, accompanied by an old Indian guide, pushed forward to the south; and the captain was rewarded by the discovery of another lake of considerable size, which proved to be, without the shadow of a doubt, the true source of the Mississippi. It is in lat. 47° 13’ 25”, and the lake is 3 feet above Lake Itasca, the hitherto supposed source of the river. The Mississippi may, therefore, be said to originate in an altitude 1578 feet above the Atlantic Ocean, and its length, aking former dafa as the basis, may be placed at 3184 miles. The tract of country in which ithe river originates is a remote and unfrequented region. AN embassy of two hundred and fifty representatives of the aboriginal tribes of Western China, which recently arrived at Pekin, has led a writer in the Worth China Herald to give some information with regard to these little-known peoples. These tribute-bearers are under the charge of native chiefs, who are re- sponsible to the Chinese authorities of theprovince for the mainten- ance of order, and the fulfilment of all recognised obligations, one of which is that of visiting Pekin once in twelve years with tribute. The localities from which they come are scattered over the country from Yennan to Kansu, all along the Thibetan border of Sze-Chuan. At one time their name, Tu Sze, or ‘aboriginal officers,” embraced all the aboriginal tribes in Western and South-Western China, The Chinese never had the aid of ethnology to guide them in discriminating between subject peoples by their languages, customs, physical characteristics, and religious beliefs, but they have collected the materials for judging, and we now know, generally speaking, in what category to place the different races met by travellers in Western China. The Lolos of Sze-Chuan are allied to the Burmese, the tribes re- presented at Pekin, who are also called Hsi Fans, are Thibetans. Both may be called the Mon-Bod family, or Western Himalaic, according as the ethnological inquirer prefers to determine his nomenclature by mountain chains, or by the most prominent race- names prevailing among the people themselves. The Thibetans and Hsi Fans prefer Bod for their race-name, as the Bu-mese do Mon. The rest of the aboriginal tribes in Western China and in the southern provinces, whether Miao, Yao, or Tung, seem all to belong to the Eastern Himalaic branch, or that of the Siamese, the Laos tribes, the Shan tribes of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, the Li tribes of Hainan, and the Cambodians and Cochin Chinese. The Lolos, as described by M. Baber, live in their own mountains apart, and seemto bea nation, while the Hsi Fans live in scattered tribes whose natural homeis Thibet. They are short of stature, fond of red clothing, and, as to shape, adopt Chinese fashions in no small degree. Their faces are rounder than the Chinese, their heads smaller, their noses less stunted, and, while small, stand out toa point. Their eyes are small, placed in a line, and have a bright black lustre. They are a quiet race now; but history shows that they struggled bravely against the all-conquering Chinese. Details 1especting the twelve Hsi Fan tribes of Sze-Chuan are to be found in numerous Chinese books, and there are also many official and private accounts of the wars which ended in their subjection. Dr. DOMENICO LoVISATO’s paper on Tierra del Fuego, re- printed from a recent number of Guido Cora’s Cosmos, adds considerably to our knowledge of that inhospitable region and its inhabitants. The division of the latter into three distinct groups, Ona in the east, Alaculuf in the west, and Yahgan in the south, is fully confirmed. But the two latter appear to be fundamentally one, constituting a single type of ‘ Asiatic” descent, while the first mentioned is certainly of Tehuelch (Pata- gonian) stock. The Onas, all hunters, number about 20 0; the Yahgans, mainly fishers, perhaps 3000; the Aliculufs, hunters and fishers, 3000 ; giving a total population of not more than Sooo to the whole archipelago. All seem to present more or less indications of degeneracy from a higher state of culture, due probably to long isolation in this unfavourable environment since its separation in early quaternary times from the mainland. That it was inhabited by the ancestors of the Yahgans and Ala- culufs even before the opening of Magellan Strait, appears evident, especially from the numerous kitchen-middens, some of vast size and great antiquity, scattered over the archipelago. Those of Elizabeth Island, by far the largest, the oldest, and in every respect the most interesting, run in one direction a dis- tance of nearly a mile to a deep. barranca, or ravine, beyond which they again stretch away for an interminable length along the coast. ‘They stand at an elevation of from twenty to twenty- five feet above the present sea-level, and consist of a Jower stratum of shells, bones, and other refuse, succeeded by a layer of fine sea-sand forty-five to fifty inches thick, above which comes an accumulation of rich vegetable humus overgrown with an abundant herbaceous vegetation. Whether the layer of sea-sand has been washed up or was deposited during a temporary sub- sidence of the land cannot be determined without further re- search. But in either case its presence bespeaks a vast antiquity for the lower stratum of refuse, which has an average depth of over three feet, and which contains the shells of A/ytilus tata an. 15, 1885] NATORE 253 gonicus, of Aulacomya magellanica, of Patella magellanica, frag- ments of Ofaria jubatz, and a few other mammals, but no human remains, no traces of pottery, no bones split for the ex- traction of the marrow, no arms or manufactured objects beyond a few rude spear- or arrow-heads. All this offers the most striking analogy to the more recent and modern refuse heaps now being formed, and seems to point at a continuity of population since early quaternary times. The absence of human remains or split bones might even imply that the primitive in- habitants, like their present descendants, were at no period addicted to anthropophagy. In other respects the latter occupy an extremely low social position. They practise no a ts beyond the manufacture of frail bark canoes, unchanged since the time of Drake’s visit, shell knives, bows, darts, and harpoons. ‘The wigwams are branches stuck in the ground and gathered to a point above, or else a mere guanaco skin (among the Onas) sus- pended from a tree to windward. Their food is mainly fish, crustaceans, wild berries, mushrooms, cetaceans, greedily de- voured in a highly putrescent state. They believe in ghosts and demons, but have no idea of a god, or of any religious worship ; are guided rather by instincts than by reason; lack even the maternal sentiment, at least after the period of weaning ; show no feeling of real affection for friends or kindred, the only deve- loped sentiment being that of pure selfishness. Their stupidity is such that they are unable to count beyond three, after which everything is vru—much, many. Yet, in the face of all this the writer was assured by the English missionaries now evangel- ising these primitive or debased peoples, that the language of the Yahgans, into which they have translated the Gospel of St. Luke, contains no less than 30,000 words, ‘‘a wealth contrast- ing strangely with their present Jow state of culture, and natu- rally suggesting the hypothesis of an origin very different and far superior to the present.” But, assuming a former higher state, the difficulty is tounderstand how such a rich linguistic inheritance could have been preserved for countless generations in their present degraded condition, and amid the adverse sur- roundings of their present habitat. On this subject clearly more light is demanded. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORTH - AMERICAN FLORA? Il. THs contrast is susceptible of explanation. I have ventured to regard the two antipodal floras thus compared as the favoured heirs of the ante-Glacial high northern flora, or rather as the heirs who have retained most of their inheritance. For, inas- much as the present Arctic flora is essentially the same round the world, and the Tertiary fossil plants entombed in the strata beneath are also largely identical in all the longitudes, we may well infer that the ancestors of the present northern temperate plants were as widely distributed throughout their northern home. In their enforced migration southward, geographical configuration and climatic differences would begin to operate Perhaps the way into Europe was less open than into the lower latitudes of America and Eastern Asia, although there is reason to think that Greenland was joined to Scandinavia. How- ever that be, we know that Europe was fairly well furnished with many of the vegetable types that are now absent, possibly with most of them. Those that have been recognised are mainly trees and shrubs, which somehow take most readily to fossilisation, but the herbaceous vegetation probably accom- panied the arboreal. At any rate, Europe then possessed Yorreyas and Gingkos, Taxodium and Glyptostrobus, Liboced- rus, Pines of our five-leaved type, as well as the analogues of other American forms, several species of Juglans answering to the American forms, and the now peculiarly American genus Carya, Oaks of the American types, Myricas of the two American types, one or two Planer-trees, species of Populus answering to our Cotton-woods and our Balsam-poplar, a Sas- safras, «nd the analogues of our Persea and Benzoin, a Catalpa, Magnolias, and a Liriodendron, Maples answering to ours, and also a Negundo, and such peculiarly American Leguminous genera as the Locust, Honey Locust, and Gymnocladus. To understand how Europe came to lose these elements of her flora, and Atlantic North America to retain them, we must recall the * An Address to the Botanists of the British Association for the Advance- ment of Science ; read at Montreal to the Biological Section, August 29, 1834, by Prof. Asa Gray. Continued from p. 235. poverty of Europe in native forest trees, to which I have already alluded. A few years ago, in an article on this subject, I drew up asketch of the relative richness of Europe, Atlantic North America, Pacific North America, and the eastern side of tem- perate Asia in genera and species of forest trees (4m. Journ. Sci. iii. vi. 85). In that sketch, as I am now convinced, the European forest elements were somewhat under-rated. I allowed only 33 genera and 85 species, while to our Atlantic American forest were assigned 66 genera and 155 species. I find from Nyman’s Conspectus that there are trees on the southern and eastern borders of Europe which I had omitted,. that there are good species which I had reckoned as synonyms, and some that may rise to arboreal height which I had counted’ asshrubs. But on the other hand and for the present purpose it may be rejoined that the list contained several trees, of as many genera, which were probably carried from Asia into Europe by the hand of man. On Nyman’s authority I may put into this catezory Cercis Siliquastrum, Ceratonia Siliqua, Di-spyros Lotus, Styrax officinalis, the Olive, and even the Walnut, the Chestnut, and the Cypress. However this may be, it seems clear that the native forest flora of Europe is exceptionally poor, and that it has lost many species and types which once belonged to it. We must suppose that the herbaceous flora has suffered in the same way. I have endeavoured to show how this has naturally come about. I cannot state it more concisely than in the terms which I used six years ago. ““T conceive that three things have conspired to this loss of American, or as we might say, of normal types sustained by Europe. First, Europe, extending but little south of lat. 40°, is all within the limits of severe glacial action. Second, its mountains trend east and west, from the Pyrenees to the Carpathians and the Caucasus beyond; they had glaciers of their own, which must have bezun their work and poured down the northward flanks while the plains were still covered with forest on the retreat from the great ice forces coming from the- north. Attacked both on front and rear, much of the forest must have perished then and there. “Third, across the line of retreat of whatever trees may have flanked the mountain ranges, or were stationed south of them, stretched the Mediterranean, an impassable barrier. . . . Escape by the east, and rehabilitation from that quarter until a very late period, was apparently prevented by the prolongation of the Mediterranean to the Caspian, and probably thence to the- Siberian Ocean. If we accept the supposition of Nordenskjold that, anterior to the Glacial period, Europe was ‘ bounded on the south by an ocean extending from the Atlantic over the present deserts of Sahara and Central Asia to the Pacific,’ all chance of these American types having escaped from and re-entered Europe from the south and east seems excluded. Europe may thus be conceived to have been for a time somewhat in the condition in which Greenland is now. . . . Greenland may be referred to as a country which, having undergone extreme glaciation, bears the marks of it in the extreme poverty of its flora, and in the absence of the plants to which its southern portion, extending six degrees below the Arctic circle, might be entitled. It ought to have trees and it might support them. But since their destruc- tion by glaciation no way has been open for their return. Europe fared much better, but has suffered in its degree ina similar way ” (American Journal of S ience, l.c., p. 194). Turning to this country for a contrast, we find the continent on the eastern side unbroken and open from the Arctic circle to the tropic, and the mountains running north and south. The vegetation when pressed on the north by on-coming refrigeration had only to move its southern border southward to enjoy its normal climate over a favourable region of great extent; and, upon the recession of glaciation to the present limit, or in the oscillations which intervened, there was no physical impediment to the adjustment. Then, too, the more southern latitude of this country gave great advantage over Europe. The line of ter- minal moraines, which marks the limit of glaciation, rarely passes- the parallel of 40° or 39°. Nor have any violent changes occurred here, as they have on the Pacific side of the continent, within the period under question. So, while Europe was suffering hardship, the lines of our Atlantic American flora were cast in pleasant places, and the goodly heritage remains essentially unimpaired. The transverse direction and the massiveness of the mountains- of Europe, whiie they have in part determined the comparative- poverty of its forest vegetation, have preserved there a rich and widely distributed Alpine flora. That of Atlantic North America: 34 IN AROTE - 5) 1885 (Kan. 1 is insignificant. It consists of a few Arctic plants left scattered upon narrow and scattered mountain-tops, or in cool ravines of moderate elevation; the maximum altitude is only about 6009 feet in lat. 44°, on the White Mountains of New Hamp- shire, where no winter snow outlasts midsummer. The best Alpine stations are within easy reach of Montreal. But as almost every species is common to Europe, and the mountains are not magnificent, they offer no great attraction to a European botanist. Farther south, the Appalachian Mountains are higher, between lat. 36° and 34° rising considerably above 6200 feet ; they have botanical attractions of their own, but they have no Alpine plants. A few sub-Alpine species linger on the cool shores of Lake Superior at a comparatively low level. Perhaps as many are found nearly at the level of the sea on Anticosti, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, abnormally cooled by the Labrador current. The chain of great fresh-water lakes, which are discharged by the brimming St. Lawrence, seems to have little effect upon our botany, beyond the bringing down of a few north-western species. But you may note with interest that they harbour sundry maritime species, mementos of the former saltness of these interior seas. Cakile Americana, much like the European Sea Rocket, Mzzdsonia tomentosa (a peculiar Cistaceous genus imitating a Heath), Lathyrus maritimus, and Ammophila are- varia are the principal. Salicornia, Glaux, Sczrpus maritiniis, Ranunculus Cymbalaria, and some others may be associated with them. But these are widely diffused over the saline soil which characterises the plains beyond our wooded region. I have thought that some general considerations like these might have more interest for thei Bological Section at large than any particular indications of our most interesting plants, and of how and where the botanist might find them. Those who in these busy days can find time to herborise will be in the excellent hands of the Canadian botanists. At Philadelphia their brethren of ‘‘ the States ”’ will be assembled to meet their visitors, and the | Philadelphians will escort them to their classic ground, the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. To have an idea of this peculiar phyto- geographical district, you may suppose a long wedge of the Caro- lina coast to be thrust up northward quite to New York harbour, ‘bringing into a comparatively cool climate many of the inter- esting low-country plants of the south, which at this season you would not care to seek in their sultry proper home. Years ago, when Pursh and Leconte and Torrey used to visit it, and in my own younger days, it was wholly primitive and unspoiled. Now, when the shore is lined with huge summer hotels, the Pitch Pines carried off for firewood, the bogs converted into cranberry- crounds, and much of the light sandy or gravelly soil planted with vineyards or converted into melon and sweet-potato patches, I fear it may haye lost some of its botanical attractions. But large tracts are still nearly in a state of nature. fliformets, so unlike any | uropean species, and the beautiful Sabbatias, the yellow Fringed Orchises, Lachnanthes and Lophiola, the larger Xyrises and Eriocaulons, the curious grass Amphicarpum with cleistogamous flowers at the root, the showy species of Chrysopsis, and many others, must still abound. And every botanist will wish to collect Schiz@a pusilla, rarest, most local, and among the smallest of ferns. If only the season would allow it, there is a more southern ~ station of special interest, —Wilmington, on the coast of North Carolina. Carnivorous plants have, of late years, excited the greatest interest, both popular and scientific, and here, of all places, carnivorous plants seem to have their most varied de- velopment. Fur this is the only and the very local home of Dionza ; here grow almost all the North American species of Drosera ; here or near by are most of the species of Sarracenia, of the bladder-bearing Utricularias—one of which the President of our Section has detected in fish-catching—and also the largest species of Pinguicula. But at this season a more enjoyable excursion may be made to the southern portion of the Alleghany or Appalachian Mountains, which separate the waters of the Atlantic side from those of the Mississippi. ‘These mountains are now easily reached from Philadelphia. In Pennsylvania, where they consist of parallel ridges without peaks or crests, and are of no great height, they are less interesting botanically than in Virginia ; but it is in North Carolina and the adjacent borders of Tennessee that they rise to their highest altitude, and take on more picturesque forms. On their sides the Atlantic forest, especially its deciduous-leaved portion, is still to be seen to greatest advantage, nearly in pristine condition, and composed Drosera | | where they abut against the Rocky Mountains. of a greater variety of genera and species than in any other temperate region, excepting Japan. And in their shade are the greatest variety and abundance of shrubs, and a good share of the most peculiar herbaceous genera. ‘This is the special home of our Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Kalmias; at least, here they flourish in greatest number and in most luxuriant growth. Rhododendron maximum (which is found in a scattered way even as far north as the vicinity of Montreal) and A@/mza latifolia (both called Laurels) even become forest trees in some places ; more commonly they are shrubs, forming dense thickets on steep mountain-sides, through which the traveller can make his way only by following old bear-paths, or by keeping strictly on the dividing crests of the leading ridges. Only on the summits do we find Rhododendron Catawhiense, parent of so many handsome forms in English vrounds, and on the higher wooded slopes the yellow and the flame-coloured Asalva calendulacea ; on the lower the pink A. mudiflora and more showy A. arborescens, along with the common and wide- spread 4, viscosa. The latter part of June is the proper time to explore this region, and, if only one portion can be visited, oan Mountain should be preferred. On these mountain-tops we meet with a curious anomaly in geographical distribution. With rarest exceptions, plants which are common to this country and to Europe extend well north- ward But on these summits from Southern Virginia to Carolina, yet nowhere else, we find—undoubtedly indigenous and un- doubtedly identical with the European species—the Lily-of-the- Valley ! : I have given so much of my time to the botany of the Atlantic border that I can barely touch upon that of the western regions, ietween the wooded country of the Atlantic side of the con- tinent and that of the Pacific side lies a vast extent of plains which are essentially woodless, except where they are traversed by mountain-chains. The prairies of the Atlantic States bor- dering the Mississippi and of the Winnipeg country shade off into the drier and gradually more saline plains, which, with an even and gradual rise, attain an elevation of 5000 feet or more Until these are reached (over a space from the Alleghanies westward of about twenty degrees of longitude) the plains are unbroken. To a moderate distance beyond the Mississippi the country must have b-en in the main naturally wooded. There is rainfall enough for forest on these actual prairies. Trees grow fairly well when | planted ; they are coming up spontaneously under present oppor- tunities ; and there is reason for thinking that all the prairies east of the Mississippi, and of the Missouri up to Minnesota, have been either greatly extended or were even made treeless under Indian occupation and annual burnings. These prairies are flowery with a good number of characteristic plants, many of them evidently derived from the plains farther west. At this season the predom nant vegetation is of Composite, especially of Asters and Solidagoes, and of Sunflowers, Silphiums, and other Helianthoid Composite The drier and barer plains beyond, clothed with the short Buffalo-Grasses, probably never bore trees in their present state, except as now some Cotton-woods (7.e. Poplars) on the margins of the long rivers which traverse them in their course from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi. Westward the plains grow more and more saline; and Wormwoods and Cheno- podiaceze of various sorts form the dominant vegetation, some of them sv? gris, or at least peculiar to the country, others identical or congeneric with those of the steppes of Northern Asia. Along with this common campestrine vegetation there is a large infusion of peculiar American types, which I suppose came from the southward, and to which I will again refer, Then come the Rocky Mountains, traversing the whole con- tinent from north to south ; their flanks wooded, but not richly so,—chiefly with Pines and Firs of very few species, and with a single ubiquitous Poplar, their higher crests bearing a well- developed Alpine flora. This is the Arctic flora prolonged southward upon the mountains of sufficient elevation, with a certain admixture in the lower latitudes of types pertaining to the lower vicinity. There are almost 200 Alpine Phzenogamous species now known on the Kocky Mountains, fully three-quarters of which are Arctic, including Alaskan and Greenlandian ; and about half of them are known in Europe. Several others are North Asian, but not European. Even in that northern portion of Fan. 15, 1885] the Rocky Mountains which the Association is invited to visit, several Alpine species novel to European botany may be met with ; and farther south the peculiar forms increase. On the other hand, it is interesting to note how many Old World species extend their range southward even to lat. 36° or 35°. I have not seen the Rocky Mountains in the Dominion ; but I apprehend that the aspect and character of the forest is Canadian, is mainly coniferous, and composed of very few species. Oaks and other cupuliferous trees, which give charac- ‘ter to the Atlantic forest, are entirely wanting, until the southern confines of the region are reached in Colorado and New Mexico, and there they are few and small. In these southern parts there is a lesser amount of forest, but a much greater diversity of genera and species, of which the most notable are the Pines of the Mexican plateau type. The Rocky Mountains and the Coast Ranges on the Pacific side so nearly approach in British America that their forests merge, and the eastern types are gradually replaced by the more peculiar western. But in the United States a broad, arid, and treeless, and even truly desert region is interposed. This has its greatest breadth and is best known where it is traversed by the Central Pacific Railroad. It is an immense plain between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, largely a basin with no outlet to the sea, covered with Sage-brush (2.2. peculiar species of Artemisia) and other subsaline vegetation, all of grayish hue ; traversed, mostly north and south, by chains of mountains, which seem to be more bare than the plains, but which hold in their recesses a considerable amount of forest and of other vegeta- tion, mostly of Rocky Mountain types. Desolate and desert as this region appears, it is far from unin- teresting to the botanist ; but I must not stop to show how. Yet even the ardent botanist feels a sense of relief and exulta- tion when, as he reaches the Sierra Nevada, he passes abruptly into perhaps the noblest coniferous forest in the world—a forest which stretches along this range and its northern continuation, and along the less elevated ranges which border the Pacific coast, from the southern part of California to Alaska. So much has been said about this forest, about the two gigan- tic trees which have made it famous, and its Pines and Firs which are hardly less wonderful, and which in Oregon and British Columbia, descending into the plains, yield far more timber to the acre than can be found anywhere else, and I have myself discoursed upon the subject so largely on former occa- sions, that I may cut short all discourse upon the Pacific coast flora and the questions it brings up. I note only these points. Although this flora is richer than that of the Atlantic in Conifers: (having almost twice as miny species), richer indeed than any other except that of Eastern Asia, it is very meagre in deciduous trees. !t has a fair num- ber of Oaks, indeed, and it has a Flowering Dogwood, even more showy than that which brightens our eastern woodlands in spring. But altogether it possesses only one-quarter of the number of species of deciduous trees that the Atlantic forest has ; it is even much poorer than Europe in this respect. It is destitute not only of the characteristic trees of the Atlantic side, such as Liriodendron, Magnolia, Asimina, Nyssa, Catalpa, Sassafras, Carya, and the arboreous Leguminosze (Cercis ex- cepted), but it also wants most of the genera which are com- mon throughout all the other northern temperate floras, having no Lindens, Elms, Mulberries, Celtis, Beech, Chestnut, Horn- beam, and few and small Ashes and Maples. The shrubbery and herbaceous vegetation, although rich and varied, is largely peculiar, especially at the south. At the north we find a fair number of spec‘es identical with the eastern ; but it is interest- ing to remark that this region, interposed between the North- East Asiatic and the North-East American and with coast ap- proximate to the former, has few of those peculiar genera which, as I have insisted, witness to a most remarkable connection between two floras so widely sundered geozraphically. Some of these types, indeed, occur in the intermediate region, ren- dering the general absence the more noteworthy. And certain peculiar types are represented in single identical species on the coasts of Oregon and Japan, &c. (such as Lysichiton, Fatsia, Glehnia) ; yet there is less community between these floras than might be expected from their geographical proximity at the north. Of course the high northern flora is not here in view. Now if, as I have maintained, the eastern side of North America and the eastern side of Northern Asia are the favoured heirs of the old boreal flora, and if I have plau-ibly explained NATURE 255. how Europe lost so much of its portion of a common inherit- ance, it only remains to consider how the western side of North America lost so much more. For that the missing types once existed there, as well as in Europe, has already been in- dicated in the few fossil explorations that have been made. They have brought to light Magnolias, Elm:, Beeches, Chest- nut, a Liquidambar, &c. And living witnesses remain in the two Sequoias of California, whose ancestors, along with Taxo- dium, which is similarly preserved on the Atlantic side, appear to have formed no small part of the Miocene flora of the Arctic regions. Several causes may have conspired in the destruction ;— climatic differences between the two sides of the continent, such as must early have been established (and we know that a differ- ence no greater than the present would be effective) ; geogra- phical configuration, probably confining the migration to and fro to a long and narrow tract, little wider, perhaps, than that to which it is now restricted ; the tremendous outpouring of lava and volcanic ashes just anterior to the Glacial period, by which a large part of the region was thickly covered ; and, at length, competition from the Mexican plateau vegetation,—a vegetation beyond the reach of general glacial movement from the north, and climatically well adapted to the south-western portion of the United States. It is now becoming obvious that the Mexican plateau vegeta- tion is the proximate source of most of the peculiar elements of the Californian flora, as also of the southern Rocky Moun- tain region and of the Great Basin between; and that these plants from the south have competed with those from the north on the eastward plains and prairies. It is from this source that are derived not only our Cacteee but our Mimosez, our Daleas and Petalostemons, our numerous and varied Onagracez, our Loasacez, a large part of our Composite, especially the Eupatoriaceee, Helianthoidez, Helenioides, and Mutisiacee, which are so characteristic of the country, the Asclepiadeze, the- very numerous Polemoniaceze, Hydrophyllacez, Eriogonez, and the like. I had formerly recognised this element in our North Ameri- can flora, but I have only recently come to apprehend its full significance. With increasing knowledge we may in a good measure discriminate between the descendants of the ancient northern flora and those which come from the highlands of the south-west. BRYN MAWR COLLEGE “HIS College is an Institution for Women, founded by the late Dr. Joseph W. Taylor; the following account of its foundation and objects, from the PAzladelphia Led jer, has been kindly forwarded to us by Prof. Sylvester. The work on the buildings and other preparations for the | opening of the College are being pushed forward as expe- ditiously as possible, so that everything will be ready by June next. This new educational institution, it will be remem- | bered, was founded by the late Joseph W. Taylor, M.D., a prominent member of the Society of Friends, of Burlington, N.J., who bought the land—about thirty-two acres—and began the erection of the college buildings in 1879. He died in January, 1880, leaving an endowment of 800,000 dols. for the continuance of the work he had begun—the erection and starting of a college for women. By the terms of the will of the founder, the Trustees are members of the Society of Friends, but the students may be of any denomination, and their religious belief is to be respected. It was part of the purpose of Dr. Taylor to give to women of intelligence and refinement the best opportunities for culture, combined with Christian influences and social amenities. Scholars under sixteen years will be ineligible for admission, The Board of Trustees consis!s of ; President—Francis T. King, of Baltimore, Md.; Charles S. Taylor, Burlington, N.J. ; James C. Thomas, Baltimore, Md. ; James E. Rhoades, Phila- delphia ; James Whitall, Philadelphia; John B. Garrett, Bryn Mawr, Penn. ; Charles Harteshorne, Philadelphia ; David Scull, Jr., Philadelphia; William R. Thurston, New York City ; Albert K. Smiley, Lake Mohonk, N.Y. ; Francis R. Cope, Philadelphia ; Philip C. Garrett, Philadelphia, and Edward | Bittle, Philadelphia. As Dr. ‘laylor did not wish the college named after him, the Trustees have given the title of Taylor Hall to the main building, in commemoration of his munificent bequest. This building, - 256 NATURE [ Yan. 15, 1885 according to the plans, will contain rooms for chemical, biological, andibotanical laboratories, a library and reading room, a handsome assembly room, and recitation rooms. It will be 130 feet long, three stories in height, and constructed of Port Deposit granite stone. Work on it was begun in August, 1879. The second building, Merion Hall, contains the dormitories. It is built of Fairmount stone, three stories high, and will be 160 feet long, affording accommodation for fifty students and caretakers. The study rooms are to be so arranged that two of the pupils will use one in common, each pupil having a bedroom on either side of the study room. The latter apartments will each have an open fireplace, but the building will be warmed by air heated by steam, and carried through the house under slight pressure from a fan. All rooms occupied by the students are to be ventilated by a main shaft which acts as a chimney for the boiler house, so that a constant current of warm air reaches the rooms, while at the same time the vitiated air is withdrawn. All the bathing and plumbing arrangements have been placed in one wing, constructed with great care, and are ventilated by force ventilation. The dining-room entrance, hall and parlour, are to be appropriately fitted up. For the gymnasium the plans provide a brick building, 80 by 74 feet. It will contain a main hall, supplied with the most perfect appliances in use by Dr. Sargent at Harvard College, offices, dressing-room, baths, and an examination room, in which a record of the exercises will be kept. A track, raised nine feet from the floor, and extending around the building on the inside, will also be provided, in order to permit the students to run or walk when inclement weather prevents out-door exercise. The gymnasium will be under the charge of a lady trained by Dr. Sargent, who will be the instructress in light gymnastics. Under her direction all exercises will be carefully regulated to the strength of the students, to insure normal development and avoid all danger of over-exertion. The laundry will contain the boilers which will furnish heat and hot water to the other buildings, in addition to the necessary appliances of a laundry. A house is being built on the adjoining lot for the President, and three cotiages which are already on the premises are to be used for the Faculty or to accommodate any overflow of students from Merion Hall until other permanent structures like it are built. The plan adopted contemplates four such structures, to hold 160 students. The total cost of the buildings, including construction and furnishing of laboratories, providing for heating and water supply, the purchase, grading, and ornamenting the grounds, a complete system of drainage on the Waring system, and furniture, will probably | exceed 200,000 dols. It is understood that a large number of applications have already been received by the trustees, and many students whose names have not yet been recorded are known to be preparing. The college will be one of strictly high grade, and will have no pre- paratory department. The ‘‘ group system” of arranging studies in the college course, which is adopted, to some extent, in England, but most ;erfectly represented in the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, is to be used. It secures to the students, it is claimed, a thorough training in the two chief ancient and the modern languayes, in mathematics, and in some branches of science, besides instruction in metaphysics, drawing, hygiene, and art. Each department will be under the instruction of specialists, and all students will be required to pursue certain prescribed studies. There will be five fellowships to college graduates who have already distinguished themselves in particular branches of study, namely; Greek, English, mathematics, history, and biology. A scholarship of 500 dols. will be offered yearly to a graluate of Bryn Mawr College to enable her to pursue studies in some European university. The Trustees, knowing the large expense necessary to procure the best professors, a good library, and a supply of all laboratory appliances required for a college of the best class, have hus- banded the funds placed in their hands for the future use of the institution, and it is said but little of the endowment will have been encroached upon before the college opens. Although some sof the Trustees are also managers of Haverford College, ‘* Bryn Mawr” will be an independent institution, and practically a Philadelphia one. The Faculty has not yet been perfected, but the Trustees have made the following selections :—Dean of the Faculty and Pro- fessor of English, M. Carey Thomas, Ph.D., University of Ziirich ; Associate in Botany, Emily L. Gregory, L.B., late in charge of the laboratory work of Harvard Annex, and Teacher of Botany in Smith College ; Associate Professor of Biology, Edmund B. Wilson, Ph.D., Fellow in Biology of Johns Hop- kins University, and late Lecturer on Biology in Williams Col- lege, and Associate Professor of Mathematics ; Charlotte Angus Scott, A.B., Sc.B., University of London, and late Lecturer on Mathematics in Girton and Newnham Colleges. It is expected that all the chief appointments will have been made before the appearance of the college catalogue. Dr James E, Rhoades, the President of the college, in speaking of women’s colleges a few days since, said: ‘* New England has from an early date given great attention to collegiate education, and has at the present time three colleges for women, beside the Harvard Annex. The States south of New England and west of Pennsylvania need a college to give the desired facilities for higher education to the graduates of girls’ schools and high schools. A large part of the teaching in the United States is done by women, who, not having the advantages of men, are obliged to take lower and less remunerative positions.” SCIENTIFIC SERIALS The American Journal of Science, December 1884.—The distribution and origin of Drumlins, by W. M. Davis. The term drumlin is here taken ina generic sense to include any kind of more or less smoothly-rounded hills formed by local accumulatian of glacial drift on a foundation of different geo- logical formation. The subject is treated under five heads :—(1) the place of drumlins in a geographical classification ; (2) ter- minology : (3) general description ; (4) distribution ; (5) origin. —The geological relations and genesis of the specular iron ores occurring in the Sierra Maestra (Coast Range) of the district of Santiago de Cuba, by James P. Kimball.—A new tantalite locality, by Charles A. Schaeffer. The author describes a mineral from the Etta tin mine, Dakotah, hitherto supposed to be casiterite, but which is shown to be tantalite. The analysis gave the following results :— Tantalic oxide 79°01 Stannic oxide 0°39 Ferrous oxide Sccwe gs 8-33 Manganous oxide Sours seks aT 99°86 —Note on Paleozoic rocks of Central Texas, by Charles D. Walcott. ‘The results are given of a recent survey of a portion of the Palaeozoic area in this region, undertaken chiefly for the purpose of studying the Cambrian section and collecting fossils from the Texas Potsdam horizon. Besides procuring fresh data on the Potsdam and Silurian sections and faunas, the author determined the true relations of an area hitherto known as Archxan, but which is now referred to the Cambrian. The age of the granite of Barnet County was also determined.—On the sufficiency of terrestrial rotation for the defection of streams, by A. C. Baines.—Chemical affinity ; part iii., the existing pro- blem, by John W. Langley.—Peculiar modes of occurrence of gold in Brazil, by Orville A. Derby. A specimen in the Na- tional Museum, Rio de Janeiro, from Ponte Grande, Minas Geraes, shows films of gold on limonite, which the author thinks can scarcely be accounted for except on the hypothesis of natu-- ral deposition from solution. The districts of Campanha and S. Goncalo in the same province afford examples of large auriferous deposits in decomposed gneiss with an almost com- plete absence of veins and of the other usual concomitants of gold.—On colemanite, a new borate of lime, by A. Wendell Jackson. ‘This substance has recently been determined by J. T. Evans, whose analysis gives the formula : 2CaO. 3B,0,. 5 aq. It differs from pandermite in containing five instead of three molecules of water, but its chief interest lies in its morphological relations.—On the decay of quartzite and the formation of sand, kaolin, and crystallised quartz, by James D. Dana. Revue ad’ Anthropologie, tome viii. fasc. 4, 1884. Paris. —A continuation of M. Mathias Duval’s lectures on ‘‘ Trans- formism,” dealing chiefly with the questions of natural selection and survival of the fittest.—Notes on the anatomy of two negroes, by Dr. T. Chudzinski, head of the anatomical depart- ment of the Faculty of Medicine at Paris.x—On the ‘‘ Beni- M’Zab,” by Dr. Amat. The writer here gives the results of Fan. 15, 1885] personal observations made during his tenure in 1883 of a medical official post in the country of these tribes, who live under the French protectorate, and occupy an immense territory of Barbara, lying between 32° and 33° 20’ N. lat. and o° 40’ and 1°50’ E. long. After giving a summary of the principal his- torical events connected with this people, who lay claim to being the sole representatives of the pure Berbers in Algiers, Dr. Amat enters at great length into the consideration of the results ob- tained by his careful anthropometric examination of fifty natives of Ghardaia. From the means of these determinations it would appear that the M’Zabites are of generally lower stature, and have less delicately proportioned limbs and features than the Arabs, but that, like the latter, they are often perfectly white in infancy, while light-coloured hair and beards are occa- sionally met with among the adults. The people are under the government of a religious or teaching body, composed of a powerful caste of learned clerks, or ¢o/bas. The practice of interring food and domestic utensils with the dead points to usages of more ancient date than those of the form of Islamism which they follow. Unlike the genuine Arabs, they migrate in large numbers to the cities, where they conduct prosperous mer- cantile businesses, while they are the great corn purveyors of the Sahara. They employ among themselves a special form of lan- guage,which is a Berber dialect with certain affinities to the Kabyle, and is not a written tongue. The form of Islamism followed is that known as Owahbite Ibadite.—The concluding part of M. Denicker’s notes on the Kalmuks. The author here treats of the special form of Buddhist Lamaism followed by the Kalmuk tribes, their hierarchy, mythology, rituals, religious festi- vals, objects of worship, and the special forms under which Cakya, Mowni, and others of their most highly-venerated so-called bourkans, are worshipped. Owing to the comparatively late adoption of Buddhism, the Kalmuks have retained in their epic poems, aphorisms, and folk-lore, of which examples are given, more of the primitive Mongolian character than some of their kindred ; but the Russian Kalmuks, like their brethren in China, are rapidly losing the warlike and aggressive spirit of their ancestors under the levelling systems of government to which they are subjected in both empires.—On the horizontal plane of the cranium, by E. Goldstein, with tables giving the variations and differences determined among persons of different races. These tables, which are remarkable for their voluminous and detailed character, will be found of great use in studying the causes of the angular variations observable in various ethic groups, and in the anthropoids, and in determining how far such deviations from a fixed horizontal line are dependent on race, age, or disease. Bulletins de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, tome vii., fasc. 3, 1884.—M. de Ujfalvy’s report of the results obtained by Dr. Lenhossek and others from an examination of the ancient Magyar tumuli, laid bare on the reconstruction of the town of Szegedin after the inundations of 1879.—On the age and cha- racter of the covered a//ées of dolmens on the plain of Ellez, near Tunis, by M. Girard de Rialle. The report is based on the communications of M. Poinssot.—On the presence of Z/ephas primigenius in the alluvial Chelles-beds, by M. Chouquet, who does not consider the juxtaposition of fossil remains as a proof of contemporaneity, but rather as the result of distinct deposi- tions, which frequently belong to different geological periods.— Communication by M. D’Acy on the mammoth of the Cromer forest beds.—On the caves of Saumoussay, near Saumur, by M. Bonnemére, whose opinion that they are of pre-Roman date is opposed by M. Drouawlt and others.—On the exploration of the caves of Muikow in Cracovia, by M. Zaborowski. The authen- ticity of the supposed ‘‘finds” of Muikow is forcibly called in question by MM. Mortillet, Szambatty, and other local authori- ties.—Notes on the anthropological characters of California, by M. Ten Kate, who has here given the results of the cephalo- metric and other measurements made by him in his explorations, in 1883, of the districts of California south of 24° 40’ N.lat. The crania examined were of a well-marked Melanesian character, dolicho- cephalous, with moderate prognathism.—On a supplementary part of the great pectoral muscle, by M. Chudzinski.—On the influence of climate and race on the normal temperature of the human body, by Dr. Maurel. The results deduced from carefully tested determinations seem to be that the temperature of Euro- peans in intertropical and equatorial regions is raised only about 0° 30’ above its normal range in Europe, but that the mean tem- perature of certain races, as the Hindoos, is about 0° 50’ higher than that of Europeans.—On a gorilla foetus, by M. Denicker. NATURE 297 The subject was a female resembling in its pose and its thoracic development a human fcetus of five or six months. The lower members presented the true gorilla character.—On the antiquity of the Dingo in Australia, by M. Zabrowski.—On the case of a living double monstrosity, by M. Fourdrignier.—On cephalo- metric determinations of certain murderers who had been exe- cuted, as compared with measurements yielded by an equal number of persons distinguished for excellence of character or attainments, by Dr. Bajenoff.—On the first rudiments of infantine speech, by Dr, Allaire. The author considers that six distinct periods are observable in the development of the powers of speech, which are dependent on the successive pro- cesses of suction, digestion, dentition, &c., labial sounds being first emitted, while the dentals are acquired after the gutturals and nasals——On recent German views regarding the cradle of the Aryan races, by M. Ujfalvy.—On the depopulation of the Marquisas, by M. Clavel, who considers that the general change of habits, and the cessation of intertribal wars, with its attendant decrease of activity, which have resulted from their contact with Europeans, must, rather than alcoholism of which he has seen no genuine cases, be accepted as the real factors in the rapid diminution of population that is going on in the Polynesian archipelago.—Note on the chariots of war employed by the Gauls, by M. Peétriment.—On the significance of the annual festival of the Indian Arikaris of Dokata, by Dr. Hoffman.—On the pathological characteristics of the Mandinguis of the Ouolof country, by Dr. Tautain.—On the ‘‘ Cowzvade,” by Dr. Maurel. The writer, on the authority of Dr. Lenoél of Amiens, asserts that this usage exists at the present day among the Indians of Guyana, near the Amazon. Reale [stituto Lombardo, November 13, 1884.—The paintings of the Italian masters in the public museums of Europe, by Prof. G. Mongeri.—On the projected Penal Code for Italy, by Prof. A. Buccellati.—On the secular variation of the elements of ter- restrial magnetism at Milan, by Ciro Chistoni.—On the total eclipse of the moon, October 4, 1884, by Prof. G. Celoria.— Meteorological observations made at the Brera Observatory, Milan, during the months of August and September, 1884. November 27.—Experimental studies on the antiseptics of tubercular virus, by Prof. G. Sormani and Dr. E.. Brugnatelli. —Successful treatment of a large tumour of twenty-two years’ standing in the left side of a patient forty years of age, by Dr. G. Fiorani.—On the geometrical movement of the invariable systems, by Prof. C. Formenti.—The paintings of the Italian masters in the public museums of Europe (continued), by Prof. G, Mongeri.—Meteorological observations made at the Brera Observatory during the month of October 1884. Fahrhiicher fiir wissenschaftliche Botantk, herausgegeben von Dr. N. Pringsheim, Band xiii., Viertes Heft.—“ Beitrage ziir Morphologie und Physiologie der Meeresalgen,” by G. Berthold, contains detailed investigations of the heliotropism of marine Algze ; also of the influence of other factors upon their structure and mode of growth, together with a description of certain means by which marine Algz protect themselves from too great intensity of light, e.g. (1) by hair-like organs, of which the author distinguishes three types ; (2) by peculiar formations in the protoplasm of individual cells : the most highly developed structures of this order are found in the genus Chy/ocladia, where one is to be seen in each of the peripheral cells of the thallus, and appears as a highly refractive, plate-like mass in close apposition with the outer wall. Reactions show that these structures consist chiefly of a substance of a proteid nature.— “‘Ueber die Wasservertheilung in heliotropisch gekrummten Pflanzentheilen,” by A. Thate. The author tests Kraus’s view that in organs with positively heliotropic curva'ure the shaded side contains more water than the illuminated side; he con- cludes that such a difference in amount of water cannot be proved, though on the other hand it cannot be asserted that it does not exist, analytical methods being as yet too imperfect : at best only approximate results can be obtained by Kraus’s method. Band ‘xiv., Erstes Heft.—‘‘ Beitrige zur Entwickelungs- geschichte einiger Inflorescenzen,” by K. Gobel. This article is chiefly devoted to the study of the development of the inflor- escence in the Graminee. The author finds that, as regards their symmetry, the different varieties of inflorescence in this order cannot be referred to one type, but to two, the dorsiventral and the radial.—‘‘ Ueber Bau und Funktion des pflanzlichen Hautgewebesystems,” by M. Westermaier, suggests as an im- portant function of the epidermis that it shares with the vascular 258 NATORE | Fan. 15, 1885 system in the supply of water to the internal tissues, forming a complete peripheral mantle of aqueous tissue.—‘‘ Ueber Poren in den Aussenwanden von Epidermiszellen,” by H. Ambronn. An attempt to show that the origin of pits in the outer walls of epidermal cells is referable to undulations in the young walls, and that these pits are not to be regarded as the func- tional equivalents of those in the walls of internal tissues.— “Nachtragliche Bemerkungen zu den Befruchtungsact von Achlya,” by N. Pringsheim. A further contribution to the controversy as to the sexuality of the Saprolegniz. Zweites Heft.—‘‘ Ueber das Vorkommen von Gypskrystallen bei den Desmidieen,” by Alfred Fischer. An investigation of the crystals of Calcium sulphate already known to exist in Closterium ; similar bodies are also found in other genera of Desmids. In Staurastrum, Desmidium, and Hyalotheca they are not found. The author concludes that they are to be regarded as an excretory product ; when the quantity produced is small, it may remain dissolved in the cell-sap ; when larger it appears as crystals.—‘‘ Ueber farbige kornige Stoffe des Zellin- halts,” by P. Fritsch. This article deals with the ‘‘ anatomical structure” of colouring granules, exclusive of chlorophyll, and without reference to their development. In the light of recent discoveries the chief interest of such bodies centres in their development, and their relation to the chlorophyll granules.— “Die Zellhaut, und das Gesetz der Zelltheilungsfolge von Melosira (Orthosira Thwaites) Arenaria Moore,” by Otto Miiller. A careful investigation of the succession of divisions as seen in this filamentous Diatom, which will throw light upon the process of multiplication of cells in other members of the group. Drittes Heft.—‘‘ Untersuchungen iiber die Homologien der generativen Produkte der Fruchtblatter bei den Phanerogamen und Gefasskryptozamen,” by L. Celakovsky. The author brings evidence frm teratological specimens to bear upon the question of the homology of the integuments of the ovule with the indusium of the Fern-Sorus, with the object of establishing that homolo »y.—‘‘ Untersuchungen iiber die Morphologie und Anatomie der Monokotylen-ahnlichen Eryngien,”’ by M. Mobius. The main results of this investigation are that the similarity of the parallel-nerved species of Eryngium to the Monocotyledons lies only in the leaves and rhizomes; that it extends, however, beyond mere external characters, and may be recognised in the anatomical structure. Bulletin de la Société des Naturalistes de Moscow, 1884, No. 1.—On the calculation of the average figures of relative wetness, by K. Weihrauch (in German). The author shows that the averages calculated by a mere addition of the observed s 2 values eb do not give correct ffigures, and advocates a calcu- lation consisting of an addition of all numerators (s) and of all denominators (4) separately, before making the division. He illustrates his method by several examples taken from the series of observations in the Caucasus. The paper will be continued.— What becomes of bile in the digestive tube? by Dr. A. Weiss (in French). The author confirms to some extent the well- known opinion of Prof. Schiff.—Materials for the flora of the Government of Tamboff, district of Tamboff, by Th. Ignatieff. The steppe flora is characteri ed, as usual, by the Stipa pennata, but the following plants, showing a passage towards a more southern flora, are met with:—Adonts vernalis, Verbascum Pheniceum, Echium rubrum, Muscari leucopheum, Iris furcata, Fritillaria ruthenica, and Salvia mutans, All these, which do not extend much north—-they are not met with in the Moscow flora—are remarkable for the most vivid coloration of their flowers. The author gives a list of 464 plants found at Exthal.—Review of the generative organs of the males of Bombus, by General Radoszkowski (in French), with four plates. — Short description of a journey to Central Asia, lecture by N. Sorokine (in French). The author adds to his paper avery interesting chromolithographed picture represent- ing a saksaoul forest (Akabasis ammodend on, Ledebour) of the Kyzyl-kounis deserts. It is for the first time that we find in print so good a representation of this plant as it covers the bar-khans, or sandy downs, of the Steppe.—Researches into the histology of the hair, the bristle, the prickle, and the pen, by W. Lwoff (in German), with four plates.—Notice on the hypo- theses as to the origin of Lake Baikal, by W. Dybowsky (in German). The recent discovery in Lake Baikal of the very same sponge (Ludomirskia baicalensis) which is met with in the Bering Sea leads to the conclusion that it has immigrated into Lake Baikal from this sea. On the other side, several explorers of Siberia, and recently again M. Cherski, have shown that there are no traces of a marine communication of Lake Baikal with the sea during and since the post-Pliocene period ; but there are very numerous traces of large lakes connected formerly by broad rivers, and it would seem probable that the sponge might have immigrated by this.way. Dr. Dybowsky leaves the question open. Bulletin de lV Académie Royale de Belgique, November 8, 1884.—On certain phenomena of reduction produced in grains when germinating, and on the formation of diastase, by M. A. Jorissen.—On the quadrilinear form and surfaces of the third order, by Prof. C. Le Paige.—Verbal communication on the phenomenon of stellar scintillation, by Ch. Montigny.—On the advanced vegetation observed in the spring of 1884 at Long- champs-sur-Geer, by Baron de Selys Longchamps.—On the chemical composition of krokydolite, and on the fibrous quartz of South Africa, by A. Renard.—On the Chinese philosopher, Lao-tse, a predecessor of Schelling in the seventh century, B.C., by M. C. de Harlez.—An ambassador of the Duke of Alengon at the court of Queen Elizabeth, by Baron Kervyn de Letten- hove.—On a portrait of Van Dyck’s grandmother in the Este Gallery, Modena, by Henry Hymans. Atti della R. Accademia dei Lincet, July 1884.—On the co- existence of different empirical formulas, and in particular on those containing the capillary constant of fluids or the cohesion of solids, by Adolfo Bartolii—Report of the committee ap- pointed to rearrange the Corsini Library recently acquired by the Academy. This valuable library was found to comprise altogether 39,082 works, including 5903 Elzevirians, Aldines, and other old and rare editions, 2511 MSS. and r9t volumes of music, besides 116 portfolios of engravings and 17,733 prints and drawings.—Meteorological observations made at the Royal Observatory of the Capitol during the month of June 1884. Rivista Scientifico Industriale, October 31, 1884.—Variations in the electric resistance of solid and pure metallic wires under variations of temperature, by Prof. Angelo Emo,—-Boulier’s pyrometer, described and figured by M. Lauth.—The gigantic fossil turtle of Verona, described by S. Capellini. November 15-30, 1884.—Variations in the electric resistance of solid and pure metallic wires under variations of temperature (continued) ; part 2, original determinations of the electric resistance of the chief metallic wires under different tempera- tures, by Prof. Angelo Emo.—On the oxidation of sulphur by ozone, by S. Zinno.—The Ammonites of the province of Venice, described and figured by T. A. Catullo. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Geologists’ Association, January 2.—On some recent views concerning the geology of the North-West Highlands, by Henry. Hicks, M.D., F.G.S., President of the Association. The author stated that as the Proceedings of the Association contained several papers dealing with the controversy concerning the rocks of the North-West Highlands of Sco'land, he thought it advisable to call the attention of the members to views con- tained in an important article published in NATURE (p. 29) by the Director-General of the Geological Survey, and in a ‘‘ Report on the Geology of the North-West of Sutherland,” by Messrs. Peach and Horne, in the same number, which cannot fail either to change entirely the future character of the controversy, or bring it rapidly to a Satisfactory issue. Because of the positions held by the chief disputants on the one side, the controversy had assumed, to a great extent, the appearance of being one between official surveyors and some amateurs, who had been led to study the questions involved in it. The well-known and widely- accepted views first put forward by Sir R. Murchison, that there were clear evidences in the North-West of Scotland of a ‘‘ regular conformable passage from fossiliferous Silurian quartzites, shales, and limestones upwards into crystalline schists, which were supposed to be metamorphosed Silurian sediments,” were fully adopted by the official surveyors, including Sir A. C. Ramsay and Prof. Geikie, also by the late Prof. Harkness and others, who had examined the areas. Prof. Nicol, of Aberdeen, how- ever, for many years stoutly contested Sir R. Murchison’s views, and maintained that they were based on erroneous observations. Unfortunately, at that time his views did not meet with much approval. In the year 1878 the author re-opened the contro- Fan. 15, 1885 | versy by calling attention to some sections examined by him in Ross-shire, which he maintained did not bear out the views of Sir R. Murchison. He also suggested a modified interpretation of the views of Prof. Nicol. Since then many areas in Ross and Sutherland have been examined by Mr. Hudleston, Prof. Bonney, Dr. Callaway, Prof. Lapworth, and Prof. Blake, and their conclusions showed that though differences of opinion pre- vailed on some points, yet all were agreed as to there being no evidence in the areas examined by them to support the Murchi- sonian view of a conformable upward succession. Many other facts of great importance were brought out in these inquiries. The author expressed gratification at the candid manner in which the whole question had been dealt with by the Director- General and the Surveyors in their recent report, and at their readiness in acknowledging, after due examination in the course of surveying and mapping parts of the areas referred to, that they had found the ‘‘evidence altogether overwhelming against the upward succession which Murchison believed to exist.” EDINBURGH Mathematical Society, January 9.—Mr. A. J. G. Barclay, President, in the chair.—Prof. Chrystal read a paper on the problem to construct the minimum circle enclosing 2 given points on a plane; Dr. Thomas Muir discussed the equation connecting the mutual distances of four points on a plane ; and Mr. J. S. Mackay gave two notes on a theorem and a problem in geometry which had previously been brought before the Society. PaRIs Academy cf Sciences, January 5.—M. Bouley, Pre- sident, in the chair.—Obituary notice of M. Victor Dessaignes, who died at Vendéme on January 5, by M. Berthelot.—Che- mical studies on the skeleton of plants, part iii., by MM. E. Fremy and Urbain.—Note on the earthquakes in the south of Spain, by M. Hébert. ‘These disturbances, the most serious that have been recorded throughout the historic period in Spain, are attributed exclusively to local causes, and especially to the structure of the soil, which is here formed ef secondary strata, folded, overlapped, broken by numerous faults, and often tra- versed by old and recent eruptive rocks.—On a hydrate of chloroform, by MM. G. Chancel and F. Permentier.—Studies in the reproduction of phylloxera ; distribution of the sulphuret of carbon amongst the vines by means of machinery, by M. P. Boiteau.—Equatorial observations of Barnard’s and Wolf’s comets made at the Observatory of Algiers (0.50 inch telescope), by MM. Trépied and Rambaud.—Observations of Encke’s comet made at the same observatory, by M. Trépied.—On the internal constitution of the globe, by M. O. Callandreau.— On a generalisation of the theory of Abel, by M. H. Poincaré. —On a method of treating universal periodical transformations, by M. S. Kantor.—Note on the theory of electro-dynamic in- | duction, of which the integral law is given by Neumann’s theorem, by M. P. Duham.—A new theorem on the dynamics of fluids, by M. E. F. Fournier.—On the laws of chemical dissolution, by M. H. Le Chatelier.—Determination of the atomic weights of carbon, phosphorus, tin, and zinc, by M. J. D. Van der Plaats.—On the saturation of phosphoric acid by the bases, by M. A. J. Joly.—On the preparation of pure and highly concentrated oxigenated water, by M. Hanriot.—On fusibility in the oxalic series, by M. L. Henry.—Heat of com- bustion of acetal, crotonic aldehyde, isobutyric acid, and of some other substances of the fatty series, by M. W. Louguinine. —On the germination of plants in soils abounding in organic substances, but free from microbes, by M. E. Duclaux.—Obser- vations on the previous paper, by M. Pasteur.—Fresh researches on the doundaké plant (Cephalina esculenta, Schum.), and on its active principle doundikine, by MM. E. Heckel and F, Schlag- denhauffen. The doundaké is described as an astringent and a febrifuge capable of replacing quinine, as well as a dye yielding a beautiful yellow colour worthy of the attention of dyers. It flourishes in Senegambia, Sierra Leone, and other parts of West Africa, and in many respects closely resembles the Morinda of the South Sea Islands.—On the presence of the genus Equise- tum in the lower coal-measures of Beaulieu, Maine-et-Loire, by M. Ed. Bureau.—Influence of altitude on vegetation and the migration of birds of passage, by M. Alf. Angot. BERLIN Physiological Society, December 12, 1884.—Prof. Eulen- burg spoke on investigations into the sense of temperature, NATURE 25 which he had instituted specially for diagnostic purposes. As a test of the cutaneous perceptions in this respect, the only method available in practice was that of ascertaining the least differences perceived, and for this purpose the speaker had constructed special instruments which could be used to examine the sense of pressure as well as of temperature on the part of the skin. These instruments he laid before the Society. The ap- paratus for testing the sense of temperature consisted of two mercurial thermometers fastened on a transverse piece, with flat discoid tubes, one of which was fixed, the other movable. The fixed tube was surrounded at its lower part with metallic wires, by means of which, and an electric current, it could be warmed at pleasure. Both were placed beside or after one another on the spot to be examined, and the least difference of temperature which could be perceived was ascertained. When the temperature of the skin was below 27° C., its sensitiveness both to heat and cold was too obtuse for available results to be attained. In order to determine a normal scale above this limit, Prof. Eulenburg carried out a large number of measure- ments, which resulted in showing a great diversity in sense of temperature at different parts of the body. The sensitiveness to warmth was highest at the forehead and at the dorsal side of the last phalanges. At both these places differences of 02° C. were distinctly perceived. The least sensitiveness to warmth, on the other hand, was shown at the higher end of the anterior side of the upper part of the thigh, at the epigastrium, and in the median line of the back. At these places, only differences as large as from 0°9° C. to 1°1° C. were perceived. Sensitiveness to cold was likewise greatest at the forehead, and least at the epigastrium and back, but the degree of sensitiveness to cold did not always coincide with that of thermal sensitiveness at particular parts of the body, certain spots show- ing more sensitiveness to differences of heat, others to differences of cold. From the circumstance that the sense of temperature was more developed in the hands and face, which were exposed, than in those parts usually covered, and so far protected from variations, the speaker thought he was justified in inferring that the more delicate sense of temperature was an acquired sense. It was a striking fact that the tip of the tongue, so keen to mark variations of taste, was very dull in distinguishing varia- tions of temperature. While engaged in these investigations Prof. Eulenburg became acquainted with the labours of Dr. Gold- scheider, who, in the same manner as Herr Blix had done somewhat earlier, but, independently of this gentleman, came to the conclusion, as the result of a series of experiments, that the perceptions of temperature on the part of the skin had their seat in a large number of distinct cold and warmth points distributed over the whole body in definite complicated arrangement, the former of which (the cold points), under chemical as well as under electrical and mechanical stimulus, generated only the feeling of cold, the latter, under the same stimuli, only the feeling of warmth ; that at all parts of the body there were a number of cold points which were easy to identify, and which were called cold points of the first class ; and that, in addition, there were a larger number of cold points, more difficult to identify—cold points of the second class. Prof. Eulenburg repeated Dr. Goldscheider’s experiments, and found them generally confirmed. He had further studied the distribution of the warm and cold points, both in himself and other persons, in such a manner that he marked with a fine pencil on the skin each warm or cold point found during examination, and then had an impression of the points so found made on wax paper, which he had laid over them. As aresult of this operation it appeared that the forehead and the dorsal side of the phalanges had the most, the epigastrium the fewest, cold points. If the same spot of skin were examined on different days, the cold points of the first class always remained the same, while those of the second class varied, being found in larger number on one day than another. This diversity on different days appeared to coincide with the changes of temperature in the skin. The same relations held good in regard to the warmth points, which were separated locally from the cold points by tracts thermally insensible. The distribution of cold and warm points was not the same on all parts of the body. In some places the number of cold points predominated, in others the number of warm points. In the back of the hand, near to the wrist, for example, the number of warm points was in a majority, while to- wards the fingers the number of cold points preponder- ated. On comparing symmetrical parts of the body, it appeared that neither in number nor in the way in which they were distri_ 260 buted did the cold points on one side resemble those on the other. Prof. Eulenburg further confirmed Dr. Goldscheider’s conclusions that in particular parts of the skin, between the cold and warm points, lay the points of pressure which were sensitive to touch but not to differences of temperature. The existence, on the other hand, of special points for perceiving pain due to temperature the speaker had been unable to verify. Under the stimuli inadequate to temperature feeling, as the elec- trical and mechanical, he had tried the electric current with positive results. A moderate stream, producing in the skin the well-known prickly feeling, having by means of a pointed elec- trode been introduced into a cold point, generated a decided feeling of cold. Mechanical stimuli, which should produce the same effect, failed, however, in Prof. Eulenburg’s experiments to do so. Physical Society, December 19, 1884.—Prof. Lampe gave some interesting historical notes on the calculations respecting solids of attraction, the results of which he had communicated at the sitting of November 21. In these problems he had started with a solid of greatest attraction, in regard to which Gauss had laid down the law that its attraction was related to that exercised by the same mass in globular form on a point of its surface, as 38 +/25: This law was found briefly adduced in a note in Gauss’s treatise on capillarity, without any proof either there or anywhere else. Although Prof. Schellbach, who in 1845 calcu- lated the form of the body of greatest attraction, ascribed the adduced law to Gauss, yet Prof. Lampe, in consideration that Gauss did not prove the law referred to and introduced it with the word ‘‘constat,” was of opinion that it must have been already proved before the time when it was cited by Gauss. He had now, then, in point of fact, succeeded in tracing the author of the law. It originated, namely, with John Playfair, who, in 1809, in a treatise ‘On the Solid of Greatest Attraction,” had calculated the form of such a body, and with reference to the magnitude of its attraction had arrived at the result already stated. In the same treatise John Playfair had dealt with a part of the problems brought before the Society by Prof. Lampe, and in respect of the cone and cylinder had come to the same results as himself. In calculating, however, the attraction of an ellip- soid flattened at the poles, he had, as was shown more at large by the speaker, committed an error, in consequence of which he had arrived at the conclusion that in the case of any eccentricity of the meridians the attraction was less than in the case of eccentricity 0, that is, than in the case of aglobe. The fact, on the other hand, was that with oblateness the attraction at first increased and approached to that of the solid of greatest attraction, though yet without ever quite reaching it. It then diminished, till finally it sank to 0, when the pole coincided with the middle point. Let the attraction of a homogeneous mass in globular form be equal to 1, then the greatest attraction which this mass was in any case able to exercise was equal to 1'025986, while the maximum of attraction in an oblate rotatory ellipsoid was equal to 1°02213. Whether John Playfair’s error had been already elsewhere observed or corrected was not known to the speaker. Altogether John Playfair’s treatise appeared to have lapsed into oblivion, seeing that in the manuals of mechanics the law of maximum attraction being to the attraction of a ball as 3: Vv 25 was universally imputed to Gauss, and the calcula- tions of the solid of greatest attraction, which John Playfair had already worked out, to Schellbach.—Following up this address Dr. Keenig communicated the plan of an investigation which he contemplated carrying out in conjunction with Dr. Richarz. The investigation had for its object to determine with greater pre- cision than had hitherto been done the mean density of the earth. The most exact measurements hitherto taken on this question came, as was known, from Herr von Jolly, in Munich, who, in a high tower, experimented on a balance, on one scale of which hung a wire, 21m. long, bearing another scale at the bottom. After balancing a body in the upper scale and _ then transferring it to the scale 21 m. lower, the body was found to be somewhat heavier in the latter case in consequence of the more powerful attraction there exercised on it by the earth. On next placing under the lower scale a lead ball weighing IIo centner, and repeating the experiment, he found a greater increase on the upper scale weight than in the first instance. From the rela- tion of these augmentations of weight and the volume and specific weight of the lead ball, Herr von Jolly calculated the mean density of the earth. Such a mode of measurement, however, laboured under this unavoidable source of error, that NATROTP | Yan. 15, 1885 there was no means of safe-guarding the long wire from differ- ences of temperature. Dr. Koenig and Dr. Richarz had now, independently of each other, devised another method of utilising the balance for the purpose of determining the mean density of the earth, Instead of placing the lead ball 21 m. under the upper scale, they brought the heavy body directly under the upper scale, whence a line, passing through a perforation of the heavy mass, bore the lower scale immediately underneath it. When, now, a body was weighed in the upper scale, the mass of lead acted in a sense similar to that of the force of gravity, and its attraction was added to gravitation. When, on the other other hand, a body was weighed in the lower scale, the mass of lead operated in an opposite direction, and its attraction was subtracted from gravitation. By this experiment, therefore, a double effect was obtained from the mass of lead instead of the single effect in Herr von Jolly’s experiment. Again, by bringing a second equally large mass of lead under the scale of the other side, disposing it in the same manner as the first mass, the effect of the mass of lead might be multiplied four- fold. An equilibration might be made by placing the weight on one side in the upper, on the other side in the lower, scale. Then the weights might be transposed. Indepen- dently of the advantage of a fourfold comparative estimate of the attraction of the mass of lead, all disturbances due to differences of temperature were by this method entirely obviated. The precision of the measurement would be still further enhanced by using a mass of lead of 2000 centner. The total mass of lead would compose a block, the most suit- able form for which had yet to be theoretically determined. In the centre, above this block, would stand the balance, and the wires of both scales would pass through two equal perforations, at the ends of which, under the block, would depend the two lower scales. The construction of such a block of lead would be rendered possible by making it consist of 1300 separate pieces capable of being joined together into the form desired, and after a series of experiments they might be fitted up anew, so as to secure compensation for any errors due to unequal in- terior structure of the blocks. Of these masses of lead a parel- lelopiped would have a side of 2°5 m. and a height of 175 m. As was self-evident, the precision of the balance was a matter of extreme moment for these measurements. The mechanist who had undertaken their construction had engaged to produce a sensitiveness of one-hundred millionth for the weight of 7 kg. used in such measurements. He had further engaged, by an adequate modification of the construction, to obviate the error arising from the circumstance that the edges never corresponded mathematically with that term, but had always more or less diameter, so that with the inclination of the beams the plane of support changed. Dr. Koenig hoped to be able in the course of a year to announce the numerical results of the experiment. CONTENTS PAGE The Earthquakesin Spain. .... cat 2c7/ The Stability of Ships. (///ustrated) a ahs Our Book Shelf :— Nicols’s ‘‘ Natural History Sketches among the Carnivora, Wild and Domesticated”. .... . 240 Regel’s ‘‘ Entwickelung der Ortschaften im Thiiringer- Wald?) (smarts ects ht ie Gon een in mien MIE Letters to the Editor :— River Thames—Abnormal High Tides.—J. B. Red- pre Mt Mn ORAGro oro deco pedo Gun Our Future Clocks and Watches.—Chatel. (Z//us- ARID ia Be OD te Gotoh GMO hide. sd.00 lb oe Lee The Coal Question. By Sydney Lupton 242 Invigoration of Potatoes by Cross-Breeding . . : 246 On the Evolution of the Blood-Vessels of the Tes in the Tunicata. By W. A. Herdman. (///us- trated)... 247 Notes: Fal ry ER atire fo Se enue, 5 scree RE eR Re Our Astronomical Column :— The Naval Observatory, Washington... .... 251 The Dearborn Observatory, Chicago ....... 251 Geographical Notes SMM CStmnde hb omc Pi Characteristics of the North American Flora, II. By Prof: AsaiGtay- 3. 5%. 3s. cuts © tte Uemca eee eee OS Bryn Mawr College. os 0 chien nie en nez ScientificiSerialsia 77.0 45 eis ee) aie eee 256 Societies and Academies. ...... 258 N AGO TT 261 THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1885 HIGH-LEVEL METEOROLOGY Bericht tiber die Errichtung der Meteorologischen Station auf dem Santis und thre Thatigkeit, September 1883 to August 1884. Erstattet von R. Billwiller. (Zurich, 1884.) Fournal of the Scottish Meteorological Society. Third Series, No. 1. x E briefly noticed at the time (NATURE, vol. xxix. p. 413) M. Billwiller’s first report on the Swiss high-level station on Santis, in the Canton of Appenzell ; and his second report has now come to hand, giving, along with a rapid history of the establishment of this first-class meteorological observatory and its equipment, an excellent 7éstzé of two full years’ observations, ending August 31, 1884. A comparison of the results with those obtained for Ben Nevis presents several points of con- siderable importance. On Santis, 8094 feet high, the mean annual atmospheric pressure is 22°237 inches, the highest monthly mean being 22°429 inches in August, and the lowest 21°993 inchesin March. On Ben Nevis, 4406 feet high, the mean annual pressure is 25°257 inches, the highest mean being 25°400 inches in July, and the lowest 257141 inches in January. The differences between the highest and lowest is thus 0°436 and 0'259 inch respectively. On Santis the mean annual temperature is 28°'2, the highest monthly mean being 41°"4 in August, and the lowest 18~oin January. The annual mean for Ben Nevis is 30°9, the highest monthly mean being 41°°3 in July, and the lowest 22°0 in February. The lower mean temperature of Sintis is thus wholly due to its colder winters. But the most marked difference in the climates of the two situations is revealed by the hygrometer. On Santis the mean annual relative humidity for the two years is 84, the highest monthly mean being 93 in September 1882, and the lowest 71 in March 1884. On Ben Nevis, on the contrary, the lowest mean monthly humidity was go for May 1884, and the highest for January of the same year, when the mean dry bulb was 25°50, and wet bulb 25°47, showing an approximate humidity of 99. Indeed, so thick and continuous was the covering of mist, fog, and cloud in which Ben Nevis was wrapped during this month, that the difference between the mean coldest and warmest hour of the day in winter is only half a degree. changes of humidity which characterise the climate of Ben Nevis in connection with anticyclonic movements, when the atmosphere passes rapidly from a state of the most complete saturation to a state of dryness greater than is ever reached at lower levels in this part of Europe, and that on such occasions the temperature rapidly rises, till sometimes it even rises higher than at Fort William, about 4400 feet lower down. Now M. Billwiller gives an extremely valuable column in one of the tables, showing the minimum relative humidity observed each month, from which we see that a humidity of 21 occurred in August 1883, and that on six of the other twenty-three VOL. XXXI.—NO. 795 months a humidity less than 30 was recorded. The importance of these observations from Ben Nevis and Santis on the great movements of the atmosphere in cyclones and anticyclones, and on the Féhn and the various theories that have been suggested in explanation of its phenomena, need not here be insisted on. On Santis the annual rainfall, inclusive of melted snow, | was 67°83 inches. The heaviest rainfall of any month was 15°12 inches in July 1883, and the lightest 0°71 inch in February of the same year. On the top of Ben Nevis, for the five months from June to October of 1882 and 1883, the mean rainfall was 44°35 inches ; and on Santis, for the same five months of 1883 and 1884, the rainfall was 43°95 inches—the summer rainfall of the two places being thus nearly the same. These amounts are very greatly in excess of what several theories of the distribu- tion of the rainfall on the slopes and tops of mountains would lead us to expect. In discussions of this question it will be necessary to give more pointed attention than has yet been given to the great vertical movements in the atmosphere which are disclosed by the hygrometric observations of these high-level stations. Of even greater interest are the hourly observations at the two observatories, especially those relating to atmo- spheric pressure and wind. At the two places the hourly curves of pressure for different seasons run closely parallel to each other. In June, when the more special features of the curves are most pronounced, they closely approxi- mate to a single diurnal minimum and maximum. The minimum occurs from 5 to 6 a.m., and the maximum from 9 to 10 p.m., the daily range being 0°039 inch on Santis, and o'030 inch-on Ben Nevis. Each curve shows an extremely shallow secondary minimum from 5 to 6 p.m. which, as compared with the secondary maximum imme- diately preceding indicates a fall not exceeding 0°003 “inch. This secondary maximum occurs at 3 p.m. on Santis, and at 3.30 p.m. on Ben Nevis, and is the analogue of the - morning maximum which occurs at lower levels in the same localities six hours earlier. On Mount Washington, United States, this maximum occurred in June 1873 at 8.30 a.m. at the base of the mountain, 2898 feet above sea-level, 10 a.m. at 4059 feet, 11 a.m. at 5533 feet, and at noon on the top of the mountain at a height of 6285 feet. On Ben Nevis, while pressure is steadily falling at the base of the mountain from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the peak it continues steadily to rise; and the same phenomena doubtless obtain at Santis. At the same time the diurnal velocity of the wind on these peaks shows even a stronger contrast when com- pared with the diurnal velocity at lower levels. At low levels and on plateaux of considerable extent the velocity of the wind falls to the daily minimum early in the morn- ing, and rises to the maximum at or immediately after noon, or about the time of strongest insolation. The following table, showing the diurnal variation in the wind’s velocity on Ben Nevis, Santis, and Mount Washington in summer, and on Ben Nevis in winter, presents for these elevated peaks curves precisely the reverse of the curves for velocity at lower levels. The figures express in per- centages the excess or defect of each hour’s velocity from the daily mean :— N WA TORE | an. 22, 1885 262 3en Nevis, SAntis, Mt. Washing- Ben Nevis, June—Aug. June—Aug. ton, Dec.—Feh. 1884 1884 May—June, 1833—84 1873 I a.m. 15 18 20 9 oe. 15 24 15 7 Biss 19 24 9 8 Ass 12 16 8 "7 5 pn 7 12 8 3 615; 8 8 I im fle ésiy {e) 4 = 4 3 Sore — 2 - 7 ra) be 9s = 0.3 = 118) =e =e) TOM: = 5 a5) —10 —6 Hil ee =I — 20 —12 -8 noon =15 -—18 —19 =7 I p.m =I —19 —16 =i D5 —15 -17 —12 -7 3) Uis9 Sica -1I —15 -—¥ “ae. —10 -II -13 -7 5 — 10 = 9) =F = 3) 6 ” =e = ie, et —4 ie a3 = 3 7 sl 5 8555 - 0 Hie) -— 3 3 55 ° 5 5 4 TO) ,, 9 2 15 8 Lit 65 11 7 19 8 midnight 9 9 19 6 Hence the maximum occurs on these heights shortly after midnight, and the minimum shortly after noon. Now it will be seen that these diurnal maxima and minima occur nearer midnight and noon than do the phases | of the other meteorological phenomena, thus suggesting a direct connection with solar and terrestrial radiation. It is singular that, while the diurnal period of strongest insolation determines the occurrence of the maximum velocity of the wind over extensive land surfaces, it determines the mini- mum velocity on peaks rising to a great height above the land surfaces surrounding them. Of special importance in its bearings on the question is the curve of diurnal variation on Ben Nevis for the three winter months of 1883-84, when the mean velocity of the wind was nearly double that of the summer months. In that season Ben Nevis was under a deep covering of snow, the sky clouded nearly the whole time, the air frequently darkened with dense drifting fogs, and the difference between the mean lowest and highest hourly temperature only half a degree. Notwithstanding the practical uniformity of temperature of the surface of the top of Ben Nevis during the twenty-four hours of the day, the curve of the diurnal variation in the wind’s velocity was as clearly marked in winter as in summer, and the two curves were alike in showing the occurrence of the maximum shortly after midnight, and the minimum shortly afternoon. We must therefore conclude that the peculiar type of the diurnal curves of wind velocity on these elevated peaks is altogether independent of the temperature of the surfaces over which the winds blow. The results point not obscurely to an investigation of the relations of the visible and invisible vapour of the atmo- , sphere to solar and terrestrial radiation as an inquiry of first importance in meteorology. OUR BOOK SHELF Exercises in Electrical and Magnetic Measurement. R. E. Day, M.A. New Edition. Green, and Co., 1884.) Mr. Day has produced a new and considerably improved edition of a most useful and valuable little book. Every teacher of electricity whose work is not confined to the By (London: Longmans, b beggarly elements of mere phenomena will thank Mr. Day for the admirable selection of problems put together in this volume. Nothing could be a greater boon to the real student than the means thus afforded of testing his knowledge of the exact quantitative laws of the science. | If it were not for the historic interest of that rather anti- quated instrument—the torsion balance—we should doubt the utility of giving so much attention to it. Although the more modern electrometers have entirely superseded the torsion balance as an instrument of research and of measurement, it has, nevertheless, become so prominently fixed—like some grand old fossil long ago extinct— amongst the characteristic forms of electrical instruments, that examiners still expect candidates for examination to know something about it. On the other hand, the space allotted to moments of torsion and inertia is all too brief, though admirably filled. We must, however, take excep- tion to the practice apparently followed on p. 62, of expressing a moment of couple in dyves : it should surely be dyne-centimetres. The section on the chemical (or rather thermo-chemical) theory of electromotive force is excellent. The problems comprised under the heading Electromagnetic Measurement are admirable, though perhaps a little beyond most students. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ({ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressea by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice ts taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep thetr letters as short as possible, The pressure on his space ts so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) Earthquakes and Terrestrial Magnetism Mr. W. H. PREECE having written to the Astronomer-Royal to ask whether any disturbance of our magnets or our earth- current apparatus was experienced during the recent earthquake in Spain, it may be interesting to communicate also for the information of your readers the result of an examination of our photographic registers in consequence made, and especially in order that what has been remarked may, if possible, receive confirmation. As respects magnetic movement, the magnets on Dec. 25 last and following days were generally quiet. But on looking more closely at the registers, attention was at once drawn to a small simultaneous disturbance of the declination and horizontal force magnets, occurring at gh. 15m. on the evening of December 25. Both magnets were at this time set into slight vibration, the extent of vibration in the case of declination being about 2’ of arc, and in horizontal force equivalent to ‘oor of the whole hori- zontal force nearly. The movements have not the character of magnetic movements, and, if in reality produced by the earth- quake, are of course simply an effect of the shock, the magnets being heavy bars suspended by silk threads some feet in length. About ten minutes afterwards there is doubtful indica- tion in the horizontal force register of a second disturbance. There is no corresponding perceptible disturbance in the earth- current registers. No other similar motion is observable either on December 25 or on the following days. It may be remarked that in NATURE for January 1 last (p. 200) the time of occurrence of the earthquake at Madrid is said to be 8h. 53m. p.m. Taking this to be Madrid time, it corre- sponds to 9h. 8m. of Greenwich time. WILLIAM ELLIS Royal Observatory, Greenwich, January 15 Teaching Chemistry THE subject.of science-teaching in schools, and more particu- larly the best way in which practical chemistry should be taught, has of late been discussed in the columns of NaTurE. With the editor’s leave, I should like to say a little regarding the methods of teaching chemical science in general. Nature for January 8 contained notes, by Profs. Sir H. FE. ~ Fan, 22, 1885] NATURE 203 Roscoe and W. J. Russell, on ‘‘ Experiments suitable for Illus- trating Elementary Instruction in Chemistry.” These notes appear to me to be very useful as a rough guide to the school- teacher. But unless the teacher is able to arrange the experi- mental illustrations so that some conclusions regarding the elementary principles of chemistry shall be drawn from the results he obtains, which conclusions shall then be sub nitted to experimental examination, I think the notes will fail of their object. It is to the want of progressiveness in the ordinary chemical course that I wish to draw attention. The student of physics advances ; he feels his way from one set of phenomena to another ; he generalises, and gets hold of some principles on which he may rest. In the ordinary chemi- cal course the student begins with enthusiasm ; he is delighted with the experiments, and he takes a lively interest in the manipulative failures of the lecturer. But, after a little, the student finds that he is not progressing. When he has been told, and shown, the properties of hydrogen, oxygen, and water, he is expected to take as much interest as ever in hearing a list of properties of nitrogen and oxides of nitrogen. ‘Then he fills his note-book with many facts regarding ammonia and nitric acid, and so on. Now I do firmly believe that chemistry is a branch of science, and that it may be taught as such. I think it is possible, ina course of lectures on chemistry, to lead the fairly intelligent and not very idle student from simple facts about everyday occur- rences to the difficult and apparently remote discussions regard- ing the architecture of molecules, in which themists so much delight. : It lectures on chemistry were arranged so that principles should be discussed and amply illustrated by well-chosen ex- periments, instead of being (as I am afraid is still too often the | case) repetitions of disconnected facts about a string of elements and compounds, I believe this branch of science would rapidly develop in this country. It seems to me that the distinction implied in the commonly-used terms chemistry and chemical philosophy is radically unsound. ‘There are not two chemistrys, but one chemistry. We do not speak of physics as different from natural philosophy. What we want is to convince our students that they are dealing with realities. I am continually presented with answers to questions, which perhaps demand a knowledge of the laws of chemical combination, wherein a few elementary facts are elevated to the rank of an all-embracing theory, and complex structural formule are dealt with in a style of appalling familiarity, as if they were the topics which it is necessary to discuss on the very threshold of chemistry. One is tuld that chlorine is a monad, that is, it is a ‘‘ one-armed one”; and then the conclusion is triumphantly announced, “thus we see why it is” that hydrogen and chlorine combine to form hydrochloric acid, and so on. ‘The other day I implored a candidate in a certain examination to give me a reason for writing the formula of alcohol C,H;—OH rather than C,H,O ; he told me he had seen the former in a book. This is enough for the average student ; and yet these people call them- selves students of science. Iam afraid the teachers are greatly to blame. The examiners have undoubtedly much power; but I think the examinations in chemistry are improving as a whole. When a lecturer in chemistry announces two series of lectures, one elementary and one advanced, is it not very often found that the advanced class is condemned to hear copious details regarding the purification and methods of separation of the rare metals, while the elementary class is entertained with an exhibi- tion of the properties and reactions of the simple and compound gases? But is this chemistry? I think that the teachers of chemistry must consent to abandon the time-honoured practice of placidly proceeding from element to element, and from compound to compound ; they must ask themselves whether they know of any reasons why chemistry should be called a branch of natural science, and, having con- scientiously answered this question, they must try to make their students really acquainted with these reasons. Dr. Sydney Young (NATURE, vol. xxxi., p. 126) has referred _to the paucity of good elementary text-books of chemistry. I, too, have felt the want of a really good book in attempting to teach the principles of chemistry to beginners. Is there any elementary book which treats chemistry as a genuine living science ? M. M. Pattison MUIR Cambridge, January 12 A Method of Isolating Blue Rays for Optical Work IN many optical experiments, ¢.g. in examining the dispersion of optic axes in crystals, a homogeneous or monochromatic light is required. A fairly homogeneous red light, nearly correspond- ing to the Fraunhofer line B, can be obtained by a properly- selected piece of red glass placed in front of a good Argand burner or paraffin lamp. For yellow light, nothing can be better than the flame of a Bunsen’s burner in which a bead of sodium carbonate is held in a loop of platinum wire. For blue rays, the light transmitted by a solution of cuprammonium sul- phate is generally recommended, since the ordinary blue glass coloured with cobalt invariably transmits red rays as well as blue. But the use of a glass cell containing a strong ammo- niacal solution is often inconvenient and unpleasant. I have met with a peculiar kind of greenish-blue glass, used for railway signal lamps, and known as ‘‘signal-green glass ” (coloured, I believe, with copper in its divalent condition), which is remarkably opaque to the less refrangible rays nearly as far as Fraunhofer’s line E, while it transmits a large quantity of blue and some green light. By combining a piece of this glass with a piece of rather deep-tinted cobalt glass, the red rays transmitted by the latter may be wholly stopped, and only the part of the | | | ps ee spectrum between F and G is transmitted, constituting a light at any rate not less homogeneous than that transmitted by solution of cuprammonium sulphate. This ‘‘signal-green glass ” is also useful in illustrating selective absorption of light by different media. If, for instance, a piece of it is superposed on a piece of properly-selected red glass, each ab- sorbs what the other transmits, and practically no luminous rays survive the two; only a faint neutral-tinted light struggling through, even when strong sunlight is used. This can be well shown on the screen by fixing a narrow strip of the ‘‘signal-green glass” vertically in a lantern-slide, and crossing it with a similar strip of red glass fixed horizontally in the same frame. The square space where the two overlap appears absolutely black. The same arrangement is useful for other absorption-experi- ments, since the original colours of the media are shown, as well as the result of their superposition. It is necessary to remember that much lighter tints are wanted for lantern-work than for subjective experiments. Eton College, January 10 H. G. MADAN Barrenness of the Pampas In the admirable address of Prof. Asa Gray at Montreal, he alludes to the singular absence of trees and herbaceous plants throughout the Pampas or vast level plains of the South Ameri- can continent, and he indorses the opinion of Mr. Darwin and Mr. Ball that this absence is due to the fact that the only country from which they could have been derived could not supply species adapted to the soil and climate. As this is a subject to which I paid considerable attention during a long residence in South America, I venture to call attention to the explanation of this phenomenon, which my observations gave rise to as described in my ‘‘ Visit to South America,” 1878. The peculiar characteristics of these vast level plains which descend from the Andes to the great river basin in unbroken monotony, are the absence of rivers or water-storage, and the periodical occurrence of droughts, or ‘‘siccos,” in the summer months. These conditions determine the singular character both of its flora and fauna. The soil is naturally fertile and favourable for the growth of trees, and they grow luxuriantly wherever they are protected. The Eucalyptus is covering large tracts wherever it is inclosed, and willows, poplars, and the fig, surround every estancia when fenced in. The open plains are covered with droves of horses and cattle, and overrun by numberless wild rodents, the original tenants of 264 NATURE [ Fan. 22, 1885 the Pampas. During the long periods of drought which are s> great a scourge to the country, these animals are starved by thousands, destroying, m their efforts to live, every vestige of vegetation. In one of these siccos, at the tims of my visit, no less than 50,090 head of oxen and sheep and horses perished from starvation and thirst, after tearing deep out of the soil every trace of vegetation, including the wiry roots of the Pampas grass. Under such circumstances the existence of an unprotected tree is impossible. The only plants that hold their own, in addition to the indestructible thistles, grasses, and clover, are a little herbaceous oxalis, producing viviparous buds of extraor- dinary vitality, a few poisonous species, such as the hemlock, and a few tough, thorny, dwarf acacias and wiry rushes, which even a starving rat refuses. Although the cattle are a modern introduction, the numberless indigenous rodents must always have effectually prevented the introduction of any other species of plants, large tracts are still honeycombed by the ubiquitous biscacho, a gigantic rabbit, and numerous other rodents still exist, including rats and mice, Pampas hares, and the great nutria and carpincho on the river- banks. That the dearth of plants is not due to the unsuitability of the subtropical species of the neighbouring zones, cannot hold good with respect to the fertile valleys of the Andes beyond Mendoza, where a magnificent hardy flora is found. Moreover, the extensive introduction of European plants which has taken place throughout the country has added nothing to the botany of the Pampas beyond a few species that are unassailable by cattle, such as the two species of thistle which are invading large dis- tricts, in spite of their constant destruction by the fires which always accompany the siccos. EDWIN CLARK Marlow, January 15 Japanese Magic Mirrors In your last week’s issue (p. 249) appears a {paragraph from a paper by Dr. H. Muraoka of Tokio on ‘The Magic Mirror of Japan,” and reference is made to the interest these mirrors have excited, and the large number of writers and lecturers who have taken up the subject of their construction. I have read most of what has been written and stated upon the subject, and dissent from all that has come under my notice, especially the ingenious theories of non-continuous convexity of surface. My ceason for dissent is that I have seen one, and for some time it was placed in my care by a friend who made it himself in this country. He, and I have no doubt correctly, assumed that the differ- ence in reflection was due to difference of density, and that by hammering the flat surfaces of the large letters on the back of the mirror, an increased density would be produced which would extend to the front of the mirror, which would then receive a slightly higher polish, sufficient to give the magical figures. From this reasoning he concluded that any metal which could be polished so as to reflect well could be treated in the same way with the same results. His first experiment was with a half-crown piece, and the success was complete; he had the reverse rubbed down, until a perfectly smooth and polished surface was produced, the reflection from which, on white paper and with a strong light, showed the head of the obverse quite distinctly, but differing from the magic mirrors in this respect, that it was less bright than the other portion of the disk, because the coining-press would bring its greatest pressure upon the field and not upon the type. eG A Edinburgh Peculiar Ice-Forms I INCLOSE a letter with which I have been favoured giving another case of the curious ice-structure lately described in Nature. The circamstances are very similar to those of the other cases. B. Woopp SMITH Hampstead, January 16 Regent Road, Leicester, January 13, 1885 DEAR SiR,—Pray excuse my troubling you with an extract from my note-book as to a peculiar form of ice which I saw on the morning of September 21, 1880. I started to descend from the AEggi horn hotel a little before 6, and when I suppose that I wa. about a thousand feet down, just before coming to the wood, I noticed sone curious-looking ice just along the bottom of the sloping sides of the path, which here runs in a shallow guliey two or three feet deep. The ice ran along the side of the path for some yards. I took up several pieces in my hands and examined them, and made a rough sketch, which I reproduce without any additions. The ice was made up of bundles of little rods about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter and half an inch long. They were roundish and rough or fluted on their sides, and tapered at each end, and in some cases the ends finished with a little thread of ice about a quarter the thickness of the body of the rod. ‘The rods stuck together and were a little curved, and formed roughly two layers, or tiers, one above the other. My note states that these bundles of ice-rods lifted up the dirt and small stones on the top of them. The day before there had been snow with a thaw. My impression was at the time that water, rising through the ground and being frozen just before it reached the surface, gave rise to these peculiar ice-forms. You are quite at liberty to make any use you please of this note. Iam, dear Sir, yours faithfully, Joun D. PauL Iridescent Clouds THE iridescent colours in clouds, observed in England and Scotland in December last, were also visible here December 8, 9, 10, and 12. On the first day, about 3 p.m., the coloured clouds were arranged in a horizontal layer about 20° high, between 20° and 80° azimuth west. In the half altitude a fine stripe broke forth from the background of the ordinary (but not dense) cumulo- stratus. The opinion of one of your correspondents that a connection exists between this and the sky-glows of the last two years, is contradicted by the circumstance that the phenomenon has been observed here several times before, viz. 1871, February 22, March 1, May 10; 1874, January 13; 1875, February 17; 1881, December 27; 1882, January 11, February 22, July 13. I make the following extract from the observation of 1882, January 11, showing the peculiar changes in the colours :—at 3.30 p.m. (sun set at 3.20) extremely beautiful iridescent cirro- stratus in south-west, in an altitude of 8°—12°.. The upper borders, later also the lower, were red, with yellow brims, the rest of the borders and the inner parts very variegated and variable ;_ the light red, commonly seen in mother-of-pearl, changed through crimson into blue-green, and then into grass- green. On some spots this change was repeated twice. The variation of the colours continued till after 4 o’clock ; at 4.30 the colour was the ordinary red. The form of the clouds varied very slowly. 1881, December 27, an isolated brilliantly-coloured cloud was observed through two hours at least. A drawing of it by Dr. Reusch (in woodcut) is inserted in the Norwegian Maturen 1882, No. I. The most striking cases of this phenomenon have been ob- served here when mild and dry weather set in after frost. H. GEELMUYDEN © University Observatory, Christiania, January I1 Solar Phenomenon As I see no record of what I witnessed on the afternoon of the 14th instant in NATURE of the 15th, I trouble you with this brief statement. At 3h. 20m. p.m. on that day I was struck by the appearance of the sun, which was crossed by a light stratus cloud of a clearly-defined outline, below which appeared what seemed a column of light of uniform width, down to the horizon, the width being somewhat less than the sun’s diameter. By 3h. 3om. the definition of this parallel beam was less marked, but the sun presented to me the appearance of an oblong, sug- gesting three partially-superposed disks. Soon afterwards the sun was wholly obscured. The day had been cold, the tempera- ture being never far from freezing-point in the shade. I have on former occasions, and in summer, seen the parallel beam striking upwards, once in association with a mock sun. Valentines, Ilford C. M. INGLEBY A Cannibal Snake WITH reference to notes as to Ophiophagous snakes, which appeared at pp. 216, 269, 312, and 408 of the last volume of Narurg, I inclose a communication received by me this morn- yan. 22, 1885 | NATURE ing from Borneo. The habit seems general, and, according to | the above letters, not confined to venomous or non-venomous varieties. Epwarp F, TAYLOR St. Augustine’s College, Canterbury, January 13 “* Sarawak, Borneo, November 11, 1884. “The inclosed cutting from NATURE was sent me by H. Brooke Low, Esq., resident of Rejang, with a desire that I should forward my experience (which was similar to Mr. Evans’s) to your paper. A young Dyak youth was walking up the hill towards my house, when a snake sprang out of the bank and fastened itself on the boy’s jacket, just under the right arm. Fortunately, its fangs got caught in the cloth, and the boy escaped unhurt. Eventually, the reptile was killed and brought to the house. It measured five feet and some odd inches in length. In examining its fangs I noticed in its mouth the tail of another snake, and, on pulling it out and comparing them, I found it to be a few inches /ozger than the outside snake, though not quite so thick. I have come to the conclusion that this snake is the Ophinphagus elaps of the Straits. “The native name for it is ‘ Ular Kendawang.’ It is more deadly, more agile, and more beautifully marked than the ‘ Ular biliong’ mentioned by Mr. Evans. So fascinatingly beautiful is the appearance of this snake, that in Dyak poetry one of their heroes is described as “Crowned with the cast skin of the Ular Kendawang,’ thus attributing to the hero that comeliness, agility, and fearlessness for which the ‘ Kendawang’ is noted. I have reason to believe that the ‘Ular biliong,’ or axe snake (from the shape of its head), mentioned by Mr. Evans is an Ophiophagus, but it is not what is called the ‘Elaps.’ Its movements are sluggish, and its poison is not nearly so deadly as that of the ‘ Kenda- wang.’ The distinctive marks of the ‘Kendawang’ are a red- dish head and tail, the red of the tail being about twice the length of the head. The ground colour of the body is gene- rally of a dark gray, but I have seen them of a silver gray, and also dark brown. A light streak of flesh-colour runs down the back, and the edges of it are serrated with vermilion and metallic-green spots, with just enough of white and yellow to make a most pleasing combination of colour. Besides these two, there are two other species belonging to the Ophiophagous class. The native names are ‘Kengkang mas,’ or ‘ Tinchin mas,’ 7.e. golden-ringed ; and ‘ Matikor,’ 7.e. dead-tailed, and these four species are, I believe, very common throughout the Malay Archipelago. ““M. J. DYWATER, «©S.P.G. Missionary in Sarawak ” The Canadian Geological Survey A PHRASE used in your condensed report of my remarks after Sir J. H. Lefroy’s pape-, read on January 13 at the Colonial Institute, may, [ fear, be misunderstood by some of my friends in Canada. Iam reported speaking of the Geological Survey of that country as ‘‘ being slowly conducted.” My remarks were not intended to imply the slightest reproach. I explained that progress could not be rapid because of the vast extent of the territory and the natural difficulties of many parts of it. I think, indeed, that it is surprising that, having regard to the means at their disposal, the Survey have accomplished so much. I urged that, as it was impossible for the present staff to prospect specially for minerals without abandoning the general work of surveying, which is of the more importance for science, some specialist should be added to it, to whom the former duty should be assigned. I did not use quite so str ng a phrase as that I “‘ believed the district north of the St. Lawrence was rich in valuable minerals.” My opinion is that, as certain parts are known to be rich, and as there is great uniformity in the geology of the district, it is very probable similar deposits exist in the (very large) unexplored portion. T. G. BONNEY 23, Denning Road, Hampstead, N.W., January 19 ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK 1885, JANUARY 25-31 (A* an experiment we have here adopted for the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24.) “VT At Greenwich on Fanuary 25 Sun rises 7h. 50m. ; souths 12h. 12m. 40.9s.; sets 16h. 35m.3; Decl. on meridian 18° 50 S. ; sidereal time at sunset oh. 55m. Moon (1 day past First Quarter) rises 11h. 55m ; souths 1gh. 29m. ; sets 3h. 12m.*; decl. on meridian 15° 59' N. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. By: Mercury... 6 23 10 27 14 3 21 47S. Venus 6 31 10 29 14 2 22 44S. Mars Pam sh) (63 12 29 16 52 18 54 8. Jupiter -.. 196% Fi 9 8 11 10 N, Saturn sUTZEAR hs S2OVAG 4,49""-... 20) B2Ne January 26, 16h.—Mercury at greatest elongation from the Sun, ise Nii Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding Jan. Star Mag. Disap. Reap. angles from vertex to left h. m. h. m. ° ° 26) <2. (BLAGO 1526124 |O mee. LOMU SHE LO NAO le nO Raa 2c BaAeG@s 1980 '.. 64) :-2)20139) =. 20 gOne mee saea he 29 ... AGeminorum... 3} 2023 ea | 3 2Teee Eee BOn.- 4 BAU Ce sha! -. OF 20) 54) +.) 20 50; 2) GORZ3 7 BU amleeanisnes 5 if teeta tee on | WING, Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites Jan. h. m. Jan. h. m. 25 4 1 I. tr. ing. 27) = O47 Lentryepns 622i ete serr: 19 8 I. ecl. disap. 21 40 IV. tr. egr. 21 33 II. ecl. disap. 26 o 40. J. ecl. disap. 21 58 I. occ. reap. 3.30 Tocc; reap, | 289... 1 33) Uiocesseaps 2052) ety. ang. 19 13 I. tr. egr. 6 47 II. tr. egr. 29) =. 1954) UL) treo 7 27 III. ecl. disap. 23 19 III. tr. ing. 22 28 (I. tr. ing. 30 2 54 III. tr. egr. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding, and the setting that of the following nominal day. JBHORSIEY = Y business this evening is to talk about dust: meaning by dust all suspended foreign matter of whatever kind, and including smoke and fog under the one heading. Coming from England I should naturally begin by saying, well, we all know what dust and smoke are; and even in Canada, I suppose, I may ven- ture to say the same, though I am bound to say that your country, at present, shows a remarkable deficiency in this respect. In an English town dust and smoke are the most noticeable features, and are always ready to per- form any insanitary or other function that may be expected ~ of them. In this clear atmosphere none of these functions can be properly performed ; disease-germs must languish and die, and their sworn foes, the white corpuscles of the human blood, must thrive amain. Let me say, however, that the air here is not so absolutely free from smoke as I had hoped to find it. Compared with an English town it is asplendid contrast; compared with one’s ideal it falls short. Your houses may indeed burn anthracite and wood, but your passenger locomotives do not: I can attest from very recent personal experience, in a journey across this continent, that some of your locomotives emit almost as much smoke as a Clyde steamer, and that the journey would have been much pleasanter if they had emitted less. I also see some factory chimneys rising here and there. If you be not warned in time, you will not realise the blessing of fresh and pure air until you have lost it. It is good to have large manufactures, it is better to retain healthy and pure air. But with proper care the two may go together. Once lose ground in this respect, as we have done in ciation at Montreal, on Friday of Physics in University Col- * Evening discourse to the British As: t 29, 1884. by Oliver J. Lodge, Professor . Liverpool 266 NATURE 2k | Fan. 22, 1885 England, and terribly uphill will be the retracement of your steps. The old country has in many things made experiments for you—experiments of which you may reap the benefit, without repeating them, if you choose. The experiment of Protection, which we have tried and aban- doned, I dare not here mention except just by name ; but I dare mention the experiment we have tried only too successfully, and by no means yet abandoned though we groan under it—that of fouling the atmosphere, wherever a large number of human beings have to live in it, to such an extent that it is not fit to breathe. We have made a terrible mistake, and one that will take perhaps a century to undo. ‘Tax all the necessaries of life and it is a small evil, for the tax may at any time by an Act of Parliament be removed, but pollute the air in which a people have to live and no one can see the end of the evil. You will soon have towns here rivalling Liverpool and Glasgow and Manchester in size, and some day London. Be warned in time. However, in speaking of dust, | am not going to con- fine myself to such artificial dust as is made in towns, I shallinclude everything which Tyndall means when he calls it “ the floating matter of the air,” all diffused and floating foreign \\atter, fine or coarse. But the term “floating” is not free from possible misconception, and a better term than floating is sinking. If the two sound antagonistic, then floating was wrong. Foreign particles, whether solid or liquid, are not floating, and cannot float, in air; they are all necessarily sinking through it, and sinking at a well- defined and fairly calculable rate. Consider, for instance, the water globules of a fog, or mist, or cloud. The drops of water appear to float in air, but they are not floating, they are slowly settlmg down. They may in truth be buoyed up by convection currents, but they never move up ‘rough the air, they move up w7¢/ the air to some extent, but are always slowly falling through it whether the air be moving -or stationary. Are they then like a slowly-falling balloon -or soap-bubble? No, they are not buoyed up at all—they are falling as fast as ever they can. Water is 500 times as heavy as air, and a drop of water falls under the influence of this enormous difference in weight. Why does it not fall faster? Just for the same reason as prevents an Atlantic liner from being propelled at 50 knots an hour— skin friction, A ship requires a great force to propel it at 15 knots an hour ; break it up into small pieces and it will take vastly more; pound it into infinitely fine dust and it will require an infinite “force to propel it at any slow pace. 1 do not say that a small body as it moves through a fluid experiences more resistance than a large one—it experiences less ; but the decrease of resistance is not so rapid as the decrease of its bulk or weight, and consequently a small falling body is resisted more 272 pro- portion to its weisht than a large one. Consider a bullet or a raindrop falling from a great height. As it falls it keeps moving quicker and quicker, but not without limit. Its weight remains constant, the resistance it meets with increases with its speed ; hence there comes a time when the two balance and the body is in equilibrium. It then ceases to gain speed: it has attained its ‘‘ terminal velocity.” Even if thrown down faster than this it would slacken till it attained it. Now this terminal velocity is greater for a bullet than for a small shot, is greater for a large raindrop than for a small one, and for a mist globule is very small. The old idea concerning cloud globules, that they were hollow vesicles and therefore floated, is quite erroneous. They do not float, they sink. Slowly sinking particles, then, constitute dust, whether these par- ticles be solid or liquid. Water dust is so important that it has various names, such as mist, fog, rain, cloud, and, in popular usage, steam. Having now stated what dust is, the question presents itself, How did it get there ? What are the sources of dust ? There are certain human sources of dust—such as the traffic of towns, and the smoke of imperfect combustion. These produce coarse and heavy particles which never rise to a great height, nor float very far from their source : this dust may be regarded as mere dirt and filth. Be- sides this, however, a fine impalpable dust is produced by every terrestrial activity. The wind blowing through trees, the waves tossing up spray—all these natural activities disperse into the air very fine particles, which are upborne and carried so far from their source that they form quite a permanent part of the atmosphere. This fine natural dust is not limited to the lower atmospheric levels, but is almost equally abundant at great heights ; to it we owe the blueness of the sky, and by it clouds and mists are rendered possible. Another source of dust is found in volcanoes. During an eruption immense torrents of pumice and ashes are driven upwards to incredible heights, whence they slowly settle down again, the larger fragments sometimes covering the sea for acres with a thick floating deposit through which steamers slowly crunch their way, almost as if steering through land (see a graphic account in NATURE, signed Stanley M. Rendall, forwarded by Prof. Turner, vol. xxx. p. 288, July 24, 1884; see also vol. xxix. p. 375, abstract of paper by Capt. Vereker); the finer particles being carried hundreds of miles away from their source, and giving rise to brilliant appearances as they catch the solar rays—appearances recently observed over a great part of the world at sunset. Yet another variety of dust is that which comes to us from ultra-terrestrial sources, fragments of interplanetary matter, cosmic or meteoric dust. You all know of the showers of falling stones—the August and November meteors; you know that these are lumps of interplanetary matter careering through space, mostly doubtless round the’sun, but not aggregated together into planets. Cold lumps of iron they mostly seem to be, possibly fragments of some ancient world, possibly relics of the old nebulous world material, never yet aggregated into worlds atall. For ages they may have been rushing along, some almost isola- ted, others crowded together, and so they might rush on for millions of years; but a larger body bears down upon some of them ; they feel the gravitative influence of the huge mass of a planet; they are deflected from their course notwithstanding their prodigious speed, and a few dip into its atmosphere. In an instant the terrific friction strips off their outer coat, scrapes and rubs the surface till it glows with a white heat ; streams of white-hot particles are still scraped off, and forma luminous trail, but the white- hot masses plunge on : and one perhaps escapes to resume | its wanderings, disturbed a little by its encounter but not de- stroyed ; another may be rubbed to fragments altogether ; another may be heated so rapidly and unequally as to explode ; while another may enter the atmosphere at a more moderate velocity—may be heated indeed, and violently scraped, but not destroyed, and may embed itself in the ground, to be dug up by some peasant as a thunder- bolt and to be preserved in some museum. The frayed particles of such meteors must constitute no inconsi- derable portion of terrestrial dust ; and since it comes from altogether extra-terrestrial sources, it is to us of most intense interest. One other visitant from other worlds we know of, and that is light. Light is found to be charged with information, though it took man many centuries to learn how to read it—first with the telescope, now with the spectroscope, and next with who shall say what still more potent revealer and analyser of hidden truth. Meteoric dust may not be so laden with informa- mation as light is—certainly we have not yet learnt to read it. It is only within the last few years that, at the instigation of Sir William Thomson, a Committee of Section A of the British Association was appointed to consider the question whether such dust could be col- lected and detected at all. Under the able and energetic guidance of Dr. Schuster, this Committee has done good work, and some dust from the ice-fields of the Himalayas , ’ ¥ Zan. 22, 1885] and from Greenland has been definitely proved to be meteoric. At present however no sign of organic matter or evi- dence of extra-terrestrial life has yet been detected in it, but any year this statement may have to be modified, and a discovery of the most intense interest may have to be announced. You have probably all heard of this theory of Sir William Thomson’s, that some life germs may have been carried to the earth by a meteor, and you are pro- bably equally well acquainted with the cheap ridicule the statement met with at the hands of newspaper article writers and the general public. It was derided as an absurd attempt to explain the origin of life. It was nothing of the kind. Nothing at all was said about the origin of life ; it was a sober matter-of-fact statement that it was a scientific possibility for some organic germs or seeds to be conveyed to the earth by a meteor, to be rubbed off it at its first entrance into the atmosphere without getting overheated, and thence to slowly settle down as dust, and germinate. Well, it is a possibility, and it may before now have happened, and it may happen again, and very interesting it would be to be able to point to a case of its happening. But what then? If you account for the presence of a cherry-tree in your orchard by saying that it sprang from a cherry-stone dropped by a pass- ing balloon, are you to be assailed as a full-blown explainer of the origin of all cherry-trees and of all forms of life ? You may take it as a fairly safe rule that when a state- ment is made by the highest living scientific authority, the statement may or may not be true, but it is not likely to be such abject nonsense that any newspaper article writer, in the interval between ten o’clock and midnight, can see all through it, detect its follies, and serve them up exposed for your breakfast edification. Leaving the subject of meteoric dust now, and of the possibility of future discovery which may be wrapped up in it, let us proceed to ask, What is dust for—what pur- pose does it serve? We shail not enter upon the teleo- logical inquiry, what was it intended te do; we shall simply ask what it does—a plainer, and for the most part a more instructive, question. First, what is the function of human dust, such as is made in towns? One of its functions is to choke up the breathing organs both of plants and animals; another is to propagate disease from place to place. It is one of the most important discoveries of this century, that in- fectious disease is due to the growth of a specific vege- table organism in the system, propagating itself like yeast in dough, or ferments in alcoholic liquors. The germs of these organisms float about in the air from place to place, and gain positions enabling them to enter the blood of some animal organism, say man, where they can grow and flourish, provided they are able to successfully encounter their mortal foes, the white corpuscles of the blood. If these white corpuscles are strong and vigorous, they will overpower the foreign growth, and kill it. If, on the other hand, they are weak and feeble, and the germs are very numerous, the foreign growth may get a secure footing and spread Juxuriantly, changing the character of the fluids of the body, coagulating, it may be, the albumen, and other- wise setting up the unnatural and abnormal display of functions which we call disease. I have only to indicate thus much to exhibit to you the enormous field of know- ledge and of inquiry which is involved in the discussion of the function of dust from this point of view. But it is not my province to discuss this, and I must hasten on to more purely physical considerations, and must ask, What is the function of the fine impalpable dust or ultra-microscopic particles in the upper regions of the air? First of all, it is this which causes the blue of the sky and the diffusedness of daylight. I have not time to go into this. I will only state it, and pass on. You will find the rudiments of it beautifully expressed by NATURE Dr. Tyndall in his Lectures on Light, but it will take Lord Rayleigh to explain it to you completely.’ If the atmosphere were purely gaseous, and held no minute foreign bodies in suspension, the aspect of the sky would be utterly different from what it now is. The sun would glare down directly with blinding intensity, and objects not in direct sunlight would be in almost complete shadow. A room facing north would be in something like darkness : at least, it would be only illuminated by reflection from illuminated objects outside. The sun would be set in a black firmament, and if its direct light were screened off it would be easy to see the stars at noonday. (Through dust-free air light passes on without loss by scattering, and is quite invisible except to any eye placed directly in its course. [Tyndall’s optically empty tube was here shown.] There is nothing remarkable in seeing nothing, when no dust or other reflecting body is present. When you see motes dancing in a sunbeam, it is not the motes which render the sun- beam visible, but the sunbeam the motes; and of course light is invisible which does not enter the eye.) What is the actual state of things as contrasted with this ? The sun’s rays on reaching our atmosphere are partially intercepted, diffused, and scattered by myriads of most minute particles, so minute as to be even smaller than the hight-waves themselves, and to act on the smallest of these waves more powerfully than on the largest. The light thus scattered is the diffuse daylight so entirely satisfactory and pleasant to the eye, and so inimitable by artificial systems of illumination. The light thus scat- tered has a preponderance of small waves, owing to the minute size of the scattering particles, and hence it affects our sight organ with the sensation of blue. By this scat- tered light shadows are mellowed, the intensity of direct sunlight is mitigated, and the whole expanse of sky glows with a perfect lustre, effectually drowning the light from the more distant celestial bodies. Above the top of a high mountain dust is almost absent, and there the sky has been observed at times to look almost black, and stars are sometimes visible in sunlight. But besides the blue of the sky, we owe to this dust the possibility of clouds, which still further intercept and scatter the solar beams. “Cloud is visible vapour of water floating at a certain height in the air,’-says Mr.. Ruskin *; but he is not quite right in his language. True vapour of water is invisible, and that which is visible is no- longer vapour, but condensed vapour. It is vapour which- has condensed to liquid—not to great masses of liquid, but to minute globules or spherules of liquid, so small as only to~ sink very slowly through the air. What makes the vapour condense into this water-dust form? Why does it not condense at once into great masses or sheets of water ? Something there must be to start the condensation at multi- tudes of separate points, so that the vapour shall condense the instant it is saturated, without ever becoming super- saturated. Things that act in this way are called nuclei. Without a nucleus, it is as easy fora phenomenon to begin at one place as at another, and when that is the case it does not begin anywhere: there is no preponderating cause. Wherever there is a nucleus, however, there the action can begin ; and in order that action may commence at an infinity of points at once, it is necessary that an. infinity of nucleiexist. The action of nuclei is readily illus-- trated by the well-known experiment of a supersaturated solution of Glauber’s salts. The solution remains liquid until a nucleus is introduced, when it becomes suddenly converted into a solid. (I don’t say that it is clear why nuclei are able to start the action. What is there at the surface of discontinuity to make change of state easier there than anywhere else? It will take a bigger man than me to tell you that.) * Phil. Mag., August 1881. ? “Storm Cloud” lecture, p. 12. 3 Sir W. Thomson has partially indicated a reason for it in his theory of the effect of curvature of surface on vapour-tension. See Maxwell's “ Heat,” chap. xx. p. 268. 268 NATURE Now this sudden conversion is just what might happen in the case of the atmosphere, only the change of state would be from vapour to liquid. Picture to yourselves aqueous vapour accumulating and increasing in quantity in dust-free air, saturated, over-saturated, nothing to start the condensation; it goes on accumulating ; the atmo- sphere becomes unbearably damp, soaking into and through everything. At length at some point something causes it to give way, and condensation takes place. Instantly it spreads from this point as from a centre, volumes of liquid are produced, and fall not as a shower but as a splash, deadly and destructive by the mere weight and impetus of its fall. Instead of this, what really happens? The moisture, on becoming saturated, finds myriads of minute dust particles or nuclei, round which it condenses; the more numerous the nuclei, the more minute may be the globules of mist formed ; it never becomes supersaturated at all. ‘The instant it is saturated it begins to condense, and we have the mist or visible cloud, and in this form it may last for any length of time. Under certain influences, however, not yet fully understood, but which I wish in part to illustrate to-day, these minute globules may congre- gate into larger ones. Too large to remain slowly falling through the air, they begin to fall more quickly as their size increases, and we get the fine shower; or, if: the aggregation goes on further, and the drops do not evaporate much as they fall, we have the heavy down- pour, the thunderstorm, or the tropical deluge—all varieties of rainfall caused by the different size of the aggregated water globules. Were there no nuclei, condensation would not begin, and were there but few nuclei, condensation could only begin at a few points, and a quite different kind of mist might present itself ; one which would consist of compara- tively large and rapidly sinking globules—small for rain- drops, but large for mist globules, a kind intermediate between mist and rain, such a mist as is met with in clear moist climates, and known in England as a Scotch mist. Note this, that to get a fine permanent fog, you must have an enormous number of centres of condensation. Mr. Aitken (Zrans. Roy. Soc. Edin., about 1879) estab- lished this fact, that every spherule of mist must have condensed itself round a minute solid dust particle, a nucleus, and that without such nuclei condensation could not goon. The minuteness of the nuclei able to act in this way is extreme, an almost immeasurably small quantity of matter being sufficient to precipitate a copious cloud. Their size is quite beyond a microscope. [Mr. Aitken’s experiment was here shown with appa- ratus from the Royal Institution. A long glass tube is filled with moist air, carefully filtered through cotton wool and glycerine, after Tyndall, and is then suddenly ex- hausted by an air-pump. It is thus cooled far below the dew point, but no precipitation occurs; and the tube, well illuminated, is seen to remain clear. Now ignite a platinum wire inside it with a few Grove cells, and let more filtered air enter. As soon as this is done exhaust again; instantly a thick cloud is precipitated, condensation occurring round myriads of nuclei given off from the platinum wire—which, however, has not appre- ciably lost weight. I wonder if this experiment could not give Sir Wm. Thomson a fifth limit to the size of atoms by estimating the loss of weight of the platinum spiral and the number of globules in the resulting mist. | A familar illustration of the effect of nuclei on vapour is given by the simple experiment of writing on a pane of glass with a stick, and then breathing on it. Where the writing has wiped away the dust, the moisture condenses less easily and in much fewér and larger globules than where nuclei are abundant; consequently the writing becomes visible. In studying the properties of any physical agent, it is essential to be able to employ it or exclude it at pleasure. One must have insulators to investigate electricity ; one must perform optical experiments in a dark room ; and to study the properties and functions of dust it is im- portant to be able to remove it, and to obtain dust-free spaces. Methods of removing dust from air are :— (1) Filtration through cotton-wool, or cotton-wool and glycerine, packed tightly. Tyndall has shown how effec- tive this can be made with proper management. (2) Allowing it to settle. In a few days or a week most of the dust has settled out of stagnant air. Prof. Noel Hartley employed atmospheres of hydrogen in his old and careful experiments on “ spontaneous generation,” because it was too rare for germs to float in. (3) Condensing vapour in the air several times. Mr. Aitken has shown that successive condensations of vapour gradually purify air by removal of nuclei, until it is quite clear. He shows that the ability of vapour to condense is an extremely delicate test of the presence of such nuclei, and that when the dust particles are very few, conden- sation takes place not as cloud but as fine rain or Scotch mist. Doubtless, the cause of actual Scotch mist is the clearness and purity of the Highland air induced by frequent and continued rains. (4) Keeping a hot body in air for some time. Tyndall calls “ calcining ” the air. (5) Discharging electricity into it from a point. I must say a few words about the two last methods. When a hot body is held under a sunbeam, a dark stream of dust-free air is seen rising above it. This was dis- covered by Dr. Tyndall, and investigated by Lord Rayleigh, as well as by Mr. Clark and myself.!' A hot spiral of platinum wire in a bell-jar produces this dust-free stream, and so gradually clarifies the air in the jar. That this is not due to combustion or evaporation we proved by using the smoke of burnt magnesium, which answers per- fectly. Lord Rayleigh has shown that a cold body is similarly effective, and causes a descending dust-free stream. We have found that the dust-free streamer is only a pro- longation of a dust-free coaf which surrounds all warm bodies. The dust is kept away from them by molecular bombardment. It has been shown by Tait and Dewar, and by Osborne Reynolds, that a Crookes bombardment is effective at even ordinary pressures provided the bodies bombarded are small. Dust particles are very small, and so they get driven by molecular impact away from hot surfaces and towards cold ones: the distance through which they are so driven away being easily measured by observing the thickness of the dust-free coat round an illuminated body at known temperature.” Two black tin vessels or glass flasks can be put under a bell-jar, one of the flasks full of warm water, the other of cold. On now burning magnesium, or otherwise filling the jar with smoke,. the cold one will presently be found thickly covered with a deposit, the warm one will be nearly free. What Tyndall calls “calcining” the air, then, is really bombarding the dust out of it on to the cool wall surfaces. The deposition of lamp-black on a cold body held in a flame is thus ex- plained. Whenever the air is warmer than bodies it deposits its dust and smoke upon them ; whenever bodies are warmer than the air they keep the dust off, except when the weight of some of the larger particles is sufficient to overcome the bombardment; a thing which is very likely to happen ona horizontal and slightly warm surface. « Mr. Aitken commenced the same investigation after reading my pre- liminary note of July 1883 in Navrure, and has followed it up in much the same way as we have, obtaining very similar results. I have just seen Mr. Aitken’s paper in the Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xxxii. Part Il. He therein criticises one or two of the views I somewhat hastily expressed in the preliminary note referred to. But our views were naturally modified by further experience, and in the complete paper in the PAz/. Mag., March 1884, they are more carefully expressed. It would have been better if I had not written to NATuRE until the investigation was complete. * See Lodge and Clark, PAid. Wag., March 1884; also NaTurE, July 26, 1883, vol. xxviil. p. 297, and April 24, 1884, vol. xxix. p. 612. This, Wan t22; 1885 .* eae a - 7 B., Fan, 22, 1885] So we learn that the things in a room warmed by radiation (sunlight or open fire), because they are warmer than the air of the room, do not tend to get very dusty. But in a room warmed by hot piping or stoves, things are liable to get very dusty because the air is warmer than they are. Finally, let us turn to electrical phenomena in dusty air. Just as a magnet polarises iron filings, and makes them attract each other and point out the lines of force, so an electrified body polarises dust particles, and makes them point out the lines of electrostatic force. It is therefore very interesting to watch electrical phenomena in illumi- nated smoky air. The pyroelectric behaviour of tourmaline for instance is beautifully shown by the aggregation of dust in little bushes at the opposite poles of the crystal. Mica often exhibits strong electrical actions. But perhaps the most curious thing of all is what happens when a brush dis- charge begins in such air. The violent and tumultuous action must be witnessed—it can hardly be described ; but it does not last long, for in a few seconds every particle of dust has disappeared, condensed on the walls and floor of the vessel. [An experiment of discharging from a point connected with one pole of a Voss machine into a bell-jar of illumi- nated magnesium smoke was then shown. It is a very easy experiment, and rather a striking one. A potential able to give quarter-inch or even one-tenth-inch spark is ample, and better than a higher one. The smoke par- ticles very quickly aggregate into long filaments which point along the lines of force, and which drop by their own weight when the electrification is removed. A higher potential tears them asunder and drives them against the sides of the jar. A knob polarises the particles as well as a point, but does not clear the air of them so soon. If the bell-jar be filled with steam, electrification rapidly aggregates the globules into Scotch mist and fine rain.}] This experiment shows how quickly air may be cleared of its solid constituents by a continuous electrical discharge. The fact may perhaps admit of practical application in clearing smoke-rooms, or disinfecting hospital air. It also must have a close bearing on the way in which “ thunder clears the air,” on thunder-showers, and perhaps on rain in general. Sir Wm. Thomson’s “ effect of curva- ture on vapour-tension” shows that large cloud globules increase at the expense of small ones, and so may gradually grow into raindrops; but under electrical influ- ence rapid aggregation of drops mu-t occur. The large drops so formed may be upheld by the electrical attraction of a strongly charged thunder-cloud, but as soon as the flash occurs, down they must come. Lord Rayleigh made some interesting observations on the effect of a feeble electrical charge in inducing a spreading water-jet to gather itself together (Prac. Roy. Soc., No, 221, 1882) ; and Prof. Tait has pointed out in his lecture on Thunder- storms (NATURE, vol. xxii. pp. 339, 436) that aggregation of feebly charged drops into larger ones is of itself sufficient to raise their potential. One strongly charged cloud would thus act on another, aggregating its drops, and so raising its potential until a flash is a necessity.? It seems not impossible that some use may be made of this aggregating power of electricity on small bodies, such as smoke particles and mist globules. In coming to this country we lay for some hours outside the Straits of Belle Isle in the midst of icebergs mingled with fog. Icebergs alone are not dangerous but beautiful. Fog is an unmitigated * I find that unless one claims a lecture experiment it is commonly treated as a vechauffée. Ut is pardonable, therefore, and indeed only due to Mr. Clark, who has been associated with me in the dust research, to state that these observations are original. A small cellar can be cleared of thick turpentine smoke pretty quickly by a point discharge. * If the initial potential of the second cloud were opposite to that of the first, the spark would pass between the two clouds: if it were similar, its rise would pce the potential of the first cloud, and so cause it to spark into something else. NATURE 269 nuisance. Electric light is powerless to penetrate it ; and it was impossible, as we lay there idle, not to be struck with the advisability of dissipating it. It is rash to predict what can be done, it is still rasher to predict what can not. I would merely point out that on board a steamer are donkey- engines, and that these engines can drive a very powerful Holtz or Wimshurst machine, one pole of which may be led to points onthe masts. When electricity is discharged into fog on a small scale, it coagulates into globules and falls as rain—perhaps it will on a large scale too. Oil stills the ripples of a pond, and it has an effect on ocean billows ; just so an electric discharge, which certainly coagulates and precipitates smoke or steam in a bell-jar, ~ may possibly have an effect on an Atlantic fog. I am not too sanguine, but it would not cost much to try,and even if it only kept a fairly clear space near the ship, it would be useful. ‘There are other possible applications of this electrical clearing or deposition of dust, but I am not here to talk of practical applications but of science itself. A homely proverb may be paraphrased into a useful motto for young investigators. Stick to the pure science and the applications will take care of themselves. I am not one to decry the applications of science for the benefit of mankind, far from it, but while the rewards of industrial applications are obvious and material, and such as will always secure an adequate following, the rewards of the pursuit of science for its own sake are transcen- dental and immaterial, and not to be imagined except by the few called to the work. That call entails labour and self-sacrifice beyond most other, but they who receive it will neglect it at their peril. HEREDITARY DEAFNESS? HE startling title of Mr. Graham Bell’s admirable memoir is fully justified by its contents. It appears that there are upwards of 33,000 deaf mutes in America, mostly collected in large institutions forming social worlds of their own, whose inmates intermarry or else contract marriages with the hearing relatives of their fellow pupils, who themselves, in many cases, must have an hereditary though latent tendency to deafness. This state of things has been going on increasingly for two or more genera- tions, with the result that congenital deafness, which in other countries appears sporadically, and mostly fails to obtain an hereditary footing, has become artificially pre- served in America, and is intensified by inter-marriages, until a deaf variety of the human race may be said to be established. There can be no question, after reading the mass of evidence submitted by Mr. Graham Bell, of the general truth of this summary statement. That precise knowledge that we should be glad to possess, of the strength and peculiarity of the hereditary taint, is unfor- tunately unattainable owing to the imperfection of the records kept at the institutions of the after history of their pupils; but the data, such as they are, have been handled with great statistical skill by the author, so that he has squeezed all the information out of them that they appear competent to give. We may now go a little more into details. It appears that out of six asylums, with an aggregate of 5823 pupils, 29'5 per cent. have deaf relatives. Also that nearly half the pupils contract marriages, and that 80 per cent. of those who do so, marry together. This ratio of inter- marriage is much greater than it was at the beginning of the century, and it appears to have steadily increased from then up to the present time. It is unfortunate that the imperfection of the records kept at the institutions make it difficult to ascertain the exact rate of the increase or the precise fate of the issue of all the marriages. This latter fact may, however, be estimated by working back- “Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race,” by Alex- ander Graham Bell, National Academy of Sciences, New Haven, U.S.A., November 13, 1883. 270 NATURE [ Fan. 22, 1885 wards, and finding the number of deaf-mutes known to exist among the ancestors of the present inmates of the asylums. The family history of many of these is appalling, such as “Grandfather, father, mother, and other relatives” ; “father, mother, one brother, and five uncles and aunts”; two cases of “father, mother, one sister, one uncle, and one aunt”; two cases of “ father, mother, two brothers, and two uncles,” and so on. In one case as many as fifteen deaf-mute relatives are recorded. Genealogical trees are given of the families in which deaf-mutism prevails, and the large proportion of the members of those families who are congenitally afflicted is most painfully illustrated. The surnames of the inmates of deaf-mute asylums are analysed, and the frequency is pointed out of the recurrence of many strange-sounding names, such as “Fahy,” “ Hulett,” “Closson,” “Brasher,” “Copher,’ “ Gortschalg,” &c., apparently out of all proportion to the number of persons bearing those names in the general population. The influences that promote the inter-marriage of deaf- mutes are fully described. The isolation of their class from the rest of the world is becoming more and more complete. Each institution is a self-sufficing alma mater where every member feels really at home, and with which each member continues his connection in after years. Gatherings of old pupils of both sexes, comversaziones, and other social meetings are of frequent recurrence, and what is most important of all, the highly-developed and very conventional gesture language of the deaf and dumb has already moulded them into a distinct nation. They think not in words, but in abbreviated symbolic gestures, and the sequence and association of their ideas is thus compelled to be idiomatic and widely different from those of the rest of their race. English and other spoken languages are foreign tongues to them, and are acquired, for the most part, very imperfectly. A separate mode of life is so congenial to persons reared under such excep- tional surroundings, and of such exceptional natures, that unwise schemes have been from time to proposed, of buying land in settlements for the deaf and dumb, where they should reside and form a secluded society of their own. They are content with their lot when they are brought into contact with none but themselves, but they are ill at ease, and feel themselves to be aliens, when they are forced into the presence of the outside world. What wonder that they should shrink from it, and inter- marry and strive to keep apart. The interest of this strange story is twofold. In the first place it shows how easily a marked and degenerate variety of mankind may be established in permanence by a system of selection extending through two or three generations ; and, secondly, it is an instance in which strong social, and possibly legislative, agencies are sure to become aroused against unions that are likely to have hereditary effects harmful to the nation. The advisa- bility of various forms of restrictive measures is judi- ciously and carefully discussed by the author, with the general result that gesture-language should cease to be taught, the oral system being enforced in its place, and that the philanthropic custom of massing the deaf and dumb together in separate societies, and of making their life as happy as possible in those societies, should be strongly discouraged. Instructive experiments on the rate at which a deaf breed of animals could be formed, might be made by breeding deaf cats, who are by no means _ inefficient mousers, and who show no signs of discontent at their lot. JI may mention an observation of my own as having some possible pathological bearings. It was this : during a country walk I lunched at a roadside inn, where I saw a female cat with blue eyes, and asked and found that she was quite deaf, but was told that her kittens all heard perfectly. The only one of them that had been kept was in the room, and she certainly noticed my voice | and other noises I made to attract her attention, just as readily as other kittens. Then it occurred to me to try her with the shrill notes of one of my little whistles, which I had in my pocket-book. She was absolutely deaf to these, and I doubt if she could have heard a note as shrill even as the chirp of a sparrow. Cats, as | have elsewhere observed, are eminently sensitive to shrill notes, so that the deafness of this kitten was a noteworthy proof that the imperfect stages of the form of hereditary deafness to which she was subject consisted in the degeneration of that part of the auditory apparatus which is concerned in hearing shrill notes. i am told that no thorough anatomical investigation has yet been made into these matters, owing to insufficiency of subjects. It would therefore seem that a breed of deaf cats might be very acceptable to physiologists, and I have no doubt that such a breed might be easily established on any small and sparsely-inhabited island from which every hearing cat had been removed. Cats will not breed in strict con- finement, and their roving habits at night make it im- possible, under ordinary circumstances, to keep their breed pure; but in small islands, under the paternal despotism of a popular landlord, this and many analo- gous experiments in breeding varieties of small and hardy animals and plants, such, I mean, as would take care of themselves, might be carried out. I have often envied the facilities afforded to such projects by the geo- graphical and social condition of the Scilly Islands. FRANCIS GALTON ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPES FOR PHOTOGRAPHY» Jf qe simplest form of the reflecting telescope is that in which only one reflecting surface is used, known as the Herschelian, or, as Sir John Herschel, in his work, “The Telescope,” calls it, “the Simple Reflector.” The remarks he makes on this form are well worth most careful consideration in connection with the use of the reflecting telescope for photography. All other forms have the second or third mirror only for the purpose of bringing the image formed by the large mirror where it can be more conveniently used. Of these the Newtonian is the simplest and perhaps the best, as here the second reflection does not alter the size of the image, but only diverts it to the side of the tube. In the Cassegrain or Gregorian form the use of the convex or concave mirror enlarges the primary image more or less. Modifications of the Cassegrain form can be made by replacing the small convex mirror by a flat or very slightly curved mirror, in which case, although there is much loss of light, the image is kept nearly the same size as in the Newtonian. There is also the “ Brachy ” form, where the Cassegrain is used obliquely, but this is practi- cally a Cassegrain. In all these telescopes, except the first and last-mentioned, the second mirror requires support of a kind that acts most injuriously on the image, causing rays to come from stars which, in the case of stars as faint as eight magnitude, show quite distinctly with such long exposures as are needed in photographing the nebulee or clusters of very faint stars. In addition to these well-known forms of the reflecting telescope there is the arrangement of three reflectors as a telescope indicated by me in the May number of the A/onthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and also the application of the Coudé principle, treated of at length by M. Laewy in the June number of the Bxdleten Astronomigue (1884). As far as I know there has not been any practical appli- cation of the Coudé principle to the reflector. The need of three reflections would involve great loss of light, and for this reason alone would render it unsuitable for photo- * Continued from p. 40. Fan. 22, 1885 | NATURE 271 graphy where so much depends on the power of the tele- scope to bring together as much light as possible on the surface of the sensitive plate. Apart from this great loss of light there would be enormous difficulties in making such a telescope of even three- foot aperture, indeed, | am very doubtful if it could be done, there is the difficulty of keeping the different mirrors free from flexure and in proper adjustment, there is the fact that the form of mounting that must be used to carry the ponderous mirrors would be that most unfavourable to the godd performance of the whole as a telescope in regard to the atmospheric disturbance due to the mount- ing ; and last, though not least, the position of the external plane mirror would be so exposed that it would not stand many nights’ work ; with the flat mirrors of a Newtonian telescope one has much difficulty, as a slight rise in temperature will dew them at once, and under ordinary circumstances they become very soon so dull that they require re-silvering many times more frequently than the large mirror. Certainly the large plane mirror would conserve its heat better than the small flat of a Newtonian, but from the exposed position it would occupy, it would certainly be a source of continual trouble. There is only one good thing in such arrange- ments, and that is that the observer has not to follow the eye-piece, which only rotates, and does not change its position. For general observational work this becomes of importance. For comet-seeking, for which I believe this telescope was first used, it is difficult to imagine a more suitable arrangement than that brought again to the notice of astronomers by M. Hermite in Z’4stronomie, October 1884, though his proposition, to dispense with a tube or to use a fixed one, would make a difficulty at the eye-end, where the image would rotate, as it would in the case of a fixed telescope with a mirror moving in front, after the manner of a siderostat. For photography all those latter forms of telescope are not admissible ; even for large fields, when a refractor specially made was used, it would be better to use it as a simple equatorial than to lose the light by two additional reflections. Considering carefully the different reflecting telescopes enumerated above, there does not appear to be anything that can be more simple than the Herschelian, and nothing more suitable, judging from what has been done, than the Newtonian ; nor does there seem anything in any other form that offers greater advantages than these, either on the grounds of simplicity, easy manipulation, possible increase of size, and, what is of vital importance, small- ness of first cost ; it is on one or the other that I should entirely rely as the photographic telescope of the future ; whether the Herschelian form would be better in prac- tical use than the Newtonian, or, rather, whether the reflecting surface could be made as good in this case, would only be shown by actual trial ; if it could then, for the reason already mentioned, the image would be the best, and the best kind of telescope for the purpose of photography would be found. In the Newtonian, as has been said, the plane mirror is only used to bring the rays, that would form the image otherwise in the centre of the tube, out at the side, but as the object is not to be viewed, but photographed, the plate can be placed in the proper place to receive those images direct from the large mirror, as was done by Dr. De la Rue when he first used the reflecting telescope for photographs of the moon. There are some difficulties in getting a proper super- vision of the exposure, but these are not insuperable. A mounting for the Newtonian reflector pure and simple would be equally suitable for the Herschelian, so that if it were decided to make a large telescope, no danger would be run that success would not be certain ; if the Herschelian gave such excellent results, as I think might be fairly expected, so much the better, if it did not, the telescope that has already shown its capacity would ! simply remain what it is now—the only telescope suitable for photography on such a scale as can be really useful. As to the way in which such a telescope as I here contemplate, that is, a reflector of from 5 to 8 feet aper- ture, should be mounted, there would be a certain safety in following the plan I have found so good with 3 foot, with such mechanical alterations as the use of water in place of mercury for the floating medium would render necessary. The general principles, I believe, are correct as regards the conditions that affect the performance of the telescope as an optical instrument. The duty of the observer would now be entirely limited to seeing that the image fell always on the same place on the plate during exposure, a duty that is easily described, but not so easily done. For this purpose he must have such optical arrangements that he can from the ground watch the position of the image of a star anywhere near the object to be photographed in its relation to a cross wire attached to and moving with the sensitive plate, so that if, from the many causes that can produce a shift of this star and of the image on the plate, there is a slight movement, he can at once correct it. The telescope would work entirely in the open air under the most favourable conditions and without any disturbance from the body of the observer, as he would not be near the high end of tube. The large mirror would be protected from dew by a slight covering round the skeleton tube, and have an apparatus to cover it up quickly, and so be in the best condition to keep its polish, and with the absence of a small mirror and its trouble at the high end of the tube, | simplicity would be followed to its fullest extent without the sacrifice of one essential point. Such a telescope would be capable of giving photo- graphs of all the nebulee, with exposures of from 30 to 60 minutes, of the various clusters, and of certain selected | parts of tke heavens, and this should be for some years its chief work. About the value of such a work it is quite unnecessary to speak—to show that it can be done is quite enough. In thus giving my opinion as to the best kind of tele- scope to use for this most important part of astronomical photography I place it first for its importance. That much could be done bya smaller instrument, or, rather, by many smaller instruments, of a most valuable character, I have not any doubt. It is quite possible now, by means of photographic lenses, to take stellar photographs that are of great value; and any equatorial reflector, and many refractors, if they have driving apparatus of fair quality, could be most usefully employed in photography, and that without any more knowledge of the art of photography than could be learnt inafew minutes ; by taking photo- graphs of a small portion of the sky that could be identi- fied, and working entirely at that, the amateur astronomer, with any aperture over 6 or 8 inches, could make a mono- graph that would be good for all time, and his results would not be the mere expressions of impressions on his mind through his eye, but would he visible ones that would speak for themselves as to their value. In all departmeuts of stellar photography, excepting of course absolute positions, I think that photography is at once available. It is remarkable that the silver-on-glass re- flector has proved itself to be capable of practically un- limited increase in size and to be so well fitted for pho- tography at the same time that the photographic process has been brought to such a state of perfection, especially in this country, the home, if not the birthplace, of the reflector. At the present moment a gigantic stride in advance is to be made with certainty of success, and that at a cost that is insignificant compared to the results that must come. Let us hope some one who can hasten this step will come forward ; if one cannot, many must, for it should not be delayed. i A. AINSLIE COMMON 272 NA TORE [ Fan. 22, 1885 SOME EXPERIMENTS ON FLAME N December 1881 my attention was casually called to the popular superstition that sunlight puts the fire out. Returning from a walk I had found the blinds of my sittinz-room closely drawn, for the benefit, as I was told, of the fire, which was low. On my appearing somewhat sceptical about the use of this proceeding, my landlady cited the above-mentioned superstition as a well-known fact. For her benefit and instruction | made the poker red hot, and focused the sun’s rays on it with a bull’s-eye, showing her that, though the bright light prevented the red heat from being seen, it had not extinguished it, and was, moreover, capable of making a smaller piece of metal red hot. But | was myself so struck with the power of even the December sun in overcoming the light of the most highly incandescent body, that I determined to make further experiments, Even the intense glow pro- duced by heating in the blowpipe flame a small piece of chalk, though it was sufficient to light up the whole room, entirely disappeared in the sun’s rays. This led me to ask what would be the result of testing the sun’s light in the same way against that of a flame. If, accord- ing to the older theory, luminous flame consists of incan- descent solid particles, then I should expect that these would behave under the strong light exactly as the white- hot iron did, while, on the other hand, if as some have maintained the white light of a flame proceeds from gases of great vapour-density, then I might expect results which, if not different, would be at _ least interesting. Experiment 1.—Accordingly, on December 7, 1881, I arranged my large condenser—a lens 5 inches in dia- meter, and 20 inches focus—so as to throw the image of the sun upon the flame of a paraffin candle. To my delight a round spot of light of a bluish-white colour and peculiar soft appearance was visible on the flame itself. That the flame, whether gaseous or consisting of incandescent particles, could reflect light, was certain. It remained for me to determine the characteristics of this reflection. From its colour and peculiarly “ soft” appearance it reminded me of fluorescence. I therefore proceeded to test the question with the spectroscope. Laperiment 2.—] examined first the spectra given when a beaker of petroleum or one of solution of quinine sulphate was placed in the focus. I should mention that my spectroscope, which I designed and made myself, slides up and down the supporting pillar, so that it can be adjusted to any height. The table carrying the slit, and telescope, and prism (dense flint of 60°), canbe fixed in three positions to the stand, so that the slit may be vertical, horizontal, or directed vertically downwards for examining solutions with the light thrown up from be- neath. It is also provided with a doublet, equivalent to the B eye-piece of a microscope, used as a condenser to throw the image, which may be an enlarged or diminished one at pleasure, of any object upon the slit. The whole arrangement is very simple, and far more convenient than that of the ordinary laboratory spectroscope. Bringing the instrument thus armed to bear upon the strongly illuminated solution, I found the field of view to be filled with a soft and even light, that seemed to obscure the Frauenhofer lines as if some thickened luminous solution had been poured over them. Every moment some par- ticle of dust floating into the focus would cause a tiny flash as its image crossed the slit, of hard clear light, like that of the candle-flame, only that it showed the Frauen- hofer lines. But after filtering the solution, carefully cleaning the beaker, and excluding all extraneous light, the Frauenhofer lines vanished, and nothing was visible either with quinine or petroleum but the soft continuous spectrum of fluorescence. I have described these well- known phenomena thus minutely that I may emphasise the very different results obtained in the following experi- ment. To the naked eye the spot of sunlight upon the candle-flame was of exactly the same soft quality, and nearly the same colour as that upon the fluorescent solu- tion. I replaced the candle in the focus, arranged the condenser of the spectroscope so that the white spot should come upon the centre of the slit, and occupy one- third of it. The field of view was filled by the spectrum of the flame, but across the centre was a bright band of light extending far into the violet, brightest in the blue, and showing a// the Frauenhofer lines distinctly, especially in the blue and violet. Unmistakably I was dealing with reflected light, and not with fluorescence. My thoughts at once reverted to Prof. Tyndall’s “blue cloud.” I knew of two ways of producing an extremely fine precipitate showing the same characteristic phenomena. I added dilute hydrochloric acid to a weak solution of sodium hyposulphite, but this preparation I found to be trouble- some from the rapidity with which it loses its optical properties, so I discarded it in favour of the following. I diluted some French polish with about fifty times its bulk of methylated spirit, and added a few drops of the solution Fic. I.—A, tumbler containing “‘Jac precipitate”; B, glass plate to support polarising apparatus ; c, selenite film; D, polarising prism; £, sheet of cardboard to screen oft superfluous light; F, lens to concentrate the light ; G, mirror; H, side mirror in which the colour of the beam in a different azimuth may be seen. to a glass of water. The precipitate of lac resulting is sufficiently fine for every purpose, and will remain in suspension for days. The light from the heliostat passing through this solution gives the same soft opalescent reflec- tion, with the same spectrum strongest in the blue and violet, showing all the Frauenhofer lines distinctly, as it does upon the candle-flame. Experiment 3.—There is another special characteristic of matter in extremely fine division common to Prof. Tyndall’s “blue cloud” and the above-mentioned solu- tions. Light reflected from it is completely polarised in the plane at right angles to the line of incidence. I am in the habit of showing this by the following arrangement, which I believe to be new, and which is so simple that any one can exhibit it. It is shown in Fig. 1. A is an ordinary plain tumbler, half filled with “lac preci- pitate,” and covered with a piece of window-glass, -B. On B is laid a mounted selenite film, C,and upon this again the polarising prism D, used with the microscope. A retort- stand supports a sheet of cardboard, E, with a hole in the centre, which shades the liquid from superfluous light, Fan. 22, 1885 | NATURE Bie and also carries a lens, f, which may be an ordinary eye- glass laid across the hole, and so adjusted that its focus shall come about the middle of the liquid. A plane mirror, G—a hand-glass will do—is then either held or fixed, so as to reflect sunlight perpendicularly upon the lens. It will readily be seen that the light, concentrated by the lens, is plane-polarised by the Nicol prism, then modified by the selenite, and finally analysed by reflection from the extremely minute particles of lac. Accordingly, to a person walking round the table with his eye on a level with the tumbler, the vertical beam of light in the liquid appears to change colour four times. Thus, if the selenite and Nicol are so adjusted that viewed from the west it appears blue, then from the south it will be yellow, from the east blue, and from the north yellow again. If then the selenite be removed from under the Nicol, from both west and east it will be seen as a bluish-white beam of light, while from the north and south it will be invisible | altogether, as though a screen had been placed over the lens. By arranging or holding a small mirror, H, at an angle of 45°, by the side of the tumbler, the observer may see the blue colour of the beam from the west side, on which he stands, while at the same time the mirror shows him that its colour, when viewed from the north or south, | is yellow. Or three mirrors may be arranged so that all four aspects of the beam may be observed at once. I do not know a more beautiful and striking way of demon- strating the properties of the polarised ray. Experiment 4.—I now come to the most interesting of my experiments. This polarisation of all light reflected at right angles to the line of incidence is, solid matter. I applied the test to the light upon the candle-flame. I held the Nicol in the plane at right angles to the mean path of the rays, looked through it at the soft spot of reflected sunlight, and rotated it. When the crystal crossed the line of incidence at right angles, the spot vanished ; when it coincided with it, the spot was brightest. With a selenite film in addition to the Nicol prism the usual change of colour could be seen, the red and green film showing more distinctly than the blue and yellow. By using the Nicol over the eye-piece of the spectroscope I found that every part of the spectrum of the reflected sunlight is polarised alike, showing that the flame behaves with respect to light exactly as a solution containing extremely fine solid particles. I made a large number of experiments with a view to ascertain how far this similarity would hold, and I now proceed to give some of the most important. Experiment 5.—\ arranged the heliostat with the candle-flame in the focus and the spectroscope at right angles to the line of incidence, with the Nicol prism over the eye-piece, and the condenser arranged to focus the “white spot” of sunlight on the slit. I then gradually lowered the candle so as to bring the apex of the flame into the light. There was no break in the appearance of the spectrum on passing from the hot flame to the non- luminous smoke. Low down, the flame reflected only the more refrangible rays, as far as the middle of the green ; towards the apex it reflected also the red. All the reflected light was polarised. Experiment 6.—With the same arrangement as before, I turned the spectroscope so as to have the slit horizontal. I burnt some soda in the Bunsen burner at a little dis- tance, so that the vapour from it came to the candle. The result is depicted in Fig. The continuous spec- trum of the inner flame is crossed by the bright sodium lines which project a little distance beyond it on either side to the limits of the outer flame. In the centre is a bright band, the spectrum of the sunlight on the flame, 2 and on this all the Frauenhofer lines, zacluding the D | lines perfectly black, as in my drawing. It was very curious to see the two ends of the sodium lines standing out bright against the dark background on either side, { I believe, © accepted as the special characteristic of very finely-divided | | bright lines were seen unaltered. visible still as bright lines, though faintly, upon the flame itself, up to the band of sunlight, and then strongly reversed by contrast with its greater brilliancy. I believe I am the first who has succeeded in reversing the sodium lines by reflection. It requires a bright sun to do this ; otherwise the red end of the spectrum is not strong enough, but I have succeeded in showing it to several friends. Experiment 7.—With the same arrangement, substi- tuting a spirit-lamp charged with soda for the candle, nothing was visible to the naked eye ; the flame seemed Fic, 2 —Spectrum of Gandle-flame in the focus of the heliostat, showing the D lines reversed by reflection. to vanish in the glare; only in the spectroscope the With the Bunsen a brightly illuminated column of dust was seen rushing out of the tube, each particle vanishing as it reached the perfectly invisible flame, and was burnt. Several sub- stances, copper oxide, and ammonium molybdate, give in the outer flame a spectrum which in my small in- strument appears continuous, though lacking the “ hard ” look of the spectrum of an incandescent solid. But they give 70 refieclzon with the strongest sunlight, behaving as true vapours. It will be observed that, though I have é.2. 274 NATURE 7 | fan. 22, 1885 shown that a substance capable of emitting light of a@// wave-lengths may be capable of reflecting at the same time light of azy wave-length, yet I have not been able to show whether or not a substance emitting light of one definite wave-length may not be able to reflect light of that same wave-length, though I have proved that it can reflect no other. For instance, the light given by sodium is absent from that of the sun, so that my experiment proves nothing with regard to it; yet that particular light is not transmitted through hot sodium vapour, but is stopped by it. One would think it must either be re- flected or its energy must be used up in some way on the vapour itself. I have been unable to get access to the electric light, and no other light I know is strong enough for this experiment. I have wished also to try whether sodium burnt under pressure, or at a very high tempera- ture, would or would not have the power of reflecting light ; but in this direction I am again stopped by lack of apparatus. Experiment 8.—The spectrum of the light transmitted through the lac solution is complementary to that reflected by it, ze. the reflected light is bluish, and the transmitted yellowish-brown; in the latter case the spectrum is weakened towards the violet, and in the former towards the red. I desired to see if this was so with flame. I arranged a metallic screen with a slit one-fourth of an inch long and one-twentieth wide, close to the candle, so that all light falling upon the spectroscope must first have passed through the luminous portion of the flame, and then with a mirror directed the sunlight into the instru- | ment. Pure sunlight was thrown into the upper half of the field for comparison, by means of the reflecting prism. Having adjusted the light so that no difference could be detected between the upper and lower halves of the field of view, the candle was placed in position in front of the slit. There was a very definite general absorption, most noticeable in those rays that are deficient in lamplight, especially about F and G, where also the spectrum of the reflected sunlight is brightest. The experiment is difficult owing to the necessitysof reducing the brilliancy of the sunlight without so far reducing the angle of the illuminat- ing ray that the hot air-currents may vitiate the result. | But after many trials I satisfied myself that the more refrangible rays of light transmitted through a luminous flame are to some extent absorbed, the efiect being stronger in proportion as the smoky part of the flame is approached. Experiment 9.—\t seemed evident that the reflection of the sunlight from the flame was due to its superior in- tensity ; I therefore judged that, if I could lower the temperature of the carbon somewhat, I might get a visible reflection with light from other sources. I held an iron nail in the flame, and focused on the resulting smoke the light from a petroleum lamp. The spot of light was plainly visible, only not of a bluish white as with sunlight, but of a dirty yellow colour. It could be seen not only on the cold smoke, but also where it was | ofa bright cherry red ; beyond that it became lost against the brightness of the incandescence. But the smoke, whether hot or cold, polarised the light exactly as the fine precipitates did. Experiment 10.—In order to get rid of the disturbing effects of the light from the candle itself, 1 punched a | hole in the middle of a tin plate, and placed it over the candle. The column of smoke coming up through the hole completely polarised the light thrown on it, whether from a lamp or from the sun, at right angles to the line of incidence. I then placed a little tuft of asbestos satu- rated with melted paraffin upon the hot plate. It gave off a dense smoke, indistinguishable to the eye from that of the burning candle. On applying the spectroscope, however, the difference was manifest. The light reflected by it was zot folartsed. 1 would therefore suggest that this polarisation test be the distinction between “steam,” however dense, and a true “smoke.” I have reason to believe that a polarising smoke only arises where the heat causes decomposition. Experiment 11.—1 placed the under side of the tin plate in the light, and found that the soot upon it re- flected plane-polarised light in all directions at right angles to the line of incidence. I now desired to ascertain if this power of reflecting light is confined to substances burning in the inner flame. It is difficult to make accurate observations as to the spectrum of the inner flame with an ordinary Bunsen burner, from the fact that it is completely surrounded by the outer flame ; and this last, being but feebly luminous, gives only a very faint spectrum. I wished to make an arrangement by which the spectra of the two flames could be completely separated, while at the same time their intensity should be increased. Accordingly, I made a Bunsen burner with a rectilinear aperture, two inches long by an eighth of an inch wide, in place of the usual round tube. This gave me a broad flat flame, the edges of which I allowed to play each against a piece of well- annealed glass, so that I could look through the glass and see the flame edgeways. In this way I got a very strong spectrum of both the inner and the outer flames, perfectly distinct from each other, the ends of the flame being cut off by playing against the glass. The inner flame with its bright lines was thus completely separated from the outer with its soft, apparently continuous, spec- trum: under sufficient pressure, the separation extended to the eighth of an inch or more. I could see no lines across this intervening space, except perhaps that in the violet : as towhich I am not quite sure. Of the others I am certain, and I think the space is perfectly dark. As the glasses soon crack, I substituted another arrange- ment, which I hope still farther to perfect. In this flame I burnt a number of substances, keeping the image of the sun upon it all the while, and having the spectroscope with polarising prism, &c., arranged as in Experiment 5. I here give the results of two of the most interesting of these experiments. Experiment 12.--I burnt on a piece of wire a mixture of copper sulphate and ammonium chloride. This com- pound, as is well known, gives a very beautiful and com- plex spectrum. When the mixture is held in the inner flame it turns dark, bubbles up, and burns like a piece of pitch, giving a continuous spectrum; and upon this flame, which never passes beyond the inner flame, the reflection of the sunlight may be seen and the Frauen- hofer lines distinguished. There is also, at the same time, in addition to the beautiful blue-violet coloration of the outer flame, a curious “red smoke” right on the outer edge of it. But though in a dark room this looks far more like a solid precipitate, or true smoke, than the bright flame—though by daylight it looks so “smoky” that I thought it surely must give what I sought, a reflec- tion in the outer flame—yet the sunlight passes through it without the slightest effect, save that it renders it in- visible. The spectrum of this apparent smoke consists of groups of lines in the red.? Experiment 13.—I now sought a substance that should be volatile in the inner flame and give a non-volatile oxide in the outer. I placed some zinc, which I found to be the most manageable metal for this purpose, in a small iron cup in the very centre of the flame. As soon as it boiled, flashes of white light appeared in the outer flame, and I was enabled to ascertain that these flashes gave a continuous spectrum and were also capable of reflecting sunlight, the reflected light being polarised, as in the other cases, in all directions at right angles to the line of incidence. t In arecent experiment this “red smoke” gave a ‘‘ soft” continuous spec- trum from the extreme red to the yellow a little beyond D. It is very tran- sient, and seems to be produced when the fused mass is drawn nearly out of the flame. i. Fan, 22, 1885] I venture to think, therefore, that the proof is fairly complete that the luminosity of a candle or gas flame proceeds from incandescent matter ina state of extremely fine division, because— (A) Light can be reflected from it in the same way as from very fine particles of lac, sulphur, &c. (B) The reflection begins with the violet rays when the precipitate first forms, and extends to the red as it becomes denser in the upper smoky part of the flame, the spectrum undergoing a similar change to that of the acidulated hyposulphite solution. (C) There is no break in the phenomena from the com- mencement of incandescence to the cooling smoke and even the cold soot itself. The reflection is visibly pro- duced by any rays, whether of the sun or from a lamp, that are more intense than those of the incandescent body ; and I imagine that light that is less intense is still reflected, though it cannot be discerned. (D) The spectrum of light transmitted through a flame is complementary to that reflected from it, as is also the case with a solution containing fine particles. (Z) The peculiar property of polarising all light re- flected at right angles to the line of incidence which is considered the test of solid matter in extremely fine division is possessed by all flames giving what is known as the “solid” spectrum. (#) Whenever a precipitate is actually formed by a reaction known to take place in either inner or outer flame, the resulting luminous flame has the optical pro- perties described in this paper. Thus zinc, which pro- duces these results only in the outer flame, gives evidence of the solidity of its oxide in the form of smoke. And with the mixture of copper sulphate and ammonium chloride it is not that part of the flame that looks most like smoke to the eye, but that which gives a “hard” continuous spectrum which is found capable of reflecting light. I am still working on the lines indicated by these ex- periments, and though the foregoing is all I feel justified in publishing at present, it by no means contains all the suggestive results I have obtained in my endeavour to ascertain the cause of luminosity in gases and substances vaporised in the Bunsen flame. My time is very much occupied and my appliances limited: it may be long before I can complete my researches, so I have thought it well to make public my conclusions, so far as they go. GEORGE J. BURCH A LINE-DIVIDER eles proportional compasses are said to date from the year 1597. We infer that the instrument consisted of two arms, jointed, as in the accompanying figure, so that one arm could move freely about the joint. Each arm had a number of equal divisions (not neces- sarily of the same length on each arm), the zero point being at the joint. ‘To divide a given length into five equal parts it is necessary to take an ordinary pair of compasses and measure the given length with these, then set the proportional compasses so that the fifth division on each arm may be at the given distance apart, then transfer with the ordinary compasses the distance between the unit divisions—this will be one-fifth of the given line. This seems to have been the manner of using the instru- ment employed by Galileo (cf. Marie, Histoire des Sciences Mathématiques et Physigues, tome iii. p. 108). Other modes of using will doubtless occur to most of our readers. The principle involved in this and similar in- struments, and certainly in the one before us, is that of the proportionality. of corresponding sides in similar triangles. Our figure represents Miss Marks’s patent line-divider for dividing any space into a number of equal parts. NATURE 275 AB forms a hinged rule with a firm joint; each limb is ten inches in length (in the specimen we are describing), the limb B is bevelled, fronted with brass, and presents a straight edge, so that straight lines can be drawn along it. The limb a is also bevelled, and is divided on the bevelled edge and also on the top into eighty equal parts, so that we are enabled to divide a given length into any number of equal parts from two to eighty. is fitted to slide in an undercut groove upon the plain rule c, which has a single line marked upon it, and is also provided with needle points on the under-side, to prevent it from slipping when placed in any position. Suppose we take the case already considered. Slide C along A till the C line coincides with one of the lines on A, against which is the number 50. Place the correspond- ing line on the level of A on one end of the line to be — divided, then open out or close up the rule till the bevel of B ‘passes through the other end of the line. Now press the points on the underside of c firmly into the paper, and slide A up till the number 4 on the line of reference is coincident with the line on c, and mark the point where the bevel of B meets the given line to be divided. Con- tinue to move A up one division at a time till the whole line is divided. If we require lines to be drawn through the several points of division in a given constant direc- tion, it is obvious that we must fix the instrument so that the bevel of B shall be initially in the given direction. We have said enough to show how the divider is used, and it remains only to state that it appears to be a very handy instrument for architects, engineers, and practical drawing. Stanley, of Great Turnstile, Holborn, is the maker. UNIVERSAL TIME AND THE RAILWAYS @re of the reasons why the Prime Meridian Confer- ence met at Washington was that the United States possesses the greatest longitudinal extension of any country traversed by railway and telegraph lines, and it is quite in keeping with the spirit of American institutions that some of the most important measures necessary to carry out the resolutions of the Conference were taken by the railway men before the scientific men had begun their sittings. The action of the railway companies began as far back as 1883. It was a regular rebellion against the inconvenience of having more than half a hundred standards of railway time from east to west of the continent. At the Conference itself, Mr. W. F. Allen, one of the United States delegates, who has from the first taken the greatest interest in this special branch of the subject, brought the matter prominently before the Congress, stating what had been done. Since the Conference met, the suggestions primarily due to the railway authorities have been accepted by the Army Signal Corps and other public bodies, and from the east of Canada to the Pacific the Continent is now divided into five sections, each with its time standard, differing by one hour from those to the east and west. Thus we have Intercolonial time, Eastern time, Central time, Mountain time, and Pacific time, representing dif- ferences of one hour or 15” of longitude. We append a map, and a paper by Mr. Allen, which we have received 276 from an esteemed correspondent, which will show at once the history of this movement and what has come of it. I. On November 18, 1883, the principal railway lines of the United States and Canada adopted a new method of computing and recording time, for the purpose of securing a uniform time standard which should simplify the business of transportation and add to the convenience of travellers. It is almost wholly for purposes of travel and transportation that the majority of people have need of accurate time, and everywhere, except in very large cities, business has always been regulated by railroad time. II. The defects of ¢he old system of time standards were mainly as follows :— (1) There were formerly more than fifty standards of aE ISAO kee | y20° j105° oRegina Winnipeg MANURE RSS NA TORE [ Yan. 22, 1885 railway time’ in the United States. four. (2) The old standards differed from each other, where | they intersected, by all sorts of variations, errors, and odd minutes. Now the differences between the standards are an exact hour, and the minutes and seconds are the same in all four divisions. (3) Formerly there were almost innumerable places at | which standards changed. Now the points of change are few in number, and always at prominent points of railway departure. | (4) Formerly almost every railway centre had two or three standards of time. Chicago used three ; Kansas Now there are but | City had five ; and St. Louis, where fourteen roads centre, used six different standards. aa \ Washingion () = Di III. In the plan which has now beenjadopted it was proposed :— (1) That the same standard should govern as many railroads as possible. (2) That the standards should not extend over so large an area of territory as to cause standard time to differ at any point by more than about thirty minutes from local time (mean solar time). (3) That each standard should vary from the adjacent standards by the most readily-calculated difference, that of an even hour. (4) That changes from one standard to another should be made at well-known points of departure. (5) That these changes should be made at the termini of roads where changes naturally occur, except on the transcontinental lines, and in a few other unavoidable Stanford's Geog Estab cases, where they should be made at the ends of divisions. (6) That the 75th meridian west from Greenwich being almost precisely the central meridian for the system of roads using standards based upon the time of eastern cities, and the goth meridian being equally central for the roads running by the time of western cities, the time of those meridians should be adopted for the territory which includes nearly 90 per cent. of our whole railway system. The hour meridians east and west of those named (the 6oth on the east, and the 105th and 120th on the west) were found to be equally well adapted as central meridians for the roads in the section of country adjacent thereto. IV. The problem in this country presented a feature nowhere else encountered. Standard time was introduced . ees BS eee ee Iridescent Clouds.—Dr, H.Geelmuyden .... 264 Solar Phenomenon.—Dr. C. M. Ingleby .... 264 A Cannibal Snake.—Rev. Edward F. Taylor; Rev./M. J. Bywater’. 79 en.) pane ee OOF The Canadian Geological Survey.—Prof. T. G. Bonney hai.) hile Rall ca iar l hr int Or Astronomical Phenomena forthe Week .... 265 Dust. By Prof Olivers), Woodge™ ene.) 5). se eee eon Hereditary Deafness. By Francis Galton, F.R.S. 269 Astronomical Telescopes for Photography, II. By A. Ainslie Common Se CM SUGMO Go ceiteoe.c 278) Some Experimentson Flame. By George J. Burch. (Zideestriated Nee seis oe ee cco) Ree 2 A Line-Divider. (J/lustrated) .......:..+. 275 Universal Time andthe Railways ........ 275 Notes Pare ees ere 277 Our Astronomical Column ;— Comets of Short Period. (1) Encke’s Comet =) 2280 (2)) Barnardis\Gomet ci) Aaeee meee ne eS (3), WolfisitGomet? cy ueern. etait ne ESO Geographical Notes PEC CMeT. Gh Hp AT, OAT, oF 172819) Geology of Afghanistan Seta) eo dscns, o doa, SS University and Educational Intelligence . . . . 282 ScientifieiSerials\co: yee sien enone ee 283 Societiesjand! Academies). 25.) ue ieee eee SS NATOGRE 285 THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1885 THE STABILITY OF SHIPS * A Treatise on the Stability of Ships. By Sir E. J. Reed, K.C.B., F.R.S., M.P. (London: C. Griffin and Co., 1885.) IT. ite simplifying the mode of presentation of the scien- tific principles which govern the stability of ships, Sir E. J. Reed touches upon a very important point— the defects of nomenclature. The technical nomenclature of naval architecture has gradually been formed in an un- systematic and often heedless and unintelligent manner ; and it contains many inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Attention has previously been called by ourselves and others to the subject. Sir Edward Reed refers to the confusion that is sometimes caused by giving the name “metacentre” to points upon two curves which are quite distinct from each other. One of these curves indicates the variation in the height of the metacentre with draught of water when the ship is upright ; and the other is that formed by the intersections of consecutive normals to the curve of buoyancy as a ship becomes inclined from the upright. These two curves are entirely different in cha- racter, and have only one point in common—viz. the metacentre for the upright position corresponding to the draught of water for which the curve of intersections of consecutive normals is constructed. The latter curve is, of course, the evolute of the curve of buoyancy. Sir Edward Reed proposes to call the intersections of con- secutive normals to the curve of buoyancy at all angles of inclination from the upright “ pro-metacentres,” and to restrict the use of the term “metacentre” to inde- finitely small inclinations from positions of equilibrium. The points described as “ pro-metacentres ” are centres of curvature of the curve of buoyancy. They are but of little importance to practical naval architects, and are probably never regarded by them. To persons who may be pursuing investigations in which such points require to be dealt with, such a term as “ pro-metacentre ” may be of use. Sir Edward Reed truly says that the points in question “are not ‘meta-centres,’ except in a very strained, misleading, and wholly exceptional sense.” They do not enter into any of the considerations by which the stability of a ship is judged of or calculated ; and their positions are not determined, nor even known, in practice. If Fig. 2 represents the section of a ship, BB, the curve of centres of buoyancy, and M Mz the curve of intersections of consecutive normals to B By, or the evo- lute of BB, then the points M,, Mj, and Mg, will be the “pro-metacentres ” corresponding to those angles of in- clination at which M, B,, M,B,, and M, By are respectively vertical. M is the point corresponding to the position of equilibrium when the vessel is upright, and is the meta- centre proper. Such points as M,, M,, and M, have some- times been miscalled metacentres, and the curve M M, the metacentric evolute. Sir E. J. Reed proposes to call these points “ pro-metacentres,” and the curve M M, the * Continued from p. 240. VOL. XXxI.—NOoO. 796 “curve of pro-metacentres.” My, M2, and M, are centres of curvature of BB, at the points B,, B,, and Bs; and the curve M M, is the evolute of B B3. Sir Edward reminds us that the points where the lines M, By, My By, and M, B; intersect the vertical axis of equi- librium through B, have sometimes, in this country, been called “shifting metacentres”; and he considers that although this term has a “measure of justification, its use is not very desirable, and is, indeed, likely, unless great care is taken, to introduce misconceptions into the subject.” It is true that the term “shifting metacentre ” was suggested for application to these points, even by so eminent an authority as the late Prof. Macquorne Rankine ; but it has failed of its purpose, and passed so completely into oblivion that if Sir Edward had not re- ferred to the circumstance few of his readers would have remembered it. There is little probability of the term “shifting metacentre” now coming into use. The most natural mode of treating these points is doubtless to class them all in the category of “ meta- centres,” without any qualifying adjective of a general character, such as “shifting.” In France the term meta- centre includes the point M—which we regard as being the metacentre proper—and Prof. Rankine’s shifting meta- centres. It is natural to regard the intersection of My By with the vertical axis of equilibrium as the metacentre for the particular angle of inclination to which M, B, relates. This is quite consistent with Bouguer’s original definition of the metacentre, viz. “la terme que la hauteur du centre de gravité G, ne doit pas passer, et ne doit pas meme attendre.” This point constitutes the limit above which the centre of gravity cannot be raised without causing the ship to move farther away from the upright, whether the angle of inclination be great or small. It is convenient, and need not be ambiguous, to call these points meta- centres for the particular angles of heel to which they relate. Thus the intersection of M, B, with the vertical axis of equilibrium through B is the metacentre at 10° of inclination, if 10° be the angle at which Mj 8; is vertical ; and the same for any other angle. These points are really of importance to the naval designer, as the distance from such a point to the centre of gravity at any angle of inclination, say 30°,is equal to the length of the ship’s righting lever divided by the sine of the angle of inclination. If this distance be zero the righting lever vanishes, and there will be no resistance to further inclination. If the metacentre at 30° fall below the centre of gravity the ship will tend to incline still 18) 286 farther ; but if it be above the centre of gravity she will tend to return towards the upright position. Sir Edward Reed objects to calling these points metacentres when the angles of inclination are large, because they really have “nothing to do with limiting the height to which the centre of gravity can be raised without disturbing the upright position of the ship.” We do not see that any such property is implied by calling the metacentre for a certain angle of inclination the metacentre belonging to that inclination, which is what the French do. There is no doubt that the French method is a natural and useful one. It is also one which has been adopted by many in this country, and is likely to become general. M. E. Bertin, of Brest, says that the nomenclature adopted throughout France for many years past has been such as to leave no room for difficulties of interpretation. But while Sir Edward Reed objects to the French practice in this respect, as well as to Prof. Rankine’s “shifting metacentre,” he does not propose a substitute for either. There are other matters connected with the nomen- | clature of this branch of science which might have been profitably dealt with by the author. Take, for instance, the common use of the term stability. The stability of a floating body is determined by the forces which resist its angular motion from a position of equilibrium, and by the angular distance over which such forces operate. What is called the curve of stability is a curve of which the abscissz denote angles of inclination and the ordinates are proportional to the righting moments. This may quite properly be called a curve of stability, as it gives a complete graphic representation of the various elements of stability. But the righting moment possessed by a ship at a given angle of in- clination is frequently called the statical stability at that angle: while, by a still stranger misuse of scientific lan- guage, the work required to be done to incline her from the upright position of equilibrium to the angle in question is called the dynamical stability at that angle. Stability exists only at positions of equilibrium ; and it is absurd to speak of foot-tons of stability at a given angle of in- clination from one of those positions, as is frequently done. Such mistakes can only be due to the confusion which exists in many minds between stability and righting moment. Prof. Osborne Reynolds called attention to the point at the meeting of the British Association in 1883. Whether any intelligible meaning is supposed to be conveyed by the words “ dynamical stability developed during inclination,” we do not know; at any rate, we cannot discover what it is. Sir E. J. Reed has done good service by approaching the question of mistaken and ambiguous terms in naval architecture. We are only sorry that he has not dealt more thoroughly with it. Sir Edward gives numerous illustrations of curves of metacentres, and curves of stability, for various types of ships ; so that the effect upon them of variation in the proportions and form, and also in the loading, of various types of vessels, may be studied. These curves are given for broadside armour-clads, low freeboard turret-ships, and armoured cruisers of our own and other navies ; and for passenger and cargo steamers. The latter include examples which show the character of the stability that many vessels of the “ well-deck” type possess. The subject of longitudinal stability is fully dealt with ; NAT ORE [ Fan. 29, 1885 and the effect of admitting water into a watertight com- partment is discussed. The method of determining the height of the longitudinal metacentre is explained ; and also the moment required to alter the trim of a given ship by a fixed amount. The changes of trim produced by putting weights into or taking weights out of a ship are clearly described. The stability of a vessel fitted with watertight compartments, and having water admitted into one or more of them by collision, or otherwise, is in- vestigated with great fulness of detail. The following dis- tinct conditions are considered ; (1) When a closed com- partment is completely filled with water; (2) when a closed compartment is partially filled with water; and (3) when a compartment contains water in free com- munication with the sea, and in which the water maintains the same level as the sea for all inclinations. In dealing with this subject Sir E. J. Reed substantially follows the lines laid down by Mr. F. K. Barnes, of the Admiralty, in papers read before the Institution of Naval Arcbitects in 1864 and 1867. Mr. Barnes has very ably and lucidly explained the effect upon the metacentric height which is produced by laying a central compart- ment in a ship open to the sea and filling it with water ; and also the effect produced by thus filling compartments which are formed by longitudinal bulkheads. The results are given, in both cases, for compartments of various sizes and proportions. Sir Edward devotes a chapter to the consideration of “dynamical stability,’ and gives the views that have been put forward respecting it by the late Canon Moseley and by MM. Moreau, Bertin, Risbec, and Duhil de Benazé. He also quotes an interesting and ingenious investiga- tion by M. Guyou, of the French Navy, which includes a somewhat novel treatment of the problem of dynami- cal stability. We have already objected to the use of the phrase “ dynamical stability.” The author explains that what is called the dynamical stability at a given angle of inclination is the work done by an inclining force in heeling the ship from the upright position of equi- librium through that angle. The “total work is the dynamical stability.” Dynamical stability is consequently spoken of as being ‘‘ developed during the inclination of the ship from one angle to another.” Resistance is over- come, and work is done, in inclining a ship from one angle to another against the action of righting forces ; but we cannot understand why such work should be called “dynamical stability.” The work done in inclining a ship from one angle to another is, of course, the resistance to such inclination multiplied by the distance through which the resistance is overcome. This resistance is constituted by the weight of the ship acting vertically downwards through its centre of gravity, and an equal and opposite force acting verti- cally upwards through the centre of gravity of the dis- placed water. Therefore the total work performed during an inclination is the weight of the ship multiplied by the vertical increase of distance between the centre of gravity of the ship and the centre of gravity of the displaced water. This treatise contains an instructive chapter upon M. Amsler-Laffon’s mechanical integrator. The ordinary pivot-planimeter, which is a more common and very valu- Fan. 29, 1885 | able instrument, is not referred to; but the integrator which combines appliances for computing areas, moments, and moments of inertia of plane curves is described. This instrument has lately been introduced into ship-drawing offices, and is highly appreciated for the saving of time and labour which can be effected by its use, and for its comparative freedom from error. Complicated calcula- tions can be made with this ingenious piece of mechanism by less highly-skilled draughtsmen than are required for performing the ordinary arithmetical calculations. This is a very important matter in mercantile shipyards, where the supply of scientifically-trained draughtsmen is not great. In referring to this point Sir E. J. Reed says that “in most private shipbuilding establishments these lads (drawing-office apprentices) are now required to pass an examination similar to that which candidates undergo for apprenticeship in Her Majesty’s dockyards.” We do not understand that this is so. It may be the case with one or two firms, but the system is a very exceptional one. Sir E. J. Reed gives a mathematical investigation of the properties of the integrator, and explains how to take off the readings for areas, moments, and moments of inertia. We notice an omission in connection with the figures given for the various constants that re- quire to be applied as multipliers to these readings, for the purpose of converting them into actual units of mea- surement. The particular instrument to which the con- stants apply is not fully stated. The constant for areas, given as 15, and that for the area term in the expression for moment of inertia, given as 240, relate to instruments formerly supplied by M. Amsler, which had a different diameter of area wheel from those now made. We believe that the circumference of the area wheel is now 2°5 inches; so that the two constants which depend upon the size of the area wheel would, in that case, be 20 and 320, instead of 15 and 240. The final chapters of the treatise deal with general questions relating to the rolling of ships at sea, and the effect of wind-pressure upon stability when ships are sail- ing among waves. The method of obtaining by experi- ment the vertical position of a ship’s centre of gravity, and the precautions which have to be adopted in order to ensure fairly accurate results, are described. The few omissions and defects we have pointed out are but of minor importance, and do not appreciably affect the general value of this very important treatise. It is not only the largest that has ever appeared in this country, but also the most intelligible, instructive, and com- plete exposition of the principles of stability. It forms a most valuable addition to the science of naval architecture, and one that has long been needed. Till now we have been unable to refer persons desirous of studying the various problems connected with the stability of ships to any work in which they would find the subject treated in a clear and comprehensive manner. Sir E. J. Reed has supplied a want that has long existed. We strongly recommend his book to all who are ‘interested in the subject, and particularly to those whose connection with ships requires them to know upon what conditions sta- bility depends, and how it is affected by all the various circumstances of construction and loading which may arise. Such a treatise should be especially welcome to students. NATURE 287 OUR BOOK SHELF In the Lena Delta; a Narrative of the Search for Lieut.- Commander De Long and his Companions, followed by an Account of the Greely Relief Expedition and a Pro- posed Method of Reaching the North Pole. By G. W. Melville ; Edited by G. Melville Philips. (London: Longmans and Co., 1885.) THE sad story of the Feannette Expedition has already been very fully told in the two volumes of journals left by Capt. De Long. Still, we do not object to this more detailed narrative of the experiences in the Lena Delta of those who managed to reach it, by the one most quali- fied to speak of them. It was by the strenuous exertions of Engineer Melville that the bodies of Capt. De Long and his companions were discovered, and that the few survivors were rescued. Concerning the physical and biological conditions of the great swamp formed about the mouths of the Lena, Mr. Melville does not tell us much more than we knew already ; but his continual journeys to and from between the delta and such towns as Yakutsk, Tiumen,and others in this part of Siberia neces- sarily furnish us with many details of interest. As a story of remarkable adventures the book is certainly interesting. Mr. Melville’s arctic enthusiasm was not in the least damped by the Yeannetfe misfortunes. Not only does he describe in the present volume his experi- ences as a member of the Greely Relief Expedition, but he means evidently to attempt to reach the Pole, if for ne other reason but that it “may prevent other fools from going there.” Mr. Melville’s plan takes for granted that Franz Josef Land reaches to 85° N., which is probable enough ; and he would therefore propose to utilise this as a basis of operations ; aroundthe Pole he supposes that a par- tial “ vacuum ” exists, and that partly as a consequence the ice-cap there is immovable, held in its place by the islands which he believes surround it. As to getting back when the Pole is reached, Mr. Melville believes that this could easily be effected either by Nova Zembla or Spitzbergen. Of course, the retreat would be secured by the establish- ment of carefully-selected depots. “Finally, I propose to prove this theory of reaching the North Pole by going there myself.” Every one will wish him God speed ; and there can be no doubt that the best arctic authorities are agreed that the next expedition should seriously try the Franz Josef Land route. Stanford's Conpendium of Geography and Travel— Europe. By F. W. Rudler, F.G.S., and G. W. Chisholm, B.Sc. Edited by Sir Andrew C. Ramsay, LL.D., F.R.S. With Ethnological Appendix by A. H. Keane, M.A.I. (London: Stanford, 1885.) THIs many-authored and much-edited volume is the last of the series of Stanford’s well-known ‘‘ Compendium,” the first volume of which was issued some six years ago. That first volume dealt with Africa, and was edited, it may be remembered, by Mr. Keith Johnston, who shortly after publication lost his life attempting to explore the continent which he had so well described. There have been subsequent editions of that volume edited by Mr. E. G. Ravenstein. The succeeding volumes were South America, by Mr. H. W. Bates; Australasia, by Mr. A. R. Wallace ; Asia, by Prof. Keane and Sir Richard Temple ; and North America, by Drs. Hayden and Selwyn. _ It will thus be seen that Mr. Stanford has been fortunate in his choice of editors for the several volumes. The Com- pendium professes to be based on Hellwald’s German work, but it may throughout be regarded as virtually original. The various editors have put so much of their own into their several volumes, and given to the whole an orientation so essentially English, that it would be difficult to tell which is Hellwald and which the “ editors.” In the present volume the editors and authors (or one of them, for the title-page is awkward) have wisely 288 NATURE [ Yan. 29, 1885 retained what Hellwald says concerning the English people. The volume is quite equal to the best of its predecessors. The physical geography of Europe occu- pies quite one-half, and while necessarily of the nature of a summary, seems to us carefully and accurately written. The second part of the volume is devoted to what is known as “ political” geography, while Mr. Chisholm has collected into an appendix a very useful series of statistical tables. As usual we have Prof. Keane’s valuable ethnological appendix, occupying some thirty pages. Though Europe is the best-known of the Continents, its ethnology is more difficult to deal with than that of any other part of the world. “ Races” and lan- guages have become so mixed up and interchanged, that it isa matter of great difficulty to distinguish between the various elements. Mr. Keane has some difficult pro- blems to face, but probably no one is more competent to solve them. His sections on “ pure races” and “ mixed languages” are of special interest ; he rightly concludes that in Europe we have neither the one nor the other, nor probably will they be found in any part of the world. These ethnological appendices are quite worthy of being collected and extended and published separately as a useful manual of ethnology. The maps in the present volume are many, and of much scientific value. This “Compendium” as a whole may be accepted as a really trustworthy and manageable geographical reference-book. Nine Vears in Nipon ; Sketches of Japanese Life and Manners. By Henry Faulds, L.F.P.S. (London: Alexander Gardner, 1835.) THE author of this beautiful and entertaining volume is a missionary doctor who, in the course of his nine years’ residence in Japan, has, as he tells us, mixed with every class in the country except the very highest. He has visited most of the usual sights, such as Fuji, Nikko, and the inland sea, but otherwise his professional duties appear to have kept him very close to Tokio. To make up for this he has seen the lower and middle classes of Japan as few other Europeans have had the opportunity of seeing them, and after all he is able to say that the land is not all barren. He stands up bravely against the redoubtable Miss Bird for the much-maligned morality of the Japanese people. He thinks that brilliant lady’s dictum that the nation is sunk in immorality extremely harsh and erroneous. The recent intellectual progress of the Japanese is, he believes, very striking, though not as yet so general as many have supposed ; their political progress is unprecedented, but he thinks that on the whole the moral elevation of the mass of the people within the last decade has been still more striking and noteworthy. A considerable portion of the volume is made up of bright, lively sketches of scenes by the way in Tokio, and along the roads in the interior. These are very well done, but they might almost be equally well done by an ordinary tourist with some literary gifts and graces, It is inthe last half of the volume that we come on the real student and acute observer of Japan. It is only an old resident, whose familiarity with the everyday sights and sounds around him had never blunted his original sense of their picturesqueness and strangeness, that could have written the chapters on the Japanese philo- sophy of flowers, Japanese art in relation to nature, and how the Japanese amuse themselves. In connec- tion with the universal spread of education throughout Japan (the author can only recall one or two clear instances in his experience of Japanese people being unable to read or write), he makes an observation which we do not remember to have seen or heard before, viz. that the cause is Buddhism. The effect of what he calls the new and genial enthusiasm of humanity, which came from India, taught everywhere the unity and brotherhood of man, and so literature could no longer be maintained as the peculiar possession of any caste of mere priests or princes. “ My Garden and its Guests” is a delightful chapter of popular natural history. In an introductory chapter, in which he surveys the canvas on which he is about to draw his sketches, he has a few words to say on the ethnology of the Japanese. He says that the Ainos, “in spite of a great deal of crude writing on the subject ” (to which, it should be stated, Mr. Faulds has added his mite, though not in this book), cannot show any claim to be considered the aborigines ; they are not necessarily older in their occupancy than the Japanese themselves. This heterodox statement is thrown off with a zonchalant air, as of one making a common matter-of-fact observa- tion; but it would be interesting to know the author’s grounds for it. The shell-heaps (to take only a single instance) which have been found near Tokio, and even farther south, and which resemble in every respect heaps formed, or in process of formation, outside Aino vil- lages in Yezo, form a strong argument the other way ; we were under the impression, also, that history told us of the existence of Ainos on the spot on which Ota Dokan built himself the fort which afterwards grew into Yedo in the fifteenth century. But it seems waste of time to refer to such matters in the case of a man who has the hardihood to confess that he does not know exactly what a Mongol is, and that he thinks it only deepens our ignor- ance immensely to call another race Mongoloid. To make up for this, however, and by way of washing his hands clear of the matter, he gives all the original theories by which science, aided by tradition, accounts for the original migration of the Japanese people. As there are six points of the compass (zenith and nadir being added) in far-eastern cosmography, so there are theories ot migration from each one of these six points :—(1) the soil (Buddhist view); (2) America; (3) China, or Accadia ; (4) Africa, or the Malay Peninsula, or the Southern Isles of the Pacific ; (5) Saghalin, or Kamtschatka ; (6) the celestial regions of the Sun ; with which comprehensive category Mr. Faulds takes leave of ethnology. For the rest, the book is as charming in all externals as in its contents. It should take its place in the front rank among popular books on Japan ; indeed, since Mitford’s “Tales of Old Japan,” we cannot recall a more interest- ing volume on the country, or one which should be more read in England. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents, Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as shortas possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) Krakatoa By the return from the Caroline Islands, on the 25th inst., of the Fernie Walker, I am enabled to supply a few additional details about the westward progress of the equatorial smoke stream from Krakatoa in September 1883. In NATURE, Octo- ber 2 (p. 537), is my extract from Miss Cathcart’s journal de- scribing the obscuration of the sun at Kusaie, or Strong’s Island, on September 7, 1883. The Rev. Dr. Pease and wife came as passengers by the Fernie Walker. They state that, while they were dressing their children on the morning of September 7, the natives came anxiously asking what was the matter with the sun, which rose over the mountains with a strange aspect. It was cloudless, but pale, soas to be stared at freely. Its colour Dr. Pease called a sickly greenish-blue, as if plague-stricken. Mrs. Pease’s journal described it as ‘‘of a bird’s-egg-blue, softened as this colour would be by a thin gauze.” Around the sun the sky was ofa silvery gray. At the altitude of 45° the sun appeared of its usual brightness, but resumed its pallid green aspect as it declined in the west. Fan. 29, 1885 | NATURE 289 On the 8th the sun appeared as usual. the red glares until some days after. Strong’s Island is in lat. 5° 20’ N., long. 163° 10'E. Their 7th is our 6th, one day later than the tremendous display of colours in the Honolulu skies on September 5. Dr. Pease reports a considerable drift of pumice-stone landed for several months past upon the west shore of Kusaie. Many pieces are from twelve to sixteen inches thick, and loaded with barnacles. I have now before me a piece of pumice presented by Dr. Pease, with small barnacles attached, Dr. Pease also reports many large trees landed there of late. They are up to five feet in diameter, with huge buttressing roots, much pumice jammed in the roots, their wood as light as cork. This species of tree is unknown in Micronesia. Are these corky trees, as well as the pumice, part of the wreckage of Krakatoa? Dr. Pease states that this year, as happened once before, the prevailing westerly current has been exchanged for one running easterly. Drift-logs of redwood from California frequently land on Kusaie, as they do here. On the passage hither between Kusaie and Jaluit Dr. Pease saw large tracts of floating pumice in a comminuted state. The Rey. E. T. Doane of Ponape (lat. 6° 47’ N., long. 158° 20' E.) writes me that large quantities of pumice are floating around that island. Capt. Holland, of the Fezn%e Walker, states that all the way between Jaluit and Ruk or Hogolen, some 1500 miles, he encountered vast tracts of pumice. Many pieces were as large as hats. He met five or six large trees in the same regions. One with its branches was mistaken for a boat. This associa- tion of floating trees with pumice seems very suggestive of Krakatoa, especially as all have been long floating in the sea. I send herewith a small slab of the pumice from Strong’s Island, hoping that you will have it compared with known Krakatoa ejecta. During the past month of December the sky-glows have doubled in brightness. A like augmentation of brilliancy took place at the same period in 1883, as reported by me in your columns. Permit the suggestion that the winter cold enlarges the concretions of ice around the dust-nuclei in the upper atmo- sphere, thereby multiplying their reflecting power. I see no reason to believe that any addition has been made to the original diffusion of dust from Krakatoa. The whitish corona which first appeared around the sun in September, 1883, has always and continuously been conspicuous since that time. It is one and the same continuous phenomenon which began here with that tremendous dust-cloud of September 5, 1883. S. E. BisHop Hawaiian Government Survey, Honolulu, Dec. 29, 1884 They did not notice Recent Earthquakes EN relation possible, mais non probable, avec les tremblements de terre d’Espagne j’ai 4 vous signaler les secousses suivantes observées en Suisse :-— 25 décembre, 1884—a Zernetz, Engadine, secousses 4 Sh. 17'S., et 11h. S., heure de Berne. (8h. 17’ heure de Berne correspond a 7h. 32! heure de Madrid. La premiére de ces secousses a donc eu lieu 20m. avant la grande secousse de Grenade du 25 déc. a 8h. 52’ soir.) I janvier, 1885—2h. matin, légére secousse, signalée 4 Lau- sanne par un seul observateur. 21 janvier, 1885—Entre oh, et th. matin, secousse 4 Ennenda, canton de Glarus. Dans les Alpes francaises. le 5 janvier, 1885, a 3h. matin 4 Chambéry (Savoie). » » . 45h. 50’ matin 4 Embrun (Hautes Alpes). _Agréez, Monsieur, expression de mes sentiments trés dis- tingués. F. A. FOREL Morges, 24 janvier ON Thursday evening last, at a time which is variously stated from 8.30 p.m. to shortly before 9, a rumbling noise, accom- panied by a sensible trembling of the earth, and in some instances by a slight ‘‘rocking” of cottages, was heard and felt over several parishesin this neighbourhood. I have already had independent testimony of it from West Buckland, Bradford, Nymhead, and Langford, in a line from north-west to south-east across the upper part of the Vale of Taunton. Some observers state that the noise and motion seemed to come from the north- west. There can be but little doubt but that this was a slight shock of an earthquake. It would be interesting to know whether anything of the same kind had been observed elsewhere at the same time. W. A. SANFORD Nymhead Court, Wellington, Somerset, January 24 The Lexden Earthquake THE earthquake alleged to have taken place near Colchester on Sunday night, Jan. 18, and mentioned in the ‘‘ Notes” of NATURE last week, on the authority of the Staxdarvd newspaper, turns out on inquiry to have been reported on very doubtful authority. The place referred to as ‘‘Leden” is evidently meant for Lexden, which is really a suburb of Colchester. Immediately after seeing the new FIG 267 2... 76 Leonis a SeZOuert es EZ wore Si2 Reeeeba An. 45010..." 0. SpUsh-cned elie me OS LOO Picnomena of Fupiter’s Satellites Feb. h. m | Feb. h. m. ies 40) 1 tring: 3)... 23°41 ‘Tyocc reap: 2 2 33 I. ecl.disap.| 4 o 9g II. ecl. disap. SES ou. Occ. reap. 3 49 II. occ. reap. 6 6 IL. tr. ing. 18 38 I. tr. ing. 22 8 IV. ecl. disap. 2057) ltrs esr: Giese O) D200 Slvitr ing. Bees) LONIS) Uieitrs ing. 23% To itr. égt: 22) 8 Jl. tr. epr. 6 25 IV. occ. reap. | 6 2 37 III. tr. ing. 21 1 I. eel. disap. | 6 13 III. tr. egr. Saturn, February 1.—Outer major axis of outer ring = 44”°5 ; outer minor axis of outer ring = 20’"1 ; southern surface visible. February 1, 7h.—Jupiter in conjunction with and 4° 9’ north of the Moon. SCIENCE IN VICTORIA THE President of the Royal Society of Victoria devoted a con- siderable portion of the presidential address contained in the last published volume of the Society’s 7vansactions toa review of the progress of science in the colony. It might at first sight be supposed that, in young communities like those of the Western States of America or of our own Australasian colonies, the struggle to develop their resources to the utmost, which occupies .every one, and the total absence of a leisured class, would be an insurmountable obstacle to scientific work, or indeed to work of any kind for its own sake. But the numerous and valuable publications which we constantly receive from scientific societies formed among young English-speaking communities all over the globe—in Japan, China, the Straits, Ceylon, Australia, Canada, the United States, the Cape, and many other places—show that this impression is wholly incorrect, and that the members carry with them into scientific work the energy and perseverance which they exercise in their ordinary avocations. The first sign of progress which Mr. Ellery had to chronicle in . his address was that the Royal Society had grown too large for its building, and consequently the more spacious rooms of the Melbourne Athenzeum had to be selected for the annual address. The number of members has increased annually, and the finan- cial condition of the Society is satisfactory. During the year under review there has been ‘‘a vigorous and healthy progress,” but the young body, having outgrown its juvenile garments, must provide itself with more capacious ones in the shape of considerable additions to the Royal Society house. In the several national scientific and technical departments the year has. been one of active labour, and their progress, in common with that of the Society, has been considerable. There is, the Presi- dent reports, an undoubted and general increase in the desire for knowledge in the various pure and applied sciences, and especially as applied to technical training and to the daily re- quirements of life. New societies for the prosecution of study and research, more especially in the natural sciences, have come into existence in the provinces, and the older societies and schools are increasing in their influence and usefulness. The School of Technology and the technological museums at Mel- bourne are growing rapidly. An example of the great economic benefits of such institutions was afforded during the year under review by the opening of a new trade between Victoria and India wholly on account of the knowledge derived in Melbourne from the museum collection of Indian woods, and it is antici- pated that a like result will accrue from a collection of colonial economic woods sent to Calcutta. In Ballarat and Sandhurst the schools of mines are important centres of teaching in the arts and in applied and natural sciences. In Melbourne itself the Medical and Pharmaceutical Societies, the Microscopical Society, and especially the Field Naturalists’ Club, have par- taken in the general progress. The President then comes to the question of what has actually been done in Victoria during the year towards the advance of natural science. The fir-t person referred to in this connection is Baron Mueller, to who e research is due a large proportion of what is known of Australian botany. He succeeded in getting the Colonial Government to purchase for the Botanical Museum the collection of Dr. Sanders of Hamburg, a leading authority on alge, and on European and North African botany. Valuable additions, illustrative of the flora of the western coast districts of Australia, were made to the same museum, which has really been formed by Baron Mueller himself from his collections, extending over nearly forty-four years. Among new publications of the year were additions to the ‘‘ Fragmenta Phytographia Australis,” a continuation of the ‘‘ Systematic Atlas of the Eucalypti,” a new edition of a work on ‘‘Select Plants for Industrial Culture,” and “A Systematic Census of Australian Plants.” A second volume of the vegetable fossils of the auriferous drifts was com- pleted, and in its pages are described and compared most of the fossil fruits of the Pliocene period. A vast field of investigation still remains in the fossil foliage of the Miocene deposits. With a reference to the work of the Melbourne Observatory during the year the president closes that portion of the address with which we are specially concerned here. At the end of the addre-s he argues that the Royal Society is broad enough in its constitution to embrace all sciences, and that, therefore, various sections in connection with it should be formed rather than new societies for each science. The community is not, he thinks, yet large enough to maintain, in an effective state, a number of scientific societies ; and if all in Victoria interested in the pro- gress of science, or engaged in her various byways, were to unite together, not only would more useful work be done, but the work would be more valuable, on account of being subjected to a wider critici-m. All the colonial scientific societies combined would form a strong body, capable of fostering and even subsidising scientific research. In one respect, perhaps, the wheels of the Society might run more smoothly. The volume (a rather small one) of the Zyansactions for 1883 was not issued till May 30, 1884, and was not delivered in London until more than six months later. THE KILIMANJARO EXPEDITION At a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society held on Monday night, Mr. H. H. Johnston gave a description of his visit to Kilimanjaro, on the slopes of which he spent more than five months in the summer and autumn of last year. Mr. Johnston began by explaining the circumstances in which, as appointed leader of the expedition projected by the joint Kili- 302 manjaro Committee of the British Association and the Royal Society, he found himself on arriving at Zanzibar without any trained collectors to assist him. Giving a lively and picturesque narrative of his adventures during his stay with Mandara, chief of Moshi, a person of remarkable character, who mules a small tract on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro at an altitude of about 6000 feet, and is at war with all the surrounding potentates, Mr. Johnston told how, after some difficulties, he began the ascent of the mountain with forty carriers and some guides pro- vided by another chief, Maranga. They crossed the cultivated zone, which ended at about 5500 feet in that part, entered a healthy district with pleasant grassy knolls and many streams of running water, and encamped beside a lovely fern-choked brook at 6500 feet, the whole ascent being very gradual. The follow- ing day they passed through stunted forest, not unlike an English woodland, where the trees, however, were hung with unfamiliar ferns and creepers, and where deliciously-scented parasitic begonias trailed their pink flower-bells from branch to branch. The draczena, which is cultivated by the Wa-Chagga to form hedges, here grew wild. Tree-ferns were abundant and hand- some. Above 7000 feet the orchilla moss draped the forest trees in long gray festoons. Tracks of elephents were very numerous. The other noticeable inhabitants of the forest were dark blue touracoes and tree-hyraxes. | Wart-hogs were occasionally met with up to 8000 feet. At 9000 feet they encamped for the night by a small spring of water in the midst of a grand bit of forest, not of that stunted character which marked the lower woods. He caught a chameleon and many beetles here, and also shot touracoes and pigeons. The next day they walked several miles eastward to find a good place for settlement close to water, and not too high up, so that his shivering followers might not suffer unreasonably from cold. He selected an admirable spot on a grassy knoll rising above the river of Kilema, which takes its source near the base of Kimawenzi. The altitude of this spot was nearly 10,000 feet. Having seen every one carefully installed and protected from the—to them— severe cold (for the thermometer descended every night to one or two degrees below freezing-point), he transferred his own quarters toa higher elevation, and began industriously to collect. His first excursion was to the base of Kimawenzi. The terrible hurricane of wind, however, that raged round this jagged series of lava peaks, prevented him from continuing the ascent, although he doubted if it were possible for any one to reach the summit, owing to the want of foothold. The snow varied very much in quantity on Kimawenzi. Sometimes the whole peak would be covered down to the parent ridge, with only the precipitous rocks peeping blackly through the mantle of white. At other periods the snow would be reduced to an insignificant patch, and the reddish sand which filled the crevices and_glissades between the lava rocks would be left exposed to view. This change from an almost complete snow-cap to nearly no snow at all might be effected in twelve hours. His great object, however, was to reach the snows, and, if possible, the summit of Kibé. To do this it would be necessary to sleep on the way. He had therefore to indace a few followers to accompany him to carry impedimenta. Starting at 9, he walked upwards with few stoppages until 1.30. At first they crossed grassy undulating hillocks, the road being fairly easy. Then they entered a heathy tract, scorched and burnt with recent bush-fires ; but higher up, where the blaze had not reached, the vegetation was fairly abundant and green. Small pink gladioli studded the ground in numbers. At an altitude of nearly 13,000 feet bees and wasps were still to be seen, and bright little sun-birds darted from bush to bush, gleaning their repast of honey. A little higher they found warm springs, the thermometer showing the temperature of the trickling mud to be 91° F. Mounting high above the rivulet the scenery became much harsher. Vegetation only grew in dwarfed patches as they passed the altitude of 13,000 feet, and the ground was covered with boulders, more or less big, apparently lying in utter confusion, and without any definite direction, They were not very difficult to climb over, and even seemed to act as irregular stone steps upwards. In their interstices heaths of the size of large shrubs grew with a certain luxuriance. About 13,700 feet he saw the last resident bird, a kind of stonechat apparently. It went in little cheery flocks, and showed such absence of fear that he had to walk away from it before shooting to avoid shattering his specimen. After this, with the exception of an occasional great high- soaring kite or great-billed raven, he saw no other bird. On reaching a height a little above 14,000 feet he stopped again NATURE [Fan. 29, 1885 to boil the thermometer and refresh himself with a little lunch. Throughout this ascent, which was easy to climb, he suffered absolutely nothing from want of breath or mountain sickness, although his three Zanzibari followers lagged behind, panting and exhausted, end complained much of their lungs and head. “* Mounting up a few hundred feet higher than the last stopping- place,” Mr. Johnston said, ‘‘and rounding an unsuspected and deep ravine, I arrived close to the base of a small peak which had been a continual and useful point to aim at during the whole journey from my station. I was now on the central connecting ridge of Kilimanjaro, and could see a little on both sides, though the misty state of the atmosphere prevented my getting any good view of the country. This ridge, which from below looks so simple and straight, is in reality dotted with several small monti- cules and cut up into many minor ridges, the general direction of which is, on the southern side, from north-east to south-west. To the eastward I could see the greater part of Kimawenzi rising grandly with its jagged peaks and smooth glissades of golden sand. Westward, I still looked vainly in the piled up clouds, for the monarch of the chain still remained obstinately hidden, and I was at a loss as how to best approach his awful crown of snow. At length, and it was so sudden and so fleeting that I had no time to fully take in the majesty of the snowy dome of Kibé, the clouds parted, and I looked on a blaze of snow so blinding white under the brief flicker of sunlight that I could see little detail. Since sunrise that morning I had caught no glimpse of Kib6, and now it was suddenly presented to me with unusual and startling nearness. But before J could get out my sketch-book and sharpen my chalk pencil, the clouds had once more hidden everything, indeed, had inclosed me in a kind of London fog, very depressing in character, for the de- crease in light was rather alarming to one who felt himself alone and cut off at a point nearly as high as the summit of Mont Blane. However, knowing now the direction of my goal, I rose from the clammy stones, and, clutching up my sketch-book with benumbed hands, began once more to ascend westwards. Seeing but a few yards in front of me, choked with mist, I made but slow progress ; nevertheless, I continually mounted along a gently-sloping hummocky ridge, where the spaces in between the masses of rock were filled with fine yellowish sand. There were also fragments of stone strewn about, and some of these I put into my knapsack. The slabs of rock were so slippery with the drizzling mist that I very often nearly lost my footing, and I thought with a shudder what a sprained ankle would mean here. However, though reflection told me it would be better to return to my followers and recommence the climb to-morrow, I still struggled on with stupid persistency, and at length, after a rather steeper ascent than usual up the now smoother and sharper ridge, I suddenly encountered snow lying at my very feet, and nearly plunged headlong into a great rift filled with snow that here seemed to cut across the ridge and interrupt it. The dense mist cleared a little in a partial manner, and I then saw to my left the black rock sloping gently to an awful gulf of snow so vast and deep that its limits were concealed by fog. Above me a line of snow was just discernable, and altogether the prospect was such a gloomy one, with its all-surrounding cur- tain of sombre cloud and its uninhabited wastes of snow and rock, that my heart sank within me at my loneliness. Nevertheless, I thought, ‘only alittle further, and perhaps I may ascend above the clouds and stand gazing down into the crater of Kilimanjaro from its snowy rim.’ So, turning momentarily northwards, I rou: ded the rift of snow, and once more dragged myself, now breathless and panting, and with aching limbs, along the slippery ridge of bare rock which went ever mounting upwards. I con- tinued this for nearly an hour, and then dropped exhausted on the ground, overcome with what I suppose was an ordinary at- tack of mountain sickness. I was miserably cold, the driving mist having wetted me totheskin. Yet the temperature recorded here was above freezing-point, being 35° F. I boiled my ther- mometer, and the agreeable warmth of the spirit-lamp put life into my benumbed hands. The mercury rose to 183°°8. This observation when properly computed, and with the correction added for the temperature of the intermediate air, gives a height of 16,315 feet as the highest point I attained on Kilimanjaro, I thus came within a little more than 2000 feet of the summit. which is usually estimated to reach an altitude of 18,800 feet.” He made other ascents during the month he was in high altitudes. The footprints and other traces of buffaloes were seen up to 14,000 feet, but he never caught sight of one of the creatures, nor did he see any of the big antelope, Fan. 29, 1885 | who also wander up to the snow line. At a height of 13,000 feet he saw three elephants, and at night the shrill trumpeting of these animals could be heard round the station. On October 18 he found himself, most unwil- lingly, obliged to leave the elevated settlement and _ re- turn to Taveita. The relatively great cold they had ex- perienced had reacted very unfavourably on his men’s health, and he feared that a longer delay might render them quite unfitted to carry burdens. He intended, however, to make his return journey entirely through a new and hitherto untraversed country, and this project somewhat consoled him for leaving the summit of Kilimanjaro still unconquered. Their downward journey, part of the way through trackless bush and dense dank forest, was not without adventure and some reward in scenery of great beauty. The average elevation of this country was between 8000 and 7ooo feet, and the temperature consequently almost cool, ranging from 43° at night to 70° in the mid-day warmth. After some four hours’ walking from their camp they crossed the long ridge that marked the southern flank of Kimawenzi, and began to descend the eastern slope of the mountain. Soon they emerged on a kind of heath-like country, and then looked forth on a splendid view stretching from Mwika to the mountains of Bura and Ukambani (the Kiulu range), with Jipe on one hand and the River Tzayo on the other. After some enjoyable excursions from his settlement at Taveita, finding that his funds would not support the expe- dition beyond the end of November, he made a rapid journey to the coast by way of Pare, Usambara, and the Rufu river to Pangani. At Zanzibar, finding there were no fresh funds to enable him to return to Kilimanjaro, he paid off the last of his faithful followers, many of whom had accompanied Thomson on his great journey, and took his passage on the British India steamer to Suez in quite a sulky frame of mind, as sorry to leave his beautiful mountain as many people are to quit England. Travelling overland from Suez, he arrived in London not much more than six weeks after he had caught his last glimpse of the snows of Kilimanjaro. A SCANDINAVIAN LAND OF OPHIR \ E learn from Maturen that the little island in the Hardanger Fjord, known as Bommeloen, which two years ago was an uninhabited and desolate spot, is now a busy scene of extensive gold-digging. Numerous English artizans and Norsk brick- layers and carpenters have for months been actively engaged in boring and sinking shafts into the ro:k, and in preparing houses and shelter for the men and machinery that have been drawn hither by the report of the discovery in 1882 of gold in the Storhangen mine. This discovery had been anticipated in 1862 by the find of a piece of pure gold, which was at once deposited in the mineralogical museum of Christiania, where it has since remained apparently unheeded, although the place and time at which it was found are duly marked on the corresponding label. After twenty years gold was again found in 1882, at the Storhangen mine, which was then being worked for copper ore. ‘The result of this discovery was the purchase, in 1883, of the works by an English firm, trading under the title of the Oscar Gold Mining Company, which is worked under the scien- tific direction of Mr. Murchison. Considerable amusement seems so have been created among Norsemen by a somewhat ambiguous statement, set forth in the Company’s circulars, which oracularly announces that ‘‘the gold finds at Bommeloen are either Nature’s greatest success or her greatest illusion” ! The geological formation of Bommeloen is similar to that of other auriferous rocks, the gold being found in quartz, which occurs in strata never more than six feet thick, although of con- siderable extent, and generally underlying green (chloritic) schist. The greenstones of the island differ from those found in other parts of Norway, and contain glass and various typical vulcanic products. t The operations of the Oscar Mining Company have given a new stimulus to the search for gold in Norway, and we learn that Herr Bakke, Inspector of Mine: at Trondhjem, has officially reported the discovery of virgin gold in a piece of chloritic slate from Stegen in Nordland, while it is authoritatively stated that gold has been found within the last year or two at Sveen in the Bergen-Amt, and also near Stavanger. In the latter case the discoverer, Nils Berg, an old experienced Australian gold- digger, washed the gold from the mud remaining at the bottom of ashaft that had been sunk in a copper mine. NATURE 393 SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Wiedemann’s Annalen, vol. xxiv. January 1885—O. Leh- mann, on the melting-points of bodies in contact, and on the electrolysis of solid iodide of silver. A remarkable paper, accompanied with an elaborate plate describing phenomena of crystallisation observed chiefly with microscope at limiting edge of two crystallisable liquids or solutions. Iodide of silver pre- sents certain closely-related phenomena under electrolysis, both in molten and in solid condition. Regular crystalline iodide of silver conducts an electric current, the silver being carried in the direction of the negative current through the crystal without its structure being disturbed. In its electrolysis, however, there appears a streaking in the direction of the flow of the current.— W. yon Bezold, on a new kind of cohesion-figures. These experimental researches relate to the quasi-dendritic forms ob- served when one liquid descends through another.—L. Boltz- mann, On the possibility of founding a kinetic theory of gases on attractive forces alone. This is an attempt to dispense with Maxwell’s hypothesis that molecules repel one another in the inverse fifth power of the distance, which he framed to account for the apparent perfect elasticity exhibited by molecules of gases. Boltzmann proposes a new theory, based on attraction, very similar to that recently independently propounded by Sir W. Thomson (NavuRE, August 28, 1884).—O. Chwolson, on the calibration of the plug-rheostats of Siemens and Halske. This discusses corrections for the resistance of connecting-pieces, &c.—F. Kohlrausch, the electric conductivity of water distilled in vacuo. A column of pure water I metre long and of 1 square millimetre section has a resistance of about 4 X 10! ohms.—G. Kirchhoff, on the change of form which an elastic body experiences when it is magnetically or dielectrically polarised. This paper, originally published in the Proce dings of the Berlin Academy, deals analytically with the phenomenon of electro- striction investigated by Lorberg and others.—A. Schuster, on the discharge of electricity through gases. Treats of certain points in dispute between the author and Profs. Goldstein and E. Wiedemann. The author pronounces in favour of the view that all the phenomena of effect of magnetism, &c., upon the discharge of the negative electrode may be explained if it be admitted that the negatively-charged portions of the gaseous. molecules are driven off from the kathode.—E. Goldstein, on electric conduction in the vacuum. Discusses some experiments in which a carbon filament lamp was employed ; the filament forming one electrode, a platinum wire being inserted through the glass to serve as another electrode for the discharge, which was obtained, without an induction-coil, with electromotive forces of about 300-350 volts.—Werner Siemens, contributions to the theory of magnetism. Describes experiments on partially-closed magnetic circuits of iron, giving rise to the opinion, that the harder a specimen of iron is, the greater is the value of the magnetising force at which the maximum of permeability is observed. Also, the magnetic resistance of air is from 480 to 500 times as great as that of iron.—H. Hertz, on the dimen- sions of unit of magnetic pole strength in different systems of measurement.—E. Ketteler, the optical constants of magnetic media. Develops equations rela'ing to Kundt’s recent magneto- optic observations. —E. von Fleischl, the double refraction of light in fluids. Proves that in optically-active liquids the rota- tion is due to the existence of double refraction. Double- refracting liquids have no optic axis, and the wave-surface con- sists of two concentric spherical sheets. —W. von Voigt, on the measurement of the refractive indices of absorbing media. Recommends the prism method as more accurate than the total- reflection method.—W. von Voigt, on the theory of reflection and refraction at the boundary of crystalline media. New equations based on the author’s theory of the reactions between matter and ether in transparent media, and leading to same con- clusions as Kirchhoft’s older theory. Fournal de Physique, November, 1884.—]. Jamin, on hygro- metry. The author proposes to substitute for the ‘‘ relative humidity’ a new coefficient termed the ‘‘ hygrometric richness,” which is the ratio of the actual pressure of aqueous vapour of the air to the difference between the total atmospheric pressure and the actual vapour pressure. The substitution appears to be both rational and instructive-—Ch. Riviere, essay on cooling power of gases. Confirms formula of Dulong and Petit up to 400° C., but above that temperature the observed values are lower than. the theoretical. Also appears to prove that at very low pres-- sues cooling power is independent of the chemic1l c mposition. 304 NATURE of the gas.—C. Decharme, imitation of the phenomena of electri- city and magnetism by means of liquid and gaseous currents. Summarises number of experimental researches.—A. Kundt, electromagnetic rotation of plane of polarisation of light trans- mitted through films of iron, cobalt, and nickel; an abstract from the Berlin Berichte. —E. Bazzi, on the heat developed by a current during the variable period. Experiments show Joule’s law still to hold good, assuming Helmholtz’s equations true. _ It has been remarked by Blaserna that this is not incompatible with the existence of oscillations in the extra-current, for Helmholtz’s expression, though only a first approximation which omits the terms that would express these oscillations, is probably not far from the mean result.—The remainder of this number consists of abstracts of papers by Amagat, Baille, H. Pecquerel (on infused rays), Cornu, Witz, and by Berthelot and Ogier from the Annales de Chimie et de Paysique. December, 1884.—E. Villari, new researches on the elec- tric figures of condensers. The ramifications observed in the dust-figures are believed to be due to partial internal dis- charges.—E. Villari, microscopic researches on the traces of electric sparks engraved on glass, and on the diameter of these sparks. Tinted zones are observable where these sparks have passed over the surface of the glass. These traces vary with the glass, not with the nature of the electrodes ; they are not removed by acids, and are probably due to heat. The cross section of the spark is, for a constant potential, pro- portional to the charge which produces it.—E. Villari, on the total heat developed by one or more sparks generated by the discharge of a condenser.—E. Villari, singular mechanical effect of the electric discharge. Glass plates, even strong thick ones, are easily broken by the spark of a Leyden battery, provided one face be silvered.-—A. Righi, on a recent interpretation of Hall’s phenomenon. Bidwell’s theory of Hall’s phenomenon appears to fail in the case of bismuth, in which Hall’s phenomenon exists most markedly. It is also to be remarked that the variation of the electric resistance of bismuth, when subjected to the mag- netic field, is greater than that of any other metal.—R. Weber, the electric siren. This instrument produces tones in a receiving telephone by causing rheotomes having different numbers of peripheral contacts rotated at a uniform speed to interrupt the circuit of a battery. The author draws a number of conclusions relatively to the partial and resultant tones, which are hardly justified when one considers the non-sinusoidal character of the variations of the current.—F. Melde, acoustical experiments, abstracted from [Vied. Anu.—P. de Heen, determination of the general law governing the dilatation of any chemically definite liquid. The author assumes that the molecules attract one another in the inverse seventh power of the distance. Whatever may be thought of the hypothesis, there is an interesting coin- cidence running through his figures.—The remainder of the number is filled with abstracts of papers from the Vzove Cimento, the most important of them being by E. Wiedemann, on the density of the luminiferous ether, and by Profs. Bellati and Romanese, on some remarkable thermic properties of the iodides of silver and copper. Rendiconti del Reale Istituto Lombardo, December 11, 1884. —Report on the results of the International Medical Congre s held at Copenhagen during the month of August, by Prof. G. Sangalli.—On the influence of high temperatures on the deve- lopment of microbes, by Prof. L. Maggi.—A study of the earth- quake which occurred at Ischia on July 28, 1883, by Prof. Giuseppe Mercalli.—On the secular variation in the elements of terrestrial magnetism at Como, by C. Chistoni.—Descriptive catalogue of sixty-three hitherto unpublished Pontifical coins and medals in the Royal Numismatic Cabinet at Milan, by E. B. Biondelli.—The paintings of the Italian masters in the public museums of Europe, in connection with Senator Morelli’s recent work, by Prof. G. Mongeri.—Critical notes on the fourth book of the pseudo-Theophilus, by Prof. C. Ferrini.—Meteorological observations made at the Brera Observatory, Milan, during the months of November and December 1884. Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society, vol. xvi. fasc. 7.—On the heat of combustion of organic matters, by W. Longuinine ; being a description of the methods resorted to by the author in his series of determinations preliminary to the subsequent publication of the results obtained. The paper is accompanied by several plates.—Analysis of a saltpetre earth from Turkestan, by N. Lubavin. It is taken from the ruins of Kunya-Urgench, the climatic conditions being altogether very - [ Yan. 29, 1885 favourable for its formation, and its abundance explains the cheapness of gunpowder at Khiva. It contains 6 per cent. of azotic anhydride. The remarks of the author as to the connec- tion between the formation of saltpetre and the inundations of the Amu are worthy of notice. —Review of the Russian chemical literature for the year 1883 and first quarter of 1884.—We notice the appearance of a fifth edition of the excellent manual of analytic chemistry by M. Menshutkin, as also of his lectures on organic chemistry (lithographed), which are now in print ; a third edition of P. Alexeyeff’s organic chemistry, and a second edition of the principles of chemistry, by A. Poty- litsin, not to speak of several translations. As to separate monographs, besides thoce already mentioned by NATuRE, the following are worthy of notice:—The organic compounds in their relations to the haloid salts of aluminium, by G. Gustavson—a work which has obtained the premium of the Chemical Society ; on the relations between the compositions and refractory power of organic compounds, published at Kazan, which has raised a serious and useful discussion between Russian chemists; and an inquiry into the atoms and the measurement of their size, by O. Troyanoyski (Warsaw).—On the electrical discharge in gases, by M. Goldhammer ; being a series of experiments for determining the temperature in Geissler tubes. When rarefied air is taken for the experiment, its heating does not depend on its elasticity so long as this last remains within. the limits of 8°4 to 38 millimetres ; but it decreases with the decrease of the electrical current. The distribution of temperature on the surface of the tube is shown by a series of curves. An interesting observation made by the author is that phosphorescent light on the surface of the glass, such as Prof. Crookes considered as appearing only at pressures equal to millionth parts of an atmosphere, appeared also at pressures from 1°3 to o’8 millimetres, the glass of the tube not belonging to the category of uranic glass, and the phosphorescent light appearing invariably on the calode, even when the direction of the current has been changed.—Prelimi- nary report on the influence of compression of iron and steel on their magnetisation, by P. Bakhmetieff.—On the hail of July 11, 1884, at Kharkoff, by N. Piltchikoff—a description, with figures, of the hailstones.—On the shock of absolutely rigid bodies, by N. Joukovsky ; being a mathematical critique of the theories advanced on this subject by MM. Matson, Prof. Shiller, at Kieff, and M. Garrigou-Lagrange.—On the dilatation of liquids, by M. Avenarius, against Prof. Mendeléeff’s formula and in favour of the expression v =a + C log. (7 — z).—On the regular forms taken by powders, by Th. Petrushevski. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, January 8.—‘‘ Experimental Researches in Magnetism.” By Prof. J. A. Ewing, B.Sc., F.R.S.E., Uni- versity College, Dundee. Communicated by Sir William Thomson, F.R.S. The paper describes in detail experiments of which preliminary notices have already been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, vol. xxxiv. p. 39, and in the Phelosophical Maga- zine, November, 1883. The experiments relate to— (1) The magnetic susceptibility of iron and steel, the form of the magnetisation curve, and the changes of magnetism caused by cyclic changes of magnetising force. (2) The influence of vibration on magnetic susceptibility and retentiveness. (3) The influence of permanent strain on magnetic suscepti- bility and retentiveness. (4) The energy expended in producing cyclic changes of mag- netisation. (5) The ratio of residual to total induced magnetism. (6) The changes of induced and residual magnetism caused by changes of stress. (7) The effects of constant stress on magnetic susceptibility and retentiveness. (8) The changes of magnetism caused by changes of tem- perature, (9) The effect of temperature on magnetic susceptibility. The experiments were conducted on pieces of metal which gave as near an approach to the condition of uniform magnetisa- tion as is practically attainable. Curves are given which show the behaviour of iron and steel in various states of temper when subjected to a first application Fan. 29, 1885] of magnetising force, and also to subsequent cyclic changes of magnetising force, such as complete or partial removal and re- application, or reversal. The curves are drawn by plotting either {, the intensity of magnetisation, or 35, the magnetic induction, in relation to #9, the magnetising force: the characteristics of these curves and their relation to the physical state of the piece under examination are pointed out. Curves so drawn invariably exhibit the static lagging action to which the author (in a former paper) gave the name ‘hysteresis,’ any cyclic change of giving rise to a more or less nearly closed /oof in the curve. Attention was previously drawn to these loops by Warburg, who also anticipated the author in pointing out their important physical meaning, namely, that the area of a loop, or —/fdW, is the measure of the energy expended. in performing the cycle of magnetisation which the loop describes. In the present paper numerous absolute measurements of this energy are given, espe- cially of the energy which is thus dissipated in each reversal of the magnetism of a piece of iron or steel. These show that while the dissipation of energy by reversal of magnetism is very much smaller in soft iron than in hard iron or steel, even in the latter its amount is very trifling, so that the principal part of the heat which is produced in the cores of electro-magnets must be due chiefly to other causes than this static hysteresis, and is, in fact, due almost wholly to the induction of so-called Foucault currents in the cores. The relation of this hysteresis to Weber’s theory of molecular magnets, as extended by Maxwell, is dis- cussed, and the insufficiency of Maxwell’s extension noticed. By vibrating a piece of soft iron during the application and removal of magnetising force, the effects of hysteresis are almost entirely removed, and the iron is then found to possess almost no retentiveness, But when the application and removal of magnetising force are effected witheut mechanical disturbance, the retentiveness of soft iron is found to be even greater than that of steel. In some cases 93 per cent. of the whole induced magnetism of a piece of annealed iron was found to remain on the complete removal of the magnetising force. It is pointed out that there is no discrepancy between this result and the well- known fact that a short iron core of an electro-magnet retains almost no magnetism when the current in the magnet is inter- rupted. In that case the ends of the magnet itself, after the interruption of the current, exert a sufficient reversed magnetising force to destroy almost entirely the residual magnetism. But when tested under the conditions which give uniform magnetisa- tion and avoid the demagnetising influence of the ends, soft annealed iron is more retentive than even the hardest steel. Examples are given showing that the influence of permanent set in the curve of magnetisation is so marked as to give a crite- rion by which a strained piece may be readily distinguished from an annealed piece of metal, and that strain diminishes very greatly the magnetic retentiveness of iron. Numerical values of the coefficients of permeability (u) and of susceptibility («) are given for a number of samples of iron and steel, and the relation of these coefficients to %3 and £ is exhibited graphically after the manner of Rowland. The greatest value of u refers to soft annealed iron while under mechanical vibration, and is about 20,000. The next part of the paper deals at great length with the effects of stress (consisting of longitudinal pull) on the magnetic susceptibility and retentiveness of iron ; and the last part deals more briefly with the effect of temperature on magnetism, a subject already largely treated by G. Wiedemann and others. The experiments, which have been of a very extended charac- ter, were made during 1881-83 in the laboratory of the Univer- sity of Tokio, Japan, with the help of Japanese students, Messrs. Fujisawa, Tanakadate, Tanaka, and Sakai, to whom the author is indebted for much valuable assistance. The results have been, almost without exception, reduced to absolute mea- sure, and are for the most part presented graphically in curves which accompany the paper. January 22.—‘‘ On the Origin of the Proteids of the Chyle and the Transference of Food Materials from the Intestine into the Lacteals,” By E. A. Schafer, F.R.S. The most important result obtained by the author is the esta- blishment of the fact that, during absorption of food from the intestine, the lymph corpuscles migrate in large numbers into the lacteals, and for the most part become disintegrated and dissolved in the chyle. This is the case not only after a meal containing fat, but also after feeding with substances devoid of that alimentary principle ; it is, therefore, a phenomenon of general occurrence during absorption, and the carrying of fatty NATURE 395 particles into the lacteals after a meal containing fat by the immigrating leucocytes, must be regarded as merely incidental to a more general function. The immigration and solution of numerous leucocytes in the contents of the lacteals must be the means of conveying a large amount of proteid material, derived from their dissolved proto- plasm and nuclei, into the chyle. And any other material which may be mechanically or otherwise incorporated with their proto- plasm must also be set free. In this way the fatty particles which they contain during absorption of a meal containing fat become released and suspended in the chyle, and it is probable that amyloid matters are also in part thus conveyed to that fluid, _ A fuller account of the whole subject, furnished with illustra- tions and containing the necessary references to other articles dealing with the same question, will appear in the forthcoming number of the Monthly International Fournal of Anatomy and Histology. Geological Society, January 14.—Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Ewan Cameron Galton, Henry Brougham Guppy, Henry G. Hanks, and William Elliott Howe were elected Fellows of the Society.—The fol- lowing communications were read :—The metamorphism of dolerite into hornblende schist, by J. J. Harris Teall, F.G.S.— Sketch of the geology of New Zealand, by Capt. F. W. Hutton, F.G.S., Professor of Biology in the Canterbury College, Uni- versity of New Zealand. The paper commenced with. some general remarks on the importance and variety of the geology of New Zealand, and on the progress made in the investigation of the islands, The author then proceeded to the question of the classification of the sedimentary strata, which the author arranges in the following local systems :— Systems Probable age Recent Recent Pleistocene Pleistocene Wanganui Newer and Older Pliocene Pareora Miocene Damartt Oligocene Waipara Upper Cretaceous Hokanti Lower Jurassic and Triassic Maitat Carboniferous Takaka Silurian and Ordovician Manapouri Archean Most of these systems are divided into several local series. The general geological structure was then treated. The south island of New Zealand was shown to be traversed from near the southern extremity to Tasman’s Bay by a curved anticlinal, con- vex to the westward ; and the strata to the east of this axis are thrown into secondary folds, which mainly affect the beds older than Tertiary. A great north and south fault occurs west of the anticlinal. The north island is very different. It is traversed by a narrow ridge, the country northward of which is broken by three great volcanic cones, Mount Egmont, Ruapehu, and Ton- gariro near the centre of the island. The oldest rocks seen south of Cook’s Straits are not repeated to the north, and a fault may traver-e the Straits. The rock systems up to the Hokanui, inclusive, are similar in lithological character throughout New Zealand, and appear to have been formed on the shore of a continent with large rivers. The higher systems, with the ex- ception of a few coral-reef limestones, are locally variable, and may be considered insular. The relative distribution of sedi- mentary and eruptive rocks was briefly noticed, and the occur- rence of some useful minerals mentioned. No workable coal is found below the base of the Waipara system. .g See Dove, ‘“* Tem- NATURE 325 In the vicinity of the arctic zone the influence of insolation is, in the first place, observed on the Continent. At Turuchansk, lat. 65° 55’, gourds are cultivated, though of a small size (Mid- dendorff, ‘* Sibirische Reise,” band iv. theili. p. 701). The mean temperature in 1881 was: Of June 48°, of July 59°, and of August 55°, the two last months being about equal in tem- perature to the means of Valentia in Ireland, lat. 51° 55’ (July 59, August 59°); but at Turuchansk there were, in June, 7 days with the temperature, at I p.m., ranging between 68° and 73; in July, 15 days ranging between 68° and 82°; and in August, 16 days ranging between 62° and 75°. Number of days completely clouded: June 6; July 9; August 3. Snow did occur till June 15, and was observed again on August 29 (Annalen der Physikalischen Central Observatoriums, St. Petersburg). In Norway the cultivation of gourds (Cucurbita Pepo, L.) reaches 59° 55’. In North America, at Cumberland House, lat. 53° 57’, a sugar harvest is collected from Megundo fraxinifolium, Nutt. (Acer negundo, L.), by means of cuttings in the trees, but the flow of the sap is greatly influenced by the action of the sun’s rays, and is greatest after a smart night’s frost (Richardson, “Search Expedition through Ruperts Land,” vol. ii. p. 236). In summer, the influence of the direct sunlight causes the tropical mid-day temperature so common in the interior of both continents in the temperate zone; but in America the days’ differences are much greater than in Asia ; even near the eastern shores (Montreal, Quebec, &c.) daily differences of 20° are of common occurrence in midsummer. The Asiatic continent, reaching to the Arctic Sea, without in- terruption presents to the sun’s rays a much greater surface than is the case with America, where the melting ice in Hudson’s Bay and the Arctic Archipelago consumes the greatest part of the solar warmth, being at the same time the cause of the sudden low temperatures occurring when the wind turns to the north or north-west. Notwithstanding this, the European vegetables and corn are cultivated with success in the United States and the interior of Canada, but some of them cannot stand the sudden changes of temperature, as, for instance, the vine, and also the orange-tree (Curus aurantium, L., et varr.); the general cultivation of the latter does not reach beyond 30° N. lat. (Florida). Nowhere else is the influence of insolation more distinctly observed than in the arctic regions. It is known that in high latitudes the heat of the sun’s rays in summer is often very great. Richardson remarks that (being under about 60° N, lat. near the Slave River) he had never felt the heat within the tropics so oppressive as he experienced it on some occasions in these arctic regions (Richardson, ‘‘Search Expedition,” vol. i. p. 144), though the sun’s rays are here always horizontal instead of vertical, as is the case in the tropical countries. The enormous multitude of mosquitoes suddenly appearing in spring when the ice is thawing, and in places where there is water for their larvze (swamps, pools, &c.), is also mach greater than in India. The observations on the following page may give some idea of the difference between the temperature in the shade and that in the sun’s rays. At Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake, North America, lat. 65° 12’, the mean temperature in the last part of March or the beginning of April is about o° F. ; the effect of the sun’s rays on the blackened bulb of a thermometer, however, is sufficient to raise the mercury to 90° (Richardson, ‘‘ Search Expedition,” vol. ii. p. 254). s Comparing these observations with those within the tropics we see that the difference between the maximum temperature in the sun in these regions and the northern is relatively small. Maximum temperature in the sun, 1882: Calcutta, 162°; Bombay, 151° ; Colombo (Ceylon), 157°; Barbados, 156°. But in dry climates the difference is greater: Melbourne, 169° ; Adelaide, 180°. The mean humidity at Adelaide was only 58 per cent. ; highest temperature in shade 112”. Even in the North American Arctic Archipelago, in Smith Sound, lat. 78° 30’, where the mean summer temperature is only 33° (June 30°, July 38°, August 313°), Kane’s observations with the black bulb thermometer gave the following results :— t Greatest difference at Winnipeg, lat. 49°55’, on July 2, 188r, maximum 98°, minimum 45°; difference 53". At Poplar Heights, Manitoba, lat. 50° 5’, maximum on May 20, 86°, minimum 27° ; thus difference 59°. At Blagowescht- schensk, Siberia, lat. 50° 15’, on May 25, 1881, maximum 79°, minimum:48 3 difference 31°. At Akmolinsk, lat. 51° 12’, on May 25, maximum 68°, mini- mum 50°; difference 18° 326 VAL From May 16 till September 4 the temperature in the sun’s rays was constantly above the freezing-point (with exception of May 22, when this was not the case) ; on June 15 it reached 48°, on _the 26th 54°, on July 5, 70°, and on August 11, 66°. Observations at Pawlov sk, Russia, Lat.f59° 43) } Date, 188 Tempe oceee ae Difference | Humidity ° ° ° as Feb. 8 2 70 68 75 oF 18 21 88 67 74 50 21 co 88 76 3 | Be 2 24 12 91 79 76 3» © 25 18 97 79 71 ee 28 Gr ony MOU 82 73 March 14 20 106 86 73 20 16 27 III 84 66 00 22 20 109 89 65 May 25 68 128 60 39 June 8 82 140 58 40 2 29 73 133 60 33 July 2 80 138 58 30 Aug. 10 64. 31 67 72 Sept. 8 66 etd! 58 57 55 18 62 124 62 66 Oct... To 52 107 55 63 Nov. 4 BY edo 86 54 78 It is clear that the influence of the sun’s rays increases with higher latitude, because the sun in summer rests above the horizon. \)-Now we come to the main point, viz. the effect of the direct solar heat on vegetation in the northern regions. In Novaya Zemlya the vegetation (consisting chiefly of herba- ceous plants) is, in places exposed to the sun’s rays (at the foot of mountains), like an arctic flower-garden, the surface of the soil not being covered with grass as is the case in the temperate regions. The flowers are here of a much greater size than the leaves. In this island, and even in Spitzbergen, the snow dis- appears in summer by the action of the sun from hills exposed to its light ; but on Ben Nevis in Scotland, being a difference in latitude of more than 20°, the snow rests sometimes the whole year. In the Tundra of Siberia, on the declivities of hills sheltered from the winds and exposed vertically to the sun’s rays, the same herbaceous vegetation, with its large, splendid-coloured flowers, is observed (Middendorff, ‘‘ Sibirische Reise,” bd. iv. th. i. p. 733), but this is not the case in plains where the sunlight in its horizontal direction cannot have so much influence on the vegetation of the frozen ground; therefore these plains are in general really deserts, only covered with moss. Insolation is also the cause of the rich vegetation in some parts of the mountains in the temperate zone (Alps, &c.). Even in the most northern regions there can be a rich vezeta- tion where the plants in sheltered localities are exposed to the sun. Parry (‘‘ Attempt to reach the North Pole’’) found the scurvy grass (Coch/earia) on Walden Island under 80° 30! N. lat. in such a luxuriant growth as he had never seen it before. Middendorff observed, under 74° 30’ N. lat., on the borders of Lake Taimyr in Siberia, on August 2, a temperature of 52° in the shade ; but a heliothermometer under glass placed in the sun’s rays stood at 104°; an uncovered one marked, in the sun, 70°. The pitch on his boat was not only melted by this tem- perature, but flowed (Middendorff, ‘‘ Sib. Reise,” p. 657). But, as is the case also in lower latitudes, the greatest differ- ence between the temperature in the shade and in the sun occurs in early spring, In June, Middendorff was travelling in the Stanowoi Mountains, and saw a rhododendron in full flower ; when he was about to gather some flowers of this plant he found not only the roots, but even the stem, frozen hard in the soil. The temperature of the air was between 54° and 43°, but at night it was some degrees below freezing- point. The assertion of some botanists that the contents of the cells, as soon as they are frozen, make the latter burst, thus causing the death of the plants, has been already refuted by Nageli ; but the important observations of Middendorff have showed clearly that the severest frosts of the Asiatic cold pole, by which the innermost parts of the trees are frozen as hard as Ae Annalen des Physikalischen Central Observatoriums, St. Petersburg, | I. ORE [ Fed. 5, 1885 iron, have little influence on the tissue when the cold becomes gradually more intense ; only when the temperature sinks sud- dently below the freezing-point of the mercury the wood splits with a thunderingnoise, These crevices have a disadvantageous influence on the vegetation of the tree in summer, because in these places the plant often begins to rot. The trees rest in a frozen state till, in spring, the sun’s rays reach the upper parts, and here vegetation is raised, though the roots and lower parts of the stem are still in a frozen state. But the most interesting discovery on this subject was made by Middendorff under 69° 30’ N. lat., on April 14, near the village of Dudino ; notwithstanding the clear sky and incessant brilliant light of the sun, the temperature at mid-day ranged from — 4° to ~13°, yet before and after this time from — 24° to — 35°. While going over the glittering snow he was suddenly stopped by the sight of a willow-catkin peeping about an inch out of it. The catkin was wholly developed, yet the branch on which it was observed was, one or two inches down, solidly frozen ; this was also the case with the other parts of the plant hidden ‘under the snow (Middendorff, p. 653). Thus this little part of a branch was called to life, for some hours only, by the direct solar rays, in which it was thawed. In the beginning of August, under lat. 74° 30', Middendorft found the soil exposed to the sun’s rays heated to 86°, though the temperature about four inches below the surface was only 39°, and at the depth of about one foot the ground was constantly frozen (Middendorff, p. 666). It is clear that plants in the high northern regions, when they vegetate, receive more warmth by insolation than is often supposed—r° by the direct solar light itself, and 2° by the heated surface of the ground. The snow and ice being melted by the sun, the necessa-y water and humid atmosphere never fail ; even this is the cause of the luxuriant growth of grass on some places of the Tundra. The flowing water gradually communicates its warmth to the soil, and prevents also the nightly radiation. All this is proof enough that, when the mean temperature in shade is known, this is not at all sufficient for a knowledge of the real temperature by which the vegetation of several plants is raised. What might have been the temperature in the tissue of the little branch and also in that of the willow-catkin, of which we have spoken? and this when the temperature in the shade was so many degrees below freezinz-point. In the temperate regions vegetation commences in spring, when the difference of temperature between night and day is greatest ; in the high north this difference is often insignificant, because the sun rests above the horizon ; but the temperature of the soil being at this time very much lower than that of the objects exposed to the sun’s rays, even this great difference is the cause of the very rapid vegetation in sheltered localities and under thei nfluence of the solar light.} In conclusion we must remark that the facts thus briefly men- tioned show how much a new system of bio-meteorologieal observations is wanted to ascertain the real quantity of warmth and sunlight necessary for the growth of plants, many of which are of the utmost importance in the life of man. M. BuysMAN 3 NEW ORGANIC SPECTRA? HE absorption-spectra to be described were detected by means of the microspectroscope, and most of them are only fully visible in it, as the dispersion of the chemical spectro- scope is too great for the detection of some of the very feeble bands. A binocular microscope provided with a substage achromatic condenser, to which are fitted two diaphragms, was specially made for this kind of work. Its objectives are so adapted as to enable both fields to be fully illuminated when any power up to the one-eighth is used. The left-hand tube is used as a ‘‘finder,” and as a means of getting any required portion of the object into the centre of the field so that its spec- trum may be obtained in the spectrum eyepiece of the right-hand tube. In this way the various portions of a very small bit of | tissue or organ may be readily differentiated from each other and ™ In 50° N. lat., on the banks of the Amur River, where the situation with regard to the ground-ice in spring is the same as in the Taimyr country, Nasturtium and Calamagrostis plants were observed to grow about halfa foot every day (see Beitrage sur Kenntniss des Russtschen Retches, Band Xxiil. pp. 617- 2 TAR ESSE a communication made to the Physiological Society, at the meeting on December 13, 1884 (and published in Proceedings No. iv. 1884), | by Dr. C. A. MacMunn. Feb. 5, 1885] NATURE Bey Moreover, by the use of the iris dia- phragm, which is placed below the substage condenser, the marginal part of the field can be readily cut off. Another piece of apparatus is indispensable, namely, the compressorium, as by its aid the section is squeezed out thin enough to allow the spectrum to be observed. No reagent whatever ts required for the detection of the spectra to be described, so that the substances present cannot be altered in any way. Myohematin.—Physiologists have accepted Kiihne’s statement that muscle owes its colour to hemoglobin, but although the majority of voluntary muscles do owe their colour to it, it is accompanied by myohematin in most cases, and sometimes entirely replaced by it, while in other cases it entirely replaces myohematin. The /eart muscle of every vertebrate animal which I have examined yields myohematin, which gives a very beautifully defined spectrum totally distinct from any decompo- sition product of hemoglobin, ¢.g. methemoglobin, acid or alkaline hematin, or heematoporphyrin. All one has to do in order to detect myohzmatin is to cut off a bit of heart muscle, put it while fresh in the compressorium, press it down, and observe the spectrum. Wo reagent whatever is required. The spectrum consists of three bands, two of which are very narrow, and persist after the hemoglobin bands have gone when the tissue has been squeezed out to great thinness in the compres- sorium. The bands have been missed by other observers simply because when the oxyhemoglobin bands are well marked they cover and are merged into the myohematin bands. The first band of myohematin occurs just before D, the next two (of great narrowness) are placed between D and E, and two other faint bands may be present nearer violet, of which the first covers E and 4, and the other is between @ and F, close to latter line. Their wave-lengths are : Ist band A 613-5965, 2nd band A 569- 563, 3rd band A 556-549 (heart of dog), and they have been measured in all cases with the same result. I find myohzematin in the heart muscles and some voluntary muscles of the following their spectra observed. BCG D 1.—Myohzmatics from Alar muscles of Vespa vulgaris. matics from heart of Livxzx variegatus. 2.—Myohe- mammals :—Man, dog, cat, rabbit,*rguinea-pig, hedgehog, sheep, ox, pig, rat and hare. In birds: in pigeon, owl, duck, goose, turkey, and fowl. In reptiles : in green lizard, common ringed snake, and fresh-water tortoise. In Batrachians: in toad, frog, salamander, axolotl, and tree-frog. In fishes: in herring, mackerel, tench, roach, eel, plaice, whiting, and cod- fish.t But it is also found in Invertebrates, in which I first detected it. It is found in the muscle from thorax and in leg muscles of the following insect genera :—Dytiscus, Hydrophilus, Lucanus, Cerambyx, Creophilus, Staphylinus, Geotrupes, Cara- bus, Coccinella, Musca (three species), Vipula, Gryllus, Blatta, Vespa, Apis, Bombus, Pieris, Ennomos, &c. It also occurs in the cephalo-thoracic muscles of spiders, in the heart of the crab, lobster, and crayfish (and not in their voluntary muscles) ; in the heart and buccal muscles of Arion, Limax, Helix, and other pulmonate mollusks, while in other mollusks it appears to be replaced by hemoglobin in the pharyngeal muscle, as Prof. Lankester has found out Two attempts have been made to isolate it. In the first it was got out of the muscle by digesting in pepsine solution, and was slightly changed in the process ; in the second it was got out of the frozen heart muscle of a rabbit by pressing out the plasma ;* here it was mixed with traces of hemoglobin, but could be differentiated from it: hence it probably occurs in muscle f/asma like muscle-heemoglobin. Histohematin.—This name has been given by me to a clas of pigments or modifications of the same pigment, which are found widely distributed in the animal kingdom. Myohzmatin belongs to them, as can easily be shown. They are found in Mollusks, Arthropods, Echinoderms, and, modified peculiarly, in Ccelenterates. The bands are carefully measured and compared * These being all the vertebrate animals which I have yet examined. ® After suitable precautions had been teken to exclude the influence of the blood, as fully described in the demonstration. with spectra yielded by various organs and tissues of Vertebrates, and no difference is found between those of Vertebrates and In- vertebrates. In order to see these spectra in the higher animals the blood-vessels are washed out with salt solution thoroughly, and then the organs and tissues examined in the manner de- scribed. It is not possible to go into this subject in an abstract, as the facts are too numerous to be compressed into such a small space ; it will suffice to say that the histohzematins are respiratory pigments, as can be proved by oxidising and reducing them in the solid organs. Their bands occupy almost the same place as those of myohzematin, except that the second and third bands of the myohzematin spectrum appear compressed into one in some cases. Myohzematin itself is also undoubtedly a respiratory sub- stance. Spectrum of the Supra-renal Bodies.—In the supra-renals of man, cat, dog, guinea-pig, rabbit, ox, sheep, pig, and rat, the medulla gives the spectrum of haemochromogen, while the cortex shows that of a histohzematin. Wherever we find hemochro- mogen in a vertebrate body it is probably excretory, and I have only found it in the bile and in the liver. Hence, and owing to the remarkable darkness of its bands in the medulla of the adrenals, it must be looked upon here as excretory; if so, the function of the adrenals must be (at least in part) to meta- morphose effete hemoglobin or hzmatin into hemochromogen ; if from disease, or after removal, as in Tizzoni’s experiments, the effete pigment is not removed, pigmentation of skin and mucous membrane may take place. The presence of taurocholic acid in the medulla (Vulpian), the resemblance in the structure of the adrenals to that of the liver, and the large lymphatics, with the well-known results of disease of the adrenals in Addison’s disease, all go to show that an active metabolic process is taking place in them, and I believe I am justified in concluding that they have a large share in the downward metamorphosis of effete colouring matter, and that these observations will help to throw some light on Addison’s disease. SOUTH GEORGIA SOME interesting particulars of the geography, climate, &c., ~ of the island of South Georgia have recently been published by the members of the German Expedition which sojourned in 1883 at the island. They are of the more interest as no scientific expedition had previously visited the island, of which but little therefore is known. The Expedition, in command of Dr. Schrader, took up their quarters at Moltke Hafen, in Royal Bay, which is from four and a half to five miles wide and from six to eight miles long ; here observations were made from Sep- tember 15, 1882, until September 3, 1883, when the Expedition left in a German gunboat. The 8472 observations made during this period on the temperature, air-pressure, moisture, wind, &c., are of great importance. The island is by its position (54° 31’ S. lat. and 36° 5’ W. long.) not an Antarctic island in the strict sense of the word, but its appearance stamps it as such—Royal Bay being sur- rounded by mountains, with enormous glaciers from 900 to 1200 feet in height, which further inland rise to 6000 or 7000 feet. This circumstance may give some idea of the climate, and it is therefore not surprising to learn that the mean temperature of the whole period of observation was only 35° F. ; for February, the warmest month, 42°, and for the coldest (June) 26°°6. No single month was free from frost, and 30 per cent. of the hours of observation showed a temperature below freezing-point. In July the minimum-thermometer registered 26°°2, and in February the maximum-thermometer 57°°2, the range of tem- perature amounting to 31°. Clear days occurred in the winter only, the total number being 8; whereas the total of cloudy days was 127; the latter were less frequent in July and August. During December not a single day was clear, and the total number of hours of clear sky was only 269, against 3302 which were cloudy, viz. 38°9 per cent. of the total. Consequently there was much rain and snow, particularly in November and December, which had only one dry day each. Most snow fell in March and least in May. Even the warmest month, February, had 13 days with snow, while the coldest, June, had four days with rain. It hailed on 19 days, principally in December ; there were 75 days of fog, but it did not last long. As regards winds and storms, the observations of the Expedition seem to indicate that the neighbourhood of Cape Horn is not quite so stormy as is generally believed. At South Georgia there were ) 325 NA TOG hee [ fed. 5, 1885 many days of perfect calm; the summer was, however, more stormy than the winter. The winds came chiefly from the west—those from a due westerly direction being most common —and also from west-south-west or north-west. The westerly and south-westerly winds were during the winter the warmest, which is ascribed to the circumstance that they passed over mountains some 6000 feet in height, which rendered them “‘ Fohn-like.” The barometer readings were never attended by violent storms ; these occurred without exception when the glass stood at ‘‘ fair.” There was no aurora australis, nor were there any thunderstorms. Explorations of the island were undertaken on several occa- sions, and many of the peaks in the neighbourhood of Royal Bay were climbed. The slate rocks were very difficult of ascent. The enormous glaciers in the mountains of the interior prevented, unfortunately, any thorough exploration of this part. The mountains often sloped abruptly ints the sea, and the highest points were about ten miles from the station and covered with eternal snow. The roar of avalanches was continually heard. The fauna was very poor. That such a dreary climate should boast of a very extensive fauna or flora was hardly to be expected ; nevertheless, the mosses were very fine. Dr. H. Will, the botanist, collected about thirty varieties. They show what a climate where the sun is nearly always absent can produce in the way of plants which are able to resist rapid changes of temperature, but the fauna is one which may at once be said to belong to more Ant- arctic regions than Terra del Fuego, the Kerguelen Islands, and more northerly places. It is a repetition of the same types, with originality in.details alone. CARTOGRAPHICAL WORK IN RUSSIA WE learn from a recent issue of the 72veséa of the Russian Geographical Society that the following geodetical and cartographical work was done during the year 1883 by the officers of the Russian General Staff. The first-class triangulation for connecting the line of Warsaw and Grodno with that of the Vistula was continued ; the secondary network of triangulation was extended in Lithuania and Poland ; and the heights of 262 places were determined by careful levellings. The most useful work of exact levellings on the Russian railways, undertaken several years since, was continued in West and South-West Russia, leading to a precise measurement of the differences of level between the Baltic and the Black Seas, and the final results are now being calculated. The Russian survey was continued on the scales of 1400 and 1750 feet to an inch, in Poland, Lithuania, Bessarabia, and Finland ; and a most welcome fea- ture of itis that great attention was given to the measurements of heights, so that a map with level-lines only, 35 to 70 feet apart from one another, may be published. In the Caucasus very accurate measurements of the latitudes and longitudes of Tiflis, Baku, and Shemakla were made, as also pendulum observations in Trans-Caucasia. Of trigonometrical measurements, the tri- angulation of the Trans-Caspian region was continued as far as the Persian frontier, and that of Akhal-Tekke, was also calculated. An interesting feature of this last was the measurement of two geodetical bases on strings—which method gives, as is known, very satisfactory results—together with a much greater economy of time. the Caucasus, those at Askabad, and between Kyzil-Arvat, Bami, and the Sumbar River (two versts to an inch) being especially worthy of notice. : In Turkestan, at the Tashkend Observatory, Col. Pomeran- tseff continued his observations of minor planets with the refractor of the Observatory, and the measurement of stars by means of the meridian-circle ; and his assistant, Capt. Zalessky, regularly made measurements of occultations of stars by the moon. The work of the Observatory will soon be published, and will contain an elaborate paper by Dr. Schwartz, on magnetism in Turkestan. Several most valuable determinations of latitudes and longitude; were made by M. Putyata in the Pamir during M. Ivanoff’s expedition. Among many surveys which were made this year, that of the northern slope of the Turkestan ridge was especially interesting, no less than twenty-three unknown glaciers having been discovered at the sources of the Sokh, and mapped. The Shemanoysky glacier, eight miles long, and that of Ak-terek, twenty-two miles long, which joins the well-known Zarafshan glacier, are especially worthy of notice. A survey of the rich oasis of Karshi, and of the Bokhara dominions on the right bank of the Zarafshan, is also very interesting. The map of Turkestan Detailed surveys were continued in several parts of | | ‘i on the scale of ten versts (seven miles) to an inch, is already in print, and several sheets are nearly ready. In the Omsk military district we notice several determinations of latitudes and longitudes, as also the survey of the Kirghiz Steppe, on a scale of five versts to an inch. In Eastern Siberia the chief work was the further extension of the triangulation of Trans-Baikalia—a most necessary work, on account of the scarcity of determined points to fix the surveys in that region— and many local surveys, those in the Ussuri region and on the Pacific coast being especially interesting. The astronomically determined points, very few on the whole, have received only seven additions. The Hydrographical Department has pursued its work on the Baltic, the Black, and the Caspian Seas, as also on some lakes in the interior of Russia and Finland; the most interesting of them being several detailed maps of the Lake of Onega, and the Lakes Payanne and Pielis, in Finland ; the triangulation and surveys on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea; and the survey of the Gulf Mortvyi Kultuk of the Caspian. Among the publications of the General Staff we notice the thirty-ninth volume of its AZeyzo¢>s, which contains the following papers :—On the triangulation of Bessarabia, by Col. Lebedeff; on the difference between the longitudes of Tashkend and Vernyi, by Col. Pomerantseff; on astronomical determinations made in Trans-Baikalia (fifty-two places), by Capt. Polanovsky ; in the Altay region and in West Siberia (thirteen places), by Col. Miroshnitchenko ; in the Trans-Caspian region (with a map), by Col. Gladysheff; and in North-West Mongolia, by Lieut. Rafailoff ; on levellings on Russian railways ; on the determina- tion of time by means of the meridian-circle, by M. Gladysheff ; on the Trans-Caspian triangulation (ninety-two places), by Capt. Pervas, in which it is stated that Askabad is 827 feet, and Mount Riza, on the Persian frontier, 9741 feet, above the sea- level ; and finally, a description by Col. Alexandroff of the route from Kungrad to the Gulf of Mortvyi Kultuk, the distance being 300 miles, of which about 90 miles are without water. The Annual Report of the Hydrographical Department con- tains seven small maps showing the exact results of the surveys made on the Russian coasts up to 1882; and a paper by M. Goloviznin gives at the same time a sketch of the hydro- graphical work done by the Russian fleet since its first formation in 1696. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS In the Fournal of Botany for January Mr. H. N. Ridley describes and figures the extremely rare Fucus tenuis, a plant entirely lost to Britain since 1795 or 1796, when it was gathered by G. Don in Clova, till 1883, when it was rediscovered by Mr. ‘Lowndrow in Herefordshire. Mr. W. H. Beeby records another interesting addition to the British flora in a new Sparganium, which he names S. xeg/ectwem, nearly allied te S. ramosum, and probably a sub-species of it, found in ponds in several parts of Surrey. ¢ THE last part of the Be/pigue Horticole that has reached us, that for May and June 1884, contains but little that is original, the substantial articles being taken from French, German, or Isnglish journals. The coloured plates of new or little-known plants, with accompanying descriptions, are of their usual ex- cellence, and there are many short paragraphs of interest to horticulturists. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, January 29.—‘‘On some Physical Proper- ties of Ice and on the Motion of Glaciers, with special reference to the late Canon Moseley’s Objections to Gravitation Theories.” By Coutts Trotter, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cam- bridge. Communicated by Prof. Stokes, Sec. R.S. Canon Moseley’s theory of glacier motion, put forward in 1855, has never been accepted by persons conversant with glaciers. In 1869, however, he put forward a somewhat formidable objection to the current gravitation theories of glacier motion. The gist of the objection is that the resistance of ice to ; shearing is many times greater than the shearing force which can be produced in a descending glacier by gravity ; and that therefore the shearing which the measurements of Forbes and oe 5 Feb. 5, (885] NAT ORE 329 others have shown to be an essential part of the motion of a glacier cannot be produced by gravity alone. It was pointed out at the time that in Moseley’s experiments on the shearing strength of ice the element of time had been disregarded, and a number of experiments have been since pub- lished, chiefly on the bending of pieces of ice under the influence of their own weight, which showed conclusively that the con- tinuous action for a considerable time of comparatively small forces will produce effects upon ice which the same forces are quite incapable of producing in a short time. The nature and conditions of the motion were, however, very different from those which we meet with in a glacier. Under these circumstances it seemed desirable that fresh direct experiments on the shearing strength of ice should be made under conditions differing as little as might be from those under which ice actually shears in the interior of a glacier, and it occurred to me that such experiments might be advantageously made in one of the artificial grottoes which are now excavated year after year for the benefit of tourists in several of the more accessible Swiss glaciers. It seemed that it would be possible in this way to carry out experiments upon glacier ice at a nearly uniform temperature of about o° C., and under conditions as nearly resembling those of the interior of a glacier as we can hope to attain to in experiments on hand specimens of ice. I accordingly spent part of the long vacation of 1883 at Grindelwald, and made a series of experiments in the grotto on the right bank of the lower glacier, in order to see whether I could obtain direct evidence of shearing under the influence of forces comparable with those which Canon Moseley admits to be capable of being produced by the action of gravity in a moving glacier. The experiments are fully described in the paper. Bars of ice were passed through holes in three parallel blocks of wood, nearly in contact with one another. ‘he two outer blocks were hung to a frame 2nd a weight was suspended from the middle one. After the whole had hung for some days, the apparatus was taken to pieces and the shear measured. In a final experi- ment a shear of about ‘075 cm. was observed after the action for about seventeen days of a shearing force of rather more than 200 grm. per square centimetre. The shearing force employed was indeed rather more than double that which, according to Canon Moseley’s calculations, is exerted by gravity in the Mer de Glace, near the Tacul (P77. Mag. xxxvii. p. 369); but it is aboat 1/25th of his {smallest value of the shearing strength of ice, and the amount of shear is larger than is implied in any of the ordinary cases of glacier motion. I think then that there is little doubt that under conditions closely resembling those of the interior of a glacier, and under the influence of forces comparable with those which gravity is capable of exerting in a glacier, hand specimens of ice shear in the same manner as a truly viscous solid would do. Reasons are given for supposing that the range of temperature through which ice is sensibly viscous is small ; the temperature of the interior of a glacier is discussed, and it is pointed out that the position of the ‘‘ Bergschrund” so familiar in Alpine literature corresponds to a point where there is a change in the temperature of the lower part of the glacier, all below the “ Bergschrund ” being C. Micnie SMITH The Christian College, Madras, Janua-y I Science Teaching in Schools IN the discussion as to the teaching of science I have failed to find any distinct expression of an element in the subject which has for years seemed to me of the highest importance, and to which I should like with your permission to call attention. In those of our schools where science is taught it is almost always taken up late in the boy’s career, often when he is passing from the lower to the upper school. This I feel sure is a mistake. Think for a moment of the process of evolution of that phenomenon—the English schoolboy. In too many cases he passes through the first, second, and third forms of a school, learning little more than the habit of diligent plodding, and developing little more than the art of storing away an unheard- of quantity of dry facts. He learns, for instance, page after page of grammar rules; he learns rules for making numerical transformations ; he even learns in the same fashion answers to questions that examiners are known to set for the purpose of finding out whether the pupil has been 7nécdlésent/y taught! | The habits so acquired are valuable, but they are acquired at the risk of sacrificing the boy’s freshness, and with the subjugation of his habit of independent reasoning. After several years of such training the herald of science comes forward with such a —— Feb. 12, 1885 | scheme as Prof. Armstrong very properly suggests. The would-be discipie of science is thunderstruck (as probably not a few teachers of science were when they first saw the scheme), but the novelty of the situation, the sight of new appliances and strange results, enable him to pull himself together, and his interest for a time keeps up. Presently he is asked to conduct for himself some simple steps of deductive reasoning ; he fails, the whole business is a new world to him, and in the misery of his wishfulness to do something, he beseechingly asks for more dry facts to devour. What is the ultimate result? If science is to be taught effectually z¢ mst begin with the earliest years of the educational career, and there is surely no subject that lends itself more appropriately to the youthful mind. Children delight to talk of flowers, of insects, of the wonders of nature ; they are ever asking suggestive questions ; they are indefatigable collectors of objects of beauty ; the Kindergarten system has acknowledged that the child is an orderly being delighting in symmetry and colour. Yet we increase his vocabu- lary by the word ‘‘star” and fail to tell him anything of the wonders of stardom. Why, our very fairy tales are based on just such fabric! To effect this early introduction of science the very best and most considerate teaching is required, as indeed it is a much more difficult task to guide the young student’s thoughts than to guide the veteran student’s reading. We want, further, a well thought-out progressive scheme of simple general science which shall be suggestive to the teacher of the course to be pursued. To draw up such a scheme is, I am quite aware, not a matter of moments: it would require the association of many minds and many sympathies. Something in this direction has been done in France, and good text-books are to be found in the English science primers and in Paul Bert’s Book of General Science for the Young ; text-books, however, are not animmediate want—for the matter of that, the pupil may make his own—we do, however, want that which will help the conscientious teacher to see how he may make the teaching of science interesting, intelligent, and above all progressive. We cannot afford to wait for unintelligent teaching to die a natural death, remembering that there is in England no criterion that the teacher in the middle-class school can feach, that teaching does not pay in examinations, that the dry-bones method lends itself most readily to school discipline, and finally, that the subjects chiefly taught are of such a nature as almost to preclude any other method with the young. Under the present 7¢gime science is not a growth, it is a graft, and a graft, itis to be feared, of a most unfortunate nature ; the sooner it develops roots of its own the better. It is, under the circum- stances, no cause for wonder that the more advanced student flounders over common general principles. I have confined my remarks, for the :ake of definiteness, to middle-class schools, but they are, I believe, with unessential variation, applicable to the general question of the teaching of science. G. H. BAILEY Heidelberg, February 3 Barrenness of the Pampas I AM anxious to add a few further remarks on this interesting subject. It was during its investigation that I was so deeply impressed with the desperate struggle for existence which charac- terises the bordering fertile zones. I could there watch the contest on the very battle-field itself, and for that purpose I established myself for some months in the north of Uruguay, away from all other habitation, among the wooded banks and lagunes of the River Arapey. This river, though normally a quiet stream, is subject to tropical floods, during which the water rose often thirty feet in eight hours. The ‘‘ monte,” or fertile wooded belt on each side, is intersected with ravines and lagunes teeming with animal and vegetable life of singular in- terest. The alligator, carpincho, myopotamus, nutria and other and numberless snakes thrive in the marshy swam;s, while in the woods we met with the puma, the jaguar, the great lizard, the Podinama, the Masua socia/is, and numerous other singular animals and birds described in my little book. But it was among the flora that the principle of natural selection was most prominently displayed. In such a district, overrun with rodents and escaped cattle, subject to floods that carried away whole islands of botany, and e-pecially to droughts that dried up the lakes, and almost the river itself, no ordinary plant could live, even on this rich and watered alluvial dis. The only plants that escaped the cattle were such as were either poisonous, or thorny, or resinous, or indestructibly tough. Hence we had only a great development of solanums, talas, acacias, euphorbias, NATURE 339 and laurels. The buttercup is replaced by the little poisonous yellow oxalis with its viviparous buds, the passion-flowers, asclepiads, bignonias, convovuluses, and climbing leguminous plants escape both floods and cattle by climbing the highest trees and towering over head in floods of bloom. The ground- plants are the portulacas, turneras, and cenotheras, bitter and ephemeral on the arid rock, and almost independent of any other moisture than the heavy dews. ‘The pontederias, alismas, and plantago, with grasses and sedges, derive protection from the deep and brilliant pools; and though at first sight the “‘monte”’ doubtless impresses the traveller as a scene of the wildest confusion and ruin, yet, on closer examination, we found it far more remarkable as a manifestation of harmony and law and a striking example of the marvellous power which plants, like animals, possess of adapting themselves to the local pecu- liarities of their habitat, whether in the fertile shades of the luxurious ‘‘monte” or on the arid, parched-up plains of the treeless Pampas. EDWIN CLARK Great Marlow Recent Earthquakes WITH reference to the statement in NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 262, that the earthquake of December 25, 1884, was registered by the magnetic variation instruments in London, permit me to inform you that an effect was also noticed on a curve of the magneto- graph at the Imperial Marine Observatory, Wilhelmshaven. But while at London declination and bifilar were specially affected, here only the Lloyd’s magnetic balance, the instrument for ver- tical intensity, was set in oscillation, first at gh. 52m. p.m. local time. Full details will be published in the Zesschrift of German Meteorology. Dr. M. EsCHENHAGEN Wilhelmshaven, February 6 Mr. W. A. SANFORD, in NaTuRE of January 29, p. 289, says on the above subject :—‘‘It would be interesting to know whether anything of the same kind [as described in his letter] had been observed elsewhere at the same time.” I have been col- lecting observations on this subject for a continuation of my paper on earthquakes in Devon, published in the 7ransactions of the Devonshire Association. The Vicar of Bampton has very kindly given me his experience of the earthquake, as the wave appeared to have passed very near, if not directly under, his house. Bamp- ton is seven miles north of Tiverton, and about a mile inside the junction of the Carboniferous and the Devonian systems, situate on a rather large patch of limestone. The time the earthquake occurred there was 8.42 p.m. In the drawing- room at the vicarage it appeared as if a heavy traction-engine was passing close to the window; the window faces eastward. In the kitchen the servants were greatly alarmed by a rumbling noise and a shaking under the floor. Somg of the Vicar’s neighbours say they heard a report, and houses with cellars under them and hiyher felt the shaking more; some persons who were up stairs, thinking that it was some explosion, rushed down stairs and out of doors. The effects were also felt at Shillingford, two miles distant, and also at-Combehead, one and a half mile distant. The porters at the station describe it as like a heavily-laden mineral train passing. The only damage done at Bampton was a piece of wall was thrown down. This was undoubtedly the same shock or seismic wave as mentioned by Mr. Sanford as occurring on the night of Thursday, January 22, and would appear to have travelled from east to west. EDWARD PARFITT Devon and Exeter Institution, Exeter Loligopsis ellipsoptera CouLD you allow me space to ask whether any of your readers can give me a clue to the present locality of the type-specimen of Loligopsis ellipsoptera, Adams and Reeve, obtained during the voyage of the Samarang; and also to state how grateful I should be to any one who can lend me specimens of that genus or of others allied to it ? Wm. E. HoyLe Challenger Expedition Office, 32, Queen Street, Edinburgh, February 9 L. Wray, JuN.—Your supposed dragon-fly belongs to the family Ascalaphide, allied to the ant-lions. 349 Niel Tes [fed. 12, 1885 CIVILISATION AND EVESIGHT N his interesting paper on “ The Influence of Civilisa- tion upon Eyesight,” read recently before the Society of Arts, Mr. Brudenell Carter supports the commonly received view that the vision of savages is far more acute than that of civilised men. In some sense this is doubtless true; but that the eyes of savages, considered merely as optical instruments, are greatly superior to our own appears to be inconsistent with optical laws and facts long since established by the labours of Airy, Helmholtz, and other investigators. It is known to physicists that the resolving power of an optical instru- ment is limited by its aperture. With a given aperture no perfection of execution will carry the power to resolve double stars, or stripes alternately dark and _ bright, beyond a certain point, calculable by the laws of optics from the wave-length of light. With sufficient approxi- mation we may say that a double star cannot be fairly resolved unless its components subtend an angle exceed- , ing that subtended by the wave-length of light at a dis- tance equal to the aperture. If we take the aperture of the eye as 1-5th inch, and the wave-length of light as 1-40,000th inch, this angle is found to be about 2 minutes ; and we are forced to the conclusion that there is no room for the eye of the savage to be much superior in resolving power to those of civilised physicists, whose powers approach at no great distance the theoretical limit as determined by the aperture. It has always appeared to me that the superiority of the savage is a question of attention and practice in the interpretation of minute indications, and that it is com- parable with the acuteness of the blind in drawing conclu- sions from slender acoustical premises. It would be an interesting subject for investigation, but I should not expect to find that when put to a direct test blind people were able to hear sounds wholly inaudible to others. The increasing prevalence of short sight is a very important matter, worthy of all attention. There is one fact in connection with it which I avail myself of this opportunity of mentioning, in the hope of inducing scientific oculists to give it further examination. I find that, though not at all short-sighted under ordinary cir- cumstances, I become decidedly so in a nearly dark room, seeing much better with spectacles of 36 inches negative focus. Ina moderately good light I see rather better without the glasses than with them. From the few observations that I have made I have reason to believe that this peculiarity of vision is not uncommon. With the aid of a set of concave glasses it is easy to try the experiment in a room lighted with gas. The flame should be gradually turned lower ard lower, so as to give full time for the pupil to dilate, and for the eye to acquire its maximum sensitiveness. In my own case the most marked indication of better definition is the augmentation of binocular relief. RAYLEIGH THE INTERNATIONAL INVENTIONS EXHIBITION HERE seems now little reason to doubt of the success of the South Kensington Exhibition of next summer— success, that is, from an educational and scientific point of view. What its financial result may be depends upon a variety of circumstances, and perhaps, since it is very improbable that there can be any serious deficit, while, if there is a large surplus, its disposal will, as usual, form a problem difficult of solution, this part of the question does not really very much matter. That Londoners will have a pleasant outdoor lounging place, that there will be abundance of music, that the fountains will be as pretty as last year and the gardens prettier, all this may be taken for granted ; but there now seems every reasonable expectation that we shall have more than this, and that the Exhibition will be what it professes to be—a complete illustration of the progress made in the application of science to industry during the past twenty years. At all events if it is not it will be the fault of the promoters, since they have had so large a range of choice that it has only been possible to find space for some third of the appli- cants, and an enormous number of exhibits have been | rejected, not because they were unsuitable or uninterest- ing, but simply because, when there was not room for all, some must of necessity be excluded. To begin with, it was thought best to exclude, not only the actual articles which were shown last year, but inven- tions of the same class,and consequently there will be found at South Kensington this year few, if any, exhibits relating to food, clothing, or sanitation. It appears that this rule has given rise to a certain amount of heart-burning, since reference is found to all these heads in the official classi- fication ; but it must be remembered that the announce- ment was duly made at the beginning that the space to be allotted to these and certain other classes would be strictly limited, and then again it was impossible to foresee how large would be the response to the invitations issued. | The task of selection has been a difficult, and indeed an invidious, one; but we think it will be found, when the show is opened in May next, that this thankless task has been performed with great judgment, and with a just consideration of the claims of exhibitors on the one hand, and the interest of the public on the other. We are glad to have heard that in none of the thirty- one groups into which the inventions’ half (we are not now considering the musical part) of the Exhibition is divided, have the applications been deficient ; in some they are naturally better than others, but in every one there is enough to provide a fair representation of the condition of its particular industry, and of the improvements which have been made in it during the limits of time with which the Exhibition is concerned. Even this will doubtless be a cause of complaint to those who believe that injury will be done to our manufacturers by the opportunity given to foreigners of imitating our wares and the methods by which they are produced. This is a specious but a some- what narrow-minded notion ; the early history of invention is full of stories of the efforts of inventors to keep their inventions secret, and the constant failure of such efforts may be taken as one of the principal causes which produced the modern Patent system, under which an inventor is protected, so far as law can protect him, in the enjoyment of the property he has created. There are, of course, many instances of processes worked, and successfully worked, in secret ; but these are the exception, and on the whole it is found that inventors individually, and industry generally, gain far more by a system of publicity than by one of concealment. So it is with exhi- bitions. It may be taken as tolerably certain that manu- facturers who have any special process which they desire _to keep to themselves will not select that particular process for exhibition, and that on the whole manufac- _ turers find exhibitions profitable or they would not be so anxious to engage in them. The suggestion that was made by some wiseacre that the Exhibition should be confined to untried inventions, so that manufacturers (who of course have no other means of hearing of novelties in their own trades) might have the benefit of seeing them, does not, perhaps, call for serious refutation. If the curious collection of rubbish which fills the big building at Wash- ington, devoted to the United States Patent Office, were carted across the Atlantic, and placed in the Kensington Galleries, it is a question whether the public would be more bored, or the manufacturers less instructed. As would naturally be expected, in an exhibition of this character, machinery will occupy a tar larger proportion of the space than on previous occasions ; we understand that it has therefore been necessary to make consider- able additions to the motive power provided for the Feb. 12, 1885] NATURE 341 use of exhibitors. Besides the engine which supplied power in the machinery gallery last year, an engine is being erected in the new gallery which is being put up along the north side of the old South Gallery, as described in the Fournal of the Society of Arts for January 30. A third engine will also be provided, which will drive machinery in one of the Foreign Courts. It will thus be seen that those visitors who have mechanical tastes will be amply provided for. As regards the prospects of applied chemistry, we are not able to speak so confidently. Probably the complete- ness of this portion of the show will almost entirely depend on the success of the efforts which are being made by the Society of Chemical Industry to secure a collective exhibit. The announcement made by the executive at the outset, that it was desired to show processes rather than products, is believed to have kept back many manufacturers from seeking to show specimens, while it is obvious that but few chemical processes could conveniently be carried on in an exhibition gallery. Possibly this rule might have been abrogated as regards the chemical section, and we believe that no attempt will be made to enforce it with reference to the collection of the Society of Chemical Industry, in which it is proposed that the information required shall be given by means of a collection of pic- torial diagrams, exemplifying some of the more interesting or more important chemical operations. As our readers are aware, a similar work is being under- taken by the Physical Society in the class. devoted to “ Philosophical Instruments and Apparatus,” though in this case there will be less left for the society to do, since the principal makers of apparatus have come forward in sufficient numbers to ensure a good representative collec- tion. The object, however, of the Society in exhibiting has been not so much to supply deficiencies, as to show the work which has been done by its own members. We believe that the Kew Observatory and the Meteorological Society will also be among the exhibitors, the latter in their old place in the grounds. Besides this, a very interesting exhibit is promised—namely, a fully fitted observatory, which we understand one of our best known makers had offered to fit up. In the class devoted to Photography, which comes next both in the classification and in actual position in the galleries to the philosophical instruments, the Photo- graphic Society has undertaken to form a collection of apparatus and specimens not likely to be shown by makers. It appears that the Society intend to go a little beyond the precise limits of the Exhibition, and to show a collection of examples illustrating the entire progress of photography from the inventions of Niepce and Daguerre, and it may doubtless be assumed that in so special a case no objection will be raised, especially as but a very small space indeed, and that only on the walls, will be required for what cannot fail to prove a most instructive and interesting collection. The progress which has been made in electric lighting has indeed been sufficiently illustrated in the exhibitions of last and of the preceding year; in fact, the Health Exhibition offered almost the only public example of any progress at allin England. Doubtless the lesson will be repeated this year, and on a more extended scale, for we learn that considerable additions are being made to the arrangements for electric lighting of the buildings, while it is intended to use the light also for the garden illumina- tions, an improvement due to the energy of Sir Francis Bolton. If this idea is carried out on the plan which we understand is intended, the instantaneous lighting up of the myriad incandescent lamps by which the gardens are to be illuminated will certainly be one of the most popular, and one of the most wonderful, sights in London next summer. The above remarks refer only to the English portion of the Exhibition. How much will be contributed by foreign countries it is not yet possible to ascertain. Thanks doubtless to the efforts which were made by certain of the members of the British Association who were in the States last year, the American Court promises to be well filled, and it must be admitted that in the present Exhibition, if we get American ingenuity well represented, we shall not very greatly miss the contribu- tions of other countries, though we hope, all the same, that these will not be lacking. THE RETINA OF INSECTS I? might have been thought impossible for any one who has studied the eyes of Arthropods to doubt that the so-called retinulz are really the nerve-end cells of the eye, and correspond with the rods and cones of the verte- brate eye. The evidence in favour of this view accumu- lated by the researches of almost every observer, including such eminent authorities as Johannes Miiller, Leydig, and Grenacher is so overwhelming that of late years no one has thought fit to dispute it. Mr. Lowne has, however, at last attempted to overthrow this theory, and in a paper just published in the Zyans- Fig 1. Fic. 1.—Section through the eye of Squilla, showing* the~ distribution of the ultimate nerve fibrils to the retinule. The Ommatidia to the left of the figure are drawn with their accompanying pigment cells (.g) complete; in the three to the right these are omitted in order to show more clearly the distribution of the nerve fibrils; c, corneal facets ; c.c, crystalline cone: 7%, rhabdom; % retinula; 6.7, basilar mem- brane; #.a, terminal anastomosis of optic nerve fibrils supplying the retinula, Fic. 2,—Trazsverse section through the ommatidium of Squilla, showing the seven retinula cells surrounding the central rhabdom. The retinula are seen to possess a considerable amount of granular pigment, which is un- evenly distributed in the different cells. Fig 2, actions of the Linnean Society, vol. ii. part ii., on ““ The Com- pound Vision and the Morphology of the Eye in Insects,” has brought forward certain statements to prove that all the parts of the eye in front of the basilar membrane are dioptric, whilst the true (?) retina is situated behind it. To one who has been devoting considerable time and attention to the eye of Arthropoda, this proposition is particularly striking and unexpected, and many points at once occur which show that it is untenable. In the first place it is untenable because we have ample evidence to show that the original theory is the true one. The nerve-end cells throughout the animal kingdom have certain definite characteristics. They are the cells in which the ultimate fibrils of the optic nerve terminate, and no nerve fibrils have ever been seen to leave them to supply other parts of the eye; and, in the second place, 342 INA TORE i ars they are always pigmented either by a diffuse fluid “ re- tinal purple,” or by pigment in granules, or both. In both these particulars the retinule of Arthropoda resemble the nerve-end ceils of other animals. tis hardly necessary to point out that Leydig, Max Schultz, Grenacher, and many others, have traced the optic nerve fibrils to the retinulze. I have in my posses- sion several series of preparations showing this both in insects and Crustacea, and any one can readily see this for himself by making even clumsy sections through the eye of Squilla. In Fig. 1 I have figured the nerve fibrils of the eye of Squilla perforating the basement membrane and entering the retinulze, and in Fig. 2 a transverse section through the rhabdom and retinulee showing their relat ve position and numbers. A special feature of the retinula is that it is always pig- mented. In specimens hardened in spirit a granular pigment may be seen in the retinula cells, which is usually of a light-brownish colour and very unevenly dis- tributed (Fig. 2). But in addition to this granular pig- ment, the retinula contain a true retina purple, which fades upon exposure to the light. This was discovered in 1864 by Leydig! in the following genera of Insecta :— Procrustes, Scarabaeus, and Pieris, and in Astacus among the Crustacea. I have also seen it in J/usca vomttoria, and have now no doubt that it exists in the Arthropod eye generally. So far, then, I think it must be admitted that both anatomical and physiological considerations tend to prove that the retinula is the nerve-end cell of the Avthropod eye. When we turn to morphology, too, we have confirma- tory evidence that this is thé case. In the ocellus of the water-beetle larva the retina is a simple cup of pigmented hypodermis cells, in which the optic nerve fibrils may be readily seen to terminate. These cells are most certainly homologous with the retinula cells of the so-called “compound” Arthropod eye, as has been already shown by Grenacher in his im- portant treatise, “ Untersuchungen tiber das Sehorgan der Arthropoden” and elsewhere, and confirmed by the more recent researches of Lankester and Bourne upon the eyes of Limulus and the scorpions. The researches of Clapar¢de and Weismann on the development of the eye of Arthropods confirms the deductions of morphology, by proving that the cells which ultimately form the retinulee are specially modified hypodermis cells, and at an early stage come into con- nection with optic nerve fibrils. 1f any further evidence were required to confirm this homology it can be readily obtained by studying the eyes of very young cockroaches, in which the retinulee at the periphery of the eye are | dated December 6 from the south side of the moun- formed from specially modified and deeply pigmented hypodermis cells. But it is tedious and unnecessary bringing evidence of this kind to confirm a theory which is already fully esta- blished in the minds of most naturalists. In fact we have here an instance in which morphology, physiology, com- parative anatomy, and development combine to establish an homology, and consequently we must definitely assert that the retinula are the nerve-end cells throughout the Arthropoda. But what is the meaning of Lowne’s bacillar layer behind the basilar membrane? and does it exist in all Arthropods ? It: is perfectly true that behind the basilar in many Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera there is a layer composed of a number of small cylindrical masses which has a superficial resemblance to the rods of the Vertebrate eye, but Mr. Lowne did not dscover this layer in any sense of the word, for it was perfectly well known to Leydig, who figured it in Mormica ru/a, Dytiscus marginals, and Sphinx ligustyi (vide Leydig’s Tafeln, “ A we Apel yangrlo z Leydig, ‘Das Ange der Gliederthiere.” Tiibingen, 1864. [ Fed. 12, 1885 vill. ix. x.) The little cylindrical masses cannot be regarded as cells, nor rods, nor bacilli, for each one of them is composed of a very fine reticulum of nerve fibrilla which is in direct communication with the optic nerve fibrils behind, and the terminal anastomosis of the optic nerve fibres in front. In fact, these “bacilli ” of Lowne are connected with nerve fibrils on both sides, and thus differ from “nerve-end cells” in one of their two fundamental characters. Very often, too, this layer is quite devoid of any pig- ment (Apis, Eristalis, Bombyx, Squilla, &c.), and no one has ever yet been able to demonstrate the presence of retina purple in this region. Another important difficulty in the way of accepting this theory, too, is the fact that this layer is not always present (Periplaneta, Nepa), and in all Crustacea and many insects it cannot be divided into separate:bacilli. I have lately paid considerable attention to this part of the optic tract, but must defer a fuller explanation of the meaning of it until I am able to publish my paper in the Quarterly Fournal of Microscopical Science, when I shall: be able to illustrate my researches by several figures. To summarise, however, the evidence against this layer being composed of nerve-end cells : We find that it is certainly not homologous with the retina of other animals; optic nerve fibrils both enter and leave it ; it is devoid of retina purple or of any other form of pigment in many Arthro- pods, and finally it is absent as a bacillar layer in many insects and in all Crustacea. In fact we can bring as much evidence to prove that this is not the retina as we can to prove that the retinule are the true nerve-end cells. At the conclusion of his paper Mr. Lowne says, in re- ferring to a recent memoir of Justus Carriére of Strass- burg, ‘““ He remains, however, a disciple of established views, and has not given the retinal layer nearly so much attention as it deserves.” I have given the retinal layer as “much attention as it deserves,” and must also claim to remain a “disciple of estadléshed views.” SYDNEY J. HICKSON RORAIMA TELEGRAM has been received at Kew giving the welcome news that Mr. Everard F. im Thurn has at last ascended Roraima. This has been the cherished object of botanical exploration in South America for the last quarter of a century. The expenses of Mr. im Thurn’s expedition have been borne in equal shares by the Government grant of the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society. The latest news from Mr.im Thurn was in a letter tain, and the following passage describes the position immediately before the final attack :— “ Before we came to Roraima itself we had four days walking through a purely savannah, but most glorious country, and over splendid mountain passes, guided by an Arecoona who said, villain that he is, that he knew the way to Roraima. ut at a village marked on the map as Ipelemonta, on the Aroopa River, and with a consider- able mountain pass still between us and Roraima, our villain guide at last admitted that the road for some distance had been quite new to him, and that he now knew not how to proceed further. However, at last we procured a guide, and came, in some four hours, out of our difficulties at Ipelemonta (its real name, by the way, is Toorarking), into this inconceivably magnificent valley, and are installed in a village on the actual southern slopes of Roraima itself. Yesterday Perkins and I ascended the slope of Roraima to a height of 5600 feet to a most beautiful spot—a very garden of orchids and most beautiful and strange plants. ‘To-morrow, after despatching the bearer of this scrawl, we Feb. 12, 1885] NATURE 343 go up to the same place with a lot of Arecoonas, who are to build us a house, in which we intend to stop for a week or as much longer as we may find desirable. I may mention that we have already seen, close to where our house is to be, a place where the mountain seems accessible ; but it looks so easy that I am convinced that it is impossible at that point.” BENJAMIN SILLIMAN ( fp) soaks the American War of Independence many men were called on to leave peaceful pursuits and adopt the profession of arms. Among these men was a well-known lawyer of New Haven in Connecticut, Gold Selleck Silliman by name.” Lawyer Silliman became Brigadier-General Silliman. As the British troops ad- vanced in the direction of New Haven the family of the General left their native place and settled in North Stratford, now called Trumbull. In this town Benjamin Silliman, the father of him whose death was recently recorded in these columns, was born in 1779. Benjamin Silliman, sen, was a central figure in the group of pioneers of natural science in the United States. In 1818 he commenced the American Fournal of Science and Arts, which continues to the present day to hold a leading position among the scientific journals of America. Two years before this date—that is, in 1816—Benjamin Silliman, jun., was born, at New Haven, where the Silli- man family had so long had their home. The younger Silliman graduated at Yale College in 1837; and in the following year he began to teach chemistry, mineralogy, and geology. In 1846 he was appointed Professor of Applied Chemistry in the Sheffield Scientific School in connection with Yale College. The scientific work of Benjamin Silliman seems to have fairly begun about this time ; according to the Royal Society’s Catalogue, his first paper, “ On the Use of Carbon in Grove’s Battery,” was published in 1842. From that time until his death he was an active worker in the advancement of science. During the years 1849-54 Silliman was Professor of Toxicology in the University of Louisville, Kentucky ; in the latter year he returned to Yale College, to succeed his father as Professor of Chemistry. Here he remained until January 13 last, when he “went over to the majority.” Prof. Silliman did not publish any original memoirs, involving experimental work, of first-rate importance ; like his father, he was distinguished rather as an organiser and teacher than as an investigator. For many years he acted as Secretary and Editor of the Proceedings to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1838 he became associated with his father as joint editor of the American Fournal of Science; in this capacity he exercised a great and beneficial influence in all matters connected with natural science in his own country. The journal of which Sillimann was an editor contains about seventy papers from his pen; the greater number deal with mineralogical or chemico-mineralogical subjects, but he also wrote on such topics as glacier-motion, Australian wines, petroleum, temperature of flames, &c. He likewise furnished the Yowzal/ with many reviews of books and reports on the progress of various branches of natural science. He published a book on the “ First Principles of Che- mistry,” and another on the “ Principles of Physics.” In his capacity as a public lecturer on scientific subjects, Silliman helped to guide the general opinion of his fellow-citizens in these matters in the right direction. It may indeed be said that his life-work was to form a con- necting link between those who had devoted themselves to original investigation in natural science and the general outside world, which, while interested in science, requires a judicious and trustworthy middleman to interpret the meaning of the work that is being done for humanity by the students of nature in the inner shrine. M. M. P. M. MASAT LAND? M R. THOMSON has not kept us waiting long for the story of his journey through a region of Africa which, so far as is known, had not previously been visited by any white man. Kilimanjaro itself was seen for the first time by Rebmann. After him Krapf, New, Von der Decken, Hildebrandt, and Wakefeld, penetrated to the borders of the region which has been explored by Mr. Thomson, New alone being able to reach the snow-line on Kilimanjaro. Kenia, though doubtfully sighted by Krapf from afar, had never been approached. Mr. Thomson had thus a virgin field before him when he arrived at Zanzibar in the beginning of 1883, and the enterprise intrusted to him by the Royal Geographical Society he carried out in a manner and with results that will add much to the reputation which he achieved on his first expedition to Tanganyika. Mr. Thomson’s in- structions were to ascertain if a practicable direct route for European travellers exists through the Masai country from any one of the East African ports to Victoria Nyanza, and to examine Mount Kenia; to gather data for constructing as complete a map as possible in a pre- liminary survey ; and to make all practicable observations regarding the meteorology, geology, natural history, and ethnology of the regions traversed. These objects Mr. Thomson never lost sight of, and, considering the means at his command, the time at his disposal, and the black- guardly crew he had to be content with as followers, are even more than might have been expected. Mr. Thomson is first of all a geologist, and no region in Africa is of more interest from a geological standpoint. He knows, moreover, enough of natural h:story to enable him to observe the flora and fauna of a country intelligently, and the value of his botanical collections has already been pointed out in our pages by Sir Joseph Hooker. For geographical observations he was even better fitted than in his previous expedition, and as for ethnology he found himself among a people unlike anything he had ever heard of in Africa, and in whom he took the intensest interest. Thus for the scientific reader the volume abounds with interest, and, as Mr. Thomson has no end of hunting and other stories of adventure to tell, his book is sure to be popular, especially as he is a skilful story- teller, abounding with a strong feeling of humour, or at least for the ludicrous, which does not spare even himself. Mr. Thomson’s route lay westwards from Mombassa to Kilimanjaro, which he traversed on nearly every side. Here he stayed for some time, ascending a considerable distance towards the Kimawenzi summit. For this mag- nificent mountain is really double-peaked, the highest summit, Kibo, reaching a height of over 18,610 feet, and Kimawenzi only about 2000 feet lower. The scenic features of the mountain were described in some detail in our columns recently in the paper read by Mr. Johnston at the Geographical Society, in which also its botanical and zoological characteristics were well brought out. Kilimanjaro, Mr. Thomson tells us, may be described as a great irregular, pear-shaped mass, with its major axis in a line running north-west and south-east, the tapering point running into the heart of the Masai country. On this line it is nearly sixty miles long. Its minor axis, running at right angles, reaches only to some thirty miles. The mountain is divided into the great central mass of Kibo and the lower conical peak of Kimawenzi. Towards the north-west it shades away into a long ridge, which gradually tapers horizontally and vertically till it becomes 1 «Through Masai Land; a Journey of Exploration among the Snowclad Volcanic Mountains and Strange Tribes of Hastern Equatorial Africa.” By Joseph Thomson, F.R G.S. (London: Sampson Low and Co., 1885 ) 344 NATURE | Fed, 12, 1885 merged in the Masai plain. As to the geological story of the mountain, Mr. Thomson works it out thus :— “ Let me try to trace the sequence of events which have produced Kilimanjaro. An examination tells us that in the serrated peak and rugged sides of Kimawenzi we see the original volcano, which, without doubt, existed long before there was a trace of its neighbour Kibo. Kima- wenzi, after the imprisoned earth-forces found vent, rose in size and grandeur, added layer after layer to its height and circumference by a continual alternation of lava sheets and beds of agglomerate and tuff. It appears probable that it welled or belched out its contents without any of those terrific outbursts by which whole mountains are blown into the air or enormous areas submerged under a molten flood ; for, curiously enough, we find no evidence that any of its lava-flows ever extended beyond depth in the surrounding country. At the present day the metamorphic rocks are seen to crop out at its very base on the east and south-east, and we have no reason to suppose that they ever were covered by lava rocks. As this—for a volcano—gentle accumulation went on, the hypogene agents would have more and difficulty in forcing the lava up the now elongated vent or orifice, and a time would come when the weight of the column would, in the end, balance the strength of the forces below. We can now imagine the terrible struggle that would ensue as the pent-up gases laboured mightily to relieve the pressure. Doubtless for a time they would succeed oc- casionally in clearing off the incubus and getting tempo- rary outlet. At last even that would fail, and the volcano was doomed either to become extinct or find another vent. After some grand convulsions the latter the base of the mountain, or ashes accumulated to any | was effected, and a new volcano began its existence to Fic. 1.—Mount Kenia from the West. the west of Kimawenzi. rivalled its neighbour in it, battering In process of time it soon size, and finally towered above ing to obliterate it under the volcanic ejections. Mean- while Kimawenzi, now no longer under a reign of fire, with its volcanic life-work finished, began, like all things | earthly, to crumble away before the slow-boring influence of apparently puny agents. Rain, snow, and frost worked on insidiously but steadily, and soon told their usual tale of denudation as they gradually loosened and washed away the loose ashes which formed the crater, under- mined the more compact lavas, and hurled them to the bottom of the mountain ; until finally the solid core which had originally choked the orifice stood out a shattered, weather-beaten pinnacle with only a slight indentation to mark the line of the original crater The beautiful con- cave curve, so characteristic of large volcanoes, is still to g¢ Kimawenzi’s hoary head—probably then ; snow-capped—with showers of stones, and even threaten- | be seen from the east, and speaks of the once handsome proportions of Kimawenzi. “The fate which befell Kimawenzi soon came upon Kibo. A height was reached which baffled all the at- tempts of Vulcan to raise the lava to the surface, and, like the other, it became extinct. Evidently, however, the imprisoned forces had either spent their original strength, or they frittered away their terrible energies in the production of numerous parasitic or secondary cones, instead of uniting in another grand effort and producing a third great volcano. “These cones were spread in great numbers all along the southern side of Kibo and Kimawenzi, and set them- selves to the task of strengthening or buttressing them up. An enormous mass of lavas and agglomerates was belched forth, resulting eventually in the formation of what I have called the Chaga terrace or platform, and the long ridge which penetrates far into the Masai country. Feb. 12, 1885] NA RE: 4 re) 45 These manifestations of volcanic energy were continued far into what, geologically speaking, are recent times, and the geologists may view the small cones in many instances as perfectly preserved as when they were at work. “ The most interesting relic of the reign of fire is pre- sented by the beautiful crater lake of Chala, which lies a short distance to the east of the base of Kimawenzi, and only a few miles north of Taveta. It represents probably the latest manifestation of energy, extending indeed into historical times, as the natives havea tradition that at one time a great Masai village stood on its site and was blown into the air, and they will now tell you that at times you may still hear from its liquid depths the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep, as well as other village sounds. The shape of the lake is that of an irregular polygon, about two miles in diameter and little short of six miles in circumference. It occupies the centre of a small hill with very irregular rim, 400 feet Fic. 2.—Lava Cap, Elgeyo Escarpment. above the eastern plain at its lowest point, and quite 800 | at its highest, where it runs up into a peak. The outer | slopes are formed by beds of lapilli and tuff, which in- cline away all around at the same angle as the hill itself. Internally the lake is bounded by perfectly perpendicular cliffs without a break at any point, at least as far as I could discover, though the natives of Taveta say there is a place where the descent can be made; indeed, its. dis- coverer, New, declares that he reached the water, and drank of it. I went all around it, and though I am not deficient in enterprise or nerve, I saw no place where I dare descend, not even though I could have swung from creeper to creeper like a monkey.” From Kilimanjaro Mr. Thomson northerly direction, through the he country, to Lake Baringo, making proceeded in a irt of the Masai etour eastwards to = Fic. 3 M ount Kenia, which in some respects is even more inte- | resting than Kilimanjaro. From Lake Baringo he pro- | ceeded as far westwards as the north-east shore of | Victoria Nyanza, not many miles from the outlet of the | Nile ; then north to some strange artificial caves on the south face of Mount Elgon or Ligonyi (14,000 feet), and | by Mount Chibcharagnani (12,000 feet), back to Baringo, | and so south-eastwards to the coast, following a more Glen of the Guaso Kamnyé. northerly route after passing Lake Naivasha, which is just about half-way between Kilimanjaro and Lake Baringo, Of course this excellent piece of work was not accom- plished without many trials and sufferings. The fierce and warlike Masai threatened many a time to eat Mr. Thomson and his men up, and it was only by the most wonderful tact and patience that the expedition succeeded jn accomplishing its work without loss of life. The Masai 346 NLT OTE. [ feb. 12, 1885 are notorious cattle-lifters and great breeders, but their herds were dying by thousands of some mysterious disease, and it was only when at its last gasp that an animal could be bought, its carcase when cut up being loathsome. It was no wonder, then, that Mr. Thomson suffered dreadfully from dysentery, and a less determined man might have succumbed entirely. Yet Mr. Thomson cannot sufficiently express his admira- tion for a people whom he regards as the Apollos of Africa. Their physique, their language, their habits, their bearing, differ entirely from those of any other African race, though there seems little doubt that they are, by language at least, allied to the Gallas. Indeed, their own traditions point to a Galla origin ; they seem to be intruders into the region between Kilimanjaro and Kenia, which is now entirely dominated by them. They are certainly not a pure race, and scattered among them are remnants of a different people, who are the pariahs of the country. Their intelligence is above that of the average African, as is indicated by the dimensions of their skulls as well as by their organisation and general bearing. Their social habits are much what we find among other races of their stage of civilisation; “morality” th ; f Fic. 4.—Adcelaplus Cokit. begins only after marriage. All the unmarried men belong to the warrior class, and are permitted to use none other than animal food. Their spears, of native make, are of enormous dimensions, and their war costume is elabo- rately ludicrous. One strange custom is that spitting is the greatest mark of distinction you can bestow upon a Masai, and Mr. Thomson was often sorely exercised when he desired to be particularly conciliating and gracious in his intentions. This custom is, however, not without parallel : the natives of part of the southern coast of New Guinea, indeed, improve upon it by squirting mouthfuls of water on those to whom they wish to give a specially friendly welcome. What is the particular significance of the custom perhaps those who have investigated the subject of salutations may be able to explain. As to the country itself through which Mr. Thomson passed, while part of it is desert, simply from want of water, much of it is rich in grass and forest, abundantly watered, and with a wealth of varied scenery scarcely sur- passed in some of the favourite tourist resorts of Europe. Besides the two prominent mountain summits, there are several ranges of varying height, one of the loftiest and most atteactive being to the south-west of Mount Kenia, and to which Mr. Thomson loyally gave the name of Lord Aberdare. “The Masai country,” Mr. Thomson. tells us, “is very markedly divided into two quite distinct regions, the southerly or lower desert area, and the northerly or plateau region. The southerly is compara- tively low in altitude, that is to say, from 3000 to nearly 4000: feet. It is sterile and unproductive in the extreme. This is owing, not to a barren soil, but to the scantiness of the rainfall, which for about three months in the year barely gives sufficient sustenance to scattered tufts of grass. The acacia and mimosa have almost sole possession of those dreary plains, except near the base of some isolated moun- tain or other highland, where small rivulets trickle down, to be speedily absorbed in the arid sands. No river traverses this region, and many parts are covered with incrustations of natron, left by the evaporation of salt- charged springs. We have seen something of this lower region in the flat reach of Njiri,and the forbidding desert of Dogilani. It is not, however, to be conceived as a monotonous level. Farfromit. The colossal Kilimanjaro. and the conical Mount Meru belong toit. The hills of Geléi and the Guaso N’Ebor circle round in the form of an amphitheatre, to meet the metamorphic masses of Ndap- dukand Donyo Erok. Further to the west and north are the volcanic masses of Donyo Engai, Donyo la Nyuki, and Donyo Logonot, with the hills of Nguru-ma-ni. Except in the immediate vicinity of the higher moun- tains, such as Mount Meru and Donyo Engai, the country is to a large extent uninhabited. To summarise this tract we may say that it is triangulrin general shape, the apex towards the north reaching to within thirty miles of the equator, and extending beyond to Baringo as a species of trough or deep irregular cutting. The Masai are only to be found at all seasons about such favourable situations as the base of Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru, Ndapduk, Geléi, Kisongo, to the west of Meru, Donyo Engiai, and along the edge of the plain at the bases of the bordering high- lands Mati and Kapté. The country is sufficiently cha- racterised when the fact is stated that it is a region of later volcanic activity, which in a very recent geological period has produced the cones and craters already referred to. These results of voleanic energy may, to some extent, be accounted for—though the statement may seem to savour of reasoning in a circle—by the lower region as an area of depression having subsided or sunk from the higher level of the flanking table-lands. The northerly or higher plateau region of Masai Land may be described as rising from an elevation of nearly 5000 feet on either side, and culminating in the centre at an elevation of little short of gooo feet—although through this very line of highest elevation runs from the Dogilani plain the remarkable meridional trough which incloses the charming chain of isolated lakes, Naivasha, Elmeteita, Nakuro,and Baringo ; and which, at the last-named place, begins to widen out till it assumes the characteristics of the southerly plain of Masai Land. On the eastern half of this divided plateau rises, as we have seen, the snow-clad peak of Kenia— and the picturesque range of the Aberdare Mountains, which runs almost parallel with the central line of de- pression. A more charming region is probably not to be found in all Africa, probably not even in Abyssinia. Though lying at a general elevation of 6000 feet it is not mountainous, but extends out in billowy, swelling reaches, and is characterised by everything that makes a pleasing landscape. Here are dense patches of flowering shrubs ; there noble forests. Now you traverse a park-like country enlivened by groups of game ; anon, great herds of cattle, or flocks of sheep and goats are seen wandering knee- deep in the splendid pasture. There is little in the aspect of the country to suggest the popular idea of the tropics. The eye rests upon coniferous trees, forming pine-like woods, and you can gather sprigs of heath, sweet scented clover, anemone, and other familiar forms. In vain you look for the graceful palm—ever present in the mental pictures of the untravelled traveller. The country is a Feb. 12, 1885 | NATORE 347 very network of babbling brooks and streams—those of Lykipia forming the mysterious Guaso Nyiro; those of Kikuyu the Tana, which flows to the Indian Ocean through the Galla country ; while further, south, in Kapteé the streams converge to form the Athi River, which flows through U-kambani to the Sabaki River.” Here is Mr. Thomson’s account of his observations on Mount Kenia :—“‘ We were now at an altitude of 5700 feet, which may be taken as the general level of the plain from which Mount Kenia rises. Kenia itself is clearly of volcanic origin, and may be considered to bea counter- part of the Kimawenzi peak of Kilimanjaro. Unlike Kilimanjaro, its volcanic forces have not changed their focus of activity, and hence it now stands as a simple undivided cone. Up to a height of 15,000 feet (9000 feet above the plain) the angle of slope is extremely low, being in fact only between 10° and 12°, a fact which would seem to show that the lavas ejected must have been in a much more liquid condition than those of Kilimanjaro. The angle in the latter is much higher, indicating that the ejections were more viscid, and consequently did not flow so farfrom the orifice. Atan elevation of over 15,000 feet the mountain suddenly springs at a high angle into a a sugar-loaf peak, which adds a further height of about 3400 feet. At the base of the peak two small excrescences are noticeable, and some distance to the north there rises a humpy mass. This peak, as in the case of Kimawenzi, without a doubt represents the column of lava which closed the volcanic life of the mountain, plugging or seal- ing up the troubled spirits of the earth. The crater has been gradually washed away—having been composed, doubtless, of loose ashes and beds of lava, and now the plug stands forth, a fitting pinnacle to the majestic mass below. As at Kilimanjaro, nature has appropriately woven for its grim head a soft crown of eternal snow, the cool, calm shining of which is at once a wonderful con- trastand a strange close to the mountain’s fiery history. The sides of this upper peak are so steep and precipitous that on many places the snow is quite unable to lie, and in consequence the rocks appear here and there as black spots in the white mantle. Hence its Masai name of Donyo Egéré (the speckled or gray mountain). The snow covers the whole of the upper peak, and extends some distance on either side, reaching, and indeed in- cluding, the humpy mass on the north. The peak is strikingly suggestive of an enormous white crystal or stalagmite, set upon a sooty basement, which falls away gradually into the dark emerald green of the forest region round the base.” On the north side of Mount Kenia very few streams have their origin, though on the south side they are said to be abundant. It is still more unaccountable that, except on the south side of Mount Kilimanjaro, not a stream trickles down the snow-capped mountain, a phe- nomenon which only actual exploration can account for. One of our illustrations (Fig. 2) shows a great lava-cap in the Elgeyo Mountains to the west of Lake Baringo. In a running survey such as Mr. Thomson made, minute observation is of course impossible ; but with his experience as a field geologist and his general caution, we may accept his geological map of the region lying between Victoria Nyanza and the coast as in a general way representative of the facts. Along the coast at Mombassa we find a strip of Tertiary rocks, succeeded westwards by a broad band of Carboniferous. West and north west of this is a great area of metamorphic rocks, having their counterpart further westwards on the east side of Victoria Nyanza. Between them, in three irregular strips, lie the earlier and later volcanic series, the mass of Kilimanjaro winding its way into the meta- morphic, and Kenia lying on the northern edge of the latter. That volcanic activity is not quite extinct is shown by the fact that in the Kenia region hot springs and pools are met with, and the natives have a tradition that on the site of Lake Chala, on the east side of Kilimanjaro, once stood a large and populous town. Thus Mr. Thomson has been able to fill up in a very satisfactory manner a considerable blank on the map of Africa. He has moreover established the fact that Baringo is a distinct lake, and that the east shore of Victoria Nyanza trends much more to the north-west than we find it on Mr. Stanley’s map. The combined observations of Mr. Thomson and Mr. Johnston are a valuable addition to a scientific knowledge of one of the most interesting regions of Africa. NOTES MANny of our readers will be pleased to learn that M. Charles Feil has, after some years’ absence, returned to the active management of his celebrated manufactory of optical glass in Paris, the new firm being ‘‘ Feil pére et Mautois.” M. Charles Feil, who is well known both for his scientific and business abilities, is grandson to M. Guinaud, who, some sixty years since, in a mode of working almost identical with that adopted by the celebrated potter Palissy, overcame the serious obstacles which occur in securing the perfect homogeneity of both crown and flint and whose secrets have descended to his grandson. glass, Ir is with great regret we announce the death, on the 7th inst., of Mr. Edward Caldwell Rye, Librarian to the Royal Geographical Society, after 2 very short illness, from small-pox, aged about fifty-two years. In natural history he specially made his mark as an entomologist, and for a long time was the chief authority on British beetles, on which subject he was the author of a volume in Lovell Reeve and Co.’s series of popular works on British Natural History. For several years he contri- buted the article ‘‘ Coleoptera” to the Lxtomologists’ Annwt, and he was one of the editors of the Zxtomolagists’ Monthly Maga- cine from its commencement in 1864. Furthermore he was for some years on the staff of the Zoological Xecord as a contributor, and since the roth volume of that useful publication he had been sole editor. Nowhere will his nearly sudden death be more felt than at the Royal Geographical Society, for, in addition to his ordinary duties as Librarian, that of editing the bibliographical portion of the Proceedings devolved upon him. Mr. Rye married a daughter of Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, of the British Museu n, who, with four children, all young, survives him ; and, if report be true, they are left almost unprovided for. He was a Fellow of the Zoological Society, a member of the Entomological Society of London, and the Recording Secretary of Section E at the meetings of the British Association. WE regret to announce the death, at Paris, on February I, at the early age of thirty-four, of Mr. Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, to whom is mainly due the basic Bessemer process. Born in 1850, he entered the Civil Service, but from his youth showed a taste for science, and especially metallurgy. The project of eliminating phosphorus by the Bessemer converter soon occupied all his attention, and, after numerous experiments at Blenavon, in 1877 he took out his first patent, and communicated his invention to the Iron and Steel Institute in a paper read at the Paris meeting in 1878. Tue Minister of Agriculture in Canada has just declared the Bell telephone patent void in the Dominion, the occasion being a double infraction of the Canadian law by the Canadian Tele- phone Company. It appears that the Company imported tele- phones after the expiry of two years from the date of the patent, and that it also refused to sell instruments to the public, demand- ing annual rentals for the lease, as in this country and in the States. Both these acts contravene the Dominion law. 348 NATURE [ fed. 12, 1885 UNDER the title of ‘* The Cost of a Fog,” Mr. W. T. Makins, Governor of the Gas Light and Coke Company, writes to the Times under date of January 24 :—‘* Perhaps your readers may be interested to read the experience of the Gas Light and Coke Company on the occasion of last Tuesday’s fog. Ninety-six million cubic feet of gas were sent out during the twenty-four hours ending at midnight on Tuesday. This quantity was an increase on that of the corresponding day in 1884, which may be taken to have been an ordinary January day, of 37 per cent., or Over 35,000,000 feet. The price being 3s. per 1000 feet, the public had to pay this one company 5250/. extra on account of the fog. Nine thousand five hundred tons of coal were carbon- ised during the twenty-four hours to produce the 96,000,000 feet, the largest quantity we have ever sent out in one day.” THE Zimes Alexandria correspondent, in reference to the Egyptian Sanitary Board, takes occasion to mention the immense services which might be rendered to that country and to science by the appointment of a scientific microscopist and analyst to the uncontrolled charge of the Health Department. An eminent physician assures him that half the population are mentally and physically incapacitated for work, owing to the existence of certain diseases, which sanitary study might remedy. FoLLowinG the example of the United States Geological Survey, that of Canada has lately enlarged the sphere of its operations, so as to include ethnological work in its publications. The first result of this wise measure is a volume containing copious comparative vocabularies of the chief Indian languages still current in British Columbia, for which the authors, W. Fraser Tolmie and George M. Dawson, have been collecting materials since the year 1875. In this collection, which was issued in 1884 by Dawson Brothers of Montreal, the list of words proposed by Mr. Gibbs in his ‘‘ Instructions for Research Rela- tive to the Ethnology and Philology of America,” has been adopted as a basis, and his orthographic system has also been largely adhered to. The vocabularies thus comprise over 200 words of one or more dialects of every stock language spoken on the Pacific slope of the Rocky Mountains from Alaska south- wards to the Columbia River. Appendices are added containing comparative tables of other native languages from vocabularies already printed, and from these tables it appears evident that, contrary to the hitherto prevalent impression, the widespread Tinné (Athabascan) family is represented on the Pacific slope in the Tshimsian group about the Nasse and Skeena rivers over against the Queen Charlotte Islands. Nevertheless on the accompanying linguistic map, which is on a large scale, this group is still coloured separately as if it were a stock language, and not a branch of the Athabascan, as is now for the first time made evident. The other stock languages of this region—Haida (Queen Charlotte Islands), Thlinkit (from Alaska to the Nasse River), Kwakiool, Aht, and Kawitshin (Vancouver Island), Niskwalli (Puget Sound), Cheheili (Washington Territory), Tshinook (Lower Columbia River), Bilhoola (Bentinck and Dean Inlets), Selish (Fraser River), Sahaptin (Right Bank Columbia River), and Kootenuha (Kootenay and Upper Columbia Rivers)—all are represented in one or more of their branches. Altogether valuable materials are here collected and conveniently arranged for the comparative study of nearly thirty languages or distinct dialects current in one of the most intricate linguistic domains on the American Continent. THE African Association will shortly send to the Congo the apparatus required for establishing telephonic communications between certain stations on the lower river. ACCORDING to the report of Capt. E. Backhaus, of the German ship Carl (published in //asa), that vessel, while on her voyage from New York to Trieste, experienced an earthquake at sea on the night of December 21-22 last. For about five minutes the ship was violently shaken. The lamp shades were thrown to the ground, and the upper layers of the tins of petroleum between decks were pitched up against the deck. She was then at 36° 34’ N. lat. and 22° 26’ E. of Greenwich, that is, near Cape Matapan in the south of Greece. Those on board thought the ship had struck on a rock, and the pumps were rigged and set working. The sea was still, but had a whitish colour ; the wind was east and light, and the rate was about three nautical miles per hour. When examination was made subsequently, no trace of injury was found on the wood or copper outside. The captain was led to make a report of the occurrence at Trieste by hearing of the Spanish earthquake, as well as from another ship- master, who had experienced the same phenomenon also to the south of Greece. THE last four years have been a period of unusual activity in railway consiruction in Japan. How much has been done in that period, and is now being done, is not generally understood in Europe. The following statement on the subject is sum- marised from a paper communicated to the Geographical Society of Toulouse by Capt. Fouqué, Professor of Mathematics in Tokio. The line between Tokio and Yokohama, eighteen miles in length, was opened in June, 1872 ; that between Hiozo and Osaka in March, 1874, its extension to Kioto in 1876, and a further extension to Otsu, making the total length from Hiogo about sixty miles, in 1879. At Otsu it reached the shores of Lake Biwa. What may be regarded, therefore, as a prolonga- tion of this line is that from Nagahama, at the head of the lake, to Tsuruga, an important harbour on the sea of Japan, a distance of over twenty-five miles. There is thus a direct steam connection (as there is a fleet of steamers on the lake) between Hiogo on the Inland Sea, and the Sea of Japan on the west. On May 25 last a line was finished between the same—Nagahama and Sekigahara —with a continuation to Ogaki, a total distance of about fifty-five miles, through the centre of the province of Mino, one of the most productive in Japan. ‘The last line finished is that between Tokio and Tagasaki, which was opened by the Emperor on June 25, 1884.. The length is about sixty- two miles, and it taps the rich provinces of Joshin, Shinshin, and Boshin, the great centres of silk, tea, and tobacco cultiva- tion. There were no serious engineering difficulties on this line, perhaps the most important of any yet constructed in Japan, for it traversed large and fertile plains, Thus the total length of the railways actually constructed in Japan is about twenty-three miles. Two short lines in course of construction are those between Shinagawa, near Tokio, and Kawaguchi, and one from Tagasaki to Mayebashi, the capital of the silk trade. The latter is only about eight miles long, and may be regarded as complete. Of projected lines the construction of the following have been decided on, and the work should be commenced by this time : (1) one from Tokio due north through the centre of the main island to Awomori, opposite Hakodate, in the Island of Jezo. This would be one of the main trunk lines of Japan, and its length will be about 450 English miles. (2) From Takasaki to Ozatchi, the first part of a line which will ultimately reach Yokkaichi, an important seaport on Owari Gulf, on the east coast. The length of this will be about 200 miles. (3) From Nyeda, in Shinano province (in the centre of the main island) to Niigata, the principal part of the west coast, 150 miles, and two shorter lines intended to connect important towns with neighbouring ports. It has been decided recently to con- struct tramways between some of the principal towns omitted in the railway scheme, the first being between Tokio and Kofu, a distance of about 700 miles. The amount of money available for public works of this description is necessarily limited, and the progress is therefore, everything considered, exceedingly rapid. Feb. 12, 1885 | ACCORDING to a Russian journal, quoted in Globus, the Russian law, especially as regards murders, is now to be enforced amongst all natives under Russian rule. Hitherto the murder of a Kirghiz was punished by their own customs in the following manner :—When in an aul or in the steppe a murder has been committed, the relatives and friends of the dead man commence the search for the murderer. Sometimes he is not found until after a long interval, especially if the body is not soon found. Frequently the latter is hidden, then the flight of birds of prey is watched, and other indications are utilised by the extraordinary acuteness of the nomads. When the murderer is discovered the relations have the right to levy from him a so-called 2. This fine, which washes away bloodguiltiness, consists of a number of camels, horses, sheep, and clothes, a special £7 being due to those who took part in the search for the murderer, to the person who actually discovered him, and to the judge. The fine, or wergi/d, for a woman is less than that for a man, and in the latter case it varies with the descent. Thus there would be a greater fine for killing a pure Kirghiz than for killing one whose descent was unknown. If the murderer cannot pay the #um, his kinsfolk must do it for him, and the payment and receipt of this fine is accompanied by a number of different customs. The occasion is a kind of festival in the aul in which the relatives of the murdered man live. Among the animals paid as wn, the murderer’s horse must always be one. The family of the person killed have, however, the right to refuse all payment, and to demand a duel with the slayer. The latter appears in the aul of the others armed from head to foot, and mounted on his best steed ; a certain distance off the avengers are stationed, and a wild race ensues. If the accused can get away from his pursuers, he is safe from all punishment ; he can, however, only be pursued to the going down of the sun, and directly the latter sinks behind the horizon he is free. If he is caught he is generally put to death at onee. It is remarkable that a murder rarely remains undis- covered. The Kirghiz hardly ever commit that crime for the sake of robbery; the murder generally takes place after a quarrel, or for revenge. AMONG the various contrivances for indicating 24 hours on watch dials, one by Sturrock and Meek, mentioned in the February number of the Horological Journal, seems to be neat | and ingenious. The dial is made with twelve holes in place of the usual figures. During the first half of the day, midnight to noon, the figures I to 12, placed on a disk at the back, show through ; at noon the disk becomes automatically shifted so that the figures 1 to 12 are replaced by figures 13 to 24 (0); at mid- night the figures t to 12 are again brought into view. Thus, whilst retaining the ordinary and familiar and convenient 12 hour spaces, the advantage of the 24-hour system is obtained without the necessity of keeping a double set of hourly figures constantly in view. To the Boletin de la Institucion libre de LEnsertanza for January 15, D. Augusto Arcimis sends an account of the meteorological branch of the observatory recently attached to that institution. The building is situated in the Paseo del Obelisco in the north of the city, where it is surrounded only by low buildings and removed as far as possible from disturbing influences. Pending the acquisition of improved instruments a mercurial barometer connected with two thermometers, and with a diameter of 4mm., has been set up, and since last December its readings have been systematically compared with those of the barometer in the Medical Observatory. With another instru- ment, specially constructed by Salleron of Paris, records are taken of the atmospheric temperature in the shade, as well as of the moisture, certain modifications having converted it for prac- tical purposes into a hygrometer similar in principle to that of Mason. The thermometer of maxima is modelled on the system NATURE 4 3 49 introduced by Negretti and Zambra of London, while that of minima adopts the Rutherford system, both being manufactured by Secretan of Paris. To avoid as far as possible the disturbing influences to which all meteorological stations are exposed in large cities, the instruments are placed in wooden boxes, which, while exposed to the free circulation of the air, are still thoroughly protected from bad weather and from the direct rays. of the sun. The Institution has also been supplied with other instruments for determining the amount of evaporation, the loss. of heat by radiation, the force, pressure, and direction of the winds prevalent throughout the year. This meteorological station is thus one of the best equipped in Europe, and in fitting it up advantage has been taken of the experience already acquired from the working of similar establishments elsewhere. THE first railway in Cochin-China was opened on December 21 last. It runs from Saigon to Mytho,sthe journey taking about four hours. IN connection with the Parkes Museum a meeting will be held at the Mansion House on Friday at 3 p.m, to obtain more ex- tended support for the Parkes Museum, so that it may be firmly established on a permanent basis. The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor will preside, and the Council hope to have the support of all those interested in promoting public health and a knowledge of the laws of hygiene. At the Meeting of the Council of the National Smoke A bate- ment Institution, preliminary to the recent annual meeting, a letter was read from the secretary of the Duke of Westminster stating that in his Grace’s town house nothing had been burnt but coke, with the most satisfactory results. The Draft Report to the: Annual Meeting was presented by the Secretary, to which, at the chairman’s suggestion, it was decided to add a paragraph calling attention to the obsolete character of the boundaries | within which the present Metropolitan Smoke Act is operative, and pointing out the necessity for a short amendment Act aiming at a rectification of the boundaries, and the necessity for a firmer and fuller application of the provisions of the Act to- certain industries in which smoke abatement is now much easier than it was at the time when the present Act was passed. It was resolved to communicate with the Home Secretary, calling his attention to the documents which had been already forwarded to him, and to the paragraphs in the Report relating to the nominal nature of the fines imposed by the magistrates in cases - of infringement of the Act, and ask him whether, under the circumstances, he would be willing to issue a circular calling the attention of the police magistrates to the evils which result from the difficulty of obtaining a due enforcement of the law. It was further resolved to issue a separate memorandum, in the form of a leaflet, putting forward some information as to the conditions . to be considered in the choice of grates, in the burning of fuel, and in the general treatment of a coal fire. Pror. SIDNEY COLVIN, Slade Professor of Fine Art in the University of Cambridge, will give two lectures at the Royal Institution, on Tuesdays, February 17 and 24, on ‘‘ Museums and National Education.” Some of the fish in the Salmonidze tank at the South Kens- ington Aquarium have recently been spawned, the species operated upon being the S. Jevenensis, S. fontinalis, and the Gilleroo trout of Ireland. The eggs have been deposited in. suitable hatching boxes, where they afford satisfactory evidence of ultimate success. It will be particularly interesting and edi- fying to note the result on account of the prolonged captivity of the fishes from which the eggs were spawned. Tue fine aquarium on view during the Health Exhibition will naturally be in existence during the forthcoming Inventions Ex- hibition. In addition thereto will be shown a very large collec 359° NATURE [| Fed. 12, 1885 ‘tion of fish culture appliances showing the process of hatching, | edly the most favourable months for ice navigation. the mode of dealing with the fry after losing their umbilical sac, and the best means of artificially feeding them until they have reached that stage in their existence when they are able to pro- vide for themselves. A special building is to be erected for this purpose in proximity to the aquarium, which is now in course of construction. This section of the Exhibition, which will be under the entire direction of the National Fish Culture Associa- tion, promises to be a source 6f much attraction and interest to the ichthyological world. AN experiment has lately been tried by the Secretary of the National Fish Culture Association at South Kensington to test the highest temperature endurable by various species of fish. To this end several specimens of the following fish were selected for the trial, viz. the carp, gudgeon, dace,‘roach, perch, minnow, golden ténch, common tench, trout, and salmon, all of which were deposited in cold water registering 53°. The temperature was then gradually increased by the infusion of hot water through a tube which caused the temperature to rise steadily. None of the fish, however, exhibited signs of fading vitality until the thermometer recorded 82°, when a perch became prostrated ; and shortly afterwards its congeners followed its example in rapid succession in the following order :—Roach, 823°; salmon, 83° ; minnow, 85°; gudgeon, 854°; dace, 86°; common tench 88° ; golden tench, 88°; carp, 91°. So as to further test the efficacy of brandy as a fish restorer, about which much has lately been said, each fish on showing signs of exhaustion was removed from the water, dosed with a small quantity of brandy, and replaced in the tanks from whence it was taken. The operation proved highly successful, for on inspection the followinz day all the objects of the experiment were found swimming about as usual, and thoroughly restored to their normal exuberance, with the exception of the dace, which succumbed to the severe ordeal through which it had passed. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Green »Monkey (Cercopithecus callit-ichus) from West Africa, presented by Mr. F. W. Robinson; a Royal Python (Python regiu) from West Africa, presented by Mr. A. H. Berthoud ; a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus), British, pre- sented by Mr. R. Farren; two Kagus (Rhinochetus jubalus) from New Caledonia, purchased. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES IN a special article communicated to the Mew Vork Tribune, Lieut. Greely unfolds his views upon future Arctic exploration. Of the five well-known routes to the Pole, he advocates the Franz Josef route as the only probable one. Lieut, Greely shows by all the experiences of Arctic travellers, from Sir Edward Parry downwards, that continuity of land, with northern trend and western aspect, and a secure harbour easy of access, together with good ice for sledging operations, are necessary desiderata for Arctic exploration. He maintains that all these conditions are fulfilled in the fifth route—viz. that by Franz Josef Land. “This route,” continues Lieut. Greely, ‘presents unusual chances of success with the minimum of danger. It is more than possible that an English expedition will enter these waters. Chief Engineer Melville, U.S.N., has in view an expedition by this route, and his varied Arctic experiences and indefatigable energy mark him as a man peculiarly fitted for this work. It is therefore to be hoped that he will be given the desired oppor- tunity. Two ships with about sixty men and officers would be needed. One vessel should winter in Eira Harbour or some Secure point near by, while the second should be pushed as far northward as possible, preferably by Austria and Rawlin- son’s Sounds, but, if that is not possible, along the west coast of Franz Josef Land beyond Cape Ludlow. The vessels should be provisioned for three years, and the crews should be quartered in temporary houses to be erected on shore. August and September there, as in Smith Sound, are undoubt- In case of a bad year for ice the vessels should rather return, to renew the ~ expedition the year following, than adventure the experiences of the Zegethoff. After full suggestions and recommendations as to the command and outfit of the expedition, covering every branch of the subject, the writer expresses a doubt whether the United States Government will extend any aid to Arctic explora- tion for years to come, but nane the less does he believe in the propriety and certainty of future Arctic work. In concluding his article Lieut. Greely says :—‘‘ The expedition suggested by Lieut. Ray, United States Army, at the meeting of the British Association at Montreal, should receive the attention and sup- port of scientific men. The magnetic pole of Boothia Felix Land, located by Ross in 1831, has probably changed its posi- tion in the past fifty years. Its re-location would be an im- portant contribution to science. Witha home station at Repulse Bay or in Wager River, I believe this work could be done with- out great expense or serious danger. The benefits to be derived from such an expedition would not be confined to terrestrial magnetism. As regards ethnology, botany, and natural history, the country around King William Land is substantially a blank.” AN interestingzaccount of recent Norwegian explorations in the Spitzbergen Seas will be found in yesterday’s 7zmes. Seve- ral new islands have been discovered to the east.of King Karl or Wiche Land. These explorations show that the year 1884 was a very remarkable ice-year. The west side of Spitzbergen was blocked by a belt of land-ice the whole summer through, while the east side, which is nearly always blocked with ice, was more open than it has been for many years. ‘These conditions, there seems little doubt, depend on the prevailing direction of the winds. ACCORDING to the American Naluralist three expeditions have been despatched during the last summer to explore the lake region-reported to exist in the north-eastern part of the provinces of Quebec and in Labrador. One went by way of Lake St. John, another by the River Betsiamits, and a third from Newfoundland. The last has orders to land scientific observers at various points upon the coast of Labrador, where they will spend the winter. Little that is definite appears to be as yet known respecting the actual dimensions of Lake Mistas- sini and other bodies of water in this region. A French mis- sionary, writing in 1672, says that this lake is ‘‘ believed to be so large that it took twenty days to walk around it.” Mr. Burgess affirms that it is 150 miles in length, and abounds in deep bogs. An old trader of the ‘‘ Compagnie des Postes du Roi,” who was stationed on it for several years, estimated its least width at ninety miles. The account of 1672 mentions another lake, ‘‘ ten days’ round, and surrounded by lofty moun- tains.” These lakes appear to occupy a depression similar to that occupied by Lakes St. John, Temiscaming, and many smaller lakes to the southward, and Silurian limestone has been observed in Lake Mistassini as well as at Lake St. John. The former lake is suppcsed to be about 1300 feet above the sea, and the land between it and Lake St. John to the south is only 300 feet above the sea. ‘The plain around it is said to be very fertile, and attention has recently been called to the magnificent forests and fertile soil of the country around Hudson’s Bay to the north of it. The explorations now in progress will doubtless open up extensive areas for colonisation, besides adding largely to our geographical knowledge. La Gazette Géographique announces the death, in Tonquin, of M. Stocker, who perished recently in an expedition against the Muongs on the Red River. M. Stocker, who was a native of Alsace, travelled for thirty years in the United States, having explored specially the Rocky Mountains and the territory of Alaska. He returned recently from California to France, and was despatched by the Government to investigate the mineral wealth of Tonquin, where he discovered the auriferous deposits of Myduc. His reports on the subject were not encouraging for the development of mining enterprise there, as he declared that the value of the mines had been greatly exaggerated. He was shot dead during one of the skirmishes in the Muong expedition. SIXTEEN “‘ brigades topographigues” embarked at Marseilles on January 31, fourteen for service in Algeria and two in Tunis. These brigades are under the command of an officer, of an engineer, and of an official of the geographical department of the War Office in Paris. The whole include seventy-two officers, each accompanied by two soldiers and a native sharpshooter. Feb. 12, 1885 | The instruments, provisions, and tents for each officer are to be conveyed on a horse and four mules. They will commence their surveying work in the south of each of the three Algerian: pro- vinces, and their position, scattered as they will be singly over the whole of Algeria, in the midst of semi-subjugated tribes, will be a delicate and perilous one. They will probably return to Paris about the end of May. AT the last meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris it was stated that Col. Pvejevals’:i had discovered the sources of the Yang-tsze-kiang. Tue last number of the Boletin de la Sociedad Geogrdfica de Madrid contains a first instalment of Capt. Eduardo O’Connor’s official report on his recent exploration of the Upper Limay (Rio Negro) and Lake Nahuel-Hualpi. This report is of consider- able geographical interest, as it embodies a detailed account of the first successful attempt to navigate the Rio Negro, from its mouth in the Atlantic to its source in the romantic Lake Nahuel- Hualpi in the heart of the Chilian Andes. As far as the Collun- cura (Catapuliche) confluence the expedition was able to proceed on board the zo Negro steamer, but beyond that point it had to make its way in an open boat, which had in many places to be hauled over the numerous rapids obstructing the navigation of the Upper Limay, or furthest southern head-stream of the Rio Negro. Here the river flowed mainly in a narrow rocky bed, contracting at some points to 120 and even f00 feet, with a current varying from seven to nine, and even eleven miles an hour at the most difficult rapids. But beyond the confluence of the Treful, in 40° 42’ S. lat., the reefs and other obstructions dis- appeared, the current fell to a mean velocity of five or six miles, and as the stream is very deep it would be accessible to steam launches in this section all the way to the lake. Approached from the Limay this alpine basin presented a charming prospect, winding away to the right in an endless series of rocky inlets or wooded creeks, opening out to the left in broad and slightly undulating grassy savannahs. The hills rise in some places to a height of 700 or 800 feet above the lower wooded slopes, break- ing into sharp peaks, crags of fantastic shape, or rocky walls, as uming here and there the appearance of cyclopean fortifica- tions. The horizon was bounded in the distance by an extensive range of lofty sierras covered with snow, and like the lower hills often assuming the most varied and capricious forms. The deep blue waters of the lake are broken only by a solitary island of large size covered with dense vegetation, and intersected by regular ranges of hills from 300 to 400 feet high. The surround- ing country appears to be uninhabited, and on calm days, rare in this breezy region, all nature is wrapped in the stillness of death, and the glassy surface of the lake unbroken by a single ripple. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEER, 1885, FEBRUARY 15-21 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed. ) At Greenwich on February 15 Sun rises, 7h. 16m. ; souths, 12h. 14m. 20°35. ; sets, 17h. 13m. ; decl. on meridian, 12° 30’ S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 2h. 56m. Moon (New at 2h.) rises, 7h. 6m. ; souths, 12h. 29m. ; sets, 18h. om. ; decl. on meridian, 8° 9’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on Meridian h, m. h. m. h. m. - , Mercury)... 6:44... Ii 1 15 17 19 47S. Wenns gs O6300 -.. 10, 57 TG LD» cose eI OUE ROE Mars 5 Ga Ben ia Ey of! 13 49S. Juptermeetyecoee OSS 0 7 42... 12) <8. N- DAtOrE RCO KG i2Tc., 3.25%"... 2X 34 IN. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding, and the setting that of the following nominal day. Occultation of Star by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- Feb. Star Mag. Disap. Reap. tex to right for inverted image h. m. h. m. ° ° ZO AORATIEUS 2-. 0 f= OWALN-c 20) 0). 201 246 NATURE a5 Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites Feb. h. m. Feb. h. m. 16§.:. 6 20 TJ. ecl. disap. || 19) .\ "0 25° (Te tr-epr. 19 21 ITI. ecl. disap. 19 15 I. occ. disap. 23 9 III. occ. reap. 20 41 IV. ecl. reap. eee 3°40 litany: 21 34 (I. occ. reap. 6 o Jittrsegr: 23 38 II. tr. ing. 1S)-.. 049 I ecl. disap: | 20 ... 2/33 Ti tr. epr. 3| (8 isoccreap: 18 51 I. tr. egr. 5 22 Il. ecl. disap. | 21 ... 18 32 IF. occ. disap. 22 6 “To ineing: 21 33 II. ecl. reap. The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. Feb. h. Hypa... Mars in conjunction with and 4° 30’ south of the Moon. ees: Saturn stationary. my .. 8 Jupiter in opposition to the Sun. CATALOGUE OF EARTHQUAKES} THE importance of earthquakes as factors in geology tends to be more and more appreciated, and the seemingly in- creased seismic activity so strongly manifested in different quarters of the globe during the last few years has greatly stimulated the interest in, and the study of, these wonderful phenomena. Amongst many contributions to this branch of geology, have appeared quite recently, this catalogue and map, of which we have given the title, and which have followed other papers by the same author relative to this series of phenomena, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. The earthquake catalogue and map now given by Prof. O'Reilly is based upon a very interesting relation of joiating and fissuring to the physical geography of a country, but more particularly to the coast-line directions. This rela'ion he has shown to be very marked for the east coast of Ireland (see Proc. Roy. I. Acad., 2nd series, vol. iii. ; Sciexce, No. 8, May, 1882, and vol. iv. ; Scéence, No. 2, 1884); and, considering that much of the fissuring of the earth-surface is mainly due to earthquake action, he looks upon the systems of jointing and fissuring of a country, and consequently their correlated coast- lines, as so many records of past earthquake action; the only ones, in fact, left us in many cases, and (takinz into. considera- tion the poverty and meagreness of historical records in this respect) the most valuable records of these phenomena we have extant. On the other hand, the lists of Mallet, Perrey, Fuchs, &c., present earthquakes in a purely chronological order, are difficult to consult and but little accessible, and in them the events stand out independently, and to a very great extent with- out apparent connection one with the other, while we know that geolozical change is the result of a sum of actions taking place continuously in certain localities, and extending through immense durations of time. It has seemed to the author of the present ‘‘ Catalogue” that it would be useful to present the earthquakes of the three kingdoms in a summarised and con- nected form, and for that purpose arranged alphabetically, so that it may be possible to ascertain for a given point or locility the sum of earthquake action hiving occurred therein during historical time. The ‘‘ Catalogue” thus formed merely gives the years of occurrence for a given place or district, and in this manner indicates frequency of occurrence sufficiently, while serving at the same time as a sort of year and place index for the larger collections. From it he has been able to represent graphically the distribution of earthquakes over the three king- doms by adopting conventional tints and marks to indicate ex- tent of action and frequency of occurrence, the only factors which it is possible at present to so represent. From this map it would appear that Great Britain has been much more subject to shocks than Ireland during the period embraced by the records. That as regards Ireland the points of more frequent action lie near the coast or on it; that in Great Britain the south coast presents a number of points of activity situated approximatively on a same line, in all probability con- * “Catalogue of Earthquakes having occurred in Great Britain and Ire- land during Historical Time; arranged relatively to Localities and Fre- quency of Occurrence, to serve as a Basis for an Earthquake Map of the three Kingdoms.” With Map. By Jos. P. O'Reilly, C.E., Professor of Mining and Mineralogy, Royal College of Science, Dublin. (Trams. Roy. I. Acad., vol. xxviii. ; Scrence, part xvii., September, 1884.) ae NADIE | Feé. 12, 1885 nected with a system of jointing corresponding to the general direction of the coast ; that therefore the observed connection between volcanoes and coast-lines would hold good to a certain extent as regards these and earthquake action, so intimately related to volcanic action ; that, as has been lately remarked by Mr. Wm. White in NATURE (December 25, p. 172), Lancashire is apparently a centre of frequent action, and that there may be a further relation to be found between coal-fields and earthquakes than that recognised up to the present. It is certainly interesting to note that many of the localities -affected by the earthquake of 1884 in the south-east of England Jie on or quite near a great circle, which Prof. O'Reilly desig- nates ‘‘the west coast of Morocco great circle” (that is a great circle of which the starting-point or part is a portion of that coast lying between Cape Blanco and Cape Juby), traced @ priori, and which was shown on the Earthquake Map of Europe submitted by him at the Swansea meeting of the British Association in 1881. It will be interesting to note to what extent the complete report on that earthquake, which may -soon be looked for, will correspond with his theoretical lines. As a first attempt to graphically reprasent the earthquakes of a country relatively to their frequency, Prof. O’Reilly’s map has much to recommend it, and, more fully developed and more completely worked out, such maps may yet be considered (to use his own words) as ‘‘the necessary pendants of geological maps.” FAPANESE LEARNED SOCIETIES WHEN the Japanese Government decided to participate in the Health Exhibition last year, and to «devote special -attention to the educational portion of their section, they issued a small pamphlet relating to modern Japanese education. This explained in full the national system organised and put in working order in the last ten years; it dealt with the various classes of schools, from Kindergartens to the University, the technical schools, libraries, and educational museums, the ‘history of ancient Japanese education, &c. The pamphlet showed that the Government of Japan was doing its duty so far as education is concerned ; but the reader was left to collect for himself how far the people were following in the wake of their tulers. Since the close of the Exhibition the Japanese Com- missioner has re-issued the report, with the addition of a statement of the various learned societies formed for purposes connected with science, literature, and education in that country in recent years. These are purely private associations ; some of them are confined to localities removed from the large towns, and bespeak a wide and general interest in these subjects amongst the mass of the people themselves. The work of organising these, when the spirit once existed, cannot have been great, for the Japanese have had for ages their associations of men possessing common tastes, or a common loye for a particu- lar subject, whether literature, education, fencing, chess, the study of medicine or of Chinese. These organisations are quite familiar to them, and the work of running the new metal into the old moulds was doubtless not a very difficult one. Accord- ingly, Mr. Tegima’s list is a full one, and here and there it might be suggested that two, or even three, of the separate societies -could amalgamate with benefit. Amongst these noted we find the educational society of Japan, which has for its object the study, improvement, and advancement of education; various local societies also intended for the improvement of educational methods in their respective districts ; the Seismological Society, perhaps the best known of all in Europe. There are two branches of this, the foreign and the native, the former being the parent society. The ‘‘ Society of Specialities,’ which has in view the study ‘‘of various special branches of science.” The Physical Society, devoted exclusively to the study of the higher physics ; there appears to be a second Society of Physics, ‘‘ com- posed of professional scholars for the purpose of inquiring into the principles [of physics ?] and of interchanging knowledge among the members” ; the Mathematical Society for the study of the higher mathematics, and also to translate and compile works on that subject. Among the associations for more general objects we find one of French scholars, foreign and native, for the “study of that language, and the general interchange of knowledge, one for the study of the moral sciences, another devoted to Euro- pean and Asiatic philosophy. The Frenchscholars are not allowed to have it all their own way, for a rival devotes its energies to the study of the German language and laws ; Hindoo philosophy also has its own special votaries who have formed themselves intoan association for the investigation of this misty subject. The Biological Society of the University of Tokio (founded by Prof. Morse) is among the most energetic of young Japanese socie- ties ; the Association for the Translation of the Technical Terms of Physics isa most necessary one, and has a difficult and re- sponsible duty under the present system of translating to fulfil. Sooner or later Japanese and Chinese students will have to adopt most of the technical terms of all departments of science employed in the West ; the present plan of seeking to translate them in a rough and fanciful way, and thus forcing the _ student to learn a new language before he can learn a science, is too clumsy and unsatisfactory to last. Why, for example, oxygen should not be called oxygen by the Japanese student, instead of by some Japanese compound term which is not in the — least more explanatory to him, is not quite clear. Meantime a society which will exercise a supervision over the translation of technical terms, and thereby secure uniformity, cannot fail to be useful. The Chemical Society, besides devotion to the science of chemistry, has also for one of its objects the establishment of a regular terminology. The Engineering, Law, Agricultural, Fine Arts, Medical, and Pharmaceutical societies speak for them- selves. A second medical society seeks to secure the propaga- tion of sound notions of elementary medicine amongst the com- mon people ; in this it is assisted by the members of the Society of Hygiene, who diffuse a general knowledge of sanitary mat- ters. It is pleasant to see that old Japan is not forgotten in this crowd of young associations. The members of a Society of Letters study all branches of Chinese and Japanese litera- ture, while the ‘‘ Society of Japanese Literature ” devotes itself wholly to the study of the etymology and syntax of the Japanese language and to the more general employment of the ancient syllabaries, in place of Chinese characters, in writing. fae so fo Weh cess somte le lo oko) rots Wel Nae eo wa ES 307 Geographical) Notes) ea<0 0s) ce) ols SO Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, February 15-21. . . oO fed Oho Oa a See Catalogue of Earthquakes WES Osc 2 B0 oO plato a Sie Japanese Learned Societies ........4.-.. 352 The Proposed Teaching University for London . 352 University and Educational Intelligence 3 353 Scientific Serials’ 0). 02) ween ae neo ee geet 8 Societies and Academies. . 5 ..5.6-5:55..-. 354 NATURE THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 109, 1885 A SCIENTIFIC VIEW OF THE COAL QUESTION T is well known that our stock of coal is not an infinite quantity, and cannot last an infinite period of time. Different authorities, and those who have investigated the subject, including a Royal Commission, have assigned different lengths of time during which our supply is likely to last ; and, according to the most reliable authorities, it cannot be much less than 100 nor much more than 250 years. Our abundant store of coal, and its application to in- dustrial purposes, has been one of the largest causes of our wealth and progress. The value of coal for those purposes depends essentially upon the fact that it is com- bustible, and evolves a large amount of heat in burning, and that this heat can be set free at any time and be readily converted into mechanical, chemical, electrical, and other forms of power. As an illustration of the great amount of energy contained in coal, it is well known to scientific men that each piece of it contains sufficient stored-up power to lift its own weight 2300 miles in height, or 2300 times its own weight a mile high. The only other common natural substances to be compared with it in this respect are wood and petroleum, and our stores of these are very small. It is by the expenditure of the energy contained in coal that comparatively valueless iron ore is converted into valuable iron. It has not been by the mere existence of large quan- tities of coal in this country, nor entirely by the sale of coal to foreign nations, that so much of our wealth has been obtained, but largely by the circumstance that we were the first nation to apply coal to industrial purposes on a large scale and in a great variety of ways. Other nations also possessing coal, perceiving the great success of this method, followed our example, have overtaken us, and have now rendered it increasingly difficult, year by year, for us to maintain our position as manufacturers. As also large quantities of coal, petroleum, and inflam- mable gas are continually being discovered and utilised in other countries, and it is known that the United States of America alone contain nearly forty times as much coal as our entire stock, the time cannot be very far distant when our chances of maintaining even our present posi- tion amongst nations by means of our coal will be con- siderably less than at present. It would be wise, there- fore, boldly to face this serious prospect, and consider by what means our national prosperity can be maintained as our coal diminishes in quantity and increases in price, especially as our population is continually increasing, and require to purchase greater supplies of foreign food. There does exist another and inexhaustible source of wealth and progress, viz. new knowledge obtainable by means of scientific research. It is upon such knowledge, gained by experiments made to examine natural forces and substances, that we must sooner or later depend as a fundamental source of national prosperity. As fast as this knowledge is evolved by discoverers, it is applied. in more immediately practical forms by numerous inventors, and then manufacturers and men of business use those VOL. XXXI.—NO. 799 358 - practical realities in the production of wealth. This has been the order of events in the past, and will be in the future ; this was the way in which we got wealth out of coal. Persons of narrow views on the subject will con- sider the above proposition vague and unpractical, but this order of things is a great fact and unavoidable ; we are the servants of nature, and have no choice in the matter ; we might as well hope to live without food as expect to advance in civilisation without the aid of new knowledge. The practical value of new scientific knowledge as a source of wealth and progress is incomparably greater than that of all the coal-deposits, petroleum springs, and gold-fields of the earth. This great truth, though familiar to scientific investigators, is but little perceived or appre- ciated by our rulers, or by the mass of their electors ; and the chief reason for this is the fact that they possess in- sufficient knowledge of science. Even Governments can only appreciate that which they understand, and can only act as circumstances and public opinion allow them, and when fettered by an ignorant population, are powerless to preserve a nation from decay. There cannot be a more complete error than to sup- pose that new knowledge discovered by means of scien- tific research is not practical. Its immense practical value has been abundantly proved in a multitude of cases. It was largely by means of such knowledge respecting coal, its properties, constituents, and products, gained by means of experiments, that coal was applied to so many uses. One of the most recent proofs of the practical value of such knowledge is the conversion of the heat of coal into electric current and light in the dynamo-electric machine and electric lamp; the entire existence of these instru- ments arose from new knowledge discovered in purely scientific researches by Davy and Faraday. It is not necessary to describe here the exact beginnings of gas- lighting, phosphorus-matches, photography, the voltaic- battery, electro-plating, aniline dyes, telegraphy, the tele- phone, &c. ; these, and a multitude of other utilities in common use, had their earliest origin more or less com- pletely, not in the labours of the inventor or of the more directly practical man, but in those of philosophical inves- tigators whose experiments were made with the far more widely practical object, the discovery of new scientific knowledge. It is not the mere possession of good things, but making the best and earliest use of them that most con- duces to success. Our great stock of coal lay compara- tively useless as a source of national wealth until philosophical investigators discovered its constituents and properties, and inventors applied these to useful purposes; other nations also possessed coal, and our greater success than theirs was largely and essentially due to the fact that we were the earliest in applying it to important and varied uses. We must not wait, there- fore, for those nations to discover for us new knowledge respecting natural forces and substances, but discover it ourselves, in order that we may have the first chance of applying those forces and substances to practical uses, and of offering the useful products for sale or in exchange for food and other commodities. It is well known that a man who has no faith in medi- cine will not apply to a physician until death stares him R 358 in the face. Similarly, the average politician and the ordi- nary elector, having but little knowledge of philosophical experiments, or faith in them, will probably not believe in their great practical value until national distress and panic legislation ensue. The love of money also, and the desire of acquiring it quickly without commensurate sacrifice, fostered by our having so easily obtained it by means of our coal and science, is so strong in this nation, that probably nothing but the actual loss of wealth in the form of diminished value of properties, will induce capitalists and land-owners to perceive and examine the scientific basis of their incomes. When, however, the stern reality of gradually increasing scarcity of coal, and consequent inability to pay for our great supplies of foreign food by means of that coal, and of articles pro- duced by its aid, comes upon us, perhaps the statesmen and wealthy classes of this country will see the indis- pensable necessity of new scientific knowledge, and be more ready to promote experimental research, with a conviction that its practical results are vast, though not always direct or immediate. G. GORE MAMMALIAN DESCENT On Mammalian Descent; the Hunterian. Lectures for 1884. By W. Kitchen Parker, F.R.S. (London: Griffin and Co., 1885.) S far as we are aware, no attempt has hitherto been made to popularise in any detail the science of comparative embryology. It is therefore indicative of the characteristic originality of Prof. Parker that, on de- livering a course of Hunterian lectures upon the embry- ology of the Mammalia, he should have aimed at charm- ing a popular audience as well as at instructing a scientific one. We confess that upon reading the first paragraphs of his preface, in which he states his intention of handling his subject in a popular way, we felt apprehensive that, like sundry other lecturers with a similar aim and with subjects better suited to the killing of two birds with one stone, he was preparing for himself the misfortune of miss- ing both his marks. But we had not got far into the first lecture without finding that our lecturer very well knew what he was about : he is provided with a double-shotted weapon of the most modern construction, and takes a genuine glee in knocking over some antediluvian tooth- bearing bird on the one side, and the sentimental scruples of a nineteenth-century audience upon the other. And this is done with so much of the vigour of enthusiastic science, as well as the genuine feeling of what we may term unspoiled poetry, that we feel our thanks are due to Miss Arabella Buckley who, it seems, first persuaded Prof. Parker to adopt this delightful method of writing. NATURE Moreover, it is obviously to him a natural method. We can | everywhere see that he is now writing in the lines of his habitual thinking. The smallest details of his science catch a living glow from the ardour of his imagination, and as this imagination is everywhere charged with bibli- cal thoughts and biblical metaphors, we are led by the force of example to compare it to some quickening spirit which makes all the dry bones of the skulls and skeletons stand up around him as an exceeding great army. Well it is for the cause of evolution that in Prof. Parker it has not only so indefatigable a worker, but likewise so ele- | Feb. 19, 1885 vated a preacher ; and being thus as strong a champion on the side of sentiment as he is on that of science, we have only to congratulate him upon the wisdom of adopt- ing Miss Buckley’s advice, and appearing in the lists armed with the weapons of feeling as effectually as with those of fact. The course consists of nine lectures, and there are, besides, extensive addenda. Inthe 229 pages to which the book runs, we have presented an excellent epitome of the author’s work on the embryology of the Mammalia. The perusal of this epitome cannot fail to strike us anew with admiration at the prodigious amount of his labours, and the great results which they have accomplished. When future generations come to survey the work done by the contemporaries of Charles Darwin in establishing the doctrine of evolution, and in beginning the great task of tracing out the main lines of descent in the animal kingdom, the name of Parker will stand out as one of the most conspicuous of the Jandmarks. Two or three quotations from the present volume will serve to convey a general idea of the style, upon which we have laid so much stress. Speaking of a remarkable proboscidian Insectivore, about the size of a rat (Rhyncho- cyon cernet), a ripe embryo of which he has obtained from near Zanzibar, the lecturer says :-— “T have, at present, merely worked out the skull of this valued specimen, but it has rewarded and delighted me more than any kind I have received for a long time past. If nature had titurated together the germs of four or five types of mammals, and had then made this mixture grow, she could scarcely have developed a more curious and composite creature than this long-nosed Insectivore. When Prof. Huxley propounded his oft-quoted theory of the evolution of the Mammalia, he might have known the structure and development of this type by inward sight. Nothing of the kind, however, is ever revealed to biologists in this manner, we only get our facts by open- ing out the fine folds of organic forms with needle and scissors; we do unroll a good number of the small scrolls, but it is painful and patient work. I am satisfied that no searcher after the evidences of evolution ever saw anything more instructive than what I have found in this small beast. I will make a catalogue of its characters... . Thus this greatly specialised kind of Insectivore, whilst re- taining the most marked characteristics of the Metatherian skull, takes on two characters, one of which, had it become dominant, would have landed it amongst the Proboscidea, or elephants, whilst the other would have made it a Carni- vore. It attempted too much at once, and thus, ike a man in doubt, it made but little progress ; moreover, in this developmental shilly-shallying, it failed to drop the Mar- supial, to take on the new Eutherian, nature, and was thus in danger of going out of being with many of the members of that much-extinguished type. Other types, not thus confused in their ambition, worked out the old strain of Metatherian degradation, and, taking to one definite line of ascent, put on new specialisations in harmony with their surroundings, and to this day their descendants are the rulers of the forest and the field.” Again :— “‘ Supposing the theory of the slow secular transforma- tion of the old general types into new special types to be true, then the existing mole, in its perfection of adaptive structure, has been as long in coming to its present per- fection as the larger and nobler prone or erect types that trample the earth over its head. In its own line, doing its own dark work, it is as complete a creature as the clear-eyed, super-terrestrial types; as a mole, it is con- Feb. 19, 1885 | summate—a complete and perfect example of a subter- ranean tyrant; all around him are hosts of juicy grubs and worms, and thereout sucks he no small advantage. Concerning tastes there is no disputing: one naturalist is fond of whales, another of moles, shrews, and mice. All these amusing types must have their supply of food ; the great mother, Nature, loves all, and shakes out of her lap plenty for every kind. When we reflect that our country possesses about 1200 species of insects, and that some of the species are prolific beyond all calculation, then we come to understand how the higher insectivorous tribes— birds or small mammals—find so plentiful a table in the wilderness. The hungry, impatient cat, who mistakes a shrew for a mouse, and then leaves her musky prey un- tasted, would starve upon that which fattens the mole, the shrew, or the bat. The last of these kinds hawks for his small prey, but the shrew, with his delicate proboscis, his sharp eyes, and his quick ears, knows where small beetles most do congregate. These he crunches and munches with exquisite teeth, the cusps or points of which are of a deep ferruginous red colour, more beautiful, strange to say, because they are thus stained. The Power that made the beetle strong in his polished and enamelled armour made also the teeth of the shrew most fit instruments for crushing that armour in which the beetle trusts. It is pleasanter to look upon this vacillation, so to speak, of beneficent purpose from the stand-point of a Darwin than from the stand-point of a Paley; there is much that is painfully mysterious in the whole matter, and we only see it in a partial view.” The lectures concludes thus :— “When the eyes of the prophet’s servant were opened he saw no longer barren rocks with mist.resting upon them, but the whole mountain was full of chariots of fire and horses of fire. The vestments and ritual of nature may take up all the attention and use up all the energies of her votaries ; these superficial observers fail, however, to find the real religion of nature—the beautiful but awful omnipresence which every flower and every insect reveals. The phenomena of nature are all mere fading pageants, and the really cultivated mind finds lasting satisfaction in meditating upon the recognisable forces that underlie all sensible phenomena. “This, however, is what the older philosophers called ‘dry light, and is not comfortable to most minds. The deeper things of nature are a sort of manna, but the souls of some people become dried up if you give them merely this celestial kind of diet; so that they murmur and say, ‘We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt, freely ; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.’ “ And yet this ignorance of nature is set up as a dead wall against all progress of thought ; for these people are ‘most ignorant of what they’re most assured,’ certain that they know all about their ‘glassy essence’; and, although as blind as moles, they are the enemies of all who have had their eyes opened, to whom the mountain is no longer misty and dark, but flaming with light. “Ne sutor supra crepidam ’—do not trust the cobbler in things outside his calling—is a proverb that cuts both ways. The biologist may surely be allowed to know things that relate to his own calling; the man who never dreams of life, and the science of life, should be careful how he contradicts its experts. On the other hand, bigotry is not confined to one class of controversialists ; some very bitter things have been said by men against faith whose culture and science ought to have taught them better. We have a right to look for nothing but “sweetness and light’ from the apostles and prophets of this new dispensation. “When the dust of controversy shall have subsided, when those who have to receive new ideas as if by a surgical operation begin to feel the stirrings of these new NATURE 359 conceptions thus let into them—the new heaven of nobler thoughts about nature, and of the great First Cause of nature—then all who can think will find that they are colonising a new Atlantis. “The old song of the creation puts it thus—Evening was—morning was—day one. “Thus the shadows of the evening came first, and the rosy light of dawn afterwards. Now, in science, even m biological science, the morning is spread upon the moun- tains, and soaring birds are singing at heaven’s gate; so that the drowsiest folk are beginning to stir themselvés ere well awake.” We have selected these examples for quotation in order to recommend the book to the class of readers for whom it is primarily intended ; but we must not conclude without again observing that the lectures contain so much solid information of the strictly scientific kind, thats even the most bigoted of biological experts cannot afford to disregard the material mountain, however little heed they may care to give to the vision of the fiery chariots. GEORGE J. ROMANES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ( The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible, The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] Civilisation and Eyesight IN reading Lord Rayleigh’s interesting remarks in NATURE (p. 340) upon Mr. Carter’s paper, it has occurred to me that we should not, in considering the question of ‘‘ aperture,” entirely omit the fact that this, though probably following a general rule applicable alike to savages and civilised beings, varies in individual cases. An assistant, who has recently left my obser- vatory, had a singularly ‘‘sharp”’ eye, and could pick up with ease companions to double stars, small satellites, &c., which others saw with difficulty. Such were his powers in this respect that I always appealed to him in the case of a doubtful obserya- tion. I noticecl one day how large the pupils of his eyes were, so large that I asked him if he had taken anything to artificially dilate them. Subsequent examination proved that they were, though of course varying with the stimulus of light, always much larger than those of most other persons, so much so that I laughingly used to call them “‘ cat’s eyes.” They had also, in fact, a peculiarity, attributed to feline sight, that he could read fine print and distinguish lines by a light much less bright than T could, and habitually used the gas half turned on, &c. Prob- ably such instances would not be rare if they were looked for. Another question arises on this head: Could it be possible that such a condition of the eye, natural in some persons, could, by certain uses of the member, be fostered in others ? I should not have ventured the suggestion but for having read of the ‘‘ chamois” eye, by which the habitual, or even casual, Alpine hunter can be recognised. I have no references at hand, and it may be it was the look, and not the eye itself, that gave rise to the cognomen ; but if there was any change in the eye- conditions, and especially in that of aperture, we might find a reason why the far-gazing savage improves the power of the eye by use. We know that by certain trades—watch-making, for’ instance—these conditions are varied adversely to long sight, and in the case of sailors and preventive service men a contrary effect.seems induced. Lord Rayleigh thinks that the superiority of the savage is only a question of attention and interpretation of minute details, but when one reads that two distant dots are resolved into distinctly-appreciable personages as regards sex, garments, &c., one begins to suspect that ‘‘aperture ” must also come into play. At all events an inquiry whether these far-seeing savages have large eye-apertures might help the solution of the matter. The peculiarity affecting my assistant’s eyes may be more 300 NATURE [ feb. 19, 1885 common with the savages than with us, or may have’ been specially prominent in those selected for experiment. ‘Gildown, February 16 J. RAND CaPRon > Erosion of Glass -SOME time in the end of 1882 Surgeon-Major Biden, writing from Madras, related in NATURE that certain glass vases on which white-ant mud had been deposited had been eroded over the area of deposit in such a way as to suggest that an acid having, like hydrofluoric acid, a power of dissolving glass, was; present in the ‘‘mud.” On reading this I was reminded of the observations of my teacher, Mr. George Rainey, recently deceased. Mr. Rainey, in the course of his observations on molecular coalescence, had shown that when carbonate of lime was de; posited in spherical forms on the surface of a glass slide in the presence of a strong solution of gum, the glass was eroded at every point of contact of a sphere. He explained the pheno- menon, as I believe rightly, by the principle of molecular coal- escence. In the embrace of the colloid gum, the molecules of the glass adjoining the spheres were drawn into the spheres, and a little cup corresponded to each sphere-contact. There was certainly no question of the action of an acid, the solutions used being distinctly alkaline. Inspection of the bottles in which the substances have been kept will show that carbonate of lime, moist or dry, carbonate of potash, moist or dry, chloride of calcium, moist or dry, do not in the absence of colloids erode glass. It appeared to me probable that the white-ant mud must consist of a mixture of some colloid with carbonate of lime or some other salt capable of taking spherical form. I wrote to Surgeon-Major Biden stating the possibility as it appeared to me, and suggesting that the mud should be examined as regarded colloid and earthy matter. He replied most courteously that the mud was not at the time to be obtained, but sent some of the earth which formed its basis. Experimenting with this earth alone, I was not able to etch glass. But in view of some interesting speculations which this episode started for me, I have since made some experiments directly bearing on the possibility of the erosion of glass surfaces by saline matters of alkaline reaction deposited on them within a colloid bed or matrix. I inclose for your inspection a glass slide which has been sé treated. More than a year ago this slide was coated with a layer of paraffin, melted on. The word ‘‘Ant” was drawn on the side with a wood point, in the expectation that etching might be effected where the paraffin was removed, the wood point being incapable of scratching the glass. The expectation was not entirely fulfilled. The paraffin, not being sticky enough, scaled off in sheets so as to leave the whole surface ultimately exposed. This whole surface is now seen to be etched. At first sight the glass looks as if it were covered with a semi-opaque deposit. But it has been boiled in hydrochloric acid and in water, with- out any change becoming evident, and under the microscope the appearance rendered is clearly an appearance of erosion. The details of the experiment were as follows ; a strong solt- tion of gum arabic in distilled water was made and filtered. It was divided into two portions. To one was added a small quantity of chloride of calcium, to the other a small quantity of carbonate of potash. A wide-mouthed bottle, three inches in height, was half filled with the first solution, and the second solution was slowly poured on the top of the first, so as to avoid mixture of the two. The slide, prepared, as already described, was placed vertically in the bottle, so that the middle region of the slide corresponded to the level of the meeting of the two solutions. The slide was found, at the end of a twelvemonth, denuded of its paraffin, and coated with an incrustation of carbonate of lime most dense at and near the meeting level of the two solutions. Under the microscope the surface of the slide presents many kinds of erosion—spherical, linear, and intermediate. But in proportion as higher and higher objectives are used, all the appearances are shown to be of circular form, the lines, for instance, being resolved into lines of circular pits. I dare not make this letter too long, and therefore include in it only so much as bears on Surgeon-Major Biden’s most inter- esting communication. It suffices, at the moment, to indicate that the surface of a glass slide may be eroded in a way to suggest the action of an acid, such as hydrofluoric acid, when no free acid is present ; and that erosion may occur when the glass is brought in contact with alkaline fluid, a colloid, and crystalline substances capable of assuming, in the presence of a colloid, spheroidal form. I propose to state the results of this and other experiments, and some speculations suggested thereby, before the Royal Microscopical Society. WILLIAM M. ORD 7, Brook Street, W. Echium Crossing Tue gardens of Madeira are remarkable for the neglect of native plants. This is due in part to indigenous indifference, and also to a preference for familiar forms amongst people who migrate hither from various regions, though chiefly to the temptation to test the facilities of growth and naturalisation in a moist and equable sub-tropical climate. Hence it is often easier to import species peculiar to Madeira than to find them in their native place; but none the less do these rocks abound with conspicuous examples of interesting genera. I have cultivated for many years two large echiums upon the terraces of the Luinta do Valle, 300 feet above the sea, namely, E. fastuosum, the Madeiran littoral species, a perennial shrub 3 or 4 feet high, with hairy light green leaves and branching stems crowded with scorpioid racimes of light-blue flowers with white stamens. And secondly, Z. simplex, the giant Canarian species maturing in Madeira in the second year. This remark- able plant has large, smooth, silvery leaves, and terminates its growth in one unbranched stem densely packed with folded flower-stalks bearing pure white blossoms, and forming a pyramid reaching sometimes 14 feet in height. 2. simplex dies after flowering. The flowers in both species last from three to five weeks, and the unfolded“flower-stalks measure 2 to 3 inches in length. Until 1882 the two echiums, though growing together and having their scentless flowers freely visited by bees and insects for their abundant nectar, had remained distinct ; but, in 1883, after introducing a swarm of Ligurian bees from England, I found that a cross-fertilisation had been effected, which has left me very few examples of Z. simplex. The hybrid Echium possesses the leaves of the giant plant, and the stem merely bifurcates or branches sparingly. The flowers are tinged light blue, and the perennial habit of Z. fastuosum is expressed by a continual growth of the flower racimes, which, after flowering for two years, measure 26 inches in length, and are still unfolding. The seeds of this hybrid have not germinated. I am now preparing to effect a cross between 2, simplex and the handsome mountain 2. caudicans of this island at my country residence, 2000 feet above the sea. E. caudicans and E. fastuosum have frequently blended, pro- ducing plants less new in structure than in habit; but such hybrids have been quickly lost, either in sterility or reversion. Madeira, January 26 MICHAEL GRABHAM [This is an interesting case of the spontaneous appearance of a hybrid between two very distinct species. The occurrence of such hybrids is frequent in some genera, such as Verbascum and Primula, and gives systematic botanists much trouble. There is a striking picture of Achium simplex at Teneriffe, in the North Gallery at Kew, No. 23.—Ep.] The Iridescent Clouds THE coloured fringes and bows described by Mr. N. in Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth’s communication (p. 316) are clearly of a totally different character from the iridescent clouds that were so widely remarked in December. I take the ‘‘fringes and bows in circles”? mentioned by him to be simply the same phenomenon of coloured circles that is so often seen around the moon, which goes by the name of a ‘corona’; and the reason why it is not easily seen around the sun, except by reflection in glass or water, is that the sun is too dazzling to look at directly. There is another phenomenon of coloured clouds which is probably also alluded to by Mr. N., and that is when thin clouds, usually cirrus, show interference colours, often very vividly; the positions of these colours evidently depending on the structure of the clouds, and being quite irregular with reference to the sun. The iridescent clouds recently observed no doubt owe their colour to the same cause, but the kind of cloud was evi- dently different, and the colours produced were much more striking. The clouds themselves were quite recognisable as Feb. 19, 1885 | NATURE 361 being of a peculiar type, even when too far from the sun to show any colour. The clouds thus coloured are usually of a much striated or rippled structure, and show the colours gene- rally in small spectra; whereas the clouds seen in December were remarkably smooth in texture, and although often striated, the striations were feeble and comparatively few, and in straight lines, while each cloud showed one regular gradation of colour. Whether the coloured clouds described by your correspond- ents, with the exception of those mentioned by Mr. N., were all of the same kind, it is difficult to decide ; perhaps they may have been so, in spite of the varieties in their appearance. Some observers describe the body of these clouds as having been dark, in particular your correspondents at Darlington and Broseley (Shropshire), pp. 192, 193, whereas all seen here were white or bright. Still, those clouds seen further south were probably of the same kind, only thicker. The difference in shape is most likely not a radical one, as the larger clouds seen here had wavy, not straight, edges, though their general directions were the same as the sides of the more rectangular ones. The nearest approach here to a pallium of these singular clouds was on the morning of December 12, when there occurred, at 8.15 a.m., an extensive pale steel blue film above the region where the sun was, and reaching to an altitude of 25°. Dr. H. Geelmuyden, observing at Christiania on December 8 (see p. 264), appears to place the peculiar clouds at a lower level than cirro-cumulus, but as seen here they were falways the highest clouds. In conclusion, I think that Prof. A. S. Herschel is ‘mistaken in supposing these clouds have been ‘‘ only a good instance of a common sight,” but although I never noticed them before, I do not dispute the suggestion of Dr. Geelmuyden that they may be seen more frequently than some of-us have thought. I have not seen them since December 13. T. W. BACKHOUSE Sunderland, February 11 Human Hibernation I piD not answer your correspondent’s query on human hibernation in your issue of the 5th inst. (p. 316), because I thought some one better informed than myself would answer it. However, as no one has done so, I may as well give a solution of this well-known Indian trick which I have seen, but the authority for which, I am sorry to say, I cannot remember. It is very simple, like all these things are when you ‘‘ know how they are done.” A tunnel is dug from the grave to the neigh- bouring jungle ; the grave itself is partly prepared. The subject is then, in sight of the spectators, prepared, by having his ears and nostrils filled with wax, and his tongue turned back. He is then apparently buried, creeps through the tunnel, and gets away. After six months, or any other interval, he creeps back again, is dug up apparently lifeless, and restored with infinite pains. In some cases, I believe, a sentry has been placed over the grave, but, of course, without results ALFRED H. HuLk Bolney House, Ennismore Gardens, S.W., February 13 An Error in Ganot’s ‘‘ Physics ” I BEG to call attention to a typical error in a formula which appears to have run through ten editions of Ganot’s well-known treatise. It is one not difficult of discovery by that somewhat too rare class of students who carefully plod through all the steps which lead up to it, but very likely to be overlooked by the more common class who are content to extract the formula as it stands with the undoubting faith reasonably based on ‘‘ Tenth Edition, revised and enlarged.” The formula which represents the weight of air saturated with vapour occurs on p. 325 of the tenth edition, and is printed— — 031 X VF (1 + aZ) 760 The first # should obviously be expunged. E. DouGLAS ARCHIBALD (ZH - 3F). Tunbridge Wells, February 16 Shadow on Clouds I AM not aware if the following phenomenon is at all common, but I venture to think it somewhat unusual, and that it might nterest some of your readers ;— Whilst at anchor in Cumberland Bay in the Island of Juan Fernandez on the evening of December 24, 1884, we observed the following remarkable sight. The Bay is situated on the north side of the island, and some way inland is a remarkable hill, called the ‘‘ Yunkua,” or ‘‘ anvil,” it being somewhat of the shape of one; it is the highest hill in the place, viz. 3005 feet, and from the anchorage bears about south-west, and is distant two miles. The Bay is closed in by high cliffs and hills. On the day mentioned, shortly after the sun had disappeared behind the western hills, we observed this hill make a distinct shadow on the clouds above it, in which every irregularity and peak came out with wonderful clearness. The shadow lasted till about 30” before the time of sunset (which was invisible to us), and was inverted and inclined to the hill as ina mirage at about 30°. ‘The weather at the time was very fine. Barometer, 30°22 ; temperature of altitude thermometer, F. 62°; and very few clouds were about. ALFRED H, TARLETON H.M.S. Constance, at Sea, January 25 THE METEOROLOGY OF HAVANA* aris annual of the Royal College of the Society of Jesus at Havana for 1875, which has just been pub- lished, possesses more than a passing interest. The Observations were made daily every two hours from 4 a.m. to Io p.m., and include pressure, temperature, humidity, wind, rain, magnetic, electric, optical, and other weather phenomena. The results are plotted on large monthly diagrams, and as each day has six-tenths of an inch devoted to it, the two-hourly observations of all the different elements can be readily seen and compared with each other; and this part of the work is done with a _ scrupulous care and accuracy it would not be easy to sur— pass. Onthe same diagrams are marked the days on which auroras are reported to have been observed in the United States, as published in the Monthly Weather Review at Washington. A note is appended to each month’s observations, draw- ing attention to the more significant of the magnetic perturbations in their relations to the changes of weather at the time, and in particular to the “nortes,” or “ nor- thers,” of the cooler months of the year. Thus, on April’ 3, 4, and 5 a “‘norther” prevailed, which was succeeded: on the three following days by a remarkable magnetié perturbation, which was accompanied with a high baro- meter and a strong wind, rising in the afternoons toa rate of 35 kilometres per hour, with daily manifestations of aurora in the United States, but was unaccompanied throughout with any electric phenomena. Again, the magnetic perturbation, of April 13 was coincident with a characteristic “ norther,” much thunder and lightning, a very heavy rainfall, and a disposition and state of the aqueous vapour which give rise to solar and lunar halos, and other optical effects ; but during the time no auroras were reported from the United States. Father Vines points out in the monthly notes various other relations between the magnetical and meteorological phenomena which suggest that this line of inquiry is likely to lead to valuable additions to our knowledge of weather changes. The mean annual pressure at sea-level is 30°067 inches, the maximum being 30129 inches in January and the minimum 30’002 inches in September, with a secondary maximum of 30°092 inches in July and minimum of 30°066 inches in April. As regards the diurnal oscillation from the morning maximum to the afternoon minimum, the greatest occurs in the winter months, when it amounts to 07080 inch, whereas in July it is only o'o51 inch. These diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in their varying amounts have no small significance in their relations to the analogous phenomena in the United States and over the high pressure area of the Atlantic. The mean annual temperature is 77°’7, rising to the maximum 82°72 in July, and falling to the minimum 73°0 in December. The * “ Observaciones Magnéticas y Meteordlogicas del Real Colegio de Belen de la Compaitia de Jesus en a Habana, Afio de 1875.” (Habana, 1884.) 362 NATURE [ Feb. 19, 1885 absolutely highest temperature, 98°°8, occurred at 4 p.m. on July 30 under very striking circumstances. For four days previously auroras had been observed in the United States ; the magnetic and electrical conditions showed marked disturbances at Havana; atmospheric pressure, which had been low, began to rise on the 30th, on which day, at 2 p.m., the relative humidity fell to 45, but rose four hours after to 84. The temperature, which at 4 p.m. was 93°'8, thereafter instantly and rapidly fell, and by 6 p.m had fallen to 78°38. ‘The lowest temperature for the year, 559, occurred at 6 a.m. on December 16, at the termination of a “‘norther,”’ which overspread the sky with cirri, attended with solar and lunar halos; and was immediately followed by a low barometer, remarkable hygrometric changes and irregularities in the direction and velocity of the wind. Excepting a greater tendency to southing during the warmer months, the wind varies little in direction from month to month. The diurnal variation is interesting. From 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. itis E. by S.; at to am. E. by N. ; from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. N.N.E. ; 4 p.m. N.E.; 6p.m. E.N.E. ; and at 8 p.m. E., thus showing in a marked manner the influence of the sea breeze at Havana. The daily changes in the wind’s velocity are very large. The minimum occurs from 4 to 6 a.m., and the maximum from noon to 4 p.m., the maximum velocity being four times greater than the minimum. The strongest winds occur in April, and the weakest in November; the winds in Apri] blowing with double the velocity of those in November. As regards direction, the strongest winds are the sea winds which blow from N.N.E. and E., and the weakest the land-winds from E.S.E., S.E., and S.W., the former blowing with double the force of the latter. The annual curve of thunderstorms is a very decided one. Of the eighty recorded during 1875, sixty-five occurred during the five months from May to September, and only three during the four months from January to March and December. The annual rainfall was 42°39 inches, about half of the whole amount falling in August and September, during which time 20°61 inches fell. Only a quarter of an inch fell in December, and half an inchin November. The total evaporation for the year was about 60 inches, the maximum, 692 inches, being in April, when the air is driest and the winds strongest, and the minimum 3°60 inches in September, October, and No- vember, when the air is most highly saturated and the force of the wind least. As regards the occurrence of rain at different periods of the day, more than 50 per cent. of the whole hours during which rain is noted to have fallen were between noon and 6 p.m., thus closely asso- .ciating the rainfall with the diurnal period of the thunder- storms. The almost total absence of the thunderstorm from the rains of the winter months, as compared with the summer months, when lightning, or some other electric phenomenon occurs almost daily, is an important feature in the climate of Havana from its bearing on the theory of the thunderstorm, THE WHALE EXHIBITION IN HAMBURG URING the autumn of last year an exhibition of con- siderable novelty and interest to zoologists was held in Hamburg, embracing complete skeletons, parts, and craniz of whales, products of the same, and apparatus used for catching these greatest organisms of the world -from the earliest times to the present day. ’ The suggestion for this.exhibition came from the writer of these lines, who offered to exhibit three of the greatest fin-whale skeletons in existence. Dr. H. Bolau, direc- tor of the Zoological Gardens in Hamburg, succeeded, in spite of many obstacles, in arranging this exhibition and collecting interesting and valuable material, to- wards which Prof. Pagenstecher, director of the Natu- ral History Museum, also contributed greatly by arrang- ing the exhibits and obtaining several rare specimens acquired by the German Expedition of 1882-83 to South Georgia. In this part were also some splendid water- colour drawings from this island, executed by Herr Most- laff, which were greatly admired. The exhibition, which was divided into four parts, viz. one for the whale fauna, one for the hunting-gear, one for the whale products, and one historic-ethnographical, took place partly in the open, partly in a hall. In the first section, naturally, the Cetaceze, were most prominent, these monsters being mounted in the Gardens. Of true Baleenida, the Hamburg Zoological Museum ex- hibited a cranium of Balena mysticetus, L.,a very fine specimen, Otherwise the Balzenopteridz, or fin-whales, were most numerous, there being four different species of this family. The most imposing of them all was the skeleton of the “blue” whale(Balenoptera sibbaldit, Gray), the greatest animal on earth. It measured 75 feet in length, and was mounted in {its natural position. The specimen seemed to have been full grown, as no division between the epiphyse and the vertebral body could be discovered. As an individual osteological curiosity may be mentioned that the jugal bone consisted of two bones, a smaller and a larger piece, which are closely united by strong ligaments. Not far from this specimen stood the skeleton of the common fine-whale (Balenoptera musculus, Companyo), 63 feet long, which was, as Prof. Flower describes it, “in adolescent state.” The greater part of the thoracic and lumbal vertebrae showed distinct separation between the epiphyses and the vertebral body, which was also the case with the limbs. Although the length between these two species is not so very great, there is a marked difference between their structure. The fine-whale is remarkable for its lightness and ele- gance ; in proportion to its great length, some parts of the skeleton seem indeed quite fragile, whereas the blue whale shows throughout in its structure a massiveness bespeaking enormous muscular powers. The difference became even more striking when the fin-whale was com- pared with a third species, the Alegapiera boops, O. Fabr. This skeleton was 54 feet long, and therefore a large individual, and was found dead at sea between the coasts of Norway and Russia. From the complete development of the ossification and coalescence of epiphyses with the vertebral bodies and respective diaphyses of the extremities it was clearly a full-grown animal. It gives an impression of heaviness, on account of the short, thick bones and the great length of the fore-limbs, 14-15 feet, which is very apparent. To this individual belongs the whale-bone complex, part of which was shown. Near the same a cranium of this species of whale was exhibited with a complete whale-bone complex. This was a very fine specimen, and was prepared for the Museum of Natural Sciences at Stuttgart, where it now is. The above-mentioned skeletons and crania were pre- pared by me in 1883 at the whaling establishments at Vard6 (lat. 704° N.), but the three skeletons, which were, I may be permitted to say, very complete and fine speci- mens, I had steamed and finished in Hamburg. In the open, too, there was mounted a skeleton of Balenoptera rostrata, Fabr., the smallest of all fin- whales ; but this specimen left much to be desired in the way of completeness and finish, It was, however, inte- resting by its history and age, and is perhaps the oldest Cetacea in any museum. For 200 years it has been instated in the town hall at Bremen, where there is an inscription on the wall to the effect that the animal stranded at Bremerhafen on May 9, 1669, whence it was brought to Bremen, and the skeleton accorded the above- mentioned honour. As representative of the great “tooth ’ whales, there was the lower jaw of a spermaceti whale belonging to an Feb. 19, 1885 | individual which, in 1849, was taken at the Canary Islands. , Dr. Bolau had drawn some very interesting maps showing the habitat of the Greenland whale, the Antarctic whale, the blue, and the spermaceti whales, which were greatly admired. One of the most valuable exhibits was, however, the cranium of a narwhale (A/onodon monoceros, L.) with two tusks. It was brought to Hamburg from Greenland in 1684. There are, I believe, at present in Europe only a dozen such craniz, among which the one exhibited here is certainly the oldest. The most remarkable feature about this cranium is, however, if the inscription attached can be relied on, that it is that of @ female. The tusk is, as is generally known, never developed in the females. The description is accompanied by a drawing of the whale and a young one, stated to be the offspring of the former. It is, nevertheless, hardly possible to accept this statement, at variance with all experience. In addition to tusks of narwhals, skeletons and stuffed specimens of other kinds of tooth-whales were exhibited, as, for instance, of Orca gladiator, Delphinus delphis, Phocena communis, D. tursio, and a cranium of bottle- nose Hyperoodon latifrons, Gray, which, according to the latest researches, is only the male of 7. déodon. Of the foetus exhibited I may mention those of Ba/e- noptera rostrata, Fabr., Rhinodelphis levcoplevrus, Rasch., and one of Jegapiera boops, Fabr., only 12 inches long, exhibited by the writer. Besides the exhibits belonging to the order of Cetacee, there were some fine specimens of Szvenda, as Manatus and Halicore, skeletons as well as stuffed animals, exhi- bited by the University of Kiel. There were, further, a fine collection of seals, of which I shall, however, only mention Ofaria Godeffioy, from the coast of Peru. As some of the greatest curiosities, should be added, a perfect stuffed specimen of the sea-elephant, 11 feet long, and two sea-leopards from South Georgia. The exhibition was visited by a considerable number of zoologists, and may, in every respect, be said to have been a success. G. A. GULDBERG The Zootomical Museum, Christiania CHESTER NEW MUSEUM HE foundation-stone of this museum was laid on February 5 by the Duke of Westminster, K.G. We have previously referred to the work done by the Chester Natural Science Society, and the Archeological Society, whose joint museum is now to be placed in a permanent building, uniting under one roof accommoda- tion for it, an art gallery, and every provision for Science and Art Department classes. The remains of ancient Chester, which came to light from time, found their way to the British Museum up to the year 1849, when the Rev. W. H. Massie, the Rector of St. Mary’s-on-the-Hill, called a meeting to consider the formation of a museum, and a society was formed for “the illustration and pre- servation of the remains of antiquity and other objects of interest in the city and inthe county.” The Society’s “col- lection” was first housed in a cupboard at the Commercial | Buildings ; thence it was removed, first, to the Episcopal Palace in Abbey Square, afterwards to a house in Lower Bridge Road, to join the Museum of the Natural Science Society, whose collections are of considerable extent and essentially local in character, thanks to the marked love of nature and zeal for scientific research infused into many of the Chester citizens by the founder of the Society, the late Canon Kingsley, and the admirable rules for directing local investigation by which the Society is governed. Under the presidency of Prof. McKenny Hughes, the Society remains as vigorous as ever, as is the Archeological Society under that of Dean Howson, who, since the failing health of Mr. Thomas Hughes, F.S.A., | NATURE 363 to whom great credit is due, has taken an active interest in the Society, and in 1882 became the chairman of a joint committee to secure a building to answer all the requirements of science and art in Chester. This Com- mittee selected a site in the Grosvenor Road, the greater part of which was at once placed at their disposal by the Duke of Westminster, who, moreover, headed the sub- scription list with the munificent sum of 4o000/., to which the Committee have since received promises of sums amounting to a further 3500/7. The architect is Mr. Thos. M. Lockwood, of Chester ; the tender for the erection of the work accepted by the Committee is for 8150/7. The elevation of the building, with its octagonal turret, with lantern surmounted by a quaint ogee roof, surmounting a steep-pitched roof, suggests the municipal architecture of Holland. The joint library and reading room is 21 feet by 19 ; the natura history museum is 36 feet by 25; the lecture theatre 444 feet by 30; the art and archeological gallery is 60 feet by 23; on the first floor are science class rooms ; on the second those for art. Space is reserved for future extensions in all departments. Prof. McKenny Hughes stated the object of the Museum to be three-fold, being “intended for teaching, for study, and for exhibition. We have long carried on teaching in this old city in connection with the societies which have for their object the study of natural science, but that is to be extended. We have already extended it by putting ourselves in connection with the teaching powers of South Kensington, and now we will bring this into shape and have class-rooms and teachers definitely appointed to carry on the work which has been so nobly taken up by your citizens. The Duke has mentioned already that he felt that a great deal of the work had been done by the enterprise of the citizens. Well, that is the work which we intend to carry on in the teaching departments of this institution ; but it is also intended for study. The world is going on fast in the direction of knowledge. Every one is trying to acquire knowledge which shall be turned to money, or which shall be pursued for its own sake, or which will add to the comfort of the community. In all these directions we hope to assist. Men may come in here and study in the library, or in the laboratories, or in the museum.” At the subsequent dinner the chairman, the Dean of Chester, stated that Canon Kingsley gave impulse to the study of natural history in this place, which has by no means lost its momentum. What the Duke of West- minster has said concerning the deep interest taken to- day in scientific subjects is most strictly in harmony with the facts of the case. There is here, deeply-rooted in the minds of many, a determined love for science of this kind, which is the best possible augury for benefits to result from our museum. Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, K.C.M.G., C.B., responding for art, said, “this is a museum after my own heart, for I . think it corresponds entirely with what was in the mipd of the Prince Consort when he established the Science and Art Department and the South Kensington Museum. It was a part and parcel of his scheme that the teaching and the examples should be under one roof, and it has been found that the example of the Science and Art Department, combined as it is with one of the finest art museums in the world, and combined as it will be, I hope, in the near future with one of the finest science museums that may be created, has done more good, not only in this country, but throughout the world, than anything else which had been thought of before. When we think of the museums of the past, we know that they could not speak for themselves ; they were examples, but however interesting and however ancient they might have been, they had no speaking powers, because they were not in combination with a teaching organisation.” Cuas. E. DE RANCE 364 NATURE [| Fed. 19, 1885 THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE VARIETIES OF THE HUMAN SPECIES. apne most ordinary observation is sufficient to demon- strate the fact that certain groups of men are strongly marked from others by definite characters common to all members of the group, and transmitted regularly to their descendants by the laws of inheritance. The Chinaman andthe Negro, the native of Patagonia and the Andaman Islander, are as distinct from each other structurally as are many of the so-called species of any natural group of ani- mals. Indeed it maybe said with truth that their differences are greater than those which mark the groups calied genera by many naturalists of the present day. Nevertheless, the difficulty of parcelling out all the individuals com- posing the human species into certain definite groups, and of saying of each man that he belongs to one or other of such groups is insuperable. No such classification has ever, or indeed, can ever, be obtained. There is not one of the most characteristic, most extreme forms, like those I have just named, from which transitions cannot be traced by almost imperceptible gradations to any of the other equally characteristic, equally extreme, forms. In- deed, a large proportion of mankind is made up, not of extreme or typical, but of more or less generalised or intermediate, forms, the relative numbers of which are continually increasing, as the long-existing isolation of nations and races breaks down under the ever-extending intercommunication characteristic of the period in which we dwell. The difficulties of framing a natural classification of man, or one which really represents the relationship of the various minor groups to each other, are well exemplified by a study of the numerous attempts which have been made from the time of Linneus and Blumenbach onwards. Even in the first step of establishing certain primary groups of equivalent rank there has been no accord. The number of such groups has been most variously estimated by different writers from two up to sixty, or more, although it is important to note that there has always been a tendency to revert to the four primitive types sketched out by Linnzeus, the European, Asiatic, African, and American, expanded into five by Blumenbach by the addition of the Malay, and reduced by Cuvier to three by the suppression of the two last. After a perfectly inde- pendent study of the subject, extending over many years, I cannot resist the conclusion, so often arrived at by various anthropologists, and so often abandoned for some more complex system, that the primitive man, whatever he may have been, has in the course of ages divaricated into three extreme types, represented by the Caucasian of Europe, the Mongolian of Asia, and the Ethiopian of Africa, and that all existing individuals of the species can be ranged around these types, or somewhere or other between them. Large numbers are doubtless the descend- ants of direct crosses in varying proportions between well- established extreme forms ; for, notwithstanding opposite views formerly held by some authors on this subject, there is now abundant evidence of the wholesale production of new races in this way. Others may be the descendants of the primitive stock, before the strongly marked existing distinctions had taken place, and therefore present, though from a different cause from the last, equally generalised characters. In these cases it can only be by most care- fully examining and balancing all characters however minute, and finding out in what direction the preponder- ance lies, that a place can be assigned to them. It can- not be too often insisted on, that the various groups of Mankind, owing to their probable unity of origin, the great variability of individuals, and the possibility of all degrees of intermixture of races at remote or recent periods of the history of the species, have so much in common that it is extremely difficult to find distinctive * From the President’s Anniversary Address to the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Jan. 27, 1885. characters capable of strict definition, by which they may be differentiated. It is more by the preponderance of certain characters in a large number of members of a group, than by the exclusive or even constant possession of these characters in each of its members, that the group as a whole must be characterised. Bearing these principles in mind, we may endeavour to formulate, as far as they have as yet been worked out, the distinctive features of the typical members of each of the three great divisions, and then show into what sub- ordinate groups each of them seems to be divided. To begin with the Ethiopian, Negroid or Melanian, or “black” type. It is characterised by a dark, often nearly black, complexion ; black hair, of the kind called “ frizzly ” or, incorrectly, “ woolly,” z.e. each hair being closely rolled up upon itself, a condition always associated with a more or less flattened or elliptical transverse section ; a moderate or scanty development of beard; an almost invariably dolichocephalic skull; small and moderately retreating malar bones (mesopic face!); a very broad and flat nose, platyrhine in the skeleton ; moderate or low orbits ; prominent eyes; thick, everted lips ; prognathous jaws ; large teeth (macrodont) ; a narrow pelvis (index in the maie 90 to 100) ; a long fore arm (humero-radial index 80), and certain other proportions of the body and limbs which are being gradually worked out and reduced to numerical expression as material for so doing accumulates. The most characteristic examples of the second great type, the Mongolian or Xanthous or “yellow,” have a yellow or brownish complexion; coarse, straight hair, without any tendency to curl, and nearly round in section, on all other parts of the surface except the scalp, scanty and late in appearing ; a skull of variable form, mostly mesocephalic (though extremes both of dolichocephaly and brachyce- phaly are found in certain groups of this type) : a broad and flat face, with prominent, anteriorly-projecting malar bones (platyopic face) ; nose small, mesorhine or lepto- rhine ; orbits high and round, with very little development of glabella or supraciliary ridges; eyes sunken, and with the aperture between the lids narrow ; in the most typical members of the group with a vertical fold of skin over the inner canthus, and with the outer angle slightly elevated ; jaws mesognathous; teeth of moderate size (mesodont) ; the proportions of the limbs and form of the pelvis have yet to be worked out, the results at present obtained showing great diversity among different indi- viduals of what appear to be well-marked races of the group, but this is perhaps due to the insufficient number of individuals as yet examined with accuracy. The last type, which, for want of a better name, I still call by that which has the priority, Caucasian, or “ white,” has usually a light-complexioned skin (although in some, in so far aberrant cases, it is as dark as in the Negroes) ; hair fair or black, soft, straight, or wavy, in section inter- mediate between the flattened and cylindrical form ; beard fully developed ; form of cranium various, mostly mesocephalic ; malar bones retreating ; face narrow and projecting in the middle line (pro-opic) ; orbits moderate ; nose narrow and prominent (leptorhine) ; jaws orthogna- thous; teeth small (microdont); pelvis broad (pelvic index of male 80); forearm short, relatively to humerus) (humero-radial index 74). : In endeavouring further to divide up into minor groups the numerous and variously-modified individuals which cluster around one or other of these great types, a process quite necessary for many practical or descriptive purposes, the distinctions afforded by the study of physical charac- ters are often so slight that it becomes necessary to take other considerations into account, among which geogra- phical distribution and language hold an important place. I. The Ethiopian or Negroid races may be primarily divided as follows :— A. African or typical Negroes—inhabitants of all the Oldfield Thomas, in a paper read before the Anthropological Institute, Jan. 13, 1885. - —- ——- Fel, 19, 1885] central portion of the African continent, from the Atlantic on the west to the Indian Ocean on the east, greatly mixed all along their northern frontier with Hamitic and Semitic Melanochroi, a mixture which, taking place in various proportions and under varied conditions, has given rise to many of the numerous races and tribes inhabiting the Soudan. A branch of the African Negroes are the Bantu—distin- guished chiefly, if not entirely, by the structure of their language. Physically indistinguishable from the other negroes where they come in contact in the Equatorial regions of Africa, the Southern Bantu, or Kaffirs, as they are generally called, show a marked modification of type, being lighter in colour, having a larger cranial capacity, less marked prognathism, and smaller teeth. Some of these changes may possibly be due to crossing into the next race. B. The Hottentots and Bushmen form a very distinct modification of the Negro race. They formerly inhabited a much larger district than at present; but, encroached upon by the Bantu from the north and the Dutch and English from the south, they are now greatly diminished, and indeed threatened with extinction. The Hottentots espe- cially are much mixed with other races, and under the influence of a civilisation which has done little to improve their moral condition, they have lost most of their distinc- tive peculiarities. When pure-bred they are of moderate stature, have a yellowish-brown complexion, with very frizzly hair, which, being less abundant than that of the ordinary negro, has the appearance of growing in separate tufts. The forehead and chin are narrow, and the cheek- bones wide, giving a lozenge shape to the whole face. The nose is very flat, and the lips prominent. In their anatomical peculiarities, and almost everything except size, the Bushmen agree with the Hottentots ; they have, however, some special characters, for while they are the most platyrhine of races, the prognathism so character- istic of the negro type is nearly absent. This, however, may be the retention of an infantile character so often found in races of diminutive stature, as it is in all the smaller species of a natural group of animals. The cranium of a Bushman, taken altogether, is one of the best marked of any race, and could not be mistaken for that of any other. Their relation to the Hottentots, how- ever, appears to be that of a stunted and outcast branch, living the lives of the most degraded of savages among the rocky caves and mountains of the land of which the comparatively civilised and pastoral Hottentots inhabited the plains. Perhaps the Negrillos of Hamy, certain diminutive round-headed people of Central and Western Equatorial Africa, may represent a distinct branch of the Negro race, but their numbers are few, and they are very much mixed with the true Negroes in the districts in which they are found. They form the only exceptions to the general dolichocephaly of the African branch of the Negro race. C. Oceanic Negroes or Melanestans.—These include the Papuans of New Guinea and the majority of the inhabitants of the islands of the Western Pacific, and form also a substratum of the population, greatly mixed with other races, of regions extending far beyond the present centre of their area of distribution. They are represented, in what may be called a hyper- typical form, by the extremely dolichocephalic Kai Colos, or mountaineers of the interior of the Fiji Islands, although the coast population of the same group have lost their distinctive characters by crossing. In many parts of New Guinea and the great chain of islands extending eastwards and southwards ending with New Caledonia, they are found in a more or less pure condition, especially in the interior and more inaccessible portions of the islands, almost each of which shows special modifications of the type recognisable in details of structure. Taken altogether their chief physical distinction from the African Negroes NATURE 365 lies in the fact that the glabella and supra-orbital ridges are generally well developed in the males, whereas in Africans this region is usually smooth and flat. The nose, also, especially in the northern part of their geographical range, New Guinea, and the neighbouring islands, is narrower (often mosorhine) and prominent. The cranium is gene- rally higher and narrower. It is, however, possible to find African and Melanesian skulls quite alike in essential characters. The now extinct inhabitants of Tasmania are probably pure, but aberrant, members of the Melanesian group, which have undergone a modification from the original type, not by mixture with other races, but in consequence of long isolation, during which special characters have gradually developed. Lying completely out of the track of all civilisation and commerce, even of the most primitive kind, they were little liable to be subject to the influence of any other race, and there is in fact nothing among their characters which could be accounted for in this way, as they are intensely, even exaggeratedly, Negroid in the form of nose, projection of mouth, and size of teeth, typi- cally so in character of hair, and aberrant chiefly in width of skull in the parietal region. A cross with any of the Polynesian or Malay races sufficiently strong to produce this, would, in all probability, have also left some traces on other parts of their organisation. On the other hand, in many parts of the Melanesian region there are distinct evidences of large admixture with Negrito, Malay, and Polynesian elements in varying proportions, producing numerous physical modifications. In many of the inhabitants of the great island of New Guinea itself and of those lying around it this mixture can be traced. In the people of Micronesia in the north, and New Zealand in the south, though the Melanesian element is present, it is completely overlaid by the Polynesian, but there are probably few, if any, of the islands of the Pacific in which it does not form some factor in the composite character of the natives. ‘ The inhabitants of the continent of Australia have long been a puzzle to ethnologists. Of Negroid complexion, features, and skeletal characters, yet without the charac- teristic frizzly hair, their position has been one of great difficulty to determine. They have, in fact, been a stum- bling-block in the way of every system proposed. The solution, supported by many considerations too lengthy to enter into here, appears to lie in the supposition that they are not a distinct race at all, that is, not a homo- geneous group formed by the gradual modification of one of the primitive stocks, but rather a cross between two already-formed branches of these stocks. According to this view, Australia was originally peopled with frizzly- haired Melanesians, such as those which still do, or did till the recent European invasion, dwell in the smaller islands which surround the north, east, and southern portions of the continent, but that a strong infusion of some other race, probably a low form of Caucasian Melanochroi, such as that which still inhabits the interior of the southern parts of India, has spread throughout the land from the north-west, and produced a modification of the physical characters, especially of the hair. This influence did not extendacross Bass’s Straits into Tasmania, where, as just said, the Melanesian element remained in its purity. It is more strongly marked in the northern and central parts of Australia than on many portions of the southern and western coasts, where the lowness of type and more curly hair, sometimes closely approaching to frizzly, show a stronger retention of the Melanesian element. If the evidence should prove sufficiently strong to establish this view of the origin of the Australian natives, it will no longer be correct to speak of a primitive Australian, or even Australoid, race or type, or look for traces of the former existence of such a race anywhere out of their own land. Proof of the origin of such a race is, however, very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, and 366 I know nothing to exclude the possibility of the Aus- tralians being mainly the direct descendants of a very primitive human type, from which the frizzly-haired Negroes may be an offset. This character of hair must be a specialisation, for it seems very unlikely that it was the attribute of the common ancestors of the human race. D. The fourth branch of the Negroid race consists of the diminutive round-headed people called Negritos, still found ina pure or unmixed state in the Andaman Islands, and forming a substratum of the population, though now greatly mixed with invading races, especially Malays, in the Philippines, and many of the islands of the Indo- Malayan Archipelago, and perhaps of some parts of the southern portion of the mainland of Asia. They also probably contribute to the varied population of the great island of Papua or New Guinea, where they appear to merge into the taller, longer-headed and longer-nosed Melanesians proper. They show, in a very marked manner, some of the most striking anatomical peculiari- ties of the Negro race, the frizzly hair, the proportions of the limbs, especially the humero-radial index, and the form of the pelvis; but they differ in many cranial and facial characters, both from the African Negroes on the one hand, and the typical Oceanic Negros, or Melanesians, on the other, and form a very distinct and well-charac- terised group. II.—The principal groups that can be arranged around the Mongolian type are — A. The Eskimo, who appear to be a branch of the typical North Asiatic Mongols, who in their wanderings northwards and eastwards across the American continent, isolated almost as perfectly as an island population would be, hemmed in on one side by the eternal Polar ice and on the other by hostile tribes of American Indians, with which they rarely, if ever, mingled, have gradually de- veloped characters most of which are strongly-expressed modifications of those seen in their allies who still remain on the western side of Behring’s Straits. Every special characteristic which distinguishes a Japanese from the average of mankind is seen in the Eskimo in an ex- aggerated degree, so that there can be no doubt about their being derived from the same stock. It has also been shown that these special characteristics gradually increase from west to east, and are seen in their greatest perfection in the inhabitants of Greenland ; at all events, in those where no crossing with the Danes has taken place. Such scanty remains as have yet been discovered of the early inhabitants of Europe present no structural affinities to the Eskimo, although it is not unlikely that similar external conditions may have led them to adopt similar modes of life. In fact, the Eskimo are such an intensely specialized race, perhaps the most specialized of any in existence, that it is probable that they are of compara- tively late origin, and were not as a race contemporaries with the men whose rude flint tools found in our drifts excite so much interest and speculation as to the makers, who have been sometimes, though with little evidence to justify such an assumption, reputed to be the ances- tors of the present inhabitants of the northernmost parts of America. B. The typical Mongolian races constitute the present population of Northern and Central Asia. They are not very distinctly, but still conveniently for descriptive pur- poses, divided into two groups, the Northern and the Southern. a. The former, or Mongolo-Altaic group, are united by the affinities of their language. These people, from the cradle of their race in the great central plateau of Asia, have at various times poured out their hordes upon the lands lying to the west, and have penetrated almost to the heart of Europe. The Finns, the Magyars, and the Turks, are each the descendants of one of these waves of incursion, but they have for so many generations inter- NATURE [| fed. 19, 1885 mingled with the peoples through whom they have passed in their migrations, or have found in the countries in which they have ultimately settled, that their original physical characters have been completely modified. Even the Lapps, that diminutive tribe of nomads inhabiting the most northern parts of Europe, supposed to be of Mon- golian descent, show so little of the special attributes of that branch, that it is difficult to assign them a place in it in a classification based upon physical characters. The Japanese are said by their language to be allied rather to the Northern than to the following branch of the Mongolian stock. 6. The Southern Mongolian group, divided from the former chiefly by language and habits of life, includes the greater part of the population of China, Thibet, Burmah, and Siam. C. The next great division of Mongoloid people is the Malay, subtypical, it is true, but to which an easy transition can be traced from the most characteristic members of the type. D. The brown Polynesians, Malayo-Polynesians, Ma- horis, Sawaioris, or Kanakas, as they have been variously called, seen in their greatest purity in the Samoan, Tongan, and Eastern Polynesian Islands, are still more modified, and possess less of the characteristic Mon- golian features; but still it is difficult to place them anywhere else in the system. The large infusion of the Melanesian element throughout the Pacific, must never be forgotten in accounting for the characters of the people now inhabiting the islands, an element in many respects so diametrically opposite to the Mon- golian, that it would materially alter the characters, especially of the hair and beard, which has been with many authors a stumbling-block to the affiliation of the Polynesian with the Mongol stock. The mixture is physically a fine one, and in some proportions produces a combination, as seen, for instance, in the Maories of New Zealand, which in all definable characters approaches quite as near, or nearer, to the Caucasian type, than to either of the stocks from which it may be presumably derived. This resemblance has led some writers to infer a real extension of the Caucasian element at some very early period with the Pacific Islands, and to look upon their inhabitants as the product of a mingling of all three great types of men. Though this is a very plausible theory, it rests on little actual proof, as the com- bination of Mongolo-Malayan and Melanesian characters in different degrees to the local variations certain to arise in communities so isolated from each other and exposed to such varied conditions as the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands, would probably account for all the modifications observed among them. E. The native population (before the changes wrought by the European conquest) of the great continent of America, excluding the Eskimo, present, considering the vast extent of the country they inhabit and the great differences of climate and other surrounding conditions, a remarkable similarity of essential characters, with much diversity of detail. The construction of the numerous American languages, of which as many as twelve hundred have been distin- guished, is said to point to unity of origin, as, though widely different in many respects, they are all, or nearly all, constructed on the same general grammatical prin- ciple—that called Zolysynxthesés—which differs from that of the languages of any of the Old World nations. The mental characteristics of all the American tribes have much that is in common ; and the very different stages of culture to which they had attained at the time of the conquest, as that of the Incas and Aztecs, and the hunt- ing or fishing tribes of the north and south, which have been quoted as evidence of diversities of race, were not greater than those between different nations of Europe, as Gauls and Germans on the one hand, and Greeks and te aes Feb. 19, 1885 | NATURE 367 Romans on the other, in the time of Julius Czsar. Yet all these were Aryans, and in treating the Americans as one race it is not intended that they are more closely allied than the different Aryan people of Europe and Asia. The best argument that can be used for the unity of the American race—using the word in a broad sense—is the great difficulty of forming any natural divisions founded upon physical characters. The im- portant character of the hair does not differ throughout the whole continent. It is always straight and lank, long and abundant on the scalp, but sparse elsewhere. The colour of the skin is practically uniform, notwithstanding the enormous differences of climate under which many members of the group exist. In the features and cranium certain special modifications prevail in different districts, but the same forms appear at widely-separated parts of the continent. I have examined skulls from Vancouvers Island, from Peru, and from Patagonia, which were almost undistinguishable from one another. Naturalists who have admitted but four [primary types of the human species, have always found a difficulty with the Americans, hesitating between placing them with the Mongolian or so-called “ yellow” races, or elevating them to the rank of a primary group. Cuvier does not seem to have been able to settle this point to his own satisfac- tion, and leaves it an open question. Although the large majority of Americans have in the special form of the nasal bones, leading to the characteristic high bridge of the nose of the living face, in the well-developed super- ciliary ridge and retreating forehead, characters which distinguish them from the typical Asiatic Mongol, in so many other respects they resemble them so much that, although admitting the difficulties of the case,I am inclined to include them as aberrant members of the Mongolian type. It is, however, quite open to any one adopting the Negro, Mongolian, and Caucasian as pri- mary divisions, also placing the Americans apart as a fourth. Now that the high antiquity of man in America, per- haps as high as that he has in Europe, has been discovered, the puzzling problem, from which part of the Old World the people of America have sprung, has lost its significance. It is quite as likely that the people of Asia may have been derived from America as the reverse. However this may be, the population of America had been, before the time of Columbus, practically isolated from the rest of the world, except at the extreme north. Such visits as those of the early Norsemen to the coasts of Greenland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia, or the possible accidental stranding of a canoe containing survivors of a voyage across the Pacific or the Atlantic, can have had no appre- ciable effect upon the characteristics of the people. It is difficult, therefore, to look upon the anomalous and special characters of the American people as the effects of crossing, as was suggested in the case of the Australians, a consideration which gives more weight to the view of treating them as a distinct primary division. III. The Caucasian, or white division, according to my view, includes the two groups called by Prof. Huxley Xanthochroi and Melanochroi, which, though differing in colour of eyes and hair, agree so closely in all other anatomical characters, as far, at all events, as has at pre- sent been demonstrated, that it seems preferable to con- sider them as modifications of one great type than as primary divisions of the species. Whatever their origin, they are now intimately blended, though in different proportions, throughout the whole of the region of the earth they inhabit ; and it is to the rapid extension of both branches of this race that the great changes now taking place in the ethnology of the world is mainly due. A. The Xanthochroi, or blonde type, with fair hair, eyes, and complexion, chiefly inhabit Northern Europe—Scan- dinavia, Scotland, and North Germany—but, much mixed with the next group, they extend as far as Northern Africa and Affghanistan. Their mixture with Mongoloid people in North Europe has given rise to the Lapps and Finns. B. Melanochroi, with black hair and eyes, and skin of almost all shades trom white to black. They comprise the great majority of the inhabitants of Southern Europe Northern Africa, and South-west Asia, and consist mainly of the Aryan, Semitic, and Hamitic families. The Dra- vidians of India, and probably the Ainos of Japan, the Maoutze of China, also belong to this race, which may have contributed something to the mixed character of some tribes of Indo-China and the Polynesian Islands, and, as before said, given at least the characters of the hair to the otherwise Negroid inhabitants of Australia. In Southern India, they are probably mixed with a negrito element, and in Africa, where their habitat becomes conterminous with that of the Negroes, numerous cross races have sprung up between them all along the frontier line. The ancient Egyptians were nearly pure Melan- ochroi, though often showing in their features traces of their frequent intermarriage with their Ethiopian neighbours to the south. The Copts and fellahs of modern Egypt are their little-changed descendants. In offering this scheme of classification of the human species, I have not thought it necessary to compare it in detail with the numerous systems suggested by previous anthropologists. These will all be found in the general treatises on the subject. As I have remarked before, in its broad outlines it scarcely differs from that proposed by Cuvier nearly sixty years ago, and that the result of the enormous increase of our knowledge during that time having caused such little change, is the best testimony to its being a truthful representation of the facts. Still, however, it can only be looked upon as an approximation. Whatever care be bestowed upon the arrangement of already acquired details, whatever judgment be shown in their due subordination one to another, the acquisition of new knowledge may at any time call for a complete or partial re-arrangement of our system. W. H. FLOWER NOTES WE have to announce the death of Mr. Geoffrey Nevill, who died at Davos Platz on the roth inst. He was for many years Assistant Superintendent in the Calcutta Museum, and had charge there of two conchological collections, which were entirely arranged and named by him. He did some good work there. In a recent issue we gave some account of the Liverpool Cor- poration free lectures, which were then in the experimental stage. Since then the lectures have been continued every winter, and we should like to call the attention to them of those of our readers who are interested in the promotion of elementary scientific knowledge among the lower classes, and especially those who have, either as town-councillors or magistrates in their respective towns, influence in their own localiies. We have before us a programme of the present course, copies of which can be obtained from Mr. P. Cowell, Liverpool Free Public Library. The lectures are given every Monday, Tues- day, Wednesday, and Thursday from January 5 to March 12 inclusive, in the Rotunda Lecture Hall of the Library, which holds more than 1500 people. The entire expense of them is defrayed by the Corporation, and admission is perfectly free. A member of the Corporation invariably occupies the chair at each lecture. Mr. Lant Carpenter lectured there on the night of Feb- ruary 12 upon ‘‘Sunspots and their Connection with Weather Changes,” to an audience of great extent. It was composed almost exclusively of ‘‘the great unwashed,” who had come in straight from their work, or, alas, in some cases, from their inforced idleness; the Liverpool dock porters were there in 368 NATURE [/re6. 19, 1885 their hundreds! The audience, though larger than usual, was not exceptionally so. Notwithstanding the somewhat technical and abstruse nature of the subject, involving an explanation of the application of the principles of spectrum analysis to solar physics (in which the oxyhydrogen lantern illustrations were, during half the lecture, a great assistance), this large audience of unskilled labourers, men and youths, listened for nearly an hour and a half with the closest attention, strongly resenting the solitary attempt at interruption, and at the close of the lecture were most enthusiastic in their approval. Why cannot the same thing be done in other large towns, and must we wait for London municipal reform to get it done in the metropolis ? In La Nature of February 14, under the title of ‘‘ The Struggle for Existence,” is a curious account of an attack on a dog by a flock of crows, The account of the affray is given by M. Magin, director of St. Albert Glassworks, Anecht, Nord. M. Magin states that in January last, when the ground was covered with snow, his dog (a G-zffom) was in a field adjoining the workshop, when he was attacked by a flock of crows. About a hundred were in the field, but only about thirty actually joined. Dividing themselves into two parties, one attacked the poor dog before, and another behind. Rising about two metres above ground, they would plunge their beaks invariably into a bleeding wound. When the dog was rescued by the workmen he was in a dilapidated state, his eye torn out, anda deep wound in the neck. The crows remained about the place for some time after the rescue of the dog. THE Statistical Society proposes to celebrate the jubilee of its foundation on June 22 and 23 next. It is proposed to invite to the celebration distinguished statisticians from foreign countries, several of whom, it is hoped, will be Government representatives, THE Mersey tunnel was opened on the 13th inst. ; it was begun in the end of 1879. It may be stated that the length of the projected railway is two miles and a half, from James Street, Liverpool, to Green Lane, Tranmere ; and from shaft to shaft the distance immediately beneath the River Mersey is about one mile. For the two stations in James Street, Liverpool, and Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, the necessary excavations were some time ago completed. For the first time, we believe, in English warfare, balloons are to be utilised in the Soudan Campaign. The transport Queen sailed on Monday from the Thames with the Balloon and Telegraph Corps for the Suakin Expeditionary Force. Three balloons are taken out with all the necessary appliances to be used for taking observations of the enemy’s positions. All have been made at the School of Engineering. Compressed hydrogen for inflating the balloons is carried in iron cylinders, 12 feet long by 1 foot diameter, but these are only fora reserve supply, and, weighing half a ton each, will be left behind at the base of operations, where, also, a gas factory and pumping station will be put up. Materials for this purpose are on board the ship, jncluding a small gas-holder, and all the necessary chemicals for making more gas are provided. About a hundred lighter cylin- ders, easily carried by men, form part of the equipment. Each of these, which are 9 feet long, contains 120 feet of hydrogen in a compressed state, and, as they are emptied, they will be taken back to be recharged at the Suakin station. One waggon, con- taining one ton of stores, will suffice for a balloon ascent. Captive ascents only will be made, in which the balloons will be tethered by rope or wire, both of which are taken. Communi- cation by telephone will be established between the car and the ground, and the chief employment of the balloons will be to take observations of the enemy’s movements. A MEETING, called together with the object of obtaining a more extended support for the Parkes Museum, held at the Mansion House on Friday, the Lord Mayor was (Mr, Alderman Nottage) presiding. The Lord Mayor, in opening the proceedings, said the object of the organisers of the Parkes Museum was to promote the physical welfare and happi- ness of, he might say, the human race. Capt. Douglas Galton read a statement on behalf of the joint committee of members and council, from which it appeared that the museum was founded at a meeting presided over by Sir William Jenner in July, 1876, in memory of the late Edmund Alexander Parkes, who was the first Professor of Hygiene inthis country. ‘The Queen and other members of the Royal Family had subscribed to the funds, and had taken great interest in the Institution. Out of it had arisen the International Medical and Sanitary Exhibition, and the Health Exhibition. The Museum is open free for a part of every day in the week. The lectures have been given for the benefit of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union, the Institution of Builders’ Foremen and Clerks of Works, and the Metro- politan Building Societies. The Museum has also been placed at the disposal of teachers of hygiene, and classes have attended from University College, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Guy’s Hospital, the Royal Engineers, and the Young Men’s Christian Association, The reading-room, with its valuable library of sanitary literature, has always been a distinguished feature of the Museum, and has recently been enhanced by the addition of 1500 volumes contributed by the Council of the International Health Exhibition. For upwards of eighty years the Museum has been maintained by voluntary contributions. To keep it open to the public it has become necessary that at least 1000/. should be raised by the end of the present month. The Duke of Cambridge moved ‘‘ That the statement which has been read affords conclusive evidence that the Parkes Museum of Hygiene is meeting a great educational want, and is worthy of increased support.” There were two chief considerations which presented themselves to his mind—the first was, that the Society must get out of the difficulties it was in ; and next, the Museum must be established on a sure footing, so as to enable its advantages to be extended. The premises at present occupied by the Society must be re-engaged, and it would be necessary to widen its utility in coming years. Mr, Ernest Hart said he thought the wealthy and practical City of London could not be proud of its attitude towards this valuable Institution. Nearly all the supporters of the Museum came from the West-end, and were largely from among the professional and medical classes. The importance of the Museum might be gathered from an outside indication— namely, that the idea had been imitated, and the example extended in the United States, in France, in Italy, and Japan, He thought they were entitled to support, not only from the great merchants and bankers of the City, but from the Corpora- tion and the City Companies. The Parkes Museum was a mere skeleton sanitary museum. It was without a laboratory, without lectures, without demonstrators. In other countries the State subsidised their Health Museums, and that it was deserving of the highest recognition from a merely commercial point of view had been conclusively shown by Sir James Paget’s statistics as to the pecuniary national loss from preventible disease. A list of subscriptions amounting to 1006/. was announced. THE death is announced of Mr. Hodder M. Westropp, the well-known archeologist, at the age of sixty-four years. PROF. JOHN MARSHALL on Saturday, in the theatre of the Royal College of Surgeons, delivered the annual MHunterian oration before a distinguished medical audience. The orator considered the mental attitude which ‘‘ the Founder of Scientific Surgery”? would probably assume towards the active work and salient opinions of our times. The revelations of microscopical research and the growth of a new department of anatomy, histo- logy, would have delighted Hunter, and his acquiescence in the truth of amodified cell-theory of the formation of tissues, and in » Feb. 19, 1885 | NATURE 369 the doctrine of the protoplasmic origin of animal and vegetable life, could be easily imagined. Not only as a physiologist, but as a pathologist, Hunter was a great vivisector, and it might be taken for granted that he would rank himself with those who now claim the right of man, for beneficial purposes, or even in the pursuit of knowledge, to attempt to discover the processes of animal life by tests and trials on living animals. While averse to unnecessary repeated experiments, his large views of the unity ofthe ‘* principle of life” and of the community of organisation and of action throughout the whole animal kingdom would lead him to disregard the objections of those who insist on the use- lessness of experiments on animals so far as concerns their application to man. Hunter did not spare his own body, but subjected himself to an inoculation experiment of a very grave character, in order to test opinions on a pathological question, and to put to proof the efficacy of certain variations in treatment. Since his time the inquiry as to the functions of the nerves and the nerve centres had made great strides, almost exclusively by means of experiments. Had Hunter lived now he would have been a staunch evolutionist, his belief being that ‘‘ from the variations produced by culture it would appear that the animal is so susceptible of impression as to vary Nature’s actions, and this is even carried into propagation.” Hunter expressed the opinion that in time it might perhaps happen the human race should be exterminated by specific poison diseases; but he re- garded it as more probable that many poisons were extirpated, and that new ones might arise in their stead every day. THE National Fish Culture Association are about to establish a Museum of British and Foreign Fishes, and a large number of valuable specimens have already been presented for preservation. The project has met with unmistakable signs of approbation, and is likely to receive the hearty co-operation of the ichthyological world. The latest addition to the collection is an exceedingly fine specimen of a trout weighing 23 lbs. In an address at the last meeting of the Society of Meteorology of France, M. Hervé-Mangon described the growth of meteoro- logical science in that country. It is curious, he said, that in the first part of this century, meteorology had fallen into strange discredit with the most distinguished men of science, one of whom called it ‘‘the poor science.” The Hydrometric Society of Lyons, founded in 1840, was the only one in France occu- pying itself with atmospheric phenomena; the AZeteor ological Annual was not founded till 1849, and the Society of Meteor- elogy till 1853. In 1855 Leverrier created the system of tele- graphic warnings. In 1878 the Society succeeded in getting the Goyernment to reorganise the system of telegraph weather reports, and to create a central meteorological bureau, while numerous observatories had been erected all over the country, and Paris was now in connection with 1500 stations. In 1852 France participated in the International Congress of Meteorology at Brussels, but for twenty-six years after that they took part in no similar reunion. But, owing to M. Hervé-Mangon’s exer- tions, the Congress of 1878 was invited to be held in Paris, and in 1879 France took formal part in the Congress at Rome. M. HANSEN-BLANGSTED, of Paris, has recently published, under the title of ‘* Un Progrés,” an account of the manner in which the metric system of weights and measures is extending over Europe. Confining himself to Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Norway since 1870, he points out that in German geography down to 1869 all the measures were given in the system of the country. In 1865 Petermann’s Mittheilungen expressed geo- graphical measures of length, height, depth, and superficial area in German or English measures. In 1869 French measures -were employed, that is, they were put side by side with the English and German. Since 1875 the metric system is almost exclusively employed, and it is always added where a writer does not use it. Prior to 1870 the metric system was rarely employed in the Geographische Fahrduch, in 1876 it had made much progress, and now it is almost the only one in use. Dr, Daniel’s large geography in four volumes, the fifth edition of which was published by Dr. Delisch in 1882, is used everywhere throughout Germany, and is an undoubted authority. Here all the geographical measures are given according to the metric system ; the German system is not used even in parenthesis. In Austria we find that Dr. Umlauft uses the metric system exclu- sively in his ‘‘ Rundschau fiir Geographie und Statistik.” In “Das eiserne Jahrhundert” also the sameis the rule. Dr. Umlauft has lately published a work devoted wholly to the geography of the Austrian empire, which is widely spread and used in schools. He employs in it only the metrical system. In Norway, the geographical works of the former Minister, M. Broch, both in Norwegian and French, have had much effect in propagating the knowledge and employment of the metric system, for he uses the latter side by side with the Norwegian measures. For the first time in the geography of P. Geelmnyden, published at Christiania in 1882, the metric system is exclusively adopted, the Norwegian measures being placed in parentheses. This work forms one of the text-books for primary and advanced instruction in the schools. M. Nixirinsky has recently made a series of experiments for determining whether the amount of ash given by burnt tea-leaves really increases with the decrease of the quality of tea, as was asserted a few years ago. Taking different kinds of tea, the price of which was respectively 72, 64, 34, 12°8, and 12°12 Chinese /azs, he found that they gave respectively the following percentage of ash: 5°16, 5°21, 5°66, 5°91, and 6°32. The dif- ference is thus very small. A cheap green ‘‘brick-tea” gave a percentage of 6°87. The Orenburg teas, which are sold under the name of Buray-tea, at the price of 12 and 5 roubles for 16 kilogrammes, and are adulterated with leaves of Apilobium angustifolium, gave afar greater quantity of ash, namely, 7°87 and 10°43 per cent., thus affording a means for discovering this kind of adulteration. THE Report of the Botanical Record Club for 1883 is just published. For those interested in the details of the geographical distribution of British plants, these annual publications form an indispensable supplement to the posthumous edition of H. C. Watson’s ‘‘ Topographical Botany,” published in 1883. PROF. STRICKER’S work, ‘‘ Studien tiber die Sprachvorstel- Jungen,” has now been translated into French by F. Schwiedland. This French edition, which has been enlarged by some new chapters by the author himself, is published by Felix Alcan at Paris. OLDENBOURG of Munich has just published ‘‘ Die Hieracien Mittel-Europas. Monographische Bearbeitung der Piloselloiden. mit besonderer Beriicksichtigung der mitteleuropaischen Sippen,’ by C. von Nageli and A. Peter. AN officer of the French Staff has gone to Algiers and Tunis in order to continue the work of the late Col. Roudaire. But it is not likely that he will succeed, although he is strongly sup- ported by M. de Lesseps. In the colony the opinion is strongly against the scheme. The argument of its cpponents is the insalubrity which would result from the presence of these salt waters in an extremely hot country without any appreciable current, and frequent changes of level owing to evaporation. WE understand that the Quarterly Journal of Microscopy and Natural Science will in future be published by Messrs. Bailliére, Tindall, and Cox. Mr. A. S. OLIFF and Mr. J. D. Ogilby have been appointed assistants in the Australian Museum. 379 SHocKS of earthquake continue to be felt in the south of Spain. A telegram from Granada on the 12th stated that slight shocks continued to be felt at Alhama, and on that day there was a shock at Terre del Campo near Jaen. There were also shocks in the evening of the 14th at Granada and Velez Malaga. Die Natur takes advantage of the attention at present directed to South Africa, to recall the story of the first astronomical ex- pedition to the Cape. The first expedition ever sent across the seas for such a purpose as astronomical observation was that of Jean Richer, which went to Cayenne on behalf of the Paris Academy, in order that simultaneous observations of Mars should be made there and in Paris. The Cape expedition took place thirty years later. Baron Krosigk, its promoter, had founded a private observatory at Berlin, where observations of the moon’s culminations were made for a long period, and observers were sent to the Cape to mnake corresponding observations there. It was hoped that by collating the observations in both places the moon’s parallax would be obtained. So far as this was con- cerned, the expedition failed. Wagner, the founder and first head of the public observatory at Berlin, carried out his part of the work in Prussia, but Kolb, who had charge of the Cape expedition, was guilty of great negligence, so that the results were inconsistent and unsatisfactory. In 1719 he published a book entitled ‘‘Caput bonz spei hodiernum,” in which he described everything at the Cape except what he was sent to do. The work which Krosigk hoped to do then was not completed for another forty years, when Lacaille and Lalande made the necessary observations, the one at the Cape, the other in Paris. Mr. Cart ARMBRUSTER will begin a course of five lectures at the Royal Institution on ‘‘ The Life, Theory, and Works of Richard Wagner,” on Saturday, February 28 (with vocal and instrumental illustrations), In order to ascertain the truth of the assertions recently made by certain ichthyologists in regard to the capacity of Canadian salmon to exist in sea water, an experiment has been made in the South Kensington Aquarium, several specimens being de- posited in one of the salt-water tanks, where they lived for eight days, when they expired in rapid succession. This entirely dis- sipates the theory which obtained credence hitherto in numerous quarters. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include two Laughing Kingfishers (Dacelo gigantea) from Australia, two Hooded Crows (Corvus corax) from Conne- mara, Ireland, presented by Lady Brassey, F.Z.S.; a Sharp-nosed Crocodile (Crocodilus acutus) from Nicaragua, presented by Mr. C. G. Brown, M.R.C.S. ; a Common Boa (Boa constrictor) from South America, deposited ; a Cook’s Phalanger (Phalan- gista cookt 2?) from Australia, a Globose Curassow (Crax globicera) from Central America, two Stanley Parrakeets (Platy- cercus icterotis jv.) from Western Australia, purchased; two Long-fronted Gerbilles (Gerdi//us dongifrons), born in the Gardens. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN AN ANCIENT OCCULTATION OF JUPITER.—In Roger de Hoyeden’s Chronicle, under the year 756, we read :—‘‘ Kodem anno Balthere anachorita vitam sanctorum secutus est, et migra- vit ad Dominum; Luna autem sanguineo rabore superducta octavo Kalendas Decembris quindecima ztate, id e-t plena, sicque paulatim decrescentibus tenebris ad lucem pristinam per- venit ; nam, mirabiliter, ipsam lunam sequente lucida stella et pertranseunte tanto spatio eam antecedebat illuminatam, quanto sequebatur, antequam esset obscurata.” (Chronica Magistri Rogert de Hovedene, edited by William Stubbs, M.A., vol. i. p- 7-) Simeon of Durham records the phenomenon in similar "Net TORE [ fred. 19, 1885 terms, and also dates it in A.D. 756; but this has been long known to be a mistake, the eclipse of the moon, to which refer- ence is made, having taken place on the evening of November 23, A.D. 755; Calves at first supposed that the star which was occulted by the moon at the time of this eclipse might have been the “Oculus Tauri” or Aldebaran, and submitted the point to computation, though, as Pingré remarks, this was unnecessary, as astar with a latitude of more than 5° could not be occulted by an eclipsed moon. Struyck, in the first edition of his well- known geographical and astronomical treatise, published in 1740, stated that, oa calculating the place of the moon, he had found there was no bright star near her at the time, and it occurred to him that perhaps the planet Jupiter might have been occulted by the eclipsed moon, which, on applying ‘‘ Whiston’s Tables,” he ascertained to have been actually the case: the tables re- ferred to were those of Halley in their early form. Struyck found the time of the planet’s disappearance 6h. 30m. at London, and that of the reappearance 6h. 57m. (see Zach’s Monattliche Correspondenz, i. 576). The following results will probably supply a much closer approximation to the actual circumstances of the phenomenon recorded by the English historians. For the elements of the eclipse of the moon we have— G.M.T. of opposition in R.A., 755, November 23, 6h. 25m. 7s. Oo ‘ “ R.A. a ee oc sb ve FORBES Moon’s hourly motion in R.A.... 30 54 Sun’s yy oF we ae 2 41 Moon’s declination wae a al 21) “A20uN. Sun’s as Bs oes Tah KET ONS TES. Moon’s hourly motion in declination .. 8 8N. Sun’s A af é o 28S. Moon’s horizontal parallax 54 16 Sun’s oH on 09g Moon’s true semi-diameter 14 47 Sun’s oD 5p : 16 16 The sidereal time at Greenwich noon was 16h. 7m. 34s. The moon was full at 6h. 30m. From the above elements we find— h. m. First contact with the shadow ... Nov. 23, 4 38 Beginning of total phase ... ... ... ro 5 47 End of total phase PA dee: Be an 7 18 Last contact with the shadow .,. ... A 8 27 Employing Bouvard’s Tables of Jupiter the following are the positions of the planet :— Paris M.T. Apparent R.A. Apparent decl. h. o 4 “ o 4 “ TN ees Sea) Dee OM ASS zo 50 12 N. Soe cha So ee eOd2ae 20 50 oN The log. distance of Jupiter from the earth was 0°6163. Calculating the circumstances of the occultation for London, we find with the above data that the disappearance would take place at 7h. 35m., and the reappearance at 8h. 33m. ; the former would therefore occur while the moon was still partially eclipsed, and the latter a few minutes after she emerged from the earth’s shadow. It may be mentioned that the moon’s place has been deter- mined in the same manner as for the occultation of Mars observed by the Chinese at Siganfou B.c. 69, February 14, and that of Venus, A.D. 361, March 20, at Nankin, the phenomena being well represented in both cases, as previously detailed in this column. No doubt the introduction of Leverrier’s Tables of Jupiter would somewhat modify the times of disappearance and reappearance on November 23, 755, here given ; our object has been merely to confirm Struyck’s explanation of the recorded phenomenon. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, FEBRUARY 22-28 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, 1s here employed. ) At Greenwich on February 22 Sun rises, 7h. 1m. ; souths, 12h. 13m. 39’6s. 3 sets, 17h. 26m. ; decl. on meridian, 10° 1’ S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 3h. 37m. 4 — * _— Feb. 19, 1885 ] NATURE 371 Moon (at First Quarter at 1th.) rises, roh. 37m. ; souths, 18h. 19m. ; sets, 2h. 8m.* ; decl. on meridian, 17° 8’ N. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on Meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. F fi Mercury ... 6 44 Ir 18 15 52 17 40. Venus 6 30 Tes 15 40 16 545. Wotrsmmn ces 7 St ca 12 0 79 Tle 52156 Napier <. 16 56"... ‘oO 4 Hee 12 28N. Saturn... To 50 18 54 2 28* 21 36 N. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding, and the setting that of the following nominal day. Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- Feb. Star Mag. Disap. Reap. tex to mehbton inverted image h, m. 15 ° 0 22 ... Aldebaran Teen 07217) +. Ky) SO)-s 200330 Payee WaOmbanriese yO! --. 23° 3)... 0 2f.... 145) 288 Zones BeALC) 2872)... 6 =... 15 ‘59 ... 16 24 .... 3401286 Deen ce GACerl-.< 4 Ay les 4 5Siee= 2048308) 28 \tesey BVA. 3407"... 6 UE cen MEY cee yO BemeM CONS ts in 5 ce 0) 5 -- 0) 45 a tA 253 Pawan Ocktantisi=. Oe. 23050) Ledates. 300207 + Occurs on the following day. It may be mentioned that times of disappearance and reap- pearance for the occultation of Aldebaran for various other positions in the United Kingdom will be found in NaTurg, vol. xxxi. p. 322. Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites Feb. h. m. Feb. h. m. 23 22 49 III. occ. disap. | 27 TS i. Tnitraine: 24 2 49 III. ecl. reap. 4 47 II. tr. egr. 5 24 (I. tr. ing. 1S) 16, Ly tre mgs 25 2 32 =I. occ. disap. 20) 35. Ieitra cpr. 4 57 I. ecl. reap. 21 38 IV. tr. ing. 2350) J. tring: PA oye! Pete AG tare ie HS. ey CN Ua aes eae 17 54 I. ecl. reap. 20 58 I. occ. disap. 20 48 II. occ. disap. 23 26 I. ecl. reap. The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. Feb. h. 23 8 Saturn in conjunction with and 3° 44’ north of the Moon. 28 12 Jupiter in conjunction with and 4° 27’ north of the Moon. 28 18 Mars at least distance from the Sun. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES Gen. GorDON, when Governor of the Soudan in 1874, sent home to a friend a map of the route between Suakim, Berber, and Khartoum, drawn by himself. Mr, Stanford has reproduced this map in facsimile by permission, and it will probably be of great interest at the present juncture. Mr. STANFORD has recently issued two maps of the Soudan, in connection with the military operations which are at present being carried on in that region. These maps are most excellent, and must prove highly serviceable to all who wish to follow the course of events. A VOLUME on New Guinea, which should be of great interest, is about to appear in Holland. The former Dutch Resident at Ternate, Mr. van Braam-Morris, in the course of his official tours on the Amberno or Rochussen rivers, succeeded in going a considerable distance to the south. His report, with the accompanying map, is now being prepared for publication by Mr. Robidée van der Aa, who is himself a high authority on New Guinea. Mr. A. M. SKINNER, Vice-President of the Straits branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, has published at Singapore, a Geo- graphy of the Malay Peninsula and the surrounding countries, in three parts, containing almost all that is known regarding the physical and political geography of these regions. ‘The idea of the work was suggested by the Council of the Royal Colonial Institute, applying to the various Colonial Governments for school-books which might be used in schools at home for the instruction of pupils in the position, resources, and general progress of the Colonies. Ir is announced that Mr. Stanley's new work on ‘‘ The Congo” will be published by Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. in April next. UNpER the title of O Zxplorador (the Explorer) a Portuguese journal commenced its appearance with the new year at Lisbon. Tt will appear twice a month, and will chronicle the advance of a in all its branches, but especially that of geography and travel. AT the meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris on the 6th inst. a letter was read from the French consul at Zanzibar describing recent events of geographical interest in Eastern Africa. Lieut. Gouin, Resident of France at Nam-Dinh, in the delta of the Red River, gave some information on the naviga- tion and commercial resources of the southern mouths of the Red River. The most southern of all, the Cua-Day, is said to be navigable for sea-going junks, and to give immediate access to the richest rice-producing provinces of the delta. M. Leon Rousset read an account of a journey of eight months in Turkey. He dealt chiefly with the junction of the Turkish with the European railways. ON A MODIFICATION OF FOUCAULT’S AND AHRENS’S POLARISING PRISMS N tracing by the usual methods the course of rays through one of the polarising prisms recently devised and constructed by Mr. C. D. Ahrens (described in the Yowrnal of the Royal Microscopical Society for September 1884, and in the Philosophi- cal Magazine for last month), I found that, in the case of a ray incident in a direction parallel to the axis of the prism, that component of it which passes through the middle spar-prism as the ordinary ray falls on the second surface of that prism at an angle of 42° 35’. This is greater than the critical angle (37° 12') for ordinary rays passing from cale-spar into air. Hence, if a film of air (as in Foucault’s prism), instead of a film of Canada balsam (as in Ahrens’s prism), is placed between this spar-prism and the next, the ordinary ray will be totally reflected, while the extraordinary component will still emerge and be available as a plane-polar- ised ray for experiments, as in Foucault’s prism. This extraordinary ray, however, is not only deviated on emergence, but also over-corrected for colour ; the deviation from the direction of the original incident ray being— 12° 20’ 12° 35 (as determined by using the light of a hydrogen vacuum-tube), Both the deviation and the dispersion can be almost entirely corrected by passing the ray through a prism of crown glass combined with a prism of very dense flint glass, as shown in the drawing given below. Ka a, calc-spar ; 4, cale-spar ; c, crown glass; d, dense flint glass. For Fraunhofer’s line F Cc ” 22 What is said above respecting the ray incident parallel to the prism-axis applies to all rays incident at angles not greater than 14° with the axis ; and thus the combination forms a polarising prism with an angular field of 28°, about equal to that of an ordinary Nicol’s prism, and far greater than that of a Foucault’s prism (which is only 8°). ; The following points, among others, appear noteworthy in the above prism :— (1) Its length is scarcely more than twice its breadth, the pro- portion between the two dimensions being rather greater than in 372 Foucault’s prism, about the same as in Ahrens’s prism, and much less than in Nicol’s prism. ‘ (2) Only half the prism is made of Iceland spar, a material which is becoming deplorably scarce and expensive (I question if there is in England or elsewhere a piece of spar fit to make a Nicol’s prism of 5 cm. aperture). The saving, however, is not so great as it appears, since the spar-prisms @ and 4 are con- structed on Wollaston’s principle, and involve a certain waste of material, . (3) The combination is not quite free from distortion and chromatic aberration (the latter being due, of course, to irra- tionality of dispersion ; it is practically impossible to achromatise spar with glass), but the imperfection is not serious enough to interfere with its use for many optical purposes, especially as a polariser. (4) In using it, a diaphragm should be placed in such a posi- tion as to limit the entering cone of rays to 28°, since at a greater angle (at any rate, on one side of the field) the ordinary rays are not separated by total reflexion. Doubtless the prism may be improved upon by better authori- ties than myself; but I think that the principle of using a ‘‘double-image”’ prism to increase the divergence of the ordinary and extraordinary rays before one of them is separated by total reflexion is worth attention. Ahrens’s polarising prism is certainly a remarkable one, I do not think that a double-image prism has ever been previously constructed in which the extraordinary ray emerges without deviation, while the other ray is deviated to the extent of very nearly 60°. H. G. MADAN Eton College, February 17 THE RESULTS OF THE SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO SODANKYLA THE Government of Finland having provided further funds, the Expedition has continued its researches at Sodankyla, _ in Finnish Lapland, during the year 1883-84 (NATURE, vol. xxvii. pp. 322 and 389). The plan of working this year was chiefly confined to the study of the terrestrial galvanic currents, atmospheric electric currents, and the phenomena of light produced by the apparatus constructed by me for the purpose. The number of daily meteorological and magnetic observations was restricted to three, viz. at 6 a.m., 2 10 o’clock p.m., Gottingen mean time, but on the Ist and 15th of each month observations were taken every five minutes, as in the previous year, and on the 8th and 22nd of each month, from 8.30 p.m. till 10.30 p.m., observations were taken every half minute. The general meteorological and magnetic observations were continued without interruption until August 22, 1884. In the account of the observations on the luminous phenomena will be included a 7ésumé of the general character of the weather of this year. The Terrestrial Current.—From the middle of September 1882 the Expedition has observed the terrestrial currents, as well as the magnetic variations. For this purpose two circuits about 5 km. long were placed north-south and east-west. They were connected to platina plates 1 decimetre square, and buried about 1°3m. below the surface of the ground. The southern and eastern plates were about 0'5 km. fromthe station. During this year the observations were confined chiefly to the variations of the terrestrial current, hence no attempt was made to separate | the electromotive force of the terrestrial current from that which was developed by the contact of the plates with the earth. In the autumn of 1883 it became necessary to place fresh wires in the circuits, and at the same time the position of the plates was changed, so that each one was now about 2°5 km. from the station. ‘lhe old circuit lying east and west was, how- ever, left undisturbed for some time for the purpose of making comparisons. It was not until the middle of January that observations of the terrestrial currents were commenced at the auxiliary station at Kul- tala, 68° 29'°5 N. (see Fig. 1). Here the circuits for the terrestrial current were placed so that the one lying north-south, 2°9814 km. long, was 3° west, and the east-west circuit, 4°5663 km. long, lay 69° north-west. This arrangement was made to permit the plates of the east and west being placed in the River Ivalo, and those lying north-south, in two affluents of this river. At this station attempts were made to eliminate that portion of the electromotive force which arose from the contact of the plates NATURE and. | [ Feb. 19, 1885 with ‘‘earth” (here the water) as well as the polarisation. The method employed was as follows:—With a Mascart electrometer, the sensitiveness of which had been exactly mea- | sured by a ‘‘ Daniell” normal element (about 18 divisions of the scale per volt), the electromotive force of all the four plates in the earth was determined. These were then joined in six different ways with a galvanometer, and the deviations noted. A Daniell normal element, furnished with an adjustable resistance- slide, was then placed in the circuit in a contrary direction to the current, and the electromotive force was then reduced till the deviation was =o. Thus the electromotive force of the different plates was obtained free of polarisation by means of an elec- trometer. To eliminate the electromotive force arising from the contact 334 Metres It 324 Metres 253 Metres Iv (ous 246 Metres Oo Observatory The oO Kultala Station Fic. 1.—Plan of the position of the apparatus on the Pietarintunturi Mountains. of the plates with the water, the latter were taken to the station and sunk in the river close by. They were connected with a wire from the circuits resting on Mascart insulators. Their electromotive force was examined by means of an electro- meter, which was discharged each time by a plate of zinc amalgam sunk in the river. This experiment was also made in another manner. All the plates were sunk in a bucket of water resting on Mascart insulators and connected with the earth by a copper wire. The two latter experiments gave very similar results. When the platina plates had been examined in this manner, they were placed in their former positions, after which they were again examined both by the galvanometer and electro- meter. The details of this experiment, as well as those of others, must, however, be reserved for a special memoir. By the above-mentioned means results are shown free from any accidental disturbing influences. Some observations, though as Feb. 19, 1885] yet they have not been finally worked out, gave the following results :-— (1) When two galvanometers, as nearly equal as possible, were introduced into the two circuits lying east-west near Sodankyla, and which, as we have said, were moved towards each other so that the old circuit was 2°5 km. further east, the variations of the two galvanometers were nearly identical. This appears clearly from the graphic account of the deviations as they were observed on Oct. 16 from 5h. 25m. to 5h. 55m. p.m. (see Fig. 2). In the abscissa each centimetre represents two minutes, and in the ordinate each millimetre represents a deviation of 20 divisions of the scale, equal to anarc of 20’. The plates of the circuits in question having been sunk to a depth of 1°3 m., it is clear that the variations observed arose from changes in the electromotive force of the terrestrial current, and could not have their origin in the changes in the electromotive force arising from the con- tact of the plates with the earth, for had the latter been the case, the variations could scarcely have shown such extraordinary coincidence. Other similar experiments show, however, that small inaccuracies may occur. The two curves do not correspond exactly in the intensity of the variations, which arises from the fact that the resistance of the old circuit was greater than that of the new. While the variations which were greater and more numerous in an east-west direction occurred nearly always at Sodankyla, so that the needles of the galvanometer at that place were rarely at rest, the contrary was the case at Kultala, that is to say, the occasions on which the needles of the galvanometer were in motion were very rare. As these facts were already observed by me in 1871 and 1882, Fic. 2.—Curve I. shows the deviations of the galvanometer in the old con- ductor. Curve II. shows the deviations of the galvanometer in the new conductor. Each centimetre of the abscissa indicates 2 minutes. The observations were made every half minute. Each millimetre of the abscissa indicates 20° of the scale = 20’ of an arc. it seems fair to assume that the North Pole of the earth is sur- rounded by @ belt in which the terrestrial currents are stronger and more variable than they are north and south af this belt. The northern limit of this belt seems to be about 68° N. The position of this belt of terrestrial currents depends probably upon the belt of the aurora borealis. (3) The magnetic variations and the changes which govern the terrestrial currents follow each other closely. We know that the former depend very much upon the aurora borealis, and that this dependence also influences the latter. However, the laws of this dependence cannot be determined until the materials of the observations have been fully analysed. The Electric Currents of the Atmosphere studied by means of the Discharging-Apparatus.—Since Franklin and Dalibard proved—about the middle of the last century—by practical experiments that lightning is an electric phenomenon, many attempts have been made to measure the electricity which is always present in the atmosphere. These experiments have become more general since the discovery by Lemonnier, a Frenchman, that electricity was present in the air even without thunderstorms. Numerous methods have been invented and employed for examining this electricity, while all had for their object the measurement of the electricity present in a given spot at a given moment. In this manner the atmospheric electricity was carefully observed and registered, and by means of these records it was hoped to arrive at some definite conclusions. Sometimes researches were made to determine the variations of tensions in different directions, particularly the vertical direction. As a general result, but not without exception, these experiments NATURE 373 showed ¢hat the electrical tension (or potential) zzcreased with the distance from the earth's surface. The knowledge of the electric charge, or the quantity of elec- tricity present in a given atmospheric space, does not yet convey an exact idea of the electric phenomena which take place therein, but the knowledge of the variations accompanying it in different direc- tions enable us to ascertain the movements of the electricity, or, in other words, ¢he electric currents of the atmosphere. When we know by experience that the generality of effects, and the most important, which produce electricity arise from electric currents, it will easily be understood that the examination of the atmo- spheric electricity should have for its principal object the visible demonstration of these currents, and an explanation of the laws which regulate them. The reason why the question has not as yet been studied from this point of view is probably that the air has been regarded as an insulating medium in which only momentary electric discharges occur, and not electric currents. In the aurora borealis we have a ‘‘ brilliant ”’ proof of the exist- ence of these currents, but up to the present the cause has always been sought elsewhere. It is of course understood that a great number of savants have long been of the opinion that the aurora borealis was of electric origin. Having obtained, while with the Swedish Polar Expe- dition of 1868, some experience of electric phenomena in Arctic regions, I made some attempts during the expedition of 1871, near the church of Enare, to see if it was possible with the few means at my disposal to examine this supposed electric current (NaTuRE, vol. xxvii. pp. 322 and 389). I then succeeded, by means of a small discharging-apparatus, in demonstrating the presence of this current and in producing luminous phenomena, but, owing to certain external difficulties which I could not overcome at that time, these results are uncertain. During the year 1882-83 the Expedition at Sodankyla had occa- sion to make some similar but more extensive experiments, which were crowned with success, as I have previously stated in this jouwnal (vol. xxvii. pp. 322 and 389). An electric current from the air towards the earth was proved to exist. Close to the village of Sodankyla we produced, by means of a large ‘‘discharging apparatus” or network of pointed con- ductors erected upon the summit of Orantunturi (1000 feet in height) a diffuse yellowish light, which, in the spectroscope, showed the ordinary auroral spectrum ; and later on a veritable ray of the aurora borealis was produced on the Pietarintunturi Mountain, close to Kultala. On both occasions the electric current was measured. Important as were the results of these experiments, they were, however, only of a provisional character, because, in carrying them out, difficulties of every description had to be overcome. In all these experiments the apparatus was connected with the earth by a wire leading to a zinc plate immersed in a well. Owing to the contact of the zinc with the water, an electro- motive force was produced, and it was therefore probable that the current observed by the galyanometer might have its prin- cipal, or perhaps sole, origin in this electromotive force. The expedition of 1883-84 was supplied with instruments for overcoming these difficulties as well as others, and has exa- mined as closely as possible the laws which this current obeys. After the arrival of the expedition at Sodankyla about the middle of September, a provisional apparatus was constructed on the mountain Komattivaara, lying 6km. from the station, and about 437'5 feet = 129°7m. high. A conducting wire, supported by Mascart insulators, was placed from the apparatus on the mountain to the station, where it was joined to a galvanometer, which was connected with the earth by a plate of zinc (amalgam) placed in the neighbouring river. After some preliminary trials with this apparatus, which showed that, in spite of the lowness of the mountain, the atmospheric current could be examined, a “discharging ap- paratus,” or network of pointed conductors, was erected upon a solid wooden structure, and was ready by October 19. The apparatus consisted of iron wires with welded points 0°5 m. apart. The wire was arranged in a series of squares I°5 m. from each other, resting upon sulphuric acid insulators attached to poles which were nailed to a wooden frame. The wire with the points covered a surface of 364 square metres. With this apparatus extended experiments were made, chiefly relative to the different kinds of conducting plates to the earth, but space does not permit me to discuss these experiments here. The galvanometer showed a current from the earth towards 374 the atmosphere, i.e. from the zinc plate to the ‘‘discharging- apparatus.” For the future I will call this direction of the current negative, and the contrary direction from the atmosphere towards the earth ¢he positive. ‘The deviations of the galvanometer were very variable, and the variations characterised by sudden move- ments, first in one direction, then in another. With this appa- ratus observations were made at Sodankyla during last autumn and winter. The deviation of the current was first exactly noted, after which a Leclanché element was introduced into the conductor, first with the positive pole towards the earth, and then towards the mountain. By this process a value was obtained at each observation of the electromotive force in the circuit of the current. This consisted of two kinds, viz. one arising from the contact of the zinc plate with ‘‘ earth” (here water), the other from the effect of the electricity in the air upon the apparatus. The first kind varies very little. Regarding the observations at Sodankyla it has been remarked that they showed, as I have said, a negative current, which however became sometimes positive in October and November, and particularly when the aurora borealis was visible. The daily observations of the atmospheric current were made at Kultala in the same manner as at Sodankyla. During the months of January and February three more ‘‘ discharging ap- paratus” were constructed close to this station, and another conducting wire was placed on Mascart insulators. Fig. 2 shows the position of the apparatus, whose elevation was as follows :— Height above the River Ivalo Height above sea-level I. 324 metres 484 metres = 1630 feet Il. 334 ,, tee 494 5, = 1664 ,, TES 246) 3, nel ATO) pee — no OSmee IV. 253 413» = 1391 5, The distance between the station and the Apparatus I. was 3°626 km., and the distance between I. and II. 0°339km. The following points are also shown by this sketch, viz. :— © is a small observatory with a chimney; 0” is the point where the conducting wires of the four apparatus were joined to two wires leading to the station. With this apparatus numerous experiments were made, chiefly in the month of March, of the results of which the following is a brief részemé :-— (1) If two ‘‘discharging-apparatus” are placed at a given elevation and connected with a galvanometer there is no current, z.é. the deviation of the galvanometer equals o. (2) The Apparatus II., connected by a galvanometer to Appa- ratus I., always gave a positive current, the strength of which varied considerably. The following values selected as examples show the electromotive force, expressed in volts, during four days in March :— March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 OvII7I O'1I61 o'1891 070530 OvI714, 0'I400 0°3262 0°0530 0°2632 0°2632 These values were obtained by introducing a Leclanché ele- ment into the conductor in opposite directions. The electro- motive force of this element was determined by comparison with a Daniell normal element. As there was a difference of Io m. in the height of Apparatus II. and I., it may be noted that the electromotive force varied during the above four days between 0°0326 and 0'0053 volts per metre. The above two results show, ¢hat the electromotive force of the electric currents of the atmosphere may be studied with regard to their strength, and its variations by means of two “ discharging-apparatus” erected at different elevations, When two apparatus at equal elevations give zero, it clearly shows that the electromotive force observed only depends upon the difference in elevation, i.e. that electricity is distributed throughout the atmosphere, so that an electromotive force is produced, causing a current from the atmosphere towards the earth. The continued study with these four apparatus gave this singular result :— (3) Close to the earth there is a stratum of positively electrified air, the potential of which is greater than that of the imme- diately overlying stratum, so that the potential diminishes from the surface of the earth to a minimum, to again increase at higher altitudes. The Apparatus III. and IV. situated in this NATURE [ fred. 19, 1885 stratum gave, combined with I. and II., a negative current, 7e. from the earth to the atmosphere. This result, so soon arrived at, rendered rather difficult the projected work with the four apparatus, and the difficulty increased still more owing to the fact that the conductive power of the air diminishes rapidly nearer the earth. In order to study more minutely this peculiarity, two portable ‘‘ discharging-appa- ratus ”’ were constructed, consisting of a cross of thin boards, on which were placed several spirals of wires provided with points, the total number of points being thirty. These miniature appa- tus, which I will call S, and S,, were erected near II. upon the most elevated point of Pietarintunturi, S, being 2 m. above the earth, and S, at the top of a pole 9'tm. high. Both were supported on Mascart insulators, and separately connected with the stations by conducting wires. With this apparatus a current was obtained from S, and S,, z.e. negative, from the earth to the atmosphere. Great care was taken against any accidental defect in the conductor, or in the arrangement of the apparatus. The deviation obtained was very small, but quite measurable. The actual experiments with these apparatus were made on March 26 at 11 p.m., and lasted about three hours. As these experiments are of great importance I will describe the method followed. The night was chosen as the most favourable time, the wind on the mountain being then very slight. The observers, Messrs. Granit and Roos, having telephoned that the experiments could commence, the current was measured by the galvanometer, 5) being then 2 m. and S, at 91 m. above the earth ; the deviation was negative. S, was then lowered to the same height as Sj, when the deviation was 0. S» was elevated to its former posi- tion, and now the deviation was negative as originally. S, was now attached to two poles—3 m. high—furnished with Mascart insulators, and then raised by two men toa height of 4m. Zhe deviation now became positive. This proved that the electric density of the stratum of air diminishes up to the point at which the current changed, and that the minimum density lay between a height of 2m. and 4m. It would have been yery interesting to have continued these experiments and further extended them, but this could not be done, as the stay on the mountain became impossible. I went up on March 25 to examine the apparatus and con- vince myself that no mistakes had been made, and although the temperature was not more than — 12° C. it was impossible to work | except with the back to the wind, for if the face was turned towards it, in afew moments the flesh became benumbed, and breathing difficult and painful. On the mountain there was nearly always wind, but its strength was less at night. These experiments with the portable apparatus will be resumed next spring at Sodankyla under the superintendence of Mr. Biese, but as it is very probable that the electric state of the atmosphere will then be totally different, it is impossible to foretell whether they will give the anticipated results. (4) From the stratum which lies some feet above the earth the electromotive force increases with the differences in height of the ‘* discharging-apparatus.’’ It has not been possible to determine exactly the laws which regulate this increase, but it is believed that the electromotive force increases more rapidly than 7” pro- portion to the difference in height. ‘The above results were obtained on clear days. The moisture of the atmosphere affects the resistance of the conductors, and appears also to act upon the electromotive force. On one of the small apparatus, S,, a number of points were fur- nished with wicks soaked in petroleum ; when these were lighted the effect was measured, and it appeared that the resistance diminished a little, but the electromotive force remained un- changed. Further results obtained from the observations must depend on a detailed examination of the materials collected. Study of the Luminous Phenomena caused by the ‘* Discharging- Apparatus.” —Before passing to a final sés«mé of the results of these researches, I will refer in general terms to the meteoro- logical character of the year, which are very important in relation to this subject. Itis very seldom that the winter in Lapland is so mild as the last one was. There was not much rain or snow, but it snowed nearly every day, so that the days when there was a clear sky can easily be counted. It is only in perfectly clear weather that the luminous electric phenomena are visible, and this only happens when the moonlight is not too brilliant. Consequently there were very few evenings when the luminous phenomena could be successfully observed. Feb. 19, 1885] NATURE 375 Another remarkable circumstance proves that the electric forces worked under abnormal conditions, viz. by the small number of aurorz appearing, which does not amount to one-tenth of the normal number according to the latitude, and except in three cases their intensity was very feeble. The cause thereof is to be found, I believe, in the constantly falling snow and the comparatively high temperature. Even the diffuse luminous phenomena which were seen so often during the winter of 1882-83 (see my former report), and which gave the spectral reaction of the aurora borealis, were very rare. In fact, according to all reports, the characteristics of this winter are quite contrary to the preceding one, which is the more surprising as we are now in a maximum period of auroral manifestations. There have indeed been very few evenings on which the luminous phenomena could be studied, and the best of them have nearly always been accompanied by a full moon. The contributions which the expedition has been able to make to the study of these phenomena are therefore relatively small, but sufficiently important. We know from our former experi- ments that the ‘‘ discharging-apparatus ” produces a luminosity, sometimes in the form ofa cloud-light, sometimes in vays which rise above the apparatus. ‘The diffuse luminosity which always gave the spectral reaction of the aurora was produced very easily. Z¢ was «distinctly seen above the apparatus at Sodankyla, some- times even with the naked eye, and very often with the spectro- scope, As early as the autumn of 1882 Mr. Biese discovered that it was possible to obtain a spectral reaction of the aurora to the south- south-east of Sodankyla, a few degrees above the horizon, in the direction of the mountain Luostatunturi, while to traces were visible elsewhere. During the autumn of 1883 the same reaction was sometimes obtained from the mountain Komattivaara, although it could not be perceived in the above-mentioned direc- tion. This luminous phenomenon was also very distinctly observed on the following nights, viz. :— On the evening of November 1, when a strong wind from the west had chased away the clouds, an aurora was seen which com- menced with a fairly regular are in the north-north-west. The arc touched the eastern horizon at about 20° north of Komattivaara. While the reaction was obtained along the whole length of this are, it entirely disappeared at this point of 20° from the horizon between the foot of the are and the mountain. Moreover, this was distinctly shown as the slit of the spectroscope was directed towards the discharging-apparatus. On the southern side of the mountain the reaction again disappeared completely. Asa general rule, the study of this luminous phenomenon was made at a dis- tance of 5 km., but on two occasions rather closer. On November 12, in spite of the moonlight, moist air, and snow, a distinct reaction was obtained at a distance of 1 km. That evening the phenomenon was very brilliant, appearing like a moving luminosity along the whole apparatus, with a diffused radiating fan of light above. It was observed for fifteen minutes. At Kultala the luminous phenomena were generally of greater intensity, but the majority of them could only be seen by means of the spectroscope, chiefly because on the most favourable occasions the moonlight was too bright. In order to obtain another proof of the electric origin of the aurora borealis, the expedition was furnished with a double Holtz machine, which, in spite of its fragile construction, arrived safely at its destina- tion. When this machine was connected with the circuit of Apparatus I., with the positive pole towards the earth, the luminosity was more distinct. This was noticed as early as December 17 at Sodankyla, when the machine was connected with the conductor from Komattivaara, but the more exhaustive studies were made at Kultala. The observations, which were always made from the house 0 (see the sketch), have the follow- ing dates, viz. :—1884: January 27, February 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24. They were made by Mr. Biese and myself, and we have a report of each evening, that of February 3 being written by me, the others by Mr. Biese. We detail below those of February 3 and 7. February 3.—Arrived at the Observatory at 6.30. The moon had risen, and shone brightly on the tops of the mountains ; no trace of the aurora could be seen either by the naked eye or the spectroscope. At a telephonic signal the Holtz machine was connected with the conductor, the positive pole being placed towards the earth. But in spite of the closest attention no trace of auroral light could be discovered. Presently, however, the moon became covered with a haze (nimbus), and the brightness of its rays diminished by one-half ; when this had lasted about half an hour, a luminous phenomenon in the shape of white clouds rose in flames from Apparatus I. This gave the reaction in the spectroscope, and was very distinct, even to the naked eye. At a signal, the machine was again put in motion, and now the flames followed each other every time, giving the reaction in the spectroscope. This reaction had sometimes a certain peculiarity : although the slit of the spectroscope was very straight, the line of the’ aurora was rather broad, and was followed by a con- tinuous and very distinct spectrum towards F. At eight o’clock the machine was stopped, and the flames became fewer and feebler. At 8.15 p.m. the machine was again put in motion, with the same result as before. Presently a fog covered the summit of the *mountain, and the experiments; ceased at 8.40 p.m. February 7.—The clouds were about 5 CS. (5/10 cirro- stratus), hence the reactions could only be obtained as pro- jections upon the bright spectrum of the moon. Now and then a very feeble reaction was obtained towards the north and west, but the Apparatus I. gave none of them. However, when the Holtz machine was put in motion, a very distinct one was ob- tained, particularly when sparks were emitted. After a Geissler tube had been placed in the conductor of the machine the re- action became still more intense, and was very distinct when the discharge was accompanied by sparks. Never had I obtained so intense a reaction. Mr. Biese again remarked that no absorption-band had been observed near D in the spec- trum of the moon, although its intensity varied considerably. From these data may be inferred :— (1) That the ‘‘discharging-apparatus” produces on certain occasions a diffuse light which gives the spectral reaction of the aurora borealis. (2) That a Holtz machine placed in motion in the conductor intensifies the phenomenon, if it already exists, and may even produce it under favourable external conditions. ’ (3) This luminous phenomenon is invisible to the naked eye if the moonlight is very bright, but even then the spectroscope often shows its presence. ; : After my experience of the power of the “‘ discharging-appara- tus” to produce luminous phenomena in the form of rays, I thought the phenomenon would appear easily. The following conditions are however, I have discovered, necessary for this: a clear sky, low temperature, and a relatively low barometer. These conditions have been very rare this winter, and when they have been present it was in an imperfect manner. However, the phenomenon was seen twice, viz. on February 27 and March 2, according to the following reports by Mr. Roos :— February 27, 18$4.—From the point © a feeble auroral are was observed extending from west to north-north-east, the in- tensity of which gradually increased. At the same time there appeared in the direction of Pietarintunturi, above the arc but not connected therewith, a sheaf of very intense rays, which moved rapidly westward and disappeared after passing the northern line. Nota single ray was visible in any other part of the sky. j March 2.—Messrs. Granit, Ross, and myself observed from this point an aurora whioh rapidly increased in intensity, and formed a corona as early as 8 o'clock. I immediately went to point IIL., in order that the luminous phenomena which might appear above the apparatus at Pietarintunturi might be observed from two points simultaneously. About 10.30 I perceived a very intense ray in the direction of Apparatus I., leaning at first a little to the east, but rising by degrees like a radiating sheaf, with a slight westerly direction. The phenomenon lasted from thirty to forty seconds. On telephoning to Mr. Granit, who remained at point 0, he replied that no luminosity was visible above the apparatus. Afterwards, and at short intervals, I three ; times saw a feeble ray in the same direction, but of different aspect. The ray, which was vertical, appeared of equal size and of a pale yellow colour. Although feeble it was very distinct. According to Mr. Granit no rays could be observed from point 0, either above the apparatus or around the mountain for a space of about 15° on either side, and on this occasion the moon- light was very bright, which, together with the intense aurora, rendered the observation of the luminous phenomena very diffi- cult, and besides this, the distance from 0 to I. is 2°45 km., while from III. to I. it is only 1°56 km. ; ‘ If any doubt remained as to the first observation, 7.2. as to whether the rays were above the mountains or not, the second, taken on March 2, is quite conclusive. If Mr. Granit could perceive no rays at point ©, at a distance giving an angle of 15° 376 NATURE | Fed. 19, 1885 at two sides of the mountain, that merely proves that the light was too feeble to penetrate a distance of 2°45 km., though it was visible at 1°56 km. The reflection of the moonlight was also stronger at point o than at III., because on this occasion the moon was nearly north-east. It is not easy, I confess, to make a résumé of the results arrived at by the researches of the Finnish Expedition to Lap- land concerning the electric currents of the earth and the atmo- sphere, chiefly owing to the circumstance that the materials are not as yet fully analysed, but the following may, however, be accepted as quite certain, as they are based on actual observa- tions :-— The aurora borealis, which has long been a disputed enigma, is the result of an atmospheric electric current. This auroral current can be measured, and, as a rule, studied, by the methods employed by the Expedition. The ‘‘discharging-apparatus,” or network of pointed con- ductors, used by the Expedition, has very often produced a diffuse light which gave in the spectroscope an auroral spectrum. Under very favourable conditions the light appeared in the form of rays above the apparatus. With a Holtz electric machine the diffuse light may be /vo- duced under favourable conditions, and if it exists already it may be considerably intensified by the same means. For the study of terrestrial electric currents a method has been found which, while avoiding all foreign influences, permits of the current being measured, both as regards absolute strength and as regards the exact laws which regulate it. From these experiments it seems that the existence of a belt of terrestrial currents similar to the belt of auroral currents is very , probable. SELIM LEMSTROM Helsingfors University ON THE NATURE OF LICHENS [NX the Yournal of the Linnean Society for December 12, 1884 (Botany) there appears a review of the ‘‘ Algo-Lichen Hypothesis,” by the Rev. J. M. Crombie, F.L.S., from the strongly conservative point of view of Nylander, on which I aesite to make a few remarks as a critical student of Botany at arge. Mr. Crombie cites, as a fatal objection to Schwendener’s hypothesis of symbiosis between the lichen proper and the alga forming its gonidia, that in other cases of vegetable parasitism “*the hosts usually become speedily exhausted and finally perish, often involving in their death that of the parasite itself ;” whereas here we have ‘‘a parasite exceeding in size and number of cells by many hundred times the nourishing plant which it invests.” It is now over six years since I sent you, with reference to this very point, a brief note on the subject, which probably escaped Mr. Crombie’s notice by its brevity, and of which I reproduce the substance. ‘The essential elements of nutrition of a fungus, so far as we can judge from culture experiments, are as follows :— (1) ash constituents ; (2) nitrogen in the form of nitrates, nitrites, or ammonia ; (3) carbon and hydrogen combined in the form of tartrate, carbhydrate, or fat, &c. An alga requires only Nos. 1 and 2, deriving No. 3 by assimilation from the carbon dioxide of the atmosphere and water. The lichen hyphex, aided by excretion of carbon dioxide, can dissolve the ash constituents, No. 1, from the substratum, taking them up by the rhizoids ; the rain probably brings No. 2 in the form of traces of nitrates ; No. 3can only be formed by assimilation in the algal part orgonidia of thelichen. But, to obtain the carbhydrates, No. 3, there is no need for the hypha to penetrate the gonidium or to molest its protoplasm, as the algal cells have a cellulose wall, of which the outer layers undergo constant gelification and renewal. Into this it is that, as shown by Bornet (“Sur les Gonidies des Lichens,” Ann. Sc. Nat. Bot., ser. 5, xvii.) the hyphe penetrate: and if they only lived on this, once formed, there would be no strain whatever on the resources of the alga. But, even if they stimu- Jate an abnormally rapid cellulose formation, the injury need not necessarily be severe. We see oysters living well, though their shells are burrowed by the sponge Cliona; they produce new layers of shells far faster than when they are sound, but are otherwise uninjured. An unlooked-for confirmation of these views is found in Johow’s account of the Hymenolichenes (in Pringsheim’s ¥aiy- biicher, xv., part 2), where, ‘‘7x consequence of the unusually close and perfect investment of the gonidia” by the hyphe, the gelatinous investment of their cell-wall completely disappears. This is in marked contrast with the usual state of things as figured by Bornet. De Bary puts the case thus :—‘‘ With their growth (of the algze) the assimilation of carbon dioxide persists in their proto- plasm with its chlorophyll, and produces organic carbon com- pounds utilisable by the fungus. At the same time the rhizoids of the fungus ramify on and in the substratum, and bring the mineral pabulum required. These two processes support and complement one another (Vergleichende Morphologie u. Physio- logie d. Pilze, &c., 1884, p. 425). It is further noteworthy that, if the growth in size of the gonidia is often favoured by their inclosure in the lichen-thallus, their rapidity of multiplication by division is notably impeded ; while spore-formation , &c.,remains in complete abeyance. Mr. Crombie recalls the absence of alge in places where lichens abound, e.g. ‘‘ granitic detritus and boulders towards the summit of lofty mountains.” This follows from the fact that the algze alone cannot there obtain, unassisted, their papulum No. 1, the mineral substances or ash constituents. The absence of the fungi aZone from these localities simply shows that they cannot live without their algal gonidia. Mr. Crombie gives as an essential distinction between the hyphe of lichens and those of fungi the character of their cell- wall: ‘‘perennial, firm, penetrated by lichenin, thick, im- putrible, and insoluble in caustic potash in the former ; caducous, very soft, with thin walls, readily putrifying on maceration, and, on the application of caustic potash, immediately becoming dissolved.” As regards the thickness and permanence of the walls, it needs hardly to be recalled how much this character varies in different parts of the same fungus, and notably in corresponding organs of different members of the same group of fungi: com- pare Polyporus and Boletus, Schisophyllum and Coprinus. As to the presence of lichenin, De Bary states (of. cz/., p. 10) that in at least three gelatinous fungi—AHyduum erinaceus, Polystigma, and Hysterium macrosporium—the hypha turns blue on the application of aqueous solution of iodine, that is, gives the “‘lichenin reaction.” As regards the alleged solubility of fungus hyphz in caustic potash, I am ata loss to understand it, having, like most workers, been in the habit of using this reaction ‘‘ for clearing”’ vegetable preparations to demonstrate the presence of parasitic fungus hyphze, which would be impossible if it dissolved them. And t find no account of this solubility of fungal cell-walls in Hof- meister’s very complete ‘‘ Lehre von der Pflanzenzelle,” or in De Bary’s above-cited work. A misapprehension on the part of the author is to think that the Schwendenerian school have overlooked the ‘‘ cellular cortical layer” when they speak ‘‘as if only two elements entered into the structure of lichens, viz. hyphz and gonidia.” This is due, so far as it is true, to the general recognition by mycologists that such pseudo- parenchyma as that composing the cellular cortical layer of lichens, of fungus sclerotia, &c., is only an extreme modification of the hyphee. But, far from being ignored, it is figured and described by Sachs (‘‘ Text-Book of Botany,” (1st Engl. ed., Figs. 188, 189, and explanation), who says : ““The upper and under cortical layers [of Szicta] also consist of hyphz, which, however, . . . consist of shorter cells, and are united without interstices, forming a pseudo-parenchyma.” Its formation is also described by Bornet (of. céz., p. 97), and De Bary writes (of. cit., p. 436): ‘‘ The hypha-branches forming the cortical layer (‘Rindenschicht’) are united without interstices, save in certain species of Rocel/a. They are either recognisable as such, haying the lumina of their segment- cells evidently elongatel and cylindrical, even though shorter than those of the medulla, or else they are formed of short iso- diametric rounded prismatic cells, giving the cortex the structure of a pseudo-parenchyma, which is often extremely regular and neat (‘sterlich’). . . . The structure of these cortical layers shows great similarity to that of many sclerotia.”’ In the latter half of the paper Mr. Crombie exposes at length the view that the gonidia originate in the cellules of the hypo- thalline and cortical layers,! and illustrates it by figures. In this no attempt is made to show the part played by the proto- plasm in the process, an omission which is an implied confession of the inadequacy of the weapons, optical and technical, » As regards his statement that ‘‘specimens illustrating the earlier stages of lichen growth appear to be unknown to the supporters of Schwenden- ejanism,” it is only necessary to revert to Bornet’s paper, p. 97. Feb. 19, 1885 | NATURE Su employed in the investigations on which the view is based. * Considering that chlorophyll bodies and plastids generally are unknown in hyphe of all kinds, and in view of the recent re- searches on the part played by nuclei in cell formation, we had aright to expect some allusion to these matters in a research dated 1884. As regards the optical powers employed, two instances will suffice. Fig. 7 is stated to be highly magnified ; 7a, a more highly magnified part thereof, is only enlarged 275 diameters, and this is the highest power used! _ Fig. 7a is stated to show ‘“‘the separated gonidia [of Psoroma hypnorum) inclosed in the cellules fof the cortex], after Nylander.” It represents, in fact, a homogeneous green spot separated by a narrow blank space from the concentric double black outline. Fig. 2a, “* Gonidia [of Zecanora gibba], as seen inclosed in the cellules of the pseudo-parenchyma, magnified about 270 diameters,” only differs from 7a in the black outline being single instead of double ; and these two figures are the only ones professing to illustrate the actual formation of the gonidia ! So much for the formation of the gonidia from the hyphe or the derived cellular cortical layer. Of the inverse origin of hyphe from gonidia, the author gives no hint; yet, surely this should be taken into consideration also in a complete account of the lichen as a simple organism? Mr. Crombie states that “ Sirosiphon, Hormosiphon, Scytonema, Stigonema, Cora, Dicho- nema, Chroolepus or Trentepohlia, Nostoc and Glaocapsa (at least in part), Gongrosira and Phyllactidium, have now to be removed from the class of the alg,” having, “‘in consequence of the discovery of their fructification, been proved to be lichens.” Such papers as those of Bornet and Johow are in complete dis- cordance with this view, except as regards Cora and Dictyo- nema (or Dichonema). Mr. Crombie seems to be unaware that the discovery of a Aymenomycetous fructification in these very genera of lichens by Mattirolo (“‘ Contribuznione allo Studio del genere Cora,” in Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital., vol. xiii. 1881), confirmed and extended by Johow, is regarded by most botanists as the very coping-stone of the symbiosis theory founded by De Bary and Schwendener ; but their papers are not referred to.* I may say that I have personally hunted through many a Nostoc colony without finding a trace of hyphz ; and there is no record of the transmutation of a Wosfoc-cell into a lichen or fungus | hypha. Yet this is wanting to show that WVosfoc is the immature form ofa lichen. SolI have frequently seen G/aocapsa colonies permeated by hyphz, which could often be traced to septate | (probably lichen) spores, but, like all other observers, never to a green cell. Gongrostra has been demonstrated by Stahl to be at least in part the resting form of Vaucheria (‘‘ Die Ruhezustand der Vaucheria geminata,” in Bot. Zeit., 1879, p. 129, t. ii.), and must henceforward rank only as a form-genus. Phydlactidium is another form-genus, comprising young forms of genera so dis- tinct as Coleochete and Mycotdea, Cunn, I have abstained from reviewing the purely critical apprecia- tion of the works of Schwendener, Bornet, Rees, Stahl, &c., though Mr. Crombie’s treatment thereof seems to me decidedly offhand. But I trust that in my remarks on his positive argu- ments in favour of the unitary theory of lichens, I have not exceeded the bounds set by the respect all must feel towards his honest and arduous work on the classification of so difficult a group. Marcus M. HartToG Queen’s College, Cork UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIOGE.—A temporary Pathological Laboratory has been fitted up for Prof. Roy, and it is proposed to vote 4oo/. for apparatus. Downing College has now a capital opportunity of appointing a scientific man as Master, owing to the death of Dr. Worsley. Mr. C. Dixon has been appointed a Demonstrator of Mechan- ism and Applied Mechanics in place of Mr. J. H. Nicholls, resigned. A discussion took place last Friday on the Report as to a new Chemical Laboratory. Prof. Liveing stated in forcible terms the inadequacy of the present laboratories, which were inferior to those of many schools. He could not classify students ; he had no class-rooms, and literally no provision for research. * The wonderful results obtained by Mink and Miiller in their researches on the ‘* Microgonidia of Lichens”’ show that Aigh powers alone do not suffice for scientific investigation. Mr. Crombie has nghtly rejected their views. # Johow’s could hardly have reached England before the composition of Mr. Crombie’s paper. Mattirolo’s dates from r88r. Cambridge was subjected to severe competition ; a new Univer- sity in the north of England was supplying considerable means of research ; and before long it must be expected that the plans for a Teaching University for London would be carried out. It would be economical to make good provision while they were about it. The estimated sum of 30,000/. was as low as would provide suitable accommodation, The chief objections urged against the proposal were as to the magnitude of the sum in proportion to other requirements and to the funds at the dis- posal of the University. Prof. Humphry made a vigorous appeal to men of wealth, who might find in Cambridge many objects worthy of their munificence. Cambridge laboured under the double disadvantage of being poor and of being thought rich. THE following courses of Lectures and Demonstrations in special branches of Physics will be given in the Physical Lecture Room and Laboratories of the Science Schools, South Kens- ington:—(1) Connection between Sound and Music. Six Lectures and Demonstrations by R. Mitchell, at 2 p.m. on February 23, 25, 27, March 2, 4, 6. (2) Certain Optical Measurements. Eight Lectures and Demonstrations by H. H. Hoffert, B.Sc., at 2 p.m. on March 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25. (3) Electrical Measurements. By C. V. Boys, A.R.S.M., at 2 p.m. on April 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29; Mayl, 4. (4) The Chemical Action of Light. By Capt. W. de W. Abney, F.R.S., at 2 p.m. on May 6, 8, I1, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22. The above courses are open without fee to all second and third years’ regular students of the Normal School of Science and Royal School of Mines, on their giving to the Registrar a written recommendation from the Professor or Lecturer whose classes they are attending at the time. The fee to others attending the courses are: for each separate course, Ios. ; for all the courses, 30s. Such fees are payable in advance to the Registrar of the Normal School of Science and Royal School of Mines. ‘These courses will only be given if a certain number of applications are made a week before February 23. Those intending to join are therefore requested to do so as soon as convenient. All the courses are open to women, SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, January 29.—‘‘On the Structure and De- velopment of the Skull in the Mammalia, Part III. Insecti- vora.” By W. K. Parker, F.R.S. Although this paper is confessedly only a fraction of what is necessary to be done in this polymorphic order, it shows at least how difficult a group it is to handle, For the Insectivora are set in the midst of the other mammalia—low and high. They might be called the biological stepping-stones from the Meta- theria to the Eutheria. One thing can be done, even now, with our present frag- mentary knowledge of the structure and development of the insectivorous types—we can assure ourselves that these types are immediately above the Marsupials, that they have the bats (Chiroptera) obliquely above. them, that their nearest relations must be sought for amongst extinct Eocene forms, and that, lowly as they are, and arrested and often dwarfed to the utter- most (so that nature could not safely go further in that direction), they are rich in prophetic characters that have come to perfection in larger and nobler types. I think it will not be denied that in the ascent of the types the Chiroptera are above the Insectivora, and, as it were, a sort of special ‘‘ new leader” from that stock, and that the Ir secti- yora are more or less transformed modifications of the mrisupial type. I suspect that the existing Insectivora just yie'd the zoologist one of his groups of types classed together beccuse he knows not what else to do with them ; they are not a proper, clear, special branch or ‘“‘leader” of the mammalian life-tree. They form one group under one designation, just as the poor of this metropolis form a group ; their special mark is simply lowli- ness ; they differ z¢er se almost as muchas the whole remainder above them differ. The higher forms, however, because of their elevation, can afford to be sub-divided again into order after order. If we could descend and see the transforming and newly transformed Placentalia of the Eocene epoch, then the morphologist and the zoologist would find common ground ; the taxonomy of the latter, however, would be as useless as the titles and distinctions of modern society to some undeveloped race of savage men. The best type of Insectivore for general comparison is the 378 NATURE [ fed. 19, 1885 hedgehog (Zvinaceus europeus), as it shows the least suppression of parts, and the best development of that which is diagnostic, so to speak, of the order. In it the great investing bones of the skull are similar to those of the marsupial, but the nasal and squamosals are smaller, and the frontals are larger. In the hard palate there is a considerable relapse, as in marsupials, certain tracts of bone being absorbed, but it has no mesopterygoids, and only fve vomers, yet the anterolateral pair are well developed. Moreover, the tympanic region has only one annulus, the outer bone ; there is no separate os-bulla. Instead of the latter there is a crescentic shell of bone which grows from the basisphenoid, greatly increasing the size of the tympanic cavity. In the endo- skeleton in front of the tympanic cavity there is a remarkable ridge of bone growing outwards from the alisphenoid, That ridge is the remnant of the alisphenoidal tympanic wing of the marsupial, and the shell of bone growing from the basisphenoid is the same morphological element as the separate os-bullz, but it has lost its independence. The higher mammalian type is fully reached in the thorough freedom of the alisphenoid from the general cranial wall. This character, indeed, is intensified into the special diagnostic of an insectivore, for it lies almos, wholly outside the orbitosphenoid. Here the sphenoidal fissuret which in this case lets out the second branch of the fifth, but not the optic nerve—that nerve having its own foramen in the orbitosphenoid—is not a mere gap, but a side passage, or a sort of sphenoidal corridor, right and left. In these things the hedgehog is higher than the marsupial, but in some others it is lower, or more archaic. These latter characters, which suggest an uprise from a more general type than the existing metatheria, are— (1) The development of solid hyaline cartilage in the pterygoid region, a remnant of the pterygo-quadrate of the Ichthyopsida. (2) The presence of a persistent pituitary hole, which is con- nected with acuriously specialised structure only seen in typical insectivores, namely, a hollowing out of the basis cranii beneath the pituitary region. (3) A third archaic character, not seen in the existing marsu- pials, is the huge relative size, long persistence, and separate distal ossification of Meckel’s cartilage, so that in the embryo hedgehog, and even in the nestling, the primary lower jaw is as large as in fishes generally, scarcely excepting the Selachians. The ossicula auditis are typically Eutherian ; we have lost the imperforate stapes or columella, the interhyal is very small or absent, and the malleus and incus are much like what we find in the higher mammals generally. The pneumaticity of the skull is much reduced : the olfactory region is almost double the relative size of that of a Marsupial. In the head of another family of the Insectivores, namely, the mole (Za/fa europea), there is much that is in accord with what is found in its distant relation, the hedgehog, but in it there are evident signs of degradation and of relapse into what is Marsupial in character. The nasal labyrinth is relatively immense, and the skull-walls below, Jater- ally, and behind are as exquisitely pneumatic as in the flying Marsupial (Peazus), the bird, or the crocodile. The swollen basis cranii, all air galleries within, is so excavated that the hinder sphenoid, both base and wings, largely helps the flat single tympanic to form the drum cavity. The pituitary hole does not exist, but there is a considerable pterygoid cartilage. The ossicula 7 the adult are normal, but a curious special cha- racter is seen in the ossification, in the young, three parts grown, of the sheath of the stapedial artery, which for a time holds the stapes in its place. It is, however, absorbed afterwards, but remains in the related genus JZyogale. In nearly half-grown young moles the malleus is quite like that of the marsupials ; it is an evident ‘‘articulare,” with copious wild growths of bone, sub-distinct, which answer to the ‘‘angulare” and ‘‘supra- angulare” of a reptile or bird. This malleus in its articular part has two endosteal and one ectosteal bony centre. Meckel’s cartilage, long continuous with the malleus, is nearly as massive as in the hedgehog, and has a more distinct separate ossification in its sub-distal part, a long, independent, but tem- porary Aypobranchial bone. The mole shows a most remarkable development of the endo- cranium, which, twenty years ago, suggested to me that its skull retained unmistakable monotrematous characters. In large young of the Echidna and Ornithorhynchus the solidity of the chondrocranium is immense, like that of a Chimeroid Selachian. and the investing bones are thin and splintery. I have not made out the mode of ossification of the inner skull in those types, but in sfirit, if not in the Jeter, the mole agrees with them, that is, in the great development and independence of the inner skull. The opisthotic bone ossifies the normal petro-mastoid region, whilst the prootic bony centre begins in its right place on the front edge of the cartilaginous capsule, and then runs away from it into the wall of the skull. Thus there is a large bony tract in the temporal region between the squamosal and the large interparietal, which is not one of the ordinary ectocranial bones, but an endo-cranial bony tract overshadowing and yet imitating the true temporal bone or squamosal. This bone is represented by three separate centres in osseous fishes, namely, the prootic, pterotic, and sphenotic, whilst their true auditory region is partly ossified by the epiotic and opisthotic ; the epiotic is only sub-distinct in the mole. If I am asked why I dive so far down for my illustrations, instead of being satisfied with what reptiles and birds would show me, my answer is that these are often of no use for comparison, as they are as thoroughly specialised for their own mode of life as the Mam- malia generally, and are as completely, and often more com- pletely, transformed from the original archaic type or types. Thus the mole, like most of the Edentata lately described by me, suggests as the root stock of the Eutheria generally, not mar- supials (Metatheria), as we know them, but prototherian forms in which, in ages long past, the existing monotremes and mar- supials had a common origin. The shrew (Sorex vulgaris) represents another family of the Insectivores, the Soricidz. It combines the characters of the mole and hedgehog with peculiarities of its own that are manifestly due to dwarfing ; many things are suppressed, as if there was not room in so small a skull for their development. The pituitary hole reappears, and the pterygoid cartilage, but the tympanic wings of the alisphenoid and of the basisphenoid are gone. The malleus does not show itself so unmistakably marsupial, and Meckel’s cartilage is slenderer. The sheathing alisphenoids are well seen, the squamosal is extremely small, low down, and devoid of a jugal process ; the jugal bone is suppressed. The prootic wing is present, as in the mole. So much for the British representatives of these families of the Insectivora—the Erinaceidze, Talpida, and Soricide. The Mascarene Insectivora are so evidently related to each other as to suggest at once a common origin ; these are the Centetide, the largest of which is the Tenrec (Cemdetes ecaudates) ; the other genera treated of in this paper are Zvicelus, Hemicentetes, and Microgale. These are almost typical Insectivora, but they agree with the shrews in having the jugal bone suppressed ; they are also more marsupial than our native kinds. In these types the normal characters of the skull of an insectivore are combined with a remarkable marsupial tympanic wing to the alisphenoid, but the os-bullee is not free, it is merely an outgrowth of bone from the basisphenoid. The pituitary hole is present and in the large species the curious basi-cranial excavation; the optic foramina also and the sphenoidal side passages are remarkably developed. As in the genus Pha/angista among the marsupials, and Sorex and Yalpa among the British Insectivora, the antero-lateral vomers are evidently suppressed, or have a very temporary inde- pendent existence : the postero-lateral vomers are rather small, as in the hedgehog. In the embryo the main vomer is relatively as large as in the embryo whale, and is curiously cellular or spongy. In nestlings this one primary azygous centre has broken up into three: one, the largest, above, and two lesser below, sheathing it, as it sheaths, the base of the nasal septum. Now this multiplication of the vomers proper is thoroughly marsupial. It is unique, as far as I know, in the mode of its sub-division into secondary bony centres. In the African (Con- tinental) family the elephant or jumping shrews (Macroscelidz), as illustrated by the largest forms, Petrvodromus and Rhynchocyon, we have a curious mixture of mar-upial or metatherian and eutherian characters, so that they are aberrant as insectivores ; the marsupial characters are most remarkable. These are : (1) the absence of an optic foramen in the embryo; (2) the alisphenoids scarcely overlapping the orbitosphenoids ; (3) the tympanic wings of the alisphenoids are well marked, hollow shells in the embryo; (4) large antero-lateral vomers and postero-lateral vomers as large as in average marsupials, and, as in many of them, meeting and uniting at the mid-line; (5) a large distinct ‘‘os-bullze,” which makes a tympanic cavity as large as, and much like that of, Pefaurus or Phascolarctos. On the high eutherian side we have, in the embryo, frontals as large as the parietals, and, strangest of all mammalian specialisation, a long Zroboscis, composed of thirty double rings of cartilage, a t Feb. 19, 1885 | NATURE 379 structure quite similar to the proboscis of an elephant. The mesopterygoids are suppressed, but the pituitary hole is present. I now come to a type for which no place can be found in our systems of zoology, but for which the late Prof. Peters, in despair, lodged with the Insectivora; I refer to the flying cat (Galeopithecus). This genus forms a family by itself, and yet has only two species ; it should form an order, as the Hyrax does. These two species of flying mammals are full of remnants of what is old, and vudiments of the wew. I put them between the most archaic (marsupials) and some of the most curiously modified Eutheria, the frugivorous bats, and survey them from these two widely separate standpoints; but they possess that which neither phalanger nor bat will account for or explain. With a flat, outspread, foliaceous skull, as completely anky- losed as that of any bird, and as thoroughly pneumatic in its post-orbital region, we have one of the largest and most perfect hard palates ; with the upper incisors partly suppressed, the lower incisors well developed and utterly unique, and the pre- molars and molars strong for grinding. The cheek-bones and the squamosals are large and thoroughly marsupial, so are the small external pterygoid processes and internal pterygoid bones, and the very large mesopterygoids. I find no antero-lateral yomers, but Jacobson’s organs and their protecting cartilages are /wice as Jong as in any types yet examined, and the postero- lateral vomers are almost as well developed as in marsupials, whilst the main vomer is very large. The sphenoid bones are typically Eutherian, but the basisphenoid has beneath it, as in dizards, asmall ‘* parasphenoid”’ ; this I find only in G. phzllip- pensis, and as yet inno other mammal, As in the marsupials, the jugal or malar helps to form the glenoid cavity, and the squamosal is as large as in Cwscus, the lowest of the Zastern Marsupials. The single flat tympanic bone, with its ossified and compressed meatus, is very remarkable ; but this part of the skull corresponds neither with the marsupials nor the insecti- vores, and this is true also of several other of its characters. Those things in which it agrees with the marsupials are not the same as in the hedgehog ; it differs from both insectivores and marsupials in its own peculiar way, and in some things is more archaic than either. This type appears to me to be a waif from a large group of forms that were beginning to be trans- formed out of the metatheria into the flying eutheria (Chiro- ptera), certain of which, this living type among the rest, being arrested at the general level (or platform) of the Insectivora ; they are equal to, rather than members of, the order Insect- ivora. ‘The last type to be mentioned is the Tupaia, an Eastern form, rather high in position, yet combining characters for the first time seen in the Mammalia, namely, a perfect orbital ring, with old metatherian structures, such as the large os-bullz, the small external and internal pterygoids, and a somewhat absorbed hard palate. The last three kinds, Riyzchocyon, Galeopithecus, and Zupaia, all show a curious mixture of that which looks upwards to the highest types, and of that which has been re- tained from the lower and more archaic forms of the mammalian class. Anthropological Institute, February 10,—Francis Galton, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The election of Douglas W. Freshfield, Lieut.-Col. J. Augustus Grant, C.B., F.R.S., and Cuthbert Edward Peek, M.A., was announced.—Mr. H. H. Johnston read a paper on the people of Eastern Equatorial Africa. The races treated of extend over a region of Eastern Africa lying between the Ist degree north of the equator and 5° to the south, and bounded on the west by the 34th degree of east longitude, and on the east by the Indian Ocean. The forest country on the hills or along the rivers is occupied by resident agriculturists almost exclusively belonging to the Bantu family, ethnologically and linguistically, and the forbidding wilderness in the plains is ranged over by tribes of either Galla or Masai origin, both of which may be roughly classed with the Ethiopic or Hamitic groups. The Wa-taita are of medium height, and have fairly good figures, but the men are somewhat effeminate and slight-looking. In facial aspect there is much variation : the teeth are filed and sharp-pointed, and the ears are so misshapen by prevailing fashion that it is hard to guess at their original shape. The body is disposed to be hairy, but is carefully depilated all over, even to the plucking out of eye- brows, eyelashes, beard and moustache. The hair is allowed to grow only on the occiput, and here it is much cultivated, and pulled out into long strings, which are stiffened with grease and threaded well with beads. There are but slight traces of religion among the Wa-taita. They are afraid of spirits who are sup- posed to dwell in large forest trees, and perhaps for the reason that their dead are always buried in the forest: Their marriages are arranged first by purchase, but after the preliminaries have been settled, the girl runs away and affects to hide. She is sought out by the bridegroom and three or four of his friends, and when found is seized and carried off to the hut of her future husband. The Akamba, who live to the north of Taita, are a very roving, colonising people, and great hunters. One of the most interesting tribes are the Wa-tarata, who exhibit marked peculiarities in their language and ideas. They are of fair height, some of the men attaining to six feet. They frequently let the beard and moustache grow, and usually abstain from plucking out eyelashes and eyebrows. Circumcision is general. Marriage is a matter of purchase, but no sign of imitating cap- ture seems to be practised here. They number about two thousand, and bear an excellent reputation among the coast traders for honesty and friendliness. Mr. Johnston described some of the chief characteristics of several other tribes with which he had come into contact during his visit to Kilimanjaro, and referred particularly to the languages spoken by the various peoples, one of the most interesting of which is the Masai, which has many characteristics not possessed by most of the other African languages. PARIS Academy of Sciences, February 9.—M. Bouley, Presi- dent, in the chair.—On a new disposition of the revolving mirror for the measurement of the velocity of light, by M, C. Wolf.—On the determination of the ohm by the amortisement method, by M. Mascart.—On the velocity of the detonation in solid and liquid explosive substances, by M. Berthelot.—On the epipodium of some of the gasteropods, by M. H. de Lacaze- Duthiers.—Note on the skeleton of an extinct hyena (Hyena spel@a) discovered by M, Felix Regnault in the Gargas Cave, near Montrejean, by M. A. Gaudry. This caye hyzena appears to have been scarcely larger than the present spotted species, but the bones were thicker, so that it appears to have been a heavier animal. The author proposes to constitute it a distinct species, as Hyena crocuta.—Remarks on the new volume of the annual series issued by the Observatory of Rio de Janeiro, and pre- sented to the Academy in the name of the Emperor of Brazil, by M. Faye.—On a new refrigerator prepared for the study of physico-chemical phenomena, by M. KR. Pictet.—On the treat- ment of vines infested by phylloxera with the sulphuret of carbon, by M. P. de Lafitte. —Observations on Encke’s comet made at the Paris Observatory (equatorial of the West Tower), by M. G. Bigourdan.—On some remarkable anomalies recently observed in the appearance of the planet Saturn, by Pere Lamey. —Observations of the solar protuberances made at the Observa- tory of the Collegio Romano during the year 1884, by M. P. Tacchini.—Note on the solar parallax deduced from the daguerro- type plates taken by the French Commission for the Transit of Venus in 1874. A new method of calculation, comprising nearly all the observations recorded, by M. Obrecht. The parallax of the sun as determined on these data is expressed by the formula am = 88 — 0004. 5 Z, where 5 Z is the correction in seconds of the time for the longi- tude adopted for the station of Pekin, Z = 7h. 36m. 30s.—On a theory of curves aud surfaces admitting univocal correspond- ences, by M. S. Kantor.—On the equilibrium of a fluid mass to which a movement of rotation has been communicated, by M. H. Poincaré.—On the variation in the electric resistance of bis- muth placed in a magnetic field, by M. Hurion.—Temperature of solidification for nitrogen and the protoxide of carbon: rela- tion between the temperature and pressure of liquid oxygen, by M. K. Olszewski.—On the solution of the carbonate of magnesia by carbonic acid, by M. R. Engel.—On the action of sulphur on red phosphorus, by M. F. Isambert.—On the crystals of monazite occurring in the diamantiferous gravels at Caravalles, Province of Bahia, Brazil, by M. H. Gorceix.—On the B- hexachloride of benzine, by M. J. Meunier.—On the sensi- tiveness of the eye to different degrees of luminosity in the ordinary light usually employed for reading, writing, &c., by M, Aug. Charpentier.—On the modifications pro- duced in the chemical composition of certain secretions under the influence of Asiatic cholera, by M. A. Gabriel Pouchet.—On the physiological action of cocoine, third note, by M. Grasset.— On the physiological action of the sulphate of cinchonamine, by MM. G. Sée and Rochefontaine.—On the optical inactivity of 380 cellulose, and especially of that which is separated from the solution of cotton in the ammoni-cupric reaction, by M. A. Béchamp.—On the Bacteriotdomonas ondulans, a new organism re- cently discovered in the intestine of the black rat, by M. J. Kunstler. —On the passage of pathogenetic microbes from the mother to the foetus, by M. Kourassoff.—On the microbe of typhoid fever in the human system : its cultivation and inoculation, by M. Tayon. —Influence of light on vegetation and on the pathogenetic properties of Bacillus anthracis, by M. S. Arloing.—On the vein- ous circulation of the foot, by M. P. Bourceret.—On the nervous system of the embryos of the Limaceze, and on the relations of the octocyst with this system,by M. S. Jourdain.—On the nervous system of the Teniz, by M. J. Meiniec.—On the tetra- ptera Zetraplatia volitans, Busch., by M. C. Viguier.—On the spermato-genesis of the decapod crustaceans, by M. Arm. Sabatier.—On the existence of land mollusks furnished with lungs in the Permian formation of the Sadne-et-Loire, by M. P. Fischer.—On a new method of transmitting the mildew of the vine, by M. Fréchou.—Remarks on the late earthquakes in the south of Spain, by M. Macpherson. BERLIN Physiological Society, January 16.—Dr. H. Virchow, re- ferring to the results of his investigations into the structure of the eye in different mammalia, communicated those which had reference to the zonula zinnii. He illustrated by diagrams the situation of this organ and the course of its fibres, set forth the various methods of examination, the efficiency of which he demonstrated by a series of preparations, and discussed the different views advanced on the subject of the canal of Petit | and the ciliary apparatus. As the result of his researches he found that the zonula zinnii consisted simply of fibres, which at places where they were ranged closer to one another were con- nected by an intermediary substance, while at those where the fibres kept further aloof from one another no such intermediary substance was present.—Prof. Albrecht from Brussels, as guest, spoke on the morphological significance of the swimming-bladder of fishes. As was known, this bladder was either in open com- munication with the intestinal tube, or the connection between the two was obliterated, and in this latter case it might well be assumed that the communication in question had existed in earlier stages of development. Many naturalists were of opinion that the swimming-bladder was homologous with the lungs, which likewise represented a tube in communication with the intestinal tube—an opinion, however, decidedly opposed to the views of the speaker. For in all fish the swimming-bladder was placed supra-intestinally, or on the dorsal side, while the lungs are invariably situated infra-intestinally, or on the ventral side of the intestinal canal. If these two organs were homolo- gous, the dorsal organ, in order to its transformation into a ventral, must, by some means or other, have made its pas- sage around the cesophagus. The assumption, however, of either a right-sided or a left-sided passage, or, in fine, of a double division of the swimming-bladder, each of which had wandered downwards on one side, there to form together the two halves of the lungs, was a notion which laboured under difficulties and contradictions. Altogether, in the opinion of Prof. Albrecht, it was erroneous in any case to explain dorsal and ventral organs as homologous, and just as much so in the intestinal canal as in the brain. The swimming-bladder and the lungs were, on the contrary, rather completely heterologous organs. The best argument for the truth of this view was afforded by those fishes which possessed two bladders, a supra- intestinal and an infra-intestinal. Such a phenomenon would be absolutely impossible if these bladders were homologous. In point of fact, in the gymnodonts, diodonts, as well as tetrodonts, there were found a dorsal swimming-bladder, and, beside it, ven- tral air-sacs proceeding from the cesophagus, by means of which these fish were enabled to inflate themselves. These ventral air-sacs were homologous with the ventral lungs and heterologous to the dorsal swimming-bladders. There were, furthermore, fishes which, of the two protrusions of the intestinal canal, de- veloped only the ventral, while the dorsal became absorbed. Such was the case in Polypterus, which possessed an infra- intestinal swimming-bladder, and in which, therefore, the homo- logue of the lungs was alone developed. There were, moreover, fish in which both protrusions became absorbed—the dog-fish, for example, which had no swimming-bladder whatever. An interesting support to this view of Prof. Albrecht’s was afforded by the fact that, even in the case of mammalia in which the ventral protrusion of the intestinal tube had developed into NATURE [ Feb. 19, 1885 lungs, remains of the dorsal swimming-bladder were presented in a rudimentary form. Such the speaker took to be the diver- ticula of the cesophagus, a not uncommon pathologic occurrence in man, which were always dorsal and occupying a position opposite to the entrance into the larynx. These diverticula, according to the experience of surgeons, were not only innate, but also hereditary, a character which certainly witnessed to their phylogenetic significance. These dorsal diverticula of the cesophagus, which occurred only pathologically in man, were a regular occurrence in another mammal, the sow. In swine, therefore, among the mammalia, just as in diodonts and tetro- donts among fish, were found both protrusions of the intes- tinal tube, the supra-intestinal and the infra-intestinal, existing beside each other, the most indubitable proof of their heterology. Prof. Albrecht proposed calling the dorsal protrusion the swim- ming bladder, and the ventral the vocal bladder.—Dr. Kossel had from pancreas extract obtained a new base, which belonged to the group of bases obtained by him from the contents of animal and vegetable cells, guanidine, xanthine, and hypoxanthine. From an analysis of 75 kilogrammes of pancreas extract he had pro- cured, besides guanidine and hypoxanthine, a hitherto unknown base, which he was able to separate from the two and obtain in fine crystals. With hydrochloric and sulphuric salts it likewise gave fine large crystals. By reason of its occurrence in the pancreas, Dr. Kossel had called this new base ‘‘ adenine ;” its chemical composition corresponded with the formula C;H,N, : it was, therefore, polymeric with hydrogen cyanide, and held the ‘same relation to hypoxanthine, C;H,N,O, that guanidine, C;H;N,O, did to xanthine, C;H,N,O,. Later on he succeeded in authenticating the presence of adenine in the spleen likewise, as also in yeast, so that this base, too, appeared to have a more general diffusion. Adenine appeared to have an important physiological significance, on account of its composi- tion. It had hitherto been assumed that urea must be derived from a cyanic compound, though such had not been able to be traced in the bodily tissues. Adenine, therefore, in considera- tion of its constitution, would seem to have some relation to formation of urea, a conjecture which further investigations might settle.—Prof. Bu Bois-Reymond laid before the Society monstrous hoofs of horses and bovine animals sent from the Falkland Islands to the Physiological Institute, which from their massiveness and the turning in of the horny material would, by their appearance, hardly be recognised for the hoofs of horses and bovine cattle. CONTENTS PacE A Scientific View of the Coal Question. By Dr. G. GoreRORGS! Gaia ices seste et es th ee ain ante Mammalian Descent. By George J. Romanes, F.R.S. ; CCR Oma Se occa 6 SA: Letters to the Editor :— Civilisation and Eyesight.—J. Rand Capron . .. 359 Erosion of Glass.—Dr. William M. Ord .... Echivm Crossing.—Dr, Michael Grabham ... 360 Iridescent Clouds.—T. W. Backhouse ..... 360 Human Hibernation.—Alfred H. Hulk ..... 361 An «Error in Ganot’s ‘‘Physics.”.—E. Douglas Archibald yyy ce. ii-te tsetse) cite oul-incle- termes Shadow on Clouds.—Lieut. Alfred H. Tarleton, RON. gs og oto, cect cee SEO The ;Meteorology of Havana ~ 2 = . uss) ene eon The Whale Exhibition in Hamburg. By Dr. G. A. Guldberg gun Gas ce eo ieee ieee ten ce ee eS CT. Chester New Museum. By Chas. E. De Rance . 363 The Classification of the Varieties of the Human Species. By Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S. ... 364 DS Ko) CX eae ECR Pe ate atc. tele UREN moe escueess Gach ars. Our Astronomical Column :— An Ancient Occultation of Jupiter ........ 370 Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, Eyer olin Gop odoud oe oon eo SY Geographical Notes ... . 371 On a Modification of Foucault’s and Ahrens’s Polarising Prisms By H. G. Madan. (///ustrated) 371 The Results of the Scientific Expedition to Sodankyla. By Selim Lemstrom, (//lustrated) . 372 On the Nature of Lichens. By Marcus M. Hartog 376 University and Educational Intelligence ..... 377 Societies'and Academies’. 2925 sGiere © © 0 = oo ai NATURE 381 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1885 THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF WAR-SHIPS ‘THE 7imes of the 19th inst. contains a long and vigorous criticism by Sir E. J. Reed, M.P., of the ten largest British ships of war “launched in 1879, or since, or remaining on the stocks.” These are the Ajax, Agamemnon, Colossus, Edinburgh, and the six vessels which constitute the Admzral class. These vessels are all built upon the central citadel system—?.e. their armoured portions are merely citadels erected in the middle of the ‘length ; the ends being left without armour-plating. One of these ships may thus be considered as being divided into three parts, so far as her out-of-water structure is concerned. The central part is plated completely around with very thick armour, which extends from the upper deck to several feet below the water-line ; while the parts before and abaft this are not protected by armour, but rest upon a thickly plated deck situated at the depth of the lower edge of the citadel armour. This deck protects the bull beneath the armour against the effects of a plunging fire. This system of construction was advocated by Sir E. J. Reed before the Committee of Naval Designs in 1871. It was first adopted in the /zflexib/e ; and immediately gave rise to a discussion respecting the size of the armoured citadel which Sir E. J. Reed has, with per- sistent energy, kept up ever since. The Zzmes’ letter above referred to is a continuation of the old, and well-remembered, /7/lexzb/e debate. A statement of the points then in dispute will be found in NATURE of July 12 and 19, 1877. Sir E. J. Reed maintained that the fighting power of the //lexible was gravely compromised by the shortness of her armoured citadel—which was not long enough to make the ship stable in the event of her thinly plated ends being so much injured as to lose all power of excluding water. A committee was appointed to inquire into and report upon the matter, but Sir E. J. Reed refused to give evidence before it. Sir E. J. Reed now says, with reference to the later ships of this type: “I have to state, and am prepared to demon- strate to any competent tribunal, that there is not one of these ten ships, the latest added to the British Navy, that cannot be either capsized and sunk, or sunk without capsizing, without any shot or shell whatever being directed against those parts of the ship which are armoured. The French armoured ships must in all reason be expected to dispose of these English ships in a very few minutes by simply destroying their unarmoured parts. I will here repeat in the most public and responsible manner that the 47az, Agamemnon, Colossus, and Edinburgh, and the six ships of the Admizra/ class, are all utterly unfit to engage the corresponding French ships; unfit to enter the line-of- battle at all; and unfit to be retained on the list of armoured ships.” This is strong language, but not so strong as that which is used respecting the members of the Board of Admiralty and the Constructors of the Navy. Sir E. J. Reed blames Admiral Sir Cooper Key, the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, for not setting his face against “the prospect VOL. XXXI.—No. 800 of British ship after ship capsizing in battle, before their armour had been violated or touched.” He fears that the day may be near “ when the present betrayal of our Navy by a set of politicians, admirals, and constructors may wring from us a cry which the very ends of the earth will hear.” The Admiralty of the day is “foolish enough, cruel, heedless, reckless, and faithless enough” to rely upon the skill and vigilance of the seamen “whom they send unprotected to destruction”; and “to substitute them for those actual physical defences which the ship herself should embody.” Sir E. J. Reed is “fast coming to feel something very like contempt’ for the heads of the Admiralty ; and he considers that “they are unequal to the work they have undertaken, and have become a source of grave national danger. Upon the heads of the present Board of Admiralty must continue to rest, after this public warning, the responsibility of delivering ten British ships of the largest class an easy and certain prey to destruction should war arise.” These are grave charges; and if the questions in- volved by them could be settled by forcible or scornful language, there would be little remaining to be said. It is desirable, however, to disregard as much as possible the rhetorical effect of the statements made, and to en- deavour to ascertain what are the simple facts of the case. It is important likewise to remember that the comparison instituted between our ships and those of the French is not one between fully armoured and partially armoured ships, but between partially armoured ships on both sides. The armour protection is very limited in the French ships, but it is differently distributed from what it is in ours. The armour of the French ships stops at a very small height above the water-line: and the space between the top of the armour and the upper deck may be de- stroyed as easily as the unarmoured ends of our ships. Any approach to destruction would completely cripple the fighting power, speed, and manceuvring qualities of these ships. If the assumptions upon which Sir E. J. Reed’s main argument is based are sound and indisputable, then no condemnation of the Board of Admiralty and of the Naval Constructors could be too strong or unqualified. We are disposed to go a long way with him in believing that all is not so well as might be wished with our recent ships, and that there is incompetency and something very like indifference to be found in high quarters at the Admiralty : but, before adopting, in all their breadth and fullness, the views so vigorously and ably advocated by Sir E. J. Reed, there are one or two points upon which we feel that more light is needed. Indeed, we are convinced that the present widely discordant views that are held by the different parties to this naval discussion are im- possible of reconciliation until the points referred to are cleared up. The chief one of all is, Can the thinly-plated ends of these citadel ships be readily destroyed in action and made useless—or worse than useless—for the purpose of contributing buoyancy or stability to the ship? If they can, it is obvious that the ship’s safety may be speedily endangered without the thick armour plating of the citadel being penetrated. Sir E. J. Reed assumes that this is unquestionably the case, and he emphatically asserts that our ten most powerful ships of recent construction might Ss 382 be disposed of “in a very few minutes by simply destroy- ing their unarmoured parts.” It is upon this assumption that his charges against our ships and their constructors are mainly based. If it be correct, the Admiralty stand convicted of culpable neglect or error; but if it be in- correct, or very doubtful, then Sir E. J. Reed’s charges are pointless and unjustifiable. The question is one of most vital importance to the fighting efficiency of our principal ships of war; but how is it to be settled? It is not one with which mere theory or abstract science can deal: actual experiment can alone answer it. Sir E. J. Reed believes, and asserts, that such structures as the thinly-plated ends of our recent ironclads may be effectually destroyed in a few minutes, and that single shells may shatter large portions of them into fragments. He says:—-“It is not a mere question of viddling the ends, but also one of blowing them up by shell fire: and how effectually they may be thus destroyed was shown at Alexandria, where a single shell, bursting against the unarmoured part of the Swerd’s side, tore a hole in it 10 feet by 4 feet in extent.” The apologists for this system of construction say, on the other hand, that if the area is increased over which the armour is spread, as would be the case if the citadels were lengthened, the thickness of armour throughout would require to be reduced ; and the armour protection would therefore be less in the central portion of the ship which incloses the boilers, engines, and other essential elements of fighting efficiency. Many naval artillerists say, further, that unless the ends can be plated with the very thickest of armour, it is better to include everything which contributes to fighting power within the armoured citadel or below the armoured deck, and to make the ends as thin as possible. They argue that shells which meet with considerable resistance in penetrating armour of moderate thickness will shatter the ship’s side, and make holes which cannot be stopped ; whereas they almost invariably make clean holes through thin plating, and would, in the vast majority of cases, pass through the ship and out upon the other side. Such an instance as Sir E. J. Reed calls attention to in the case of the Swpevb would not, it is said, occur in practice more than once in one hund- red times. The clean holes made by shells in thin plating can be stopped effectually and quickly by men stationed inside with shot-hole stoppers. These are made of india-rubber, and open and close like an umbrella, They are pushed out from the inside, and then pulled back and opened over the outside of the hole. The buoyancy and stability afforded by the ends can, it is confidently stated, be preserved by these means ; whereas the damage done to any but the very thickest of armour plating would be so much greater that the holes made by shells could not be so effectually dealt with. It is also pointed out that it is extremely difficult to strike a ship exactly at her water-line. The great majority of projectiles strike at some distance above it. If they are aimed too low they ricochet from the water surface and strike the ship above the water-line. It is most difficult to penetrate a ship exactly at her water-line ; and if sheis so penetrated, the holes may be much more readily and effectually stopped when the plating is thin than when it is thick. This is the argument which forms the answer to Sir E. J. Reed’s charges. Wee 7 OLE [/cb. 26, 1885 Sir E. J. Reed says that “the reply to the British ships which are being made to depend for their flotation and stability upon their unarmoured ends will inevitably be small-gun attack,” and he considers that even the fire from machine-guns may be sufficient to cripple them. This opens up_a complicated question and one which cannot be fully considered in all its details from a merely abstract point of view. There is obviously, however, a limit to the effective use of small gun and machine-gun fire, which is imposed by the necessity of protecting them by armour if they are to fight at short range. If the guns are not protected by armour they can only be relied upon at long ranges; and even then they may as readily be placed hors de combat by the fire from the enemy as succeed in penetrating, still less in destroying, the unarmoured ends of the latter. These are points which experience alone can throw any clear and definite light upon. Each party may continue to advocate its own view with great show of reason, but neither will convince the other till the effect of artillery fire upon such structures as the unarmoured ends of the ships in question has been thoroughly tested. In the meantime the public mind is only being bewildered and wearied by the reiterated discussions of questions which cannot be settled by mere argument or force of words. A structure similar to the unarmoured ends of one of our ships might easily be built and placed afloat. It should then be fired at from various distances with guns of different sizes. Valuable data might then be obtained upon two crucial points: (1) the percentage of shots which would strike sufficiently near the water-line to affect prejudicially the buoyancy or stability ; and (2) the nature of the holes that would be made; whether suchas are capable of being easily stopped from the inside, or such as admit of no effectual stoppage, but practically constitute a disintegration or destruction of the fabric. This simple experiment might surely be made in such a way as to set at rest the discussion that has now been going on for so many years respecting the efficiency of the system upon which the safety and fighting power of our most powerful ships depends. Still, “water condi- . tions” would be the most favourable for such’experiments ; because it would obviously be more difficult to make good practice at a vessel’s water-line in action—under the ordinary circumstances, at sea, of rolling motion and the relative movements of the vessels engaged—than at a quiet and carefully arranged trial. The only logical and effective answer that can be made to Sir E. J. Reed’s letter is that which would be furnished by the results of experiments such as we have indicated ; and that answer cannot be made too soon, or too complete, either for the reputation of the Admiralty and of the Constructors of the Navy—who, to say the least, appear to be greatly in the dark respecting the practical merits of the system to which they are com- mitted—or for the satisfaction of the public mind. This question, upon the merits of which Sir E. J. Reed’s charges must either stand or fall, is one which only Science can settle by experimental tests ; but there is an important point underlying another assumption contained in his letter which may be discussed with advantage from a more ab- stract point of view. He says: “The Admiralty Director of Naval Construction, in the article ‘Navy,’ in the ‘Encyclo- Feb. 26, 1885] NATURE 383 pedia Britannica,’ lays down the following principle :— ‘The fairest available approximate measure of the power of the ships is their displacement or total weight. It always represents power of some kind.’” Sir E. J. Reed adopts this principle, without reserve or qualification, and employs it as an empirical method of determining the relative fighting powers of the ships of our own and the French navies. “Bearing this principle in mind, as one accepted and avowed by the Admiralty” he proceeds to compare the displacements of ten of the largest French ships recently built with ten of the corresponding ships of our own navy. The following result is arrived at :—‘ Looking at these figures, and bearing in mind the doctrine quoted—that superior displacement means superior power, and inferior displacement inferior power—we here see that the Eng- lish ships have been deliberately made inferior by our Admiralty, ship by ship and squadron by squadron.” We do not know what authority there is for saying that this “principle” is accepted and avowed by the Ad- miralty, True, it is propounded by Mr. Barnaby, the Director of Naval Construction, in the latest edition of the “ Encyclopedia Britannica”; but we have not heard that the Admiralty accept and avow it. We hope, for the sake of the scientific reputation of the Naval Depart- ment, that they hold no such fallacious and absurd doctrine. It is surprising to find a scientific man of Sir E. J. Reed’s eminence and ability assenting to, and adopting, Mr. Barnaby’s so-called “principle.” What is stranger than all, however, is that Sir E. J. Reed should not see that the adoption of it is inconsistent with his main contention that our ten newest armour-clads are practically worthless, for quite other reasons, as compared with those of the French, and could be disposed of by the latter “in a very few minutes.” The average displacement of the ten English ships re- ferred to by Sir E. J. Reed is 9,363 tons, and that of the corresponding ten French shipsis 10,470 tons. Applying Mr. Barnaby’s principle in the sense in which it is used by Sir E. J. Reed—bearing in mind that “ superior dis- placement means superior power, and inferior displace- ment inferior power,” and that “the fairest available approximate measure of power” is “displacement or total weight ”—we arrive at the conclusion that the fighting power of the ten English ships is rather less than nine- tenths that of the French ships. Had their displace- ments been greater they would, upon the same prin- ciple, have been more powerful than the French ships. But Sir E. J. Reed believes that, apart from displacement altogether, and because of the differ- ent systems of construction employed in the two cases, the English ships could be sunk by the French ships in a very few minutes. The assumptions upon which the re- spective arguments are based are obviously inconsistent’ with each other. One is that the English ships are infe- rior to those of the French because their displacements are less ; the other is that they are inferior because the details of their construction are not so wisely and effi- ciently designed. Either one or both assumptions may be correct ; but the one has no necessary relation to the other. But we will compare Mr. Barnaby’s present principle with an empirical formula previously laid down by him for determining the comparative efficiency of ships of war. In the course of a lecture delivered in the Royal United Service Institution, in 1872, upon “ Modern Ships of War,” Mr. Barnaby put forward the following formula :— AX GX Bos? = comparative efficiency L X 100 P % where A is the weight of armour per ton of ship’s mea- surement, G the weight of protected guns and ammu- nition, H the height of battery port-sills above load water-line, S the speed in knots at the measured mile, and L the length of the ship. Mr. Barnaby applied this formula to the seven ironclads named in the table given below. In this table we have placed, alongside the names of the vessels, a column which contains their displacements in tons. The next column contains their comparative efficiencies, as com- puted by the above formula ; and the last column contains their comparative efficiencies, upon Mr. Barnaby’s new principle that displacement isa fair measure of power. It will be seen that, according to the latter, the most power- ful of these seven ships is the J@zwotaur,and the next the Warrior. The relative efficiency of the former vessel is three times greater than that given by Mr. Barnaby’s previous formula; and the latter is nearly four times greater. The Warrior and the Minotaur are, according to this standard of comparison, the most powerful of the seven ships named ; while the M/zo¢aur would, upon the same principle, be classed as the most powerful fighting ship the British navy possesses at the present time—with the single exception of the /z/flexible. In reality, how- ever, the Warrior and Minotaur are the weakest and least efficient ironclads we possess; and are invariably classed as obsolete even in the most favourable estimates that are made of the fighting power of the British navy. Relative efficiencies as computed by Relative effi- Names of Displacement Mr. Barnaby’s ciencies upon ‘ ships in tons formula, principle that AxGx Hx §3 Power varies with ara ae displacement Monarch 8,320 149°8 149°8 Hercules 8,680 113"4 1562 Captain 7,900 83°3 142°2 Vanguard .., 6,010 83'0 ae 108"2 Minotaur ... 10,690 61 eA 192"4 Warrior 9,210 44°55 165°8 Defence 6,150 10°9 I10'7 Nothing further can be necessary to show the fallacy, and the absolute inconsistency, of the views put forward at various times by Mr. Barnaby, respecting the standard by which the fighting power of a ship, or of a navy, may be judged. He has given no justification of either of the methods described ; nor attempted to show that they are approximately reliable. The formula laid down by him in 1872 recognises that the fighting power of a ship of war is made up of various distinct and independent elements—that the amount of armoured protection, as represented by weight of armour; the power of the armament, as measured by its weight ; the speed, and other qualities constitute elements of fighting power, which have different relative values, and which must be sepa- rately taken into account. We here find the value of manceuvring power, or handiness in turning, recognised by introducing the length of the ship as a divisor into the 10ymula. This element of fighting power is assumed to 384 vary inversely as the length ; so that, in similar ships, it would vary inversely as their displacements. In other words, so far as one element of fighting power is con- cerned, and that a very important one, the measure of its amount is not the displacement, as Mr. Barnaby now assumes, but the inverse ratio of the displacement. The fighting power of a ship is thus composed of several diverse and independent elements ; and there is nothing approaching to a consensus of professional opinion as to the relative importance of these elements. To assume that they all vary together with the ship’s dimensions, or with her weight in tons, is in the highest degree delusive and absurd. The displacement of a ship measures her weight and nothing more. Whether that weight has been effectively and wisely employed in developing a high degree of fighting power, is an entirely independent matter ; and one upon which the whole question of fight- ing efficiency depends. The statement that displacement “always represents power of some kind,” merely begs the question. Of course it represents power ; but such power is simply that of displacing water. It may repre- sent that and nothing more, or it may represent in addi- tion the possession of great fighting power, or of other desirable qualities. But the possession of such qualities, and the degree in which they will be developed, must depend entirely upon the skill of the designer—an arbitrary personal factor which is not always limited by the cubic feet of displaced volume that are placed at his disposal. Mr. Barnaby himself pointed out in the paper above referred to, that although the Defence and Vanguard have approximately equal displacements, the latter carried one-half more armour-plating than the former upon three- fourths of the weight of hull; and was so superior in manceuvring capability that she would turn completely around in four and a half minutes, whereas the former vessel required seven minutes to complete a circle. This difference in qualities, and Superiority in fighting power, of the Vanguard over the Defence is absolutely undis- coverable by merely comparing the displacements. All the comparisons we have seen of the fighting powers of modern ships of war and of our own and foreign navies, have been more or less vitiated by the arbitrary standards that have been selected as the basis of such comparisons. The displacement basis is unreliable and misleading, and furnishes no test whatever of fighting power. It would be extremely difficult to devise any simple standard by which the popular mind may be fairly impressed with the relative powers of our own and foreign navies ; while for purposes of exact comparison or of technical discussion no such standard could be re- garded as absolute. Before a simple standard or unit of comparison can be framed, which will be satisfactory or useful, naval officers, artillerists, and constructors require of the various elements that make up the fighting power ofa ship. The defensive values of armour-plating, speed, NATURE [ Fed. 26, 1885 | —such as Mr. Barnaby attempted with insufficient data in 1872—which would fairly represent the gross fighting efficiency of aship. Till this is done, no rule can possibly be devised which will indicate anything more than the mere opinions of the person who frames it ; while often, as in the case of Mr. Barnaby’s present displacement basis, the application of the rule may be misleading in a degree which its framer could never have foreseen or intended. Sir E. J. Reed’s letter to the 7zmes, and the whole force of the charges contained in it, rests mainly upon the truth of the two assumptions we have considered. The first is that the unarmoured ends of our present ironclads have practically no protective value. This is a point which, as we have said, may be determined once and for all by scientific experiments. The second assumption is that the comparative efficiency of our own ships and those of foreign powers may be approximately measured by merely com- paring their displacements. This proposition is unsound, and does not admit of any qualifying corrections short of depriving it of all specific meaning. A scientific standard or unit of comparison which may be fairly applied to the approximate determination of the relative fighting powers of war-ships and navies is greatly to be desired ; but before such an one can be framed, the per- sons who have to use our ships of war and to take them into action, and those who are responsible for their efficient construction, must come to some definite under- standing as to what the various elements of fighting power consist of, and what are their relative degrees of import- ance ; and to do so they must call in the aid of Science. PROFESSOR WILLIAMSON’ S DYNAMICS An Elementary Treatise on Dynamics, containing Ap- plications to Thermodynamics, Sc. By Benjamin Williamson, F.R.S., and Francis A. Tarleton, LL.D. (London; Longmans, Green, and Co., 1885.) ROFESSOR WILLIAMSON is already so well known to the student by his excellent text-books of the Differential, and of the Integral, Calculus, that his appearance in a new field of authorship is sure to excite attention. We accordingly opened the present work with expectations of a very high order. Not, of course, expect- ations that much novelty of matter could be introduced in an elementary work on a subject which has been thoroughly threshed-out, but that possibly fresh interest | and easier assimilability might be given to long-known | facts and processes by some novel mode of presentation. In these expectations we have been disappointed. Either the subject of Dynamics does not admit of treat- ment superior to that which it has already received, or | our authors are not destined to be the pioneers to the to agree among themselves about the relative importance | turning-power, and other protective qualities, and also the | offensive values of the gun and torpedo armaments, the ram, speed, &c., require to be separately evaluated and their relative importance determined. If a general agree- ment could be arrived at as to the relative approximate values of each of these independent elements of offensive and defensive power, an empirical formula might be framed | various parts of elementary Dynamics. { possible improvements. Our special reasons for this statement we will give with some detail, but we may begin with some general observations. From the time in which Jackson, Lloyd, Whewell, and many others, introduced continental methods to the average Honour-man ; through the period of Earnshaw, Pratt, Wilson, Tait and Steele, Griffin, Walton, &c., to the Parkinson, Bezant, Routh, &c., of the present day, there has been a plethora of treatises in English on the Some of these \ Feb, 26, 1885 | were robust, and showed considerable vitality, others sickly and short-lived. But, bad or good, among them they have practically exhausted the resources of the sub- ject, so far as the theorems presentable to a beginner are concerned. The only ringing of the changes has been in arrangement, modes of presentation, and proofs. But from the books of the future, some of which, at least, we may expect to see starting into existence in the present, we naturally, though perhaps vainly, look for something higher and better than this. We now have elementary treatises on the various branches of mathe- matics required in Dynamics (two, in fact, due to Prof. Williamson himself) so much superior to any that existed even twenty years ago, that we no longer require to have intricate steps of ordinary differentiation or integration introduced into a text-book of that subject. What we require may be summed up in two words, Foundation and Arrangement. To these must, of course, be added, as a requirement in every scientific treatise, Covsz¢stency. The foundations of the subject, in by far the best form in which they have yet been presented, were given by Newton. He expressly states, before proceeding to give his second interpretation of the Third Law of Motion, that (so far) he had been giving principles generally accepted among mathematicians. But we can barely imagine the effort which must have been made by that transcendent genius in extracting such simple and yet all- comprehending statements from the portentous verbiage of even the most able of his precursors. Step by step, in Britain, Newton’s system was forsaken ; one of his Laws was split up into fragments, another ignored and its place supplied by gratuitous additional Axioms; till at last the monstrous process culminated in the adoption of Du- chayla’s so-called statical Proof of the Parallelogram of Forces. Thus everything was ripe for Thomson and Tait’s reintroduction of the grandly simple system of Newton. The results of this step have been alike re- markable and important. These authors also introduced, after the example of Ampére,’ the notion of separating the science of motion in the abstract (A7zmematics) from that of motion of matter :—thus lightening the student’s work, in Dynamics proper, to at least as great an extent as it is lightened by his previous study of integration and differential equations. Now, in the book before us, these improvements on the text-books of twenty years ago are only partially adopted. Kinematics is not made a strictly preliminary study, but inserted in detached fragments. The exploded “ statical measure” of force haunts us all through the book, some- times leading to extraordinary results. Thus, opening at p- 30, we find the following passages, in which we have italicised a few words :— ** Acceleration varies as Pressure.” “This equation enables us to determine the velocity generated ... by a constant force . . . whenever the pressure which measures the force is known, and also the weight of the body.” “Thus a force which is capable of supporting a weight of 112 lbs. is called a force of 112 lbs.” “.. . the same effort which would project a small stone to a considerable distance will move a large one but slightly.” 1 Ampére has never, to our knowledge, received the credit due to him for much of his best dynamical work :—e.g. the ~, @ equation of central orbits. NATURE 385 Here we see, at a glance, the effects of want of system Pressure, Force, and Effort are used as completely synonymous and interchangeable terms. Now the first term has a perfectly definite meaning in science (intro- duced without definition or warning by our authors in § 290 of the book, to the utter bewilderment of the reader fresh from p. 30), and it means something differing from force in exactly the same way as a linear inch differs from a cubic inch. As to the Effort exerted in throwing a stone, we imagine that, if employed at all in scientific language, it would signify properly the work done, not the force applied; the two things differing as a square foot does from a linear foot. Of course our authors do not require to be told this, but why muddle the student by giving him slipshod information which he must uz/earn, if he is ever to make progress ? On the opposite page (31) we find :— “Tf a uniform pressure [force] of 3 lbs. [weight] produce a velocity [speed] of 10 feet [per second] in the first second, find the weight [mass] of the body acted on.” The insertions are ours, made with the view of showing how the question ought to be stated unless there is to be complete confusion of nomenclature. Since Clerk-Maxwell published his admirable little book on “ Matter and Motion” there has been left no excuse whatever for a misuse of the word Vedocity. The adoption of Hamilton’s Vector ideas effected an immense improvement in all these elementary matters. Yet we not only find constantly, in the book before us, this con- fusion of speed and velocity, but something even more grave, of which one example appears in the above extract. This is the use of the word ‘‘ velocity ” in the sense of so many units of length. See, for instance, pp. 28, 29 :— “Tn what time will a falling body acquire a velocity of 400 feet ?’ “ z Lat ae E oe E S a 28 | a d< > Ss oj (i 25 —— wo a ls 5 £28 = xO aa <= ae w wn uw z & qu SA¢ > © SE x = 2a SS Es a 31 < rsa.) ciated the exquisite loveliness of flowers, we must ad- mit that the beauty of our woods and fields was as much due to the marvellous grace and infinite variety of foliage. How is this inexhaustible richness of forms to be accounted for ? Does it result from an innate tendency of the leaves in each species to ‘assume some particular shape? Was it been intentionally de- signed to delight the eyes of man? Or has it reference to the structure and organisation, the wants and requirements of the plant itself? Now, if we consider first the size of the leaf, we shall find that it is regulated mainly with reference to the thickness of the stem. This was shown, for instance, by a table giving the leaf area and the diameter of stem of the hornbeam, beech, elm, lime, Spanish chestnut, ash, walnut, and horse-chestnut. When strict proportion is departed from, the difference can generally be accounted for. The size once determined exercises much influence on the form. For instance, in the beech the leaf has an area of about 3square inches. The distance between the buds is about 1} inches, and the leaves lie inthe general plane of the branch, which bends slightly at each internode. The basal half of the leaf fits the swell of the twig, while the upper half follows the edge of the leaf above, and the form of the inner edge being thus deter- mined decides that of the outer one also. In the lime the inter- nodes are longer and the leaf consequently broader. In the Spanish chestnut the stem is nearly three times as stout as that of the beech, and consequently can carry a larger leaf surface. But the distances between the buds are often little greater than those in the beach. This determines, then, the width, and, by compelling the leaf to lengthen itself, leads to the peculiar form whichit assumes. Moreover, not only do the leaves on a single twig admirably fit one another, but they are also adapted to the ramification of the twigs themselves, and thus avail themselves of the light and air, as we can see by the shade they cast with- out large interspaces or much overlapping. In the sycamores, maples, and horse-chestnuts the arrange- ment is altogether different. The shoots are stiff and upright, with leaves placed at right angles to the plane of the branch, instead of being parallel to it. The leaves are in pairs, and decussate with one another, while the lower ones have long petioles, which bring them almost to the level of the upper pairs, the whole thus forming a beautiful dome. For leaves arranged as in the beech, the gentle swell at the base is admirably suited ; but in a crown of leaves, such as those of the sycamore, space would be thereby wasted, and it is better that they should expand at once, as soon as their stalks have carried them free from the upper and inner leaves. Hence we see how beautifully the whole form of these leaves is adapted to the mode of growth and arrangement, of the buds in the plants themselves. In the black poplar the arrangement of the leaves is again quite different. The leaf-stalk is flattened, so that the leaves hang vertically. In connection with this it will be observed that, while in most leaves the upper and under surfaces are quite unlike, in the black poplar, on the contrary, they are very simi- lar. The stomata or breathing-holes, moreover, which in the leaves of most trees are confined to the under surface, are in in this species nearly equally numerous on both. The ‘* com- pass” plant of the American prairies, a yellow composite not unlike a small sunflower, is another plant with upright leaves, which, growing in the wide open prairies, tend to point north and south, thus exposing both surfaces equally to the light and I Abstract by the Author of a Lecture delivered at the Royal Institute, Feb. 13 by Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., &c. heat. It was shown by diagrams that this position also affected the internal structure of the leaf. In the yew the leaves are inserted close to one another, and are Jong and linear ; while in the box they are further apart and broader. In the Scotch fir the leaves are linear, and 14 inch long ; while in other pines, as, for instance, the Weymouth, the stem is thicker and the leaves longer. In the plants hitherto mentioned one main consideration ap- pears to be the securing of as much light as possible ; but in tropical countries the sun is often too powerful, and the leaves, far from courting, avoid the light. The typical acacias have primate leaves, but in most Australian species the true leaves are replaced by a vertically flattened leafstalk. It will be found, however, that the seedlings have leaves of the form typical in the genus. Gradually, however, the leaf becomes smaller and smaller, until nothing is left but the flattened leaf- stalk or phyllode. In one species the plant throughout life produces both leaves and phyllodes, which give it a very curious and interesting appearance. In eucalyptus, again, the young plant has horizontal leaves, which in older ones are replaced by scimitar-shaped phyllodes. Hence the different appearances of the young and old trees which must have struck every visitor to Algiers or the Riviera. We have hitherto been considering mainly deciduous trees. In evergreens the conditions are in many respects different. It is generally said that leaves drop off in the autumn because they die. This, however, is not strictly correct. The fall of the leaf is a vital process connected with a change in the cellular tissues at the base of the leaf-stalk. If the leaves are killed too soon they do not drop off. Sir fohn illustrated this by some twigs which he had purposely broken in the summer; below the fracture the leaves had been thrown off, above they still adhered, and so tightly that they could support a considerable weight. In evergreen trees the conditions are in many respects very different. It is generally supposed that the leaves last one complete year. Many of them, however, attain a much greater age: for instance, in the Scotch fir, three or four years; in the spruce and silver, six or seven; in the yew even longer. It follows from this that they require a tougher and more healthy texture. When we have an early fall of snow our deciduous trees are often much broken down; glossy leayes have a ten- dency to throw it off, and thus escape, hence evergreen leaves are very generally smooth and glossy. Again, evergreen leaves often have special protection either in an astringent or aromatic taste, which renders them more or less inedible ; or by thorns and spines. Of this the holly is a familiar illustration ; and it was pointed out that in old plants above the range of browsing quadrupeds, the leaves tend to lose their spines and become unarmed. The hairs on leaves are another form of protection ; on herbs the presence of hairs is often associated with that of honey, as they protect the plants from the visits of creeping insects. Hence perhaps the tendency of water species to become glabrous, Polygonum amphibium being a very interesting case, since it is hairy when growing on land, and smooth when in water. Sir John then dealt with cases in which one species mimics another, and exhibited a striking photograph of a group of stinging nettles and dead nettles, which were so much alike 2s to be hardly distinguishable. No one can doubt that the stinging nettle is protected by its poisonous hairs, and it is equally clear that the innocuous dead nettle must profit by its similarity to its dangerous neighbour. Other similar cases were cited. He had already suggested one consideration, which in certain cases determined the width of leaves ; but there were others in which it was due to different causes, one being the attitude of the leaf itself. In many genera with broad. and narrow-leaved species, drosera and plantago, for instance, the broad leaves formed a horizontal rosette, while the narrow ones were raised upwards. Fleshy leaves were principally found in hot and dry countries, where this peculiarity had the advantage of offering a smaller surface, and therefore exposing the plant less to the loss of water by evaporation. Sir John then passed to aquatic plants, many of which have two kinds of leaves: one more or less rounded, which floats on the surface; and others cut up into narrow filaments, which remain below. The latter thus presents a greater extent of surface. In air, however, such leaves would be unable to sup- port even their own weight, much less to resist any force such as that of the wind. In perfectly stil air, however, for the same reason, finely divided leaves may be an advantage, whereas in < iC ss | Feb. 26, 1585] NATURE 399 o comparatively exposed situations more compact leaves may be more suitable. It was pointed out that finely cut leaves are common among low herbs, and that some families which among the low and herbaceous species have such leaves, in shrubby or ligneous ones have leaves more or less like those of the laurel or beech. Much light is thrown on the subject by a study of the leaves of seedlings. Thus the furze has at first trifoliate leaves, which gradually pass into spines. This shows that the furze is descended from ancestors which had trifoliate leaves, as so many of its congeners have now. Similarly, in some species which when mature have palmate leaves, those of the seedling are heart-shaped. He thought that perhaps in all cases the palmate form was derived from the heart-shaped. He then pointed out that if there were some definite form told off for each species then a similar rule ought to hold good for each genus. The species of a genus might well differ more from one another than the varieties of any particular spe- cies; the generic type might be, so to say, less closely limited ; but still there ought to be some type characteristic of the genus. He took, then, one genus, that of Senecio (the groundsel). Now in addition to Senecios more or less re:embling the common groundsel, there were species with leaves like the daisy, bushy species with leaves like rosemary and the box, small trees with leaves like the laurel and the poplar, climbing species like the conyolvulus and bryony. In fact the list is a very long one, and shows that there is no definite type of leaf in the genus, but that the form in the various species depends on the condition of the species. From these and other considerations he concluded that the forms of leaves did not depend on any inherent tendency, but to the structure and organisation, the habits and require- ments of the plant. Of course it might be that the present form had reference to former and not to present conditions. Nor did it follow that the adaptation need be perfect. The tend- ency existed, just as water tends to findits level. This rendered the problem all jhe more complex and difficult. The lecture was illustrated by numerous diagrims and speci- mens, and Sir John concluded by saying the subject presented a wide and interesting field of study, for if he were correct in his contention every one of the almost infinite forms of leaves must have some cause and explanation. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society, vol. xvi. fase. 8.—On the oxidation of acetones, by E. Wagner (first paper dealing with their behaviour towards chromic acid).—On the specific volumes of chlorine, iodine, and bro vine in organic compounds, by M. Schalfejeff (second paper). For chlorine they gradually rise with the increase of the number of equivalents en- tering into combination, gradually reaching 21, 24, and 27; for bromine they are 24, 27, and 30; and for iodine, 26 to 27.—Addi- tion of methylamine to methylglycidic acid, by M. Zelinsky. — On Astrakhanite, by W.. Markovnikoff.—On the influence of the lineary compression of iron, steel, and nickel rods on their magnetism, by P. Bakmetieff. From a varied series of experi- ments the author arrives at a series of conclusions, showing that compression of iron rods exercises a very notable influence on their magnetisation, and that the phenomena depend upon the rods having been, or not, formerly submitted to repeated compres- sion ; all kinds of iron and steel display the influence of com- pression—soft iron and steel at a higher degree than hard iron and steel. The theory of rotating molecular magnets would explain all observed phenomena.—On an amperomeire based on the electrothermic phenomenon of Pelletier, by N. Hesehus.— On the regular forms taken by powders, by Th. Petrusheysky (second paper dealing with the shapes taken by heaps of powders on surfaces limited by curves, or polygones with enter- ing angles).—Also on the dilatation of liquids ; an answer to Prof. Arenarius, by D. Mendeleeff.—An answer to M. Rogoysky, by B. Stankewitsch.—An answer to M. Sokoloff, by M. Bardsky, being a further mathematical inquiry into the forces of molecular attraction.—An answer to M. Petroff, by M. Kraevitsch.—-We notice an innovation in this fasciculum of the Journal. It con- tains detailed minutes of the proceedings of the Physical and Chemical Section of the Moscow Society of Lovers of Natural Science. Sitzungsberichte der Physicalisch-medicinishen Societat 2u Erlangen, No. 16, October, 1883, to October, 1884.—Remarks on the phenomenon of phosphorescence in connection with the description of an instrument designed for studying the effect of the various spectral rays, and especially the ultra-red on phos- phorising substances, by E. Lommel.—On the fluorescence of calcspar, by E. Lommel.—On the reduction of algebraic differential expressions to normal forms, by M. Noether.—Con- tributions to the knowledge of the Chytridiacez and other fung- oid organisms, with thirty-seven illustrations, by D. C. Fisch. —On the malaria and intermittent fevers of the Erlangen district, by Prof. F. Penzoldt.—On the presence of microscopic organisms in the tissues of animals in the normal state, by Dr. Hauser.— Test of the sensitiveness of the visual organ to direct and oblique luminous rays, by Dr. Louis Wolftberg.—On algebraic differ- ential expressions, and on Jacobi’s reverse problem, by M. Noether.—On the systematic position of the yeast fungus, by M. Reess.—On two new species of Chytridiacez, by C. Fisch.—On the nerves of temperature and touch in the animal system, by J. Rosenthal.—On a means of determining the quantity of carbonic acid present in the atmosphere of rooms, by J. Rosenthal.—On the phenomenon of Uremia, by Dr. R. Fleischer.—Toxicologic researches from the physiological standpoint, by J. Rosenthal.— On vertigo caused by intestinal affections, by W. Leube.—Ex- periments on the hatching of bird’s eggs whose shells had suffered lesion, by Prof. L. Gerlach.—On Oidema, by Dr. R. Fleischer. —On the surgical operation of opening the mastoid process, by Dr. W. Kiesselbach.—On the life-history and pathological proper- ties of a species of bacteria causing putrefaction, by Dr. G. Hauser.—On the histiology of primary carcinom in the osseous system, by Dr. von Diiring.—On a case of lingual tuberculosis, by Dr. Ernst Graser.—On the after-treatment of external urethrotomy, by H. Knoch. Rivista Scientifica-Industriale, December 31, 1884.—On the electric conductivity of the alcoholic solutions of some chlorides, by Dz. Joseph Vicentini.—Memoir on the variations in the elec- tric resistance of solid and pure metal wires according to the temperature (continued), by Prof. Angelo Euro. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, February 12.—‘‘ On Underground Tem- peratures, with Observations on the Conductivity of Rocks, on the Thermal Effects of Saturation and Imbibition, and on a Special Source of Heat in Mountain Ranges.” By Joseph Prestwich, M.A., F.R.S., Professor of Geology in the Uni- versity of Oxford. The author remarks on the difference of opinion between physicists and geologists respecting the probable thickness of the outer crust of the earth—the former on the strength of its great rigidity and the absence of tides, contending for a maximum thickness and comparative solidity of the whole mass ; while the latter, in general, on the evidence of volcanic action, the crumpling and folding of the strata in mountain ranges, its general flexibility down to the most recent geological times, and the rate of increase of temperature in descending beneath the surface, contend for a crust of minimum thickness as alone com - patible with these phenomena. ein : The question of underground temperature, which is a subject equally affecting the argument on both sides, had engaged the author’s attention in connection with an inquiry respecting vol- canic action, and he was induced to tabulate the results to see how far the usually received rates of increase were affected by various interfering causes—not that most of them had not received due attention, but it was a question whether sufficient allowance had been made for them. , Although Gensanne’s first experiments were made in 1740, and others were subsequently made by Daubuisson, Saussure, and Cordier, in coal and other mines, it was not until the con- struction of deep artesian wells commenced in the second quarter of this century, and Walferdin introduced his overflow thermo- meter, and precautions were taken against pressure, that the more reliable observations were made and admirably discussed by Arago. The Coal Commission of 1866 collected a mass of important evidence bearing on the question, and in 1867 a Com- mittee of the British Association was appointed to collect further information. Under the able superintendence of Prof. Everett, a series of valuable experiments with improved instruments has 400 been made, and full particulars published in the 4 xnxual Reports of 1868-83. But notwithstanding the precautions taken, and the accuracy of the experiments, they present very wide differences in the thermometric gradient, ranging from under 30 to above 120 feet per degree F. Consequently different writers have adopted different mean values. On the Continent one of 30m. per degree C. has been commonly adopted, while in this country some writers have taken a mean of 50 feet per degree, and others of 60 feet or more. The object which the author has in view is to see whether it is not possible to eliminate the more doubtful instances, and to bring the probable true normal gradient within narrower limits. In so doing he confines himself solely to the geological side of the inquiry. In a general list, Table I., he gives all the recorded observa- tions in the order of date. The list embraces observations at 530 stations in 248 localities. The most reliable of these he classifies under three heads in Tables II., III., and IV. (1) Coal mines. (2) Mines other than coal. (3) Artesian wells and bore-holes. To which tunnels are added in a supplement. The author then proceeds to point out that the gradients given in many of the earlier observations were wrong in consequence of neglecting the height of the surface, and from the exact mean annual temperature of the locality not being known. They also differed amongst them elves from taking different surface tem- peratures, and starting from different datum levels. To these he endeavours to assign a uniform value. The essential differences in the results in several tables depend, however, upon dissimilar geological conditions, which unequally affect the conductivity of the strata, and disturbing causes of different orders. In the mines the latter are :-— (1) The currents established by ventilation and convection. (2) The circulation of underground waters. (3) Chemical reactions. (4) The working operations. And in artesian wells— (1) The pressure of the water on the thermometers. (2) Convection currents in the column of water. In the latter experiments pressure has been thoroughly guarded against, but against the subtle influence of the other causes, though long known, it is more difficult to guard. Coal Mines.—The author then proceeds sertatim with each subject, commencing with coal-mines. In these he shows that ventilation and convectio1 currents have rendered many of the results unreliable, as he shows to have been the case in the well- known instance of the Dukinfield coal pit. The circulation of air in coal pits varies from 5000 to 150,000 cubic feet per minute, and tables are given to show how this variously affects the temperature of the coal at different distances from the shaft, though on the same level. As a rule, the deeper the pit the more active is the ventilation, and therefore the more rapid the cooling of the underground strata. Insome pits the indraughted air has been known to form ice, not only in the shaft, but icicles in the mine near the shaft. The cooling effects of ventilation are shown to begin imme- diately that the faces of the rock and coal are exposed, and as the hotter (and deeper) the pit, and the more gassy the coal, the more active is the ventilation, so these surfaces rapidly undergo a cooling until] an equilibrium is established between the normal underground temperature and the temperature of the air in the gallery. Judging by the effects of the diurnal variations on the surface of the ground, it is clear that an exposure of a few days must, when there is a difference of 10° to 12° or more between the air in the gallery and the normal temperature of the rock, tell on the exposed coal and rock to the depth of 3 to 4 feet —the usual depth of the holes in which the thermometers are placed. ‘The designation of ‘‘fresh open faces” is no security, as that may mean a day or a week, or more. The author con- siders also that so far from the length and permanence of the experiment affording security, he is satisfied on the contrary that those experiments in which it is stated that the thermometer has been left in the rock for a period of a week, a month, or two years without any change of temperature, affords prima facie evidence of error, inasmuch as it shows that the rock has so far lost heat as to remain in a state of equilibrium with the air at the lower temperature in constant circulation. Another cause of the loss of heat which requires some notice is the escape of the gas, which exists in the coal either in a NATURE [ Fed. 26, 1885 highly compressed, or, as the author thinks more probable, in a liquid state. A strong blower of gas has been observed to render the coal sensibly cooler to the touch. In another case whereas the temperature of the coal at the depth of 1269 feet was 74° F., at the greater depth of 1588 feet in a hole with a blower of gas it was only 62°. One witness observed that ‘‘the coal gives out heat quicker than the rock.” There is generally a difference of 2° or 3° between them, On the other hand, the coal and rocks when crushed and in “creeps” acquire a higher temperature owing to the liberation of heat. The effects of irregu'arities of the surface on the underground isotherms, although unimportant in many of our coal-fields, pro- duce very decided results in the observations on the same level in the mines among the hills of South Wales. Sections are given to show how the temperature rises under hills and falls under valley=, showing that it is often essential to know not only the depth of the shaft but the depth beneath the surface at each station where the experiments are made. The author therefore considers that to assign a value to an observation we should know (1) height of pit above sea-level ; (2) the exact mean annual temperature of the place ; (3) depth beneath the surface of each station ; (4) distance of the stations from the shaft ; (5) temperature and columns of air in circula- tion ; (6) length of exposure of face ; (7) whether or not the coal is gassy. The dip of the strata and the quantity of water are also to be noted. Very few of the recorded observations come up to this standard, and the author has felt himself obliged to make a very restricted selection of cases on which to establish the probable thermo- metric gradient for the coal strata. Amongst the best observa- tions are those made at Boldon, North Seaton, South Hetton, Rosebridge, Wakefield, Liége, and Mons. These give a mean gradient of 49} feet for each degree F. The bore-holes at Blythswood, South Balgray, and Creuzot give a mean of 50°8 feet. Mines other than Coal.—The causes affecting the thermal con- ditions of these mines are on the whole very different to those which obtain in coal mines. Ventilation affects both, but in very unequal degrees. In mineral mines it is much less active, and the cooling effects are proportionately less. On the other hand the loss of heat by the underground waters in mineral mines is very important. In some mines in Cornwall, the quan- tity of water pumped up does not exceed 5 gallons, while in others it amounts to 200 gallons per minute. The Dolcoath mine used to furnish half a million gallons of water in the twenty- four hours, while at the Huel Abraham mine it reached the large quantity of above 2,000,000 gallons daily. The rainfall in Cornwall is about 46 inches annually, and of this about 9 inches pass underground. In the Gwennap district, where 5500 acres were combined for drainage purposes, above 20,000,000 gallons have been discharged in the twenty-four hours from a depth of 1200 feet. This water issues at temperatures of from 60° to 68°, or more than 12” above the mean of the climate, showing how large must be the abstraction of heat from the rocks through which the waters percolate. Hot springs are not uncommon in these mines. They are due to chemical decomposition, and to water rising in the lodes and fissures from greater depths. The decomposition which goes on in the lodes near the surface, and whereby the sulphides of iron and copper are reduced ultimately to the state of peroxides and carbonates of those metals, is a permanent cause of heat, espe- cially apparent in the shallower mines. On the other hand, where the surface waters pass rapidly through the rocks, they lower the temperature and give too low readings. While ventilation, therefore, reduces the rock temperature, the water which percolates through the rock, and more especially through the veins and cross-courses, sometimes raise, and at other times lower, the temperature of the underground springs. Mr. Were Fox, who for many years made o}servations on the underground temperature of the Cornish mines, gave the prefer- ence to the rocks; while Mr. Henwood, an observer equally experienced and assiduous, considered that the underground springs gave surer results. Both were of course fully alive to all the precautions that in either case it was necessary to take to guard against these interferences. Taking ten of the most reliable of Mr. Henwood’s observa- tions at depths of from 800 to 2000 feet, the mean gives a ther- mometric gradient of 42°4 feet per degree, but Mr. Henwood himself gives us the mean of 134 observations to the depth of Feb. 26, 1885] NATURE 401 1200 feet, a gradient of 41°5 feet to the experiments in granite, and of 39 feet to those in slate. Taking the experiments of Mr. Fox in eight mines, varying in depth from 1100 to 2100 feet, the mean of the experiments made in the rock gave a gradient of 43°6 feet per degree, or for the mean of the two observers we have a gradient of 43 feet per degree. For the foreign mines, in the absence of fuller data, and especially failing in information of the depth of the station beneath the surface, which in the hilly district of Freiberg and Hungary introduces an element of great uncertainty, it is imposs- ible to arrive at any safe conclusion. Artesian Wells and Borings.—This class of observations pre- sents results much more uniform, and whereas the mines obser- vations were made, the one in crystalline, and the other in unaltered Palzeozoic rocks, the wells are, with few exceptions, either in the softer and less coherent rocks of Cretaceous, Juras- sic, and Triassic age, which are much more permeable, and, as a rule, much less disturbed. The causes of interference are mainly reduced to pressure on the instruments and convection currents. The early experimerts, where no precautions were taken against these, are, with few exceptions, unreliable, and must be rejected. The larger the bore-hole, the greater the risk of cunvection-currents, and Prof. Everett has shown that in many cases of deep and large artesian borings, the water which lodges in them is reduced to a nearly uniform temperature throughout the whole depth by the action of these currents. In the deep boring at Sperenberg, before the introduction of plugs to stop these currents, it was found that the temperature near the top of the bore was rendered 4°°5 F. too high, and at the bottom, at a depth of 3390 feet, 4°°6, if not 6°°7, too high by the currents. Taking the bore-holes in which the water does not overflow, and where, owing to the precautions against these sources, such as those of Kentish Town, Richmond, Grenelle, Sperenberg, Pregny, and Ostend, we get a mean gradient of 51°9 feet per degree. Overflowing artesian wells should, if we were sure of all the conditions, give the best and most certain results. Taking those where the volume of water is large, and the observations made by competent observers, as in the case of the wells of Grenelle, Tours, Rochefort, Mondorff, Minden, and others, we obtain a mean of 502 feet, or, taking the two sets of wells, of 51 feet per degree. The author, however, points out a source of possible error in those wells, arising from a peculiarity of tubage which requires investigation, and owing to which he thinks the water may suffer a loss of heat in ascending to the surface. With respect to the extra-European wells, more particulars are required. It may be observed, however, that the wells in the Sahara Desert, which were made by an experienced engineer accustomed to such observations, the mean of eleven overflowing wells, at depths of from 200 to 400 feet, gave 36 feet per degree. Tunnels. —F or the Mont Cenis Tunnel, allowing for the con- vexity of the surface, Prof. Everett estimates the gradient at 79 feet, and for the St. Gothard, 82 feet perdegree. But Dr. Stapff found in the granite at the north end of the tunnel a much greater heat and more rapid gradient, for which there seemed no obvious explanation. Though this axis of the Alps is of late Tertiary date, the author points out that it cannot be due to the protrusion of the granite, as the Swiss geologists have shown that the granite was in its present relative position and solidified before the elevation of this last main axis of the Alps, and he suggests that the higher temperature may be a residue of the heat caused by the intense lateral pressure and crushing of the rocks which accompanied that elevation, for in the crushing of a rigid material such as rock almost the entire mechanical work reappears as heat. Conductivity of the Rocks. Effects of Saturation and Imbi- bition.—Some of the apparent discrepancies in the thermometric gradients are no doubt due to differences in the conductivity of the rocks. Applying the valuable determinations of Profs. Herschel and Lebour to the groups of strata characterising the several classes of observations, the following results are obtained :— Mean Mean conductivity resistance . k r (1) Carboniferous strata BEAOOASS, cea) | 275 (2) Crystalline and schistose rocks ... "00546 184 (3) Triassic and Cretaceous strata ... "00235 405 From this it would appear that the conductivity of the rocks associated with the mineral mines is twice as great as that of the artesian wells class. But all the experiments, with the exception of three or four, were made with blocks of dried rocks, and those showed a very remarkable difference ; thus, for example, dry New Red Sandstone gave £0°00250, whereas when wet it was increased to £0°00600. The author remarks that as all rocks below the level of the sea and that of the river valleys are per- manently saturated with water, dry rocks are the exception and wet rocks the rule in nature, consequently the inequalities of conductivity must tend to disappear. The power of conduction is also greater along the planes of cleavage or lamination than across them, and therefore the dip of the strata must also exer- cise some influence on the conductivity of different rocks and ‘*massifs.” With respect to the foliated and schistose rocks, M. Jannettaz has shown that the axes of the thermic curve along and across the planes of foliation and cleavage are in the follow- ing proportions :— Gneiss of St. Gothard I: 1°50 Schists of Col Voza... I: 1°80 Cambrian slates, Belgium I: 1°98 This cause will locally affect the rock masses. Conclusion.—The author deduces from the three classes of observations a general mean thermic gradient of 48 feet per degree F., but he considers this only an approximation to the true normal gradient, and that the readings of the coal-mines and artesian-well experiments are, owing to the causes he enu- merates, still too high. He also discusses the question whether or not the gradient changes with the depth. His own reduction of the observations gave no result, but he points out that in all probability the circulation of water arising from the extreme tension of its vapour is stayed at a certain depth; while it has been shown experimentally that the conductivity of iron dimin- ishes rapidly as the temperature increases, and this may possibly in a different degree apply to rocks. If, therefore, there is any change, these indications would be in favour of a more rapid gradient. Taking all these conditions into consideration, the author inquires whether a gradient of 45 feet per degree would not be nearer the true normal than even the one of 48 feet obtained by the observations. Linnean Society, February 19.—Prof. P. Martin Duncan, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—The Rev. L. Martial Klein was elected a Fellow.—Mr. Thiselton Dyer exhibited and made remarks on specimens of the peculiar Chinese ‘‘ square bamboo” (Bambusa guadrangularis, Fenzi), and of articles made from the so-called ‘“‘hairy bamboo” (probably Dendro- calamus latiflorus, Munro), sent from Wenchow to the Kew Museum by Dr. Macgowan.—Mr. T. Christy afterwards drew attention to silk fibres received from Auckland, New Zealand.— An abstract of Part iii. of the Rey. A. Eaton’s monograph on the Mayflies (Ephemeridz) was read by the Secretary. In this, the fourth series of group 2 of the genera are dealt with. Among representatives of Section 9, Cloéz is distinguished by absence of hind wings, Cad/ibetis by costal projection and cross-veinlets of its broad obtuse hind wings, Zaetzs by small or absence of costal projection and deficiency of cross veinlets, and Centroptilum by extreme narrowness of hind wings and slenderness of costal projection. The distinctive characteristics of sections 10 and II of the genera are also taken into consideration, and full descrip- tions of many new species given.—Then followed notes on the European and North American mosses of the genus Fzssidens, by Mr. W. Mitten. Referring to the more recent important contributions of Dr. Braithwaite’s British Moss-Flora, and Messrs. Lesquereux and James’s North American Mosses, and taking into account definitions of older writers, such as Dillenius, Hedwig, Swartz, and others, Mr. Mitten endeavours to arrange the entire group afresh, partly in a tabular form, and afterwards supplementing this by notes on the individual species.—A paper was read by Prof. P. M. Duncan on the anatomy of the Ambu- lacra of the recent Diadematide. The author described the arrangement of the compound plates of the genera of Diadema, Echinothrix, Centrostephanus, Atropyga, Micropyga, and Aspi- dadiadema. The first three genera have triplets, consisting of primaries, the adoral and aboral plates being low and broad, and the second, or central plate, being a large primary. Nea, the peristome there is deformity of this typical arrangement and in £chinothrix a demiplate may enter, but it is never the second plate. In Astropyga the triplets are arranged so that the 402 NA LORE (Feb. 26, 1885. majority are on the Déadema-type, and the exceptions were recorded. The structure of the triplets of AZcropyga is unique, and the arrangements, leaving out the position of the pores, is somewhat like that of Calopleurus. Aspidodiadema, as has been explained by A. Agassiz, is like Cidaris in its ambulacra. Mathematical Society, February 12.—J. W. L. Glaisher} F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Miss Emily Perrin, Ladies College, Cheltenham, was elected a Member, and Mr. J. Griffiths was admitted into the Society. —Mr. Tucker read the following papers :—‘‘ Sur les Figures semblablement Variables,” by Prof. J. Neuberg ; on the extension of Ivory’s and Jacobi’s distance- correspondences for quadric surfaces, by Prof. J. Larmor ; and some properties of a quadrilateral ina circle the rectangles under whose opposite sides are equal, by R. Tucker. Messrs. Jenkins and S. Roberts spoke on the subject of the first paper. A clear idea of Mr. Tucker’s communication will be obtained by drawing a figure for the following particular case :—Take a quadrilateral, ABCD, in a circle, with its angles 4, B = 58°, 112° respec- tively, and 4 2 (the unit of length) equal the side (in this case) of the inscribed square. Let BC=a, CD=p, DA =v; then if two sets of lines drawn in the same sewses with the respec- tive sides from the two ends make with those sides (in the par- ticular case) angles of 38°, these lines will intersect in two sets of 4 lines in P, P’ (analogous to the Brocard points of a triangle), and in four sets of 2 linesin 7, G, H, K. The quantities A, p, v, are so related that A y=, hence we see that all such quadrilaterals have the rectangles under their opposite sides equal. The six points lie on a circle which also passes through the circum-centre (Q), point of intersection (Z) of the diagonals 4 C, 2D, and through the mid-points 4/7, Z of those diagonals. In fact, since OZ is a diameter of this new circle, the mid-points of any chord of the circum-circle which passes through & lies on the small circle. P, FP’ are the foci of an ellipse inscribed in A B C D. ihunther properties; are (O\P/— (OlP) AP BP Gee DP — AP’. BP'.CP'. DP’, and many other metrical and angular relations belong to the above collection of points. If instead of 38° we take ¢, then @ is found by the equation cosec* = cosec*4 + cosec®&. The side AB subtends at an opposite vertex an 2 86,, such that cot 6, = cot @ — cot A — cot B, with similar values for the other angles. The circum-radius (A) is found by— 2k* = (cot ¢ — cot A) (cot p ~ cot 4), and that of the small circle (p) by 2p = K sec p Nos 2p. Relations connecting the @ set and } with the Brocard angles of the 4 constituent-triangles are easily obtained in a neat form. If through Z lines are drawn parallel to the sides cutting them in eight points, these points lie on a circumference which has many properties analogous to those of the ‘‘ 7. 2.”’ circle of atriangle. If p' is its radius, then p? + p* = &2/,: the eight points from two equal inscribed quadilaterals similar to the given figure, and whose sides make the same angle with the given sides. Geological Society, January 28.—Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Frederick John Cullis, Henry Dewes, Henry Hutchings French, Jacob Hort Player, and the Hon. Donald A. Smith, were elected Fellows, and Prof. F. Fouque, of Paris, and Dr. Gustav Lindstrém, of Stockholm, Foreign Correspondents of the Society.—The President called attention to the great loss the Society had sustained in the sudden and unexpected death of Dr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S., ~ &c., who had been for twenty-one years continuously a Member of the Council, and for fourteen years of that time had performed most valuable services to the Society as Treasurer.—The follow- ing communications were read :—The Boulder Clays of Lincoln- shire : their geographical range and relative age, by A. J. Jukes- Browne, F.G.S. The author commenced by referring to the late Mr. Searles V. Wood’s papers on the glacial beds of York- shire and Lincolnshire, and stated, as the result of his own investigations, that two distinct types of boulder clay occur in Lincolnshire : (1) the gray or blue clay ; (2) the red and brown clays, the former undoubtedly an extension of the upper or chalky boulder clay of Rutland and East Anglia, while the second includes the purple and Hessle clays of Mr. S. V. Wood. These two types of boulder clay are very rarely in contact with each other. The brown boulder clays of East Lincolnshire rest upon a broad plain of chalk, which appears to terminate westward in a concealed line of cliff, this cliff-line coinciding with the strike of the slope which descends from the chalk wolds to the boulder clay plateau by which they are bordered. The present boundary line of the boulder clay runs along this slope for long distances, though in many places the clay has surmounted the slope and caps the hills to the west of it. From Louth the main mass of the ‘‘ brown clay ” is bounded by a line drawn through Wyham, Hawerby, Laceby, and Brocklesby to Barrow and Barton on Humber, sweeping around the north end of the Lincolnshire wolds and occurring on both sides of the Humber. Previously to the author’s inspection of this district no purple or Hessle clay bad been discovered west of South Ferriby, and these clays were supposed to be entirely absent on the western side of the wolds. The officers of the Survey have, however, mapped several tracts of such clay in the valley of Ancholme. It occupies the surface at Horkstow, Winterton Holme, Winterton, and Winteringham. It probably underlies the alluvium of the Ancholme near and south of these places, and occurs again at higher levels in the neighbourhood of Brigg. South of Brigg it has been seen at low levels on either side of the valley of the Ancholme, as far as Bishop’s Bridge near Glentham. Beyond this point it was not traceable in the Ancholme valley, but south of Market Rasen patches of reddish-brown clay, mottled with gray, and containing small flints and pebbles of chalk, occur, and cap the low ridges sepa- rating the valleys of the brooks, Another tract of boulder clay, which the author considers to belong to the same series, occupies the western border of the fenland south-east of Lincoln, what is left of it forming a ridge which runs southward for many miles. It passes eastward beneath the fen deposits ; and similar mottled clay was seen in the excavations for the Boston Docks beneath about twenty feet of fen clays, &c., and resting upon blue boulder clay of the ‘‘chalky”’ type. Besides this section at Boston, there are very few places where the two types of clay are in contact, or so near as to afford any evidence as to their relative age. Near East and West Real, and again near Louth, the ‘brown clays” are banked against the slopes of hills which are capped with the ‘‘chalky clay.” The same is the case also near Brigg, where the country seems to have been originally covered by a sheet of the chalky clay, through which valleys were eroded into the Jurassic clays, and the brown (Hessle) clay is found only in these valleys. The author concludes, therefore, that the ‘‘ Brown-clay series” is of much newer date than the ‘* Blue and Grey series.” In conclusion the author summed up the inferences drawn in the paper, correlated the Basement clay of Holderness with the Chalky clay of Lincolnshire, and sug- gested that the Purple clay may be confined to the east side of the wolds. The classification he would propose is therefore as follows :— Lincolnshire. Yorkshire. Hessle clay. Hessle and upper red clay Newer Glacial. of coast. Purple clay. Purple clay. Older Glacial = Chalky clay. Basement clay. —On the geology of the Rio Tinto Mines, with some general remarks on the pyritic region of the Sierra Morena, by J. H. Collins, F.G.S. After briefly describing the geographical posi- tion of the Rio Tinto mines and the occurrence at the same of pyritous ores amongst slates and schists which abut against gneissose rocks to the north, and pass under Tertiary beds to the southward, the author proceeded to consider the general cha- racters and associations of the pyrites-deposits, and then gave a general account of the Rio Tinto district. The slates were described, and the fossil evidence recapitulated upon which an Upper Devonian age had been assigned to them. Analyses were furnished to show the changes due to weathering and to infiltration. The various intrusive rocks (syenite, diabase, and porphyries) occurring in the schists were described, and analyses of them given. The sedimentary iron ores and their composi- tion were next noticed, and the author ascribed their formation to deposition in lakes. The masses of pyrites which furnish the principal ores of Rio Tinto were then described, their mode of occurrence in fissures between dissimilar rocks explained, and their formation discussed. The different kinds of ore obtained from the mines were noticed in detail, and several analyses added, giving samples both of the mixed ores and of the pure minerals. The manganese lodes were next described, and shown to be parallel to the pyrites fissures, and frequently to be only branches of the latter. A summary of the author's conclusions as to the stratigraphy of the district, the ore deposits, and the surface-geology was appended.—On some new or imperfectly known Madreporia from the Great Oolite of the counties of Oxford, Gloucester, and Somerset, by R. F. Tomes, F.G.S. 7 = See ~~ : Py Feb. 26, 1885] NATURE We sr 2 , 403 Physical Society, February r4.—Annual General Meeting. —Prof. Guthrie, President, in the chair.—Prof. G. Fuller was elected a Member of the Society.—The President then read the Report of the Council, in which the Society was congratulated upon the number of original communications read—forty-three during the past year. Among the works undertaken by the Society may be mentioned the publication of the first volume of **Joule’s Scientific Works” ; a second volume, containing ac- counts of researches conducted by Mr. Joule in conjunction with other scientific men, would be published shortly. —The Treasurer presented a highly satisfactory report.—The Council for the ensuing year was then elected, the result of the election being as follows :—President: Prof. F. Guthrie, Ph.D., F.R.S. ; Vice-Presidents (who have filled the office of President): Dr. J. H. Gladstone, Prof. G. C. Foster, Prof. W. G. Adams, Sir W. Thomson, Prof. R. B. Clifton; Vice-Presidents: Prof. W. E. Ayrton, Shelford Bidwell, Lord Rayleigh, Prof. W. C. Roberts; Secretaries: Prof. A. W. Reinold and Walter Baily ; Treasurer : Dr. E. Atkinson; Demonstrator: Prof. F. Guthrie; other Members of Council: C. Vernon Boys, C. W. Cooke, Prof. G. Forbes, Prof. F. Fuller, R. T. Glazebrook, Dr. J. Hopkinson, Prof. H. McCleod, Prof. J. Perry, Prof. J. H. Poynting, Prof. S. P. Thompson ; Honorary Member: Prof. M. E. Mascart.— The customary votes of thanks to the Committee of the Council of Education and to the President, Secretaries, and other officers having been passed, the meeting resolved itself into an ordinary meeting of the Society.—Miss Marks described a new line and area divider. This instrument consists of a hinged rule with a firm joint. The inside edge of each limb is bevelled, and presents a straight edge. One limb is divided on both edges into a number of equal parts, and is fitted by a groove on its outer edge to a plain rule, along which it can slide. To divide a line into a given number of equal parts, the hinged rule is slid along the plain rule till the th division from the joint is opposite a fixed mark on the plain rule ; it is then placed on the paper so that the zth division on the graduated straight edge coincides with one end of the given line, and then opened till the straight edge on the inner edge of the other limb passes through the other extremity. The plain rule is then pressed firmly down and the hinged rule slid along it. As each division of the graduated edge passes the fixed mark, the intersection of the moving edge with the given line is marked, and thus the line is divided into # equal parts. The instrument may be used in this way to draw any given number of equidistant parallel lines between two given points. It may be conveniently used in working out indicator diagrams and measuring areas.—Mr. Walter Baily described certain improvements made in his in- tegrating anemometer, which has been previously described. The improvements consist in the substitution of mechanical counters for electrical ones, as it was found, in the recent obser- vations with the instrument at Kew, that the extra friction of the “‘contact” was sometimes sufficient to stop the motion. The mechanical counters were found to work satisfactorily in every respect.—Prof. Guthrie showed some specimens exhibiting the similarity of fracture of Canada balsam and glass. The glass had been cracked by heating a metal ring to which it was attached ; the Canada balsam had been overheated in a small dish and allowed to cool. Zoological Society, February 17.—Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.Z.S., read a paper upon the structure of the Cuckoos (Cuculide), and pointed out the differences in the pterylosis and the structure of the syrinx in the various forms which he had examined. It was proposed to divide the family into thrée sub-families : Cuculine, Pheenicophainz, and Centropodine.—Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper upon the heart of Apteryx, and called attention to the variations in the condition of the right auriculo-ventricular valve observed in different individuals of this bird. —A communication was read from Mr. M. Jacoby, containing the first part of an account of the Phytophagous Coleoptera obtained by Mr. George Lewis during his second journey in Japan, from February, 1880, to September, 1881. Geologists’ Association, February 6.—W. H. Hudleston, F.R.S., in the chair.—The annual meeting was held at Univer- sity College.—The following Officers were elected for the ensuing year :—President: W. Topley, F.G.S., Assoc.Inst.C.E. ; Vice- Presidents: Prof. J. F. Blake, M.A., F.G.S., T. V. Holmes, F.G.S., W. H. Hudleston, F.R.S., F.G.S., F.C.S., Henry Hicks, M.D., M.R.C.S., F.G.S.; Treasurer: J. Hopkinson, F.G.S., F.L.S.; Secretary: John Foulerton, M.D., F.G.S. ; Editor: Prof. G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S.; Librarian: J. Bradford, F.G.S. ; Council: J. Logan Lobley, F.G.S., F.R.G.S., Ed. Litchfield, A. C. Maybury, F.G.S., J. Love, F.G.S., P-REA’S., W. H. Bartlett, F.G.S., T. Davis, F:G.S., J. J: H. Teall, F.G.S., R. Meldola, F.C.S., J. Slade, F.G.S., J. S. Gardner, F.G.S., Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S., B. B. Wood- ward, F.G.S.—Prof. T. R. Jones, F.R.S., gave an address on Foraminifera, recent and fossil, and Mr. F. W. Rudler one on some points in connection with volcanic action ; both were illus- trated by lantern views exhibited by Mr. G. Smith.—Many ‘instructive objects were exhibited, amongst them a series of Palzolithic implements from France, Spain, and England, by Dr: J. Evans, F.R.S. EDINBURGH Royal Society, February 2.—Mr. Thomas Stevenson, Pre- sident, in the chair.—The President delivered an address, in which he discussed the erection of training-walls at the mouth of the Mersey. He would strongly condemn sucha procedure, asserting that the inevitable result would be the silting up of the approaches to Liverpool.—Prof. Tait submitted a paper on con- densation and evaporation. He pointed out that the present mode of treating the conditions of a liquid in presence of its vapour were not rigorous, inasmuch as the pressure is un- doubtedly different in the two parts, while in the surface-layer between them there is a complex form of stress. If attention be confined to the isothermals of the interior parts of a liquid, or of its vapour, the present method will apply rigorously. With this proviso the isothermals under the critical point consist of two parts separated by an asymptote—one belonging to the liquid, the other to the vapour. This accords with the fact that liquids can be subjected to hydrostatic tension, and that Aitken has shown that true vapour cannot be condensed without a nucleus. —Mr. John Rattray, of the Granton Marine Station, communi cated a note on Ectocarpus.—The Rev. J. M. Macdonald ex- hibited some specimens from Philadelphia which had the appear- ance of large vegetable fossils. Mr. John Murray and Prof. Duns pronounced them to be merely inorganic accretions around reeds. Mathematical Society, February 13.—Mr. A. J. G. Barclay, President, in the chair.—Prof. Tait communicated a note on a plane strain, which was read by Mr. W. Peddie; Dr. Muir gave an account of a paper by Mr. P. Alexander on Boole’s proof of Fourier’s double integral theorem, and after- wards enunciated several theorems of his own on the arbelos; Mr. Peddie discussed reflected rainbows; Mr. Allardice gave a note on spherical geometry: and Mr. A. Y. Fraser made some remarks on a problem in plane geometry. CAMBRIDGE Philosophical Society, February 2.—Prof. Foster, Presi- dent, in the chair.—Prof. C. S. Roy, M.A., was elected a Fellow.—The following communications were made :—On the Zeta-function in elliptic functions, by Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher.— On a certain atomic hypothesis, by Prof. K. Pearson. Com- municated by Mr. H. T. Stearn.—On a Young’s eriometer, by Mr. R. T. Glazebrook. PARIS Academy of Sciences, February 16.—M. Bouley, Presi- dent, in the chair.—On the inaccuracies committed in the em- ployment of the usual formulas in the reduction of the polar stars and in determining the astronomic collimation. The correct terms required to remove these errors. Method of observing the polar stars at any meridian distance, by M. Loeewy.—Descrip- tion of the nervous system of Ancylus fluviatilis, by M. H. de Lacaze-Duthiers.—On the order of appearance of the first vessels in the leaves of the cruciferzee; third part, Cramdée maritima, juncea, and cordifolia, by M. A. Trécul.—Experiments on some phenomena of the movement of water in an apparatus employed to raise the liquid by means of a mechanical fall without piston or lifting valve, by M. A. de Caligny.—On the resistance of keels in connection with the velocities of 20 and 21 knots an hour recently obtained without special extra motor power, by M. A. Ledieu.—On the oidium, Phoma vitis, mildew (Peronospora viticola), and some other cryptogamic diseases prevalent for some years past in the European vineyards, by M. H. Mares. — On the density and figure of the earth, by Gen. L. F. Menabrea. The author's researches tend to confirm the anticipations of Newton that the mean density of the earth would be found to lie between five and six times that of water.—On the develop- ment of the vascular apparatus, and of the reproductive organs 404 NATURE a Te a *£ | Fed. 26, 1885 in the comatule, by M. Edm. Perrier.—Extraction of the green colouring matter of leaves; definite combinations formed by chlorophyll, by M. Er. Guignet. —On some theorems in algebra, by M. Stieltjes. —On the heating power of coal-gas in various states of dilution, by M. A. Witz. From his experi- ments the author infers that the complete combustion of gas requires a dilution of over six volumes of air, the effect of the dilution thus being the reverse of what might be supposed @ priort.—On the laws of solution, by M. H. Le Chatelier. From his researches the author concludes that solubility in- creases with the temperature for bodies whose solution absorbs’ heat, decreases for those that liberate heat, and remains un- changed when the heat of solution is null.—On the solution of the carbonate of magnesia by carbonic acid, second note, by M. R. Engel.—On a crystallised hydrate of phosphoric acid, by M. A. Joly.—Note on the cellular structure of cast steel, by MM. Osmond and Werth.—On glycol, its preparation and solidification, by M. G. Bouchardet. A very pure preparation of glycol, obtained by a solution of carbonate of potassa acting on the bromide of ethylene, was found to boil at 198° C., and to solidify at temperatures varying from —11°°5 to — 25°.—Note on monochlorhydric glycol, by M. G. Bouchardat.—Action of the diastase of malt on natural starch, by M. L. Brasse.—On the rotatory power of the solutions of cellulose in Schweizer’s liquid, by M. Alb. Levallois.—Observations regarding the organisms to which fermentation is due ; claim of priority of discovery in con- nection with some remarks of M. Pasteur on a recent note of M. Duclaux, by M. A. Béchamp.—Note on the anatomical structure and classification of alia priamus (Risso), by M. J. Poirier.—On the anatomy of the brachiopods of the genus Crania, by M. Joubin.—On the nervous system of a Fissurella (Z. alternata), by M. L. Boutan.—On the origin of the metalli- ferous ores existing on the periphery of the central plateau of France, and especially in the Cevenne highlands, by M. Dieu- lafait. —On the results of M. Sokoloff’s studies on the formation of sandy dunes in Central Asia, by M. Venukoff. BERLIN Physiological Society, January 21.—Dr. von Monakow, referring to his anatomical investigations of the brain, commu- nicated an account of those relating to the central origin of the optic nerve. He had enucleated on one or both sides the bulbus in young rabbits and cats, and, after an interval of some months, examined the changes which had set in asa result of that violence done to the brain. In each case he found regular ascending atrophy capable of being traced up to the origin of the nerves. By this means he had been able to recognise as central original spots of the nervi optici the corpus geniculatum externum, the pulvinar and the anterior corpora quadrigemina. The corpus geniculatum and the pulvinar consisted of large multipolar cells, between which lay a gray medullary substance, which, on being coloured with carmine, showed a particularly strong tinge. After the enucleation, atrophy of the gray medullary substance was observed in both, while the cells remained altogether intact. On colouring with carmine, the somewhat shrunken organs appeared much paler than in the normaj state. In the corpora quadrigemina five different layers of small and large cells and fibrous bands were distinguished. Of these the three inner- most layers lying towards the ventricle remained intact, while the two exterior cellular layers were atrophied or were altogether wanting. The degeneration and disturbance of growth after the enucleation of the bulbus had not, however, extended beyond these primary centres of the optic nerve. Dr. von Monakow had, furthermore, removed particular parts of the cerebral cortex lying within Munk’s sphere of vision, and the degeneration and atrophy which succeeded this injury, and, extended peripheri- cally, could be followed through Gratiolet’s fibres on to the three centres of optic nerves above mentioned, the corpus geniculatum externum, the pulvinar and the anterior corpora quadrigemina (Vierhiigefn), and beyond these centres as far as the tractus opticus and the optic nerves. It was an interesting fact that after the injury of the cerebral cortex the degeneration of the three centres of optic nerves was of a dif- ferent character from that which set in after the peripherical enu- cleation. The corpus geniculatum and the pulvinar were now altered in such a manner that it was mainly the cells which either showed degeneration or were entirely wanting. In the anterior corpora quadrigemina, likewise, it was other layers— namely, the third medullary layer and the larger cells—which were overtaken by degeneration. The speaker had had the opportunity, in making a dissection, of substantiating on a man who had long been suffering from diseased retina, that the degeneration in the case of man propagated itself centrally— towards the three centres before-mentioned—just as much as in the case of the rabbits operated on.—Dr. Weyl spoke on casein, which took quite an exceptional place among albuminous bodies. According to the most recent researches albuminous bodies con- tained only O, H, N, C, and S, but no phosphorus, and might be divided into (1) albumins or albuminous bodies soluble in water ; (2) globulins, insoluble in water, but soluble in solution of common salt ; (3) proteins, soluble neither in water nor solu- tion of common salt, but in diluted alkalis. Finally, a fourth group of albuminous bodies was formed by such as were soluble in none of those reagents, but, except in this one characteristic, had no affinity to each other, such as fibrin, amyloid, casein, &c. Casein had hitherto been identified only in milk. It was an albuminous body, because under the agency of diluted muriatic acid and pepsin it yielded a pepton, and, besides, precipitated an insoluble substance, which must be classed among the nucleins. Casein contained phos- phorus, and so was distinguished from all other albuminous bodies. In order to the demonstration of casein and its quan- titative determination in milk, Dr. Weyl had, in conjunction with Dr. Frentzel, adopted a new and less detailed pro- cess than that of Prof. Hoppe-Seyler so universally intro- duced into practice. This new process consisted in diluting the milk threefold and reducing it with highly diluted sulphuric acid (I: 1000). Thereupon a flaky precipitate at once segre- gated itself, which could be filtered off and weighed. The pre- cision of this method was equal to that of Hoppe-Seyler’s, and by means of it Dr. Weyl and Dr. Frentzel had begun to study quantitatively the transformation of casein into pepton and nuclein. The speaker hoped to be able soon to make communi- cations regarding the result of this investigation.—Dr. Rossel had examined the nuclein of the yolk, in order to test the asser- tion of Mr. Michat that it resembled the nuclein of cell- nuclei, an assertion which lent a chemical support to the view of Prof. His that the granules of the yolk entered as organic elements towards the upbuilding of the embryo, and formed the cell-nuclei. Dr. Rossel had isolated the nuclein of the yolk of hen-eggs, and, on examining it, had found it essentially different from the nuclein of cell-nuclei. While this latter contained the highly nitrogenous organic bases guanin and hypoxanthin, none of these bases were found in the nuclein of the yolk. The nuclein of the yolk was, therefore, essentially different from that of the cell-nuclei, and under the demonstration of this differ- ence the support which, from the chemical side, had been afforded to the view of the transference of granular formations of the yolk into cell-nuclei, fell away. . CONTENTS PAGE The Relative Efficiency of War-Ships ...... 381 Professor Williamson’s Dynamics ........ 384 Our Book Shelf :— Saporta’s ‘‘Organismes problématiques des Anciennes MIE oto doh oh a ; 386 Letters to the Editor :— Civilisation and Eyesight.—R. Brudenell Carter ; Geo. Berry \: 058 2 eee ee The Fall of Autumnal Foliage.—A. T. Fraser . 388 Erosion of Glas. —-W. R. H........- 388 A Lantern Screen.—Rev. Charles J. Taylor. 388 Fuller’s Earth as a Filter.—A. G, Cameron 389 The Boomerang in India.—Arthur INicolsiy-) are o) The Camera Obscura in Torpedo Work. (Zilus- Prated) a tbh eee aed ce EE Oe ee Re OO The Continuity of the Protoplasm in Plant Tissue. By Walter Gardiner... - == +--+ +--+ + = 390 The Bangor Laboratories. (///ustrated). . 391 INGteS) cue chile we ier metic olen do Norttas tel ied ce 393 Our Astronomical Column :— The Double-Star Piazzi XIV. 212 306 Wolfs Comet Me awn es G8 ono ae Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, Marchi1-7...- - ALO mocaliaua gos or See Geographical Notes ... = - - 2s 2s +e 2 oe 397 The Forms of Leaves. By Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S. Ba to2 4 Sinichihs cated cat ho At! Scientific Serials . Sees on itech ity coy | Cemeee) Societies and Academies. .... - eet tre OO) : NEARER THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 1885 ORE DEPOSITS A Treatise~on Ore Deposits. By J. Arthur Phillips, F.R.S., &c. Demy 8vo, pp. 624 and Index ; 95 Wood- cuts and 1 Plate. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1884.) WORK in the English language upon ore deposits has long been wanted, and geologists and mining engineers may be congratulated that one so well qualified to do justice to the subject as Mr. Phillips, undertook the laborious task of writing a general treatise. Mr. Phillips divides his book into two parts; Part L., occupying one-sixth of the volume, treats of ore deposits in general, and Part II. is devoted to a description of the principal metal-mining regions of the world. We are glad to see that he admits a wide definition of the term “ore:” “Although perhaps not strictly correct, any material obtained by mining that contains a work- able proportion of a metal is often called an ore, even if the whole of the metal be present in the native state.” This is a common-sense and practical way of dealing with the question. The classification of ore deposits is in the main the same as that adopted by Whitney, in his “ Metallic Wealth of the United States,” thirty years ago. Mr. Phillips divides metalliferous deposits into the following groups :— I. SUPERFICIAL a. Deposits formed by the mechanical action of water. 6. Deposits resulting from chemical action. II. STRATIFIED a. Deposits constituting the bulk of metalliferous beds formed by precipitation from aqueous solutions. 4. Beds originally deposited from solution, but subse- quently altered by metamorphism. e. Ores disseminated through sedimentary beds, in which they have been chemically deposited. III. UNSTRATIFIED e. Stockworks. jf. Fahlbands. g. Contact deposits. A, Chambers or pockets. a. True veins. 6, Segregated veins. c. Gash veins. d. Impregnations. This classification is the only blemish of any importance in the volume, and we greatly regret that the author did not cast off the trammels of tradition and strike out a new line for himself. In the first place, we are disposed to quarrel with the separation of superficial deposits, as described by Mr. Phillips, from stratified deposits ; we do not see how they can be logically separated. Speaking of the old auriferous gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California, the author’s words are:—“ These, which are sometimes known as blue gravels, were formerly believed to be of marine origin, but are now recognised as materials brought down by the agency of currents of fresh water from the moun- tains high above them and deposited, either in the beds of ancient rivers, or in lake-like expansions of such streams.” Surely, therefore, they are stratified. Further- more, the term “ superficial” should have been avoided as misleading, because the student will naturally infer that the chief characteristic of such deposits is that they occur at the surface; but when we find gold- and tin- VOL. XXXI.—NOo. 801 405 bearing gravels buried at a depth of more than Ioo feet under other strata and lava-flows of Pliocene or Miocene age, and worked as true mines, the word “superficial ” seems singularly inappropriate. The author admits that the term “ might at first sight appear a misnomer,” but defends it on the ground that “a volcanic capping is by no means universal, and the uncovered beds of this age are of the greatest importance to the miner.” When Whitney’s book was written the name was more in harmony with the facts, as the deep leads had not been discovered ; but even then there was nothing to justify the separation of the old alluvia from the class of stratified deposits. The three subdivisions of the stratified deposits are useful for impressing upon the mind the most important varieties of this class ; on the other hand, when we come to the unstratified deposits we consider that the author has been unwisely conservative. Why should the geologist step in and call certain mineral veins “true,” and thereby cast a sort of stigma upon others which do not fit in with his preconceived theories? Mr. Phillips, like most authors, uses the word “true vein” as synonymous with “ fissure vein”; but as it appears that many of the sheet-like mineral masses called ‘‘lodes” or “reefs” by miners are not filled up cracks, it seems a pity that the worship of the “ fissure vein” should be continued. A useful summary is given of the various hypotheses which have been propounded concerning the genesis of mineral veins, and due attention is paid to the discoveries of Prof. Sandberger, which have an important bearing upon the theory of lateral secretion. The author ulti- mately concludes that both lateral secretion and the ascension of mineral-bearing waters have contributed to the filling up of fissures with the various minerals now constituting the veins. Though he keeps up the old subdivision of “segregated veins” as distinct from true veins, Mr. Phillips is justly doubtful whether such a distinction can always be logi- cally maintained. With reference to the “impregnations,” it is probable that some of the most important Cornish tin lodes in granite may be classed under this head, and therefore this subdivision might be made to include a good deal more than the carvdonas. The word “ Stockwork” is unfortunately consecrated by long usage, and it will not be easy to evict it from mining literature ; but itis a pity that no English term has been coined to denote this mode of occurrence. Speaking of Polberrow mine, Mr. Phillips says it “appears to be the only stockwork ever extensively worked in clay slate.” This is not the case. The three openworks in Cornwall] known as Minear Downs, Mulberry and Wheal Prosper are other instances of stockworks in clay slate. They produced 203 tons of dressed tin ore in 1883, and the excavations are certainly sufficiently large to say that the deposits have been “extensively worked.” Henwood’s account of Wheal Music (Zvans. Roy. Geol. Soc. Cornwall, vol. v. p. 98) shows that it was a stockwork in clay slate, worked for copper ore. It seems a mistake to retain the “ fahlbands” among the unstratified deposits. They are pyritiferous beds among metamorphic rocks. At Kongsberg they consti- T 406 NATURE | March 5, 1885 tute the congenial country and not the deposit worked ; whilst the Skutterud fahlbands, which are simply cobalt- iferous quartzite and mica schist, deserve a place among the stratified deposits quite as much as the magnetite of Arendal or Philipstad. In Part II. we consider that Mr. Phillips does good service by giving statistics of the production of ores, in addition to the descriptions of their modes of occurrence. As stated by him in the preface, “ This appears to be the only way of accurately expressing the relative import- ance of different metalliferous regions.” This feature of Mr. Phillips’s book, apart from anything else, at once renders it more valuable than the works of von Cotta, Grimm, and von Groddeck. The United Kingdom is so rich in minerals that a large amount of space is very fairly allotted to it, and, though Cornwall receives the lion’s share of attention, it must be recollected that it is the birthplace of British mining and the school from which a set of hardy and intelligent miners have been dispersed among all parts of the globe. Speaking of an issue of carbonic acid gas from the lode at Foxdale Mine in the Isle of Man, the author says (p. 212): “ At the present time (1883) in the eastern end of the 185-fathom level, the amount of gas is so large that, although volumes of compressed air are continually being poured in from two air-pipes, the men experience the greatest difficulty in working ; and, as candles will not burn, the value of the end can only be determined by the ore brought out.” This account is somewhat overdrawn. The gas has been troublesome at times, but not to the extent stated, for we are led to infer that the men worked in the dark. Even a Manxman is scarcely capable of driving levels without a light. The small value of the metalliferous ores raised in France is remarkable, and the prosperity of the Belgian metal mines appears to be on the wane, as the value of the metalliferous minerals decreased from 563,080/. in 1872 to 148,720/. in 1881. The famous mines of the German Empire at Commern, in the Upper and Lower Harz, the Mansfeld district and the Erzgebirge are described at as great a length as the space available in a general treatise will admit, and many interesting and important details are given concerning the mines of Austria, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Scandinavia, Spain, and Russia. The statement, “Spain takes the lead of all other countries in the amounts of lead and quicksilver which it produces,” is scarcely accurate, unless Mr. Phillips is referring solely to Europe. The United States are now the greatest producers of lead, and the Californian quicksilver mines have for several years surpassed those of Almaden in productiveness. How- ever, as far as the output of quicksilver last year is con- cerned, Mr. Phillips is doubtless correct, for statistics published within the last few weeks show that the yield of California in 1384 was only 1089 statute tons, which is less than the average amount produced by Spain. The account of the metalliferous minerals of the Austral- asian colonies will be read with interest. Though the output of gold is on the whole decreasing, tin ore has within the last ten years become a great source of wealth. An important discovery is that there are deep leads, ve. old tin-bearing alluvia, of Miocene age, and the figure representing the deposit worked by Wesley Brothers at Vegetable Creek, New South Wales, gives a good idea of this mode of occurrence. It is startling to learn that Queensland produced 106,488 tons of tin ore, worth 2,168,790/7. in 1881; unfortunately for the colony, but luckily for Cornwall, the output of the following year was only 27,312 tons. It was certainly no easy task for Mr. Phillips to com- press into 65 pages an account of the principal metal- liferous regions of the United States: but he has suc- ceeded in furnishing a very useful 7éswmmé, the only fault of which is the meagreness with which it has been illus- trated. The metal mines of the United States deserve more than seven woodcuts, and we should like to have seen figures to explain the wonderful deposits at Leadville and on the shores of Lake Superior. It is to be regretted that apparently there is so little available information concerning the mines of Mexico, a country so highly favoured as far as mineral wealth is concerned. South America, too, has to be treated very summarily. Excepting for having followed a beaten track in his classification, the author deserves much praise for his work. The descriptions of the metal-mining districts are very good, being based upon personal knowledge and the latest published accounts; both Mr. Phillips and his assistant, Mr. Brough, must be commended for the care with which they have ransacked all sorts of British and foreign publications relating to mining. The references are very full and complete, and much vigilance has been exercised in correcting for the press. Finally, we must congratulate the author upon his excellent index, occupy- ing no less than twenty-five closely-printed pages. This adds greatly to the utility of the book, which will doubtless - become the standard work upon ore deposits. OUR BOOK SHELF Madagascar and France; with some Account of the Island, its People, its Resources, and Development. By George A. Shaw, F.Z.S. (London: Religious Tract Society, 1885.) THE incident connected with Mr. Shaw’s imprisonment on board a French war-ship at Tamatave will be remembered—an incident for which the French Go- vernment had to make substantial amends. Mr. Shaw has been a missionary in Madagascar for many years, and has thus had ample opportunity of gaining a knowledge of the interesting island. To those familiar with the literature of Madagascar the volume will not present much of novelty ; it is, however, interesting read- ing, and contains some of the results of Mr. Shaw’s own observations. On the physical geography and ethnology of this country there is nothing new, but Mr. Shaw presents the results of previous investigations clearly and briefly. He in the main adopts the generally-accepted conclusions as to the Malay origin of the bulk of the Malagasy people, though we suspect that the aboriginal Vazimba are greater, and the intercourse between the mainland and the island of much older date than he is prepared to admit. He gives many interesting details as to the industries of the people, their social habits, the progress of Christianity and education, the past history of the island, and other points. A large portion of the volume is occupied with the history of the relations be- tween France and Madagascar, in which he tells the story of his own imprisonment. To the scientific reader the concluding chapters on the fauna, flora, and meteorology of the island will prove useful; they summarise what is March 5, 1885] already known, with some additional facts obtained by the observation of himself and his brother missionaries. There is a map and a few good illustrations. Three Months in the Soudan. By Ernestine Sartorius. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., 1885.) Mrs. SARTORIUS spent most of her three months in 1883-84 at Suakim, of which her husband, Gen. Sartorius, was Commandant. Her book deals chiefly with the events which culminated in the disaster of El-Teb. It is mostly a pleasant, gossipy record of the daily life of the town, and of the alarms created by the attempted raids of the rebellious natives in the district around. It affords a good idea of the character of the town and its immediate surroundings. Lectures on Agricultural Science and other Proceedings of the Institute of Agriculture, South Kensington, London, 1883-84. (London: Chapman and Hall.) THIS volume contains abstracts of lectures delivered by a considerable number of well-known authorities upon agri- cultural matters. Mr. Carruthers and the late Prof. Buckman give their experiences upon grasses and farm seeds ; Prof. Wrightson has a paper upon land drainings ; dairy management and farm crops are treated of by Pro- fessors Huldon and Fream and Mr. Bernard Dyer ; Mr. Henry Woods contributes lectures upon Southdown sheep and ensilage ; while Mr. Warrington has a contribution upon the nitrogenous matter in soils ; and Mr. Worthing- ton Smith gives some good observations upon corn mildews. The names of the authors of the various lectures are a sufficient guarantee of their soundness and worth. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No noticeis taken of anonymous communications. [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space ts so great that itis impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] Sir William Thomson’s Baltimore Lectures As it is possible that some of your readers may have obtained copies of the Papyrograph Report of my Lectures on ‘‘ Molecular Dynamics,” delivered at Baltimore during October 1884, I should be obliged by your giving publicity to the following corrections :— Page 34, lines 18 and 19.—Delete ‘‘ we may call it a dynamox but not a paradox.” I have no recollection nor can I imagine what the word was that I suggested as more logical than *“paradox”’ ! Page 59, line 14.—For “‘ Distortional”’ substitute ‘* Condensa- tional.” Page 296.—In the two expressions for ¥, given in equation oe (uw? a pe I sions for “tan é€ ‘ and ‘tan ¢,” of equation (20) insert ‘‘tan z” 6,2 2 99 before is 1) Z (17), insert “tan 7” before also, in the expres- I The formula from which these expressions are deduced is correctly given at the foot of page 295. Page 296.—In line 13 from the top of the page, and in the left hand members of equations (19) and (21), for ‘‘w” and ““w,” read ‘‘m’’ and ‘‘@, ” respectively. WILLIAM THOMSON The University, Glasgow, February 27 Civilisation and Eyesight Ir would take too much of your space to discuss at length the theoretical limit of resolving-power as depending upon aperture. The reader may be referred to some papers in the Philosophical Magazine for 1879 and 1880, where he will also find references to the work of other investigators. I will only say that (as indi- cated by the word fairly in my statement) resolution admits of various degrees. Doubtless a practised observer would judge a NATORE 407 star to be double whose components subtend a decidedly smaller angle than two minutes, but he would not see them separated. I purposely rather understated the case. The higher the visual power of civilised men, the less room is there for savages with eyes of equal aperture to surpass them. With respect to my short-sightedness in a bad light, I shall be glad if you will publish the accompanying two short papers from the Cambridge Philosophical Proccedings. They will show how I was led to make the discovery. RAYLEIGH “The Use of Telescopes on Dark Nights.” By Lord Rayleigh. (From the Camb, Phil. Proc., March, 1882.) In Silliman’s Fournal for 1881 Mr. E. S. Holden, after quoting observations to a like effect by Sir W. Herschel, gives details of some observations recently made wi-h a large tele- scope at the Washburn Observatory, from which it appears that distant objects on a dark but clear night can be seen with the telescope long after they have ceased to be visible with the naked eye. He concludes, ‘‘it appears to me that this confirmation of Herschel’s experiments is important, and worth the attention of physicists. So far as I know there is no satisfactory explana- tion of the action of the ordinary night-glass. nor of the similar effect when large apertures are used.” Tt is a well-known principle that no optical combination can increase what is called the ‘‘ apparent brightness” of a distant object, and indeed that in consequence of the inevitable loss of light by absorption and reflection the ‘‘apparent .brightness ” is necessarily diminished by every form of telescope. Having full confidence in this principle, I was precluded from seeking the explanation of the advantage in any peculiar action of the tele- scope, but was driven to the conclusion that the question was one of apparent magnitude only,—that a large area of given small ‘‘apparent brightness” must be visible against a dark ground when a small area would not be visible. The experi- ment was tried in the simplest possible manner by cutting crosses of various sizes out of a piece of white paper and arranging them in a dark room against a black background. A feeble light proceeded from a nearly turned-out gas-flame. The result proved that the visibility was a question of apparent magnitude to a greater extent than I had believed possible. A distance was readily found at which the larger crosses were plainly visible, while the smaller were quite indistinguishable. To bring the latter into view it was necessary either to increase the light considerably, to approach nearer, or lastly to use a tele- scope. With sufficient illumination the smallest crosses used were seen perfectly defined at the full distance. There seems to be no doubt that the explanation is to be sought within the domain of physiological optics. It has occurred to me as possible that with the large aperture of the pupil called into play in a dark place, the focussing may be very defective on account of aberration. The illumination on the retina might then be really less in the image of a small than in the image of a large object of equal ‘‘ apparent brightness.” “On the Invisibility of Small Objects in a Bad Light.” By Lord Rayleigh. (From the Cambridge Phil. Proc., Feb., 1883.) In a former communication to the Society (March 6, 1882) I made some remarks upon the extraordinary influence of apparent magnitude upon the visibility of objects whose ‘‘ apparent bright- ness’ was given, and I hazarded the suggestion that in conse- quence of aberration (attending the large aperture of the pupil called into operation in a bad light) the focussing might be defective. Further experiment has proved that in my own case at any rate much of the effect is attributable to an even simpler cause. J have found that in a nearly dark room I am distinctly short-sighted. With concave spectacles of 36” negative focus my vision is rendered much sharper, and is attended with in- creased binocular effect. Ona dark night small stars are much more evident with the aid of the spectacles than without them. In a moderately good light I can detect no signs of short- sightedness. In trying to read large print at a distance I suc- ceeded rather better without the glasses than with them. It seems therefore that the effect is not to be regarded as merely an aggravation of permanent short-sightedness by increase of aperture. The use of spectacles does not however put the small and the large objects on a level of brightness when seen in a bad light, and the outstanding difference may still be plausibly attri- buted to aberration. Mr. CARTER’s recent paper on “Civilisation and Eyesight » has called up interesting remarks from Lord Rayleigh and Mr 405 WATURE, [March 5, 1885 J. R. Capron, but there seems to be a factor yet unconsidered connected with sharpness of eyesight which is not dependent on the varying aperture of the pupil of the eye. The same amount of light exerts different degrees of stimulus on different indi- viduals, and even in the same person the optic nerves are differ- ently affected, according to his health or age. The pathologist is familiar with the exalted irritability induced by inflammation. The observer of close double stars becomes in time painfully aware that through age his power of appreciating minute points of light is blunted, although his eye may be in a healthy condi- tion, and quite equal to microscopic work under suitable illu- mination. The flattening of the cornea, together with the slow reduction of the curves of the crystalline lens, is a common occurrence, and this change is said to commence at the age of forty-five. Modification of form and the inability to vary the distance between the lens and the retina, due to defective power in the muscles of the iris, are the chief causes of short sight. On the other hand, the eye appears to have great capabilities of modify- ing itself to circumstances. It may degenerate by disuse, and even become obliterated, as may be seen in the blind aquatic beetles of dark caverns, the flea of the bat, and in many species of underground Aphides. Similarly it would seem that the eyes of the student who habitually pores over half-legible German or other type, or the eyes of the watchmaker or the engraver, who use lenses, will permanently accommodate themselves to the short foci required to view objects at short distances, and such modifications may be conceived to become hereditary. The pupil of the eye perhaps has an aperture wide enough to admit the pencil of light from any telescope ; yet it may be worth some consideration whether the sensitiveness of the eye may not for certain purposes be increased, under due precau- tions, by the use of some such drug as atropa belladonna. The iris thus might be made less contractile under the overpowering light of a planet, and perhaps allow a better observation of a minute satellite revolving close to its primary. It is a well- recognised fact that a faint star once seen may often afterwards be detected with comparative ease by other persons, if its posi- tion be truly shown. Venus may be often seen in broad daylight, if the planet be pointed to by suitable marks. Care of course would be taken that the use of belladonna shall not cause the observer to see too much. G, B. BuCKTON THE controversy in NATURE on this subject has brought back to my thoughts a singular illustration of the power of trained eyesight which seems worth noting, though it does not touch the exact comparison between savage and civilised eyes which is the immediate subject of the letters which have appeared in your columns. I refer to the vastly greater capacity for determining visual direction supplied by the sense of symmetry than by actual discrimination between two slightly distant visible points. If you look at a circle, you can aim at its centre with far greater exactitude than you could aim at a point in the true centre of the figure. Every rifleman and every billiard-player exemplifies this. Suppose a billiard-ball placed a little less than five feet from a pocket, and played at as a half-ball stroke from an equal distance for a winning hazard. This is something like what has to be done from baulk in making a pair-of-breeches stroke into the corner pocket. A fair amateur will pot his ball pretty often ; a first-rate professional will do it very often. No one, perhaps, can make it a really safe stroke. But observe the accuracy required. The margin of error allowed on each side of the per- fect stroke is, on a severe table, not more than an inch at the pocket. This allows an error on each side of about one degree in the point of impact with a radius of one inch (the ball being two inches in diameter). This one inch subtends at the distance from which the stroke is played (nearly 5 feet), an angle of 1° X sin 60°, 4, = about ‘8’. To make the stroke you must first, by eye, place your striking-ball right, then you must, by eye, aim the stroke right, and finally you must make the muscles follow the eye rightly. These three elements of error combined must leave a resultant error of not more than four-fifths of a minute; that is to say, a successful stroke must have a total angular error very considerably less than the smallest angular distance which the eye can appreciate between two visible points. This, of course, explains also the superiority of a rifle foresight, which surrounds the object by a symmetrical figure over one which depends on making one point visibly cover another, Violet Human Hibernation As it is obvious that Mr. A. H. Hulk is unacquainted with the facts of what he designates a ‘‘ well-known Indian trick,” and as the matter is one of considerable physiological interest, I think it well to place before your readers the nature of the evidence which satisfied me of the genuineness of this condition, when I referred to it in the fourth edition of my ‘‘ Human Physiology,” published thirty-two years ago—a reference retained by the present editor of that treatise. This evidence had been obtained by Mr. Braid from Indian sources, and published by him in a collected form in 1850, the greater part of it having previously appeared in the pages of the Lancet. The most important feature of it was the testimony of British medical officers who witnessed the exhumation—most explicitly given in at least three distinct cases—to the corpse-like condition of the buried man, a conditien which could not be simulated. I have since learned from a variety of trustworthy sources, that similar testimony has been over and over again given in India by competent witnesses. Moreover, in one of the cases adduced by Mr. Braid, on information supplied to him direct by the British resident in the summer-house of whose garden the man was buried, the circumstances of the inhumation and of the exhumation were such as absolutely to exclude the ‘‘tunnel” hypothesis ; while in the case narrated by Lieut. A. Boileau in his ‘‘ Narrative of a Journey in Rajwarra,” 1835, the man was buried in a grave lined with masonry and covered with large slabs of stone. It is further worthy of mention that this performance is not carried on for the sake of gain, but as a religious observance. Many years ago Prof. Max Miiller, finding that I was interested in the matter, kindly placed in my hands a pamphlet printed in India, containing a summary of what is termed the Yoga or Yogi philosophy. The devotees of this system have from time immemorial been in the habit of artificially inducing states of more or less complete abstraction, corresponding closely with those of Braidism; and the condition of apparent death, in which the soul is supposed to leave the body for a time, for communion with the higher world, is the culmination of these conditions, only to be reached by the few; to whom, in con- sequence, a character for the highest sanctity attaches itself. With the well-authenticated fact of Col. Townsend’s self- induction of a state of apparent death, and of his spontaneous recovery from it, as a ‘‘leading case,” I cannot regard it as incredible that such a condition of ‘‘ dormant vitality’ might be prolonged for days, weeks, or even months, 7” a warm atmo- sphere. The suspension of the heat-producing power would of course leave the body susceptible of a fatal reduction of tem- perature, if its warmth were abstracted by a surrounding medium much cooler than itself WILLIAM B. CARPENTER Athenzeum Club, February 20 Methods of Determining the Density of the Earth I HAVE just seen in the report of the proceedings of the Physical Society (NATURE, January 15, p. 260) the account of the ingenious and very important experiments proposed by Drs. Konig and Richarz to determine the density of the earth. I would suggest that mercury be substituted for lead as the attract- ing masses. The homogeneity of density, the precision- with which its density and temperature can be determined, and the ease with which transport from one side of the balance to the other can be effected will commend the use of mercury. The mode of experimenting suggested is the plan of Cornu—used in his determination of the density of the earth by the (Cavendish) Michell experiment—adapted to the same determination by means of the balance. Let A, B, C be the balance, DE the attracted balls, and FG, HI, the attracting masses of mercury contained in iron spheres of the same capacity, size, and weight. A large mass of mercury is contained in the vessel M, so placed that it has no effect on the balance or on Dor E, The balance being in equilibrium with the mass D and £, mercury is allowed to fill F and 1, and the effect noted in oscillations after F and1 are filled. Then the mercury is drawn from F into H, and G is filled from the reservoir M, and 1 is emptied, and the second observation obtained. Then p and E are interchanged, and a third observation obtained. Then the mercury in G is run into I, F is filled, and H emptied, and the third observation made, the combination of these four observations making one determination. Electrical effects of March 5, 1885 | NATURE 409 the friction of the mercury are avoided by connecting the vessels by wires with the earth. If H and 1 form a mass of lead, I infer that three interchanges of D and E will be required, so that each weight shall be brought opposite the top and bottom of each mass to eliminate want of homogeneity in the lead. In the plan I propose only one inter- change will be needed. The effect, if any, of the vessels full of mercury being at unequal distances from the arms of the balance can be readily determined and allowed for. The plan I suggest may have already presented itself to the eminent scientists who have originated their notable improve- ment on Von Jolly’s plan. The pleasure I had in reading the account of their proposed research has prompted me to make these suggestions. ALFRED M. MAYER Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, February 7 Bees and Flowers As there is a prevailing idea that bees prefer red and blue to other colours, the following observations on their habits may be of interest :—The common hive bees were very busy among the flowers in the garden this morning. Those most frequented were yellow crocus, snowdrop, and Christmas rose. Next in order, winter aconite, yellow jessamire, and blue scilla. On sweet blue violets and on a dwarf erica, which is now flowering, Icould see none. Hitherto my observations led me to suppose they never visited the blue scilla for honey, as I had never seen them settle down to it in a business-like manner, but simply flit over it and go to something else. G. W. BuLMAN Corbridge-on-Lyne Free Lectures I OBSERVED in NATURE for February 19 (p. 367) a reference to the free lectures at Liverpool, and the inquiry, Why cannot the same thing be done in other large towns? It may interest your readers to learn that a series of free lectures has been given during the past two winters by the professors of this College. Tickets for these lectures are distributed through the agency of a committee composed partly of employers, and the attendance at each lecture numbers between 600 and 700. The audience consists wholly of persons in receipt of weekly wages, the ser- vices of the lecturers are given gratuitously, and no charge whatever is made for admission. The small expenses of printing and issuing programmes and tickets are defrayed by the Com- mittee. I inclose the syllabus of this, the second year’s course, now drawing to a conclusion. In addition to these lectures we have from time to time free lec- tures by gentlemen possessing special knowledge of the contents of the Free Libraries. These, too, are attended by a large number, chiefly of working people, and when the art galleries are com- pleted next year arrangements of a similar kind will doubtless be made in connection with them. WILLIAM A. TILDEN The Mason Science College, Birmingham, February 24 A Tracing Paper Screen I CAN add to the testimony of Mr. Charles Taylor about the efficiency of a screen of tracing paper. I have used for several years a small screen of tracing cloth mounted on rollers like a map. Itis very portable and sooi1 fixed. With a sciopticon lantern (oil lamp) I have shown transparencies in the winter months to an audience of seven hundred men in a Midland Railway mess-room during the breakfast hour—8.15 to 8.50 a.m.—though the windows are by no means in the best position, and the room is lighted by skylights as well as by side windows, It is a pity this screen is not better known and more extensively used for scientific lectures. H. ARNOLD BEMROSE Irongate, Derby, February 28 An Author’s Gratitude I wisH to express my gratitude to NATURE and to the reviewer in NATURE of my little pamphlet on Electrical Units for exposing a compound error by which the farad came to be described as a fraction of the electrostatic C.G.S. unit of capacity instead of the electro-magnetic unit. Was there ever a greater blunder? It was as if I had said the value of the tenth part of a farthing is sufficient to pay off a million times the National Debt of Great Britain. On recovering from the shock occasioned by the revelation, I hastened to the printer, and got him to correct the error ‘‘ ere the sun went down,” and now I overflow with gratitude to your reviewer, who has relieved me of the awful incubus of an error of the 102° magnitude. RICHARD WORMELL SCIENTIFIC LABORATORIES? I FEEL that the present occasion, upon which you have done me the honour to ask me to preside, is one of very great importance indeed, and I wish some person more competent to preside on such an occasion and give a suitable inaugural address were in my place. I am afraid I must confine myself to something not at all worthy of the greatness of an occasion which is almost the opening of a new university. Not quite so, because the real opening of this college took place several months ago; but still it is an occasion which I feel to be much more than merely the opening of a department—a work- ing department—in the college; an occasion of so great moment that I regret that I shall not be able to give any- thing that could be properly considered a worthy inaugural address. I shall be obliged to ask your indulgence if I confine myself specially to departments with which I am personally familiar—scientific laboratories. The labora- tory of a scientific man is his place of work. The laboratory of the geologist and of the naturalist is the face of this beautiful world. The geologist’s laboratory is the mountain, the ravine, and the seashore. The naturalist and the botanist go to foreign lands, to study the wonders of nature, and describe and classify the results of their observations. But they must do more than merely describe, represent, and depict what they have seen. They must bring home the products of their expeditions to their studies, and have recourse to the appliances of the laboratory properly so-called for their thorough and detailed examination. The naturalist in his laboratory with his microscope and appliances for the keenest exam- ination, learns to know more than can be learned by merely looking at external beauties. The geologist brings his specimens to the chemist—is himself a chemist per- haps—brings his crystals to the physical laboratory to be examined as to their physical properties, their hardness, the angles between their faces, their optical qualities. Some people might think this an ignoble way to deal with crystals. But it is not so to the trained eye and deeper thought of the scientific man. The scientific man sees and feels beauty as much as any mere observer—as much as any artist or painter. But he also sees something underlying that beauty ; he wishes to learn something of the actions and forces producing those beautiful results. The necessity for study below the surface seems to have been earliest recognised in anatomy, and earliest carried out in human anatomy. I am not going to speak of the work of scientific research generally, but with reference to the special occasion which brings us here this day—the opening of the chemical and physical laboratories of the University College of North Wales. I am going to speak * Address by Prof. Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., on the occasion of the opening of the Laboratories of University College, Pangor. 410 of laboratories for students, laboratories in which the students work with their own hands. There have been laboratories of investigation from the earliest times. No doubt Aristotle had his; and Archimedes had a labora- tory wherever he went—in his bath, even, he observed, and studied, and thought out the laws of hydrostatics. But those were not students’ laboratories, and our special subject to-day is a students’ laboratory, where they can meet together for the practical study of the various depart- ments of science, where they will be brought together-to use their eyes and hands—their eyes otherwise than in merely reading books and looking at pictures or drawings ; their eyes to observe accurately, and their hands to ex- periment, in order to learn more than can be learned by mere observation. To teach students to so work and so learn is the object of a scientific students’ laboratory. The first scientific laboratory that ever existed was that of Frederick II., King of Sicily, and was estab- lished between 1200 and 1250, Acting under the advice of his chief physician, Martianus, he made a law that nobody should practise physic or surgery without having studied anatomy practically. He estab- lished a school of practical anatomy, to which stu- dents flocked from all parts of Europe for many years. Subsequently there was an anatomical school instituted at Bologna ; and in those two schools we hear the first of students working in laboratories. The anatomical stu- dents’ working-room has for several hundred years been generally recognised as an absolute necessity of medical education. But I believe there was no other branch of physical science where students worked in the laboratory until probably twenty years of the present century had passed away. The University of Glasgow is, I think, justly entitled to take some pride in the great modern expansion and extension of the system of giving students practical work in laboratories, as an addition to the education which previously had been confined almost entirely to book-work, or, at best, to attending lectures illustrated by experiments and diagrams. The first chemical laboratory for students, so far as I know, was that founded by a colleague of my own name, though no relation —Thomas Thomson,! the great chemist and mineralogist. Prior to 1831 a students’ chemical laboratory, under Thomas Thomson, at Glasgow University, flourished and was attended by a large number of students. These were chiefly medical students, but a considerable number also were students who wished to learn chemistry to practise it in the various chemical manufactories in Glasgow and the North of England, while some went to learn chemistry solely for the sake of science. A chemical laboratory has now become indispensable in all universities. A notable development of chemical laboratories with reference to practical education in chemistry, was made by Liebig not many years after 1831. 1 fix that date from personal recol- lection. In 1831 I first came to Glasgow, and I well re- member that the building containing the chemical lecture * [Note added February 12, 1885 :—First Professor of Chemistry in Glasgow University ; appointed 1818 ; held the chair till his death, 1852. The minutes of the Faculty of Gla:gow College show that as early as the first month of 1828, Prof. Thomas Thomson began applying for more com- modious premises in which to carry on his work in the department of chemistry. For two years he kept his wants persistently before the Faculty (of which he, being only a ‘‘Regius Professor,” was not a member) until January 1830, when his efforts were crowned with success. A plot of ground was then purchased at the corner of College Street and Shuttle Street, outside the College precincts, and operations were at once begun, and pushed on with such vigour that the buildings seem to have been finished towards the end of the same year. The building thus erected contained ample and well- designed accommodation for teaching and experimental work. There was a large class-room and a large and conveniently-arranged public laboratory for students, with private rooms for the professor and for the prosecution of experimental research by the professor and his assistants, or by students and others, Part of the ground-floor of the premises was let to a tenant (the ‘‘ Falstaff Tavern” for many years !). To-day I found the building still in existence, and occupied by ‘“‘George Younger and Co.’s Yarn Stores.” Nearly all the rest of the University Buildings within the College precincts have been pulled down within the last twelve years for the ‘‘ College Railway Station,” nich now occupies the site of the old Glasgow College and University.— ’. T.] NATURE | March 5, 1885 room and laboratory existed then. How long before 1831 it was built I do not at this moment recollect. The world- renowned laboratory of Liebig brought together all the young chemists of the day. If I were to name the great men who studied at Giessen I should have to name almost every one of the great chemists of the present day who were young forty years ago. His laboratory was in full and flourishing activity between 1841 and 1845, and continued so for several years more until he migrated to Munich, It is still, I believe, a prosperous institution, carrying out the aims of its founder with undiminished zeal and energy. One of those chemists now living, who was young forty years ago, told me a few days since that Liebig’s laboratory looked like an old stable. I believe the building in which we are now assembled was an old stable, but I fail to discover that it looks like an old stable now. If Liebig’s laboratory, looking like an old stable, brought out such results to astonish and benefit the world, what must we expect of the beauti- ful laboratory in which we are now met? What would Liebig not have given for the appliances and advantages afforded by the well-equipped buildings of the North Wales College at Bangor? What would Liebig not have given for the facilities which now exist in these admirably- appointed lecture-rooms in which we are now met, and for the carefully-equipped laboratories and working-rooms, and places for special experimental work covering the area of the old stables and coach-houses of the “ Penrhyn Arms Hotel”! Ifthe professors and the students in this Col- lege—I think I may already say this thriving College— will be inspired by the zeal of those who have worked before them, a great reward will result even in the first year of the existence of the institution. With respect to physical laboratories I may be allowed, without being thought egotistical, to say something in which I must speak of my own action. The physical laboratory in the University of Glasgow is, I believe, the first of the physical laboratories of which we have now so many. When I entered upon the professorship of natural philosophy at Glasgow I found apparatus of a very old- fashioned kind. Much of it was more than a hundred years old, little of it less than fifty years old, and most of it was of worm-eaten mahogany. Still with such appli- ances year after year students of natural philosophy had been brought together and taught. The principles of dynamics and electricity had been well illustrated and well taught : as well taught as lectures and so imperfect apparatus—but apparatus merely of the lecture-illustra- tion kind—could teach. But there was absolutely no provision of any kind for experimental investigation, still less idea, even, for anything like students’ practical work. Students’ laboratories in physical science were not then thought of. I remember one of the chemists of the Liebig school asking me what was the object of a physical laboratory. I replied that it was to investigate the properties of matter. I could give no better answer now. I may remind you that there is no philosophical division whatever between chemistry and physics. The distinction is that different properties are investigated by different sets of apparatus. The distinction between chemistry and physics must be merely a distinction of detail and of division of labour. Soon after I entered my present chair in the University of Glasgow in1845 I had occasion to undertake séme inves- tigations of certain electrodynamic qualities of matter, to answer questions which had been suggested by the results of mathematical theory, questions which could only be an- swered by direct experiment. The labour of observing proved too heavy, much of it could scarcely be carried on without two or more persons working together. I therefore in- vited students to aid in the work. They willingly accepted the invitation, and lent me most cheerful and able help. Soon after, other students, hearing that some of their class-fellows had got experimental work to do, March 5, 1885 | NATURE AIl came to me and volunteered to assist in the investiga- tion. I could not give them all work in the particular investigation with which I had commenced—* The electric convection of hex:t””—for want of means and time and possibilities of arrangement, but I did all in my power to find work for them on allied subjects (Electrodynamic Properties of Metals,! Moduluses of Elasticity of Metals, Elastic Fatigue, Atmospheric Electricity, &c.) I then had an ordinary class of a hundred students, of whom some attended lectures in natural philosophy two hours a day, and had nothing more to do from morning till night Those were the palmy days of natural philosophy in the University of Glasgow—the pre-Commissional days. But the majority of the class really had very hard work, and many of them worked after class-hours for self-support. Some were engaged in teaching, some were city-missionaries, intending to go into the Established Church of Scotland or some other religious denomination of Scotland, or some of the denominations of Wales, for I always had many Welsh students. But about five and twenty of the whole number found time to come to me for experimental work several hours every day. In those days, as now, in the Scottish Universities all intending theological students took the “philosophical curriculum ”—zaerst colleginm logicum— then moral philosophy, and (generally last) natural philosophy. Three-fourths of my volunteer experiment- alists used to be students who entered the theological classes immediately after the completion of the philo- sophical curriculum. I well remember the surprise of a great German Professor when he heard of this rule and usage: “What! do the theologians learn physics?” I said, “Yes, they all do; and many of them have made capital experiments.” I believe they do not find that their theology suffers at all from having learned something of mathematics, and dynamics, and experimental physics before they enter upon it. I had then no other premises than the old Jecture-room and the adjoining apparatus room. To meet my requirements for my new volunteer laboratory corps, the “ Faculty ” (the then governing body of the College) allotted to me an old wine-cellar, part of an old professor’s house, the rest of which had been converted into Jecture-rooms. This, with the bins swept away, and a water-supply and a sink added, served as physical laboratory (a name then unknown) for several years, till the University Commissioners came and abolished a certain old function of Glasgow University, the “ Blackstone Examination.” The examination room was left unprotected, its talisman, the old “ Blackstone Chair,” removed. I instantly annexed it (it was very conyenient, adjoining the old wine-cellar and below the apparatus room) ; and, as soon as it could conveniently be done, obtained the sanction of the Faculty for the annexation. The Black-tone room and the old wine-cellar served well for physical laboratory till 1870, when the University was removed from its old site imbedded in the densest part of the city, to the airy hill-top on which it now stands. In the new University buildings ample and commodious provision was made for experimental work. In that good old time some students used to come to me under the impression that the laboratory would prove an agreeable lounge, where they could meet pleasantly and spend the forenoon talking matters over. They were soon undeceived as to its being a lounge for idly whiling | away time, I hope they were not altogether disappointed when they thought it would be agreeable, and I almost hope they found it even more agreeable than they ex- pected. They certainly learned sonething of patience and perseverance, if not much science, in the six months of the College session. Asa matter of general education for those not going to practise medicine, was. it of any * Results up to 1856 published under this title, as Bakerian Lecture for 1856 (Trans. R.S., and republished recently in vol. ii, of ‘‘ Collected Papers.”—W. T.) u-e entering a chemical or physical laboratory? I found as many as three-quarters of the students were destined for service in the religious denominations in after-life. I have frequently met some of those old students who had entered upon their profession as ministers, and have found that they always recollected with interest their experimental work at the University. They felt that the time they had spent in making definite and accurate measurements had not beentime thrown away, because it educated them into accu- racy,—it educated them into perseverance if they required such education. Some students even worked so hard in my laboratory that I had to interpose for the sake of their health. There is one thing I feel strongly in respect to investigation in physical or chemical laboratories—it leaves no room for shady, doubtful distinctions between truth, half-truth, whole falsehood. In the laboratory everything tested or tried is found either true or not true. Every result is ¢-we. Nothing not proved true is a vesu/¢; —there is no such thing as doubtfulness. The search for absolute and unmistakable truth is promoted by laboratory work in a manner beyond all conception. It is a kind of work in which also patience and perseverance are pro- moted in a most marked degree. No labour must be shrunk from ; everything must be carefully done. There is this which is satisfactory about it: that perseverance is sure to be rewarded. There is no failure in physical science. We do not always find the particular thing looked for ; we often find that what we looked for does not exist, or that something else exists very different from what we expected to find; but that something is to be found in any investigation entered upon with intelligence and pursued with perseverance, is a certainty ; and also that that something is not valueless follows as a matter of course. Every additional knowledge of the properties of matter is of value. A large part of the work of a physical or chemical laboratory must be measurement. That might seem rather trying work; “harsh and crabbed” shall we say? Who cares to measure the length of a line in land survey- ing, or of a piece of cord, or of ribbon, or of cloth? These may not be in themselves essentially interesting occupa- tions ; but if it becomes necessary to measure something smaller than can be seen with the eye, the measurement itself becomes an object to inspire the worker with the greatest ardour. Dulness does not exist in science. What do you think of a measurement of something you can only gauge by inference from the perform- ance of the apparatus tested in some peculiarly subtle way? The difficulties to be overcome in physical science in mere measurement are teeming with interest. Pro- perties of matter, or forces to be contended with, oblige us to be always digressing. We cannot go on saying— “We will think of nothing but the object before us.” Every person who aims at one object of course perse- veres until he attains it ; but he keeps his mind open until he can return to some other object never thought of at first, but which thrust itself on him as a difficulty occurring in the pursuit of the first object. The very disappointments in attaining objects sought after in the investigations of physical science are the richest sources of ultimate profit, and present satisfaction and pleasure, notwithstanding the difficulties and disappointments contended with, But I am afraid I] am taxing your patience too much. I will only just say with reference to physical laboratories that they are now advancing to something of the method and consistent system that Thomas Thomson and Liebig so greatly gave to chemical laboratories. I, myself, have not done so much as I might have done in that way. The physical laboratory at Glasgow has, I believe, been, more than most others, devoted to whatever work oc- curred in physical investigation, measuring properties of matter, comparing thermometers, electrometers, galvano- meters, and doing other practically useful work. We put the junior students at once into investigations, and let 412 WATOURE [March 5, 1885 them measure and weigh whatever requires measurement and weighing in the course of the investigation. I look with admiration to what has been done by those who have worked up physical laboratories to their present advanced condition. The physical laboratories of King’s College and University College, London, under the admirable organisation and work of Professor Adams and Pro- fessor Carey Foster; the Cavendish laboratory at Cam- bridge, originated by Clerk Maxwell, and admirably systematised and perfected by Lord Rayleigh, have ren- dered splendid services to physical science all over the world. Much has been done even to provide suitable text-books for use in the systematic practical training of students in laboratory work: for example, the “ Treatise on Physical Measurement,” by Kohlrausch, which has been for several years a most serviceable manual, and the lately published “ Practical Physics” of Glazebrook and Shaw. The physical laboratory system has now become quite universal. No university in the world can now live unless it has a well-equipped laboratory. I hope you will all do your best to make the physical and chemical laboratories of this college a great success ; that you will follow example in everything exemplary until the Bangor laboratories become a mode! to be followed in future labora- tories in Wales, England, or any other part of the world. I was not quite accurate when I spoke of this new college in this City of Bangor as Zhe University College of North Wales. My friend, Mr. Cadwaladr Davies, your secretary, has re- minded me that there was a university of North Wales at Bangor-is-y-coed, in Flintshire—not a city, because it did not combine a bishop and a mayor—but a town which had the honour of having been the seat of the first Welsh university known to history. There may have been universities in Wales before the one which flourished 1200 years ago at Bangor-is-y-coed ; but their history is lost in the long night of silence, because no sacred bard sung of their existence. The university of Bangor-is-y- coed had its bard, who tells us that the institution had 2100 students. There you have a worthy object of ambi- tion for the city of Bangor! May it soon have a goodly proportion of the 2100. Perhaps not so long a time may elapse before your college and the other colleges in Wales may reach to such a number. Indeed, I do not see any- thing unreasonable in hoping and expecting that in a dozen years there will be 2100 university-students in Wales. The population of Wales is more than a million and a half, which is, I think, about a fourth of the population of Scot- land; and I do not see why Wales should not have university students in proportion to its population as well as Scotland. I believe the brightness and activity of the Welsh intelligence will thoroughly take up the idea of a university, and profit by it to the utmost, and, I believe, the existence of this institution at Bangor will before twenty years have passed away, be looked upon as having been a great benefit to the Principality. What Wales gained by the university at Bangor-is-y-coed can scarcely now be told, but alas, for that university with its 2000 students, it was destroyed in the year 613 by Ethelfred, King of Northumbria, and its destruction was followed by 900 years of dark ages. Thus we see what the world lost by the annihilation of the first univer- sity of North Wales. Another bard, Lewis Glencothy, advocated and sang of the possibility of a university in Wales in the time of Henry VII. Richard Baxter, not a Welshman nor a bard but the great English Puritan divine, reported to the then Government under Cromwell in favour of a university for Wales. Cromwell died before action was taken, and nothing was done in the matter for nearly 200 years, when a very active desire sprang up and active co-operation among all parties was entered upon, for having a university established in Wales. We see everything now prospering in that direction. I look for- ward hopefully to the time when this college of Bangor— if not an independent university of its own—will be a college of the University of Wales. All the colleges of Wales, equipped to do the work of a university, might be united to form a University of Wales. There are very many important advantages in favour of such an arrangement. No doubt it is an object of honourable ambition ; but it may be asked if a college does all the work of a university, what does it matter whether it is called a university or not? It is of considerable importance that your college should be either a university itself, or part of a university of which it is an integral college. One of the advantages would be that the teaching of the college would be enabled to take a more practical form than it can possibly take as long as its main purpose is that of preparing students for the degree examinations of London University. The degree system of London University fills a widespread want—a want felt over the whole range of the British empire ; a want of marking by the stamp of a university degree, if not by some more suitable title, the possession of know- ledge and of a certain amount of training by those who have not had the opportunity of obtaining that knowledge in any thoroughly equipped college or university. Thatis a splendid reason for the existence of the London Uni- versity, and it has well fulfilled its reason for existence. But, for all that, it would be greatly better for the students of the University College of North Wales if the teachin were conducted with reference to an examination carrie on by their own professors and colleague professors in other properly equipped Welsh colleges. It is the greatest mistake in respect to teaching and examining to think that the examiner isan inspector. An examiner of schools must to some extent take that position. But in university work teaching and examining must go side by side, hand in hand, day by day, week by week together, if the work is to be well done. The object of a university is teaching, not testing. Testing products comes at some times, and for some special purposes, to be a necessity ; but in respect to the teaching of a university, the object of examination is to promote the teaching. The examination should be, in the first place, daily. No professor should meet his class without talking to them. He should talk to them and they to him. The French calla lecture a conférence, and I admire the idea involved in that name. Every lecture should be a conference of teacher and students. It is the true ideal of a professorial lecture. I] have found that many students are afflicted when they come up to college with the disease called ‘“‘ aphasia.” _ They will not answer when questioned, even when the very words of the answer are put in their mouths, or when the answer is simply “ yes” or “no.” That disease wears off in a few weeks, but the great cure for it is in repeated and careful and very free interchange of question and answer between teacher and student. Professors and students must speak to one another. One of the greatest things is to promote freedom of conversation in such classes, to cultivate in them the power of expressing ideas in words. Then something more definite than vva voce examination can come. Written examinations are very important, as training the student to express with clearness and accuracy the knowledge he has gained, and to work out problems, or numerical results, but they should be once a week to be beneficial. If only occurring once in two or three months they will lose their effect in promoting good teaching, and can be scarcely more than a test; if only once a year they are merely inspector’s work. The object of the university should be teaching, and examining should only be part of its work, and that only so far as it promotes teaching. The credit of the University should depend on good teaching, and no candidate should be granted a degree who does not show that he has taken advantage of the good teaching. But it is impossible to carry out that programme to best ad- vantage by a college which is not in itself an integral part of auniversity. Such examinations as those of the London University are necessarily arranged to suit thousands of candidates who have learned in different schools, and March 5, 1885 | cannot always contain questions that would be most suit- able for one particular mode of teaching. The kind of questions set would be of a different nature if the giving of the questions devolved upon those who had in hand the teaching. Those who have the teaching can give an examination vastly more useful and one that would re-act on the teaching in a way that an examination of a multi- tude of students trained at all kinds of institutions, and many merely by private reading, could not possibly do. Therefore, it seems to be a matter of high importance indeed that there should be a University of Wales ; that you should consider it to be a great object to be attained, sooner or later—but the sooner the better—the establish- ment of the University of Wales, with the University Col- lege of North Wales an integral part of it. I have much pleasure in wishing the University College of North Wales every success, and | trust that the laboratories now opened may prove of great value in promoting and aiding the study of science. POLYNOMIALS IN ZOOLOGY '* So the days of Linnzeus scientific zoologists have universally adopted the binomial system of nomen- clature, which was invented and introduced by that great naturalist. So long as the idea of the fixity of species, as originally created entities, prevailed, there was no excuse for deviating from the Linnean plan. Such an idea as a transitional series between two species, or the division of a species into two or more local forms, was hardly under- stood by the older authors. But of late years, since the general acceptance of the derivative origin of species, it has become universally acknowledged that sub-species and transitional forms do exist in Nature, and many and various plans have been proposed for indicating them. Trinomials—that is, the usage of three names, of which the last is that of the sub-species—are in great favour with a rising section of American zoologists, and there is much to be said in their defence. But the concession of three terms, it is said, would in some cases not be suf- ficient. Quadrinomials and Polynomials must necessarily follow, and render nomenclature inconveniently long. Mr. S. Garman, the well-known herpetologist of the Com- parative Museum of Zoology at Harvard College, Cam- bridge, replies, in the pamphlet now before us, to the assertion “that there is no other or better method than “Dolynomials.” Mr. Garman proposes to designate the different forms or sub-species of a species by symbols such as (A), (B), (C), (D). Supposing that the (C) form is found to consist of several sub-varieties he would name them (C.*), (C.®), (C.*). Still further subdivisions might be indicated as forms (C*), (C*), (C4), and (Cl), (C2”), &c. Thus the polynomial “ Amblystoma tigrinum mavor- tium hallowelli suspectum maculatissimum” would be reduced to “(C.*”) Amélystoma tigrinum,” the “advan- tage” of which for general literature is “ apparent”! But is not this a case in which it may be said that the pro- posed remedy is as bad as the disease? TEMPERED GLASS WE are very pleased to be able to chronicle an appli- cation which Mr. Frederick Siemens has recently made in his regenerative gas radiating furnace, described in the autumn of last year (NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 7). It consists in the production of glass which appears to be of a very homogeneous character and of considerable strength and hardness, and will doubtless become avail- able for a number of useful purposes. The scientific principle which is applied in the three distinct processes to which we propose to refer shortly, is that of keeping t «On the Use of Polynomials and Names in Zoology.” By S. Garman, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. From the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, March 19, 1884. NATURE 413 the whole body of the glass at a uniform temperature during the operations of heating and cooling—that is to say, that at each unit of time the whole mass shall be at one temperature. Two methods have hitherto been em- ployed by means of which glass has been rendered more or less independent of variation of temperature. The oldest of these is that carried on in the annealing kiln, in which the manufactured articles of glass are allowed to cool very slowly. The more modern is that of De la Bastie ; in this process the finished articles of glass had generally to be annealed in the first instance, then heated to such a temperature as to soften them, when they were immersed ina bath of heated oil maintained at a tempera- ture above 300° C., which was said to make them tough. The objection to annealing is mainly that of cost, but the objection to the De la Bastie process is that it is wrong in principle, as, owing to the manner in which cooling is effected, the glass is in a state of tension throughout, which is brought to evidence by means of the polariscope. The glass produced by the processes to be described are almost free from internal strain, and Mr. Siemens holds that, could the principle he propounds be carried out per- fectly in practice, the glass would be free from tension throughout its whole mass. A corollary which may ap- parently be drawn from this proposition is that every metal not cooled in the way proposed is in strain; but that, owing to the much greater tensile strength of metals, the state of tension does not become evident in the same manner as in glass, which is notably brittle. Press-hardened Glass.—Only glass of the very best quality is suitable for hardening. It is cut into the pro- posed shapes and placed in the radiation furnace until soft ; it is then removed and placed between cold metal plates, and cooled down in the proportion of its volume or capacity for heat. Glass may be cooled so rapidly by this means that the diamond will not touch it; the pro- cess is mostly applied to sheet and plate glass, which may either be plain or decorated, and whose strength is thereby increased eight times. The degree of hardening which may be attained depends on the temperature to which the glass is heated and the rate at which it is cooled. The higher the temperature, and the more quickly the glass is cooled, the harder is the glass. Thus, for very quick cooling copper plates are used in the presses, and the glass is rendered exceedingly hard ; when a less degree of hardness is desired, iron plates, or even these covered with asbestos, or clay slabs, may be employed. Sheet-glass of ordinary thickness is heated in a minute and cooled in half a minute. It is remarkable that this can be effected in so short a space of time without injury to the glass, and is due to the uniformity of the heating and cooling operations. Owing to the high temperature at which this process is carried on, more refractory enamels, such as those used for porcelain, can be applied, and the enamel is thus rendered as indestructible as the glass itself. Semi-hardening is employed for goods to which presses cannot be easily applied. The glassis heated up to a high temperature, but not to such a degree as to affect its shape, and is then placed within an iron casing having internal projecting ribs so arranged as to hold the glass article in position and to touch it at the fewest possible points. The casing with its inclosure is cooled in the open air. The process is only applicable to articles of nearly uni- form thickness throughout ; it increases the strength of the glass about three times, and renders it less liable to be effected by changes of temperature than ordinary glass is. The third kind of glass, which is known as hard-cast glass, has not yet been introduced commercially, but samples of the work produced in the form of sleepers, tramway-rails, grindstones, and floor-plates were exhibited at the meeting. The method of production is very simple. 414 Glass made in a continuous glass-melting furnace is run into moulds as with iron castings. The only precaution that has to be taken is that the moulding material shall have as nearly as may be the same specific heat and the same conductivity for heat as glass. Various mixtures of materials that are easily obtainable and not costly are suitable, such as mixtures of powdered porcelain, glass pots, metal turnings and filings, and such minerals as heavy spar and magnetic iron ore. These are pulverised and mixed in certain proportions, and then moulded in the ordinary way. The glass being run into the mould, the mould and its contents are heated up together, and then cooled together, and, when cool, the mould is opened and the glass removed. Glass may thus be cast into forms which it would be impossible to produce otherwise. That glass may thus be manufactured of great homogeneity was proved by the clear ring of a large tuning-fork made NATURE of the material, and in the manner described. Mr. | Siemens promises on a future occasion to bring this matter again before the Society of Arts, after the com- pletion of the works which he is now erecting for the manufacture of glass according to the process last de- scribed. As regards the other processes, the manu- facture has increased in six years from 600/. to 7000/., and, considering the very cheap rate at which hard glass castings can be produced—viz. about 5s. 6a. a hundred- weight—Mr. Siemens feels satisfied that a Jarge business will be done, more particularly as they supply a want which is felt on all sides ; and thinks that glass not being liable to oxidation, as soon as it could be depended upon as regards strength, it would be applied for purposes for which metals, stone, and porcelain have hitherto been used. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL LABORATORY AND OXFORD MEDICAL TEACHING [ WE regret to learn that another attempt is being made to suppress physiological teaching at Oxford. The not-over-scrupulous foes of scientific teaching and research have, we understand, distributed manifestoes by thousands all over the country. We hope, therefore, that the folldw- ing statement will receive equally wide circulation. Scarcely any of the well-known men who have signed the statement are in any way connected with what is gene- rally known as science ; certainly not one of them would have signed it had there been the least suspicion that in the Oxford Laboratory there would be any approach to cruelty :—] A decree to provide for the expenditure of the depart- ment of Physiology will be submitted to Convocation on Tuesday, March ro. The annual sum required for this purpose is 300/, besides 200/. for the salary of the Demonstrator of Histology. The arrangements for the organisation of a complete system of instruction in the subjects of the first B.M. Ex- amination and of the first and second Professional Examin- ations of the Conjoint Board of the College of Physicians and of the College of Surgeons in London are in progress, and will soon be completed. The new Lecturer on Human Anatomy will very shortly be appointed, and the Physio- logical Laboratory will be completed and ready for occu- ; pation by the end of the summer; so that before next October the University will be in a position to undertake the teaching of Human Anatomy and Physiology. The arrangements for teaching the other subjects in which instruction is required by medical students are also in progress. As, in accordance with the recent resolution of the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, Candidates who have satisfied the Oxford Examiners in Anatomy, Physio- logy, and the other subjects of the first and second Pro- fessional Examinations, will be exempted from further examination in these subjects, Members of the University | March 5, 1885 will in future be able to complete their first two years of medical study without leaving Oxford. The purpose for which the expenditure is required is instruction not research, and no experiments upon the living animal involving pain will be used for demonstra- tion to students or instruction, with or without anesthetics. It is, however, intended by those who desire absolutely to prohibit such experiments in physiological inquiry, to oppose the decree for the maintenance of the laboratory. Energetic measures are being taken to this end. The rejection of the decree would involve fatal consequences as regards the above-mentioned scheme for the teaching of medical science. The University has already twice pronounced upon the issues now sought to be raised, by votes taken in unusually full Convocations on June 5, 1883, and February 5, 1884. We, therefore, trust that you will be good enough to attend and vote in favour of the Decree on March 10, at 2 p.m. H. G. LIDDELL, Dean of Christ Church. J. FRANCK BRIGHT, Master of University. GEORGE C., BRODRICK, Warden of Merton. J. P. LIGHTFOOT, Rector of Exeter College. DAvID B. MONRO, Provost of Oriel. JOHN R. MAGRATH, Provost of Queen’s. J. E. SEWELL, Warden of New College. W. W. MERRY, Rector of Lincoln. W. R. ANSON, Warden of All Souls. E. H. CRADOCK, Principal of B.N.C. T. FOWLER, President of Corpus. | J. PERCIVAL, President of Trinity. H D. HARPER, Principal of Jesus College. G. E. THORLEY, Warden of Wadham. EDWARD S. TALBOT, Warden of Keble. | WILLIAM INCE, Regius Professor of Divinity. H. W. ACLAND, Regius Professor of Medicine. W. H. FREEMANTLE, Fellow of Balliol) College. JOHN Conroy, Christ Church ALFRED ROBINSON, Fellow of New College. T. HERBERT WARREN, Fellow of Magdalene College. F. Max MULLER, Corpus Professor of Comparative Philology. BARTHOLOMEW PRICE, Sedleian Professor of Natural Philosophy. HENRY NETTLESHIP, Corpus Professor of Latin. JAMES LEGGE, Professor of Chinese. J. EARLE, Professor of Anglo-Saxon. JOHN Ruys, Professor of Celtic. T. H. T. Hopkrins, Fellow of Magdalen. W. Lock, Fellow of Magdalen College, Sub-Warden of Keble College. W. W. JACKSON, Fellow of Exeter, Censor of Non-Col- legiate Students. H. F. Tozer, Fellow and Tutor of Exeter. A. G. BUTLER, Fellow and Tutor of Oriel. AUBREY Moore, Tutor of Keble and Magdalen. ROBERT L. OTTLEY, Student of Christ Church. W. MarKBY, Reader in Indian Law, Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, and Fellow of All Souls’ College. H. F. PELHAM, Exeter College. THE MAXIM GUN R. HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, the well-known American engineer, has lately brought out a new form of a machine-gun, which is attracting a great deal of attention in military and naval circles. This gun is a completely new departure. It takes the cartridges out of the box in which they were originally packed, puts them into the barrel, fires them, and expels the empty cart- ridges, using, for this purpose, energy derived from the recoil of the barrel. Of course it is necessary to put the first cartridge into the barrel by hand. When, how- ever, this is done, and the trigger pulled, the gun will go on and fire as long as there are any cartridges in the box. March 5, 1885] NATURE 415 The cartridges are placed in a belt formed of two bands of tape, before they are paced in the box, and one end of this belt is placed in the gun at the time of starting, the action of the gun drawing in one cartridge every time that one has exploded. The gun is really a veritable gunpowder-engine, the recoil of the barrel, the block, and the lock corresponding to the piston and cross-head of the engine. The recoil drives the barrel and its attach- ments backwards, opens the breech, cocks the hammer, and expels the empty shell. The return of the block. is effected by a spring. As the bolt returns, it forces a loaded cartridge into the barrel and pulls the trigger. It would naturally be supposed that a gun which loads and fires itself would be somewhat complicated. ‘his, however, is not the case when the gun is considered | simply as a self-loading gun. The additional parts which | form a part of Mr. Maxim’s new gun are due rather to | the mode of feeding than to the fact that the gun is auto- matic. It is certainly a very great advantage to have the | gun supplied from a very large magazine from below. a Te aa | dl | on IM: ek (ID @ Fic. 1.—Maxim Mitraille use. Lateral elevation and front view Fic. 2.—Section If, however, the magazine should be placed en top of this new arm, as it is in other machine guns, and be small in size and depend upon gravity to bring the cartridges into their respective places, the gun would be quite as simple as any existing guns. The rapidity of fire in this gun is regulated by a cataract chamber, and the gun may be fired at any speed from one round per minute up to 600 per minute for guns of rifle calibre and slower for larger sizes. of the mechanism. This gun possesses many advantages over existing types of machine-guns, among which may be mentioned the following :— j As it furnishes its own power, it does not require to be firmly fixed upon its platform as other guns do, so that it is quite free to move in any direction while being fired. Cartridges which hang fire, and which have proved so disastrous to other forms of machine guns, do not present any obstacle to the operation of this arm. As each par- 416 NATURE [March 5, 1885 ticular cartridge depends upon its own power to withdraw itself from the barrel, it will be obvious that the cartridge cannot remove itself from the barrel before it explodes. A gun which loads and fires itself is certainly a novelty, and presents many interesting features and possibilities to any one who takes an interest in implements of war- fare. The gun may be trained in any direction by turning the crank which operates a tangent screw, the stem of which projects from the platform immediately below the cartridge box seen on the top of the tripod, whilst a fine adjustment in elevating may be obtained by turning the small hand wheel, which forms a part of the diagonal telescopic brace which supports the rear of the gun. By loosening the three-handled screw immediately below the central standard, the gun may be turned completely round, and by loosening the thumb screw of the telescopic brace, the gun is absolutely free to be moved up or down or in any direction while firing. If, however, it is desired to have a definite stop to the horizontal play of the gun, as, for instance, when firing upon a bridge, a pass, or a ford, or upon earthworks, the gun may be sighted between the two points, and adjusted by the thumb nuts on the tangent screw stem, when the gun will be free to operate between these two points, but will not go beyond them. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the gun. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section of the weapon. A is the block or bolt which slides freely after the manner of the cross head of a steam-engine ; B is the barrel ; c the locking device for securing the block to the barrel at the instance of dis- charge; D is the cocking lever; E, the carrier which draws the cartridges out of the belt and deposits them in the feed wheel G; F is the belt wheel which draws the belt of cartridges into the gun; H is a connecting rod made slightly elastic by being provided with a strong spring ; I is a crank which does not, however, turn com- pletely round ; L is a point of resistance, against which the cocking-lever, D, strikes at each rearward motion of the block ; K is a shaft connected with the trigger, which operates upon the sear and also upon the controlling chamber J; M is the extractor which starts the cartridge from the barrel; N is a bar which holds the locking device C in position, and which raises it or unlocks it at each rearward motion of the barrel; O is a casing sur- rounding the barrel, which may be used, if desired, as a water jacket. RORAIMA UR readers will be interested in reading the following letter, which has just been received at Kew, from Mr. im Thurn, in confirmation of his telegram already published (NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 342), announcing his successful ascent of Roraima :— Georgetown, February 4, 1885 I have just sent a most brief telegram (such things are expensive here) which will, I hope, give the first news that Roraima has been ascended; and I much wish I could write even a brief report to go by this mail, but ever since I have been back (we got back four days ago) I have been in bed with the most severe attack of fever and ague that ever befel me, and, though the doctor assures me that I have now turned the corner, I am so weak as to be quite unable to sit up. However, before next mail I must manage something. And in the mean- time I send a local paper which purports to give an account of the expedition derived from myself. The main facts are tolerably correct, but the details are much blurred. We were quite successful in getting to the top, and have found that the plateau is by no means the isolated spot it has sometimes been supposed to be. It was, however, a great disappointment that, our way up being | so extremely laborious, it would be quite impossible, with- out a very large expenditure in somewhat smoothing the path, to carry up hammocks, &c., provisions, and firewood (for there are no trees on the top and it is bitterly cold)— it was a great disappointment, I say, that we could only explore the top for a short distance from the point which we first reached. I see, however, no reason to believe but that the whole top is of one character. The scenery is in the highest degree wonderful. I made many fairly successful sketches (considering I am no artist), which will give a very fair idea of the mountain and of the scenery on the top. As I wish to keep the original sketches for the present, to copy them at my leisure, I have just handed the half-dozen most characteristic amongst them to a photographer here, who has before been fairly successful in copying drawings for me, and I hope to send you copies by next mail. The vegetation (on the top) is most wonderful, but somewhat scanty and quite dwarf. I have between 300 and 4oo species for you. I have also some living plants (He/zamphora, three most exquisite Utricularias, two of which are, I fancy, new ; and a few other things), but, as these want much nursing, I have put them into wardian cases, and shall take them home for the present. (I miss jenman now, and have throughout the expedition, immensely.) Yours very truly, (Signed) EVERARD F. 1M THURN NOTES AT the moment of going to press we have received from Sir E. J. Reed a communication protesting against some of the state- ments made in our article last week on ‘‘ The Relative Efficiency of War-Ships,” and pointing out that the system of construction advocated by him was greatly modified during the ships’ pro- gress. So far from wishing to deal unfairly with Sir E. J. Reed’s views, one of our chief objects was to support his protest against the existing state of things, by suggesting that scientific experiments should be resorted to to settle some of the questions on which doubts have been expressed by contending authorities. WE regret to learn that M. Milne-Edwards is lying in a precarious condition. Our readers will regret to learn that Prof. Bonney will resign his post as secretary of the British Association after the Aberdeen meeting. Prof. Bonney, we believe, feels compelled to take this step mainly on account of the inroads which the work of the Association makes upon his time. No one will regret his retire- ment more than the council and his fellow officials. M. BouquET DE LA GRYE has received a mission from the French Minister of Public Instruction to proceed to Teneriffe in order to study the variations of gravitation according to altitude, We have received from the Royal Society of Public Medicine of Belgium its recent monthly tables. With the present year it assumes a new field of usefulness. Founded originally in 1876, it was composed of men who by their position or special know- ledge were able to participate (1) in determining the cause of mortality in general, and the circumstances which affect public health ; (2) in informing and assisting the authorities by special studies and researches ; (3) in preparing the medical topography of Belgium ; and (4) in discussing at annual public meetings questions presently relating to this work, The Society is formed of eleven local subdivisions, each sending a number of members to form the general council. But in addition to these sub- divisions, for administrative purposes, the Society is also divided for the scientific service into a number of zones limited according to the physical nature of the districts. The medical topography | of the kingdom, and all questions relating to it, are studied During last year the Society made a according to these zones. March 5, 1885] NATURE 417 systematic inquiry into the sanitary situation of the country, which was highly approved of at the Health Exhibition in London, and now it has been determined to continue the inves- tigations on a systematic and permanent basis. The members of the Society scattered over Belgium are called on to assist in the new undertaking, and the specimen forms which they are required to fill in monthly are now before us. There are thirteen zones, each zone being subdivided into districts. The physicians who are members of the Society, or who are willing to participate in its labours, are requested to state the diseases of which patients in their practice have died during the month. From these various reports a general statement, and tables of relative statistics are issued by the central body. In course of time a medical topography of the country, the enormous public advantages of which are apparent, will be issued. THE Zransactions of the Seismological Society of Japan for 1884 (vol. vii. part 2) contains a paper, by Prof. Milne, on 387 earthquakes observed during two years in North Japan. To determine the extent of country over which an earthquake was felt, he distributed bundles of post-cards to the Government officials at all important towns within a distance of 100 miles of Tokio, with a request that every week one of the cards should be posted with a note of any earthquakes that might have occurred. By this expedient it was discovered that the Hakme Mountains to the south of the Tokio plain appeared to stop every shock coming from the north, and accordingly the barrier of post-cards was stopped in that direction, but was extended gradually to the north until it included the forty-five principal towns in the main island to the north of Tokio, besides several places in Yezo. In Tokio, observations as to direction, velocity, and intensity were made with various earthquake instruments. A description of the principal instruments used, with a com- parison of their relative merits, has already been given by Prof. Milne in vol. iv. of the Zvavsactions of the Society. The second part of the paper is devoted to a list of the 387 earthquakes recorded, with particulars of each ; 124 maps of earthquake dis- tricts, as well as numerous other illustrations, are appended. The results of an exhaustive study of these earthquakes may be summed up as follows :—(1) As to distribution in space: of the 387 shocks, 254 were local, that is, they were not felt over an area greater than 50 square miles; 198 of these were confined to the seaboard, and 56 were inland. The average diameter of the land surface over which the remaining 133 extended was about 45 miles, but four or five of them embraced a land area of about 44,000 square miles. These great shocks originated far out at sea, and consequently were not so alarming in their character as many which originated nearer to or beneath the land. (2) Simultaneous shocks: some of the disturbances took place at areas remote from each other, whilst intermediate stations did not record them. (3) Origins of earthquakes: the general result under this head is that the greater number of earthquakes felt in Northern Japan originated beneath the ocean ; 84 per cent. of the whole having so originated. The district which is most shaken is the flat alluvial plain around Tokio. Indeed, the large number of earthquakes felt in low ground as compared with the small number felt in the mountains is very remarkable. It is also noticeable that in the immediate vicinity of active or recent volcanoes seismic activity has been small. The map marking the general distribution of volcanoes and the regions of the greatest seismic activity shows that these are not directly related to each other. The district, too, where earthquakes are the most numerous, is one of recent and rapid elevation, and it slopes down steeply beneath an ocean which, at 120 miles from the coast, has a depth of about 2000 fathoms, whilst on the other side of the country, where earthquakes are comparatively rare, at the same distance from the shore the depth is only about 120 fathoms. In these respects the seismic regions of Japan resemble those of South America, where the earthquakes also originate beneath a deep ocean, at the foot of a steep slope, on the upper parts of which there are numerous yolcanic vents, whilst on the side of this ridge opposite to the ocean earthquakes are rare. (4) Relation of earthquakes to various natural phenomena: the preponderance of shocks in winter, as revealed by this investigation, is really remarkable ; 278 took place in the winter months, as against 109 in the summer, and of the former number, 195, or more than half of the whole number for the two years, took place in the three coldest months of the year—viz. January, February, and March, in other words, there is a general coincidence between the maxi- mum of earthquakes and the minimum of temperatures. But the relation of seismic iz/ensity (as distinct from the number of earthquakes) is even more remarkable, for the figures show that the winter intensity is nearly three and a half times as great as the summer intensity. M. Perrey thought he discovered a maximum of earthquakes for the moon’s perigee, but no such maximum has been found for Japan. Speaking generally, no marked coincidence was found in the present instance in the occurrence of earthquakes and the phases of the moon. The above are the general results, stated briefly, of the most ex- haustive and remarkable study yet undertaken in the domain of seismology. La Nature contains a long report on the Andalusian earth- quakes, from the pen of M. Nogués, a mining engineer of Granada, which, as being the first scientific investigation of the catastrophe, is worthy of special notice. The whole move- ment presented three phases. The first manifested itself, prior to December 25, at Pontevedra, Vigo, and in Portugal ; in other words, in the eastern part of the Iberian peninsula. Thesecond was very short and intense, and made itself felt in the centre and south ; it reached its maximum intensity on the night of December 25. The third phase lasts still in the provinces of Granada and Malaga, and extended east to Valencia. The oscillatory movement of December 25 embraced a considerable superficial extent. The disturbed area in the peninsula is com- prised between Cadiz and Cape Gaeta, between Malaga and the Carpetena chain. The movement became more and more intense as it left this mountainous mass and travelled in a southerly direction, until it attained its maximum in the region between the Serrania de Ronda and the Sierra Nevada of Granada. The oscillatory motion was gradually accentuated towards the south, especially on the southern side of the great central Spanish plateau, bounded by the slope of the valley of the Guadalquivir (Seville, Cordova, Malaga, and Granada). M. Garcia Alvarez localises the phenomenon in Andalusia, and regards the Sierra Nevada as the point of departure. M. Nogués then deals in succession with the relations between the seismic motions and the geological structure of the district, the geological phenomena, such as fissures in the earth, produced by the earthquakes, and alterations caused by them in the level of springs. He sums up his conclusions by pointing out that the geological observations which have been made so far, although local, limited, and imperfect, demonstrate that there were two different kinds of motions—one oscillatory, the other a trembling movement. Every one who felt the great earth- quake of the 25th experienced first a vertical shock, and then, after a short interval, another movement like a balancing. A great fissure at the village of Guevejar presents at two points two interesting sections. At one the trunk of an olive-tree has been split in two from its root to the branches, as if from 3 blow of a hatchet, each part occupying a side of the fissure, one on one side, the other on the other. At another part the fissure has divided in two the wall supporting the wheel of the powder- factory at Guevejar. The cracks in the houses in the village are in lines parallel to these fissures, and the marks left in the soil 418 NATURE | March 5, 1885 indicate an oscillatory motion. The chimneys, in many cases, were turned half around on their axes, without any further dis- turbance of a single portion of the structure ; and, in fact, an examination of the various marks left by the earthquake of December 25 places it beyond doubt that there was a trembling as well as an oscillatory movement. On Wednesday evening last week, at half-past eight, three heavy shocks of earthquake, lasting for two seconds, and passing from west to east, were felt at Temesvar, in Southern Hungary. On Thursday morning there was another and slighter shock. Two sharp shocks were felt on Friday in Spain, most severely in Granada, Loja, Alhama, and other districts on both sides of the Sierra Tejea. In the Provinces of Granada and Malaga many houses were damaged, and buildings that had suffered in the previous earthquake were now knocked down. THE last number of the Bulletin of the Essex Institute (Salem, July to December, 1884) is of especial interest, as it contains the proceedings held in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Essex County Natural History Society, of which the Institute is the natural heir and successor. The papers which were read were all appropriate to the occasion. Prof. Morse dealt with the condition of zoology fifty years ago and now, in connection with the growth of the Institute. Mr. Robinson discussed the progress of botany in Essex county during the half-century, and the influence of the Society on it, dividing his paper into three parts: (1) The condition of botanical know- ledge now as compared with fifty years ago; (2) the progress made in that period in the district, as shown by the increase of libraries, public museums, private herbaria, &c. ; and (3) the practical benefit and general knowledge bestowed upon the people of the county by such increased accurate knowledge of the subject and the facilities for obtaining it. It would be im- possible to sum up more clearly and thoroughly, from all points of view, the benefits of such societies as the Essex Institute to their localities and to the progress of science in general than is done in this paper. Mr. McDaniel deals with geology and mineralogy, in which the work has not been so great as in botany, zoology, and prehistoric archzology, ‘‘owing to the bent and profession of the leading members.” The com- memoration papers conclude with a brief historical sketch by Mr, Samuel Fowler, who notices as evidence of the liberality of the founders of the Society that, though nothing was heard of women’s rights fifty years ago, they invited ladies to join them, adding in their circular: ‘‘It is anticipated that they will con- tribute much to the success of the Society.” The historiographer is able to add that these anticipations were realised, for ‘ladies have always taken a deep interest in the Society and its work, and have greatly aided us in many ways.” The result of this “*stock-taking” after half a century is a legitimate source of pride to the inhabitants of the good old town of Salem and its neighbourhood. Ir will interest many of our readers to know that an Exhi- bition of Photographs by Amateurs will be held at 103, New Bond Street, from April 23 to May 9, under the auspices of the “London Stereoscopic Company.” This, as far as we know, will be the first of its kind, and will doubtless be patronised by a large number of exhibitors, and tend to encourage the growing popularity of photography amongst amateurs. Several photo graphs by the late Mr. Cameron, of the Staxdard, will form an interesting feature of the Exhibition. Prizes to the value of 200/. will be awarded. Intending exhibitors are requested to communicate with Mr. T. C. Hepworth, at 108, Regent Street, W. THE popular Chinese practice and superstition with regard to persons in an epileptic fit are not a little curious. When a person gets an attack of epilepsy, those about him rush away for a few blades of grass, which they put into his mouth. They believe that during an attack of epilepsy the spirit leaves the body, and, there being a vacancy within, it is immediately filled by the spirit of an animal, generally a sheep or a pig, and the sound in the person’s throat as he begins to revive is taken for the bleating of the one or the grunting of the other. Under these circumstances they attempt to propiliate the animal by putting grass into the man’s mouth, possibly under the im- pression that they can entice the animal’s spirit in the man to remain tll his own returns ; and on no consideration will they remove him till the fit is over, for, if they did, they believe his own spirit would not be able to find him again, and thus he would die. Messrs. W. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & Co. will shortly pub- lish a translation, by Prof. Hillhouse, M.A., of the Mason Science College, of Strasburger’s ‘‘Das kleine botanische Practicum.” THE next Ordinary General Meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers will be held on Friday, March 20, at 25, Great George Street, Westminster. The chair will be taken at 7.39 p.m. by the President, Mr. Jeremiah Head. The fol- lowing papers will be read and discussed, as far as time will admit :—On recent improvements in wood-cutting machinery, by Mr. George Richards, of Manchester (adjourned discussion) ; description of the tower spherical engine, by Mr. R. Hammersley Heenan, of Manchester; on the history of paddle-wheel steam navigation, by Mr. Henry Sandham, of London. Tue Annual Report of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club is a respectable valume of about 260 pages, with twenty- four plates containing about fifty illustrations, devoted in the present number wholly to cromlechs and other prehistoric remains in the north and west of Ireland. The Society has attained its majority (the past year being its twenty-first), and the secretary is able to report that it was never more prosperous, either as regards increased membership, financial condition, or the value of the work done. Among the papers read during the winter session we notice: on the antiquities of the West of Ireland, on a microscopical examination of a bit of groundsel, Magilligan strand after a storm (in which Canon Grainger de- scribes the castaways after a gale), ants, a trip to America, the age of the basalts of the North-East Atlantic (by Mr. J. Starkie Gardner), while the appendix contains three longer papers :— Notes on Irish coleoptera, by Messrs. Hallilay and Stewart ; the cromlechs of Antrim and Down, by Mr. Gray ; and notes on prehistoric monuments at Carrowmore, near Sligo, by Mr. Elcock. It is to the two last that the numerous illustrations are attached. M. WALDEMAR CZERNIAWSKY, already known for his works on the fauna of the Black Sea, has now published at Kharkoff a work on the ‘‘ Crustacea decapoda Pontica littoralia,” accom- panied by several plates, being a veiy elaborate description of the Black Sea Decapods. The number of Pontic species of Decapods has been increased by twenty, reaching thus forty- eight species, with numerous varieties, though it will probably be greater when the depths of the Black Sea have been better explored. The results of this work are numerous and interest- ing. The species offer altogether a very great variety of forms. The Black Sea contains the local forms of Mediterranean varie- ties, while in the Celtic region are found the local forms of other varieties. The author asserts that the metamorphosis of the superior crabs, such as Carcinus, which presents nine different stages, are a repetition of their genealogy, and arrives at a series of very interesting conclusions as to the genealogy of different species. All three species of 4stacus which are found in the Ponto-Caspian fauna are maritime forms which have immigrated March 5, 1885 | NATURE 419 I into sweet water, and even the Astecus pachypus, Rathke, of the mountain-lake Abrau, is a remainder of a maritime fauna; so also 7helphusa, which has gigantic representatives in the South Caspian. Certain crabs reach really gigantic size in the Ponto-Caspian region; such as Zriphia spinifrons and Carcinus menas on the shores of Crimea and at Odessa. While most crabs reach a great development only in very salt and warm water, others reach the same size under the influence of reverse conditions. The Decapods of the Azov Sea have not yet been explored. The descriptions of the species and their varieties being given in Latin, as also the explanations to the plates, the work is rendered accessible to all zoologists, many of whom, however, will regret not to be able to understand the notes (mostly zoo-topographical, and sometimes adding minor details to the description), which are in Russian. WE have received from the Johns Hopkins University the two last of the Studies on Historical and Political Science. One deals with land laws in mining districts, and describes the regu- lations for the use of land made by agreement among the miners themselves in the Western States. They show a return to primitive ideas, where use is made the proof of ownership, and equality in the size of the various lots is of prime importance. Mr. Shinn is the author of this number. The second, by the editor, Dr. Adams, describes the influence of the State of Mary- land upon the land cessions of the United States, and is specially interesting for its references to Washington’s project for devoting the present made to him by his native State, Virginia, to the establishment of a National University. WITH the exception of a few pages, the whole of the last number (vol. vi. No. 4) of the Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias of Cordova (Argentine Republic) is occupied by a paper by M. Oscar Deering on meteorological observations made by him at Cordova during 1883. These were a continuation of those made by him in 1882 on evaporation, and the various temperatures at six different depths. But for 1883 he has added other observations and arranged the tables as follows :—Atmo- spheric pressure, temperature of the air, the elastic force :f the atmospheric vapour, relative humidity, evaporation in the shade and in the sun, temperature of the soil, solar radiation, storms, and rainfall. There is also a short paper on the observations of the German expedition to Bahia Blanca, to observe the transit of Venus. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include two Wood Hares (Lepus sylvaticus) from North America, presented by Mr. F. J. Thompson; an Alex- andrine Parrakeet (Pa/eornis alexandri 2) from India, pre- sented by Mr. W. Hay; a Common Magpie (Pica rustica), British, presented by Mr. H. Clare; a Slowworm (Axguis fragilis), British, presented by Mr. R. Gunter ; a Short-tailed Wallaby (Halmaturus brachvurus) from Western Australia, deposited ; two Brown Pelicans (Pefecanus fuscus) from the West Indies, purchased ; an Isabelline Lynx (Feis isabellina g ) from Tibet, received in exchange , two Spotted Ichneumons (Herpestes nepalensis) from Assam, received on approval. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN A CoMET IN 1717.—In a note to the Royal Society (P#i7. Trans., No. 354) Halley reported that on Monday, June Io, 1717, in the evening, the sky being very serene and calm, he was Gesirous of examining Mars, then very near the earth, to ascertain whether in his 20-foot telescope he could distinguish the spot said to be seen upon his disk, and directing his tele- scope for that purpose he accidentally met with a small whitish appearance near the planet, which seemed to emit from its upper part a short kind of radiation, directed nearly towards the point Opposite to the sun. The great light of the moon, then not far from full, and close at hand, hindered the object from being distinctly seen, but he determined its place to be nearly in 17° 12’ of Sagittarius with 4° 12’ south latitude. ‘The position, he adds, would be more exactly found by means of two small stars near it, the more northerly of which had the same latitude and followed at the distance of about six minutes ; the other was about four minutes south of the former, and followed it about a minute, ‘‘the angle at the northern star was somewhat obtuse, of about 100 degrees, and the distance of the nebula from it was se quialteral to the distance of the two stars, or rather a little more.” No motion being detected in over one hour, Halley doubted if it were a comet, but on June 15, the moon being down and the sky clear, he had a distinct view of the two stars, but there was no sign of the nebulosity where it had been observed on June ro. He was led by this circumstance to remark upon the number of comets which might escape notice, from their being telescopic objects, and adds that, although comets had been seen elsewhere in 1698, 1699, 1702, and 1707, he could not learn that any comet had been perceived in this country for the thirty-five years previous to the observation above described, which implies that none had been seen here since the year 1682, that of the appearance of the famous comet which bears Halley’s name. The small stars to which Halley refers would appear to be Nos. 16,627 and 16,631 in Oeltzen’s Argelander. THE VARIABLE STAR S CANCRI.—A minimum of this short- period variable being due during the night of February 20, Mr. Knott availed himself ofa fine sky at Cuckfield to observe it as long as it was possible to doso. The watch commenced at 8h. 4om., and ended at 17h. 15m. At gh. 23m. no change was notice- able, but soon after ch. 30m. the star began to decline, and gradually fell from 8*1 to 10°4 mag., which point was reached about 15h. 30m. From that time till 17h. 15m. no certain change was detected, though at 17h. 15m. there was a suspicion of the star being possibly a trifle brighter. By this time it was 17h. past the meridian, and getting too low for observation. As it was not possible to follow the star till its advance on the rising curve, Mr. Knott was unable to fix the time of minimum with certainty, but considered the predic’ed time (16h. 22m.) was pretty correct. He remarks further that Prof. Schonfeld gives 84h. as the time of decrease, and 13h. as that of increase. If this held for the minimum of February 20, and the decrease began at gh. 30m., the minimum would not be reached before 18h., and the normal magnitude would not be attained before February 21, 8h. At 6h. 30m. on the latter date he doubted whether the star had recovered its normal brightness, but by 7h. or 7h. 30m. there seemed no doubt about it. Comparing the form of his curve with Prof. Schonfeld’s, it appeared that on this occasion the star was longer in falling from 9°4 and 9°9 m. to the lowest point reached, than the observations of Prof. Schonfeld indicated ; but Mr. Knott writes doubtfully upon this point, not having previously watched S Cancri through its changes. The next minimum may be expected on March 11, between 15h. and 16h. Greenwich time. Tue MELBOURNE OBSERVATORY.—We have received the nineteenth annual report of the Government Astronomer of Victoria to the Board of Visitors of the Melbourne Observatory. The new transit circle of $ inches aperture, constructed for that establishment by Mr. Simms, was received in May last, and the mounting was completed early in July. At the time of drawing up the report (August, 1884) there were only wanting some steps and observing chairs, for the instrument to be brought into regular use. It is stated to be very similar in form and dimen- sions to the transit circles constructed by the same firm for the observatory at Cambridge and for that of Harvard College, U.S. The great reflector was in better condition than at the date of the previous report, nevertheless it is proposed to send the two specula, one after the other, to England, to be re- polished. A number of stars selected by Prof. Auwers had been observed with the old transit circle, to assist in the forma- tion of a fundamental catalogue of southern stars. Mr. Ellery mentions those of Herschel’s nebule, which had been observed, and of which drawings had been made with the great telescope ; the nebula of 7 Argtis, 30 Doradus, and the ‘* Horseshoe 2 nebula are included in his list. Pons’ comet was observed for position from January 6 to Ma-ch18. The completion of the telegraphic determination of Australian longitudes, it is re- ported, was only waiting a new series of exchanges between Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne; New Zealand had been connected with Sydney by a most successful set of time- exchanges through the cable. The connection of Brisbane 420 NATURE [March 5, 1885 and Sydney was in progress, and, on this being completed, there would only remain to connect Western Australia, to have the longitudes of all the chief Australian and New Zealand cities and ports determined upon the same system. Mr. Ellery recommends that a small expedition should be despatched from Melbourne to New Zealand for the observation of the total eclipse of the sun on September 9 in the present year, when the central line passes through Cook’s Straits. Sir W. Jervois, the Governor of New Zealand, had promised all the aid he could render in the matter. The Board of Visitors sup- ported an application to the Government of Victoria for the necessary funds. [Full details of the circumstances of this eclipse were given by Mr. Hind in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society for January last.] ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, MARCH 8-14 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed. ) At Greenwich on March 8 Sun rises, 6h. 31m. ; souths, 12h. om. 51°6s. ; sets, 17h. 51m. ; decl. on meridian, 4° 42’ S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 4h. 57m. Moon (at Last Quarter at 19h.) rises, th. 5m. ; souths, 5h. 4om. ; sets, oh. 12m. ; decl. on meridian, 17° 25! S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on Meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. A J Mercury ... 6 36 5 Ole ker) 8 22S. Wientusiee.. 0) 13) Lik VO eee LOR T2619. Mars =.) 10.28 II 52 17 16 7445S. ipiter .. 15.46)... 22 58 OM1o® =. 13" SN: Saturn 0) 50.0.5) 18 kO 25a eat eATeN : * Indicates that the setting is that of the following nominal day. Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- March Star Mag. Disap. Reap tex toreht for inverted image h. m. h. m. Oo LOW. BWA. ©. 6287 ..4 0 EWP eo 1G 3t3 go 228 TOs. BAC. 16292) .....0 Gen Oire..| 10/20) we SAmZOO. Tle... paosagittarti” aa. 4) .5. 5rd 6 38 ... 60 272 Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites March h. m March h. m. 8 2 46 Il. ecl. reap. | 13 0 27 ‘J. occ. disap. 6 12 IV. oce. disap. 3 14 I. ecl. reap. 9 20F Olle tre eon TO) Sane; 10 5 23 III. occ. disap. 21 45 I. tr. ing. II 6 oI. occ, disap. 22 39 III. tr. egr. 12 3:19) E. tring: 14) 2. 10) 85) Toitrerepine 5 38 I. tr. egr. 18 53 I. occ. disap. 21 43 I. ecl. reap. The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such s are visible at Greenwich. March 13, 19h.—Mercury in superior conjunction with the Sun. RECENT ENGINEERING PATENTS? IR FREDERICK BRAMWELL stated that he had been determined in his choice of a subject by the consideration that H.R.H. the Prince of Wales had seen fit to appoint him chairman of the Executive Council of the International Inven- tions Exhibition, to be held at South Kensington this year. He therefore proposed to direct attention to some of those objects that ought to be contributed to that Exhibition which were more particularly connected with civil engineering. Dealing, first, with materials of construction, the President remarked that probably few materials had been more generally useful to the civil engineer, in works which were not of metal, than Portland cement. During the last twenty-two years great improvements had been made in the grinding and in the quality of the cement. As regards bricks, although not now superior in quality to those made by the Romans, there was progress to be noted in the mode of manufacture and the T Abstract of Presidential Address at the Institution of Civil Engineers, by Sir Frederick J. Bramwell, F.R.S., on January 13. materials employed. The brick-making machine and the Hofmann kiln had economised labour and fuel, while attempts were being made to utilise the waste of slate quarries. Certain artificial stones appeared at last to be produced with such a uniformity and power of endurance as to compare favourably with the best natural stone, or were even better, for they could be produced of the desired dimensions and shape, and were thus ready for use, without labour of preparation. The employment of wood, except in newly-developed countries, was decreasing, for one reason, because it was practically impossible so to use it as to obtain anything approaching to the full tensile strength. Many attempts had been made to render timber proof against rapid decay and ready ignition, and it was in these directions alone that progress could be looked for. With respect to preser- vation from fire, the wooden structures of the Health Exhibition were coated with asbestos paint, and to this their escope from destruction by a fire was due, Leaving the old-world materials of stone and wood, attention was directed to that form of iron known as steel. The President remarked that, in his judgment, the making of steel in crucibles was not so satisfactory a mode of obtaining uniformity in large masses as was either of the other two great systems of manufacture—the Bessemer and the Siemens—the two processes which had changed the whole com- plexion of the iron industry. He further said that, eight years ago, in a lecture he delivered at the Royal Institution, he had ventured to predict that steel made by fusion would supersede iron made by the puddling process, and that the use of iron so made would be restricted to the small articles produced by the village blacksmith. The first important revelation in steel manu- facture was the ingots shown by Krupp, with other products, in the Great Exhibition of 1851. These showed an enormous step at the time when the production of steel involved the employ- ment of the crucible. Within the last eight years a great im- provement had been made by Messrs. Thomas and Gilchrist, by which it had been rendered possible to employ successfully, in the production of steel, iron derived from ores that, prior to the date of this invention, had been found wholly inapplicable for the purpose. In the manufacture of pig-iron improvement had been effected by increasing the dimensions of the furnaces and the temperature of the blast, by the better application of chemis- try to the industry, by the total closing of the bottom of the furnace, and by the greater use of the waste gases. Copper, so long used in its alloyed condition of ‘‘gun-metal,” had, within the last few years, been still further improved by alloying it with other substances so as to produce ‘* phosphor- bronze” and ‘* manganese-bronze,” very useful materials to those engaged in the construction of machinery. With the increased dimensions of the main-shafts of engines, and of the solid forgings for the tubes of cannon, obtaining at the present day, composed, as they were, of steel, the operations of light steam-hammers were absolutely harmful, and the blows of even the heaviest hammers were not so efficacious as was pressure applied without blow. The time was not far distant when all steel in its molten state would be subjected to presusre, with the object of diminishing the size of any cavities containing imprisoned gases. Within the period under consideration the employment of testing-machines had come into the daily practice of the engineer, for determining, experimentally, the various physical properties of materials—and of those materials when assembled into forms to resist strain, as in columns or in girders. In those matters which might be said to inyolve the principles of engineering construction, there must of necessity be but little progress to note. Principles were generally very soon deter- mined, and progress ensued, not by additions to the principles, but by improvement in the method of giving to those principles a practical shape, or by combining in one structure principles of construction which had hitherto been used apart. Taking up, first, the subject of bridge construction—the Pre- sident thought the St. Louis bridge might fairly be said to embody a principle, novel since 1862, that of employing for the arch ribs tubes composed of steel staves hooped together. Further, in suspension bridges, there had been introduced the light upper chain, from which were suspended the linked truss-rods, doing the actual work of supporting the load, the rods being main- tained in straight lines, and without flexure at their joints due t« their weight. In the East River Bridge at New York, the wire cables were not made as untwisted cables, and then hoisted into place, imposing severe strains upon many of the wires, but the individual wires were led over from side to side, each having March 5, 1885 | NATURE 420 the same initial strain. So far as novelty in girder-construction was concerned, the suspended cantilever of the Forth Bridge, now in course of construction, afforded the most notable instance. It was difficult to see how a rigid bridge, with 1700 feet spans, and with the necessity for so much clear headway below, could have been devised without the application of this principle. A noteworthy example of the use of pneumatic appliances in cylinder-sinking for foundations was also in progress at the Forth Bridge. At the New Tay Viaduct, the cylinders were being sunk while being guided through wrought-iron pontoons, which were floated to their berths and were then secured at the’ desired spot by the protusion, hydraulically, of four legs, which bore upon the bottom, and they, until they were withdrawn, converted the pontoon from a floating into a fixed structure. The President next traced the contest between canals and canalised rivers as modes of internal transit, in contrast with railways, and referred to the improved rate of transport on canals by the substitution of steam- for horse-haulage, and by a diminution in the number of lockages. He also alluded to the hydraulic canal lift on the River Weaver, and to a similar application in the Canal de Neufossé, in France, for overcoming a great difference of level, and reducing the consumption of water and the expenditure of time to a minimum. The great feature, however, of late years in canal engineering, was not the preservation, or improvement, of the ordinary internal canal, but the provision of canals such as the completed Suez Canal, the Panama Canal in course of construction, the contemplated Isthmus of Corinth canal—all for saving circuitous journeys in passing from one sea to another—or in the case of the Manchester Ship Canal, for taking ocean steamers many miles inland. The rivalry between canal-engineers and railway-engineers was illus- trated by the proposal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by means of a ship-railway, the details of which scheme were before the public. In harbour-construction, the principle adopted in the Liffey at Dublin was referred to, where cement-masonry was moulded into the form of the wall, for its whole height and thickness, and for such a length forward as could be admitted, having regard to the practical limit of the weight of the block. The block was then carried to its place, was lowered on to the bottom, which had been prepared to receive it, and was secured to the wall by groove and tongue. The apparatus by which the blocks, weighing 350 tons each, were raised, and transported to their destination, was then described. Consideration of sub-aqueous works necessarily led to appliances for diving ; and here the President said a few words about the ‘*bateau-plongeur”’ used on the ‘‘ barrage” ofthe Nile. Beyond improvement in detail and the application of the telephone, there was probably no noveity to record in the ordinary dress of the diver. But one great step had been made in the diver’s art by the introduction of the chemical system of respiration, A perfectly portable apparatus had been devised, embracing a chemical filter by which the exhaled breath of the diver was deprived of its carbonic acid. The diver also carried a supply of compressed oxygen to be added to the remaining nitrogen, in substitution for that which had been burnt up in the process of respiration. Armed with this apparatus, a diver during one of the inundations which occurred in the construction of the Severn tunnel, descended into the heading, proceeded along it for some 330 yards (the depth of the water above him being 35 feet) and closed a sluice-door through which the water was entering the excavations, and thus enabled the pumps to unwater the tunnel. Altogether, this man was under water for one hour and twenty-five minutes without any communication with those above. There were, happily, cases of sub-aqueous tunnelling where the water could be dealt with by ordinary pumping power, and where the material was capable of being cut by a tunnelling machine. In the Mersey Tunnel, in the New Red sandstone, a heading 7 feet 4 inches in diameter, a speed of 10 yards in 24 hours had been ayeraged, while a maximum of over 14 yards had keen attained. In the experimental Channel Tunnel in a 7-feet heading in the gray chalk, a maximum speed of 24 yards had been arrived at in the 24 hours on the English side, and on the French side of 274 yards in the same time. In ordinary land-tunnelling, since 1862, there had been great progress, by the substitution of dynamite, and preparations of a similar nature, for gunpowder, and by improvements in the rock-drills worked by compressed air, used in making the holes into which the explosive was charged. In boring for water, and for many other purposes, the diamond drill had proved of great service. Closely connected with tunnelling-machines were the machines for ‘‘ getting” coal, which, worked by compressed air, reduced to a minimum the waste of coal, relieved the workman of a most fatiguing labour in a constrained position, and saved him frem the danger to which he was exposed in the hand operation. The commercial failure of these machines was due to trade opposition, and it was to be feared that like prejudices would prevent the introduction of the lime-cartridge in lieu of gunpowder. With regard to the great source of motive power—the steam- engine—it was difficult to point to any substantive novelty since 1862. But the machine had been more and more scientifically investigated, and the results had been practically applied with corresponding advantages. The increase in initial pressure, the greater range of expansion, the steam-jacketing of the vessels in which the expansion took place, had all led to economy. Double-cylinder non-condensing engines were now currently produced, which worked with a consumption of only 27 lbs. of coal per I.H.P., or 2°7 lbs. per H.P. delivered off the crank shaft, equal to 82 millions of duty on the Cornish-engine mode of computation, When these results were augmented by the employment of surface-condensation, an I.H.P. had been ob- tained for as low as 1% Its. of coal, and it was commonly obtained, in daily work, for from 2 lbs. to 2}lbs. But in the use of steam as a heat-motor, the largest portion of the heat passed away unutilised. This defect had been sought to be overcome by a regenerative steam-engine, but it was not success- ful. Heated-air engines had hitherto only been found applicable where small power was required. Another form of heat-motor —the gas-engine—was daily coming into general use up to 30 I.H.P.. By a change in the mode of burning the mixture, and ‘of utilising the heat thereby generated, the injurious shock of the early forms of gas-engine, and their large consumption of gas, were obviated. Comparing a gas-engine with a non-condensing steam-engine consuming 5 lbs. of coal per I.H.P. per hour, and demanding therefore, at one shilling peg cwt., only one half- penny for the purchase of coal, the extra cost for working the gas-engine was well repaid by the saving of boiler-space, of the wear and tear of the renewal of the boiler, of the consumption of coal while getting up steam and during meal-times, of the saving of wages, of the freedom from boiler explosions, and of the cessation of smoke production. A motor bad been recently tried where no fuel was employed directly, but where a boiler, being filled with water and steam under pressure, had its heat maintained by exposing caustic soda, contained in a vessel sur- rounding the boiler, to the action of the waste steam from the engine, the result being that, as the moisture combined with the caustic soda, sufficient heat was developed to generate steam and keep the engine working for some time. Trials had been made with this motor for propelling a launch and for working a tramcar. With respect to other motors, viz. those driven by wind or by water, in France an improvement had been made in water- wheels by which it was asserted that 85 per cent. of all the energy residing in a low fall of water had been converted into power. In turbines also there had been considerable develop- ment during the last twenty-two years, and they were very efficient where a high fall of water had to be utilised, or where, in the case of a low fall, great difference in the working head, and in the level of the tail-water, had to be provided for. Next to the subject of motors came the transmission of power. In its restricted sense, the transmission from one part of a machine to another, reference might be made to the increasing use of multiple-rope driving-gear in lieu of belts, to inclined spur-gear for diminishing noise, and to that kind of frictional gearing to which the name of ‘“‘nest-gearing” had been given. Where, however, the transmission was to long distances, means were being adopted for supplying power—?.e. water under pres- sure or compressed air—through mains laid down in the streets, in a manner similar to that in which gas and water were now supplied for domestic use ; and in New York and other cities of the United States high-pressure steam was similarly conveyed and delivered to the consumers, both for power and for heating. Sir Frederick Bramwell also remarked upon the continuous rolling of bars of steel for tyres, upon the right way of making boiler-shells and boiler-flues, upon tidal motors, upon ‘‘dirigible” balloons, upon the Maxim machine-gun, and upon the applica- tion of submarine mines and torpedoes for the defence of sea- ports. In regard to waterworks, he could not adduce any mate- rial improvements in those dependent upon storage, or in 422 NATURE | March 5, 1885 pumping machinery ; but in the matter of house-fittings there had been great progress, especially in the detection and preven- tion of waste of water. With respect to gas as a distributed illuminant, considerable improvements had lately been made, due to a greater liberality on the part of lighting-authorities, and to the use of multiple burners in street-lanterns, by which a greater amount of light was obtained from the same volume of gas. The regenerative gas-burners, and o'her modes, promised largely to increase the candle-power per cubic foot of gas burnt. In conclusion, the President stated that, during his term of office, he woul: do all that lay in his power, as he had done in the past, to uphold the honour, the dignity, and the usefulness of the Institution ; and in these efforts he felt satisfied that all the members would cheerfully and gladly assist. HOW THOUGHT PRESENTS [ITSELF AMONG THE PHENOMENA OF NATURE?* FLVERY phenomenon which a human being can perceive may be traced by , 429 eee et RL cents the rain-clouds, for the coming of which to THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 1885 THE SNAKE-DANCE OF THE MOQUIS OF ARIZONA The Snake-Dance of the Moguis of Arizona; being a Narrative of a Fourney from Santa Fé, New Mexico, to the Villages of the Moqui Indians of Arizona, &c. By John G. Bourke, Captain Third U.S. Cavalry. (London: Sampson Low and Co., 1884.) HE Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona have this general name from living in towns (Spanish pueblo, from Latin populus). Near a river, or oftener on the top of a steep-cliffed mesa or table-rock, may be seen these picturesque communal settlements, with their close rows of flat-roofed dwellings, walled with stone and mud, rising in terrace above terrace reached by wooden outside ladders, the whole forming a fortification strong enough to resist a sudden attack of the Apaches or Navajos of the plains, whose ravages in old times led the ancestors of the present Moqui, Zuni, and other Pueblo tribes to resort to their peculiar architecture. Though these peoples were brought more or less under Spanish rule from the sixteenth century, and had to conform more or less to the Roman Catholic Church, the general barren- ness and inaccessibility of their region saved them from being Europeanised to the obliteration of the native culture, like the nations of Mexico proper. In the Pueblos the archaic system of society, framed on maternal descent and exogamy, is still in full vigour, while the complex native religion seems almost as per- fectly preserved as if the missionaries had never made the Indians wear silver crosses to their necklaces and march in procession to church on Corpus Christi. Thus it has come to pass that now, when the country has become United States territory, and the traveller bound for San Francisco passes close under the mud-walls of Laguna, there is made accessible to anthropologists a remarkable phase of barbaric society among a mild and intelligent people, where its study can be followed into the minutest detail. A few years ago, Mr. Cushing’s papers in the Century Magazine, describing his life in Zuni, excited wide interest. Now we have another instalment of Pueblo literature from Capt. Bourke, the officer selected by Gen. Sheridan to examine the manners and customs of the Indians of the South-Western Territories, and who in August 1881 went with a party to see one of the great rites of the Moqui religion, never before witnessed by a white man. On his way to the Moqui towns, Capt. Bourke paid a visit to the Pueblo of Santo Domingo. Here the Indians profess to be Catholics, but (as the cura of the parish last year admitted to the writer of the present notice) they keep their old religion too. This comes out in the description of the festival Capt. Bourke’s party were present at, where the procession-dance was performed by men with bodies painted pink and white, and wearing only the cotton kilt of their forefathers, while the women’s headdresses were thin wooden tablets of Zuni make, cut in the step-pattern which in Pueblo art conventionally VoL. XXxI.—NOo. 802 fertilise their arid country the ceremonies of Pueblo religion are one unceasing prayer. The clowns had the same prominent position as in the Zuni dances sketched by Cushing ; naked all but the old Mexican mar¢/7 around their loins, and painted all over in black and white stripes, with tortoise-shells rattling at their knees, and their hair tied in with corn-shucks, they pranced hither and thither among the dancers. The whole purpose of the dance has been so far changed that it has become a procession bearing offerings to the shrine of St. Dominic, but even here the clowns are allowed their old licence, and chaff the Saint himself quite familiarly. There seem to have been more secret rites which the visitors were not allowed to see; indeed, when Capt. Bourke and Mr. Moran attempted to descend, note-book in hand, by the ladder through the sky-hole into one of the es¢wfas—that is, the large cellar-chambers which serve as temples and council- houses—they were seized and ignominiously “ fired out” by the yelling crowd below. A few days later, however, when they reached the rocky #zesa on which stand the three Moqui Pueblos of Suchongnewy, Hualpi, and Hano or Tegua, to visit which was the object of their journey, Capt. Bourke found his way so well prepared by Mr. Cushing, that he was allowed the utmost liberty in examining everything connected with the snake dance, the great event around which all social and religious life naturally centred at the time. A few days before, the young men had been out to the north, west, south, and east to collect snakes, and in one of the es¢#fas Capt. Bourke found the whole catch stowed away in three great earthenware o//as. Next day the reptiles were to be seen turned out in a writhing mass, while two very old men lying on the ground were “ herd- ing ” them: whenever a snake tried to wriggle away, they sat up, and with their eagle-feather wands gently brushed it till it turned back to the heap. These snakes were of several kinds, but mostly rattlesnakes, and youths came down the ladder from time to time bringing others, up to five feet long, wriggling in their hands. When the time approached for the ceremony, the visitors were politely got away to sit on a terrace-roof, where they could com- mand a view of the procession, close to the sacred rock in the f/aza or square, near which was planted in the ground a cottonwood sapling, apparently as a symbolic sacred tree ; between the two stood a miniature conical lodge covered with buffalo hide, imitating in shape the tepi of the Sioux, and strongly suggesting a past time when the ancestors of the Pueblos may have lived as roving hunters on the prairie. The house-tops were crowded with women and naked children waiting for the procession. A noise of whirring and rattling, and there came forth from the arcade an old man sprinkling water on the ground, another carrying a basket of the sacred meal, men and boys with rattles, and another old man bear- ing a ceremonial bow, and whirling around his head a flat slip of wood fastened toa cord, in which we may recog- nise the “ bull-roarer” known alike to the sacred rites of Australians, Kafirs, and ancient Greeks. Then came a party of dancers with their bodies {painted green-black and faces blackened down to the upper lip and pipe- clayed below, with kilts of painted cotton, coyote-skins U 430 hanging behind, rattles clanking at their knees, and eagle- feather wands in their hands. There was chanting, stamping, and a circuit made around the sacred rock, with the pantomimic dance of planting corn; after which the women and girls, gay in blankets of scarlet and white, carried around their baskets and scattered corn-meal. The dancers’ party filed off through the arcade, but soon returned marching two and two, the left-hand men carry- ing snakes, some in their hands, some in their mouths or actually between their teeth, while the right-hand men, toward whom the snakes’ heads were kept turned, tickled them with the feather-wands. Slowly the dancers tramped round the f/aza, raising their knees to waist-height, the snakes writhing and squirming to get free till their bearers dropped them on the ground at the east corner, and the squaws half-smothered them in showers of the sacred meal. They were picked up by men and boys and passed on to safe keeping in a receptacle lined with buffalo-skins in the sacred lodge. Again and again the dancers came round with more snakes held in their teeth, even two at a time by one daring performer, till all, above a hundred, had been carried round, when they were passed out again, placed within a circle of meal in front of the sacred rock, smothered in meal again, prayed over by the chief priest, then caught up in handfuls by the dancers, who rushed with them to the eastern crest of the preci- pice and down the break-neck trails to the foot, where they released the reptiles to the four quarters of the globe. The question how this extraordinary performance is managed may be in part answered. The idea of its being amere trick may be set aside, as the snakes have not their fangs drawn, and indeed it is mentioned that the youths, though they handle the creatures recklessly while stretched at length, call in the aid of the old men as soon as a rattlesnake begins to coil ready to strike. It may be suspected, however, that the snakes have been made to bite cloths or such things before the dance, so as to reduce their poison and make them less dangerous. It is plain that the wands with the eagle-feathers are highly effective in keeping the snakes back by fanning and tickling. We are not told exactly how they act, but the Moquis believe that the snakes dread their enemy, the eagle, whose mode of attack, they say, is to tap the serpent gently with one of his wings, and exasperate it into making a spring. When the snake has lunged out all its force and struck nothing but feathers, its strength is gone, and it lies uncoiled on the ground, where the eagle seizes it in his talons and flies off with it. There may be in this story a hint of the actual purpose of the feather-wand. Through want of knowledge of the Moqui dialects, Capt. Bourke’s party did not get much information on the spot as to the origin and purpose of the snake-dance, but this want was in some measure supplied at Zufi, where Nanahe, a Moqui by birth but a Zuni by adoption, gave an explicit account in the Zufi language, which Mr. Cushing translated. The care and preparation of the dance, Nanahe said, belong to a secret order first esta- blished inthe Grand Cajion of the Rattlesnakes, and the Moqui ancestors migrating eastward brought it with them. At first all members of the order were of the Rattlesnake gens, but as time passed, that clan became NATURE [March 12, 1885 numerous and mixed with the other clans. To keep the order from getting too big,no members were taken in unless belonging (that is, by descent through the mother) to the Rattlesnake gens, or unless when a member dies his son is taken in, as was Nanahe’s own case ; but aman would not come in merely by inheritance if he had not the proper qualities, and on the other hand a man of brave heart and good character would be likely to be ad- mitted, although neither his mother nor his father was a Rattlesnake. “From the Moqui villages the order spread to other villages, but the headquarters remained among the Moquis. Ifa man was boldand courageous, and had a stout heart, and led just such a life as the order told him, and obeyed its orders, he could carry snakes in his mouth and they couldn’t hurt him; but ifhe did not con- form his conduct to such requirements, a bite from one of the snakes would be as fatal to him as to any one else.” Here we seem to see the main point of the whole rite— that the snake-dance is primarily a ceremony of the Snake clan, to which the living snakes are considered to stand in the relation of patrons or kinsfolk. The present reviewer thinks this Nanahe was one of the Moquis he saw at Zuni last year, who put his crossed fingers in his mouth to show how two snakes are held at once, describing also how, by chewing a mouthful of clay, a better grip is got of the slippery reptiles. We may fairly trust his account given here of the ceremonies of the order, the use of the four medicine-roots, the bathing and fasting, the smoking of the sacred pipe, and the ceremony with which the young men, when they catch a snake, seize it behind the head, hold it up toward the sun in their left hand and stroke it lengthwise with the right, praying to their father, the Sun, “Father, make him to be tame ; make him that nothing shall happen that he bring evil unto me. Verily, make him to be tame”; then addressing the rattlesnake, “Father, be good unto me, for here I make my prayers.” Capt. Bourke quotes from Harfer’s Weekly, March 25, 1882, a description of a snake-procession in Central America considerably resembling that of the Moquis. This illustrated newspaper is not readily met with in England, but it would be worth knowing what authority there is for the account. If trustworthy, it would add another fact to the list of Central American or Mexican analogies in the Pueblo culture. Among these are the manufacture and ornamentation of the Pueblo pottery, excellently described by Col. Stevenson in the second Report of the Bureau of Ethnology; also the use of the mzefate or stone corn-crusher (perversely printed metale in this book). The descripti i Vloqui marriage, quoted from a Mormon bishop, which consisted in bathing the couple and then tying them together by the ends of their new cotton garments, bears an almost perfect re- semblance to the well-known Aztec marriage ceremony. On the whole the new evidence which comes in as to the Pueblo Indians conforms to the judgment which Busch- mann long ago formed on such scanty vocabularies as had been made of their languages. These languages he classed in the Sonoran family, not belonging to the Aztec family, but showing strong traces of Aztec intercourse and influence. EDWARD B. TYLOR March 12, 1885 | NATURE 431 SCIENTIFIC ROMANCES * Scientific Romances. No. 1. “What Dimension?” By C. H. Hinton, B.A. Swan Sonnenschein, 1884.) is the Fourth (London: W. HE subject discussed in this short but carefully worked out pamphlet of 32 pages, seems to be coming to the front once more. Helmholtz, in his classi- cal paper on “ The Origin and Meaning of Geometrical Axioms” (J/ind, No. 3, July 1876), clearly states our position with regard to its representation : “As all our means of sense-perception extend only to space of three dimensions, and a fourth is not merely a modification of what we have, but something perfectly new, we find our- selves, by reason of our bodily organisation, quite unable to represent a fourth dimension.” In this article, as also in the excellent paper on “ Measurement,” contributed by Dr. Ball to the “ Ency- clopedia Britannica” (vol. xv.), many references are given to writers who have touched upon this point, but our present author has made a contribution to the subject which is independent of these writers, and puts it clearly before his readers. There are many backward glances to the inferior spaces, and here and there we find slight points of contact between our author and him of “ Flat- land,” which show that the two were thinking of the same ; matter, possibly at the same time. “By supposing away certain limitations of the funda- mental conditions of existence as we know it, a state of being can be conceived with powers far transcending our own. When this is made clear it will not be out of place to investigate what relations would subsist between our mode of existence and that which will be seen to be a possible one.” From a simple illustration it is shown that in our space there are three independent directions, and only three (as Helmholtz says, by the motion of a surface, a surface or a solid is described, but by the movement of a solid a solid and nothing else is described). Why should there be this limitation? He then discusses the cases of the inferior beings, which we put thus: it would be as surprising for a Flatlander to be lifted out of his closed pentagonal house and put outside as it would be to an ordinary human being “if he were suddenly to find himself outside a room in which he had been, without having passed through the window, doors, chimney, or any opening in the walls, ceiling, or floor.” The upshot of the first chapter is that beings can be conceived as living in a more limited space than ours. A straight line by a movement at right angles to itself begets a square, but the Linelander can only conceive of movement in its straight line. The square in the same way can be made to move so as to beget a cube, yet the Flatlander has no idea of movement perpendicular to its plane. Now proceed similarly with the cube : “ We must suppose the whole figure as it exists to be moved in some direction entirely different from any direction within it, and not made up of any combination of the directions in it. What is this? It is the fourth direction.” Arguing from the analogy we know, we arrive at the * For some remarks on the subject of this article, by Mr. G. F. Rodwell, we refer the reader to NATURE, vol. viii. pp. 8, 9. following results: The line has 2 points, the- square 4 (angular) points, the cube 8 points, the foursquare (Mr, Hinton’s name for the fourth dimension figure) 16 points ; in the respective cases the lines are I, 4, 12, and 2X 12+ 8, ze. 32; the plane surfaces are o, 1, 6, and 2X 6+ 12, 2.2.24. We get then the foursquare with 16 points, 32 lines, 24 surfaces, and bounded by 8 cubes; to us, if it were resting in “space,” it would look like a cube. Of course there are other details. We pass on to Chapter III., in which are discussed the relations which beings in four dimensions would have with us. To us, of course, they would have the appearances of beings in space (as to a Flatlander a sphere appears to be a circle). “ Why, then, should not the four dimensional beings be ourselves, and our successive states the passing of them through the three-dimensional space to which our consciousness is) confined?” This is discussed in some detail and illus-~ trated by means of threads. We confess to not quite following our author in his conclusion: “ It is needless to say that all the considerations that have been brought forward in regard to the possibility of the production of a system satisfying the conditions of materiality by the passing of threads through a fluid plane, holds (szc) good with regard to a four-dimensional existence passing — through a three-dimensional space. Each part of the ampler existence which passed through our space would seem perfectly limited to us. We should have no indica- tion of the permanence of its existence. Were such a thought adopted, we should have to imagine some stu- pendous whole, wherein all that has ever come into being or will come, co-exists, which, passing slowly on, leaves in this flickering consciousness of ours, limited to a narrow space anda single moment, a tumultuous record of changes and vicissitudes that are but to us (szc). Change and movement seem as if they were all that existed. But the appearance of them would be due merely to the momentary passing through our consciousness of ever- existing realities.” The concluding chapter leads up from the inferior dimensions, and shows how, in four dimensions, the “box trick” might be effected. Some interesting illus- trations from liquids and gases follow, and then, on the hypothesis of there being a fourth dimension, two possible alternatives are discussed. “If we are in three dimen- sions only, while there are really four dimensions, then we must be relatively to those beings who exist in four dimensions as lines and planes are in relation to us. That is, we must be mere abstractions. In this case we must exist only in the mind of the being that conceives us, and our experience must be merely the thoughts of his mind—a result which has apparently been arrived at, on independent grounds, by an idealist philosopher. The other alternative is that we have a four-dimensional existence. In this case our proportions in it must be infinitely minute, or we should be conscious of them. If such be the case, it would probably be in the ultimate particles of matter that we should discover the fourth dimension, for in the ultimate particles the sizes in the three dimensions are very minute, and the magnitudes in all four dimensions would be comparable.” We have said enough to show that the “Romance” is a curious one, and not without interest to many of our readers, to whom we commend it. NATURE [March 12, 1885 LEDLERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notices taken of anonymous communications. [Zhe Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it ts impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interestingand novel facts.] The Relative Efficiency of War Ships J HAVE a complaint to make against certain of the statements made in the article upon ‘‘ The Relative Efficiency of War Ships,” which appeared in your number for February 26. It is incorrect to declare that I advocated before the Committee on Naval Designs, in 1871, the system of construction upon which the ships of the Adm zra/ class are built. The Ajax, Agamemnon, Colossus, and Edinburgh are designed upon a citadel system which I originally devised and advocated under certain limita- tions ; but I deny, and always have denied, that any of those ships conformed to the fundamental and indispensable condition which I laid down as part of my system: viz. that the armoured citadel should be of ample dimensions to command the whole structure, keeping it afloat and upright, notwithstanding any amount of injury to the unarmoured ends. As this system has been violated in all the four ships above-mentioned, it is most unfair and improper to state that even those vessels are con- structed upon a system which I advocated. But as regards the ships of the Admiral class they do not at all conform to the system which I advised, and the writer of the article in question could only have supposed them to do so from a serious misappre- hension of the ships themselves, The article stated that the central part of allthe ships in question, including the Admiral class, are «plated completely around with very thick armour, which ex- tends from the upper deck to several feet below the water-line.” This is a very incorrect description of the Admiral class, the armour in which does not rise to the upper deck at all, but is stopped in the form of a shallow belt rising but a foot or two, or possibly slightly more, above the water’s surface. I repu- diate with indignation the statement that such a system of con- struction as this, in association with the long unarmoured ends of the Admiral class, was ever recommended by me. For this reason I complain likewise of the statement in your article to the effect that my recent letter to the Z%mes is but a continuation of the old and well-remembered Zzflexible debate. So far is this from being so, that I distinctly pointed out in that letter that the cutting down of the armour to a mere belt of short length separated the ships of the Admiral class from the others, and imported ‘‘a new and terrible cause of danger.” Another statement of which I complain, and which I desire to have corrected, is to the effect that I “‘refused to give evidence” before the Zn/lexib/e Committee. Were ‘this true, it would constitute, in my judgment, a most serious ground of complaint against me, but it is not true. The Inflexible Report and its Appendices clearly exhibit the fact that within two days of the appointment of the Committee, and on the very day on which my evidence was asked for by the Com- mittee, I handed in to that body a most elaborate mass of evidence, occupying no less than eighteen columns of the Zy- flexible Report, and illustrated by two sheets of drawings, this evidence setting forth in great detail my views of the subject, and the grounds of my dissatisfaction with such ships. It is true that four months later I was asked by telegram to attend the Committee, but asked to be excused on the ground that I ob- jected to take part in the dilatory proceedings of the Committee, which I regarded as frustrating the objects with which it was demanded by Parliament. My full evidence was, however, already before the ,Committee, and had been for several months. The above are the points of which I complain, and wish to have corrected. I do not ask as a matter of right, but I desire to have stated, that the long explanation which was given in the article in question for the purpose of showing that mere displacement is not, under alli circumstances, a measure of the power of a ship, was, in my opinion, wholly unneces- sary—at any rate, in so far as either Mr. Barnaby or myself was concerned. Both Mr. Barnaby and myself knew perfectly well that displacement is but a very rough measure of the power of ships, and no measure at all when ships of wholly different classes, and kinds, and dates, and systems are closely compared together. The only use that I made of the principle in my letter was to accept it for the moment as a rough basis of comparison between the ten latest French and the ten latest English ships, and I consider that for that purpose it was a good enough principle to indicate the inferiority of the English ships. But the acceptance of the principle for that purpose in no way precluded me from going further and showing that this rough comparison did not by any means bring to light other elements of grave inferiority, and even of danger, in the English vessels. In the accompanying diagram the great difference between the Znflexible or Agamemnon class and the ships of the Admiral class is clearly illustrated. In both figures that part of the armour which is above the water is shown in full black, the part below the water being indicated by dotted lines. A glance at the diagram is sufficient to make it readily understood that the Collingwood Agamemnon, whose side armour rises several feet above the water, can be inclined to a considerable angle before her armour is brought under the water, whereas a very slight inclination only is necessary to bring the extremely shal- low armour of the Collingwood under the water. In the case of the Agamemnon, therefore, the armour she poss- esses affords her a considerable amount of resistance to capsizing, while the resistance thereto derived by the Codling- wood from her armour is almost #2z/. The same remark applies, of course, to the buoyancy of the armoured out-of-water parts of the two ships, the Co//’zgwood haying but a small fractional part of that which the Agamemnon possesses. E, J. REED [We give insertion to this communication from Sir Edward Reed with great pleasure, because one of the chief objects we sought in our article was to support his view that the stability of the ships of the Admiral class under the conditions which might be expected to occur ina naval engagement was open to grave question, and to reassert that further scientific experiments should be made. We regret that the fundamental difference, so far as fighting stability is concerned, between ships of the Zz/lexible and Admiral type, which is now brought out so well by Sir E. J. Reed’s diagrams, was not emphasized in the article so strongly as it should have been.—ED.] March 12, (885 | How Thought Presents Itself among the Phenomena of Nature In’your paper of the 5th you give a short abstract of a recent lecture at the Royal Institution by Mr. G. Johnstone Stoney, on the question ‘‘ How Thought presents itself among the Pheno- mena of Nature.’’ In this abstract I observe an assertion which is quite new to me, and, I must add, quite unintelligible. It occurs in the first paragraph. The assertion seems to be that there is an absolute distinction between molar and molecular motion, inasmuch as that, in the case of molecular motion there is no authority for the conviction that there must be some “thing” to be moved. The conception of motion involves the conception of matter as a necessary or inseparable concomitant— although the abstract idea of motion may, in a sense, be sepa- rately entertained. Is there any difference in this respect between molar and molecular motion? A molecule is a group of atoms, and an atom is only conceivable as an ultimate particle of matter. I hope that some further explanation may be given upon this point, which is one of the highest interest and importance, both as a matter of physical and of metaphysical speculation. Inverary, March 8 ARGYLL The Compound Vision and Morphology of the Eye in Insects Mr. SYDNEY Hickson, in your issue of February 12 (p. 341), makes certain statements concerning my paper in the Zramns- actions of the Linnean Society on this subject. I will not follow Mr. Hickson through his entire article, as I conceive it is suffi- ciently refuted by my paper itself. He says: ‘‘It would be tedious to bring evidence of this kind to confirm a theory which is already fully established.” I would ask Mr. Hickson if any- one can explain the vision of the compound eye intelligibly on the received theory? I would also remind your readers that Prof. Huxley, writing of the crayfish in 1880, accepted the view with extreme caution ; he said, ‘‘ The exact mode of connection of the nerve fibres with the visual rods is not certainly made out ;” that Claparede never accepted it, and Max Schultze admitted that there were grave physical difficulties in the way of its acceptance. Mr. Hickson is very anxious, apparently, to deny me what I never claimed—.¢. the discovery of a layer of definite structure beneath the basilar membrane. What I do c'aim is the dis- covery of the nature of its elements, I deny, in my paper, that the optic nerve passes through these structures, and I deny that these consist of a fine reticulum of nerve-fibres. These are questions of fact and observation, not of theory or deduction. If lam wrong, Iam wrong. But the way to test my work is by working out the eye as I have worked it out. I have spent nearly ten years in this work, and I do not expect to have my views generally accepted for another ten years. The absence of pigment and retinal purple is a secondary question. I do not know,-nor does any one know, whether there be retinal purple or not in this layer. I admit that pig- ment is absent in the retina (my retina) of some insects and crustaceans, and I have recorded the fact. I am not yet con- vinced that we can say vision is impossible without it. Albinos have vision undoubtedly in the absence of retinal pigment. He would be a bold man who asserted that vision could not be effected without pigment in the retinal region. The colourless collodion film of the photographer is affected ; why not retinal rods? Here, again, it is a question of fact, not theory. The presence of pigment proves nothing with regard to the function of the great rods, any more than it shows that the iris of a vertebrate is sensitive to light. The absence of my retinal layer in Periplaneta and Nepa is imaginary on the part of my critic, for I have examined it care- fully in both, and I figure the elements from the former. I maintain that the same structures exist in all the crustacea, although they are short and more difficult to demonstrate. Again, in the morphological question my views are not fairly stated by Mr. Hickson. I admit his facts, but deny his deduc- tions. The hypodermis forms the dioptric structures, as the epidermis of the vertebrate forms the lens; my contention is that the retina in the insect, like the same structure in the Verte- brata, is developed as an outgrowth from the nervous system. BENJAMIN THOMPSON LOWNE 65, Cambridge Gardens, Notting Hill, W., February 23 NATURE 433 I Do not wish to undertake a lengthy controversy with Mr. Lowne on the question of the retina of insects, but I cannot refrain from making a few remarks on the letter you publish above. Tam afraid Mr. Lowne has misunderstood my criticism when he asks me ‘‘ If any one can explain the vision of the compound eye intelligibly on the received theory?” My criticism was not meant for any theory of pure optics, but for the theory that the retinulz are not the true nerve-end cells, Mr. Lowne’s statement that albinos are devoid of retinal pig- ment is not strictly accurate, for Kiihne pointed out, and any one can see for himself, that all albino rabbits and other verte- brates possess a true retina purple. Moreover, the rods of Cephalopods and of Pecten, which seem to be devoid of pigment in spirit specimens, possess, as Hensen has pointed out, a true retina purple. In fact, I know of no exception to the rule I laid down—namely, that optic nerve-end cells are pigmented, and I should be glad if any of your readers could point out any exceptions to it. Mr. Lowne’s reiterated statement that the optic nerve fibrils do not end in the retinulz is, as I said, contrary to my own observations. I have submitted my preparations to several eminent naturalists, who agree with me in my account of their distribution, I shall be happy to submit them to any others who may feel interested in this matter. The other statements in my notice which Mr. Lowne contro- verts I will not refer to again here, as they will be fully ex- plained and illustrated in my forthcoming paper in the Quarterly Fournal of Microscopical Science, the proof-sheets of which I have now in hand. SypDney J. Hickson Anatomical Department, Museum, Oxford, February 25 Civilisation and Eyesight IN connection with Lord Rayleigh’s letter in NATURE, p. 340, on the above subject, I venture to hope that the following may be of interest :— In the ‘‘ Expression of the Emotions” the late Mr. Darwin quotes some observations—if I recollect correctly—by Gratiolet tending to show that, under the influence of fav, the pupils of animals’ eyes dilate. Observations extending over some years haye convinced me that fear is undoubtedly capable of thus causing dilation of the pupils (see Dr. Hack Tuke, ‘‘ Influence of the Mind on the Body’’) ; and in general literature, such as travels, novels, &c., I have met with many instances in which the eyes of both men and animals under this condition have been so described by the writers. Is dilation of the pupil under the influence of fear to be explained on the assumption that the increased aperture of the eye enables a more effective scrutiny of the object causing terror, and has thus been of service in the struggle for existence ? An answer to this question is not easy to give, for, although dilation of the pupil under the influence of fear may have originally been of direct service to an animal, yet this condition may in time have come to be associated with other emotions in which it is not so easy to trace any such direct benefit. Observations upon the subject are by no means easy (varying light, for instance, varies the aperture of the eye), but in the course of my observations I became much inclined to believe that other strong mental emotions besides fear (e.g., joy or plea- sure) may be capable of giving rise to dilated pupils. ; Charlotte Bronté, in ‘* Jane Eyre,” is one of the only writers who associates a dilated pupil with other emotions than fear. Here is the sentence :—‘‘ Pain, shame, ire, impatience, disgust, detestation, seemed momentarily to hold a quivering conflict in the /arye pupil dilating under his ebon brow.” It is to be feared that the experimental investigation of eye- sight with artificially contracted or dilated pupils is scarcely practicable, for drugs, such as atropine or eserine, act not only on the pupil, but also on the power of accommodation for distance. J. W. CLarK Liverpool, February 21 P.S.—I see Dr. M. Foster, in his ‘‘ Text-Book of Physio- logy,” mentions the dilation or contraction of the pupil which attends the adjustment of the eye for distant or near objects respectively, and also its dilation ‘‘as an effect of emotions.” It thus seems highly probable that strong and very different mental emotions may give rise to dilated pupil. Dr. Herdman has suggested to me, as an explanation of this, that an intens 434 NATURE anno [March 12, 1885 excitation of one brain-centre may possibly act in the same way as a direct inhibitory impulse by partially paralysing an adjacent centre, The Forms of Leaves THERE are several points in Sir John Lubbock’s lecture (NaturE, February 26, p. 398) which seem to invite some little criticism. That ‘‘the size of the leaf. . . is regulated mainly with reference to the thickness of the stem” seems somewhat self-evident, as a large leaf must have a large stem to carry it, as, ¢.g., may be seen by comparing the slender shoot of a Deodar with a cabbage-stalk ; but he adds: ‘* The size once determined exercises much influence on the form.” This is a deduction which seems to require verification. Sir John gives the area of a beech-leaf as about 3 square inches, but the form remains the same whatever the size. Size rather depends on vigorous growth, as in the foliowing instances : Populus alba leaves on a vigorous basal shoot were 64 x 3% inches, the diameter of the shoot being } inch; on the upper branches of the same tree many leaves were only 14 to 24 inches long, the diameter of the shoot being also § inch. Similarly growing oak leaves of the same shape were 6 X 3 inches and 2 x 4 inches respectively. An Aucuba japonica bore rounded leaves on a basal shoot 4 X 33 inches, but those on the stem were 4 X I inch. In this case, as in other plants with (normally) dimorphic leaves, as ivy, it is difficult to see what connection there is between size and form. Indeed leaves of every degree of superficial area can be found amongst the lohed ones on the climbing stem of ivy, and the entire ones of the flowering branch. Sir John adds that ‘the form of the inner edge [of the beech] . . . decides that of the outer one.” He does not seem to have verified this deduction. The two edges are symmetrical in this leaf, but they are not so in the elm and lime. How will the inner edge explain the cause of their obliquity? If, however, the duds of the lime be exa- mined, a more probable cause (as it seems to me) will be dis- covered in the conditions of development. He describes the Eucalyptus, when young, as having ‘horizontal leaves, which in older ones are replaced by scimitar-shaped phyllodes.” Bentham and Hooker say of Zwcalyptus: ‘Folia in arbore juniore szepe opposita, in adulto pleraque alterna,” but makes no mention of phyllodes. Speaking of evergreen leaves, he says: ‘“ Glossy leaves have a tendency to throw [snow] off, and thus escape, hence evergreen leaves are very generally smooth and glossy.” This sentence appears to imply that such leaves are glossy in anticipation of snow! a deduction which certainly re- quires verification. Again: ‘‘ Evergreen leaves often have special protection . . . by thorns and spines. Of this the holly is a familiar illustration; and it was pointed out that in old plants above the range of browsing quadrupeds, the leaves tend to lose their spines and become unarmed.” The inference the reader draws from this is that when the holly grows out of reach of browsing animals it has no necessity to produce prickly leaves, and so changes them accordingly, thereby implying that unarmed leaves were in some way prefer- able. This is another instance of deductive reasoning which requires verification, for it seems to be attributing to the holly a very unexpected process of ratiocination! But it is not at all usual for hollies to do this. I have several from six to nearly twenty feet high, and not one has borne an unarmed leaf. Though my cows do not touch a holly hedge, yet one young bush lately planted has taken their fancy, and they have bitten it all to pieces. On the other hand one bush (in the garden), a variety with unarmed foliage, occasionally throws out a branch with prickly leaves, though the cows are not admitted where it grows. “Fleshy leaves were principally found in hot and dry countries, where this peculiarity [sie] had the advantage of offering a smaller surface, and therefore exposing the plant less to the loss of water by evaporation.” Surely the usual explana- tion, that it is the thick cuticle which prevents rapid exhalation is a better reason than Sir John’s deduction from the small size of the leaves? Speaking of aquatic plants, he says that the submerged ‘‘cut up” leaves of such plants presents a greater extent of surface ;” and adds that “such leaves would be unable to support even their own weight, much less to resist any force, such as that of the wind..” I should be glad to know if he has verified the first statement by actual measurements ; for an @ friori assumption leads one to fancy that a complete leaf would have a greater surface than one represented by its ribs and veins only. With regard to the second and third statements a “natural experiment ” completely refutes his deduction, for I know a place where a small pond dried up last summer, and a large portion of the ground was covered with a dense velvet-like carpet, composed of the erect filiform branchlets of the ‘ cut-up ” leaves of Ranunculus aguatilis, which had become modified by their new medium, and perfectly adapted to enjoy an aérial existence, In offering these few criticisms for Sir John Lubbock’s con- sideration, I would venture to remark that he seems to have followed too closely in the deductive methods of another writer on leaves, and which called forth the following remark from Prof. Lankester :—[He] ‘‘ gives us hypotheses, suppositions with insufficient evidence, and deductions from the generalisation of Evolution, but he is relatively deficient in ‘ verification’” (NATURE, vol. xxviii. p. 171). GEORGE HENSLOW Drayton House, Ealing The Fall of Autumnal Foliage Mr. FRASER alludes to ‘‘the unpursued inquiry into the cause of leaves falling in autumn” (NaTure, February 26, p- 388), and I do not find it mentioned in Sach’s “ Text Book” ; but Dr, Masters, in Henfrey’s ‘‘ Elementary Course of Botany,” fourth edition, p. 515, speaks of ‘‘a layer of thin-walled cells being formed across the petiole,” but does not say whence this layeris derived. Duchartre, however, gives a pretty full account of opinions up to 1877 (“ El. de Bot.,” deux. éd. p. 443), which he reduces to two, viz. Schacht’s, who attributes it to a growth of periderm, and that of Mohls, who recognises a special layer which he calls couche séparatrice, considering the peridermiclayer as being often, but not always formed. Subsequently, M. Ledgeganck examined different plants and corroborated Schacht in regarding the periderm as the cause ¢rédisposante, and cold to be the cause efficiente, which contracts ‘“‘le tissu de la base du _peétiole, spongieux, aéré, élastique 4 un degré beaucoup plus considérable que celui du coussinet.” From my own observations on the horse-chestnut, ash, &c., it appears to be in these clearly a con- tinuation of periderm produced by the phellogen of the branch, which invades the base of the petiole, till it meets in the middle, cutting right through the fibro-vascular bundles of the petiole. As this suberous layer dies, the leaf necessarily falls off. But as long as a leaf is in vigorous health it would seem to resist this invasion, and last longer, as do evergreens. I inclose a figure I possess of a slide showing the process in the horse-chestnut. Drayton House, Ealing GEORGE HENSLOW Forest-Trees in Orkney In Nature of February 26 (p. 388) Mr. A. T. Fraser says that ‘‘a peculiarity of Caithness and the Orkney and Shetland Islands is that no forest-trees can be got to grow,” and he pro- ceeds to explain this by the preponderance of polarised light. As far, at least, as Orkney is concerned, I am prepared to rebut this calumny. Itis true that forest-trees are not the striking feature of the Islands, but they do occur. At Binscarth, be- tween Kirkwall and Stromness, there are willow, ash, sycamore, and Scotch fir. They require to be protected—from the wind, I presume, and not from the light—by hedges of bour-tree (elder). In the street at Kirkwall itself there is a fair-sized sycamore. Trinity College, Cambridge JAMES CURRIE Your Indian correspondent, Mr. A. T. Frazer, can hardly be acquainted with the primitive jungles of Southern India, or he would have observed that there, at one and the same time, the aspect of all the four seasons is displayed in the vegetation, ~ i? - - ss, ’ March 12, 1885] NA TURE 435 When in Coorg, in two different years, during the months of January and February, we not unfrequently drove up to Mercara, the capital, a distance of ten miles from the place where we were staying. On the way thither we saw some trees in their winter condition with perfectly bare branches, others had the tender foliage of spring, some again were in all their summer glory, and some were clothed with the most brilliant autumnal tints ; this was most probably due to the great variety in the species of trees in that district. COSMOPOLITAN A Tracing Paper Screen As several inquiries have been made of me as to where the proper tracing paper can be obtained, perhaps I may be allowed to state that I got mine through Mr. George Smith, 26, Cole- brooke Row, City Road, N., who was the first, I believe, to recommend the use of this valuable material. CHARLES J, TAYLOR Toppesfield Rectory, Halstead, Essex GEOFFREY NEVILL WE have to announce the comparatively early death of Mr. G. Nevill, which took place at Davos Platz, after a long and lingering illness, on February 10. This removes from among us another of the scanty band of English conchologists, whose ranks, only a few days before, suffered a similar loss in Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys. Mr. Nevill’s labours have been principally confined to India, where he was for many years one of the assistant- superintendents under Dr. J. Anderson in the Indian Museum, Calcutta ; his work is, therefore, better known to those who have collected in the East and written on the molluscan fauna of that part of the world. For many years he was a constant correspondent and colleague of the writer’s, who can testify to the large and varied know- ledge Mr. Nevill possessed of the different forms. A very large number of species were sent him by Mr. Nevill from time to time, many of which still remain to be de- scribed. Mr. Nevill was the author of many papers on his favourite study, most of which are to be found in the Fournal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal; but perhaps his best and most useful work, particularly to those interested in distribution, was the “ Hand List of Mol- lusca in the Indian Museum” (Part I. comprising the Pulmonata and Prosobranchia-Neurobranchia published in December, 1878, and is remarkable for the accuracy with which the localities of the different species is given, and the collections from whence they were received. He also catalogued the Ampullariacea and Valvatidze and Paludinidz). Unfortunately, the whole catalogue of the Gastropoda is incomplete, for his health failed him alto- gether in 1881. Yet he struggled on to the last with his task, even when unable to leave his room to go as usual :to his office in the Museum, and was compelled eventually to give up his appointment and return to Europe. The entire arrangement of the Mollusca in the new Museum formed a part of his work when there, and it was well and admirably done. Almost his last work in the field was at Mentone, in 1878-79, where, in the post- Tertiary beds, he made a careful collection of the shells, particularly the smaller species, a list of which he pub- lished in the Zoological Society’s Proceedings. Yet even so late as last summer, when hardly able to move from weakness and partial paralysis, he was getting together the land-shells to be obtained in the country around the Lago de Como. Geoffrey Nevill was born at Holloway on October 5, 1843; he was the second son of Mr. Wm. Nevill, F.G.S., who resided for many years at Langham Cottage, Godalming, a gentleman who made mineralogy his study, and whose collection of meteorites was well known. As is often the case, his son inherited kindred tastes, for, when quite a boy, his attention was directed to’! shell-collecting both in Germany and in England. Most of the English species in the Calcutta Museum originally formed a part of this collection, and bear labels from near his early home at Godalming. He received his education at Dr. H. D. Heatley’s school at Brighton, and afterwards spent some time at Bonn in the house of Dr. F. H. Troschel, Professor of Zoology, and this no doubt confirmed his early taste for natural history and directed his future career. He was never strong, so, after entering into mercantile life in his father’s house, and his health breaking down, he was ordered abroad, and he proceeded to the Cape, the Mauritius, and Bourbon, where he collected largely, and formed a valuable and rich collection. Some of the results were described in joint papers by himself and his brother, Hugh Nevill, of the Ceylon Civil Service, He went on to the Seychelles Islands in 1868, where he re- mained some time, still further enriching his collection, and then went on to Calcutta. At this time an appoint- ment offered itself in the New Museum, which he took and filled for many years. Here in Calcutta during this period a little band of workers in conchology were drawn together, most of whom were employed on the different surveys of the country. Season after season, on return from the field, the results of their labours in every part of India accumulated and were examined. Ferd. Stoliczka, one of the first to be removed, was one of the most ardent workers, and all benefited from his deep, more advanced knowledge of the subject. The survivors will recall those pleasant intellectual’ gatherings when they hear of Geoffrey Nevill’s death, and future students and collectors of Indian Mollusca will appreciate the work he lived to perform, and which will render their work in the galleries of the museum in Calcutta more easy. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCA- TION IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR 1882-83} It is impossible to read the account which the United States Bureau of Education, in the opening pages of this Report for 1882-83, gives of itself and of its labours, without being convinced of the value of the matter there- in contained. A total of over 10,000 institutions of edu- cation of various kinds are in correspondence with, and supply information to, the department. An idea of the work also which falls to it may be formed from the fact that some questions addressed to it have necessitated months of research by several clerks, while the labour which its publications have entailed, as well as the value placed upon them, are shown by the fact that one of them was asked for by 10,000 persons of different addresses. Since all is voluntary, the Bureau claims to work the most complete system of the kind in existence. The wide compass of its survey is indicated by the very full account given, among other foreign intelligence, of the Report of the English Commission on Technical Education. Be- sides itself circulating through the world 20,000 copies of its Report, the office is require dto print 18,000 copies more for the use of, and distribution by, other members of the Government. Its library—where all the items of information which it is possible to collect, down to cut- tings from newspapers, are gathered together and classi- fied—is an immense work ; and we can well believe that, “if this office were put in possession of a small sum annually for the purpose, it would make effective and useful displays at exhibitions, of American education .. . the most unique feature of our national life.” The report of this education generally is far more satis- factory than in other years. There has been a general increase, first in the number of scholars, even in Maine where the population has become smaller, and in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, South Carolina, 1 Washington Government Printing Office, 1824. 436 and Kansas, where schools have become fewer. Though the contrary might have been expected in an increasing country, a great complaint of the Report is the multitude of small schools which require consolidating for the sake of employing better teachers and apparatus. The sugges- tion is made that each State should fix a minimum of salary to be paid to any teacher; this not only must be good for the children, but would of itself urge forward the consolidation, where distance allowed it, of small schools of less than ten or twelve scholars. In Rhode Island, and in city schools generally, the competition of factories is lamented. The deficient aver- age attendance is imputed to the demand for cheap labour; and obligatory laws are quoted, among other things, as an antidote. It should not be forgotten that the inexorable enforcement of those laws is what is in reality the greatest kindness to poor families; for if the cheap labour of young untaught children once enters the market in the smallest quantities, it becomes impossible to gain a fair price for the work of those older and better taught. But, protected from all such unfair competition, the child’s education becomes a common necessity. No doubt the difficulty is much felt in Alabama, North Caro- lina, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the only States whose reports are generally unsatisfactory: States where negro labour keeps down the wages of white children. There has been an increase, again, in the number of teachers: with regard to which it is interesting to note that in three States the number of men has fallen off, while in them, and even in frontier States, that of women has increased; and an increase also in the item of teachers’ salaries; even in Illinois with fewer of them, in Indiana, where the population has decreased, and in Michigan, where in past years the amount had fallen off. The variation in different States of the expenditure on education, however, is still exemplified in the fact that Massachusetts pays fifteen times the amount per head that Alabama pays ! The educationists of Kentucky, where whites and blacks are treated alike with regard to schooling, appeal to the Peabody Trustees for advice to the Legislature. This latter body, who are gaining an influence like that of our Charity Commission, have concentrated their money upon training teachers, with successful effect over school work in the south. Another benefactor has be- queathed over 700,000 dollars to the whites of New Orleans for educational purposes. . The improvement in the organisation of systems, the greater efficiency of work, and the deeper interest felt by the people, is indicated by the public schools in some States superseding the private ones; and Gen. Eaton attributes to the influence of the superintendents (officers whom we have before quoted as combining the know- ledge of our inspector with the zeal of our chairman of School Board) the two most promising general move- ments now going on, viz. the increase of local taxes for education in the Southern States, and the effort to abolish small independent, irresponsible districts in the older Northern States. Still, nothing can be more depressing than that, in a community naturally the leading people of the world, a sober report of a patriotic commissioner should still find it necessary to say more than once in his Report, that a work so all-important to the future of that community as education should be marred by school commissioners persisting to license the cheapest teachers they can pro- cure, and using the license as a means of favouring relations, political supporters, and such like; thus ren- dering useless the efforts of examining bodies, who have pointed out the really competent persons for this most responsible office. We have no need to enlarge again here upon the United States difficulty, the education of the negro. The burning question of course is, Who is to pay for it? The NATURE [Warch 12, 1885 Report speaks confidently of securing national aid, the need of which has been so strongly urged before. One gentleman gave 1,000,000 dollars towards the work, but religious denominations have so far been the great sup- porters of black education. We, in England, can better enter into the labours of those who are trying to raise the street Arabs to a gene- rally higher level. Few things ought so much to convince anxious reformers how little their improvements depend upon the form of government, as to. see how the struggle of the poorest for existence is as sharp and demoralising in the large towns of the United States as it is in England. One of the leaders of the Kindergarten system lays it down that “the best energies of the faithful teacher are often required when the work of the schoolroom is over. There is much visitation to be done to look up absent children, and, where sickness invades, the teacher is often called upon to supply medical aid and other necessary help ; and, where death ensues, there is sometimes no one but the Kindergarten helpers to see the little one decently buried ;” and, in fact, not only to take all the duties and responsibilities off the hands of parents, but to providean antidote to their mischievous example and teaching. Their success in many cases must lead its supporters on to the venerable yet now radical propo- sition, which will be most offensive to Mr. Herbert Spencer, that education from infancy should be the work of the State; and, strange as such a suggestion must seem among English homes, it is very much in harmony with modern division of labour which makes the parent less able to educate, in the full meaning of the word, a family, and the professional Kindergartens so much more so. And the same principle is to be traced in the recom- mendation that homes, as well as training-schools, should be found for nurses. Both in primary and secondary schools witness is borne to the improved teaching. The importance to the former of the example of good teaching to be found in the nor- mal schools, as well as the precept on the subject. is fully insisted upon ; a difficulty often met with being the work of correcting bad teaching in the lower schools: while, on the other hand, the multiplication of teachers well trained in public normal schools is, as we have said, urged as the surest, and, in the long run, the most economical means of raising the standard of education throughout the country. Examinations like our Oxford and Cambridge Locals, held by the regents of New York, are leading to greater uniformity in the teaching of the second-grade schools. Perhaps the most striking thing in the Report is the important part which women are now taking in study, as well as in teaching, in the United States. The demands and attractiveness of commercial life to the young men of America, with the energy and self-reliance of its women, are leading to the result that the latter are becoming the learned class there. We have already remarked upon the large and increasing proportion of female teachers in all the elementary schools. But, moreover, while twice the number of women begin a high school course, three times as many women as men complete the fourth year. Although the increase is not large this year, there are over 40,400 women in institutions of superior instruction. At Purdue University, where practical mechanics is taught, a num- ber of young ladies have been among the special students, and “have done the same work as the young men, and, though progressing much slower, have been nearly as successful.” Educated women are now also the leaders of many philanthropic movements. : The education of the blind and the feeble-minded is urged as a matter of public economy, their cost if left un- cared for amounting to much more. The same considera- tions have many times been urged in favour of reform schools. But they are all attempts to counteract laws of nature that all these diseased specimens shall be inexor- March 12, 1885] NATGRE 437 ably extirpated, and it is hard to see a satisfactory result of these efforts in the long run. A singular mischief has recently been commented upon by Prof. Graham Bell (see NATURE, No. 795), arising from the system of teach- ing deaf-mutes a language and _ literature, intelligible among themselves, but not familiar to the general public. Hence they prefer their own society, and are trying to form deaf-mute settlements which must result in heredit- ary transmission to the whole community of this terrible degeneracy. It will be a curious experiment if allowed to take its course. A most healthy sign of the times is that the increase of students at the schools of science is far larger than the increase in the number of establishments. It shows a general appreciation of their work, and in an enterprising country like America will soon bring about an increase in the number of schools. Institutions are becoming more general which undertake to train students for the higher schools of science. The cost of laboratories and appa- ratus and the scarcity of teachers are two of their diffi- culties, indicating at the same time the high standard of work they aim at. We note with pleasure that the sole purpose of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station is the discovery of new truths and laws which may be of benefit to agriculture, and farming is taught there as a scientific pursuit. In the Storrs Agricultural School at Mansfield, Conn., though of less ambitious character, “students receive instruction both in the class-room and onthe farm. In the class-room they study those branches of natural science which have a directly useful bearing on New England farming, such as general and agricultural chemistry, natural philosophy, farm mechanics, surveying, botany, zoology, geology, animal physiology, mineralogy, and theoretical agriculture, stock-breeding, and composi- tion. The general principles of these sciences are taken up first, and afterwards their special applications to practical agriculture, which includes the improvement of the soil by tillage, draining, manuring, and irrigation ; the culture and handling of the various field, garden, and orchard crops of New England—grass, grain, roots, vegetables, and fruits—from planting to market ; the use, care, and repair of farming tools, implements, and ma- chines ; the breeding, rearing, training, and feeding and use of live stock ; the best methods of dairying, the busi- ness and management of the farm in all its details... . The intellect being called into play, farm work is divested of its monotony and robbed of the repressive influence derived from it when viewed as mere physical labour.” It is well urged in favour of an institution like the St. Louis Manual Training School, that through the minute division of labour which necessarily attends our increased machinery, the old method of teaching a trade is rapidly and inevitably disappearing ; that it is only at a technical school that the /oute ensemble of a trade can be learned so as to be intelligently carried on and fresh inventions led to; that there is an idea afloat that it requires no educa- tion to be a mechanic, and hence the despising of both craft and craftsman, whereas the thorough understanding of both theory and practice of a skilled industry makes its owner “ the peer of the statesman ; and from the union of his head- and hand-work come a large part of the civi- lising agencies of the nineteenth century.” The English Commissioner on Technical Education reports on the efficiency of the American workman, which is mainly attributed, by all who have inquired into the subject, to the primary education acquired,by them during a prolonged attendance at school, and now the idea is to be traced through all the Report upon the subject, that to teach the pupil his trade should henceforth be the work of a school ; as much one part of education as the three R’s the other part. And not the work of a primary school only, but it is even urged that it should be the work of the Universities to send forth young men, fitted by technical training to lead in the development of the State; its fields, mines, quarries ; its railroads and water-power ; its manufactures and commerce.” And already at Cornell University, as well as at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, electrical engineering is taught sufficiently extensive to prepare a man for ordinary electric work or advanced study. To Terre Haute, Ind., a small town of 26,000 inhabitants, the splendid legacy of a property bringing in 25,000 dollars a year was left for a technical school, in the starting of which great care as well as energy have been shown. Very different, however, from these buoyant views is the record to be foundalso in this Report, that in Austria the higher schools for technical instruction have been decreasing for the last few years. Nor again is science only, but art also in its more marketable shapes is becoming rapidly the work of schools. 5 eal Menus) Fa. (62. i. T1239 16 45 th Ly) Ss Mars GErON cs.) EAS 17 20 5 34S. Jupiter 7 15 14°... 22/27 5 40* 13 24 N. Saturn ChE ee ty Peyh E300 s.. <2 44 N * Indicates that the setting is that of the following day. Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding March Star Mag. Disap. Reap. Peeerer pee inverted image h. m. h. m. oF ie Gin DeALC. 49K) 12/64 -,.. 1S 5O0r3 RO 540. 153) 34 21 ByAL C1350) -.. 6%)... 18 30)... 18 58: 2..5193 242 21 75 Tauri... 3 Ol 5-920) 370 we tgd eer sb 21 .. B.A.C. 1391... 5 -:. 22 ‘onear approach 43 — 21 Aldebaran ... I 2304S ON327 9 T25 30R nl + Occurs on the following day ; is below horizon at Greenwich. Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites March h. m J March h. m. 15... 1 21 II. occ. disap.| 20 212 I. oce, disap. 5 22 II. ecl. reap. 5. 9 _ J. ecl: reap: 18 31 (I. tr. egr. 22 24 III. tr. ing. 16 19 28 II. tr. ing. 23 31 ~=i(I. tr. ing. 22 24 II. tr. egr. 21 r5) 1. tr epr: 18 18 40 II. ecl. reap. 2 2 III. tr. egr. 19 ® 4 1. \tr ing. 20 38 I. oce. disap. 23°37 — Eveclixeap: The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. March h. 15 19... Venus in conjunction with and 3° 32’ south of the Moon. 16 6 Mars in conjunction with and 2° 32’ south of the Moon. | the equatorial line. | of the Society. | the boundaries of the British possessions in that island was re- | Western Australia, New Zealand, and March h. 8) ac Annular eclipse of Sun; not visible in England. In Ireland the commencement of the eclipse may be seen, the sun setting very shortly afterwards. 17) ssc Mercury in conjunction with and 1° 37’ south of the Moon. 20 Sun in equator. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES THE Australian journals which have arrived by the last mail contain full reports of the four days’ conference of the Geo- graphical Society of Australasia at Melbourne. Gen. Sir Edward Strickland was elected President, and Baron F. von Miiller, Vice-President. The first resolution proposed that the term “* Australasia” should be strictly defined. The expression was first used by Mr. Wallace, but it appears to have already had various inconsistent meanings applied to it. The proposer suggested that the following definition would serve all purposes : Australasia is that part of Oceania of which Australia is the geographical, commercial, and political centre. Limits: on the west and part of the north the 100° of longitude ; east, to the point of its intersection with the 20° south latitude, thence by a line running in approximate parallelism to the western and northern coast of New Guinea, and around its north-western extremity to the equator ; thence on the north, by the equator, to its intersection with the 120° of longitude west, and on the east by the 120° to the south pole, including groups of islands on The question was ultimately referred to a strong committee. The next resolution affirmed the desirability of a scientific exploration of New Guinea under the auspices A corollary calling on the Government to define jected in favour of one for complete annexation. The compila- tion of standard works on the geography of Australasia, as well as of school maps, was also discussed. After much discussion | it was decided that the consideration of the aptest means for discovery of the fate of Leichhardt and his party should be left to the Colonial Councils of the Society, with a suggestion that a circular should be addressed to pastoral tenants in Western Queensland and Central Australia, requesting information on the subject. The formation of geographical societies, and their affiliation with the central body, in South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania was also recommended. The next Conference will meet at Sydney. AT the meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris on February 20 a communication was read from Dr. Gustave Le Bon, the author of a work on Arab civilisation, who is at present travelling in Nepaul. For the purpose of measuring the ancient monuments of various native states he has employed certain new instruments, which he will explain to the Society on his return a few months hence. Nepaul is closed to Europeans, and Dr. Le Bon is said to have been the first who has been permitted to travel through it.—M. de Lavigne spoke on the French law protecting cartographers from piracy, which he held to be ample. A method of discovering counterfeits, adopted by certain French cartographers, is said to be the insertion of some street, town, or place with an imaginary name.—M. Pinart described a | journey which he made in Chiriqui, in Panama, to study the manners, language, and monuments of the inhabitants. —M. Potel discussed the present situation of French trade in the | River Plate. From Science we learn that several expeditions to Alaska are projected during the coming season. Gen. Miles, commanding the military district of which the territory forms a part, desires to acquire a knowledge of the unexplored region between the head of Cook’s Inlet and the Tananah watershed. The course ' of the Tananah is likewise unmapped, except from hearsay, though often traversed by traders in the last fifteen years; so that the opportunity exists here for a fruitful expedition. It is hoped that arrangements may be practicable by which Lieut. Ray, well known for his successful direction of the Point- Barrow party, may be able to command such an exploration. The plan contemplates work either from the Yukon as a base, with a steam-launch and a small party, ascending in June and July, and returning before navigation closes, or an expedition by way of Cook’s Inlet, making the portage to the Tananah, and then de- scending ; buta final decision is not yet reached. The party under Lieut. Abercrombie did not succeed in obtaining native assistance, 444 NATURE [March 12, 1885 as expected, and were unable to pass beyond the glacier alleged to | tively neglected by geologists, for their main object during the obstruct the Copper or Atna River, about sixty miles from the sea. Meanwhile, a party has actually started, under Gen. Miles’s orders, January 30, for the Copper River, consisting of Sergeant Robinson and F. W. Ficket, signal-observer U.S.A., and commanded by Lieut. Allen. They intend to go to the mouth of the Atna or Copper River by steamer, and ascend as far as possible on the ice, pushing on by water as soon as the ice breaks up and the freshets are over. They hope to cross the divide from the Upper Atna, and descend by one of the Yukon tributaries to the mouth of the latter river, and rejoin civilisation at St. Michael’s. They may be fortunate enough to make the journey in one season, but are prepared to stay two years. They will adda number of Indians to the party at Sitka, and carry various peace- offerings for the Atna Indians. Lieut. Stoney, of the navy, is reported to have a new expedition nearly organised to continue his investigations of the Kowak River. The plan adopted, so far as yet decided upon, is to take a steam-launch, ascend the river as far as possible, and pursue the explorations to its source, and winter in the region if necessary. It is stated that the party is to be composed of sixteen men, which is dangerously large, considering the limited food-resources of the region, and might be advantageously diminished by one-half for explorations in the interior. If the party were to pass over the divide, and investigate the course of the Colville, returning v7é@ Point Barrow next summer, it would accomplish a praiseworthy and much- needed investigation. WE have received from Messrs. W. and A. K. Johnston a school physical wall map of England and Wales, in which the altitudes above sea-level are shown by varieties of tint. Of its kind this map is good, though we should prefer to see the method of tints combined with the graphic method, in order that pupils may be taught to read the maps with which they have to deal when they become men and women. Accompanying the map is a little hand-book of the physical geography ‘of England and Wales. THE SCOPE AND METHOD OF PETROGRAPHY [X considering the history of geology we are struck by the fact that towards the close of the last and during the com- mencement of the present century, when the science was taking rank as an important branch of human knowledge, petrography occupied a much higher position than it has at any subsequent period. Werner, whose influence was almost unrivalled at the time to which I have referred, was a mineralogist, and his formations were therefore naturally based on the mineralogical characters of the different rocks. His observations were limited for the most part to his own district of Saxony, but he regarded his formations as sediments or precipitates from a universal ocean, and his numerous pupils, fired by his love of science and his intense enthusiasm, rejoiced in extending his classification to the districts with which they were severally acquainted. The magnificent work of those who devoted special attention to the organic remains in the sedimentary deposits, and espe- cially that of William Smith, the ‘Father of British Geology,” had the effect of deposing petrography from the position which it held under the influence of Werner and his followers. It was clearly shown that the fossil contents of the strata were far more reliable as evidence of chronological relations than their litho- logical characters, and as soon as this became generally recog- nised, the reduction of the fossil-bearing rocks all over the world to something like definite order followed as a natural consequence. The principle that strata may be identified by means of their fossil contents has not only proved applicable to the Secondary and Tertiary formations to which it was originally applied by Smith, Cuvier, and others, but it has been extended by Murchi- son, Sedgwick, Barrande, and others to the older rocks. Speaking broadly, there can be no doubt that over large areas the suc- cession of the forms of marine life has been remarkably uniform from the Cambrian times down to the present, so that we have in the fossil contents of the different strata by far the most re- liable means of determining chronological relations. It is not surprising, then, that petrography has been compara- i TE nee the Woodwardian Museum, Cambridge, by J. J. present century has been to classify the stratified rocks which form so large a portion of the existing land surfaces. At the present time, however, we are witnessing a great re- vival of interest in petrography, not only in this country but all over the globe. This is due in part, no doubt, to the introduc- tion of new methods of research ; but it seems to me that there are other and more general causes. The clear recognition of the great principle with which the name of William Smith is so indissolubly united at once made it possible for a host of obser- vers to do excellent work in every quarter of the globe. The interest awakened by the study of the geological structure of the most densely populated regions was akin to that which is felt by the geographical explorer of unknown lands. Until the main features of the geology of fossiliferous regions were described, it was not to be expected that observers would turn aside from a field of research in which they were certain to meet with success for the purpose of attacking problems which, after all, might prove to be insoluble. As time went on, the unexplored tracts in which fossiliferous rocks occur became more and more re- stricted, or more and more inaccessible, and when the old chaos of Grauwacke fell into order before the brilliant researches of Sedgwick, Murchison, and Barrande, geologists were placed in an entirely new position. They had conquered that portion of the world which was open to their special method of attack. A number of fortresses still held out, it is true, and many of these remain unsubdued at the present day. They will doubtless occupy the attention of those who are most skilled in the old methods of warfare for many years to come. At the same time I think it will be admitted on all hands that the brilliant suc- cesses of the old generals have left a large portion of the army with little to do. We must, therefore, look for other worlds to conquer. Now, on taking a general survey of the subject-matter of geology it will be seen at once that we are profoundly ignorant on questions relating to the origin and sequence of volcanic rocks, the cause or causes of volcanic action, the mode of forma- tion of the crystalline schists, and the origin of mountains. That these questions are really unsolved is proved by the difference of opinion which exists between competent observers. Another point which strikes one is, that if a solution of these problems be ever realised, it will be due in a great measure to the com- bination of field geology and petrography. This, it seems to me, will explain the great interest which is taken in the latter branch of science at the present day. If I am right in my opinion as to the present state of things, then we may safely predict that petrography will occupy as prominent a position in the immediate future of geology as palzeontology has done in the past. In making this statement I trust it will not be’thought that Iam claiming too high a position for that branch of geo- logy with which I am most intimately acquainted. Let us turn now to a more detailed consideration of the scope and method of petrography. The rocks of the earth’s crust form the subject-matter of the science. Now these may be studied from two more or less distinct points of view—the de- scriptive and the etiological. We may set to work to describe the rocks, that is, to ascertain and record every possible fact with regard to them ; or we may endeavour to trace the succes- sion of events which has culminated in the state of things which we actually observe. It is perfectly obvious that we cannot hope to attain any considerable success in the second branch of the subject until we have devoted a considerable amount of attention to the first. Descriptive petrography then concerns itself with the chemical, mineralogical and physical characters of the individual rocks, and also with the distribution and mutual relations of the different varieties. The last-mentioned branch of the subject occupies the same position in petrography as comparative anatomy does in zoology. It may therefore be termed comparative petrography. When the history of the science comes to be written, it will be recognised that it 1s to the Germans we are especially indebted for our knowledge of descriptive petrography. The amount of work which has been done in Germany is immeasurably greater than that produced by other nations. For years past they have been steadily improving their methods of observation, as well as observing and recording facts. Moreover, they have been train- ing petrographers who are now scattered all over the world. The Americans especially have availed themselves of the laboratories of Rosenbusch and Zirkel, and almost every Annual Report of the American Survey now bears witness to the influence of March 12, 1885] NATURE 445 Germany from a teaching point of view on the growth of petro- graphical science. In this sketch, of course, I am only calling attention to the broad facts of history as far as regards the special branch of descriptive petrography. Many observers in France, England, and America have done independent work of the very highest order, and to England especially belongs the credit of having, in the person of Sorby, determined to a very large extent the introduction of the modern methods of microscopical research. Consider now what is involved in the description of any par- ticular rock, and take, for example, a specimen of the Whin Sill, that mass of basic igneous rock which plays such an important part in the Carboniferous region of the North of England. The rock is dark gray or bluish-gray when freshly exposed. In texture it varies from compact to coarsely crystalline, the most common variety being one in which the individual con- stituents are just recognisable by the naked eye. Its specific gravity varies from 2°90 to 2°95. Its chemical composition is shown on this table. (Table referred to.) We have now to consider its mineralogical composition. In the determination of minerals in rocks we use physical and chemical methods. Colour, general appearance, hardness, cleavages, specific gravity, crys- talline form, fusibility, and flame coloration are some of the most important physical properties available for the determin- ation of minerals in rocks when they can be examined macro- scopically. In thin sections we can use colour, general appear- ance, cleavages, form, and also the many properties which are brought out by the use of parallel and convergent rays of polarised light. Chemical tests may be applied both to macroscopically recognisable minerals and also to those which can only be observed by the use of thin sections or minute particles and the microscope. The latter are generally referred to as micro- chemical tests. By applying these methods, some of which will be more fully explained in the subsequent lectures, we can prove that the rock of the Whin Sill is composed of felspar, pyroxene, titaniferous magnetic iron ore, quartz in the form of grains and also as a constituent of micro-pegmatite, apatite, pyrite, brown horn- blende, mica, and some green decomposition products. Apatite, pyrite, hornblende, and mica occur only in very small quantity, and cannot be said to form any appreciable portion of the rock. In order to give a complete petrographical description, how- ever, it is necessary that we should not only know what minerals are present, but also that we should know the precise composi- tion of each and the relative abundance of the different species. Information on these points can only be obtained by isolating the different constituents of a rock and analysing them sepa- rately. Methods of isolation will be described in subsequent lectures. The most important are those which depend on the use of heavy solutions, the magnet and electro-magnet, and various chemical reagents, especially hydrochloric and hydro- fluoric acids. The chemical composition of each of the three principal constituents of the Whin Sill is represented on these tables. (Tables referred to.) Now, having obtained a know- ledge of the composition of the principal constituents of the rock, it becomes possible to determine with a very fair amount of accuracy the relative proportions of these constituents by calculations based on the bulk analysis of the rock. There is yet another point of great importance to which atten- tion should be paid in subjecting a rock to an exhaustive examination. Ovwing to the brilliant researches of Sandberger, it is beginning to be recognised that many of the heavy and so- called rare metals are present in ordinary rocks in minute uantities. Until recently we have been disposed to regard these substances as occurring only in mineral veins and in the deeper portions of the earth from which the mineral veins have been supposed to derive their supply of material. Now it is beginning to be clearly recognised that these substances are very widely distributed even in the superficial crust of the globe. As an illustration of the interest and practical importance of the subject above referred to I may call attention to the important work by Dr. Becker, on the ‘‘ Geology of the Comstock Lode,” recently published by the U.S. Geological Survey. This lode, the yield of which is supposed to have sensibly affected the bullion markets of the world, occurs in a region which is re- markable for the extreme development of igneous rocks (diabase, diorite, andesites, &c.), and for the widespread alteration to which these rocks have been subjected. The bisilicates, especially, have been affected by this alteration, and for immense distances they have been entirely replaced by a green chloritic mineral. Most careful assays have been executed, under the super- vision of Dr. Becker, for the purpose of determining the amount of bullion in the fresh and unaltered rocks, and the relative amounts of gold and silver. He says: ‘‘ By com- parison of the different assays it appears that decomposed dia- base carries somewhat less than half as much silver as the fresh rock. When the decomposed rocks are pyritous, the experi- ments made do not indicate any essential diminution of the gold contents. This fact, however, is quite possibly due to irregu- larity in distribution and the minuteness of the quantities of gold to be determined. As the decomposition of the rock in question has proceeded at a great depth beneath the surface, it is highly unlikely that silver should have been extracted unaccompanied by gold. Much of the decomposed rock, too, is nearly free from pyrite, and had the gold contents of such specimens been determined, a smaller percentage would probably have been found. The omission [to select specimens free from pyrite] was not detected until it was too late to resume the investigation. So far as quantitative relations are concerned, the silver only can be relied on, though the qualitative detection of gold as well is both interesting and important.” Another point of great interest was determined by Dr. Becker. He isolated the felspar and the augite of the diabase and tested both from silver. He found that for equal weights the augite was eight times as rich as the felspar substance, and as the latter contained some augite, this appears to furnish substantial proo that the silver is a constituent of the augite. Having subjected a rock to exhaustive chemical and minera- logical examination, it next becomes necessary to compare it with «ther rocks, and to give ita name. The subject of nomen- clature is a very difficult one. It is much to be regretted that notwithstanding all that has been done in descriptive and com- parative petrography, we are still far from having any system of classification which is capable of general acceptance. Indeed, we are not agreed as to the first principles on which a classification of rocks should be based. The German fpetro- graphers, in most cases, adopt at the outset a principle which we cannot accept. They divide igneous rocks into older and younger: the former including all those which they regard as pre-Tertiary, the latter all those which are of post-Cretaceous age. The division is based, of course, on the assumption that the conditions of eruption invpre-Tertiary times were essentially different from those which have prevailed since. There seems, so far as we can judge, little or no ground for this assumption. ‘The few facts which do at first sight lend support to it appear to be equally capable of explanation on the other hypothesis. The typical pre-Tertiary rocks of the German system are the granites, diorites, gabbros, diabases, and syenites. Now there is reason to believe that these are all plutonic rocks ; in other words, that they are the result of slow consolidation beneath the surface, and therefore under great pressure. If this view be correct then their exposure at the surface can only occur long after their formation, and the fact that the majority of those known to us should be of pre-Tertiary age, as Lyell long ago pointed out, need occasion no surprise. Again, it must be remembered that the mere association of eruptive rocks with pre-Tertiary deposits is no proof in itself that the former are of pre-Tertiary age, and also that many competent observers believe that these are clear cases of Tertiary granite, diorite, diabase, and gabbro. The igneous rocks, which are regarded by the German petro- graphers as especially characteristic of the post-Cretaceous period, are the basalts, andesites, trachytes, and rhyolites ; in other words, the surface-products of volcanic action. That these should be mainly Tertiary, and that they should differ to a certain extent from their pre-Tertiary equivalents in consequence of alteration, is only what might be naturally expected. ‘This, however, is not sufficient to justify the refusal to give the same name to different specimens of one and the same rock merely because they have been produced at different periods ; and the work of Allport, Bonney, Geikie, and others has proved that there are basalts, andesites, and rhyolites of Paleozoic age which are identical in structure, composition, and mode of occurrence with modern rocks. In the absence of any generally recognised system of nomen- clature it becomes difficult to assign a name to the rock of the Whin Sill. It is a holo-crystalline rock composed essentially of plagioclase, pyroxene, titaniferous and magnetic iron ore. In sections the felspar occurs in lath-shaped forms. To such a rock, provided it be of pre-Tertiary age, Rosenbusch would 446 give the name [diabase. We are inclined, on the other hand, to call the rock a dolerite. The important point for the student to remember, however, is that in the present unsettled state of nomenclature his primary duty is to make himself familiar with the structure and composition of the various rock types. The question of names is, after all, only of secondary importance, provided we remember that in looking at the facts through the medium of an unphilosophical nomenclature we may so distort them as to fail to realise their true forms and relations. Consider now the zetiological aspect of petrography. Most of us are so constituted that we cannot rest satished with a mere description of facts ; we almost instinctively endeavour to dis- cover what we call the origin of things. This, after all, merely consists in tracing Lack as far as possible the chain of events of which the object or phenomenon in question represents the last link. The search after causal relations in the organic world has led to the introduction of a principle which is now recognised as one of the greatest importance in almost every branch of human knowledge. Changes in the characters of organisms are now admitted to be determined by two factors—the inherent properties of the organism and the influence of surrounding cir- cumstances. A very little consideration will serve to show that the changes which occur during and subsequent to the deve- lopment of minerals and rocks are determined by two allied factors. _ Take the case of crystallogenesis. It is not difficult to see in a general kind of way that the characters which a crystal pos- sesses have been determined (1) by the inherent properties of the crystallising substance, and (2) by the influence of surrounding circumstances—of the environment. When we examine thin sections of rocks, furnace-slags, or the refuse products of glass- works, we frequently find a number of bodies which are inter- mediate as it were between glass and true crystals. These have been carefully examined and admirably described by Hermann Vogelsang, who has also succeeded in producing many of them by artificial means. Ass they serve to illustrate in a very striking way the principle above referred to, a short description of Vogelsang’s experiments will not be out of place. The crystallising substance finally selected by Vogelsang for the purpose of his experiments was sulphur. This substance is readily soluble in bisulphide of carbon, out of which it erystal- lises in the rhombic form. If the process of crystallisation be followed under the microscope, nothing definite as to the nature of crystalline growth can be made out. ‘The first objects which appear are definite crystals, and these grow by accretion. If, however, the solution of sulphur be thickened with Canada balsam then, provided the proper proportions of the different substances have been employed, some very interesting pheno- mena may be observed by the aid of the microscope as the bisulphide of carbon evaporates. Minute fluid spheres arise in the medium and grow by mutual absorption. They finally con- solidate as clear, transparent, isotropic bodies, and to them Vogelsang has applied the term globulites. It is impossible to determine absolutely the composition of these globulites, but there seems no reason to doubt the conclusion of Vogelsang that they are portions of the Canada balsam which are richer in sulphur than the surrounding mass, and that they arise in conse- quence of the attempt of sulphur to crystallise under unfavour- able circumstances. Similar bodies may be observed in certain rocks, slags, and blow-pipe beads, although the crystallising compounds must be very different in the different cases. Under certain circumstances the mass of sulphur and Canada balsam solidifies with the formation of globulites, but under other circumstances additional phenomena may be observed. When the resistance of the medium is too great to prevent the union of the globulites, but not too great to prevent their ap- proach, they become united into various more or less definite forms. ‘The mode of union depends partly on the way in which the globulites attract each other, and partly on the movements in the mass. A linear arrangement of the globulites is very common, and to the form arising in this way Vogelsang has given the name margarite. A rectangular grouping is also not un- common. From a study of the various forms arising in conse- quence of the union of globulites, Vogelsang concludes that in the case of sulphur there are in each globulite, as it were, three directions at right angles to each other, in which the attraction is considerable, and that in one of these the attraction is decidedly greater than in the other two. The building up of the compound forms naturally leaves the surrounding space free from globulites. NATURE a. - [March 12, 1885 Under certain circumstances the globulites become fused, as it were, at the points of contact. This occurs when the resist- ance is sufficient to prevent the assumption of the spherical form, but not sufficient to resist the destruction of the pellicle at the point of contact. In this way rod-like bodies, termed longulites, arise. It must be remembered that all these forms are strictly iso- tropic. They are not, therefore, in any sense of the word, crystals. The moment a true crystal of sulphur appears, it can be recognised by its doubly-refracting properties. They have been termed crystallites, wherever they occur, by Vogelsang, and they evidently arise in consequence of the attempts of some definite chemical compound to crystallise under conditions which do not admit of the free approach of the molecules. Between crystallites and perfect crystals showing definite ex- ternal faces there are numerous intermediate forms, such as microlites and skeleton crystals. As further illustrations of the influence of the environment we have only to consider the facts that no two crystals of the same substance are precisely alike in all their characters, and that some substances, like sulphur and carbonate of lime, may be made to crystallise in two different systems by varying the conditions under which the crystallisation is effected. There can be no doubt, then, that two factor: are involved in the determination of the properties which crystals present : the inherent forces of the crystallising substance and the influence of surrounding substances. So far we have referred only to the birth and growth of ecrys- tals. But the history of a crystal does not cease with its forma- tion. With a change in the surrounding circumstances the crystal may be modified or destroyed. Thus we see that crys- tals have a kind of life-history: they are born, they grow in size by accretion, and finally they cease to exist as distinct individuals. As an illustration of the influence of a change of physical condition on the character of a crystal, consider the case of leucite. At ordinary temperatures this mineral is generally re- garded as tetragonal, and it certainly shows double refraction in thin sections. Klein has shown that by heating leucite to a point far short of its fusibility it may be rendered perfectly isotropic, and hence follows the conclusion that leucite is really isotropic when subject to the conditions under which it is formed. That crystals should bein a state of stable equilibrium, so far as molecular forces are concerned, when subject to the physical conditions under which they are formed, is exactly what we should expect, and that this equilibrium may be disturbed by a change in these conditions is also very easy to understand. As further illustrations of the principle here referred to, consider the various cases of paramorphosis, such as the change from arragonite to calcite, or from calcite to arragonite ; or, again, the corresponding changes in sulphur. Illustrations of the changes which arise in crystals in conse- - quence of changes in the chemical conditions to which they are subjected, need not here be referred to in detail ; the destruction of crystalline rocks by denudation is of course a consequence of these changes, Consider, now, the rocks of which tie earth’s crust is com- posed. They also have a life-history. They are formed and destroyed, and it is the business of the petrographer not only to describe and classify them, but also to trace out the cycle of change. For the purpose of illustrating this branch of petro- graphy let us consider certain facts with reference to the genesis of crystalline igneous rocks. It will be admitted on all hands that such rocks as granite, syenite, diabase, rhyolite, trachyte, andesite, and basalt have originated by the consolidation of an intensely heated silicate-magma under different conditions as to temperature and pressure. The consolidation has been accom- panied—except in those cases where the magma has con- solidated as 2 homogeneous glass, and these will be left out of account for the present—by the development of crystals. If, then, we would understand the manner in which crystalline igneous rocks have been formed, we must consider the subject of crystallogenesis in silicate-magmas. Numberless facts which need not here be referred to prove that the process of consolida- tion is not a sudden one. As the surrounding circumstances (environment) become more and more favourable to crystallisa- tion, the minerals separate out one after the other, and at last the whole mass becomes solid, and the rock is formed. The temperature at which any given mineral forms is not determined by its own fusibility. The laws of the formation of minerals in March 12,1 885 | NATURE 447 igneous rocks are analogous to those which determine the formation of salts from concentrated aqueous solutions. Cooling influences the separation of the different minerals only in so far as it affects the solubility of the constituents of the minerals in the silicate-magma. The point at which a mineral forms from a silicate solution has, then, no more connection with its fusibility than the point at which graphite forms in molten iron has with ats fusibility. Another point of very great importance is this: the differ- entiation of crystals in an originally homogeneous magma must necessarily be accompanied by a variation in the composition of that magma. It becomes, then, of great interest to determine the general order of the formation of crystals in igneous magmas. On this subject we have a most valuable and suggestive papef by Rosenbusch, entitled ‘‘ Ueber das Wesen der kornigen und porphyrischen St uctur bei Massengesteinen” (eues Jahrbuch, 1882, ii. p. 1). Before proceeding to give an account of the portion of this paper which bears more particularly on the sub- ject we are now discussing, it may be well to call attention to the methods available for the purpose of determining the order of the formation of the minerals ina rock. There are two. In the first place we may observe the phenomena of inclusions, and in the second place we may observe the extent to which crystalline form has been developed. If one mineral is seen to be included in another, then we may safely infer, subject to certain precau- tions, that the included mineral is the earlier of the two, and if one mineral shows a more perfect form than another with which it is associated, then we may infer—again subject to certain pre- cautions—that the mineral with the more perfect form is the earlier. Now in the paper above referred to, Rosenbusch divides the constituents of igneous rocks into four groups :— (1) The ores and accessory constituents (magnetite, hematite, ilmenite, apatite, zircon, spinel, sphene). (2) The ferro-magnesian ‘silicates (biotite, amphibole, pyro- xene, olivine). (3) The felspathic constituents (felspar, nepheline, leucite, melilite, sodalite, haiiyn). (4) Free quartz. He then calls attention to the contrast which is presented by the granites and syenites on the one hand, and the diabases on the other. In the former the following law is adhered to with a very great amount of persistence :—The order of formation is that of increasing basicity: the ores and accessory constituents are first formed, and the quartz is the final product of consolida- tion. In the diabases and gabbros there is apparently an excep- tion to this law of increasing basicity, the augite consolidating after the felspar. Rosenbusch proposes to divide the granular holo-crystalline rocks into two classes: (1) those in which the minerals of the 2nd group in the above classification consolidate before those of the 3rd, and (2) those in which the reverse rela- tion holds. He then calls attention to cases illustrative of the law of increasing basicity which are furnished by the order of separation in the individual groups. Thus in the ferro-magnesian group, olivine is older than biotite, amphibole and pyroxene ; and biotite is older than the bisilicates. In the felspathic group triclinic felspars are older than monoclinic [there are exceptions to this rule, as, for instance, in the porphyroid of Mairus in the Ardennes, where orthoclase crystals are seen to be surrounded by a narrow zone of oligoclase], and the basic triclinic felspars are older than those which contain a large percentage of silica. The views of Rosenbusch are based on the assumption that the order of formation of crystals in igneous magmas is deter- mined solely by chemical conditions. That these conditions are the more potent seems quite clear, but there are facts which appear to show that physical conditions are not altogether without influence on the result. _ The law of increasing basicity may be accepted without hesita- tion as expressing in a general way the truth as regards the order of separation of the different constituents of igneous rocks. Now a very interesting conclusion follows as a natural con- sequence of this law. The effect of progressive crystallisation in a magma must be to increase the percentage of silica, to decrease the amount of lime, iron, and maznesia, to increase the total amount of alkalies, and to increase the potash relatively to the soda in the part which remains liquid. It is always satisfactory to find independent evidence confirmatory of any conclusion at which one may have arrived. Now I think we have confirmatory evidence of this kind in the present case. It will be admitted on all hands that the crystcls in porphyritic rocks, such as hypersthene-andesite, have been formed in a magma the composition of which is represented by the bulk analysis of the rock. If, then, we compare the bulk analysis with the analysis of the ground-mass deprived of its crystals, we ought to find confirmation of the above conclusion. Dr. Petersen has isolated and analysed the ground-masses of two of the Cheviot porphyritic rocks, and by comparing these with the bulk analyses of the rock the truth of the conclusion is most strikingly illustrated. The effect of progressive crystal- lisation in the andesitic magma has led unquestionably to an increase in the amount of silica, a decrease in the amounts of lime, iron, and magnesia, an increase in the amount of alkalies generally, and an increase in the potash relatively to the soda. In the rock itself soda is in excess of potash ; in the ground- mass potash is in excess of soda. There is yet another piece of independent confirmatory evi- dence. [very geologist is familiar with the phenomenon of con- temporaneous veins. The general view held with regard to them is that they represent portions of material which remained fluid after consolidation had progressed to a considerable extent. If this view be correct, then they should hold the same chemi- cal relation to the main mass of the rock as the ground-mass of the Cheviot andesite does to the main mass of the andesite. Mr. Waller has recently analysed certain contemporaneous veins which occur in the bronzite-diabase of Penmeenmawr. He finds that they contain about 7 per cent. more silica than the normal rock, less lime and magnesia, more alkalies, and more potash than soda, although in the normal rock soda is in excess. Con- temporaneous veins in the Rowley rag dolerite have also been investigated by Mr. Waller, with the same result as far as in- crease in silica and total alkalies is concerned. The relation of potash to soda has not yet been determined. I believe it is admitted to be a general rule that contempora- neous veins contain more silica than the rock with which they are associated. It will be seen that there is abundant evidence of an independent character to confirm the general truth of the conclusion which follows from a consideration of the facts brought forward by Rosenbusch. I should not have treated this subject at such length did it not appear to have an. important bearing on the origin and sequence of volcanic rocks. I can best explain this by referring to the Cheviot district, with which I am slightly acquainted. Andesitic lavas and tuffs cover large tracts of this district. These are unquestionably the products of surface volcanic action. In the central portion of the volcanic area there is a mass of augitic granite. A consideration of the mineralogical compo- sition of this granite shows that it cannot belong to the acid group of rocks, and this conclusion is confirmed by an examina- tion of the chemical composition of allied rocks from the Vosges. So far as we can judge in the absence of analyses there appears to bea very close connection between the composition of the plutonic and that of the volcanic rocks of the Cheviot district, and we therefore seem justified in concluding that the plutonic masses differ in character from the andesitic lavas merely in con- sequence of differences in the conditions of consolidation. The plutonic rocks represent the consolidation of the andesitic magma beneath the surface, and therefore under great pressure ; the lavas and tuffs represent the consolidation of the same magma at the surface. I now come to the point to which I wish to direct special attention. The andesitic lavas and tuffs are traversed by quartz- felsite dykes in such a way as to show that a magma of rhyolitic composition must have been erupted by the Cheviot volcanoes subsequently to the period characterised by the eruption of the andesitic magma. Contemporaneous veins similar in character to the quartz-felsite dykes also occur in the plutonic rocks. Again, an analysis of one of the quartz-felsite dykes by Mr. Waller agrees almost exactly with the analyses of the ground- mass of the hypersthene-andesite by Dr. Petersen. Putting all these facts together, we conclude that the eruption ofan andesitic magma was followed, in the history of the Cheviot volcanoes, by that of a rhyolitic magma in consequence of pro- gressive crystallisation in the deep-seated plutonic source. The rhyolitic magma is, so to speak, the mother liquor out of which various basic minerals have crystallised. Suppose a half-con- solidated plutonic mass, originally of andesitic composition, to become subjected to a powerful crush such as that which un- questionably arises in the earth’s crust under certain circum- stances. The mother liquor will be squeezed out of the mass, 448 like whey out of cheese, and it may finally consolidate as con- temporaneous veins in the plutonic rock, as dykes in the sur- rounding volcanic rocks, or as rhyolitic lavas and tuffs at the surface. The ideas here thrown out appear to me to be capable of extension to other volcanic regions ; but as the sequence in these regions is generally complicated by the coming in of basic rocks during the later phases of volcanic activity, it will not be advisable to enter more fully into the subject on the present occasion. The special characters which igneous rocks present, then, are to be traced to the chemical and physical properties of the original magma and to the influence of surrounding circum- stances. Rocks, like minerals, are in a state of stable equi- librium when subjected to the conditions of their formation, When subjected to other conditions, whether physical or chemical, they usually undergo a change. The destruction and disintegration of igneous rocks by the various agents of denuda- tion are familiar to every student of geology, and need not there- fore be described on the present occasion. I trust I have now said sufficient to show that the science of petrography is one of the greatest importance to the geologist of the present day. The remarks on etiological petrography are, of course, only intended to illustrate the nature of this branch of the subject, and to show that conclusions of the greatest theoretical interest may be expected to follow from a careful consideration of the facts acquired by work in the other branch of the science. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—A Report recently issued gives particulars of the successful raising of the roof of the Mineralogical Museum to form a Morphological Laboratory on the new floor thus created. The firm of builders who had furnished estimates ultimately declined the work, and the Department of Mechanism undertook it. Under the continual superintendence of Prof. Stuart and Mr. Lyon the work was so skilfully done that not a crack was occasioned in the ceiling of the Mineralogical Museum, and the deflection of the new timbers was so well calculated that no timber moved upwards or downwards more than the eighth of an inch when the load came upon it. The cost was several hundred pounds less than the estimate. The roof raised was IIo feet long, and the weight fifty tons. A special vote of thanks is to be given to the Department of Mechanism for the care, skill, and economy with which the building operations were conducted. The Botanical Laboratory has cost a little over 800/.; the Morphological Laboratory has cost about 2500/. In the Natural Science ‘‘ Special” Examinations for the ordinary B.A. degree during the past year, the great majority of candidates chose Chemistry, and showed that they had be- stowed considerable pains on laboratory work while yet they were only imperfectly acquainted with the rationale of the pro- cesses they employed. ‘The candidates in Botany had neglected systematic, and especially descriptive, botany. In June the descriptions of easy, well-marked specimens of flowering-plants were so worthless, that it was difficult to find out, from some descriptions, to which of the specimens they were intended to apply. In Mechanism and Applied Science book-work was satisfac- torily done, but deductions and numerical applications were very imperfect. Drawing was well done, and the candidates also showed a practical acquaintance with the use of tools; but they did not sufficiently connect their mathematical with their practical knowledge. In the previous examination or little-go, Jevons’s logic was set as an alternative subject to Paley with considerable success last year. Out of forty-four candidates only six failed. In arith- metic a knowledge of decimals and the use of common sense were strikingly wanting. The gradual elevation of standard in Euclid and Algebra of late years appears to have produced beneficial results. The papers in Mechanics in the October examination (on entrance) were unsatisfactorily answered ; the candidates had for the most part read treatises dealing with the subject incompletely and popularly. The proposal to discontinue entirely the additional examina- tion in Mathematics for Honours Candidates has been rejected by a large majority, it having been found impossible to provide any substitute which would command general assent. NATURE | Warch 1 2,1 885 Mr. M. C. Potter, Assistant Curator of the Herbarium, has been approved as a Teacher of Botany. The Physiological class-rooms having again become seriously overcrowded, owing to the increase of the medical school, a scheme for building new class-rooms with a large lecture-room is put forward by the Museums and Lecture Rooms Syndicate. The lecture-room is to be 45 feet by 40, and 32 feet high, and is calculated to accommodate 247 students comfortably. 5. Observations of the list of miscellaneous stars will be finished as soon as practicable. THE TRANSIT INSTRUMENT I. Observations will be made as often as practicable for time, for the correction of the standard meantime clock ; and compu- tations will be made daily for such correction. 2. Observations for the right ascensions of the sun, moon, and inner planets to be made as frequently as possible ; observations of the major planets, and of the brighter of the minor planets, to be made near opposition. 3. The observations made during 1883 will be prepared for publication ; and the computations of those of 1884 continued. THE 9°6-INCH EQUATORIAL Observations will be made :— I. Of all the minor planets whose brightness at opposition is greater than their mean brightness. 2. Of comets, to determine position and physical peculiarities. 3. Of occultations of stars by the moon. 4. When arrangements shall have been made to photograph the sun, any sun-spots which show any decided peculiarities in the photographs will be examined with the spectroscope. THE PRIME VERTICAL TRANSIT INSTRUMENT Observations of a selected list of stars in conjunction with the Royal Observatory at Lisbon, in pursuance of the plan recom- mended by the International Geodetic Association, for the deter- mination of variability of latitude. TIME-SERVICE AND CHRONOMETERS The time-balls at Washington and New York will be dropped daily at noon of the 75th meridian ; and the noon signals will be extended to such other places throughout the country as may be desirable, as rapidly as arrangements may be made. The rating of chronometers will be continued as heretofore. Meteorological observations will be made as usual. THE MuRAL CIRCLE Observations will be made of stars down to the 7th magnitude south of ten degrees North declination, the positions of which have not been recently determined at some northern observa- tory ; the observing list to be formed of all stars from Gould’s Uranometria Argentina visible here, and not found in Yarnall’s Catalogue, the Transit Circle list of B. A.C. stars, or the recent Catalogue of the Glasgow Observatory. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Rendiconti del Reale Istituto Lombardo, January 29.—On a special class of involutions of space known as monoidal, by Dr. V. Martinetti.—Analysis of the meteorological observations made at the Brera Observatory, Milan, during the year 1884, by E. Pini.—An experimental study of the thermic phenomena accompanying the formation of alloys, by Prof. Domenico Mazzotto.—On some eruptive rocks occurring between Lakes Maggiore and Orta, by Prof. Giuseppe Mercalli.—On the geo- metrical movement of invariable systems, by Prof. C. Formenti. —International right in connection with the proposed Italian penal code, by Prof. A. BuccellatiimMeteorological observa- tions taken at the Brera Observatory during the month of January. February 12.—On the psychological act of aétention in the animal series, by E. T. Vignolii—On S. Grimaldi’s project of an agrarian credit as a remedy for existing evils among the agricultural classes in Italy, by P. Manfredi.—On a class of con- figurations of the third power, by Prof. G. Jung.—On the geo- metrical movement of invariable systems, by Prof. C. Formenti. —On an integer more general than that of living forces for the movement of a system of material points, by Dr. G. Pennacchi- etti.—Integration of the differential equation a2 =o in some very simple planes, by Prof. G. Ascoli. Sitzungsberichte der Naturwissenschafilichen Gesellschaft Isis, Dresden, 1884.—The organs of smell in the articulated animals, by Dr. Kraepelin.—An account of the Papuan inhabitants of Aru, Eastern Archipelago, communicated in a private letter to H. Engelhardt.—On Anguillula radicicola, a parasite infesting the cofiee-plant on the Brazilian plantations, by B. Frank.— NATURE ! 473 Phytclogical observations made on the flora of Dresden during the years 1883 and 1884, by A. Wobst.—On the morphology of the orchids, by Dr. O. Drude.—On the diluvial fauna of the Prohlis district, by Dr. Geinitz.—Remarks on some rare crystals of zircon and pyrites from Cornwall and Ontario, Canada, by A. Purgold.—On some archeological objects from Saxony, the Harz, and Italy, apparently connected with superstitious prac- tices, by H. Wiechel.—On the chemical constitution of the colouring substance known as methylic blue, by Dr. R. Mohlau. —Memoir on new and little-known bird’s eggs and nests from the Eastern Archipelago, specimens of which are possessed by the Dresden Zoological Museum, by A. B. Meyer.—On the latest geological researches in North America, by Dr. H. B. Geinitz. Remarks on the crepuscular phenomena observed in Europe and elsewhere at the end of the year 1883 and beginning of 1884, by Prof. G. A. Neubert. Rivista Sctentifico-Industriale, January 31.—Influence of static electricity on lightning conductors (concluded), by Prof. Eugenio Canestrini.—On the Westinghouse compressed air con- tinuous brake, by the Editor.—Improved method of preserving ornithological specimens, by Dante Roster. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, March 5.—‘‘On the Atomic Weight of Glucinum (Beryllium).” Second Paper. By T. S. Humpidge, Ph.D., B.Sc., Professor of Chemistry in the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. Communicated by Prof. E. Frankland, F.R.S. This paper is a continuation of one previously communicated to the Royal Society (Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. xxxv. p. 137). The author has prepared a sample of metallic glucinum, having the composition— see 99°20 GIO ... 0'70 Fe 0°20 100'00 and has determined its specific heat at varying temperatures up to 450° with the following results (for pure glucinum) :— cyaies 04286 CHes + 0°4515 ous) ies 074696 Cue eee 074885 Chie 0°5105 Chbo +. 0°5199 CEbr) sas : 0°5403 These results correspond to the following empirical formula for the true specific heat of the metal at varying temperatures— hy = hy + 2at + 382°, or with numerical values— kp = 0°3756 + 0°00106¢ — o*0000011 47”, whence the following values for 4; are calculated :-— hy 0°3756 Rio «+ 0°4702 Rong» 0°5420 300 0°5910 Dey see o°6172 Rr ool 0°6206 If these values are graphically represented the curve so ob- tained reaches a maximum at about 470°, and then falls ; but whether it represents the specific heat at higher temperatures than 500° is doubtful. The specific heat of glucinum thus rises rapidly up to about 490°, and remains approximately constant between 400° and 500° at 0°62. If this number is multiplied ty g’1 it gives the atomic heat 5°64. Glucinum, therefore, belongs to the same class as carbon, boron, and silicon, which agree with Dulong and Petit’s rule at high temperatures only. And the true atomic weight is that required by the periodic law—viz. g'I and not 13°6, as was previously deduced from the specific heat between ro° and 100°. This conclusion is confirmed by the author’s determinations of the vapour-densities of glucinum chloride and bromide in a platinum vessel. The experiments were done in an atmosphere of carbonic acid collected over mercury after Meier and Crafts (Berlin, Ber., xiii. 851), and gave the following results :— 474 I. Glucinum Chloride Substance Displaced CO, ee d Experiment i. ... 26°4mgrms. ... 7°47c. ... 635°... 2°733 ae Lie, eeseZONOlme mayan, con Usa rece yn The theoretical density of GI’Cl, is 2°76, and this formula, therefore, represents the molecule of this compound. Il. Glucinum Bromide Displaced CO, zt ad ... 608°... 6°487 Substance Experiment ii. ... 35°9mgrms. ... 4°28 c.c. 3 itn Go OUPTE 8p = O75 ost ee OGOMEEROL2/70, = Thyoueca ASTa) ban Bee GU22) ay a OO OMEaENIO- 2415 The density of Gl’Br, is 5°84, and that of Gl’ Brg is 8°76. The agreement in this case is not so close’ as in the case of the chloride, but is sufficiently near to show that the true molecular formula is Gl" Br,, and not Gl’’Br,. Thus, the vapour-density of both compounds necessitates the atomic weight 91. The result is a striking argument in favour of the value of deductions drawn from the periodic law in regard to the atomic weight of an element, and shows that such deductions will in future form one of the most important factors in fixing a doubtful atomic weight. The author did not appreciate the full value of the periodic law when he wrote his former paper, otherwise he would probably have stated his conclusions less positively. Zoological Society, March 3.—Prof. W. H. Flower F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Dr. E. Hamilton made some remarks on the supposed existence of the Wild Cat (Felzx catus) in Ireland, as stated at a former meeting, observing that there was no record of the Wild Cat being indigenous to that country. Dr, Hamilton believed that the cat shown at the meeting in question was only the offspring of domestic cats horn and bred in the woods of that district.—A letter was read from Mr. J. H. Thomson, C.M.Z.S., giving the locality of Helzx (Hemitro- chus) filicosta, which had been previously unknown.—Dr. A. Ginther, F.R.S., exhibited and made remarks on the skin of a singular variety of the Leopard which had been obtained in South Africa, ‘The back in this specimen was black, and the tail reddish gray, while the usual characteristic spots of the ordinary leopard were nearly altogether absent.—Mr. H. H. Johnston, F.Z.S., gave a general account of the principal animals observed by him during his recent journey to Kilimanjaro and his stay on that mountain.—Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a report on the Mammals obtained and observed by Mr. Johnston during his expedition.—Capt. G. E. Shelley read a report on the birds collected by Mr. H. H. Johnston in the Kilimanjaro district. The collection contained examples of fifty species, six of which were believed to be new to science.—Mr. Charles O. Water- house read a paper on the insects collected on Kilimanjaro by Mr. H. H. Johnston, and gave the descriptions of six new species of Coleoptera, of which examples occurred in the collec- tion.—Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell read a description of a Nematoid Worm (Gordius vermcosus) obtained by Mr. Johnston on Kili- manjaro, which was found to be parasitic on a species of Mantis. —Mr. E. J. Miers communicated the description of a new variety of River-Crab of the genus 7helphusa (7. depressa, Krauss, var. Fohnstont), which had been obtained by Mr. H. H. Johnston in the streams of Kilimanjaro.—Mr. Francis Day read the fourth of the series of his papers on races and hybrids among the Salmonidze, continuing the account of the Howietown ex- periments from November, 1884, to the present time.—Prof. Ray Lankester read some notes on the heart described by Sir Richard Owen in 1841 as that of Afpferyx, and came to the conclusion that the heart in question was that of an Orzztho- rhynchus. Chemical Society, February 19.—Dr. W. H. Perkin, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The President announced that Mr. Warren de la Rue, F.R.S., had presented a bust of the late Prof. Dumas. The following papers were read :—On_ benzoyl- acetic acid and some of its derivatives, part 2, by Dr. W. H. Perkin, jun.—On toughened filter-paper, by E. E. H. Francis. —The detection and estimation of iodine, by Ernest H. Cook, B.Sc. (Lond.).—Note on methylene chlor-iodide, by Prof. J. Sakurai.—A quick method for the estimation of phosphoric acid in fertilisers, by J. S. Wells, Columbia College.—On the luminosity of methane, by Lewis T. Wright, Assoc. M.Inst.C. E. —On the oxides of nitrogen, by Prof. W. Ramsay and J. Tudor Cundall. In this research it is shown—(1) That the green or blue liquid obtained by the action of arsenious anhydride on nitric acid consists of a mixture of nitrous anhydride and nitric NATURE : [March 19, 1885 peroxide, in proportions depending on the strength of the nitric acid and the temperature at which the volatile liquid is con- densed. (2) That ifa dehydrating agent, such as sulphuric acid, be present in sufficient quantity the distillate consists of pure peroxide, and that this process is by far the most convenient one for the preparation of the peroxide. (3) That if oxygen be passed over the blue liquid, the vapours condensed in a freezing mixture are still blue or green ; a great excess of oxygen is necessary to effect conversion from nitrous anhydride into peroxide. (4) That when excess of nitric oxide is passed along with the peroxide into a cooled bulb, the trioxide is produced, the amount of tri- oxide depending on the temperature of the condenser. (5) Vapour- density of a liquid of a deep blue colour, containing about 30 per cent. of trioxide and 7o per cent. of peroxide, shows that the tri- oxide cannot exist in the gaseous state, but at once dissociates into nitric oxide and peroxide on changing to gas. The theoretical vapour-density of such a mixture was calculated from a formula deduced from the second Jaw of thermodynamics by I. Willard Gibbs, which shows the relations between temperature, pressure, and vapour-density of the mixture of NO, and NO, in the gaseous peroxide ; and it was found that the vapour-densities of a mixture of (NO, + N,O,) (partly present in the original liquid as peroxide, partly formed by the decomposition of the N,O, present into NO and (NO, + N.O,)) with the NO pro- duced by the decomposition of the N,Oz, calculated by means of Gibbs’ formula, are identical, within limits of experimental error, with those obtained by direct experiment. (6) The presence or absence of moisture does not appear to affect the reaction between NO and Oy. (7) It is probable that NO, undergoes dissociation with rise of temperature, even while liquid. —Discussion :—Dr. Armstrong said that he had listened to the paper with great interest, as- he had made numerous experiments en the subject, and had long been of opinion that N,O, did not exist, at all events as gas. The authors’ observa- tions, whereby they were led to this conclusion, were of con- siderable importance, and it was to be hoped that ere long con- firmatory evidence that would more directly appeal to chemists would be forthcoming. It was noteworthy that there was no recorded evidence proving the existence of N,O, as gas. Gay- Lussac’s experiments, published in 1816, showed that nitric oxide and oxygen only reacted in the proportions to form NoO,, and that reactions in proportions corresponding with the produc- tion of N,Og only took place in presence of alkali. The method adopted by the authors did not suffice to prove the existence of N,O3, even as liquid, and the results could be equally well interpreted on the assumption that they were dealing with a solution of NO in N,O,. It was to be expected that N,O, would be a good solvent of NO, as it appeared to be the rule that bodies which are related are easily miscible, phosphorus, for example, being very soluble in PCl,, and sulphur in CS, and S,Cl,. One observation made by the authors did, however, support their view, viz. the observation that the blue liquid was with great difficulty oxidised by passing oxygen into it. In all his experiments, Dr. Armstrong had found that the reactions attributed to N,O, could be equally well affected by a mixture of N,O,and NO. As to the action of arsenious oxide on nitric acid, in his opinion, mztrous acéd was the product, and the manner in which this underwent change entirely depended on the conditions. In dilute solution, NO would be produced in accordance with the equation: 3HNO,=2NO+HNO,+H,0 ; but in presence of nitric acid the reaction HNO,+HNO3;= N.O,+H.O would take place, and would more and more preponderate the less the amount of water present. The addi- tion of sulphuric acid would of necessity favour the latter mode of change. When N,Q, is passed into sulphuric acid, nitrosyl sulphate and nitric acid are formed; in presence of NO the latter is reduced to nitrous acid which also forms nitrosyl sulphate with the sulphuric acid, so that a mixture of NO and N.O, in proper proportions precisely acts as though it were N,O3. Anthropological Institute, March 10.—Francis Galton, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The election of G. F. Legg was announced.—Mr. James G. Frazer read a paper on certain burial customs as illustrative of the primitive theory of the soul. The Romans had a custom that when a man who had been reported to have died abroad returned home alive, he should enter his house, not by the door, but over the roof. This custom (which is still observed in Persia) owed its origin to certain primitive beliefs and customs with regard to the dead. The ghost of an unburied man was supposed to haunt and molest the et ‘March 19, 1885 | living, especially his relatives. Hence the importance attached to the burial of the dead; and various precautions were taken that the ghost should not return. When the body of a dead man could not be found, he was buried in effigy, and this fictitious burial was held to be sufficient to lay the wandering ghost, for it is a principle of primitive thought that what is done to the efigy of a man is done to the man himself.—The director read a paper by Admirel F. S. Tremlett, on the sculptured dolmens of the Morbihan. About eighty sculptures had been found, invariably on the interior surfaces of the cap-stones and their supports. It is remarkable that they are confined within a distance of about twelve miles, and are all situated near the sea-coast, beyond which, although the megaliths are numerous, there is a complete absence of sculptures. The sculptures vary in intricacy from simple wave-lines and cup-markings to some that’ have been compared to the tattooing of the New Zealanders. Geological Society, February 25.—Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Bennett Hooper Brough, Parvati Nath Datta, Robert Stansfield Herries, William Her- bert Herries, Rev. Edward Jordon, Lees Knowles, and William Hobbs Shrubsole were elected Fellows of the Society.—The following communications were read :—On a dredged skull of Ovibos moschatus, by Prof. W. Boyd-Dawkins, F.R.S.—On fulgvrite from Mont Blanc, by Frank Rutley, F.G.S.—On brecciated porfido-rosso-antico, by Frank Rutley, F.G.S.— Fossil Chilostomatous Bryozoa from Aldinga and the River Murray Cliffs, South Australia, by Arthur Wm. Waters, F.G.S. The seventy three fossils described in the present paper were collected by Prof. Ralph Tate, and, with a few ex- ceptions, are from Aldinga and the River Murray Cliffs, Australia. This collection again furnishes interesting cases of species growing in both the Eschara and the Lepralia form ; but the chief interest is in a number of specimens which grow in a “‘cupulata” manner, thus in the mode of growth resembling Lunulites. Attention was again called to the fact that, though the shape and nature of the zocecial avicularia (onychocellaria) are characters of the greatest value, yet their presence or absence cannot be made a specific distinction, as there are a large number of cases where specimens are found with none or only a few such avicularia, whereas on other specimens of the same species, collected under similar circumstances, they may occur abundantly over the whole colony, or in parts of the colony, in large numbers. In the Challenger Report, Mr. Busk refers to a slender process rising from the middle of the base of the avicu- larian mandible, and names it ‘‘columella.” This he considers only occurs in one division of the Cel/epore, and in this division only in those belonging to the southern hemisphere. This. was shown to be by no means the case, as it is found in the mandibles of Ce//epora sardonica from the Mediterranean, in two other common Mediterranean Cellepore, &c. In many species there is a denticle in this position rising from the calcareous bar which divides the avicularium. This denticle occurs in various genera and species, and may often be found a useful specific character when examining fossils. Out of the 220 species now described in this series of papers, just about one- half are now known living. The species noticed in this paper are seventy-three in number, referred by the author to the genera Cellaria, Membranipora, Micropora, Monoporella, Ste- ganoporella, Cribrilina Mucronella, Microporella, Lunutlites, Porina, Lepralia, Smittia Schizoporella, Mastigophora, Rete- pora, Rhynchopora, Cellepora, Lekythopora, and Selenaria. Five species are described as new, namely, AZicroporella pocilli- Sormis, Lepralia confinita, Cellepora biradiata, Schizoporella pro- tensa, and Membranipora temporaria. Victoria Institute, March 16.—Mr. W. P. James read a paper on the relation of fossil botany to theories of evolution, in which he gave a résumé of the whole question with which his paper dealt. EDINBURGH Mathematical Society, March 13.—Mr. George Thom, Vice President, in the chair.—Mr. George A. Gibson read a paper on Gilbert’s method of treating tangents to confocal conicoids. —Mr. J. S. Mackay gave an account of Schooten’s geometry of the rule-—Mr. A. Y. Fraser read a_note by Mr. P. Alexander on two definite integrals. Paris Academy of Sciences, March 9.—M. Bouley, President, in the chair.—Obituary notices of the late M. J. A. Serret, Member of the Section for Geometry, by MM. Jordan, Bonnet, NAPTORE 475 Faye, and Renan.—Methods of observing the polar stars at a great distance from the meridian, with a table containing the corrective term intended to facilitate the reductions, by M. M. Leewy.—Bromuretted substitutions of the polyatomic phenols, by MM. Berthelot and Werner. Here the authors deal with resorcine (C;,H,O,) and orcine (C,4H,O,4) diatomic phenols, each of which furnishes a tribromuretted substance capable of being employed in their quantitative analysis:—On the decom- posing action exercised by the chloride of aluminium on certain hydrocarburets, by MM. C. Friedel and J. M. Crafts.—Report on the new gallery of palasontology in the Paris Natural History Museum, by M. A. Gaudry. This gallery, which has been fitted up in the Whale Court, contains specimens of Afegatherium Cuveri, Elephas meridionalis, Mastodon augustidens, Cervus megaceros, Testudo elephantina, Pelagosaurus typus, Paleo- therium magnum, and some other gigantic extinct animals.— Observations of the planet 245, discovered by M. Borrelly at the Observatory of Marseilles, by M. Stephan.—On some anomalies in the phenomenon of tides in connection with M.» Hatt’s work, by M. de Jonquiéres.—Report on the International Congress of Washington, and on the resolutions there adopted respecting the first meridian, the universal hour, and the extension of the decimal system to the measurement of angles and of time, by M. J. Janssen, representative of France at the Congress. The report, which is partly occupied with M. Janssen’s address objecting to Greenwich, and advocating a neutral first meridian at the Azores or Behring’s Straits, concludes with the words: “* However this be, and apart from the question of the meridian, which is not yet decided, let us not forget that the accession of England to the convention for the metrical system and the wish expressed for its general extension are important re- sults, showing that our presence in Washington has not been useless either for science or progress.”—Report on M. Léauté’s memoir on oscillations at long intervals in ma- chines propelled by hydraulic action, and on the means of preventing those oscillations, by M. Phillips. —Observations of Encke’s comet made at the Observatory of Paris (equatorial coudé), by M. Périgaud.—Spectroscopic studies, by M. Ch. V. Zeuger. The author submits a method for clearing from the field of vision all rays except those lying nearest to the C band, and for thus observing, by means of the parallelopiped of dis- persion, the protuberances proper to hydrogen under the mono- chromatic red light.—A method of avoiding the dangers incident to mechanical generators of electricity: reply to M. Daussin’s claim to priority of invention, by M. A. d’Arsonval.—Study of the means employed to take the potential of the atmosphere: electromotor force of combustion, by M. H. Pellat.—On the decomposition of salts by water, by M. H. Le Chatelier. The author, against the generally-accepted views, formulates and demonstrates the two following propositions :—(1) The quantity of free acid required to resist the decomposition of a salt in solution increases indefinitely with the proportion of the salt contained in the fluid; (2) the decomposition of a salt in solu- tion increases or diminishes with the changes of temperature, according as this decomposition absorbs or liberates heat.—On the separation of titanium from niobium and zirconium, by M. Eug. Demarcay.—On the normal pyrotartaric and succinic nitriles (CN -—(CH,)-CN; and CN-(CH,),—CN), by M. Louis Henry.—On the preparation, properties, and reactions of iodacetone, by MM. P. de Clermont and P. Chauatard.—Heat of formation of the glyonal bisulphide of ammoniac, by M. de Forcrand.—Researches on the colouring matters of leaves ; identity of the orange-red matter with carotine, CjgH,,O, by M. Arnaud.—On the analogies with and differences between the genus Simcedosaurus of the Cernay fauna, Rheims district, and the genus Champsosaurus of Erguelinnes, by M. V. Lemoine.— Underground rumblings heard on August 26, 1883 (date of the Krakatoa eruption), at the island of Caiman-Brac, Caribbean Sea, 20° N. lat., 80° E. long., by M. F. A. Forel.—Remarks on the ‘three first numbers of Rossi’s decennial Bezl/etin of the Observatory and central geodynamic Archives of Rome, by M. Daubrée. BERLIN Physical Society, February 6.—Dr. Konig communicated an experiment he had carried out in conjunction with Dr. Richarz, with a view to testing the ground of a misgiving ex- pressed at a recent meeting of the Society in connection with a plan he had set forth for the purpose of determining the con- stants of gravitation (vide NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 260). It was maintained that the lead block of 2000 centners would, on 476 eA TC ae | March 19, 1885 account of its weight, become extended at its base and conse- quently change its form—a circumstance which would prove very prejudicial to the experiments contemplated in connection with it. Dr. Konig and Dr. Richarz had, therefore, calculated the pressure exercised by the lead mass, which should have a basal plane of 1°9 square metres, on the square centimetre, and had found it equal to 2°3kg. They then prepared a small lead cylinder, placed it with due underlayers on the earth, and by means of pulleys and weights caused a constant pressure of more than 6 kg. per square centimetre to be exerted on its smooth upper surface. ‘Two fine steel spikes were fastened in the side of the lead mass, and their distance from each other exactly measured. After this pressure had been exerted for a consider- able length of time on the lead, the distance of the two steel spikes from each other was again determined, and all the dis- placement which had occurred was found to be but oor mm., an amount which might very well have been caused by differences of temperature. At all events it was so trifling, that in the case of a pressure three times less, such as would be that of the large lead mass utilised in the quantitative experiment, no deformation due to its own weight was to be apprehended.—Dr. Konig further reported on measurements of colour-sense and visual acuteness effected by him on a number of Zulus at present staying in Berlin. Their colour-sense was tested by means of the leuco- scope. On the turning of the Nicol prism the savages stated distinctly that the colours of the two images became even more similar to each other, and at last almost alike, and that, on a further turning of the Nicol prism, the colours came to vary more and more from each other. The colour-sensibility of the savages was, therefore, equal to that of the normal eyes of civilised peoples. They distinguished with exactness, and de- noted by different names the colours red, yellow, blue, brown, black, and white. While they distinguished as red only the purest spectral red, they denoted as yellow or as blue all objects having any yellowish, or, on the other hand, any bluish tinge. As “«orass colours” they called the green, and violet they named after a mineral unknown to Dr. Konig. The unsaturated colours they defined by affixing a syllable to the name of the particular colour in each case, an affix signifying much the same as “young.” The visual acuteness was measured by means of Snellen’s writing tests, according to which the smallest cha- racters used, when distinctly seen at a distance of 6°5 m., was equal to 1, From extensive statistical investigations in Germany the visual acuteness of a perfectly normal eye was found to average 1°75. The measurements taken with male Zulu adults showed, on the other hand, that they were able to recognise with certainty the smallest written characters at a distance of from 24m. to 25m. ; a Zuly boy of about eight years showed a visual energy of only 1°50 ; and a Zulu woman a still lower value of visual force—a result which was, however, to be explained by the circumstance that the woman was squint-eyed, and had, moreover, clearly-ascertained obscurations of the cornea.— Fol- lowing up this address, Dr. Konig intimated that, in the Physical Institute, experiments had been made by Dr. Uhthoff on the influence of light intensity on visual acuteness. From alarge number of experiments it appeared that if the light intensity was taken as abscissa, and the degrees of visual acuteness appertain- ing to it as ordinates, then the resulting curve, in the case of the greatest visual acuteness answering to a good full illumination by day, ran parallel to the axis of the abscissa, falling, at first slowly and then rapidly, towards the null point. The mode of the sinking of the curve was different with different individuals. Under low light intensities differences occurred as much as I to 2. The visual energy became null shortly before the light intensity was null. In this respect likewise, however, there were differences in the case of different individuals, those pos- sessing a greater acuteness Of vision showing the visual energy at the null point under a greater light intensity than in the case of such persons as had a lower acuteness of vision, in whom the curve began nearer the null point of the abscissa. Normal eyes with greater acuteness of vision, under the highest light intensi- ties attainable by means of a petroleum lamp, showed symptoms of dazzlement, and the curve sank to the axis of the abscissa. In the case of the eyes of much less visual acuteness the curve, even under these highest intensities, continued still parallel to the abscissa. In the discussion which this address gave rise to, Prof. von Helmholtz brought out and established, by entering into detail, that it was altogether unjustifiable to assume that the ancients had not such developed colour-sense as recent per- sons, and that this assumption was an inference quite unwarrant- ably drawn from the mere defect of names for the different colours, February 20.—Dr. Kayser referred to a method published by M. Wolf in the Comptes Rendus for measuring the velocity of light, which differed from Foucault’s experi- ment inasmuch as the rotating mirror was concave and the aperture admitting the light was a small transparent spot in a larger concave mirror. By Wolf’s method the displacement of the reflection of the light could be made to reach as much as Im., and could be easily measured with precision.—Prof. Neesen made some communications respecting an investigation, which was not yet concluded, into Geissler’s tubes. In an older tube with aluminium electrodes he found that the process of evacuation, up to the highest degree of rarefication, at which the electricity no longer passed through the tube, was rendered more difficult if continuous electric discharges were sent through the tube, but, on the other hand, was very easy when no electric current was transmitted. If, with high degrees of rarefication, phosphoric light filled the glass ball, a black pre- cipitate was regularly formed on the glass, which disappeared on the admission of a small quantity of air into the tube. If the tube was put in communication with an electric lamp, and the carbon thread, after being kept in a glowing state for about an hour, was allowed to cool, a complete vacuum was more easily obtained, probably because the gaseous substances ad- hering to the glass were absorbed by the carbon. In such a case it was of no consequence for the evacuation whether a discharge was transmitted continuously through the tube or not. The phosphoric light, after the absorption by the carbon-thread, was likewise changed. Instead of being yellow and filling up the whole ball, it was rosy, limited, and soon disappeared. If the tube was then for some time exposed to the air and evacuated, yellow phosphoric light and the black preci- pitate again appeared. Prof. Neesen was of opinion that the process of phosphorescence was induced by substances which were absorbed by the glass and decomposed by the electric light, and that the black precipitate was a product of this decomrosition. — Dr. Sklarck referred shortly to the measurement of the propaga- tion velocity of electricity in telegraph wires, which Prof. Hagenbach, in Basel, had carried out according to a new method. CONTENTS PAGE The Debate on Vivisection at Oxford ...... 453 The Relative Efficiency of War-Ships (J//lustrated) 454 The AmericanvAssociationy, 2) ..) 2 ee) eae OS Letters to the Editor :— On the Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of Blasticity.—KarliPearsony.. =). 1) sue gO Civilisation and Eyesight.—Col. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S. ; Sydney Lupton; Major Allan Cunningham). cs. c fines Ge l eAS The Pupil of the Eyes during Emotion. —Dr, Samuel WVAIK Se os: cies oor, a line ies eed conte eg Aurore; —E: Brown.) cies ©) <1 e epee Cen oS Injuries caused by Lightning in Venezuela.—A. Ernst. isu: oun woes ae aoe a eee 458 MiraCetii—JiE. Gore 9 so 4 i en A Physical Geography of the Malayan Peninsula.—L. Wray, Janis. cs errata” Gi kevcoieteee ORI The Continuity of Protoplasm in Plant Tissue.— Thomas Hick Rie RMA tem Os ok eon 459 Time in the United States.—E. W. Claypole . 459 Facilities for Botanical Research. ....... 460 Molecular Dynamics. By Prof. George Forbes . 461 The Long Durations of Meteoric Radiant Points. By WR! Dennings (Zi/zstrated) ane eee a 463 NOtes 3s vee ee ee es erie cure, cro Meio ae 465 Our Astronomical Column :— Tempel’s Comet (1867 1I-)) - 2... . . «ss ee 400 The \Variable:Star Mira‘Geti; <0.) 2) ceeee ea OS Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, WMarchi22=28h 8) oh) aa) gh) oe oi od eee eS GeographicaliNotes) a-)> - 62 ch jee een e-em OO Accidental Explosions Produced by non-Explosive Liquids. By Sir Frederick Abel, C.B., F.R.S. . 469 Programme of Work to be Pursued at the U.S. Naval Observatory at Washington, D.C., during the Year beginning January 1, 1885. .....-. 472 ScientificuSerialsiame- tie ee) eee 473 Societies/and! Academies 7. = =<). =) ene) = 473 = NATURE 477 THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1885 PRACTICAL PHYSICS Practical Physics. By R. T. Glazebrook, M.A., F.R.S., and W. N. Shaw, M.A., Demonstrators at the Caven- dish Laboratory, Cambridge. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1885.) HE authors have done a real service to all whose business it is to conduct classes in a physical laboratory by supplying them with a most excellent guide. Not only teachers, but students, will find this book invaluable. The authors have for some time prepared manuscript notes for use in the laboratory, sufficient to enable a student to make the measurements described without that frequent necessity for supervision which is found when verbal instruction only has been given. Since such well tested notes form the main portion of this work, it is cer- tain that the experiments which are described have been so frequently carried out that the details given are sure to cor- respond to the best arrangement in each case, and further, that all possibility of an oversight has been removed. In many cases instruments used for the same purpose are so different in d tail that the authors were met by the difficulty of choosing whether to describe several forms or to be content with explaining the particular instrument used for each purpose at the Cavendish Laboratory. They have, in adopting the latter course, found one means of limiting an enormous subject. In another direc- tion they have found a natural boundary—that between a book of theoretical and one of practical physics. The theory of the methods and instruments is not given at length, except in those cases where the text-books are not sufficiently explicit. Again, the whole range of practical physics is so extensive that choice had to be exercised as to what experiments should be included and what un- avoidably passed by. The experiments selected in each subject are typical, and are such as “to enable the student to make use of his practical work to obtain a clearer and more real insight into the principles of the subjects ; they include those which have formed for the past three years the course of practical physics for the students preparing for the first part of the Natural Sciences Tripos.” It would be impossible to make a selection more exactly suited to meet the wants of an educational laboratory. In the preface will be found the system employed at the Cavendish Laboratory for making a set of apparatus go as far as possible with a large class. The subject is divided into sections, each requiring its own instruments ; sometimes one, sometimes several, experiments belong to one section. When any section is assigned to a student, none of the instruments belonging to it are available elsewhere. The same system of division is employed in the text, no less than eighty-two numbered sections being the result. The value of the book is much enhanced by the ad- dition, at the end of each section, of the results of an actual experiment. These short statements are valuable in many ways. In the first place, they show how to enter results systematically, so that the meaning of the entry is obvious. Secondly, they show the probable degree of VOL. XXXIL—NoO. 804 accuracy attainable, especially when more than one method of making the same determination is given. Thirdly, and this is perhaps the most important to the teacher, the series of numbers to be found enables any one to discover the proportions and sizes of the several parts of each piece of apparatus employed. An example taken from p. 420 will make this clear :— “ Experiment.—Determine the difference of potential between the two ends of the given wire through which a current is flowing. Enter results thus :— grms. Mass of water oor 580 eos 24'2 Water equivalent of the calorimeter 4°2 mt ron a5 ee Res Zod: &M (copper deposited in voltameter)... 222 Total rise of temperature for each two minutes :— 4°"4 4-4 42 40 378 0 a ae 24°°8 = 4-36 X 108 = 4°36 volts.” In this case there is no means of estimating the probable accuracy of the result, but the data are sufficient to enable any one who wishes to do so to reproduce exactly the instrument employed. The chapter on physical arithmetic, in which errors, corrections, accuracy, and the manipulation of small quantities are treated, is of special value. The chapter on the balance is very complete. Though perhaps the balance is the most important of all philo- sophical instruments, it is a question whether so much space as twenty pages should be devoted to it, where so much that is important is necessarily excluded for want of space. Students do certainly use the balance most blindly, and if its theory is not explained in a satisfactory manner in the text-books, this surely is the place to find it. Other subjects of which the usual accounts in the authors’ opinions needed supplementing are measure- ment of fluid pressure, thermometry, calorimetry, and hygrometry. The chapters on electricity and magnetism are treated in a different manner from the rest of the book, for what reason is not apparent. The precise and quantitative relations between mechanical, magnetic, and electrical units are to be found in almost every modern text-book, and so there would .be no occasion to repeat definitions, &c., if the treatment of these last chapters was the same as that employed in the earlier ones. It is here perhaps more than anywhere that the authors had to exercise their choice of the most suitable, out of an almost endless variety of experiments, any one of which might well find a place. No one can find fault with the selection, yet it seems a pity that not a word is said about electrometers or indeed about statical electricity at all. Many will be dis- appointed in finding no account of the absolute determina- tion of electromotive force by any of the methods of induction. The only method given depends on the measurement of the heat generated by a current, which of course involves a knowledge of the value of /, the mechanical equivalent of heat. This is the more to be regretted, as instructions for determining experimentally the value of / are not to be found in the chapter on heat, It is to be hoped that in another edition a few pages will be devoted to one or both of these essential measure- ments. For a first edition the book is remarkably free from eee 478 misprints, the only one discovered being the omission of “7” in the denominator of the expression for the a “Tr absolute capacity of a condenser (p. 480). CAVeB: MALAYVAN ANTIQUITIES Alterthtimer aus dem Ostindischen Archipel und Angrens- enden Gebieten. WHerausgegeben yon Dr. A. B. Meyer. (Leipzig, 1884.) HE present sumptuous volume forms the fourth of the series being issued under the enlightened management of the Curator of the Dresden Zoological and Anthropological Museum. These costly publications, which -could scarcely be undertaken without the active co-operation of the general administration of the royal artistic and scientific collections in the Saxon Capital, will, when completed, prove a great boon, especially to students of eastern antiquities, and of the progress of human culture amongst the peoples of Southern Asia. This fourth part, so far complete in itself, will be found of great value in elucidating the civilising influences both of Brahmanism and Buddhism on the races of Further India and the Malay Archipelago. It comprises nineteen photographic plates in folio, four of which are exquisitely coloured, with explanatory text and a map devoted almost exclusively to this important subject. Thus we have here embodied at once a descriptive and illustrated record of the archeological treasures in the Dresden Collection, which serve to mark the progress of the arts in the Eastern Archipelago and neighbouring regions from the earliest historic period, that is, from the first contact of those lands with the Indian religious and artistic world. The arrangement is thoroughly systematic and most convenient for purposes of reference and comparative study, objects in stone, metal, wood, porcelain, and allied materials being grouped separately, and dealt with in the order indicated. The four stone figures from Java, repro- duced on the first two plates, show at once the advantage of this arrangement. Here we have on Plate I. a genuine Brahmanical Trimurti placed side by side with a full- breasted female figure of undoubted Buddhistic type ; on Plate II. an unmistakable Brahmanical Siva, again con- trasted with the representation in high relief of two men, who, from their devout attitude and other indications, are evidently of Buddhist origin. Taken collectively these two groups thus present a striking illustration of both streams of Hindu culture, by which the island of Java was successively flooded. On this point the Curator’s remarks in the accompanying text are highly instructive :— “The Hindu antiquities found in Java are either Brah- manistic, Buddhistic, or mixed. Brahmanism repeatedly occurs in its Sivaistic phase. Buddhism, pure only in Borobudur and Tyandi Mendut (‘ Veth,’ Java, li. 172), is found mixed with Sivaism, Sivaistic divinities sometimes surrounding images of Buddha (Leemans, ‘ Borobudur, 444), Buddhistic figures at others encircling Sivaistic idols (Veth, ii. 103, 173), or else assuming monstrous forms, such as often characterise Brahmanical deities (€Veth, ii. 96, and Max Uhle, ‘ Descriptive Catalogue in MS. of the Royal Ethnological Museum,’ No. 1464).” The greatest monuments of Buddhism appear to be concentrated mainly in the central parts of Java, while those of the Brahmanical cult are scattered round them in all directions. Extensive Brahmanical settlements had INA T OLE [March 26, 1885 already been formed in the island long before the first arrival of the Buddhist missionaries, who, according to Dr. Meyer, made their appearance probably about the fifth century of the new era. The stupendous Buddhist temple of Borobudur, rivalling that of Angkor-Vaht in Camboja, is assigned to the eighth or ninth century. But no attempt has been made to determine the date of the earliest Brahmanical remains in Java or the other islands of the Archipelago. They cannot, however, be much more recent than the first century of the Christian era, and may possibly be some two or three centuries earlier. It is to be regretted that this point cannot be determined with some approach to accuracy, for it has obviously a most important bearing on the question of the migrations of the Indonesian races, and especially on the diffusion of the Malayo-Polynesian languages throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Those writers, who are disposed to regard these as comparatively recent events, should at least bear in mind that there are practically no traces of Sanskrit or Prakrit elements either in Malagasy, or in any of the Eastern Polynesian dialects. Hence, if Malaysia be taken as the point of dispersion west to Madagascar, east to the South Sea Islands, the migrations must neces- sarily have taken place at some time before the spread of Hindu influences throughout the Eastern Archipelago. However, the collection is not confined to Hindu sub- jects, and on Plate VII. are figured a large number of iron spear-heads, some of which are undoubtedly subse- quent to the introduction of Isl4m in the thirteenth century. Many of these objects, which were found in Jokjokarta (Java), are of simple type, much corroded by rust, and no doubt of considerable antiquity. But others show distinct traces of damaskeening, an art unknown before the arrival of the Arabs, although now universally diffused throughout the Archipelago. The process, locally known by the name of famor, consists in manipulating steel and iron by means of acids, the designs being inlaid by the priests (Pfyffer, “ Sketches from Java,” p. 32). Conspicuous among the bronze objects is a magnificent lion’s head of absolutely unique type and great size (com- pass round neck 34 cm., diameter 30 cm., weight I00 kilograms), apparently from Camboja, although first dis- covered in Java. This superb bronze, whose analysis yielded copper 92°49, tin 5°53, lead 1°40, cobalt and nickel 0°07, iron 0'12, total 99°61, is referred by Dr. Meyer to the flourishing period of Cambojan art as embodied in the monuments of Angkor Vaht, and would accordingly be some 600 or 800 years old. Front and side views are here given in half the natural size on two separate plates. From these it is evident that the lion is playing the part of a rakshasa or guardian to some Buddhist shrine, such as are found sculptured at Borobudur. Another rakshasa of a very different characteris a wooden figure of Garudha from the island of Bali, reproduced by the new phototype process, which has already rendered such valuable ser- vices to the arts, and especially to archeology in Germany. Here Garudha is represented as a winged human figure bearing on his shoulders probably a Vishnu, of whom the legs alone, suspended in front, have been preserved. Ii is described as perhaps a Sivaitic representation from some Brahmanical temple in Bali, where Vishnuism and Sivaism are said to be intimately associated. The intro- duction of the Hindu cult into Bali, where it still holds its March 26, 1885} ground in the midst of Islam, is referred to the beginning of the fifteenth century. But the fair state of preservation of this wooden image bespeaks a much more recent date. On the concluding plates are figured numerous designs of bronze drums or gongs from every part of the Archi- pelago and Further India. These instruments, which play so large a part in the social economy of the Indo- nesian and Indo-Chinese peoples, are here brought to- gether for the purpose of elucidating the obscure and hitherto little studied history of their origin and diffusion throughout South-Eastern Asia. Those interested in the subject will find much instructive matter embodied in the accompanying text. A word of thanks is also due to Dr. Max Uhle, the Curator’s able assistant, not only for his general co- operation, but more especially for the great care he has bestowed on the map of the regions in question. On it are accurately indicated all the places in Malaysia where Hindu antiquities have at any time been dis- covered, or where monuments dating from pre-Muham- madan times are found. A. H. KEANE OUR BOOK SHELF The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine, No. VIII. Christmas, 1884. (Antananarivo: Printed at the London Missionary Society’s Press by Malagasy Printers.) ALTHOUGH the previous number of this interesting periodical was, I believe, noticed in NATURE, I should like to call attention to the present issue, inasmuch as it is a token of the valuable scientific work which, amid great difficulties, is being bravely carried on by Christian missions in the sorely troubled island of Madagascar. One of the editors of the Avzwa/, the Rev. R. Baron, is an accomplished botanist, indefatigable in his efforts to explore the botany of his adopted home, and unwearied in his efforts to obtain materials for Mr. J. G. Baker and other workers at home; and his colleagues, no less than himself and his fellow editor, the Rev. J. Sibree, seem devoted to the double duty of teaching the Christian religion and civilisation to the Malagasy and of advancing our scientific knowledge of the strange land in which they are for the time being dwelling. The present number, besides a spirited account of a Royal Kabary or coronation ceremony, contains valuable philological articles on the Malagasy pronouns, by the -Rev. L. Dahle; on Malagasy dictionaries, by the Rev. W. E. Cousins; and on the want of new words in the Malagasy language and the way of supplying them, by the Rev. S. E. Jorgensen, the latter having a more than philological, indeed a personal, interest to scientific writers, who, like the Madagascar missionaries, are con- tinually in “want of new words” and not always very judicious in their “way of supplying them.” Articles on Malagasy superstitions, on the Sakaklava, and on Mala- gasy proverbs, contain much valuable matter for the anthropologist ; while a paper on medical mission work, by a non-professional ; an instructive critical exposure of a geographical fiction, by the Rev. L. Dahle; notes on natural history, by the Rev. R. Baron; a four years’ record of rainfall, by the Rev. J. Richardson ; and various notes, such as one recording the arrival, on Malagasy shores, of worn fragments of pumice-stone, supposed: o be from Krakatoa, complete the number. The technical printing does great credit to the native printers, for, though one German quotation has gone a pute wrong, the press errors are otherwise exceedingly ew. I feel sure that I may bespeak the sympathy of the NATURE 479 readers of NATURE with the Antananarivo Annual, and that we may look forward with confidence to much scien- tific as well as other fruit from the continued labours of the editors and their cov/réres. M. FOSTER LETIERS TO THE EDITOR. [The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No noticeis taken of anonymous communications. - (The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible, The pressure on his space is so great that itis impossible otherwise toinsurethe appearance even of communications containing interestingand novel facts.) The Forms of Leaves I HAVE read Mr. Henslow’s letter with interest ; and of course any criticisms from him are worthy of all attention. At the same time I may observe that as yet he has only seen what may be called an abstract of an abstract. A Friday evening lecture is scarcely the occasion to work out a special statement in detail ; but he is apparently criticising not even my lecture itself, but merely an abstract of it. He commences by saying that it is ‘‘ self-evident” that the size of the leaf is regulated mainly by the thickness of the stem. This may be, but, so far as I am aware, the importance of this consideration had not been pre- viously pointed out. Having, however, first disposed of my state- ment as ‘‘ self-evident,” he proceeds next to deny it altogether, and quotes cases in which the size of certain leaves bore no reference to the thickness of the stem. With regard to these, however, I must observe that I was referring to leaf-area, and as Mr. Henslow does not mention the number of leaves his illustration is incomplete. Moreover, as he was dealing merely with an abstract of what I said, he does not recognise the quali- fications to which, in the lecture itself, I called attention. As regards holly leaves, Mr. Henslow denies my statement, and questions my explanation. With reference to the fact, I should have thought there was no question. It has been stated over and over again in standard works. Sir J. D. Hooker in the *€Student’s Flora,” for instance, says that the leaves are spinous, adding, those on the upper branches often entire.” This is entirely in accordance with my own experience. Next, as to the explanation. Mr. Henslow observes that it ‘“‘seems to be attributing to the holly a very unexpected process of ratiocina- tion.” Surely, however, this would apply to any explanation, and in this world there must be some cause for everything. Mr. Henslow would not maintain that the pitchers of pitcher plants imply any process of ratiocination ? ai Mr. Henslow’s next point is with reference to fleshy leaves, and he observes that, ‘‘ Surely the usual explanation that it is this thick cuticle which prevents rapid exhalation is a better reason.” A better reason for what? I was not speaking of the thickness of the cuticle but of the unusual development of the parenchymatous tissue. Again, he questions whether ‘‘ cut-up ” leaves present a greater extent of surface in proportion to their mass, “but surely he cannot seriously deny this. Lastly, he doubts whether it is an advantage to water-ranun- culi to have filiform leaves, because he saw a pond last summer which was dried up, and yet covered with a ‘‘ carpet composed of the erect filiform branchlets of the cut-up leaves of Ranzn- culus aqguatilis.” But it does not follow that-a plant placed in an abnormal situation should at once alter its habit, any more than an individual duck would lose its webbed feet because it was kept from water. Any one who will take an ordinary plant of R, aguatilis out of water will see at once that the leaves cannot support themselves. Iadmit that my suggestions require more evidence than can be given in a single lecture, and I shall hope to develop them at greater length elsewhere ; but in the mean time, though I think that Mr. Henslow’s criticisms admit of answer, I am much obliged for his suggestions. Joun Luspock Aurora at Christiania ON the evening of March 15 an aurora appeared of unusual proportions for our part of the country. It was seen for the first time at 7.45, and then consisted of diffused and faint arches high on the northern sky. By degrees its sphere extended, and 480 at 8.30 it reached the zenith, In this position—from the northern horizon to zenith—the phenomenon remained almost uninterrupted all the following time. The light was rather feeble, and in the beginning the motions were insigni- ficant. Lut at 10 o'clock the peculiar blazing or undulating movement that is designated by the name of corzscation, began to be seen, and during four hours and a half at least the whole northern half of the sky was the theatre of this uncommonly violent chase of the luminous clouds. The culmination of the aurora happened at 10.30, when on the northern sky advanced a series of splendid streamers, the inferior points of which played in red and green. This radiance was only of short duration, and later there appeared in the north only arches more or less distinct ; while on the higher parts of the heavens the chasing flames incessantly continued their playing. Still, so late as 14.30 saw the flames as far as to the zenith with unimpaired violence. I may add that on this occasion I succeeded in what I myself, as well as other friends of the aurora, have tried before in vain, viz. to get the aurora to make impression on a photographic plate. I exposed in all five plates ; of these four (for times of exposure of 2-4 minutes) without the least trace of action, but the fifth, which was exposed during 84 minutes, shows both a part of the horizon with a high church spire and a feeble representation of a portion of the aurora. I must, however, state that this portion in itself was but very feebly illuminated, and that at the time when the phenomenon developed the greatest power of light I was prevented from applying the camera. The object-glass employed was : Voigtlander euroscope, No. 1; Schleussner’s dry plates. Also on the 16th, in the evening, 8.45 to 10, there appeared an aurora, but consisting essentially only of feeble fragments of arches rather low.on the northern sky. The aurora has in recent times been astonishingly rare : here in Christiania, in the course of the whole winter, it has been observed on the follow- ing days:—September 14, 17, 24; October 14, 15 ; Noyember 17; December 22; January 22; February 14, 16; March 12, 15, 16. March 15 excepted, all these aurora have been rather insignificant. SopHus TROMHOLT Christiania, March 17 “Peculiar Ice Forms” UnpeER the above caption, several correspondents of Nature have recently described and discussed the agglutin- ated filamentoid ice-crystals commonly extruded from un- frozen earth under suitable conditions of moisture and tem- perature. B Woodd Smith records their occurrence in the Savoyan Alps (his language implying variety of the phenomena there), and attributes them to the linear expansion incident to conyelation of capillary columns of water in a thin sheet of soil resting upon rock (vol. xxxi. pp. 5-6). W. alludes to such crystals in general terms, refers to a previous notice of similar phenomena, and (erroneously) allies them genetically to hoar-frost (75., p. 29). Dr. John Rae discusses distinct (but erro- neously supposed similar) phenomena at length, and argues that the several strata of crystals are remnants of successive sheets of ice or snow (z., pp. 81-2). Mr. Smith then controverts Mr. Rae’s explanation, maintains his own, and refers to several earlier communications in NATURE relating to filamentoid ice- crystals (z., pp. 193-4); and sebsequently he transmits a letter from John D. Paul, who has essentially repeated his own obser- vations in the Alps (7é., p. 264). Now that it has become fashionable to revive forgotten records, it may be pointed out that these correspondents ignore the more valuable portion of the literature of their subject. Even in NaTuRE discussion of the fibrous ice-crystals extruded from moist earth, wet wood, &c., was epidemic fifteen years ago, and again ten years later, besides the sporadic cases of three years ago, as shown in the following bibliography :— 1870 Vol. I. =, Spence!Bates:.s) c220) <-c)meeemP: 550 59 - —Mr. Pengelly ... ... «. «es Ps 627 ye MOLE: —T. G. Bonney, John Langters (s%e) pp. 141-2 1871 Vol. III]. —T. G. Bonney, John Langto pp. 105-7 oH ie —T) GaBonney ts.) eeenaeps 208 1880) Vol! XEXT., —Areyll\ .3. .t2 ges 52-1) aces 274 ” 36 —R. Meldola... ... ... ... «. Dp» 302 2 an Seal oy cog) Gat ee cna und Jo ChShe) "9 3 —=(Hisher, es) uses) ne eee SOO NATURE [March 26, 1885 1880 Vol. XXI.—D. Wetterhan ... ... p- 396 - AA —L. Bleekrode ss p- 444 os aA —— i Barrette sss eames p- 537 eS 2 —Wnm. Le Roy Broun ... p- 589 ,, Wol. XXII.—John Le Conte Pre D5 4: eo 3 —R. H. oan .. Pp. 145-6 1882 Vol. XXV.—J. F. Duthie vo 1b 933 5, Wol. XXVI.—H. Warth p- 81 The second outbreak was practically terminated by the com- munications of Profs. Broun and Le Conte. The first of these gentlemen wrote from a locality in which the phenomena are readily observable, while the latter called attention to his own elaborate researches of thirty years before (Proc. Am. Assn. Adv. Sci., iti. 1850, p. 20-34; Phil. Mag., third series, xxxvi. 1850, pp. 329-42). More recently (February 6, 1884) Prof. Schwalbe has placed before the Physical Society of Berlin the results of his observa- tions upon filamentoid ice-crystals in the Harz. After thorough study he accepts Le Conte’s views as to their genesis. Prof. Le Conte’s explanation (which is essentially identical with that subsequently offered independently by Prof. Broun) is as follows :—‘‘ Let us suppose a portion of tolerably compact porous and warm earth saturated with moisture, to be exposed to the influence of a cold-producing cause. The soil being an imperfect conductor of heat, only a very superficial stratum would be reduced to the freezing point. As the resistance to lateral expansion is less at the surface than it is at}a sensible depth below, the effect of the first freezing would be to render the apices of the capillary tubes or pores conical or pyramidal, The sudden congelation of the water, filling the conical capillaries in the superior stratum, would produce a rapid and forcible ex- pansion, which, being resisted by the unyielding walls of the cone, would not only protrude, but project or detach and throw out the thread-like columns of ice, in the direction of /east reszst- ance, or perpendicular to the surface. This would leave the summits of the tubes partially empty—a condition essential tothe development of capillary force. Under these circumstances capillary attraction would draw up warm water from beneath, which, undergoing congelation, would, in like manner, elevate the column of ice still higher ; and thus the process would go on as long as the cold continued to operate on unobstructed capil- laries, supplied with sufficient water from below. It will be remarked that this explanation makes the whole process of pro- trusion to take place in a stratum of earth of almost inappreciable thickness. It also presumes that the protruding force act[s] paroxysmally” (Proc. Am. Assn. Adv. Sci., op. cit., 30-31). He subsequently remarks (NATURE, of. ctl.) : GIRS Glen sqlite tion to the explanation of the phenomena, I have nothing to add to that given” above, ‘‘except in relation to ¢wo points, viz. : (1) that I did not sufficiently emphasise the importance of the fact that the water contained in the cafil/avy tubes in the upper stratum of earth is cooled many degrees below the freezing temperature ; and (2) that consequently the congelation would necessarily take place Aaroxysmally.” It may be pointed out also that the great majority of the cor- respondents, both recent and earlier, base their explanations upon isolated observations of phenomena rare in their localities. In reality the extrusion of filamentoid ice-crystals is even more common in certain localities than is indicated by Le Conte’s papers and Broun’s letter. Thus, in the cultivated fields of the Mississippi valley, during a cloudy day following an autumnal rain, with an air temperature just below freezing-point, the writer has seen a thin layer of soil elevated from one to three inches over fully four-fifths of the area visible from the road throughout a day’s journey. Greater length is sometimes attained by the crystals. Within a week the writer has observed, along the roadsides just beyond the limits of Washington, many irregular patches and belts of straight or slightly curved fila- mentoid crystals, four, six, and even eight inches in height. They were sometimes highest where they supported the greatest weight of earth, leaves, twigs, or pebbles upon their summits. In one case a worn quartzite pebble 1 X 14 X 24 inches was hoisted on a slender tuft of icy needles six or seven inches long, fully two inches above the smaller neighbouring pebbles and the film of soil in which it had been imbedded. While Le Conte’s theory of the formation of the filamentoid crystals extruded from moist earth or wet vegetal stems is accept- able in a general way, repeated observation upon crystals apparently in process of development has convinced the writer that their growth is not paroxysmal. The effect of capillarity March 26, 1885] NATURE 481 in the moist substance is to keep the bases of the icy filaments, or the lower side of the stratum formed by their agglutination, wet ; and congelation of this film appears to be continuous. W. J. McGEE U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., February 1 Four-Dimensional Space PossiBLy the question, What is the fourth dimension? may admit of an indefinite number of answers. I prefer, therefore, in proposing to consider Time as a fourth dimension of our exist- ence, to speak of it as a fourth dimension rather than ¢#e fourth dimension. Since this fourth dimension cannot be introduced into space, as commonly understood, we require a new kind of space for its existence, which we may call time-space. There is then no difficulty in conceiving the analogues in this new kind of space, of the things in ordinary space which are known as lines, areas, and solids. A straight line, by moving in any direction not in its own length, generates an area ; if this area moves in any direction not in its own plane it generates a solid ; but if this solid moyes in any direction, it still generates a solid, and nothing more. The reason of this is that we have not supposed it to move inthe fourth dimension. If the straight line moves in its own direction, it describes only a straight line ; if the area moves in its own plane, it describes only an aréa ; in each case, motion in the dimensions in which the thing exists, gives us only a thing of the same dimensions; and, in order to get a thing of higher dimensions, we must have motion in a new dimension, But, as the idea of motion is only applicable in space of three dimensions, we must replace it by another which is applicable in our fourth dimension of time. Such an idea is that of successive existence. We must, therefore, conceive that there is a new three-dimensional space for each successive instant of time ; and, by picturing to ourselves the aggregate formed by the successive positions in time-space of a given solid during a given time, we shall get the idea of a four-dimensional solid, which may be called a sur-solid. It will assist us to get a clearer idea, if we consider a solid which is in a constant state of change, both of magnitude and position; and an example of a solid which satisfiesthis condition sufficiently well, is afforded by the body of each of us. Let any man picture to himself the aggregate of his own bodily forms from birth to the present time, and he will have a clear idea of a sur-solid in time-space. Let us now consider the sur-solid formed by the movement, or rather, the successive existence, of a cube in time-space. Weare to conceive of the cube, and the whole of the three-dimensional space in which it is situated, as floating away in time-space for a given time; the cube will then have an initial and a final position, and these will be the end boundaries of the sur-solid. It will therefore have sixteen points, namely, the eight points belonging to the initial cube, and the eight belonging to the final cube. The successive positions (in time-space) of each of the eight points of the cube, will form what may be called a time-line ; and adding to these the twenty-four edges of the initial and final cubes, we see that the sur-solid has thirty-two lines. The successive positions (in time-space) of each of the twelve edges of the cube, will form what may be called a time area; and, adding these to the twelve faces of the initial and final cubes, we see that the sur-solid has twenty-four areas. Lastly, the successive positions (in time-space) of each of the six faces of the cube, will form what may be called a time-solid ; and, adding these to the initial and final cubes, we see that the sur-solid is bounded by eight solids. These results agree with the statements in your article. But it is not permissible to speak of the sur-solid as resting in ‘‘space,’’ we must rather say that the section of it by any time is a cube resting (or moving) in “* space.” S. March 16 The Action of Very Minute Particles on Light THE action upon transmitted light of very minute particles suspended in a transparent medium is very well known, thanks to the investigations of Briicke, Tyndall, and others, up to a certain point. That is to say, that white light, passing through varying depths of a medium with such particles more or less thickly interspersed, is known to emerge coloured yellow, orange, or red, according to the extent of the action in question. Wishing to illustrate this phenomenon experimentally, I em- ployed a very dilute solution of sodium thiosulphate (hyposul phite), which was acidified with hydrochloric or sulphuric acid, and then allowed to stand, observing from time to time the appearances when examined by transmitted light. The solution mentioned is admirably adapted for the purpose, inasmuch as the precipitation of the sulphur proceeds gradually ; and, accord- ing to the greater or less dilution at starting, the completion of the reaction can be spread over a long period of time, in some of my experiments occupying more than forty-eight hours. For a while no turbidity whatever is visible ; then a faint opalescence makesits appearance, and these exceedingly minute particles grow gradually in size, remaining, however, quite uniformly suspended for a considerable period, until a dimension is reached which causes them to settle out of the liquid. In this way I observed with unfailing regularity, and in unvarying order, though with various degrees of rapidity, an extension of the series of colours, which, so far as I am aware, had not previously been noticed, or at any rate published. From orange, the tint passed succes- sively through rose red, purplish rose, to a full purple; then by insensible gradations to a fine violet, blue, green, greenish yellow, neutral tint, &c. The solution was contained in spherical or pear-shaped flasks, or in cells with flat and parallel sides. A solution which was strong enough to give well-marked yellow, orange, and red tints, was not well adapted for the subsequent stages, as it soon became white and opaque, so that the later colours were almost entirely masked. A half litre flask filled with a solution so dilute, that ten minutes or more elapsed after acidifying before opalescence was first visible, gave very feeble yellow and orange ; the rose and rose purple, though decidedly weak, re- minded me in tint of the colours seen towards the upper margin of the recent sky-glows; but when the full purple, violet, and blue were reached, the colours were very strong and well marked. —ED. ] Human Hibernation My letter on the Hibernation of the Siberian mammoth has been followed by two others, extremely interesting, but dealing, I may say exclusively, with the question of human hibernation, and the evidence offered in support of it; this raises a very important consideration, concerning which I ask leave to offer a few remarks :—The ‘‘fact,” as stated by Mr. Braid, is that credible persons witnessed the burial of a man in a state of sleep or torpor, and that the same man was dug up alive some months afterwards. Why should we not believe this? The answer is not an easy one, nor can it be given in few words, but is in great measure that the same kind of almost unimpeachable testimony is to be had for any number of astounding occurrences, and that if the testimony is to be believed in one case, why should it not be accepted in all others? why are we driven to be so mistrust- ful? On this I will only say a few words, as your space is so limited. We know that some 5000 or 6000 years ago there existed a people—the Accadians—who, in their cuneiform writings, have left the most complete account of their daily lives and doings. We learn that these men regulated almost every act by the predictions of magicians, astrologers, or one form or another of impostors. We see, therefore, that the world was even then divided into knaves and dupes. Now this has been clearly going on ever since, and probably for indefinite ages before. The knaves having begun as such, haye, for the most part, but by no means exclusively, developed into honest, or partially honest, fanatics ; the dupes have greatly developed their credulity ; and the stage had been reached that an individual with a sane and healthy mind was, if he escaped death, held in such disfavour as to stand a very poor chance in the struggle for existence. The scientific and critical revival of late years has arisen, I believe, partly because life is more secure, and tolera- tion more prevalent, the virtually diseased mental condition is allowed to recover itself. To apply these views to the explana- tion of the particular case in point above referred to, we must remember that the burial was performed by men, descendants of others wholly unscrupulous, magicians, tricksters, who had probably followed the same calling for ages, and acquired an hereditary skill in such deceptions. Those who have witnessed, as I have done, their marvellous feats—for instance, of the native Indian jugglers—cannot doubt but that the case described was at all events within their power. Messrs. Maskelyne and Cook similarly can bewilder and defeat the closest ‘‘ scientific” examination; and is it not obvious but that even here, in the {centre of the civilised modern world, the most clumsy impostors are daily bewildering and befooling people who believe themselves to be the possessors of highly cultivated and healthy intellects. C, K. BUSHE Athenzeum Club Bos Primigenius In Nature, March 12(p. 451), a specimen of the jaw of this animal is referred to as having been exhibited at a meeting of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, followed by the remark : “Tt is apparently the only specimen that had been seen in Britain.” Its size is given as 18} inches in extreme length.” I possess a perfect ramus of a jaw of this species, excavated near Ilford, Surrey, a few years ago, which is fully 21 inches in length in a straight line, and 28 inches measured along the outer curve. There are, I am informed, many specimens of the jaws of Bos primigenius in the national collection (presented by the late Sir Antonio Brady), from the same district as my specimen. West Bank, York Jas. BACKHOUSE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AND LOCAL SO CTE RIES) N behalf of the recently-appointed Corresponding Societies Committee of the British Association, the President and Secretaries are now calling the attention of Local Scientific Societies to certain Rules of the Associa- tion adopted at the meeting of the General Committee in November last. It will be remembered that during the last few years the subject of the relation of Local Scientific Societies to the British Association has received con- siderable attention, and that an opinion has been strongly expressed that the Local Scientific Societies and the British Association might, without any considerable sacrifice of independence, usefully cooperate in facili- tating the conduct of investigations into local phenomena such as are frequently undertaken by Committees of the Association. With this purpose in view the Rules, of which we print a copy, have been prepared, and have now been finally adopted by the General Committee of the Association ; and under these provisions a Corresponding Societies Committee has been appointed. To these Rules we would ask the earnest attention of the many local socie- ties throughout the kingdom :— “ Corresponding Societies (1) Any Society is eligible to be placed on the List ot Corresponding Societies of the Association which under- takes local scientific investigations, and publishes notices of the results. “(2) Applications may be made by any Society to be placed on the List of Corresponding Societies. Applica- tion must be addressed to the Secretary on or before June 1, preceding the annual meeting, at which it is intended they should be considered, and must be accom- panied by specimens of the publications of the results of the local scientific investigations recently undertaken by the Society. y (3) A Corresponding Societies Committee shall be “a March 26, 1885 | NATURE 483 annually nominated by the Council and appointed by the General Committee for the purpose of considering these applications, as well as for that of keeping themselves generally informed of the annual work of the Corre- sponding Societies, and of superintending the preparation of a list of the papers published by them. This Committee shall make an annual report to the General Committee, and shall suggest such additions or changes in the List of Corresponding Societies as they may think desirable. “(4) Every Corresponding Society shall return each year, on or before June 1, to the Secretary of the Association, a schedule, properly filled up, which will be issued by the Secretary of the Association, and which will contain a request for such particulars with regard to the Society as may be required for the information of the Corresponding Societies Committee. ““(5) There shall be inserted in the Annual Report of the Association a list, in an abbreviated form, of the papers published by the Corresponding Societies during the past twelve months, which contain the results of the local scientific work conducted by them; those papers only being included which refer to subjects coming under the cognisance of one or other of the various sections of the Association. “(6) A Corresponding Society shall have the right to nominate any one of its members, who is also a member of the Association, as its delegate to the annual+meeting of the Association, who shall be for the time a member of the General Committee. “ Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies fc) fo “(7) The Delegates of the various Corresponding Societies shall constitute a Conference, of whicn the Chairman, Vice-Chairmen, and Secretaries shall be annually nominated by the Council, and appointed by the General Committee, and of which the members of the Corresponding Societies Committee shall be ex officto members. “The Conference of Delegates shall be summoned by the Secretaries to hold one or more meetings during each annual meeting of the Association, and shall be em- powered to invite any member or associate to take part in the meetings. “The Secretaries of each Section shall be instructed to transmit to the Secretaries of the Conference of Delegates copies of any recommendations forwarded by the Presi- dents of Sections to the Committee of Recommendations bearing upon matters in which the co-operation of Corre- sponding Societies is desired ; and the Secretaries of the Conference of Delegates shall invite the authors of these recommendations to attend the meetings of the Confer- ence and give verbal explanations of their objects and of the precise way in which they would desire to have them carried into effect. “Tt will be the duty of the Delegates to make them- selves familiar with the purport of the several recom- mendations brought before the Conference, in order that they and others who take part in the meetings may be able to bring those recommendations clearly and favour- ably before their respective Societies. The Conference may also discuss propositions bearing on the promotion of more systematic observation and plans of operation, and of greater uniformity in the mode of publishing results.” UNDERGROUND NOISES HEARD AT CAIMAN- BRAC, CARRIBEAN SEA, ON AUGUST 26, 1883 Gieais following letter describes certain underground noises heard on the day of the great eruption of Krakatoa, in a little island of the Carribean Sea, very near the antipodes of the Sunda Strait. It is possibly an interesting instance of propagation of sound through the whole diameter of the earth. I shall first translate the letter of my correspondent, then add some explanatory remarks :-— “South of Cuba, in 80° long. W., and 20° lat. N., the three little islands, Great Caiman, Little Caiman, and Caiman-Brac, are inhabited by a population of tortoise fishermen ; there are also a life-boat station and Lloyd’s agent. These islands are indeed in the path of the great cyclones of the Antilles, and they witness many ship- wrecks. “In the month of September 1883, as I was in the island Utila, near the coast of Honduras, we heard the first news of the great eruptions of Krakatoa, and talking about those tremendous cataclysms, I met Capt. Robert Woodville, who had just received a letter from the Caimans ; he told me what follows :— “On Sunday, August 26, the inhabitants of Caiman- Brac were astonished by a noise like the rolling of a distant thunderstorm; the sky was fine, and they at first thought it was a skirmish between a Spanish cruiser and some Cuban smugglers. On the south side of the island nothing was to be seen ; they ran across the island, and northward all was quiet too; no smoke nor ship was in sight. The cannonade still continued, and going back again they recognised that the noise came from under- ground. They were much afraid, and expected their island would soon subside in the sea, or be turned into a volcano. By degrees the detonations ceased, and their fears were quieted. But the phenomenon was not for- gotten, and was still talked about when the first news of the Krakatoa eruption came. They made the remark that the Caimans and Sunda Strait are nearly at the antipodes of each other, and the hypothesis of a correla- tion between the two phenomena was propounded.... “ (Signed) EDMUND ROULET ” I will not be too sanguine, and accept without criti- cism so abnormal a fact of the propagation of under- ground sounds from Krakatoa to the Caimans through the whole mass of the globus; but I will try to show the reasons which tell in favour of such a bold hypothesis, and lead me to accept it provisionally. There are, it seems to me, plausible grounds for admitting that the subterranean noises heard at the Caimans were the repercussion of the explosions of the great Krakatoa eruption :— (1) These noises heard at the Caimans did not come from one of the numerous volcanoes of Central America: if a great eruption had been known on the same day, the inhabitants of Caiman-Brac and Utila would have found out for themselves the co-relation between the two pheno- mena. From the nineteenth catalogue of C. W. C, Fuchs (A@zneral. Mitth. v. Tschermak, vi. 185, 1884) we know of the following eruptions which happened in the summer of 1883. The ( motepec, an insular volcano in the middle of the lake Nicaragua, was in eruption on June 19, opening a new crater, and giving way to abundant lava streams; in the month of August the lavas were still burning. Cotopaxi (in the State of Ecuador) had at the end of August (the exact time is not given) a short, but very strong eruption, accompanied by violent earth- quakes. I cannot, however, believe that a great eruption, with noises audible at a distance of I100 to 2300 kilo- metres, would not have been better noted, if it had taken place on the same day as the great eruption of Krakatoa. This last event has been enough talked about over the whole world to call attention to such a coincidence if it had really existed. (2) As to the explanation of the Caiman noises by an unnoticed submarine eruption in the vicinity, I have only to state that the great Antilles are not a volcanic region : the nearest volcanic regions are the Little Antilles and the west coast of Central America, both which are too far to allow such an interpretation of the noises heard at the Caimans. ‘ 484 NATURE a Fs [March 26, 1858 (3) The great eruption of Krakatoa on August 26 and 27, 1883, was accompanied by subterranean noises which were always described as resembling the rolling of cannon or of thunderstorm. The description from the Sunda Islands does not differ from that from Caiman-Brac. subterrane an sounds of the Krakatoa eruption have had an enormous intensity, and have been detected at a distance never heard of before. As is well known (vide NATURE, vol. xxx. p. 10), the explosions were heard over a circle of 30° radius, 7.c. 3300 kilometres. It is indeed only the quarter of the length of the earth’s dia- meter ; if the hypothesis is true, we would have here a considerable extension of the propagation of the sound through the earth. , : (5) Caiman-Brac lies very near the antipodes of Kraka- toa. The exact position of Krakatoa is 105° 30’ E. long. and 6° S. lat. ; Caiman-Brac, 79° 30’ W. long. and 19° 30’ N. lat. The antipodes of Krakatoa is also 4° 30’ more towards east, and 13° 30’ more towards south; it is in the middle of the United States of Colombia, on the Magdalena River, between the towns Antioquia and Tunja. (6) The time at which the noises have been heard at Caiman-Brac corresponds sufficiently to what we know about the time of the eruption of Krakatoa. From the report of R. D. M. Verbeek (NATURE, vol. xxx. p. To) the explosions of the volcano have been noticed in the Sunda Islands on August 26 and 27, and especially on the morning of the 27th. The noise reached its maximum at Buitenzorg on the 27th at 6.45 a.m. ; at Batavia at 8.30 ; and at Telok- Betong at ro o’clock. From the difference of longitude August 27, 8.30 a.m. at Batavia is the same time as August 26, 8.5 p.m. at Caiman-Brac. If we admit that the propagation of the sound through the 12,000 kilo- metres of the earth’s diameter would take about one hour, the maximum detonations must have reached the Caimans on August 26 at 9 p.m. Unfortunately the letter of Mr. Roulet does not give us the exact time of day at which the sounds were heard at Caiman-Brac ; I have asked my correspondent to complete, if possible, his observation on that point. ‘ I do not wait for the reply before publishing the pre- sent communication for the following reasons :—I believe it is very important to call attention without further delay to this fact, and to beg of the inhabitants of the coast and the islands of the Carribean Sea to collect all that can be remembered about these events ; perhaps they heard also the noises described at the Caimans, and they can con- firm, or complete, or correct the observation given by Capt. Woodville. In case the correlation between the noises at Caiman- Brac and the Krakatoa eruption would be ascertained, it would be a fact of uncommon interest which would equal and surpass the other astonishing phenomena to which the cataclysm of the Sunda Strait gave rise ; the transmis- sion of the atmospheric waves to the barometers of the whole earth, the propagation of the marine waves to the maregraphs of Europe and America, the crepuscular and auroral glows of the autumn of 1883, the solar corona of 1884 (which is still apparent, and can be observed every day in February and March, 1885), the abnormal polar- isation of the sky (A. Cornu), &c., &c. F. A. FOREL Morges, Switzerland, March 8 (4) The REMARKS ON OUR METHOD OF DETER- MINING THE MEAN DENSITY OF THE EARTH i NATURE for March 5 (p. 408) Prof. Mayer suggests an improvement in our method of determining the mean density of the earth, from which it appears that our plan has not been properly understood. This misunderstand- ing, no doubt, has arisen from the incomplete description of our method given in the NATURE (Jan. 15, p. 260) report of the Proceedings of the Berlin Physical Society, which report was probably the only source of information access- ible to Prof. Mayer. We are led therefore to give a short description of our method. Let HIKL represent a section of a cubical block of lead, about two metres in the edge, and weighing 100,000 kilos. The balance ABC is placed in the middle of the upper horizontal surface. It bears the scale-pans D and E. Under these scale-pans the block is bored vertically through, and two other scale-pans, F and G, are suspended below the block, attached to the balance by means of rods passing through these openings. A weight in D is brought into equilibrium by weights in G. The weight in D is acted upon by the earth’s attrac- tion + that of the block, and that in G by the earth’s attraction — that of the block. The weights in G are then greater than that in D by twice the attraction of the block. The weight in D is now removed to F and counter-balanced by weights in E. The weight in E will be less than that in F by twice the attraction of the block. The difference of the two weighings gives therefore four : Nog ; F G times the attraction of the block. A correction must be introduced for the variation in the earth’s attraction due to the different heights of D, E, and F, G. In order to obtain as great a deflection of the balance by the method suggested by Prof. Mayer, each of the mercury spheres must exert the same attraction as our lead block. This would require spheres having radii of about one metre. The length of the beam of the balance would be necessarily at least two metres. Besides each mass of mercury would exert.some attraction on the weight on the other side, and thus lessen the deviation of the balance. The method given by Prof. Mayer, except for the suggested employment of mercury, is then no improve- ment on ours. If we should use mercury, we would con- struct a cubical vessel to contain it, and use it as we propose to use the lead block. The advantage of using mercury is, however, counterbalanced by the difficulty of obtaining it in such large quantities as would be necessary. ARTHUR KONIG FRANZ RICHARZ Berlin, Physical Institute of the University, March 15 March 26, 1885 | SATURN \e is to be hoped that Continental observers may have been more favoured than ourselves with opportunities gf scrutinising that grand display which has been for some time presented to us by this, the most wonderful of all the solar train. For more than one reason the almost unbroken persistence of that vaporous shroud which has long been investing our unfortunate sky is matter of especial regret. The broad development of that system in all its equally strange and beautiful detail ;—its lofty culmination in our midnight heaven ;—the probability that many who might look upon it now may never witness its return to a similar position of advantage—all find their place in the account. We can only now look for intelli- gence from other quarters, and hope that something more cheering may yet be in store for ourselves, before the advancing twilight steals away our opportunities ; and that possibly, before these remarks meet the public eye, a change may have supervened to gladden the heart of the British observer. Few of us, probably, would be likely to express our- selves as an individual once did, who, having for the first time seen Saturn through a good telescope, turned hastily away with a fervent aspiration that he might never see such a sight as that again! But the feeling that broke out in so grotesque a fashion is not altogether unintellig- ible. Many objects are more imposing in magnitude or brilliancy : none rival it in the impression of surprise. It is absolutely unique. Nothing else resembles it or ap- proaches it in the whole visible creation. But this is not all. Our first impression of astonishment will be suc- ceeded by the demands of a legitimate curiosity, and we shall begin to gaze upon that most charming combination of elegant outline and varied shading, not merely as a subject of admiration, but of close and careful study: we shall naturally inquire how far we understand what we are permitted to see, and how far that great mystery has been penetrated by the modern unrivalled extension of optical power. And here we may feel some disappoint- ment when we are forced to admit that little correspond- ing advance in knowledge has waited on the increased means of investigation. There was an early dawn of hope and promise after the elder Herschel had shown what telescopes could do. Dawes, Lassell, Bond, De la Rue, Struve, not to mention others, at once overleaped all previous barriers, and showed how full that marvellous whole is, of not less surprising detail. But it is not encouraging to note how little progress, comparatively speaking, has been made of later years. With advantages so incontestably superior, what have we detected, on the whole, more than what passed before the attention of a preyious generation? Take, for instance, the beautiful designs of De la Rue in 1852 and 1856; or the elaborate memoir of the observers at Harvard, published in 1857. What material progress have we to boast of? What further light have the same instruments, or others of greater power, thrown on the minute subdivisions of the rings, or the abnorinal and inexplicable outlines of the shadow of the globe? On the contrary, with the exception of the ra- dial streaks or notches figured by Trouvelot, the existence of which seems incompatible with the received idea as to the structure and rotation of the rings, how little can be mentioned, traces of which, to say the least, cannot be found even in very early records! The brilliant spot detected by Hall seems to have been in some measure anticipated, notwithstanding the inferiority of their in- struments, by Cassini.and Fatio nearly 200 years pre- viously. The dusky markings on the ball appear in the rough designs of the elder Herschel, who also noted, for about a week in 1780, a division, possibly not since seen, near the inner edge of one ansa only of the broad ring. The curious striations of the outer ring shown, among others, by the beautiful object-glass at Nice, date back to NATURE 485 the 6}-inch reflector of Kater in 1825, if not to an earlier instrument of Short’s; while their existence is now un- accountably ignored by the gigantic achromatics of Chicago, Princetown, and Washington ; and other details might be specified, described in earlier days, but not corroborated or referred to now. This is certainly not what might have been expected ; nor is it easy to assign its cause. Instrumental imperfection cannot be alleged : some minute dark markings might possibly be obliterated in telescopes which give large spurious disks; but this idea is incompatible with the separation of extremely close stars which the modern instruments effect. Irra- diation cannot be supposed to affect perceptibly light of so little intensity as that of Saturn. As far as atmosphere is concerned, we in England might claim many an excuse for failure ; yet Dawes and De la Rue and others would point to results unsurpassed elsewhere, and with no more efficient instrument than a 9}-inch mirror by With I have repeatedly seen Encke’s division, while it is imperceptible with far superior means in the purer American sky. “ Per- sonal equation” might be credited with a share in the discrepancies—as, for instance, when on one occasion I missed Enceladus but caught Encke’s hair-line at the very time when the reverse was affirmed by the well- trained eye of a friend ; but this would be far from cover- ing the whole amount of difference. It remains, therefore, to be seen whether any further advance can be made by sharper, or more widely diffused, or more persistent scrutiny. We wait for further intelligence. We have not heard how far the most remarkable investigations of Bond and his associates at Harvard have been substan- tiated by the same instrument in the hands of their snec- cessors. Something might be looked for at Greenwich from the ready comparison of the workmanship of Merz and Lassell. Few tidings have reached us from the acute research of Schiaparelli; no results from the splendid Roman sky. A greater mass of evidence might be brought to bear upon debateable points, and, in the pre- sent state of science, may reasonably be expected. But even in an improved position as to information we might find a difficulty in interpreting discordant evidence, and deducing from it a consistent conclusion. At present we may incline to the idea that we must take refuge in an actual change of dimensions, or position, or brightness in some of the details. But, even if this would explain more than it will do, we are at a loss as to the possible cause of such changes. The great difficulty which confronts us is our entire ignorance of the real nature of our object. A certain degree of previous acquaintance with what is before us may in some cases tend to preoccupy the judgment, but in others it assists in clearing the way. We are seldom puzzled in interpreting the aspect of the moon, because we are persuaded of its general solidity and fixity. But what is it that we gaze upon in Saturn? Analogy, often so valuable an assistant, breaks down here. A magni- ficent lobe is set before us, but how little can we guess its constitution! One step would be gained if its density at all resembled our own ; but there we are thrown out at once. We simply cannot imagine a state of things so utterly unlike our own experience, or draw any reliable conclusions from what we see. We may safely infer that the surface of the globe is chiefly shrouded in vapour in which currents ascend or descend according to their tem- perature, and are swept by different times of rotation into longitudinal streaks. And we may further suppose that the atmosphere is of no great comparative depth from the occasional presence of less uniform variations in form and shading, such as would not be compatible with any great difference of velocity between the highest and lowest strata. But as to what may lie beneath, not a conjecture is available ; nor do we knuw that it is ever exposed to the eye. We may assume that the globe is warmer than surrounding space or such alternating currents would xot 486 be generated. And, further, since we are favoured with such a view of the polar regigns as we can never obtain on Jupiter, we may conjecture that the internal heat is not great, or it would tend, by equalising the temperature of the whole globe, to remove that difference of tint which has been often remarked between the polar and more temperate zones. But these are but guesses, and as such they must remain. Then, as to the complex ring. Its constitution may be deduced, within certain limits, from theoretical considera- tions ; but it is beyond the power of observation to confirm it. Especially as to the aspect of the dusky veil, if we NATURE [March 26, 1885 accept the varied tints that have been ascribed to it in opposite ansz, it can hardly be said to correspond with the idea of a thinly scattered stream of separate luminous masses, and is still less capable—some would say incap- able—of such an explanation where it is projected upon the ball. The brighter ring gives no indication of its structure, while showing from time to time marked varia- tions in the relative light of its parts ; and of the period of its rotation—pace Sir W. Herschel—there is no evidence at all. Some observers have thought the great division dusky, rather than black as it shows itself to others, and the whole system of markings is stated to be occasionally Fic. unsymmetrical on the opposite sides of the planet—a very perplexing anomaly ; for the only conceivable cause—a perturbing influence of the satellites—must be too feeble to have any perceptible effect, even were they not all drawing in different directions. This claims to be nothing more than a hasty and in- complete notice of a subject of admitted difficulty. Questions like these might easily be multiplied, especially | I | creative power, its purpose will have been attained. if we took into account such as arise at the time of the edgewise presentation of the ring, its irregularity of illu- | mination, the probable want of parallelism between the axis of the ring-system and that of the globe, the alleged Te “square-shouldered ” outline, and similar peculiarities. Nor has allusion been made to spectroscopic examina- tion, which is stated to have detected the presence of atmospheric bands and those of aqueous vapour, and may possibly, as in the case of the sun, lead to results beyond the bounds of telescopic research. If what has now been said may serve to stimulate further and closer and more systematic inquiry into this wonderful exhibition of T. W. WEBB P.S.—May I be allowed to add that since the fore going papér has been in the printer’s hands, the kindness Fic. 2. of M. Trouvelot has put me in possession of his very important observations of a recent date, proving that, as far as he is personally concerned, there is no foundation for the remarks which I have ventured to make as to our comparative deficiency in progress. His careful and multiplied observations from 1877 to 1884 have led him to the conclusion that many anomalies, not otherwise to be accounted for, must be due to actual variations in the physical structure of the system. It would be a great satisfaction to find that other observatories are likely to prove as fruitful in valuable results as that of Meudon. I am permitted by the kindness of M. Flam- marion to illustrate the present article by two very effective woodcuts, which have appeared in his valu- able and interesting periodical, L’Astronomie, of which he is now publishing an improved continuation. The first exhibits the existing presentation of the ring system in its fullest possible development; the second, the corresponding projection of the paths of the satel- lites, in which, however, on account of its great extent, the orbit of the outermost, Japetus, is unavoidably omitted. T. W. W. March 26, 1885 | NATURE ON PETALODY OF THE OVULES AND OTHER CHANGES IN A DOUBLE-FLOWERED FOKM OF “DIANELLA C4 RULEA” yan SPECIMEN, kindly forwarded me by Baron Sir Ferd. von Mueller, of a double-flowered Déavella cerulea, has several points of interest. It is an addition to the scanty list of double-flowered plants from the southern hemisphere ; it is of interest as having suggested to Robert Brown the establishment of a new species, as was kindly indicated to me by Mr. Baker, while the structural peculiarities it presents are specially worthy of note. With regard to the first point, subsequent expe- rience has shown that the late Dr. Seemann’s assertion that there was not “a single double-flowered species known from the southern hemisphere,” except Azbus rosi- folius, no longer holds good, and, indeed, the number of specimens that have from time to time been forwarded to me by Sir Ferdinand von Mueller from various parts of Australia, leads me to believe that such variations are as common in wild Australian plants as in wild European ones, and that, if there be any defect in this particular, it is more apparent than real, and arises partly from in- sufficient observations, and partly from the relatively smaller number of cultivated plants in Australia. One such instance, that of Tetratheca ciliata, presented such features of interest that I made it the subject of a note in your columns, December 7, 1882. Robert Brown’s Dianella congesta (R. Br. Prod., 280) is described by Mr. Baker in his systematic summary of the Asparagacee (Yourn. Linn. Soc., xiv., 1874, p. 576) as having the flowers arranged in dense tufts, in which it differs widely from all the other species of the genus. Mr. Baker expressly says that he had only seen immature flowers. In the “ Flora Australiensis,” vol. vii., 1878, p. 16, Mr. Bentham alludes to the plant in the following terms :— “ Dianella congesta ... appears to me to be a form of D. cerulea with dense sessile cymes; the inflorescence, however, in the specimen preserved is scarcely developed, and almost destroyed by insects.” The examples sent by Sir Ferdinand von Mueller are, fortunately, in better con- dition, although, being dried and pressed, they afford little or no opportunity of examining the early stages of development. Dianella cerulea, as grown in greenhouses in this country, is an elegant perennial plant with grass-like foliage and loose, much-branched cymes of bright blue flowers. Each flower is about half an inch in diameter, and con- sists of a coloured perianth of six oblong, obtuse segments in two rows; each of the outer segments has five pro- minent convergent ribs, the inner ones have three only. Within the perianth is a row of six stamens, three of which are placed before the three outer, and three before the three inner perianth-segments, from the base of which they are, indeed, not entirely free. These stamens are remarkable for their thick, club-shaped, fleshy filaments, which support a two-lobed anther opening at the top of each lobe by a terminal pore. The ovary consists of three carpels alternating with the inner row of stamens, and are thus opposite to the sepals, and consolidated into a three-locular ovary with axile placentation, and with numerous ovules in each loculus, the horizontally-disposed ovules being arranged in two longitudinal lines. The ovary ripens into a fleshy ovoid or oblong berry of a lovely blue colour, and containing a relatively small number of seeds as compared to the number of ovules. Indeed, according to the published figures there is much vari ation in the number of the ripe seeds, abortion of a large proportion being apparently the rule. So much relating to the usual conformation of the flower is necessary for the comprehension of the changes met with in the malformed specimens. The first thing that strikes attention in them is the substitution of masses of flowers densely crowded into glomerules in place of the light ’ 487 loosely branching panicled cyme met with under normal circumstances. These glomerules look like little “ Brussels sprouts,” but their constituent parts are somewhat fleshy, and rich cobalt blue in colour. It was this crowded con- dition of the flowers that doubtless suggested the name “congesta,” applied to this form by Brown. On exami- nation of the individual flowers, many changes are observ- able, and scarcely two flowers present exactly the same characteristics. In most cases a multiplication of the perianth-segments has taken place at the expense of the stamens and carpels, but few or no intermediate forms are met with between petals and stamens, or petals and carpels, neirher are there any indications of stamin- ody of the carpels or the converse. Very frequently the thalamus, or axis of the flower, after having given off several alternating whorls of segments, divides into three or more divisions, each of which, in its turn, gives off successive whorls of densely imbricating blue segments. The most interesting changes, however, are to be sought in flowers which have not undergone such a serious amount of perturbation as those above-de- scribed, and of these a few may be found here and there wedged in among their more full-blown companions. Unfortunately the flowers are so densely packed, and the state of the specimen such, that nothing can be learnt as to the relative position on the inflorescence of these less distorted Mowers. The perianth in these cases is normal, but the stamens present some significant changes. The thickened fleshy filament is replaced more or less com- pletely by a slender ribbon-like stalk, not, as in the natural state, continuous with the base of the anther (basi- fixed), but attached to the back of the anther, a little above its base (dorsi-fixed). This would seem to be an indication that the thickened portion of the filament in the ordinary flower is really an anther-lobe in a state of arrested development. It will be remembered that Clos and also Goebel are of opinion that the anther is a distinct organ, without direct relation to the lamina of the leaf, and the first-named author considers the filament and its continuation the connective, to be the representative of the median nerve of the petal (Clos: “la feuille florale et le filet staminal ”). It would occupy too much space to enter into a discussion on this point: suffice it to add that, in addition to the other changes noted, the anthers in these flowers open by longitudinal slits at the sides, and not by pores. The ovary presented different conditions in different flowers. In almost every case it was preternaturally enlarged, in some instances it was converted from a trilocular to a unilocular condition, owing to the edges of the carpels remaining “valvate,” and not inflected, the placentation, of course, in such cases, being parietal, not axile. In other flowers the ovary was represented by three sepa- rate, but closed carpels, a retention of juvenile or primord- ial character, and which, probably, may also be taken as an indication of the condition of the carpels in the progenitors of the Liliacez. But these changes in the carpels are of less in- terest (owing to the greater frequency of like mutations in other flowers) than are the appearances presented by the placenta and by the ovules, changes unlike anything that has been observed in Monocotyledons, so far as I am aware. These changes in the placenta in the case of the closed unilocular carpels consisted in the outgrowth from the ventral suture of twonarrow, parallel, lengitudinal plates of a bright blue colour, extending the whole length of the carpels. In flowers in which this petalodic condition of the placenta was present there were no ovules. Are these petal-like processes to be considered as outgrowths from the ventral suture—z.e. of foliar origin--or are they to be regarded as springing from the thalamus (axial), and con- genitally adherent to the edges of the carpel? Unfor- tunately there is no means of obtaining a definite reply 488 to this question. They look as if they were outgrowths from the margins of the carpellary leaf, and I should probably have considered them to be so were it not for certain appearances in the ovules to which I proceed now to allude. In the free carpels, in the flowers I examined, no ovules were apparent, but only the petaloid plates just described ; but in those cases where the carpels were com- bined into a trilocular ovary, the ovules were present on each side of the ventral suture, not indeed in a perfect condition, but in a more or less abortive state, consisting merely of a funicle and an irregular plate of cellular tissue more or less blue in colour, the only representative of the coats of the ovule, while the nucellus, so faras I could see, was entirely wanting. Still, the general appearance was that of imperfectly developed, pendulous, anatropal ovules. Petalody, and especially phyllody, of the ovules is not a very uncommon phenomenon among Dicotyledons, and their peculiarities have been discussed at length in numerous classical treatises, to which it is not necessary here to refer. The corresponding changes in the ovules of Monocotyledons must be very much less frequent. There are none recorded in my “ Vegetable Teratology,” in which I endeavoured to render the bibliographical notices as complete as possible up to the time of publication, and there are none that I have hitherto been able to find in any subsequently issued publication. It is quite certain then that ovular changes must be of extremely rare occurrence in Monocotyledons. Another point remains to be mentioned—the ovules or their abortive representatives were decidedly pendulous from the ventral suture, but in the same carpel it often hap- pened that two flat, tongue-shaped, petaloid processes projected one on each side vertically upwards from the base of the ventral suture, but quite free from it above their point of origin. These may be the representatives of ovules in spite of their different direction, for a different position of the ovules in the same carpel is by no means an uncommon circumstance, though I am not aware that it has ever been observed in Dzanella. Naturally one is disposed to connect them with the petaloid plates project- ing from the placenta above described ; but unfortunately I was unable to find any intermediate condition between the petal-like plates attached to the placenta for its whole length and those which arose from the base of the carpel free throughout their entire length. It is to be hoped that this variety may have been introduced into our con- servatories, where, independently of the opportunity for more complete investigation that would thus be afforded, it would be welcomed for the brilliancy of its masses of flowers. MAXWELL T. MASTERS MUSICAL SCALES OF VARIOUS NATIONS} Ae the Society of Arts yesterday, Sir F. Abel, C.B., F.R.S., Chairman of the Council, in the chair, Mr. Alexander J. Ellis, F.R.S., read a paper on “ The Musical Scales of Various Nations,” illustrated by playing the scales on his Dichord (a double Monochord, corrected so as to give the true intervals) and five English concertinas, specially tuned by Messrs. Lachenal, which also enabled him to play strains in some of the scales, and by various native instruments lent for the purpose by Rajah Ram Pal Singh, Mr. A. J. Hipkins, and Mons. V. Mahillon. The nations represented were chiefly those of ancient Greece, Arabia, India, Java, China, and Japan, with rapid glances at subordinate places. The relation to his former paper on the History of Musical Pitch was this, that whereas that paper gave the variations in the pitch of the European tuning note, the present endea- voured to discover the system by which different nations tuned. This was obtained when possible by theory, taking as authorities Prof. Helmholtz for ancient Greece ; Prof. J. P. N. Land, of Leyden, for Arabia and Persia, * Contributed by the Author. NATURE [March 26, 1885 and Rajah Sourindro Mohun Tagore for India. When theory was not possible, results were obtained by measur- ing with his series of 100 tuning-forks the pitch of the notes produced by instruments of fixed tones (as the wood and metal bar harmonicons in Java and elsewhere), or those produced by native players on other instruments (as by Rajah Ram Pal Singh for India, the musicians of the Chinese Court of the Health Exhibition, and of the Japanese village). In obtaining these pitches Mr. Ellis was materially aided by the delicate ear of Mr. A. J. Hipkins, who most kindly cooperated with him in every way. From the pitches thus obtained, the intervals were expressed in hundredths of an equal Semitone (for brevity called cents) of which 1200 make an Octave, 702 a perfect Fifth, 498 a perfect Fourth, 386 and 316 perfect major and minor Thirds. Then these were plotted down on the movable fingerboards of the Dichord, and the scales were made audible. Occasionally forks were constructed of the pitch observed, and from them concertinas were constructed, and thus the most unusual intervals were reproduced to the ear, and their exact relation to those on a well-tuned piano rendered sensible to the eye. After rapidly exhibiting the ancient and later Greek scales, Mr. Ellis turned to Arabia, for which Prof. Land had furnished the data in his Gamme Arabe read before the Oriental Congress at Leyden. This showed first the Pythagorean scale, and then its modification by the lutist Zalzal, 1000 years ago, whereby a fret was introduced between those for E flat, 294 cents, and E, 408 cents (supposing the open string to be C), producing the neutral Third of 355 cents, so that the scale became C 0, D 204, E neutral 355, F 498 cents, followed by the same a Fourth higher, and by a whole tone. This was the system prevalent at the time of the Crusaders, who seem to have brought it to Europe in the shape of the bagpipe, and it is still preserved on good highland bagpipes (as those of Glen and Macdonald) as was proved by taking the scale of one kindly played by Mr. C. Keene, the artist. After the time of the Crusades, Arab theorists, scandalised at giving up the series ot Fourths to produce the neutral Thirds and Sixths, carried on the system of Fourths to 17 notes, using 384 and 882 cents for Zalzal’s 355 and 853 cents, but preserving his name. So came about the medizval Arabic system of 17 notes to the Octave, from which 12 scales were con- structed, of which Mr. Ellis was able to play 10 on one of his concertinas. But Zalzal’s system did not die out, and in 1849 Eh Smith, an American Missionary at Damascus, translated a treatise by Meshdqah, a learned contem- porary musician, showing that it led to the division of the Octave into 24 Quarter-tones, with the normal scale of 0, 200, 350, 500, 700, 850, 1000, and 1200 cents, while the player was allowed, in certain cases, to increase or diminish the interval by 50 cents, or a Quarter-tone. Eli Smith gives 95 Arabic airs in this system, of which a few were played on a special concertina. The two important points of Arabic music were the introduction of the neutral Third and Sixth, and the variation of normal notes by a Quarter-tone, both thoroughly inharmonic. In India the ancient scale was the same as our just major scale, with the exception of the Sixth, which was a comma sharper. Hence it had Co, D 204, E 386, F 408, G 702, A 906, B 1088, C 1200 cents. But then the major Tones were considered to be divided into 4 degrees, the minor Tones into 3, and the Semitone into 2 degrees, and tones were depressed by 1, 2, or 3, and in one case F, raised by 2 or 3 degrees, and thus the 12 changing notes were produced, answering to our 5 chromatic notes, with 7 notes altered by a de- gree from them, equivalent to the similar process in the Arabic scale. In modern times the scale was simplified by dividing the distance C to F on the finger-board into 9 equal parts, and from F toc(the Octave) into 13 equal parts, and then dividing the 22 degrees among the notes thus: (where the figure before the note indicates the number of | March 26, 1885] NATURE 489 degrees, and the figures after it the number of cents in the interval from the lowest note, while the terms “very” flat and sharp are those used by Rajah S. M. Tagore, President of the Bengal Academy of Music) :—1 C 0, 2 D very flat 49, 3 D flat 99, 4 not used, 5 D 204, 6E very flat 259, 7 E flat 316,8 E 374,9 E sharp 435, 10 F 498, II not used, 12 F sharp 589, 13 F very sharp 637, 14 G 685, 15 A very flat 736, 16 A flat 737, 17 not used, 18 A 896, 19 B very flat 952, 20 B flat 1011, 21 B 1070, 22 B sharp 1135, and then followed the Octave of the first degree. Mr. Ellis then showed that 4 scales played to him by Rajah Ram Pal Singh corresponded with some of the 32 scales of 7 notes formed by selections from the above 19 (3 of the 22 degrees not being used). There are also 112 scales of 6 notes, and 160 of 5 notes, or 304 scales in all enumerated by Rajah S. M. Tagore. In addition to this the peculiarities of the 6 modes (7égas) and their numerous “ wives” or modelets (7égiz¢s) had to be taken into consideration. This Indian system, based on stringed instruments, is, however, quite different from that (if any) of the unculti- vated tribes. For instance, a wood harmonicon from Patna gave the scale 0, 187, 356, 526, 673, 856, 985, 1222 cents, where the intervals of the Fourth, Fifth, and Octave were mistuned ; but the neutral Third and Sixth, 356 and 856, were introduced. After dealing with some more instruments of the same kind from Singapore, Burmah, Siam, and West Africa, Mr. Ellis proceeded to the scales which are mainly penta- tonic, the most perfect of which are those of Java, which he had acquired from the band at the Aquarium in 1882, checked by the observations of Prof. Land and others on similar instruments in Holland. These scales are of two totally different kinds, called Salendro and Pelog. The ideal of the first seems to be the division of the Octave into five equal parts, giving the scale 0, 240, 480, 720, 960, 1200 cents., so that there is a flat Fourth, sharp Fifth, and almost perfect natural Seventh (960 for 969 cents). By playing pentatonic Scotch airs on a concertina thus tuned, Mr. Ellis showed that the scale gave perfectly recognisable results, and he then played some Javese airs reported by Raffles. In this scale no interval between successive notes was so small as a whole Tone, or so large as a minor Third, but approached a neutral 250 cents, which is constantly accepted as one or the other almost indifferently. The second or Pelog scales have also five notes, but they are selected from a fund of 7, which (being numbered I. to VII.) have the following intervals from the lowest in cents:—I o, II 137, III 446, IV 575, V 687, VI 820, VII 1098, I 1200. From these the annexed scales were formed :— Pelog >. 0, 446, 575, 687, 1098, 1200 cents. Dangsoe (O} 9373) 16875) (820; 1098; 1200) Fe, Bem QO; AS70575) Ooze 91098;) 2005) ey Barang 0, 137, 575, 687, 820, 1200 ,, Miring... O}) 446) 57551) (820; 1098; 1200) as Menjoera 0; 1373 440, 1575;, 1098; T2007 35 These numbers represent the intervals as determined from the pitches actually observed, and it is very improb- able that they properly represent the ideal of the intervals. but they were actually used, and hence satisfied Javese ears, It is noticeable, in contradistinction to the Salendro scales, that the Fourth is sharp and the Fifth flat, that there are five intervals approximating to a Semitone (one being exactly a diatonic and another an equal Semitone), and that two intervals are nearly a minor Third, while the Tone proper does not occur. In the individual scales intervals between adjoining notes occur of over a Fourth, or at least a major Third. These two descriptions of pentatonic scales, therefore, quite refute the usual theories, and show that other feelings than those of successions of Fourths and Fifths must have been at work. Mr. Ellis | played short strains (not native) to show the effect of these scales on airs. The presence of Chinese musicians at the Health Exhibition enabled Mr. Ellis, with the aid of Mr. Hipkins, and the cooperation of the Commissioners of the Chinese Court, to take down the pitches of the notes played by natives on (1) the Z7-¢swv, or transverse flute; (2) the So-na, or oboe ; (3) the Shexg, or mouth organ; (4) the Yiin-lo, or set of 10 small gongs on a frame; (5) the Yang-chin, or dulcimer ; (6) the Tzex-¢sz, or tamboura ; (7) the P‘f‘a, or balloon guitar. These scales were very diverse. Probably by different blowing and half covering the holes, 1 and 2 were much altered and could play together, but the scales noted were incompatible. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 had all scales of 7 notes, though it was more usual to leave out two notes and play only 5. On 6 and7 pentatonic scales only were played to them. Nos. 5 and 6 were tuned in their presence. No. 5 was supposed to follow what is given as the scale in Williams’s Middle Kingdom, but must have been badly tuned. The follow- ing gives the transcription of the Chinese names followed by the cents in the interval from the lowest note ; the notes marked * were omitted when only five notes were used :——Ho 0, sz’ 169, */ 274, chang 491, ché 661, kung 878, *fan 996, lz 1200, which may possibly represent the scale of B flat major, begun on its second note, thus Co, D 182, *E flat 294, F 498, G 680, A 884, *B flat 996, C 1200. Also the scale played on No. 6, if begun on its Fifth, seemed to be the same. This is the only instance Mr. Ellis met with where two scales were approximately the same. No, 6 has no frets, and hence any intervals were practicable upon it. None of the instruments used equal temperament. The principal scales of Japan are pentatonic, but they have a means of sharpening notes on the Koto by pressure on the strings, thus producing more notes. The “classical” music came from China. The “ popular” seems to be indigenous. In this case, in the hzvradio-shi tuning of the Ao/¢o (the principal national instrument), both Mr. Ellis’s authorities (Mr. S. Isawa, Director of the Institute of Music at Tokio, Japan, and a Japanese at present studying physics in Europe) agree that the inten- tion is, given the note of the Ist and 5th strings in unison, to tune the 2nd a Fifth below it, and the 3rd a Fourth below it. As to the 4th they disagree. Mr. Isawa thinks it was tuned a major Third below, the other thinks his countrymen do not knowa major Third, but only tune the 4th string by “a sort of instinct” as “a sort of” Semitone above the 3rd, in which case the interval between the 3rd and 4th will also be “a sort of” major Third, and the Fourth, from the 3rd to the 5th string, will be approximatively divided into a Semitone and a major Third, which is, singularly enough, the oldest Greek tetrachord of Olympos, possibly tuned by a similar “instinct.” Then the Fourth, from the 5th to the 7th string, would be similarly divided by the 6th string. Hence, taking the rst and 5th strings as E, we have 1 E, 2A, 3 B, 4C, 5 E, 6 F, 7 a, approximatively. Mr. Buhicrosan, of the “ Japanese Village,” Knightsbridge, kindly allowed Mr. Hipkins and Mr. Ellis to take the method of tuning hiradio-sht from one of his female musicians and her music-master. Writing the number of cents in the intervals between the strings, the following was the result :— Theory ... I1204 III112 IV386 Vur2 VI 386 VII Female ... 193 164 362 82 399 Master ... 185 152 346 107 410 The differences seem to bear out the other’s views, and are an instructive lesson in the inaccuracies of most Asiatic tuning. Mr. Isawa identifies the intentional Japanese twelve pitch-notes with the twelve notes of our equally tempered scale, and the other says that if Japanese music is played on a piano no Japanese ear will be offended. Practically, however, the scale is more like 490 NATURE [March 26, 1885 any badly tuned piano, differing probably from performer to performer, and, as shown by the above comparison, often out by a quarter of a Tone. Mr. Ellis’s conclusion was that there is not anything approaching to a single “natural” music scale. That, on the contrary, the systems, where systems can be said to exist, are very diverse, and often very capricious, and are always very imperfectly carried out. This arises probably from harmony proper being unknown, though evsemdble playing is common. In the latter case unisons are the rule, the effect being produced by diversity of quality of tone; but certain effects are produced by admitting Octaves, and rarely Fourths and Fifths—no more. Also a kind of polyphony may be remarked, some instruments, especially those with tones of very short duration, being allowed to dzscant while the others go on with the air. On the whole, Mr. Ellis considers his work has only commenced an investigation which will have to be pursued for many years, principally by physicists with a slight knowledge of music, not by European musicians, whose thoughts are biassed by the system of music in which they are accustomed to think. NOTES THE Anniversary Meeting of the Chemical Society will be held on Monday, March 30. THE Mercers’ Company have made a contribution of 52/. os. to the fund on behalf of the family of the late Henry Watts, F.R.S. WE are glad to see from the recent ‘letter of Sir Spencer Robinson, in the 7Z?wes, that the Admiralty are at last taking to experiment to decide the question as to the best form of war- ship. This is as it should be, and we hope the Admiralty will continue their experiments until they have obtained a solid scientific principle to guide them, Our readers may be interested in the following remarkable and well-authenticated instance of the effect of atmospheric in- fluences in varying the distance at which lights are visible at night, communicated to us by a correspondent. The para- graph is taken from the Aderdeen Fournal of March 21. The steamship referred to was on her weekly voyage from London to Aberdeen, being one of a well-known line of passenger steamers trading within these ports. ‘* Szmge/ar Phenomenon.—Capt. Marchant, of the s.s. City of Aberdeen, reports that owing to the peculiar condition of the atmosphere yesterday morning he saw, quite clear and bright, the Girdleness Light (Aberdeen Bay) at 1 a.m., when his vessel was a little to the south of Montrose, a distance of over thirty-six miles, and when two miles north of Stonehaven he could distinctly see the Buchanness Light (about twenty miles north of Aberdeen and three miles south of Peterhead), at a distance of fully thirty-two miles. The lights are laid down on the Admiralty chart as visible at nineteen and seventeen miles respectively.” THE half-yearly general meeting of the Scottish Meteorolo- gical Society was held on March 23. The business before the meeting was :—Report from the Council of the Society ; Report of the work of the Scottish Marine Station, by the Scientific Staff of the Station ; Anemometrical observations at Dundee, by David Cunningham, C.E., Harbour Chambers, Dundee ; Diagram to facilitate hygrometric calculations, by David Cunn- ingham, C.E. ; Formation of snow crystals from fog, by R. T. Omond, Superintendent of Ben Nevis Observatory ; Meteorology of Ben Nevis, to February 1885, by Alexander Buchan, Secretary. A TELEGRAM from Fort William reports that the Rey. Joha M’Kintosh, Free Church minister, and Mr. Colin Livingstone, of Fort William, made the ascent of Ben Nevis on Monday. The weather was fine, but, owing to the quantity of snow on the higher part of the mountain, footing in some parts was obtained with considerable difficulty. This was particularly the case for about 1200 feet above the Red Burn, and crossing steps had frequently to be cut in the frozen snow. The occupants of the observatory at the top of Ben Nevis were found in excellent health and spirits. The buildings, with the exception of the chimneys and tower, are buried in the snow, access to the rooms being obtained through the tower by means of a ladder. But, once reached, the rooms are very comfortable. The junior assis- tant was found amusing himself with a kind of raft, which was carried over the snow by means of a sail. AT a special meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engin- eers, held on the 2oth inst., was read, amongst other papers, one by Mr. R. Heenan on the Tower spherical engine. As its name betokens, it consists of a system of parts contained within a sphere, so united as to enable them under the action of steam pressure to impart rotatory motion to a shaft. Considered kine- matically, the three elementary moving parts of which the engine is composed are: a pair of quarter spheres, having a circular disk of the same diameter as the sphere interposed between them. The straight edges of the spherical sectors are hinged on opposite sides of the disks along diameters at right angles to each other. Each sector rotates upon an axis of its own, upon which it is fixed symmetrically ; these two axes lie in the same plane, meeting in the centre of the disk at an angle of 135°. The two sectors thus correspond with the two bows of an ordinary universal joint, the disks replacing the crosspiece connecting the bows. Throughout each revolution there are consequently two cavi- ties simultaneously,in process of opening and two others in process of closing, all four alike changing at the same mean rate of increase and diminution. If, therefore, the disk with its pair of sectors be encased within a hollow sphere of the same diameter, and, if steam be admitted into the two opening cavities, and exhausted from the two that are closing, continuous rotatory motion will be produced, driving the two shafts represented by the axes of the two sectors. When one of the two opening chambers is only just commencing to open, the other is half open ; so that, while the one is making no effort, the other is in the position of best effort. Although the whole of the engine may be said to be contained within the sphere, it is an interesting feature in the system that the capacity of the engine is no other than the full capacity of the sphere itself, inasmuch as four quarters of the sphere are filled and emptied in one revolution. The Tower spherical engines have been used for the electric lighting of trains on the Great Eastern Railway ; they have con- tinued running since October 26, 1884, with perfectly satisfactory results. The engine is coupled directly to a dynamo specially made, the two being together on one bed-plate. The whole is mounted on the top of the locomotive-boiler behind the dome, so that it occupies no space on the foot-plate, and the steam can be taken direct from the dome. The construction of the engine was illustrated by means of twenty-six diagrams. WE have received the Report of the City and Guilds of London Institute for Technical Education for the past year. M. ALBerr GAupRY, Professor of Paleontology in the Museum of Natural History, has reproduced as a pamphlet a note read by him before the Academy of Sciences on the new gallery of Paleontology added to the Paris Natural History Museum. This is a provisional gallery for the large skeleton of fossil animals ; but M. Gaudry has the vision of a far more perfect and elaborate gallery before his eyes. The new gallery, March 26, 1885 | he says, in concluding his description of its contents, is far from being sufficient. What is needed is a museum where the fossils could be classified, epoch by epoch, and where it would be easy to follow the history of the development of life from the time at which traces of it are perceptible down to the coming of man. “* We may hope that one day France, where Cuvier founded the science of fossils, shall have a palzontological museum worthy of her. Meanwhile the new-gallery will render a service, for it will give some idea of the majesty of ancient nature.” THE Electrical Exhibition held at the Observatory of Paris was opened by the President of the Republic on the 21st inst. The Ministers of Postal Telegraphy and Public Instruction were present. A Gramme machine was used for rotating the large dome on the roof of the establishment ; the rotation of the dome was made visible at a distance by a ray of electric light sent through the aperture. Transmission of force to a distance was shown by setting into operation a printing ma- chine. A series of lectures is being delivered on the several topics relating to electricity in a room fitted up for the purpose. The first is by M. Wolf, on the Application of Electricity to Astro- nomy, and the last by M. Marié-Davy, on the Use of Electricity in Prognosticating the Weather. All these lectures will be taken down by shorthand writers and published. THE Meteorologische Zeitschrift for February contains a notice by Dr. Eschenhagen on the effect of the Spanish earthquake of Christmas Day last on the magnetic registering apparatus at Wilhelmshaven. During 1883 neither the earthquake of Ischia nor the Krakatoa catastrophe had any influence whatever on the instruments at that place, while an investigation of the curves of the magnetograph during the Andalusian shocks gave the following results. Of the three instruments employed for mea- suring magnetic variations, only one, that for the vertical in- tensity, showed any perceptible change at the time of the shock. The curve for horizontal intensity was broken at that point by an unfortunate accident: the declination instrument marked complete rest, but there was a movement of the unifilar sus- pended magnet such as might be produced by a shock in the direction from south to north. The movement of the needle at the time of the earthquake had not the character of a magnetic disturbance, but was a simple swinging to and fro. The curve showed a gap at this point, for the rapid swinging could not be registered, until the motion became fainter. The first shock to the balance on December 25 was, with tolerable exactitude, gh. 52m. Wilhelmshaven time, and ceased at gh. 56m.; new shocks took place at 9h. 59m., 1oh., toh. 2m., and toh. 5m. Dr, Eschenhagen does not doubt that the balance acted at this time as a kind of seismograph. Accurate observations as to the precise moment of the outbreak of the earthquake at its centre are not forthcoming; but according to the newspapers the first shock was felt at Madrid at 8h. 53m., Madrid time, while the same time is also given for Seville; we may therefore take this to be the time for the Sierra Nevada region, and the shock in Granada, which lay about the centre of the movement, would then be at gh. 8m. Greenwich time. At Greenwich, however, it was registered at gh. 15m. in a similar way to that at Wilhelmshaven. It reached the latter place at gh. 19.4m- Greenwich time. ‘The distance between London and Granada is about 1650 kilometers, but between Wilhelmshaven and Granada 2040 kilometers, and the wave would have taken 7m. to traverse the former, and 11°4 m. the latter distance. This would give varying degrees of speed in propagation, and if we regard the difference of 390 kilometers as traversed in 4°4 m., we get a third rate of speed which, perhaps, proves that the speed lessens considerably with the distance. It should not be forgotten that Wilhelmshayen is surrounded by marshy ground, which might have retarded the progress of the shock. It NATORE 491 appears, too, that the general movement was not propagated in concentric circles. A WRITER in a recent issue of the Morth China Herald describes a work on ‘‘ The Mathematicians and Astronomers of China and Foreign Countries,” compiled toward the close of the last century by a scholar who afterwards became Viceroy of Canton, It isin ten volumes and forty-six chapters, of which three only are devoted to foreign astronomers and mathemati- cians. Forty-one of these are mentioned, but a few foreigners are included in the chapters on the natives, for during the 4000 years which the history covers there has always been a leaking- in of knowledge, in spite of the isolation of China ; and when foreign mathematicians were to be had, China has made use them. ‘The earliest Chinese astronomers recorded in this his- tory were in the reign of Huang-Ti, and are purely legendary. One invented the cycle of sixty years, another the twelve musi- cal tubes which constitute the basis of weights and measures. These are supposed to have lived in the twenty-seventh century before Christ, but, as they were not heard of until more than 2000 years later, one may assume almost any thing about them except that they lived at the date assigned to them. The first real astronomers whose names remain are the official astronomers of the Emperor Yao. The foundation of scientific astronomy was then laid in the intercalary month and in the use of an instrument for comparing the movements of the stars and the planets with those of the sun and moon. The next scientific triumph men- tioned is the measurement of the width of the earth, which is stated to be 2,333,000 77 325 feet from east to west, and 2,335,000 /i 225 feet from north to south. This statement is found in a certain ‘‘ Shan Hai Ching,” a very old but fabulous work. The Chinese take it as a proof that in ancient times lati- tude and longitude were understood, because it is said that the official measurer calculated with his right hand, and with his left pointed to the north side of a certain hill. An astronomer who lived in the eleventh century before Christ appears to have been in advance of the Greek mathematician, for it is recorded that he explained to his friend, a certain great sage, that the two sides of a right-angled triangle being taken as three and four, the hypotenuse will be five. The statement as given also embraces the squaring of the circle, “‘the square comes out of the round as earth comes out of heaven.” This comes from an ancient work which is said to be the only one stating the prin- ciple that a round heaven rests on a flat earth. But the same book states that the earth is round, and that the length of the day and the variation of temperature depend on the latitude. The Emperor Kang Hsi, towards the close of the last century, pointed to the work here referred to as evidence that trigono- metry certainly went from China to Western countries in ancient times. During the various dynasties that have ruled in China since our era, the number of astronomers whose labours are recorded have progressively increased, especially after the inven- tion of printing. The forty European astronomers mentioned form a classified list, mainly of ancient Greeks and moderns, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and King Alphonso are placed side by side, and Tycho Brahe is closely followed by Archimedes and Napier. The translators of scientific books from among the Roman Catholic missionaries in China are in close proximity with Newton and Kepler. They won their position in the Chinese estimation amongst the great philosophers by their efforts as translators to teach the Chinese such facts and theories as they knew. The whole work shows that the Chinese honour men of scientific knowledge, and that a number of themselves are always ready to devote themselves with enthusiasm to the study of the mathematical sciences. Tue Royal Academy of Sciences of Belgium has issued a notice with reference to an extraordinary competition for the 492 NATURE [March 26, 1885 year 1887. The Government has proposed, and the Chambers have adopted a law having for its object the preservation of fish and their restoration to the rivers. The main obstacle to this end is the pollution of the waters of small unnavigable streams by solid and liquid matter poured into them by various industries, which render them unfit for the breeding and existence of fish. The Academy, therefore, calls on science to aid the public authorities. One of its members has placed at its disposal the sum of three thousand francs, which it has decided to spend in giving a prize for a thorough study of the following questions, at once biological and chemical :—(1) What are the special substances in our principal industries which, when mingled with the water of small streams, render them incompatible with the existence of fish and unfit for the consumption of man and beast ? (2) Investigation and indication of practical measures for puri- fying water as it leaves manufactories, so as to render it innocuous to fish without interfering with the industry, combining the expedients offered by decanting basins, filtering and chemical agents. (3) Separate experiments on the substances which in each special industry kill fish, and on the degree of resistance which each species of edible fish offers to this destruction, (4) A list of the rivers in Belgium which are actually depopulated by this state of things, with an indication of the special industries in these rivers, and a list of the edible fish which inhabited them before the establishment of the factories. If a memoir is judged satisfactory for the solution of the two first points, a prize of two thousand francs will be given, even though the two latter ques- tions are untouched. Papers should be legibly written, and should be addressed to M. Liagre, Perpetual Secretary, au Palais des Académies, Brussells, before October 1, 1887. Quotations are to be made with great exactness, and authors should therefore mention the edition and page of works cited, A motto must be selected, and the names inclosed in a separate sealed envelope, with the motto superscribed. The papers sent in will remain in the archives of the Academy. A RECENT issue of the Peking Gazette contains a report from the outgoing Viceroy of Fukhien stating that he had handed over the insignia of office to his successor, including inter alia the seal, the imperial death warrant, banners and tablets, and the conch-shell best used by the Throne. The latter has a curious use. A conch-shell with a whorl turning to the right is supposed when blown to have the effect of stilling the waves (from the excruciating nature of the sound ?), and is hence often bestowed by the Emperor upon high officers whose duties compel them to take voyages by sea. The Viceroy of Fukhien probably possesses one of these shells in virtue of his jurisdiction over Formosa, to which periodical visits of inspection are supposed to be paid. UNDER the title ‘‘A Prophetic Almanac a Hundred Years ago,” Sctence et Nature describes, with illustrations, portion of one of a series of almanacs issued between 1789 and 1799, which has recently been presented to the Paris Bureau of Meteorology. The collection was made at the time by Guéneau Montbeillard, the colleague of Buffon, and the author of the section on birds in the latter’s natural history. Montbeillard was also a meteor- ologist, and his observations, made at his chateau at Semur in Cote-d’Or, can be employed to check the prophecies made in the A/manach fidéle published annually at Troyes, ‘* par les soins du sieur Maribas, grand astrologue et mathématicien.” Selecting the.page of the almanac for the month of March, 1785 (precisely a century ago), we find in the last column, in ordinary language, general predictions for the four quarters of the month, For example : ‘* New moon on the roth, at roh, 38m. in the evening, in the sign Pisces. The weather will be fine, and the winds very troublesome.” Next to this come four columns, filled with cabalistic signs and occupying the middle of the page. The last of these gives for each day the position of the moon in one of the zodiacal signs. ‘The first of the four indicates by a cross or a triangle whether the day is a festival or a working day. In the second column the nature of the weather which may be ex- pected is marked by a succession of signs, the key to which is given in the first page, while the chird, by a similar series of signs, indicates the nature of the operations for which the day in question is particularly favourable. Thus Sieur Maribas advises his clients that March roth, 11th, and 28th, 1785, are favour- able for hair-cutting; the 12th, 13th, and 27th for paring the nails ; the 2nd, 14th, and 21st for blood-letting ; but there was only one day, March 4, on which pills should be taken, while it would be unwise to wean infants on any day but the 18th. For wood-cutting, the 9th, rsth, or 16th should have been selected, and soon. The philosopher’s weather predictions for the month appear to have been falsified in almost every instance. He foretold rain for seven days and snow for two ; in fact it rained very slightly on three days, none of which were mentioned by him, and did not snow on his days at all. In temperature his luck was as bad, for the day which he foretold would be warm, was the coldest of the whole year. Besides, ‘‘the various changes of the air for each day produced by the stars on our horizon,” Sieur Maribas promises in his title page, ‘‘several pretty sayings suitable for exhilarating and diverting curious and melancholic minds.” Among these meteorological gevz/¢/lesses are the follow- ing :—Women are cured of laziness by vanity or by love ; To know a woman well, it is necessary to contradict her ; Nothing grows old so soon as a benefit. The ‘‘ grand astrologer and mathematician ” evidently intended his ‘‘ pretty sayings” chiefly for those of a melancholic turn of mind. WE have received the Proceedings of the Holmesdale Natural History Club for the years 1881, 1882, and 1883. This club has its home at Reigate, and its papers, though mainly concerned with south and central Surrey, range over a great variety of natural history subjects. Among the principal papers in this number (which, it should be remarked, would be much improved by an index, or classified list of the papers) are :—The potato disease, by Mr. Gill; the hairs of plants as concerned in the supply of water and nourishment, by Dr. Bossey ; ornithology in Wray Park, by Mr. Crosfield; the Sro/egna ferox (the fresh- water fish parasite), by Mr. Boyle; the habits of the stalk-eyed crustacea of the British Islands, by Mr. Lovett ; and the marine life of the Reigate district, by Mr. Gilbert. All the excellent work of the Club appears to be done with an expenditure of from 30/. to 4o/. per annum. WE are asked to state that in the report of Sir William Thomson’s Baltimore lectures, p. 296, in line 13 from the top of the page, and in the left hand members of equations (19) and (21), for “*w” and “w,” read ‘‘a” and “w,” respectively. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Malbrouck Monkey (Cercopithecus cynosurus) from South Africa, presented by Mr. W. E. Clift; a Grivet Monkey (Cercopithecus griseo-viridis) from South Africa, pre- sented by Mr. W. Ockey; a Pine Marten (Mzstela martes) from Ireland, presented by Mr. Frank Sharp ; a Bar-breasted Finch (Munia nisoria) from Java, two St. Helena Seed-Eaters (Cri- thagra butyracea), a Grey-necked Serin Finch (Serinus canicollis), a Brown Canary Finch (Serinus tottus), two Finches (Serinus ) from South Africa, presented by Mr. J. Abrahams ; two Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), British, deposited; a Stein-bok (Manotragus tragulus 2), four Wattled Starlings (Dilophus carunculatus 8 6%), two White-throated Seed- Eaters (Crithagra albogularis 8 2), two Striated Colys (Colius striatus) from South Africa, two Brazilian Tanagers (Rampho- calus brasilius), two Green-headed Tanagers (Cadliste tricolor) from Brazil, purchased Paleo rs. March 26, 1885 | ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEER, 1885, MARCH 29 TO APRIL 4 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed. ) At Greenwich on March 29 Sun rises, 5h. 44m. ; souths, 12h. 4m. 44°7s.; sets, 18h. 27m. ; decl. on meridian, 3° 34’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 6h. 56m. Moon (Full on March 30) rises, 17h. 20m. ; souths, 23h. 32m. ; sets, 5h. 33m.* ; decl. on meridian, 0° 35’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. Ae Mercuty << 07 Se ..4 /13) JO; 19 57 Io 27 N. Venus i ei eae Shin ey 17 28 D 3.9. Mars 5 32 II 30 17 28 I. 10)S. Jupiter ... 14 12 21 28 AgAge se-0 13, AON Saturn... 8 38 16 43 OWES dha WOR BEING * Indicates that the setting is that of the following day. Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- March Star Mag. Disap. Reap. tex to right for inverted image h. m h. m. ° a 29 ... 75 Leonis SG ae OL Bo GOS oe etre 29 ... 76 Leonis SOM ee 3 ONaeta e217) 2.0) AS38334 29 ... 79 Leonis eG ue Sus ice Au GAs. Lhe 207 BE 3. 479 Letters to the Editor :— The Forms of Leaves.—Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., F.R.S. 2 - 479 Aurora at Christiania. _pr, Sophus Tromholt . 479 “« Peculiar Ice Forms.” —-W. J. McGee ... 480 Four- Dimensional Space.—S. 481 The Action of Very Minute Particles on n Light. anf Spear Parker : 481 Fall of Autumnal Foliage. — Rey. Alexander Irving 482 Human Hibernation.—Col. C. K. Bushe . 482 Bos primigenius.—Jas. Backhouse Aare 482 The British Association and Local Societies , 482 Underground Noises heard at Caiman-Brac, Car- ribean Sea, on August 26, 1883. By Dr. F. A. Forel P 483 Remarks on our Method of ‘Determining the Mean Density of the Earth. By Prof. Arthur RO and Prof, Franz Richarz. (J///ustrated) 484 Saturn. By Rev. T. W. Webb. (WWustrated) . 485 On Petalody of the Ovules and other Changes in a Double-Flowered Form of ‘‘ Dianella czrulea.” By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters sooo eas ee ub; Musical Scales of various Nations. By Alexander J. Ellis, F.R.S. ee: @ US ee, 46 INOteSs) jase Se hs. ki Gate ea eel Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, Marchi2otoyA pila. slit uel s|-fion maa OS Geographical Notes 4 493 Accidental Explosions Produced by non- Explosive Liquids, II. By Sir Frederick Abel, C.B., F.R.S. 493 Societies and Academies. .... Py to OMO 496 NAIUORE 501 THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1885 THE METEOROLOGY OF THE ATLANTIC Deutsche Seewarte. Segelhandbuch fiir den Atlantischen Ozean. Mit einem Atlas von 36 Karten. Heraus- gegeben von der Direktion. Mit zahlreichen in den Text gedruckten Holzschnitten und neun Steindruck- Tafeln. (Hamburg, 1885.) Paes Atlas of the Atlantic which was published by the “Deutsche Seewarte” in 1882, has at length, after a term of three years, been joined by the text, which was intended, in the first instance, to have accompanied it, and of which it was described as an appendix. But though separated in their publication by this wide in- terval, in spirit and in sense, at least, the two are indis- solubly linked together, and either one without the other is but an imperfect and mutilated fragment. Of their excellence, now that they are united, it is unnecessary to speak. When Dr. Képpen, with his able coadjutors, writes, and Dr. Neumayer edits such a work as this physical and meteorological survey of the Atlantic Basin it would be waste of words to say more than that the result of their co-operation must at once take rank as a standard book of reference on this subject. More espe- cially valuable is it in those sections which are descriptive of ascertained facts, and are based to a very great extent on recent, frequently on original observations. The detail of these occupies the largest proportion of the space, leaving but little room for theorising or doubtful matter, and absolutely none for the repetition of those many myths and false statements which have been so often presented to us by successive writers, one blindly copying from another, that we had almost begun—like the poor Hindoo with the mangy cur—to believe in their truth. It is scarcely credible, but is nevertheless a fact, that in this large volume, of nearly 600 closely-printed pages in royal 8vo, there is not a word about ships bound to the West Indies throwing cargoes of horses overboard in the horse-latitudes, which are, however, mentioned as “ Rossbreiten ” ; and the reader will look in vain for the time-honoured allegation that the winter storms on our own Coasts are extensions of the West India hurricanes. The name “ Belt of Calm ”—* Stillengiirtel ”—is unfor- tunately preserved ; though the particular “ Belt ” which has been asserted to exist near the equator is ruthlessly spoken of as “der sogenannte Stillengiirtel ; and the description of those near the tropics gives no countenance to the pestilential doctrine which the name embodies, but is to this effect :—“‘ Two great whirls occupy the tropical and temperate regions of the Atlantic Ccean ; each of these has in the centre a maximum air pressure, around which, in accordance with Buys-Ballot’s law, the wind circles, in the direction of the daily motion of the sun in the respective hemisphere. The equatorial sides of these whirls are formed of the trade winds, which thus become more polar on the east side of the ocean, whilst on the west side their direction is due east and so passes to equatorial.” “Jn summer the transition between the west wind of the North Atlantic and the trade takes place, on the coast of Portugal and Morocco, through N.W., N., and N.E., and in the opposite sense on the VOL. XXXI.—NO. 805 coast of North America, through S.E., S.,and S.W. In winter, on the other hand, the region of high pressure partakes more of the nature of a belt extending from one continent to the other, and the transition is effected in a less regular manner, sometimes with calms, and some- times with one or more stormy veerings of the wind right round the compass” (pp. 87, 91). All this has, of course, been well known to meteorologists for several years, though it has seldom before been clearly and con- cisely stated in a practical work of this nature. It seems therefore the greater pity that the name “ Belt of Calm” should have been allowed to remain ; and it would almost seem that its baneful influence has led the authors to write :—“ On the South American coast, from 1°-3° N. latitude, calms and rains prevail almost the whole year through ” (p. 65) : a statement which does not fully agree either with the wind charts of the atlas, or with the direction in our English “ South American Pilot” ; accord- ing to which the variable wirds, calms, and rains last only from the end of April to the beginning of July. The exaggeration is in all probability due to a dim recollection of obsolete maps and a theory that ought to be obsolete, but which from time to time revives in the most unex- pected places. To some similar source is perhaps to be assigned the statement that “land and sea breezes are to be found along the whole west coast of Africa from Morocco to the Congo,” which is only partially true: on the northern part of this coast, land and sea breezes are, practically speaking, unknown ; though from the Senegal southwards they are regular enough. It is impossible not to regret that statements like this should have been loosely hazarded ; for though they are not of much practical importance either way, they tend to raise an unjust suspicion that fanciful theory has been sometimes permitted to dictate the statement of the facts, instead of exact and careful observation. It would have been safer and therefore better to have omitted theorising altogether ; for, however tempting it may be, no one knows better than the learned and distinguished editor of this volume that there is as yet scarcely a single point in theoretical meteorology which can be said to be fixed with absolute certainty, or which can be fully and satisfactorily explained. The question of air pressure is one of these. In the theory of meteorology no problem is perhaps so interesting and so important: but in the practical appli- cation of rules to which the barometer is a guide, the cause of the variations of the barometer is of no import- ance whatever. The authors of this book are agreed in the opinion that the pressure of the air at any place depends solely on the weight of the superimposed column of air, and that this weight is dependent on temperature. A great many meteorologists hold this opinion ; but many, on the other hand, do not ; and, as has been said, there is room to doubt. Temperature alone does not seem to offer any explanation of the barometric maxima near the tropics, or of the barometric minimum near Iceland ; still less does. it offer any explanation of what Maury first called “The Barometric Anomaly at the foot of the Andes”—the high pressure which has been ob- served, amidst sweltering heat and extreme humidity, in the valley of the Amazon. But this is irrelevant to the main purpose of the ““Segelhandbuch,” and does not at all detract from its Z 502 NATURE [April 2, 1885 great value as a practical guide. As such, it takes what is, in some respects, a new departure: it rejects the familiar notion that as storms are mere derangements of the system of winds, they deserve, in a systematic study, nothing more than an incidental notice; and it puts prominently forward the idea that, on the contrary, they ought to be studied in very full detail ; because, as it argues, the derangements are rather exaggerations than alterations of the system, and are thus capable of serving as a microscope for the student’s clearer instruction. It is an idea which has been well and fully worked out ; and with a care and industry which supply the reader with an exhaustless mine of illustration and example. Joo Segue MUIR’S “ PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY.” Principles of Chemistry. By M. M. Pattison Muir, (Cambridge University Press, 1884.) |S ea the last two decades chemistry has made, possibly, its greatest strides, and has unquestionably drawn to itself a greater following of students in this country than in any previous period. One result of that has been a multiplication of text-books such as perhaps no other science can show. This is only as it should be in the case of a living and progressing science like chemistry. But if one musters the style of text-book produced during this period it becomes painfully doubtful whether they as a whole have kept abreast of the mental capacity which should have been, and undoubtedly has, developed during this period. Chemistry is certainly a practical science, and that in a very full acceptation of the term; but at the same time it has a history as a practical and especially as a theoretical or mental study second to none, and the unsatisfactory part of the majority of the text-books of modern date is that this growth and development, and the invaluable effect of this as a mental training, have been almost com- pletely ignored. As mathematical men have been heard to say when going through a course of chemical drudgery, “there seems to be nothing but a lot of isolated facts to learn up.” And one cannot be surprised at the remark. The text-books may be roughly divided into two sorts—those of a dictionary character and those intended as an intro- ductory or elementary teacher; the former fulfil their intention, which can scarcely be said of the latter, in which the points of principal theoretical interest are “atomicity” and “atomic and molecular combination,” and various ways of writing “ formule.” It is much to be feared that the teaching of the past few years in this country in chemistry has assumed such an intensely “ practical” form that philosophical chemistry has been left very much out in the cold. The numerous examinations in which practical work is required has raised up, unfortunately, an army of “test tubers” and crammers whose theoretical knowledge is of the slend- erest. Without in the least wishing to underrate the value of practical work, it does certainly appear, looking only at the chemical literature of the past few years, that theoretical chemistry has to a great extent receded from view in favour of practical, and that of a not very thorough kind. In the present book Mr. Muir has made up for the lacking in our text-books, and has certainly rendered a real service to the English student who aspires to be something more than a mere test-tuber and writer of graphic formule. ; As the author informs us, the book is intended for students who already have some elementary acquaintance with the science, and is meant to give “a fairly complete account of the present state of knowledge regarding the principles and general laws of chemistry.” And in this the author has certainly succeeded; for it may with certainty be said that we have not a more comprehensive work of the kind in the language. For although it does not pretend to the rank of a Kopp, still it quite fills the place in English chemical literature that Lothar Meyer’s “Modernen Chemie” does in the German, which latter work, the author tells us, he has made “free use of.” The subject-matter of the book is necessarily extensive, and has been divided into two main parts—Chemical Statics and Chemical Kinetics. The historical method of treat- ment adopted cannot fail to be appreciated by the real student who aspires to be something more than a mere recipient of dry facts. The chapter on Atomic and Molecular Systems and on the Application of Physical Methods to Questions of Chemical Statics, as well as that on Affinity, are con- densations from all the most recent works on the subjects, and are, as a rule, clear and concise. ‘The references to originals, &c., &c., are numerous, and the mechanical errors throughout the work are surprisingly few. The book should be very useful to students training for teachers, and who may not have the advantage of refer- ence to original literature on the numerous subjects treated of. OUR BOOK SHELF Eine Weltretse. Plaudereten aus einer Zweijahrigen Erdumsegelung von Dr. Hans Meyer. (Leipzig: Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, 1885.) THIS handsome volume is something more than the work of a “globe-trotter,’ even of a very amusing “ globe- trotter.” Dr. Meyer sailed down the Danube to Constan- tinople, thence to Athens, Syria (where he visited Smyrna, Beyrout, Damascus, and Jerusalem), Egypt, and by the Red Sea to Bombay. He then travelled through Northern India to Calcutta, and from Madras through Southern India to Ceylon. The journey in the Far East included Singapore, a considerable portion of Java, the Philip- - pines, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Japan. Thence he reached the United States, through a large part of which he travelled, Mexico, Cuba, and so back to Europe. The journey was more extensive than the usual modern journey around the globe ; Java appears to have been thoroughly visited, but the only place in which the work displays any mark of originality is in the Philippines. The scenes and experiences by the way are described with much liveliness, but soon after his arrival in Manila he made a journey into the northern mountainous regions of Luzon, for the purpose of studying the Igorrotos and other tribes having their habitat there. The story of the journey, which occupied about three months, is full of interest, and the ethnology of these tribes is discussed in a special appendix. Prof. Blumentritt, the Austrian scholar, who has devoted many years to the study of the archipelago, especially to the vast Spanish litera- ture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries re- lating to it, comes to the following conclusions on its — —_——— = — * April 2, (885 | ethnography. The authoctonous population of the Phil- ippines, the Negritos, were driven back by two Malay invasions, and are now to be found only in isolated remnants scattered throughout the islands of the archi- pelago. By the first invasion the Negritas were forced from the coast into the interior, where they remained undisturbed until the second Malay irruption. This drove the first Malay invaders in their turn from the coast, and the descendants of the new comers still occupy the ports and harbours to this day. The Negritos were either destroyed by wars with the first Malays, or com- pletely absorbed by marriage with them, that now no tribes of them are to be found. The Malays of the first invasion came from Borneo, and are found to-day in the mountain districts of Luzon, under various tribal names, such as the Tingianes, Igorrotos, Guinanes, Apayos, Abacas, Calnigas, Gaddanes, &c.; while the second invaders, now known as Tagals, Pampangos, Visayas, Ilocanes, Cagayanes, &c., inhabit the coast regions, where they were found by the Spaniards in the third quarter of the sixteenth century. Naturally the various tribes were unable to prevent being influenced by each other, as well as from without, and to this we must attribute similarities in many respects, and especially in religion, which mark the Malays of the whole archipelago. Allowance tco has to be made for the influence of the Chinese, perhaps also of the Japanese, on the tribes living on the coast long prior to the Spanish invasion. The inhabitants of the coast, the Malays of the second invasion, for the most part profess Christianity now, and are well known, but the pagans of the interior, the Borneo Malays, who, accord- ing to Prof. Blumentritt’s theory, formed the first invasion, have never been thoroughly investigated, and this circum- stance led Dr. Meyer to spend three months among the Igorrotos. The appendix in which he records his obser- vations is very full. It discusses the name and extent of the Igorrotos, their territory, and its climate, their build, mode of dressing the hair, and tattooing (which is far more elaborate than that of even the Japanese grooms, and. is probably the most complicated in the world), their dress, ornaments, weapons, villages, huts, agriculture, and cattle-breeding, food, and drink, domestic utensils; art, tools; customs at birth, and marriage, and death ; their priests and religion ; head-hunting, war customs, festivals, language, modes of reckoning time and numbers, and their myths and sagas. Finally comes Dr. Virchow’s account of an Igorroto skull, and a brief vocabulary. It is this portion of the work which renders it one of scien- tific interest, and prevents it from being a mere amusing account of the modern grand tour. The numerous illustrations which it contains of the tattooing orna- ments, utensils, and the like, add greatly to its value. The Igorrotos are among the disappearing peoples of the earth. They leave the impression of having once pos- sessed a higher culture ; their manufactures now are far below those of even half a century ago, and Dr. Meyer thinks that, like every primitive race brought into direct contact with European civilisation, nothing can save them from ultimate extinction. LETIERS LO RHE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinionsexpressea by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No noticeis taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that tt ts impossible otherwise to insurethe appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] Molecular Dynamics I THINK there must be some mistake in Prof. Forbes’ report of Sir Wm. Thomson’s remarks as quoted in NATuRE of last week (p. 461) upon the rate of wave-propagation on Maxwell’s NATURE 593 electro-magnetic theory of light. From the end of the last quotation one would suppose that Sir Wm. Thomson intended to convey that the rate of waye-propagation that Maxwell’s theory asserted to be the same as that of light, was the rate of propagation of a variation of a current in a conducting wire. Now Sir Wm. Thomson cannot, I am sure, have intended to convey any such mistaken notion. Maxwell carefully guards against any such mistake by pointing out that conduction of electricity is of the nature of diffusion, and not of a waye- propagation, and so has no definite velocity. What Maxwell has calculated is the rate of propagation of disturbances in o7- conductors, and not in conduetors. It is the rate at which the disturbances, produced in the way considered by Sir Wm. Thomson in the preceding part of this quotation, would be pro- pagated by transverse vibrations. Of course, as Sir Wm. Thom- son asserts, something analogous to a longitudinal vibration may co-exist with these, but Maxwell’s theory shows that a medium which would transmit only transverse vibrations would:explain electric and magnetic phenomena. Gro. FRAS. FITZGERALD 40, Trinity College, Dublin, March 23 [The passage quoted by Mr. Forbes is correctly reported. A more full explanation of this subject will be found in Nichol’s “‘ Cyclopedia,” second edition, 1860, article, ‘‘ Electricity, velocity of;”’ reprinted in vol. ii., art. Ixxxi., of my collected mathematical and physical papers. —W. T.] Civilisation and Eyesight HAviInG read with much interest the recent correspondence in NaTurE on this subject, I am forwarding the results of some observations which I recently made to determine the degree of acuteness of vision possessed by the natives of the islands of Bougainville Straits, in the Solomon Group. T examined the powers of vision of twenty-two individuals who were in all cases either young adults or of an age not much beyond thirty. For this purpose I employed the square test-dots which are used in examining the sight of recruits for the British army, and I obtained the following results :—Two natives could distinguish the dots clearly at 70 feet, one at 67 feet, two at 65 feet, three at 62 feet, four at 60 feet, two at 55 feet, three at 52 feet, four at 50 feet, and one at 35 feet. The conclusion at which I arrived was that 60 feet represented the average distance at which a native could count the dots—a distance rather greater than that at which they should be placed to test the normal powers of vision, viz. 57 feet. Of these twenty-two natives I came upon only one whose vision seemed at all defective. In this instance—that of a man about thirty years old—the nature of the cause was sufficiently indicated by the prominence of the eyes and the nipping of the lids, especially when the sight was strained by trying to count the test-dots at adistance. The limit of distance at which this man could count the test-dots was 35 feet. The question which presented itself to my mind in this case was, whether a white man who could count the dots at the same distance—viz. 35 feet —would exhibit to the same degree the external signs of myopia. I might put this query into other words, and ask whether, con- sidering the far-seeing powers of these natives, the peculiai external signs of myopia would not appear with a less degree of this defect than with the white man. Natives of these islands are very quick at perceiving distant objects, such as ships at sea. Iwas often much impressed by their facility in picking out pigeons and opossums, which were almost concealed in the dense foliage of the trees some 60 or 70 feet overhead. My attention was not attracted by the unusual size of the pupils; the eyes, however, have a soft, fawn-like appearance with but little expression. In conclusion, I’ may refer to the circumstance that the interiors of their houses are always kept dark, the door being usually the only aperture admitting light. The object is, I belive, to exclude flies and other insects from their dwellings. Coming in from the direct sunlight, I have often had to wait a minute or two before my eyes became accustomed to the change ; but the natives do not experience this inconvenience. Some hours of the day they commonly spend in their houses, while at night they use no artificial light except the fitful glare of a wood fire. It would seem probable that the influence of the opposite conditions, pre- sented by the bright sunlight and the darkness of their dwellings, would be found in the increased rapidity of the contraction and dilatation of the pupil with the enlargement, perhaps, of the 504 WNALORE [April 2, 1885 retinal receiving area. It is, however, a noteworthy circum- stance that these natives are able to pass from the bright tropical glare outside their dwellings to the dark interiors, and. vice versa, without showing the temporary derangement of vision which the white man experiences whilst the iris is adapting itself to the new condition. H. B. Guppy 17, Wood Lane, Falmouth, March 30 Mr, Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes In reference to the discussion between Dr. Sydney Hickson and Mr. Benjamin Lowne, I beg to state that I have been favoured by both of those gentlemen with opportunities of care- fully studying their preparations, and I feel it to be my duty to state that in my judgment Mr. Lowne’s preparations do not justify the conclusions which he has based on them, and are, in fact, not made with that skill and knowledge of modern histo- logical method which is necessary in order that trustworthy con- clusions may be obtained. On the other hand, Dr. Hickson’s preparations are thoroughly satisfactory as examples of histo- logical manipulation. Dr. Hickson supports the accepted view as to the termination of the optic nerve-fibres in the nerve-end cells of the retinule. Mr. Lowne denies this connection. I have no doubt that such a connection cannot be readily observed in Mr. Lowne’s preparations. At the same time I have no doubt whatever that this is because the preparations are badly made. Mr. Lowne’s preparations fail to show many other simple features in the structure of the insect’s eye, which are readily seen in preparations made by the application of methods now recognised and approved, but not made use of by Mr. Lowne. I am sorry to see the resources of the Linnean Society employed in publishing a memoir the conclusions of which, although startling in their novelty, are undeniably based upon the mistaken interpretation of defective preparations. I think it is important that the Fellows of the Linnean Society should know whether the memoir now published is the same which was read a year or two ago at the Royal Society, and whether the Council of the Royal Society took any steps to ascertain the value of Mr. Lowne’s preparations, or came to any decision as to the fitness of Mr. Lowne’s paper for publication. March 14 E. Ray LANKESTER On the Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity ENGINEERS quite as much as ‘‘elasticians”’ have reason to want some such terminology as that sought by Prof. Pearson (NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 456), and have equal reason to be indebted to him for undertaking the work which he has at present in hand, which seems already to have given results of practical value as great as their scientific interest. As I have for some years made a study of the physical side of the problems mentioned by him, I should be glad to make some suggestions as to terminology as contributions to the discussion of the subject in your columns. I will confine what I have to say to what may be called ductile materials (such as wrought iron, ordinary steel, copper, &c ), because in these only the whole phenomena are visible. The behaviour of such material in tension is illustrated by the accompanying figure, in which stresses are measured along the horizontal, and strains along the vertical axis. It is extremely rare to obtain a piece of raw material already in a state of ease. Wire, of course, is highly strained by its pro- cess of manufacture, but that even ordinary bar and plate is also slightly strained, is shown in the manner mentioned by Prof. Pearson. Such initial strains as become visible as se¢ by the first stretching up to any load (within limit of elasticity) disappear after one or two applications of that load. The material is then in a state of ease up to that load, but higher loads (still within the limit), on their first application, generally produce more set-— the state of ease thus extending only to the stress employed to produce it. The se¢s are, along with the elastic strain, propor- tional to the stress, their effect being simply to lower the modulus of elasticity. Probably the process of aznealing will bring the material into a state of case for all loads at which such a state is possible. I propose to examine this matter further by aid, if possible, of the apparatus described by Prof. D. E. Hughes in the Inst. M. Eng. Proc., 1883, p. 73. In the figure, a represents this condition of perfect elasticity (maximum state o ease being presupposed) and B, the superior limit of this con- dition, is the mathematical Zimzt of perfect elasticity. After B comes a stage 4, within which the set is so¢ propor- tional to the stress, although it still remains small ; the total ex- tension, therefore, increases faster than the stress. Occasionally this stage does not occur at all, and both its higher and lower limits seem—more than any other points in the life of the material—to be susceptible of change depending on manipula- tion. Accidental shock will shorten the stage considerably ; very gradual loading extends it somewhat. For these and other reasons I therefore suggest that this stage be called the condition of instability, or of unstable cquilibrium. This condition terminates at Cc, in what I have called a “breaking-down”’ in the paper referred to by Prof. Pearson, in which paper I believe the phenomenon was described for the first time. This point is the one called by engineers the limit of elasticity, because it is the only one markedly visible without special apparatus. (The extension at B, on a length of 10 inches, may be about o’or inch ; at Co’03 inch and at C,, same stress, it increases to 0°20, 0°25, and even occasionally 0°4 inch.) If ‘‘breaking-down point” be too crude a name, I would sug- gest Limit of -tabé ity, Itshould be noted that the stress at this ” Cc 3 a [= o x Wl Cc, cl" B oc ED, eet By A CB Cc (Loads) point does not remain constant, but in reality appears to diminish as the extension goes on, as shown at <’ (this dotted curve not drawn to scale), a matter on which I am at present experiment- ing. I should add that, during the application of load at this point, extension appears to be occurring at different parts of the length success?vely, and not at all parts simultaneously, as during conditions a and c. In the next stage, C to D, the whole strains consist of a very small elastic portion (apparently closely following the modulus), and a very large set, increasing much faster than the stress. The test bar remains at each load practically constant in its cross-section at all points of its length, and rises in temperature instead of (as in condition a) cooling. I would suggest for this stage the name condition of uniform flow, the physical applica- bility of which will be obvious to any one who has seen ductile metal in this condition. At some point, D, a maximum load is reached, and at about the same point (generally, I think, a little earlier, but the differ- ence is smalJl, and not very easy to get at with certainty) the metal begins to flow Zocal/y, a part becoming much more reduced in cross-section than the rest, and eventually fracture occurs at this place under a less load than D, but with a greater extension, asat &. This final stage, @, might be called condition of local flow. The loads D and E (as Prof. Pearson suggests) would be maatimum and terminal loads respectively). (Their difference was first pointed out, I think, by Mr. Daniel Adamson’s experiments, Journal I. and S. Inst., 1878). The maximum zéensity of stress April 2, 1885 | NATURE; 595 occurs always, I think, at F, the cross-section of the bar being proportionately more reduced than the load. ALeEx. B. W. KENNEDY University College, March 23 The Colours of Arctic Animals THE white colour of Arctic mammals and birds has hitherto been generally ascribed by evolutionists to protective resem- blance, the adaptation to a snow-covered country being attri- buted to the preservation of individuals which by assimilating to their environment in colour, either escaped detection by their foes, or, on the other hand, were by this means enabled to secure their prey more advantageously. Although a certain weight may, in the case of some species, be fairly given to these organic factors, it always appeared to me that this explanation was not in itself sufficient, in face of the consideration that many of the species so coloured could hardly be said to require such protection on account of persecution, or to derive any obvious advantage therefrom for predatory purposes. A more satis- factory explanation seemed to be that the mode of coloration in question had, at any rate in the first instance, been brought about by natural selection through physical rather than through organic agencies. It is well known that white, as the worst absorber, is also the worst radiator of all forms of radiant energy, so that warm-blooded creatures thus clad would be better enabled to withstand the severity of an Arctic climate— the loss of heat by radiation might, in fact, be expected to be less rapid than if the hairs or feathers were of a darker colour} According to a paper recently published by Lord Walsingham,? itseems that this view was entertained as far back as 1846 by Craven, the only addition to the theory required by modern evolution being that we must regard the white covering as having been acquired by the ordinary Darwinian process of the survival of the fittest, z.e. by the climatic selection of those individuals best fitted to withstand the extremely low temperatures of their habitat. It is perfectly familiar to zoologists that most animals occasion- ally give rise to white varieties, so that the basic variations necessary for the establishment of the required modification in the colour of the hair and feathers would not have been wanting during the gradual approach of the Glacial Epoch. It may be conjectured whether white may not have been the prevailing colour among all warm-blooded animals during this period, with the exception, perhaps, of those species in which the severity of the climate may have been met by an equally effective thickening of the fur. Certain species which, like the stoat and ptarmigan, become white during winter, may, from this point of view, be regarded as reverting seasonally to the mode of coloration which in their ancestors was normal during the Glacial Epoch, the re- version being in these cases brought about by the same influ- ences which formerly fixed white as the most advantageous form of covering. In accordance with this view, it is sometimes asserted that the stoat does not commonly turn white during winter in the south of England, excepting in very severe seasons.* Further observations on this point are much needed. In striking contrast to the white covering of Arctic and Alpine mamraals and birds, it has been found that there is a quite oppo- site tendency for the insects to become darker and more suffused, this melanism being especially noticeable among many of the Lepidoptera. Although numerous speculations as to the cause of this phenomenon have from time to time been advanced, it is in the paper by Lord Walsingham above referred to that what appears to be a true cause has for the first time been suggested. The author has, in fact, most ingeniously extended the very argument which had been adduced to account for the white colour of the mammals and birds to explain the quite opposite melanism of the insects. According to the present view the the melanic tendency of northern Lepidoptera must be ascribed to the natural selection of the darker forms owing to the ad- vantage which these would possess in being able to absorb more of the solar radiation than their lighter congeners. The same action must be regarded as here bringing about opposite effects : in the case of warm-blooded animals the loss of heat by radia- tion is retarded by the white covering, whilst in insects, which * Trans. Essex Field Club, vol.i. Proc., March 20, 1880, p. vi. 2 “On some probable causes of a tendency to melanic variation in Lepi- doptera of high latitudes;” the Annual Presidential Address to the York- shire Naturalists’ Union, Doncaster, March 3, 1885. 3 ‘* Recreations in Shooting,” p. ror. 4 R. M. Christy in Trans. Essex Field Club, vol. i. p. 67- ] develop but little heat by respiration, it is of the utmost import- ance to utilise as much as possible of the solar energy. This will be seen to be all the more necessary when it is considered that, under Arctic conditions, the solar rays have but little power, and that the pairing of the insects has to be effected with great rapidity. In order to test these views experimentally, the author exposed numerous species of Lepidoptera of various colours to the sun’s rays on a surface of snow, and observed the rate at which the insects sank beneath the surface. As might have been anticipated, the darker insects, like Zaxagra cherophyllata, sank more rapidly than white moths like Acidalia immutata, which made but little impression on the snow. The questions raised by these suggestions and observations certainly appear to be well worthy of consideration when dis- cussing the subject of animal coloration. Thus the explanation of the melanism of Arctic insects now advanced may perhaps, when more fully elaborated, throw further light upon the theory of seasonal dimorphism first proposed by Weismann.! If, in accordance with the views of this author, we regard the een winter forms of these seasonally dimorphic Lepidoptera as the ancestral Glacial types, it becomes clear why in such white species as Péer’s napi, the parent Glacial form Bryonie should be the darker. In the case of Avaschnia /evana the theory does not at first sight apply, inasmuch as the winter form is lighter than the summer generation (Prorsa); here, however, both forms are coloured, and there would be but little difference in their relative heat-absorbing powers. The same remark may apply in the case of our own seasonally dimorphic species of Selenta and Ephyra. R. MELDOLA An Error in Ganot’s ‘‘ Physics” IN your issue of February 19 (p. 361), E. Douglas Archibald calls attention to a typical error in Ganot’s ‘‘ Physics,” roth edition, p. 325, and assumed that it had run through the ten editions. if he had taken the pains to look back to previous editions the formula would have appeared right, viz. :— pa U3 VA = 3FEL) (1 + aZ) 760 In going over the text of earlier issues of the book some minor errors are discoverable, but do not detract materially from the value of the same to the careful student FRANK E_ EMERY, ist Asst. Sci. Dept: Mountainville, Orange Co., New York, March 4 WITH reference to the letter of Mr. Frank E. Emery on mine, calling attention to the typical error in Ganot’s ‘‘ Physics,” I beg to say that though in some of the earlier editions the error may not exist, it occurs in the 5th and roth, both of which are in my possession. ‘The inference is very strong that if it occurs in these two it occurs in the editions 7¢fervening, and thus in HALF of the editions published. The first five editions are now getting out of date, so it is not of much value to people if the error does not exist in them. I would also observe that if Mr. Emery takes the pains of reading my letter over again he will notice it was explicitly stated to be for the benefit of the large class of students who are not careful. My purpose was in no way to run down Ganot, but to warn people of a pitfall in it. E. DoucLtas ARCHIBALD Tunbridge Wells, March 23 Exceptional Whiteness in Tropical Man SINGULARLY enough, being encamped in the same place as that from which the paper on ‘‘ The Blackness of Tropical Man” was written to NATURE some months ago, the converse, a case of the whiteness of this class of man, presented itself unexpectedly. While entering, to-day, the native village of Jeykondashulapurm, that had sunk to nothing from having been the capital of a native dynasty in the south of India, and situated about lat 11° N. and long. 78° E., the writer observed an apparently white woman sitting on a doorstep by the side of the road, with flaxen-coloured * I may take the present opportunity of pointing out to those who possess the English edition of the “ Studies in the Theory of Descent ” that an error inadvertently occurs in the numbering of the figures in Plate I. Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 should have been numbered respectively 3, 5, 2, and 4. I am indebted to Mr. E. B. Poulton for kindly calling my attention to this trans- position. 506 NATORE [ April 2, 1885 hair, but having in other respects the characteristics of natives attacked by leprosy. Making inquiries from one of the prin- cipal native revenue officials at the place, it was ascertained that there was a family living hardly a mile away, of which more than one of the members had been born, and continued, white all their lives. That this did not result from their being lepers, and that none of their neighbours were in the least afraid of them, though opinion was not quite clear as to the whiteness not being disease. Losing no time, it did not take long to reach the hut in which this family of albinos were to be found. ‘They are of the Hindu blacksmith caste. The father and mother are stated to be of the ordinary blackness of natives of India, but were not seen on this occasion. A son, aged twenty-two, was there working at his trade, with the white colour, features, and light flaxen hair of a European, the only difference being a coarseness of the texture of the skin, anda slightly vacant expression. There was, beside him, an apparently elder brother, quite dark, and a native Hindu in every respect. It was said that albinos had occasion- ally appeared in the family, one of the uncles, for instance, having been white. On being questioned as to whether there was any difference between the albinos and ordinary natives, it was at once said that the former could not stand being in the sun, which reddened and inflamed the skin, upon which the remark fell from the writer that it would be worth while to transport such individuals fo a cold climate, where they would he exposed to no incon- venience. And so it would, because there can be no doubt that one of these white Hindus, early taken, and educated in a European climate, would from palpable observation of the speci- men now described be absolutely indistinguishable as a native of India. Evidently some cause has interfered with the production of pigment in the cells of the skin, with the effect of rendering the albinos highly sensitive, and more so than a European, to the invisible heat rays of the spectrum, which are so injurious to the constitution in India. The contrast between the faces of the brothers was peculiarly striking, for there was sufficient resemblance, in the lower part of the face especially, to show there was a distinct relationship —that of the one who was dark wore the ordinary mild com- posure ; but the other, by the mere change of colour, had com- pletely and inadvertently thrown off the Oriental mask ; and it would be almost impossible to convey to any one, not seeing it exemplified, how vast a change could be made by so simple an alteration, displaying the way the real individuality of race is lurking in an extraordinary manner beneath a tropical blackness. India, February 24 A. T. FRASER Far-sightedness THOUGH I have already published a note on the subject in a Dutch paper (7¢jdschrift van het Aardrijkskundig Genootschap, February, 1885), perhaps you will kindly allow the following lines to have a place in NATURE, because those who are occupied in the trigonometrical survey of British India may take an interest in the matter, and be able to give more particulars about it. In a paper on Mr. Whymper's travels in Greenland, which appeared in Ausland, t. xii., 1884, I found in a foot-note the following remark :—‘‘ The reader might be astonished on hear- ing that I [Mr. Whymper] could see a mountain at such a great distance (about 100 English miles) ; but I may add that the day before I saw two other mountains 4o and 150 English miles distant ; with one exception this was the greatest distance at which I have ever been able to make out objects.” Since I have not found any other reports in which it is ex- pressly stated that objects were seen at a greater distance, I presume I may allege my own experience. While occupied with the trigonometrical survey of Western Java I sometimes had an opportunity of seeing objects at a very great distance, though, under the circumstances I was in, I had no time to look for them on purpose. The greatest distance at which the angular points of triangles of the first order were from each other was about 105 kilo- metres ; no difficulty ever arose from the distance, and no differ- ence was made whether signals or heliostats (square mirrors of about 3 inches side) were observed. When on Gng Karang (Bantam) I made out Keizerspick (Sumatra) at a distance of more than 110 English miles, though not quite easily, the top just peeping out from the slopes of Sebesic ; if there had been a signal on Keizerspick at that time I think I could have observed it. The greatest distance at which I remember ever to have seen an object was noted during my stay on Gng Tjikoraij (Preanger Regentsch), when I made out Gng Merapi (Java) most distinctly at a distance of about 180 English miles! and I suppose that Gng Lawu was also visible (225 English miles distant), but I could not quite distinguish it from the group of mountains of which it is one. It is, of course, from high summits that ob- jects are seen at the greatest distances, and objects which are more elevated at a greater distance than such as are close to the ground. J think it would be interesting to gather experiences referring to the subject made in different climates and under different circumstances. EMIL METZGER Stuttgart, March 23 Krakatoa SupposING that the underground noises heard at Caiman-Brac on Sunday, August 26, 1883, were not only synchronous with, but actually the same as, those caused by the great eruption in the Straits of Sunda, it does not seem to follow that the sound- waves were propagated through the whole diameter of the earth. On the contrary, the question is at once raised, at what depth below the surface did the disturbances occur which found such destructive vent at Krakatoa? And if only the time-record east and west were accurate and satisfactory, there would seem to be some datum supplied for approximately estimating this depth. The centre of disturbance may have receded from and become inaudible at the Caimans in proportion as, on the 27th, it found final vent at Krakatoa. HENRY CECIL Bregner, Bournemouth, March 30 The Recent Aurora THE ‘ Sunk” lightship is in electrical communication with the Essex coast, being connected thereto by a telegraphic cable 8:984 nautical miles in length, laid from Walton-on-the-Naze in an easterly direction. The electrical condition of this cable is ascertained daily at 10 a.m., by means of tests applied at the shore ends. Until the 15th inst. these tests were very regular and satisfactory, but on the morning of that day it was found to be impossible to obtain any satisfactory results, owing to electrical disturbances produced in -the cable by some external influence. ‘The electrician on board reported that the weather was very fine and summer-like, sea perfectly smooth, with variable light airs, and he could in no away account for the effects the electrician was observing on shore. Between 9 and Io p.m. those on board the lightship observed in the northern sky a very brilliant aurora, from which at intervals two very bright columns extended upwards to the zenith, and there apparently joined. I send you these particulars as they may be worth recording in connection with the aurora seen at Christiania on the same evening, and described by Mr. Sophus Tromholt in his letter to Nature, published on the 26th inst. (p. 479). There can be no doubt but that the aurora seen at Christiania was identical with that noticed by the men on the lightship off Walton-on-the- Naze, and, although it was not visible until the evening, it was evidently affecting the electrical condition of the earth on the morning of that day, and was the direct cause of the electrical disturbance in the cable. Since that date the tests have been as satisfactory and regular as before. WILLOUGHBY SMITH March 30 THE COSMOGONIC THEORY OF M, FAYE? FAYE has expounded his theoretical views on * cosmogony in the several publications named above, and in his book he has also treated of the historical development of cosmogonic theories. We shall in the present article confine our attention to that which is original in his speculation; and we recommend the * In the junction of triangulations of Spain and Algiers the greatest side — is about 270 kilometres. uw 2 “Comptes Rendus,” 1880, vol. xc. pp. 637 and 1246. ‘ “Sur l’Origine du Monde.” Pp. 257. (Paris : Gauthier-Villars, 1880.) “ Annuaire pourl’an 1885, Bureau des Longitudes.” Pp. 757-804. (Gauthter= Villars ) a _ ; April 2, 1885] NATURE 507 reader to refer to the essay in the “ Annuaire” of the Bureau des Longitudes, 1885, for this portion of his work. M. Faye’s writing is always easy and finished, and this essay has been intended for the general scientific reader. Had the original speculation been condensed for insertion in a purely technical journal it would have occupied but a few pages. The earlier portion of the essay we may dismiss by saying that it gives a lucid exposition of the state of our knowledge of stellar systems, as derived from the spectro- scope and the telescope, interpreted by aid of the prin- ciple of conservation of energy. In the following descrip- tion of M. Faye’s theory, we do not follow his words, but we believe that we give a fair interpretation of his meaning. The best general idea of the line of speculation adopted may be given by saying that it is a theory of evolution from meteorites, instead of from the nebulous matter which gives its name to Laplace’s theory. In its primitive condition the Universe consisted of matter widely scattered in chaotic disorder. Currents were then generated in the midst of this chaos under the influence of mutual gravitation; and in consequence of these intestinal movements rags or shreds of matter became detached, and moved with rapid linear and slow gyratory motion. It is not claimed that the existence of these currents can be explained, but the spectroscope affords evidence of a sorting process, for some nebulz consist of a single gaseous element, whilst the stars with continuous spectra consist of a great diversity of elements. The various modes are sketched in which one of these shreds may proceed to agglomerate and evolve itself, but we shall not follow M. Faye in the application of his theory to the formation of nebulz, double-stars, and star- clusters. The solar system is taken to have originated froma shred which aggregated into a spheroidal shape, and consisted, at the epoch when we begin to watch it, largely or principally of separate meteorites. The spheroidal aggregate possessed a considerable amount of rotation (moment of momentum), about an axis approximately identical with the axis of the sun’s rotation. It is at first supposed that the spheroidal aggregate consists of matter pretty nearly equally distributed throughout its volume, and later a nucleus is formed. If ~ be the distance of any point from the centre, the force is central, and follows the law av + a where, in the BD beginning of the evolutionary process, 4 is very small, and later @ becomes small. Initially, then, when the force is simply as the distance from the centre, each meteorite moves in an ellipse about the centre, and the periodic time of all of them is the same, whatever their eccentricity of orbit. Those meteor- ites whose orbits are decidedly eccentric, cress the orbits of many others, and have much less chance of escaping collision than those whose orbits are nearly circular. In consequence of collisions, a central nucieus is soon formed, and then many meteorites with very eccentric orbits begin to strike against it, and to be absorbed into it. As the nucleus increases the @ in our formula for the force diminishes, and the @ increases; but orbits which are circular still retain that form, notwithstanding the progressive change in the law of force. At the same time that the nucleus is being formed, a series of flat and nearly circular rings arise around it, those near to the nucleus attaining a definite shape sooner than the remote ones. It is not adequately explained why the matter should be sifted, and should arrange itself in rings at definite intervals around the nucleus ; stillless ‘is any light thrown on the law of Titius concerning the distances of the planets from the sun. Nor do we see why the rings should first be formed nearest to the nucleus. We must, however, here follow M. Faye and accept these conclusions. If there be only a small nucleus (4 small), each ring revolves with very small relative motion of its parts ; whilst if the nucleus be large (@ small), each meteorite in a ring revolves after Kepler’s laws, and the bodies in the external margin have a slower angular velocity than those in the internal margin. As the nucleus gradually in- creases there will be a transition from one mode of motion to the other. Now let us follow the first ring :—Slight differences of angular velocity, mutual attractions between the parts of the ring and collisions gradually cause the aggregation of all the matter in the ring around some centre in its line. When the nucleus is small the ring moved as a rigid whole, and the linear velocity of the outer meteorites was greater than that of the inner ones, therefore when the planetary aggregate is formed it will be found rotating with direct motion about an axis nearly perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. Whilst the first ring is agglomerating into a planet, a second ring is being formed outside of it, and this in its turn agglomerates ; but the tendency to direct rotation is weaker than in the first planet, because the increase of the-solar nucleus by absorption of meteorites has pre- vented so large an excess of linear velocity of the outer meteorites over that of the inner ones as in the first case. The process continues and the planets are successively formed, until we come to an epoch when the nucleus has increased so far that on agglomeration the tendency to direct rotation vanishes—the constituent ring, in faet, revolved irrotationally. Still further we come to planets in which the meteorites move nearly according to Kepler’s laws, and here the resulting planet has 4 markedly retrograde rotation. Each planetary agglomeration in its turn forms a minia- ture solar system, and generates satellites by the same process as that in which the planets were formed. We have now sketched this theory in its main outlines, and must refer the reader to the original sources for further details. Neither in the historic part nor in his cosmogonic speculations does M. Faye make reference to the possible effects of tides in the evolution of the solar system, perhaps thinking that a theory founded on that influence is not even worthy of mention. It is, however, a factor which cannot be left out of account. Tidal friction is a vera causa, and the possible effects on our evolution have been submitted to a rigorous quantitative examination.! As it is the only cosmogonic influence which has hither- to been so treated, the results to which it points are at least as worthy of attention as those of other vaguer influences. The hypotheses that tidal friction has had free play in the past leads to a remarkable quantitative coordination of the several elements of the earth’s rotation, and of the moon’s orbital motion, and points to the genesis of the moon close to the present surface of the earth. No phe- nomenon in the heavens could have been devised more perfectly apt to confirm the truth of the hypothesis than the rapid orbital motion of the inner satellite of Mars. Near to the sun solar tidal friction would be much more powerful than at a distance, and thus the rotation neces- sary for the manufacture of satellites would be destroyed in the vicinity of the sun; a light is thus thrown on the cause of the observed distribution of satellites in the system.” It has, however, been decisively shown that tidal fric- tion cannot have played the leading part either in the evolution of the whole solar system or of the remoter l We refer to a series of papers by the present writer on this subject in the Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. from 1878 to 1882. ; 2 This theoretical effect of tidal friction has not been ccmmented on by any writer, Further numerical details and discussicn will be found in Phil. Trans. Part ii., 1881, p. 531- 508 NATURE | April 2, 1885 planetary systems, and whilst the field is thus left open to the nebular hypothesis or other rival theories, it is submitted that tidal friction has a bearing on those theories which cannot be neglected. A numerical comparison of the distribution of moment ofmomentum amongst the several planetary sub-systems shows that the terrestrial system differs considerably from all the others, but it would hardly be logical to postulate an absolutely independent mechanism in this case, and it is not very easy to reconcile the genesis of the moon close to the earth with the formation of a ring in the midst of a planetary agglomeration of meteorites. Let us now sum- marise the advantages and disadvantages of M. Faye’s scheme. The conception of the growth of planetary bodies by the aggregation of meteorites is a good one, and perhaps seems more probable than the hypothesis that the whole solar system was gaseous, and that the influence of hydro- static pressure was felt throughout. The internal annula- tion of the meteorites is left unexplained, and this com- pares very unfavourably with Laplace’s system, where the annulation is the very thing explained. The difference of orbital motion of the inner and outer meteorites of a ring, the development of that difference as time progresses, and the consequence of direct and retrograde rotation at different distances from the sun isan excellent idea. But it is necessary to this idea that the inner planets should have been formed the first, and we are met directly by the fact that the single surviving ring, that of Saturn, is nearer to the planet than are the satellites. It is, of course, possible that special causes have preserved this ring, but we should be driven to the startling conclusion that Saturn’s ring is the oldest feature of his system. The actual distribution of satellites in the solar system is at variance with M. Faye’s theory, for, according to him, the internal planets were generated from rings whose motion was such as would give greater moment of momentum to the planetary agglomeration than would the external ones. The number of satellites manufactured should be greater the greater the amount of rotation in the primitive agglomeration of meteorites, and thus the nearer planets should be richer in satellites than the remote ones. The celebrated experiment of Plateau, in which a drop of oil rotating in alcohol and water is made to parody | Laplace’s solar system, is worthy of attention, and it tells against Faye and in favour of Laplace. It is of course to be admitted that surface-tension does not duly repre- sent gravity. On the whole, then, we must hold the opinion that there are great difficulties in the acceptance of M. Faye’s theory, notwithstanding its excellences. The time does not appear yet ripe for definite judgment on this very complex subject, but science is undoubtedly the gainer by such suggestive theories. Whilst a false statement of fact always proves a serious detriment, the enunciation of false or partially true theories is always the incentive to, or initiation of, the discovery of truth. G. H. DARWIN SIR WILLIAM THOMSON ON DYNAMICS } 1M a the present article Sir William Thomson’s spring and shell molecule will be described and its theory sketched, in so far as this has been investigated with the view of getting over some of the difficulties which sur- round the wave theory of light. In Helmholtz’s memoir on anomalous dispersion, a sketch of such a theory was published. But this new molecule differs from that of Helmholtz in several points, chiefly in the fact that absorp- tion is not accounted for by any viscous action in the < Continued from p. 463. MOLECULAR | makes his paper on anomalous dispersion. molecule dissipating the energy of vibration into low grade heat. Most readers who have ever visited the natural philosophy lecture-room in Glasgow University will recognise a very old friend in this new molecule, where they have seen it vibrating, I suppose, any time since the University occupied its present site. In appear- ance the molecule has been changed, but its theory as taught to the students there is identical. For a descrip- tion of this molecule let us refer to page 1o of the lectures :— “Imagine for a moment that we make a rude mechani- cal model. Let this be an infinitely rigid spherical shell ; let there be another absolutely rigid sheil inside of that, and so on, as many as you please. Naturally we might think of something more continuous than that, but I only wish to call attention to a crude mechanical explanation possibly of the effects of dispersion. Suppose we had luminiferous ether outside, and that this hollow space is of very small diameter in comparison with the wave- length. Let zig-zag springs connect the outer rigid boundary with boundary number two. I use a zig-zag, not a spiral, spring which has the helical properties which we are not ready for yet, such properties as sugar and quartz have in disturbing the luminiferous vibrations. Suppose we have shells two and three also connected by a sufficient number of spiral springs, and so on; and let there be a solid inclosed in the centre with spring con- nections between it and the shell outside of it. If there is only one of these interior shells, you will have one definite period of vibration. Suppose you take away everything except that one interior shell; displace that shell and let it vibrate. The period of its vibration is perfectly definite. If you have an immense number of such shells with moveable molecules inside of them, dis- tributed through some portion of the luminiferous ether, you will put it into a condition in which the velocity of propagation of the wave will be different from what it is in the homogeneous luminiferous ether. You have what is called for, viz. a definite period; and the relation between the period of vibration in the light considered and the period of the free vibration of the shell will be fundamental in respect to the attempt of a mechanism of that kind to represent the phenomena of dispersion. “Tf you take away everything except the one shell, you will have almost exactly, I think, the view of Helmholtz’s paper—a crude model as it were of what Helmholtz Helmholtz, besides that, supposes a certain degree or coefficient of viscous resistance against the vibration of the inner shell, relatively to the outer one. Helmholtz does not reduce it to a gross mechanical form like this, but merely assumes particles connected with the luminiferous ether and as- sumes a viscous motion to operate against the motion of the particles.” In the lectures the action of such a molecule when subjected to forced vibrations was illustrated by a model of ingenious construction, which among the irreverent passed by the name of the “wiggler.” A steel wire was hung vertically, and five or six lathes 2 feet long and 2 inches wide were attached in a horizontal position to the wire, each one having three pins fixed in it for this purpose. These lathes were loaded at their ends, the weight on each lathe being less than that on the one above it. The lowest lathe was attached to a pendulum arrangement which impressed forced vibrations upon the system, the period being adjustable. The theory of such a system is the same as that of the molecule described above. But in working out the theory a third type of vibrator was used, the identical one which vibrates in the lecture room at Glasgow. This is a series of weights attached to each other by vertical springs which can be stretched. The highest is the heaviest, and the others are arranged in the order of weight. April 2, 1885] NA TORE 599 Calling P the lathe with forced vibrations (correspond- ing to the external massless shell acted on by the ether), and & its displacement, 7, #z,, &c., are the successive masses, %, %, &c., are their displacements t= — S34) +9 and measures the relative displacement of 7, and 72. 1, C, &c., are the constants of successive spring connec- tions. ¢ (%,—-+2) is the force of restitution in virtue of the spring connection between x, and x,. 7 is the period of forced vibration. We thus arrive at the equation ai; aad Z ‘ = 2 Pras bm re rE E+ rt... + my; 477), and since the right hand member is essentially negative, it follows that all the z’s diminish with increase of period. The critical cases occur when the period of forced vibra- tion agrees with the natural period of any of the shells or lathes. When the forced vibration is very rapid, all successive masses move in opposite directions. When the forced period is slower, #; becomes zero, and -x, is in- finite—z.e. the vibration of the lowest mass is infinite in comparison with the forced vibrator, and 30 with the other vibrators. When the forced period is slower, 2 becomes negative, ze. the lowest mass begins to vibrate in the same direction, as the forced vibrator. Successive critical cases occur as the forced period reaches the natural periods of successive vibrators. At the critical period for any one vibrator, all those below it are vibrating in one direction, while the critical one and those above it are executing very large vibrations in opposite directions successively. These critical periods are admirably adapted for ex- plaining absorption and also anomalous dispersion. In highly absorbing media which cut off a band of light from the spectrum, the refractive index for colours neigh- bouring to the band is remarkable ; thus light of greater wave-length than the band is refracted more, and light of less wave-length than the band is refracted less than in normal substances. Lord Rayleigh considered this to be due to the mutual influence of the vibrating molecule and ether. If the point of support of a pendulum is vibrated in a different period, the period of the pendulum is changed. Lommel seems to have been the first to make dispersion depend upon associated matter. The influence of a large number of the spring and shell molecules distributed through the ether upon the velocity of light in that medium is examined and shown to depend upon the wave-length or period. Finally at p- 108 we obtain the following formula :— ile = rf Heft se Wy p and Z measure the density and rigidity. pi Energy of 7th shell i n r MN Kptlty 2 KD) Ky — "Tt =T = Energy of the whole’ «; = the 2th er.tical per.od. “This is the expression for the square of the refractive index, as it is affected by the presence of molecules arranged in that way. It is too late to go into this for interpretation just now, but I will tell you that if you take 7 considerably less than x, and very much greater than «, you will get a formula with enough disposable constants to represent the index of refraction by an em- pirical formula, as it were, which from what we know, and from what Sellmeier and Ketteler have shown, we can accept as ample for representing the refraction index of most transparent substances. We have the means of extruding its powers and introducing the effects of those other terms, so that we have a formula which is more than sufficient to give us 2 mathematical expression of the refrangibility in the case of any transparent body whose refrangibility is reliable.” f In fact the above formula is equivalent to the well- known formula of Cauchy and others, viz. B Cc H=m(A4tGtat---) when we are not dealing with critical cases. Exa- mining the formula for a or p’, we see that as r ap- proaches «,, »# becomes infinite, and for 7 a little greater than «,, »” is negative, which is impossible, and we can have no assignable velocity for such a period—z.e. there is absorption for all values of T> «, which make p* negative. Moreover, owing to the existence of a critical period, x,, the re- fractive index is abnormally increased for values of + which are just less than «,, and it is- abnormally dimi- nished just when nz? becomes positive. This means that the refrangibility of rays in a highly absorbent medium, in the neighbourhood of the band of absorption, is anomalous in the direction indicated by Kundt in his researches on anomalous dispersion. Here is what we find at p. 150 on critical values of + and the manner of absorption :— ““We shall try to see something more of the effect of light propagated through a medium of a period exactly equal Ay. I believe each sequence of vibrations will | throw in a tittle energy which will spread out among the different possible motions of the molecule. The com- bination of the sequences, forming what we call con- tinuous light, is not a continuous phenomenon at all. I believe that the first effect when light begins will be: each sequence of waves of the exact period throws in some energy into the molecule. That goes on until, somewhere or other, the molecule gets uneasy. It takes in an enormous amount of energy before it begins to get parti- cularly uneasy. It then moves about, and begins to col- lide with its neighbours perhaps, and will therefore give you heat in the gas, if it be a gaseous molecule. It goes on colliding with the other molecules, and in that way imparting its energy to them. The energy will be simply carried away, by convection if you please, or a part of it perhaps. Each molecule set to vibrating in that way becomes a source of light, and so we may explain the radiation of heat from the molecule after it has been got into the molecule by sequences of waves of light. I believe we can so explain the augmented pressure of a gas due to the absorption of heat in it. ‘““We may consider, however, that the chiefest vibra- tion of the molecule is that in which the nucleus goes in one direction, and the shell in the opposite direction, but | with a great amount of energy in the interior vibrations and very little in the shell, so that the shell may go on giving out phosphorescent energy for two or three hours | or days, simply vibrating for ever, except in so far as the energy is drawn off and allowed to give motion to other bodies.” A great deal more is said about the influence of critical periods upon anomalous dispersion, but, as the author says, “it is like fiddling when Rome is burning to discuss anomalous dispersion when double refraction is waiting to be explained,” so I will pass from this subject. We have in the lectures some indications of the effect of introducing a gyrostat inside the shell molecule, especially with relation to magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation. On this subject the author said sadly : “But alas! my results give me another law, not more effect with greater frequency, but less effect with greater frequency, according to the inverse square of the wave- length. I therefore lay it aside for the present, but with perfect faith that the principle of explanation of the thing is there” (p. 244). But, on returning to this country, a more complete theory of the gyrostatic molecule was worked out, sent to SLO NATURE | April 2, 1885 America, and incorporated in the lectures. In my next and concluding notice I shall touch on the further deve- lopments if space permits." GEORGE FORBES (Toa be continued.) CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE HE Fifth Annual Report of the Council of this Insti- tute, which was presented last week to the Governors by the Lord Chancellor, gives evidence of marked pro- gress in all departments of the Institute’s operations. During the last five years, the advance made in this country in providing technical schools of various grades has been very great, and brings us educationally within a measurable distance of France and Germany. Much praise is certainly due to the City Companies for the very energetic manner in which they have set about giving effect to the important objects they have undertaken. The Technical College at Finsbury and the Central Institution at South Kensington are important additions to the educational establishments of the metropolis. That the Finsbury College has supplied a great want is shown by the rapid increase in the number of students during the two years since it was opened. The number of evening students might have been expected to be large, because in very few places, if in any, do evening students have the same advantages as at Finsbury of obtaining practical instruction in physics and mechanics. But the great success of the College is shown in the increasing number of its day students. In little more than two years the number has increased from 30 to 148 ; and nearly all these students are in regular attendance throughout the whole day, and go through the complete course of in- struction as laid down for them in the programme. Some changes have taken place in the staff of the College in consequence of the opening of the Central Institution. Mr. Philip Magnus has been relieved of the duties of Principal, which he temporarily undertook in addition to his other duties as organising Director of the Institute, and Profs. Ayrton and Armstrong have resigned the Chairs of Physics and Chemistry for similar positions at the Central Institution. The appointment of Dr. Silvanus Thompson as Principal and Professor of Physics at Finsbury promises well for the future of the College, and the Council have been well advised in this selection. The Professorship of Chemistry is still vacant. The Central Institution, which is to form a kind of technical university, was formally opened in June last, but, as generally happens, the completion of the fittings has occupied more time than was anticipated, and the Institution is consequently not yet in working order. The Prince of Wales, who has shown great interest in the progress of the Institute, issued an appeal to the Lord Mayor and to the Masters of the several Companies for additional funds to defray the cost of the fittings, which brought in over 17,0007. It may be expected, therefore, that this Central College will be very completely furnished with all the necessary appliances and apparatus for scientific and technical instruction. The Council of the Institute refer with satisfaction to several passages in the Report of the Royal Commis- sioners on Technical Instruction, showing the great need in this country of improved facilities for higher technical teaching. It is a common error, which the building in South Kensington will help to correct, that technical education has reference to artisans only, and that the im- provement of the skill of the working man is the great desideratum in the commercial interests of the country. But this is not so. The difference between foreign ‘countries and our own in the facilities afforded for the 1 Corrections to first notice in issue of March 19:—For asf/asfa read aphasia. FP. 462, line 41 of second column, for a few seconds, read for a few thousandths of a second. P. 463, line 35 of first column, for w/thont read _ with. | education of artisans is not so marked as in the oppor- tunities for the higher education of masters and managers of works. But the City Guilds Institute, whilst giving prominence in its scheme to the provision of this higher education at its Central Institution, has done a great work in assisting in the establishment of evening technical schools in all the principal manufacturing centres of the kingdom, by means of its system of technological examinations. The Director’s special Report on this part of the Institute’s work is fulk of detailed information as to the increase in the number of candidates and of subjects of examination, and is supplemented by remarks of the examiners on the causes of the failures of the candidates. The percentage of failures is decidedly high ; but the Institute very wisely insists upon a high standard of excellence, so that its certificates may be accepted by masters and employers as proof of the efficiency of those who hold them. In many crafts, this would be impossible, if the certificates were awarded on the results of a written examination only ; but the practical tests which have this year been added afford a guarantee, which would otherwise be wanting, of the technical skill, as well as of the knowledge of the candi- dates. In the examination in “ weaving,” for instance, the candidate is required to design an original pattern, to prepare it for the loom, and to weave it in suitable mate- rial, besides answering questions on the analysis of patterns, the structure of the different kinds of looms, &c. In mine surveying, also, a practical examination was last year held at the Pease’s West Collieries, in which the candidates were engaged, with the examiner, in surface and underground work during the three days. Whilst the Institute’s examinations are thus conducted there can be no doubt of their efficiency, and of their affording a valuable supplement to those of the Science and Art Department. Most of the Institute’s examiners com- plain of the candidates’ want of skill in drawing; and it is satisfactory to note that the attention of the Educa- tion Department has been called to this general defect in the education given in our primary schools, and that it is likely to be remedied by the provisions for teaching linear drawing throughout the Standards contained in the New Code for 1885. The Report of the Institute concludes with an appeal for additional funds. If the Council are to develop the work they have begun they require a much larger income than they now dispense. A good beginning has been made, but it is little more than a beginning, in the esta- blishment of technical schoolsin this country. Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Manchester have received some assistance from the Institute; but there are many manufacturing towns still requiring help, and the wants of the metropolis are by no means satisfied. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the appeal of the Council, backed by the powerful support of the Lord Chancellor, will meet with a ready and adequate response. THE PEABODY MUSEUM AT NEW HAVEN, U.S. HE accompanying illustration of this fine museum is reproduced from Science. The Peabody Museum, Mr. Ingersoll informs.us, stands on the corner of Elm and High Streets, just without the campus of Yale Col- lege. The building is due to the liberality of George Peabody, who gave a sum of money, in 1866, to erect a house for the collections. Thanks to the financial pros- perity of Massachusetts, the bonds for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars had greatly increased, and those set aside for the first wing of the building had become worth a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars when the trustees began to build. With that sum they have erected one of the finest buildings, for its purpose, in the United States—a lofty and ornamental structure of red brick and cream-coloured stone, whose broad and numerous windows April 2, 1885 | NATURE SUL express the desire of the investigators within for all the light they can get. Entering the basement-floor we find the posses- sions of the U.S. Fish Commission, deposited for sorting | -and examination under the eye of Prof. A. E. Verrill, who is chief of the zoological part of the museum, or by some of his associates. In another part of the basement, Prof. O. C. Marsh keeps “greate store” of fossils, cleaning the gigantic bones from Rocky Mountain quarries preparatory to study and display. Considerable paleontological property of the U.S. Geological Survey is under inspection here also. Only favoured visitors go to the basement, or care to go. The public entrance is above, opening underneath a magnificent rose-window into a spacious court with tiled floor, and walls of variegated bricks. This region is garnished by great slabs of the celebrated footprint sand- stones from the Connecticut valley, and a huge stump taken entire from a coal-bed. The Peabody Museum as it variety and beauty of the quartz crystals, and the sub- stantial interest inspired by the metals, visitors always pause with new gratification before some curious rosetted crystals of a form of lime, though they usually quite over- look the “educational series,’ which has been spread with such pains for their instruction. This educational collection, which seems to be extremely apt and well selected, concentrates in a single case a practical glossary and text-book of mineralogy. To this epitome of the science all the rich and rare examples in the wall-cases are only attractive illustrations ; and, the further to help the inquirer to understand them, several copies of Dana’s “‘ Mineralogy ” will be found upon little tables near by. Here persons may sit and read, acquire and carry away the information, but not the 4o0/, for that is chained to an iron pillar. The third floor is that most popular with the public, since it is devoted chiefly to modern animal life. The first thing to strike the eye in the south room is a fine series of comparative skeletons of primates, from civilised Iron staircases, clinging to | the wall in spiral flight, lead to the top story, and the court is roofed with glass. On the right and left of the entrance are doors leading to business offices, the blow- pipe laboratory, and the lecture-rooms of the Professors Dana (father and son), where large audiences frequently gather to hear the instruction designed for undergraduates alone ; and in the rear of the court, on the ground-floor, is the exhibition hall for minerals, of which the museum possesses an almost unrivalled collection. This might be expected, considering the men—Dana, Silliman, Brush, and others—of whose labours it is the result. The only thing in this room not locked up is a meteorite weighing 1600 lbs. The metal in one spot has been sawed off, and polished until it looks like burnished steel, and has been engraved with an historical inscription, from which it appears that this meteorite fell in Texas, pre- sumably the only State in the Union large enough to receive it safely. After the brilliant and many tinted ores, the endless will appear when completed. man down to the humblest of monkeys, all hanging in a beautiful row by hooks screwed into the tops of their heads. Beyond them, the whole side of the room is filled with cases containing an orderly succession of skeletons illustrating all the vertebrate orders ; while the centre of the room is occupied by the skeletons and stuffed hides of the larger mammals, like the camel, rhinoceros, a very dejected polar bear, &c. In the same room several cases are filled with stuffed skins of mammals, birds, and reptiles. Beside most of the land birds are placed their nests, with the eggs; or else the eggs are glued upon upright tablets of ground glass, in which position they show to excellent advantage. One large case is devoted to a collection of New England birds alone, excellently mounted upon the branches of a tree. This is the work of Prof. W. D. Whitney, who, before he became prominent as a linguist, was known as a good ornithologist ; as, in fact, he still is. Passing to the west room on the same floor, one sees invertebrate preparations most attractively displayed. 512 NATURE | April 2, 1885 They are confined almost wholly, however, to the crus- tacea, mollusks, radiates, and marine protozoa. Of insects there is a very small showing—only enough to represent scantily the classification of that immense class. This is ‘partly because it is unwise to display insects freely, since exposure to the light causes their colours to fade, but is due chiefly to lack of material, owing to the fact that no entomologists of note have been especially interested in the progress of this museum. On the other hand, the special tastes of Profs. Verrill, S. I. Smith, J. H. Emerton, and others, and the intimate relations the Museum (through these gentlemen) have sus- tained with the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Fish Commission, have brought the department of marine invertebrates to an almost unrivalled perfection. In no room does the casual visitor linger longer than in this one ; while its contents are unusually interesting to spe- cialists, because of the large proportion of type-specimens included. In many instances these are unique ; as, for example, some of those beautiful orange ard scarlet gor- gonias or “ sea-fans””—flat, branchless, mossy growths of calcareous matter, which resemble great masses of pressed seaweed. One case is wholly filled with these corallines ; and it is doubtful whether any museum in the world can make a better showing of them. The corals, also, are very fine, embracing many rare and even unique forms, as might be expected, remember- ing Prof. J. D. Dana’s labours in that direction ; so that only the Museum of Comparative Zoology equals this part of the cabinet. In the way of deep-sea forms of crustaceans, and echinoderms also, a great number of novel species are publicly displayed, which were procured in recent dredg- ings by the Fish Commission. Among them stand large jars holding alcoholic remains of the giant cuttle-fishes upon which Verrill has written so many learned pages ; and overhead hang Emerton’s paper models of Archi- teuthis and a huge octopus, which half the visitors take to be real devil-fishes stuffed, and gaze at with fearful curiosity. The remaining rooms on this floor are occupied as laboratories or lecture-rooms by Profs. Verrill and Smith, of the Sheffield Scientific School. The fourth story contains storerooms filled with fossils, a collection (on exhibition) of about two thousand antiqui- ties of great value from Central America, and a fair show of archzeological relics, the most notable part of which is the pottery from the mounds of the Ohio valley. But the glory of the Yale Museum isits palzeontological treasures, brought together wholly by Prof. O. C. Marsh. The few representatives of this collection visible in the second-floor rooms and in the hall-ways are alone sufficient to stamp the museum as pre-eminent in this line ; but they are merely an advertisement of what cellar and attic contain. It is not too much to say that, in respect to vertebrate paleontology (outside of fishes), this museum isnot surpassed in the world. Where other col- lections own fragments or single skeletons, Prof. Marsh boasts scores or hundreds of individuals, while many extinct races are known only by their fossil remains in his possession. This is the result of wisely-directed energy, and the ability to spend money promptly and liberally. Marsh’s frequent expeditions to the far west are well known to geologists. Many car-loads resulting from these were not only shipped home by himself, but his agents have been forwarding enormous quantities ever since from Wyoming and Colorado “ quarries.” To Prof. Marsh’s personal collection somewhat has been added at the museum by the U S. Geological Survey, which will become the publisher of the outcome of his studies now in progress. A score or so of assistants are constantly on duty, either in study, or in the mechanical work of skil- fully extracting fossils from the rocky matrix ; in match- ing and mounting, by the aid of wire, clay, and plaster, for permanent preservation, the often badly-broken bones of some antique brute whose extinction most of the world can accept with resignation ; or in making casts, models, and drawings of fossils, original and “ restored.” Several quarto volumes are already under weigh, and scarcely an issue of the American Fournal of Science appears without an advance note of some special dis- covery in vertebrate paleontology, anticipating the com- pleter descriptions to be made from this museum’s rich materials. NOTES THE new Lord Rector of Glasgow University, Dr. Lushing- ton, was installed on the 26th ult. The address, which was in every way worthy both of the University and of the Lord Rec- tor, contrasted strongly, with its calm, deep utterances and its grasp of the needs of a complete academic life, with the more or less political utterances to which we have been too much accus- tomed on similar occasions. We give the following quotation touching scientific work at a University : — ‘*‘ Communion of mind with mind is the most powerful help to mental growth, calling forth and expanding the intellectual powers which it is the duty of every free man to cultivate ; in such intercourse he who gives receives, and is made richer in giving what awakens new life in another. By fellowship of this kind toil is sweetened and obstacles overcome. What is the history of the greatest inventors and discoverers the world has seen, but a firm defiance of difficulties and discouragements? And who that ever honestly faced any difficult problem, and ‘ oft foiled, oft rose’ in the struggle has failed to gain at last the meed of hard-won victory? The rapture of Balboa, when from a peak of Darien he first gazed on the Pacific, is even less touching than that austere joy, of conte uplation destined to those who by steadfast and painful efforts, long seemingly unrewarded, have wrested from nature some hitherto unguessed secret, some truth which illumines and brings into closer union other familiar but as yet unconnected aspects of knowledge. When, after years of doubtful poring, the light flashed upon Newton which was for ever to make clear to man the dynamics of the heavenly bodies, showing how the same law sways every leaf that flutters in the gale and the remotest star-clusters, we can welt conceive how the ecstacy of wonder and delight wa= a disturbing presence that overpowered him, and made him request a friend to finish the calculation he had begun. And every generation, every decade, almost every year, opens new vistas through which the piercing eye, armed with weapons inherited from earlier conquests, may look forward bright in the hope of adding something more to the store of accomplished good to mankind ; for in knowledge, as in nature, nothing is unfruitful. Such hope cheered and. upheld many daring pioneers of science, whose venerated names, now become household words, are linked together for ever in the history of human progress, known and honoured throughout the whole civilised world. Yet who in the age of Watt, even in * the boldest flights of presaging imagination, could have foretold such wondrous conquests over space and time as the spectro- scope, the electric telegraph, and the telephone have revealed ? But I forbear from dwelling longer on the incentives to exertion held out to all by the numerous physical sciences which have so many gifted exponents, before whom it becomes a non-expert to be rather a listener than a speaker. May all honour and success be theirs in sounding the mysterious depths of nature, and drawing into light the essential order which underlies her seeming com- plexities, ruling them with the necessity of intelligible relations. Many and various are the marvels with which ‘‘ the world of eye and ear” surrounds us, inviting adventurous search into their far recesses ; but as human thought advances, winning ever wider triumphs in solving riddle after riddle, must not the further April 2, 1885 | NATURE 4 513 question force itself upon us, What of this power which reads and interprets nature? Beside and beyond the outward and visible, linked to it by mysterious connection, is the sphere of thought, of mind, the home and dwelling-place of thought. What is this being of ours which thinks, plans, and wills? What means it? Whither tends it? This, the question of questions, from far distant periods, souls possessed with profound genius have dared to ask and yearned for a reply. When no complete reply was gained, they yet toiled on, finding in the search food for deeper and more reverent wonder than even in the splendid picture which outward nature displays. They held fast the courageous and hopeful faith that for man who ‘names the name Eternity,’ ‘there must be answer,’ here or elsewhere to his trembling doubt, to his ‘obstinate questionings.’ Such searchers were the early Greek philosophers, who kindled a spark amid surrounding darkness, destined not to die out, but gradually to brighten by careful tendance, and grow into a light that will shine to all coming times, as successive generations of inquiring spirits look up to the great names of Plato and Aristotle as loftiest among their guides and forerunners. In the unsurpassed lucidity of diction exhibited by these two masters, we are led into the very foundry of ideas, and can follow the subtle process of new-born thought growing clearer to itself, and shaping language into its close-fitting outward vesture.” THE Queen has intimated through Sir Henry Ponsonby that she will contribute 50/. to the guarantee fund in connec- tion with the approaching visit of the British Association to Aberdeen. The fund is now almost completed. We learn that the nomination as President of the British Association at the Birmingham meeting in 1886 has been offered to Sir William Dawson, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., principal of McGill College, Montreal, and that he has telegraphed his intention of accepting the honour. AN important meeting was held on Monday at Marlborough House, under the presidency of the Prince of Wales, in connec- tion with the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886. The Prince of Wales, in an address of some length, stated the objects of the Exhibition, which is likely to form one of the most attractive and instructive of any recently held at South Kensing- ton. As the Prince stated, the objects for which her Majesty has been pleased to appoint this Commission are, briefly, to organise and carry out an exhibition by which the reproductive resources of our colonies and of the Indian Empire may be brought before the people of Great Britain, and by which als the distant portions of her Majesty’s dominions may be enabled to compare the advances made by each other in trade, manu- factures, and general material progress. of becoming practically acquainted with the economic condition of our colonies and the Indian Empire has ever been afforded in | this country. A guarantee fund of 128,000/. has already been secured, though it is not likely that any of this will be required. THE following are the Royal Institution lecture arrangements after Easter :—Prof. Gamgee, eight lectures on digestion and nutrition, on Tuesdays, April 14 to June 2; Prof. Tyndall, five lectures on natural forces and energies, on Thursdays, April 16 to May 14; Prof. Meymott Tidy, three lectures on poisons in relation to their chemical constitution and to vital functions, on Thursdays, May 21, 28, June 4; Mr. W. Carruthers, four lec- tures on fir-trees and their allies, in the present and in the past, on Saturdays, April 18 to May 9; Prof. Odling, two lectures on organic septics and antiseptics, on Saturdays, May 16, 23; and Rey. C. Taylor, two lectures on a lately discovered document, possibly of the first century, entitled ‘‘ The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” with illustrations from the Talmud. The Friday evening meetings will be resumed on April 17, when No such opportunity | Prof. S. P. Langley, of the Alleghany Observatory, Pennsyl- vania, will give a discourse on sunlight and the earth’s atmosphere. On March 25 the Sunday Society held a National Conference at St. James’s Hall with the authorities and officers of museums, art galleries, and libraries which have been open in the United Kingdom on Sundays. There was a good attendance, those present for the most part being representative men; a large number of ladies were present. Prof. Corfield, the Chairman of the Committee, presided. The chairman having briefly opened the proceedings, official statements respecting the Sunday opening of the following institutions, which are supported by public money, were submitted by different speakers :—National Museum and Exhibition of Pictures at Kew ; National Picture Galleries at Hampton Court Palace; National Picture Gallery at Greenwich Hospital ; National Gallery, Dublin; National Museum of Science and Art, Dublin; Birmingham Art Gallery and Library ; Manchester—six Free Public Libraries ; Middles- borough Free Public Library ; Newcastle-upon-Tyne Free Public Library; Stockport Museum; Stoke-upon-Trent Free Library and Museum; Wigan Free Public Library. Each of these official statements spoke of satisfactory results as the outcome of Sunday opening, the statements by Mr. Valentine Ball, F.R.S., Director of the Dublin Science and Art Museum; Mr. Caddie, Principal Librarian and Curator of the Library and Museum in Stoke-upon-Trent, and by Major Turner, Chairman of the Stockport Library and Museum, being specially exhaustive and interesting. The Rev. Septimus Hansard, M.A., rector of Bethnal Green, proposed the following resolution :—‘‘ That the facts submitted to this Conference respecting those public museums, art galleries, and libraries which have been opened on Sundays in the United Kingdom are most satisfactory, and it is hereby resolved that they be embodied in petitions to be presented to the Lords of the Treasury and the House of Commons, praying that the trustees of the British Museum and the National Gallery may be provided with the money required to enable them to open these institutions on Sunday afternoons.” This was seconded by Mr. John Westlake, Q.C., LL.D., and supported by a great many speakers, including Mr. Wyles, of Coventry ; Mr. Freak, of the National Boot and Shoe Riveters’ Society ; Mr. Steele, J.P., of Rochester ; Mr. Faulkner, M.A., of Oxford; Mr. R. M. Morrell, Mr. H. Rutherford, and Mr. Mark H. Judge. The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. THOMAS FLETCHER, of Warrington, gave a useful lecture on ‘*Smokeless Houses and Manufactories” at the Parkes Museum on March 26. In concluding his lecture, Mr. Fletcher said :—‘‘ The ground has been cleared by independent experi- menters, and I think it may fairly be said that both houses and all manufacturing industries can be profitably carried on abso- lutely without smoke, and it is simply a question of time as to when this state of things becomes general throughout the world. Some people are afraid that when after a short time the coal supply of England is exhausted, the predicted New Zealander, when he sits on the ruins of Westminster Abbey, will be able to live on the rabbits caught amongst the ruins; but if gaseous fuel is adopted in our houses and flameless regenerative furnaces are used in our manufactories it is probable that the coming New Zealander will have to defer his visit for a length of time which the present generation need not consider ; in fact, we shall be able to import our fuel from unexhausted countries, and hold our own against them after our coal is all gone. The future of gaseous fuel is settled beyond all question on the best of all possible grounds, that it is profitable to use, and users of solid fuel will soon discontinue their present system when they learn their position in the matter.” 514 From a letter addressed by the Rev. Edward Reynclds, of Rowland, Limestone County, Alabama, United States, dated ‘September 23, 1884, to the Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society, we take the following extract :—‘‘ Soon after becoming acquainted with the zodiacal light, I began to notice red sunsets. After a few years I noticed that they invariably followed the commencement of the zodiacal light, and continued about the same length of time—that is, about ‘two or three months. I seldom failed to call the attention of my friends and neighbours to these phenomena. Until this last display of the zodiacal light, and its invariable attendants, the red.sunrises and sunsets, I have always accounted for the redness by stipposing it to be caused by the oblique passage of the sun’s rays through his nebular train, But this season [ have been obliged to give up that theory, because the redness has continued after the dis- appearance of the zodiacal light. It is now more than ten months since their commencement, about November 13. They still continue to show no signs of abatement, but rather increase in vividness. Hence, I infer that the immediate cause of the redness is within the atmosphere, rather than in the distant and invisible nebulous train of the sun. We have not this season had a single day nor hour of clear, blue sky, such as is common in ordinary years. We have had plenty of cloudless days, but none of the pure blue. There is a yellowish, creamy whiteness, especially far and wide about the sun, even at midday. In looking across a forty-acre lot there is, at all times of the day, a peculiar blueness in the atmosphere, whilst at night not more than a third or half of the stars can be seen. ‘The freer fro: clouds the heavens are, the more distinctly do the red sunrises and sunsets appear; and so of the other appearances of the atmosphere I have mentioned. During the evenings following November 13 last I was able to see the zodiacal light but a few times, and then very indistinctly. I watched long for an opportunity to show it to my friends and neighbours, but faile | to find an evening when it could be seen by unpractised eyes. It has never been so before, since my attention was called to this subject forty-four years ago.” THE following account, we learn from Science, of unusual phenomena was received, March 10, at the Hydrographic Office, Washington, from the branch office in San Francisco. The barque Jznerwich, Capt. Waters, has just arrived at Victoria from Yokohama. At midnight of February 24, in latitude 37° north, longitude 170° 15’ east, the captain was aroused by the mate, and went on deck to find the sky changing to a fiery red. All at once a large mass of fire appeared over the vessel, com- pletely blinding the spectators ; and, as it fell into the sea some fifty yards to leeward, it caused a hissing sound, which was heard above the blast, and made the vessel quiver from stem to Stern. Hardly had this disappeared, when a lowering mass of white foam was seen rapidly approaching the vessel. The noise from the advancing volume of water is described as deafening. The barque was struck flat aback ; but, before there was time to touch a brace, the sails had filled again, and the roaring white sea had passed ahead. To increase the horror of the situation, another ‘‘ vast sheet of flame’’ ran down the mizen mast, and “poured in myriads of sparks” from the rigging. The strange redness of the sky remained for twenty minutes. The master, an old and experienced mariner, declares that the awfulness of the sight was beyond description, and considers that the ship had a narrow escape from destruction. THE United States Bureau of Education have printed and NATURE distributedsan address, by the Rev. A. D. Mayo, on the subject | of education in the South, which, balloon-like, may raise some heavy hearts by its very inflation! He urges the folly of casting upon the ignorant mass of either race the responsibility of edu- cating itself, and he tries to rouse enthusiasm like his own among Southerners who are educated ; urging the first call upon local | Birds of New Zealand.” [April 2, 1885 taxes to which education is entitled : v 3 the amount of yoluntary effort which may be made by ‘both males and females, wha appreciate his views and will qualify themselves for teachers 5 and the small importance of buildings, books, or apparatus, where a school has been commenced from the ‘‘soul end,” good teacher. Ir is unquestionable now that the new trigonometrical survey which has been made in the Netherlands (especially by the late Mr. Stamkart) for the European Commission since 1864 is not sufficient for the purpose for which it was undertaken, and the second chamber of the ‘‘ Staten Generaal ” has lately voted the money required for doing the work over again. Strange to say, it was the Minister himself who objected to this item, saying that as long as Mr. Stamkart lived, his colleagues (the other Dutch deputies to the European Commission) had made no objection to his work, and consequently he feared that perhaps later it might be said that the survey now proposed would also have to be done over again. Though it is to be regretted that such is the case, we cannot wonder at the Dutch Government objecting to such an expense, after its experience both in the Netherlands and in the Dutch East Indies. THERE is a curious analogy in China to the English custom of burying suicides at cross-roads, with a stake through their body. The body of the elo dz se who is so irreverent as to commit self-destruction within the precincts of that portion of Peking in which the Imperial Court is situated, is solemnly brought to some public place, such as a bridge, and there flogged. THE inargural address of the President of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society on the jubilee of the Society, which has been published separately (Leicester: Clarke and Hodgson) is characterised by a circumstance which is probably unprecedented in the history of societies. The President for the year is Dr. George Shaw, who was ,the President, and who delivered the first address to the Society fifty years ago; the same President of a society at its formation and at its fiftieth anniversary is a coincidence of peculiar,interest. Dr. Shaw was | naturally retrospective, for he described the labours of the founders, and the progress which has been made in the half century. The little pamphlet should be of use to all interested in steering young societies through the rocks and shallows which beset all enterprises in the earlier stages of their existence. In the case of the Leicester Society the stages were : (1) the papers were too dry and abstruse, and no one attended—learning was suffocating the infant; (2) they became popular, less philo- sophical, and more literary, to the detriment of severer study— the infant’s constitution was being destroyed by sweets ; (3) popular public lecturers began to be employed in an increasing ratio, and their presence was indicative of a want of energy amongst its members. After his biography of the Society, Dr. Shaw discusses the spirit of the present age, and the members of the Leicester Philosophical and Literary Society were to be congratulated if their presidential address fifty years ago were anything like so vigorous, encouraging, and abreast of time as that-on their jubilee. Mr. ADAM SEDGWICK has in preparation a new book, to be entitled ‘*‘ The Elements of Animal Biology,’”’ which is intended to serve as an introduction to the study of animal morphology and physiology. Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein and Co. are to be the publishers. Dr. BULLER, of Wellington, New Zealand, is preparing for the press a new and enlarged edition of his ‘‘ History of the The ‘‘history” will comprise a general introduction on the ornithology of New Zealand, a con- cise diagnosis of each bird in Latin and English, synoptical lists April 2, 1885| of the nomenclature, and a popular history and description of all the known species, brought down to the latest date. It will be published in parts, each containing not less than ten coloured plates. The size will be large quarto. Messrs. ASHER AND Co. announce as just ready ‘‘ The Chittagong Hill Tribes,” results of a journey made in the year 1882 by Dr. Emil Riebeck, Ph.D., F.R.G.S., translated by Prof. A. H. Keane. THE Oyster Fishery in the United “States employs 53,805 persons, and yields 22,195,370 bushels of oysters, worth 30, 438,852 dollars. In France 32,431 persons are engaged in the industry, which produces 43,307/., and in Great Britain 3,000,coo/. The oyster industry is rapidly passing from the hands of the fishermen into those of oyster culturists, and in the United States is carried on in so reckless a manner that the Government are being urged to interfere in the matter. WE have received a copy of ‘‘ Ellis’s Irish Education Direc” tory.” The part of the book relating to ‘‘ National Edu- cation” has been remodelled so as to make it a complete guide to the National System. The “Irish Educational Guide and Scholastic -Directory” has now been incorporated with ‘* Ellis’s Irish Education Directory.” AT the last meeting of the Seismological Society of Japan (as reported in the Fapan Weekly Mail) Prof. Koto read a paper on the ‘Movement of the Earth’s Crust,” as these have been observed in Japan. It appears that the south and east coasts are gradually rising, while the north and west coasts are subsid- ing. This phenomenon is directly connected with the intensity of seismic activity along the eastern seaboard, almost every earthquake felt in the capital cooming from a region extending from north-east to south-east or nearly south, while hardly any originate in the west. Mr. Sekiya described in detail the great earthquake of October 15 last year. It was attended by unusual barometric variations. The thermometer, which averaged 16° C. during the month, rose to 27° immediately before the shock, while the wind blew with a force of 43 kilometres per hour. The shock occurred at 4’ 21°54 after midnight, and lasted for 5’ 20", during which time no less than 200 complete vibrations were recorded. During the first second the motion of the earth measured only 2°5 mm., but rose to 13mm. in the third, and reached its maximum intensity of fully 42 mm. in the fourth second. The shock was then travelling with a velocity of 200-280 mm. in the second. Over a hundred reports were received by the Meteorological Bureau from various parts of the country, from which it appeared that the area affected by the shock was 24,728 square miles. Eighty-six per cent. of the pendulum clocks in Tokio were stopped, and much damage of the kind usual in these shocks was done. Mr. Sekiya states that this earthquake was the severest since February 22, 1880, to which it was remarkably similar in many ways. Both originated somewhere on the east side of the Bay of Yedo, and both affected the same area. In both instances the origin of the shock was in all probability due to the formation of a subter- ranean fissure. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Macaque Monkey (JJacacus cynomolgus) from India, presented by Miss Pyne Hamilton; a Blaubok (Cephalophus pygmeus) from South Africa, presented by Mr. A. Best ; a Russ’s Weaver-bird (Quelea vussi) from West Africa, presented by Mr. J. Abrahams; a Long-eared Owl (Asvo otus), a Common Buzzard (Buteo vulgaris), a Common Kestrel (Zinnunculus alaudarius), European, presented by Mr. Scott B. Wilson; two Ravens (Corvus corax), British, presented respectively by Mr. J. Bradley, jun., and Mr. Gerard Sloper; a Common Lizard (Lacerta vivipara), British, presented by Mr. NATURE 515 Stanley S. Flower; a Wattled Starling (Dilophus carunculatus) from South Africa, purchased; a Common Otter (Lutra wul- garis), British, received on approval. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN A STAR WITH LarGE PRopeR Morron.—Dr. Gould notifies the probable existence of very large proper motion in a star of a little below the eighth magnitude, which is No. 1584 of Hour xxiii. in the Cordoba Zone Catalogue ; the position for 18750 is in R.A. 23h. 58m. 1°85s., Decl. — 37° 58’ 18°8”, con- sequently in the constellation Sculptor. From observations between 1872 and 1884 Dr. Gould infers an annual proper motion of +074823s. in right ascension, and — 2°4479" in declin- ation, or 6°2057” in arc of a great circle in the direction 66° 46 east of south. This direction, he remarks, differs from that of Lacaille 9352 (which is 15° distant) by 34°. The large proper motion of Lacaille’s star, one of 7°5m., was also detected by Dr. Gould; it amounts to 679565”; so that it had moved over 14; minutes of arc between the year 1752 and the time of the Cordoba observations about the end of 1876. The annual proper motion of the star, Groombridge 1830, the largest yet remarked in a star north of the equator, is 6°976”, as determined by Argelander in 1843. Wo tr’s CoMET.—This comet was observed for position with the 8-inch refractor at the Observatory of Kiel, on March 12, when its distance from the earth was 2°24, and that from the sun 1°94, so that the theoretical intensity of light was just one- tenth of the amount on the night of discovery, September 17. As there is a possibility that the comet may yet be observable with larger instruments during the next period of absence of moonlight, Dr. Lamp has continued his ephemeris from Prof. Kriiger’s second elements, and a few places are subjoined— At Berlin Midnight. R.A. Decl. Log. Distance from : hen cage Se ree: Earth. Sun. April 3 4 19 44 Sra) 9/8} 0°4030 ... O°3144 5 24 6 3 16°9 Uh 28 28 3 26°% O'41I8 ... 0°3193 9 32 49 Seer) II 37 9 3 43°5 O°4204 ... 073242 I 41 28 3) 5155 : 15 4 45 47 +3 59°2 0°4288 ... 0°3290 THE Aprit METEORS.—The earth will arrive at the descend- ing node of the first comet of 1861, with which the Lyra-meteors of April have been supposed to be connected, on the morning of the 2oth inst. In 1861 the comet at this node passed only 214,000 miles within the orbit of the earth, and the elements assign for the radiant R.A. 270°7°, Decl. +33°5°. If the present form of the comet’s orbit is due to planetary action at some distant epoch, it is quite as likely that the planet Saturn was the disturbing body, as that it should have been the earth. With the elements of 1861 we find that at a true anomaly of 144° 43’, the comet’s distance from the orbit of Saturn is only o'11, and this point would be reached 2°48 years after perihelion passage. The period of revolution, according to the definitive investigation of Prof. Oppdlzer, is 415 years. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, APRIL 5-11 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed. ) At Greenwich on April 5 Sun rises, 5h. 28m. ; souths, 12h. 2m. 38°2s.; sets, 18h. 38m. ; decl. on meridian, 6° 15’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 7h. 35m. Moon (at Last Quarter on April 7) rises, 23h. 49m.* ; souths, 4h. 19m. ; sets, 8h. 48m. ; decl. on meridian, 17° 56’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m. h. m h, m oi Mercury ... 5 46 13 II 20 36 15 22 N. Venus BR 2H II 37 iy) Gite ea Uetigecys Ne Mars cose 58-18 Il 22 H7eSH 2.) Te ZING Jupiter ... 13 41 20 58 AIG... “Ig 5GuNe Saturn 8 11 16 17 Of23") 5 255 NG * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding and the setting that of the following day. 516 NATURE [Apri 2, 1885 On April 9 at 3h. 48m. there is a near approach of 14 Capri- corni to the Moon at 339° from the vertex to right, for inverted image. Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites April h. m. April h. m 5s. O43 L.oceidisap>|| "7 =... 22545 IMs occ, reap, 3 26 I. ecl. reap. 23 13 III. ecl. disap. 21 32 ~«(LI. tr. ing. 2 4o III. ecl. reap. B3u5 2 slhetrnepts 21 34 II. occ. disap. 6) =.) 18) 40) T-Joccadisap: | (9)) =. (2) 20)eHI. ecl. reap: 21 55 I.ecl. reap. | 10 .. 22 13 IV. ecl. disap. Teer e228 well the an ps DL oe. 2a 7aelavis, eCl. reap: 19 7 III. occ. disap. The Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. Saturn, April 5.—Outer major axis of outer ring = 39”°8 ; outer minor axis of outer ring = 18”'1 ; southern surface visible. April 8, 2h.—Mercury at greatest elongation from the Sun, 19° East. GEOGRAPAICAL NOTES A COMMITTEE of the Geographical Society of Vienna has been appointed to carry out the business arrangements of Prof. Lenz’s proposed expedition to Central Africa. It is reckoned that 25,o00f1. will be wanted for the expedition. At first it was thought that Herr Lenz might go out as the representative of the united Geographical Societies of Vienna, Berlin, and Munich, but the Society of Berlin has decided to send out an explorer of its own, Dr. Fischer, who will start next month. Dr. Fischer will go for the same purpose as Herr Lenz—that is, to explore the watershed of the Upper Congo, and to find traces of the four missing Europeans. But instead of starting from the west coast, as Dr. Lenz proposes to do, he will proceed from the east coast, going from Zanzibar to Uganda. THE fifth German Geographical Congress (Geographentag) will be held in Hamburg on April 9 to 12. Among the points which will be brought before the Congress are the following: Ant- arctic investigations by Drs. Neumayer and Ratzel ; the import- ance of the Panama Canal to the trade of the world, and deliberations on a new edition of Dr. Neumayer’s ‘‘ Guide to Scientific Observations on Travel.” The afternoons will, as hitherto, be deyoted to questions connected with school geo- graphy. The exhibition directed by Prof. Pagenstecher promises to be especially interesting and exhaustive. It is intended to exhibit new maps, especially in the domain of hydrography, and all the maps and descriptions of the free town of Hamburg and the adjoining districts. The instruments and apparatus used by travellers will be collected in a single group. Rich public and private collections of African and Central American ethno- graphical and archeological objects will be exhibited, and in part explained by their owners. An exhibit of the products and articles of trade of the various colonies has been rendered poss- ible by the co-operation of large mercantile frms in Hamburg ; and zoological, botanical, and geological collections will be so grouped that the character of single countries and continents will readily strike the eye. especially one to the marshes of the lower Elbe. We have received a reprint of a paper recently read before the Philosophical Society of Glasgow by the Rey. Alexander Wil- liamson, the well-known traveller in North China. In the compass of thirty octavo pages the writer describes rapidly the extent, physical conformation, means of intercommunication (especially the rivers, the enormous importance of which is pointed out with much force), the nature of the soil and its pro- ducts, meteorology, textile fabrics, oil-producing plants, dyes, the geology, trade routes, the race, population, and finally dis- cusses the future. The portions of the subject to which Dr. Williamson devotes especial attention are precisely those which are wholly passed over, or only hastily glanced at in popular works in China. The section dealing with the geology of China gives some remarkable results, based on the investigations of Pumpelly and Richthofen. These show that under every one of the eighteen provinces of China, each of which is about as large as Great Britain, there are large deposits of coal. In some provinces it underlies the whole country in all descriptions— bituminous, anthracite, cannel, and lignite, The extent of these coal-measures may be gathered from the following state- Some excursions will also be made, | aggregate of the coal-fields of the greatest coal-producing countries in Europe ; the Shansi coal-field is one and a half times larger than this aggregate, while in other parts of North China we have coal-fields seven times greater than all the coal districts in Great Britain. And, side by side with all the coal- fields investigated, Mr. Pumpelly found iron ores and ironstone of all descriptions. As regards the important geographical and commercial questions involved in trade-routes with South- Western China, Dr. Williamson is in favour of the route from Moulmein through the Shan States, crossing the Chinese frontier into Yunnan at Ssu-mao(Esmok); but he does not despair of the road by the Irrawaddy to Bahmo, and so by Ja-li to the Yang-tse, more especially as the latter would create a trade for it-elf—viz. that with Sse-chian. Then there is the ancient route between Central Asia and China, which passes through Hinan, Shensi, and Kansu, the southern branch of which leads through Yarkand, Kashgar, and Khoten to India and Persia, and which was used by caravans prior to the Christian era, while the other branch goes in a north-westerly direction to Bar-Kul, Kuldja, and thence to Russian territory. Mr. STANFORD, of Charing Cross, has published a Catalogue of Maps, and other geographical publications, calculated to be of great service to all who may have occasion to inquire after such things. The catalogue covers seventy-two pages, is care- fully classified, beginning with maps of the world ; after the title of each map is an account of its special features, its size, number of sheets, scale in miles to an inch, and price, according to method of doing up. The Catalogue, we may say, contains the maps of all the leading publishers in Europe. As Mr. Stanford is now sole agent for the Ordnance Survey Maps, a special section of the Catalogue is devoted to this department, and contains a very useful index map. Messrs. W. AND A. K. JOHNSTON have also sent us a copy of their new catalogue of the many geographical and other works published by that well-known firm. We have also from the same firm a very excellent wall-map of Egypt, embracing the country down to the south of Lake Victoria Nyanza; it is brought so well up to date as to contain the leading features of Masai Land discovered by Mr. Joseph Thomson’s second expedition. Accompanying the map is a useful Handbook of the Geography of Egypt. Tue Arctic ship A/er¢, when returned by the Government of the United States to the Admiralty at Halifax, will be placed at the disposal of the Canadian Government, for the purpose of continuing the exploration in which they are now engaged of the Hudson Bay and Straits. A COMMITTEE, consisting of members of the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies and other influential persons, has been formed at Turin for the purpose of furnishing Sig. Auguste Franzoi with the means of enabling him to carry out his proposal to explore the country between the Abyssinian province of Kaffa and the Lakes of Equatorial Africa. THE most important paper read before the Paris Society of Commercial Geography at its meeting on the 17th ult. was one by M. Delouell, the explorer of the northern part of the Malay peninsula. He described his discovery of a large lake, during his survey of the isthmus of Krao, called Tabé-Sab, which is bordered by fertile plains, where elephants and buffaloes abound. The people inhabiting this region have hitherto been unknown ; they appear to be mestizos, half Siamese, who call themselves Samsams. AT the last meeting of the Geographical Society of Marseilles M. Brémond read a detailed account, with itineraries, of his travels in the kingdom of Choa. THE first number for the current year (Band viii. Heft 1) of the Geographische Blatter of the Bremen Geographical Society contains papers on the forest districts of Bavaria, the abodes and wanderings of the Esquimaux of Baffin Land, by Dr. Boas, Schwatka’s exploration on the Yukon, New Zealand past and present, the German journey of exploration through South America, and numerous smaller communications, TuHeE last number (Band xx. Heft 1) of the Zeztschrift of the Geographical Society of Berlin contains the following papers :— A description by Dr. von Langegg of Old Cairo, situated about four kilometres to the south-west of the Arab quarter of modern ment :—Their total area is about 400,000 square miles in China | Cairo; an account of the mission station of Otyimbingue in proper. The coal-field in Hunan alone is greater than the | Damaraland, by C. G. Biittner; the first part of a discussion i April 2, 1885 | of the methods and task of ethnology, by ‘‘ Achelis” ; a map of the Congo, with accompanying description, by Herr Richard Kiepert ; and a note on the additions and changes made in the Chinese administrative organisation of the Thienshan region. The Verhandlungen (Band xii. No. 2) of the same Society con- tains a criticism by Herr Erman, who has for some years had charge of the historical and geographical departments of the Royal Library at Berlin, of the methods in which the work of compiling a bibliography of the geographical works relating to Germany—a ‘‘ Bibliotheca geographica Germanize ”—is being carried out. Ar the meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris on March 20, a letter was read from the French Consul at Asuncion in Paraguay, giving details of the expedition sent by the Argen- tine Government to explore the Pilcomayo, and to ascend to the Bolivian frontier if possible. It has been found that, owing to impassable rapids, the river cannot be utilised as a route between Paraguay and Bolivia. The only practicable route is that by land, the possibility of which was recognised in 1883 by M. Thouar’s expedition. M. de Cailland described the Pescadore archipelago in the Formosan channel. The islands have excellent roadsteads, and form the key to Formosa. M. Simonin read a note on the Indian population of the United States ; and M. Jules Garnier described his project of an aérial railway for Paris. A NEW ARRANGEMENT OF THE APPARA- TUS OF THE ROTATING MIRROR FOR MEASURING THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT HAVING now been engaged for a number of years in measuring the velocity of light by means of the rotating mirror, I have succeeded in rearranging the apparatus in such a manner as, by means simply of two mirrors, one fixed, the other movable, placed at a distance of a few metres from each other, to obtain, even with a very moderate velocity of rotation, a deviation of the image of a fixed object as large as may be desired in theory and limited in practice only by the intensity of the light and the perfection of the optical apparatus. To describe in a few words the plan of L. Foucault’s cele- brated experiment :—The rays issuing from a narrow aperture fall, at a distance of I m., on a rotating mirror 14 mm. in dia- meter, and, on being reflected there, traverse an object-glass placed as near the mirror as possible. This object-glass throws an image of the aperture on a spherical concave mirror having a radius of 4 m. placed at a distance of 4 m. from the rotating mirror. A second mirror, in all respects perfectly correspond- ing with the first, receives the reflected pencil, which produces a fixed image of the rotating mirror, and transmits a movable image of the apertuie to a third mirror, and so on. Foucault’s apparatus comprised five similar mirrors. The last, in which a fixed image was formed, reflected on the fourth the light, which retraced its previous course and so came back to the rotating mirror, which again in turn transmitted it deviated in respect of its rota- tion by an angle twice as large as that at which it had turned when performing the double passage of the mirrors, z.e. twice 2zom. The velocity of rotation being 400 revolutions per second, Foucault obtained a deviation of 7 mm. One of the objections taken to Foucault’s experiment and the values he deduced from it respecting the velocity of light, is the smallness of that deviation. It is known how he ingeniously cleared the difficulty by substituting for the measurement of the deviation that of the distance of the aperture from the rotating mirror producing a determined deviation. He did not, how- ever, disguise the fact that the advantage of this substitution is perhaps more specious than real, and he brought forward the plan of an apparatus compo-ed of a series of objectives and of a concave mirror, by means of which the passage of the light might be extended to several hundreds of metres. He had even selected, at the Observatory, the place where his new experi- ments might be carried out. I have to confess that, in endeavouring to take advantage of Foucault’s scheme, whether by means of object-glass or of mir- rors, I struck on such difficulties as caused me to desist from the prosecution of my researches by either of the methods indicated. In the United States in 1879 Mr. Michelson put in operation the experiment of the rotating mirror at great distances, but under an arrangement which brings the experiment much nearer * Paper, by M. C. Wolf, in the Comptes Rendus for February 9. NATLERZE 517 to the celebrated one of MM. Fizeau and Bréguet than that of Foucault. The aperture from which the light issues was placed at a distance of about 30 English feet (9°15 m.) from the rotating mirror, the diameter of which amounted to 1} inches (3°2 cm.). A simple non-achromatic lens, 7 inches (17°8 cm.) in diameter, and having a focus of 150 feet (45°75 m.) was placed in such a manner as to throw an image of the aperture, seen by reflection in the rotating mirror, on the surface of a plain mirror, 7 inches in diameter, placed normally to the line passing through the centres of the two mirrors and the lens, at a distance of 1986°23 feet (605°80 m.) from the rotating mirror. The pencil then returns on itself, and gives an image of the aperture coinciding with it, point for point, when the mirror is fixed, deviated as soon as it rotates. The lineal displacement of the image during a rotation of 258 revolutions per second amounted to 114°15 mm. The advantage, however, of such a large displacement seems to be counterbalanced by the inferior quality of the image. A lens 7 inches in diameter, and with a focus of 150 feet will, even under the best conditions, necessarily give an image bounded by very large fringes of diffraction, which atmospheric agitations transform into a luminous blot so ill-defined that, as Mr. Michelson himself confesses, it is impossible to study the effect of the parallax due to the defect of coincidence of the plane of the image with that of the lines of the micrometer ; in other words, there is no defined focus. In all my experiments, therefore, it has been my aim to main- tain the perfect accuracy of optical effects, such as had been achieved by Foucault, believing that it is of greater advantage to measure even the small deviations of a perfect image than the exaggerated displacement of a blot of light. I have consc- quently sought to amplify the deviations of Foucault without increasing the distance to be traversed by the light, and without having recourse to great velocities of rotation on the part of the mirror. I call to mind, by the way, that Bessel noted, as a means of increasing the deviation, the return of the deviated ray on the rotating mirror. This method, which has never yet been applied, might be utilised by means of a series of little plain mirrors placed in couples on one side and the other of the rotating mirror, in such a way as to transmit the pencil alterna- tively on one and the other of the two parallel faces of the rotating mirror. With each reflection the deviation increases by a quantity equal to its primitive value. But this process would greatly complicate the measurement of the path traversed by the light. The advantage contemplated by it may, besides, be secured by a method much more elegant and simple. The apparatus I bring under the notice of the Academy con- sists purely of two mirrors, one fixed, having a diameter of 0'20 m., the other movable, 0’05 m. in diameter, the two placed at a distance of 5m. from each other. Both are concave and spherical, and have the same radius of curvature, 5m. The source of light is a narrow aperture cut in the silver, in the centre of the large mirror. The pencil emanating from it and entirely covering the rotating mirror is reflected by the latter, and returns to form on the surface of the fixed mirror a movable image of the aperture and of the same size. In each of its posi- tions this movable image becomes a source of light; the rays return to the movable mirror, which concentrates them anew into a fixed image: this is the image of Foucault, which coin- cides with the aperture when the rotation is very slow, which is deviated in respect of the rotation when the latter is a little rapid. Suppose the velocity of the rotating mirror to be such that the lineal deviation is equal to the breadth itself of the aperture, the image will then come to be formed on the fixed mirror, rim to rim with the aperture itself. There it falls on the reflecting surface of the silver, becomes then a source of light exactly similar to the first, producing a second image deviated by the same quantity. The latter in its turn acts like the fir t, insuch a manner that, if one could look on the surface of the fixed mirror, one would there be able to see, issuing from the aperture itself, an indefinite series of identical images placed rim to rim and indistinguishable from each other, except in respect of their regularly increasing brightness. If the velocity of rotation is increased, all these images will be found to separate from each other and form on the fixed mirror a series of equal luminous lines, separated by equal intervals from each other, and * These plain mirrors, disposed in couples, might also be used to collect and transmit in one constant direction the light scattered in all directions by the rotating mirror. By this means the advantage would be obtained of observing the doubled deviation of a much more brilliant image. 518 NATURE we ee ecm lial 4 | April 2, 1885 which will continue increasing their distance from each other, proportionately with the increase of the velocity. If one suc- ceeds in determining micrometrically the distance of one of these lines from the original aperture, he will measure no longer the single deviation of Foucault, but as high a multiple of that deviation as may be desired. The distance of my two mirrors from each other being 5m., and the velocity of the rotation of the mirror only 200 revolutions per second, the deviation will be five-eighths of that obtained by Foucault—z.e. five-eighths of 0’7 mm., or nearly 0°44 mm. The tenth image will conse- quently be at 4°4 mm. from the aperture. To assure myself, above everything, of the existence of these multiple images, I employed Foucault’s mode of observation, and placed before the luminous aperture, at a little distance from the fixed mirror, a plate of glass with parallel faces, inclined at an angle of 45° to the direction of the axis of the mirror. By this means there is thrown back laterally a portion sufficiently faint, it is true, but still a portion, of each of the deviated pen- cils which one receives in a microscope. There will then be seen, so soon as the velocity of rotation is great enough to give a continuous image, appearing on the rim of the image of the aperture a second, less distinct image, next a third at the rim of the second, increasing in breadth in proportion as the first is -more and more deviated, and ending by separating from one another. With the electric light generated by a small gas- machine of half-horse power, or with the wan sun of these late days, I have managed to see as many as three images and catch a glimpse of the fourth. The actual result very well corre- sponded with my anticipations. What remains to be done is to improve the method of observation and increase the quantity of ight, Suppose the tenth image is sufficiently intense to be observed, I cut away the silver of the mirror from a little rectangle with rims parallel to those of the aperture. The tenth image will come to be formed in this rectangle, all the following images will be suppressed, and the deviated pencil traversing the glass of the mirror, the posterior face of which is plain and polished, will be received behind on a prism of total reflection, which will transmit it into the micrometric micro- scope. of the rectangle will be measured ; then, by an independent operation, the distance of this rim from that of the aperture ; the sum of the two will give the line of magnitude of the devia- tion. It remains to ascertain the order m of this deviation. For this purpose the rotation of the mirror will be accelerated till the image of the order 72 — 1 comes to be substituted for that which was observed. Let 2 and x’ represent the numbers of revolutions of the mirror per second, 6 and 6’ the lineal values of the simple corresponding deviations, then d=kn, v=kn' and #5 = (m — 1) 38, thence mn =(m— 1)n'. whence n! er n'— Mn The number of revolutions is measured electrically by the | methods M. Cornu has so carefully discussed in his work on the velocity of light ; I need not dwell on it. Finally, the measure- ment of the passage of the light is easily got at; it is that of the distance from each other of the centres of the surfaces of the two mirrors. In order to observe a deviation of a rather high order, all that is needed is a sufficiency of light. Now, in this case, I manage to augment considerably the proportions of utilised light. In the first place the rotating mirror may be made to reflect on its two faces, care being only taken that both have exactly the same radius of curvature. In the second place, having suppressed every object-glass, I am able to utilise the pencil reflected by the rotating mirror throughout the whole space in which it gives a good image of the aperture, and this space is considerable, because the astigmatism re-ulting from the obliquity does not sensibly affect the rectilineal form of this image. It is, next, possible to tack on to the mirror of 0°20 m., of which I have * The quantity of light utilised by this mode of pbservation on a glass is hardly the tenth of the actual quantity. The ratio of the geometrically decreasing progression representing the intensities of the successive images | being 0°656, allowing o’go for the reflecting power of the silver, the bright- ness of the third image seen by reflection from a plate of glass is inferior to that of the eighth image seen directly. The reflecting power of new silver being 0°96, it would be possible by its means to attain to the sixteenth mage. The distance of the rim of the image from the rim | | ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSIONS PRODUCED BY spoken, a series of other identical mirrors placed at the same distance in the plane of rotation of the pencil. The condition of identity of the radius of curvature is, besides, much less rigorous for these mirrors than in the case of the two faces of the rotating mirror, It is, however, always indispensable that the movable image given by this latter is reflected exactly on to the surface of each of the fixed mirrors. T have also to remark that it is necessary that the lineal dis- tance of the image observed from the aperture is large enough to allow the observation to be made. - For in the thickness of the glass of the mirror and on its two surfaces there will inevit- ably arise a diffusion, as also reflections of the incident light, to embarrass and even frustrate the exact vision of the deviated image when it is too near the aperture. I have just shown that the actual apparatus ought, under good conditions, to show an image of the sixteenth order, perhaps even one as high as the twentieth—that is to say, at $°8 m. from the aperture. [t would be useful, however, to have recourse to an apparatus of more considerable proportions. If 20 m. is taken for the yadius of curvature of the mirrors and for the length of the simple passage of the light, the movable mirror ought to have a diameter of 0°20 m. Let there be impressed on it a velocity of rotation of only fifty revolutions per second, the deviation calculated according to the experiment of Foucault will be :— Boe Bo) I 400 o'7 mm. X ae) x = 1°75 mm. e} The displacement of the twentieth image will then be 35 mm-. which, measured to the hundredth of a millimetre, will give an approximation of _'_, Now'I do not think it impossible to 3500 turn a mirror oface m. as many as fifty revolutions per secon without causing deformation of its surfaces. The turbines anil the movable pieces of the dynamo-electric machines of the pre- sent day frequently attain a similar velocity. It is my duty to make known to the Academy that the funds necessary for my first and long experiments were generously supplied to me by M. de Romilly, to whom I am happy to make this public testimony of my gratitude. NON-EXPLOSIVE LIQUIDS? IIT. HE only real danger which may attend the use of the little sponge lamps arises from accidental spilling of spirit used for filling them in the neighbourhood of a flame, or from carrying out the operation of filling in the vicinity of a light. Indeed, such casualties as have been attendant upon the use of petroleum- spirit as an illuminant have teen mainly connected with the keeping and handling of the supplies of this very volatile liquid, and are largely attributable to want of caution or to forgetfil- ness. ‘The salutary regulation prescribed by law, that vessels containing the spirit shall bear a conspicuous label indicating its dangerous character, has und ubtedly operated very beneficially in diminishing the frequency of accidents with it, by constantly admonishing to caution. It is a matter for much surprise and regret that the manufacturers of a class of miners’ safety lamps, consisting of modifications of well-known types, with the ordinary oil lamp replaced by the sponge lamp, in which petroleum-spirit is burned, should have allowed trade interests to induce them to mislead those who use these lamps with re- | gard to the nature of the illuminant supplied with them, by devising a name for it which gives a false indication of its nature, being designed to create the belief that it is an article of special manufacture, allied in character to a comparatively very safe oil | largely used in miners’ lamps, while in reality it is a well-known article of commerce, the safe storage and use of which demand special precautions and vigilance. The lecturer took occasion to point out here, ten years ago, that a large proportion of the accidents arising out of the em- ployment of petroleum- or paraffin-lamps were not actually due to the occurrence of explosions. Thus the incautious carrying of a lamp, whereby the liquid is brought into contact with the warm portion of the lamp close to the burner, may give rise to a liberation of vapour which, in escaping from the lamp, may be * Address delivered at the Royal Instituticn of Great Britain, Friday March 13, 1885, by Sir Frederick Abel, C.B, D.C.L., F.R.S., M.R-I Continued from p. 496. | i April 2, 1885 | NATURE ‘ 519 ignited, causing an outburst of flame which may alarm a nervous person and cause the dropping or overturning of the lamp. The accident which occurred in some apartments in Hampton Court Palace, in December, 1882, and gave rise to a somewhat alarm- ing fire, appeared almost beyond doubt to have originated from the employment by a domestic servant of a contrivance in which petroleum spirit was used for heating water ; but, as petroleum- lamps were vsed in the particular residence where the fire actually occurred, public correspondence ensued regarding the dangers attending the use of such lamps, although all which were known to have been on the premises were forthcoming after the fire and found to be intact. There was, at any rate, no ‘evidence whatever adduced in support of an assumption that the casualty was due to the explosion of a lamp, and other instances might be quoted in which the breaking out of a fire, or the destruction of or injury to life, which had evidently been caused by upsetting or allowing to fall a petroleum lamp, has been erroneously ascribed to an explosion. There are, however, numerous casualties which have been un- questionably caused by the occurrence of explosions in lamps, and which have in many cases been followed by the ignition of the oil, and the consequent loss of life or serious injury to those in the immediate vicinity of the accident. Careful inquiries have of late been instituted into casualties of this kind, and in many instances the explosions have been distinctly traceable to some immediate cause. In the great majority of cases they occur some considerable time after the lamp was first kindled, and when the supply of oil remaining in the reservoir has been but small. Occasional examples of the reverse are, however, met with. Thus, last spring, a man and his young son were sitting at a table reading, his wife being also close at hand, when a paraffin lamp, which had just been lighted, exploded, and the room was at once set on fire by the burning oil which escaped. The husband and wife fled from the room, both being slightly injured, but the child was unable to escape from the flame, and was burned to death. The oil used in the lamp was of a well- known brand, having a flashing point ranging from 73° to 86° F., and assuming that the recently lighted lamp had been filled with oil, and was untouched at the time of the explosion, no satis- factory explanation can be given of the accident, unless, perhaps, the reservoir had been so completely filled with oil, that the expansion of the liquid, on its becoming slightly warm, exerted sufficient force to determine the fracture of the glass at some part where a flaw or crack existed. A lamp accident which occurred last July at Barnsbury, causing the death of a woman and her husband, appears, on the other hand, distinctly traceable to the producticn of an explo- sion in the reservoir of the lamp. The latter was stated to have been alight but a short time, when, the husband being already in bed, the wife, in her night-dress, attempted to blow out the flame of the lamp ; the man heard a report, and, looking towards the lamp, saw his wife in flames. He proceeded at once to her rescue, and was severely burned in extinguishing the flames in whick she was enveloped. The woman died in a few hours, and the man succumbed thr2e days later to the injuries received. There being no witness to the accident, there is no evidence against the supposition that, on the occurrence of a slight explo- sion in the reservoir in the lamp, the woman, having hold of it when attempting to blow it out, may have upset it, or tilted it so as to cause the oil to flow out and become inflamed. The lamp may have become fractured by the explosion ; but whenever such a result has been produced, the lamp had always been burning some time, so that there was considerable air-space which could be filled by an explosive atmosphere, whereas, in this case, the evidence appears ‘positive as to the lamp having been full of oil when lighted. In another fatal case of a lamp explosion in the same month, at Mile End, the accident was also caused by the attempt on the part of a woman to blow out the lamp before going to bed. In this case the lamp had been burning for three hours ; the husband of the sufferer was in bed asleep in the room at the time, and, the woman being unable to give any account of the occurrence, the only information elucidating it was furnished by the daughter, to the effect that the lamp had been burning for three hours, and that it was the habit of her mother to extinguish the lamp by first lowering the wick and then blowing down the chimney. Another fatal accident, caused by the explosion of a lamp, took place at Camberwell last January, and was brought about, as in the two preceding cases, by attempts to extinguish the lamp by blowing down the chimney. The husband and two sons of the sufferer were witnesses of this accident; the lamp had been burning for six or seven hours, when the woman took it in her hand, and having partially turned it down, proceeded to blow down the chimney ; an explosion at once occurred, the glass reservoir was broken, and the inflamed oil flowed upon her dress, burning her most severely. A lamp explosion which occurred last December in a van used as a bedroom by an itinerant showman, at the so-called World’s Fair held at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, and which caused the death of an infant, was of a somewhat different character to the foregoing. The lamp, which was of the duplex-form and was attached to a bracket, had been alight for some hours, when a woman went, from a neighbouring van used as the dwelling room, to extinguish it. She observed that while the lamp, or wick, was only burning faintly, the oil in the reservoir was alight. She placed her apron over the top of the chimney to extinguish the lamp, when it at once appeared to explode, and the burning oil set the interior of the van on fire. The woman ran out for help, and a lad, protecting his head with his coat, rushed in and brought out the infant which was lying upon the bed, and which died from injuries received. The oil used in the lamp was believed to be of high flashing point, being obtained by the retailer who supplied it, from a firm dealing in a Scotch shale oil manufactured by the Walkinshaw Company (known as the ‘electric lizht” brand). A sample of the oil, as supplied by the wholesale dealers, had a flashing point of 114° F., but a portion of the oil actually purchased by the owner of the lamp had a flashing-point of only 63° F., and evidently consisted of a mixture of the heavy oil and of benzoline. The oil in question would naturally become exhausted of the volatile spirit after the lamp had burned for some time, and the flame would then have burned low in consequence of the heavy character of the residual oil ; the lamp and its contents would have thus become highly heated, and some accidental disturbance of the surrounding air must have caused vapour generated from the heated oil and con- tained in the air-space of the reservoir, to become inflaned, the oil itself being thereby ignited. By placing her apron hastily upon the top of the chimney, the woman forced air into the reservoir, and thus either caused a slight explosion to take place or determined the breaking of the glass by the sudden change of temperature. A lamp explosion, apparently due to the same cause, occurred quite recently in the cabin of a smcll steam- launch on the Medway, near Chatham. Several cases of undoubted lamp explosions, fortunately un- attended by serious consequences, have come to the lecturer's knowledge as having occurred in the billiard-rooms of barracks where petroleum or paraffin oil was employed as an illuminant. These lamps are fixed over the billiard-tables, and generally speaking the rooms have top- or sky-lights. In every instance the lamp had been burning for several hours, and had probably become more or less heated, especially as shades of sheet tin were placed over them as reflectors. In each case a portion of the glass reservoir was blown out by the explosion, and the oil, becoming ignited, burnt portions of the table on which it fell. A careful investigation of accidents of which the foregoing are illustrations,! together with a critical examination of the con- struction of various lamps, and the results of many experiments have, up to the present time, led the lecturer and Mr. Redwood to arrive at several definite conclusions with respect to the im- mediate causes of lamp-explosions and to certain circumstances which may tend to favour the production of such explosions. If the lamp of which the reservoir is only partly full of oil be carried, or rapidly moved from one place to another, so as to agitate the liquid, a mixture of vapour and air may make its escape from the lamp in close vicinity to the flame, and, by becoming ignited, determine the explosion of the mixture exist- ing in the reservoir. This escape may occur through the burner itself, if the wick does not fit the holder properly, or through openings which exist in some lamps in the metal work, close to the burner, of sufficient size to allow flame to pass them readily. A sudden cooling of the lamp, by its exposure to a draught or by its being blown upon, may give rise to an inrush of air, thereby increasing the explosive properties of the mixture of vapour with a little air contained in the reservoir, and the flame of the lamp may at the same time be drawn or forced into the * Mr. Alfred Spencer, of the Metropolitan Board of Works, has obligingly furnished me with the official details of several of the accidents above referred to.—F 520 air-space filled with that mixture, especially if the flame has been turned down, as the latter is thereby brought nearer to the reservoir. The sudden cooling of the glass, if it had become heated by the burning of the lamp, may also cause it to crack if it is not well annealed, and this cracking, or fracture, which may allow the oil to escape, may convey the idea that an explosion has taken place. If the evidently common practice is resorted to of blowing down the chimney with a view to extinguish the lamp, the effects above indicated as producible by a sudden cooling may be combined with the sudden forcing of the flame into the air-space, and an explosion is thus pretty certain to ensue, especia!ly if that air-space is considerable. If the flashing- point of the oil used be below the minimum (73° Abel) fixed by law, and even if it be about that point or a little above it, vapour will be given off comparatively freely if the oil in the lamp be agitated, by carrying the latter or moving it carelessly ; the escape of a mixture of vapour with a little air from the lamp, and its ignition, will take place more readily, but on the other hand it will probably be feebly explosive, because the air will have been expelled in great measure by the generation of petroleum vapour. If the flashing-point of the oil be high, the vapour will be less readily or copiously produced, under the conditions above indicated, but, as a natural consequence, the mixture of vapour and air existing in the lamp may be more violently explosive, because the proportion of the former to the latter is likely to be lower and nearer that demanded for the production of a powerfully explosive mixture. If the quantity of oil in the lamp reservoir be but small, and the air-space con- sequently large, the ignition of an explosive mixture produced within the lamp will obviously exert more violent effects than if there be only space for a small quantity of vapour and air, because of the lamp being comparatively full. If the wick be lowered very much, or if for some other reason the flame becomes very low, so that it is burning beneath the metal work which surrounds and projects over the wick-holder, the lamp will become much heated at those parts, and the tendency to the | production of an explosive mixture within the space of the lamp will be increased, while, at the same time, heat will be transmitted to the glass, and it will be correspondingly more susceptible to the effects described as being exerted by its sudden | Experiments have demonstrated that a | exposure to a draught. lamp containing an oil of high flashing point is more liable to become heated than a comparatively light and volatile oil, in consequence of the much higher temperature developed by the combustion, and of the comparative slowness with which the heavy oil is conveyed by the wick to the flame. It therefore follows that safety in the use of mineral oil lamps is not to be secured simply by the employment of oils of very high flashing point (or low volatility), and that the use of very heavy oils | may even give rise to dangers which are small, if not entirely absent, with oils of comparatively low flashing points. occurrence of such an accident as that in the training-ship Goliath, already referred to, which was brought about by a boy letting fall a Jamp which had been alight all night, and which was so hot that he could no longer hold it, appears to be primarily ascribable to the use of an oil of very high flashing point ; and the accident at the Agricultural Hall furnished another illustration of the kind of danger attending the use of such an oil. The character of the wick very materially affects not only the burning quality of the lamp, but also its safety. plaited wick of long staple cotton draws up the oil to the flame regularly and freely, and so long as the oil be not very heavy or of very high flashing point, and therefore difficultly volatisable or convertible into vapour (by so-called destructive distillation), the flame will continue to burn brightly and uniformly, with but little charring effect upon the wick—that is to say, the extremity of the latter will only be darkened and eventually charred to a distance of much less than a quarter of an inch downwards, and it will not be until the partial exhaustion of the oil-supply diminishes the size of the flame and induces the user to raise the wick, that the latter will become more considerably charred. But, if the wick be very tightly plaited, and made, as is not unfrequently the case, of a short staple cotton of inferior capillary power, the oil will be less copiously drawn up to the flame ; as a consequence, the length of exposed wick will be increased by the user of the lamp, and as the evaporation of the oil will take place more slowly from each portion of the wick which furnishes the flame, the heat to which the cotton is exposed will be greater, and the charring, which is fatal to the proper feeding of the flame NATURE The | A loosely | | April 2, 1885 by destroying the porosity of the end of the wick, will take place more rapidly and to a much greater extent. Even with wicks of the higher qualities, considerable differ- ences exist in the rapidity with which the oil is raised to the flame. In Mr. Redwood’s experiments, conducted with a speci- men of English wick of good quality and with a very superior American wick, of corresponding dimensions, the quantity of oil siphoned over by the latter in a given time, was from 35 to 47 per cent. greater (according to the nature of oil experimented with) than that carried over by the English wick. If the wick be at all damp when taken into use, its power of conveying the oil to the flame will be decidedly diminished, the capillaries of the fibre being more or less filled with moisture, and similarly, if the oil accidentally contain any water, the latter, passing into the wick, will interfere with the proper feeding of the flame. As the oil is very thoroughly filtered or strained during its transmission through the body of the wick to the flame, it is obvious that any impurities suspended in the liquid will be deposited within the wick and will gradually diminish its porosity. For this reason the same wick should not be used for a great length of time, and it is decidedly objectionable to use a much greater length of wick than is necessary to reach to the bottom of the reservoir, and to continue its use until it has become too greatly shortened by successive trimmings. On the other hand, the wick should always be of sufficient length to be immersed to a considerable distance in the oil. It is evident that the copious supply of oil to the flame will become reduced as the column of liquid which covers the wick in the reservoir becomes reduced in height ; hence the supply of oil in the lamp should never be allowed to get very low, not only because it is undesirable to have a large air-space which may be filled with vapour and air, but also because the burning of the lamp is injuriously affected thereby. Some lamps of patterns first constructed in the United States are provided with what may be called a feeding wick, in addition to the wick or wicks which furnish the flame. This wick is generally simply suspended from the lower surface of the burner, and reaches nearly to the bottom of the reservoir, being so placed that it hangs against one flat side of the regular wick, and thus aids considerably the copious and uniform absorption of oil by the latter. In certain lamps of recent construction the reservoir which contains the main supply of oil is so arranged (upon the principle of the old study- or Queen’s oil-lamp) that it regularly maintains at a uniform level the supply of oil, which surrounds the wick in a small central reservoir or cylinder, sepa- rated from the main reservoir (excepting as regards a small channel of communication) by an air-space, which presents the additional advantage of preventing the transmission of heat to the oil vessel. This kind of lamp is constructed entirely of metal ; this is the case now with a very large proportion of the lamps in use, and unquestionably adds greatly to the safety of lamps, which, if constructed of glass or porcelain, are always | liable to accidental fracture, quite apart from the question of possible explosion. ‘ It has been proved experimentally that if the reservoir of a burning lamp be warmed, so as to favour the emission of vapour into the space above the oil, and a small opening in the top of the reservoir be then uncovered, air will be drawn into the latter and form an explosive mixture with the vapour, which, escaping from the lamp clo:e to the wick-holder, will be fired, and pro- duce an explosion in the lamp. It is an interesting illustration of the very imperfect appreciation, by some lamp-designers, of the conditions which, in the construction of a lamp, secure safety or determine danger, that the reservoirs of some petroleum- lamps are actually furnished with an opening in the upper surface, which is closed with a more or less badly-fitting metal cap, and is intended to be used for filling the lamp with oil. Independently of the great element of danger which this fitting presents, in consequence of the obvious temptation to the users to replenish the reservoir while the lamp is actually burning, it is very likely sooner or later to be the means of admitting to the reservoir, in the manner above indicated, the supply of air necessary to determine the explosion of vapour therein existing. Another source of danger introduced in the construction of lamps which should be sufficiently obvious, and to which refer- ence was made when first discussing the causes of lamp_explo- sions, consists in the provision in many lamps, of openings of considerable size close to the burner, apparently with the object of affording a passage for the air or vapour in the reservoir, which may expand as the lamp becomes somewhat warm. Other April 2, 1885 | devices with the same object in view, consisting of small channels or shafts brought up from the top of the reservoir to the seat of the lamp flame, are adopted in some American lamps. If these openings or channels were protected, in accordance with the well-known principles which govern the construction of miners’ safety lamps, so as to preclude the possibility of flame passing them, they would obviously be unobjectionable, and indeed in one or two instances of modern lamps the openings which have been provided for the escape of expanding air or vapour are of such dimensions that flame could not pass. A simple arrange- ment which would effect the desired object with perfect safety, and would at the same time protect the lamp wicks from deterioration by the grosser impurities sometimes contained in portions of asupply of oil, is to attach to the bottom of the burner a cylinder of wire gauze of the requisite fineness (twenty-eight meshes to the inch) which would contain the wicks, and would | allow the passage of air or vapour through it towards the burner, while it would effectually prevent the transmission of fire from the lamp-flame to the air-space of the reservoir. Some of the more prominent points elicited by the inquiry in progress, as to the causes of explosions in petroleum Jamps, and the conditions which regulate their efficiency and safety, having now been noticed, it remains to offer a few simple suggestions, attention to which cannot but serve to reduce the risks of accident which attend the use of petroleum and paraffin oil :— t. It is desirable that the reservoir of the lamp should be of metal. Jt should have no opening or feeding place in the reser- voir, nor should there be any opening or channel of communica- tion to the reservoir at or near the burner, unless protected by fine wire gauze, or packed with wire, or unless it is of a diameter not exceeding 0°04 inch. ‘ 2. The wick used should be of soft texture and loosely plaited ; it should fill the entire space of the wick-holder, and should not be so broad as to be compressed within the latter; it should always be thoroughly dried before the fire, when required for use. The fresh wick or wicks should be but little longer than sufficient to reach to the bottom of the reservoir, and should never be immersed to a less depth than about one-third the total depth of the reservoir. 3. The reservoir or lamp should always be almost filled before use. 4. If it be desired to lower the flame of the lamp for a time, this should be carefully done, so as not to lower it beneath the metal work deeper than is absolutely necessary ; but it should be borne in mind that even then the combustion of the oil will be imperfect, and that vapour of unconsumed petroleum will escape, and render the lamp very unpleasant in a room. 5. When the lamp is to be extinguished, and is not provided with an extinguishing arrangement (of which many excellent forms are now applied to lamps) the flame should be lowered until there is only a flicker ; the mouth should then be brought to a level with the top of the chimney, anda sharp puff of breath should be projected across the opening. The lamp should remain on a firm support when it is being extinguished. The lecturer hopes that, pending the more thorough treatment of this subject by Mr. Redwood and himself when these investi- cations are completed, the points dealt with in this discourse which relate to accidents with petroleum lamps may, on the one hand, tend to dispel groundless alarm as to the dangerous nature of petroleum’ and paraffin oil as illuminants, and may, on the other hand, serve to convey some useful information respecting the causes which lead to accidents with lamps and the readiness with which they may be avoided. DR. KLEIN ON CHOLERA At a recent meeting of the Abernethian Society of St. Bar- tholomew’s Hospital, Dr. Klein briefly reviewed the accepted theories as to the ztiology of cholera, and stated the views concerning it which he had been led to adopt since his visit to India. His address is of importance as embodying the conclusions of the Indian Commission of Inquiry into this disease. Two main theories are held with regard to the cholera —the one, which is supported by a large section of the Indian medical staff, being that cholera is non-infectious and non-com- municable ; the other, which is upheld by European authorities, being that it is both infectious and communicable. In support of the former theory may be ouoted the numerous cases of NAT ORE 521 sporadic cholera which occur, and the fact that when troops are attacked in a military cantonment and are at once marched out into camp, no new cases occur other than those which are already incubating. Lastly, in many places in India, in spite of all conditions favourable to a spread of cholera by the evacuations, it is rare for any but sporadic cases to occur. In support of its communicability and infectiousness it is unquestionable that when an outbreak of cholera has occurred, it has in most instances been introduced from a district where cholera was rife, as instanced by the late outbreak at Marseilles, which was shown to have been introduced from Egypt, Some have maintained that it may be conveyed by winds ; against this may be adduced the fact that epidemics have occurred in Malta without any occurring at the same time-in Gozo. Now, Gozo is nearer to Egypt than Malta, and yet no epidemic at Malta has ever been preceded by an epidemic at Gozo. The upholders of the theory of infectiveness are divided into two schools—the contagionists, who consider that the disease is directly communicable trom the sick to the healthy, and that the virus is contained in the discharges from the alimentary canal ; and the localists, who believe that the evacuations contain a germ which is capable of elaborating the virus under suitable conditions of climate and soil. Against the contagionists’ view must be considered especially these facts—that it is very rare for attendants to be attacked early, and that they only succumb at a late period of the epidemic ; and that cholera patients are treated in the general wards of a large hospital in Calcutta, and yet no cases of con- tagion have occurred. Dr. Koch, in studying this disease, found that the lower parts of the small intestine of patients who died from cholera swarmed with peculiar bacilli (comma bacilli), which passed out with the evacuations, and which he considered were capable of manufacturing the cholera virus when introduced into the small intestine of an unhealthy patient. He also believes that this bacillus is destroyed by the acid secretion of the stomach of a healthy person, and, further, that this bacillus is destroyed by drying ; and hence that this disease Could not be propagated by soiled linen after this had been dried. The German Commission believes these bacilli to be the cause of the disease. Dr. Klein, by a series of experi- ments, has proved that these comma bacilli are not destroyed by an acid solution of the same strength as that of the gastric juice ; but that, on the contrary, they thrive after having been immersed in such a solution. Further, that though these bacilli, in com- mon with all germs (except spores of bacilli), are destroyed by thorough and scientific drying, still soiled linen never becomes thoroughly dry. Klein thinks that even the location of these bacilli in the lower part of the small intestine should of itself suggest suspicion, inasmuch as bacilli and micrococci in great numbers are contained in it even in health, and the more because this locality is not the exclusive seat of the disease. More con- clusive evidence, however, was collected by him in India. For instance, three of the houses situate in a certain street in Cal- cutta contained in all eight cases of cholera. Leading out of the street was a narrow lane to a large water-tank, around which was built a squalid rookery. The water of this tank was used in the rookery for all purposes, and contained the comma-bacilli. Now, the houses in the street were not supplied with water from the tank, and yet eight cases of cholera occurred in the square, while none were found in the rookery, which was inhabited by about 200 families. The English Cholera Commis- sion has also found a bacillus apparently similar with the cholera- bacillus in the intestines of children and adults suffering from diarrhcea. Dr. Lewis, of Netley, has found the same in the saliva of healthy persons. With regard to the evacuations con- taining the virus, Dr. Klein found that in India many of the public- built wells were contaminated by sewage, and that tle water, though nominally not used for drinking purposes, for expediency was generally so used, and especially at night time. Again, at Benares a large sewer opens into the Ganges at a spot where the pilgrims and natives perform their religious ablutions, these in- cluding especially the washing out of the mouth with the river water. In spite of this only sporadic cases of cholera occur. Dr. Klein has been led to the conclusion with regard to the cholera—that Koch’s bacillus cannot be the cholera germ. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS American Journal of Science, March.—Prof. Marsh’s mono- graph on the Dinocerata, by L. P. B. This valuable contribu- tion to American palzontology forms a sequel to the author’s 522 work on the Odontornithes, or birds with teeth, and contains a full account of the peculiar order of mammals discovered by him during the last fifteen years in the early tertiary formations of the great central plateauin Wyoming. The old lacustrine basin of this region, where alone the remains of Dinocerata have hitherto been found, have already yielded parts of over 200 individuals, which are now grouped in three genera: Dinoceras, Marsh; Tinoceras, Marsh; and Uintatherium, Leidy. The last-named appears to be the most primitive type, and Tinoceras the most specialised, Dinoceras being intermediate. Of species the number cannot yet be determined, but thirty more or less distinct forms have already been recognised. In stature and movements it appears to have resembled the elephant as much as any other known type, differing from it especially in the shape of the skull, remarkably small brain, longer neck, and more bent fore limbs. It was by far the largest of all known Eocene animals. The paper is enriched with numerous illustra- tions, and with a map showing the region of Dinoceras beds.— On Taconic rocks and stratigraphy, with a geological map of the Taconic region, by James D. Dana. In this paper the author embodies the results of a fresh study, begun in 1882, of the Taconic region extending over parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York. The rocks described comprise the Taconic skirts of the Taconic range, and subordinate ridges within the adjoining limestone area ; the limestone forma- tions on the east and west sides of the Taconic range; and the quartzite adjoining or within the limestone area. All these rocks ore regarded as belonging to one system of Lower Silurian age, with the Taconic schists as the upper member of the series. The map is to a scale of half an inch to the mile.— Variations of latitude, by Asaph Hall. The author deals with Signor Fergola’s recently-proposed plan for investigating varia- tions of latitude by special series of observations made with the best prime vertical transit instruments on selected lists of stars. A chief feature of the plan is that the work is to be mainly differential, two observatories under the same or nearly the same latitude co-operating.—Notes on the Jurassic strata of North America, by Charles A. White. The paper is mainly a reply to the objections raised by Mr. J. F. Whiteaves, of the Canadian Geological Survey against the classification of certain exposed formations frequently occurring throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Dakota, Utah, and Montana, and usually referred to the Jurassic period.—Meteoric iron from Coahuila, Mexico, by M. T. Lupton. An analysis of a fragment of this meteoric mass, weighing about 192 lbs., yielded: iron, 91°86; nickel, 7°42; cobalt, 50; phosphorus, *27.—Optical projection of acoustic curves, by W. Le Conte Stevens. Optical presenta- tions of a concord and a discord are shown projected on a screen by a simple and ingenious process.—Measurement of strong electrical currents, by John Trowbridge.—Divisibility of the Archzean formations in the North-West,iby R. D. Irving. The region here investigated occupies, as indicated by the accom- panying sketch-map, a tract some sixty miles in length between Lake Numakagon, in North Wisconsin, and Lake Gogebic, in North Michigan. The Archean rocks of this district are re- ferred to the Huronian and Laurentian systems.—Mineralogical notes, by W. E. Hidden. Specimens are described of phenacite and Xenotine, from new localities ; of Fayalite, from Colorado ; of Zircon, from Canada ; and of zutile and emeralds, from North Carolina. Nachrichten von der K. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften und der Universitat zu Gottingen, August to December, 1884.—A con- tribution to the theory of the absorption of light in crystals, by W. Voigt.—Remarks on the theory of the cycloid and on all forms of cycloidal curves, by A. Enneper.—Researches on the symmetrical relations and elasticity of crystals, by B. Minne- gerode.—On the histology of the Asteride, by Dr. Otto Hamann.—On some derivatives of urea, by R. Leuckart.—On the preparation of orthodinitrobenzol in large quantities, by Paul Jannasch.—A contribution to the theory of complex dimen- sions developed from x unities, by K. Weierstrass.—Researches on the optical structure and properties of leucite, by C. Klein. —On some noteworthy archeological object in Treves, by Friedrich Wieseler.—Remarks on Gauss’s algebraic series, by J. Thome.—On the titrimetric analysis of urea, by Dr. Th. Pfeiffer.—On the development of the reproductive organs in Limax agrestis, by J. Brock.—On the classification of the genus Loligopsis, Lam. (Leachia Lesueur), by J. Brock.—Remarks on the Acta Mathematica, edited by Dr. Gésta Mittag-Leffler, by NATURE [April 2, 1885 Ernst Schering.—On the electro-magnetic rotation of a fluid, by Eduard Riecke.—On the inflexion of the present participle and comparative in Mceso-Gothic, by Leo. Meyer. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, March 19.—‘‘ On ‘ Transfer-resistance’ in Electrolytic and Voltaic Cells.” By G. Gore, LL.D., F.R.S. The existence of this phenomenon has been a matter of doubt ever since the year 1831, and the question has been examined by many investigators. In the present paper are described a series of methods by means of which its reality has been determined. Other methods are given for measuring the amounts of such “‘vesistance,” either collectively at the two electrodes of an elec- trolytic cell, or separately at each electrode. Modes of obviating the interference of polarisation, and of securing success in the measurements, are also described. The influence of various circumstances upon the phenomenon were investigated—viz. strength and density of current ; total resistance ; density of current and size of electrode ; composition of the electrolyte ; strength of ditto ; combined electrolytic cells ; temperature ; and chemical corrosion. The relations of the phenomenon to size of plate in voltaic cells, to the positive and negative plates respectively, and to strength of current in those cells, were also examined, and the results are given. The following are the chief facts established by this research :— That a species of electric ‘‘resistance,” distinct from that of polarisation and of ordinary conduction-resistance, varying greatly in amount in different cases, exists at the surfaces of mutual con- tact of metals and liquids in electrolytic and voltaic cells. That this ‘‘ resistance ” varies largely in amount with different metals in the same solution, and with the same metals in different solutions; in dilute solutions of mineral acids of different strengths, or of different temperatures, and is usually small with easily corrodible metals which form quickly soluble salts, and large with those which are not corroded ; and is disguised in the case of those which by corrosion form insoluble salts. The results of the experiments also show that the same voltaic current was ‘‘resisted” in different degrees by every different metal when employed as an anode, and when used as a cathode ; also by the same metal when used as an anode and cathode respectively ; and that the proportions of such ‘‘resistance” at an anode and cathode of the same metal varied with every different metal in every different electrolyte (and strength of electrolyte), and at every different temperature; and that the resistance at the anode was usually smaller than that at the cathode ; in some cases, however, where a film was formed upon the anode, an apparently reverse effect occurred ; that a current from a given positive plate of a voltaic cell was differently resisted by every different metal used as a negative plate in that cell; and that by rise of temperature ‘‘transfer-resistance” was usually and considerably reduced. They further show that this species of ‘‘ resistance” was largely reduced by increasing the strength of current ; and was thus conspicuously distinguished from ordinary conduction- resistance of the electrolyte. In consequence of this effect, ‘‘transfer-resistance”” was greatly influenced by every circum- stance which altered the ordinary resistance, and thereby the strength of current. The usual effect of diminishing the density of current alone, by enlarging both the electrodes and keeping the strength constant, was to diminish the ‘transfer-resist- ance ;” and of enlarging one only, was to diminish it at that electrode and increase it at the other, the effect being greatest at the altered electrode; but the influence of density was very much smaller than that of strength of current. The current was usually less ‘‘resisted,” and larger with a small positive plate and a large negative one, than with those sizes reversed. Altera- tions of size or kind of metal at one plate of an electrolytic or voltaic cell affected the ‘‘transfer-resistance” at the other, by altering the strength and density of the current. ‘«Transfer-resistance,” therefore, appears to vary, not only with every physical and chemical change in the metals and liquids, but also with every alteration in the current. Such ‘*resistance”’ throws light upon the relative functions of the positive and negative plates of voltaic cells, and illustrates the comparatively small influence of the negative one in producing strength of current. Nearly all these conclusions are based upon results represented by average numbers obtained by series of experiments. April 2, 1885] Linnean Society, March 19.—Sir John Lubbock, Bart., President, in the chair.—Dr. J. Grieve and Mr. Chas. T. Druery were elected Fellows of the Society.—Dr. G. J. Romane exhibited two human crania from South Africa ; one was that of an aboriginal bushman from Kruis River, Cango district, Gudts- boora, obtained through Dr. Stroud.—Mr. J. G. Baker drew attention to a specimen of a supposed hybrid between the two genera Aloe and Gastferia, and grown in the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. He also showed a curious new fern, Polypodium (Niphobolus) polydactylon, Hance, discovered by Mr. W. Hancock, F.L.S., in the Island of Formosa.—A paper was read on new hydroids from the collection of Miss Gatty, by Prof. Allman. Thirty-eight species distributed among twelve genera are described as new. Among these the plumularian genus, Podocladium, is very remarkable, not only by the posses- sion of both fixed and movable nematophore, in accordance with which, like Heteroplon, of the Challenger collection, it holds a position intermediate between the typical Eleutheroplean and the Stetoplean genera, but by the fact that every hydrocladium is supported on a cylindrical jointed peduncle. Among other re- markable and significant forms is one to which the author gives the nameof 7hutaria heteromorpha. Inthisare found combined on the same hydrophyton no less than three morphological types, which, if occurring separately, would be justly regarded as representing three genera, Zhutaria, Dermoscyphus, and Sertularia. Not- withstanding this singular combination of forms, the author does not believe that the characters of the specimen justifies the con- struction of a new genus ; and he regards the generic position of the hydroid as determined by that one of the three forms which most decidedly prevailed in it. TZhuiaria heteromorpha this shows in a very marked way the indefiniteness of the boundaries between different zoological groups, and calls to mind a phe- nomena known to occur among plants, as in certain epiphytical orchids, in which the same stem has been observed to carry flowers referable to several generic types.—Then followed a paper by Capt. William Armit, F.L.S., viz. on plants met with by him on Moresby, Basilisk, O’Neill, and Margaret Islands, South Eastern New Guinea, and in which a list of over 130 species are given. Physical Society, March 14.—Prof. Guthrie, President, in the chair.—Capt. Abney read a paper upon recent researches on radiation. In general a hot body loses heat in three ways : by conduction, by convection, and by radiation. In the case of the carbon filament of an incandescent lamp the loss of heat by conduction is insignificant, and a series of experiments has been made to determine the amount of radiation—that is, the energy expended as radiant heat for every unit of electrical energy expended in the lamp. Mr. Crookes has investigated the sub- ject of radiation in high vacua, the cooling bodies being thermo- meter bulbs, and has come to the conclusion that, at pressures between 40 millionths and 1 millionth of an atmosphere, the radiation varies as the mean molecular free path. In the author’s experiments incandescent lamps of thin glass were exhausted to different degrees, the radiation being measured by athermopile. It was found that, from 4o millionths to ro mil- lionths of an atmosphere the radiation increases uniformly with decrease of pressure, but that beyond this point it becomes nearly constant. A more important question is to determine the amount of radiation for any particular ray under the above con- ditions. This was effected by placing a small thermopile in the different parts of the spéctrum. Plotting the results with watts as abscissze, and radiation as ordinates, the curves for each kind of ray are found to be very accurately hyperbolas with vertical axes. This result gives a method for rendering identical the quality of the light emitted by two Jamps. We have only to find the radiation corresponding to a particular kind of light for one lamp, and then, by examining the curve corresponding to that ray for the other lamp, find for what number of watts the radiation is the same.—Prof. J. A. Fleming read a paper on characteristic curves of incandescent lamps. The author has collected a number of statistics connecting the life, resistance, efficiency, and potential difference of incandescent lamps, and has examined them with a view of showing the mutual relations of these variables by empirical equations. A curve showing the relation of any one of them to any other is called a characteristic curve of the lamp. Among the various results arrived at was the confirmation of the law, announced by Profs. Ayrton and Perry at the last meeting of the Society, that for a certain class of lamps the potential difference, minus a constant, varies as the cube-root of the efficiency, the latter quantity being measured NATURE 923 by candles per horse-power. The constant, which, in the lamps examined, is about 28°7, is nearly the potential difference at which the lamp begins to emit light ; hence the law may be put into this form: The effective potential difference varies as the cube-root of the efficiency. Using the results obtained, the author then solved the problem of determining the conditions for a minimum cost per candle, and obtained a result closely agreeing with that communicated at the last meeting by Profs. Ayrton and Perry. In answer to Lord Rayleigh, Dr. Fleming stated that he had not calculated the increase of cost due to a variation from the most favourable conditions; it had been shown, however, by Messrs. Ayrton and Perry that the increase of cost due to a variation of potential difference amounting to 3 or 4 per cent. upon either side of the value corresponding to least cost was very small.—Mr. C. Cleminshaw described some further experiments on spectrum analysis. These consisted of methods of obtaining the inversion of the sodium line in the spec- trum of the limelight. The first consisted in concentrating the rays from the slit by a lens, just beyond the focus of which is a spoon in which sodium is ignited by a Bunsen flame. In the second method the burner and sodium are introduced between the lime and the slit, and carbonic acid is introduced into the flame. The result in either case is to cause the inversion of the D line. Prof. Guthrie, alluding to the pale blue flame produced by common salt in a coal fire, suggested that there might be more than a mere mechanical action produced by the carbonic acid. Mr. Cleminshaw, however, believed that the action was purely mechanical.—An abstract of a communication by Dr. John Hopkinson on Sir W. Thomson’s quadrant electrometer was read by the Secretary. According to Maxwell, the deflec- tion produced by a given difference of potential between the quadrants is given by the formula— aN = B)(C — where 4 and Z# are the potentials of the quadrants, and C that of the needle. Dr. Hopkinson finds, however, that the constant A should be — the quantity £ being due to and depend- A 1+£C” , ing on the unsymmetrical position of the needle with respect to the quadrants. Zoological Society, March 17.—Prof. W. H. Flower, LL.D., V.P.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Sclater exhi- bited and made remarks on a duck shot on Lord Bolton’s estate in Yorkshire which appeared to be ‘a singular variety of the Scaup (Hwligula mavila).—Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, F.Z.S., exhibited and made remarks on a pair of abnormal deer’s antlers obtained in. India.—Dy. F. H. H. Guillemard read a paper on the ornithology of the Sulu Archipelago, showing that the ovv7s of that group is purely Philippine, and that the line of separation between the latter archipelago and Borneo lies between the islands of Sibutu and Tawi-tawi. Dr. Guillemard added fifty species to the list of birds hitherto known from Sulu, two of which were new to science.—A communication was read from Mr. T. Kirsch, of the Royal Zoological Museum, Dresden, con- taining descriptions of some new butterflies obtained by the col- lectors of Mr. Riedel in Timor-Laut.—A communication was read from Prof. W. Nation, C.M.Z.S., containing some notes on the Peruvian cliffswallow (Petrochelidon ruficollis).—A com- munication was read from the Rev. H. S. Gorham containing a revision of the Phytophagous Coleoptera of the Japanese fauna, of the sub-families Cassidine and Hispine.—A communication was read from Lieut.-Col. C. Swinhoe, F.Z.S., being the second of his series of papers on the Lepidoptera of Bombay and the Deccan. The present paper treated of the first portion of the Heterocera.—Dr. Hans Gadow, C.M.Z.S., gave an account of the anatomical differences observed during an examination of examples of the three species of rhea (AA. americana, macro- rhyncha, and darwini). Chemical Society, March 19.—Dr. W. H. Perkin. F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The following papers were read :—On the presence of choline on hops, by Dr. Griess, F.R.S., and Dr. G. H. Harrow.—Fluorene, Part III., by Dr. W. R. Hodgkinson.—Combustion in dried gases, by H. Brereton Baker, B.A. Entomological Society, March 4.—The President in the chair.—Four new members were elected.—Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited specimens of Ceraleptus lividus, Stein, from Chobham. —Rey. W. W. Fowler exhibited the unique specimen of Cery/on 524 NATURE [| April 2, 1885 atratulum, Reitt. ; and specimens of an Indian Cassida in which the colours were preserved. Dr. Sharp remarked on the colour- ing matter of the Cassidide. Mr. Fowler likewise exhibited a microscopical movable stage, suited to entomological purposes. — ’ Mr. W. F. Kirby exhibited a variety of Sfilosoma lubricepeda, Esp., which had been found in the British Museum (Natural History), South Kensington.—Mr. A. G. Butler communicated a few observations touching M. De Nicéville’s recent suggestions on seasonal dimorphism in the Lepidoptera, which gave rise to some discussion.—Dr. D. Sharp remarked on the recent dis- covery of two different forms of spermatozoa in Aelops styiatus, Fonsc.—Papers read :—A monograph of British Braconidae, Part 1, by the Rev. T. A. Marshall.-—Descriptions of new species of Languriide, by the Rev. W. W. Fowler.—On the discovery of a species of the Neuropterous family, Memofteride, in South America, with general considerations regarding the family, by Mr. R. McLachlan. Mineralogical Society, March 10.—The Rev. Prof. Bonney, D.Sc., F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Messrs. James Currie, Alfred Harker, and M. Alfred Lacroix were elected members. — The Secretary read a paper by M. H. Sjogren (communicated by Dr. Hugo Miller) on the crystalline character of graphite. — Mr. W. Semmons read a paper on a new discovery of connelite. —The balance sheet of the Society for the year 1884, which will be issued with the next part of the ¥vzra/, showed the Society’s financial position to be satisfactory. Institution of Civil Engineers, March 24.—Sir Frederick J. Bramwell, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The paper read was on the electrical regulation of the speed of steam-engines and of other motors for driving dynamos, by Mr. P. W. Willans. EDINBURGH Royal Physical Society, March 18.—Mr. B. N. Peach, F.RS.E., F.G.S., President, in the chair.—The following communications were read :—On certain peat and tarn deposits in the North of England, by Mr. Hugh Miller, F.G.S., Assoc.R.S.M.—Mr. Robert Kidston, F.G.S., described three new species of Fossil Lycopods from the carboniferous forma- tion: Sigi/laria M‘Murtrie, from Redstock ; Sig¢laria Coriacea, from the Newcastle coalfield ; and L-pidodendron Peachii, £ om Falkirk. —On the chemical composition of some samples of Scotch ensilage, by Mr. W. Ivison Macadam, F.C.S., F. Inst. Chem.—Specimens and sections of caseous tumours, found in the muscles of a hake, were described and exhibited by G. Sims Woodhead, M.D., F.R.C.P.E., who had received them from Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S. These caseous masses were com posed of broken-down muscular fibre, which appeared to have undergone a peculiar waxy or vitreous degeneration. Surround- ing these was an area of young cellular tissue, with a consider- able number of blood-vessels, and around this cellular area the muscles were undergoing the same peculiar waxy change. No parasite could be found, and it was suggested that the change might be due to violent muscular action. Dr. Woodhead also showed specimens of the liver of a fowl, in which were numerous caseous nodules. In these bacilli were found in very consider- able numbers, giving the same reactions as Tubercle and Lepra bacilli. Mr. Owen Williams, M R.C.V.S., in the discussion which ensued, mentioned that tuberculosis was often found in highly-bred fowls, and in rabbits. PARIS Academy of Sciences, March 23.—M. Bouley, President, in the chair.—Remarks on the map of France issued by the Dépét de la Guerre to the scale of 1: 200,000, with specimen sheets of a new map of France to the scale of 1: 50,000 by Col. F. Perrier. Of the War Office map, the six first sheets, embracing the districts of Metz, Nancy, Vesoul, Troyes, Dijon, and Chalons-sur-Marne, are finished. The whole, comprising eighty sheets, 0°64m. by o'gom,, is to be completed within the year 1889, and will form a superb specimen of modern carto- graphy.—Experimental researches on the electric excitability of the brain, properly so-called, by M. Vulpian. The author’s experiments on the dog, cat, monkey, and other animals, lead him to infer that the arguments hitherto used to prove the excit- ability of the grey cortical substance at certain determined points are groundless, and fail altogether to support the hypo- thesis of local cerebral functions.—Remarks in reply to some criticisms of M. Friedel on the existence of the hydrate of chloral in the state of vapour, by M. L. Troost.— A comparative study of vessels from the standpoint of the pro- pelling force, by M. A. Ledieu.—A simple demonstration of Lambert’s theorem on the mutual action of the sun, the earth, and of a celestial body observed from the latter, by M. E. Vicaire.—On the integers of total differentials, by M. FE. Picard. —Description of an electric pile acting with a single bichromate fluid, and presenting special conditions of constance, by M. Mascart.—Chemical and physiological effect of light on chloro- phyll, by M. C. Timiriazeff.—Relations between the ultra-violet spectrum of the vapour of water and the telluric bands A, B, a of the solar spectrum, by M. H. Deslandres.—On the prepara- tion of ammoniac gas, by M. Isambert.—On a monochloruretted and monobromuretted isomerous camphor, by M. P. Cazeneuve. | —On the di-ethylamido-a-butyric acid, by M. E. Duvillier.— On the existence of three ganglia in the auditory nerve of man, forming a zone of cellules analogous to one of those found in the retina, by M. E. Verrier.—On a new type of Cordaitez largely represented in fossil vegetation, by MM. B. Renault and R. Zeiller.—A contribution to the study of the Eocene ferns in the West of France, by M. L. Crié.—On the upheaval of the Céte-d’Or range, by M. J. Martin. Contrary to the generally- received opinion, which assigns this range to a period inter- mediate between the Jurassic and Cretaceous, the author argues that it is in reality posterior to the latter.—Supplementary remarks on the gigantic turtles of Madagascar, by M. L. Vail- lant. From the remains found by M. Grandidier at Etsere and Ambulitsate the author determines two distinct species, which he names Zestudo Grandidieri and Testudo abrupta.—On the production of a new crystallised phosphate of magnesium and the corresponding arsenate, by M. A. de Schulten —Descrip- tion of the cylindrograph, a new photographic apparatus which, by a simple rotation of the objective, enables the surveyor to obtain views of the landscape embracing an angle of about 170°, by M. Moessard. CONTENTS PAGE The Meteorology of the Atlantic. ....... 501 Muir’s ‘‘ Principles of Chemistry” ....... 502 Our Book Shelf :— Meyer's “Hine Weltreise “45m cuesieoiieiite tenia 502 Letters to the Editor : — Molecular Dynamics.—Prof, Geo. Fras, Fitzgerald 503 Civilisation and Eyesight.—Surgeon H. B. Guppy 503 Mr. Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes.— Prof. i: Ray, Lankester;sHeRiS)- =. 4). Ot On the Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of Elasticity. —Prof. Alex. B. W. Kennedy. (///us- i Co) CeCe Lee ire Wo ee, oon soc ce RS The Colours of Arctic Animals. —R, Meldola. . . 505 An Error in Ganot’s Physics. —E. Douglas Archi- PVCU Si reaichuece alo wo ao aro Moto. Sots . GOS Exceptional Whiteness in Tropical Man,—Lieut.- Col. A. T. Fraser ae aiaro! aa. 505 Far-sightedness.—Dr. Emil Metzger 506 Krakatoa. MentysCecilin aie epee nets 506 The Recent Aurora. —Willoughby Smith... . 506 The Cosmogonic Theory of M. Faye. By Dr. G. H. Darwin; HAReSsee i. cio.) Geen ee ee eee OO Sir William Thomson on Molecular Dynamics, II. By Prof. George Forbes a oeoaben ceors Bes City and Guilds of London Institute. ...... 510 The Peabody Museum at New Haven, U.S. (Z/us- Praled): at. nce a oes kel ase a a a LO) Niotes- fycnicasten 2 ee) ene es 512 Our Astronomical Column :— A Star with Large Proper Motion . 515 Wolfs} Gometaew-uteeen esi woat 515 The April Meteors 5 SEO omomowoLdliowc oO oo. Sun Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, April5-1l ..... Aesnpeo.G cent. 0 6 6° GES Geographical) Notes i 9o0. <> (eat en O A New Arrangement of the Apparatus of the Rotat- ing Mirror for Measuring the Velocity of Light. Lee Ca WOliws gealptolo oo ob Oo cia oo. SY Accidental Explosions Produced by non-Explosive Liquids, III. By Sir Frederick Abel, C.B., F.R.S. 518 Dr. Klein on Cholera Ye, SED de oh a eee Scientific Serials. . 5 oe atc fakot to o40 521 Societies and Academies. ...... SO Or od 522 NATURE THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1885 TREDGOLD’S “CARPENTRY” Elementary Principles of Carpentry. By Thomas Tred- gold, C.E. Sixth Edition, by E. Wyndham Tarn, M.A., Architect. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Co., 1885.) R. TARN has for a good many years enjoyed a high reputation amongst the profession of archi- tects as a writer upon the practical principles of building regarded mathematically. Tredgold’s treatise on Car- pentry has for a very long time indeed possessed the highest reputation as a much more than elementary book of reference upon that important department of building construction which deals with timber work; it has been republished time after time in the form of the old- fashioned substantial quarto which used to be in vogue before we were encouraged to expect to read as we run. It is quite in accordance with the fitness of things that Tredgold and Mr. Tarn should come together, and the English building world will scarcely require to be told that the result is satisfactory. The new edition before us is in fact a readaptation once more of the excellent material of the old standard treatise to the changing con- dition of our mechanical knowledge and skill. The author’s mode of treating his subject has been retained intact ; and we still have the well-known sections upon pressures, resistances, floors, roofs, domes, partitions, centers, bridges, joints, and timber. Whether this par- ticular arrangement is the best, is a question scarcely worth asking, at least on behalf of the less fastidious criticism of those practical designers of carpentry who must here constitute the overwhelming majority of readers ; but the editor has certainly not found it to be any bar to the importation of new matter in his own way. In one section he has introduced Prof. Clerk Maxwell’s now universally appreciated system of diagrams of press- ures, whereby the mere application of a common drawing scale to the component lines of easily constructed geo- metrical figures saves all further trouble and uncertainty in ascertaining the precise strains which the several members of a truss have to bear. In other sections the accepted formule of calculation, given only empirically by Tredgold, are mathematically demonstrated. The familiar tables of strength which supply the values of constants are “corrected” to accord with recent experi- ments more delicately and adroitly conducted, and several new tables of the kind are added. The consequent revision of Tredgold’s “rules” and tables of scantlings has been thoroughly and carefully done; and various modes of more advanced construction are duly developed. That difficult subject, the theoretical thrust of domes—for in practice there ought to be none—is taken in hand mathematically, and a short chapter is added on stone vaulting. The important items of scaffolding, shoring, coffer dams, and so on, have been also introduccd. The remarkable timber bridges of America—rough and ready science of the best—have been taken account of as they ought; and certain amendments which are made in respect of the plates serve in a reasonable measure to substitute new trussing for old. Lastly, the description of the nature and properties of timber is largely modified VOL. xxxI.—No. 806 35 to meet the advanced knowledge of the day. With all this, the Tredgoldian character of the treatise is dutifully preserved; and so we may say it ought to be, for to modernise Tredgold too much would certainly not im- prove him. One of the prominent merits of the work consists in the unusually large number of illustrative plates, all to a useful scale. If these do not represent many of the more modern designs in timber work, they frequently offer examples to the student which are all the better in one respect—they exemplify that substan- tiality of construction which it is too much the tendency of scientific precision almost to discourage. It is a good maxim in carpentry as in most other departments of building, to make the structure not only strong but stronger than strong ; and Tredgold always leans in that direction. The word economy is much employed amongst us; but, whereas its original and proper signification pointed only to skilful administration, its meaning with us is very much like mere parsimony. Waste of material is the bugbear of our builders, and almost still more of our architects. It need not be denied that mathematical science is in a certain way provocative of such parsi- mony ; indeed, lightness of construction is regarded as an academical virtue in both architecture and engineer- ing. But a moment’s reflection ought to satisfy alike the most scientific and the least that true science is as much averse to parsimony of substance as common sense is. The strength of building materials can only be deter- mined by extremely delicate experiments upon “ break- ing” strains, from the results of which the “ safe” strains have to be deduced by estimate; and this, no doubt, becomes matter of opinion. The question is, what pro- portion of the breaking strain shall be recognised—almost arbitrarily—as the safe strain? With the single exception of iron, timber is the material with reference to which this matter of opinion is the most definitively settled. The reason is this :—The breaking strain must be instan- taneously applied ; this is essential to precision of tabula- tion. The safe strain is that proportion of this instan- taneous breaking strain which the material will bear permanently without any risk of its elasticity being event- ually overcome and a commencement made of that dis- turbance of the structure of the material which, once begun, increases in a geometrical ratio until the end is ruin. It is accepted, therefore, that the proportion of an ascertained instantaneous breaking strain which has to be recognised as the limit of a permanent safe strain is one-third, one-fourth, and so on, according to the cha- racter of the material. What does this mean? It means that a greater strain than this proportion would in time, with one accidental circumstance and another, produce a commencement of instability. Perhaps it is to be re- gretted that this question is still disposed of so empiric- ally as it is; we might at least in these days have express observations made and reduced to what system might appear. Tredgold’s rules turn very much upon the manifestations of flexure ; and this, of course, is not only another way of dealing with the matter, but one which affords at any rate a basis upon which mathe- matical formule may be arrived at. On the whele, Tredgold is an old-fashioned writer, empirical and prac- tical ; but he is none the worse for that, perhaps all the better. Mr. Tarn has accepted the duties and responsi- Ar 526, NATURE [| April 9, 1885 bilities of a scientific ally, and we have pleasure in testi- fying that he does his work well, and that he does not overdo it. THE MYRIOPODS OF AUSTRIA Die Myriopoden der Oecsterreichisch-Ungarnischen Mon- archie, 2° Halfte, “ Die Symphylen, Pauropoden, und Diplopoden.” Von Dr. R. Latzel. (Vienna: Hdélder, 1884.) HEN we say that the second volume of Dr. Latzel’s work is in every way equal to the first we are according to it high praise. ‘The first volume, that which dealt with the Chilopoda, has fully proved itself to be indispensable to every student of the Myriopoda; and it seems to us certain that this second volume, dealing with the other orders, must soon be accorded an even more important place in the literature of this subject. Nine years of close attention to the study of the myriopods have enabled Dr. Latzel not merely to complete a mono- graph of the species inhabiting his native country, but to complete it in such a manner that he has written a book which must be useful to the student of the myriopoda of any country. Not only has Dr. Latzel given minute descriptions of some 170 species, but he has also furnished tables which make it a matter of ease to determine the genus of any myriopod. There has been unfortunately among those who have specially devoted attention to myriopods a tendency to create numerous new species on very insufficient grounds. By relying solely on characters of importance, Dr. Latzel has in great measure escaped this tendency. It is true that in the volume now under notice he has described a new genus and thirty-five new species. Possibly further obser- vation may reduce this number; but when we remember the extent of area embraced by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the little attention which, comparatively speaking, has been paid by naturalists to myriopods any- where, we must admit that thirty-five is no excessive number of new species ; indeed, those who are familiar with the writings of others who have described myriopods must feel thankful that it is so small. A careful synonymy has been given of each species described ; this is one of the most useful features of the book, as in this part of his work Dr, Latzel seems to us to have been singularly suc- cessful. It can have been no easy task to reduce to order the bulky mass of existing nomenclature ; but Dr. Latzel has spared no pains in examining and comparing the types, generally insufficiently described, of his prede- cessors. It is much to be wished that some capable observer would take in hand to examine the types of the earlier English describers of myriopods, especially with regard to the Chilopoda described by Newport, and com- pare them with the types of Continental writers, for, so we fancy, the synonymy would be yet further reduced to order. Here we may refer to the only point in nomen- clature which we regret in Dr. Latzel’s book. He has adopted the specific name venustws, Meinert 1868, for an animal which Dr. Latzel evidently suspects to be, and which we have no doubt is, the same as that described by Leach in 1814 as Julus pulchellus. One admirable feature of this work is that, where poss- ible, full descriptions are given of the young stages of each species. As to the details of the work there is not much room for criticism. Dr. Latzel has embodied in his work the results of all recent researches into the minute anatomy of the myriopods. Embryology, indeed, has not received a very large share of attention, but refer- ences are given to all writings on the subject. Dr. Latzel differs from some American authorities in looking on Scolopendrella as a true myriopod, and places its order Symphyla as intermediate between the Chilopoda and the Pauropoda. We may here note that Dr. Latzel agrees with Menge in considering those organs which Ryder has described as tracheze in Scolopendrella, as being merely chitinous supports for muscle-attachment. These are the same organs which Wood-Mason (An. Wat. Hist. [5] xii. 53) considers are of the nature of segmental organs. A short notice of fossil myriopods is given, based chiefly on Scudder’s researches into the fossil species of America. Scudder’s conclusion seems to us to be in many points erroneous, and at any rate to be premature and based on insufficient knowledge, but as no fossil myriopods have yet been found in Austro-Hungary we can only be thank- ful to Dr. Latzel for dealing with fossil forms at all. The same must be said with regard to the notice of the order Malacopoda. No species of Peripatus has yet been dis- covered in Europe, but, though we may not agree with him, it is interesting to know that one so qualified to judge as Dr. Latzel, looks on Peripatus as forming an order equi- valent to the other orders, the Chilopoda, the Symphyla, and the Diplopoda. A most useful bibliography, brought down to the date of publication, is comprised in the work. The execution of the sixteen plates, showing morpho- logical details, is excellent in every way. OUR BOOK SHELF Examples in Heat and Electricity. By H. H. Turner. (London: Macmillan and Co.) THis is a Cambridge collection of problems and riders extracted mainly from the Smith’s Prize, Tripos, and College papers of the last dozen years. The compiling (for there is nothing to be called authorship) has been, on the whole, judiciously done; and the printing is un- usually clear and accurate, considering the complexity of many of the formule, The book is designed primarily as a help to candidates for mathematical honours, and will undoubtedly prove useful to them ; possibly, perhaps, to a few private students. But to the natural philosopher the book presents some points of curious interest. For, in these seventy pages alone, may be found (by all who know the subjects) materials for a very complete examination of one im- portant part of the Cambridge system, alike in its present condition and during its recent development. Here and there we detect at a glance the lion-claw of the true physi- cist, and can, unhesitatingly, write against a question the name of Stokes, Thomson, Clerk-Maxwell, &c., so strongly marked is the individuality of these men :—who Z/z7% in physics, thus propounding nothing unphysical ; and who use mathematics as a necessary instrument of expression, neither courting nor shunning mere technical difficulties. Each of their questions stands out like a green oasis in a sandy desert! The rest of the contents (except what is but thinly-veiled “book-work”) is mainly the work of Examining Mathematicians—the men who use physical facts (or fancies) as mere pegs on which to hang com- plex catenaries of formule; to whom #7 = Rv would come quite as naturally and as usefully as the laws of Boyle and Charles; the men who can explain the result when ei a April 9, 1885} NATURE 527 the pressure of a gas or the electric resistance of a wire “comes out” negative! To such men the recent intro- duction of the subjects of heat and electricity by the Board of Mathematical Studies, and the appearance of Thomson’s £lectrical Papers, Maxwell’s splendid trea- tises, and other kindred books, have been happiness indeed. Open any one of these books, at any place, and concoct from it by whatever assumptions (however unphysical) are necessary, a problem which shall lead to an elliptic integral or a Bessel’s function, and there you are! This cannot long go on without seriously impairing the progress of physical science in our great mathematical university. Mathematics is, in itself, a right noble and worthy study ; but the embryo physicist should, from the first, be taught to regard it as (for him) an indispensable auxiliary only, nota source of natural (?) laws. The whole procedure is thoroughly characteristic of the Cambridge of to-day. It has, among its professors and elsewhere, many of the foremost of living physicists and mathe- maticians, as well as others destined in time to take similar rank :—but does not utilise them. Even its ove real test of mathematical merit, real because conducted by such men, the Smith’s Prize Examination, has just been abolished! So, it has a magnificent boat at the “head of the river,” but 2o0¢ one member of that crew is sent to encounter Oxford at Putney! What can be expected, either in the boat-race or in the more arduous toiling over the scientific course, but thorough and most deserved defeat ? Differential Calculus for Beginners, with a Selection of Easy Examples. By Alex. Knox, B.A. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1884.) THIs little book deserves hearty welcome from those who are engaged in leading forward students to the higher mathematics ; not so much as a substitute for any other work at present in use, but as presenting a carefully- selected set of illustrations of infinitesimals, limits, and differential coefficients, which a student may profitably work through before entering upon the usual formal treatises on the calculus. We know of no work in English comparable with the present since De Morgan’s “ Elementary Illustrations of the Differential and Integral Calculus.” The special symbols of the subject are not introduced into the work before us, attention being directed to the new principles involved in the method of the calculus ; indeed, the chief aim of the author throughout is to give the learner a firm grasp of the idea of a differential co- efficient—a fundamental notion which, in the minds of beginners, is usually shrouded in a haze. Care is taken to deal one at a time with the difficulties which present themselves in this subject. The book is divided into twenty sections, the latter two or three dealing with suc- cessive differentiation, Maclaurin’s theorem, and maxima and minima. But before new principles or processes are introduced, an endeavour is made to insure a precise comprehension of the meaning of terms already employed by the student. And the freshness of treatment, as well as the clearness with which the author brings before the mind the exact meaning of such terms as “ point,” “ line,” “ superficies,” in the first section of this book, will awaken the interest and arrest the attention of even an indifferent learner. Many of the sections are independent of each other. There is much variety of illustration, the central principle being looked at from different points of view. A distin- guishing feature is the great use made of arithmetical calculations, many examples of the method of finite differences occurring. Besides the usual geometrical treatment based on New- ton’s “ Lemmas,” the ideas of time and motion are freely introduced, and illustrations taken from elementary kinematics. The book closes with a set of examples worked out in full, and a series of one hundred easy exercises, the answers to which are appended. A. R. W. _ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [The Editor doesnot hola himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No noticeis taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise to insurethe appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) Rock-Pictures in New Guinea A FEW years ago I mentioned in a paper in Glodus (Ixiii. 94) that Mr. Th. B. Leon had reported the existence of pictures on rocks he had seen in the Ogar and Arguni groups of islands (south part of McCluer inlet), and that the officer in command of H.N.M.S. Batavia, who had been charged to make further inquiries, had not been able to find them. At that time Mr. Leon’s account had not been published in the regular issue of the Batav. Gencot- schap. Since then, however, explorations by Mr. van Braam Morris, whilst on his voyage in New Guinea in 1883, and by some of the officers of H.N.M.S. Samarang, have resulted in the discovery of rock-pictures similar to those spoken of by Mr. Leon. The papers giving an account of these explorations (including Mr. Leon’s) have been published ina recent number of the 7ijdschrift voor Indische Land-, Taal-, en Volkenkunde (xxix. pp. 582-591), and an abstract of their contents may be interesting. One day Mr. Leon set out from the kampong (village) o Arguni, situated on the island of that name, for the purpose of fishing. In the beginning, on account of the surf, he kept at a great distance, but the third island of the group he was able to approach. He perceived the distinct representation of a human hand, painted in white, and surrounded with red spots, and other drawings in white, which appeared to be meant for letters, though traced in characters unknown to him, Afterwards, on penetrating between two other islands of the group, he saw several hands, all similar to the first, and accompanied by similar drawings. He was not able to land ; he estimated the height of the place at which they were drawn on the rock to be from 75 to 150 feet above sea-level, the hands being about three- quarters of the way up, and the other figures about 10 feet higher still. The hands were of all sizes, representing those of children, of full-grown men, of giants, and were in great numbers. He fancied the characters bore some resemblance to the written signs in use amongst the Orang Kling, the Orang Bugis, and the Orang Mangkasser; they were certainly not Javan or Malayan, He was greatly puzzled as to how they could have come there, since the face of the rock was perfectly perpendicular, and without any projections or caverns, so far as he could perceive. The only explanation he can suggest is that they must have been done at a time when that part of the rock- surface was nearer to the level of the sea, or the outward form of the rock must have been changed on that side by losing ledges or projections by which the native draughtsmen may haye approached the place. It will be readily understood that the natives attribute these drawings to Aasuak, the prince of evil spirits, who, in their opinion, has his dwelling in one of the small islands, and of whom they are naturally greatly afraid. On another island Mr, Leon discovered a huge stone, which would probably require half a dozen men to lift it, rudely shaped like a bullock, and surrounded with several other stones, evidently arranged on some fixed plan. Mr. van Braam Morris says:—On September 16, 1883, I came to McCluer inlet, and was told by the native chiefs that the figures I was in search of were to be found on Arguni, or the islands to the west of it. I discovered them on a small island a few hundred yards from the mainland. The shores of both the island and the mainland rose perpendicu- larly from the water, and in the rocky face of the former, about 5 feet above high-water mark, the surf had eaten ont an excavation from 3 to 5 feet wide, thus leaving a narrow platform, on which several small prahws were deposited, some of them being 3 feet long. Various figures were drawn on the rock above, especially hands, both of full-grown people and of children. A hand had evidently been sketched in outline from 528 a living model placed against the wall, and coloured to a depth of 6 inches all around it. The native chiefs who accompanied the Resident said that the remains of the Hill-Papuans had formerly been deposited here, but were now interred with Ma- hommedan rites; there were indications, however, that some pra/us had been recently lodged on the platform. Though the most astonishing part of Mr. Leon’s report, viz. the difficulty of drawing the figures on the rock at a consider- able height above the sea, is not encountered by Mr. van Braam Morris’s experience, it is not proved that the latter ex- plored exactly the same place as Mr. Leon. But just this point (the considerable rising of the isloads) is most plainly stated with regard to the Ke Islands by Messrs. Alliol, Mol, van Slooten, Meijboom, and Deijl, of H.N.M.S. Samarang, which at the time of their visit lay off Tual (5° 37’ 30” S. lat. 132° 44’ E. lat.), island of Little Ke. These gentlemen were invited by Mr. Langen, the head of the English settlement there, to visit with him the north-western part of the island ; after having steamed for three-quarters of an hour they dropped anchor zzs-a- vis Kalumit, a village at the base of a hill, about 200 metres high. They went to the top to see there some idols situated in a small settlement. I pass over this part of the narrative, and take it up after they had descended from the edge of the rock, where they had found a burial-place belonging to the kampong, which is on the top. A tolerably well-made flight of ironwood steps allowed the visitors to descend easily ; after about half an hour’s walk they came to the ‘ necropolis.” On the rock near it they discovered representations in red of various figures—human hands, with the fingers spread out ; imitations of human heads ; a fight between men armed with klewangs (= cutlass), and other figures which they took to be representations of the evil spirits, outlines of ships, &c. Though the heads were rudely drawn, the hands, which were fewer in number, were remarkably well done. The place where the drawings are seem to be quite inaccessible to human beings. In the rock are also caverns which are rather difficult to approach. In one of them two gongs and some pieces of bamboo were found ; at the entry fragments of broken glass had been spread, probably to prevent visitors from entering. It must be men- tioned that the rock, from the base to the top, was covered with sea-shells. Attention is repeatedly drawn in the report to the circumstance that it seems incomprehensible how the pictures could have been drawn on the rock, which overhangs. The natives connect the rock-pictures with the burial-place on the top of the cliff. Near the edge of the steep descent stand two houses, which serve as mortuaries, one being close to the dwellings of the natives, which are surrounded with a stone wall. These two houses are built of ironwood ; on the roofs there are two pieces of wood, the one in the shape of a prow, the other in the shape of a keel. On the latter are two figures, a dog and a bird; a stick bearing a piece of white cloth is stuck into the bird’s body. ‘The walls are 4 and 3 metres, and in the shorter, which faces the sea, there are two doors, through which the coffin is carried ; inside this hut they saw two coffins with fruits and a bottle of oil which had been left for the spirits. The natives, who called themselves Hindoos or heathens, a name which of course has no ethnographical significance, but is merely used to distinguish them from their Mahommedan neigh- bours, said that when a dead body was placed in the hut the spirit was conducted by the bird or the dog on the roof to the caverns where it is to abide. In token of its arrival the animal draws a figure on the rock. The natives who accompanied the explorers durst not set foot within the caves. It was als» said that the bird and the dog were merely symbols. The soul of the deceased, on leaving the body, flies as a bird through the air or runs as a dog over the earth, till it reaches the abodes of the spirits—the caverns—unseen by living men. Every soul that reaches this haven draws a figure on the face of the cliff. In explanation of the contest between human beings and evil spirits in the pictures, they said that the latter try to prevent the souls from reaching the eternal dwellings ; but they cannot hinder those who have led good and honest lives, though those who have done wickedly are carried off by the evil spirits. The officers, judging from the many articles in gold and silver which were found in the caverns, concluded that they must formerly have been used by pirates as places of refuge and for hiding their stores, and that they were then nearer to the level of the water. On this view the drawings on the rocks would answer a double purpose: they$ would keep the superstitious from approaching the caves, and would also act as a landmark IS NIO ISIE, P ; “lL «ae | April 9, 1885 for the pirates themselves when returning from sea, and indicate to them the places where their treasure was hidden. Without hazarding any opinion upon such incomplete ac- counts, I wish to state, merely by way of summary— (1) That Mr. Leon’s evidence, combined with that of the officers of the Saarang, would seem to indicate that the sur- faces of certain islands in McCluer inlet and of the Ke group have been considerably elevated. (2) That the rise has probably taken place at no distant date, but how long since cannot be determined until (perhaps) after close scientific examination. (3) That Mr. Morris’s explorations, taken in conjunction with the foregoing, suggest that the elevation is not a general one, but, though observed at distant points, is limited to certain islands of different groups, or even to particular sides of them. Stuttgart, March 18 EmiIL METZGER Mr. Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes Pror., LANKESTER appears to me to be fighting too much under cover. First he sends his lieutenant into the field, and then he appears himself, in the guise of an independent ally. But inasmuch as he has virtually accused the officers of the Linnean Society of having published a paper unworthy of a place in the 7vaxsactions of the Society, I feel fully justified in bringing him out into the open. The anxiety expressed by Prof. Lankester on behalf of the Fellows of the Linnean Society, as to whether my paper was refused by the Royal Society, is manifestly in- sincere: he knows as well as I do, that the paper was virtually refused by the Royal Society. As Prof. Lankester is taking undue advantage of the secrecy which attaches to the office of referee, I shall state the facts with which I am personally ac- quainted, and I doubt not these will place the whole matter in a very different light from that which Prof. Lankester has endeavoured to shed upon it. It is evident Prof. Lankester wishes to make it appear that the rejection of my paper by the Royal Society confirms his strictures and those of his lieutenant, and enables him safely to attack the Linnean Society under cover of the Royal. Now, I believe that every one who was concerned in the publication of my paper knew perfectly well that Prof. Lankester was the first referee to whom it was submitted by the Royal Society. Prof. Lankester wrote to me himself, and stated that the paper had been so referred. Although I then felt sure of its rejection, I should not have had any reason to complain, if the rules of the Royal Society had been carried out, and the paper had been submitted to a second, entirely independent referee. Prof. Huxley, in his opening address to the Royal Society on his election as President, stated that every paper was considered by two entirely independent referees. Now, in my case the second referee was Prof. Schafer: I do not think it right to refer a paper to two colleagues intimately associated in the same school ; and I am sure that no consultation should take place between the referees pending their decision. Yet Prof. Schafer heard Prof. Lankester’s adverse opinions expressed in my presence before he came to any decision himself—at any rate before making any report; and he confessed to me that he had no special knowledge of the literature of the subject on which he was called upon to give an opinion. Under the circumstances I feel justified in stating that, if the Royal Society had rejected my paper, it would have been a rejection by Prof. Lankester ; and I feel sure that an indepen- dent referee would have done exactly what was subsequently done on behalf of the Linnean Society. Prof. Schafer recommended me to withdraw my paper; I petitioned the Council of the Royal Society to allow me to do so, and the paper was returned tome. If this be a rejection, my paper was rejected. : I then presented it to the Linnean Society, and in so doing I told the Zoological Secretary everything that had happened. The result was that, after some delay, the paper was ordered to be printed in the Liznean Transactions. I could hardly have conceived it possible that any scientific man could have descended to such a device in confirmation of his own views as to pretend that the Royal Society had formed an independent judgment under such circumstances. Prof. Lankester has succeeded admirably in rendering himself im- personal as a representative of the Royal Society—a feat which April 9, 1885 | NATURE 529 would have no doubt incited his just indignation if it had been performed by his friend ‘‘ Sludge,” of spiritualistic celebrity. I cannot help remarking on the coolness of Prof. Lankester’s assertion, that my views are ‘‘ undeniably based upon a mistaken interpretation of defective preparations.” Prof. Lankester evidently thinks his opinion final—but he is bold to say it is “*undeniable.” My sections have been seen and approved of by a great number of competent histologists and zoologists, and, although some of them are not so pretty as those prepared by the paraffin method which Prof. Lankester extols, they certainly show a great deal more. The paraffin method is well known to me, and I have examined a great number of slides prepared by it. I have pos- sessed a series of sections so made in the Cambridge laboratory by an excellent histologist, and have rejected them as worthless : they show nothing but the connective tissue framework. Nerve fibres and nerve end organs are alike destroyed. The whole question of the effect of reagents on the tissues is a wide one. ‘The paraffin process destroys much which remains in the cocoa butter process, first devised by Prof. Schafer. I esteem this process far superior to that now used in the laboratory at Cambridge, and by Prof. Lankester and his assistants. should not fear to place my specimens side by side with Prof. Lankester’s before an unbiassed histologist ; and I am content to wait the decision of future observers upon my work. New views are met with little favour by those who are committed to old ones, and, whether I am right or wrong, I expect no justice from a critic who shows such determined bias as Prof. Lankester. BENJAMIN T. LOWNE IF Prof. Lankester imagines that he has any complaint to make against the Council of the Linnean Society for having published Mr. Lowne’s paper, I must decline to consider the subject with him in your columns. He is himself a Fellow of the Society, and the anniversary meeting of the Society is due next month. If he then thinks it wise to ask any questions upon the subject, I shall be in my place and most happy to answer them. GEORGE J. ROMANEs, Zool. Sec. L. S. How Thought presents itself among the Phenomena of Nature In your issue of the 12th inst. the Duke of Argyll asks, ‘‘ Is there any difference in this respect between molar and molecular motion ?” namely, as regards the persuasion which most men entertain that where there is motion there must be some ‘‘ thing ” to move. The answer to this question appears to be the very direct one that there is the following fundamental difference between molar motions and some molecular motions, and that it intimately concerns that belief. 4// molar motions are secondary motions, 7.e. they consist in the drifting from place to place of underlying motions (and, indeed, in the case of those motions which human beings can perceive even with the utmost aid of the microscope, they consist in the drifting from place to place of vast accumu- lations of such underlying motions), while, in contrast to this, there are some molecular motions which are primary—i.e. which have no other motions underlying them, and which do not consi-t in the drifting from place to place of more subtile motions. His Grace correctly expresses the common opinion in the following words—that ‘‘an atom? is only conceivable as an ulti- mate particle of matter.” Now the term ‘‘ particle of matter” in this statement needs to be scrutinised. As commonly under- stood, it means something minute which we should be able to feel or see or perceive by some of our senses were it not for the blunt- ness of those senses ; and this, as science shows, means that * The Duke of Argyll here employs the word ‘fatom” in its etymological sense ; and it is scarcely necessary to point out that the term when so used signifies a different thing from any of the sixty-seven complex bodies known to chemists as chemical atoms, which have intricate internal motions as betrayed to us by the spectroscope, and of which the molecules of compound bodies are known to be made up. The chemical ‘‘atom” could not under any view be speken of as an u/tzate particle of matter. I understand the Duke of Argyll to propose these words as a description (nor of anything the existence of which has been ascertained by experimental science, but) of that substance, matter, or thing the conception of which he and most other men believe to be the “‘inseparable concomitant” of the con- ception of motion, but for the existence of which in external nature no other evidence is forthcoming than this supposed law of human minds. Now, even if the supposed law were a law from which we could not free ourselves, it might reasonably be maintained that it proves nothing about external existence ; but in truth it is not a law, but only a widely prevalent habit of mind, as is deonstrated by the fact that the study of nature has extricated some minds from it. certain specific motions are present, viz. motions of those par- ticular kinds which are competent, indirectly and through a long chain of intermediate steps, to finally occasion visual, tactual, or some other sensation in our minds. The statement, accord- ingly, as commonly understood, 7za//y amounts to this—that no motion can be present unless certain underlying motions are also present ! But to the uninstructed apprehension the statement has quite a different meaning, a much fuller one, and one which lies outside the domain of motion. Before they have made very careful investigation, men do not know that there is no green colour in grass or hardness ina rock. They are unaware that what is really going on in the grass is not a state of g-eenness, but vast myriads of motions,! each of which is repeated about as often every second as there are seconds in thirty millions of years, which motions in the grass occasion undulatory motions around of a like rapidity, some of which occur within our eyes, and, acting upon some compound or compounds in the black pig- ment which lies behind the retina, produce there an effect (probably a fugitive photographic effect consisting in some chemical change of one or more of three compounds in the pigment). This change, whatever it is, excites the optic nerve to make a stir within the brain, and 7 7s th7s /ast motion (which we may safely say is utterly unlike the external phenomenon, though uniformly resulting from it through the steps enumerated above), which is what determines the perception of green in our minds. Similarly, when the vast accumulation of molecular motions which is called my finger approaches that other accu- mulation of motions which is called a rock, these motions act on each other, and my finger is compressed upon certain nerves, exciting them to produce those motions within my brain which, though quite unlike the motions outside, are the motions that are really accompanied by the sensation of hardness. But by uninstructed minds the colour of the grass and the hardness of the rock are confidently believed to be external phenomena, anc not even phenomena of motion at all, but absolutely stationary phenomena in external Nature. Finally, we must never forget that beliefs in the human mind, whether they be pure or mixed up with errors, can neither control nor even exercise any influence whatever upon what is really taking place in external Nature, which is the object of our inves- tigation. What is really going on in Nature is to be ascertained, so far as it can be ascertained at all, not by projecting human beliefs into external existence, but by applying whatever modicum of dry light we can win from the slow but gradually encroaching progress of scientific discovery. And the necessity for this caution is intensified where we find, as in the present instance, that the belief has resulted from the way our brains and the brains of our ancestors have grown, under the influence of an experience of motion which has been so one-sided that it has never extended to primary motions at all, nor even to any but very coarse forms of s2condary motion, omitting, along with many others, all those motions, whether primary or secondary, that occasion most of our sense-perceptions ; and all this, combined with suppositions about other phenomena in which these pheno- mena have been quite misunderstood. Scientific scrutiny, so far as it has penetrated, finds motion throughout external Nature—motions everywhere, motions underlying every pheno- menon, however different from motions some of them may seem to common apprehension ; and no sczerdific investigation has as yet detected anything but motions, This is the positive side of the inquiry ; and its’ negative side is that it would be manifestly illegitimate to draw an inference about what really exists outside us from the habits of thought which have been engendered in most human minds by a narrow and one-sided experience mixed up with palpable errors. We, therefore, are not in a position to allige that we know of anything existing in the outer world but motions and relations between motions. The abstract of my Royal Institution discyurse, which you were so good as to publish, only attempted to give a bare state- ment of the successive steps of the argument with which it deals, and I fear it is too condensed for clearness ; but, as I am myself persuaded that the argument is sound, I hope that your corre- spondent will find that a fuller account of it which I am preparing will put all its essential parts in a sufficiently distinct light. Dublin, March 20 G. JOHNSTONE STONEY 1 The relations which the parts of motion can have to one another or to other motions are all numerical or space and time ielations. Motions may be numerous, few, simultaneous, successive, straight, curved, flat, tortuous, swift, slow, periodic, continuous, linear, or pervading a volume; but they cannot be green motions or hard motions. 539 NATURE [April 9, 1885 Magnetic Disturbance THERE was a considerable disturbance of the magnetograph recorded here on March 15, and had the photographic curves been developed on that day, we should probably have predicted the occurrence of the aurora seen during the evening. ‘The earth- currents, which are necessary concomitants of magnetic disturb- ances, were probably intense enough to caus= the disarrange- ment of the cable tests referred to by Mr. Willoughby Smith. G. M. WHIPPLE Kew Observatory, Richmond, Surrey, April 7 The Samsams FRoM a note in last week’s NATURE it appears that during his recent explorations in the Malay peninsula M. Delouell claims to have discovered the ‘‘hitherto unknown” Samsam people. Allow me to state in reply that I have long been aware of the existence of these half-caste Malay and Siamese communi- ties. They will be found duly recorded and described at p. 642 of my ethnological appendix to the “ Australasia” of the Stanford Series, published in 1879. They appear to be now mostly Mohammedans, speaking what is called a mixed Siamese and Malay dialect, and otherwise forming an ethnical transition between these two races. A. H. KEANE University College, Gower Street, April 4 Meteor LAsv evening (April 3) I saw a fine meteor at Sh. 21m. G.M.T. (+ 1m.). I was walking along the street at the time and look- ing at Algol, and so only caught sight of it during the last few moments of its apparition. Its path as observed was from a 80° North 6 2° to a 76° South 6 4°, when it disappeared behind houses. It seemed quite twice the brightness of Jupiter, and about 3’ diameter; colour, chrome yellow; duration, three seconds. It left no visible train. H. SADLER Clapham, April 4 STEEL GUNS* HE whole of this part of the Proceedings of the Naval Institute is occupied by detailed accounts of the steps taken to prepare the way for the establishment of Steel Gun Factories for the United States. We are in- formed that, while the rest of the world has advanced with the progress of the age, the artillery of the United States has made no step forward. Artillerists and advo- cates for providing adequate means of defence have laboured under many difficulties during the last twenty years, while regret is expressed that personal interests have entered so largely into the discussion of a question of such magnitude. In the House of Representatives it was declared that the fortifications of that country were in an absolutely worthless condition for all purposes of warfare. Early in 1882 communications were opened with the owners of the chief foundries and steel works of the United States, but no firm could be found which had ever made steel guns. At length the President of the United States was authorised and required to select six officers of their army and navy to examine and report respecting the neces- sary navy-yards and arsenals. Accordingly, the President named six officers (April 2nd, 1883) to form the Board of Gun Foundry, and one of their number, Lieut. W. H. Jaques, U.S.N., was elected secretary to the board. Their report was dated February 16th, 1884. The Board found it necessary to seek information in Europe, and make visits to England, France, and Russia, in order that they might reply satisfactorily to the Act of Congress. There they were well received, and had every facility afforded them in making their inquiries. The aim of Lieut. Jaques, U.S.N., in his communication to the Naval Institute, was t Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute. vol. x. No. 4, 1884. (The Establishment of Stee] Gun Factories in the United States, by Lieut. W. H. Jaques, U.S.N.) to show the necessity of steel gun factories to the United States, to extend the information collected, and to provide a book of easy reference to the details of modern ord- nance. Hehas produced a work which ought to warn and instruct us. The Board in their Report give an account of the intro- duction of the coil system of building up guns in England ; of the cost of the system to this nation; of the forty- pounder Armstrong, adopted for the navy in 1859, and of the constructing of one hundred of the 110-pounders before any experiments with them had been concluded. Of four guns under trial, three showed a separation on the outside between the trunnion-ring and the coil behind it. The fourth showed a separation all round, but to less extent. All the guns expanded in the shot chamber and part of the powder chamber, and the doves were elongated. Much of these defects, no doubt, arose from excessive friction between the lead-coated projectile and the gun, which caused an unnecessary stress upon the gun. The first visit paid by the Board was to the Elswick works. They remark: “ The establishment at Elswick is thoroughly equipped for heavy work, and has produced the largest guns in the world. . . . The shops are supplied with an abundance of fine tools,” page 583. They have a hammer of thirty-five tons. “The advantages of the Whitworth manufacture are also recognised, and a forging press is being introduced.” They next visited the Woolwich Royal Gun Factories, which are stated to have had in 1873-4 a capacity for the production of 6,000 tons of guns of various calibres per year. ‘“‘ The transition state in which the Board found the Woolwich gun factories is due to the change from muzzle- loading to breech-loading, and the substitution of homo- geneous metal for the wrought coil” (page 589). The Board give a list of the chief tools in the Arsenal, as boring machines, planing machines, &c. There are four travelling cranes of 60 tons, six of 30, and six of 25 tons capacity. There are also: one steam hammer of 40 tons, one of 12 tons, one of 10 tons, two of 7 tons, besides many smaller ones. The steam power in the Royal Gun Factories is supplied by forty boilers of 40-horse power. “The plant at Woolwich, because of its transition state, contains very little worthy of imitation in planning the erection of gun factories in the United States.” The Board next visited the works of T. Frith & Sons, Sir John Brown & Co., C. Cammell & Co., and Sir H. Bessemer, all of Sheffield, and Lieut. Jaques gives full accounts of the most recent furnaces and methods em- ployed there in working steel, illustrated with many beauti- ful plates. He also gives an account of the manufacture of compound armour, under the patents of Wilson & Ellis; as well as of the trials of armour plate made at Spezzia, and of granite forts protected by iron plates at Shoebury- ness in 1883. “The new departure in the system of gun construction, described farther on in this report, will demand from the Sheffield steel manufacturers increased effort. Up to the present time the only portion in the construction of the Woolwich gun that required steel was the tube. . . . The new construction requires that steel shall be used through- out, and the castings for the jackets for guns now in hand at Woolwich can hardly be supplied from Sheffield” (page 630). It is remarked that in one important establishment preparations were being made for the introduction of a large press, to take the place, or supplement, the work of the hammer. The Sheffield steel manufacturers are en- tirely sceptical as to the advantage or practicability of the compression of steel in the liquid state, and although they concede the efficacy of forging under hydraulic compres- sion, they consider it an objection to the process that a much higher temperature will be required for the press than for the hammer. Sir Joseph Whitworth’s works at Manchester were ii April 9, 1885 | NATURE 531 visited, where they enjoyed the privilege of carrying on their investigations within the works. “It may be dis- tinctly asserted that the experiences enjoyed by the Board during its visit amounted to a revelation” (page 633). “The distinguishing characteristics of the Whitworth fluid-compressed steel are homogeneity, strength, and ductility. It is made of various tempers to suit all pur- poses, particularly where it is exposed to sudden and violent strains. .. . No other metal possesses the same endurance” (page 633). Sir Joseph Whitworth is said to have remarked that, “Guns of enormous size are now being made at Woolwich at an enormous expenditure. ... But if monster guns were wanted, they could be made at Jar less cost by means of the Siemens-Martin process and fluid compression. Supposing a hoop was wanted, say, 20 tons weight, the time required for its production would not, commencing with the raw material, he believes, be more than one-tenth the time required by the forging, coil- ing, and welding processes. . . . The Board witnessed the operations of casting followed by that of liquid compres- sion, the enlarging of hoops, the drawing out of cylinders, and the forging of a solid ingot. The unanimous opinion of the members is that the system of Sir Joseph Whit- worth surpasses all other methods of forging, and that it gives better promise than any other of securing that foe so indispensable in good gun metal” (page 42). In France, as in England, the most friendly welcomes were tendered te the Board. The Government has ob- tained an immense increase of its resources by encouraging private industries. The foundry at Ruelle has become the principal, if not the only, establishment for the manu- facture of the larger calibres designed for the navy and coast. “Tt contains the most remarkable collection of tools of the age. They are designed for guns of 34 cm. (13°4 in.) and upwards, and have a capacity for handling guns of 160 tons in weight and 60 feet in length ” (page 688). “It seems as if in France the happy mean has been reached by which the Government and the private indus- tries can work harmoniously towards the accomplishment of a national object. In a combined system of this kind, it is very important to be assured that there exist mutual checks which act to prevent one party imposing improper or hard terms on the other” (page 689). For tubes and hoops for large guns the supply is limited to the works at St. Chamond and at Le Creusot ; the former having a steam hammer of 80 tons and the latter, one of 100 tons. At Le Creusot are situated the most important steel-works in France. ‘Aino other place in the world is steel handled in such masses, and it is safe to say that no proposed work can be of such magnitude as to exceed the resources of the establishment ” (page 693). There is assembled an array of steam hammers not equalled in the world. They have three cranes capable of sustaining 100 tons, and one 160 tons. For the prepara- tion of metal for cannon and armour-plates Le Creusot is thoroughly equipped. Little need be said of Germany, as that country depends almost entirely upon Krupp’s establishment for the supply of its guns, and the Board were not allowed to examine his works, for they were informed that the works at Essen cannot be seen, as “ these are closed to all but those who have special business of inspection of war material on order.” Krupp enjoys great advantages in having practis- ing grounds at Meppen ro} miles long, and at Dalmen of 44 miles. Near thirty years ago Krupp planned his 50-ton hammer. He is constructing a 121-ton 16-inch gun of 35 calibres length for the Italian Government. The Russians formerly patronised Krupp, but of late they have begun to manufacture guns at home, with the assistance of private firms. Like many of the great steel- works of Europe, the establishment at Aboukhoff is ina transition state. They possess ten steam hammers, vary- ing froma I-ton to a 50-ton. The most important im- provement which has recently been introduced is Sir J. Whitworth’s system of liquid compression. Certain recommendations are made respecting the pro- duction of guns for the United States. As examples of a practical partnership between a Government and a private company, in working towards a national object, the ex- periences in England and Russiaare very instructive, and warn against the adoption of such a system. As an example of depending almost entirely on private works, Germany is a perfect instance. As an example of depend- ing alone on Government works France was a perfect instance before the Franco-German war. “ How entirely France has now altered her system is shown in a previous part of this report ; her present practice is theoretically perfect, and it has proved to be practically efficient. Her Government establishments are still retained, but as gun factories simply, in which the parts are machined and assembled, but for foundry work she depends upon the private industries of the country” (page 843). But still the Government is careful to secure good advice in con- trolling these private establishments, for on one occasion it was considered desirable to require the steel to be supplied to be subjected to additional tests. When the steel manufacturers at home resisted this the Government gave the contract to a foreign firm which was willing to comply with their requirements. An inquiry, instituted in 1882, showed that the cost of steel construction in Europe was then as follows :—Krupp, 51 to 60 cents (26d. to 30d.) per pound; Whitworth, 33 cents (19d.) per pound ; Woolwich guns, 30} cents (15) per pound ; Land service guns (France) 48 cents (24¢.) per pound ; but, it is added, the price of French construction has been greatly reduced (page 852). From the short extracts we have been able to give from this most important and instructive work it must be apparent that the private firms in Germany and France are much in advance of those in England in respect of the magnitude of the steel-works they are able to execute, but only in consequence of Government encouragement and patronage. There are in those countries steam hammers in operation at least double the weight of any in use in this country. And yet, ic must be remarked, these hammers are of English invention, and that the best armour-plates manufactured on the continent are made according to an English patent. The Bessemer process and the Siemens furnace are there much used. But it is equally plain that we have at Manchester and Sheffield several firms capable of successfully competing with the world, if they receive that support which a Government only can give. After the failure of the 110-pounder B.L. Armstrong gun above noticed, it is remarkable how suddenly the system was abandoned. It was quite plain that the evil arose from the obstruction to the initial motion of the shot, and from the enormous friction all along the bore, But there seems to have been no real effort made to remedy this evil. If the lead coating did not prove satis- factory, why not rifle a condemned gun on the shunt principle and try studded shot? The original B.L. guns seem to have been much better proportioned guns than the M.L. guns which superseded them, for in a lecture de~ livered before the Royal United Service Institution about 1873, it is remarked that ‘A long B.L. 40-pounder con- verted into a M.L. 47-pounder is remarkable for the small amount of resistance it gives, and for its great accuracy of fire. . . . The regularity of the resistance of the air is also very remarkable,” z.e., when compared with the shooting of service M.L. guns of the same date. There is no» known reason why this gun shot so well, except from its extra length. But the hint was not attended to. And the shortness of the English M.L. guns has been often re- marked. Thus at the famous contest at Tegel, in 1868, between a 9-inch 124-ton M.L. ‘“‘ Woolwich” gun costing 532 WAT ORL [April 9, 1885 41,500 and a Krupp 93-inch B.L. gun of 143 tons costing 43,453, the length of the former was 125°5 inches and that of the latter 157°6 inches. Great complaints were justly made of the unfairness of the comparative trial, be- cause, while the English gun was strictly confined to service conditions, the German gun was repaired and altered so that every feature of the original combination was changed. After some months’ delay Krupp raised the initial velocity of his gun from 1,115°3 f.s. to 1,286 or 1,414 f.s., according to whether a 336 Ib. shot or a 275 Ib. shell was used. Time has now decided this contest. Here we remark how ready Krupp’s party were to notice defects and apply remedies. If the English party were debarred from efiecting improvements at Tegel, they were free to improve at home. They had seen that it was possible to construct a 93-inch B.L. gun, firing lead-coated projectiles, which could compete with an English 9-inch M.L. gun. But we do not hear of any further attempts having been made to render the 110-pounder (about 7 inch) B.L. Armstrong gun an efficient weapon. Last spring we were informed by authority that the new B.L. gun then about to be constructed would be double the length of the old B.L. gun. And quite recently the Times intimates a doubt about some newly constructed guns having sufficient strength in front of the trunnions to resist the full charge for which they were constructed. Now some years ago we heard a good deal about the doings of a Committee on Explosives, which carried on experiments for several years, and at last reported. What could be the use of such a committee if it did not furnish tules for properly proportioning the strength of guns, and for determining the Zroper length of bore required for the profitable consumption of charges of slow-burning powder? Although Rodman and the pressure gauges and chrono- scopes appear to have failed to give reliable results, it would not be difficult to contrive experiments which would give the practical value of every inch in length of the bore, and at the same time show the effect of great length of bore upon the steadiness of the motion of the elongated projectile. In October, 1883, it was stated in the papers that some comparative trials had been made at Portsmouth before “my lords,” between a Krupp and an English 6-inch B.L. gun, “ greatly to the advantage of the former.” A Krupp gun fired a 64 1b. shot witha 14 1b. charge and the English gun a oo lb. shot with a 34 lb. charge. That is, the charge of the Krupp gun was two-ninths, and that of the English gun three-ninths of the weight of its shot. This increased charge might be a positive disadvantage to the English gun if it was a short one. This isacase requiring the most careful and candid investigation. Any fine morning a thorough comparison of the performances of these two guns might be carried out ina searching man- ner, if only known means of doing this were employed. In order to succeed in gun-making it is absolutely neces- sary for careful experiments to be carried out to clear up anomalies, such as we have mentioned. This work is illustrated by seventy-eight most carefully executed plates of guns, carriages, large steam hammers, and cranes, furnaces, plans of works, &c., and it concludes with estimates of the expenses of equipping a gun foundry according to modern requirements. Fi. B. ON THE FORMATION OF SNOW CRYSTALS FROM FOG ON BEN NEVIS I N addition to the actual fall of snow, hail, &c., there is on Ben Nevis a form of solid precipitation scarcely known on lower ground, but of almost daily occurrence here. In ordinary weather the top of the hill is enveloped in drifting fog, and when the temperature of the air and ground is below freezing this fog deposits small crystalline particles of ice on every surface that obstructs its passage. These particles on a wall or large sloping surface, so well described in a recent letter in NATURE (vol. xxxi. p. 216), combine to form long feathery crystals; but on a post or similar small body they take a shape more like fir-cones, with the point to windward. Whether this deposition is from the vapour of the fog directly or from actual particles of frozen water carried along in it is not very clear. The forms and arrangements of the crystals vary according to the form of the surface to which they adhere, but all belong to this feathery or cone type, the branches lying at an angle of 30° with the main axis pointing to wind- ward. They are formed wherever the wind blows past an obstructing body. On a flat board they gather first and most abundantly near its edges, forming a most beautiful border around it ; while the centre, which I sup- pose the wind does not directly reach, remains clear. A round post, on the contrary, has an almost uniform crop of these crystals all over its windward half, and so accu- rately do they point to windward that it is possible to trace changes in the direction of the wind from the successive layers of crystals lying at different angles. The rate of growth varies with the density of the fog and the speed of the wind, but for the ordinary winds and fogs of this exposed position about half an inch per hour may be taken as a rough average. I have never seen it exceed two inches per hour. If there is a damp feeling in the air, if in fact it is mist that is passing rather than fog, the crystals are icy and hard; but when the tem- perature is well below freezing and the fog feels compara- tively dry, they are looser in texture, seem when first formed to be attached by a mere point to whatever they are on, and are pretty easily knocked off. There is prac- tically no limit to their growth ; last winter during a long continuance of strong south-westerly winds and cold weather a post 4 inches square grew into a slab of snow some 5 feet broad and 1 foot thick in less than a week, the crystalline mass then fell off by its own weight and a new set began to form. The effect of this growth on all the instruments exposed to its action may be easily imagined. Nothing keeps its shape or colour. The louvres of the Stevenson’s screen for the thermometers become serrated with rows of teeth which quickly coalesce into a solid mass completely stopping any circulation of air inside the box. The use of exposed radiation thermometers, black bulb 77 vacuo, &c., is rendered well nigh impossible, as these delicate glass instruments would run serious risk of breakage in clearing them of the deposit, while their readings would have little value, being merely the record of the tem- perature inside a more or less opaque mass of snow Very often the rain-gauge is coated with these crystals an inch thick on its windward side, while not a particle is to be seen inside. Ordinary anemometers of the type of Dr. Robinson’s cup instrument become useless ; the cups are no longer hemispheres, but irregular hollow bodies bristling all over with pointed crystals, and the arms carrying them increase to many times their original thickness, thus offering much greater surface for the wind to act on. Under such circumstances the anemometer at the Observatory is usually left to its own devices,and grows into an irregular mass of snow scarcely showing any trace of its original outline, to be cleared again when dry weather or a thaw gives it a chance of working. When the fog comes on while the anemometer is still turning, the crys- tals form chiefly on the outside of the cups and around their edges, leaving the insides pretty clear. The arms carrying the cups get completely covered, and on the diagonal stays supporting the arms the crystals show a beautiful “twined” structure pointing downwards and outwards on each side. Occasionally the crystals are smokey-brown in colour instead of white. For example, those found on December 23, 1884, were distinctly brown, but on the 24th these were overlaid by a pure white set. What causes this April 9, 1885] NATURE change of colour and whether it is connected with any special state of the weather I have not yet determined. Note.—Since the above was written, I have made a rough attempt to measure definitely the rate of growth of these crystals. A cylindrical stoneware bottle 3°6 inches high and 2°25 inches diameter was stuck upside down on a post 40 inches high for three hours at a time, the crys- tals formed on it melted down and the volume of the water measured. Assuming that the cylinder acted like a flat surface placed perpendicularly to the wind whose height and breadth are equal to its height and diameter—an assumption that appears to be very nearly true, at least for small surfaces—I find that with dense fog and strong wind (force 6 to 8 of Beaufort’s scale) the rate of growth, as measured above, is abouto"125 inch perhour. That is to say, if the density of the snow be one-tenth that of the water, the crystals were growing at the rate of one anda quarter inch per hour. The crystals were quite loose and feathery, and contained practically no fallen or drifted snow ; all had been formed directly out of the fog. R. T. OMOND BIRD ARCHITECTURE HE way in which a bird builds its nest, seemingly without instruction, thought, or experience, has been repeatedly brought forward as a convincing proof of blind infallible instinct governing it in its task. No more popular proof has been brought forward by the supporters of the blind instinct theory than that of bird-architecture. It is thought a wonderful thing for a bird to build a nest without any instruction, or without ever seeing a nest typical of its species. That birds are capable of such marvellous powers has long ago been denied by Mr. Wallace, and we have not a particle of evidence that such is really the case (“Nat. Selection,” and Seebohm’s “ Brit. B.,” ii. Introd.). Indeed the evidence, such as we can glean, goes far to disprove the presence of any such instinctive power. Birds brought upin confinement have been found not to make a nest typical of their species, but generally content themselves with forming a rudi- mentary structure—heaping a lot of material together without any design, or even laying their eggs on the bare ground with no provision at all! In my opinion, how- ever, the conditions of life are so changed when a bird is kept in confinement that too much weight should not be attached to its actions in captivity, and the experiment has never to my knowledge fairly been tried with wild birds or birds living under normal conditions. A remarkable instance, however, of a changed mode of nest-building has just been brought to my notice by Mr. W. Burton, the well-known naturalist of Wardour Street. Some time ago his brother (now employed at the museum at Wellington, N.Z.) took out to New Zealand a number of young birds of our common native species, with the object of introducing them to the Antipodes. Amongst them were some young chaffinches (/7imgilla celebs). These were turned out and have thriven well in a wild state, bidding fair to permanently establish this charming little bird in our distant colonies. Some of the birds have built a nest ; and to Mr. Burton I am indebted for a photograph of the wonderful structure they have woven. It is evidently built in the fork of a branch, and shows very little of that neatness of fabrication for which this bird is noted in England. The materials with which it is made seem very different, too. The cup of the nest is small, loosely put together, apparently lined with feathers, and the walls of the structure are prolonged for about eighteen inches, and hang loosely down the side of the supporting branch. The whole structure bears some resemblance to the nests of the Hangnests (Icteridz), with the exception that the cavity containing the eggs is situ- ated on the top. Clearly these New Zealand chaffinches were at a loss for a design when fabricating their nest. They had no standard to work by, no nests of their own kind to copy, no older birds to give them any instruction, and the result is the abnormal structure I have just de- scribed. Perhaps these chaffinchesimitated in some degree the nest of some New Zealand species ; or it may be that the few resemblances this extraordinary structure presents to the typical nest of the Palearctic chaffinch are the results of memory—the dim remembrance of the nest in which they had been reared, but which had almost been effaced by novel surroundings and changed con- ditions of life. Any way we have here, at last, a most interesting and convincing proof that birds do not make their nests by blind instinct, but by imitating the nest in which they were reared, aided largely by rudimentary reason and by memory. I have not the least doubt that, had these young chaffinches been hatched in an alien nest in this country, and never allowed to see a nest typical of their species, or have any connection with old and expe- rienced birds, the results would have been still more startling and strange. Man has to /earm the particular art of house-building practised by his own peculiar race —hirds have to do the same! CHARLES DIXON THE INSTITUTION OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS HE Annual Meetings of the Institution of Naval Architects were held during the week preceding Easter at the rooms of the Society of Arts. There were five sittings, at which the necessary routine business was transacted, the presidential address of Lord Ravensworth was delivered, and seventeen papers were read and dis- cussed. On the whole the meetings were successful and the papers of good quality, but far too much work was attempted in the time available. It is to be hoped that the growing importance of the proceedings and the im- proving financial position of the Institution may lead the Executive to arrange for holding regular autumnal ses- sions at the principal outports, in addition to the spring sessions in London. The papers read were chiefly “ papers of information,” having a strictly practical or descriptive character, only two or three having scientific pretensions. Marine en- gineering also occupied a far more prominent place than has been usual hitherto, nearly one-half of the papers having relation to the propelling apparatus of steamships. The fact is significant, indicating the remarkable progress which has recently been made in marine engineering, and suggesting the progress which may yet be made. Of the papers coming into this group, that by Mr. Macfarlane Gray, of the Board of Trade, was the only one of a scien- tific nature. Mr. Gray has on more than one occasion brought his “ether-pressure” theory before the Physical Society, where it has not been well received. His recent paper “ On the Theoretical Duty of Heat in the Steam- Engine” was probably understood by only a few of his hearers ; and Prof. Cotterill, whose authority on the sub- ject is undoubted, was the only speaker who really con- tributed any useful criticism. While complimenting Mr. Gray on some of his graphic processes, and expressing admiration for his courage and perseverance, Prof. Cot- terill took exception to the generalisations attempted in the paper and to the assumption that the results so far obtained were any real confirmation of the soundness of the theory advanced. All the other engineering papers were of a practical character. The actual performances of “ triple-expansion ” engines as compared with the “double-expansion ” or ordinary compound marine engines, were discussed at length. Experience appears to be conclusive on the point that, by using steam of 120 to 150 pounds’ pressure, and having three successive expansions in separate cylinders, an economy of from 15 to 20 per cent. in coal consumption is to be realised. This economy is of the highest importance, both in mercantile and war ships 534 NATURE [April 9, 1885 and on long ocean voyages its effects are felt, not merely in the lessened expenditure of coal, but in the gain in cargo-carrying capacity. Twenty-five years ago an ex- penditure of from 4 to 6 pounds of coal per indicated horse-power per hour was considered good engineering practice. By the introduction of surface-condensers the expenditure was reduced to about 3 to 4 pounds; by the use of the compound engine with higher steam pressures the expenditure fell to about z to 2? pounds; and now with triple expansion it has been brought nearly to 14 pounds, or less than one-third of the rate common a quarter of a century ago. These are results of which marine engineers may be proud, and which make the ex- tended use of steamships certain. Nor is further progress to be doubted. Much remains to be done in improving the marine border, and Mr. Milton’s thoughtful paper on the subject willdo good. Attention has been so fixed on the economical use of steam in the engines, that the possible gains by improvements on the generators of the steam have been overlooked to some extend. The em- ployment 0: forced draught” in the stokeholes is becoming so common, that it was to be expected that a discussion would arise upon it. Mr. Robmson read a paper describing a method by which steam yachts might have the combustion quickened by driving air under pressure into the furnaces, but not closing in the stoke- holes as is done in torpedo boats. This paper was not merely interesting in itself, but served the useful purpose of calling forth some valuable statements of experience gained on larger ships. Forced draughts with closed stoke-holes is now becoming a recognised feature in war- ship design. By these arrangements, involving very moderate additions of weight and cost, the indicated horse-power can be increased by from 50 to 60 per cent. above that obtained with natural draught, and the “forcing” of the combustion can be carried on for four or five hours. A very considerable gain of speed is thus possible for a moderate time, and under ordinary working conditions with low speed, the economical expenditure of fuel is possible. In special types of merchant ships forced draught would also prove of great value; and even in sea-going steamers something of the kind is likely to be done. Trials are already in progress which promise a great economy in the weight and space re- quired for the steam boilers, while preserving economy in coal consumption. A paper by Mr. Linington, of the Admiralty, on the propelling machinery of high-speed ships, gave a considerable amount of information as to recent Admiralty practice; and another paper by Mr. Joy, described a special arrangement of valve gear adapted for quick-running engines. Upon the efficient working of such gear, and the proper distribution of the steam, very much depends when high piston speeds are accepted, and the weight of machinery reduced. Mr. Thornycroft’s name will always be associated with the introduction of the modern torpedo boat, in which quick running engines of remarkable lightness in propor- tion to their power are fitted. His paper on a special form of screw propeller suitable for vessels of very shallow draught and relatively high speed naturally attracted great attention. The fundamental principle of this pro- peller is not a novelty: but Mr. Thornycroft has brought to a practically successful form what has been little more than an experiment in the hands of others. The pro- peller is one which works with a large amount of “slip,” but it is associated with a system of fixed “‘ guide-blades” and casings, by means of which the momentum of the water in the propeller race, which would otherwise be wasted, is made to contribute effectively to the forward thrust of the propeller. The net result of the arrange- ment is that for a given total weight of propelling appa- ratus a higher speed can be obtained than is possible with any other propeller yet tried in shallow draught vessels. Mr. Parker, of Lloyd’s, read a paper on the use of thick steel plates for boilers carrying high pressures of steam, with special reference to a case of recent occurrence where a plate fractured badly and in a most unexpected manner. This paper gave rise to one of the most lengthy and inter- esting discussions at the meetings. Steel makers and users of steel mutually benefit by the joint examination of such problems, which will probably become much rarer than they now are as the manufacture advances. The general opinion expressed in the discussion was dis- tinctly in favour of the generally good behaviour of the new material, whose superior strength,,ductility and homo- geneity make it so formidable a rival to the best classes of iron. Two papers on riveted joints were well received : the first giving a 7éswmé of recent Admiralty experiments on riveted specimens of steel shipwork ; and the other deal- ing with certain points of importance in the riveting of boiler shells. Amongst the remaining papers, one, dealing with the stowage of steamships, contained a mass of valuable facts. Another paper dealt with the possibility of making such a disposition of the coal bunkers in steamships that the consumption of the coal might not prejudice the sta- bility or render large quantities of ballast necessary, A third was a scientific attempt to lay down rules for competitive yacht-rocking—a hopeless task we fear. There still remain to be noticed three of the most im- portant papers in which a distinctly scientific method was followed. Undoubtedly the best of these, from the scien- tific point of view, was that contributed by Mr. Watts, in which he examined into the remarkable effects which ree water may produce -in checking the rolling motion of even the largest ships. Mr. R. E. Froude assisted greatly in the investigation, and exhibited a model in which the behaviour and influence of the free water were admirably illustrated. It seems obvious that by this means much greater steadiness at sea may be insured than is possible with bilge keels or other appliances of that kind. But there is a need for scientific treatment in order to secure the best steadying effects in a safe and practicable form. Another excellent paper was that on “A Mechanical Method of Measuring a Vessel’s Stability,” by Mr. Heek. Here also a model was used, and by a very ingenious device the movements of the centre of buoyancy.of the ship represented by the model were accurately and simply determined for all angles of inclination. It is a method which can be used by comparatively unskilled assistants in a drawing office, although its invention is a proof of thorough knowledge of the principles of stability on the part of the inventor. The plan ought to be widely used, and doubtless will be. Finally, reference must be made to the only paper contributed by a naval officer, Capt. Noel, in which he attempted to lay down rules of general application for measuring the “fighting efficiencies” of war-ships of all classes and sizes, differentiating their values according to the nature of their speeds, manceuvring powers, arma- ments, protection, seaworthiness, and other qualities. The task is seemingly a hopeless one, and no general rules can apply. At the same time the paper sets out clearly and succinctly the leading characteristics on which fighting efficiency depends, and in that sense will be of service to the Institution. W. H.W. THE EGGS OF FISHES* Ce advances within comparatively re- cent times having been made in regard to our know- ledge of the spawning of fishes, and the treatment of * Introductory Lecture’ delivered, to the Class of Natural History in the University of St. "Andrews, on.November 10, by Prof. McIntosh, LL.D., F.R.S. April 9, 1885] NALTORE 535 their eggs after deposition, I have selected this subject for the introductory lecture, since some opportunities have lately been afforded for its investigation in our own waters. These facilities have occurred at sea in con- nection with the Trawling Commission, and on land at the Marine Laboratory—now, I am glad to say, established, by the aid of the Scotch Fishery Board, within easy reach of the students of Natural History in this University. The subject, moreover, is one of general interest, for it is but a short time since works devoted to the history of British fishes were devoid of allusion to any other mode of spawning than that by which the eggs of our marine fishes were deposited on the bottom of the sea. Indeed, it was believed by most naturalists that the latter was the normal mode of deposition. As a consequence, some of the text-books at present in use either follow the latter view, or do not specially allude to the question. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the majority of those who have spent their lives from boyhood onward at the pursuit of line-fishing should maintain, even at this moment, that the eggs of all marine fishes are deposited at the bottom of the sea—with a tenacity all the more persistent as several apparent corroborations by experi- ment (which they had, with praiseworthy interest, made, and which I shall allude to by and by) seemed to justify their opinion. The eggs of all fishes are produced in the ovaries— symmetrical organs which lie beneath the vertebral column, and which at different periods of the year present various appearances according to the degree of develop- ment of the eggs. Thus in the quiescent condition of the organs, as in the case of the green cod before you, their size is insignificant, while the fully-developed ovaries occupy a large space and weigh several pounds. At first the eggs are very small, but they gradually increase in size by imbibing nourishment from the ovarian follicles in which they are placed. A feature not sufficiently insisted on in our country is the fact that only a portion of the ovary in most marine fishes becomes “ripe” at a given time, the matured eggs passing along the oviduct and escaping externally. This provision appears to be admirably suited for the increase of the fishes, a constant succession of embryos being thus liberated, and time afforded for those of one stage to dis- appear, as we shall afterwards see, from the surface of the ocean before those of the succeeding take their places. In America this condition has been clearly described in the Report on the cod-fisheries of Cape Ann, by Mr. Earll, for the United States Fish Commission in 1880; but the account does not seem to have come under the notice of Mr. Oldham Chambers, who alluded to the subject a year or two afterwards.! Mr. Earll observes that the individuals (z.e. the cod) do not deposit all their eggs in a single day or week, but probably continue the operation of spawning over fully two months. The result of this arrangement is that the American cod begin to spawn in September, and some continue as late as June. The cod in our own seas do not follow the same habit, though their spawning-period extends on each side of the beginning of April. In the same way the period during which the eggs of the various kinds of skate are deposited is considerably lengthened. On the other hand, such marine fishes as the lump- sucker and bimaculated sucker, the salmon, trout, and most freshwater fishes seem to deposit their eggs within the limited period of a day or two, and consequently the development of the masses of eggs in the ovaries is more nearly simultaneous. The importance of this point in the history of the eggs of fishes will be apparent when it is viewed in connection with a close time in legislation ; for while nothing could * “Bish and Fishes,” Prize Essays, International Fisheries Exhibition, Edinburgh, 1883, p. 187. be more simple than the fixing of such a period in the case of the salmon, which spawns in rivers, it would be very different in the case of such as the cod, sole, and turbot, both on account of the lengthened and diverse periods in each case, and the vastness of the field in which it is to be applied. ; In general form the eggs of ordinary fishes are circular. On deposition they are usually invested by a single layer (zona radiata), though in some, as in the herring, there is another, viz. the vitellme membrane, which lies outside the former. The great mass of the egg is formed by the oval spherules of the food-yolk, which are separated by protoplasmic bands. Near one of the poles the proto- plasm usually forms a lenticular area, the germinal disk or germinal area, and the smaller yolk-spherules in this region differ in character from those of the general mass of the egg. During development the eggs show partial segmentation, this process being chiefly confined to the germinal area. While the circular form as just described is charac- teristic of the eggs of most fishes, we have a few marine types which deviate from the general rule, e.g. Myxine (glutinous hag), with its ovoid and fringed eggs, the goby, with its fusiform ova, the gar-pike, saury pike and flying-fish, which have long filaments attached to their eggs—probably for the purpose of fixing them to floating structures of any kind. Amongst other interesting types are the large eggs of the stickleback and the salmon- tribe, and the almost microscopic eggs of the eel. The large ova of the salmon and trout are surpassed, however, by those of the Siluroid genus Avzws—found both in the Old World and the New (Ceylon and Guiana)—the eggs being somewhat larger than a pea (5-10 mm.): but this is not the only remarkable feature in these fishes, for, as Drs. Giinther and Wyman and Prof. Turner have shown, the large eggs are carried by the male in his mouth and gill-chamber until hatched, the small and almost granular palatine teeth making this possible, without injury to the ova. He thus acts the part of a dry nurse, as also does the male pipe-fish (Sy#gzathus), and the sea-horse (Azppo- campus), the eggs being borne by the male in a pouch on the under surface. In another Siluroid fish (Asfredo) from Guiana the remarkable exception occurs of a female fish interesting itself in the care of its young. The skin on the under surface becomes soft and spongy, and the eggs, which are deposited on the ground, adhere by simple pressure of the body over them—very much after the arrangement in the Surinam toad. Only one other female fish shares with this one the distinction just noted, viz. Solenostoma, an Indian Lophobranch, in which the ventral fins (free in the male) coalesce to form with the integuments a pouch for the reception and hatching of the eggs. The entire group of the sharks and rays (Elas- mobranchs), again, is characterised by the peculiar con- dition of their eggs, which are not only distinguished by their great size, but by the fact that they are either de- posited in horny capsules, or retained in the oviduct until hatched. The former takes place in the common rays, certain dog-fishes (Scy/dium), and sharks (Cestracion), and in the curious Chima@ra and Callorhynchus; while the latter, that is the production of living young, occurs in the rest of the sharks and in Zorfedo. As already indicated, the prevalent notion amongst the older naturalists was that fishes of all kinds deposited their eggs on the bottom of the sea, and that extensive migrations were made by various kinds for this purpose, the general impression being that the majority proceeded shorewards to deposit their eggs in the shallow water. This impression was probably due to the fact that the salmon, and perhaps the herring, followed this habit, the former proceeding up rivers, and the latter selecting certain suitable banks (often near land) covered with sea- weeds and zoophytes, or a bottom composed of stones and gravel. Building their notions on these facts, it was 536 NATURE Apru 9, 1885 P assumed by the older observers that all marine fishes followed similar habits. Thus it was supposed that the cod, haddock, whiting, ling, hake, and other fishes fre- quented certain banks for the purpose of depositing their eggs, and that various flat fishes, such as the larger examples of turbot and sole, came from deep water to shallow water for the same end. Such conjectures, how- ever, were found to deviate very considerably from the actual condition. Amongst the earliest to notice that the eggs of certain marine fishes floated were the cod-fishermen of the Loffo- den Islands, off the coast of Norway. These Norwegians had noticed that what they called the “roe” of the cod- fish floated in the water on the great fishing-banks, and often at certain seasons to such an extent as to make the water thick. Prof. G. O. Sars, Inspector of Fisheries in Norway, to whom this remark was made, supposed that the fishermen had mistaken some of the lower marine animals for the eggs of fishes, for such a feature was in direct opposition to anything he knew of the spawning of fishes. The subject, however, was soon set at rest, for he pro- ceeded in 1864 to the fishing-grounds above-mentioned, viz. off the Loffoden Islands, and captured in the tow-net immense numbers of the eggs of the cod floating at the surface of the sea. Next year, indeed, on a calm day, Prof. Sars found the sea covered with a dense layer ot floating spawn, so that with a sufficiently large net he could have taken tons of it. This occurred over a cele- brated fishing-ground, on which the cod were present in enormous numbers, so as to form what the fishermen called a “fish mountain.” Sars also found that the ova of the haddock floated, and amongst the eggs procured from the surface of the sea were some from which young fishes resembling gurnards emerged, and he correctly concluded that the ova of the gurnard followed the same habit as those of the cod and haddock. The impetus given to such observations by the ener- getic action of the United States Fish Commission en- abled the Americans to corroborate the discovery of the Norwegians in regard to the floating of the ova of the cod, which lately have been artificially hatched on a some- what extensive scale on their coasts. The labours of the distinguished Prof. Alex. Agassiz in the same country have further added to our knowledge of floating eggs, so that the number of fishes in which this occurs is con- siderable. Thus the majority of the American flounders, certain kinds of wrasses (Czenolabrus), a species of spar- ling (Osmerus), several species of cottus, cod, haddock, gurnard, shad, mackerel, and Spanish mackerel, a kind of dory (Zeus), and the frog-fish are amongst those which have floating eggs. The late Dr. Malm of Gothenburg further increased the list by discovering that the eggs of the plaice were similarly buoyant; and G. Brook has recently added to this category the eggs of the lesser weever. The very great influence which this floating of the tiny eggs exercises on the multiplication of the food fishes will be apparent as we proceed. On the other hand, most freshwater fishes (except the shad) deposit their egzs on the bottom like the salmon, or on water-plants, like the carp and pike; while other marine species, such as the herring, sprat, lump-sucker, and bimaculated sucker, follow a similar method. The number of marine fishes which are supposed to deposit their eggs on the sea-bed is yearly diminishing, while the ranks of those in which the ripe eggs are found to float correspondingly increases. To come now to our own shores, and to confine our remarks to what is really the most important group of fishes, viz. the food-fishes, we find that early in spring the surface of the sea over the great fishing-banks, such as Smith Bank, off the north-east of Scotland (Caithness), pre- sents vast numbers of floating eggs of food-fishes, together with multitudes of the very young fishes provided with a yolk-sac exhibiting various degrees of absorption. Some of the ova (e.g. those of the haddock and gurnard) are larger than those of the cod, but they are few in number ; while a fourth kind are smaller than any yet mentioned. When placed in a vessel of sea-water the eggs persistently float on its surface, descending but a very little when the jar is rudely shaken. Even after a protracted journey only the dead eggs roll on the bottom of the vessel. All the floating eggs are living. Moreover, the eggs were removed from the cod itself, and carried from Smith Bank to the Marine Laboratory at the harbour. On arrival, these floated at the surface of the vessel. On transferring them to a larger jar and turning on a tap of sea-water, a great change occurred. The ova in a few minutes lay on the bottom. Microscopic examination subsequently showed that the edge of the germinal area was disin- tegrating—free protoplasmic processes and separate cells occurring all round. The cause of this sudden change was doubtless the impurity of the water (for the proper apparatus had not yet been fitted up), the metallic pipe (block-tin) containing an opaque whitish deposit which speedily killed the ova. The addition of methylated spirit in the same way sends all the eggs and embryos to the bottom. Sars, indeed, mentions that if the eggs of the cod are placed in fresh water they sin’, and never rise again. They are killed—just as a newly-hatched salmon is killed—though somewhat more slowly, by immersion in sea-water. Sars thinks that even a_ fall of rain might affect the floating of the ova in the sea, but this is unlikely. More than once the eggs of the haddock and other fishes have been brought under notice as lying on the bottom of a vessel, and therefore held as proving that the ova did not float. But in every case such eggs were found to be dead or dying, unripe, or not even fertilised. If in removing the eggs from a fish, too much pressure is applied, unripe eggs escape. Such either sink or float ambiguously, according to the stage of development. Unless this fact is borne in mind, disappointment naturally occurs, especially to one who has triumphantly carried such eges from deep-sea fishing to vindicate statements that have been impugned. No one ever asserted that dead eggs floated. It is the ripe and living eggs that are so buoyant. In the Marine Laboratory it has happened that some living ova of the cod rolled on the bottom of the vessel, but this was clearly due to the attachment of fine par- ticles of mud and sand which had gained admission from imperfections in the temporary apparatus, and which surely and speedily in every case proved fatal to the embryo. The ova and embryos brought from the surface of the sea are comparatively hardy, even though kept for ten days without renewal of the sea-water. The lively little cod, about 5 mm. in length, with their characteristic black pigment-patches, swam actively at the surface of the water, darting hither and thither when interfered with, while a stratum of the dead lay at the bottom. The water may even be somewhat milky and the odour characteristic, and yet the embryos survive—until, as Sars also found, the yolk-sac, which supplies them with nourishment, is absorbed. The difference between the larval cod and the young salmon just hatched is striking. The former (that is, the young cod) is in a very rudimentary condition, not only in size, but in structure. For instance, the heart pulsates, but, as my colleague, Prof. Pettigrew, observed, there is no visible blood and no blood-vessels. Those, therefore, who say that the heart in animals contracts from the stimulus of its living blood, would here find little support. On the other hand, the newly-hatched salmon has attained great complexity ; indeed, several days may be spent in de- lineating its elaborate blood-vessels alone. (To be continued.) a > April 9, 1885] NATURE 537 NOTES WE regret to learn of the death, at the age of eighty years, of the eminent physiologist, Prof. Karl von Siebold, of Munich. WE have also to announce the death of Mr. Frederick Field, F.R.S. Mr. Field was one of the original members of the Chemical Society. He held for some time the post of Vice- Consul in Caldera, Chili, and was successively Professor of Chemistry at St. Mary’s Hospital and the London Institution. He was senior partner of the firm of J. C. and J. Field at the time of his death. Mr. Field contributed numerous papers to various branches of chemistry, especially that relating to the mineralogy and metallurgy of South America. A COMMUNICATION dated March 7 has been received from Mr. Thorlacius, observer for the Scottish Meteorological Society at Stykkisholm, in which he states that till February the winter in Iceland was nota severe one. In that month, however, the weather was very cold, and ice between six and seven feet thick formed in the harbour, during which of course no temperature observations of the sea could be taken. On March 4 and 5 the ice broke up, and in the open space between the floating ice- blocks the temperature of the sea was found to be 29°°0. Of the Spitzbergen ice it is remarked that nothing had yet been heard of it, but that it could not be far off, as north-easterly winds had been blowing all February. Mr. Thorlacius observed an aurora on January 24, with a triple arch and faint traces of a fourth bow within the other three arches close down on the horizon, being the first time an aurora of this description has been seen by him since he began his regular meteorological observations in 1845. THE Monthly Weather Review of the Dominion of Canada for February, 1885, presents some points of interest. At Victoria, British Columbia, the mean temperature was 9°'0 higher than the average, and 13°°8 higher than February last year ; but, on the other hand, to the east of the Rockies, tem- perature was under the average, the greatest defect from the average, 13°°3, occurring at Port Stanley. At Toronto the mean temperature was only 11°"1, being 11°°t lower than the average of forty-five years, and with the single exception of February, 1875, when the mean fell to 10°:2, was the coldest month recorded at the observatory during the past forty-five years. Generally the month was remarkable for the cold which prevailed nearly everywhere, and also for the very stormy weather which was experienced over the Lake Region, and in Eastern Canada, between the 8th and 11th, On the oth tempera- ture fell in Manitoba to -—48°°3 at St. Andrew’s, and —46°'0 at Stony Mountain; and in Asiniboia to -47°'0 at Pheasant Forks. The proportion of sunshine re- corded in each hour of the day during which the sun was above the horizon is given for twelve stations, giving a mean result of 39 per cent. of actual as compared with possible hours of sunshine. It is remarkable that only at one of the twelve stations, viz. Cornwall, was Ico per cent. recorded during any day of the month. The number of predictions or forecasts of weather issued during the month was 523, of which 80 per cent. were fully, and 92 per cent. either fully or partially, verified. As regards the three storms which occurred, thirty-nine warnings were issued and cautionary signals at the various signal stations, each of which was verified in every particular as to the force of the wind ; and with respect to the predictions as to the probable changes in the direction of the wind, 90 per cent. were fully and 100 per cent. were either fully or partially verified. Mr. CuTHBERT E. PEEK sends us his First Report of a meteorological observatory established at Rousdon, Devon, in September, 1883. The Report presents some of the features of the meteorology of Rousdon during 1884. Fully half a quarto page is given to a somewhat popular account of the weather of each month. A few illustrations are given, of which the first shows by curves the mean monthly temperature of Greenwich for the forty years ending 1873, and the mean at Rousdon for the months of 1884. Nowhere, however, is there printed in figures a monthly mean either of the pressure or the tem- perature of the air, the author contenting himself only with the extreme pressures and temperatures of the months, Subsequent reports will, no doubt, make good these omissions, and will continue, it is hoped, the comparison of the weather forecasts of the Meteorological Office, with the weather actually ex- perienced in this district of Eastern Devon, THE veteran zoologists of Cuba, Science states—Prof. Felipe Poey, who is now nearly eighty-six years old, and Dr. Juan Gundlach, who has completed his seventy-fourth year—are still engaged industriously in studying the fauna of that tropical island. Dr. Gundlach has been publishing his contributions to the fauna of Porto Rico in the 4xma/s of the Spanish Society of Natural History. The vertebrates (including fishes by Poey) have all appeared, and recently the freshwater marine mollusca have been issued. Gundlach has been publishing every month eight octavo pages in the Aznals of the Havana Academy of Sciences—a contribution to the mammals, birds, and reptiles of Cuba—and is now at work upon the insects, of which the Lepido- ptera are already nearly completed, and occupy already nearly 400 pages. Poey has published the fishes of the island in the Annals of the Spanish Society of Natural History, and Arango has dis- cussed the mollusks. It is to be hoped that these still vigorous naturalists will live to see the completion of the work they have undertaken with so much zeal. Tue French Academy of Sciences has appointed a new com- mission on aérostats consisting of MM. Faye, Fremy, Jamin, Tresca, Cornu, and Perier. THE French Society of Physics will meet as usual to-day, in the rooms of the Société d’Encouragement, to exhibit all the new apparatus invented during the year. Pror. TYNDALL will begin a course of five lectures at the Royal Institution on Tuesday next (April 16) on “* Natural Forces and Energies.” THE arrangements for the remaining April Popular Science Lectures at the Royal Victoria Hall, Waterloo Road, are as follow :—April 21, P. H. Carpenter, D.Sc., on Greenland. April 28, Dr. J. A. Fleming, ‘*Our Nimble Servant, Elec- tricity, and what we can make it do.” Exutsits in the Fish Culture Department of the forthcoming Inventions Exhibition are already being placed in the several spaces allotted to them. They include hatching-boxes showing the manner in which fish eggs are incubated ; feeding-boxes in which the fry are inserted after losing their wmdilica! sac, and numerous appliances and apparatus necessary to carrying on the work of fish-culture successfully. There will also be shown various species of fish in different stages of development reared artificially, together with models of fish-farms, oyster-culture establishments, and a number of other exhibits of an interesting nature. A COMMISSION appointed by the French Government to inspect the forests of Tunis, and to make proposals with regard to afforestation, has recently presented its report. In the dis- tricts south of the Medjerda valley the so-called forests are mere brushwood, composed of the callistus, juniper, Aleppo pines, and small oaks. The land is cleared for pasturage and cultiva- tion, and only here and there are seen groups of larger trees, such as Alpine firs and olives Nothing is therefore to be gained by preserving here, and the cost would be very great ; 538 | ut it is nevertheless recommended that some steps be taken to protect trees and shrubs which exercise a beneficial influence on the »ée¢me des eaux. The Kroumis mountains to the north are _ of a totally different character. Magnificent forests of old trees exist in them, which attain as great dimensions as those in the best French forests. They contain magnificent cork trees and white oaks (Q. Afirdechit), with trunks three or four metres in circumference and ten to fifteen metres in height to the first branches. One forest covers 100,000 hectares, and contains also the alder, willow, wild cherry, beech, poplar, holly, bay, and the tamarisk. This and some neighbouring ones should, the report advises, be strictly preserved. The bark and wood of the oak and cork would repay the expense. WE have received Mr. Morris’s Annual Report on the Public Gardens and Plantations of Jamaica, which, as usual, contains various matters of much general and local interest, We have already referred, in noticing a similar report from Queensland, to the immense economical importance of such institutions as this, and we are glad to perceive that such competent authorities as the late Royal Commissioners in the West Indies and Sir Joseph Hooker have publicly recognised the value of Mr. Morris’s labours. The former suggest that in all the lesser islands ‘‘ plant committees ” of the residents should at once be formed to correspond with the establishment in Jamaica, while Sir Joseph Hooker, in commenting on this recommendation in his letter to the Colonial Office, stated that there can be no doubt that the future prosperity of the West Indies will be largely affected by the extension to other islands unprovided with any kind of botanical establishment of the kind of the operations so successfully carried out by Mr. Morris in Jamaica. But he thinks that mere committees will not be enough : botanical stations on a cheap basis are an essential condition for doing anything in an effective way. The money value of rain in Jamaica is well shown in a paragraph in the report quoted from Mr. Maxwell Hall’s estimate. A comparison has been made between so many inches of rain per annum and so many casks of sugar per acre. Thus there were 1559 casks per acre for 79 inches rainfall and 1441 casks with 56 inches, so that the differ- ence due to a larger or smaller island rainfall is on an average nearly one-tenth of the export sugar crop. This one-tenth export crop, for sugar and rum, represents in value nearly 100,000/. But if other produce, which is likewise affected by a greater or less rainfall, such as coffee and pimento, the difference would amount to a very considerable sum. During the year con- siderable attention was devoted in the herbarium to the medicinal plants of the island, and to forming not only a collection of botanical specimens, but also of the barks, roots, and the portions used for medicine. The value of this herbarium to the com- mercial interests of the West Indies was shown while working up the botanical classification of the indigenous plants capable of yielding fibre. It was found that the common native Agaze (aloe) of Jamaica was not, as had been represented in books on Jamaica plants, the Agave americana, but an entirely different species, the Agave keratto of Salmdyck. The application of this difference, which appears to him only one of botanical nomenclature, to the industrial arts is that, under the belief that this plant was Agave americana, and therefore capable of yield- ing valuable fibre, large sums of money were spent and lost in getting out machinery to clean fibre which was of inferior quality. : AT the end of the report on the Jamaica public gardens above referred to, Mr. Morris mentions some curious instances of super- stitions among the negroes with regard to plants. The plantation labourers believe that if they take up the horse-plaintain suckers (z.e. those with long fingers), and then take up one of the maiden plaintains (with the short fingers) while the gum or juice is still NATURE [ April 9, 1885 fresh upon their cutlasses, and they use the same cutlass, the maiden plaintains will produce horse-plaintains, and this was said by them to be a matter of common experience. It is be- lieved also to be unlucky to point the finger when speaking of any growing plant in a provision ground, or even to name a plant which has recently been planted. It. is stated even by in- telligent Europeans that if the seed of the shaddock (Citrus decumana) is planted, there is but one in a whole shaddock that will produce good and pleasant fruit, and also that there are fifty-two seeds in a shaddock, only two of which produce the real shaddock, while the others produce a variety of fruits such as the sweet lime, forbidden fruit, grape fruit, chester fruit, and orange ! ACCORDING to an article in the last number of the Oes¢er- reichische Monatsschrift fiir den Orient, by Herr Friedrich Miiller of Vienna, on the paleography of the Philippine Islands, the inhabitants of the archipelago of Malay descent possess a writing which is going more and more out of use and is being supplanted by the Latin writing introduced with Christianity by the Spanish missionaries. The original writing, which is on the whole in the same form among the various tribes, such as the Tagals, Tlocos, Visayas, Pampangas, is connected first with the writings of the people of the Celebes (Bugis, Macassars), and of Sumatra (Battak, Redschang, Lampong), and the forms point to India as the common origin of-all. But whether the writing of the Malay peoples came direct from India, or through the intermediary of another writing ; from which Indian alphabet it came, z.e, from which province ; and at what time,—are questions which various competent scholars have answered in various ways, and which may therefore be regarded as still open. To those who desire to pursue the subject two interesting recent studies may be recommended. One, by Prof. Kern, of Leyden, appears in the well-known Dutch magazine, Bydragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indié, vol. iv. No. to (1885), which is a critical examination of the whole question ; the other, in Spanish, by Seftor Pardo de Tavera, is published as a pamphlet, and is entitled ‘‘ A Contribution to the Study of the Ancient Alphabets of the Philippines.” The special value of the latter is that it investigates the subject more thoroughly than any of its predecessors with special relation to the Philippines, and illustrates it by much that is original from the old literature of the archipelago. It is accompanied by ‘plates, containing copies of no less than twelve Philippine alphabets. Nos. 11 and 12, however, appear to be identical, with the exception of being produced with different instruments. No. 11 is probably written with a pen on paper, while No. 12 was probably cut by a knife into wood. Even with this deduction there are still eleven dis- tinct alphabets in this archipelago alone. THE stone implements, shell heaps, and other prehistoric remains of Japan have already received some attention at the hands of Profs. Milne and Morse, and of Herr von Siebold, an Austrian savant in the diplomatic service in Tokio. Until quite recently, although the Japanese prized stone implements and the like, they appear to have done so onaccount of their peculiar shapes and as curiosities rather than because of their scientific importance. A Japanese gentleman filling a high official position has, however, just published a volume entitled, ‘* Notes on the Ancient Stone Implements of Japan,” for a description of the contents of which we are indebted to the Fafan Mail. Mr. Kanda enjoys high reputation as an antiquarian, His book con- tains twenty-four plates, to each of which are appended accurate descriptions of the objects delineated, with their names and other details. The plates are not tinted, so they convey no idea of the colours of the originals, many of which are of black ser- pentine, jade, jasper, amethyst, agate, calcedony, &c. They give the exact shapes and dimensions of all the objects. Mr. Kanda’s object is not to ventilate his own opinions, but to furnish April 9, 1885 | NATURE 539 antiquarians abroad with data for comparing the stone imple- ments of Japan with those found elsewhere. In a short treatise of eight pages he describes the beliefs universally current in Japan on the subject of these remains. Dividing stone imple- ments into ‘‘chipped” and ‘‘polished,” he mentions four varieties of the former, which, translating the original Japanese names, he calls-arrow-heads, spear-heads, rice-spoons of the mountain gnomes, and pound-stones—the last being really hoe- heads. The three first are known all over Japan, but become more and more numerous as one approaches the north. They are supposed to have been used by the Ainos. Of the ‘‘ polished ” stone implements there are six principal varieties, vulgarly known as thunder-bolts, thunder-clubs, stone daggers, and dagger-heads, magatama and kudatama, or curve and tube- shaped jewels. The thunder-bolts, so called, are evidently axe- heads ; they are found everywhere, but chiefly in the north. The “*thunder-clubs ” are beautifully ornamented, while their shape and size—occasionally they are found as much as five feet long and five inches in diameter—suggest the idea that they served as in- signia of authority rather than as weapons of war. The prehistoric pottery, is Kamloka pottery, from the name of the locality in Northern Japan where it was first discovered. Like the stone implements, it occurs with greater frequency the farther north wego. The general conclusion is thus suggested that the aborigines of Japan were gradually pushed northward by invaders from the south, but where the distinction is to ‘be drawn between the races known as Tsuchigamo, Yezzo, and Aino is a question for future determination. No metal implements have ever been found with this pottery, whereas it is constantly associated with all the stone implements enumerated above. In the ancient tombs, which exist everywhere throughout Japan except in Yezzo, there are unearthed several varieties of stone implements, and with them occur metal implements, together with a species of pottery known as G7ogi ware, after a priest of that name who came to Japan from Corea in the eighth century, and who is sup- posed to have introduced the potter's wheel. The name is doubtless improperly applied to the ware found in the ancient tombs, for in court relics now preserved and dating back to the eighth century there is ware incomparably superior to this so- called Giogi ware, which should therefore probably be referred to a period much more remote. Thestone implements found in these tombs are for the most part of an ornamental character, though some may have served for agricultural purposes. The former include the magafama, or ‘‘ curved jewels ” which were used as pendants. Some of them are of nephrite jand chryso- prase, minerals never yet found in Japan, so that these orna- ments must have been brought over from the Asiatic continent. Mr. Kanda thinks that the ancestors of the present Japanese, when they arrived in Japan, brought with them from their old home metal implements which, not being sufficient for all, were appropriated by the privileged few, the majority of the people going back to stone implements. This curious theory would explain the circumstance that many of the thunder-clubs already mentioned are so beautifully ornamented as to indicate, almost with certainty, the use of metal chisels ; but archzologists will probably prefer leaving this circumstance unexplained to adopting so violent an explanation. WE haye received the Proceedings of the Windsor and Eton Scientific Society for 1884, with the Society’s diary and the presidential addresses since its formation in 1881. One naturally looks in the Proceedings of this and similar societies to the local work—the papers with some of the ocus in guo in them—rather than to the more general papers read and lectures delivered. We find more than one instructive communication on the subject of the old Roman town of Silchester, near Reading ; a paper on the trees of Windsor Forest, by Dr. Gee ; whilst amongst the papers read during the four years, but not printed, we notice one on some bronze implements found in the Thames near Windsor, on carnivorous plants found in the same neighbourhood, and on recent explorations of a tumulus at Taplow. The Society, which does all its interesting work on a subscription of five shillings from each member, is affiliated with the Albert Institute of Windsor, and was formed in consequence of the success of an exhibition of microscopes and other scientific objects which formed one of the fortnightly entertainments provided by this institute. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Rhesus Monkey (Macacus rhesus 8) from India, presented by Mr. F, J. Edmonds; a Greater Sulphur- crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) from Australia, deposited ; two Great Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus. $ 2), eight Silky Bower-birds (Pt:donorhynchus violaceus) from New South Wales ; two Red Kangaroos (Macropus rufus 6 2) from Australia; two Bennett’s Wallaby (Halmaturus bennetti 6 2) from Tasmania ; a Roan Kangaroo (Macropus erubescens), two ‘Wombats (Phascoloniys ) from South Australia, received in exchange ; two Sumatran Rhinoceros (RAtnoceros sumatrensis $9); a Rufous-tailed Pheasant (Zuplocamus erythrophthalmus 2) from Malacca; a Bar-tailed Pheasant (Phastanus reevisi 9) from North China ; two Peacock Pheasants (Polyplectron chinyuis) from British Burmah ; a Silver Pheasant (Zuplocamus nycthe- merus ? ) from China, a Cocoi Heron (A7dea coco?) from America, purchased ; a Bonnet Monkey (AZacacus sinicus), a Black Lemur (Lemur macaco), born in the Gardens. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN ANCIENT OCCULTATIONS OF ALDEBARAN.—In NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 182, reference was made to an occultation of Alde- baran which Bullialdus found recorded in a Greek manuscript, and which it had been supposed was observed at Athens on March 11, A.D. 509. ‘The extract from the manuscript is given at p. 172 of the well-known work of Bullialdus, ‘* Astronomia Philolaica.”” The observation is perhaps mentioned in somewhat undecided terms, inasmuch as it is rather implied that after twi- light had ended the moon seemed to have occulted the star; nevertheless we have its position described as close to the moon at the time of observation ; and further : ‘‘ Stella quippe apposita erat parti, per quam bisecatur limbus Lune illuminatus.” If we remember rightly, Street, amongst others, has pointed out that the occultation itself could not have been seen at Athens, but must have been observed at some more eastern station. The following are results of a recent computation in which the moon’s place has been determined on the same elements which closely represent the occultations observed in China B.c. 69, February 14, and A.D. 361, March 20, referring to the planets Mars and Venus respectively, as well as other phenomena recorded previous to the fourth century. A.D. 509, March 11, at 2h. 30m. Paris mean time. Moon’s right ascension 48 II 23 s, declination e6 Won +12 55 46 Hourly motionin R.A. ... ... 30 15 r A Declan .-cs +7 12 The position of Aldebaran was in R.A. 48° 10’ 16”, Decl. +12° 29' 29". The sidereal time at mean noon at Athens was 23h. 22m. 11s. Hence, calculating for Athens, we find the star disappeared at 3h. 7m., and re-appeared at 4h. 37m. local mean time ; the sunset at 6h. 6m., so that the occultation occurred in broad daylight, and ‘‘ post accensas lucernas” there would be a considerable distance between the moon and the star, as seen at Athens. By way of testing the moon’s place here employed, we may examine the circumstances of another occultation of Aldebaran, which Gaubil extracted from the Chinese historical works, and thus describes :—‘‘In the ninth year (period Yierg-ming), third moon, day fing-chin, the moon eclipsed Aldebaran ;” this occurs in the records of the ‘* Dynastie des 7sz du sud, la cour a Nanking.” Gaubil gives the date March 29, A.D. 491, Proe ceeding as before we have for NATURE [Aprit 9, 1885 540 A.D. 491, March 29, at th, 30m. Paris mean time Moon’s right ascension... ... ... «: 48 35 5: ;, declination ecoar is xs} Hourly motion in R.A. 29°44 er in Decl. +7°39 The position of Aldebaran was in R.A. 47° 50’ 44”, Decl. +12° 1015”. The sidereal time at mean noon at Nankin was oh. 29m. 36s., and, calculating for that place, we find the star disappeared at 9h. 2m. local mean time, and would set at gh. 14m., so that its altitude at disappearance was only 2°°3. Whence, assuming the accuracy of these computations, it is clear that the occultation could not have been seen as recorded at Nankin, if the moon’s place about the epoch to which they refer were sensibly behind that deduced, so as to render possible an observation in twilight at Athens of the occultation of March II, 509. This result for the circumstances of disappearance of Alde- baran at Nankin in 491 reminds us of a similar observation made in London on the occultation of the same star, September 14, 1717, probably from the roof of the Royal Society’s house in Crane Court, Fleet Street, whence, we are told, on the occasion of the total solar eclipse in 1715 there was a free horizon. ‘* On the 14th of September, in the evening, for the first time the moon returned after a long interval to hide Paéifictum ; and the sky was extraordinarily clear at London, so that the moon and the star were seen to rise in the horizon at the same time; the immersion of Padi/icium was at gh. 6m. 20s., the moon not being 3° high, in the very middle, as it were, of the eastern limb, over against the northern part of that small macula which Hevelius called Stagnum Meridis, and Ricciolus by his own name...” BARNARD’s COMET.—A new computation of the orbit of this comet, by Mr. Egbert, of the Dudley Observatory, Albany, U.S., confirms that of Dr. Berberich, as regards the close approach which the comet makes to the orbit of Mars. At a true anomaly of 37° 35’, corresponding to heliocentric longitude 343° 52’ (equinox of 1884), the distance is within 0008, the earth’s mean distance from the sun being taken as unity, and a very close approach of the two bodies may have taken place, as before remarked, at the end of the year 1873. Dr. Berberich’s period of revolution is 19589 days, that of Mr. Egbert 1970°3 days, an increase of only ten days on the latter period would suffice to have brought the comet and planet together in De+ cember 1873. The latest observation made by M. Perrotui, at Nice, in November, 1884, bas not yet been brought to bear upon the direct calculation of the orbit, though Dr. Berberich’s comparison of his elements therewith shows but small difference between calculation and observation. Barnard’s comet does not quite attain to the orbit of Jupiter, the distance at aphelion being 0°555:- ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, APRIL 12-18 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed.) At Greenwich on April 12 Sun rises, 5h. 12m. ; souths, 12h. om. 41°7s. ; sets, 18h. 51m. ; decl. on meridian, 8° 51’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, Sh. 15m. Moon (New on April 15) rises, 4h. 2m. ; souths, gh. 47m. ; sets, 15h. 43m. ; decl. on meridian, 3° 38’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. a ; Mercunys-cmatS 02 faut oie, 20 47 18 oN. Venus LO) eae) AD 1902. ee eh zo Ni. Mars 455 ILS, 1735) see sels) N. Jupiter ig} NS} ong AO SO) os | SY ee ING Saturn 746 . 15 52 Z3)168) 2.) e2t5O) IN. * Indicates that the setting is that of the following day. Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites April h. m |April h. m. 12 7 AG Meiofeter disap. | 14 ... 22 43 III. occ. disap. 23 22 (I. tr. ing. 1S .. 2 22a0loccreap: 13 near). treterr. 3 13 ILI. ecl. disap. 20 29 I. occ. disap.| 16 ... Oo O II. occ. disap. 2350 Lnecl reap: || 17 <.. 21 2) UL} tr.fegr. E407. 2OPNO) Wtrneat. EO) ee 23 30 Ventrneor. The Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. April h. DAO Mars in conjunction with and o° 12’ south of the Moon. WT oon» 0) Venus in conjunction with and o° 6’ north of the Moon. 16 7 Mercury in conjunction with and 6° 21 north of the Moon. OP aa 0) Mercury stationary. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES THE Pescadores, which have recently been bombarded and occupied by Admiral Courbet, are a small group of islands lying in the Formosa Channel, about twenty-five miles off the west coast of Formosa. They are attached for administrative purposes to that island, and form one of the six districts into which it is divided. The islands are known to the Chinese as the Panghu- ting, or district of Panghu, and in Chinese geographical works more than thirty distinct islands are mentioned, but no distinc- tion is made between the inhabited and uninhabited, large and small islands, nor between islands and mere rocks and shoals. The largest of the group is called Panghu, and from it {the archipelago has doubtless derived its name. The main island is forty-eight miles in circumference, and the next in size, called Fisher’s or West Island, is seventeen. According to the late Admiral Collinson, who surveyed it in 1845, the want of trees, which the Chinese officers accounted for by the violence of the wind and the absence of sheltered valleys, give the islands a barren appearance. Millet is extensively cultivated, and between its rows the ground-nut is planted. In sheltered spots the sweet potato and a few vegetables are grown, but the inhabitants de- pend mainly on Formosa for vegetables and fruits. Bullocks and poultry were abundant. The population of the two larger islands was stated then to be 5000, and of the whole of the islands 8000. The archipelago contains actually twenty-one inhabited islands, besides several rocks. They extend from 23° 13’ to 23° 48’ N. lat., and from 19° 16’ to 119° 37’ E. long. Their general appearance is flat, the summits of many of the islands being nearly level, and no part of the group being 300 feet above the sea-level. ‘The two larger islands are situated near the centre of the archipelago, forming an extensive and excellent harbour between them. The capital of the whole— Makung or Macon—is situated on the north side of an inlet on the main island. The islands offer shelter in all states of the weather in the dangerous Formosa Channel. ‘The archipelago was seized by the Dutch in 1622, and some remains of their fortifications are still to be seen; bat in 1624 they left for For- mosa, where they remained till finally driven out by the Chinese pirate Koxinga. Port HAMILTON, the English Naval Station in the North Pacific, acquired during the past week, is the name commonly applied to the large Corean island of Quelpart, situated about sixty miles due south of the extreme point of the Corean penin- sula, and situated between 33° and 34° N. lat. and 126° and 127° E. long. It has been described at great length by Hamel, the “secretary” of a Dutch vessel wrecked there on its way to Nagasaki in the seventeenth century. Hamel and his com- panions were kept captive in Corea for thirty-five years, when some of them succeeded in escaping. Hamel’s story will be found in Pinkerton and other collections of voyages. Dur- ing the present century it has also been visited occasionally in search of the crews of shipwrecked vessels. A glance at the map shows its position relatively to Japan, North China, Corea, and the Sea of Japan, and it~ value as a naval station better than any words could do. It is 150 miles distant from Shanghai, about 100 miles from Nagasaki, and lies in the mouth of the only exit to the south from the Sea of Japan. It is described by Mr. Griffis, a recent historian of Corea, as an oval, rock-bound island covered with innumerable conical mountains, tipped in many instances by extinct volcanic craters, the highest of all being Mount Auckland, or Haura, which is about 6500 feet high. On the top are three extinct craters, within each of which is a lake of pure water, and Corean children are still taught to believe that the three first-created men of the world still dwell on these lofty heights. The whole island is well cultivated; there are a number of towns, three walled cities, but no good harbours. It has long been used as a place of banishment for criminals. The chief industry is the manufacture of straw hats, those from Quelpart being the best in Corea, which is a country of large straw hats. It has been ian = oe. April 9, 1885 | known from very ancient times, when it formed an independent kingdom. The origin of the great peak of Mount Auckland, which renders the island so conspicuous, is thus given by the in- habitants (we quote from Mr. Griffis) ; ‘‘ Clouds and fogs covered the sea, and the earth trembled with a noise of thunder for seven days and seven nights. Finally, the waves opened, and there emerged a mountain more than 1000 feet high, and forty 77 in circumference. It had neither plants nor trees upon it, and clouds of smoke, widely spread out, covered its summit, which appeared to be composed chiefly of sulphur.” The fullest recent account which we possess is one published by a gentleman who visited the place with the French Consul in Shanghai in 1851, to seek for the crew of a vessel, the Marwhal, believed to have been wrecked there. The story of the visit was published at the time in an English journal printed in China. The in- habitants are Coreans of the ordinary type; iron appears to abound on the southern coast, and there were ample evidences of much comfort and even wealth among the islanders. Chris- tianity is said to have reached Quelpart through a Corean, who made his way through North China to Hongkong, where he was taught by the missionaries, and who then made his way back to the island. THE geographical subject proposed this year by the French Academy of Inscriptions for the Prix Bordin is ‘‘ A Critical Examination of the Geography of Strabo.” According to the terms laid down by the Academy, competitors are (1) to give the history of the text of the work ; (2) to characterise the lan- guage of Strabo with reference to that of contemporary Greek writers, such as Diodorus Siculus and Dionysius of Halicar- nassus ; (3) to distinguish the information collected by direct observation of places and that drawn by him from his prede- cessors ; (4) to express definite conclusions on his critical method in using various documents. The papers should be in the hands ae Secretary of the Institute not later than December 31, 1886. THE Hungarian Society of Geography is engaged just now in organising a Magyar expedition for the exploration of the regions about the Urals, and principally of the Baskir country, where the Uralo-Altaic peoples are disappearing. The Society regards it as essential to study tribes which will soon be only a more or less confused recollection. The exploration is to be anthropo- logical, ethnographical, and archzological. THE Director of the Museum of Ethnography in Paris has just received from the Minister of Public Instruction a fragment of the planking of the canoe in which MM. Crévaux, Bellet, and Ringel were ascending the river when they were murdered on the Tejo-Picolmayo by the Tobas Indians. The Minister sent at the same time a collection of ethnographical water-colour drawings made by Ringel and annotated by Crévaux. These were recovered by M. Bueno, and sent to the French Legation at Rio de Janeiro. In the Bollettino of the Italian Geographical Society for March an attempt is made to determine the limits of the new “‘Kingdom of the Congo,” as recognised by the late Berlin Conference, and modified by the treaty concluded between the African International Association, and Portugal on February 14. The territory as thus determined would be limited on the west by the Atlantic seaboard from Banana to Yabé (5° 45’ S. lat.), then by the parallel of Yabé to the meridian of Ponta da Lenha ; then by this meridian northward to the Chiloango ; then by the left bank of this river to its source, and beyond that point by a curved line to the Ntombo-Macata Falls on the Congo, leaving to the French the station of Mboco, but reserving Mucumbi and Manianga ; lastly, from the Ntombo-Macata Falls the Congo itself to its confluence with the Bumba beyond the equator, where the boundary running north-west remains still to be deter- mined. The southern frontier follows the Congo from Banana to a point a little above Nokki, the north bank remaining to the Association, the south to Portugal; then from near Nokki the parallel of this place as far as the river Kwango; then this river to about 9° S. lat., and thence a diagonal line across the continent to Lake Bangweolo. Eastwards the boundary coincides with the west coasts of Lakes Bangweolo, Tanganyika, Muta Nzighé, and Albert Nyanza. On the north the frontier will follow the line of water-parting to be here- after determined between the Congo, Nile, Shari, and Benué (Niger) river basins. Within these limits the new State will have an approximate area of about 1,000,000 square NATURE 541 miles and a population of probably 40,000,000, mostly of Bantu speech and Negro or Negroid stock. THE same number of the Bollettino publishes a letter from Count Giacomo di Brazza, dated Brazzaville, October 22, 1884, in which the writer complains that his efforts to complete the triangulation of Stanley Pool were frustrated by the officer of the African Association, a certain Captain S., in charge of the left bank of the pool. To complete the work it was necessary to cross over to that side of the Congo; but the permission to do so was refused by the official in consequence of instructions issued by Colonel de Winton, ‘‘ that all were to remain on their own side.” ON THE SALINITY OF THE WATER IN THE FIRTH OF FORTH? It is the purpose of this paper to state the methods employed for examining the salinity and alkalinity of estuary water at the Scottish Marine Station at Granton, and to describe and record six months’ observations of the water of the River and Firth of Forth up to December 31, 1884. (1) Collection of Water Samples.—To collect a sample of surface-water from a small boat it is sufficient to wash out the bottle with the water, and then hold it a few inches under the surface until it fills. The temperature of the water is taken by means of an ordinary thermometer in a copper case. On board a larger vessel the same thing may be done, the bottle being attached to a sounding-line and lowered over the side, or, with- out stopping the vessel, by means of a clean bucket, care being taken to draw the sample forward of the ejection-pipe of the condenser. When brought on board a thermometer is immersed for a minute, and the temperature noted. The water is then bottled, tied down, and labelled. The water-bottle employed for obtaining samples from any depth beneath the surface consists of a brass basal disk support- ing three radiating sheets of brass surmounted by a brass dome, on the top of which there isa ring for the line. The basal plate has an india-rubber ring fixed upon it, and its under surface has two rings for attaching the lead, and a stopcock for running off the water. There is also a brass cylinder, the edge of which rests upon the india-rubber ring when the instrument is closed. On board the AZedusa, the steam-yacht of the Marine Statior, the water-bottle is attached to the sounding-line, which is wound on a drum worked by a small deck-engine. It has a 7-Ib. lead attached to it, the stopcock is closed and a little plug screwed in to prevent the entrance of mud should it strike the bottom. It is then lowered, the slip-cylinder being held in the hand, When the desired depth is reached the slip is let go; it crashes down on the frame and is guided by the brass strips on to the india-rubber ring, on which it presses, and so firmly incloses a sample of water. It has been found necessary to let down one or two cylindrical weights, slipping on the line, after the slip has struck the body, in order to press it firmly down. Repeated trial and continuous use have shown this manner of water- collecting to be satisfactory. The bottles used for preserving the samples are glass-stoppered, blue glass half-Winchesters, which hold about 1°5 litres. They are packed in boxes, fifteen in each, so as to be carried easily and safely. Each bottle is labelled as it is put aside, with parti- culars of the-date, hour, and temperature. The temperature below the surface is ascertained by means of the Negretti and Zambra thermometer in the Scottish frame, which was described to this Society in July, 1884 (Proceedixgs, vol. xii. p. 927). When each sample of water is taken, the following observa- tions are made and recorded :—Date ; hour ; position by bear- ings; depth of water;? depth from which sample was taken ; temperature of the water at that depth ; temperature of the air ; nature of the weather, wind, and state of sea; state of tide ; colour and transparency of the water.? The colour of the water is observed by sinking a disk of iron, painted white, to the depth of a few feet or fathoms, according to circumstances, and noting its colour, The transparency may be very roughly measured by observing the distance to which the disk remains visible. It is important that the actual notes of all observations be X Abstract of a paper read at the meeting of the Royal Society of Edin- burgh, January 5, 1885, by Hugh Robert Mill. B.Sc., F.C.S., Chemist to the Scottish Marine Station, Granton, Edinburgh. ? These are sometimes omitted in the case of surface samples. 542 preserved for future reference should uncertainty arise re- garding them. There are difficulties in doing this, for it is not easy on a small vessel, when there is any sea on, to keep an ordinary note-book from getting wet. It is most convenient to use cards with memoranda of the observations to be made printed on them, which are kept in a small leather case, and when each card is used, it may be slipped beneath the others, as is done in a date-case. The cards can be conveniently kept in boxes, and may be readily and rapidly referred to at any time. 2. Determination of the density.—The density of the samples of water collected in the Firth is determined by means of a very delicate hydrometer of the form used on board the Chadlenger. The hydrometer is made of glass, the tubes for body and stem having been very carefully selected to ensure uniformity of diameter. The instrument has a body of about 5 cm. diameter and 12 cm. long; the stem is nearly the same length, and has a diameter of 3 mm. The process of making and calibrating the hydrometer has been described in great detail by Mr. Buchanan in his Challenger report on the specific gravity of ocean water (‘* Challenger Rep. Phys. Chem.,” vol. i. pt. il. pp. 1-4.) The hydrometer which has been used at the Marine Station is provided with seven movable weights, which can be attached to the top of the instrument, and so increase the weight of the hydrometer from 150°1478 grms. to 155°8390 grms. through NATORE thirty-six gradations. The volume of the body and bulb of the instrument is 150°2070 cc. at 0°*3, and its coefficient of expansion is known; the volume of the 100 mm. into which the stem is divided is 0°85 cc., and as it is assumed to be uniform, the volume of each millimetre of the stem is taken as 0'0085. The density of each water-sample was taken twice, by first using a weight that did not immerse more than the lower third of the stem, then adding another to immerse at least two-thirds. A table giving the volume of the hydrometer at every tenth of a degree Centigrade from o° to 25° has been drawn up, and from this table the volume of the body at the observed temperature is taken ; the volume of the stem immersed is got from another table, which gives the value for each half millimetre from 0 to 100. These added together give the total immersed volume, and, the weight being taken from another table and divided by this volume, gives the density az the observed temperature. The mean of the two densities is taken, and reduced from the mean of the two corrected observed temperatures to 15°°56 C. by — means of Dittmar’s table (‘‘ Chal/. Rep. Phys. Chem.,” vol. i. part I, p. 70). Advantage was taken of the double determination of each density and of a number of separate experiments to form an idea of the probable error of an individual determination. The result showed that the probable uncertainty is not more than ashe of May ; NORTH SEA = altcitkerth eet Aéerlady Map OF PART OF THE RIVER AND OF THE FIRTH OF ForRTH. (20-fathom line : Stations for water samples:—I. Alloa; IT. Kincardine; III. Hen and Chickens Buoy (near Grangemouth); IV. Borrowstounness; V. Off Queensfer: (near Inchgarvie); VI. May ; S, Scottish Marine Station. 000005, taking pure water as I'00000, and that consequently, in considering the relative densities of the water in the Firth, the fourth decimal place is certain. The amount of total halogen was determined by Mohr’s volumetric method, but, as the probable error was so great as to render the second decimal place in the per milleage uncertain, no reliance can be placed on the results. The largeness of the uncertainty is due, in part at least, to the disadvantageous posi- tion in which the determinations were made—a floating labora- tory where the atmosphere was always more or less laden with saline particles. The alkalinity was determined by Tornoe’s method with standard solutions of hydrochloric acid and of potash. The quantity represented by an alkalinity is very small, although the number used to express it is large. of 50 means that in a litre—say 1026 grammes—there is 0'05 gramme of carbonic acid as calcium carbonate ; that is, a per- centage of 0'00487, which, from the inaccuracy-of the deter- minations, might vary from 0'00498 to 0'00476. Notes of Previous Work on Estuary Water In 1816 Dr. John Murray read a paper to this Society on the composition of sea-water, the samples which he analysed being taken from the Firth of Forth near Leith. The paper (Zyans. R.S.E. for 1816) contains results of great theoretical value, Oxcar Beacon (near Inchcolm); VII. Herwit Buoy (near Inchkeith); VIII., IX., X., XI. five miles apart; XII. Isle of which were instrumental in modifying the theory of the exist- ence of salts of different bases and acids in solution, and which altogether changed the mode of analysis of sea and mineral waters. Attention was given more particularly to the solid constituents, and no observations seem to have been made by Dr. Murray on the variations in salinity at different parts of the Firth. ‘ Dr. John Davy published a paper (Ed. Mew Phil. Fourn. XXXvi. p. I) in 1843, on ‘‘ The Temperature and Specific Gravity of the Water of the Firth of Forth.” He examined the tem- perature and density of the water at the end of Leith pier on eight occasions at intervals of about a month. It was Davy’s intention to continue the monthly observations for a | number of years, but, as he had to leave Edinburgh, they were An alkalinity | stopped. Since no particulars as to how the densities were determined were given, it is impossible to-compare them with others observed at a later date. Dr. Stevenson Macadam investigated the salinity of the Firth of Clyde in 1855 (Brit. Assoc. Aeforts, 1855, ii. 64). He observed the specific gravity at more than fifty places, and de- termined the total solids and chlorine in each. In subsequent investigations he examined the Firths of Cromarty and Inverness. The results are recorded-in the Proceedings of this Society for 1866 (roc. Roy. Soc. Ed., p. 5). Prof, Kyle, of Buenos Ayres, made some observations in April 9, 1885] NATURE 543 1874 on the River Plate, in the same way as Dr. Mac- adam on the Clyde. Mr. F. Newman has kindly supplied a translation of Kyle’s Spanish pamphlet (‘‘ Algunos Datos sobre la Composicion de las Aguas del Rio de la Plata”), and a chart of the Plate, with the water-sampling stations. The results brought out by Prof. Kyle are interesting, but, like the other observers cited above, he neglects to mention whether his specific gravities are reduced to 0°, to 4°, or to 15°°56, or whether water at 0°, 4°, or 15°°56 was taken as unity. It is therefore impossible to consider the results except as purely relative to the estuary in question, and no comparison between the different investigators can be made. The Cattegat, Skagerrack, Baltic, and north-eastern parts of the North Sea have been made the subject of very careful and prolonged examination by various Danish and German scientific workers. Water-samples have been taken regularly for a num- ber of years at various points along the coast, and from light- houses and light-ships at considerable distances from land. The results of the examination of these samples from 1872 to 1S81 are tabulated in conjunction with the meteorological conditions, especially with respect to rainfall, in a recently issued paper by the Commission in Kiel for the scientific investigation of the German seas.! The general low densities of these waters, and the variations to which they are subject, make the conditions which obtain there not unlike those in an estuary. While it is fully realised that it will take years of consecutive observations to thoroughly settle the relations of the fresh and salt water in an estuary, and that many conditions, such as the currents, law of the tides, and rainfall over the area drained by the principal river and its tributaries must be taken into account ; it is considered expedient to state the results observed in the six months, from June to December, 1884, on the Firth of Forth, These results are purely preliminary ; but as little attention has keen given such matters hitherto, they may prove of interest, and may lead to suggestions for improvements in ; carrying on the work. The Firth of Forth.—The River Forth rises in the valley between Ben Lomond and Ben Venue, is joined neaz Stirling by | the Teith, and gradually merges into the Firth of Forth, the precise point where the river ends and the Firth begins being a matter which permits of difference of opinion. best plan is to view the river as ending at Queensferry, but for con- venience the term “ Firth of Forth” may be applied as describing the river and Firth proper from Alloa to the Isle of May, a distance of fifty-five miles. According to Keith Johnstone the area drained by the Forth is 500 square miles. Few large rivers flow into the Firth. Those of any importance are : on the north side, the Black Devon, at Clackmannan ; and the Lever, at Leven : on the south side there are the Carron, at Grangemouth ; the Avon, a few miles further east ; the A/mond, at Cramond ; the Water of Leith, at Leith; the Zs, at Musselburgh; and the Lyne, near Dunbar. From Alloa to within three miles of Queensferry the depth of the water is under 10 fathoms; there it increases, at first gradually, then at the Bamer Beacon abruptly, to over 30 fathoms, and close to Inchgarvie, to over 4otathoms. This is the deepest part of the Firth, and the narrowest. The Ferth Bridge is in process of construction at this point. A very strong tide runs in the channels on each side of Inchgarvie, and the deep water is confined to a very small area. The 10-fathom stream runs along the northern shore, until off Kirkcaldy, where it widens out in a funnel shape, and approaches the shore on each side. There is a short tract over 10 fathoms to the south of Inchkeith, known as the Narrow Deep. Several small depressions of more than 20 fathoms occur between Queensferry and Inchkeith, and a little to the east of that island the 20-fathom area begins as a narrow stream trending northward, and spreading out off Largo. The Isle of May is connected to the mainland of Fife by a sub- merged plateau rising to less than 20 fathoms from the surface ; and, about four miles east of the May, depths beyond 30 fathoms commence. A line drawn from Aberlady Bay to Largo divides the Firth into two very different halves. To the west of it the slope of the bed is extremely gradual, and the depth slight ; to the east of it the shore slopes down abruptly, and the bed of the Firth is, with one or two insignificant exceptions, uniformly over 20 fathoms in depth. _ | Vierter Bericht—fir die Jahre 1877 bis 188. Berlin, 1884: “ Period- ische Schwankungen des Salzgehaltes im Oberflachenwasser in der Ostsee und Nordsee,”” Probably the | Observations on the Surface Salinity in the Firth.—It is assumed that the amount of total salts may be deduced from the density, as if estuary water were ocean water diluted with pure water. This cannot he exactly the case, as the salts carried down by rivers are in quite different proportion to those found in the sea, and before the processes occurring there have had time to pro- duce uniformity of composition—that is, where river-water pre- dominates—the proportion of salts among themselves must vary. Consequently, until exact experiments can be made on this point, the interpretation of estuary densities by ocean-water tables must be taken with reservation, and it is better to view the densities as such, without reducing them to amounts of total salts. To get a preliminary view of the rate of freshening, it was determined in September 1884 to make a monthly trip for collecting water samples from the entire Firth ; and on Septem- ber 18 the Medusa proceeded from Inchkeith to Grangemouth forthat purpose. Surface samples were taken every five miles, and bottom samples at each alternate station. Observations were made both in going and in returning. The intention to make the complete tour of the Firth in one day had to be relin- guished, and the Inchkeith to May section was completed on the 25th. This double trip showed that the densities of the water samples decreased steadily, gradually, and uniformly from the May to Inchkeith, but that the change then became more rapid, the curve resembling a portion of a rectangular hyperbola. The second water sampling trip was on October 7 and 8 ; the water, beautifully clear and transparent, and of a deep green-blue colour at the May, became light green and less transparent about Inchkeith, and from Inchgarvie onwards it was yellow and very muddy. The results were similar to those of September. The November trip took place on the roth and 11th; the weather was fine, almost summer-like, and, in consequence of previous heavy rains, all the rivers were in flood. The effect was a marked lowering of the density of theZsurface water, greatest in the upper reaches of the Firth, but quite perceptible at the Isle of May, which is almost in the open sea. The effect of this “spate”? was to reduce the density at Inchgarvie from its mean of 1°02382 to 1'02029; that at the Oxcar Beacon from the mean of 1702438 to 1°02022; that at Inchkeith from 1'02472 to 102403 ; and those at Stations VIII. and IX. from 1'02505 and 1°02518 to 1°02458 and 1°02508 respectively. The December trip did not take place till the 25th, when my friend Mr. Ritchie was good enough to take charge of the eastern excursion. The day was fine, with a north-easterly breeze and a slight swell. On the 27th the yacht started for Alloa, but the morning, which was hazy, gave place to a day of fog, and it was impossible to pro- ceed beyond Inchgarvie. The 29th and 30th were also misty. and this portion of the trip had very reluctantly to be dispensed with. The effect of the tide obscures the changes of salinity to a certain extent in these monthly cruises, but, although the data are so few, they are sufficient to show that between Inchkeith and the Isle of May—that is, in the wide and open part of the Firth—the tidal effect is relatively slight and the variations in density very gradual, though perceptible ; while from Inchkeith to Alloa the tidal effect increases with every mile, and the rate of change becomes more and more rapid. The following tables (I. and II.) give the figures observed in these consecutive trips :— TABLE I.—Density at 15°°56 1884 I. iI IIL. IV. V. Vi. Sept... — = «ss _ + 1'02082 ... 1'02285 ... 1'O2444 vee I°02470 Oct. ... 100160 ... 101088 ... T"oIgIT «.. 102272 «.. 1702332 «- I'02443 Nov. ... 0°Q9023 «+. T°'OO272 ee L'OI4IO «+» T'OTTOG oo 101946 see I°02022 IDTe eB = = — = + 1702351 +. 102353 1884 VIII. IX. XI. XI. Sept. on + 1702533 «- F°O2531 «.. + 1702549 +. 1°02555 Oct. es IO2512 we I'O2547 «s- + T°O2555 -«- 1702558 Noy. ++ T'O2458 ss. IO2Z50I os. = — Dec. ¢ WO25IT ... 1702508 ... + 102554. TABLE [I.—Alkalinity 1884 1 II. Ill. IV. V. VI. Cos eo SS tte Sy oo) 491 50°4 Och... — a ae — — TWOgenes, (X52) ea (KG Bae Were SOF 44°3 45'2 Dec cae ee ee 48'6 we © 496 1884 Vil. VUI Ix x. XI XII BEDE cc) 4910: seu, tess, CF Ieee tees _ LOGS" Cnet erin 6) aS ie a ee Nov. ... 48°3 48°6 50°5 AOI) “ee eee Dec. Sori rg) sete} 514 51°7 ISAO) east The mean of the density, &c., at die stations going and returning is given ere. 544 NATORE [April 9, 1885 The maximum, minimum, and mean of all the density ob- servations at each station, together with the number of cases which give the mean, are tabulated (Table III.), The tempera- ture observations made on the monthly trips have not been alluded to here ; they are intended to form a separate paper. TABLE II].— Variations in Density Station Maximum Minimum Mean Nees 15 VANCE. Sa Gap) eo Nerd ee) 0799923. +» "00042 ». 4 II. Kincardine ... ... ... 1'ors2z 1700070 «. 100680 .. 4 III. Hen & Chickens buoy 102169 101084 ror898 ... I IV. Blackness wes) (ese) OAT 101650 102087... 6 V. Inchgarvie ... 102461 101863 Tr02303" .., IT Willa (OK Aa ae tS 1'02492 101953 1'02355t ... 10 VII. Inchkeith .. .. 102526 1'02380 1(02472' ... I3 Iil. aoe ceo, | tot, gb 102544 102450 MiO2Z5OR tse 7 IX. oo oto. ea ooh T‘O255I «.. I'02495 . 02518 .. 8 X. orn on) ono I'02557, ss LjiO2417 ses IIO2530 we OQ XI. Off Fiddra... ... ... 02566 ... 1'02526 «. 1702547 w. 6 II. May Island... ... . 1°02570 «« I°02443 ee I°O25II 5 * Omitting the day of high flood in the river, mean = 1°02382 t ” ” ” » = 102438 Differences between mean densities :— I. IGE, ORE Ie Ne Albis 638 1218 189 216 52 113 33 Note.—All the densities given are at 15°'56 C. WANE IDS 4 OG 3 er eee XII. —36 The change of temperature produces a_ corresponding change of the density of the water z sz¢z, which has important bearings on convection currents, and which must also influence the rate of mixture of sea and river water, especially as the temperature of the river water is in winter usually below that of its maximum density. An examination of Table III. shows that for maximum and niinimum, as well as for mean observed densities, the increase is perfectly continuous until the last station is reached, when the maximum density is only probably greater than that at Station XI., the minimum is certainly less than that at Station VIII., and the mean is less than that at Station IX. It is not easy to find an explanation of this fact, for there is no river nearer than the Tyne at Dunbar, and there are no springs on the Isle of May, the lighthouse keeper being compelled to get all his fresh water carried from Crail. The proximity of the Firth of Tay may possibly account for the observation. The difference between the density of the surface-water at high and at low tide is by far the greatest in the upper reaches of the Firth, and decreases more and more gradually. Beyond Inchkeith the difference is little noticed, in fact the water is found to be sometimes denser at a lower state of tide. This effect may! be due to currents which are not taken account of in this preliminary investigation. The rate of change of density with the tide decreases very rapidly at first. At Kincardine the difference between high and low water is 1 in the second place of decimals, or, calling the density of pure water 10,000, it is 100 ; at Inchgarvie it is about 15, at Inchkeith 4, and beyond Inchkeith about 1; that is rin the fourth decimal place by ordinary notation. The density of the surface-water was determined almost daily from August to December at the Scottish Marine Station, Granton, but the results were so variable, that dependence cannot be placed upon them as representative of the water in the Firth at that point. The density was always found to be greater at low water, and after some trouble the cause was ascertained. From the station westward for a distance of a mile and a half the shore dries at low water for from quarter to half a mile, and Cramond Island becomes a peninsula, on the west or further side of which the River Almond discharges it- self. At high water there is from half. to one fathom of water between Cramond Island and the coast, and the river, taking the shorter course, is carried by the ebb tide along the shore, and so reduces the den-ity of the water in the neighbourhood. As there was considerable time lost in devising and testing a suitable means of collecting samples of bottom water, the number of reliable cases for consideration is small. It may be generally stated that the part of the Firth east of Inchkeith is the region where the difference between the density of surface and bottom water is least, and that the difference decreases steadily towards the May. Towards Alloa, on the other hand, the differences in the density between surface and bottom water are great, but they are greatly influenced by the tide. Table IV. gives details of nineteen comparisons between bottom and surface water. At the Ifen and Chickens Buoy, near Grangemouth, the depth is only 54 fathoms, but the salinity is very much greater at the bottom than at the surface. The difference is least observed at low water, but as the flood tide sets in, it appears to increase, and then to fall off again as the ebb commences. The only divergence from this rule noticed was on November 11, when the rivers were all much flooded and the current very rapid. It would appear that these observations confirm the theory that sea water ascends rivers along the sbottom under the opposite current of fresh water. Iles smb 2 faa) AR & ceeseaniate ig pn SaaS! a ell se cull Ie a = : Ea H = ~ nx x re) eS ° Ss +h ° co = allss alle ~ = a : S i 5 Lye) 2 S $310 9 mio oo tH Nn nw 8 HO 0c 9) & A*so8 nH) H cow ‘ y : 8 fen i co ob = | game Soil IS eae Gas - 2c0O.1O ~O rods + +r wy TH GS AINA aaaa a aa an 2 a S990 09 t= 9) 9° 0%0) Oo Wee ee Ome HW WH Om a ess 4 ete elie S . * ty 3A ~ = lal 4 i es Ae Sh | eis es a <<; Qn HNH ee eS, CIS WE SBS Bx} Ries g aS Anom Sa 8 + § a9 & = sOOHO S RS FHow 8 +8 4S oun G Ss Arana § Sanna Dana oaqn ff 8 oo009 8% 29900 Sos on aod oy HHH US SHAH BH ee HHO 3 8 S SS) wz N = s > iS Pay N ww NU Ss * ~ = “ ra NX teecdet ~ So Sth ae wma wmqawnt NS RW8on a om RO s og a cn co st nen HH RH a is) x S AQ ° 8 Ba ae 4 e 2 300 2 a ee) = as} Gshraeet 1G fey oe) 2 S 3 sed Sass 3 2389 3 4 se 2 = = a = = ~~ Se sc SQ SOS — = ao RS a aos Soon eke oe ct 5 4 = > t0 D man mo fo. Inco Ac YO & Lal Cees, | SPAT 8 ge | BB yyed, aes chess 3 omot aH DO Linoay Dotn el H NOV a m5 9010 On ie) < EES INSTI} SSIES Bw EVEL SP to r= Goo 4 i co 00 1 4 + bette 5 =] H H a Hw a 4 og . . 5 o Loo. = SRG Sos ) o 5 Beess Thane Se Ep Sie A 504 ZA noon = 5 =O Speaking roughly, it appears that waters having an allcalinity under 40 (that is, in which there is less than 0704 grammes of carbonic acid as carbonate of lime per litre) have a density under 170200, alkalinities under 25 correspond to densities under 1’o100._ The only strikingly anomalous case is that of sample 189, a bottom water from off Alloa, when the river was low and very dirty. The density was 1-oo146, the alkalinity 47°9, which usually corresponds to a density of 1°024. The presence of sewage in the river might acc unt for this observa- tion to some extent, but more probably it was due to the pre- sence of particles of calciur carbonate. With an alkalinity between 4o and 50 water has a density between 1°024 and 1°025 as a general rule, and when the alkalinity is over 50 the density is almost invariably over 1°025. On account of the absence of data for deducing the total salts of estuary water from the density, we cannot reduce the alka- linity to percentage of total salts, and, consequently, it is im- possible to form a correct idea of the difference between bottom and surface alkalinities, as this difference may be entirely due to the different salinity of the water. , Arrangements have been made for continuing and greatly extending observations on the salinity of the Firth of Forth. Samples of water will be taken by trustworthy observers at high and low water at different points on the Firth, and water- sampling trips, both from Alloa to the May and across the Firth from north to south at various places, will be carried on regularly. April 9, 1885] Throughout this paper the density of the water is given as reduced to 15°56 C. (60° F.). It is specific gravity at 15°°56 referred to pure water at 4° C. as unity. The water-sampling stations and the principal contour lines of depth are shown in the chart of the Firth of Forth (Fig. 1). THE PEARL FISHERIES OF TAHITI A RECENT issue of the Yournal Offiziel contains a lengthy report by M. Bouchon-Brandely, Secretary of the College of France, who was sent by the Ministry of Marine and the Colonies on a mission to Tahiti to study questions relating to oyster-culture there. The principal product of what M. Brandely, with “‘the summer isles of Eden” fresh in his mind, calls “* notre belle et si poétique colonie de Taiti,” is mother-of- pearl. Allits trade is due solely to this article, which for a century has regularly attracted vessels to the islands which com- pose the archipelagoes of Tuamotu, Gambier, and Tubuai. The mother of-pearl which is employed in industry, and espe- cially in French industry, is furnished by various kinds of shells, the most estimated, variegated, and beautiful of which are those of the pearl oyster. There are two kinds of pearl oysters— one, known under the name of pintadine (Weleagrina margaret- vera), is found in China, India, the Red Sea, the Comoro islands, North-Eastern Australia, the Gulf of Mexico, and especially in the Tuamotu and Gambier archipelagoes; the other, more commonly called the pearl oyster (AZeleagrina radt- ata), comes from India, the China seas, the Antilles, the Red Sea, and Northern Australia. The shell of the former is harder, more tinted, more transparent, and reaches greater dimensions than the latter. Some have been found which have measured thirty centimetres in diameter and weighed more than ten kilo- grammes, while the A/e/eagrina radiata rarely exceeds ten centi- metres at the most, and never weighs as much as 150 grammes. Both varieties supply pearls, those of one kind being at one time more favoured, at another time those of the other. This depends on fashion ; but, on the whole, those found in the great pintadine are more beautiful, and the colour more transparent, than those of its congener. The amount of the trade from Tahiti in pearls cannot be stated with accuracy, as there is much clan- destine traffic, but M. Brandely puts it down approximately at 300,000 francs, England, Germany, and the United States being the chief markets for the fine pearls. The great pintadine is found in great abundance in the Tuamotu and Gambier islands. The situation there is very favourable to them ; in the clear and limpid waters of the lagoons they have full freedom for deve- lopment, and are undisturbed by storms. Mother-of-pearl is found in almost every one of the eighty islands which form the archipelagoes Tuamotu and Gambier. These belong to France, having been annexed at the same time as Tahiti and Moorea, and have a population of about 5000 people, all belonging to the Maori race. M. Brandely gives an interesting description of these little-known islands and people. The latter appear to hover always on the brink of starvation, as the islands, which are composed mainly of coral-sand, produce hardly anything of a vege- table nature. While the neighbouring Society islanders have every- thing without labour and in abundance, the unfortunate inhabitant of Tuamotu is forced to support existence with cocoa-nuts, almost the only fruit-trees which will grow on the sandy beach, with fish and shell-fish which are poisonous for several months of the year, and often they have to kill their dogs for want of other animal food. There are no birds, except the usual sea-birds ; no quadrupeds, except those brought by man ; no food resources necessary to European life, except what is brought by ships. Although the people are gentle and hospitable, they practise cannibalism, and M. Brandely suggests that it is pitiless hunger alone which has driven them into this horrible custom. These miserable people are the chief pearl-divers of the Pacific ; in- deed it is their only industry, and women and even children take part init. There is at Anaa, says the writer, a woman who will go down twenty-five fathoms, and remain under water for three minutes. Nor was she an exception. The dangers of the work are great, for the depths of the lagoons are infested by sharks, against which the divers, being unable to escape, are forced to wage battle, in which life is the stake. No year passes without some disaster from sharks, and when one happens all the divers are seized with terror, and the fishing is stopped fora time. But gradually the imperious wants of life drive them back to the sea again, for mother-of-pearl is the cur- rent coin of the Tuamotu. With it he buys the rags which NALORE 6415) cover him, the little bread and flour which complete his food, and alcohol, ‘‘that fatal present of civilisation,” for which he exhibits a pronounced passion. Twenty or thirty years ago the trade in mother-of-pearl in the Tuamotu archipelago was very profitable for those engaged in it. For a valueless piece of cloth, a few handfuls of flour, or some rum, the trader got half a ton of mother-of-pearl worth one or two thousand francs, or even fine pearls of which the natives did not know the value. The archipelagoes were frequented by vessels of all nationalities ; mother-of-pearl was abundant, and pearls were less rare than they are now. The number of trading-ships increased ; there was competition amongst them, and consequently a higher price to the natives, who fished to meet the new demand with im- provident ardour. The consequence is that the lagoons are less productive, and that even the most fertile give manifest signs of exhaustion. The prospect of having the inhabitants of Tuamotu thrownon itshands ina state of helpless destitution, as well as of the disappearance of the principal article of the trade of Tahiti, and an important source of revenue to the colony, alarmed the Colonial administration, and the Ministry of Marine and the Colonies in Paris. Accordingly, M. Brandely was selected to study the whole subject on the spot. The points to which he was instructed to direct especial attention were these: (1) The actual state of the lagoons which produce oysters; are they beginning to be im- poverished, and if so what is the cause, and what the remedy ? (2) Would it be possible to create at Tuamotu, Gambier, Tahiti, and Moorea, for the cultivation of mother-of-pearl, an industry analogous to that existing in France for edible oysters ? Would it be possible by this means to supply the natives of Tuamotu with continuous, fixed, remunerative labour which would render them independent, and remove them from the shameless cupidity of the traders? Could they not be spared the hardships and dangers resulting from the continued practice of diving, and be turned to more fixed sedentary modes of life, by which they might be raised gradually in the social scale ? (3) Should the pearl fishing in the archipelagoes be regulated, and, if so, what should be the bases of such regulations? It was on the mixed economical and philanthropic mission here indi- cated that M. Brandely went to Tahiti in February last. The statistics did not show any decline in the production of mother-of-pearl, but a careful study on the spot showed that this was due to the great amount of the clandestine traffic, and that the lagoons were growing less productive day by day, that beautiful mother-of-pearl was becoming rarer, and in order now a-days to get oysters of a marketable size, the divers are forced to go to ever greater depths. M. Brandely recommends prompt and vigorous measures be taken at once, as the lagoons of Tuamotu will soon be ruined for ever. The partial steps already adopted have been useless. The total prohibition of fishing in some of the islands for several years has failed, because it has been found that the pintadine is hermaphrodite, and not, as formerly was believed, unisexual. The cause of the im- poverishment of the lagoons is excessive fishing, and nothing else. He thinks that it is possible to create in Tuamotu, Gambier, Tahiti, and Moorea a rational and methodical cultivation of mother-of-pearl oysters, analogous to that existing with regard to edible oysters on the French coasts, and to constitute for the profit of the colony an industrial monopoly which no other country can dispute, for nowhere else can such favourable con- ditions be met with. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, March 26.—‘‘ On the Peculiar Behaviour of Glow Lamps when raised to High Incandescence.” By W. H. Preece, F.R.S. The experiments described had for their object the investiga- tion of a phenomenon observed by Mr. Edison, who brought it to the author’s notice last autumn. Between the limbs of an incandescent filament of a glow-lamp a thin, narrow platinum plate being fixed with an independent wire connection, and a sensitive galyanometer being placed in circuit between the fila- ment and the platinum, a derived current is observed to pass through the galvanometer and through the rarefied space at the bottom of the limb when the main current is increased to a certain strength and the filament reaches a certain degree of incandescence, the strength of the derived current increasing with the increased brilliancy of the glowing filament. In the author’s investigations Mr. Edison had made other lamps, in 546 which the centre conducting plate was of copper, iron, and carbon respectively ; but the general effects were practically the same as when platinum was used. The currents (from Faure- ~ Sellon-Volckmar cells) were increased gradually, the effects of each increase being carefully noted. The nature and resistance of the rarified space in the shunt-circuit had to be ascertained. Certain increments in the current were followed by a diffused blue effect in the globe, more or less intense, accompanied in each instance by a marked fall in the resistance of the shunt— pointing to an intimate connection between the two phenomena. The strength of the shunt-current when the faint blue tinge ap- peared was: with carbon, 3°42; with iron, 3°85 ; and with cop- per, 3°80 milliamperes. No perceptible difference in the results was observable with lamps in which the centre plate was a fine wire or a very broad surface, nor when the plates were doubled. That the effect was due primarily to the ‘‘ Crooke’s bombard- ment,” or the projection of molecules in right lines from the carbon filament on to the metal plate was confirmed by the following experiments :—Lamps were constructed varying the position of the plate. In one the plate, was fixed at the end of a tube having a portion of the filament exposed to the plate; in this case, with an E.M.F. of 108 volts in the main circuit, the blue effect entered the tube. In another lamp the tube was so constructed that no portion of the filament was opposed by right lines to the metal plate ; with 112 volts the blue in the globe became very marked ; with 120 volts the bulb was hot, the tube cool. Another lamp was constructed with three branches at right angles to each other, and each metal plate taken in suc- cession ; no result was obtained, no current being evident in either section. All the experiments went to show that, when once the blue effect appeared, destruction was only a question of time. Hence this blue effect is an indication of the advent of disintegration, and a very useful warning of danger ahead. Whenever the incandescence of the filament is raised beyond a certain limit, the interior of the glass envelope is blackened by a layer of carbon which has been deposited by a Crooke’s bom- bardment effect. It was evident from the observations that the Edison effect is due to the formation of an arc between the carbon filament and the metal plate fixed in the vacuous bulb, and that this arc is due to the projection of the carbon particle in right lines across the vacuous space. Its presence is detrimental to the life of the lamp, and as its appearance is contemporaneous with the blue effect, the latter is a warning of the approach of a critical point and a sure indication that the E.M.F, is dangerously high. It is also clear that, as the Edison effect is only evident when we are ‘‘among the breakers,” it is not available for practically regulating the conditions of electric light currents as its ingenious discoverer originally proposed. Mathematical Society, April W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Dr. R. Stawell Ball, F.R.S., Astronomer Royal, Ireland, and Baboo Basu, of Bhowanipore, were elected Members.—The following communications were made :—New relations between bipartite functions and deter- minants, with a proof of Cayley’s theorem in matrices, by Dr. T. Muir.—On eliminants, and associated roots, by E. B. Elliott. —On five properties of certain solutions of a differential equation of the second order, by Dr. Routh, F.R.S.—On the argu- ments of points on a surface, by R. A. Roberts.—On congruences of the third order and class, by Dr. Hirst, F.R.S. Geological Society, March 11.—Prof. T. G. Bonney, D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair.—William Lester and Thomas Stewart were elected Fellows of the Society. —The following communications were read :—The granitic and schistose rocks of Donegal and some other parts of Ireland, by C. Callaway, D.Sc., F.G.S. The author first recalled attention to the current theories on the nature of the Donegal granitic rock, one which described it as a highly metamorphosed portion of a sedimentary series, another which regarded it as a mass of Laurentian gneiss. In his view, however, it was a true igneous granite, posterior in age to the associated schists. In six dis- tricts examined it was intrusive and sent out veins. The apparent interstratification with bedded rocks was explained as a series of comparatively regular intrusions. Where the granite was seen in contact with limestone, the latter contained garnets and other accessory minerals. No gradation could be discovered between the granite and any other rock, the junctions (even in the case of small fragments of schist immersed in granite) being well marked. 2-—J\: NATURE [Aprit 9, 1885 The granite was distinctly foliated. In some localities | there was merely a linear arrangement of the mica; but near the western margin of the granite promontory there was a striping of light and dark bands, the colour of the latter being due to the abundance of black mica, The gneissic structure was attributed to lateral pressure, the existence of which in the associated strata was seen in the conversion of grits into schist-like rocks, in the production of cleavage in beds of coarse materials, in the crushed condition of some masses, in the overthrow of folds, and in the production of planes of thrust. The direction of the pressure was perpendicular to the planes of foliation in the granite. The schistose rocks of the region were divided into two groups. The Lough Foyle series consisted of quartzites, quartzose’ grits with a mineralised matrix, slaty-looking schists, fine-grained satiny schists, black phyllites,Jand crystalline lime- stones and dolomites. The semicrystalline condition of most of these rocks was characteristic. This series was well seen at London- derry and on Lough Foyle, and formed a broad band striking to the south-west. “These rocks were compared with similar types in the Hill of Howth (north of Dublin), near Aughrim (Co. Wick- low), and south of Wexford. The Leinster semicrystalline masses were quite unlike the Wicklow Cambrians, and bore a strong resemblance to the slaty series of Anglesey. They were lithologically intermediate between tthe Donegal and Anglesey groups, and from a comparison of all these areas the author re- ferred the Lough Foyle series, with some confidence, to the Pebidian system. The prolongation of the Lough Foyle rocks into the Grampian region was well known, and Ireland thus served to connect some parts of the Scottish highlands with South Britain. The author was not prepared to correlate this Donegal series with any American group, but the lithological affinities were rather with the Taconian that with the Huronian. The Ai/macrenan series, in which the granite is intrusive, was described as crystalline, and older than the Lough Foyle group. It was mainly made up of micaceous, quartzose, hornblendic, and hydromagnesian schists, quartzites, and crystalline lime- stones. There were no indications in these rocks of a meta- morphism progressive in the direction of the granite. This series was lithologically similar to the Montalban system. Fifty-five microscopic slides of Donegal and Leinster rocks had been examined by Prof. Bonney, whose observations confirmed those of the author both as regards the nature and relations of the granite and the general characters and state of crystallisation of the two schistose groups. —On hollow sphevulites and their bermmenee in ancient British layas, by Grenville A. J. Cole, »G.S. EDINBURGH Royal Society, March 2.—Robert Grey, Vice-President, in the chair.—At the request of the Society’s Council, Dr. A. Geikie, Director-General of the Geological Survey, gave an address on the recent progress of the Survey. He indicated what would be the future work of the Survey. March 16.—Thomas Stevenson, M.I.C.E., President, in the chair.—Prof. Tait called attention to anticipations of the kinetic theory, and of synchronism, which occur in a tract, ‘‘De Potentia Restitutiva,” published by Hooke in 1678. — Prof. Crum Brown read a paper on the hexagonal system in crystallo- graphy. The forms of the uniaxial systems may be regarded as derived from forms or parts of forms or combinations of the regular system by uniform expansion or contraction in a direc- tion parallel to the axis of the uniaxial system, z.e. normal to a face of the cube for the tetragonal, and normal to a face of the octahedron for the hexagonal system. Faces, therefore, which are, in the regular form or combination, at right angles to or parallel to such axis, retain their relative angular position un- changed in the uniaxial form or combination, and can be represented by means of indices referring to the rectangular axes of the regular system, whatever be the amount of the deforma- tion (expansion or contraction). These faces are prism faces, parallel to the axis, and basal faces at right angles to it. All other faces have their angular position affected by the deforma- tion. These other faces are pyramid faces. Each pyramid face lies between, and in the same zone with, a prism face and a basal face. It may, therefore, be represented by the symbol as + ar where s and ¢are the symbols of the prism face P and the basal face respectively, a and 4 are small whole numbers, and p is the ratio of the length of a line parallel to the axis after, to the length of the line before deformation. Wemay put 2 — 7 ——— i April 9, 885 | when this becomes, forfthe tetragonal system (440) + 7 n (001), p which is (4 k ~) the Miller symbol for a pyramid face in Pp this system, with the ratio of the parameter of 2 to that of x ory, expressed byp. In the hexagonal system the symbol s + ne p takes the form (447) + 1» (111), where 2 + & + 2=0. -We p may leave p understood, as it is constant for the same substance and same temperature, and write this in the contracted forms (Aki,n). Thisgives h + 2 R +”, 1 + %, asthe coefficients p p of x, 7, and ¢ in the equation of the face referred to the rectan- gular axes of the regular system. These axes are, of course, not crystallographic axes of the hexagonal system, but some advant- ages arise from their use. They are rectangular, and therefore the ordinary formulz of solid.geometry can be used ; the symbol of the general form (24/, 2), where 2 £ and / are free to change places and change sign together, and # changes sign independ- _ ently, gives a clear oversight of all the faces of the holohedral form, and enables us to derive from the symbol the various kinds of hemihedry.—In a note on the effect of temperature on the compressibility of water, Prof. Tait showed that the mini- mum compressibility temperature of water appears to rise with increase of pressure.—Dr. A. B. Griffiths’ paper on chemico- physiological investigations on the cephalopod liver and its identity as a true pancreas, was read by Mr. Hoyle. PARIS Academy of Sciences, March 30.—M. Bouley, President, in the chair.—Experiments connected with the phenomena occurring within the sphere of organic life during epileptic fits, by M. Vulpian. The effects of epileptic attacks artificially pro- duced on the dog were found to agree substantially with those observed in human patients subject to ordinary affections of this elass.—A reply to the remarks of M. Troost.on the objections advanced against his experiments with the hydrate of chloral, by M. Friedel.—Provisional elements of Borrelly’s new planet 246, determined at Toulouse from observations taken at Mar- seilles and Berlin, by M. Andoyer.—Observations of the same planet made at the Paris Observatory (equatorial of the West Tower), by M. G. Bigourdan.—Latitudinal distribution of the solar phenomena (spots, faculze, eruptions, and protuberances) observed during the year 1884, by M. P. Tacchini. From the observations here tabulated the author concludes that last year the phenomena were more numerous in the southern hemi- sphere of the sun, where protuberances occurred frequently even near the pole: © The spots, faculze, and eruptions were numerous, especially in a wide zone stretching north and south of the equator, whereas in preceding years a notable diminution had been observed close to the equator itself—A geometrical presentation of the three constants relative to the great mirror M of the sextant, by M. Gruey.—A method of measuring the double stars by means of the spectroscope, by M. Ch. V. Zenger.—On an apparatus intended to regulate the curvature of the surfaces and the refraction of lenses (four illustrations), by M. L. Laurent. This apparatus is described as a focometer of great precision, generally applicable to all curved surfaces, in ordinary cases showing at a glance and without preparation the gwadity of any optical system.—Remarks on the actinometric observations made during the year 1884 at the Observatory of the Montpellier School of Agriculture, by M. A. Crova.—Heat of combustion of the Ronchamp coal, by M. Scheurer-Kestner.—On the formation of the hydrocarbonate of magnesia (hydromagnesite), by M. R. Engel. In this paper the author gives the results of experiments made for the purpose of determining the causes of the formation of hydromagnesite in the precipitation of a soluble salt of magnesia by alkaline carbonates.—Experiments on the reduction of mannite (CgH,(OH),) by means of formic acid, by M. C. Friedel.—On the formation of the kreatines and kreatin- ines: a new kreatinine, a-ethylamidopropionocyamidine, by M. E. Duvillier.—On the simultaneous contractions of antagonistic muscles, by M. Beaunis.—On the pelagic fauna of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, by MM. G. Pouchet and J. de Guerne. From specimens of. crustaceans (Cyclops guadricornis, Daph- nella brachyura, Daphnia quadrangula, &c.) fished up last year in the Gulf of Finland, the authors conclude that the pelagic fauna of that slightly brackish sea resembles that of the great European lakes, while the central basin of the Baltic offers well- NA FORE 547 marked transitional forms between fresh-water and marine ani- mals.—On the existence of limestone at Fusulines in the Morvan geological area, by M. Stan. Meunier.—On some crystals of celestine (sulphate of strontian) discovered near Grauchet (Tarn), by M. A. Caraven-Cachin. BERLIN Physiological Society, February 27.—Prof. Busch laid before the Society two preparations illustrative of his in- vestigations into the laws of ossification. The one preparation was of the inferior maxilla of a dog, in which, when the animal was from three to four months old, two pairs of precisely similar grains of shot were inserted, as fixed marks, into holes bored by a gimlet of the same diameter. In order that such marks might be really fixed points from which the process of growth could be studied, it was necessary that the pieces of metal inserted into the osseous tissue should not project beyond the surface of the bone, nor, on the other hand, should they touch on other organs by the growth of which they would be liable to be displaced. In the inferior maxilla of a dog Prof. Busch had made four marks, two on each side, at distances of several centimetres, and then, with an exact pair of calipers, he measured the distances of the four grains of shot from each other. The wourds soon healed, the dog did not seem to suffer the least inconvenience, and after 112 days was killed. The examination of the lower jaw now showed that of the four grains there were only three still remaining, the fourth not being discoverable. The two placed on one side of the lower jaw, in front and behind, showed exactly the same distance from each other as at the beginning of the experiment. The distance of one grain on one side from the corresponding grain on the other had on the other hand grown greater, while the length of the whole lower jaw from the posterior angle to the anterior end had throughout the period in question undergone an increase of about five centi- metres. From these results Prof. Busch inferred that the increase in length of the lower maxilla was not due to interstitial growth but to apposition. The second preparation had for its object to ascertain facts regarding the growth of the epiphyses of the long bones whether it proceeded from the terminal line between epi- physis and diaphysis, from the epiphysal line, or from the articular cartilage. For this purpose steel pins, r centimetre long, were inserted into previously bored holes, one pin close under the epiphysal line of the tibia, a second in the epiphysis of the tibia, a third in the epiphysis of the femur, and a fourth close above the epiphysal line of the femur. The point of the gimlet was broken off during the operation, and served as a fifth mark. The question as to the mode by which the epiphyses grew was to be decided by the eventual change in the distance between mark 2 and mark 3. The experiment in this case likewise was carried out on a big dog of three months old, which was killed 119 days after the operation. The examination of the marks then showed that mark 1 was removed several centimetres lower down, lying horizontally under the periosteum. Mark 2 lay apparently unchanged at its original spot ; mark 3 was shifted a large piece upwards, and lay hori- zontally under the periosteum of the diaphysis. Asa result of the operation, therefore, instead of under the epiphysal line, it was inserted above that line into the diaphysis; mark 4 was not to be found; mark 5, the broken-off gimlet-point, lay far up on the posterior edge of the diaphysis. As to the growth of the epiphysis, the experiment had therefore no significance, seeing that mark 3 was not inserted into the epi- physis of the femur. It showed, however, indisputably that the diaphyses grow by apposition from the epiphysal line, and that in proportion as the parts retired from this line, they became from resorption thinner and slenderer. In the discussion on this communication, Prof. Wolff stated that he had performed a great number of experiments on the lower jaws of quite young rabbits, which, contrary to the results obtained by Prof. Busch, clearly demonstrated the interstitial growth of the bone in question. After he had quite concluded these experiments, he would lay the results before the Society.—Prof, Ehrlich made a communication on physiologically important results he had obtained from his investigations into the tsusceptibility of the different tissues to colouring matters. If colouring solutions—in particular methylic blue—were injected into living animals and then, with the ut- most expedition, particular tissues were examined, interesting reactions of the living tissue under the colouring materials would be perceived, which, in spite of their rapid evanescence, revealed important facts which by other methods were in part wholly unascertainable, in part to be ‘ascertained only with difficulty. 548 NATURE [April 9, 1885 After the injection of methylic blue, Prof. Ehrlich found in the submucous tissue of the tongue very numerous fibres and fibrous reticula coloured intensely blue which sent processes to the epi- thelial formations, and it was easy to determine that these fibres were the axis cylinders of the sensory nerves. These blue-tinged axis cylinders were found very numerously in the gustatory cuplets, at the basis of which they formed a quite narrow reticula network, whence, then, single fibres ending in knots proceeded anteriorly to the ciliated cells. Network of blue fibres were found very copiously and closely in the cornea. The iris likewise showed blue plexuses, particularly on the anterior side ; on the posterior side only long cancellated reticula were observed. In the muscles, on the other hand, were found only detached blue fibres, the ending of which in the muscle fibre could not be established. The axis cylinders of the motory nerves were, according to this experiment, not coloured by methylic blue during life ; it was only the sensory nerves which reacted to the colouring matter. The vessels, arteries, capillaries, and veins were surrounded by blue plexuses. It could not, however, be decided whether the blue fibres proceeded to the smooth muscle cells. In the retina the nervous layer showed no blue colouring. In the ganglion layer, on the other hand, cells richly charged with blue, and having numerous branching processes, were found, which, too, were in communication with the processes of neighbouring cells. In the mixed nerve stems and in the roots of the nerves no blue fibres were found. The central ends, on the other hand, showed a decided methylic blue reaction, as did also the peri- pherical ends of the sensory nerves. In the brain blue fibres were found only rarely, but were very abundant in the medulla oblongata, while they were wanting, again, in the spinal marrow, and from these results it appears that the colouring of living organs with methylic blue was a very important means towards observing the endings of sensory nerves in them. It must, however, be borne in mind, that the examination had to be prosecuted very rapidly after the colouring process, because, in living tissue, the colouring material got very quickly—in the course of a few minutes—lost by diftusion, and the colouring of the axis cylinders disappeared.—Dr. Benda laid before the Society several preparations sent by Prof. Adamkiewicz, of Cracau, and gave an explanation of them. After colouring with saffranine, Prof. Adamkiewicz found, in transverse sections of nerve fibres and cords of the spinal marrow within Schwann’s sheaths, yellow to brown coloured crescents, which were sec- tions of peculiar fusiform cells, and in the opinion of Prof. Adamkiewicz represented hitherto unknown parietal cells, lying within the nerve fibres, distinguished by their saffranine reaction. Meteorological Society, March 3.—Dr. Hellmann spoke on the rainfall of Germany. Afte: a short reference to the rain-maps of Germany, hitherto published, which had been in some degree prepared from insufficient material and according to inadequate methods, he set forth the points of view which had determined the arrangement of sixty new rain- stations. By grouping and comparing the new annual observa- tions with those of neighbouring stations, which ranged over a long series of years, he was now in a position to draw a number of important conclusions. He was able to establish, for ex- ample, that the eastern part of North Germany, and, in par- ticular, the right bank of the Oder, was not, as had hitherto been supposed, a dry district, at least not over its whole area, seeing that there were several stations within that section show- ing moderate amounts of rain. It was further ascertained that the views formerly prevalent respecting the rainfall in moun- tainous regions were not correct, each mountain chain not having been considered separately when inductions were made from the data hitherto accumulated, in which other essential factors came to be mixed up with that of the elevation and vitiated the result. In regard to the yearly distribution of rain, Dr. Heilmann’s investigations showed that the great North German plain was embraced within the region of the summer rains; that the curve of rain-quantity and rain-frequency sank from January to April, reaching its minimum in that period, whence it rapidly rose to its maximum, which was attained in the summer months, and then sank slowly to its winter values. The maximum of rainfall in the furthest east occurred in June; immediately to the west in July; still more to the west in August; in Sleswick, later still; and in Heligoland, not till November. A closer examination of the rain-curve in North Germany showed that it consisted of two maxima, with a depression of greater dryness occurring in July. A similar double maximum was likewise found in South Germany and in North-West Germany. The first and greater rain maximum occurred with the recurrence of cold in June, and, altogether, the curve of temperature in North Germany showed a perfectly correspond- ing, inverse course with that of the rain-curve. The moun- tains of Germany—the Sudetic Mountains, the Taunus, the Harz, the Thuringian Forest—which were all separately investi- gated in respect of their rainfall—showed an inverse course in the yearly rain-curve as compared with that of the plain. In the mountains, the maximum of rainfall occurred in winter, whence the curve sank in spring, then rose to a small secondary maxi- mum in summer, sank thereafter, and finally rose to its year’s maximum in winter. In respect of the absolute rain maxima the observations hitherto made showed that for Ger- many the month’s maximum amounted to about 9°45 inches, and that the greatest daily rainfall amounted for the plain to about 5°91 inches, and for the mountains to from 7°88 to 9°45 inches. The greatest hourly rainfall hitherto observed was 2°96 inches. Dr. Hellmann exhibited a self-registering rain-gauge by Hottinger, and explained its construction —Dr. Kremser de- scribed an ascent of the Schneekoppe made by him on January 3 and 4, 1885, and submitted some meteorological observa- tions taken by him on that occasion. On the height of the ridge he had clear sunshine over head, while the mountains under him lay enveloped in fog, the contour of which he was thus in a position to observe. In the Riesengrund, into which the sun shone clearly, he saw a huge pillar of fog, the upper end of which was curved into a whirling shape, resembling the column of smoke in an ascending air-current, as described in Herr Vettin’s experiment (vide NaTuRE, vol. xxxi. p. 284). On the Schneekoppe he saw the brown-red ring around the sun in a state of remarkable completeness. About 10° around the sun was a brilliantly white space, which passed through yellow and yellow-brown into the copper-coloured ring, 63° broad. At the point where it touched the horizon the two limbs showed different tints. Before sunrise the moon was densely surrounded by a violet halo, which extended to about as far as 18° from the moon, and gradually passed into the dark- blue sky. The observer stationed on the Schneekoppe related that he likewise had often, for now nearly a year, seen the violet halo around the moon. Lastly, it was to be stated that, like all other exposed objects, the telegraph poles were covered with immense masses of hoar-frost, so that they showed a diameter reaching to I m., and the rain-gauges were also so heavily covered with the hoar-frost as to be practically useless. CONTENTS PaGE Mredgoldis Carpentry...) eects Nene n eens eS dhe MiyriopodsofzZAustria acm... meenene i meee 20, Our Book Shelf :— Turner’s ‘‘ Examples in Heat and Electricity”. . 526 Knox’s ‘‘ Differential Calculus for Beginners”. . . 527 Letters to the Editor :— Rock-Pictures in New Guinea.—Dr, Emil Metzger 527 Mr. Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes.— Benjamln T. Lowne ; George J. Romanes, BF RiS! ic) « ahsaliiyeboukie: Maes ac a How Thought presents itself among the Phenomena of Nature.—Prof, G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S. 529 Magnetic Disturbance.—G. M. Whipple .... 530 The Samsams.—Prof, A. H. Keane). <2 3)... 530 Meteor Eis Sadler) me isch cin iNun cna tn SO Steel’Guns,. He 2. 5 sees Gd ie Ad ee EO On the Formation of Snow Crystals from Fog on Beni Nevis.) By Rad Omondin usuario Bird Architecture. By Charles Dixon ...... 533 The Institution of Naval Architects ....... 533 The Eggs of Fishes. By Prof. McIntosh, LL.D., WISER Goos Goo no Samo ob.oo oo | Se Notes) ouch neg omel Oke ae alte int neaeee 537 Our Astronomical Column :— Ancient Occultations of Aldebaran. ....... 539 Barnardiss©Omet:.| iy youre) cise el sy een aS AO Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, Atprillit 2-18 ie mecmae sents) cl ne aalie Soo mord 0 ou LO GeographicaliNotes \iu 1) bans somes ee SO On the Salinity of the Water in the Firth of Forth. By Hugh Robert Mill, B.Sc., F.C,S. (Z/lustrated) 541 The PearliWisheriesjof¢Lahitignsssue) see cn ene e545 Societies'and/Academies.. . «235 es ets ©6545 NAO RL: 349 THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1885 A SCIENTIFIC UNIVERSITY ENGLAND is but just beginning to feel the wave of progress in the question of University organisation that has been sweeping over the rest of the world. Uni- versity reform as understood in England means a rather fitful movement from within to lift the teaching and methods of the older Universities a little out of the medizvalism that has been settling down upon them. The true University reform has meantime been going on outside in the spread of scientific teaching far away from the quiet collegiate quadrangles, in the establishment of new Universities and University Colleges in the centres of provincial life. It is very hard to make an Englishman believe that there is any subject in which he is not lead- ing the progress of the world. Yet let him look at Germany, at France, at America, and consider what is being done abroad, before he passes his complacent com- ment on the feeble reforms at home. Let him look at the City of Berlin with its 1,123,000 inhabitants, its teach- ing University with 6000 students ; and then turn to the City of London with its 4,000,000 inhabitants, without a teaching University at all, and having some 2000 students in all under training at its two best educational establish- ments. The contrast does not stop here, as any person acquainted with the University systems of Europe knows only too well. The fact is that England is wofully behind the rest of the world in the organisation of the higher scientific education. Its Government is absolutely indif- ferent to the most crying needs in this direction. What does the British Government do for the higher scientific teaching, or for the promotion of the reorganisation of our existing Universities on the modern scientific basis ? An annual grant of a few thousands to the South Kens- ington Normal School, a subsidy of about 25,000/. a year to the Scottish Universities, and one of about 12,500/. a year to the Welsh University Colleges, whereof perhaps one-half goes to the promotion of science, represent the net result. True a Government some fifty years ago founded the Examining Board, miscalled the University of London, and another’ Government, some fifteen years ago, gave 90,000/. to help the University of Glasgow to complete its buildings. But for the University movement throughout England, such as it is to-day, England owes nothing to one single statesman or Government; it is due to individual and local effort, aided it is true, but on the most minute scale, by the action of one or two of the more liberal corpor- ate bodies. It is well, then, that Englishmen should have the opportunity of reading, as they may do in the present number of NATURE, what has been done in a single small province of Europe, in a city of only 104,000 inhabitants, in the equipment of a great Univer- sity on modern lines. The completeness of the equip- ment, and the magnificence of the buildings of the new University of Strasburg are truly startling. Itis to the divine right of learning knowledge, not to the divine right of ruling wrong that these modern palaces are erected, The Zezt Geist has indeed wrought revenges in the honour thus rendered to science and to philosophy, to VOL. XXXI.—NO. 807 literature and to art. Imperial Germany unites with her own province of Alsace-Lorraine to bestow 640,000/. upon the new University buildings, and to increase its existing endowments by a sum of 42,0004. perannum. Nor is this a solitary fact. During the last nine years France has spent nearly 1,000,000/. per annum on increasing and re- organising her University institutions. What has England to show against this? The Imperial Government has with the exception of the little Scotch and Welsh grants named above, done literally nothing. All else that has been done has been done mainly by a few individuals with great difficulty, on a very limited scale, in the teeth ofall sorts of uninteliigent opposition. Oxford Convoca- tion consents, amid fierce debate, to spend 10,000/. on a physiological laboratory. Strasburg, in the meantime, has quietly spent 13,500/. for the same purpose ; and this (Fig. 15, p. 561) is the smallest of the splendid group of institutes and laboratories in the new University. The Corporation of Nottingham—the only Corporation that has shown public spirit in this direction—has spent some 70,0007. upon an institution which includes a Natural History Museum avd a Public Library, azd a University College. Nottingham, has a population of 186,000 souls. At Strasburg, with a population of 104,000, a sum equal to this has been spent on institutes of chemistry and anatomy alone (Figs. 5 and 9, pp. 559-60), and nine times as much on the rest of the University buildings and fittings. The Corporation of Liverpool very generously contrived to accommodate its new University College in a disused lunatic asylum. But the whole of the buildings of Liverpool University College would go twice over into the Strasburg Institute of Chemistry (Fig. 5, p. 559). At Cardiff, the Town Council, after an attempt to thrust its University College into a still less suitable site, agreed to rent to it an old infirmary for its various scientific laboratories and _ lecture- rooms; but the Strasburg University possesses twelve buildings, every one of which is as large as the Cardiff building, and infinitely better adapted to the purpose. Owens College, the Mason College, the Firth College, owe nothing to corporate help: they are sus- tained by private benefactions. The Yorkshire College is also innocent of any municipal support. At Bristol, with a population of about 200,000 souls—nearly double Strasburg—funds privately subscribed to about 11,0007. have resulted in a ragged fragment of ill-assorted rooms to accommodate the local University College; the entire buildings for literature, science, and medicine being less than half the size of the Institute of Physics (Fig. 6, p. 559) at Strasburg. Lastly, the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne, with a population of 150,000, relegates its Science College to the cellars of a Mining Institution, where it is effectually buried from public notice. There is nothing at Strasburg comparable to this. : Englishmen will awake some day to the astoundin neglect and apathy that have prevailed and still prevail ; and then perhaps some statesman will think it worth his while to turn from endless party squabbles to useful national work. To reorganise the higher education of this country on a scale commensurate with that of other European countries, and o co-ordinate it with the rest of our educational system, and to equip it with buildings and appliances adequate o the needs of the time would BB 95° NATURE [| April 16, 1885 be a task of truly national importance, and one which must sooner or later be undertaken. It is a task befitting -the ambition of an enlightened statesman. The Minister who shall succeed in the task will leave behind him in the memories of the nation a monument more enduring than marble. TIMBUKTU Timbukiu: Reise durch Marokko, die Sahara und den Sudan. Von Dr. Oskar Lenz. 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1884.) S we have already intimated, Dr. Lenz is about to set out on a new expedition, the purpose of which is to explore the unknown region lying between the upper waters of the Nile and the northern bend of the Congo. The reputation of a scientific explorer already earned by Dr. Lenz through his researches in the Ogoway basin will be much enhanced by the present work, em- bodying the results of a very successful expedition to North-West Africa, undertaken in the years 1879-80 on behalf of the German African Society. His original commission was restricted to a visit to Marokko, chiefly with a view to a more thorough survey of the Atlas high- lands than had hitherto been effected by recent travellers in that still little known region. But the sanction of the Society was easily obtained to extend the field of his operations, so as, if possible, to embrace the still less known section of the Sahara lying between Marokko and the Niger. Timbuktu, the southern terminus of the caravan routes across this part of the desert, thus became the main goal of the expedition. The famous “ Queen of the Wilderness” had been reached during the present century only by three European travellers—Major Laing in 1826, René Caillé in 1828, and Barth in 1853. To these illustrious names must now be added that of Oskar Lenz, who not only entered the place on July 1, 1880, mainly by a new route from the north, but also for the first time made his way thence westwards through the Fulah and Negro States of Modssina (Massina) and Bambara down the Senegal river to the Atlantic coast at St. Louis, capital of the French possessions in Sene- gambia. Hence the most important result of the journey has been to show that Timbuktu, hitherto regarded as practically inaccessible to Europeans, may be reached both through Marokko from the north and through the Senegal basin from the west. It will be thus seen that the expedition naturally com- prises two distinct sections—Marokko and the Atlas ranges as far as the Draa basin, which are exhaustively dealt with in the first volume ; the western Sahara and Sudan described in the second volume, which moreover contains some valuable supplementary matter on the French settlements in Senegambia and on the physical constitution of the Sahara, besides an extremely interest- ing account of the present political and social relations in Timbuktu. Dr. Lenz travelled with a very small suite, limited to his interpreters, Haj Ali Butaleb and Christobal Benitez, and his trusty Marokkan attendant Kaddur. But, thanks partly to a letter of recommendation from Muley Hassan, Sultan of Marokko, partly to the character which he assumed of a Mussulman physician, he managed to pass without much serious risk through the turbulent and fanatical Arab, Berber, Fulah, and Negro tribes encountered along the route. Hence his conclusion, shared in by some other experienced explorers, that single travellers hampered by a minimum of impedimenta are likely to prove more successful in Africa than elaborately equipped expeditions, at least where the object is mere geographical discovery rather than extensive biological and ethnographic collections. From the observations made at various points in recent times it has become more and more evident that the Sahara can no longer be regarded as having been a marine basin at least since the early Tertiary epoch. The theory may be said to have received its coup de grace from Dr. Lenz, who plainly shows that the whole of the western section traversed by him is not a depression, as has been assumed, but an irregular plateau standing in the north at a mean elevation of from 800 to 1000 feet, and even at Taudeni, its lowest level, still maintaining an altitude of 400 or 500 feet above the Atlantic. The sur- face is varied with stony and sandy tracts, the so-called “areg” or “igidi,” which have nothing in common with marine sedimentary deposits, but have, in fact, been pro- duced by the weathering of sandstone, quartz, and car- boniferous limestones, which appear to be the prevailing formations. It is thus evident that this part of the desert has been dry land for vast ages, and the same conclusion must be inferred from the numerous dried-up water- courses, whose deep channels are distinctly the effect of erosion. These wadies, many of which seem to have been flooded within the last few thousand years, radiate from the central highlands north and north-east to the Mediterranean, east to the Nile, south to the Tsad and Niger, west to the Atlantic. Hence down to compara- tively recent times the Sahara was a well-watered and wooded region thickly inhabited by agricultural and pas- toral communities, themselves the descendants or suc- cessors of still more primitive peoples, the contemporaries of Paleolithic and Neolithic man in other parts of the globe. In the Taudeni district, about 20° N., under the meridian of Timbuktu, Dr. Lenz discovered some imple- ments of hard greenstone well worked and polished, and similar objects have also been found by Gerhard Rohlfs as far west as the Kufara oasis south of Tripolitana. The Asiatic camel is here a comparatively recent in- truder, preceded by the Garamantian war-horse and by the elephant, trained also to war by the native Numidians and Phoenician Carthaginians. The crocodile even still survives in many of the pools and lakelets here and there marking the course of mighty streams, which formerly sent their perennial floods down to the surrounding marine basins. 7 Apart from possible cosmic influences, our author at- tributes the great change that has taken place within the historic period, not with Peschel to the dry north-east Polar winds, which in the Sahara yield to the prevailing northern and north-western atmospheric currents, but largely to the reckless destruction of the woodlands which at one time covered vast tracts in this now arid and treeless region. With the vegetation disappeared the moisture; all the large fauna became extinct, and the settled populations were succeeded by nomad tribes of Berber (Hamitic) stock, joined later on by Semites from the Arabian Peninsula. --* (ohh ae April 16, 1885 | MABPURE 552 Of Timbuktu Dr. Lenz gives on the whole a satisfactory account. During his residence in the place from July 1 to July 18, 1880, he was hospitably entertained by the Kahia, a sort of “ Burgomeister,” or civil magistrate, who is mayor, aldermen, and town council all rolled into one, but who possesses no political authority whatsoever. Since its capture by the Fulahs in 1826, when the fortifi- cations were razed, Timbuktu has been a purely com- mercial town, a general emporium for Western Sudan, open to all comers—that is, to all the “ Faithful,” but un- fortunately a constant {bone of contention between the rival Tuarik (Berber) and Fulah tribes of the surrounding lands. At the time of Dr. Lenz’s visit, the Tuariks, under their “Sultan” Eg-Fandagumu, were in the ascendant, but, beyond levying dues on the imports and exports, neither they nor the Fulahs ever interfere in the local administration, which is left in the hands of the Kahia. This office itself is hereditary in the Moorish family of Er-Rami, originally from the South of Spain, hence known as “ Andalusi,” and settled in Timbuktu since the sixteenth century. The present Kahia affects the title of “amir,” and is said to be aiming at the sovereign power by making himself independent of the Tuarik and Fulah factions. In this he appears to be encouraged by the French, who have lately reached the Niger at Segu, and who have quite recently induced him to send an “envoy” to Paris. During the journey from Timbuktu to the Senegal Dr. Lenz saw a good deal of the Fulahs, who are now every- where interspersed among the Negro populations from Wadai and Darfur to Senegambia, and to whom appa- rently belongs the future of Central and Western Sudan between the Niger and Wadai. Unfortunately, in discussing the origin of this mysterious race, he revives the now ex- ploded theory of a “ Nuba-Fulah” family, first suggested by Friedrich Miiller, the learned but somewhat venture- some Viennese ethnologist. At least Dr. Lenz goes so far as to say that, “touching the ethnographic position of this people Friedrich Miiller has probably hit the mark in grouping together the Nubas and the Fulahs, whom he collectively calls Nubas, and divides into a western and eastern section” (p. 261). This might not be in itself so surprising but for the fact that he further on refers to the writings of G. A. Krause on the subject. Now Krause distinctly separates the Fulahs from the Nubas, or rather ignores the connection altogether, and allies them to the Hamites, calling them “ Ur- oder Proto- hamiten.” It may be added that with the materials now available (Lepsius, Nachtigal, Faidherbe, Newman, Krause, Reinisch, &c.), it seems possible to determine the mutual relations of all these peoples with some show of probability. But in any case the Fulahs are certainly not Nubas, nor are the Nubas Hamites.1 Whether Krause is right in affiliating the Fulahs to the Hamitic group, “mag dahingestellt werden,” at least pending further information. The type is distinctly non-Negro, differing from it in almost every racial characteristic— cranial formation, complexion, texture of the hair, figure, proportion of members, mental qualities. Dr. Lenz, who had numerous opportunities of studying full-blood speci- mens, was amazed at their striking resemblance to Euro- * On this point the reviewer must refer the reader to his ‘‘ Egyptian Ethnology.” Stanford, 1885. “ peans, and describes them as of light complexion, with slightly arched nose, straight forehead, fiery glance, long black hair, shapely limbs, tall slim figures, great in- telligence. At the same time, since their diffusion among the Sudanese populations the Fulahs have become much modified by crossings with the Negroesand Arabs. “No territory or state is now found exclusively inhabited by pure Fulahs, who are everywhere intermingled with Negro and Arab communities ”’ (p. 259). The work is illustrated with some good woodcuts and plates, mostly from photographs and sketches by the author, who has also added a general map of the region traversed, and as many as eight carefully prepared itineraries of its_several sections. A. H. KEANE OUR BOOK SHELF Physical Arithmetic. By A. Macfarlane, D.Sc. don: Macmillan and Co., 1885.) THIS is a very thorough work, and one admirably adapted for the use of physical students : indeed, we think so well of it that we would recommend it for use in all schools and establishments where the subjects of which it treats are taught. There is a great amount of matter, tersely put and aptly illustrated by copious worked-out examples, and, in addition, there is good store of exercises to try the pupil’s strength. Answers are appended. and a useful index crowns all. What is its subject-matter? It treats, we should say, de omni sctbilt, and perhaps de gutbusdam aliis. But to descend to particulars: there are nine chapters, and in these are discussed matters financial, geometrical, kine- matical, dynamical, thermal, electrical, acoustical, optical, and chemical. Have we not rightly described its subject- matter above? Dr. Macfarlane has done much good work in other directions, and in this particular direction he gives us, not the result of two or three months’ turning over of text-books, but what he has noted down since his student days; hence he speaks of what he does know. A diligent student, an original researcher, he has learned and assimilated methods arrived at by such masters in physics as Thomson, Maxwell, Tait, Everett, and Chrystal, and put them together here in orderly method. This method the author calls the eg#zvalence method. “ Each quantity is analysed into unit, numerical value, and, when necessary, descriptive phrase. The rate, or law, or con- dition, according to which one quantity depends on one or more quantities, is expressed by an equivalence. These equivalences are of two kinds—absolute and relative ; the former expressing the equivalence of dependence, the latter the equivalence of substtutzon or replacement.” We cannot give a brick, but we feel sure that the edifice to which we liken the book will be found to be con- structed on thoroughly sound principles, and that no student who buys it on our recommendation will regret having done so. It would take a very long time to test the furniture (ze. the examples); upon its suitability, we cannot now pronounce an opinion ; moreover, each student will have his own particular room to explore : after a visit to all the rooms, each appears to be quite comme tl faut. (Lon- Coordonnées paralléles et axtales. Méthode de Transforma- tion géométrique et P rocédé nouveau de Calcul graphique, déduits de la Considération des Coordonnées paralléles Par Maurice D’Ocagne. (Paris: Gauthiers-Villars, 1885.) Two fixed points, 4, 2, called the ovzgzn of co-ordinates, are taken, and through them are drawn two parallel straight lines, dw, Bv; these are called axes of co-ordinates (or co-ordinate axes). Lengths, 417, BV, measured on Jee NEA TORE [ April 16, 1885 these lines, upwards positive, downwards negative, are the co-ordinates of the straight line A7V. So much for the parallel co-ordinates. Take a straight line, Ox, for axis, and on this line a point, O, the ole of the system. A straight line is determined by the angle 6, which it makes with the axis, and by the length X from O of its intersection with Ox. These are the axia/ co-ordinates. Elementary details of these two systems are given for the former in Chapters I.-V. (pp. 1-33); for the latter, in Chapters VI.-VIII. (pp. 36-43). Several applications to examples are discussed. Chapters IX., X. (pp. 52-73) are devoted to a “Méthode de transformation géométrique fondée sur la simple comparaison des coordonnées paral- léles avec les coordonnées rectangulaires.” The “ procédé nouveau ” is the closing portion of this chapter (pp. 73-82). The illustrations in the pamphlet are mostly taken from curves of the second degree, but these co-ordinates—a kind of tangential co-ordinates—are useful for such ques- tions as the following :—Find a curve such that a portion of a tangent intercepted between the point of contact and the axis has a constant length (the tractrix is such that the area between it and the axis is equal the area of a semi-circle, radius equal distance from origin to cusp of tractrix) ; find a curve such that the portion of a perpen- dicular 77 to the axis Ox drawn through the foot 7 of the tangent, limited on one side by Ox and on the other by the corresponding normal, has a given length (the curve, of course, is readily seen to be a cycloid). The pamphlet is an interesting one, and suggests methods of procedure which in some cases have advant- ages over other methods more familiar. LEITERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No noticeis taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible, The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise toinsurethe appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] The Colours of Arctic Animals I AM sorry that I cannot agree with my friend Mr. Meldola as to the insufficiency of the explanation of the white coloration of Arctic mammals and birds as due to protective adaptation, since it appears to me that there is no important group of facts in natural history of which the explanation is more complete ; while on the other hand I venture (though with some hesitation) to question the basis of his counter explanation, as I am not aware of any sufficient proof that colour, fev se, affects the radia- tion of low grade heat. At all events I feel tolerably certain that this cause, if it exists, has had no perceptible influence in determining the white colours of Arctic animals. I am not myself aware of there being ‘‘many species” pos- sessing the white coloration as to which there is any difficulty In seeing the advantage they may derive from it, and there is certainly a large body of facts showing that colour is, in almost all animals and in every part of the world, more or less pro- tective or adaptive. If the white coloration of Arctic animals stood alone, it might be thought necessary to supplement the protective theory by any available physical explanation, but we have to take account of the parallel cases of the sand-coloured desert animals and the green-coloured denizens of the ever- verdant tropical forests ; and though in both these regions there are numerous exceptional cases, we can almost always see the reason of these, either in the absence of the need of protection or in the greater importance of conspicuous colouring. In the Arctic regions these exceptions are particularly instructive be- cause in almost every case the reason of them is obvious. Let me call attention to a few which now occur to me. In the Arctic zone the wolf does not turn white like the fox, the reason evidently being that he hunts in packs, and conceal- ment from his prey is not needed. So the musk-sheep and the yak, though both exposed to the extremest cold, are not white, because they are both swift and strong and need no concealment from their enemies. For the same reason neither the moose, the caribou, nor the reindeer are wholly white. Again, the glutton and the sable are dark-coloured, though inhabiting the coldest regions, and this is clearly because they are arboreal, and are better concealed from their prey by a dark than a light colour. If any useful protection from cold were to be obtained by a white coat, we should expect it to appear in such a case as the Esquimaux dogs, exposed for countless generations to the severest climate. But they gained the required warmth by a thickening of the woolly undercoat in winter, as do many other animals ; and this suggests the general proposition that it will be always easier and safer to gain warmth in this way than by a modification of colour, which could certainly have but a very small effect, and might often interfere with adaptations of far greater importance. Exactly analogous cases occur among birds. The raven is, perhaps, the extremest Arctic species, but, feeding on carrion, it has no need of concealment in approaching its prey, and thus it keeps its jet black coat in the depths of the Polar winter. The physical explanation of melanism in butterflies and some other insects, on the other hand, seems to me to be probably a sound one ; but even that requires more evidence and a fuller knowledge of the habits of the species before we can admit it as proved. It may be that the dark colouring is protective, assimilating with the surroundings of the insect when at rest, and this can only be decided by observations specially directed to the point in question. But even if, in this case, the dark colour has been produced in order to favour the absorption of the direct rays of the northern sun, it affords no support whatever to the totally different case in which the radiation of the obscure heat from an animal body has to be checked. I may, perhaps, be ignorant on the point, as it is rather out of my line, but I am not aware of any good experiments to determine the influence of colour Zev se, as distinct from the structure and surface-texture of coloured substances, on the radiation or absorption of heat of a low grade of temperature, and from a dark source. The only authority I have at hand (Ganot’s *‘ Physics,” eighth edition) seems rather to imply that colour has no effect in such cases, for I find it stated, at p. 338, that the radiating power of Jampblack and whittelead are identical, both being given as 100, while Zzdian ink is only 88. Again, at p- 352, the absorptive power of these two substances is given as 100, the source of heat being copper at 100° C., while that of Indian ink is given as 85. This seems to show that surface- texture or molecular structure is the important point, while colour has no effect whatever. In order to determine experimentally whether white fur or feathers are inferior to black as radiators of animal heat, it would not do to employ stained or dyed materials, because the pigments employed might affect the texture of the surface, and produce an effect not at all due to the colour. A fair test would be afforded by two samples of cloth or flannel woven from white and black natural wool respectively, the wool to be obtained from the same breed of sheep, and, if possible, from the same district, while the material must be as nearly as possible identical in weight and texture. I shall be glad to learn from Mr. Meldola, or any other of your readers, whether any experiment of this kind has been made, or whether there is any valid reason for believing that the radiation of animal heat is at all affected by colour alone. ALFRED R. WALLACE Civilisation and Eyesight THE statistics of eyesight given by Mr. H. B. Guppy in NATURE (p. 503) relating to the inhabitants of the Solomon Islands as tested by the Army test-dots, bring us nearer, I think, to the solution of the question of the relative acuteness of vision of civilised and savage races than any previous communication which has appeared in your columns, as we are able to compare | them with statistics obtained under similar conditions in this country. The Anthropometric Committee of the British Asso- ciation gave a series of tables in their Report for 1881 showing the results of their inquiries into the sight of different classes of the community, carried out by means of the Army test-dots ; and for the purpose of comparison with Mr. Guppy’s figures I have extracted the returns relating to men employed in agriculture and other out-door occupations as most nearly agreeing with the conditions of life of savage people, and have embodied them, together with Mr. Guppy’s, in the following table :— April 16, 1885] NATURE Sak) English agri- cultural labourers, &c., English agricul- tural and out-door Solomon Islanders, labourers, age age not stated. Distance in feet at which the Army test-dots were istinguish 5 years. S. — nna SEE No. of obs. iNesonckes 5 to 10 ws I —- — IO—I5 bez I _— = 15—20 ia 4 _ I 20—25 at 8 —_— I 25—30 Se 15 — I 30—35 a 29 _ 2 35—40 exe 34 ae I 3 40—45 ae 27 es fo) 3 45—50 at 40 fo} 8 50—55 ot 55 7 a 55—60 52 2 8 60—65 40 7 4 65—70 40 3 2 /L=SYB) 20 2 2 75—80 9 = I 80—85 3 — I 85—go0 2 = =e go— 5 a I Total 385 22 49 Average 52°1 57°5 52°5 Mean 550 é 55°0 ae BOS * Mean or value of greatest frequency. Mr. Guppy’s figures are too few in number, and too irregular in their relation to each other and to the columns of figures on either side of them, to be accepted as representative of the range of vision of the Solomon Islanders, and he must have stumbled on some of the better examples, or else the short-sighted men have not presented themselves to him for examination. Never- theless, taking the figures as they stand, they give no support to the belief that savages possess better sight than civilised peoples. Mr. Guppy gives 60 feet as the distance at which the test-dots were distinguished, but the average of his figures is 57°5 feet, or only half a foot more than Prof. Longmore worked out, from observations on British recruits, as the distance which the test- dots ought to be seen in good daylight. Judging from the run of the figures, I should place the so-called ‘‘ normal ” vision of the Solomon Islanders at 55 feet, or possibly at 52°5 feet, like the English labouring classes of the age of twenty-one years, as our figures representing that age are remarkably uniform in their distribution, and therefore near the truth. The average of the Solomon Islanders is, it is true, higher by 5 feet than the English in my table; but this is obviously due to the absence of observations on the less perfect-sighted individuals belonging to the former race. Even when the test is one of seeing objects at the greatest distance, the best savages are in- ferior to the best English by about one-third. Mr. Guppy evidently believes that the Solomon Islanders possess very superior sight compared with ourselves, especially for distant object ; and Mr. J. A. Duffield, who read a paper recently, at the Anthropological Institute, on the natives of some adjoining islands, was still more firmly of this opinion ; but it is obvious that the question cannot be decided by general impressions, nor by the result of comparisons with sight the value of which we are ignorant. Travellers naturally record cases in which their own sight (which they believe to be good, but which may be very bad) is out- stripped by savages, but do not encumber their pages with negative evidence of the kind. Their mistake lies in confounding acuteness of vision with the results of special training or educa- tion of the faculty of seeing—results quite as much dependent on mental training as on the use of the eyes. Bolton Row, Mayfair, April 13 CHARLES ROBERTS Far-sightedness ALLow me to corroborate the report of your correspondent, whose letter appears in Nature of April 2 (p. 5:6) as to the visibility of very distant terrestrial objects. In the spring of 1837 I was travelling from Rome, northwards, by “Vetturino,” and from the summit of the Apennine on the road between Florence and Bologne, I saw, with astonishment, the whole range of the Swiss Alps, not merely distinguishable but conspicuous. Measured on the map in a direct line the nearest part of the range was distant about 200 miles. The extreme portions, including Mont Blanc, were considerably more. I have no doubt that the atmospheric conditions were unusually favourable. For when I asked the Vetturino what monntains they were, he, having often passed that way without seeing them, said they were nothing but clouds. I told him that I knew a snow mountain when I saw it ; and as a peasant, living on the spot, shortly passed, I renewed my inquiry—to which he immediately answered, to my surprise, that they were the mountains of Switzerland. J. HrppisLey Stoneaston, April 7 ON September 3, 1874, from the Piz Muraun, near Dissentis, I saw the white dome of Mont Blanc, distant about 110 English miles. As the Piz Muraunis only about 9500 feet I was sceptical, till a reference to maps showed a line of intervening depressions. I feel sure that some Alpine tourists will be able to furnish Herr Metzger with cases of mountains identified at distances vastly exceeding this of mine. HILL Cambridge, April 8 The Pupil of the Eyes during Emotion In connection with the above subject the following experiment may be of interest to your readers. It is one I made many years ago when studying the border-land between physiology and psychology. At that time I showed and explained it to a number of my friends. In this experiment it appears to the observer as if I had con- trol over the muscles of the iris, as I can make the pupil of the eye large or small at will. Placing myself in front of, and looking towards, a window or other bright light, the observer is desired to watch the pupil, and say when to contract or expand it. On the order being given, the pupil is seen to expand or contract as desired. This experiment can be easily made by any one in the following manner :—The eye is directed towards the light and a point looked at, the eye being kept steady during the whole experiment. Under these conditions the bright light causes the pupil to contract automatically, and when desired to expand it all that is necessary is to take the attention away from the eye and fix it on some other part of the body—say, by biting the tongue, pinching the arm, &c. By these means the sensi- tiveness of the retina is, for well-known reasons, reduced, and the pupil automatically dilates. To cause it again to contract, the mind has simply to be recalled to the eye and attention given to the visual impressions. This experiment supports the explanation given by Dr. Herd- man in Mr. Clark’s letter in NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 433, and also the explanation given by Dr. Wilks at p. 458. When the mind is under the influence of fear, the energies are diverted from the eyes and the pupils dilate on account of the reduced sensitiveness of the retina. While in anger, sight being power- fully called into action, the sensitiveness of the retina is increased and the pupil automatically contracts, so that generally we might expect that during those emotions in which the eyes are called into action the pupils will be small, and that when the nervous energies are directed away from the eyes to other centres, the pupils will be large. JOHN AITKEN Torquay, April 8 Notes on the Geology of the Pescadores DURING a stay of two days in Makung Harbour in 1877, I collected a few notes on the geology of this small group, which has, from its recent occupation by the French, been brought before the notice of the public. These islands, which were briefly described in the last number of NATURE (p. 540), have a characteristic appearance, being flat-topped, 100 to 200 feet in height, and presenting a rather barren aspect from the scarcity of trees and shrubs. Dampier, who visited them in 1687, de- scribed them as ‘‘much like our Dorsetshire and Wiltshire Downs,” producing ‘‘thick, short grass and a few trees,” a description equally applicable at the present day. As far as I could ascertain, the whole group was of basaltic formation, the columnar structure being well developed, columns 30 to 4o feet high being observable in the faces of some of the cliffs. In the places 1 visited the cliffs were built up of two basaltic streams superimposed, the two masses towards their junction being scoriaceous and amygdaloidal, and separated by a layer three inches thick of a red, soft rock or laterite. The 554 NATURE [April 16, 1885 cavities of the vesicular parts of the rock were often filled by calcite or hzematite. The apparent absence of any cone or tuff deposit, the com- pact and columnar structure of the rock, and the vertical position of the columns, seemed to show that the whole had been origin- ally one continuous sheet of submarine lava-streams, which had been subsequently elevated and cut up by the waves into the several islands—a conclusion which was supported by two other circumstances : the form of the islands and the shallow inter- vening depths (6 to 9 fathoms). It is noteworthy that several of the islands sloped away gradu- ally west-south-west to south-west, a direction coinciding with that of the submarine slope in this part of the Formosa Channel. From this circumstance it would seem that the succession of laya-streams flowed in a south-west direction, and that their source lay in the north-east portion of the group. 17, Woodlane, Falmouth, April 11 H. B. Gurry A New Bird in Natal SoME months ago, Mr. Fereirra, a member of my congrega- tion, informed me that he had shot some time previously a bird in the early morning which neither he nor any of his neighbours had seen before. From his description of it I concluded that it probably belonged to the goat-suckers, and on examination of the skin I find that the supposition is correct. A day.or two ago he brought the skin to me: it had been stretched against the wall of his room to display its plumage to the greatest advantage. ‘The measurements which I give cannot therefore be perfectly accurate. One of its long plumes has been broken by a pellet, but otherwise the skin is in tolerably good preservation, and I trust that it may be well stuffed and set up, for the bird is certainly not mentioned in the first edition of Layard’s ‘‘ Birds of South Africa,” nor yet in any of the books or catalogues in my possession, and the bird is in itself so very remarkable that one cannot help thinking that it would have been described in the books I have had it been known. I will deposit the skin in the Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg. The bill is that of a goat-sucker, strongly fenced with strong hairs. The length of the body from tip of the bill to the inser- tion of the tail is 6 inches ; length from tip of bill to tip of tail, 11% inches ; length between tips of wings—probably stretched too much—24 inches. The colour is the usual brown of the family—bars on the tail of brown black, and mottled bars of light and dark brown ; feathers, eight in number, the longest on the outside of the tail. Wings : Primariz, 9 in number. Length of the 1st feather, 74 inches. on 2ndeae 5; about an inch shorter. i> 3rd ae shorter than second ; the fol- lowing three about the same length as the 3rd. Length of the 7th feather, 74 inches. ” Sth ” I en ” » oth 4, | 272 55 The first seven of the primariz are tipped with white, the 2nd and 3rd rather broadly, the Ist scarcely. The 8th becomes greyish towards the tip, and the ribs of the 7th and 8th are brown, while the others are black. Two-thirds of the length of these feathers are black ; but a band of white, narrower on the first and increasing to about 3 inches broad on the 8th feather, extends along the roots and middle of them, and crosses over to the oth long feather, which, for 21 or 22 inches, is of a dullish silver-gray. The secondariz are tipped with white, with the exception of the Ist and 2nd, which only give indications of being so; they are generally black-brown, with markings of light brown. ‘There is a reddish ring around lower back part of the neck. The breast is light gray, generally with light brown markings in bands. Its feet are those of a goat-sucker, but on comparing the foot of the Cuprimulgus europeus, as drawn by Van der Hoeven (vol. ii. plate 7, Fig. 9, ed. 1858) I find the teeth of the comb of the middle toe much broader and stouter than that of the former. There are only four teeth, with a smaller or false one at the root of the nail. The length of the nail is about one- eighth of an inch, and the breadth of tooth is therefore about one-sixteenth of an inch. This bird is evidently very closely related to the pennant-winged night jar, or long-shafted goat-sucker (Macrodipleryx africanus) ; but the markings are very different, and the long-shafted feathers are not more than 17 inches long, while those of this bird are more than 27 inches in length, and they do not display any inclination to form a long naked shaft, but are clothed or webbed on both sides from the root to the tip. It is very singular that this bird should only have become known in this district in 1884. The farmers are close observers, as also are the Kaffirs, but no one has ever seen it. It is the more singular since it was shot on a farm that has been long occupied, and that by a farmer who in his younger days was accustomed to help collectors of birds for our European museums. Perhaps the long and severe droughts, said to pre- vail this year in the interior, may account for its presence in Natal. JAMES TURNBULL Pastorie, Grey Town, Natal, March 2 GF. £. VON STEBOLD ARL THEODOR ERNST VON SIEBOLD was born at Wurzburg, in Bavaria, on February 16, 1804. His brother was the well-known traveller and philologist. Carl was brought up chiefly, under the superintendence of his father, for the medical profession, and he carried on a practice for a few years as a physician at Heilsberg and Ko6nigsberg. In 1835 he received the appointment of Master of the Lying-in Hospital at Dantzic. Early in his life he showed an interest in zoology, and in 1840 he removed from Dantzic to Erlangen, where he taught comparative anatomy, zoology, and veterinary medicine. In 1845 he was appointed Professor of Zoology at Fri- burg, and shortly afterwards he made a_ prolonged sojourn on the Adriatic. At this time he worked with immense zeal and ardour at the anatomy of the marine invertebrates, and as the result of this work and his lec- tures combined he commenced the elaboration of his well-known “ Lehrbuch der vergleichenden Anatomie der Wirbellosen Thiere.” In his preface to this work, which has been translated into English and French, he insisted on the importance of a knowledge not only of the minute anatomy but also of the developmental stages of the forms described. Generous aid in the completion of this at the time most excellent treatise was given to him by C, Vogt, H. Stannius, A. Krohn, H. Koch, and A. Kolliker, and in 1849 he founded, in connection with the last-named of these eminent biologists, the Zeztschri/t fiir wissenschaft- liche Zoologie, a journal which has ever held a leading position among the scientific publications of our day, and one which is still known and esteemed wherever zoology is studied. In 1850 von Siebold was appointed to the Professorship of Physiology in the University of Breslau, and also received the charge of the Physiological Institute of that city. : In 1853 he was appointed Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy in the University of Munich, and Director of the Zoological and Zootomical Cabinet in that city. These positions he filled during the remainder of his life. Shortly after his appointment to the Munich Professor- ship he commenced an elaborate series of investigations into the vexed question of “ Parthenogenesis,” entering on the subject with a belief that facts had been misunder- stood ; and his treatise on this phenomenon, as found by him to actually exist in bees and moths, was a genuine contribution to science. This work was published at Leipzig early in 1856, and was translated by Mr. Dallas the following year into English. Somewhat earlier in date he published a memoir on “Tape and Cystic Worms, with an introduction on the Origin of Intestinal Worms,” which was deemed worthy of being translated into English, by Prof. Huxley, for the New Sydenham Society. ‘The good that this translation effected by introducing some scientific facts to the notice of our medical men it is not easy to calculate. In 1858 the Royal Society elected him as one of their honorary members. In 1867 he was made a correspond- ae . m April 16, 1885 | ing member of the Institute of France. There seems little need to enumerate all the honours that were con- ferred on him during the half century that he was known as one of the distinguished zoologists of Europe. In the important and indispensable catalogue of Scien- tific Papers published by the Royal Society, we finda list of over 130 memoirs ascribed to Prof. Von Siebold. Failing health during the last few years interrupted this, up to 1874, steady flow, and Dr. Ehlers undertook much of the labour of editing the Zeztschrift. Those who had a personal knowledge of Von Siebold will remember his pleasant and friendly manners, the readiness with which he placed at the students’ disposal all the information in his power, and the visitor to the Zoological Museum at Munich will not soon forget the vast stores, not only collected, but scientifically arranged under the super- intendence of Von Siebold. THE EGGS OF FISHES~ Il. HE condition of the fish-fauna of the various grounds may be estimated to some extent by the number of the floating ova near the surface. We have seen that Sars found the water crowded with the multitude of ova off the Loffoden Islands, where enormous numbers of cod are captured. In our seas no fishing-bank is so prolific, the greatest number of ova occurring on Smith Bank, off Caithness, and the next on the rich grounds off the Island of May—both of which present a great contrast with the meagre supply of eggs of round fishes floating in our own bay. The proportional numbers in each case accord very well with the captures of adult cod in the several areas. No sight can be more interesting to the naturalist than the surface of the sea, in the condition just mentioned, about the beginning of April. The rough water of the great fishing-grounds—such as off Smith Bank, and somewhat further from land—is enlivened by large groups of gulls, guillemots, and the ubiquitous gannets, ap- parently feeding on the smaller fishes which have been attracted to the surface by the wealth of food. At short intervals the long dorsal fin of a large killer appears above the surface, and the water behind it is churned into foam by the powerful strokes of its tail; while a small group of bottle-noses (another kind of toothed whale) is recognised by the noise and foam, as one or more leap from the sides of a huge wave. The tow-net collects large quantities of ova and minute fishes which have just escaped from the egg. It further shows that innumerable minute crustaceans, such as Copepods (e.g. Calanus jin- marchicus, Gun., aid Zemora longicornis, O.F.M.), multi- tudes of the young, or nauplius-stage, of sea-acorns, Sagittae, and peculiar Annelids (/o¢da) are present. It is evident, therefore, that the young fishes are placed in the midst of a rich surface-fauna, the more minute forms of which would readily serve as food. In the foregoing remarks on the floating eggs of British food fishes, those of the cod, haddock, and whiting, have been chiefly alluded to. We shall now refer to others, either wholly or partially unknown till this year. I have already mentioned that Sars found certain floating eggs mingled with the former on the surface of the sea, and identified the young, after hatching, as gurnards. In the present case the eggs were removed from the adult gur- nard, and hatched at St. Andrew’s in about a week, so that a further step has been made. The eggs of the gurnard float as buoyantly as those of the cod and haddock, but they are considerably larger. Each has a very distinct oil-globule opposite the germinal area, which generally is directed downwards. Some are of opinion * Introductory Lecture delivered to the Class of Natural History in the University of St. Andrews, on November ro, by Prof. McIntosh, LL.D., F.R.S. Continued from p. 536. NATURE Sa that the floating of the eggs of such fishes as we are now considering is due to the oil-globules, but the eggs of several fishes, e.g. those of the salmon, have a larger quantity of oil, and yet they do not float. The specific gravity of the eggs is slightly less than that of the sea- water ; but the precise connection between the floating of the living ova and the sinking of the dead has yet to be made out. Such would form, indeed, a most valuable and interesting subject for investigation at the Marine Laboratory. So easy is it to hatch the eggs of the gurnard that the water in the instance just narrated was not changed. The rapidity with which the development of the embryo goes on in the egg is remarkable, for in 7 or 8 days the young are extruded, whereas in the salmon, for instance, no less than 60 days are required even in a room with a temperature much higher than that of the open air. If the eggs of the salmon are permitted to hatch in an ordinary river, a period of from 95 to 120 days is usually necessary for hatching. The very great difference, therefore, between the marine and fresh- water fishes in this respect is apparent. The only flat fish in which the ova had been found to: float was the plaice, which Dr. Malm had examined in the Baltic. In May of this year, however, the eggs of the common flounder in St. Andrew’s Bay showed the same feature. They floated buoyantly on the surface of the water. Prof. Huxley at this time having suggested that perhaps the floating or sinking of the ova was a question of temperature, the eggs of this species were used in some experiments. They had been removed from the fish on May 2, and placed in the Marine Laboratory. On the 5th the majority still remained on the surface, those on the bottom having been carried down by the attachment of sand-grains. A number from the surface were placed in a test-tube. After standing an hour the majority were floating on the surface, one or two lay on the bottom, while others rested in mid-water. Placed in a vessel of water at 98”, the eggs exhibited lively move- ments for several minutes, being carried up and down by the currents, but never remaining at the bottom. The test-tube felt quite warm to the touch, yet the eggs floated, and remained floating, as buoyantly in the warm water as in the cold, so that their floating in the sea is not a question of temperature. An interesting sequel, further, remains to be told im connection with this experiment, in which the test-tube had been placed aside and forgotten. On May Io, while explaining the matter to Prof. Ewart, he noticed motion in the test-tube, and I found that the eggs which had been raised to a temperature of 98° had given birth to little flukes, which thus survived the exigencies of their sur- roundings, both as regards temperature and water. These little creatures are as symmetrical in outline as the young cod or haddock, an eye being placed on each side of the head, while in the adult flounder, as you are all aware, both eyes are on one side (the right or coloured one), The pigment is quite different from that of the young cod, being of a peculiar pale olive or brownish yellow by transmitted light, and the cells seem to be less branched. Their motions also diverge from those of the cod, for the little creatures hang head downwards in the water, either perpendicularly or obliquely, the yolk-sac being on the upper line of the slope. They then move upward, hang as formerly, or slowly descend, repeating these motions frequently. The young cod, on the other hand, dart nimbly about near the surface of the water, and bear themselves quite differently. But to return to the ova. Before the summer that has just passed, it was not known whether the ova of the turbot, sole, and lemon-dab—all important and valuable food fishes—floated or sank. Accordingly such fishes were a source of special interest. It was not till the end of June and in July that perfectly ripe turbot could be procured, and then the small ova were found to float as 556 buoyantly as any of the foregoing; and the same was proved to be the case with the eggs of the sole and lemon- dab-—all these, moreover, being obtained in the act of spawning far out at sea, and in comparatively deep water. The ova of the long rough dab and the common dab were also added to the list of those with floating eggs. The notion, therefore, that such fishes seek the shallow water for the purpose of spawning is visionary, and mainly rests on the preconceived opinion that the eggs are deposited on the bottom. Amongst the eggs of the cod floating on the surface of the water off the Island of May, in April, were vast numbers of very young sand-eels. The late Mr. Buckland states that they spawn in “ May, June, and September,” and that they deposit their eggs in the sand. They would rather seem to spawn in spring, and their eggs probably avoid the sand as much as possible by floating on the surface of the water. Sand is a most objectionable site for the eggs of certain fishes, and no less so for the embryo. Without going into further detail, it is evident, there- fore, that the eggs of many of the most valuable food fishes thus float near the surface of the sea, e.g. those of the cod, haddock, whiting, bib, and other Gadoids, mackerel, | gar-fish, red mullet, weever, plaice, long rough dab,common dab, lemon-dab, sole, common flounder, and probably sand-eels. There is hardly a marine fish, excepting those of the herring group, which appears in our markets, but has this remarkable provision in regard to its eggs. It would also appear that some of these eggs range through- out the water, so as to be caught by a tow-net sunk many fathoms beneath the surface. There can be little doubt that this wonderful provision is one of the main reasons why such marine fishes have held their own in the struggle for existence—not only with respect to their predatory neighbours, but still more in regard to the persistent inroads on their numbers made by man. as if practically inexhaustible, both lines and trawlers taking as much from the sea as possible, while no margin has ever been afforded the spawning fishes. Let us for a moment glance at the working of this arrangement. The comparatively small eggs of the chief food fishes rise to the surface, or nearly to the surface, wherever the shoals of acult fishes happen to be feeding, and this occurs not during a brief period, but it extends over a considerable space of time. The tiny young in their helpless state are carried, along with multitudes of eggs, by every tide into sheltered creeks and bays, in the shallow water of which they find both safety and food. We are familiar with these tiny embryos, furnished with a yolk-sac—and so fragile that they would fall an easy prey to hosts of swimming crustaceans on which, in the adult state, they would hardly deign to feed—near the surface | of the sea; buta hiatus yet remains in the history of the young cod, for instance, between the date of complete absorption of the yolk-sac and that in which it is found swimming in the forests of tangles in the laminarian region—for example, off the Castle and Pier Rocks, or even venturing into the harbour. There, as a rule, it is free from the pursuit of both liners and trawlers, and quietly grows apace, feeding on the swarms of minute crustaceans and the myriads of very young mussels which characterise such a region. Inthe early part of the season they range from one and a half to two inches, and are variegated with a series of pale spots, somewhat rect- angular in outline. The general colour is olive, lighter or darker according to circumstances, though a few of the larger examples have a reddish hue, such as signalises the “rock-cod” of the liners, but the pale spots are similar. Many of these young cod are infested by para- sitic crustaceans (Chadimus), which adhere by a long median process that penetrates the skin. They are ac- companied in the laminarian region by the young of the NATURE Marine fisheries have hitherto been conducted | | April 16, 1885 coal-fish, whiting, pollack, rockling, long-spined cottus, and lump-sucker. Sars is of opinion that the intermediate stage—about which, as above-mentioned, our knowledge is imperfect— is passed by the young cod-fish in the shelter of the jelly- fishes, on the rich grounds off the Loffoden Islands. It is true that once or twice young cod, of the intermediate stage, and coal-fish have been caught in our seas in the tow-net in July, but the result of the present observations gives no support to this view. The jelly-fishes in our seas are not in sufficient numbers at the time of the inter- mediate stage, especially in regard to the spawning in April, to act as shelter-forms to the young fishes. It is probable that as soon as they gain sufficient strength to withstand the force of the ordinary ebb-tides, they remain amongst the tangles and other seaweeds of our rocky shores, te which they have meanwhile been carried by the currents. While a few, therefore, are found here and there near the surface of the sea amongst other pelagic types, the majority of those in the intermediate stage probably swim somewhat deeper. The after-history of the little cod of one and a half to two inches, which are found in considerable numbers off the Pier and Castle Rocks in the beginning of July, appears to be as follows. They remain in the laminarian region for some months (many being captured even at this season), and rapidly increase in size on the rich and abundant food placed within easy reach. Moreover, it is probable that in this region they are much less liable to the attacks of predatory fishes than in the open sea, We find, indeed, that, while young haddock and whiting abound in the stomachs of cod, haddock, gurnards, and other fishes, it is rare in our seas to find young cod of the size we are now considering. Prof. Sars, on the other hand, procured them abundantly in the stomachs of the | pollack (a fish which swims high) off the Norwegian shores ; but it has to be borne in mind that they form the chief feature of the young fish-fauna of the region at the time indicated. As they grow larger and bolder, they seek deeper water, and are found in numbers near rocky or rough ground, such as off the Bell-rock, and the North Carr rocks, and indeed all along the rocky eastern shores. They then mingle with their progenitors on the various fishing-banks, and are caught in numbers by both hook and trawl. The main cause of this migration from the shore seawards is probably the nature of the food, which, as the animals grow older, becomes of a different charac- ter, the larger Crustacea especially—such as hermit-crabs, Norway lobsters, and many short-tailed crabs—being eagerly sought after, along with various kinds of fishes. So far as our knowledge at present goes, a cod probably takes between three and four years to attain full growth. A feature which requires special mention is that, when the shoals of young cod are watched at any of our rocky shores during several months, one is struck by the fact that throughout the period many small forms are present, that is, some do not appear to have grown; but we have seen that the spawning of the adult fishes extends over a considerable period, and, further, that only a portion of the eggs in any given fish come to maturity at once. There is thus a succession of young fishes coming at a certain stage shorewards, and another migrating outwards. This and other facts already men- tioned show how intimately the in-shore ground depends on the off-shore ; in other words, the eggs and very young fishes are carried from the offing by every tide during the season, while a constant stream of young fishes of a large size goes to swell the ranks of the adults beyond the three- mile limit. The prosperity of the one region is thus intimately associated with that of the other. In this rapid sketch, then, it will have been observed how complex are the relations which surround the increase of marine fishes. Conspicuous above all others, how- ever, is the remarkable provision whereby the eggs of April 16, 1885] almost all the chief food fishes, except the herring group, float at or near the surface of the water—so that they are carried hither and thither by every surge of the tide, or more steadily borne by the deeper currents to stock anew exhausted waters. The minute and imperfectly-developed embryos and the delicate young, moreover, are conveyed into regions best suited for their future growth and well- being. Further, we cannot but be impressed by the fitness of the arrangement which ordains that these young fishes are placed from the first amidst a rich surface-fauna of minute forms which serve themas food. These range from the microscopic Infusoria, which cause the crest of every tipple at the ship’s side to sparkle with light and the tow-nets to gleam like tunnels of fire; the wonderful Plutei, or painter’s easel-like larvee of star-fishes, swarms of larval sea-acorns, Copepods, and the beautiful zoez of the higher crustaceans. Besides these, are the peculiar Appendiculariz and Sagittee, and countless myriads of larval mussels, which in summer crowd the surface of St. Andrew’s Bay, and at a still later stage, as they are for- saking their pelagic existence to settle on the stones and seaweeds, form the food of the more advanced young cod, haddock, whiting, coal-fish, pollack, and others that seek shelter for a time amidst the shaggy belt of tangles encircling the rocks. The latter thus in their larval state, by nourishing in their profusion the delicate young of the food fishes, in a sense repay the wise conservancy bestowed by the Town Council of this city on the fine mussel- beds of the Eden. It will, moreover, be observed that it is not only the eggs of the higher marine animals which float, but that for a long time zoologists have been familiar with the pelagic eggs and young of many invertebrate groups of importance. How else, indeed, could the ubiquitous mussels, the sedentary oysters, and the equally stationary sea-acorns and barnacles be spread throughout the ocean? Moreover, not only do these swimming larval forms nourish the very young food-fishes around them, either directly or indirectly, but as they—for instance, the young crabs, lobsters, star-fishes, and mussels—grow larger and older, a kind of rain, so to speak, of such forms takes place from the surface to the bottom, which is readily taken advantage of by the larger fishes, and thus the wonderful cycle is completed. Finally, I need not point out to you the importance of the Marine Laboratory, to which I have already alluded, and at which the foregoing and other investigations were made during the summer. We have facilities in this and in the Practical Class, which are unusually favourable for study and research, but at the same time our responsibilities are not diminished by such advantages. We must all render an account of our stewardship. that many facts have yet to be determined in regard to our common food-fishes—their development, rate of growth, their life-histories and migrations—that we have much to find out as to the best methods of increasing such valuable fishes as the cod, the haddock, the sole, and turbot, and of maintaining that increase, it will be ap- parent that such problems are not only of moment to us but to the country, and that we cannot begin too soon to attempt their solution, as well as to increase our know- ledge in regard to many of the lower forms of animal life. THE NEW UNIVERSITY OF STRASBURG {pee following account of the new university buildings of Strasburg is taken, witha few abbreviations, from an article contributed to our contemporary Za Nature, by M. Charles Grad, who is himself a deputy to the Imperial Reichsrath from Alsace. On Monday, October 27th, 1884, the new buildings of the University of Strasburg were opened with due for- malities. These buildings form an entire quarter of the city, and constitute a magnificent series of palaces for the NALORE When I mention | Sod, prosecution of science. No city in Europe, not even excepting the great capitals, can show such a rich pro- vision for higher education, or one in which the various parts are soadmirably combined. Every branch of study has its own proper and distinct location allotted to it, with laboratories, museums, library, and special appli- ances. It has been done on the large scale, and most successfully. The Imperial Government and the represen- tatives of the Alsatian population arrived at an under- standing, and vied in their efforts to endow the province of Alsace-Lorraine with a school of learning unrivalled in its arrangements and in its wealth of buildings. Even those who were most severely touched by the annexation to Germany, agree that in raising this splendid monument —the new University of Strasburg—the one wish has been to serve the interests of science apart from all sinister or narrow national considerations. The former Académie of Strasburg, broken up in 1870 by the war, was replaced by the new University by virtue of a decree issued from the Chancelry of the German Empire, under date of December 11th, 1871—the same day on weich the additional convention of the treaty of peace was signed at Frankfort. This decree entrusted the organisation of the teaching staff to M. von Roggenbach, formerly Minister of the Grand Duchy of Baden. From \\\ ANNAN SSS Ng cere ane CTT Fic. 1.—University of Strasburg: The Collegiate Palace. the summer semester of 1872 onwards a body of forty- two professors constituted the staff. They began their work on May Ist of that year, being the three hundred and fifth anniversary of the opening of the Académie, which was founded May Ist, 1567, by the Stattmeister Johann Sturm von Sturmeck. At the present time the new University of Strasburg counts seventy-three ordinary and nineteen extraordinary professors, who during the summer semester of the year 1884, have conducted in the five faculties no fewer than 242 courses of lectures and classes. The work is thus distributed between the five faculties : Classes Fac Ity. Professors. and Lectures. EEheolosyaew ea eae: 7 26 : ey a ie and Political ; ie 29 Sciences Medicine . paca ee. tt 120. 60 Philosophyarmemac ss tee Ti Natural Sciences } eh & Mathematics { 5° Side by side with the laboratories and _ hospitals attached to each special branch of the natural and medical sciences, there exist the seminaries appropriate to the other branches of learning duly equipped for the purpose of initiating the student into the real work of his subject. A fine library of 560,000 volumes, and a reading-room furnished with 571 periodicals, reviews, and journals, are fitted up in the ancient episcopal residence or chateau, for the use of both pupils and masters. At the beginning of NATURE [April 16, 1885 558 the year 1884 the University counted 858 matriculated | the library, which was 1,785,000 francs (£71,400). There students, of whom but 266 were from Alsace-Lorraine. | is also an annual endowment of 1,087,227 francs (£43,000) We may complete these statistical details by recalling | for the maintenance of the University, and one of 150,000 how, since the annexation, the sum devoted to the outfit francs (£6,000) for that of the library, both charged to the of the University of Strasburg has amounted to 16,000,000 | Imperial budget, to meet the current necessities, in addi- francs (£640,000), without reckoning the value of the tion to the income derived from older special endow- ments. establishments of the ancient Académie, or the cost of Fic. 2—The Collegiate Palace : Salle des Pas-Perdus. The cuts which illustrate the different establishments of the University, and which convey better than any mere description some faint sense of the scale on which this work has been done, and for which we have to thank the kind attention of M. Schricker, secretary of the Senate of the University, were prepared from photographs taken to accompany a memorial document published at Strasburg in 1884 entitled Festschrift zur Linweihung der Neubauten | iin 3 D 36. der Katser-Withelms Universitat. The buildings at pre- sent finished are spread in two great groups around the civil hospital and in the new quarter of the town now rising between the Promenade des Contades and the Porte des Pécheurs ; the latter being outside the line of fortifications demolished in 1871. It may be remembered that Strasburg now covers within its new fortifications an area thrice as great as that of the old city before its 33 eee Fic. 3.—The Collegiate Palace : Plan of Ground Floor.—r, Entry.—2, 3, 4, Central Gallery.—s, 6, Corridors.—7, Salle des Pas-Perdus.—8, 9, Side Staircases. 10, 11, University Counting House.—12, 13, Rooms for Meetings of Faculties.—14, Rector’s Room.—1s, Rector’s Antechamber.—16, Secretary of the University.—17, Secretary of the Senate.—18, Senate Hall—r9, Antechamber of Senate.—20, Room for Musical reunions.—21, Music Hall.— 22, Curator’s Office —23, Secretary of Curator.—24, Curator’s Room.—2s, Curator’s Antechamber.—26, Store Room.—27, Class Room.—28 to 30, Theological Seminary.—31, Class Room.—32, Reading Room.—33, Ante-room.—34, Cloak-room —37 to 40, Lecture and Class Rooms.—g1, Store Room.—42, 43, Class Rooms.—44 to 46, Seminary of Mathematics.—47 to 54, Lecture and Class Room.—s5, Professor’s Parlour.—56, 57, Lavatories, &c,—58, Janitor. annexation to Germany ; and its population was 104,000 at the census of 1880, Tt will take you half-an-hour to walk from the medical institutes, grouped around the square of the civil hospital, across the old streets, which still preserve the primitive | many annexes. from the Kaiserplatz towards the IIl, there rises before you the facade of the collegiate palace, built in sandstone from the Vosges (Fig. 1). This is, properly speaking, the chief building of the University, the various institutes being so The palace is a very fine building, in the appearance and the characteristic marks of medizval | style of the Renaissance, with simple lines, standing behind German cities, to the new collegiate palace. As you cross | a square with fountains and gardens. The plan is of an April 16, 1885] NATURE 559 inverted T shape, giving a frontage of 410 feet in length | science, stands before her throne in a calm and solemn to the facade. The two lateral wings and the central | attitude, holding up her torch in her right hdnd, and member are thrown forward a little and rise slightly above | lowering a crown in her left. On the two sides of the the rest of the building. A fine external flight of steps | throne the personifications of philosophy and natural leads into the interior. The basement is of red sand- | science are each occupied in teaching a young man who stone ; the two stories of grey. Over the five entrance | reclines at their respective feet. One of these youths porches stand five Corinthian columns supporting a frieze, | endeavours to raise a veil from a sphinx, under the direc- and surmounted by a group of five sculptured figures, con- | tion of the elder muse, whilst the younger sister, with siderably above life-size. Pallas Athene, protectress of | compass and crystal explains to her scholar a scientific == — = : iT. ba eae silt ——— SG D I = 28 0 27 il J ee w o ~~ a + n rel oe I eal nd PETS Me es ee Fic. 4.—The Collegiate Palace : First Floor.—1, 2, Chief Staircases.—3, 4, Vestibules.—5, Corridor.—6, Vestibule of the Theatre.—7, The Theatre.—8. Roman Seminary.—9, Director’s Cabinet—1o, English Seminary.—rr to 13, Philological Seminary.—rq, 15, Institute of Archeology.—x6, 17, Seminary of German Philology.—18 to 20, Seminary of Geography.—z21, 22, Seminary of Philosophy.—23, 24, Seminary of Modern History.—25, Staircase.—26, Servants.—27, 28, Seminary of Medieval History.—z9, 30, Seminary of Jurisprudence.—3r to 33, Seminary of Political Science.—34, 38, 40, 42, 45) ppaeeeot History of Ancient Art.—39, Staircase.—43, Hall of Egyptology.—44 to 47, Institute and Lecture Hall for History of Art.—48, Library of this Institute. problem. Under the group is the inscription in Roman | ments and the class rooms in the wings. The seminaries letters: LITTERIS ET PATRL&. In five niches under the | of the faculty of philosophy and the collections of windows of the upper floor, and between the five columns, | archzology and historical art are placed, along with the are five bronze busts, representing the five faculties in the | aula or great theatre on the higher storey. The plans persons of Saint Paul, Solon, Aristotle, Hippocrates, and | were drawn by Prof. Warth of Carlsruhe, who also directed Archimedes. Two other niches on the right and left of | the works of construction from 1874 to 1884. the five columns contain female statues personifying The official rooms of the secretary and of the rector, Strasburg and Germany. There are also thirty-six stone | spacious in proportion, occupy the south wing of the statues at the angles of the building. As will be seen | ground floor, along with the senate hall and the music from the plans (Figs. 3 and 4) the central block and each | hall: for musical science enters also into the curriculum = = 5 | Fic. 5.—The Institute of Chemistry. | Fic, 6.—The Institute of Physics. | of the wings encloses an internal court. The central court | of the University. In the richly decorated hall for meet- is glazed, and constitutes an enormous hall, the Salle des | ings of the senate the ceiling is particularly noticeable. Pas Perdus (Fig. 2), 92 feet long, 82 feet wide, and 524 | On the left of the entrance in the north wing of the ground feet high. The galleries of the upper floor open upon this | floor the corridors lead to the professor’s parlour and to hall, which is lighted exclusively from the top. The in- | the lecture-rooms of the various faculties. These lecture- auguration ceremony was held in this hall. All official | rooms contain altogether 963 seats, varying in individual notices are posted here or in the side alleys. In allocating | rooms according to the varying requirements from 27 to the various rooms of the building the architect placed on | 208 places. With the exception of two, the seminaries the lower storey the offices of the administrative depart- for practical studies are placed on the higher floors, so as 560 NA LORE, [| dprel 16, 1885 to be quiet enough for their purpose. They are open either all day or during certain hours, under the superin- tendence or direction of the professors, who each have their own private room beside the room allotted to students. Fic. 7.—The Astronomical Observatory. These seminaries correspond in their particular line to the laboratories of the faculty of natural science; and they provide for students’ collections, apphances and special libraries for each branch of instruction. Placed side by Fic. 8.—The Institute of Botany side along the corridors they are each readily accessible to members of neighbouring seminaries. Starting from the middle of the principal building there are successively the seminaries of the Romanesque languages and of Fic. 9.—The Institute of Anatomy and Pathology. English, the philological seminary, the institute of archa- ology, the German seminary, the seminaries of historical science, of philosophy, of jurisprudence, and of political science. All the northern half of the first floor is devoted to art collections, extending from the seminary of political science to the aula or great theatre. In the middle of the western facade is the common lecture hall, flanked on the one side by the library of the institute of archeology, on the other by the rooms of the institute of historical art. A particular hall is reserved for temporary exhibitions. Then comes the hall of Egyptology and the archeological museum organised with as much taste as science by M. Michaelis, the professor of archeology. Egyptology and Arabic have each a special professor. Beside the seminaries and the art collections the principal floor contains the aula or festival theatre, for the Fic. 10.—Vhe Surgical Clinical Hospital. University commemorations. Lit from above this hall occupies the middle of the front facade, and is approached at both ends by the grand staircases. Five open arcades separate the aula from an exterior room reserved for the public. The theatre itself is $2 feet long, 474 wide, and 33 high. It seats 450 persons, whilst the external chamber admits of 200 to 300 standing places. The decorations are in plaster, and there is a bust of the Kaiser Wilhelm against the northern wall in white marble. The heating arrangements—partly hot air, partly hot water—are in the basement, a combined system being used for the class-rooms, hot air alone for the corridors Fic. 11.—The Clinical Hospital for Mental Disorders and for the great hall. The ventilation is operated by gas engines. All the windows are double glazed to obviate too rapid cooling. No scientific appliance has been for- gotten which might secure good sanitation. The aula, the rector’s apartments, the staircases, and the Salle des Pas Perdus are richly ornamented in plaster and with painting. The lecture halls and class rooms are more simple and severe as befits their purpose, but for that very reason nothing has been omitted to give them a solid and almost monumental construction. Sandstone relieved with marble prevails in the interior ; whilst the floors of the vestibules and corridors are of mosaic and terrazo. April 16, 1885] Each of the special institutes of chemistry, physics, botany, pharmacy, and astronomy, which are grouped be- hind the collegiate palace, merit a particular description, as well as the hospitals of surgery, obstetrics, and psychiatry, and the institutes of anatomy, physiological chemistry, and of physiology belonging to the faculty of medicine, which are grouped around the civil hospital. Views of these are given in Figs. 5 to 15. Each of these institutes is independent and separate from the others, provided with everything appropriate to its specific pur- pose. In order to enable the professors, who are the directors of the special institutes, to follow fully the work Fic. 12.—The Maternity Hospital. of the students and the practice of the laboratory, they are provided with residential apartments in the same buildings. To the institute of astronomy is added an astronomical observatory. This is at the present time directed by Dr. Schur, in consequence of the protracted illness of Prof. Winnecke, who was assistant at the observatory of Pulkowa before coming to Strasburg. At the institute of botany, Prof. von Bary, whose work on cryptogamic flora is well known, has laid out a new botanic garden, to which a second hothouse is yet to be added. To complete the organisation of the University establishments there remain to be erected an institute of NATURE 561 2,875,000 francs (£115,000) were spent on the collegiate palace. The institute of chemistry alone cost 875,000 francs (£35,000) ; the institute of physics, 728,750 francs (£29,150) ; the institute of botany with its garden, 655,000 francs (£26,200) ; the astronomical observatory, 642,000 francs (£25,600) ; theinstitute of anatomy, 1,048,500 francs (£41,740) ; the surgical clinical hospital, 662,500 frans (£26,500) ; the institute of physiological chemistry, 400,000 francs (£16,000) ; the institute of physiology, 337,500 francs (£13,500). It is impossible to give here the details of each institute. Suffice it that each establishment has profited by the latest advances of science, and provides Fic. t4.—The In ‘itute of Pharmacy. every means of research to students. Henceforth the institutes annexed to the University of Strasburg will serve as models for the instailation of similar buildings. They are not only most complete, but are already sought by students. Thus the institute of chemistry, under the direction of Prof. Fittig, is designed to receive 100 students in its two divisions of organic and inorganic chemistry ; and there is not a single vacant place. Further informa- tion respecting the various institutes and their organisation can be learned from the Festschrift, already alluded to as having been written by M. Schricker to commemorate the opening. As the great library of the country has been Fic. 13.—The Institute of Physiological Chemistry. geology, an institute of zoology, and an institute of meteorology. The institute of geology, to be directed by Prof. Benecke, will receive the mineralogical and paleon- tological collections, and at the same time will accommo- date the work of the geological survey of Alsace-Lorraine. As to the institute of meteorology, its utility has been already admitted by the provincial government, and its establishment is only a question of time. Toward the sum of 16,000,coo of francs (£640,000) ex- pended up to this year on the new University of Strasburg the German Empire has contributed the sum of 3,800,000 marks, or 4,750,000 francs (£190,000) ; and of this sum Fic. 15.-- The Institute of Physiology. but temporarily housed in the episcopal chateau near the Cathedral (in consequence of the fire during the bombard- ment of 1870) it is intended to remove it to the neighbour- hood of the collegial palace of the University. At present, beside the special libraries of the several seminaries, there is only one reading-room (Fig. 3, No. 32) for periodicals and reviews. Down to the present time the native Alsatians and Lorrainers have not frequented the new university as much as might have been expected in proportion to the needs of the province. Young men still turn towards France to follow their studies for the professions at Paris or at 562 NATURE [April 16, 1885 ee Ee Nancy. Meantime the recruiting of lawyers and doctors goes on at Strasburg with foreign elements, not without some regret on the part of the native inhabitants. But little by little the force of circumstances is tending to bring the young Alsatians to constitute the University of Strasburg in spite of sentiment. Instead of 69 students, natives of Alsace-Lorraine, registered in 1872, the Univer- sity registers showed 252 in 1884—a notable increase. As against 5,990 matriculated students at the University of Berlin, 3,399 at Leipzig, 2,276 at Munich, 1,646 at Breslau, 1,452 at Halle, 723 at Heidelberg, 625 at Frei- burg, there were to be reckoned but 858 at Strasburg during the summer semester of 1884. No doubt this number will increase rapidly ; for in no other centre of the higher education are the means of work so abundantly provided. As to the professorial staff, it includes many celebrities, amongst whom may be named Labaud in the faculty of law ; Reuss in the faculty of theology ; Brentano, Krapp, and Merkel in political science ; Kussmaul, Lucke, and Recklingshausen in the faculty of medicine ; Gerland, Michaelis, and Studemond in the faculty of philosophy ; Kundt, Benecke, von Bary, and Fittig in the faculty of natural sciences. In selecting these names we do not forget the glory of the former university of the last century, when Strasburg had amongst the number of its celebrities Profs. Blessig, Lauth, Schcepflin, Schweighzeuser, Oberlin, worthy predecessors of the Duvernoys, Schimpers, Ger- hardts, Pasteurs, Daubrées, Sédillots, Janets, Fustels, Coulanges, Forgets, and Kusses of our time. On August 6th, 1771, Goethe graduated doctor of laws of the Univer- sity of Strasburg, with a thesis on the respective rights of State and Church. If to-day the new University has as an accessory function that of contributing to the Germani- sation of the annexed provinces, it may at least be said that the staff of professors of the older university of last century had rallied to French politics in the most open manner. Witness the address to King Louis XV. dated October 6th, 1744 :—“ Sire, the most faithful of the univer- sities in your kingdom offers to your Majesty its homage and its good wishes. Penetrated with joy at the convales- cence and at the arrival of its august monarch, it to-day, Sire, finds united in you the father of the people, the protector of the muses, the liberator of Alsace, and the hero. It is to these glorifications of your rare virtues, great king, that we consecrate our work, happy if our words may correspond to the effusion of our hearts, and merit the continuation of the good graces of the most puissant and most beloved of the sovereigns of Europe.” Formerly the Académie of Strasburg took up the special task of serving as an intermediary between France and Germany for the propagation of ideas and of the scientific movement. More richly endowed, the new University, applying its greater powers to the development of the human mind, will recognise that the representatives of the people of Alsace-Lorraine have wished to promote its efforts in the largest and most generous manner in the higher interests of science. Science ought to contribute to the union of the people; it has no exclusive national character, and it serves to advance the reign of peace in the world by assuring to us greater prosperity and greater light, whilst developing in us all the love of our own country. NOTES THE Roya: Medals of the Royal Geographical Society will this year be awarded to Mr. Joseph Thomson and Mr, H. E. O’Neill—to the former for his well-known work in Africa, and to the latter for his thirteen journeys of exploration along the coast and in the interior of Mozambique. The Murchison Grant for 1885 will be awarded to the Pandit Kreshna for his four explorations made while attached to the Survey of India, and especially for his extensive and important journey in the interior of Tibet. The Back Grant goes to Mr. W. O. Hodkinson for his Australian explorations, and the Cuthbert Peek Grant to Mr. J. T. Last for his surveys and ethnological researches in the Southern Masai, Nguru, and other neighbouring countries. -The following will be made Honorary Corresponding Members :—Chief-Justice Daly, Presi- dent of the Geographical Society of New York; M. Elisée Reclus, the eminent geographer ; and Herr Moritz von Déchy, the distinguished Austrian explorer of the Sikkim Himalayas, the Caucasus, and other regions. Ir is announced that the next meeting of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science will be held on August 26 and following days, at Ann Arbor, Mich. AT the annual conference of the French learned societies, which met on the 8th inst. in Paris, MM. Faye, Mascart, and Darboux, were appointed president and vice-presidents respect- ively of the section for the mathematical and physical sciences ; and MM. de Quatrefages, Milne-Edwards, and Maunoir to the same offices in the section for geographical and natural sciences. M. Hervé-MANGON, the new French Minister of Agriculture, is a Member of the Academy of Sciences in the Section of Rural Economy and a Professor of Agronomy to the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. He was for some time a Director of the establishment, but resigned in order to secure a seat in the French Lower House. He married the daughter of the late M. Dumas. THE next Ordinary General Meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers will be held on Thursday, April 30, and Friday, May 1, at 25, Great George Street, Westminster. The chair will be taken by the President, Mr. Jeremiah Head, at half-past three o’clock p.m. on Thursday, and at half-past seven o’clock p.m. on Friday. The following papers will be read and discussed, as far as time will admit :—Description of the Maxim automatic machine-gun, by Mr. Hiram S. Maxim, of London ; Abstract of results of experiments on riveted joints, with their applications to practical work, by Prof. Alexander B. W. Kennedy, of London (including the latest experiments described in Prof. Kennedy’s Report, issued to the members in February) ; Description of the Tripier Spherical Eccentric, by M. Louis Poillon, of Paris ; Description of a blooming mill with balanced top roll at the Ebbw Vale Works, by Mr. Calvert B. Holland, of Ebbw Vale. The Annual Report of the French Central Meteorological De- partment states that the weather forecasts last year were verified in go cases out of every 100, the percentage having steadily risen from 81 in 1881 to 83 in 1882 and to 87 in 1883. Out of 189 alarm signals sent to the ports, 128 were fully verified, 24 were fairly correct, 37 incorrect, and only two gales were not fore- seen. This year the gale of January 11 was foretold, but that of March 22, which did such damage at Cherbourg, was not predicted. It took place in exceptional circumstances, and was of short duration. DuRING the second half of last year several communications appeared in NATURE relating to the nests from which the Chinese birds’-nest soup is made. Mr. Pryer, whose ac- count of his visits to the Gomantin Caves in North Borneo, where the nests are chiefly found, initiated the discussion, has now addressed a long communication on the subject to an English journal published in Japan, the main points of which appear to be as follows :—(1) Owing to a misapprehension, Mr. Pryer was represented as saying that the bats which inhabit the caves constructed the nests as well as the swifts. The bats have nothing to do with the nests. (2) Mr. Layard, in his letter published in NATURE (November 27, 1884), speaks of ‘‘ traces of blood, from the efforts of the birds to produce the saliva.” Mr. ieee 6 eee 16, 1885] Pryer thinks that the patches of brown-red on the nests may be due to blood from the hands of the gatherers, or to the betel- juice which they constantly expectorate, but not to the bird’s blood. (3) The birds do not eat alge ; they are purely insectivor- ous. (4) Mr. Green says (NATURE, December 11) that a chemi- cal and microscopical examination of the nests suggests that they are made from the saliva of the bird. This Mr. Pryer regards as a physical impossibility, for the bird could not secrete in a few days a mass of saliva more than equal, when dried, to the entire bulk of its own body, and then do this nine consecutive times a year. He thinks that, undoubtedly, some saliva is used by the birds, the alge (which Mr. Pryer incorrectly called “fungoid growth” in his first account) being used in the same way as a Japanese swallow (Cecropis japonica) uses mud. This bird gathers pellets of mud and works them up in its mouth, forming a strong cement, constructing a large bottle-shaped nest, sometimes nearly two feet long ; and exactly as the Cecropis japonica uses mud, so the Bornean Cod/ocalia fuciphaga uses alge, producing thereby the delicate structure known as edible bird’s nest. Besides, Mr. Pryer states that the nest examined by Mr. Green was:probably not genuine, as the substance is very easily imitated, and the high price would stimulate adulteration. (5) His previous theory that the dis- tinction between white and black nests is due to the brown outside of the algze being used for the latter, he now renounces. The birds can only use the inside, and black nests are simply white nests grown old and repaired frequently. The difference is not due to any difference in the site or in the kind of bird. This is the writer’s present theory. Owing to some accident (a native printer’s mishap possibly), portions of Mr. Pryer’s paper are not quite coherent and connected, and some of the words and phrases are misplaced with that ingenious absurdity so characteristic of printers’ blunders; but we believe we have given the substance of the communication here. THE sixteenth annual report of the American Museum of Natural History has just been published. Besides various addi- tions to the collections during the year—the principal being 44 specimens of North American birds, 29 specimens of North American mammals, and 20 monkeys—the trustees report a step of great importance taken in creating a section in the museum called ‘‘The Department of Public Instruction.” The Legis- lature of the State of New York having appropriated a sum to enable the curators of the museum to give free lectures, illustrated by its collections, to the teachers of common and normal schools throughout the State, the trustees have accepted the duty, and have arranged for a series of lectures extending over four years, twenty in each year, all to be richly illustrated with original views and drawings specially prepared for the course. The curriculum for the first course 1884-85 includes human anatomy and physiology, forestry, building and ornamental stones, and the animal kingdom. Mr. J. A. ALLEN, who for many years has had charge of mammals and birds at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, has, Sczence states, accepted the curatorship of mammalogy and ornithology in the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he will enter upon his new duties about May 1. THE American Government have sent 30,000 land-locked salmon to the National Fish Culture Association, which arrived on Saturday in excellent condition. In this country the hybrid- isation of the various species of Salmonidz is extensively prose- cuted ; and it is proposed to try the experiment of cross-breeding the land-locked salmon with the brook trout or char, thus pro- moting the culture of a better class of fish than the trout which now abound in our rivers. Dr. H. J. JoHNston-Lavis, of Naples, announces the ap- proaching publication of a ‘‘ Monograph of the Earthquakes of NATURE 563 Ischia,” a memoir dealing with the seismic disturbances in SS eee ean: ee oe eee. island from remotest to recent times, with special observations on those of 1881 and 1883, by himself, with some calculations by Rev. Prof. Samuel Haughton, M.D., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. The work will be published by eres oe, and jntendine sub- scribers should communicate with the author, 7, Chiatamone, Naples. A sHarpP shock of earthquake was felt in Rome on the night of the 9th inst. Bells were set ringing, and many persons were momentarily alarmed by the movement, but that was the extent of its effect. Prof. Stefano Michele de Rossi has communicated the following report to the Press :—‘‘ At 2.44 a.m. a distinct shock of earthquake aroused a great part of the population of Rome. From the observations obtained it belonged to the sixth degree of the conventional scale of 1o degrees for intensity. It undulated from south-west to north-east, and then from north- west to south-east. The full duration was about Io seconds, of which four were occupied by the second phase of the pheno- menon. A telegram from Avezzano states that the shock was very strong there in the direction of north to south. No damage done.” Telegrams received later from Frosinone report that a shock was felt there at the same time with sufficient force to create general alarm among the population. THERE has been a renewal of earthquake shocks in the pro- vinces of Granada and Malaga, Early on the morning of the 11th oscillations of more or less violence are reported from Velez Malaga, Antequera, Motril, and the city of Granada itself and some surrounding villages. So far as is known there has been no loss of life or serious damage, but the panic at some places is described as intense, and the inhabitants, refusing to return to their houses, remain in the open country. SEVERAL shocks of earthquake were felt at Geneva on the 13th. THE most recent contribution to the much-discussed question of the origin of the mound-builders of the United States is a pamphlet by Mr. C. E. Putnam, issued by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Davenport, Iowa. The Bureau of Ethnology connected with the Smithsonian Institute champions the theory that the race which constructed these mounds may be traced to the ancestors of the present American Indians, while another school of archzologists holds that the mound-builders were more advanced in civilisation than the American Indians, and have endeavoured tortrace them to a Mexican origin, or to some common ancestry. This being the broad question at issue, the Dayenport Academy, which appears to have adopted no theory on the subject, became possessors by donation of three inscribed tablets and two elephant pipes, z.e. pipes with the figure of an elephant carved on them, which are stated to have been found in Iowa. In the words of Mr. Putnam, ‘‘if their authenticity is established, then archzeologists will find in them strong corro- borative evidence that man and the mastodon were contemporary on the American continent, and the mound-builders were a race. anterior to the ancestors of the present American Indians, and of higher type and more advanced civilisation.” But doubts have been cast on the authenticity of these curious relics by the Bureau of Ethnology, and the Davenport Academy has taken the matter up with some warmth. Mr. Putnam’s pamphlet is the Academy’s reply, and is a vigorous defence of the genuineness of the elephant pipes and inscribed tablets. It describes in detail the circumstances under which they were discovered, the witnesses present, &c., and lays especial stress on the fact that the two pipes were dug up at different times and places, by independent persons, one, at least, of whom had no notion of the value of the object. The whole subject is one of extraordinary interest, and Mr. Putnam’s statement, vouched as it is by a formal resolution of the Davenport Academy, must play an important part in any 564 subsequent discussion as to the value to be attached to’ these remains, which, if authentic, are acknowledged to have much influence on the final settlement of the question as to who the mound-builders were. THE use of artificial teeth is not so modern as is generally believed. Cosmos states that in the museum of Corneto, on the coast of Italy, there are two curious specimens of artificial teeth found in Etruscan tombs probably dating to four or five centuries before our era. These graves contained the bodies of two young girls. On the jaw of one is still to be seen two incisors fixed to their neighbours by small gold rings; in the other the rings remained, but the artificial teeth had fallen out. The teeth, carefully cut, had evidently been taken from the mouth of some large animal, The dentist’s art amongst the ancients was not confined to drawing teeth, and replacing them by artificial ones, for natural teeth have been found which have evidently been treated in various ways. That this curious fact has escaped notice so long, is due to the rarity of Etruscan skeletons, the Etruscans employing cremation generally, and also to the cir- cumstance that modern inquirers are more interested in objects of Etruscan art and industry than in the remains of their ancient owners. WE have received from the Rey. H. H. Higgins the reprint of a paper read by him before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool on Museums of Natural History. The writer discusses the subject under four heads, to which a fifth, on the British Museum of Natural History, isadded. These are Museum visitors’ desiderata, arrangements and appliances. Judging from the attendance at the Liverpool Museum, he calculates that a large majority (about 780 in 1000) of the visitors are those who are not conscious of any purpose beyond a wish to see the Museum, but who fix their attention with more or less intelligence on the objects displayed. The students would number about ten to twenty, and loungers, including children, 2co in the thousand. The first desideratum in a public museum is a better treatment of the specimens which they already possess. The Museum, Mr. Higgins thinks, is a rare one, in which a donation of 100/. could dest be spent in the purchase of fresh specimens ; in almost all instances it could be better spent in making the order more intelligible and more instructive, and much of this good work might be done without spending any money. ‘The sections on arrangements and ap- pliances contain many interesting suggestions on these important elements in the success of a museum. A sfammbawm, or phylo- genetic scheme of the pedigree of animals and vegetables, by Prof. Herdman, of University College, Liverpool, is added to Mr. Higgins’s paper. WE have received Dr. Howden’s presidential address to the Montrose Scientific and Field Club, on the ‘‘ Aims of a Natur- alists’ Field Club,” which contains much useful advice as to the methods in which the members of such societies should regulate their studies and researches. What has already been done in local natural history in the vicinity of Montrose and suggestions as to what still lies ready at hand to be done, are described in the concluding portion of the address. Timber, a weekly journal devoted to the timber and kindred interests, is the title of a new journal, the first number of which appeared on February 28. A large portion of this periodical is occupied with trade announcements and records of sales, with a sprinkling of short articles and paragraphs on subjects connected with the uses rof timber or the timber supply. The paper is intended for circulation among, and as the representative of, the numerous trades who work in timber, and does not profess to be anything else. THE experiments in Paris by the Triboulet system of photo- NATURE | April 16, 1885 the valve of a panoramic object-glass with a current sent from the ground has succeeded wonderfully well. As the operators remain on the ground a very small balloon is sufficient to carry the photographic apparatus. The impressions being taken on films can be inspected with a microscope, and are useful for military purposes. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Pig-tailed Monkey (AMacacus nemestrinus @ ) from Java, presented by Mrs. Urquhart; a Chinese Mynah (Acridotheres cristatellus) from China, presented by Mr. George Rowler ; a Galeated Curassow (Pawxts galeata 8) from Vene- zuela, presented by Mr. G. A. Crawley; a Chilian Sea Eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) from Chili, presented by Mr. Richard J. Jones ; a Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), British, presented by Mr. A. Browning Priestley ; a Smooth Snake (Coronella levis) from Hampshire, presented by Mr. W. H. B. Pain; a Tibetan Wild Ass, or Kiang (Zguus hemionus 9) from Tibet, four Sonnerat’s Jungle Fowls (Ga//us sonnerati § § 29?) from Southern India, deposited ; a Mandarin Duck (4x galericu- Zata 6) from China, a Dark Green Snake (Zaments atrovirens), South European, purchased; two Rendall’s Guinea Fowls (Numida rendalli) from East Africa, received in exchange ; a Gigantic Salamander (Megalobactrachus giganteus) from Japan, two Bull Frogs (Rana catesbiana) from North America, received on approval; a White-fronted Lemur (Lemur albifrons), born in the Gardens. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES Mr. WADA, of the Japanese Legation in Berlin, recently laid before the Geographical Society there certain maps produced by the Geological Survey of Japan, which represent the work up to the present of that establishment. It was founded in 1879, and was organised by Dr. Naumann, a German geologist. It con- sists of topographical, geological, and agrenomical sections, and of a technical and chemical laboratory. The maps prepared by the department for the Geological Congress of Berlin this year were :—(1) An oroplastic map, on a scale of 1 : 860,000, showing the general position and form of the Japanese archipelago, the coasts, ranges of mountains, as well as the depths of the ocean off the coast. (2) A magnetic map. During the preliminary topographical survey magnetic variations were investigated by the help of a portable magnetometer. Magnetic investigations are of extraordinary interest in Japan. The maps show that the variations are frequently very different in kind, the nume- rous volcanoes causing great irregularity. (3) A geological map constructed from the preliminary surveys of Dr. Naumann and native geologists. This is based on a topographical map, which is not reliable in detail ; but it shows the knowledge attained so far of the geological structure of Japan, From this it appears that all the formations are met with in that country, the Palzo- zoic being universal. Next to these in extent comes granite. A complete report on this subject is to be made by the head of the Survey to the Congress. The topographers have worked now for about four years, and the area surveyed is more than eighty geographical miles square. The completion of the maps for the whole country will take another eight years. The de- tailed geological survey has reached about the same extent as the topographical survey, but none of the sheets of the map have yet been published, although they exist in manuscript down to the 38th parallel, with the exception of Yezo. The maps, as well as the text, appear in Japanese and English, and the Sur- vey publishes also annual reports, eight of which have already appeared, but only in Japanese. Another map, also prepared for the Congress, is one of the volcanoes, the ages being dis- tinguished by colows. An important portion of the work of the Survey is the study of soils. According to Mr, Wada, a volcanic tufa, consisting for the most part of decomposed sili- cates, forms a large part of the numerous uncultivated plains at the foot of the mountains. An accurate knowledge of this will be of much value to agriculture. Japanese soils in general are stated to be poor in chalk. This subject will also be dealt with by the head of the Agronomical Section before the forthcoming graphing all the country seen from a captive balloon by opening | Congress. April 16, 1885] Tue last Bulletin de la Sociéé de Geographie (1** Trimestre, 1885), contains a paper by M. de Mailly-Chalon on a journey in Manchuria. With two countrymen he left Peking for New- chwang, and thence passing to the east of Moukden, through Kirin to Ninguta, where the party turned to the south-east along the Tiumen, towards the ocean, and reached Vladivostock. The journey the whole way was along the Corean frontier. Leaving Vladivostock the travellers crossed Siberia to Tomsk, from which they went toSamarkand. From this point the story of the journey is taken up by another member of the party, Baron Benoist-Méchin, whose paper on the journey across Turkestan succeeds M. Mailly-Chalon’s. This journey led them from Samarkand through Karshi, to Bokhara, thence to the Amou-Darya at Charjui. They followed the river then down to Petro-Alexandrovsk, whence they deviated to Khiva, From the latter town they retraced their steps up the river, and from Kurgan-Chin started across the Kara-Kum to Mery, and so to Sarakhs and Persian territory at Meshed. The journey, here barely indicated, lasted two years, z.e. from the departure from Japan for Peking to the arrival in Teheran. M. Rabot writes on Nordenskjéld’s expedition to Greenland, the paper being compiled from the Professor’s reports to Mr. Oscar Dickson, published in the Fowrna/ of the Swedish Society of Anthropo- logy and Geography. M. Charles Huber brings to an end his long journeys in Central Arabia, between 1878 and 1882, to which we have adverted in noticing previous numbers of the Bulletin. Ar the meeting of the Paris Geographical Society on the 7th inst., M. Giraud was received with great distinction, and detailed his recent travels in Africa. The explorer has received the gold medal of the Society and the Cross of the Legion of Honour. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEER, 1885, APRIL 19-25 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed. ) At Greenwich on April 19 Sun rises, 4h. 57m. ; souths, 11h. 59m. 0°7s.; sets, 19h. Im. ; decl. on meridian, 11° 20’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 8h. 53m. Moon (at First Quarter on April 21) rises, 8h. rom. ; souths, 16h. 4m. ; sets, 23h. 58m. ; decl. on meridian, 18° 14’ N. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. eH Mercury... 5 4 I2 44 20 2. 18 2N. Venus 457 Il 45 18 34 8 47 N. Mars 4 36 riperlGy be BiG rets 5 21N. Jupiter R2UAR AM ssh 20) (Zoe. | 3 GLO" TAs iN Saturn 7e2 2a 4. iG ei ace ORR ae EF INE * Indicates that the setting is that of Occultations of Stars by the Moon the following day. Corresponding angles from ver- April Star Mag. Disap. Reap: tex to meneton inverted image h, m. h. m. ° ° 20 ... \Geminorum... 3} ... 22 59 .-- 23 20 ... 187 232 22... B.A.C. 3122... 64 ... 28 4... 22 4 «.. 127 255 23 ... wm Leonis... ... 5 «.. 18 46... 19 42 -.. 14 290 Zr ALEONIS|...) -20e5) | =2-) 23) -7/--+ 23 58 ... 135 238 Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites April h. m, |April h. m. 20 Tere. I. 'tr./ing. 22 2 24 III. occ. disap. 22 19 I. occ. disap. 20 14 I. ecl. reap. 21 ... 145 J. ecl. reap. | 23... 2 28 II. occ. disap. 19 39 I. tr. ing. | 24 20 34 II. tr. ing. 21 59 _ (LI. tr. egr. 23 30. II. tr. egr. | 25 19 55 III. tr. egr. The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such s are visible at Greenwich. April h. ecko. tl! Saturn in conjunction with and 4° 1’ north of the Moon. 22) eee Jupiter stationary. 23 19 Jupiter in conjunction with and 4° 37’ north of the Moon. NATURE eee — eee 565 ON A REMARKABLE PHENOMENON OF CRYSTALLINE REFLECTION* Introduction. IN a letter to me, dated March 29, 1854, the late Dr. W. Bird Herepath enclosed for me some iridescent crystals of chlorate of potash, which he thought were worth my examin- ation. He noticed the intense brilliancy of the colour of the reflected light, the change of tint with the angle of incidence, and the apparent absence of polarisation in the colour seen by reflection. The crystals were thin and fragile, and rather small. I did. not see how the colour was produced, but I took for granted that it must be by some internal reflection, or possibly oblique refraction, at the surfaces of the crystalline plates that the light was polarised and analysed, being modified between polarisation and analysation by passage across the crystalline plate, the normal to which I supposed must be sufficiently near to one of the optic axes to allow colours to be shown, which would require no great proximity, as the plates were very thin. To make out precisely how the colours were produced seemed to promise a very troublesome investigation on account of the thinness and smallness of the crystals: and, supposing that the issue of the investigation would be merely to show in what precise way the phenomenon was brought about by the oper- ation of well-known causes, I did not feel disposed to engage in it, and so the matter dropped. But more than a year ago Prof. E. J. Mills, F.R.S., was so good as to send me a fine collection of splendidly coloured crystals of the salt of considerable size, several of the plates having an area of a square inch or more, and all of them being thick enough to handle without difficulty. In the course of his letter mentioning the despatch of the crystals, Prof. Mills writes: ‘‘ They [the coloured crystals] are, I am told, very pure chemically, containing at most o°r per cent. foreign matter. They are rarely observed—one or two perhaps now and then in a large crystallisation . . . I have several times noticed that small potassic chlorate crystals, when rapidly forming from a strong solution, show what I suppose to be interference colours ; but the fully formed crystals do not show them.” Some time later I was put into communication with Mr. Stanford, of the North British Chemical Works, Glasgow, from which establishment the crystals sent me by Prof. Mills had come. Mr. Stanford obligingly sent me a further supply of these interesting crystals, and was so kind as to offer to try any experiment that I might suggest as to their formation. On viewing through a direct-vision spectroscope the colours of the crystals which I had just received from Prof. Mills, the first glance at the spectrum showed me that there must be something very strange and unusual about the phenomenon, and determined me to endeavour to make out the cause of the production of these colours. The result of my examination is described in the present paper. Section I.—Preliminary Physical Examination.—1. It will be necessary to premise that chlorate of potash belongs to the oblique system of crystallisation. The fundamental form may be taken as an oblique prism on a rhombic base, the plane bisecting the obtuse dihedral angle of the prism being the plane of sym- metry. Rammelsberg denotes the sides of the prism by P, and the base by C, and gives for the inclinations of the faces PP =104° 22’ and CP = 105° 35’. The face C, which is perpen- dicular to the plane of symmetry, is so placed as to bring three obtuse plane angles together at two opposite corners of the parallelepiped. The salt usually forms flat, rhombic or hexagonal plates parallel to the C plane, the edges of the rhombus being parallel to the intersections of the P faces by the C plane, and the hexagons being formed from the rhombic plates by truncating the acute angles by faces parallel to the intersection of the C plane by the plane of symmetry. The plane angles of the rhombic plates, calculated from the numbers given by Rawmelsberg, are 100° 56’ and 79° 4’, while the hexagonal plates present end-angles of 100° 56’ and four side-angles of 129° 32’. These angles are sufficiently different to allow in most cases the principal plane of a plate, or even of a fragment of a plate, to be determined at once by inspection. But in any case of doubt it may readily be found without break- ing the crystal by examining it in polarised light. There are March 19 by Prof. G. G. Stokes, < Paper read at the Royal Society on ‘ ¢ Mathematics in the University of M.A., Sec. R.S., Lucasian Professor of Cambridge. 566 good cleavages parallel to the two P planes and to the C plane. The crystals are very commonly twinned, the twin plane being C. 2. If one of the brilliantly coloured crystals be examined by reflection, and turned around in its own plane, without altering the angle of incidence, the colour disappears twice in a com- plete revolution. The vanishing positions are those in which the plane of incidence is the plane of symmetry. The colour is perhaps most vivid in a perpendicular plane; but for a very considerable change of azimuth from the perpendicular plane there is little variation in the intensity of the colour. There is no perceptible change of tint, but on approaching the plane of symmetry the colour gets more and more drowned in the white light reflected from the surface. 3. If instead of altering the azimuth of the plane of incidence a plane be chosen which gives vivid colour, and the angle of incidence be altered, the colour changes very materially. If we begin with a small angle the colour begins to appear while the angle of incidence is still quite moderate. What the initial colour is, varies from one crystal to another. As we increase the angle of incidence the colour becomes vivid, at the same time changing, and as we continue to increase the angle the change of colour goes on. The change is always in the order of increasing refrangibility ; for example, from red through green to blue. Not unfrequently, however, the initial tint may be green or blue, and on approaching a grazing incidence we may get red or even yellow mixed with the blue, as if a second order of colours were commencing. 4. The colours are not in any way due to absorption ; the transmitted light is strictly complementary to the reflected, and whatever is missing in the reflected is found in the transmitted. As in the case of Newton’s rings, the reflected tints are much more vivid than the transmitted, though, as will presently appear, for a very different reason. 5. As Dr. Herepath remarked to me long ago, the coloured light is not polarised. It is produced indifferently whether the incident light be common light or light polarised in any plane, and is seen whether the reflected light be viewed directly or through a Nicol’s prism turned in any way. The only difference appears to be that if the incident light be polarised, or the reflected light analysed, so as to furnish or retain light polarised perpendicularly to the plane of incidence, the white light reflected from the surface, which to a certain extent masks the coloured light, is more or less got rid of. 6. The character of the spectrum of the reflected light is most remarkable, and was wholly unexpected. A direct-vision hand spectroscope was used in the obseryations, and the crystal was generally examined in a direction roughly perpendicular to the plane of symmetry; but it is shown well through a wide range of azimuth of the plane of incidence. No two crystals, we may say, are alike as to the spectrum which they show, but there are certain features common to all. The remarkable feature is that there is a pretty narrow band, or it may be a limited portion of the spectrum, but still in general of no great extent, where the light suffers total or all but total reflection. As the ang'e of incidence is increased, these bands move rapidly in the direction of increasing refrangibility, at the same time increasing in width. The character of the spectrum gradually changes as the angle of incidence is increased ; for example, a a single band may divide into two or three bands. The bands are most sharply defined at a moderate angle of incidence. When the angle of incidence is considerably in- creased, the bands usually get somewhat vague, at least towards the edges. 7. The commonest kind of spectrum, especially in crystals prepared on a small scale, which will be mentioned presently, is one showing only a single bright band ; and I will describe at greater length the phenomena presented in this case. When the angle of incidence is very small, the light reflected from the reflecting surfaces of the crystal shows only a continuous spectrum. As the angle of incidence is increased, while it is still quite moderate a very narrow bright band shows itself in some part of the spectrum. The particular part varies from one crystal to another ; it may be anywhere from the extreme red to the extreme violet. It stands out by its greatly superior bright- ness on the general ground of the continuous spectrum, and when it is fully formed the reflection over the greater part of it appears to be total. The appearance recalls that of a bright band such as the green band seen when a calcium salt, or the orange band seen when a strontium salt, is put into a Bunsen NATURE | April 16, 1885 flame. The bright band is frequently accompanied right and left by maxima and minima of illumination, forming bands of — altogether subordinate importance as regards their illumination. Sometimes these seem to be absent, and I cannot say whether they are an essential feature of the phenomenon, which some- times fail to be seen because the structure on which the bands depend is not quite regularly formed, or whether, on the other hand, they are something depending on a different cause. Disregarding these altogether subordinate bands, and taking account of the mean illumination, it seems as if the brightness of the spectrum for a little way right and left of the bright band were somewhat less than that at a greater distance. When the main band occurs at either of the faint ends of the spectrum, it is visible, by its superior brightness, in a region which, as regards the continuous spectrum, is too faint to be seen, and thus it appears separated from the continuous spectrum by a dark interval. When the angle of incidence is increased, the band moves in the direction of increasing refrangibility, and at the same time increases rapidly in breadth. ‘The increase of breadth is far too rapid to be accounted for merely as the result of a different law of separation of the colours, which in a diffraction spectrum would be separated approximately according to -the squared reciprocal of the wave-length, while in bands depending on direct interference the phase of ‘illumination would change according to the wave-length. 8. The transmitted light being complementary to the incident, we have a dark band in the transmitted answering to the bright band in the reflected. In those crystals in which the band is best formed, it appears as a narrow black band eyen in bright light. When the band first appears as we recede from a normal incidence it is extremely narrow, but it rapidly increases in breadth as the angle of incidence is increased. g. Some of the general features of the phenomenon were prettily shown in the following experiment :— Choosing a crystal in which the bright band in the reflected light began to appear, as the incidence was increased, on the red side of the line D, so that on continuing to increase the incidence it passed through the place of the line D before it had become of any great width, I viewed through the crystal a sheet of white paper illuminated by a soda flame, A dark ring was seen on the paper, which was circular, or nearly so, and was interrupted in two places at opposite extremities of a diameter, namely, the places where the ring was cut by the plane of symmetry. ‘he light of the refrangibility of D was so nearly excluded from the greater part of the ring that it appeared nearly black, though slightly bluish, as it was illuminated by the feeble radiation from the flame belonging to refrangibilities other than those of the immediate neighbourhood of D. The ends of the two halves of the ring became feeble as they approached the plane of symmetry. A subordinate comparatively faint ring lay in this crystal immediately outside the main one. 10. Suspecting that the production of colour was in some way connected with twinning, I examined the cleft edge of some of the crystals which happened to have been broken across, and found that the bright reflection given by the exposed surface was interrupted by a line, much finer than a hair, running parallel to the C faces, which could be easily seen with a watchmaker’s lens, if not with the naked eye. This line was dark on the illuminated bright surface exposed by cleavage. a surface which I suppose illuminated by a source of light not too large, such as a lamp, or a window at some distance. The plane of incidence being supposed normal to the intersection of the cleavage plane by the C faces, on turning the crystal in a proper direction around anormal to the plane of incidence, the light ceased to be re- flected from the cleavage surface, and after turning through a certain angle, the narrow line which previously had been dark was seen to glisten, indicating the existence of a reflecting surface, though it was much too narrow to get a reflected image from off it. The direction of rotation required to make the fine line glisten was what it ought to be on the supposition that the fine line was the cleavage face of an extremely narrow twin stratum. 11. On examining the fine line under the microscope, it was found to be of different thicknesses in different crystals, though in those crystals which showed colour it did not vary very greatly. On putting a little lyeopodium on the cleavage face interrupted by the fine line, it was seen that in those crystals which showed colour the breadth of the twin stratum varied from a little greater to a little less than the breadth of a spore. The thickness Abril 16, 1885] NA accordingly ranged somewhere about the thousandth of an inch, such being the diameter of the spores. The stratum was visibly thicker in those crystals which showed their bright band in the red than in those which showed it in the blue. 12, That the thin twin stratum was in fact the seat of the colour, admitted of being proved by a very simple experiment. It was sufficient to hold a needle, or the blade of a penknife (I will suppose the latter), close to or touching the surface of the crystal while it was illuminated by light coming approximately in one direction, suppose from a lamp, or from a window a little way off, and to examine the shadows with a watchmaker’s lens. The light reflected from the crystal comes partly from the upper surface, partly from the twin stratum, partly from the under surface, which, however, may be too irregular to give a good reflection. The twin stratum is much too thin to allow of separating the light reflected from its two surfaces in an obser- vation like the present, and it must therefore be spoken of as simply a reflecting surface. Corresponding to the three reflecting surfaces are three shadows, where the incident light is cut off: (1) from the upper surface, (2) from the twin stratum, (3) from the under surface. By examining these shadows in different crystals and under varied conditions, it is shown beyond doubt that the coloured reflection comes from the twin stratum. The conclusion was confirmed by observations made with sun- light ; but the simple method of shadows is quite as good, and even by itself perfectly satisfactory. 13. Another useful method of observation, not so very simple as the last, is the following. A slit, suppose horizontal, not very narrow, is placed in front of the flame of a lamp at some distance, and an image of the slit is formed by a suitable lens, such as the compound achromatic objective of an opera-glass. The crystal is placed so as to receive in focus the image of the slit, being inclined at a suitable angle, usually in a plane per- pendicular to the plane of symmetry. The eye is held in a position to catch the reflected light, and the images formed by the different reflections are viewed through a watchmaker’s lens. If the slit be not too broad, the images formed by reflection from the upper surface, from the twin stratum, and from the under surface are seen distinct from each other, so that the light reflected from the twin stratum may be studied apart from that reflected from the upper and under surfaces. In this mode of observation it can readily be seen, by turning the crystal in its own plane, and noticing the middle image, which is that. reflected from the twin stratum, how very small a rotation out of the position in which the plane of incidence had been the plane of symmetry suffices to re-introduce the coloured light, which had vanished in that critical position, which appears to be a position not merely of absence of colour, but of absence of light altogether ; at least if there be any it is too feeble to be seen in this mode of observation, though from theoretical con- siderations we should conclude that there must be a very little reflected light, polarised perpendicularly to the plane of incidence. 14. On allowing a strong solution of chlorate of potash in hot water to crystallise rapidly, in which case excessively thin plates are formed in the bosom of the liquid, I noticed the play of colours by reflection mentioned by Professor Mills as belong- ing to the crystals in general at an early stage of their growth. This, however, proved to be quite a different and no doubt a much simpler phenomenon. The difference was shown by the polarisation of the light, and above all by the character of the spectrum of the light so reflected, which resembled ordinary spectra of interference, and did not present the remarkable character of the spectra of the peculiar crystals. 15. When, however, the whole was left to itself for a day or so, among the mass of usually colourless crystals a few were found here and there which showed brilliant colours. These colours were commonly far more brilliant than those of the crystals mentioned in the preceding paragraph, and they showed to perfection the distinctive character of the spectrum of the peculiar crystals. It would have been very troublesome, if * possible at all, to examine the twinning of such thin and tender plates as those thus obtained by working on a small scale; but the character of the spectrum, which is perhaps the most remarkable feature of the phenomenon, as well as the depend- ence of the colour on the orientation, may be examined very well ; and thus any one can study ¢hese features of the phenom- enon, though he may not have access to such fine coloured crystals as those sent me by Professor Mills. 16, A certain amount of disturbance during the early stages TURE 567 of crystallisation, whether from natural currents of convection or from purposely stirring the solution, somewhat gently so as not to break the crystals, seems favourable to the production of the peculiar crystals. When the salt crystallised slowly from a quiet solution I did not obtain them. 17. As it is easy in this way, by picking out the peculiar crystals from several crystallisations, to obtain a good number of them, the observer may satisfy himself as to the most usual character of the spectrum. It is best studied at a moderate incidence, as itlis sharper'than when the incidence is con- siderable. 18. The number of coloured crystals obtained by crystallisations on a small scale, though very small, it is true, compared with the number of colourless ones, was still so much larger than Prof. Mills’s description of the rarity of the crystals had led me to expect, that I at one time doubted whether the simply twinned crystals which are so very common, if taken at a period of their growth when one component is still very thin, and of suitable thickness, might not possibly show the phenomenon, though the thin twin was in contact on one face only with the brother twin, the other face being in the mother-liquor or in air, The circumstances of reflection and transmission at the first surface of the twin plate must be very different according as it is in contact with the brother crystal, or else with the mother- liquor, or air, or some other fluid ; and yet the peculiar spectrum was shown all the same whether the crystal was in air, or im- mersed in the mother-liquor, or in rock oil. However, to make sure of the matter I took a simply twinned crystal, and ground it at a slight inclination to the C face till the twin plane was partly ground away, thus leaving a very slender twin wedge forming part of the compound crystal, and polished the ground surface. On examining the reflected light with a lens, no colour was seen about the edge of the wedge, where the thickness of the wedge tapered away to nothing; and that, although the bands seen near the edge in polarised light, which was subse- quently analysed, showed that had colours been producible in this way, as they are by a thin twin stratum, they would not have been too narrow to escape observation. In another experiment a simply twinned crystal was hollowed out till the twin plane was nearly reached. The hollowing was then continued with the wetted finger, so as to leave a concave smooth surface, the crystal being examined at short intervals in polarised light as the work went on, so as to know when the twin plane was pierced. But though in this case the twin plane formed a secant plane, nearly a tangent plane, to the worked surface, and near the section the twin portion of the crystal must have been very thin for a breadth by no means infinitesimal, as was shown by examination in polarised light, yet no colours were seen by reflection. I conclude therefore that the produc- tion of these colours requires the twin stratum to be in contact on doth its faces with the brother crystal. 19. The fact that a single bright band is what most usually presents itself in the spectrum of the reflected light, though sometimes two or three such bands at regular intervals may be seen, seems to warrant us to regard that as the kind of spectrum belonging to the simplest form of twin stratum, namely, one in which there are just the two twin surfaces near together. The more complicated spectra seem to point to a compound inter- ference, and tu be referable to the existence of more than two twin planes very near together; and in fact in some of the crystals which showed the more complicated spectra, and which were broken across, I was able to make out under the microscope the existence of a system of more than two twin planes close together. Restricting ourselves to what may be regarded as the normal case, we have then to inquire in what way the existence of two twin planes near together can account for the peculiar character of the spectrum of the reflected or transmitted light. Section Il.—Of the Proximate Cause of the Phenomenon.—20. Though I am not at present prepared to give a complete explan- ation of the very curious phenomenon I have described, I have thought it advisable to bring the subject before the Society, that the attention of others may be directed to it. That the seat of the coloration is inathin twin stratum, admits I think of no doubt whatsoever. A single twin plane does not show anything of the kind. For the production of the colour the stratum must be neither too thick nor too thin. Twin strata a good deal thicker than those that show colour are common enough ; and among the crystals sent to me I have found some twin strata which were a J good deal thinner, in which case the crystal showed no colour. 568 NATURE [April 16, 1885 The more complicated spectra which are frequently observed seem referable to the existence of more than two twin planes in close proximity. There is no reason to think that the explanation of these spectra would involve any new principle not already contained in the explanation of the appearance presented when there are only two twin planes, though the necessary formule would doubtless be more complicated. Corresponding to a wave incident in any direction, in one component of a twin, on the twin plane, there are in general two refracted waves in the second component in planes slightly in- clined to each other, and two reflected waves which also have their planes slightly inclined to each other, the angle of inclin- ation, however, being by no means very small, as chlorate of potash is strongly double refracting. The planes of polarisation of the two refracted waves are approximately perpendicular to each other, as are also those of the two reflected waves ; but on account of the different orientation of the two components of the twin, the planes of polarisation of the two refracted waves are in general altogether different from those of the incident wave and of its fellow, the trace of which on the twin plane would travel with the same velocity. In the plane of symmetry at any incidence, and for a small angle of incidence at any azimuth of the plane of incidence, the directions of the planes of polarisation of the two refracted waves agree accurately or nearly with those of the incident wave and its fellow. In these cases, therefore, an incident wave would produce hardly more than one refracted wave, namely, that one which nearly agrees with the incident wave in direction of polarisation. In these cases the colours are not produced. It appears, therefore, that their production demands that the incident wave shall be very determinately divided into two refracted wave:, accompanied of course by reflected waves It seems evident that the thickness of the stratum affects the result through the difference of phase which it entails in the two refracted waves on arriving at the second twin plane. But whereas in the ordinary case of the production of colour by the interposition of a crystalline plate between a polariser and an analyser, we are concerned only with the difference of retard- ation of the differently polarised pencils which are transmitted across the plate, and not with the absolute retardation, it is possible that in this case we must take into account not only the difference of retardation for the differently polarised pencils which traverse the stratum, but also the absolute retardation ; that is, the retardation of the light reflected from the second relatively to that reflected from the first twin plane. 21. I have not up to the present seen my way to going further. It is certainly very extraordinary and paradoxical that light shuld suffer total or all but total reflection at a transparent stratum of the very same substance, merely differing in orient- ation, in which the light had been travelling, and that, inde- pendently of its polarisation. Jt can have 1.othing to do with ordinary total internal reflection, since it is observed at quite moderate incidences, and ov/y within very narrow limits of the angle of incidence. RECENT PROGRESS IN CHEMISTRY} THE progress of chemistry during the last year has been con- siderable, and a great deal of interesting and important work has been done. Nevertheless it cannot be said to have been a yedr productive of any very special discoveries. In physical chemistry the subjects connected with heat have occu- pied a good deal of attention, such as the heat of formation of chemical compounds, &e. Experiments on the liquefaction and solidification of gases by pressure and low temperature have also been continued, and, in addition to the results which were ob- tained some time since, we now know chlorine, not only asa liquid, but also as a crystalline solid. The same is true of hydro- chloric acid, carbonic oxide, silicon fluoride, and assinuretted hydrogen. Last year I referred to the work which was being done with hydroxylamine, and also mentioned that another analytical re- agent of equal importance was claiming attention, viz. Emil Fischer’s phenylhydrazine. The promise of new work which this substance gave has been fully realised, and it has proved useful, not only as an analytical reagent, but has been the means of producing a number of new and important products. Work is still actively pursued on the pyrroline, pyridine, and * From the Annual Address of the President of the Chemical Society, Mr. W. H. Perkin, F.R.S., March 30, 1885. quinoline series, and it is remarkable to see how new methods for the production of bodies of this description are being con- stantly discovered. Those of A. Behrmann and Hofmann, who obtain pyridine derivatives from citramide, and of H. v. Pech- mann, who obtains them from malic acid, may be taken as illustrations. It is interesting to notice, in reference to the pyridine series, Ladenburg’s experiments (Ber., xvii. 772-74), who finds that the compounds formed by the union of these bases with the iodides of the alcohol radicals, when strongly heated, yield substituted pyridines in the same way as Hofmann showed some time since that aniline, under like circumstances, yielded sub- stituted anilines, such as toluidine, &c. Hofmann (Ber., xvii. 1200) has also found that conine hydrochloride, when distilled with zinc dust, yields a base he has named conyrine, which he believes to be a propyl or isopropyl pyridine ; and this, by treatment with hydriodic acid at 280°-300°, regenerates conine, which has exactly the same physiological action as the natural (though it is probably optically inactive). Ladenburg (er., xvii. 1196) has obtained a propylpyridine which, when treated with sodium and alcohol, yields a base smelling very much like conine ; it has many properties in common with conine, and, like it, is poisonous, acting in the same manner and to the same degree. It is, however, optically inactive, as might be expected. It will be remembered that Schiff (Av. Ch. Pharm., clvii. 352) obtained a base very similar to conine from isobutyric aldehyde and ammonia some years ago, but it did not appear to agree in all its properties with that body. From the new work which has been done in this subject we may now soon expect to have the constitution of this base definitely established. Ladenberg has also succeeded in producing piperidine from pyridine. ‘The identity of this product with that obtained from piperine from pepper has been established (Bev., xvii. 513-515). : Hofmann, while continuing his work on the action of bromine in alkaline solutions in amides, has found the curious fact that nitriles are produced in considerable quantities containing one atom of carbon less than the amide—in fact, corresponding with the amines formed in the reaction, and are, in all probability, produced from them by the removal of the hydrogen atoms. As these nitriles can be converted into amides by sulphuric acid, and again treated with bromine and alkali, it is evident that by this means we can gradually work down step by step from one member of the homologous series to another. It will be remembered that Pechmann and Duisberg (Zer., xvi. 2119-2128) succeeded in obtaining substituted coumarins and their hydroxy derivatives by acting on aceto and benzoyl- acetic acids with phenols. Pechmann (e1., xvii. 929-936) has now succeeded in obtaining coumarins by treating malic acid and phenols with sulphuric acid or chloride of zinc ; with ordinary phenol he has obtained coumarin ; with resorcinol, umbelliferone and with pyragallol, daphnetin, which gives all the reactions of the natural body. Some very curious results have lately been obtained in refer- ence to the destructive action of aluminium chloride on hydro- carbons. Friedel and Crafts communicated a paper on this subject to this Society in 1882; it has now been further studied by Auschiitz, Immerdorff, and by Jacobson (Ser., xviii. 657). They have found that this action consists in ‘‘a transference of the alcohol radical from one molecule of a hydrocarbon to another molecule of the same hydrocarbon.” Thus toluene yields, on the one hand, benzene, and on the other, xylene and more highly methylated benzenes, orthoderivatives being very rarely found among the products. Last year I referred to the discovery of thiophene, or, more properly, thiophen, and its homologues by Victor Meyer. During the year our knowledge of this interesting body has been considerably extended, and its preparation rendered com- paratively easy. H. E. Schulze (Ber., xviii. 497) has recently shown that it is contained—as might be expected—in the sul- phuric acid used to purify crude benzene, and that if its de- composition be prevented by diluting the acid with an equal bulk of water as soon as it is separated from the benzene, the thiophen which is doubtless present in the form of a sulpho acid may easily be recovered by hydrolysing, by merely passing steam into the acid liquid. The synthesis of thiophen, recently effected by J. Volhard and H. Erdmann (&er., xviii. 454) by merely distilling sodium succinate with phosphorus trisulphide (by which about 50 per cent. of the theoretical yield is obtained), is also of interest, as well as the production of methylthiophen from sodium pyro- April 16, 1885] NATURE 569 tartrate by the same reagent. The methylthiophen, however, appears to be isomeric with that separated from coal-tar toluene by Victor Meyer. According to Volhard and Erdmann, thiophen, when cooled in a mixture of carbon dioxide and ether, crystallises like benzene. Paal’s synthesis of methyl-phenyl- thiophen from aceto-phenone-acetone, and of thiophen-carboxylic acid—which is easily resolved into carbon-dioxide and thiophen— from mucic acid, may also be referred to here. One of the most interesting of recent researches is that of R. Nietzki and T. Benckser on hexhydroxybenzene (C,HO), (Ber., xviii. 499)), which they have succeeded in obtaining from nitranilic (dinitrodehydroxyquinone). They find the diimido body obtained from this when treated with nitric acid, yields a product of the composition C,H,,0,,, which when treated with reducing agents, yields this substance. They also find that when heated with concentrated nitric acid, hexhydroxybenzene is converted into a body having the remarkable formula CgH,,0,,- This decomposes when heated to 100°, or when boiled with water, carbon dioxide being given oft, and on adding potash solution to the residue or the boiled solution, orange yellow needles of a potassium salt of the formula C;K,O; are obtained, which they have identified as potassium croconate, and they believe that the bodies obtained by Lerch (dm. Chem. Pharm., exxiv. 20) from the compounds of pota-sium carbonic oxide (formed during the preparation of the metal) were hexyhydroxy- benzene, tetrahydroxyquinone, and the compound C,H,,0O,,4, and in fact that the compound C,(OK), is present in ‘‘ potassium carbonic oxide.” From experiments on the remarkable sub- stance C,H,,O,,, they came to the conclusion that it is a com- pound of C,0,+8H,O, and is a quinone which they call tri- quinoylbenzene. ‘This appears to be confirmed by the production of the intermediate hydroxy compounds, the following being the series of products ;— C,(OH),, C,(OH),0,, C,(OH),0,, C,0z. In reference to agricultural chemistry Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert have contributed a most important and interesting paper to our Society (1884, pp. 305-407) on the ash of wheat-grain and wheat-straw. They gave the analyses of no less than ninety-two wheat-grain and wheat-straw ashes, every ash being of produce of known history of growth as to soil, season, and manuring, all the specimens having been grown at Rothamp- stead. Out of the many important deductions this paper con- tains, the following are extremely interesting :—It appears, in reference to the grain, that on the whole there is great uniformity in its mineral composition under different conditions of manuring, provided only it is perfectly and normally ripened. The influence of season producing a much wider range in the mineral constitu- ents of the grain than the manuring. This, however, is not the case with the straw, as it is found that the amount of mineral ash constituents found in the straw, and therefore in the total crop, have a very direct connection with the amounts available in the soil, but the amounts stored up in the grain itself are little influenced by the quantity taken up. Besides the researches just referred to there has been a con- siderable amount of good work done, but it would be out of place for me to refer to it more fully in this short review. Last year I took occasion to refer to the comparatively small amount of original work which was being prosecuted in this country, notwithstanding the increased number of laboratories and the greater facilities which existed for the encouragement of research. It will be seen from the list of papers that the num- ber brought before the Society during the past year has not increased, but if the papers themselves are examined I think we shall find that the amount of work done is somewhat larger, though certainly not so large as it should be; and it is to be hoped that the spirit of research will be stimulated in the laboratories of the kingdom, and that men may be turned out who are not only more or less analysts, but thorough chemists. Let us not be contented with looking back with pride to what our ancestors have done, but let us follow their example. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Annalen der Physik und Chemie, January 15, No. 2, 1885.— Determination of Verdet’s constants in absolute units (2 figures), by Prof. Leo Arons.—On the formation of ozone hydrogen per- oxide and peroxide of sulphur (S,O,) by the electrolysis of dilute sulphuric acid (2 figures), by Franz Richarz.—Reply to some statements by F. Kohlrausch, by H. Wild.—On the method of damping for determining the ohm, by Lord Rayleigh.—On the determination of specific heats and melting points at high tem- peratures (11 figures and 6 tables).—Inaugural address, by Otto Ehrhardt.—Two new methods of finding the angle of polariza- tion of metals, by H. Knoblanch (tables).—The determination of the specific heat of uranium, by Ad. Bliincke.— Experimental research on laws of the emission of light from glowing bodies (5 figures and 7 tables), by W. Moller.—Remarks on J. Froh- lich’s treatise, ‘‘ Kritisches zur Theorie des gebeugten Lichts,” by M. Réthy.—Observations on fluorescence, by E. Lommel.— On the double acetates of uranium (9 figures), by C. Rammels- berg.—Note on Kundt’s dust figures (2 figures), by H. J. Oosting. Fournal de Physique Théorique et Appliquée, February.—Ob- servations upon the corona now visible around the sun, by M. A. Cornu.—Researches on the combustion of gaseous ex- plosive mixtures, with figures and tables, by MM. Mallard and Le Chatelier.—A new telegraphic system, by M. Estienne.—An ex- periment in hydrodynamics, by M. P. Parize.—A magneto-electric phenomenon, by C. V. Boys.—A new interference phenomenon produced by sheets of glass with parallel surfaces, and on a method of verifying the parallelism of the surfaces of these sheets, by O. Lummer.—Influence of change of condition from the liquid to the solid state on vapour-pressure, by W. Ramsay and Sydney Young.—Non-sparking key, by W. E. Ayrton and John Perry.—A new arrangement for measuring work, by C. F. Brackett.—Coloured dust particles, by H. H. Hagen.—The horizontal motion of small floating bodies, and the truth of the postulates of the theory of capillarity, by J. Leconte.—Method of registering the free vibrations of a tuning-fork, and the beats, by A. G. Compton.—The expression of electrical resistance as the function of velocity, by F. E, Nipher.—Contributions to meteorology: the reduction of barometric observations to the sea-level, by E. Loomis.— The influence of light on the electrical resistance of metals, by A. E. Bostwick.—On atmospheric absorption, by S. P. Langley.—On the absorption of radiant heat by carbonic acid gas, by J. E. Veller.—The duration of luminous impressions on the retina, by E. L. Nichols.—The relation between the electromotive force of a Daniel cell and the strength of the solutton of zinc sulphate, by H. S. Cattzart. The Journal of the Franklin Institute, No. 710, February, 1885.—Electro-metallurgy, by Nathaniel S. Keith. A lecture delivered at the International Electrical Exhibition of the Franklin Institute, Tuesday, September 23, 1884.—The divining rod, by Rossiter W. Raymond, Ph.D. Conclusion of a lecture delivered at the International Electrical Exhibition, September 18, 1884.—Glimpses of the International Electrical Exhibition, by Prof. Edwin J. Huuston. No. 5, Edison’s telephonic inven- tions. Annual summary of engineering and industrial progress, 1884.—Report of the Franklin Institute; items; Japanese colony in Germany; spontaneous decomposition of explosive gelatine ; a new refractory brick; globular lightning; solar phenomena in Switzerland ; supplement ; International Electrical Exhibition report on underground wires, The following systems are described : the American Sectional Underground Company ; the Anderson conduit for underground wires; the Brook’s underground conduit; the Continental Underground Cable Company ; the Cosmopolitan Underground Telegraph, Tele- phone, and Electric Light Company of New Jersey.; the Elec- tric Tube Company; the National Underground Company of New Jersey; Henley’s conduit for underground lines ; Magner’s underground [conduit ; Philadelphia and Seaboard Telegraph and Cable Company (Pennock’s) ; the Union Electric Underground Company of Chicago ; Woodward’s curb conduit ; the Delany Cable. ° Rivista Scientifico-Industriale, February 15-28.—Description of a new galvanometer, with illustration, by Aurelio Mauri.— Experimental researches on earth-currents and those of absorp- tion, by Prof. Antonio Racchetti.—Variations in the electric resistance of solid and pure metallic wires, according to the tem- perature (continued), by Prof. Angelo Emo.—On an improved method of preserving butterflies’ wings, by P. Milani and A. Garbini. Rendiconti del R. Istituto Lombardo, February 26.—Report on soundings taken in lakes Orta and Idro, Lombardy, for the pur- pose of determining their mean depths, by Prof. Pietro Pavesi. 579 NATURE [April 16, 1885 —On the analogy observed by Warming between Koch’s comma bacillus and Spirid/um tenue, Ehr., by Prof. Leopold Maggi.— On an integer more general than that of living forces, for the movement of a system of material points, by Dr. Giovanni Pennacchietti.—On the psychological action of attention in the animal series (continued), by E. T. Vignolii—On Grimaldi’s proposed agrarian credit to relieve the distress of the Italian peasantry, by P. Manfredi.—Remarks on the degatum optionis of Roman jurisprudence, by Prof. C. Ferrini.—Critical inquiry into the new Italian Penal Code, by Prof. A. Buccellati.— Meteorological observations made at the Brera Observatory, Milan, during the month of February. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LoNDON Royal Society, March 19.—‘‘ The Paralytic Secretion of Saliva.” By J. N. Langley, M.A., F.R.S. It has been shown by Claude Bernard and by Heidenhain that section of the chorda tympani nerve on one side, causes a slow continuous secretion from both sub-maxillary glands. Since the secretion which takes place on the side of the body on which the nerve is cut is called the ‘‘ paralytic ” secretion, that which takes place on the opposite side may be called the ‘‘ anti-para- lytic” or ‘‘antilytic” secretion. The author finds that the antilytic secretion becomes slower when the chorda tympani nerve is cut, and stops when, in addition, the sympathetic nerve is cut. It is, then, caused by nervous impulses sent out by a secretory centre in the medulla oblongata. This centre is in a state of increased irritability, for dyspnoea causes a much more rapid flow of saliva, and causes it sooner than it does normally. The paralytic secretion during the first day or two of its occur- rence is also caused by stimuli proceeding from the central secretory centre ; since the paralytic secretion is more copious than the antilytic secretion, and since dyspnoea causes a greater increase of the former than of the latter, it follows that the increase of irritability in the central secretory centre is greater on the side on which the chorda tympani has been cut than on the opposite side. In this state of increased irritability the central nerve-cells are probably stimulated by the blood supplied to them. The paralytic secretion in its later stages is probably brought about by a similar state of increased irritability in nerve- cells in the gland itself, ze. of a local secretory centre. In its later stages the secretion continues after severance of all the nerye-fibres proceeding from the central nervous system to the gland ; it is, however, increased by dyspncea, stopped by apneea, and by large doses of anzesthetics, which indicates that it is brought about by nerve-impulses. The peripheral end of the chorda tympani remains irritable for two to three weeks, which is a further indication that the secretory nerve-fibres are con- nected with some, at any ‘rate, of the many nerve-cells present in the gland. Notwithstanding the continuous paralytic secre- tion, the gland-cells become slightly more mucous than normal ; except for this and a decrease in size they remain normal. They secrete as usual when the sympathetic nerve is stimulated. Geological Society, March 25.—Prof. T. G. Bonney, D.Sc., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Charles De Laune Faunce De Laune and William Hill were elected Fel- lows of the Society.—The following communications were read :—On the relationship of U/odendron, Lindley and Hutton, to Lepidodendron, Sternberg, Bothrodendron, Lindley and Hut- ton, Sigz//arvia, Brongniart, and MRhytidodendron, Boulay, by Robert Kidston, F.G.S.—On an almost perfect skeleton of Rhytina gigas = Rhytina Stelleri (‘* Steller’s sea-cow”) obtained by Mr. Robert Damon, F.G.S., from the Pleistocene peat- deposits on Behring’s Island, by Henry Woodward, LL.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. The author spoke of the interest which palzeontologists must always attach to such animals as are either just exterminated or are now in course of rapid extirpation by man or other agents. He referred to the now rapid destruction of all the larger Mammalia, and expressed his opinion that the African elephant, the giraffe, the bison, and many others, will soon be extirpated unless protected from being hunted to death. The same applies to the whale- and seal-fisheries. He drew attention to a very remarkable order of aquatic animals, the Strenia, formerly classed with the Cetacea by some, with the walruses and seals by others, and by De Blainville with the elephants. He particularly drew attention to the largest of the group, the AAytzza, which was seen alive and described by Steller in 1741. Island and Copper Island). believed to have been entirely extirpated. Herbivore, living along the shore in shallow water, and was easily taken, being without fear of man. Its flesh was good, and It was then confined to two islands (Behring’s In forty years (1780) it was It was a toothless it weighed often three or four tons. The author then described some of the leading points in the anatomy of 2Aytina, and indicated some of the characters by which the order is dis- tinguished. He referred to the present wide distribution of the Sirenia:—A/axatus with three species, namely, J. latirostris, occupying the shores of Florida and the West Indies ; M. americanus, the coasts of Brazil and the great rivers Amazon and Orinoco ; JZ. senegalensis, the west coast of Africa and the rivers Senegal, Congo, &c. Halicore, with three species, namely, /7. tabernaculi, the Red Sea and east coast of Africa ; f1, dugong, Bay of Bengal and East Indies ; 4. australis, North and East Australia. The fossil forms number thirteen genera and twenty-nine species, all limited to England, Holland, Bel- gium, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Malta, and Egypt, and to the United States and Jamaica. The author gave some details as to the dentition of fossil species, of which Haditherium and Prorastomus are the two most remarkable types. Lastly, with regard tothe geographical area occupied at the present day by the Sirenia, the author pointed out that two lines drawn 30° N. and 30° S. of the equator will embrace all the species now found living. Another line drawn at 60° N. will show between 30° and 60° N. the area once occupied by the twenty-nine fossil species. He looked upon RiAytiza as a last surviving species of the old Tertiary group of Sirenians, and its position as marking an “ outlier” of the group now swept away. Physical Society, March 28.—Prof. Guthrie, President, in the chair.—The President announced that the meeting on May 9 would be held at Bristol; further particulars would be com- municated to the members.—Mr. Hawes was elected a member of the Society.—The following papers were read :—On calculating- machines, by Mr. Joseph Edmondson. Calculating-machines are of two classes—the automatic and the semi-automatic. The former were invented by Mr. Charles Babbage between 1820 and 1834, and were designed mainly for the computation of tables. The difficulties against which this inventor contended and the perseverance he displayed in the construction of part of the ‘‘difference-engine” he had imagined are now a matter of history. On account of the great cost and high degree of com- plexity of this machine it was never completed, and the calculating-machines of the present day belong to the semi- automatic class the first example of which is found in a rough and incomplete instrument by Sir Samuel Moreland in 1663. From 1775 to 1780 the Earl of Stanhope invented machines which were a great advance upon those of Sir S. Moreland. In these is found the ‘‘stepped reckoner,” the basis of all modern instruments. This ‘‘stepped reckoner” was improved by M. Thomas de Colmar, who, in 1851 produced a machine which is now largely in use. This machine, somewhat improved in detail and construction, is now made by Mr. Tate of London, and Mr. Edmondson has patented a modification in which the form of the instrument is circular, by which means an endless instead of a limited slide is obtained. A collection of various valuable instruments, which had been kindly lent for the occa- sion, were exhibited. A discussion followed in which Gen. Babbage, Mr. Tate, Prof. McLeod, Dr. Stone, the Rey. Prof. Harley, Mr. Whipple, Prof. Ayrton, and other gentlemen took part.—On the structure of mechanical models illustrating some properties in the ether, by Prof. G. F. Fitzgerald. The author had recently constructed and described before the Royal Society of Dublin a model illustrating certain properties of the ether (NATURE, March 26, p. 498). This model was one-dimensional, but the author now showed how a tri-dimensional model might be imagined, though probably mechanical difficulties would render its actual construction impossible. Each element of the ether is to be represented by a cube on each edge of which there is a paddle-wheel. Thus on any face ot the cube there will be four paddle-wheels. Now, if any opposite pair of these rotate by different amounts, they will tend to pump any liquid in which the whole is immersed into or out of the cube, and if the sides of the cube be elastic there will be a stress which will tend to stop this differential rotation of the wheels. If however the other pair rotate by different amounts, they may undo what the first pair do, and thus the stress will depend on the difference between the differential rotations of these opposite pairs of wheels. If n represent the angular rotation of one pair, and ¢ that of the April 16, 885 | . * NATURE 571 t other, the stress will depend upon val - * Inorder that these ae four wheels may not similarly work with any other wheel, it is necessary to place diaphragms dividing the cube into six cells, each a pyramid standing on a face of the cube. They must be so made that liquid may not be able to pass from one cell to another through the diaphragm or beside the paddle-wheels ; to effect this the floats on the paddle-wheels would have to be drawn down while passing the diaphragms. Thus the energy of distorsion of such a medium would depend upon ee (é . as (“= aN. dy dz dz ax dx qd And Maxwell has shown that this is also true for the ether. The faces of the cubes should be filled up with diaphragms, past which the paddles should pump liquid, and whose elasticity should be the means of storing electrostatic energy in the medium. The most complicated results follow from supposing the faces of the cubes of which the medium is constructed to have different elasticities. Such a structure represents a crystall- ine medium, and vibrations would be propagated in it according to laws the same as those regulating the transmission of light in crystalline media. If the cubes were twisted, the structure would be like that of quartz or other substances rotating the plane of polarisation. To represent magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation it would be necessary to introduce some mechanism connecting the ether with matter. The author, in conclusion, insisted upon a view which regards the vibrations constituting light to be of the nature of alterations of structure, and not of displacements executed in a medium possessing the properties of an elastic jelly.—At the clo-e of the meeting the following instruments were exhibited and described in a conver- sational manner by their makers: a chrono-barometer and a chrono-thermometer by Mr. Stanley. These instruments con- sisted of clocks regulated by pendulums formed in the first instrument of a mercurial barometer, and in the second of a similar barometer inclosed in a hermetically-sealed air-chamber, the inclosed barometer thus acting as an air-thermometer. In- crease of pressure in the one case, and of temperature in the other, causes the mercury to rise, and thus accelerates the pen- dulum. By the gain or loss of time the mean pressure or tem- perature can be calculated for any period.—A heliostat and a galvanometer, by Mr. Conrad W. Cooke. The galvanometer is intended to show the internal current ina cell. The battery plates are in two cells connected by four glass tubes in multiple arc coiled around an astatic needle. The glass work is by Mr. Gimingham.—A spherometer, by Mr. Hilger, was made of aluminium, and combined lightness with rigidity. By an electrical contact the maker asserted that measurements could be made to one-millionth part of an inch.—Col. Malcolm exhibited a spectroscope and a binocular field-glass in which the two eye- pieces were separately adjustable; and Dr. Watts exhibited a simple modification of a quadrant electrometer. Royal Microscopical Society, March 11.—Rey. Dr. Dall- inger, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Crisp exhibited Winkel’s class microscope with movable stage, Tolle’s clinical microscope, Seibert’s portable microscope, and Swift’s micro- scope for examination of skin of sheep having a very long work- ing distance, Griffiths’ and Bertrand’s objective adapters and a new form of “ finder.”—Mr. H. G. Madan exhibited some new kinds of glass, having found that a combination of ordinary blue glass with a peculiar bluish-green glass, known as “‘ signal-green ” glass, was much more convenient than the usual glass cell filled with solution of cuprammonium sulphate.—Mr. Baker exhibited some object-boxes in book-form for placing on a shelf with books, the objects then lying flat.—Dr. C. v. Zenger’s letter was read describing a new mounting medium consisting of tribromide of arsenic in bisulphide of carbon, and giving a refractive index of from 1°6696 to 1'7082. An improved slide for viewing the object on both sides was also described.—Mr. C. H. Hughes’s description was read of a stage for use with high powers to prevent the decentring of the condenser, especially when used with immersion contact. Vertical, horizontal, and oblique motions are given to the slide, while the stage remains station- ary but can be rotated.—Mr. E. M. Nelson exhibited a drawing of comma bacillus showing the flagella.—Mr. J. Mayall, jun., described the original ruling machine of the late Herr F. A. Nobert, which was exhibited to the meeting. The foundation of the machine was a dividing engine calculated to produce parallel divisions far finer than could be marked by any ruling point yet discovered. The division-plate had twenty circles of ‘* dots,” and these were supplemented by extremely fine gradu- ations on two bands of silver imbedded near the edge, which were viewed by means of two compound microscopes, each provided with eyepiece screw micrometers of special construc- tion. The movement of rotation was effected by a fine tangent screw acting on a worm on the vertical edge of the division- plate. The method employed by Herr Nobert for obtaining the minute divisions of his test-plates (ranging from 1-1oooth to 1-20,000th of a Paris line) was to convert the radius of the division-plate into a lever to move the glass plate on which the rulings were made at right angles to the motion of the ruling point. For this purpose he attached to the centre of the rotating division-plate a bent arm, on which slid a bar of silver, having at one end a finely-polished steel point which could be adjusted by a scale and vernier so as to project more or less beyond the centre of the division-plate or axis of rotation. The radius of the division-plate thus became the long arm of the lever, whilst the radius of the projection of the polished steel point beyond the axis of rotation formed the short arm, the centre of the division-plate being the fulcrum. The motion cf the short arm of the lever was communicated by contact with an agate plate to a polished steel cylinder adjusted to slide at right angles to the movement of the ruling point in V-shaped bearings of agate. The steel cylinder carried a circular metal table, on which the glass plate to be ruled was fixed by wax and clamps. The arrangement for carrying the diamond point was, he believed, wholly designed by Herr Nobert, and was a most ingenious combination of mechanism.—Mr. Mayall referred briefly to the preparation of the glass plates for the rulings, which, he said, were of specially ‘‘ mild” composition. It was abun- dantly proved by Herr Nobert’s work that the perfection of the mechanical part of the dividing-engine was not the only difficulty which he had understood, and conquered. There was a still greater dfficulty which he had understood, and in which he had met with a success that gave him pre-eminence in this department of micro-physics, and that was the preparation of the diamond ruling-points. The description of these was deferred until the next meeting.—Mr. C. Beck exhibited a modification of the ‘‘com- plete” lamp fitted with a shallow glass reservoir instead of the original one of metal, also a vertical illuminator with a new form of diaphragm.—Dr. Van Heurck’s note was received, send- ing a copy of Prof. Abbe’s opinion on the photographs of the “heads” of A. pellucida, in which he stated that he had no reason to doubt the reality of the beads.—Dr. J. D. Cox’s note was read as to actinic and visual foci.—Mr. F. Kitton’s remarks in commendation of balsam of Tolu for mounting were read.— Dr. Ord exhibited and described some objects illustrating the erosion of the surface of glass ‘when exposed to the action of carbonate of lime and a colloid.—Mr. J. W. Stephenson read his paper, on a new catodioptric illuminator, having an aperture exceeding that of any existing objective, or equal to 1644 N.A. in flint glass, and 1°512 N.A. in crown glass.—Mr. Cheshire and Mr. E. Chayne’s paper on the pathogenic history of a new bacillus (B. a/ve’) was then read, in which it was shown that the disease attacking bees, and known as © foul brood,” was due to a bacillus. They had also discovered that the disease yielded readily to treatment which consisted in feed- ing the larvee with a syrup containing 1-600 per cent. of phenol. A detailed explanation was given of the methods adopted in tracing out the life-history of the bacillus, and a series of tubes and bottles in which its propagation had been carried on were exhibited.—Mr. Fowke read a paper on the first discovery of the comma bacillus of cholera. He showed that the bacillus was known and recognised thirty-five years ago by two Englishmen, Messrs. Brittain and Swayne. It was pointed out that it was by the breaking up of the rings discovered by original observers that the so-called ‘‘ comma” bacilli were formed.—Sixteen new Fellows were proposed and elected. MANCHESTER Literary and Philosophical Society, February 10.—Prof, W. C. Williamson, LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair.— On some undescribed tracks ‘of invertebrate animals from the Carboniferous rocks, and on some inorganic phenomena, simu- lating plant remains, produced on tidal shores, by Prof. W. C. Williamson, LL.D., F.R.S., President. Prof. Williamson’s memoir first contained descriptions and figures of a new form of Chrossocorda, which he named C. teberculata, from the Yore- dale rocks of Stonyhurst, in Lancashire, which genus has hitherto been found only in Palzozoic rocks of much older age than the Yoredale beds, Reciting the views of Schimper and 5/2 NATOLLE 7 | April 16, 1885 SF others, who believe that the genus Chrossochorda represents some fucoidal form of Paleozoic life, the author regards the various modifications of it as consisting of tracks of marine animals, probably crustaceans, He assigns the name of Chrosso- chorda tuberculata to that now described. _A second form of track, of a different type, was found by Mr. J. W. Davis, F.G.S., of Chevinedge, near Halifax. It consists of a line of curved footprints in groups of eight—four on each side—the suc- cessive groups varying from five-eighths of an inch to two inches apart from each other. The specimen described was found in a quarry of Yoredale beds, near Hawes. The author assigns to it the name of Protichnites Davisi, after its discoverer, Casts of two series of markings, produced by water, were exhibited and described. One of these series represented branching forms easily mistaken for fucoidal remains. They were in reality casts, made in plaster of Paris, of remarkable drainage lines left by the retiring tide, on the sandbanks at Llanfairfechan, in North Wales. The second series consisted of allied objects, but in this case drainage lines had combined with ripple marks to produce an effect easily mistaken for the geometrically arranged scale-leaves of some cycadean stem. These casts were obtained from sandbanks to the north of Barmouth. The author called attention to the controversy bearing on these subjects still in progress, especially between Prof. Nathorst and the Marquis of Saporta, and renewed an objection, recorded in more than one of his previous publications, to such anomalous objects as those in dispute being made use of, when attempting to frame, from Palzontological evidences, a pedigree of the vegetable world. CAMBRIDGE fg Philosophical Society, March 16.—Prof. Foster, President, in the chair.—The following communications were made :— Further remarks on the urea-ferment, by Mr. Lea.—On some points in the anatomy of Nebalia, by Mr. Weldon.—Obs=rva- tions on the constitution of callus, by Mr. Walter Gardiner. — Observations on vegetable proteids, by Mr. J. R. Green.—On the development of A’, 2’, 7’, G’ in powers of the modulus (Part II.), by Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher. SYDNEY Linnean Society of New South Wales, January 28.— Annual General Meeting.—The Presilent, C. 5. Wilkinson, F.L.S., in the chair.—The President delivered an address upon the Pleistocene period, and its infiuences upon the present dis- tribution of the fauna and flora of Australia. He gave also a short review of the work of the Society during the past year.— Tt was resolved that ladies may be admitted upon election as associates of the Society, with all the privileges of ordinary members except the right to attend the monthly meetings, at the reduced subscription of one guinea, without entrance fee.— The following papers were read :—A monograph of the Austra- lian sponges: Part iv., the Myxospongize, by R. von Lenden- feld, Ph.D. In this paper the Australian species are described. (The author partly adopts the view of Sollas regarding the separation of the Halisarcidee and Gummine.) The structure of Bajalus, a new genus of Halisarcidz, is described. The subdermal cavities are remarkably developed. Amceboid wan- dering cells were found in a dense layer beneath the outer skin. Gland cells are described. Sexual products mature only in the innermost part. The gastral cavity serves as a marsupium. The anatomy of Chondresia Ramsayi, n.sp., Chondrilla papil- data, n.sp., and corticata, n.sp., shows some points of interest. Peculiar subdermal cavities are described in the former. The two latter possess a special cortical skeleton.—The method of section-cutting with some improvements, by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph.D.—Ameba parasitica, a new parasitic Protozoan infesting sheep, by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph.D.—The meteorology of Mount Kosciusko, by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph. D.—The Glacial period in Australia, by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph.D. The author gives the results of his recent expedition to the central part of the Australian Alps in this paper, as far as they bear on the above question. He ascended the two highest peaks in Australia, and found on the plateau which surrounds them undoubted glacial remains in the shape of voches moutonnées in many places above 5800 feet. He concludes that Australia was affected by a glacial period at the same epoch as New Zealand, but that, owing to the lowness of the mountains (only 7256 feet the highest peal), the low latitude, and the warm and dry winds from the interior, the glaciers attained but small dimensions, and only covered an area of about roo square miles. He considers it probable that no other glaciers existed in Australia at the time, as even those © on the highest elevation of the continent were so small.—On the ; Proteacezx, by the Rev. W. Woolls, Ph.D., F.L.S.—On a new snake from the Barrier Ranges, by William Macleay, F.L.S., — &e. The description is here given of a species of /usina, to which the specific name of Ram-ay? is affixed. Some specimens of it were exhibited, as well as specimens of Vermicella, Typhilops, — and Delma, from the same locality. PARIS Academy of Sciences, April 6.—M. Boulay, President, in the chair.—Obituary notice of M. Rolland, Member of the Section for Mechanics, who died on March 31, by the President. —Remarks on the agreement between geological and cosmogonic epochs, by M. Faye. These remarks are made in connection with his work, ‘‘ Sur l’Origine du Monde,” recently presented to the Academy, in which he develops his theory on the cosmic evolution of the solar system. Here this theory is supported by fresh arguments drawn from thermodynamics, biology, and solar physics. —On the artificial and supplementary manures proper for soil of different qualities, by M. de Gasparin. It is shown by numerous examples that such manures should be selected, not only according to the nature of the crops to be raised, but also according to the character of the lands requiring to be enriched. —On the resistance offered by a fluid in repose and without weight to the varied movement of a solid sphere immersed in it when the velocities are continuous, but so slow that their squares and products may be neglected, by M. J. Boussinesq.—On the “‘polhodie,” a curve introduced by Poinsot into his new theory on the rotation of bodies, by M. A. Mannheim.—On the lique- faction and solidification of formene and of the deutoxide of nitrogen, by M. K. Olszewski.—On the amides of the oxalo- adipose group, by M. L. Henry.—Funeral orations pronounced at the obsequies of M. Rolland on April 7, by MM. Phillips and Schlosing. STOCKHOLM Royal Academy of Sciences, March 11.—Prof. Gylden communicated a paper by A. Shdanow on the computation of the intermediate orbit of the comet of Faye-MOller when it was in the vicinity of Jupiter in 1841.—Prof. Mittag-Leffler presented papers (1) on periodical functions with a discontinuous period-system of the first kind, by himself; and (2) annotations on the mathe- matician, Petius de Dacia, and his writings, by G. Engstrom.— The Secretary, Prof. Lindhagen, presented (1) the doctrine of Linnzeus on the species of plants determined and permanent in the nature, represented according to the works of Linnzus and compared with the corresponding views of Darwin, by Prof. T. G. Agardh ; (2) Desmidiz collected during the expedition of Nordenskidld to Greenland in 1870, by Prof. Berggren, and described by Dr. O. Nordstedt. CONTENTS PaGE A Scientific: University 0) 2. v0 a 549 Timbuktu. By Prof. A. H. Keane 55° Our Book Shelf :— Macfarlane’s ‘‘ Physical Arithmetic” . ..... » 551 D’Ocagne’s ‘‘ Coordonnées paralléles et axiales” . 551 Letters to the Editor :— The Colours of Arctic Animals.—Alfred R. Wal- TAC 8 tey> ai te, od) Lo Wee ere end oh ee OS Civilisation and Eyesight.—Charles Roberts. . . 552 Far-sightedness.—J. Hippisley; Rev. E. Hill. . 553 The Pupil of the Eyes during Emotion.—John Aitken® ..3. 2 « . a Mere Ceeaicy Oho Oo (AGE Notes on the Geology of the Pescadores.—Surgeon A BuiGuppys sl. leit Oc OT A New Bird in Natal.—Rev. James Turnbull. . 554 CheE Es Vion sicboldipn 1 eu cmeu canon wiein tne ane 5 The Eggs of Fishes, II. By Prof. McIntosh, LL.D., 1a) SS aes GuSbOMOOAMSMDmC, omoboro oO Otol o-c (SS) The New University of Strasburg. (J///ustrated) 557 Notes) cyicets totem ie suet cel as, Oyo eal LAS akc nse 562 Geographical Notes . 5) 5 = 8 oo 3 ee 04 Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, Bprilinqessieueie oc to silsien okie telieiiii enim oMemnSO5 On a Remarkable Phenomenon of Crystalline Re- flection. By Prof. G. G. Stokes, M.A., Sec. R.S. 565 Recent Progress in Chemistry. By W. H. Perkin, BR SS es Ss ney kei eee een OS) Scientific Serials. . svar bike Oo fon.3 dan 6 569 Societies and Academies. .....-+.2+-+e-s 570 NATORE 973 THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 1885 THE “CHALLENGER” EXPEDITION Report on the Stalked Crinoidea Collected during the “ Challenger” Expedition. By P. Herbert Carpenter, M.A., D.Sc. 4to, pp. 440, with 69 Plates. (London: Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.) A HE Stalked Crinoids,’ says Mr. Murray in his prefatory notice to this Report, “ both on account of their rarity and their paleontological relations, are perhaps the most interesting and remarkable of deep-sea animals, and have been in a special manner associated with the Cha/lenger Expedition. The joint work of the late Sir C. Wyville Thomson and Dr. W. B. Carpenter, first on Comatula and afterwards on Pentacrinus, together with the discovery by Prof. G. O. Sars of RAzzocrinus off the Lofoten Islands in 1864, led directly to the expe- ditions of the Lightning and the Porcupine in 1868 and the following years; and was thus indirectly concerned in the despatch of the Challenger Expedition in 1872.” Not only for these reasons, but also on account of the exceptional value of Dr. P. H. Carpenter’s Report, we shall give it a full notice. Every scientific Paleontologist regards the group of Crinozdea with special interest. Not only do its fossilized skeletons present themselves—frequently in a state of admirable preservation—in almost all marine limestones from the Lower Silurian to the present time; but they are not unfrequently found to furnish by their accumula- tion no inconsiderable proportion of the calcareous mate- rial of such formations. And in the course of this long succession they exhibit a number of remarkable changes of type, each characteristic of a particular epoch. The most singular errors formerly prevailed respecting their zoological relations ; and it was not until the publication in 1821 of the “Natural History of the Crznozdea,’ by J. S. Miller, a German naturalist residing in Bristol, that any successful attempt was made to systematise the group, by showing the true relation of its diversified forms to each other and to existing types. Miller was acute enough to recognise the close resemblance in the skeleton of the Liassic Crinoids first differentiated by him as Pentacrint—not only to that of a stalked Crinoid still living in the West Indian seas (which he described under the name of Pentacrinus caput Meduse), but also to the unstalked Comatwla of our own shores, which had been previously ranked with Zwrya/e as an Ophiurid ; and taking this as his point of departure, he worked out the morphology of the other fossil Crinoids then known, with a success which has rendered his Monograph the foundation of all that has been since done for the systematic arrangement of the multitudinous extinct forms which paleontological research is continu- ally bringing to light. His recognition of the Crinoidal character of Comatula was afterwards fully confirmed by the discovery, made in 1836 by Mr. J. V. Thompson of Cork, that Comatula passes the earlier part of its life in the attached condition as a Pentacrinoid ; dropping off its stem at a certain stage of its growth, and thenceforth remaining free. The “epoch-making” monograph of J. S. Miller was VOL. XXXI.—No. 808 followed in 1334 by the now classical Memoir of Joh. Miiller, of Berlin, ‘“‘ Ueber den Bau des Pentacrinus-caput Meduse” ; of which recent type the soft parts were then for the first time described. The material for this de- scription was chiefly furnished by a single spirit-specimen of the West Indian Penfacrinus ; but as this wanted its visceral mass, the description of that part was supplied from Comazula, the structure of whose arms and ventral disk was found to conform very closely to that of the same parts in Pentacrinus. Miller completely reformed the nomenclature of his predecessor ; and his designa- tions of the several pieces of the Crinoid skeleton are now adopted by all writers on the group. And as, in addition, he was the first to give an account (although in several respects an erroneous one) of the nutritive and reproductive apparatus of the Crinoids, his memoir con- stitutes, as it were, the basement-story of the edifice whose foundation had been laid by J. S. Miller. This was afterwards further built upon by Prof. Wyville Thomson and Dr. W. B. Carpenter; who, seeing that a thorough study of the entire life-history of Comatula would be likely to furnish a key to that of the extinct Crinoids, agreed to prosecute it conjointly ; the former undertaking the earliest stage, that of the free-swimming pro-embryo (whose existence had been made known by Busch, a pupil of Miiller), up to the time of its first attachment by a calcareous stem ; and the latter following the Pentacrinoid through the successive phases of its existence, to its detachment and subsequent full develop- ment into the free Comafula, The results of their researches, embodied in the successive communica- tions made by them to the Royal Society, have not only shown how these creatures lived and moved, but have furnished (as they anticipated) valuable guidance to all subsequent investigators into the Palaontological history of the Crzzozdea. And they have also served as the basis of the more minute anatomical inquiries of Ludwig, Greef, Perier, and Dr. P. Herbert Carpenter ; which, prosecuted with every advantage afforded by im- proved methods of microscopic examination, have con- firmed Dr. Carpenter’s correction of several serious errors in Miller’s anatomy ; whilst his important determination, both anatomical and experimental, of the principal nervous system in Cyznozdea, has been recently put beyond all doubt (though long contested as morphologically imposs- ible) by the further experiments of Prof. A. M. Marshall and Dr. Jickeli (see p. 407 e¢ seg. of Dr. P. H. Carpenter’s Report). Prof. G. O. Sars’s discovery, in 1864, on a bottom of from 400-500 fathoms’ depth, of the singular little stalked Crinoid to which he gave the name R&zzocrinus lofo- tensts, was followed by the discovery, in the Porcupine Expedition of 1869, of a new and delicate Crinoid belonging to the same family, named Bathycrinus gracilis by Wyville Thomson, who brought it up from 2435 fathoms’ depth in the East Atlantic; a second species of Rizzocrinus being also met with. And in 15870 a fortunate haul made by the Porcupine in 800-900 fathoms off the coast of Portugal, brought up twenty specimens of a full-sized new species of Pentacrinus, called by Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys (who had charge of that cruise) P. wyv2lle-thomsont. About the same period, the United States Coast Survey CE 574 NATURE a eo = ey | April 23, 1885 brought up both Rhzzocrinus lofotensis and the second species, 2. vawso77z, in the West Indian Seas; while Sir Rawson Rawson, Governor of Barbadoes, who had been interested in the work by Dr. Carpenter, obtained three specimens of the singular genus Ho/ofus (previously known as a recent type by only a single specimen so im- perfect that its crinoidal nature was doubted), and several Pentacriné belonging to species which had been previously obtained for Wyville Thomson by Mr. Damon’s collectors in the same region. This was the sum of our knowledge, alike of types and of localities, when the Challenger Expedition set forth in 1872. The collections made during her voyage, supple- mented by those made in the West Indian area by the U.S.A. surveying-ship /ake (types of which were placed by Prof. A. Agassiz in the hands of Sir Wyville Thomson for description), and a few gatherings from other sources, now raise the total of existing generic forms to 6, and of species to no less than 32; at the same time demon- strating the very wide diffusion of the stalked Crinoids over the oceanic floor, and showing their bathymetric range to extend from depths of less than 100 fathoms to 2500. A large collection was also made by the Challenger of unstalked Comatulzde, including the singular aberrant genus Actinometra,; together with a single specimen (recently described by Dr. P. H. Carpenter? under the generic designation Z/awmatocrinus) of an unstalked type which presents a most singular survival of Palzo- crinoidal characters. Finding, on his return from the Challenger Expedition in 1876, that Dr. P. Herbert Carpenter had been further prosecuting the study of the Comatuid@, on the basis laid down by his father, Sir Wyville Thomson placed in his hands the whole Cha//enger collection of unstalked Crinoids, which included not less than 150 new species ; keeping in his own charge the collection of stalked Crinoids (together with the types of the Z?/ake collection), on which he intended himself to report. This intention, however, he did not live to fulfil; and on his untimely death in March, 1882, Mr. Murray requested Dr. P. H. Carpenter to undertake the stalked Crinoids also. Beyond naming (mostly without diagnoses) several new genera and species, and directing the execution of 28 plates, Sir Wyville Thomson had made no preparation whatever for his Report ; and on his successor, therefore, almost the whole labour of its production has fallen. The result has fully justified Mr. Murray’s selection ; for we feel sure that in proportion to the previous knowledge possessed by any student of this Monograph, will be his admiration of the masterly skill with which the knowledge derived from the careful and thorough study of every existing type at present known is made to elucidate the structure and life-history of the extinct Crinoids: this being no less apparent in the case of the Pa/eocrinotidea, which differ most widely from existing forms, than in that of the Neocrinoidea, many of which are represented in our existing fauna by forms that differ from them only speci- fically. In this, his ofzs magnum, will be recognised that combination of a remarkable aptitude for the appre- hension of details, with a philosophic grasp of his subject as a whole, by which Dr. P. H. Carpenter’s previous con- tributions ‘to its literature have been distinguished ; Philosophical Transactions, 1883, p. 919, and “‘ Report,” p. 370. making him equally at home in characterising a specific type, in working out the minutest features of its organisa- tion, and in discussing the homologies of the Crinozdea with those of the other divisions of the great Echinoderm group. Whilst giving the fullest credit to his predecessors and contemporaries, he has endeavoured to determine every point for himself; frequently clearing up an ob- scurity, or satisfactorily settling a disputed question, by more extended research of his own. And where he has found his own inferences from the study of existing types to disagree with those of Palzontologists who had acquired a deserved reputation for their labours on the fossil Crinoids, he has set forth the grounds of their opinions, and his own reasons for dissenting from them, with impartial fairness. This is conspicuous in his dis- cussion of the morphological relations between the AVeo- crinotds and the Pal@ocrinozds ; as to certain points of which he is at issue with the highest authority upon the latter group, Mr. Charles Wachsmuth, of Burlington, Iowa, U.S., which locality seems its metropolis. ‘We have approached the subject,” he says, “from different sides ; but upon one point we are in complete accordance—viz. the desire to find out the truth.” The jst division of the Report, extending to 185 quarto pages, is devoted to the Morphology and Natura] History of the C7znoidea generally, treated under the following heads :—(r) The skeleton, with the modes of union of its component joints; (2) the stem and its appendages ; (3) the calyx; (4) the rays ; (5) the visceral mass; (6) the minute anatomy of the disk and arms; (7) the habits of recent Crinoids, and their parasites ; (8) the geographical and bathymetrical distribution of the Crinoids; (9) the relation between the recent and the fossil Neocrinoids ; and (10) the relations of the Neo- crinoids to the Palaocrinoids. All these subjects are treated with a completeness which leaves nothing to be desired ; rendering this portion of the work a most admir- able Introduction to the study of the Cyzzozdea generally, without a thorough mastery of which no one can hence- forth be qualified to discuss any portion of the group. The second division commences with a discussion of the principles on which the Classification of the Cyzozdea should be based; after which, every type of Stalked Crinoids at present known is fully described, and its rela- tions discussed. A few of the most interesting additions to our previous knowledge will be briefly noticed as samples of their value. The structure of the strangely aberrant o/opus—in which the basal and radial plates are completely anchy- losed into an asymmetrical tube-like calyx, fixed by an irregularly expanded base, while the arms are exception- ally massive—is elucidated as fully as the state of the specimens permitted ; and it is shown that not only the Cretaceous Cyathidium, with the Liassic Cotylecrinus and E-udesicrinus, which had been previously referred to the family Holofide, but also the Upper Silurian Edrzo- crinus of Hall, are to be associated with it; so that the pedigree of this family seems more ancient than that of any other recent type at present known. The new genus Ayocrinus, instituted by Wyville Thomson for a beautiful little deep-sea Crinoid bearing a superficial resemblance to RAZz0crz7us, is shown by Dr. P. H. Carpenter to have distinctive characters of such a —— CO April 23, 1885] rank as to require being ranked as a type of a new family, which, while not specially related to any other Neo- crinoid, presents important characters that connect it with the Palzocrinoids. The Bathycrinus of Wyville Thomson, of which three species are now known, and the RAzsocrinus of Sars, of which the two species now known prove to have a wide geo- graphical distribution, are next minutely described as mem- bers of the family Bourgeticrinide (De Loriol). This family represented in the Cretaceous and Tertiary epochs the much more highly developed Afpzocrinéd@ of the Jurassic ; and there seems every probability that we can now cor- rectly reconstruct the whole anatomy of the Pear En- crinite on the basis supplied by Ludwig’s study of the soft parts of Rhzzocrinws, and Dr. P. H. Carpenter’s account of those of Bathycrinus. We next come to Pertacrinus, the typical genus of the family Pentacrinide,as this is the typical family of the Neocrinidea. Every palzontologist is familiar with the extraordinary development of this family type in the Liassic period, as shown in the splendid slabs exhibited in our museums. The most remarkable species, as regards the length of its stem and the number of the component joints, is Eatracrinus subangularis ; fossil specimens of whose stem have been found to measure from 50 to 70 feet. The mode in which the new joints are added at the summit of this stem was studied by Quenstedt, as well as the fossilised condition of his speci- mens permitted ; but Dr. W. B. Carpenter has been able to work it out more completely in the recent Peztacrinus wyville-thomsonz ; and the excellent figures drawn by Mr. George West for the illustration of a monograph of that type which Dr. Carpenter formerly intended to produce, show every successive stage in the development of the segments intercalated at and near the summit of the stem, the gradual assumption by the intercalated segments of the characters of those with which they alternate, and the progressive change from a pentangular to a circular out- line, as well as in their articulating surfaces, which both series finally undergo ; thus making it clear that great care must be used in erecting new fossil species (as has been frequently done) upon the slender evidence of an inch or two of stem. Of the genus Pezfacrinus, the three species which had been obtained from West Indian Seas before the dis- covery of the European type, had been so variously named and so diversely described, that their synonymy seemed in a state of hopeless entanglement. Byacareful comparison, however, of the best-authenticated specimens of each with the large number since collected, Dr. P. H. Carpenter has found himself able to clear up the con- fusion ; this having partly arisen from the wide range of individual variation, especially in a character hitherto regarded as of fundamental importance—the completeness of the basal circlet, and its external conspicuousness, as well as in the number of arms to each ray. The first- known species, originally called /szs astertas by Linnzus, now proves to be the rarest ; several of the Museum speci- mens which had been referred to it, being here shown to belong to the species first distinguished by Gé2rsted in 1856 as P. miilleri. Greatly exceeding both these in abundance, is the elegant species originally named P. decorus in 1864 by Wyville Thomson, who had obtained NATURE By) a specimen of it from Mr. Damon ; the dredgings of the U.S.A. steamer Blake in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf Stream Channel having brought it up dy the hundred, so that, as Prof. Agassiz remarks, “we must have swept over actual forests of Pentacrini crowded together, much as we find the fossil Pentacrini on slabs.” Another species, P. Zlakei, was dredged by the Blake at four sta- tions in the Caribbean Sea; and neither of these four epecies has been met with elsewhere. Of the P. wywzdle- thomsonz, which first presented itself in the Porcupine dredging of 1870, thirty specimens were recently dredged by the Za/isman (French) at a depth of 800 fathoms off Rochefort ; but it was not anywhere met with by the Challenger, which, however, brought up a specimen of a beautiful new species, P. zaclearanus, from the Tropical Atlantic, several specimens of two types respectively named P: naresianus and P. alternicirrus, from the Western Pacific, and a single mutilated specimen from the Japan Sea of a doubtful type, which, en account of the deficiency of calcareous material in its calyx, Dr. P. H. Carpenter provisionally names P. mollis, All these species appear to have but a limited geographical range ; and this seems also to have been the case with the fossil species of the Lias, the British and Continental species being mostly different. These, too, have a limited geological range; no species occurring in all its three divisions, and only two out of the fifteen which are found in the middle and upper Lias of this country being common to those two divisions. Of all the stalked Crinoids, it is Pextacrinus (as was seen by J. S. Miller) which bears the closest resemblance to the unattached Comatula,; the chief difference being that the basals of the pentacrinoid larva are retained in the adult Pentacrinus, whilst they disappear externally in Comatula, inward fprolongations of them coalescing to form the curious “rosette” first described by Dr. W. B. Carpenter. In regard to their mode of life, there seems really very little difference between these two types; for obser- vation of the habits of living Covzatwle shows that they only perform their beautiful swimming movements in order to find a suitable base to which they can attach themselves by their dorsal cirri; whilst on the other hand it seems quite certain that the stalked Pentacring are not unfrequently detached by the fracture of their stems just below one of its nodal joints, and that the cirri which spring from the latter then bend downwards and cling to any suitable attachment, just like the dorsal citrhi of Comatude. The structure of the visceral disk as well as of the arms and pinnules of Pentacrinus, has been found by Dr. P. H. Carpenter to bear the closest similarity to that of the corresponding parts in Comatula ; and while the five-chambered organ at the base of the calyx, from the walls of which the primary nerve-trunks radiate, is much smaller in Pevtacrinus than in Comatiula (its greater size in the latter being obviously related to the number of verticils of cirral nerve-cords it has to give off), a similar dilatation of the Crinoidal axis presents itself in each node of the stem, giving off from its exterior a single such verticil. It is not a little curious that inthe Eastern Archipelago and the neighbouring part of the Pacific, Pewtacrinus is re- placed by a new generic type, closely allied to it in the most essential features of its structure, to which Sir 576 Wyville Thomson assigned the name Jedacrinus, though without defining its distinctive characters. No fewerthan eleven species of this genus were dredged by the Cha/- lenger,; and, previously to his receiving this collection, Dr, P. H. Carpenter had come to the knowledge of three other species, a description of which he has communi- cated to the Linnzean Society. All these seem very limited in their geographical range, and not one of them has been found in the Atlantic. No fossil representative of this genus is at present known; but it is by no means impossible that some of the Liassic (reputed) Pemtacrinz may prove to belong to it. In addition to the 28 plates drawn for Sir Wyville Thomson, and 5 of Pentacrinus wyville-thomsonti sup- plied by Dr. W. B. Carpenter, 35 plates have been drawn under Dr. P. H. Carpenter’s direction, many of them containing numerous figures; while another has been autotyped from micro-photographs prepared by himself; making a total of 69 plates, for the most part admirably executed, besides 21 woodcuts in the text. When we add that the work is provided with a copious bibliography and an excellent index, we hope that we shall have made it clear that nothing, in our judgment, is wanting to its completeness.—The report on the Comatudlida@, of which the preparation was far advanced before it was put aside for that on the stalked Crinoids, will, we trust, speedily follow. We shall next look for the monograph of the Blastoidea, on which, it is understood, Dr. P. H. Car- penter has been for some time engaged, in conjunction with Mr. R. Etherege, jun., and which will, we believe, throw an altogether new light on that most interesting group. And every British Palzontologist, we feel sure, will desire that he may then find himself enabled to under- take, on the sure basis he has now laid, a complete re- view of the Fossil Cyzzocdea and a re-investigation of the little-understood Cystédea. FRANKLAND AND FAPP’S INORGANIC CHEMISTRY Inorganic Chemistry. By Edward Frankland, Ph.D., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., Professor of Chemistry in the Normal School of Science ; and Francis R. Japp, M.A., Ph.D., F.I.C., Assistant Professor of Chemistry in the Normal School of Science. (London: J. and A. Churchill, 1884.) HEN one opens a new book on Chemistry written by men who are generally recognised to be masters of their subject, one expects to find some light thrown on the great and confused heap of details with which one is accustomed to be confronted in the pages of the ordinary chemical text-book. Hydrogen, it is true, can scarcely be expected to have changed its properties since the last treatise on descrip- tive chemistry was published ; it still remains “a colour- less gas devoid of taste and smell”; it is still a fact that “owing to its lightness this gas may be collected in inverted vessels by upward displacement.” No one will venture to dispute the assertions that “in the free state hydrogen occurs in the gases of volcanoes (Bunsen),” or that “in combination hydrogen occurs in enormous quantities in water.” But we have heard these state- ments so very often. Are they not preserved for us in NATURE | April 23, 1885 the pages of scores of books, and of tens of scores of pamphlets? Surely it is not asking too much from our masters in chemistry that they should begin to make some use of the many facts which have been so laboriously collected. The “hewers of wood and drawers of water” have brought the materials into the camp: must they lie there for ever unused? They have been scheduled and catalogued a thousand times ; was it necessary or advant- ageous that Profs. Frankland and Japp should undertake the work of issuing another catalogue? The book before us contains 783 pages of printed matter ; of these, 650 pages are devoted to descriptions of the elements and their compounds. One cannot expect much in this part of the book, except a repetition of the well-known facts. The formule in this book are perhaps a little more picturesque than usual; the judicious em- ployment of thick type and small o’s, whether commend- able or not from the chemical point of view, certainly gives an air of distinction to the page which the ordinary text-book is obliged to do without. Turning to the introductory chapters, one is somewhat taken aback to learn on page 1 that cohesion, heat, light, gravity, chemical affinity, and electricity, are all forms of force. After learning this, one is certainly not surprised to be informed (pp. 64-5) that the formule H—-C—H I He and O=C=o, “give no indication that the molecule of the first compound contains a vast store of force, whilst the last is, comparatively, a powerless molecule.” This con- fusion between force and energy is painfully visible throughout the book. Is there something radically absurd in the attempt to apply dynamical notions to chemistry? If not, why isit that when a chemist commits himself to a statement involving the conceptions force and energy in nine cases out of ten he gets altogether confused ? A great part of the advance made in chemistry in recent years is based on the adoption of clear and practical definitions of the atom and the molecule, and on the conceptions which flow from these definitions. Chapters IV., V., and VI. of Profs. Frankland and Japp’s book deal with these subjects. Chapter IV. gives a clear and trustworthy account of the laws of chemical combi- nation; Chapter V. deals with the atomic theory in an exceedingly satisfactory manner; and Chapter VI. pre- sents us with a sketch of the methods whereby the molecular weights of gaseous elements and compounds, and the atomic weights of elements, are determined. These chapters appear to us to be especially good; a careful study of them is likely to be of much benefit to the student of chemistry. But if the student be of a critical turn of mind, he may object that he should be shown the “steep and thorny way,” while the authors themselves, in the other parts of their book, “ the primrose path of dalliance” tread. Thus, to take an instance, the molecular formula of ferric hydrate is given (p. 59, o0Ze) as Fe,H,O,; but ferric hydrate has never been gasified, and the theory of molecules as developed in Chapter VI. isa theory strictly applicable to gases only. Indeed, we might object to the incongruity between the teaching of Chapters V. and VI., and the practice of most of the book. These chapters define atom and molecule, and April 23, 1835 | NATBORE a7 give us the outlines of a self-consistent theory; but the chapters on descriptive chemistry employ the term “ mole- cule” in the vaguest and widest way, ¢.g. (p. 67) these formule are given as molecular (KO), (O2Zn), (N Ha), O and these as semimolecular OK, {z NH.. O Indeed, all through the book little or no distinction is made between the formule of gases and those of solids ; all are treated as molecular. The disadvantage of doing this becomes very apparent when we turn to our authors’ treatment of the much-vexed questions connoted by the term “valency ” or “atomicity.” Here the reviewer would protest against the use of the term “atomicity” as synonymous with “ valency of atoms.” On p. 30 we are told that the molecules of hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, &c., are diatomic, and the molecule of ozone is triatomic; if, therefore, we meet with the statement that oxygen is a diatomic element, we should naturally interpret this to mean that the molecule of oxygen is twice as heavy as the atom; but we find that it means something quite different: it means, according to this book, that oxygen has an atom-fixing power equal to twice that of one atom of hydrogen. The treatment of valency, or equivalency, of atoms by Profs. Frankland and Japp is, in our opinion, open to the gravest objections. The statement on p. 57 that the atomic weight of an element “is the smallest proportion by weight in which that element enters into, or is expelled from, a chemical com- found” (italics are ours), we think, strikes the keynote of the confusion which immediately becomes evident. If for the words in italics are substituted the words, a molecule of a chemical compound, and if the definition of molecule, as given by Clerk Maxwell or other physicists and as practically adopted by our authors (pp. 26-7), is rigidly adhered to, the confusion, we are convinced, would vanish. It may be said that the word ‘ molecule’ is understood in the definition quoted, and also in the statements that appear on p. 57 and elsewhere—e.g. in the mutual action of zinc and steam, “one atom of zinc expels from the steam two atoms of hydrogen ” (italics are again ours) ; but the frequent reiteration of the word would do something to restrain the chemical student from giving the reins to his fancy and plunging into dreams of graphic formulze supposed to represent the structure of molecules, the existence of which is unproved. Each element is said (p. 58) to have a certain atom- fixing power, and we are told “each unit of atom-fixing power will be named a bond.” But when we come to study the formule which are constructed on this hasis, we find that a bond is not a unit of atom-fixing power or of any other “ power” at all. We find that an element with two bonds is simply an element one atom of which usually combines with two atoms of hydrogen or chlorine, &c., but the “ power” cannot be measured by the number of atoms fixed. It is in our opinion altogether erroneous to speak of a “bond” asa unit of power, unless one is pre- pared to employ the term “unit” in a sense in which no known science has been bold enough to use it, and the word “ power” in no particular sense at all. The valency of many elementary atoms varies accord- ing to the nature of the other atoms with which they are combined in various compound molecules. The valency of an atom is, as a rule, expressed by an odd or an even number (there are more exceptions to this rule than the authors seem willing to admit on p. 60). “ These remark- able facts can be explained by a very simple and obvious assumption, viz. that oxe or more pairs of bonds belonging — to the atom of an element can unite and, having saturated each other, become, as it were, latent.” One is obliged to ask here, Is this a scientific explana- tion? Does the explanation explain anything? What are these bonds which “ become, as it were, latent”? Are not the facts much more “simple and obvious” than the explanation? What is the explanation ? Then we are told (p. 61) that “the apparent exception to this hypothesis [one asks, What hypothesis ?] nearly all disappear on investigation. Thus, iron, which is a dyad in ferrous compounds as (FeCl,), a tetrad in iron pyrites (FeS,), and a hexad in ferric acid (FeO,(OH),), is ap- parently a triad in ferric chloride (FeCl,) ; but the vapour- density of ferric chloride shows that its formula must be doubled—that, in fact, the two atoms of the hypothetical molecule of iron (Fe,) have not been completely sepa- rated.” Then follow structural formule (so called) of the iron compounds already named. If this is the kind of explanation that the bond hypothesis has to give of facts, we may well doubt whether any scientific advance is to be hoped for by using this hypothesis. There‘is, it would seem, something metaphorical in the statement that when the bonds have satisfied each other they “become, as zt were, latent” (italics ours): and “when a metaphor comes to be regarded as an argument, what an irresistible argument it always seems” ! One is so apt in chemistry to prove a fact by a hypo- thesis. We cannot but think that this method is too often followed in the book before us. For instance, the fact that water of crystallisation is generally easily removed by heating the crystalline salt, is explained (?) by the statement that “in the formation of such compounds no change takes place in the active atomicity of any of the molecules.” Great advances have been lately made in the study of chemical affinity. We turn with pleasure to Chapter XI1., hoping to have our views on this subject rendered clear and definite. Chemical affinity “may be measured as regards its ex- tent and as regards its zuzéensity.” Relative extent of affinity is measured, we are told, by the number of atoms of a standard element with which two or more given ele- ments (? elementary atoms) can combine. “ Aten? of affinity is thus directly connected with atomicity.” “ Rela- tive intensity of affinity of two or more elements for any given element refers to the resistance which their com- pounds with this element offer to decomposition. The measure of this intensity is the quantity of heat evolved in combination or required for decomposition.” “ Extent of affinity ” seems to be here closely connected with the atom of the elements; we are left in doubt whether “ intensity of affinity” is or is not similarly con- nected with these atoms. The measure of the intensity of affinity seems to have something of the nature of an atomic bond, it is so very 578 protean; our faith in this measure is rudely shaken by the statements on pp. 104-5. There are many interest- ing statements in Chapter XII. but one finds it difficult to discover why the heading should be “Chemical Affinity.” The time is surely past when we are to expect the chemical student to be content with a sketchy outline of such subjects as affinity and thermo-chemistry. If these subjects are really parts of the science of chemistry—and surely they are all-important parts—let them be dealt with as such, and not thrust into a corner and treated so that the student isready to conclude that, if he is able to repeat the properties of the elements and their compounds, he must of necessity be 2 chemist. The real science of chemistry is something more than a string of disconnected facts and a few mutually independent hypotheses. We cannot but think that, had the authors of this book cut out most of the graphic formule, been content to use the notation adopted by other chemists, and carefully considered, digested, and arranged the materials they have brought together in the first nineteen chapters, they would have produced a much better and a much more scientific treatise. M. M. P. Muir LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No noticets taken of anonymous communications, [The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it is impossible otherwise toinsurethe appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts. Mr. Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes (1) Ir is, I imagine, sufficiently obvious! that I was not at liberty to state in my previous letter the circumstances connected with the action of the Royal Society in regard to Mr. Lowne’s paper, now inaccurately related by him. It is also clearly impossible that I should take any notice of Mr. Lowne’s letter in your journal of April 9 (p. 528) beyond expressing my surprise that he should suppose that I have had any personal feeling in regard to him or his work, and my regret ‘that he should accuse Prof. Schafer, Dr. Hickson, the Royal Society, and the Cambridge histologists of ill-treating him in various ways. (2) I would beg to assure my friend Dr. Romanes that he is mistaken if he imagines that I intend to publicly discuss the affairs of the Linnean Society with him either here or elsewhere. At the same time I consider that I am at liberty to express my judgment as to the scientific value of a paper published by the Linnean Society, and that neither he nor the author of the paper are entitled to object to my discharging what I conceive to be my duty in this respect. IE. Ray LANKESTER 11, Wellington Mansions, N.W. Abnormal Season in the Niger Delta As you are aware the waters of the Nile are at present abnormally low, and having just received a letter from the Niger, I thought it might interest you to learn that the season is abnormal also there. My correspondent, who has an experi- ence of many years on the river, states :— ‘*We have had the most extraordinary weather since the commencement of the year—heaps of rain up to the present during both months (January and February), and yesterday one of the worst tornadoes I haye ever seen, and that from the due north ; usually the bad ones come about Christmas from the south-east. I never saw rain, up to the present, after Christmas during the first three months of the year, which are the unhealthy ones, These months are this year so far fairly healthy, although the falling of so great a river as the Niger must wash down a NMA TORE eS = ae | April 23, 1885 mass of filth, not so much from the towns on the banks as from the hundred small and large villages and towns up all the creeks or tributaries along its banks.” I have asked if any barometer observations are made, and if I could have a return of them for the past year. J. PB 1OUREMLY, Royal College of Science for Ireland, Stephen’s Green, Dublin, April 16 Tardy Justice You well advocate the establishment of a well-endowed scien- tific University in London. Perhaps, however, London is like a mass of dough which needs leaven. Why should not the Cor- poration of the City of London be that leaven? Perhaps, how- ever, the Corporation needs that some one should employ a yeast-germ in order to start its fermentation. Or, if it be lawful to compare that august body to a pump, perhaps a handle is necessary Which some one may work. Why should not the yeast-germ, or the handle, be found in Gresham College? April 17 Z. A Query I WoNDER if any of your readers could suggest a material which would fulfil the following requirements :—(1) Great cheap- ness ; (2) capability of being readily cast, or moulded, into simple shapes with no delicacy of detail ; (3) not very brittle ; (4) not fusible under a temperature of 100° F. It shonld also afford a surface which could be readily painted, and it should not be too heavy, a specific gravity not much in excess of water being the best. India-rubber I find answers all requirements suff- ciently well, except that it is much too expensive a material. April 17 M. X. The Use of Artificial Teeth by the Ancients THIs isnot a new discovery, as stated in Cosmos (see NATURE, April 16, p. 564). Cicero, De Legib. II., 24, quotes.a law from the Twelve Tables forbidding the combustion or burial of costly golden articles, but allowing an exception in favour of “teeth fastened with gold ” (Qzoz auro dentes vincti escunt, &c.). Heidelberg, Germany, April 18 0. S. Far-Sightedness A PANORAMA of the Alps, as seen from the Piz Langard in the Engadine, used to be sold, upon which Mont Blane was figured, though some 3° distant. On a remarkably clear day this was pointed out to me, and I have no reason to doubt that I actually saw Mont Blane at that distance. One morning I was walking on the terrace in front of Mr. Leland Cossart’s house in Madeira, at an elevation of close upon 2000 feet above the sea, when the conversation turned on far-sightedness, and I pointed out two specks on the horizon as vessels. This they proved to be, when my friend informed me that no vessels had before been made out on the horizon from that position, even with the telescope. J. STARKIE GARDNER 7, Damer Terrace, Chelsea, April 17 AIMS AND METHODS OF THE TEACHING OF PHYSICS *~ HE United States Bureau of Education has recently employed Prof. Charles K. Wead, A.M., Acting Professor of Physics at the University of Michigan, to draw up a set of inquiries respecting the teaching of physics and to collate and discuss the answers received. The results of his labours are now before us in a rather unusually lengthy circular issued by the Bureau. They are drawn from seventy replies to a set of questions sent to a selection made by the Commissioner of Education of masters of schools of various grades in the United States, compared also with information gathered from England and other countries. A table at the end showing as clearly as can be done in a word or two under each heading the tendency of each answer, makes it easy to t “ Circular of Information,” No. 7, 1884, of the U.S, Bureau of Educa- tion. (Washington, 1884.) April 23, 1885] « see the points of difference and the correspondents who differ. The replies seem to show :— (1) A widely-spreading preference for science over literature or classics,—(qa) as training of the mind; inducing habits of observation such as no study of grammar does, and consequently a great increase in what is called common sense, which close attentiveness soon spreads to other studies also, giving each observer who has caught the spirit of inquiry and learnt how to observe, compare, and draw conclusions himself, confidence in his own observations, instead of depending upon the authority of some book, It is well described from the master’s point of view :— “ The advantages of the study have been: (1) Wonder- ful quickening of the intellect, lively interest in the school ; (2) subsequent growth into the scientific and scholarly spirit, developing a wonderful ingenuity in mechanical contrivances and the manipulation of tools ; (3) doubling (in some instances quintupling) the number of boys who take the high school course, and giving many a strong bent to industrial pursuits in their better-skilled depart- ments. It has secured students of broader power of thought and generalisation. It has cultivated the senses so that pupils were not ‘nature-blind.’ It has trained to the habit of nice adjustment of probabilities, which has reacted with marked power in giving a critical acumen in classical research ” (p. 16). Since, therefore, it is our middle and higher classes who have to look to their brains for their success in life it is they specially who want this training in scientific method which will “teach them how to learn, not what to know.” (6) As valuable information—valuable first from a utilitarian point of view :— “When one reflects how few persons there are who know the composition of a drop of water or a grain of sand in comparison with those who are familiar with a Latin verb ora Greek preposition, and how much each of these separate classes of educated people is accom- plishing, it seems plain to me that instruction in physics is of the utmost importance to our people; for, beyond all doubt, scientific men have done, are doing, and will do more for the advancement and well-being of our country than any other class of her citizens” (p. 50). And from this same point of view amy scientific informa- tion is valuable to children who leave the elementary schools early in life, though it is generally urged that stuffing them with incoherent facts is a most useless education, and that what information is given must, therefore, form part of a scheme for teaching them ob- servation. The American Association for the Advance- ment of Science protests aga nst any way of g/ving them information ; they must ge¢ it. Such information, however, is also rising in value as an accomplishment, and the lack of it will soon be looked upon as an ignorance of classics was a generation ago. It will be felt that ‘no knowledge of language can atone for an ignorance of nature,” and that a neglected / or a false quantity is a very venial offence compared with wondering why eclipses never take place when the moon is half full. 2. That in the lowest schools, lessons on the elements of science should be given: examples being taken as much as possible from the most familiar toys and other objects about them. Experiments with such things are urged, because they are a fascination to the young, and a relief from committing Latin Grammar to memory. But the desirability of making this instruction the preparation for the higher classes is met by the fact that so few go on to them, and it seems clear that something more exact and systematic should be commenced among those who do go on; for, unless this is done, although a boy may have acquired some general notions of the terms and subject- NATURE 579 matter, yet if fundamental points have been neglected in the lower schools, either the college class must be kept back to study these points, or he must build all his advanced work on an uncertain foundation. (3) A further divergence is found on the question of experiments. A successful experiment is a great power for good, but it is a gift to be able to make experiments accurately and successfully: and, if the experiment fails, the faith in all teaching connected with it is shaken ; still less can it be made the basis of fresh conclusions. Im- perfect experiments, therefore, are an unmixed mischief, and for elementary classes all should be done by the teacher, who, besides a good general knowledge, should have some manual skill in using or even in making apparatus: “ otherwise mistakes in method and fact will be common in his teaching, and his instruction will be a constant appeal to the text-book or other authority, thus losing the very thing that is of peculiar value in the training derived from the study of science.” If the higher school students are put to experi- menting when unqualified for it, and with inadequate means, habits of slovenly experimenting and inconsequent induction are formed, or the student is disgusted with the unsatisfactory nature of the whole thing. (4) In the upper grades, however, and among specially gifted boys the value of experiments both by teacher and scholar is insisted upon almost as uniformly as it is among those who study the science of teaching and the teaching of science in England. “No support is given to the notion common among men of a literary education that physics can be learned as history is, by reading a book. Experiments are essential to the study, and to- profess to teach physics without providing suitable ex- periments in sufficient number to illustrate the subject must be considered as a case of false pretences.” Learning science by experiments draws out powers of the mind that school-teaching of every other kind, involving as it does unquestioning submission to authority, com- pletely numbs. The exact observation of facts and, on the one hand, the bringing those into relation which had seemed unconnected, and, on the other hand, the loosen- ing of independent facts that wise saws have placed in. close relation ; in a word, discovery, with its necessary companions, self-reliance, independent thought, shrewd- ness of judgment—the very qualities which make a suc- cessful man of the world—are all developed by experi- mental science instead of the too frequent opposite effect which makes anxious business fathers dread too much schooling for the sons who will have to follow them. (5) Parallel to (3) and (4) are the conclusions drawn as. to making apparatus. Bad apparatus induces imperfect experiment, and, as laboratory work must be serious and yield visible results or it will be despised, the apparatus. for the students’ use must not be flimsy, or in the nature of a plaything merely. It is therefore penny wise and pound foolish for a teacher to make his own appara- tus. If his time is worth anything his productions will cost more than the more perfect work of an in- strument maker; and, besides the great chance of im- perfection from the beginning, it will be liable to such faults as warping, and, moreover, not likely to suit the next teacher. On the other hand, sucha general rule as this is not intended to tie the hands of gifted teachers who can make everything that comes in their way their slave to answer their questions. There is a rapid descent from such to the plodding worker who teaches for daily bread. The most difficult question to answer confidently, after taking the opinion of so many doctors, is whether teach- ing of any use to elementary schools can be made without serious disadvantage to form part of a course pursued further by the higher classes. The Circular finds unanimous agreement among the United States teachers that it is most desirable ; and, after quoting English opinions that 580 IN IROL SE, [April 23, 1885 our Universities ought to be able to frame such a course, urges that a committee of teachers who have carefully considered the evidence here supplied should be able to draw up a practical scheme sufficiently definite, detailed, elastic, and progressive to secure its wide adoption. Un- less this is done, a teacher’s work cannot be measured, and he will get neither credit nor cash for it from his judges; and no amount of public opinion will really make such teaching general while this remains so. A good practical suggestion in accordance with these con- clusions is that some experienced teacher should devote his power to the preparation of cheap leaflets, not stitched together, for a brief inductive course, from which each teacher might select a series according to his circum- stances. W. ODELL THE WORK OF THE U.S. SIGNAL OFFICE UNDER GENERAL HAZEN‘ poe. recent examination by the joint commission of General Hazen and other witnesses, as to the effi- ciency and economy of the present administration of the Signal Office, is said to have brought out several state- ments as to the character of the work done by the Weather Bureau, and the progress made by it during the last few years. The following is a brief summary of these, and especially of Prof. Abbe’s statement showing the status and work being pursued during the present fiscal year :— The Signal Service employs 1 chief, 14 second lieu- tenants, and 500 enlisted men, of whom 150 are sergeants, 30 are corporals, and 220 are privates, but all generally known as Signal Service observers. These 515 persons constitute the Signal Corps proper : but 6 officers detailed from the line of the army are also temporarily attached to the service ; and these have control of the disbursements, the property, the weather-predictions, the display of signals, the testing and comparison of instruments, the arctic stations, the international bulletin, the monthly weather review, the Pacific Coast section, and other main divisions of work. These 6 officers, by the operation of the present laws, are being diminished in number by 2 annually, their places being filled by promotions from among the sergeants of the corps ; so that in a few years the service will employ only officers and men of the Signal Corps proper. This elimination of officers who have had from ten to twenty years’ experience in the Signal Service and the army is somewhat deprecated by General Hazen, who is very naturally loath to lose their services, while they themselves are loath to go; although it is evident that the corps proper already contains abundant and excellent material for the future needs of the service. The Signal Service also employs a number of civilians —namely, 2 chief clerks, several clerks of lower classes, and a scientific staff of 3 professors, 4 junior professors, and 1 bibliographer, and a large number of civilian observers, printers, messengers, artisans, &c.—at various points throughout the country. The number of civilian employées at the central or Washington office is 64, all of whom give their whole time to the work. The total of those employed at other stations is apparently much } greater than this ; but each is employed only a short time daily, and most of them receive but 25 cents per day for some one special observation and record. The enlisted men of the service occupy about 200 stations scattered throughout the United States, including Alaska, at an average distance of 200 miles apart. About an equal number of stations are also occupied by civilians, observ- ing the height of water in the rivers, or displaying storm- signals. From about 4500 other civilian observers reports are received gratuitously by mail on weekly or monthly forms. These observers are classified about as follows: t From Science. voluntary land observers, 270; voluntary marine ob- servers, 480; international observers, 330; Canadian observers, 18; state weather service, 450; tornado observers, 1200 ; thunderstorm reporters, 2000. The following are some of the more prominent and important steps of progress taken during General Hazen’s administration :— The introduction of consulting specialists and civilian experts in the available working force of the office; the assignment of selected sergeants and privates to work demanding a higher education and special aptness for investigation or study ; the organised study of tornadoes, thunderstorms, atmospheric electricity, and other im- portant novel fields of meteorological study ; the intro- duction of weather-signals upon railroad-trains for the benefit of the farmers, and of local town-signals for the benefit of each community ; the establishment of more severe rules for the verification of predictions, so that the 85 per cent. claimed at present means much more than it did a few years ago: the enlistment of a higher grade of men, the improvement of the courses of instruction for men and officers, the compilation of a working index to the literature of meteorology and the signal-office library, the organisation of new divisions in the office, especially of the study-room, the physical laboratory, the marine division, and the examiner’s division ; the publication of a monthly summary of international simultaneous ob- servation, with a weather-chart showing especially the storms on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans that affect the United States ; the special study of atmospheric moisture with a view to improved methods of determining this factor ; the special study of the exposure of thermometers, and correct methods for determining the temperature of the air; the maintenance of two polar and several auxiliary stations in pursuance of an international system for the study of the meteorology of the Polar regions : the adoption of many of the recommendations of the European International Meteorological Congresses looking to uni- formity of methods throughout the world ; the adoption of improved methods of reducing barometric observations to sea-level ; the stimulus given to the formation of State Weather Services (this great advance has been wholly due to Gen. Hazen, who has not hesitated to declare him- self in favour of co-operation, and not monopoly ; by his circulars and assistance over fifteen States have been led to develop minute internal systems for the study of local climate and the dissemination of weather-pre- dictions) ; the stimulus given to higher scientific work by members of the Signal Service, by requiring and publishing professional papers, signal-notes, treatises, &c. ; the addition to the Signal Office of a few experts in scientific matters, who are responsible for the proper con- duct of work requiring special study; the establishment of a high class of standard instruments, and more exact methods for testing-apparatus furnished to the stations, thus assuring against any deterioration in the accuracy of the work through many years to come; the encourage- ment and co-operation in scientific work, bearing on meteorology, by outside parties, such as spectroscopy, the study of solar heat and atmospheric absorption, and the prosecution of balloon-voyages; the adoption of a uniform standard of time for all observers ; the adoption of a uniform standard of gravity for barometric reduc- tions ; the introduction of new special cautionary signals for high north-west winds and cold waves ; the extension of signal-service stations in Alaska for the proper study of storms that strike the Pacific coast, and are followed by the severe cold waves from Manitoba. In the prosecution of these and other multifarious labours the signal-service certainly demands a high de- gree of organisation, discipline, and intelligence ; and it is by no means clear that this can be obtained in any better way than by a proper combination of military and civilian observers and scientific men. April 23, 1885] | | | A RECENT JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE a unusually great earthquake was felt in and about Tokio on October 15, 1884. The annexed auto- graphic record of it comes, with the following particulars, from my former assistant, Mr. K. Sekiya, who is now in charge of the seismological observatory of the University of Tokio. It was given by a horizontal pendulum seismo- graph of the kind recently described in NATURE (vol. xxx. p. 150), and it has many features in common with the examples of records shown on pp. 174 and 176 of the same volume. But in the present case the amplitude of the earth’s horizontal movement far exceeds anything that has been recorded since observations of this kind were instituted in 1880. The figure shows the record reduced to about one-third its actual size. The undulations on the inner circle have NATLTERE 581 been traced by a pointer which registered the north to south component of motion, and those on the other circle by another pointer, which registered east to west motion. The pointers are prolongations of horizontal pendulums,! and trace their records on a revolving sheet of smoked glass, which in this example was started into motion by the | earthquake itself, through the agency of a delicate electric contact-maker. The plate is driven by a clockwork train which, after starting, quickly reaches a steady rate under the control of a fluid friction governor. The speed of rotation was one revolution in 82 seconds; the short radial lines mark seconds during the first part of the dis- turbance. The record on the outer, or east to west circle, has been turned round so as to bring it into synchronism with the inner or north to south record, and the earliest motions are distinguished, in the cut, by the use of a somewhat heavy line. The records begin at @ and Ta’ and are traced in the direction of the arrow, which is opposite to the direction of motion of the glass plate. At 6 the east to west record comes to an abrupt stop, owing to the displacement there having been so great as to carry that pointer off the plate altogether. The inner record extends over nearly four complete revolutions, showing | that visible motions of the ground lasted for about five | minutes. During the first half-dozen seconds, while both components were being registered, there is a toler- ably close agreement of phase between the two, showing that the displacements were then not very far from recti- linear. The greatest motion in this part of the disturb- ance took place five seconds from the start ; at that point | the actual motion of the ground was 3'7 centimetres from | east to west and 2:2 centimetres from south to north. | [The displacement of the ground is multiplied four times, | EARTHQUAKE ar TOKIO. OCT. 1571884. in the original record, or about one and a third times, in the reduced copy given here.] The two components taken together represent a movement of the ground, from one side to the other, of no less than 4°3 centimetres— a quantity which is in striking contrast to the “5 or even 7 millimetres” which, after three years’ experience, I named as the amplitude to which in a Yedo earthquake the displacement from the mean position “occasionally rises” (vol. xxx. p. 175). So far as can be judged from the north to south component alone, the most violent motions were over in about ten seconds, but for some minutes afterwards the oscillations, though very much reduced, continued to exceed in amplitude almost any that I have recorded. 1 See ‘‘ Measuring Earthquakes” (NATURE, vol. xxx. p. 150), or a ‘* Memoir on Earthquake Measurement” (Tokio, 1883, p. 22). 582 Fortunately, however, this earthquake was prevented from being excessively destructive by the unusual slow- ness of the oscillations. The period of the principal movements appears to have been not far short of two seconds. Fora rough estimate of the greatest velocity and acceleration we may treat the 4°3 centimetres move- ment as simply harmonic, and we find for the greatest velocity 6°8 centimetres per second, and for the greatest acceleration 21 centimetres per second per second, or -27 of g. If the amplitude of motion which was recorded here had occurred in conjunction with the more usual period of three-quarters of a second or so, the destruction would have been immense. The earthquake appears to have been felt over an area of about 20,000 square miles. Mr, Sekiya writes :—‘ We are going to exhibit your seismograph in the Exhibition in London, to be held next May. I am sure we will get a first prize medal!” Whether Mr. Sekiya and the Tokio University authorities get their medal or not they should at least excite the admiration of readers of NATURE for the zeal and success with which they are pursuing the study of seismology. University College, Dundee J. A. EwIne EARLY MATURITY OF LIVE STOCK HE subject of the “-Early Maturity of Live Stock” is, no doubt, bucolical in some of its aspects ; but, like many other agricultural questions, it is of great national importance, and is closely related to scientific investigations of much interest. The age at which the live stock of the farm becomes sufficiently mature has been considerably reduced during the past hundred years, both by improved methods of feeding, and still more by the altered habit of the breeds of animals—that is, by their earlier maturity induced by the modern system of breeding. Most persons are aware that the “improved shorthorns” were the artificial creation of two eminent breeders, the Messrs. Colling; that the “improved long- horn” cattle and Leicester sheep were the result of skilful selection and inter-breeding by Mr. Bakewell; and that Mr. Ellman conducted similar ‘‘improvements” on the Southdown breed of sheep. All these operations upon the earlier types of animals were initiated in the last century, and they were so successful, from a practical point of view, that both bulls and rams were raised in price from about 57. to 20/. respectively to 1000 guineas for single animals of high character and esteemed pedi- gree in the flocks and herds of Colling and Bakewell. Other breeders have applied the same arts, and espe- cially the principle of selection, to some of the other breeds, and their object has been earlier maturity. It is obvious that a farmer must adopt that course of feeding which is most economical, and as a certain amount of food is consumed every day by an animal for respiratory and other vital functions, it is evident that the sooner it is fit for the butcher the less total amount of food it will consume wastefully. In the manufacture of meat the food required by an animal for its own purposes may be regarded as waste ; so that the importance of saving time in the process of fattening is evident. It is said, indeed, that one-half of the food given to an animal under ordin- ary circumstances is required for the support of life, and, if that calculation be correct, then a slow-maturing ox, or sheep, at four years old will have consumed twice as much food to produce the same weight as an animal of improved breed at two years old. The period of youth is the period of growth, when the muscles, bones, and other parts are in process of formation, and when the waste of food is necessarily less than it must be at a later period of life. For the sake of economy all animals should be fattened and finished when young, and there- fore the question of “early maturity” involves an inquiry into the period of life when the domesticated animals attain their full maturity and development. NATURE [April 23, 1885 Prof. Low, in his ‘“ Domesticated Animals,” and Mr. Youatt, the famous specialist, state that the ox and sheep in a state of nature attained complete maturity at from four to five years old, their permanent teeth being then complete. ‘This was the stage they had reached about a hundred years ago, when the country was covered with woods and wastes, before the great inclosures, and before the turnip became a field-crop. Stall-feeding had not been introduced at that period, and summer beef, fed on the marshes and natural pastures, was the only beef, and was, for winter use, invariably salted. The scanty proven- der of those days retarded maturity and postponed the usual period of producing young by more than a year, compared with the present time. At this stage the great breeders took up their several subjects with results so marked, and, it may be added, so remarkable, that within afew generations the complete maturity both of sheep and cattle—except in regard to the permanent teeth—had been reached in three years instead of four. The epoch of three-year-old mutton had now been reached, and some persons perhaps may still remember that luxury of their youth ; and, if so, they must be aware that it exists no longer. In our own experience we must confess to have found old mutton rather tough, and, while admitting that “the grapes are sour,” we see no reason why old beef and mutton should be superior to old geese and other poultry, or old game. But, however this may be, the perseverance of modern agriculturists and the compe- tition of Australia and America in our meat markets, have led to still further reductions in the ages at which animals are slaughtered. The action of our leading agricultural societies attests that some very recent movements have taken place for the purpose of stimulating breeders and feeders in the saving of still more food and time by early maturity, There must be a limit in these matters. Sheepand cattle of massive build are less ephemeral than some creatures, and a certain amount of time must always be required by them before their periods of complete development and of reproduction of the species can be reached. In 1875, however, the Smithfield Club offered prizes for lambs, having previously confined their favours to sheep one year older at least. There is no rule without excep- tion, and one particular breed of sheep has been incited by arts and wiles, and, for the sake of “ Christmas lamb,” to produce its offspring in November, and to do so per- manently. Usually lambs appear in spring ; the “ cattle show” is held in December, and lambs at nine or ten months old are now expected to exhibit themselves as sheep of great weight. They have responded to the call in the most wonderful manner; they have not only out- numbered the other “sheep” in the show, but they se- cured the champion prize for the best sheep last year as well as the year before, and their weights have equalled those of the old sheep of other days, z.e. 16 and 18 Smith- field stone (8lbs.), or 33 lbs. of mutton per week from birth ! Cattle under two years old were first admitted in 1880, and their achievements, too, have been astounding. Early maturity, in short, has reached a new and unex- pected stage. It has certainly been hastened, and cattle are now as fit for slaughter at two years old as they were formerly at twice that age. It is worthy of note, froma scientific point of view, that the period of complete denti- tion, as it occurs in a state of nature, has not been much, if at all, altered. It is true that M. Regnault, the French scientist, discovered a bull at a cattle fair in France in 1846 with all the permanent teeth fully developed. He was led to investigate the effects of careful breeding and feeding in occasioning that precocious development which has been already described, and this, he says, “‘ cannot be confined to any particular organs. If every one has not equally participated in it, at least they are all more or less affected by it. Above all, the digestive system, the part —— > s April 23, 1885] NABRGR E 583 called on to play an important part in producing such an aptitude for early development, since all must essentially result from the nature and action of alimentation, must be one of the first to undergo modifications.” We do not question this conclusion, but the teeth and horns seem at present to have been slightly influenced by the “improvements” we have been considering. It is true that the art of breeding can greatly modify the horns; it can, in fact, obliterate them in horned cattle, and produce them in the hornless breeds, but this is quite apart from early maturity, which does not necessarily modify to any great extent, or with any certainty, either the horns or the teeth. Occasional examples of a very early de- velopment of the teeth, suchas M. Regnault describes, do sometimes occur, but they are so rare as to be regarded as abnormal, and the rule, with the improved as with the older breeds of cattle, is that they produce two permanent teeth at two years old, and two others each year till they are five years old, when they are, as farmers say, “ full- mouthed.” Itis not improbable, however, that the not very unfrequent appearance of the first permanent teeth at less than two years old, as well as the irregular denti- tion of highly-bred pigs, are manifestations that further and future changes may still be anticipated. Among many useful agricultural pamphlets that have been issued from the office of The Field, it is stated that one will appear shortly on “ The Early Maturity of Live Stock.” 1BIe 1a, THE BORNEO COAL-FIELDS AVING recently visited some of the coal-fields in the Island of Borneo, it may be interesting to your readers to know the result. The subject was one of special interest to me, and its investigation was one of the principal objects I proposed to myself in my travels in the East. Just before leaving Australia I had published in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales a complete history of the known coal flora of Australia, and a review of its geological position. The relation of the Australian to the Indian coal flora is well known. It seemed hardly possible that in Borneo, where such-extensive coal-formations exist, but that some con- necting link would be found between Australia and India. The subject is very little known. The late Mr. Motley had the management of the Labuan Mines. His are the only writings on the age of the Borneo coal which are known to me. What he wrote is quoted by Mr. Wallace in his work on “ Australasia.” He regarded the beds as Tertiary, and the fossils as of species of plants and marine mollusca now living on the coast. He speaks of cocoa- nuts and the peculiar winged seeds of Dipterocarpus (so common in Borneo) being common also in the coal at Labuan. Hé thought that the beds evidently originated in the most recent times from masses of drift-wood brought down by the rivers and stranded on the coast, in the way the traveller sees so often repeated on the Borneo coast at the present day. Healsostated that the Labuan coal was not, properly speaking, coal, but more like drift- wood partially bituminised. Mr. Motley subsequently was killed by the natives at Banjermassim. It is now six or seven years since the mines at Labuan have been worked. I am not sure that he had the same impressions about the South Borneo coal as of the Labuan beds, but I think I am not far out in thinking that he regarded all Borneo coal-beds as belonging to one immense Tertiary formation. There are few countries of the world, except, perhaps, Eastern Australia, where coal is so extensively developed as in Borneo. Thick seams crop out in innumerable places on the coast and on the banks of the rivers. In some of the streams of North Borneo I have seen water- worn and rounded fragments of coal forming the entire shingle bed of the channel. In some places, again, there are outcrops with seams of good coal 26 feet thick. The coal-formation is the one prevailing rock of the coast. It forms the principal outcrop about Sarawak. At Labuan, also, no other rock can be seen. Lining the banks of the Bruni River, I only saw picturesque hills of very old Car- boniferous shale. All the grand scenery of the entrance to the port of Gaya is made up of escarpment of coal- rocks. At Kirdat it is the same, and so I might go on with a long list of coal-bearing localities. Now, in such a large island as Borneo, with such a wondrous mountain system, it would be absurd to suppose that all this coal belonged to one age. We might as well suppose the same of the comparatively small islands of Great Britain, and yet what an error that would be. In Eastern Australia and in Tasmania, beds of coal of very different age lie close together. I have found the same in Borneo. Whether there is Tertiary coal or not in the island, I cannot say; but there is Mesozoic coal, and probably Paleozoic coal, and coals like those of Newcastle in Australia, whose position hovers between the true Paleozoic and the Trias. To begin with Labuan: the works there have been long since abandoned ; the adits are partly filled with water, and the shafts have fallen in, so that it is next to impossible to explore the mine now. But there is plenty of coal and shale on the surface, and there are excellent sections on the sea-cliffs close by. The formation is a drifted sandstone with much false bedding. It contains not a trace of lime or any marine organism. Under the microscope the siliceous grains are seen to be rounded. I think it is an Eolian formation with lines of rounded pebbles of small size. The whole deposit is very similar to the Hawkesbury sandstone of Australia, which is of Oolitic age. In both formations there are roots and carbonised fragments of coniferous wood, in which the tissue is still to be traced. The coal on the surface is a truly bitumenised coal, very brittle, and like what we get in the same rocks in Australia. The few plant-remains I saw were not referable to any known genus; they were like Zygophyllites, and perhaps these are the plants which have been identified as wings of Dipterocarpus, which they remotely resemble. I saw no marine fossil, and the absence of any lime in the beds makes one think that those which were dis- covered did not come from any of the strata which are exposed in section. Sir Hugh Low, who resided many years at Labuan, gave me some casts of marine fossils taken from the locality. They were casts not easily identified, and certainly not like any now existing of the coast. The molluscan fauna of the locality is that of the usual Indian Oceanic type, with a slight admixture of Chinese and Philippine forms. In all recent beach re- mains in these parts of the world there is a large admixture of urchins, corals, &c. The aspect of the matrix was not of this character. It was much more like a blue-clay such as we have in Australia above the Mesozoic coal. On the whole, I am inclined to regard the Labuan beds as of Oolitic age, and not Tertiary. Of the value of the coal-seams I had no means of judging. The amount on the surface showed that there was plenty to be had. Labuan is a naval coaling station. Stores of coal are brought out from England at a great expense for the use of her Majesty’s navy, and if the same thing could be got in the island the enormous advantages are obvious. I think it should be further tested. About fifty miles away to the south-east is the mouth of the Bruni river. Here the rocks are quite of a different character and much older. They are sandstones, shales, and grits, with ferruginous joints. The beds are inclined at angles of 25 to 45 degrees. They are often altered into a kind of chert. At Moarra there is an outcrop of coal- seams 20, 25, and 26 feet thick. The coal is of excellent quality, quite bituminised and not brittle. The beds are 584 NATURE | Apret 23, 1885 being worked by private enterprise. I saw no fossils, but | the beds and the coal reminded me much of the older | Australian coals alongthe Hunter River. The mines are of great value. They are rented for a few thousand | dollars (by two enterprising Scotchmen) from the Sultan of Bruni. The same sovereign would part with the place altogether for little or nothing. Why not have our coaling station there? Or what if Germany, France, or Russia should purchase the same from the independent Sultan of Bruni? The Sarawak coal beds I did not visit, but a collection of fossils was kindly sent to me by the Hon. Francis Maxwell, the Resident. I recognised at once well-known Australian and Indian forms, such-as P/ydlotheca aus- tralis and Vertebraria. These are entirely characteristic of the Newcastle deposits in New South Wales. The connection thus established between the Carboniferous | deposits of India, Borneo, and Australia is exceedingly interesting. I intend to publish in another form all the observations I have made on the coal formations of Borneo and their included fossils. The main result of all I have seen may be embodied in the following conclusions :— (1) There are in Borneo immense coal deposits of very different ages. (2) These formations extend from the Paleozoic to the Middle Mesozoic periods. (3) The fossils from some of the beds are specifically identical with those of certain well-known forms common to India and Australia. (4) The Labuan coals are probably of Oolitic age, and not connected with any marine formation, but apparently of Eolian origin. J. E. TENISON-Woops Labuan, Borneo, November 25, 1884 THE PARIS CENTRAL SCHOOL OF ARTS AND MANUFACTURES RECENT article in Za Nature describes the new buildings of the Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures. The school was founded in 1829 for 200 pupils by Dumas, Lavallée, Péclet, and Olivier. The buildings remained from that date until quite re- cently in the rue de Thorigny, but the want of space became more and more perceptible as the scheme pro- spered, and in 1874 the Council proposed that the old buildings should be abandoned, and new ones erected on a vacant plot of ground 6300 square metres in extent, the site of the old St. Martin’s Market, which abutted on four streets. The principal advantage of this situation was that it faced the garden of the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, and was therefore within reach of the immense technical treasures of that establishment. The new buildings have flue Vaucaneon Salle Salle Salle Salle Salle Salle Salle | Salle Salle ff Salle | Travaux No3 Nes J -Ne7 ff Neg NOM] ff NO13) ff _Nois | Ne17 § Couloir des Salles d'Etude de Année =< = 2x « >| Epes ; } = | ! Salle | panne carmencel sique) | ey ae on ee mt 3 i = § 1 3 | |[fearmenil 2 : ae 8 = Cabinet. £ = fale 8! etme St & = H Wee OF 2 = a | Sale | © § =e | de = 3 3 de Physique e 73 eee as ! FE ia 2 es : on 3 { alle uv vr _ = | yctareen H Laboratoire g al N°S | * j a: | Salle e é m! ote | x H ! secu - c | WiC Dégage i Sees ei L hom Palin ja cae ROTORS eet ee Paier UU in a = aE SaaS al H a i: srr aia Te tit di =— = wy Ny ! ) +, Wy iff Dé, Dé Couloir \'Administration : Dégagement: WS \ i | Salle Eagement, Degager’ Yootidazerta| oe my ! | oie I eB Wh ; | de dela Caisse 2 des Etudes | 2 Bp. g ion } F Salle Salle du Conseil : i (Raceisr : ey _ S0ired] des i - de aisse oer Po des 1] Réunion Etudes sat SM Cours ig g Comm?" Se gp etudes *g a: r A _—s Echelle en mares. 72905 w Fic a frontage of 99°60 m. and a depth of 60°90 m. They are rectangular, and inclose a large central court. The first floor is reserved for the administration and for the use of the first year’s students, the second for the second year’s, the third for the third year’s, while the fourth and 1.—Plan of the New Central School. trucks, presented to the school. It is used for conveying fuel to the furnaces, and vessels full of acid to the lifts, by which they are conveyed to the laboratories. The offices of the administration are heated by hot air on the Perret-Olivier system, the apparatus being presented by highest storey is reserved for the large laboratories. The | the makers, while the rest of the building is heated by basement and ground floor are used for the mechanical hot-water pipes. The basement also contains the appliances, the kitchen, dining halls, the collections, and | kitchens of the rival restaurants, which are farmed out, small laboratories for special purposes. all } ; Taking the | the gas-meters, and three large Geneste and Herscher building more in detail, and starting with the basement, | generators for heat and ventilation. The boilers also we find that its galleries contain a line of rails with small | work the engines necessary for the generation of the April 23, 1885 | NAT ORE 585 A iN it ) aN The New Central School : General View ot the Great Laboratory or Third Year Students. Fic. 2.-- G 536 NATURE “c= “4 [April 23, 1885 electricity employed for lighting purposes. The elec- trical works of the school are very remarkable. They include two engines, each of forty horse-power, which were presented by the makers. These work an Edison dynamo of 200 lamps, and three Gramme machines. The latter are each used alternately, and work six ventilators, which act over the whole building. Next to the electrical machines are two pumps which pump up water from a well; the school is also supplied with town water. Near the boilers is an Egrot alembic for distilling water for use in the laboratories. The steam from the water is conveyed by pipes into the laboratories, where it is employed in heating the water for washing, the stores, &c. In the basement are the cellars, store-rooms for glass, rooms for the study of stereotomy, for the construction of models, for stone- cutting, &c. The ground-floor includes a large court- yard, in the centre of which has been left the old fountain of St. Martin’s Square. To the right of the entrance from the Rue Montgolfier is a staircase leading to a large vestibule, where the busts of the founders are placed. On this floor are the Mineralogical Museum, the dining-room of the Inspectors, stationery room, and the laboratory of industrial physics, the restaurants, the laboratory of in- dustrial chemistry, and other special first year’s labora- tories, all opening on the court, the students working in the open air when dealing with noxious gases. The offices of the administrative body are on the first floor, and in- clude director’s and secretary’s rooms, committee-rooms, steward’s offices, and the like. These are lighted both by gas and electric light. The remaining rooms on the floor are devoted to students in their first year. Each storey has its large amphitheatre, capable of holding 250 students. These are formed at angles of the building, and are lit both by gas and electricity. The large blackboards behind the professors are raised and lowered by hydraulic machinery. The halls of study are ranged in two rows on one side of the building, with a corridor or passage between the rows for purpose of superintendence. Twelve pupils can occupy each room, and there are twenty-two rooms on each floor. The second and third stories are arranged on the same principle, except that on the former are the library and cabinets of collections. The fourth storey contains the large laboratories of the second and third year. The laboratory of the third year, of which an illustration is given, is the most important one in the school. Its appliances are of the most con- venient and useful kind. Each student has all that he wants for his experiments at his hand. NOTES H.R.H. rue PRINCE of WALES laid the first stone of the Museum of Science and Art and the National Library of Ireland on the roth inst. Mr. RapHaEL MELpoLA has been appointed Professor of Chemistry in the Finsbury Technical College in succession to Dr. H. E. Armstrong, who holds the Professorship at the Central Institute. A SPECIAL general meeting of the London section of the National Association of Science and Art Teachers will be held at the Technical College, Cowper Street, Finsbury, on Saturday next, the 25th inst., at 7.30 p.m., when Sir H. E. Roscoe, V.P.R.S., President of the Association, will deliver an address on its objects. All interested in the teaching of science and art are cordially invited to attend. The above association was started in Manchester about three years ago for the purpose of alvancing the teaching of science and art and improving the position of teachers. It already has strong sections in Man- chester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, and other large towns in the north,*and the London section was started last year. McGiLL CoLLeG®, Montreal, has received, since September last, two donations from the Hon. Donald A. Smith, amounting in the whole to 24,000/. sterling (120,000 dollars), for the estab- lishment of separate Lectures for Women, preparatory for the ordinary B.A. or an equivalent degree. THE project for making Paris a seaport was brought before the Congress of Learned Societies on the 11th inst in a paper by M. Bouquet de la Grye. He said the subject was of import ance from two points of view. The first and most important was the military one. The defence of Paris demanded imperatively the establishment of a port which would assure the victualling of the capital and its suburbs at all times. The commercial and in- dustrial importance of the project is evident. The port should be established in the Poissy basin, and the Seine should be dredged to a mean depth of 65 metres. M. de la Grye’s system requires neither dams nor locks, but only the deepening of the bed of the tiver by dredging. It could be executed in four or five years. The total expense would be about 100 millions of francs. Dr. ROWELL, of Singapore, is stated to have made a valuable icthyological addition to the Raffles Museum there in the shape of a very complete collection of the fish and crustacea in- habiting the seas and rivers of the Malay Peninsula. Dr. Rowell, it is said, intends making a second similar collec- tion to send to the Italian and Colonial Exhibition next year. THE Bulletin of the Essex Institute (U.S.) contains a paper on American archeology, by Mr. F. W. Putnam, in which he refers to chipped stone implements. Referring to the statement often made that the making of arrowheads and similar objects is one of the lost arts, he says, that at the present time there are Indians in America who continue to manufacture them, and even work pieces of glass bottles into symmetrical and delicate arrowpoints. The method appears to be as follows:—A piece of stone is selected and roughly shaped by striking blows with a hammer-stone. If it is found to chip readily, it is shaped still further by light blows along the edges, each blow striking off a chip. Partly wrapped in a piece of skin, it is then held in the left hand and finished by flaking off little bits. This delicate part of the work is done with a flaking tool made usually of a piece of bone or antler. This is a few inches long, and about half an inch wide, having one end rubbed down to a blunt edge, which may be either straight, pointed, or notched. The other end is fastened to a piece of wood, so as to give a firm support to the hand. Sometimes this wooden handle is long enough to be held under the arm, thus steadying the implement which is grasped by the right hand. The edge of the flaker is pressed firmly against the edge of the stone, then with a slight rotation of the wrist a small flake is thrown from the edge of the stone. With a little practice this flaking can be done with con- siderable rapidity and precision. Some stones flake better after being heated, The variousforms of chipped implements known as scrapers, drills, knives, spearpoints, and arrowheads probably were made by the method here described. ACCORDING to the Colonies and India, Baron F. von Miiller, K.C.M.G., has issued, under the auspices of the Victorian Government, a second supplement to his systematic census of Australian plants. It appears from the information now pub- lished that, whilst the known plants of Australia and Tasmania are about 9000, they occur in the following propertions in the respective colonies—viz. Western Australia, 3455 ; Queensland, 3457; New South Wales, 3154; Northern Australia, 1829 ; Victoria, 1820; South Australia, 1816; and Tasmania, 1023. The progress of botanical discovery in Australia within the last quarter of a century has been very marked, and the colonies are mainly indebted to Baron Miiller for this result. In the be- ginning of the century (1805) Robert Brown, who may be called April 23, 1885] NATURE 587 the father of Australian botany, returned to England with between 3000 and 4000 species of plants, and these in subsequent years he described in his ‘‘ Prodromus Flora Nove Hollandiz et Insula Van Diemen.” From the days of Brown no syste- matic work was added to his labours, until Baron Miiller, con- sidering that the time had arrived forthe publication of a general Flora of Australia, joined with the late Mr. Bentham in pre- paring and publishing the seven volumes of the ‘Flora Australiensis.” THE Lords of the Committee of the Council of Education have given their consent for a certain portion of the Buckland Museum Collection to be exhibited in the aquarium during the forthcoming International Inventions Exhibition. The selection will include casts of various species of fish, models of vessels, appliances for catching fish, and apparatus for marine and fresh- water fish-culture. Such a combination of exhibits will prove a considerable source of attraction, and tend to popularise the “aquarium still further in the eyes of visitors to the Exhibition. To no better purpose could the exceedingly interesting collection in the Buckland Museum be utilised, hidden, as it has hitherto been, from general observation by its remote situation at South Kensington. : THE National Fish Culture Fishery at Delaford is now partially in working order, and a large number of fry have lately been placed in the ponds, where they are thriving exceedingly well. This is the only vationa/ establishment in the United Kingdom constituted for the purpose of acclimatising and culturing fish for the benefit of all communities, including all species of Salmonidze and coarse fish. THE Zoological Society has been presented by the National Fish Culture Association with a young seal which has hitherto inhabited one of the ponds in the Exhibition grounds, South Kensington. It was captured off the coast of Donegal, Ireland, whilst in a state of somnolence. THE current number (No. 17) of Die Nazur contains an article by Herr Emmerig, of Lauingen, on German bees as storm warners. From numerous observations, the writer advances tentatively the theory that on the approach of thunderstorms, bees, otherwise gentle and harmless, become excited and exceed- ingly irritable, and will at once attack any one, even their usual attendant, approaching their hives. A succession of instances are given in which the barometer and hygrometer foretold a storm, the bees remaining quiet, and no storm occurred ; or the instruments gave no intimation of a storm, but the bees for hours before were irritable, and the storm came. He concludes there- fore that the conduct of bees is a reliable indication whether a storm is impending over a certain district or not, and that, what- ever the appearances, if bees are still, one need not fear a storm. With regard to rain merely, the barometer and hygrometer are safer guides than bees; not so, however, in the case of a thunderstorm. Finally, the writer trusts that his remarks on this subject may lead to further observation. Messrs. SAMPSON Low AND Co. announce that during the present month they will publish ‘‘ Under the Rays of the Aurora Borealis, in the Land of the Lapps and Kveens,” an original work, by Dr. Sophus Tromholt, edited by Mr. Carl Siewers. Besides a narrative of journeys in Lapland, Finland, and Russia during 1882-83, and descriptions of the interesting Lapps and Kvens, the book will contain an account of the labours of the recent circumpolar scientific expeditions and a complete popular scientific exposition of our present knowledge of the remarkable phenomenon known as the aurora borealis or northern lights, to the study of which the author has devoted the greater part of his life. The work will also contain a map, chromo-lithographs, and 150 views, portraits, diagrams, &c., from photographs and drawings by the author, including numerous illustrations of the aurora borealis. Arrangements have been made for the publi- cation of the work in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Miss E. A. ORMEROD’S ‘ Report of Observations of Injurious Insects and Common Farm Pests during the Year 1884, with Methods of Prevention and Remedy,’ has reached us. This issue is the eighth annual report that has been prepared by the author, and is much more bulky than any of its predecessors, extending to 122 pages. It embodies the remarks of numerous - observers in various parts of the United Kingdom on the occur- rence of insects injurious to farm and garden crops, the extent of their depredations, to which is often added suggestions for pre- vention and remedy. In glancing through the pages of this report it is not a little remarkable to notice how observant often of minute and interesting details Miss Ormerod’s correspondents are, and, though many of them probably have little or no scien- tific training, their aptitude for observing the habits and effects of certain insects makes their records of considerable value. Setting aside the value accruing from the publication of the report under notice, Miss Ormerod has done a good work in inculcating such habits of observation amongst farmers and gardeners, who have opportunities such as few others have for noticing facts connected with the life-histories of such insects as destroy their crops. The plan of {Miss Ormerod’s report is alphabetical, arranged according to the name of the plant attacked—such, for instance, as the apple, beans, birds (with especial reference to the depredations of sparrows), cabbage, carrot, &c. Into the matter of the sparrows Miss Ormerod goes at considerable length. She says: ‘* The subject of the great loss caused by sparrows still needs to be brought forward. The injury continues to be widespread and serious, not only with regard to corn, but likewise in fruit-farming districts, and to garden crops ; and, to encourage those who are suffering under it to bestir themselves actively in getting rid of the pest, it is desirable to draw attention to some points connected with it which deserve consideration—such as what the food of the sparrow is during the whole year besides the corn which we see it robbing us of; what its habits are; and likewise whether, where sparrows have been destroyed during a series of years in any given area, that area has been infested with more insects OY more of any special kind of insect, than when the sparrows were there.” Miss Ormerod’s numerous correspondents all agree that sparrows will not feed on insects when seeds, grain, fruit, and other vegetable food is within reach, and that, consequently, their numbers must be kept down if any farm or garden crops are to be harvested. Miss Ormerod is careful to point out that in advocating a judicious destruction of the house-sparrow, other smali birds are not included. With regard to the appearance of starlings in large numbers in insect-infested pea-fields, a correspondent at Kings- north, Kent, observed that the weevil began to commit serious damage, and although the peas grew away from this attack, Aphis followed, and ‘starlings by hundreds frequented the pea-fields, as also did numerous kinds of smaller insectivorous birds, but sof the sparrows, until the pea was large enough for him to peck 2 out of the fod.” Amongst other subjects more fully treated of in the Report, are the hop aphis and damson hop aphis, the willow beetle, and some special observations on the warble fly, or ox box fly. The report will prove of much value to farmers, gardeners, and those interested in vegetable growth, and is full of interesting facts of scientific value. Itis published by Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. AT a meeting of the Asiatic Society of Japan held in Tokio on February 11, Mr. Eastlake read a paper on the Japanese poisonous snake, Trigonocephalus blomhoff, called by the natives It ranges in length from a little over one foot to with Mamushi. 588 nearly or quite two feet; the body is short and thick, the head triangular, half of it being covered by shields ; the colour is earthy brown, with dark brown circular markings or spots ; the belly is black, but the edges of the abdominal plates are whitish. The same snake has been observed in Japan, Formosa, Mon- golia, Chihli, Sze-chuan, and Kiang-hsi. It is much dreaded by the Chinese, who give it several fanciful names ; but its correct name is compounded of two ideographs meaning “‘worm” and ‘‘to strike,” from the idea that it invariably inflicts two wounds. It derives one of its names (‘‘ only a day ”’) from the notion that a person bitten by it lives only twenty-four hours. According to Kempfer, soldiers are fond of the flesh, and to this day it is highly esteemed as a febrifuge, and takes an important position in the Japanese pharmacopeeia, The skin also is preserved as a talisman of singular efficacy. The popular belief is that the mamushi gives birth to its young through the mouth, but it is really oviviparous. It is said by one native encyclopedia that if the flesh be thrown onthe ground the earth in the vicinity begins to hiss and steam, that the fat eats holes into everything it touches, that it is covered with bristles like a pig, is seven or eight feet long, carries a sting in its tail, and finally, that it should be eaten with ‘plum vinegar,” or the leaves of the water-pepper. Taken thus, it cures irregular cir- culation of the blood and stubborn ulcers. The bite is seldom fatal, but when it is so, death occurs from circulation in the pulmonary arteries, producing asphyxia. As is the case with all Cr otalide vites—for the mamushi is allied to the American rattle- snake, though far less venomous—the young can inflict poison- ous wounds immediately after birth, The poison canal runs directly through the fang, while with many other snakes it simply lies in the groove of the fang. This tooth, or fang, may be compared with the needle of a hypodermic syringe ; under the microscope it is flat, elliptic, sharp-pointed, and curved inward. In treating the wound, external applications are use- less. In eating, the zamushi does not make use of its poison fangs, refusing even to eat anything that is killed with its venom, It is a reptile of nocturnal habits. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include two Macaque Monkeys (Macacus cynomolgus é %) from India, presented by Mr. A. J. McEwens, a Camp- bell’s Monkey (Cercopithecus campbelli 9) from West Africa, presented by Miss Lyster; a Wild Boar (Sus scrofa ?), European, presented by the Rev. Horace Waller; an Emu (Dromaus nove-hollandie) from Australia, presented by Capt. J. E. Erskine, R.N.; two Gouldian Grass Finches (Poeph7la gouldie) from Australia, presented by Mr. Chas. N. Rosenfeld, two Turtle Doves (Zurte communis), British, presented by Miss Reinhold; a Common Badger (Aeles taxus), British, a Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco), two Guira Cuckoos (Guira pirtrigua), a Brazilian Caracara (Polyborus brasiliensis) from Brazil, a Short-tailed Albatross (Diomedea brachyura) from Antarctic Seas, four Pintails (Dafila acuta $ § 2 2), European, four Summer Ducks (@x sfonsa § 6 2 ) from North America, two Spotted-billed Ducks (Anas pectlorhyncha $ 2) from India, deposited ; two Summer Ducks (Gx sfonsa § 2) from North America, four Mandarin Ducks (x galericulata $ 8 2 2) from China, a Swinhoe’s Pheasant (Zuplocamus swinhoit $) from Formosa, a Common Spoonbill (P/atalea leucorodia), European, purchased ; three Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), bred in the Gardens. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN HALLEy’s COMET IN 1456.—‘‘ This comet cannot exhibit a greater degree of brightness than when it passes the perihelion in the month of June; it may then be observed some days before perihelion ; it is visible at perihelion itself, and, when it has passed that point, it continues to approach the earth, and its NALOG EE [ April 23, 1885 brightness consequently increases for some days.” In these terms Pingré introduces his account of the appearance of Halley’s comet in 1456, when, from the vague notices in the European chronicles which were available to him, he fixed the perihelion passage on June $8 at 22h. 10m. Paris mean time. The comet was observed in China on the morning of May 27. A recent discovery of contemporary documents has led to our being put in possession of a much closer approximation to the elements of the orbit of Halley’s comet at this return than it was possible to deduce from the published records of European his- torians and the Chinese description of its track given by Edouard Biot in the Connaissance des Temps for 1846. Prof. Uzielli a few years since found in the National Library at Florence a manuscript of Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, with a chart upon which the positions of the comet and neighbouring stars are shown between June 8 and July 8, of which he forwarded a fac-simile to Prof. Celoria of the Royal Observatory at Milan, who has utilised it for the determination of the comet’s orbit. There are in all, positions on twenty-four days. Prof. Celoria first compared the places of twenty-one stars read off from the chart, with their places reduced from modern positions to 1456°5, and found a mean correction of + 26’ to Toscanelli’s longitudes and + 24’ to his latitudes—a rather surprising agree- ment for that epoch. Whether Toscanelli obtained his places from the catalogue of the Almagest, from that of Ulug Beigh, or some Arabian catalogue that 'had reached him, does not appear. The corrections named were applied to Toscanelli’s positions of the comet, and, assuming the semi-axis major to have been 17°9676 (this value corresponding to the mean period between 1378 and 1835), Celoria obtains a first set of elements, which are used in the formation of normal places and differential equations, the solution of which leads him to the following most probable elements of the comet’s orbit, depending on Toscanelli’s observations :— Perihelion passage 1456, June 8'20875, Paris M.T. Longitude of perihelion 298 56 47 : op ascending node 43 46 4 eaune Inclination a. 17 37 27 459°5 Log. excentricity ... ... 9°98580 Log. perihelion distance 9°76363 Motion—retrograde. On May 26°266 Paris M.T., about which time the comet was detected in China, the above elements give its position in R.A. 35 43, Decl. +23° 53’, distance from the earth 1°140, and from the sun 0°646. On June 177333, in R.A. 106°°5, Decl. + 40°°7, it was at its least distance from the earth (0°446), and having then passed the perihelion about nine days, it was doubt- less near this time that the c met created so much alarm by its brilliancy and magnitude. On July 8 339, when it was last observed by Toscanelli, its position was in R.A. 166° 34’, Decl. + 7°'0', distance from the earth, 1051, and from the sun 0°865. The latest translation of the Chinese description of the track of the comet will be found in Williams’s well-known volume, Pp. 77- In addition to the observations of Halley’s comet, Toscanelli’s manuscripts supply observations of the comets of 1433, 1449, 1457 (I. and II.), and 1472, and Prof. Celoria has published elements deduced therefrom of all, except that of 1472, in the Astronomische Nachrichten. It appears beyond question, to use Prof. Celoria’s own words, ‘‘ Che le osservazioni in esso contenute sono assai preziose, danno a Toscanelli il vanto di avere prima d’ogni altro fatte intorno alle comete osservazioni propriamente dette, e rivelano in Inui un osservatore abile non che uaa conoscenza sicura ed intera del cielo.” Irving represents Toscanelli as the correspondent and adviser of Columbus. Montucla’s account of him chiefly relates to his erection of the gnomon in the Church of S. Maria del Fiore, at Florence, of which Ximenes published an account in 1757, wherein Montucla thought he claimed for Toscanelli more than was his due. As, however, Prof. Uzielli is engaged on re- searches respecting him,-we may soon be more fully informed as to the works of one who certainly claims an honourable place in the history of observational astronomy. THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON SEPTEMBER 9.—It may be remembered that during totality in the eclipse of December 22, 1870, the planet Saturn was situate within the coronal limits, but we are not sure that it was anywhere distinctly remarked. At the time of totality in the eclipse of September next in New April 23, 1885 | NATURE 589 Zealand the planet Jupiter will be similarly situated. Thus at the middle of the eclipse at Castle Point, on the south-east coast of the North Island, the distance of Jupiter from the moon’s limb will be 45’, and the angle of position from her centre about 26°. There appears to be every probability that an expedition from the Australian observatories will take part in the observation of the eclipse on the shores of Cook’s Straits, or in the vicinity of Castle Point. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, APRIL 26 TO MAY 2 (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed. ) At Greenwich on April 26 Sun rises, 4h. 44m. ; souths, 11h. 57m. 39°4s. ; sets, 19h. 13m. ; decl. on meridian, 13° 39’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, gh. 33m. Moon (Full on April 29) rises, 16h. 16m. ; souths, 22h. 14m. ; sets, 4h. 1m.*; decl. on meridian, 3° 15’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m h. m. h. m. Anal Mercury ... 4 39 12 6 19 33 15 45 N Venus 4 45 II 51 18 57 12 oN Mars 4 18 10 59 17 40 7 26N. NIpIEER T2007 3s) LON 44. | 625 I* 144 IN. Saturn 6 56 ESAS ees A23RIOM cs) 22a * Indicates that the setting is that of the following day. Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- April Star Mag. Disap. Reap. tex to rightifor inverted image h, m. h. m. ° ° BOM EAA, 4255 )00 O68 2.) 20) 28... 20 30)... 06) 210 Ow Culabra. 8 22. /6 3 46 EUG coor CF2 SNC May 2 ... 29 Ophiuchi ... 6 SARA en Ane 2.3 OZ S20 Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites April h. m. May h. m. 26 ZoEsouuerecl. reap. | or... 23° 5) Le traning: 27 ~~... 20 35 IV. ecl. reap. Fe ope GA UNIS eet 28 ... o11 I. occ. disap. 20 3/1II. tr. ing. 21, 30 eel. tring: 23 43 III. tr. egr. 23 51 (I. tr. egr. Zone te22 a See leech ureap; The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. April h. ; ASV ne} Mercury in inferior conjunction with the Sun. 28 19 Mercury in conjunction with and 1° 42’ north of Venus. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES THE Arctic steamer Alert, which is about to be returned by the Government of the United States to that of Great Britain, has been lent by the latter to Canada for the continuance of the Hudson’s Bay Survey, for which purpose thirty thousand dollars will be asked from the Dominion Parliament. AT the last meeting of the Geographical Society of Munich Dr. Clauss described his journey in South America, exploring the water-shed between the Paraguay and the Amazon. His companions were the brothers Von den Steinen. Thay ascended the Paraguay by steamer, and after eighteen days’ journey reached Cuyaba, the capital of the Brazilian province of Matto Grosso, and the terminus of the steamship line on the river. Here they got a military escort and provisions. After remain- ing eight weeks in Cuyaba they started, with three months’ pro- visions and an escort of fifteen men, to cross the water-shed to the Amazon. This elevation, which is only 300 to 400 metres in height, presents the appearance of a savannah, broken up by forests, which follow the watercourses. The formation is sand- stone, covered with a reddish clay, containing lumps of iron- ore. The nights on this plateau were very cold. The water- sheds between the various tributaries of the Amazon here were unknown. Brazilian geographers direct the whole upper course of the Xingu to the Tapajos, and put the source of the former under 11° south latitude. After the expedition had crossed the last tributary of the Tapajos, they reached, after eight days’ journey, to the east, a large river. Here the oxen which re- mained healthy were killed, canoes were made from the bark of the Yatoba tree, and, after they had learnt that no larger river existed farther east, they began their voyage on the river, which, in honour of the governor of the province, was called Rio Batovy. The course is interrupted by numerous falls and rapids. In passing these obstacles the boats frequently capsized, and many valuable portions of the collections were lost. After a long and difficult voyage the party reached some Bacairi villages, the inhabitants of which were found wholly ignorant of metals. Through the Rio Batovy they reached a large river, undoubtedly the Xingu. Here they had a collision, which ended satisfac- torily, with the Trumai Indians; subsequently they came in friendly contact with the Suya, from whom they received much important information about the hydrography of the region. At 9° south latitude waterfalls were again reached, which ren- dered navigation difficult, although the river was here a kilo- metre in width. When their provisions were almost wholly exhausted they reached the settlements of the Yuruna Indians, who understood Portuguese, and received further supplies from them. From 8° to 3° S. the Xingu falls 200 metres in a series of cataracts. Under the guidance of the Yurunas these rapids were passed, and on October 15 the first Portuguese settlement was reached, and the travellers took steamer on the Amazon to Para, which they reached after five months spent in the most unknown regions of Brazil. THE Vienna correspondent of the 7zmes states that an extra- ordinary meeting of the Geographical Society of Vienna will shortly be held to welcome the Austrian African explorers, Dr. Paulitschke and Dr. von Hardegger. The Crown Prince of Austria will be present. The travellers started from Trieste on December 30, 1884, and chiefly explored the interior of the Gallas country. At Harrar, the largest town of East Africa, they were amicably received by the Egyptian governor, Ab- daliah, son of the Emir Mahomed Abdel Shakur, murdered in 1875. The Governor was just engaged in forming an army. On their return, on March 25, they found Zeila half in ruins. The Austrian explorers haye established meteorological stations at Harrar and Zeila, which will be looked after by the English Consuls, Pitten and King. The collections they have brought with them, filling several cases, will constitute a very valuable addition to the Austrian Imperial Museum. The travellers will, in a few days, report personally to the Crown Prince, and submit a comprehensive statement of the commercial conditions | of East Africa to the Minister of Commerce. A PARLIAMENTARY paper (Corea, No. 2, 1885) issued during the past week contains a report by Mr. Carles, of the British Consulate at Seoul, of a journey made by him at the close of last year through Northern Corea. The journey lasted about six weeks, and appears to have extended over about 3000 /z. Starting from Seoul, Mr. Carles went along the western coast road through Kaisong, Hwang-ju, Phyong Yangand An-ju to Wy-ju, where the river forming the boundary between China and Corea was reached, Having ascended the valley of this river several days’ journey, he turned towards the east coast through Kang-ge and Ham-heung, to the treaty port of Gensan on the Sea of Japan, from whence it is about a week’s journey back to the capital. Among the points noticeable in this excellent report, extending to thirty-two octavo pages, we observe that in Corea, as in a lesser degree in Japan, there is a great disproportion between the number of males and females, the former being more numerous. In the large towns this is ascribed to the immense staffs attached to the officials, but in the villages there is no corresponding balance in favour of females, and it is probable that an explanation which accounts. for the dispropor- tion by a greater number of deathsamong girls in infancy is correct, for there was no evidence of female infanticide. Corea has been said to be a land of large hats, but this does not tell everything, One would hardly expect the following dimensions from this statement alone. At Phyong Yang, a large and historical town near the west coast, Mr. Carles records that the hats worn by the poor women are baskets 34 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 24 feet deep, which conceal their faces as effectually as the white cloak worn by women of a better class over their heads. The men wear a basket of the same shape, but somewhat smaller. It, however, requires the use of both hands to keep it in place. A structure of a size but little larger, which is used to cover fishing-boats, suggests to the traveller that the women’s hats 590 NATURE [April 23, 1885 should be converted into coracles. Literature is honoured in Corea as in other Eastern countries, but the monument erected over the graves of the doctors of letters are at least unique. It consists of the trunk of a tree painted like a barber's pole, some 30 feet up. The top and branches are cut off, and on the summit rests a carved figure of slim proportions, 20 feet long, and with a forked tail in imitation of a Corean dragon. From the head, which resembles that of an alligator, depends cords on which brass bells and a wooden fish are stryng. The total absence in even the most ancient and historical provincial towns of any remains of art and culture, leads Mr. Carles to think that perhaps the Corea of olden days differed but little from that of the present time, and that her early civilisation has been greatly overrated. Frequent evidences of mineral wealth were ob- served. The contradictory reports on this subject are very perplexing. Not long since we published a statement from a traveller in Corea that there were few or no traces of mineral deposits, while the general impression has been that the country was very wealthy in gold, iron, and coal. Nothing but a special survey will set the question at rest. No map or sketch ac- companies this report. Unfortunately maps of Corea are rare. An excellent one was published not long since in Pelermann’s Mittheilungen. It is compiled, with Mr. Satow’s assistance, and under his supervision, from the maps of the Japanese general staff. A slight sketeh-map of Corea would have ren- dered Mr. Carles’s interesting report much more intelligible than it is at present. THE last Aulictin of the American Geographical Society con- tains an account of the reception of Lieut. Greeley by the members of the Society, and a paper by Lieut. Schwatka de- scribing his exploration on the Yukon River in 1883. A mar- vellous account is given of the ravages of the mosquito pest in Alaska during the warm months. Shooting on one occasion was out of the question, not altogether on account of the venomous attacks of these insects, but because they were so thick and dense that no one could haye seen clearly through the mass in taking aim. Native dogs are killed by them under certain circumstances, and Lieut. Schwatka heard reports from persons so reliable that, coupled with his own experience, he never doubted them, that the great grizzly bear of these regions is at times compelled to succumb. ‘The statement seems preposterous, but the explanation is simple: the bear, in trespassing on a swampy habitation of mosquitoes, instead of seeking safety in flight, rears upon his hind-quarters and fights them bear-fashion until his eyes are closed by their repeated attacks on them, when starvation is the real cause of death.” THE German Foreign Office has made a communication to the Berlin Geographical Society on the changes in the political geography of South America (which were, the statement says, not inconsiderable) produced by the late war between Bolivia, Peru, and Chili. (1) By the treaty of Ancon of October 20, 1883, Peru ceded to Chili, ‘‘ permanently and unconditionally,” the coast province of Tarapaca, the boundaries of which were declared to be ‘‘in the north the defile and River Camarones, in the south the defile and River Loa.” This new Chilian pro- vince is, by a law of October 10, 1884, divided into two depart- ments, Pisagua and Tarapaca. The latter, chief town Iquique, has for boundaries ‘‘towards the territory of Antofagasta the River Loa to Quillagua, and a line from the latter across the volcanoes Miiio and Olca to the volcano Tua.” The boundary between the two departments is formed by the Quebrada des Aroma to Curana, and from there to a point on the coast two kilometres from Caleta Buena. This change in the dominion of the respective States is regarded as final. But the two follow- ing appear to be regarded as provisional only. (2) Bolivia agreed, in the armistice convention concluded at Valparaiso on April 4, 1884, and ratified on November 20 last, that Chili shall hold provisionally (that is, during the armistice, the length of which is not defined) the coast of Bolivia from the 23rd degree | south latitude to the mouth of the Loa River, and eastward to the boundary line ‘‘ from Sapalega to the volcano Licancaur, , from there to the volcano Cavana, thence to the southern water- | course of Lake Ascotan, Mount Allagu, and the borders of | Tarapaca.” This portion of Bolivia corresponds to the Bolivian province of Atacama, and had not been organised by Chili at | the commencement of the present year. (3) Peru, by Article 3 of the Treaty of Ancon, has ceded to Chili until March 28, 1894, the provinces of Tacna and Arica. This territory ‘‘is ounded on the north by the Sama River from its source in the chain of mountains on the frontiers of Bolivia, to its mouth, and on the south by the defile and River Camarones.’’ Bya Chilian law of October 31, 1884, these form a single province with the departments Tacna and Arica. Brrore the Royal Colonial Institute, on April 14, Mr. Justice Pinsent, of Newfoundland, read a most interesting paper on this oldest of British colonies. From a geographical point of view, the earlier and more antiquarian portion of the paper is the most interesting. The writer describes the discoveries of Sebastian Cabot and the early history of Newfoundland, a name which was originally given to the continent and islands ev masse, and which, when divers parts were given different names, came to be applied only to that island which still bears the name, and which long lent to those discoveries their chief importance. AT the meeting of the Paris Geographical Society, on the roth inst., M. Venukoff communicated a letter which he: received from the Russian General Stebintsky, reporting that Capt. Guedenoff had completed a journey in the Trans-Caspian regions with the object of determining the positions of various points in the basin of the Amu-Darya. He commenced at Kizil-Arvat, — whence he went to Igdy, and then towards Petro-Alexandroysk by Khiva. He ascended the Oxus to Charjni, and then returned through Southern Turkomania by Merv and Askabad. He travelled 1200 kilometres, and determined forty-eight points. —A letter was read which General Faidherbe had addressed to the Italian Geographical Society on the subject of doubts expressed in its Bu//etin on the authenticity of the story of a journey by M. Buonfanti to the Soudan and Timbuctoo. The General reports a conversation which he held on the subject with the “envoy” of Timbuctoo recently in Paris. The envoy had not seen this traveller in Timbuctoo, but recollected hearing of his having been there.—-M, de Rivoyre described the Bay of Adulis in the Red Sea, which now belongs to France. The possession of this place and of Obock, he said, gave Francea position from which she could watch calmly the events now proceeding in Ethiopia.—M. Germain Bapst described his explorations in Armenia, on the frontiers of the three empires of Turkey, Russia, and Persia, and gave some interesting information on the semi-barbarous populations living in these regions. THE last number (Bd. xix. Heft 6) of the Zettschrift der Gesellschaft fir Evdkunde 2u Berlin contains a translation of the Report on the Russian National Survey for 1883, and the usual tabulated catalogue of books, articles, maps, and plans, published between November, 1883, and 1884, in the domain of geography. THE SCOTTISH METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY yas the annual meeting on March 23, Dr. Arthur Mitchell, F.R.S.E., in the chair, it was stated in the Report of the Council that since last meeting in July two new stations had been established—one at Lednathie, Kirriemuir, and the other at Comrie, Perthshire. During the summer and autumn the Secretary inspected twenty-six stations. In addition to the ordinary work of the office he had prepared a third paper on ~ the climate of the British Islands, embracing the rainfall, which would appear in next issue of the Fournal. As regards the Ben Nevis Observatory, the observations during the winter had been carried on by Mr. Omond and his assistants every hour by night and by day, without the break of a single hour, except during a great storm which raged around the Observatory in February, when from 6 p.m. of the 21st to 7 a.m. of the fol- lowing day such was the violence of the wind, that for those fourteen hours no light could be carried outside by which the thermometers could be read. The directors had given per- mission for the erection of a seismometer for registering earth- movements at the Observatory, a grant of 200/. for its erection having been obtained by Mr. George Darwin and Prof. Ewing from the Government Grant Committee. The total cost of the erection and maintenance of the Observatory up to January 31, 1885, was 5935/., which was 325 in excess of the subscriptions and other moneys received. The actual cost above what was originally estimated amounted to upwards of 1600/. This excess arose chiefly from the additions it was. found necessary to make to the buildings, the extra furnishings required for the new por- tion, the great cost of making and maintaining the road, and of the transport to the top of building materials and stores. It | was hoped that the public, to whose liberality this great national observatory owed its existence, would by additional subscriptions April 23, 1885] enable the directors to place the Observatory in efficient working order. The work at the Scottish Marine Station continues to be prosecuted with energy and success. The Council had re- commended that the grant from the Fishery Fund of the Society for the year ending November next be iucreased from 250/. to 3007. In November, 1884, an application on the part of the Tweed Salmon Commissioners was made to the Council for advice and assistance in investigations which the Commissioners had resolved to undertake into the salmon disease, and questions generally affecting the salmon fisheries ; and the Commissioners were now carrying out a scheme of observations recommended by the Council. Mr. John Murray read a report on the Scottish Marine Station, stating thatthere is every reason to be satisfied with the support which the Station is receiving and with the work done. A sum of 1456/. 13s. 1d. has up to the present time been received in subscriptions from the general public, to which is to be added the donation of rooo/. which led directly to the foundation of the Station. The Scottish Meteorological Society has promised an annual contribution of 300/, for three years, and for the present year the British Association has voted a grant of 100/. The Royal Society of London and the Government Grant Committee have sanctioned grants to the amount of 520/. to assist scientific men who will carry on their researches chiefly by means of the appliances and conveniences offered by the Station. The total expenditure up tothe present time for the equipment and main- tenance of the Station amounts to 2751/. 8s. 1d. The comple- tion of the additions now in progress, and the maintenance of the station till November 1, 1885, will cost a further sum of goo/, At the request of a number of naturalists it is proposed to establish a temporary laboratory at Millport, on the Clyde, with sufficient accommodation for six workers, during the months of July and August of this year. The yacht AZedusa will be in attendance to carry on dredging or assist in making observations in the estuary of the Clyde or any of the lochs which open into it. It is hoped that a permanent branch of the Station may ultimately be established at Millport. Mr. H. R. Mill, B.Sc., submitted a detailed report of the meteorological part of the work carrie on at the Marine Station, in which it was mentioned that plans of a new chemical laboratory were being prepared. A number of observations had been made to ascertain the temperature and salinity of the water at the bottom and the surface, and to find out the penetrability of light. It was found that a piece of photographic printing paper was completely blackened by exposing it to 109 hours of daylight at a depth of 30 feet, while at fifteen feet it was blackened by 42 hours’ exposure. As to the temperature, the general law seemed to be that the range between summer and winter was nearly four times as great at Alloa and twice as great at Queensferry as it was at the Isle of May; and that in summer the temper- ature of the water fell steadily from Alloa to the May, and in winter rose with equal uniformity. The variations in salinity were very slight from Inchkeith to the mouth of the Forth, while from Inchgarvie to Alloa they were very great both be- tween high and low tide, bottom and surface, at the same place and between differences on the Forth short distances apart. A paper on anemometrical observations at Dundee was read by Mr. Cunningham, C.E., showing the diurnal velocity of the wind during the seasons and during cyclones and anti- cyclones. The daily maximum velocity occurred a little after 2 p.m., and the minimum from midnight to 6 a.m. During anticyclones the velocity of the wind was less during the night in summer than during winter, but stronger during the day. Mr. Cunningham also showed ar. elaborate diagram he had prepared for facilitating hygrometric calculations. A paper by Mr. Omond was read, on the formation of snow-crystals from fog on Ben Nevis (NATURE, vol. xxxi. p. 532), and a paper by Mr. Buchan, on the meteorology of Ben Nevis to February, 1884. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The Report of the Examiners at the last Cambridge Local Examinations speaks very favourably of the Euclid and Algebra papers. Trigonometry and Mechanics were done badly at some centres, but very well at others ; the seniors did well in Statics, but the majority of candidates answered poorly in Astronomy. In Practical Chemistry a larger proportion of juniors than NATURE ao last year gained high marks, and the percentage of failures was considerably less than in the theoretical paper. A few seniors sent in very good answers, but the greater number wrote answers to which it was difficult to attach a definite meaning. The phenomena and principles of Chemistry were evidently quite unreal to most of the senior candidates. In Heat the juniors did rather worse than last year ; book- work was fairly done, but the simpler laws and principles were often converted into utter nonsense. The seniors as a whole answered badly; many were quite unfamiliar with most ele- mentary facts and every-day occurrences, and had no notion of scientific methods or accurate reasoning. In Statics, Hydrostatics, &c., the work was moderately well done ; but the questions on Dynamics and Friction were very unsatisfactorily answered by the seniors. Electricity and Magnetism showed a slight improvement. Biology showed a large percentage of failures, owing to in- adequate practical study. Botany was ill done by most juniors ; inaccurate descriptions and incorrect use of terminology were prominent. Many seniors showed fair knowledge of at least some part of the subject. Morphology and Classification of Flowering Plants, with de- scriptions of specimens, were the weakest parts of the examination. In Zoology many of the junior candidates were quite unfit to enter for the examination ; antiquated text-books and inefficient teaching were answerable for this. The seniors did slightly better, but had little practical knowledge of animals. In Physical Geography all but a few did inferior papers, having learnt some facts and reasons by rote, without attempt- ing to understand them. There was, in most cases, complete ignorance of the meaning of sections and contour lines. UNIVERSITY OF NEw ZEALAND.—The annual meeting of the Senate of this University was recently held at Auckland, and extended over several days at the end of February and beginning of March. In consequence of the death of the Chancellor, Mr. Henry John Tancred, who had held office for twelve years, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. James Hector, F.R.S., C.M.G., &c., was elected to the Chancellorship, and Rev. J. C. Andrew was chosen Vice-Chancellor. Dr. Hector, as Chancellor-Elect, announced, on the authority of Sir Julius Vogel, that the Government contemplated the establishment of four scholarships for the promotion of scientific and technical education, the management and administration of which were to be intrusted to the University. They would be tenable for eight years, and would be open to pupils from any school in the colony, or to competitors at any industrial exhibition, subject to an examina- tion equal to the fourth standard of primary schools. - Holders of these scholarships would spend the first four years at a secondary school, the next three in a University course, in pre- paration for a science degree, and the last year in preparation for taking honours in science. The report of the Vice-Chancellor dealt mainly with local matters, but referred to the attendance of an ex- Vice-Chancellor as a representative of the University at the tercentenary celebra- tion of the University of Edinburgh, and to the election by the Senate of new examiners during the previous year. It may not be generally known to English readers that all the degree examinations of this University are conducted entirely by papers set and printed in England, and that the answers are revised by the English examiners, who in all cases either are, or have been, examiners for the Universities of London, Cambridge, or Ox- ford. The standard maintained is, as nearly as possible, that of the University of London. More than eighty candidates pre- sented themselves at the degree examinations last November from a population not exceeding half a million. The agent for the University in England is Mr. Wm. Lant Carpenter, B.A., B.Sc., of Harlesden, London, N.W. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Fournal of the Franklin Institute, No. 711, March, 1885.— E. A. Gieseler, on tidal theory and tidal predictions.—Prof. E. J. Houston, glimpses of the International Electrical Exhibition, No. VI. McDonough’s telephonic inventions. This gives an interesting account of the instruments invented by McDonough between the years 1857 and 1876, the receiver of which antici- pated in all its main features the form of receiver introduced by Graham Bell.—Prof. C. A. Young, physical constitution of the sun ; a lecture delivered at the Electrical Exhibition, illustrated 592 with many cuts.—C. E. Fritts, on the Fritts selenium cells and batteries. These cells, in which the light enters through a film of gold-leaf appear to have a much lower resistance than any other selenium cell.—Prof. E. J. Houston, on Delaney’s fac- simile telegraphic transmission. This number of the journal is also accompanied by reports of the Examiners of certain Sec- tions of the late Philadelphia Exhibition, including electric telegraphs, dental appliances, and applications of electricity to warfare. Bulletin de l’ Académie Royale de Belgique, February 7.— Experimental and analytical researches on the action and con- cussion of gases at various temperatures, by M. Hirn.—A study of the physical aspect of the planet Jupiter, by F. Terby.—Re- searches on the spectrum of carbon in the electric arc in connec- tion with the spectra of the comets and the sun, by Ch. Fievez. —Remarks on the application of electricity to aerial navigation, by MM. Gérard, Van Weddingen and Jacquet.—On the agree- ment between atmospheric variations and the indications of colours in stellar scintillations, by Ch. Montigny.—On the presence of chiastolite rocks in the Lower Devonian formation of the Belgian Ardennes, by E. Dupont.—A new formula applicable to the development of functions, and especially of integers, by Ch. Lagrange.—Remarks on Massy’s Glossary of the Egyptian novel of Setna, by M. Wagener.—The death of Don Juan of Austria, by Baron Kervyn de Lettenhove. Engler’s Botanische Fahrbiicher, Sechster Band (1885), Heft r. —CEmilius Keehne, Lythraceze, der Bau der Bliithen. Though the majority of the plants of this order are clearly entomophilous, the author is compelled to regard certain species as cleistogamic, e.g. species of Ammaunia and Rotala.—A. Engler, Beitrage zur Flora des siidlichen Japan und der Liu-kiu-Inseln.—J. C. Maximowicz, Amaryliidacee sinico-japonice.—A. G. Nathorst, Notizen tiber die Phanerogamenflora Gronlands im Norden von Melville Bay.—Litteraturbericht. Heft 2.—T. F, Cheeseman, Die naturalisirten PAanzen des Pro- vincial-Districts Auckland. The author is inclined to conclude that the struggle between the naturalised and the indigenous flora will result in a limitation of the distribution of the indige- nous species, rather than in their actual extinction. It must be confessed, however, that some few indigenous species appear to have already become extinct.—A. Peter, Ueber spontane und kiinstliche Gartenbastarde der Gattung Averacium, sect. Pilosell- oidea.—¥. Hildebrand, Ueber Heteranthera costerifolia. The plant develops differently according as it grows in shallower or in deeper water ; in the latter case float-leaves are formed, which differ widely in form from the ordinary leaves of the plant (one plate).—Lad. Celakovsky, Linné’s Antheil an der Lehre von der Metamorphose der Pflanze. The author concludes, from careful study of the writings of Linnzeus and his pupils, that Linnzeus definitely laid down the fundamental principle of metamorphosis before Wolff and Goethe.—Litteraturbericht. Heft 3.—Franz Buchenau, Die Juncaceen aus Indien (plates 2 and 3).—E. Hackel, Die auf der Expedition $.M.S. Gazelle von Dr. Naumann gesammelten Gramineen.—H. Dingler, Der Auf- bau des Weinsteckes (plate 4).—A. Engler, Beitrage zur Kennt- niss der Aracez, vi. —A. Engler, Eine neue Schinopsis.—Beiblatt, short notice of Apospory, and of Treub’s discoveries on the sexual reproduction of Lycopodium.—Litteraturbericht. Fournal de Physiqu, March.—Prof. Mascart, on the employ- ment of the method, of damping for determining the value of the ohm.—L, Bleekrode, experimental researches on the refraction of | liquefied gases. These are determined by the method of De Chaulnes.—L. Cailletet, new apparatus for preparing solid car- bonic acid.—M. Vaschy, note on the theory of telephonic ap- paratus.—G. Meslin, on the definition of perfect gases, and on the resulting properties. The author objects to the usual state- ment of the combined laws, because it rests upon the definition of temperature, which again rests upon the properties of perfect gases. He proposes to deduce all gaseous laws from the follow- ing definitions :—‘‘ A perfect gas is one which perfectly obeys the law of Mariotte at all temperatures, and for which there is no change in the (true) specific heat when the volume changes.” —R. T. Glazebrook, on a method of measuring the electrical capacity of a condenser (abstract from PAz?. Mag.).—C. R. Alder-Wright and C. Thompson, on the variation of chemical affinity in terms of electromotive force (from Phil. Mag.).—W. Hankel, on the electricity developed during certain processes evolving gases.—P. Kramer, Descartes and the law of refraction of light. A polemic to show that the accusation made against NATURE [April 23, 1885 Descartes of having appropriated the discovery of Snell is un- founded,—A. Genocchi, on some writings concerning the devia- tions of the pendulum and the experiment of Foucault. Rivista Scientifico-Intustriale, March 15.—Some experiments made by Prof. Tito Martini with an accumulator of the Planté type modified by Antonio Trevisan.—Influence of the capacity of the condensor on electric sparks, and their duration in con- nection with the hypothesis which considers electricity as an incompressible fluid, by Dr. Pietro Cardani.—Remarks on the Trouvé universal incandescent electric lamps (continued ; two illustrations), by the Editor.—Experimental researches on the action of boric acid in the human system in connection with epidemics and contagious diseases, by Prof. Philippo Artimini. —On a method for extracting chlorophyll, by E. Guignet.—On certain so-called ‘‘thunderbolts” of volcanic origin recently found on Mount St. Angelo, near Baccano, and in some other places east of Lake Bracciano, by Prof. G. Striiver. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, April 16.—‘‘ On the Agency of Water in Volcanic Eruptions, with some Observations on the Thickness of the Earth’s Crust from a Geological Point of View, and on the Primary Cause of Volcanic Action.” By Joseph Prestwich, F.R.S., Professor of Geology in the University of Oxford, That water plays an important part in volcanic eruptions is a well-established fact, but there is a difference of opinion as to whether it should be regarded as a primary or a secondary agent, and as to the time, place, and mode of its intervention. The author gives the opinions of Daubeny, Poulett Scrope, and Mallet, and, dismissing the first and last as not meeting the views of geologists. proceeds to examine the grounds of Scrope’s hypo- thesis—the one generally accepted in this country—which holds that the rise of lava in a volcanic vent is occasioned by the ex- pansion of volumes of high pressure steam generated in the interior of a mass of liquefied and heated mineral matter within or beneath the eruptive orifice, or that volcanic eruptions are to be attributed to the escape of high pressure steam existing in the interior of the earth. The way in which the water is introduced and where is not explained, but as the expulsion of the lava is considered to be due to the force of the imprisoned vapour, it is, of course, necessary that it should extend to the very base of the volcanic foci, just as it is necessary that the powder must be in the breech of the gun to effect the expulsion of the ball. The author then proceeds to state his objections to this hypo- thesis. In the first place he questions whether it is possible for water to penetrate to a heated or molten magma underlying the solid crust. The stratigraphical difficulties are not insurmount- able, although it is well known that the quantity of water within the depths actually reached in mines decreases, as a rule, with the depth, and is less in the Paleeozoic than in the Mesozoic and Kainozoic strata. ; The main difficulty is thermo-dynamical. As the elastic vapour of water increases with the rise of temperature, and faster at high than at low temperatures, the pressure—which at a depth of about 7500 feet and with a temperature (taking the thermometric gradient at 48 feet per 1° F.) of 212° F., would be equal to that of one atmosphere only—would at a depth of 15,000 feet and a temperature of 362°, be equal to 104 atmo- spheres, and at 20,000 feet and temperature of 467° would exceed 25 atmospheres. Beyond this temperature the pressure has only been determined by empirical formulz, which, as the increase of pressure is nearly proportional to the fifth power of the excess of temperature, would show that the pressure, in presence of the heat at greater depths, becomes excessive. Thus, if the formule hold good to the critical point of water, or 773°, there would at that temperature be a pressure of about 350 atmospheres. At temperatures exceeding 1o00° F. and depth of about 50,000 feet, the experiments of M. H. St. Claire Deville have shown that the vapour of water, under certain conditions, probably undergoes disassociation, and, consequently, a large increase in volume. It would follow also on this that if the water-vapour had been subject to the long-continued action of the high tem- peratures of great depths, we might expect to meet with a less amount of steam and a larger proportion of its constituent gases than occurs in the eruptions. Capillarity will assist the descent, and pressure will cause the water to retain its fluidity to con- >- April 23, 1885 | siderable depths, but with the increasing heat capillarity loses its power. Taking these various conditions into consideration, the author doubts whether the surface-waters can penetrate to depths of more than seven to eight miles, and feels it impossible to accept any hypothesis based upon an assumed percolation to unlimited depths. That there should be open fissures through which water could penetrate to the volcanic foci, he also considers an impossibility. j But the objection to which the author attaches most weight against the extravasation of the lava being due to the presence of vapour in the volcanic foci, is, that if such were the case, there should be a distinct relation between the discharge of the lava and of the vapour, whereas the result of an examination of a number of well-recorded eruptions shows that the two operations are in no relation and are perfectly independent. Sometimes there has been a large discharge of lava and little or no escape of steam, and at other times there have been paroxysmal explo- sive eruptions with little discharge of lava. There are instances in which the lava of Vesuvius has welled out almost with the tranquility of a water-spring. A great eruption of Etna commenced with violent explosions and ejec- tion of scoriz, which, after sixteen days, ceased, but the flow of lava continued for four months without further explosions. In the eruption of Santorin, 1866, the rock-emission proceeded for days in silence, the protruded mass of lava forming a hill nearly 500 feet long by 200 feet high, which a witness compared with the steady and uninterrupted growth of a soap-bubble. The eruptions of Mauna Loa are remarkable for their magnitude, and at the same time for their quiet. Speaking of the eruptions of 1855, Dana says there was no earthquake, no internal thun- derings, and no premonitions. A vent or fissure was formed, from which a vast body of liquid lava flowed rapidly but quietly, and without steam explosions, for the space of many months. On the other hand, paroxysmal eruptions are generally ac- companied by earthquakes, and begin with one powerful burst, followed rapidly by a succession of explosions, and commonly with little extrusion of lava, although it is to be observed that a large quantity must be blown into scoriz and lost in the ejec- tions. Such was the eruption of Coseguina in 1835, and of Krakatoa in 1883. Sometimes in these paroxysmal eruptions there is absolutely no escape of lava, scoriz alone being pro- jected. A common feature in eruptions, and which indicates the termination of the crisis, is the stopping of the lava, though the gaseous explosions continue for some time with scarcely diminished energy. There is thus no definite relation between the quantity of ex- plosive gases and vapours and the quantity of lava. If the eruption of lava depended on the occluded vapour, it is not easy to see how there could be great flows without a large escape of vapour, or large volumes ot vapour without lava. The extrusion of lava has been compared to the boiling over of a viscid sub- stance in a vessel, but the cases are not analogous. The only logical way in which it would seem possible for water to be present is on the hypothesis of Sterry Hunt who _ supposes the molten magma to be a re-melted mass of the earlier sedimentary strata, which had been originally subject to surface and meteoric action. But in the end the preceding objections apply equally to this view. There is the further general objection to the presence of water in the molten magma, in that were the extrusion of lava due to this cause, the extrusion of granite and other molten rocks (which do not, as a rule, lie so deep as the lava magma) should have been the first to feel its influence and to show its presence. Yet although water is present, it is in such small quantities that these rocks never exhibit the scoriaceous character which lava so commonly possesses. Nor is lava always scoriaceous, as it should be if the hypo- thesis were correct. Many lavas are perfectly compact and free from vapour-cavities, and so also are especially most of the great sheets of lava (basalt) which welled out through fissures in late geological times. These vast fissure eruptions, which in India and America ‘cover thousands of square miles, and are several thousand feet thick, seem conclusive against water agency, for they have welled out evidently in a state of great fluidity, with extremely little explosive accompaniments, and often without a trace of scoriz mounds. The general presence of non-hydrated rocks and minerals is also incompatible with the permeation of water which the assumption involves. NATURE 593 It has been suggested by some writers that large subterranean cavities may exist at depths in which the vapour of water is stored under high pressure, but the author shows that such natural cavities are highly improbable in any rocks, and im- possible in calcareous strata. The author proceeds to account for the presence of the enormous quantity of the vapour of water, so constantly present in eruptions, and which, in one eruption of Etna, was estimated by Fouqueé to be equal to about 5,000,000 gallons in the twenty- four hours. He refers it to the surface-waters gaining access during the eruptions to the volcanic ducts either in the volcanic mountain itself, or at comparatively moderate depths beneath. He describes how the springs and wells are influenced by yolcanic outbursts. By some observers, these effects have been referred to the influence of dry and wet seasons, but there are so many recorded instances by competent witnesses, as to leave little doubt of the fact. This was also the decision of the inquiry by the late Prof. Phillips, who asks, Why is the drying up of the wells and springs an indication of coming disaster ? The author then considers the hydro-geological condition of the underground waters. He points to the well-known fact, that on the surface of volcanoes the whole of the rainfall disappears at once, and shows that when the mountain is at rest, the underground water must behave as in ordinary sedi- mentary strata. Therefore, the water will remain stored in the body of the mountain, in the interstices of the rocks and scoriz, and in the many empty lava-tunnels and cavities. The level of this water will rise with the height of the mountain, and he estimates that it has at times reached in Etna a height of 5000 to 6000 feet, while the permanent level of the springs at the base of the mountain seems to be at about 2000 feet. The water does not, however, form one common reservoir, but is divided into a number of independent levels by the irregular distribution of the scoriz, lava, &c. These beds are traversed by vertical dykes running radially from the crater, so that, as they generally admit of the passage of water, the dykes serve as conduits to carry the water to the central duct. Little is known of the sedimentary strata on which volcanoes stand. In Naples, however, an artesian well found them under the volcanic materials in usual succession, and with several water-bearing beds, from one of which, at a depth of 1524 feet, a spring of water rose to the surface with a discharge of 440 gallons per minute. When in a state of rest the surplus under- ground waters escape in the ordinary way by springs on the sur- face, or when the strata crop out in the sea, they then form submarine springs. During an eruption these conditions are completely changed. The ascending lava, as it crashes through the solid plug formed during a lengthened period of repose, comes in contact with the water lodged around or, may be, in the duct, which is at once flashed into steam, and gives rise to explosions more or less violent. These explosions rend the mountain, and fresh fissures are formed which further serve to carry the water to the duct from which they proceed ; or they may serve as channels for the sea-water to flood the crater, when, as in the case of Coseguina and Krakatoa, the volcano is near the sea-level. As the erup- tion continues, the water-stores immediately around the duct become exhausted, and then the water lodged in the more distant parts of the mountain rushes in to supply the void, and the ex- plosions are violent and prolonged according to the available volume of water in the volcanic beds. When this store is exhausted, the same process will go on with the underlying water-bearing sedimentary strata traversed by the volcanic duct. The author gives diagrams showing the position of the water- levels defore, during, and after eruption; and descrils the manner in which, if the strata surrounding the duct and below the sea-level become exhausted, the efflux of the fresh water which passed out to sea through the permeable beds, when the inland waters stood at their normal height above the sea-level, these same beds will in their turn serve as channels for the sea- water to restore the lowered water-level inland. Thus, the ex- current channels which carried the land waters into the sea-bed, and there formed, as they often do off the coasts of the Mediter- ranean, powerful fresh-water springs, now serve as channels for an in-current stream of sea-water, which, like the fresh water it replaces, passes into the volcanic duct. This agrees with the fact that fresh-water remains are common in many eruptions, and marine diatomaceous remains in others ; also that the pro- ducts of decomposition of sea-water are so abundant during and at the close of eruptions. With the fall of the water-levels, the 594 NATURE | April 23, 1885 available supply of water becomes exhausted, or the channels of communication impeded, and this continues until, with the ceasing of the extravasation of the lava, the eruption comes to an end. The author then explains the way in which the water may gain access to the lava in the duct, notwithstanding heat and pressure. This he considers to be dependent upon the difference between the statical and the kinetical pressure of the column of lava on the sides of the duct, In the change from the one state to the other, when the lava begins to flow, and its lateral pres- sure is lessened, the equilibrium with the surrounding elastic high pressure vapour becomes destroyed, and the vapour forces its way into the ascending lava, As this proceeds, the heated water further from the duct, and held back by the pressure of the vapour, flashes into steam to supply its place. If that water should be lodged in the joints of the surrounding rock, blocks of it will also be blown off, driven into, and ejected with, the ascending lava, as have been the blocks in Somma and of other volcanoes. It is the double action thus established between the inland- and sea-waters that has probably prolonged the activity of the existing volcanoes settled in ocean centres, or along coast-lines, while the great inland volcanic areas of Auvergne, the Eifel, Central Asia, &c., have become dormant or extinct. But if water only plays a secondary part in volcanic eruptions, to what is the motive power which causes the extravasation of the lava to be attributed? This involves questions connected with the solidity of the globe far more hypothetical and difficult of proof. The author first takes into consideration the probable thickness of the earth’s crust froma geological point of view, and shows, that although the present stability of the earth’s surface renders it evident that the hypothesis of a thin crust resting ona fluid nucleus is untenable, it is equally difficult to reconcile certain geological phenomena with a globe solid throughout, or even witha very thick crust. The geological phenomena on which he relies in proof of a crust of small thick- ness, are :—(1) Its flexibility as exhibited down to the most recent mountain uplifts, and in the elevation of continental areas. (2) The increase of temperature with depth. (3) The volcanic phenomena of the present day, and the outwelling of the vast sheets of trappean rocks during late geological periods. He considers that the squeezing and doubling up of the strata in mountain-chains—as, for example, the 200 miles of originally horizontal strata in the Alps, crushed into a space of 130 miles (and in some cases the compression is still greater)—can only be accounted for on the assumption of a thin crust resting on a yielding substratum, for the strata have bent as only a free sur- face-plate could to the deformation caused by lateral pressure. If the globe were solid, or the crust of great thickness, there would have been crushing and fracture, but not corrugations. Looking at the dimensions of these folds, it is evident also that the plate could not be of any great thickness. This in connec- tion with the increase of heat with depth, and the rise of the molten lava through volcanic ducts, which, if too long, would allow the lava to consolidate, leads the author to believe that the outer solid crust may be less even than twenty miles thick. That the crust does possess great mobility is shown by the fact that since the Glacial period there have been movements of continental upheaval—to at least the extent of 1500 to 1800 feet —that within more recent times they have extended to the height of 300 to 400 feet or more, and they have not yet entirely ceased. With regard to the suggestion of the late Prof. Hopkins that the lava lies in molten lakes at various depths beneath the sur- face, the author finds it difficult to conceive their isolation as separate and independent local igneous centres, in presence of the large areas occupied by modern and by recently extinct vol- canoes. But the chief objection is, that if such lakes existed they would tend to depletion, and as they could not be replen- ished from surrounding areas, the surface above would cave in and become depressed, whereas areas of volcanic activity are usually areas of elevation, and the great basaltic outwellings of Colorado and Utah, instead of being accompanied by depression, form tracts raised 5000 to 12,009 feet above the sea-level. These slow secular upheavals and depressions, this domed elevation of great yolcanic areas, the author thinks most com- patible with the movement of a thin crust on a slowly yielding viscid body or layer, also of no great thickness, and wrapping round a solid nucleus. The viscid magma is thus compressed between the two solids, and while yielding in places to com- pression, it, as a consequence of its narrow limits, expands in like proportion in conterminous areas. As an example, he instances the imposing slow movements of elevation which have so long been going on along almost all the land bordering the shores of the Polar Seas, and to the areas of depression which so often further south subtend the upheaved districts. With respect to the primary cause of these changes and of the extravasation of lava, the author sees no hypothesis which meets all the conditions of the case so well as the old hypothesis of secular refrigeration and contraction of a heated globe with a solid crust—not as originally held, with a fluid nucleus, but with the modifications which he has named, and with a gzasz rigidity compatible with the conclusions of the eminent physicists who have investigated this part of the problem. Although the loss of terrestrial heat by radiation is now exceedingly small, so also is the contraction needed for the quantity of lava ejected. Cordier long since calculated that, supposing five volcanic eruptions to take place annually, it would require a century to shorten the radius of the earth to the extent of Imm., or about =. inch. The author therefore concludes that, while the extravasation of the lava is due to the latter cause, the presence of vapour is due alone to the surface and underground waters with which it comes into contact as it rises through the volcanic duct, the violence of the eruption being in exact proportion to the quantity which so gains access. Geologists’ Association, April 9.—A short paper entitled Notes on the Oldhaven pebble-beds at Caterham was read by Mr. T. V. Holmes, F.G. S.. The workmen in the gravel-pits adjoining the Caterham Waterworks recently exposed a large cavity in the pebble-beds, which was visible when the writer and Mr. R. Meldola visited the spot in December last. cylindrical in shape, from ten to eleven feet in length, and from five to six in diameter, its axis being nearly vertical. Evidence of the existence of others was noted, and it was stated that similar hollows are by no means rare in these pits. These cavities doubtless owed their origin to the existence of pipes in the chalk beneath, which pipes, from the superior tenacity, here and there, of the upper strata of gravel as compared with the lower, had not been entirely filled up. Examples of similar hollows elsewhere were given. The existence of masses of un- modified ‘‘loam with flints” in the midst of the pebbles was also noted, and the writer explained how they might be accounted for without recourse to the hypothesis of glacial agency. On the Glacial Drifts of Norfolk, by Mr. H. B. Woodward, F.G.S. After describing the general characters of the drifts in Norfolk, Mr. Woodward alluded to the difficulties in identifying the subdivisions in different areas, for the beds are variable and no infallible guides are furnished by lithological characters, fossils, or even by stratigraphical sequence. Looked at in a broad way, two divisions might be made out: (1) the Lower Glacial, including the Cromer Till, Contorted Drift, and the so- called Middle Glacial ; and (2) the Upper Glacial, including the chalky boulder clay and cannon-shot gravel. These divisions are borne out in part by the evidence of superposition and by the character of the stones imbedded in the boulder clays, and in part by the evidence that the contortions in the Lower Glacial beds were produced by the agent which formed the chalky boulder clay. Mr. Woodward expressed his opinion that the shells found in the Middle Glacial sands did not belong to the Glacial period, but were derived in part from Pliocene strata north of Norfolk, now either entirely removed or buried up beneath the waters of the North Sea. The shells, which include forms that lived during the period of the coralline and red crags, were supposed by some authorities to have migrated from the Mediterranean area during submergence of the tract in Glacial times and at an interval when the climate was mild. Attention was drawn to the occurrence of boulder clay in the Middle Glacial deposits near Hertford ; and it was pointed out that shells derived from the coralline and #red crags had been found by Mr. T. F. Jamieson in the drift of Aberdeenshire, indicating that Pliocene deposits had formerly extended as far north as Scotland. Briefly alluding to the method of formation of the glacial drifts, Mr. Woodward passed on to notice the occurrence of Palzeolithic implements. The mammalian remains associated with these belonged to the group which characterised the older Thames Valley deposits and were met with also on the Dogger Bank. When these deposits were accumulated, probably the Ouse joined the waters of the Thames and Rhine in the area now covered by the North Sea. It was - . Apri! 23, 1885 | Anthropological Institute, April 14.—Prof. Flower, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—The election of J. G. Frazer, H. R. H. Gosselin, and J. Browne was announced.—Dr. J. G. Garson read a paper on the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego. Three tribes inhabit the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego: they are called the Onas, who inhabit the north and east shores, and resemble the Patagonians in being a tall race, chiefly living by hunting, but supplementing their food with shell-fish and other marine animals ; the Yahgans, who live on the shores of the Beagle Channel and southern islands, and are a short stunted race, subsisting almost entirely on the products of the sea and birds ; the Alaculoofs, who dwell on the western islands and are very similar to the Yaghans. These last two tribes and their characters were chiefly discussed, being better known to us. They lead a very degraded life, wandering about from place to place, possess no houses, but construct shelters out of the branches of trees and build canoes of bark ; they wear very little clothing of any kind. In stature they are short, the men averaging about 5 feet 3 inches and the women about 5 feet. In the character of their skull and skeleton they resemble the other wild native tribes of America, but by isolation have assumed certain characters peculiar to themselves. The population of the Fuegian Islands appears to be about 3000. Much information is still required regarding the people and their social customs. The osteological characters of the Yahgans were pointed out and discussed. EDINBURGH Mathematical Society, April 10.—Mr. A. J. G. Barclay, President, in the chair.—Mr. T. B. Sprague, F.R.S.E., con- tributed a paper, which was read by Prof. Chrystal, on the indeterminate form 0°; and Mr. John Alison discussed the properties of the so-called Simson line. Royal Physical Society, April 15, Prof. John Duns, D.D., F.R.S.E., President, in the chair.—The President read a paper on Abnormalities of Development and the Reproduction of Lost Parts in Living Organisms, with exhibition of 7i/igua fernandi, and other specimens.—Mr. H. M. Cadell, B.Sc., H.M. Geo- logical Survey, communicated notes on contorted shales below the Till in Craigleith Quarry. These were very fine examples, and he observed them below the boulder clay on the east side of the quarry in 1880. The non-bituminous shales overlying the sandstone were at some places turned up, and curled over as if by some heavy body, which might either have been the great ice sheet which moved from west to east across the country during the glacial period, or icebergs sailing along at a later part of the same period, and stnking the bottom with projecting corners. The fact that the shales were twisted in different directions seemed to favour the iceberg theory in this instance. Mr. Cadell also referred to contortions of the edges of the same series of shales in the Suburban Railway cutting at Meggetland and near Craiglockhart Hill. Bending over of the edges of slates, &c., was sometimes seen in cases where the strata dipped at high angles into the face of a slope, and this might lead an inexperienced geologist into great perplexity. This kind of bending was due simply to gravitation, and had nothing to do with ice action. Mr. F. E. Beddard, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.Z.S., communicated a note on the anatomy of a new species of earth- worm, belonging to the genus Acanthodrilus.—Mr. W. Ivison Macadam, F.C.S., referred to the presence of Fragillaria in enlarged quantities in the water supply of Elie, in Fife. The idatom was stated to be a somewhat rare one, and was found in the filter beds in such quantities as to form a complete coat, and to cause frequent renewal of the beds. Paris Academy of Sciences, April 13.—M. Boulay, President, in the chair.—Theorems relating to the actinometric functions of movable plaques, by M. Haton de la Goupilli¢ére.—Remarks on the skeleton of a cave hyena (Hyena sfelea) discovered by M. Felix Regnault, and presented to the Academy by M. Albert Gaudry. These remains, recently found in the Gargas district, Upper Pyrenees, confirm the view already advanced by the author that the cave hyzna was merely a heavy variety of the Hyena crocuta (spotted hyzena), still surviving in Central Africa. —On the pathogenetic and prophylactic action of the comma bacillus, by M. J. Ferran, From experiments made on several human subjects, whose names are given, the author concludes NATURE 595 that by hypodermic injections of this germ, man, as well as the guinea-pig, may be infected with true cholera morbus, and that immunity from further attacks may be obtained by such injections in more or less graduated doses. He proposes to repeat the experiments here described in the presence of a Commission appointed by the Academy.—On the so-called ‘‘herpol- hodie,” a transformation on the fixed cone of the ‘‘ polhodie,”’ already described, by M. A. Mannheim.—Further results in the theory of matrices: their distribution into species, and formation of all the species, by M. Ed. Weyr.—A new method of determining the constants a, y, 5, of the large mirror M of the sextant, by M. Gruey.—On the law of densities in the interior of the earth, in connection with M. Tisserand’s theory of the figure of the earth, by M. R. Radau.—Resistance experienced by an indefinite circular cylinder immersed in a fluid to move as a pendulum in a direction perpendicular to its axis, by M. J. Boussinesq.—On the phenomena of diffraction produced by an opaque screen of rectilinear outlines, by M. Gouy. Two points are considered: the diffraction of light within the shadow of the screen when the ambient medium is more refringent than the atmosphere, and diffraction without the shadow of the screen.—On the phenomena presented by the permanent gases when evaporated in vacuum ; on the limits within which the hydrogen thermometer may be employed, and on the temperature obtained by the explosion of liquefied hydro- gen, by M. S. Wroblewski.—Influence of dilution on the co- efficient of lowering of the freezing-point for substances dissolved in water, by M. F. M. Raoult.—On the vibratory forms of square plaques, by M. C. Decharme.—Description of some important improvements recently effected in the gas-heated thermo-electric pile invented in 1874 by MM. Clamond and J. Charpentier.—On a new electric pile acting with two fluids, by M. A. Dupré.—On the diurnal variation of the mag- netic elements at the Parc Saint-Maur Observatory during the years 1883 and 1884, by M. Th. Morceaux.—On the depths to which the solar rays penetrate in marine water, by MM. H. Fol and Ed. Sarasin. From a series of experiments made in the month of March, 1885, at Villefranche-sur-Mer (Mediterranean) analogous to those previously carried out at the Lake of Geneva, the authors conclude that in fine weather the last rays of light are dissipated in the Mediterranean at a depth of about 400m. below the surface.—On a remarkable deviation of the trajectory of a cyclone observed last February on the north-east coast of Madagascar, by M. Pelagaud. Almost for the first time since the Indian Ocean has been visited by Europeans—that is, the last four hundred years—a cyclone has visited the Island of Mada- gascar, causing great damage to the French fleet and other shipping along the north-east coast.—Note on the oxides of copper, by M. Joannis.—On the mutual attraction of bodies in solution and solid bodies immersed in the fluid, by M. J. Thoulet. In this second note the author shows that such mutual attraction exists that it is instantaneous, and that in the normal conditions it is directly proportioned to the surface of the im- mersed solid.—On a new process for preparing cyanogen, by M. G. Jacquemin.—Quantitative analysis of cyanogen mixed with carbonic acid, nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases, by the same author.—On the primary haloid fderivatives of ordinary ether, by M. L. Henry.—On the existence of a nervous system in the Peltogaster: a contribution to the history of the Kentrogonides (Rhizocephals of Fritz Miiller), by M. J. Delage. —On the nervous system of the Bothryo- cephalids, by M. J. Niemiec.—Notes on three new species of Ascidians from the coast of Provence, by M. L. Roule —A new contribution to the question of boric acid of non- volcanic origin, by M. Dieulafait. It is shown that boric acid is not always of volcanic origin, but that vast quantities exist in the salt lakes and saline marshes, all the elements of which are of asedimentary character, and which amid more or less complex physical and chemical changes have still their first origin in the evaporation of normal marine basins. —On some specimens from a remarkable fossil forest in the Reserve of the Navajos Indians, Arizona, by M. E, Desté.—Note on the springs in the district of Gabes, North Africa, by M. L. Dru.—On the work being accomplished at the station of Kondoa, established by the French section of the African International Society, by M. Bloyet.—On the influence of the nervous system on the tem- perature of the body, by M. Ch. Richet.—Studies on the in- halation of formene, and of monochloruretted formene (chloride of methyl), by MM. J. Regnault and Villejean.—On the harm- less character of the comma bacillus, and on the presence of its 596 "NALORE | April 23, 1885 germs in the atmosphere, by M. J. Heéricourt. The author finds that these organisms are normally present in all kinds of water, and in the form of spores or germs everywhere in the atmosphere. There are many varieties, some apparently identical with the comma bacillus of cholera. BERLIN Physical Society, March 6.—Dr. Kalischer described a new secondary battery intended to overcome the disadvantage of the usual accumulators, namely, that the sheet of lead used as anode got very soon destroyed. This object he attained by adopting a very concentrated solution of nitrate of lead as electrolyte, and iron as anode. The iron, on being immersed in the solution of lead, became passive and resisted every corroding effect of the fluid ; in other respects the peroxide of lead on the electric charge became deposited at the anode as a very firm coherent mass enveloping and protecting the iron on all sides. The charge was continued till the greater part of the nitrate of lead was decomposed, a condition which was marked by the occurrence of a greater development of gas at the anode. At the beginning of the charge all development of gas must be avoided, as other- wise the peroxide of lead, or, more correctly, the hydrate of per- oxide of lead, became covered with bubbles. As kathode a sheet of lead was used, but it was attended by two disadvantages. In the first place the lead, during the charge, separated itself at the kathode into long crystal threads, which soon passed through the fluid and produced short closing (of the current). In the second place the nitric acid, which remained in the fluid after the separation of the lead, acted very powerfully on the sheet of lead. Both disadvantages Dr. Kalischer avoided by amalgam- ising the kathode. This accumulator of iron, concentrated solution of nitrate of lead, and amaigamised lead yielded, after the electric charge, which could be carried out without any special preparations, a current of about 2 volts ; after about six hours’ discharge, however, the electromotive force sank to 1°7 volts, but, on the battery being left to itself for twenty-four hours, it became a little increased. According to the measurements hitherto taken, the functions of this accumulator were satisfactory. An attempt to substitute sulphuric manganese for nitric lead in this battery did not answer the purpose, as the peroxide of manganese separated itself, not in a continuous layer, but in loose scales.—Prof. Schwalbe laid before the Society a piece of a piezometer which had burst under a pressure of ten atmo- spheres. The rather thick glass was traversed by longitudinal fissures, distributed with perfect regularity and exactly parallel to each other.— Prof. Schwalbe further spoke of the ice- outcroppings, resembling asbestos and glossy-like silk, which emerged on old, decayed twigs and branches, and which he had observed in former winters. He supposed that they origin- ated in the crystallisation outwards of needles of ice from the water in the interior of the wood under moderate and slowly advancing colds. This winter also, as in former winters, he had succeeded in effecting these glacial outgrowths artificially on some twigs, by impregnating them with water and then exposing them to a slow increasing cold of from — 2° to — 3°. To test the accuracy of this hypothesis, he instituted experiments with solutions of salt. A solution of nitre gave very satisfactory results. When a'decayed twig was thoroughly saturated with a solution of nitre, and then left to evaporate, there then cropped out on it delicate glossy protuberances, perfectly similar to those observed in nature on moist pieces of wood. In this last case it was impossible that any increment could come from the out- side ; these crystal needles could have grown only from the interior. With the cube-crystallising kitchen salt, on the other hand, the experiment did not succeed. The speaker related that the first observations of these ice outcroppages were made by the Duke of Argyll. The pillar-like outgrowths which in recent times had been largely observed by English naturalists, and which he had formerly observed and described, were, in the opinion of the speaker, likewise excrescences from the interior. —Dr. Kayser read a paper, sent in by Dr. Miiller-Erzbach, in which the latter endeavoured to refute some objections raised azainst his experiments, communicated to the Society at the last sitting, respecting the magnitude of the sphere of influence of molecular attraction. March 20.— Dr. Gross, starting from theoretical con- siderations, instituted the following experiment :—Two iron electrodes overlaid with sealing wax, in such a manner a to leave only the terminal planes free, were dipped into solution of chloride of iron, closed by means of a galvanometer into a circle, and any inequalities there might happen to be adjusted according to the Poggendorf-Du Bois-Raymond method. When now one electrode was surrounded by a magnetising spiral, there was seen, on its being magnetised, an electric current passing from the magnetic electrode through the fluid to the non-magnetic electrode, It might be thought that the current was a thermo-electric one, produced by the warming of the magnetising spiral ; but a delicate thermometer showed that the air within the magnetising spiral was but 2° warmer than the surrounding air. Besides, the electrode that was to be magnetised was surrounded by a double cylinder, through which water of a temperature 12° below that of the air, was constantly flowing; and yet, notwithstanding this power- fully cooling influence, the current always passed from the mag- netic to the non-magnetic electrode, whereas a thermal current must have passed from the warm to the cold electrode. The electric current was therefore produced, not by a difference in temperature, but by the magnetisation of the one electrode. The current continued so long as the electrode was magnetised. If the electrodes were now brought into a tube, and so arranged as to lie behind each other in the axis of the tube, with their free terminal planes turned to each other, then, on the magnetisation of one electrode, an electric current again set in, passing now, however, from the non-magnetic electrode, through the fluid, to the magnetic electrode. The direction of the current was con- sequently dependent on the direction of the magnetic axis to the electrolyte and the second electrode. As conducting fluid only sulphates of iron could be used in these experiments, and of these only such as received the free terminal plane of the elec- trodes nakedly. Dr. Gross believed that the currents demon- strated by him in the experiments thus described were related to the thermo-electric currents between magnetic and non-mag- netic iron wires, which were a subject of study to Sir William Thomson, CONTENTS PAGE The “Challenger? Expedition) 9-0.) ce eS Frankland and Japp’s Inorganic Chemistry. By Prof. Mc MPS Muito =e se el TO Letters to the Editor :— Mr. Lowne on the Morphology of Insects’ Eyes.— Prof. H. Ray Wankester, Poros: heen Abnormal Season in the Niger Delta.—Prof. J. P. O'Reilly. 2 ne es sa tae to eT Mardi ajmstices—— 77-0 cm tcue ie spikes ast as 578 JA’ Query; MIs ae. outer ass ist couteh dottey Gein eae a UES 7.5) The Use of Artificial Teeth by the Ancients.—O. S. 578 Far-sightedness.—J. Starkie Gardner ...... 578 Aims and Methods of the Teaching of Physics. YANO OCR Rs Goa bp atmo Oo ola ooo) SS The Work of the U.S. Signal Office under General IS EV Sollee minh nkGeAMO G ouGScslosnwoNo o-oo 2. See A Recent Japanese Earthquake. By Prof. J. A. Ewing. ((Zizestyated') vn sis 10 tel ne GUE ee Early Maturity of Live Stoc ch ChE oe The Borneo Coal-Fields. By-:Rev. J. E. Tenison- WeOOdS = A'cuiten at fata thal itl oaths eaten ce 583 The Paris Central School of Arts and Manufactures. CHULA Wo oo Oooo oo oo oO od oo oat INiOtes Seiko tte cee ae, HCO EE ICES 586 Our Astronomical Column :— Halley’s'Cometiin t456i-9y. 1-7 te ase as ont RSS The Total Solar Eclipse on Septemberg ..... 588 Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, April 26ito\Mays2, Sc i) css Gist ie) el ere sce eS OO GeographicaliNotes!) 2 75°95 a ee etre cl SOO) The Scottish Meteorological Society. ..... 590 University and Educational Intelligence ..... 591 ScientificySerialsiucri. i) ese ecient ad bio SOE Societies'and/Academies : <2 2) =) ct) 6) 2 eee SOR NATGR E THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1885 THE FOSSIL MAMMALIA IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM Catalogue of the Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I., containing the Orders Primates, Chiroptera, Insectivora, Carnivora, and Rodentia. By Richard Lydekker, B.A., F.G.S., &e. (London: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1835). i the above-named volume we welcome another con- tribution to the series of descriptive catalogues of the Natural History Section of the British Museum, which, initiated by the late indefatigable Keeper of the Zoological Department, Dr. J. E. Gray, have been ener- getically extended under the direction of his eminent successor, Dr. Giinther, himself the author of the greatest of them all, the now classical “ Catalogue of Fishes.” Unlike that valuable work, however, and the subse- quently published catalogues of Chiroptera, of Birds, and of Batrachia, the volume before us does not conceal, under the modest title of “Catalogue,” a systematic treatise on the orders dealt with, for it includes even less than its title implies, dealing only, as a rule, with the specimens of fossil] Mammalia exhibited in the Museum galleries. We regret that this is so; an excellent oppor- tunity has been lost by the author of bringing out a monograph, complete to date, of all the species of fossil mammals known—a work urgently needed not only by the student of paleontology, but by biologists in general, whose successful study of existing animals depends so largely on their knowledge of extinct forms. Although the subjects of this work belong as truly to the zoological series as any of the groups of animals treated of in the catalogues of the Zoological Depart- ment above referred to, yet, as their remains which form the material on which it is founded are conventionally termed “ fossils,” the volume is prefaced by the learned head of the Department of Geology, Dr. Henry Wood- ward. This is, no doubt, as it ought to be, for Dr. Wood- ward is not only a distinguished paleontologist but a zoologist also; but the circumstance points tg the un- comfortable fact that the collections on which it is based occupy a part of the house different from that of their nearest relations—a condition which, however convenient for departmental reasons, is none the less to be deplored as contrary to the principles which should govern the arrangement of a collection intended for instruction, and misleading to the general non-scientific visitor, who is necessarily led by such an arrangement to regard the animals, whose remains are presented thus to his view, as creatures of a parentage altogether distinct from that of existing species. We areconfident that our opinions on this subject are shared by the able director of the Museum, whose arrangement of the specimens in the Hunterian Collection of the Royal College of Surgeons was based on the natural, as opposed to the artificial, sys- tem, such as we see adopted at South Kensington, which, however, existed there before his appointment, and which, no doubt, is still forced upon him by circumstances not under his control. The Keeper of the Department of Geology is fortunate VOL. XXxI.—No. 809 597 in having obtained for the preparation of this catalogue the services of one so competent to deal with the subject as Mr. Lydekker, whose valuable paleontological papers, published chiefly in the Memoirs of the Geological Sur- vey of India, are so well known, and who appears to have brought to the study of the collection a mind unbiassed by theories of a bygone period of natural history, save in a few points which we shall presently point out, in which we trust he may have yielded rather to the respect due to the opinions of a former master of this science than to his own convictions. The author premises (in the Introduction) that he has endeavoured, as far as possible, to follow in the lines laid down by Prof. W. H. Flower (in his “Catalogue of Specimens of Vertebrated Animals in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,” Part II., 1884) in respect to the nomenclature of species and genera and in regard to general systematic arrangement, and his wisdom in foll- owing such an excellent model is much to be commended. Unfortunately, however, the proviso “as far as possible” seems to have opened the way to some considerable ex- ceptions to this good rule, which prove to be serious . blemishes in a work otherwise well carried out. We can see no good reason why the simple plan of printing refer- ences in the body of the page, employed in all hitherto published descriptive catalogues of the Natural History Department, should have been abandoned in the volume before us in favour of a complicated system of foot-notes which disfigure the pages and causes the unlucky reader to keep his eyes perpetually on the move. Thus (to cite one of many instances), under the genus MZacherodus we find arranged, in a narrow line down one side of the page, six synonyms, each provided with a minute num- ber referring to a certain similarly numbered foot-note at the bottom of the page, in which, when found, the required reference may be made out. This trouble could have been spared the reader by simply printing the reference after the synonyms, and much space would also have been saved. But worse than this is the absence of even footnote references to synonyms, such as we notice-in many places, as, for instance, under “ Hyena striata,’ where eleven synonyms with the names of their authors only, are arranged in a dismal line down the left side of the page. Although the fossil remains are, in most cases, very carefully described, yet we regret to find but few defini- tions in detail of the families, genera, or species; for although definitions of still existing genera and species might possibly be omitted or much abridged, it is surely unadvisable in a descriptive catalogue to omit or abridge those of any of the truly fossil forms, however well they may be known to professed palzontologists. The author is occasionally unfortunate even in his short definitions, as, for instance, where he defines the genus Crvessopus as having “teeth nearly the same in number as in Sorex, but different in colour,” whereas this genus is really dis- tinguished by having teeth nearly the same in colour as Sorex, but different in number (one premolar less on each side above). The expression “nearly the same in number” is curious in a scientific work. Under this genus we notice that C. vemzfer, which we considered had been long ago recognised as a synonym of C. /odzens, is given position as a distinct species, and, wonderful to DD 598 NATURE J "as eee cee 4q bs i [April 30, 1885 relate, it owes its recognition as such to two rami of the mandible ! We were at first puzzled by the numbers applied to certain premolars in the author’s description of the denti- tion of some fossil species belonging to still existing genera, until the following paragraph in the Introduction was noticed :—“In enumerating the teeth of the typical heterodont Eutherian mammals, each tooth of the cheek series is referred to its proper position in the complete series, the first premolar always meaning the first tooth in the typical series of four, and se with the succeeding teeth.” Mr. Lydekker has therefore resuscitated what we had thought was long defunct—namely, the Owenian system of expressing the homology of the teeth by ima- gining a fixed mode of reduction tor a typical number of 44, of which the premolars, for instance, when reduced in number, are supposed to become so by symmetrical loss from before backwards ; so that when, for example, two | upper premolars alone remain, these must be considered to be the third and fourth. It is, however, an incontro- vertible fact that in many species of mammals it is the third premolar in the upper jaw that is wanting, that further reduction is accomplished by the loss of the second, and, lastly, of the first premolar, the fourth pre- molar of the original series alone remaining, this tooth very rarely disappearing also. In the lower jaw of certain species with three premolars the second premolar is the first to disappear, so that here the same difficulty exists. Were the mandible of such a species to become fossil, the two remaining premolars would, by the Owenian system, be recognised as the third and fourth, whereas they would really be either the second and fourth or the first and fourth. Indeed Prof. Owen himself notices (“ Anat. Vertebr.,” iii. p. 374) that “in some instances the first premolar remains of small size when p. 2 and p. 3 are lost ;” and Prof. Flower, commenting on the theory of reduction advanced by Prof. Owen, remarks (“ Encycl. Brit.,” xv. p. 353) that “if this were invariably so, the labours of those who describe teeth would be greatly simplified ; but there are unfortunately so many excep- tions that a close scrutiny into the situation, relations, and development of a tooth may be required before its nature can be determined, and in some cases the evidence at our disposal is scarcely sufficient for the purpose.” Space will not admit of entering upon a criticism of the geological horizons adopted, which, so far as the Tertiaries of Europe are concerned, have been slightly modified by the author from the tables given by Gaudry, Boyd Dawkins, and Max Schlosser. We note, however, with satisfaction that he has rejected the prevalent notions as to the position of the Siwalik and Pikermi beds, referring the ossiferous strata of the former to the Upper and’ that of the latter to the Lower Pliocene—a view, if we mistake not, urged for some time past by Mr. W. T. Blanford. We could wish for a special note on the position of the Caylux and Quercy phosphorites of Central France, referred to the Upper Eocene; for the highly specialised character of the mammalian remains from these deposits appear to throw much doubt on their supposed age. Where there is much to blame there is also much to praise : the descriptions appear to be in most cases e€x- cellent and carefully worked out, the subjects chosen for illustration well selected, and the woodcuts (thirty-three) well executed. We hope that this volume and the next (which will probably include the remaining species of fossil Mammalia represented in the collection) will to- gether form but a “ Prodromus” to a catalogue of fossil Mammalia by the same author, which, while equalling in comprehensiveness the best of the hitherto published catalogues issued by the Trustees of the British Museum, shall, however, surpass all of them in accuracy of de- scription and in the number and excellence of its illustrations. THE SELF-INSTRUCTOR IN NAVIGATION The Self-Instructor in Navigation and Nautical Astro- nony. for the Local Marine Board Examinations and for Use at Sea. With numerous Examples, Illustra- tions, Diagrams, and Charts. By W. H. Rosser. New and Thoroughly Revised Edition. (London: Imray and Sons, 1885.) SS of this character have presumably their use ; and this particular one is neither worse nor better than many others which owe their being to the necessities of the examination room rather than to the wants of the practical navigator. Its table of contents is framed according to the schedule of the Board of Trade; and though it is spoken of in the preface as “ adapted for use at sea,” Mr. Rosser has proved in other books that he knows it can be so considered only as an indirect com- pliment to the Board of Trade Examinations, which have been carefully devised so as to call for the greatest possible amount of cram and the smallest possible amount of real knowledge. The “Self-Instructor” has run through many editions, and no doubt answers the purpose of the author sufficiently well : it is, he says, essentially practical and not theoretical ; though he omits to say that practical is to be understood as referring to what is wanted for the examination, and that theoretical refers to any reasoning or intelligent mode of working. It is not Mr. Rosser’s fault that the examination is laid down on such clumsy and really unpractical lines ; and what he has professed to do he has done fairly well: though it would be as well to expunge from future editions the symbol given on p. 2, for the “ observed distance between the sun’s near limb and the moon’s far limb” ; more especially if the symbol is to be used, as on p. 304, for a distance observed to the moon’s near limb: As a little matter of history, it may be remarked that the statement on p. 364, that the method of determining the latitude by the altitudes of two stars on the same hour-circle was originally given by Mr. Bolt in the Nautical Magazine for 1874, is not quite accurate. Mr. Bolt, in the article referred to, makes no claim of origin ality, but merely says that the problem may be new to many even expert calculators. In point of fact, the method suggested itself to, and was taught and practised by, the writer of this notice in 1859, ¢ nd was introduced by him into the examination papers of the Royal Naval College in 1866 ; since which time it has been repeatedly set as a theoretical question. In reality, it ought only to be so considered ; for though it gives very good results, and the observation is by no means a delicate one, a rough approximation to the interval of time being quite — April 30, 1885 | NATURE SS) sufficient, still the method is only available on a com- paratively clear night ; and though the same sights may possibly be also used for the determination of longitude, it will more commonly happen that the complete position may be satisfactorily determined by Sumner’s method applied to two stars having a considerable difference in azimuth. The pages in which Mr. Rosser treats of Sumner’s method are of themselves sufficient to establish what has been already said as to the practical nature of the book. In an admirable monograph published two years ago, under the title of “Stellar Navigation,” Mr. Rosser has shown himself alive to the very great value of this method of determining a ship’s position, and to the necessity of shortening the calculation by the use of Sir William Thomson’s special tables, or by Burdwood’s and Davis’s azimuth tables. But no remark in the “ Self-Instructor ” calls attention to this, and the problem is left, in its native clumsiness, in the form suitable to the questions of the examination room. The same might indeed be said of almost all other problems, which are given without any hint of the little artifices which, in practice on ship-board, render the computation quicker and easier. In saying this, however, we attach no blame to Mr. Rosser, unless it is for calling his book “‘ practical,” or “ adapted for use at sea.” The book is meant to meet the demands of the examinations ; and for this, at least, it appears sufficiently well adapted. Nona LETIERS TO THE EDITOR ( The Editor doesnot hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. No notice is taken of anonymous communications. (The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as short as possible. The pressure on his space ts so great that it is impossible otherwise toinsurethe appearance even of communications containing tnterestingand novel facts.] On the Cause of the Dissimilarity between the Faunas of the Mediterranean and Red Seas THE republication by Mr. A. H. Cooke of the list of Testa ceous Mollusca obtained by the Jate Mr. Robert MacAndrew during a dredging excursion (in 1869) in the Gulf of Suez, affords data for comparison with that of the Mediterranean over its eastern part, and of which the late Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys has, amongst other writers, given an account.* The extreme dissimi- larity in reference to the species will, upon such a comparison, impress the mind.* I propose briefly to sketch out the process by which this dissimilarity may be supposed to have been brought about. Going back to the Eocene period, we know that the whole of the region bordering the Levant, and including large portions of the three continents, formed the bed of the ocean, and we may presume that a community of genera and species existed over the whole tract represented by those of the Nummulite limestone of the Middle Eocene period. During the Upper Eocene period there was a shallowing of the sea-bed in many places, and corresponding deepening in others, and thus the first division of the submerged area into deep and shallow basins would have been brought about with a certain influence on the animal and plant life; but the general result may not have been considerable. It was during the succeeding Miocene period that the differen- tiation of the fauna and flora of the two seas really began, Recent observations on the geology of Northern Africa, Arabia, and Palestine by Zittel, Lartet,.and others, leave little doubt * Annals and Magazine of Natural History, vol. xv. p. 322 (fifth series). 2 Jbid., vol. vi. p. 65 (fourth series). 3 This fact has been recognised by Prof. Haeckelin his “ Visit to Ceylon” and his “‘ Arabische Korallen,” &c. that the Miocene period was one during which the main lines of the future lands and seas were marked out ; and the absence of deposits belonging to this epoch (except a few scattered tracts formed of shallow-water and littoral beds) over the region re- ferred to, leads to the conclusion that land-conditions prevailed very much where we now find them, and that the submerged areas of the Mediterranean and Red Seas were dissevered by the Isthmus of Suez. It was during this period of elevation that the differentiation proceeded ; the original forms of the Eocene period developing in each basin independently of one another, and becoming more divergent as time went on. The process seems to have been continued well into the Pliocene epoch, but at a time which may be indicated perhaps as ‘*‘ Newer Pliocene ” there occurred a re-submergence of the land to the extent of 220 to 250 feet below the present level of the sea, marked by the occurrence of raised sea-beds containing shells, &c., of species still living in the adjoining waters, and of old coast-cliffs per- forated by Pholas borings, like that discovered by Oscar Fraas in the cliffs of Jebel Mokattam, near Cairo, at an elevation of 220 feet above the surface of the Mediterranean, and recently de- scribed by Dr. Schweinfurth (Zetsch. d. deutschen geolog. Geselischaft, 1883). During this depression Africa became an island, and the waters of the two seas were united. With this union of the Mediterranean and Red Seas there must have been brought about a certain commingling of the forms inhabiting their waters respectively, and hence it is some- what surprising that there should at the present day be found such an almost entire dissimilarity as that already stated. The explanation, it seems to me, is to be found in the fact that the strait was, in its shallower portion, very shallow ; and that con- sequently, except for the purely littoral and shallow forms of marine life, a commingling really did not take place to any great extent. To the north of Lake Timsah there occurs a ridge of ground called 7 Gwisr, which rises 70 feet above the present sea-level, and another called Zim, which rises 25 feet. These ridges would have caused a shallowing of the strait to the extent of their elevation, so that over the former ridge the depth of the strait would only have amounted to 180 feet or less during the greatest submergence. It is impossible to say whether these ridges are higher, or the contrary, than they were at that period ; but it is a remarkable fact that thesub-fossil shells in the gravels to the south of Tunum are those of the Red Sea, and to the north those of the Mediterranean ; other ridges, like that of Tel-el- Kebir, produced similar shallows. Asa general result it is clear that the submersion of the isthmus during the later Pliocene period did not produce a general commingling of the forms of the two seas; and when ultimately the seas were again separated by the re-elevation of their beds, and the present isthmus established, those forms which may have passed across from sea to sea would succumb to the altered conditions of their environment. It can scarcely be doubted that the temperature of the water of the Red Sea differs considerably from that of the * Mediterranean by several degrees, and the forms which belong to the former would perish in the latter, and w2ce versd. It would \ be interesting to ascertain which of the two faunas more closely resembles that of the original Eocene stock. Here, then, we have the remarkable zoological phenomenon of two perfectly distinct sets of marine forms originating in one steck only as far hack as the Middle Eocene period, inde- pendently developing to such an extent that, at the present day, there are scarcely more than eighteen species (according to Prof. Issel) common to both. Now, if the beds of these two seas (the Levant and Red Sea) were to be elevated into land and their fossil contents studied by a geologist of the future, he would probably assert on the paleontological evidence that they be- longed to two distinct periods of geological time! This is sub- ject matter for reflection, at least for geologists of the present day. I may add that I have been induced to try and solve to my own satisfaction the problem here presented while engaged on a work containing the scientific observations and conclusions made during the recent expedition to Arabia Petrea in connec- tion with the ‘‘ Palestine Exploration Fund.” Epwarp HULL Hybridization among Salmonide I PERCEIVE in NATURE (vol. xxxi. p. 563) that the ‘‘ National Fish Culture Association” propose cross-breeding land-locked salmon and trout as proposed by Prof. Brown Goode in ‘‘ Forest and Stream,”’ August 7, 1884. Before doing so I would venture to direct their attention to a few points. 600 NATURE [April 30, 1885 ) “‘Land-locked salmon”’ is admitted to be a race of the true Salmo salar, which from some cause having lost its migratory instinct, now lives in lakes, never migrating seawards, while its size is less than that of its sea-going relative. But as the two species are really the same, a cross between a land-locked salmon and a trout in fish-cultivation would be identical with a cross between a Sa/mo salar and a trout. What then has been the result of attempting the latter cross at Howietown during the last few years? November 25, 1879, this was effected between salmon milt and Lochleven trout eggs ; up to now all the offspring have been sterile, none have attempted to spring out of the ponds, and the largest fish among them last year, although in good condition, was only 16$incheslong. On December 24, 1881, this cross was again made, with similar results, the largest fish last winter being about 12 inches long. (Examples are in the South Kensington Museum). Sterility, I may remark, was anticipated from this cross, while it was sup- posed that such would remove the anadromous instinct, and these results have occurred, but as regards improvement in size, such has not, so far, proved a success. A cross was made between a young salmon par and a Loch- leven trout, on November 29, 1883, but the young succumbed to blue dropsy of the sac. This cross was again tried November 14, 1884, when the par was a year older, and so far the young look well, but we can scarcely anticipate their proving fertile off- spring. I say ‘‘scarcely,” for we know that domestication eliminates sterility in some races of hybrids, and in this instance the par had been raised from eggs at Howietown ; these have now grown into grilse without descending to the sea, and given eggs. Eggs thus furnished from Howietown-raised grilse have hatched, and seyeral thousand young par are in the establish- ment, the future of which race will be an interesting study. I think I am justified in advising that when crossing salmon with trout, not to select a parent from a river or lake, but, if possible, to obtain eggs or milt from a race of salmon which has been two or more generations in a semi-domesticated condition, as with such the probabilities of failure are considerably lessened, but, so far as I have witnessed, hybrids between salmon and trout have proved sterile and undersized. Cheltenham FRANCIS DAY Forms of Leaves IN a recent issue of NATURE, in the discussion on the forms of leaves, Mr. Henslow seems to doubt the assertion of Sir John Lubbock that the holly produces prickly leaves on the lower branches, and smooth leaves without spines above ; but this is a fact which may easily be verified in numerous localities (selected gardens varieties are of course not intended). I know of a large tree at Kew which altogether confirms the statement. The ex- planation, however, that the spines of the lower leaves may be produced to prevent animals from browsing on them, and that they are not developed on the upper branches because these arg beyond the reach of animals, seems to me to require some modi- fication, if not to be given up altogether, in this limited sense. Tt seems to me to admit of a much simpler explanation, namely, that it is an approximation—or reversion, if indeed the term be applicable—to the ancestral type. It is a well-known fact that in the embryonic stage of an organism the affinity with the ancestral type is best seen, and that in the mature stage the greatest amount of specialisation takes place; and, viewed in this light, the case of the holly does not appear to present much difficulty. A young seedling is seen to have very spiny leaves, but with increasing age the leaves becoming comparatiyely spine- less. In the case of the furze we have the most overwhelming evidence that the spiny character has been developed to repel the attacks of herbivorous animals, and a young seedling is seen to have trifoliate leaves—like the laburnam—from which we infer that its ancestral type was spineless, and had trifoliate leaves. The large group of phyllodineous Acacias bear an equally unmistakable stamp of their origin in the bipinnate leaves which the seedlings at first produce. In most cases these leaves are very early superseded by phyllodes, but in 4. melano- xylonm the habit of producing true leaves is never quite lost. There is a large tree of this species about 40 feet high at Kew, at the south end of the Temperate House, close to the spiral staircase. It is thus in an admirable position for examination. At the base of this tree the leaves predominate over the phyllodes, but in ascending the staircase the proportion is seen to gradually diminish, till at the top of the tree—a few feet above the gallery —scarcely a true leaf is to be seen, Assuming the mature stage to be the more highly specialised, we have in the holly a pre- cisely parallel case. This necessarily involves the opinion that the ancestral type of the genus //ex had spiny leaves ; and, if so, it seems highly probable that the character was developed as a protection against the attacks of herbivorous animals. A poss- ible objection which at first struck me was that many of the species have quite smooth leaves ; but this has been removed by a search through the specimens in the Kew Herbarium. In the first place; species with spiny leaves occur in each great centre of distribution of the genus—in North and South America, India, China and Japan, the Atlantic Islands, as well as Europe—and in the second, although no seedling plants were found, there are three species which show very spiny leaves on barren branches, and smooth leaves on the more mature flowering branches. These are Z, insignis and JZ, dipyrena, from India, and /. Perado, from the Atlantic Islands. I have little doubt that seedlings of many species would present the spiny character if we could only see them. The presence of spines—the nerves being extended beyond the margin of the leaf—seems to indicate an excess of vascular over cellular tissue ; a condition which is either modified with increasing maturity or is not exhibited in the same pheno- mena. In any case a severe pruning—or reduction of the parts to be nourished—is followed by a temporary reversion to the more spiny character. If this explanation be the correct one the question naturally arises, Why are the hollies losing the property of producing spiny leaves? rather than, Why does the holly produce spiny leaves on its lower branches? The answer to the first query would perhaps be, Because they no longer need the protection afforded by the spines. To the second, Long-con- tinued habits are not often instantly laid aside. Herbarium, Kew, April 18 R. A, ROLFE Kite-Wire Suspended Anemometer Readings HAVING lately made some observations with my anemometers elevated, as above described, at heights above the ground con- siderably greater than those mentioned in my paper before the British Association last year, I venture to think that a word or two as to the main point at present under investigation, viz. the general increase in the velocity with the altitude at heights between 600 and 1100 feet above the ground, may be interesting to your readers. Up to June last the greatest altitude reached by the anemo- meters was 646 feet. I have lately been able to secure readings up to 1129 feet. Taking the average of seven of these, we get the following values for the mean relative velocities at two mean heights :— Height in feet above ground. 1070 756 When these values are inserted in the formula 4 = (7): we get v h Velocities in feet per minute, 22907 2165 for the value of the exponent x = 0°17, or a little more than 7; but when 500 feet—the elevation of the place of observation above the sea—are added to each elevation, we get + = 0°26, or almost exactly }, which is the value I deduced for the exponent in NATURE (vol. xxv. p. 506), from a discussion of Dr. Vettin’s cloud observations. ’ I would not at present lay muchrstress upon this coin- cidence until I have investigated the ratio up to heights of 2000 feet or more, but I certainly think it supports the notion that the formula with this exponent represents the average law of increase at heights over 1000 feet above sea-level. E. DouGLas ARCHIBALD Temperature of the Body of Monotremata I HAVE found the temperature of the body of Echidna hystrix to be (average of three observations) 28°70 C., and that of Ornithorhynchus paradoxus (two observations) 24°°8 C.? These temperatures present a special interest, comparing them with the mean temperature of the body of mammalia in general, which is (after Dr. J. Davy’s observations of thirty-one different species) 38°°4 C. N. pE MIKLOUHO-MACLAY Biological Station, Watson’s Bay, near Sydney, N.S. W., March 10 X Details of these observations can be found in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, vol. ix. pp. 425 and 1204. April 30, 1885 | NATURE 601 Quinquefoliate Strawberry Ir may interest botanical readers to know that we have here a variety of strawberry many petioles of which bear five leaflets. This kind of leaf is also transmitted to its offspring when propa- gated by runners, and I think it may be possible to raise from seed progeny the whole of whose petioles will bear five leaflets. It is an excellent variety in every respect; the fruit is sym- metrical, and of rich fayour. When we consider that Duchesne’s strawberry, Fvagaria monophylia (described by Mr. Dyer in NATURE, vol. xxix. p. 215), was unifoliate, and that ordinary strawberries are trifoliate, this variety certainly is unique, and suggests still further possibilities of development in the genus Fragaria. J. LovELL Driffield, April 16 SOME OF THE METEOROLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OF MAY 6, 1883} T= the expedition sent by the United States Govern- ment to Caroline Island (9° 59' 45” S. lat. and 150° 14’ 24” W. long.) to observe the total eclipse of May 6, 1883, provision was made for taking a series of meteorological observations on the occasion. The ob- servations, which were of an elaborate description, are fully detailed and summarised by Mr. Upton in the Report, and they present results of exceptional interest. During the eclipse the velocity of the wind remained practically constant, and, so far as the readings of the radiation thermometers showed, the heat received by the earth was almost 7/7. The temperature of the air, which, previous to the eclipse, had been 84°°5, fell to 81°-4, or o*1 lower than it had been at 7 a.m., and 06 lower than it was atg p.m. The amount of the temperature depres- sion due to the withdrawal of the sun’s heat was 3°°9 ; and, corresponding with this lowering of the temperature, the relative humidity increased 5 per cent. during the eclipse. The main interest of the observations, however, centres in the influence of the eclipse on the diurnal barometric curve. The diurnal march of the atmospheric pressure in these regions may well be classed among the most regularly recurring phenomena of terrestrial physics. From hourly observations made from April 25 to May 5 the mean at IO a.m. was 29957 inches, and at 2 p.m. 29°844 inches, the barometer thus falling in these four hours o'113 inch. Between these hours, on May 6, the eclipse occurred, the total phase of the eclipse being from 11°32 to 11°37 a.m. On that day the barometric curve presented a form wholly different from what is daily ob- served in these regions. From 10°30 to 11°25 a.m. the barometer fell with a greater rapidity than the normal rate of fall, being at 11.20 am. o‘o16 inch lower than the normal at that hour. Immediately there- after a rapid and abnormal rise set in, the usual fall being arrested and replaced by an actual rise, so that while pressure at 11.20 a.m. was 29.927 inches, at II.50 a.m. it was 29°940 inches. At 12.10 p.m. It was oo1g9 inch above the normal for that hour. Since the barometer was o’016 inch lower than the normal at 11.20 a.m., and o‘o1g inch higher at 12.10 p.m., it follows that the disturbance from the normal values during these fifty minutes occasioned by the eclipse amounted to 0°035 inch, being equal to nearly a third of the whole diurnal oscillation from the morning maximum to the afternoon minimum. The time and manner of this abnormality is of special significance, inasmuch as it indicates a more rapid fall than the average during the first partial phase, when the sun’s heat began to be cut off, and a rise above the average wholly exceptional after the close of the total phase, the maximum rise being delayed thirty-three Report of observations made on the expedition to Caroline Island to observe the total solar eclipse of May 6, 7883, by Winslow Upton. (Wash- ington, 1884.) minutes after the period of totality. An eclipse differs essentially from all other influences affecting the atmo- sphere, in that it cuts off the sun’s heat from a restricted section of the earth’s atmosphere extending from the surface to the extreme limits of the atmosphere, while from the air surrounding the shaded region the sun’s heat is not cut off. Now, the observations showed that the first effect of the cutting off of the sun’s rays and consequent reduction of the temperature, which no doubt extended through the whole height of the atmo- sphere, was to lower the pressure below the normal. This diminished tension was simply the direct result of the lowering of the temperature of the air over the region where the barometric observations were made. Following this diminution of the pressure, an inflow of air towards the retreating path of the shadow set in, and pressure quickly rose above the normal of the hour, - and as the sun’s rays now heated the air with this excess thus temporarily accumulated over Caroline Island, pres- sure rose still further, till at thirty-three minutes after the close of the total phase it was o’o1g inch above the normal. Thereafter pressure fell with a corresponding rapidity during the next twenty minutes, at the close of which time it stood at the normal. The whole phases of the disturbance in the diurnal march of the pressure caused by the eclipse occupied two hours ending with 12.30 p.m. It is from their bearings on the theory of the diurnal oscillations of the barometer that Mr. Upton’s observations must be regarded as of the highest importance (see “ Encyclopzedia Britannica,” Meteorology, pp. 122 and 123). Pointed attention is given in the report to the observa- tions of the wind, which showed that, though the island is situated in the region usually included in the south-east trades, yet the direction of the wind was almost always noted as east or north-east, and was at no time observed to be from any other quarter than between north and east. Not a single observation during the time the expedition was on the island gave a direction south of east. The Challenger in this part of its cruise, during September, 1875, noted the same directions of the wind, and during the cruise to southward the north-east trades were not left till lat 13° S. was reached. During the voyage from Callao, the Hartford sailed day after day in the region of the south-east trades, upon almost the same parallel of latitude, and with but few changes in the position of the sails, no steam being used. Since the conditions were so constant during the twenty- two days in which the vessel sailed in lat. 11° 5’ S. from long. 79° to 137° W., a tabulation of the hourly speed of the vessel day by day has been made from the ship’s log. The mean values show a distinct increase in the evening, and a corresponding decrease in the morning, the maxi- mum, 6°8 miles per hour, occurring at Io p.m., and the minimum, 5°9 miles, at 1oa.m. With reference to the re- sult, Mr. Upton remarks that, “It seems fair to attribute this to a diurnal variation in the wind’s velocity. There is quite an unexpected regularity in the progression when we consider the approximate nature of the method. If not attributable to diurnal change in the wind itself, it yet indicates a diurnal change in the effect of the wind upon the sails, and is therefore of interest.” SIR WILLIAM THOMSON ON MOLECULAR DYNAMICS * Ill. eee proceeding with new parts of this subject, I wish to say a few words about “ fiddling while Rome is burning.” Sir William Thomson writes to me that the expression was used while discussing some mathematical triviality, and he wishes to be relieved of the imputation 1 Continued from p. 510. 602 NATURE [April 30, 1885. of speaking disrespectfully of axomalous dispersion, which he says is quite as important as dowble refraction. | grant this, but my interpretation of his language when I heard the lecture was that so many possible ways had been shown of explaining anomalous dispersion that it was mere child’s play (or fiddle-playing) to discuss it while the burning question of double refraction awaited ex- planation, upon which question seems to depend the whole safety of the wave-theory of light, that theory being in imminent danger of destruction therefrom. I shall now give a brief account of the gyrostatic mole- cules, crude and improved. The crude one is a fly-wheel inside a massless shell. Here there is no gyrostatic action opposing a motion of translation, but only op- posing a motion of rotation. This is the molecule which was stated to give the wrong kind of variation of magneto-optic rotation with variation of wave-length. The improved gyrostatic molecule (p. 320) consists of two fly-wheels on one axis. But the axis is cut in two in the middle between them, and the parts fitted together by a ball and cylinder joint. The other ends of the half axes are supported in ball-and-socket joints in the massless shell. So far as rotation of the shell is concerned, this acts like one gyrostat, the axis always remaining in one line. But if the shell be frictionless, the ether can only give translational movement to it, and the double gyrostat produces a gyrostatic effect when the molecule is accele- rated in any direction except along the axis. The special function of this molecule is to explain magneto-optic rotation of the plane of polarisation. The axis of the molecule is supposed to be the direction of the lines of force. It is required to be proved that, gyrostatic molecules being imbedded in the ether with their axes parallel! and their directions of rotation the same, the velocity of propagation of a circular disturbance going with the gyrostat is greater than that of a circular dis- turbance in the opposite direction. With a steady propa- gation of circularly polarised light, the gyrostats will clearly execute a precessional motion. The theory of this motion is examined after the manner of Thomson and Tait’s “ Natural Philosophy ” for a ray along the axes, and the gyrostatic effect is found to be equivalent to altering the effective density of the molecule, and so altering the velocity of propagation. Thus if v and v’ are the velocities of propagation along the axis of rays polarised circularly in the two directions, it comes out that approximately a Y=1th a s y 2 where / is a constant depending on the form of the gyro- stats, o is the angular velocity of the precessional rotation of the gyrostats, and y is the velocity of rotation of the gyrostats. This is a totally different law to the action of the crude gyrostatic molecule, and is in accordance with experiment. If now we have zwroved gyrostatic molecules im- bedded in the ether, their minute rotations will affect the velocity of propagation in the manner of crude molecules, but their translations will affect the velocity in the manner now elucidated. But observe that by diminishing the size of the molecules the influence of thé rotational motion diminishes, but the influence of the translational motion remains the same (on the assumption that the angular gyrostatic velocity is kept the same and the ratio of mass of gyrostats to mass of molecule remains the same). Hence, if we have small enough molecules, the law which agrees with experiment alone holds. Thisis a very satis- factory state of affairs, and I believe it is the first time that Sir William Thomson’s hint about this phenomenon, so long ago thrown out, has been developed. There is still so much matter in the lectures that I have not touched upon that I am in some difficulty as to what to omit. But I certainly should like to transcribe nearly the whole of the last lecture. This is of course imposs- ible, but I will claim a little space for some remarks on Rankine’s beautiful but futile attempt to get over the fatal difficulty of double refraction (p. 271) :— “Suppose here a massless rigid lining of our ideal cavity in the luminiferous ether. Let there be a massive, heavy molecule inside, with fluid around it. The main thing is that this molecule, which only affects the effective inertia of the ether by adding its own mass to the moving mass of the ether, has zolotropy of inertia. Imagine this spherule (drawing on the board an oblate spheroid with axis vertical) moving first in a horizontal direction. The effective inertia of this sheath will be altered if it moves to and fro in a vertical direction, there being, by hypo- thesis, liquid between it and the ether. The density of this mass must be greater than the density of the liquid, thatis all. Ifthere is danger of its coming to the sides of the cavity, let there be springs to keep it in place, if you like, but let its connection with the lining of the cavity. be in the main through fluid pressure. Then its effective inertia is different in different directions. This fluid lining seems to hit off the very thing we wanted. Now comes Rankine’s want of strength. He cut around the edges of it, and, I think, rather jumped at it, and put down a wave-surface the same as Fresnel’s, and said that it came to that. But, alas! Stokes (long before Lord Rayleigh suggested it) showed that it would give a differ- ent surface from Fresnel’s. Lord Rayleigh, in repeating Rankine’s suggestion, showed his strength where Rankine was not so strong in mathematical powers of grappling with a difficult mathematical problem. Lord Rayleigh is aman who grapples with a difficulty and sees how much he can do with it. He puts it aside if he cannot solve it, but he never shirks it. Rankine was not a mathematician in that sense at all. Lord Rayleigh finds, not Fresnel’s wave-surface, but a wave-surface differing from Fresnel’s by certain terms appearing in reciprocals instead of directly.” Now Stokes has shown that Huyghen’s construction satisfies experiment with great accuracy, and hence Ran- kine’s effort fails. The desperate condition of the wave- theory is shown by the words penned by Lord Rayleigh before he knew of Stokes’s experiments (p. 272) : “ Should the verdict go against the view of the present paper, it is hard to see how any consistent theory is possible which shall embrace at once the laws of scattering, regular reflection and double refraction.” It appears, then, that after all the labour which has been expended upon the wave-theory of light, it fails absolutely, and, as it seems, hopelessly, in two points of primary importance. One is the extinction of the ray polarised by reflection; the other is double refraction. In other matters we have difficulties, but we can see a possible means of escape. Here there seems to be none. Before concluding this series of articles I wish to saya little more about the manner of their delivery. It is a rare experience for students to have the opportunity of studying the workings of a great mind while grappling with a problem. This is what occurred during the three weeks of the Baltimore lectures. During the whole of this period one or two ardent students were hunting up references in the Peabody Library, &c., and literally filled Sir William Thomson’s rooms with the results of their searches, and Sir William generally read these books. He says (p. 76):—“ An interminable number of books. have been brought to me, and in every one of them I have found something very important.” But at p. 98 he says :—“I got another quarter-hundredweight of books on the subject. I have not yet read them all through.” In this way he often came for the first time upon re- searches bearing on the question in hand. Thus (p. 77): ““T only found this morning that Lommel also goes on to double refraction of light in crystals [with imbedded molecules]. The very problem I am breaking my head Aprt 30, 1885 | against.” Evidence is always cropping up that the author is in the habit of going farther into a subject by original mathematical analysis than by reading up other people’s work. I will give some examples. Speaking of a refer- ‘ence by Rankine to cubic asymmetry, he says :—‘‘I only came across this in Rankine two or three days ago. But I remember going through the same thing myself’ not long ago, and I said to Stokes—I always consulted my great authority, Stokes, whenever I got a chance— Surely there may be such a thing found to exemplify this kind of asymmetry; would it not be likely to be found in crystals of the cubic class?’ Stokes—he knew almost everything—instantly said: ‘Oh, Sir David Brewster thought he had found it in cubic crystals, but there was an explanation that it seemed to be owing to the effect of the cleavage planes or the separation of the crystal into several crystalline laminz’” (p. 158). Then again he says :—“I am ashamed to say that I never heard of anomalous dispersion until after I found it lurking in the formulas.* I said to myself, ‘ These formulas would imply that, and I never heard of it ;’ and when I looked into the matter I found, to my shame, that a thing which had been known by others for eight or ten years I had not known until | found it in the dynamics” (p. 120). Once more we find :—“I was thinking about this, three days ago, and said to myself, ‘There must be bright lines of reflection from bodies in which we have those molecules that can produce intense absorption. Speaking about it to Lord Rayleigh at breakfast, he informed me of this paper of Stokes’s, and I looked and saw that what I had thought of was there. It was known perfectly well, but the molecule first discovered it tome. I am exceedingly interested about these things, since I am only beginning to find out what everybody else knew, such as anomalous dispersion, and those quasi colours, and so on” (p. 282). The purely physica] bent of the author’s reasoning is well shown in speaking of Rankine’s work at p. 270: “I do not think I would like to suggest that Rankine’s mole- cular hypothesis is of very great importance. The title is of more importance than anything else in the work. Ran- kine was that kind of genius that his names were of enormous suggestiveness, but we cannot say that always of the substance. We cannot find a foundation for a great deal of his mathematical writings, and there is no explana- tion of his kind of matter. I never satisfy myself until I can make a mechanical model of a thing. If I can make a mechanical model, I can understand it. As long as I cannot make a mechanical model all the way through, I cannot understand ; and that is why I cannot get! the electromagnetic theory. I firmly believe in an electro- magnetic theory of light, and that, when we understand electricity and magnetism and light, we shall see them all together as part of a whole. But I want to understand light as well as I can without introducing things that we understand even less of. That is why I take plain dynamics. [ can get a model in plain dynamics, [ cannot in electromagnetics. But so soon as we have rotators to take the part of magnets and something imponderable to take the part of magnetism, and realise by experiment Maxwell’s beautiful ideas of electric displacements, and so on, then we shall see electricity, magnetism, and light closely united and grounded in the same system.” The model of an electromagnetic ether described by Prof. Fitzgerald on March 28 to the Physical Society, founded on Clerk Maxwell’s celebrated papers in the ‘Philosophical Magazine in 1860 and 1861, goesa long way to clear away the objection raised by Sir William Thomson. In reading these lectures, it must be remembered that they are uncorrected verdatim reports, and one is sur- prised at seeing that the matter is so continuous and readable. A considerable freshness is given by the con- * These reports are generally quite verdatinz, but I am sure Sir ayaltiam Thomson is not responsible for this characteristic Americanism.—G. NATURE lately adopted the electric light. 603 versational interludes and remarks, which would not per- haps have appeared in a written ‘work. As mentioned before, Sir William spoke of the pressural wave as an animal ; this was’very happy, as he had just before called it the 2éte noir of the mathematicians. He says at P. 34: “T do not like the words ‘ paradoxical phenomenon.’ “Curious phenomenon’ or ‘interesting- phenomenon’ would be better. There is no paradox ‘in science. We may callit a dyzamox, but not a paradox” At p. 115 he says:—The struggle of 1815 (that is not the same idea as /a grande guerre de 1815) was, who was to rule the waves, Cauchy « or Poisson ?” To many it will seem, after reading these lectures con- taining a review of what has been done and suggestions of what might be done, that certain facts are hopelessly irreconcilable with the wave-theory of light. Sir William Thomson has certainly not shirked a single difficulty, and ~perhaps has even made them look more glaring than is necessary. But, if this be an error, it is on the right side. The reporter has introduced into the volume some doggerel rhymes read by a certain student of the lectures at a farewell dinner at Baltimore given by President Gilman :— The Lament of the Twenty-one Coefficients at part ‘ting from each other and from their Esteem d Wolculen An zolotropic molecule was looking at the view, Surrounded by his coefficients twenty-one or two, And wondering whether he could make a sky of azure blue, With plagiotatic @ 6 ¢ and thlipsinomic Q. They looked like sand upon the shore with waves upon the sea, But the waves were all too wilful and determined to be free ; And in spite of 7’s rigidity they never could agree In becoming quite subservient to thlipsinomic P. Then web-like coefficients and a loaded molecufe, With a noble wiggler at their head, worked hard as Haughton’s mule ; But the waves all laughed, and said, ‘‘ A wiggler, thinking he could rule A wave, was nothing better than a sidelong, normal fool.” So the coefficients sighed, and gave a last tangential-skew, And-a shook hands with 4 and ¢, and S and Zand U, And with a tear they parted ; but they said they would be true To their much-beloved wiggler and to thlipsinomic Q. Signed, (g, /), 4 CRoss COEFFICIENT NoW ANNULLED The social and scientific intercourse of these three weeks at Baltimore was an experience that will be for- gotten by none of the twenty-one coefficients, and they all sympathised with Sir William Thomson in his con- cluding remarks at p. 289 :-— “ Tam exceedingly sorry that our twenty-one coefficients are to be scattered, but, though scattered far and wide, I hope we will still be coefficients working together for the great cause we are all so much interested i in. { would be most happy to look forward to another conference, and the one damper to that happiness is that this one is now to-end, and we shall be compelled to look forward for a time. I hope only that we shall all meet again in some such way. I would say to those whose homes are on this side of the Atlantic, ‘Come on the other side and I will welcome you heartily, and we may have more confer- ences.’ Whether we have such a conference on this side or on the other side of the Atlantic again it wall be a thing to look forward to—as this is to look b as one of the most precious incidents I can ness have. I suppose we must say farewell !” GEORGE FORBES SEMAPHORE AND ELECTRIC LIGHT AT SHANGHAI THE halt ] ‘HE European and American community occupying the so-called foreign concessions in Shanghai has The illustration given 604 NAT below is the reproduction of a Chinese drawing repre- senting the light and a semaphore with a time-ball in the French concession. It is taken from La Nature, and originally appeared in a Chinese illustrated journal called the /7z-fao, which described the illustration in the follow- ing manner :— “On the French concession, at the end of the settle- ments of the other foreign nations, a semaphore which marks the hour and the wind was erected last autumn. Lis E | April 30, 1885 Every day at 10 o’clock a flag is hoisted which denotes the wind that is blowing on the sea at the mouth of the river. Every day at 11.45 a ball is raised to half mast, and five minutes before noon it is raised to the top. Pre- cisely at noon it falls. In this way all the people of Shanghai can know the exact hour. The flags vary in form, in number, and in colour, according to the direction and force of the wind. Truly, it is a very good thing.” The illustration represents the semaphore to the left, She a» 2 eH DD > ae ee /i\ ae 2 ag yan i a eee. Ft = Aes 2 \\ Tene 1 \\\\ ie } R Os i | A \ z p+ R22 HR oe to RR A718 4 Rp Pt ae ge fer hagane tat > ss Rem = By 28S i | Ht rr a h x bi TV PN as eee ot poe ees Te Giver eH Ea ee eee ay 2: ts R a % - ore with the Chinese looking up at the ball which is about to be raised. The semaphore was erected on September 1, 1884, at a cost of 28,000 francs, by the French Municipal Council. It gives the hour at noon, and the force and direction of the winds at the mouth of the Yang-tsze- kiang. It is connected with the Zikawei Observatory, which receives the observations respecting the wind from Gutzlaff Island, at the mouth of the river, and which the director of the Observatory, Pére Dechevrens, passes on by telephone to the assistant in Shanghai. The time-ball is in direct connection with Zikawei. The wires, poles, and lamps of the electric light are also noticeable in the illustration. The light, which was set up last year, appears for some reason not to be successful, and when the last mails left Shanghai the Municipal Council were in corre- spondence with the gas company with the object of coming to an arrangement for a return to lighting the streets with gas. VARIABLE STARS ey his stirring “ Call to Friends of Astronomy ” (Schz- machers Fahrbuch, 1844) to aid the advance of the science by taking up some definite department of work, Prof. Argelander, among other points forinvestigation, drew attention to the observation of variable stars as presenting a fascinating field of inquiry in which much valuable work | latitudes then certainly known to be variable has grown to at least ten times the number, while a new “ instru- ment of precision” has been placed in the hands of the observer in the form of the spectroscope, which has largely increased his powers. But, after all, it must be acknowledged that we are still greatly in ignorance of the causes which immediately underlie the striking pheno- mena which are presented to our view. might be done. Forty years have passed since this appeal was made. The list of eighteen stars visible in these | In taking a rapid glance at some of the phenomena with which we have to deal, it may be convenient to April 30, 1885 | NALGRE 605 adopt some form of classification of variable stars. The following arrangement suggested by Prof. Pickering will suit our purpose ; but at the same time it should be re- marked that links of association may sometimes be dis- covered between individual members of different classes in respect of some of their characteristics. Itis probable, too, that after all some stars must remain unclassed. “Class I. Temporary stars, or those which shine out suddenly, sometimes with great brilliancy, and gradually fade away. Examples: Tycho Brahe’s star of 1572; new star in Corona 1866. “Class II. Long-period variables, or those undergoing great variations of light, the changes recurring in periods of several months. Examples: o Ceti and x Cygni. “Class III. Stars undergoing slight changes according to laws as yet unknown. Examples: a Orionis and a Cassiopeie. “Class IV. Short-period variables, or stars whose light is continually varying, but the changes are repeated with great regularity in a period not exceeding a few days. Examples: 8 Lyre and 6 Cephei. “Class V. Algol stars, or stars which, for the greater portion of the time, undergo no change in light, but every few days suffer a remarkable diminution in light for a few hours. Examples: 8 Persei (Algol) and S Cancri.” The temporary or new stars form a remarkable class of stars, which blaze unexpectedly into view and then gradually decline. A striking object of this class was Tycho Brahe’s star of 1572, which attained such a brilliancy as to be visible by day. It was not, however, till the year 1866 that a clue was found to the probable nature of these outbursts, when the examination of the spectrum of the new star which appeared in Corona Borealis in May of that year by Dr. Huggins suggested the view that in these cases the outburst is due to the liberation of large volumes of gas, which enwraps the star in a flaming envelope which gradually burns itself out. The most recently-observed star of this type has a curious history. On September 24, 1876, the late Dr. Schmidt discovered, in the constellation Cygnus, a new star of the 3rd magnitude, which soon began to fade. Like the star T Corone it had a double spectrum. In September, 1877, when the star had fallen to 10°5 mag., an examination of its spectrum at the Earl of Crawford’s observatory showed that the continuous spectrum had disappeared and that the star’s light was monochromatic. In fact, to all appearance the star had become a minute planetary nebula ! The distinguishing characteristic of stars of this type, namely the temporary character of their phenomena, sharply marks them off from the variables of all the other classes, in which the changes recur with greater or less regularity. A connecting-link, however, may perhaps be found in the remarkable variable, U Geminorum, dis- covered by Mr. Hind in 1855. It has a very irregular period, which ranges between 70 and 126 days, during about three-quarters or more of which time it remains fluctuating about a minimum magnitude of 14°5. It rises rapidly to maximum (at the maximum of February, 1877, at the rate of over three magnitudes in twenty-four hours), and then, at first gradually and then more rapidly, falls to minimum again. Its colour has generally been de- scribed as bluish-white (though it has been noted ruddy), and a curious, ill-defined or hazy appearance has been noticed by several observers which would suggest the possibility of bright lines being found in its spectrum, a suspicion which has not as yet been confirmed. Class II. includes by far the greater number of known variable stars. Many of these are highly coloured, showing tints of red or orange of various degrees of intensity, and among them are to be found stars having fine banded spectra of Secchi’s types III. and IV. The regularity with which they go through their changes is of various degrees, and varies even in the same star at different times, while in some cases there is evidenced a tendency to form subsidiary maxima or minima on the main light curve. In some instances also the magnitude touched by the same star at maximum or minimum is subject to fluctuations, and this apparently quite inde- pendently of the degree of regularity with which the changes are gone through in respect of time. In two stars at least of this class—Mira Ceti and R Geminorum— bright lines have been observed in their spectra. It is perhaps to be regretted that a separate class has not been formed for variable stars having a double period, with two equal or nearly equal maxima and two unequal minima, of which 8 Lyre isthe type. A star of this order, with a period of about 70 days, R Sagittae, included in Class II. (though with an expression of doubt) in Prof. Pickering’s list, seems to call for special remark. It was discovered by Mr. Baxendell in 1859, and his observa- tions have shown first the approach to equality and then the reversal of the principal and secondary minima. The equalisation of the minima was also observed by Prof. Schonfeld, and their reversal by Mr. Chandler in America. The phenomenon thus exhibited is a remark- able one, though perhaps not unique, as something similar appears to have been noticed by Prof. Argelander and Prof. Schonfeld in the case of R Scuti. Turning to Class III., a point should be mentioned in regard to one of the examples of the class a Orionis. Ob- serving the star in March, 1866, Dr. Huggins noticed that “a group of lines and shading, as if of fine lines” had disappeared from its spectrum, the star at the time being at its maximum brilliancy. Six years later, however, Dr. Vogel, at Bothkamp, failed to detect any change of this character. Passing to Class IV. we have, in one of the examples, B Lyree, a star presenting points of singular interest. As has been already mentioned, its period of 12°9 days is a double one, with two equal maxima and two unequal minima, and Herr FE. von Gothard, of the Herény Observatory, has discovered that its spectrum is also variable. Herr von Gothard has also observed the D, line (showing that Helium has a home in other suns than ours), and the lines of hydrogen as bright lines, and has further (Astv. Nach., No. 2651) found them to vary in intensity in a period of about seven days. Further observation is required before any decided opinion can be expressed as to the relation between the variation of the spectrum and the variation of the star’s light, but a comparison of Herr von Gothard’s observations with the ‘predictions of an ephemeris seems to suggest (though the evidence is not quite conclusive) that the bright lines are at their brightest when the star is near a minimum. The stars of Class V., of which Algol is an example, form a group of variables of a well-marked type. The general features of their changes are fairly represented by the supposition of an eclipsing satellite. But in the case of U Cephei, a star of the group discovered a few years ago by Ceraski, a new feature is introduced which some- what complicates the theory. Its period has been shown with some degree of probability to be a double one, with slightly unequal minima. Another curious fact which has been observed in regard to the star is that, as it falls below the 8th magnitude, its light becomes decidedly ruddy (indicating absorption as well as eclipse?), the ruddy colour being lost as the star rises to the 8th magni- tude again, when it regains its ordinary brilliant bluish- white hue. It is only fair to remark that in Prof. Pickering’s view the suggestion as to the duplicity of the star's period should be at present received with caution. This brief review will suffice to show that any attempt to answer the question—What is a variable star ?—in- volves the examination of a multiplicity of phenomena. At the same time, the causes presumably at work may be grouped broadly under two heads—geometric and chemico-physical. We have seen that in the case of the 606 NATURE [Abrid 30, 1885 temporary stars we have grounds for looking to the fatter, while in the case of stars of the Algol group we have reasons for looking to the /ov/ze7, as a more or less probable cause of the changes we observe. While in 3 Lyrae we see that physical changes apparently accom- pany, if they are not connected with the cause of, the | light variation. Is it to geometric or to chemico-physical causes that we are to look as the key to the explanation of the ph-nomena in other groups, say of the large group of Class II].? A few considerations will show the grave difficulties we have to meet. A difference of from five to seven magnitudes between the points touched by the star at maximum and minimum is to be found in the case of many members of Class II. Now, taking the magnitude scale at present generally adopted, having a light-ratio of 2°512, a range of five magnitudes would correspond to a difference of light-intensity in the proportion of 100 to 1, while if the range is extended to seven magnitudes, the star’s light-intensity at maximum would bear to its light- intensity at minimum a ratio of 630to 1. These wide differences of intensity of radiation are sufficiently start- ling if they are supposed to occur only once in a while, as in the case of the temporary stars. and over again, in periods of from 150 to 600 days? The subject was discussed in these columns some few years ago, and the difficulties presented were felt to be so serious as to make it hard to accept a theory of this kind as offering a probable explanation of the facts if these Stars are to be regarded as suns in the usual sense of the term, though less difficulty might be felt if we could look .on them, not as suns in our sense at all, but as small bodies. In this case they would be relatively near to us, and would have a measurable parallax. An inquiry in this direction might prove fruitful. As compared with this theory, the theory that the changes of light may be supposed due to periodic obscurations by bodies or groups of bodies revolving around the variable, presents less | formidable objections, though it has, of course, difficulties | of its own. A few months ago one of our first authorities on the subject penned the words: “ No theory has yet been advanced that will account satisfactorily for the ordinary phenomena of variable stars.” It is possible that we must look forward to a future of more or less lengthened patient research before theoretic views can be announced which shall be anything much better than “suesses at truth.” It is, then, to further work that we must look for further progress, and the recent discoveries in regard to 8 Lyre indicate one direction at least in which research should be made. Is it not possible that some valuable results might be obtained if the spectra of a selected list of variable stars were to be carefully studied with one of our largest telescopes — the several spectroscopic results being co-ordinated with the corresponding position of the star in its light-curve as fixed by a careful determination | of its magnitude? In the discovery of new variables, the determination of their periods and range of variation, and of the general characteristics of their light-curves, good work may be done with instruments of very moderate dimensions ; but for all but the brighter stars the spectra are too faint to be adequately treated but by instruments of the largest size. Whether by this means any satisfactory results should be obtained or no, it is evident that in the study of variable stars a point has been reached whence, in order to secure any further advance, it seems needful by some means or other to endeavour to take a new departure. THE LATE EARL OF SELKIRE @ Saturday, April 11, 1885, Dunbar James Douglas, sixth and last Earl of Selkirk died, after a short IIness, at St. Mary’s Isle, Kircudbright ; had he lived till What are we to Say | of them if we are to suppose them to occur over and over | | the 22nd of the month he would have completed his seventy-sixth year. His death, though it occurred at a ripe age, has proved a sudden and unexpected blow to those who hoped that many years of life might yet remain to one upon whose spare and still vigorous frame, age had as yet apparently made but little impression, and whose mental and physical energy alike gave promise of a still prolonged period of utility. Those who so recently saw him in even more than his wonted health now sadly realise the fact that he has succumbed, like many others, to the evil influences of the treacherous and bitter east winds which for some time swept over our islands, and terminated his valuable life after a short illness of but three weeks. How much he is regretted, how sorely he will be missed, it is impossible to say ; for the removal of one so gifted and so good is an irreparable loss, which will be felt more and more as time progresses, wherever the genial influence of his life and example had been felt Elsewhere have been described his ancient lineage, his connection with various great families of historic fame, | his political opinions, his public life, the high offices he filled in the State and in his county, the charms of personal character which marked his whole life ; his edu- cation at Eton, his success at Oxford, his travels and ex- plorations in almost every quarter of the globe ; the rich harvest of experience he so assiduously collected and so carefully and accurately remembered ; his thoughtful, un- | selfish nature, so loyal, so considerate of others, especially of the weak ; so firm in assertion of all that he believed to be right, so excellent in all relations of public, private, and | domestic life, so true a friend, so mindful of all who ever | did or tried to do him the slightest service —all this may some day be told again in detail, but need not be dwelt on here in this brief notice, which contemplates rather the side of his nature which turned towards science , and took so keen an interest in its progress and welfare, _ he himself being no mean contributor to its annals. Those who, like the writer, have had the privilege of intimate association with him, in the field, on the moor, in social life, and by the evening fireside, and have listened to his instructive conversation on many subjects connected with natural science, history, geography and biography, and have felt the satisfaction which arises from communion with one whose wisdom and experience seldom erred, who enunciated no crude theory, made no hasty gene- ralisation on imperfect or insufficient data, and whose judgment was tempered, calm and reasonable in all matters submitted to it for decision, must feel that, by his death, science too has sustained a serious loss. Lord Selkirk’s great erudition and knowledge of men and nature were not derived merely from books. He was, indeed, a great reader, whose memory retained with extraordinary tenacity all the details even to minute | particulars of that which he read: his vast stores of in- formation were the result of much travel and study of | physical science. Few, indeed, had travelled so far, or seen so much, or with such intelligent appreciation of what they did observe. His mind was of a truly scientific mould, and accepted nothing on insufficient or imperfect evidence ; his interest in all that was calculated to extend the limits of science was unbounded; but of all its departments, geology seemed to attract him most: he was a Fellow of the Geological Society, a frequent attendant at its meetings, | and a contributor to its proceedings. One paper on “ Sea-water Level Marks on the Coast of Sweden,” read | before the Society in 1867, was of much interest, and shows how closely he had studied that important subject. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, and took much interest in its proceedings, but deafness, which affected him early in life and increased with age, pre- vented him from taking an active part in the discussions of the learned societies, or in the debates in the House of Lords, and to a certain extent, therefore, disqualified him April 30, 1885] NATURE 607 from sharing in, though it in no way diminished the keen | appeared to us extremely easy to climb, except in two interest he felt in their deliberations. The library in his beautiful and ancient home contained | many works on science, literature, and art, but the great storehouse of knowledge was his own brain, and from this he was ever delighted to contribute for the instruction and amusement of his friends. All this, alas, has come | toan efd; the venerated form will no longer be seen | where it was known so well, in the Isle, or in its pictur- esque surroundings overlooking the sea, but his memory will long be everywhere preserved in grateful recollection by his friends and countrymen. ewes RORAIMA BY the kindness of Sir Joseph Hooker we ar able to give some illustrations relating to Roraima taken by Mr. Im Thurn during his recent successful expedition (aided by funds supplied by the British Association and Royal Geographical Society) to the top of the previously un- scaled mountain. The following extracts from the paper read on Monday at the Royal Geographical Society, by | Mr. H. J. Perkin, who accompanied Mr. Im Thurn, will give some idea of the work and results of the expedi- tion :— The Ist of December, our first day in Brazilian terri- tory, we camped to the south-west of, and quite close to Waetipu, a splendid mountain towering above the general level of the table-land some 300 or 4000 feet, with bold, sharp outlines ending ina well-defined peak, on its south | side free from forest, the savannah continuing quite up to its summit, though densely wooded on its north-north- east and north-west. Froma lofty range of hills some 3600 feet high we had a | splendid view of Waetipu, Roraima, Kukenam, Marima, | and two small mountains near Waetipu, named Hormi | and Mucureepa ; the curious square, flat tops of Roraima and Kukenam, with their dark, precipitous cliffs, adding a grand and peculiar effect to the whole landscape. On December 2 we arrived at Toroikire or Ipelemonta, an Arecuna village of four houses situated on the left bank of the Arapu river. The view from here is magnificent, as the village is | placed just in front of Roraima, giving a sight also of Kukenam ; it is situated on a high hill 3751 feet above sea-level, but is dwarfed by the gigantic walls of rock near it, Roraima being about four, and Kukenam about three miles from it Each mountain seems like a huge impregnable fortress, built on a mountain-top 7009 feet high, with walls from 1200 to 1800 feet in height. The portion of Roraima facing Teroota is four miles long, and of Kukenam about the same. In wet weather their summits are wrapped in dark clouds, and after the rain is over and the clouds have dispersed the water can | be seen casting itself over the cliffs in splendid falls that | only by being seen can beat all imagined. At a distance of four to five miles they look like delicate white threads against the dark background of sandstone rock. The two mountains are separated by a wide gorge, and in this clouds of dense white mist accumulate, and gradu- | ally creeping up asthe day advances, enshroud their sum- | mits something after the manner of the “ table-cloth ” of Table Mountain. The chief difficulty Mr. Im Thurn apprehended was from the dampness of the spot, as he feared he would be unable to dry the sheets of botanical paper used to pre- serve the specimens of plants he obtained, but by means of a large fire kept burning night and day this was easily accomplished. Whilst on this first visit of ours to the upper portion of | Roraima we saw on the face of the cliff itself a ledge of rock running up from the tree-covered portion of the highest sloping portion of the mountain to its summit ; it | | points of which radiate down the petals. places: the first where the bush that covered the ledge appeared ‘to end suddenly, leaving the cliff bare and naked, and giving the ledge the appearance of being in- terrupted, and consequently impassable; and in the second place where a waterfall from the summit falls on the ledge and has cut a gap in it, so that there seems to be a deep, wide hole, which it would take great trouble to bridge over. But on the whole it seemed so easy to climb the mountain here that we concluded there must be some insuperable difficulty of which we were not aware, for other travellers who had visited the mountain had stayed near this ledge, though, except Mr. Whitely, none of them attempted it, most of them having had to turn back soon after their arrival, owing to want of pro- visions, which latter contingency Mr. Im Thurn had par- ticularly guarded against, and enabled us to stay some time and to make several excursions over the mountain- sides. The north-east and west sides of Roraima are forest- covered, but on the south and south-west it is for the most part devoid of trees until a height of 5890 feet is reached, and from here up to the cliff-face the slope becomes far more steep and is covered by a thick, dense undergrowth: there are very few large trees, and even they are small when compared with the giant vegetation of the forests we had passed through. Teroota village lies, so to speak, at the foot of the mountain, though the cliff portion is about four miles distant. Between Teroota Hill and Roraima flows the Kukenam river, which rises in Kukenam Mountain and descends from the summit in a splendid fall of about 1300 feet. From the Kukenam river Roraima on its south-western side slopes up at an angle of about 20° to 4500 feet, and then at 30° to the commencement of the forest-covered portion to 5890 feet ; from here to the cliff-face the incline is 15° steeper to about 7200 feet, and the remainder is | cliff. At about 5600 feet we found a large piece of swampy ground filled with most exquisite varieties of orchids and | ferns, and also the Utricularia Humboldtiz, which grows to greater perfection here than on the Kaieteur savannah. Here also we found the Heliamphora or pitcher-plant, whose cup-shaped leaves were full of water; it bears a delicate white flower without smell. We returned the same day, December 5, to Teroota, after our visit to Siedl. We reascended the mountain on Sunday, December 7, and built our houses, one for ourselves and one for the men, at an altitude of 5405 feet above sea-level, close to SiedI’s hut. On the roth, with Mr. Siedl, we went up a path cut by a Mr. Whitely in 1883, to the face of the chff, and on our way, at 6410 feet, found a lovely flowering plant, the Leiothamnus Elizabethe, of Schomburgk; it has deep carmine star-shaped flowers, with a white star centre, the At 6841 feet we rediscovered another exquisite flower, first found by Richard Schomburgk, an Utricularia, with a large deep crimson blossom. The plant grows’on the branches of trees, and is about 2 to 3 inches in height ; the bloom, when but, completely hides the stalk, and is about an inch and a quarter long, by half an inch wide; sometimes there are two flowers on the same plant, but usually only one. The appearance of one of these bright blossoms on the sombre tree-branches has a most peculiar effect, and one’s admiration is divided between the brightness of the flower and the wonderful energy of the tiny plant that produces it. Pursuing our way we reached the cliff at 12 o'clock, nearly three hours from the start, the way being extremely rough and steep, over root and trunks of trees, and bare rocks: at times we could hear water ' running among the stones under our feet. There are no trees of any very great size growing on 608 WALDOLE =. % [| April 30, 1885 Fic. 1.—Part of south-west face of Roraima, showing ledge by which we ascended. ——~ = — SSS ~~ Ma Ha I —— LNG By Fic. 2.—Scene at point of entrance on to plateau on top of Roraima. April 30, 1885 | NAGOR E 609 that portion of the mountain, but the varieties of ferns are very numerous and beautiful, varying from small filmy to tall tree ferns, some 20 to 30 feet in height ; but the plant that seemed to awaken for the time as much interest with us as any other, was the Rubus Schomburgkit, or Roraima blackberry, which greatly resembles the English bramble ; we gathered several bunches of the fruit, which possibly does get sweet, but none of those we obtained were at all eatable. From the portion of the cliff we reached we had a good view of the ledge we had seen on the sth, and, though Fic. 3.—Scene on top of Roraima. partially obscured by the intervening bush, it seemed quite easy of ascent. The height we reached this day was 7350 feet, deter- mined by boiling-point thermometer, and it took us three and three-quarter hours to return to our hut, a distance of about two and a half miles, as we frequently stopped to collect ferns and other plants on our way. On the 11th we ordered the Arecunas to cut a path to the foot of the ledge from the edge of the savannah, and if possible to continue it as far as the summit. After a day’s work they returned, saying they had finished the road, but we afterwards found they had left off from fear of Maku- naima, the great spirit, just at the point where the ledge joins the upper sloping portion of the mountain. This was on the 14th, when we reached 7756 feet above sea- level, and found our way suddenly barred by a precipice of 120 feet. A heavy mist, too, arose, and it became bitterly cold, with the rain falling in torrents, which rendered our return journey dangerous, and the path slippery and muddy. The next few days were occupied in surveying the country around the mountain and preserving plants; it was still too wet and slippery to enable us to make any further attempt on the mountain, but, learning from Simon, the Arecuna chief of Toroiking, that the rainy season was about setting in, we determined to make use of the first fine morning we might have; and on December 18, which dawned most auspiciously for us, we left our house after an early breakfast at 7 a.m., reaching the cliff at 8.30, where we waited for about half an hour, and then set for- ward along the ledge, the path keeping much the same the whole way over rocks and roots and trunks of trees, and sometimes along the slippery leaning stems of the trees, using our hands and knees for some portion of the way. The Arecunas we had with us hung back when we got thus far, and for a long while would not proceed, until, by dint of persuasion and the promise of a taste of ardent spirits, we prevailed on them to accompany us; we had, however, to send one of the men from the Pomeron, a half Negro, half Indian, to go first and lead the way, cutting a path as he went on. In this way we reached the waterfall, which to our great surprise we found ex- tremely easy to pass, as the ledge was not cut away by the action of the water falling on it, and fortunately there was very little water coming over, being more like a very heavy shower, which wet us to the skin immediately. The foothold around the spot was extremely precarious, being worn quite smooth and slippery by the constant moisture and falling water. From this fall to the top the last portion of the ledge slopes at an angle of 30°, and is in places quite twenty or more yards in width; it is covered by a dense growth of moss, and in spots tall coarse grass, which gives way here and there to flowering plants and small shrubs. Of the flowers one in particular, a species of heath, took our fancy by its dark pink blossoms of six petals, about the size of a halfpenny, which lay in quantities along our ath. P So occupied were we in securing each new treasure that we had almost gained the top before being aware of it, for near the summit the ledge loses its steepness and is, so to speak, merged into the top itself. A curious sight met our eager gaze as we passed the boundary line of the unknown--on all sides were grouped rocks of every shape unimaginable, weird, strange, and fantastic, first a row of huge oblong stones that looked like rude cannon placed there to guard the approach ; further on another rock like a giant’s umbrella on a short thick stem of about four or five feet in height, and others like miniature castles and ruins of old churches, leaning so much that had they not been solidly connected por- tions of the enormous sandstone bed, they would have fallen. We saw no lake, however, but several pools of water here and there. The vegetation on the summit was extremely scanty and insignificant. There being no trees, only small bushes from three to six feet in height, growing at long intervals and, with the exception of a few scrubby orchids, two species of thick-leaved ferns and a variety of the red Utricularia from below, there was no other plant there, owing, no doubt, to the absence of soil: for it is not possible for earth to collect on the summit, as it would be almost immediately carried over by the rain-water which finds its way over the edge of the enormous cliff 610 NATURE [April 30, 1885 SS Se soon after it has fallen in most splendid waterfalls, some of which have a clear fall of 1500 feet. We had no sooner accomplished the ascent than an impenetrable cloud of mist enveloped the whole of the upper part of the mountain, entirely obscuring the view, and rendering it difficult to see beyond forty or fifty yards in any one direction, and putting a limit to our wanderings. After boiling the thermometer, which registered 197° F., the average of five readings, and gave the height (allowing for difference of temperature from sea-level) as 8600 feet, we returned to our hut, but not before I had tried with true British instinct to carve my initials as a memento of our visit ; but I found the rock far too hard to permit of this, and had to content myself with leaving an advertise- ment torn from a newspaper of Messrs. Pears’ soap and Madame Patt’s testimony of its suitability for the hands and complexion. In conclusion, I beg to present the Society with a few samples of rock and rounded pebbles, which I obtained | in the course of our journey up the mountain. I have been told they lead to no very definite conclusion in a geological sense, as they seem to belong to no particular geological epoch, but are apparently agglomerations of deposits from various causes. No fossils have been found, but several of these smooth the summit point to its having been submerged at some long-passed time, but whether this huge mass has been obtruded by volcanic action, or the cliff has been bared of its at one time circumjacent soil by glacial or aqueous action, I leave for those skilled in geology to discuss, and shall be happy to give any further information that may lead to a more definite conclusion as regards the forma- tion and age of the mountain. One word more and I have finished: it is to again remind you that the whole success of the expedition is due to Mr. Im Thurn’s excellent management and inde- fatigable zeal, as well as his intimate knowledge of the Indian character; and if my short notes have aroused your interest in Mount Roraima, I must ask you to accord a larger portion of the same to his complete and detailed report, which I have no doubt will ere long arrive. NOTES TT is well known to all acquainted with the British Museum, On May 13 a statue of Linneus will be publicly unveiled at Stockholm. The day will be the 178th anniversary of his birth. Reports from Japan state that grave fears were entertained of an outbreak of the long quiescent voleano Fujiyama, and that “officials had been sent to investigate the matter. The people living in the neighbourhood believed an eruption to be imminent, because, while the snow on the mountain had begun to melt two months before the usual time, all the wells at the fort became dry, and difficulty was experienced in procuring water. The phenomenon is considered the more remarkable from the fact that the winter has been unusually cold, and that the surface of the snow remains hard, the part nearest the ground being the first to give way. INTELLIGENCE has been received in Amsterdam from Java of the eruption of the Semiroo mountain, the largest and most active of the Javanese volcanoes, situated on the confines of the Passoerean and Probolingo residencies. No mention is made of any loss of life having occurred. PROF. ForEL, of Geneva, has sent us an account of an earth- quake observed in Switzerland on April 13 last. It was com- | posed of a preliminary shock at Neufchatel between 9 and ro pebbles which I found imbedded in the living rock on | o’clock, of a principal or great shock at 11.23 a.m., and of a succeeding shock observed at Lausanne and Geneva at 3.55 p.m. The principal shock disturbed a considerable area. It was felt | in the district bounded by Geneva, Saint-Cergues, the Joux that the staff of the Zoological Department is very insufficient for | : _ the centre of the district remained quiet, while the borders the needs of so large a collection. In the vast subject of entomo- logy especially the number of assistants is quite out of proportion to the mass of material necessarily accumulating with the advance of geographical exploration. We are glad to learn that a step towards remedying this state of things is about to be taken by tie addition to the staff of an assistant, to be specially engaged upon the collection of Coleoptera. The conditions upon which the appointment will be filled up are announced in our advert- ising columns. THERE seems to be at last some chance of the great Hume collection being received by the nation, as the British Museum has sent Mr. Bowdler Sharpe to Simla to pack and despatch the collection to England. Mr. Sharpe started by the last mail via Brindisi, and expects to be absent from England about four months. Dr. BENJAMIN APTHORP GOULD is to return to the United States very soon from South America, where he has recently completed the great works upon which he has been engaged for so long at the Observatory of Cordoba. His fellow-citizens of Boston, Sezence states, propose to give him a reception and a dinner on his return. | the Haut Simmenthal. valley, Neufchatel, Souceboz, Aarau, Schwyz, Interlaken, the Bernese Alps, Bex, and the Lake of Geneva. The detailed reports from the other cantons, Valais in particular, will extend still more the area of disturbance, which already includes a district 220 kilometres long by 109 broad, representing a super- ficial area of more than 20,000 kilometres. The main axis of disturbed surface is parallel to the chain of the Alps; in seis- mological classification this earthquake would therefore be put under the classification of longitudinal earthquakes. Over the disturbed area the shock was felt unequally. Thus in the cantons of Vaud and Neuchatel, the district which Prof. Forel is appointed to study, numerous and precise observations were received from Enhaut, Ormonts, the Rhone valley, the shores of the Lake of Geneva, from Villeneuve to Morges, then from Ginguis, Saint-Cergues, l’Orient de Orbe, Neufchatel, Souce- boz, &c., while none at all came from the valley of the Broil or of the Thiéle, nor from Gros du Vaud. It would seem that were disturbed. The intensity of the shock was greate: as one approached the centre, which was probably the valley of There some damage was effected in the walls of houses ; it is even said that rocks were detached from hills. This would represent a shock No. 8 in the scale which represents the intensity of earthquakes in ten numbers. In Prof. Forel’s district the earthquake had very little intensity. The shock had three undulations, with some seconds’ interval between each. In general the direction of the oscillations was indicated as parallel to the meridian, from north to south, or, according tothe localities, as coming from north-east or north- west. A subterranean sound was heard in several places. At the conclusioa of an article in a recent number of Globus on the Andalusian earthquake, Herr Willkomm refers to pre+ vious earthquakes observed in Southern Spain ; for, although that of Christmas day last is the greatest and most frightful of them all in the historical period, it is by no means singular in other respects. The provinces of the kingdom of Granada, those of the kingdom of Murcia to the east of the latter, and the province of Alicante belonging to the old kingdom of Valencia, have frequently been visited by earthquakes, At Cape Roquetas Abril 30, 1885] hardly a year passes without one. Judging from past shocks, Granada and the neighbourhood of Torrevieja and Guardamar in the south of Alicante, are the two main earthquake centres. From the last the shocks extend along the coast as far as Malaga. The most violent occurred in 1518 and 1829. On November 9, 1518, the town of Vera in Almeira was wholly destroyed, and in March, 1829, the towns of Guardamar and Torrevieja were converted into heaps of ruins. Malaga has been visited by earth- quakes four times during the past century—viz. 1775 and 1777; October 8-10, 1790 ; January, February, and August, 1804, and August 4, 1841. In 1802, from January t7 to February 6, there were repeated shocks at Torre la Mota and Torrevieja ; on July 9, 1822, at Cartagena, Murcia, and Alicante (over 200 shocks in twenty-four hours); on April 27, 1826, and until July of the same year, innumerable shocks in and around Granada. The whole population of Granada left the town and camped in the fields. Similarly for many other places in Southern Spain. If to all these be added the numerous earthquakes on the west of the peninsula, with centre at Lisbon, it will be clear that, next to Italy, no other part of Europe is so frequently visitel by earthquakes as the south and west of the Iberian peninsula. M. CamBou, a missionary in Madagascar, writes from Tamatave to Cosmos to report that on February 25, after a terrible cyclone, the coast of Madagascar, near Tamatave, was covered with pumice-stone and dust, in all probability, says M. Cambou, from the Krakatoa eruption. On March 28, 1884, similar pumice was found on the coast of Réunion. Sub- sequently, in the middle of May, the same phenomenon was observed on Mayotte, in the Mozambique Channel ; and in September of last year it was noticed at Tamatave. Crystals of feldspath were mix:d with the amorphous matter. The stones were generally small, the edges being worn round by attrition. A very few were of a pale reddish colour. Accord- ing to the course of the currents in the Indian Ocean these would have been carried from the Straits of Sunda down to the 16th or 17th degree of south latitude in a south-westerly direc- tion. Thence they reached Madagascar, and the adjacent islands, through the agency of the equatorial current and the trade-winds. The probability that this pumice is that of the Krakatoa eruption is supported by the following facts: the Americ*n frigate Pensacola, passing the Straits of Sunda on December 22, 1883, crossed large banks of pumice, and con- tinued to sight smaller ones until January ro, 1884, when she was in 16° 7’ S. lat. and 66° 8’ E. long. ‘The average speed of the current is stated to have been fifteen miles per day. Sub- sequently, on April 13, 1884, the French war-ship Boursaint met a bank of this pumice floating off the coast of Madagascar, in 14° 35’ S. lat., and 48°2' E. long. The circumstances under which this pumice reached the Malagasy coast are specially interesting to ethnologists, as they afford a new proof of the possibility of human migrations to considerable distances. “They also give some support to the theory that the Hovas of Madagascar are of Malay descent. THE Madrid Correspondent of the Sfandaid writes that several doctors in Valencia have been making numerous experi- ments by inoculating adults and children with the choleraic virus. ‘The faith of the local physicians and of persons of all classes in these experiments is so great that in one afternoon 300 persons were inoculated. The Scolapian Fathers brought all their pupils also for this preventive vaccination against cholera, The medical men say the same phenomena have been observed as were noticed in similar experiments in France last year during the epidemic. A commission of Madrid doctors has been sent to report on the experiments. THE Executive Council of the forthcoming International In- ventions Exhibition at South Kensington has issued a most useful NATURE 6Il railway-guide and route-bsok, for the use of intending visitors. The district included is about forty miles in every direction around London, and the book gives for each station the number of trains daily, the fares, the average time occupied on the journey, the points at which to change for connection with the Exhibition, and the last two trains each day. It will be of great use to those numerous visitors who are not acquainted with the readiest and most convenient methods of getting from South Kensington to other parts of the metropolis and its suburbs. WE have received the second edition of Marion’s ‘‘ Guide to Photography,” the first edition of which we noticed on its appearance. The text contains various additions, needed to bring it abreast of the latest photographic improvements. We have received the Report of the Mason Science College, Birmingham, for the year ending ‘‘ Founder's Day,” February 23, 1885. The appeal issued last year for an additional endow- ment fund for scholarships and exhibitions, additions to the teaching staff, &c., has been met by subscriptions amounting to nearly 50007. The free lectures to artisans appear to have been very successful, each lecture having to be repeated on account of the demand for tickets. It is interesting to notice that the chairman of the Academic Board reports that ‘‘the presence of ladies in the classes stimulates manly qualities in the students, and encourages gentlemanly behaviour.” Besides prizes in all five languages taught, the ladies have distinguished themselves in physics this year. The fees for the evening classes have been diminished by one-half, being now threepence each lecture. THE National Fish Culture Association have transferred another large consignment of whitefish fry to the lakes in the Isle cf Mull in order to further their acclimati ation to the waters of this country. Hitherto many experiments have been tried in this direction, but with no success. The American Government are rendering valuable assistance in effecting their propagation and are watching the result of the endeavours now being made with keen interest. THERE will shortly appear, published by the Clarendon Press, “The Flora of Oxfordshire,” including the contiguous portion of Berkshire, by G. Claridge Druce, F.L.S., &c. Over half a century having elapsed since the publication of Walker's “ Flora of Oxfordshire,” the many changes in nomenclature, the sub- division of species, and the great advance in botanical know- ledge, demand a new work on the subject. Mr. Alfred French long ago commenced one, and on his premature death, in 1879, his MSS. came into Mr. Druce’s possession. At the request of the Director of the Botanical Department of the British Museum, he undertook its completion, The ‘‘ Flora” is intended to be not only a catalogue of the county species, with their localities, but also a history of them, and of the botanists connected with - the University and county. About 400 species and varieties, additional to those given in Walker and Sibthorp, will be enumerated, and something like 20,090 records have been made in visiting nearly every parish in the county. The comparative plant occurrences in the counties of Berks, Bucks, Warwick, Northampton, and Gloucestershire will be shown. Orders should be sent to Mr. G. C. Druce, 118, High Street, Oxford. A “ BEGINNERS’ Star Atlas,” by the Rey. T. E. Espin, with an introduction by Mr. J. A. Westwood Oliver, is in the press, and will be published shortly by Messrs. W. Swan Sonnenschein and Co. IN a paper read before the Academy of Sciences of Berlin at a recent meeting, Dr. G. Hellmann continued a paper read previously on certain regularities in the states of the weather in successive seasons of the year. The author, from a long series 612 of observations, draws a conclusion contrary to the current belief —viz. that a mild summer follows a mild winter. He studied the warm summers of Berlin from the year 1719 in one particular aspect—that is to say, with special reference to the succeeding winters. He regards that summer as warm when the tempera- ture in June, July, August, and September, or at least in three of those months, is above the normal, Fifty-two such summers occurred between 1719 and 1885. Unfortunately there were certain gaps in the observations which could not be filled up ; but there was no break in the observations between 1755 and the present, in all 130 years of uninterrupted observation. During this period there were 45 warm summers, or a propor- tion of : 2°89. But, as in the case of mild winters, there was no periodicity of three years. Thus after the hot summer of 1763 there was not another for 12 years, and at the beginning of the present century there were 19 successive years (1799-1817) without a single hot summer. But in the case of the summers, as in that of the winters, a certain grouping is observable. In the 52 warm summers, in 31 cases 2 hot summers followed each other in succession, ‘‘so that one may wager 596 to 404 that one hot summer will be succeeded by a second.” The influence of a hot summer on the succeeding autumn and winter (October to February) is that of these months 2°82 were too warm. Forthe individual months, with the exception of November, the proba- bilities are about equal. Given a summer with July, August, and September hot, and a cold January, a warm December and February may be expected. As a general rule two warm winter months may be expected after a hot summer. But warm summers differ: they do not last the same length of time, they have not the same intensity ; and these variations exercise an important influence on the succeeding winter months. The author then discusses the cold winters of Berlin and the respective probabilities of the succeeding months being cold. The results of the whole investigation he sums up in three propositions arranged and stated as follows:—(1) A { mocerae } mild winter will most probably be succeeded by a oo summer. oO (2) A ———— } hot summer will most probably be suc- very { moderately mild | ceeded by a \ alae A winter, { moderately | (3) A ( very § cool ) cold winter will most probably be succeeded by a ) “2? {cold § summer, THE additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the past week include a Suricate (Suricata tetradactyla) from South Africa, presented by Miss F. M. Savill ; two Common Badgers (Adeles taxus), British, preseated by Lord Willoughby de Broke ; a Common Marmoset (/apale jacchus) from Brazil, presented by Miss Henderson ; a Cereopsis Goose (Cereopsts nove-hollandia), a Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) from Australia, presented by Mr. F. L. Frodsham; a Mealy Amazon (Chrysotis farinosa) from South America, presented by Mr. W. Hodder ; two Alli- gators (Alligator mississippiensis) from the Mississippi, presented by Mr. Charles Ridley ; an Alligator (4/J/igator mississippiensis) from the Mississippi, presented by Miss Heimlicher; a Red- tailed Amazon (Chrysotis erythrura) from Brazil, three Upland Geese (Bernicla mazellanica 8 8 &) from the Falkland Islands, three Wigeons (Jareca penelop: $ 6 3), European, purchased. OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN OccULYATION OF ALDEBARAN ON May 15.—The ephemer- ides do not take cognisance of occultations of the brighter stars, when near to the sun’s place, nor indeed, as a rule, of occulta- tions generally which occur whilst the sun is aboye the horizon of the place to which the calculations are adapted. In the NATURE [| April 30, 1885 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society for March, 1868, is a note communicated by Mr. R. S. Newall, drawing attention to an occultation of Aldebaran on May 22 in that year, when the star was little more than 8° distant from the sun, and suggesting that observation would be possible with a good equatorial, and, at any rate, would be worth trying, merely as a matter of curiosity. It does not appear from the succeed- ing numbers of the Afonthly Notices that the occultation in. question was anywhere observed, but on May 15 in the present year one of the same star will take place when its distance from the sun is 144°, and some observers may be inclined to make an attempt to-record the phenomenon. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the star escapes occultation ; in the north of England and in Scotland the times for the various observatories are as follow :— : Disappearance Reappearance G.M.T. Angle G.M.T. Angle hopes a h. m. 7 Liverpool 2 50°0 19 3 Wey fee Boo 21533 Stonyhurst 2 47°6 24 SatOlOMs Sas Glasgow ope, ASD ok oS oon 310s) aot Edinburgh 2) 3750) ee 939) 200 Suds 2aee sod Dunecht aco SIGS}. cca. HH 3110 Oe zo At Dublin the star disappears at 2h. 46'2m. G.M.T., and reappears at 3h. 1'om.; angles 19° and 354° respectively, counted as usual in the Maztical Almanac. VARIABLE Srars.—(1) Dr. Gould, in the Uvranometria Argentina, enters into some detail with respect to the relative magnitudes of the bright stars in Corvus, to the discrepancies in estimating which Argelander first directed attention in vol. vii. of the ‘‘ Bonn Observations.” It was considered that the Cordoba observations ‘‘ served to remove all doubt as to the variability, within moderate limits, of all four of these stars, thus explaining the apparently contradictory nature of previous observations.” On the other hand, Mr. E. F. Sawyer, of Cambridgeport, Mass., says he carefully observed the bright stars of Corvus during the years 1882-84, and found that ‘8 is certainly variable by nearly one magnitude, but that the other stars appear to be sensibly constant,” and he thinks the whole difficulty is thus solved. From Dr. Gould’s remarks, however, there is room for doubt on this point. (2) A minimum of R Leonis may be expected about May 26. The observations from 1840 to 1883 afford indications of the existence of a perturbation in the period. THE DouBLE-STAR y EQuuLEI.—The duplicity of this star was detected by Mr. G. Knott in 1867; his measures in that year give for 1867'543, position 276°°84, distance 2131. For the epoch 1877°728 Mr. Burnham found the position 274°°5, distance 2"16. The annual proper motion of the principal star appears to be + 0'0027s. in right ascension, and — 0o”"160 in declination, and if Mr, Knott’s measures of 1867 are reduced to Mr. Burnham’s epoch, with these values, they become— Position 308°‘o—Distance 320, differing so widely from the Chicago results as to be strongly indicative of the binary character of the object. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, MAY 3-9 _ (For the reckoning of time the civil day, commencing at Greenwich mean midnight, counting the hours on to 24, is here employed.) At Greenwich on May 3 Sun rises, 4h. 30m. ; souths, 11h. 56m. 42°03. ; sets, Igh. 24m. ; decl. on meridian, 15° 48’ N.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, Ioh. Irm. Moon (at Last Quarter on May 7) rises, 22h. 32m.* ; souths, 3h. om. ; sets, 7h. 27m. ; decl. on meridian, 18° 17’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian Sms m h. m. a fF Mercury... 4 17 II 2 18 32 12 28N. Venus 4 33 Ir 56 19 19 14 58 N. Mars 3 59 Io 51 17 43 9 27N. Jupiter... 11 50 LON? ZU 2A See O U5 OPN Saturn 6 32 14 39 22 46 22 11 N. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding and the setting that of the following day. April 30, 1885 | Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites May h. m. May h. m. 5)... 23 35 IL. ecl. reap. 7 o 4 TJ. ecl. reap. Beye 12- 3 J. occ. disap: 20 12 (I. tr. egr. 23 24 «I. tr. ing. OW rea eles o. eUleitrping: Grit 44s Te ltr. ear: 23 56 ILL. tr. ing. 20 32 (I. occ. disap. The Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. Saturn, May 3.—Outer major axis of outer ring = 383; outer minor axis of outer ring = 17-4 ; southern surface visible. May 4, 17h.— Venus in superior conjunction with the Sun.q GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES THE Austrian African explorers, Prof. Frederick Paulitschke and Dr. Dominik Kammel von Hardegger, have returned from their expedition to Africa. They started from Trieste on December 30, 1884, and chiefly explored the interior of the Gallas country. The Austrian explorers have established meteorological stations at Harrar and Zeila, which will be looked after by the English Consuls Pitten and King. The collections they have brought with them, filling several cases, will constitute a very valuable addition to the Austrian Imperial Museum, Av the January meeting of the Royal Swedish Geographical Society, Dr. F. Svenonius gave a very interesting account of his visits to certain remote parts of Swedish Lapland last summer. The speaker could not accept the theory set forth by some authorities that the word ‘* Lapp” was derived from the Lappish foap or Finnish /afpi, z.e. ‘‘ end” or “‘ finish,” signifying the in- habitants of the end of the European continent. He believed that the word was derived from diffa or lappah, i.e. “cave” or “*recess,” a name given by the Scandinavians to this race from the habits of the Lapps in earlier times living or taking refuge in caves or recesses. It was a common thing, even now, for Lapps to take refuge in such places in bad weather, or for the night when travelling. Having referred to the remark- able structure which forms the dwelling of the Lapp, he pro- ceeded to describe the mountains, glaciers, lakes, and waterfalls of Swedish Lapland. The mountains were more imposing seen from the Swedish than the Norwegian side, as in the latter place they were too close to the spectator. They were of two kinds, the so-called ‘‘ alpine” and so-called ‘‘grass” mountains. The former were lofty and jagged, and the latter—the most common—low and rounded. The alpine mountains were composed of hornblende, gabbro, and eklogite, and the grass mountains of schist impreg- nated with chalk. The highest parts of Swedish Lapland were those around the sources of the river Rapaadnos, the highest top of which, Sarjektj4kko, was once believed to be the highest mountain in Sweden, and west of the Lake Pajtasjarvi, where there are two lofty peaks, Kaskasatjakko and Kebnekaisse. The greatest glaciers in Sweden were found wlthin these parts, the former having been named the ‘‘ice-depot of Lapland.” He estimated that about 180 square kilometres, or one-seventh of the whole area, were covered with ‘‘ eternal” ice, the depth of which reached several hundred feet. It was impossible to say whether the Lapland glaciers were increasing or decreasing. Judging by other European glaciers, they should be decreasing very fast. The fact that the flora of Lapland was actually receding, which pointed in the opposite direction, and seemed to indicate a de- terioration of the climate, he believed was due to the circumstance that the Lapland glaciers had an ‘‘ heirloom from the Glacial Age” still to get rid of. The lakes covered a vast portion of Lapland chiefly between the mountains and the so-called‘ forest- land.” The surface area of the lakes here was one-third of the whole of Swedish Lapland. But there were also many great lakes in the alpine districts. Of the waterfalls the most imposing were the Stora Sjofall, 130 feet high, and Harspranget, 70 feet high, and with a volume of water estimated at 500 cubic metres per second. There were besides several beautiful but smaller falls in the Gellivara Lappmark. In conclusion, Prof. von Diiben, who has travelled much in Lapland, stated that he believed that the word ‘‘Lapp” was derived from the old Finnish word /affaa, 7.2. ‘‘roam about,” as suggested by a great authority, viz. Prof. Friis, Professor of Lappish at the Christiania University. Guipo Cora’s Cosmos for 1884 (vol. viii.) contains an at- tractive paper on Tahiti and the natives of Polynesia, recently visited by Dr. Filippo Rho of the Italian Royal Marine, who NATURE 613, sailed from Callao for the Pacific waters on board the Caracciolo in June, 1883. The ‘* Kanaka,” or Polynesian race proper, is described as presenting many points of resemblance to the Malays, from whom the writer supposes them to have originally sprung. But the type can be best studied in Tahiti and the other eastern islands of the Pacific, where it is found in its purest state and least affected by Papuan elements. It is sub- dolichocephalic, with cephalic index 762; keel-shaped skull ; mesorrhine nose (index 49°3); not prognathous if unmixed, although in Tahiti the facial index is 75*o, and in general con- formation not far removed from the white or European type. The nose, sometimes straight, sometimes aquiline, sometimes rather short and flat, is always characterised by wide nostrils. The jaw-bones, though strong, are not prominent ; face oval ; eyes black, well shaped, never oblique ; complexion variable from light brown or copper to olive yellow, but always fairer than that of the Malays ; hair black, often coarse, generally straight, but sometimes wavy; beard scant; stature very tall and slim, although a tendency is shown here and there towards obesity. The Tahitians are of a cheerful temperament, passion- ately fond of song and dance, and some favourable specimens are given of their Azmez2, a term derived from the English word ‘‘hymn,” a relic of the days of the Protestant missionaries before the French occupation. These 4men2 are chiefly histori- cal, religious, warlike, or amatory, the latter often extremely pathetic, as, for instance, the elegy of the distressed maid, who flies to the woods, crowns herself like Ophelia with flowers, and dies with the name of her faithless lover on her lips. ‘I turn weeping from side to side of my grassy couch; alas! he is. away ! we are severed for ever, and I alone keep my love. I stand in the shade of the Tu tree, and wreathe myself in the flowers he loved, to bear the grief of my beloved who has for- saken me. Thou forsakest me, never to return, and I die alone like the bird that finds no branch of any tree whereon to perch.” There is an amusing description of Queen Marau’s visit to the Italian man-of-war, whose officers were afterwards invited to a banquet, the sez of which is given in Tahitian and Italian. It began with roast pork, followed by raw fish @ fa taiero (a kind of pickle made of grated coco, sliced lemons, and salt water kept in a bamboo cane), prawns, salt fish, bananas, taro, a species of mango (Spondias dulcis), concluding with a dessert of cocoa-nuts and oranges. A native banquet is thus a sort of vé&2meé of the fauna and flora of the Society Islands. THE Golleltino of the Italian Geographical Society for Aprik publishes two interesting letters from the engineer, Count Augusto Salimbeni, who had accompanied the third Bianchi expedition to Gojam, which had such a disastrous termination. These letters, addressed to Sig. Grimaldi, Minister of Agri- culture, and to Prof. Tacchini, are dated from Dildil-Jimma, Gojam, December 27, 1884, and January 2, 1885, and describe the commencement of a stone bridge over the River Temcha, the first of the kind in the country since that thrown some two centuries ago across the Abai (Upper Blue Nile) by the Portu- guese. This work, so far carried out under great difficulties with the assistance of Giuseppe Andreoni from the Swiss Canton of Ticino, will consist of three arches with a total length of 50 m. and 20 m. above the stream. King Tekla-Haimanot, at whose request it was undertaken, was greatly surprised at the progress already made, and expressed his satisfaction to Count Salimbeni in these terms :—‘‘ At first I did not believe you. But it was not altogether my fault. Europeans coming here have talked to me about the splendours of their lands, have brought me handsome presents, but have never shown me any of their works in stone and mortar. Our history relates how the Portuguese, to build the bridge over the Abai, brought down fire from heaven, with which they dammed up the water. It is also said that they required a thousand oxen daily to mix the mortar. But you have asked for nothing but stones, sand, wood, and water. Your work is better than that of the Portu- guese. Now I believe you.” It was expected that the bridge would be finished in March. THE same number of the Bod/et/ino brings to a conclusion the important and timely paper by L. Paladini on the foundation of European colonies in Africa, and especially in Algeria and Tunis. The object of the writer is to warn Italy against rash enterprises of this sort, nearly all of which have hitherto proved to be financial and even political failures. Speaking more particularly of Algeria, he describes the results, after fifty-four years of occupation, as almost nothing compared with the vas. os O14 expenditure of blood and treasure incurred by the French Govern- ment. The military expenditure alone, he calculates, at about ayea ly average f 3,000,000/., or 162,000,000/, to the present time. To this have to be added nearly 4,000,000/. for some eighty fortresses and stations of all sorts required to overawe the native: ; about 1,800,00°/. yearly for the civil administration ; 8,000,000’. for caravanserais to devel p the trade of the interior; 6,000,000/. for the ports of Bona, Philippeville, Algiers, Bougie, Oran, and one or two vthers; 8,000,000/. or 10,000,000/. for arsenals, canals, dredgings, and other hydraulic works, besides many other incidental expenses, the whole far exeeeding any profits hitherto realised by the trade of the country, The writer dwells upon the rivalries and heart- burnings that have sprung up between the military and civil sections of the European community, which hate each other almost amore intensely than both are detested by the natives. He shows that even agriculture has yielded no returns at all commensurate with the outlay incurred, and concludes that, if not actually insoluble, the problem how to found useful and profitable colonies in Africa will always remain one of the most difficult questions for the-statesman and political economist. THE Soletin of the Madrid Geographical ‘Society for February gives a complete list of the recent acquisitions of Spain in West Africa. These comprise the west coast- of the Sahara between Cape Bogador (29° 9’ N.) and Cape Blanco (20° 45’ N.), both included ; in the gulf of Guinea, the coast-line stretching from the Muni River, forming the northern limit of the French pos- sessions on the Gaboon, northwards to the Rio Campo (0° 43’ to 2° 41’ N.). On the Sahara coast six stations have already been established, and all points giving access to shipping will be permanently oceupied. The old treaties with the chiefs on the Rio Benito have also been renewed, with a view to prevent the threatened advance of the French in that direction. ProF. Escricuer, of Quadalajara, recently described, before a ‘conference at Madrid, his project for ‘‘ geographical parks.’ The geographical park is a public garden, reproducing on a certain scale, according to its extent, the geographical features ofa country. It isa kind of map in relief; the principal towns would be represented by places surrounded by trees, the main ways of communication by winding paths; a succession of hillocks would act for the ranges of mcuntains, streams of water for the rivers. The clumps of trees within the network of roads would form varied pastures, in which the natural products of each locality would find its place among the flowers, and in the centre, where the towns should be, would be placed small stractures, in which would be photographic views of the prin- cipal monuments, but especially the most important astronomical, geographical, historical, and artistic information with rezard to the town represented. BEFORE the last meeting of the Verein fiir Erdkunde, at Halle, Dr. Alfred Hettner described the United States of Columbia, their characteristics, and present condition, based on recent journeys there. After deducting the disputed territory on its borders, Columbia is half as large again as the German Empire. Its main geographical divisions are the isthmus region, the mountainous districts in the west belonging to the Andes system, and the low-lying plains of the Amazon and the Orinoco in the east. To the last belongs the Meta, which is very suitable for navigation, but is little used for that purpose ; while the Mag- dalena, which is navigable for 640 kilometres to the Honda Cataract, belongs to the first division. The forest region, with palms in the lower and tree-ferns in the upper parts, extends up to 2g00m., the snow-line being 4600 m. in height. The Indian population, amongst which the Muysca (Tschibtscha) rank only behind the Incas-and Astecs in civilisation, was estimated in the sixteenth century at ten millions, but are said to have ‘been re- duced by the Spaniards to one-fiftieth of that number. The whole population now is given at three millions, and, according to the estima’es of the Columbians themselves, ro per cent. of these are whites, 40 Mestizos, 35 Indians, and 15 Negroes. Trade is hampered by the bad condition of the roads. Gold, silver, coffee, and hides are the chief articles of export. Railway construction, like trade, is prevented by natural difficulties and the indolent, unpractical nature of the people. THE Mhittheilungen of the Vienna Geographical Society for March (Band xxviii. No, 3) contains papers on the movements ‘of the Dachstein glacier during the period 1840-84, by Dr. Simony ; an-account of the latest explorations in Eastern Equa- torial Africa, by Dr. Le Mounier ; and the first part of a paper NATURE ea [April 30, (885 on the geographical work of the German Lighthouse Depart- ment in Hamburg, by Prof. Geleich. At the meeting on March 24 Dr. Lenz read a paper on the German colonies in Eastern Africa and Oceania, which is not printed in the present number. THe Norwegian Government have decided to dispatch an expedition this summer to Finmarken, in the gunboat Lougen, for the purpose of effecting hydrographic researches and sound- ings along the coast. The cost is estimated at 1000/. The Swedish Government grant for this year to various scientific publications amounts to about 7oo/ A sum of 50/. has also been contributed towards. the expenses of Mr. O. Nordstedt’s algological researches in England and Scotland this summer. — FURTHER NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY (OF PALESTINE, WITH A CONSIDERATION OF THE JORDAN VALLEY SCHEME? THE subject was divided as follows :—(I.) The Geological Formations of Palestine and Egypt; (II.) The Wady Arabah and the Dead Sea Basin; (I1I.) The Jordan Valley Canal Scheme. Since the date of the previous communication in November, 1882, much attention had been’ directed to the geology and physical structure of Palestine and the adjacent regions, espe- cially Egypt. Besides the discussions in the press relative to the suggested Jordan Vall-y caral, an important expedition was sent out by the Palestine Exploration Fund during the winter of 1883-84, whilst about the same time Sir J. W. Dawson visited Egypt, Suez, the Lebanon, &c., and gave his results in the Geological Magazine. Important information relative to the Libyan Desert has lately been published by Prof. Zittel in the “ Paleeontographica.” I, (a) Schists, Gnetss, Granite, and Porphyries.—Dawson de- scribes the relations of the crystalline rocks and Nubian sandstone at the First Cataract (Assouan-Syene). A lower crystalline series, which he refers to the Laurentian, penetrated by dykes of granite and diorite, is covered in almost horizontal beds by a second crystalline series consisting mainly of porphyries permeated by dykes of felsite and basalt. Incidentally it was mentioned that, according to Russegger’s map, all the Nile cataracts occur where the river is passing over such crystalline areas, whilst the more tranquil stretches of water belong to the system of his Nubian sandstone. An immense mass of crystalline rocks pre- vails at the great bend of the Nile which has Abu Hamed for its apex: the axis of this system occurs in the Monassir country, which is the wildest region between Assouan and Khartoum. Dawson thinks that the porphyries of Mount Hor may belong to his second series of rocks, which, in more northern countries, is represented by the Arvonian and Huronian. (6) “ The Nubian Sandstone.”—This exhaustive division of the rocks between the Crystallines and the Upper Cretaceous may be resolved into three sections of different geological age. The Carboniferous age of the lower sandstone and overlying limestone of Wady Nasb has been known for certain ever since the discoveries of Mr. Holland; bat Prof. Hull’s party has traced this section up the Arabah, and almost as far as the Dead Sea. The middle division is Cenomanian: it is probably in the main the original Nubian sandstone of Russegger, is widely ex- tended in Egypt, cccurs in great force at Petra, and constitutes the cliffs on the east side of the Dead Sea. There remains the Lebanon division of the soi-désant Nubian sandstone, and this in all probability is really newer than either of the others, being well up amongst the Cretaceous limestones, and possibly on the horizon of certain lignitiferous beds occurring at Edfou on the Nile. (c) Cretaceous and Nummutitic Limestones.—The Cretaceous bedsare the most important factors in Syria, whilst in Egypt those of Eocene age are much the thickest. Sir J. W. Dawson gives a section of Jebel Attakah (partly after Le Vaillant), where the two systems are faulted together. He considers this position on the shores of the Gulf of Suez an important one as presenting an intermediate phase in both systems, thus linking the Syrian to the African types. The Cretaceous beds in Egypt are much less calcareous than in Palestine; an abundaice of rock salt, gypsum, and bitumen is noted on certain horizons (Zittel). This last circumstance is noteworthy, for it will be remembered ‘ Abstract of paper read at the meeting of the Geologists’ Association, on Friday, March 6, by W. H. Hudleston, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S.. &e ot i April 30, 1885] that Dr. Lartet assigns to the celebrated Jebel Usdom, or Salt Mountain of the Dead Sea, a place within the Cretaceous systen. But Hull’s party have obtained evidence which leads them to believe that Jebel Usdom is not of Cretaceous age, but rather belongs to the marls of the Dead Sea basin. This, in fact, is almost the only point where their conclusions differ materially from those of the French geologist. Neither in Palestine nor in Egypt is there any sharp line of demarcation between the Chalk and the Tertiary rocks, but the chalky sediments of the older Eocene follow those of the Upper Chalk with hardly any variation in their characters. And yet, according to Zittel, the paleontological boundary between the Chalk and the Eocene is clearly defined, notwithstanding the continuity of marine deposits. That author had never observed either in or above the oldest Nummulitic bed a single charac- teristic chalk fossil ; neither did he ever find a nummulite in the chalk strata. d. Post-nummutlitic Rocks outside the area of the Dead Sea basin. —There is considerable difference of opinion as to the age of the formations that were deposited subsequent to the up- heaval of the Cretaceo-nummulitic sea-bed. Those at the Isthmus of Suez are especially interesting. Dawson has named them the ‘Isthmian deposits,” and considers them to be later than the Miocene. They occupy the highest land just north of Ismailia—thin-bedded grey limestones with vermicular holes resting on marls, sands, and clays, mostly destitute of fossils, but with some layers holding fresh-water shells, especially Astheria caillau ii, which is also found in the Chalouf cutting. He concludes that a branch of the Nile discharged hereabouts, not into a marine estuary, but into a lake sometimes salt and sometimes fresh. The greater part of these ‘‘Isthmian de- posits ” resembled those of the terraces of the Dead Sea, presently | to be considered. The period of their formation was a con- tinental one, pliocene or post-2lacial. The subject of the recent raised beaches of the Red Sea, &c., and the probable bearing of these upon the question of the route of the Exodus was al o discussed. Il. The Wady Arabak, and the Dead Sea Basin.—lt was pointed out that Prof. Hull, in a lecture given at Dublin two years ago, maintained the River theory in opposition to the Lake basin theory, insisting that such a river flowed southerly from the Lebanon through the gorge of the Arabah into the Red Sea. During the pluvial period, according to this author, the overflow of the Jordanic lake was again through the Arabah in a southward direction. Doubts were thrown upon this hypothesis, since, if the present relative levels were main- tained, an overflow would take place through the Pass of Jezreel, at a point only 285 feet above sea-level, leaving the watershed of the Arabah still 375 feet above sucha Jordanic lake. These points were again brought out in considering the scheme for a Jordan Valley canal. An account of the physical and geological structure of the Arabah was given, based chiefly upon Hull’s summary, and on the work of the Royal Engineers in the late survey. The longitudinal section, by Major Kitchener and Sergeant-Major Armstrong, is a very fine piece of work, and sets at rest for ever the question of level in the long valley between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, besides supplying an admirable coup dail of the eastern flank of.one of the most extraordinary valleys in the world. The great Dead Sea fault recognised by Von Buch, Hitchcock, Lartet, and others was proved to pass down the Arabah, clinging to the roots of the eastern mountains. Prof. Hull’s party observed it in several places, and two cross-sections | are given, showing the sedimentaries faulted against the crystall- ine rocks. The prrallel faults near the base of Mount Hor serve to repeat the phenomena with very curious and picturesque results, as is well illustrated by Prof. Hull in his book, ‘‘ Mount Seiz.” The physical problems connected with these dislocations, and with the undoubted existence of the Dead Sea hollow as an independent lake-basin, dating back from a high antiquity, were partially di-cussed. The Dead Sea basin is separated from the southward portion of the Arabah by a watershed consisting of hard limestone covered in part by sands and gravels. This has an elevation of 660 feet, and is 45 miles from the heal of the Gulf; 29 miles further north the sea-level is again reached. Hence the mass of land, through which the southern section of the Jordan Valley canal would have to be cut, is 74 miles long, with a maximum height of 660 feet, and a probable average of 250 feet. NATURE 615 Further proof was obtained of the independent character of the basin north of the watershed in marl deposits at an eleva- tion of 1400 feet above the present Dead Sea level ; these con tain species of AZ/ania and Melanop.is identical with some of those now existing in the fresh portions of the Jordanic ba-in. Hence there is little doubt that we must carry the succe-sive lakes mentioned by Capt. Conder some stages higher than had been supposed previously. It was noted also, as bearing on this sub- ject, that the old marls of the Jordanic lakes are not so unfossil- iferous as M. Lartet would lead us to suppose. Tristram describes one species of Afelania and two of Afe/anopsis as abundant in a semi-fossil condition in several of these old marl deposits. Next comes the consideration of a problem which results from the adoption of the independent lake-basin theory—viz. ‘‘ Since the Dead Sea has no outlet, what has become of the materials that have disappeared?” Seeing that the lateral wadies are, in the main, gorges of erosion, the difficulty is still further enhanced. That there has been some connection in past time between this curious hollow and the voleanic outbursts of the Jaulan, &c., is not improbable ; indeed, it has long been suspected that an explanation of the phenomenon might, in part at least, be found inthis direction. There is a partially analogous case in the meridional trough with it. string of charming lakes, some fresh and some salt, which, Mr. Thompson tells us, extends along the west side of the old East African volcano, Mount Kenia: the fresh-water lake, Baringo, 3200 feet above sea-level, occupies the lowest depression of this great hollow. Til. The suggested Jordan Valley Canal.—The remainder of the paper was occupied in considering the northern section, by which the waters of the Mediterranean are to be admitted into the Jordanic basin, so as to convert it into an inland sea. If taken through the Vale of Esdraelon into the valley of the Jalud (Jezreel), between Little Hermon and the Gilboa range, the length would be about 25 miles, starting from the port of Haifa under Mount Carmel. The height of land is 285 feet, and the mean depth of the cutting to the water-surface would be about 150 feet, without including the depth of the canal itself. The surface of the Vale of Esdraelon consists mainly of Post- Tertiary loams, &c., below which hard limestone, and possibly basalt, would have to be encountered. The alternative of a railway was discussed. CHINESE INSECT-WHITE WAX » PARLIAMENTARY paper which has recently been pub- : lished (China, No. 2, 1885) contains a report of a Journey through Central Sze-chu’an, which was made by Mr. Hosie, consular agent at Chung-king, chiefly for the purpose of collecting information on the subject of msect white wax, specimens of the insect wax-trees, and forms of the wax product, at the request of Sir Joseph Hooker. The report describes the country traversed, its trade and trading capabili- ties, and such information as was attainable on any commercial product of the district ; but the portion relating to insect white wax is the most interesting part of the paper. “Insect tree” is the name given by the Chinese in the extreme west of Sze-chu’an to what is probably the Ligustrum lucidum of botanists. The point will doubtless be decided at Kew by the specimens which Mr. Hosie has sent home. It is also called the winter-green or evergreen tree; while in the east of the province it is known as the ‘‘crackling flea tree,” owing, it is said, to the sputtering of the wood when burned. It is an evergreen, with leaves which spring in pairs from the branches. They are thick, dark green, glossy, ovate, and pointed. In the end of May or beginning of June the tree bears clusters of small white flowers, which give place to small seeds of a dark blue colour. In the month of May, 1883, Mr. Hosie found attached to the bark of the boughs and twigs nume- rous brown pea-shaped excrescences or galls, in various stages of development. In the earlier stages they looked like minute univalves clinging to the bark. The larger galls were readily detachable, and, when opened, presented either a whitey-brown pulpy mass, or a crowd of minute animals, whose move.nents were only just perceptible to the naked eye. Last year an opportunity of examining these galls and their contents with some minuteness in the chief wax-producing locality in the province presented itself. They are very brittle, and there was found, on opening them, a swarm of brown creatures, like minute lice, each with six legs anda pair of club anfenxne, crawling about. The great majority of the galls also contained either 1 small 616 NATURE [April 30, 1885 white bag or cocoon, containing a chrysalis, whose movements were visible through the thin covering, or a small black beetle. This beetle also has six legs, and is provided with a long proboscis, armed with a pair of pincers. It is called by the Chinese the ‘‘ buffalo,” probably from its ungainly appearance. After a few days it turned out that each chrysalis developed into a black beetle, or ‘‘ buffalo.” If left undisturbed in the broken gall, the beetle will, heedless of the wax insects, which begin to craw] outside and inside the gall, continue to burrow with his proboscis and pincers in the inner lining of the gall, which is apparently his food. The Chinese believe that he eats his minute companions in the gall, or at any rate injures them with the pressure of his heavy body, and galls in which beetles are numerous sell cheaper than others. But careful investigation showed that the beetle does not eat the other insects, and that his purpose within the gall is a more useful one. When a gall is plucked from the insect tree an orifice is disclosed where it was attached to the bark. By this the wax insects escape. But if the gall remained attached to the tree no mode of escape would appear to be provided for them. The beetle provides this mode. With his pincers he gradually bores a hole in the covering of the gall, which is of sufficient size to allow him to escape from his imprisonment, and which allows egress at the same time to the wax insects. When the beetles were removed from the galls some of them made efforts to fly ; but at that time their elytre were not sufficiently developed, and they had to content themselves with crawling, a movement which, owing to the long proboscis, they performed very clumsily. ‘Through the orifice thus created by the beetle the insects escape to the branches of the tree, if the gall be not plucked soon enough. When plucked, the galls are carried in headlong flight by bearers who travel through the night for coolness to the market towns, and every endeavour is made to preserve a cool temperature in order that the heat may not force the insects to escape from the galls during the journey. The wax-tree is usually a stump, varying from three or four to a dozen feet in height, with numerous sprouts or branches rising from the gnarled top of the stem. The leaves spring in pairs from the branches. They are light green, ovate, pointed, ser- rated, and deciduous, The branches are rarely found more than six feet in length, as those on which the wax is produced are cut from the stems with it. The sprouts of one and two years’ growth are too pliant, and it is only in the third year, when they are again sufficiently strong to resist the wind, that wax insects are placed on them. In June some of the trees bear bunches apparently of seeds in small pods, and specimens of these hive been sent to Kew. The wax insects are transferred to these trees about the beginning of May. They are made into small packets of twenty or thirty galls, which are inclosed in a leaf of the wood-oil tree, the edges of which are fastened together with rice-straw. These small packets are then suspended close to the branches under which they hang. A few rough holes are made in the leaf by means of a large needle, so that the insects may find their way through them to the branches. On emerging from the galls the insects creep rapidly up the branches to the leaves, where th-y remain for thirteen days, until their mouths and limbs are strong. During this period they are said to moult, casting off ‘‘a hairy garment,” which has grown in this short time. They then descend to the tender branches, on the under sides of which they fix themselves to the bark by their mouths. Gradually the upper surfaces of the branches are also dotted with the insects. They are said not to move from the spots to which they attach themselves. The Chinese idea is that they live on dew, and that the wax perspires from the bodies of the insects. The specimens of the branches encrusted with wax show that the insects construct a series of galleries stretching from the bark to the outer surface of the wax. At an early stage of wax produc- tion an insect called by the Chinese the ‘‘ wax-dog” is deve- loped. Mr. Hosie was unable to obtain a specimen of this insect, but it was described to him as a caterpillar, in size and appearance like a brown bean. His theory (which, he confesses, is unsupported by outside evidence) is that the female of the “*buffalo” beetle, already mentioned, deposits eggs on the bouzhs of the insect tree or the wax tree, as the case may be, and that the ‘‘wax-dog” is the offspring of the buffalo. There may possibly be a connection between this caterpillar and the gall containing the wax insects. It is said that during the night and early morning the insects relax their hold of the bark, and that during the heat of the day they again take firm hold of it. The owners of trees are in the habit, during the first month, of belabour ing the trees with thick clubs to shake off the ‘‘ wax-dog,” which, they assert, destroys the wax insects. After this period the branches are coated with wax, and the ‘‘wax-dog” is conse- quently unable to reach his prey. The first appearance of wax in the boughs and twigs has been likened to a coating of sulphate of quinine. This gradually becomes thicker, until, after a period of from ninety to a hundred days, the wax in good years has attained a thickness of about a quarter of an inch. When the wax is ready, the branches are lopped off, and as much of the wax as possible is removed by hand. This is placed in an iron pot with water, and the wax, rising to the surface at melting-point, is skimmed off and placed in round moulds, whence it emerges as the white wax of commerce. The wax which cannot be removed by hand is placed with the twigs ina pot with water, and the same process is gone through. This latter is less white and of an inferior quality. But the Chinese, with their usual carefulness that nothing be lost or wasted, take the insects, which have meantime sunk to the bottom of the pot, and, placing them in a bag, squeeze them until they have given up the last drop of the wax. They finish their short, industrious existence by being thrown to the pigs. The market price of the wax is about Is. 6d. per pound. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of candles. It melts at 160° F., while tallow melts at about 95°. In Sze-chu’an it is mixed with tallow to give the latter greater consistency, and candles, when made, are dipped in melted white wax to give them a harder sheathing and to prevent the tallow from running over when they are lighted. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The following courses of lectures and practical demon+trations are being given this term :— Physiology, Elementary, by Prof. Foster; Physiology of Circulation and Respiration, Dr. Gaskell; Central Nervous System, Mr. Langley ; Chemical Physiology, Mr. Lea: Prepa- yation Class for 2nd M.B., Mr. Hill. Elementary Biology, Mr. Sedgwick ; Anatomical Characters of the Races of Mankind, Prof. Macalister ; Demonstrations on Topographical Anatomy of the Head -and Neck, Prof. Mac- alister. Morphology and Entomology of Vertebrata, Mr. Sedgwick ; Elementary Osteology and Advanced Course on Arthropoda, Mr. Harmer; Morphology of Vertebrata, Mr. Weldon; De- velopment of Limbs of Vertebrata, Mr. Gadow. Elementary Botany, Prof. Babington ; Morphology of Crypto- gams, with practical work, Elementary and Advanced Courses, Dr. Vines; Demonstrations in Systematic Botany, Mr. Potter ; Morphology of the Flower, Mr. Hicks ; Physiology of Plants, with Demonstrations, Mr. F. Darwin. Geology, Local Stratigraphy, Prof. Hughes; Waves and Tides, Mr. Hill; Principles, Dynamical and Structural, Dr. Roberts ; Irregular Accumulations of Doubtful Age and Origin, Mr. Marr; Paleontology, Wm. T. Roberts: Microscopic Petrology, Mr. Harker ; Field Lectures, Prof. Hughes ; Palze- ontology of Reptiles and Birds, Mr. Gadow. Chemistry, General Equilibrium and the Dissipation of Energy, Prof. Liveing; Organic Chemistry, Mr. Main; Elementary Course, Mr. Pattison Muir; Course for Beginners, Mr. Sell; Gas Analysis, Jacksonian Assistant ; Elementary Organic Chemistry, Mr. Heycock ; Demonstrations, Mr. Sell, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Neville. nd: Physics: Optics, Prof. Stokes; Prof. Thomson, Kinetic Theory of Gases ; Elementary and Advanced Courses, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Glazebrook ; Elementary Physics, Mr. Hart ; Demon- strations, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Glazebrook. Mineralogy, Prof. Lewis ; Demonstration Courses, Mr. Solly. Machine Construction, Mr. Lyon ; Surveying, Demonstrators of Mechanism. Advanced Mathematical Lectures open to the University: Waves, Mr. Glazebrook ; Elastic Solids, Mr. Macaulay ; Solid Geometry, Mr. Ball; Analysis, Dr. Besant ; Laplace’s and Bessel’s Functions, Mr. Pendlebury ; Calculus of Variations, Mr. H. M. Taylor ; Rigid Dynamics, Mr. Webb. April 30, 1885] SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDON Royal Society, April 16.—‘‘ Note on an Experiment by Chladni.”” By Charles Tomlinson, F.R.S. Lord Rayleigh, in a memoir ‘‘On the Circulation of Air in Kundt’s Tubes,” &c., remarks (PAz/. Trans., 1884, part 1, p. I) that ‘‘it was discovered by Savart that very fine powder does not collect itself at the nodal lines, as does sand in the produc- tion of Chladni’s figures, but gathers itself into a cloud, which, after hovering for a time, settles itself over the places of maxi- mum vibration. In Savart’s memoir, ‘‘ Sur les Vibrations Normales” (Az. de Ch. et de Ph. for 1827, xxxvi. 187), the author distinctly claims the above-named discovery. At p. 190 he refers to the nodal lines of Chladni, but adds that by mixing with th2 sand a finer dust, such as lycopodium, ‘‘la poussiére fine se réunit pour tracer d’autre lignes circulaires que ce physicien n’a pas connues,”” &e. Faraday, in his critical examination of Savart’s memoir (PAz/. Trans., 1831, p. 299) apparently takes it for granted that Savart started with an original observation. But this interesting discovery, which has been so fruitful in beautiful results, is really due to Chladni. In his ‘‘ Traité d’Acoustique,” Paris, 1809, he remarks, p. 125 :—‘‘Si un peu de poussiére fine est mélée au sable, elle pourra mieux servir pour faire voir aussi les centres des vibrations, c’est-a-dire, les endroits oti les parties vibrantes font les plus grandes excursions : jes molécules les plus petites de la poussiére s’accumuleront sur ces endroits.” Chladni is even more explicit in his ‘‘ Neue Beytrige zur Akustic” (4to, Leipzig, 1817). At p. 7 he recommends ‘‘ etwas Pulvis lycopodiit” as the fine dust to be mixed with the sand ; and at p. 69 he remarks that when fine dust accumulates on the centres of vibration, it isin heaps more or less round or long, &c., according to the form assumed by the vibrating part. When Wheatstone reproduced Chladni’s figures on square plates (PA. Trans., 1833, p- 593) he did aot notice the re- markable figures produced by mixing a fine powder with the sand. This was the less necessary because Faraday’s memoir had been so recently published, and its conclusion was so satis- factory, namely, that when a plate is vibrating, currents are established in the air lying upon the surface of the plate, which pass from the nodal lines towards the centres of maximum vibration, and then, proceeding outwards from the plate to a greater or less distance, return towards the nodal lines. With the exception of a very few elementary specimens on a small scale, as given by Chladni and Faraday, this class of figures has been neglected by writers on physics. The author then gives directions for the production of these figures when sand and lycopodium, flowers of sulphur, &c., are used, and in a folding sheet twenty-one are represented of plates of various material and form. April 16.—‘‘ On the General Characters of Cymdulia.” By John D. Macdonald, R.N., M.D., F.R.S. The Pteropoda being so purely pelagic in their habit places them out of the reach of zoologists in general ; and even sys- tematic writers, as in other cases, are often misguided by in- correct figures and descriptions made up probably from scanty or defective data, but which have, nevertheless, been handed down to us with a show of truth. The author was impressed with the idea that the figures and descriptions of the species of Cymézdia extant were not reliable ; and haying had an opportunity of examining some specimens taken in the Indian Ocean, he found that such was really the case. In the natural position of the animal the toe of the hyaline slipper of Cyméul/a should be taken as posterior, and the broadly-notched heel as anterior. Both animal and shell are reversed in Mr. Adams’s figure of Cymébulia proboscidea, but this is, after all, an error of less importance than that in De Blainyille’s figure, in which, although the shell is represented in its proper position, the animal is reversed. A pair of eyes are also given in a position where ears alone would be possible, while there is no more evidence of the existence of eyes in Cymébulia than in any other genus of Pteropods. The notion of a ventral connecting lobe between the fins is a mistake, though these organs are connected aboye and behind so as to form a broad, continuous plate. Zoological Society, April 21.—Prof. W. H. Flower, LL.D., V.P.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Sclater ex- NATURE 617 hibited and remarked on a pair of pheasants from Bala Murghab, Northern Afghanistan, belonging to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.—Mr. G. E. Dobson, F.R.S., exhibited some skulls of Crocidura aranea, and pointed out that they possessed supernumerary teeth (premolars) inthe upper jaw.—The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of M. George Claraz, an egg of Darwin’s Rhea ; and read some notes by M. Claraz on the habits and distribution of this Rhea.—Mr. G. A. Boulenger exhibited a specimen of a Brazilian Snake which bad partly swallowed an Amphisbeenoid Lizard. The lizard had in its turn partly eaten its way out through the body of the snake.—A communication was read from Sir Richard Owen, K.C.B., containing re- marks on the structure of the heart in Orn7thorhynchus and in Afpleryx.—Mr, Oldfield Thomas read a paper on the characters of the different forms of the Zchzdna of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, all of which he was inclined to refer to one varying species. —Dr. St. George Mivart, F.R.S., read a memoir on the anatomy, classification, and distribution of the Arctoidean Carnivorous Mammals. The author, after briefly noticing the papers of other naturalists who have of late years treated of this subject, described the main facts concerning the anatomy of the various Arctoid genera, especially as regards their osteology and dentition, and gave detailed comparisons of the proportions of the various parts of the skeleton, comparing them with those of the AEluroids and Cynoids.—Dr. F. H. H. Guillemard, F.Z.S., read the second part of his report on the collection of birds made during the voyage of the yacht Marchesa. The present paper gave an account of the birds collected in Borneo. It also contained notes on some birds obtained on the island of Cagayan Sulu, on the north-east coast of Borneo. Royal Microscopical Society, April 8.—The Rev. Dr. Dallinger, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Crisp exhibited a model of an old microscope described in an Italian work pub- lished in 1686.—Mr. H. G. Madan exhibited and described Bertrand’s polarising prism. He also exhibited a modification of Ahren’s double-image prism.—Mr. Dowdeswell exhibited some septic microbes from high altitudes, and detailed experi- ments as to bacterial germs found at various heights, notably upon the Neisen, at an elevation of about 7500 feet.—Mr. A. D. Michael gave a summary of his paper on ‘‘ New British Oribatidee.” We first called attention to the nymph of Cepheus bifidatus, which he had just discovered ; the species is very rare, and the immature stages were not known. Last September, at Keswick, Mr. Michael found two or three specimens, and instead of preserving them as examples, determined to try and breed from them. He isolated them, and after some weeks obtained a few eggs, from which he reared four larvze ; these he has carefully watched for six months until they had changed to nymphs and become full grown ; he then killed and preserved two specimens of the hitherto unknown nymph, reserving the two others to rear to the imaginal condition. One was lost just before the final change, the other lived. The nymph which was exhibited was a very remarkable and beautiful creature, sur- rounded with concentric rows of curved serrated spines longer then the body. Mr. Michael then called attention to a new species of Hypochthonius, proposed to be called H. lanatus. The abdomen is segmented, and the segments are to a certain extent retractile, as in many insects ; this enables the creature to erect or lower the long spines attached to the edges of the segments at will.—An interesting new species, to be called Motasfis serratus, abundantly provided with long serrated hairs, and a curious nymph of a Dameus, to be called D. terupes, which carries its cast dorsal skins in a pyramid on its back, like a pile of dish covers, and has a central projection on each skin, forming a column to support the whole, were also shown and described, besides other new species. —Mr. Crisp called attention to some very interesting experiments by Dr. Nussbaum and Dr. Gruber, on the artificial division of infusoria. Dr. Nussbaum divided an Oxytricha into two halves, either longitudinally or transversely, and found the edges at the point of division were soon sur- rounded with new cilia. Dr. Gruber artificially divided Stenter ceruleus with similar results.—Mr. C. H. Kain’s letter on the use of balsam of Tolu was read.—Mr. H. Mills’s note on the filamentous projections on the margin of the diatom (Stephano- discus niagar@) was read, and slides in illustration were exhibited, —Mr. G. C. Karop remarked on an examination he had recently made of the saliva in a case of hydrophobia. The specimens presented the following characters .—Epithelium in large masses, most of the cells crowded with micrococci; bacilli of various lengths, and very variable in diameter. A few showed evidence 618 NATURE [ April 30, 1885 of spore formation, and were surrounded by a capsule. Micro- cocci abundant in masses, diplococci and short chaplets. He also exhibited a drawing of the bacilliimMr. J. Mayall, jun., exhibited the diamonds belonging to the ruling machine of the late F, A. Nobert, a typical one being shown under the micro- scope by Mr. Powell. They had been submitted to various diamond experts and workers with conflicting results, but the careful examination made by Mr. L. Fletcher of the British Museum with the goniometer, showed that in nearly every instance the edges were formed by one natural fracture and one polished face.—-Mr. Hardy exhibited a colony of Vorticellz, having the stalks agglutinated in a bundle, and covered with transparent gelatinous matter. It was found erect on leaves in colonies of 50 to 100, and appearing when loose very like large conochilus.—Mr. Cheshire exhibited a remarkable slide showing conductive nerve-threads escaped from the sheath of the ganglionic chain running through the first three segments of the abdomen of Vesfa vulgaris. Chemical Society April 16.—Dr. W. H. Perkin, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—The following papers were read :-— A crystalline tricupric sulphate, by W. H. Shenstone.—A modi- fied Bunsen burner, by W. H. Shenstone.—Note on the history of Thionyl Chloride, by C. Schorlemmer, F.R.S.—On the reactions of selerious acid with hydrogen sulphide and of sulphurous acid with hydrogen selenide, by E. Divers and T. Shimidzu.—On a new and simple method of quantitative separation of tellurium and selenium, by E. Divers and M. Shimoseé. ; PARIS Academy of Sciences, April 20.—M. Bouley, President, in the chair.—Account of a new process for liquefying oxygen, by M. L. Cailletet. This process, the result of experiments recently conducted in the Physical Laboratory of the Sorbonne, is so simple and of such easy application that it may henceforth be introduced into the ordinary practice of the laboratory, and even repeated at lectures and before public audiences.—On the various hypotheses regarding the true nature of the purple of Cassius, by M. H. Debray.—Remarks on M. Poincare’s theory respecting the influence of the lunar tides on the trade winds, by M. Faye. It is suggested that M. Poincaré should be invited to give wider scope to his studies in this branch of meteorology, with a view to more fully testing the law that he has already deduced from his remarkable observations.—Note on the differ- ences apparently presented by the various regions of the gray cerebral substance known as psycho-motor centres, as rejards their different degrees of excitability, by M. Vulpian. ‘The author rejects Piliiger’s hitherto generally accepted theory, and, from further experiments carried out on the dog, arrives at totally different results.—Nebulz discovered and recorded at the Ob- servatory of Marseilles, by M. E. Stephan. The nebulz ob- served at this observatory during the years 1883-84 are here arranged in tables showing the order and date of their dis- covery, right ascension, and mean polar distance for 1885. —Experiments recently made in Holland on an applica- tion of the system of large movable tubes of the pumping apparatus constructed at the sluice-gates on the Aubors River, by M. A. de Caligny.—Explorations of the mission sent to report on the recent earthquakes in the south of Spain, by M. Fouquet. Pending the publication of a complete memoir, a summary is here given of the observations made on the scene of the disturbances, with a view to determining their extent, effects, and probable origin. —On the geological constitution of the Serrania de Ronda, which occupies the western section of the region chiefly affected by the earthquake of December 25, 1884, in Andalusia ; report by MM. Michel Lévy and J. Bergeron.— On the Secondary and Tertiary formations of Andalusia (pro- vinces of Grenada and Malaga), report by MM. M. Bertrand and W. Kilian.—On the geological constitution of the Sierra Nevada, the Alpujarras, and Sierra de Almijara, report by MM. Ch. Barrois and Alb. Offret.—On the rotation of a heavy body suspended by a point of its axis, by M. Halphen. In this paper the author completes Jacobi’s theory that the rotatory movement of a heavy body around a point of its axis may be replaced by the relative movement of two bodies “on which no accelerating force is exercised.—On the equilibrium of a liquid mass to which a rotatory movement has been com- municated, by M. H. Poincaré.—Application of the empirical formula of mutual forces to the mechanical laws of solids and the general properties of bodies, by M. P. Berthot. — Note on two new indicators for taking the quantitative analysis . 4B reBel ay) MITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIE: ST 3 9088 01359 6275