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AARRAR AR AAA AAAAAAAn sane ee = ee BR i / AAW Vay Vn A fea’ EX RANANAAS aaaaAa, A a4 Ay “An \annnnn hme cennt a AAA Ae Wer a fe A /» fr A INASN P YY. VV YAMA ve A a | AAAAAA i = / “hy Nature A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE V.OLU Mae gax XII NOVEMBER 188 to APRIL_ 1886 “ To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.’—WorDSWORTH London and New jork MAGMILLAN-AND CO. 1886 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX AAs, Fire-ball observed in the District of, 375 , Abel (Sir Frederick, F.R.S.) : Explosions in Coal-Mines, 108, 138 ; Coal-Dust and Explosions, 417 Abercromby (Hon. Ralph): Meteoric Dust, 16; Clouds and Upper Wind-Currents over the Atlantic Doldrums, 294 ; Upper Wind-Currents in the South Indian Ocean and over the N.W. Monsoon, 460; Sunrise Shadow of Adam’s Peak, Ceylon, 532; Protective Influence of Black Colour from Light and Heat, 559 Aberdeen, Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies of the British Association held at, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 81 Abney (Capt. W. de W., F.R.S.), Photographing the Corona, 5 Aeorcties of Formosa, G. Taylor, 612 Absorption-Spectrum of Oxygen, 89 Acclimatisation of Europeans in the Tropics, the Question of, 464 2 Acoustics : a New Musical Instrument, Prof. Guthrie, 335 Adam’s Peak, Ceylon, Sunrise Shadow of, Hon. Ralph Aber- cromby, 532 Adamson (Prof, R.), Text-Book of Political Economy, Francis A. Walker, 457 Aérolite in Naples, Supposed Fall of an, Dr. H. J. Johnston- Lavis, 153; Fall of Huge, in Pennsylvania, 183 Aéronautics : a Stray Balloon, 99; the Navigable Balloon, M. Renard, 421; Aérial Navigation, Dr. William Pole, F.R.S., 444; Les Aérostats dirigeables, B. de Grilleau, 460. See also Balloons Affinity and Solution, Chemical, W. Durham, 615 Afghan Boundary Commission, Natural History and the, 88 Africa: Statistics of African Travel, 280; Lieut. Wissmann’s Exploration of the Congo District, 377 ; Objects Collected by Romolo Gessi in East Central, 468 ; Major Serpa Pinto’s Ex- pedition, 521 ; Capello and Ivens’s Explorations, 593 ; German African Society, 593 After-Glows in Scandinavia, 137 After-Images, 270 Agardh (J. G.), Till Algernes Systematik, 458 _ Agaricus, Dr. Cooke’s Illustrations of, 464 Agassiz (Louis), his Life and Correspondence, Arch, Geikie, F.R.S., 289 Agassiz (Prof.), Harvard College Museum Report, 462 Agassiz and Whitman, the Pelagic Stages of Young Fishes, 469 Agriculture: Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 218 ; Third Annual Report of the New York Agricultural Experi- ment Station for the Year 1884, Prof. John Wrightson, 243 ; Origin of Agriculture, 599 Air: the Coefficient of the Viscosity of, Herbert Tomlinson, 403; Law of the Resistance of the, to the Motion of Pro- jectiles, Rev. F. Bashforth, 604 Air-Columns, Experiments on Sounding, Prof, Neesen, 95 Air-Cure, the, in China, 465 Airy (Sir G. B., F.R.S.), Integer Numbers of the First Cen- tenary, satisfying the Equation 4? = 5? + C*, 532 Aitchison (Surgeon), Return of, 88 Aitken (Mr.), on Dew, 256 Alabama Weather Service Papers, 160 Alaska: Exploration by Lieut. Allen of, 91; Notes on the ‘« Muir Glacier” of, G. W. Lamplugh, 299 ; Lieut. Chauncey Thomas, 441; Glacier Bay in, G. W. Lamplugh, 461 Algz, Till Algernes Systematik, J. G. Agardh, 458 Algebra, Elementary, Chas. Smith, 413 Algebraical Forms, Prof. J. J. Sylvester's Lecture on, 88 Algeria: Earthquake in, 137, 161, 184, 327; Lions, Tigers, &c., killed in, 303 Allen (Lieut.), Exploration of Alaska by, 91 Allen (Grant), Charles Darwin, Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 147 Alnwick, Artesian Wells near, 349 Alphabet, Roman, the Use of the, in Japan, 136 Alpine Climbing, Observations on the Physiological Effects of, M. Vernet, 18 Alpine Lakes: Depths of, Dr. F. A. Forel, Wollaston, 195 ; Temperature of Germany, 375 Alps, the Ice Age and the Northern Alpine Slopes, 348 Alps, Tourist’s Guide to the Flora of the, Prof. K. W. v. Dalla-Torre, 557 aera (Ural), M. Yadrintzeff on Civilisation among the, 103 Amateurs, Observatories for, Hints on the Construction and Equipment of, G. F. Chambers, 56 Amazon Expedition, Proposed Scientific, by M. Eugéne Aubert, 64 Amber-digging in Prussia, 18 America: the Discovery of Ancient Sculptures in Guatemala, Vreeland and Brandsford, 17; Attempts to obtain Records of Earth Tremors from the Flood Rock Explosion, Profs. Men- denhall and Paul, 39 ; Central American Coleoptera, Vol. I. b 1Dye, (G5 1 iv INDEX Part 1, by H. W. Bates, F.R.S., 77; Effect upon Wild Animals of Settlement of North America, E. Ingersoll, 89 ; American Geographical Society, 89; American Naturalist, 119, 548; Earthquakes in, 278 ; American Journal of Science, 285, 332, 548; Vicomte de Brette’s Explorations in Southern Grand Chaco, 468 ; American Journal of Mathematics, 531 ; Bird-Murder in, Prof. R. Bowdler Sharpe, 553 Ammonium Carbamate, on the Limited Hydration of, H, J. H. Fenton, 262 Amniota, Remarks on the Cloaca and on the Copulatory Organs of the, Dr. Hans Gadow, 573 Amu-Daria River, Information concerning the Former Bed of the, Baron Kaulbars, 611 Analysis, Technical Gas, Clemens Winkler, 603 Analytical Geometry, a Treatise on, J. Casey, F.R.S., 172 Analytical Index, Want of, in Geographical Books, 378 Anatomy of the Nettle, A. Gravis, 363 Anatomy and Embryology, Microscopical, Methods of Research in, C. O. Whitman, 243 Anchor Frosts, T. Hands, 246; Dr. J. Rae, F.R.S., 269 Anderson (J. W.), Prospector’s Hand-book, 317 Anderson (W.), Pictorial Arts of Japan, F. V. Dickins, 386 Andes, Peruvian, Flora of the, John Ball, 70 Andrews (Prof. Thomas, F.R.S.), Death of, 105 ; Obituary Notice of, 157 ; on the Properties of Matter in Gaseous and Liquid States under Various Conditions of Temperature and Pressure, 550 Andries (Dr.), on Accidents from Lightning in Germany, 425 Andromeda, Spectrum of the Great Nebula in, 42; New Star in the Great Nebula in, Prof. Seeliger, 397; Parallax of Nova Andromede, Prof. Asaph Hall, 566 Anemometers, some Results of Observations with Kite-Wire Suspended, up to 1300 feet above the Ground in 1883-85, E, Douglas Archibald, 593 Anemometry, Prof. Neesen, 95 Animal, An, Can it Count ?, Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 80 Animal Life on the Farm, Prof. G. T. Brown, 292 Animal Life, Marvels of, Chas. F. Holder, 532 Animals: Thermic Sense in, 209; White Varieties of, in Germany, 302; Ferocity of, Unus, 560; F. H. Collins, 583 ; Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 604; Wanderings of Plants and, Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, Victor Hehn, 170 Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 356, 523 Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for the Year 1883, 126 Antedon phalangium, P. V1. Carpenter on Variations of Cirri in, 165 ; Anthropology: Dr. Paul Topinard’s ‘‘Eléments d’Anthro- pologie Générale,” Dr. J. G. Garson, 3; Anthropology in America, 17 ; Dr. Studer on Skulls found in the Pile-Dwellings of the Lake of Bienne, 17; Anthropology in France, 18 ; F. Galton, F.R.S., on Anthropology, 94 ; Anthropological Insti- tute, 94, 167, 190, 334, 382, 406, 598; the Races of Britain, John Beddoe, Chas. Roberts, 217 ; Proposed Anthropological Exhibition, 276; Anthropological Society, 527, 551; J. W. Powell on the Growth of Barbarism and Civilisation from the Savage State, 537 : Antimony, Salts of, Reciprocal Action of Hydrochloric and Hydrosulphuric Acids and, Berthelot, 287 Apatite in Norway, Discovery of, Herr Enoksen, 40 ; Discovery of, in Stavanger, 137 Apes, Lumbar Curve in Man and, Prof. D. J. Cunningham, Apnoea of the Foetus, Prof. Zuntz on, 143 Appendicularia, Distribution of, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 461 ; Prof. W. C. McIntosh, 514 Aquarium, New, at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 182, 495 Arabia, Kinship and Marriage in Early, W. Robertson Smith, Andrew Lang, 529 Arago, Centenary of the Birth of, 254, 301, 383; Arago Labo- ratory, 44 Archer (F.), Stone Implements and Changes of Level in the Nile Basin, 317 Archibald (E. Douglas): Universal Secular Weather Periods, 525 some Results of Observations with Kite-Wire Suspended Anemometers up to 1300 feet above the Ground in 1883-85, 593; the Krakatao Dust-Glows of 1883-84, 604 Archives Italiennes de Biologie, 189, 380, 619 {Nature, Fune 2, 1886 Arctic Expedition, Lecture by Lieut. Greely on his, go Arctic Regions, Botany of the, Buysman, 550 Arctic Service, Three Years of, Adolphus W, Greely, 481 Argentine Republic, Dr. Gould’s Work in the, 9 Argostoli, Sea-Mills at, J. Lloyd Thomas, 129; L. Frieder- ichsen, 154 Arithmetic, Principles of, Homersham Cox, 29 Arithmetic, Practical, on an entirely New Method, John Jack- son, 29 Armagh Observatory, 498 Arsonval’s (D’) Water-Microscope, Crisp, 70 Art, Pictorial, of Japan, F. V. Dickins, 418 Artesian Well near Alnwick, 349 Artiodactyla in the British Museum, 365 Artist’s Manual of Pigments, H. C. Standage, 530 Aseismatic Tables, 438 Asia Minor, Earthquakes in, 161, 184 Asia, Central: Prjevalsky’s Explorations in, 283; his Fourth Journey to, 468 ; Potanin’s Expedition to, 539 Asiatic Society, Journal of the, 209 Asiatic Society of Bengal, Journal of, 234 Astacidz, Faxon on the, 519 Asteroid Orbits, Relation of, to that of Jupiter, Prof. H. A. Newton, 592 Astronomy : Astronomical Phenomena for the Week, 18, 43, 62, 90, 107, 138, 162, 185, 211, 236, 256, 279, 304, 328, 350, 377, 398, 426, 451, 466, 498, 519, 538, 567, 592, 613 ; Our Astro- nomical Column, 42, 89, 107, 161, 184, 210, 235, 256, 279, 303, 328, 350, 376, 397, 425, 450, 466, 498, 518, 538, 566, 592, 612; Astronomical Prizes of the Paris Academy of Sciences, 235; Photography as a Means of Discovery in Astronomy, Janssen, 287 ; New Method of Determining the Amount of Astronomical Refraction, 303 ; Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century, Agnes M. Clerke, Sir Robert S. Ball, F.R.S., 313; the Story of Biela’s Comet, Prof. H. A. Newton, 392, 418; the Apparent Movements of the Planets and the Principal Astronomical Phenomena for the Year 1886, W. Peck, 438; Astronomical Work for Amateurs, 449; Astronomical Directory, M. Lancaster, 538; the Pleiades, Miss A. M. Clerke, 561 ; Proposed Change in the Astronomical Day, M. Raoul Gautier, 592 Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam, 376 Atkinson (A. S.), the Late Total Eclipse, 175 Atlantic Doldrums, Clouds and Upper Wind-Currents over the, Hon. Ralph Abercomby, 294 Aubel (E. van), on the Influence of Magnetism on Polarisation in the Dielectrics, 332 Aubert (M. Eugene), Proposed Scientific Expedition to the Amazon by, 64 Auer (Dr.), New Gaslight, 208 Aurigee, Parallax of y°, Herr W. Schur, 612 Aurora, H. Fritsch, 559 Aurora Borealis in Norway, 397 Auroric Displays in Ireland, 537 Australia: Australian Lyre Bird, Alfred Morris, 30 ; Drawings of Australian Fish at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 2335; Australian Grasses at the Indian and Colonial Exhibi- tion, 301; Australian Museum, Sydney, 355; Sponges of Australia, 359 Austria, Meteorology in, 40 Austria, Upper, Shamanism in, Dr. Zehden, 211 Austria, Dr. A. B. Meyer on the Prehistoric Settlements of Gurina, 517 Autopsy Society, 396 Aveling (Dr. E. B.), Chemistry of the Non-Metallics, 557 Ayrton (Prof. W. E.), Note on Ramsay and Young’s Paper on some Thermodynamical Relations, 334 Backhouse (Thos. W.) : Iridescent Clouds and their Height, 199, 486 ; Fabry’s Comet, 366 Bacteriological Research, Dr. Klein, F.R.S., 405 Bacteriorology, Practical, Edgar M. Crookshank, 361 Baffin’s Land, Dr. Boas’s Journeys in, 211 Bagamoyo, a Shower of Stars seen at, 424 Bagnall (Jas. E.), Hand-book of Mosses, 557 Baily (Walter), on a Map of the World in which the Propor- tion of Areas is Preserved, 479 Bakhuyzen (H. G. Van de Sande), the Rotation-Period of Mars, 42, 153 Naluré, Fune 3, 1886) INDEX Vv Balkhash, Lake, Fish-Fauna of, Nikolsky, 327 Ball (Sir Robert S., F.R.S.): Elliptic Space, 86; the Story of the Heavens, 124; Astronomy during the Nineteenth Cen- tury, Agnes M. Clerke, 313 Balloons: Ballooning in France, 88 ; Stray Balloon, Gen. Sir J. H. Lefroy, F.R.S., 99; Navigable Balloon, M. Renard on, 421; Aérial Navigation, Dr. William Pole, F.R.S., 444. See also Aéronautics 3ambeke (Ch. Van), on Heredity, 520 Bamboo, Square, Dr. D. J. Macgowan, 560 Banded Spectra, Stars with, N. C. Dunér, Miss A. M. Clerke, 583 Bark Bread, 429 Barnard’s Comet, 185, 236, 256, 426, 466, 518; Barnard and Fabry’s Comets, 376 Barnstaple, Remarkable Meteor near, 327 Barometer: History of the, W. Ellis, 551 ; Exhibition of Baro- meters at the Royal Meteorological Society, 347, 449, 515 Barometric Pressure in the Tropics, D, A. Woeikof, 342 Barometrical Investigations, Dr. Grunnach, 480 Baron (Rev. R.), Notes on the Volcanic Phenomena of Central Madagascar, 415 Barral (M.) and Wife, Murder of, by the Danakils, 612 Barrett (Prof. W. F.), Fog-Penetrating Power of Double Quadri- form Burner, 335 Barton (Catherine), Newton: His Friend: Augustus De Morgan, 557 Basalt Rocks of Mull, the, J. Starkie Gardner, 285 Basalts, Gabbros, and Dolerites of the Tertiary Age, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 263 Bashforth (Rev. F’.), Law of the Resistance of the Air to the Motion of Projectiles, 604 Basic Cinder, Prof. Wrightson and Dr. Munro, 595 Bassia parkit, the Gutta-percha of Heckel and Schlagden- hauffen, 120 Bates (EE. F.), November Meteors, 104 Bates (H. W., F.R.S.), Central American Coleoptera, Vol. I., Barter, 7.7 Bathy-hypsographical Maps, E, G. Ravenstein, 280 Batrachian Larvee, Histological Studies of, Prof. A. Kolliker, and His Niece, 473 Beauregard (M. O.), on the Common Origin of Malays and Dravidians, 549 Bechuanaland, Condition of Natives in, Capt. Conder, 552 Becker (G. F.), Theorem of Maximum Dissipativity, 548; a New Law of Thermo-Chemistry, 548 Beddard (F. E.), on the Visceral Anatomy of Birds, 93 Beddoe (John), the Races of Britain, Chas. Roberts, 217 Bedford Ladies’ College, 93 Bee-Cells, Structure of, Dr. Miillenhoff, 407 ee’s Cell, Kepler’s Description of the Structure of the, Dr. Miillenhoff, 623 Bees and other Hoarding Insects, 64 Beetle, Longicorn, Ravages on Orange-Trees of Larve of, Macleay, 23 Beetles in New Zealand, 191 Behring Island, Leonard Stejneger, 44 Behriny’s Sea, Stejneger’s Expeditions in, 136 Behr Straits, the Fox in the, 136; the Field-Mouse in the, 13 Belgian Fossils, E. Dupont, 333 Belgium, Steel Railway-Sleepers in, 41 Belgium, the King of, Prize for Scientific Essay, 516 Belknap (G. E.), Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Observatory, 330 Bell (Prof. F. Jeffrey), Zoological Record, 1884, 341 Beloit College Observatory, A. L. Chapin, 81 Beman (Prof.), of the University of Michigan, U.S., Boole , Justified and Monge Reinstated in his Rights by, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 581 Ben Nevis: Measurement of Movements of the Earth with Reference to Proposed Earthquake-Observations on, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 68 ; Observatory, 159 ; Rainfall on, 347 ; Weather Reports, 464; Rainband Observations on, Mr. Kankin, 622 ; Rainfall and Winds at, Mr. Omond, 622 Benda (Dr.), Spermatogenesis, 623 Beneden (Prof. P. J. Van), Jubilee of his Professorship, 396 Benefits which Society Derives from Universities, D. C, Gil- man, 281, 305 Benham (W. B.), Studies on Earthworms, 547 Bennett (Alf. W.), Symbiosis between Fungi and the Roots of Flowering Plants, 212 3ennett (Peter D.), Tensile Tests of Iron and Steel Bars, 351 Beobachtungen iiber die Dammerung insbesondere iiber das Purpurlicht und Seine Beziehungen zum Bishop’schen Sonnen- ring, 483 Berlin: Dr. Borsch on Seismic Oscillations observed in, 71 ; Rain-Gauzes in, 72; Meteorological Society of, 72, 384, 408 ; Physical Society, 95, 287, 312, 432, 480, 527, 552; Physio- logical Society, 143, 215, 360, 407, 576, 623 ; Destruction of Three Tall Chimneys by Gun-cotton in, 208; Proposed Anthropological Exhibition, 276 ; Anthropological Society of, 464; Academy of Sciences, 278; Ethnographical Museum, 327 ; Geographical Society of, 399, 521 ; the Squall of January , 528 Bernard (Claude) on the Glycogenic Function of the Liver, 122 ; Statue of, 347 Bert (Paul) :: and the Promotion of Science in Tonquin, 278 ; and the Paris Academy of Sciences, 347; Farewell Address of, 383 Berthelot : Action of Argillaceous Clays in Fixing Free Atmo- spheric Nitrogen in Plants, 24; on Reciprocal Action of Hydrochloric and Hydrosulphuric Acids and the Salts of Antimony, 287 Bertin on the Ethnological Position of the Bushmen, 375 Bertrand (M.) Eloge on Dumas, 159 Beryl of Gle icullen, 191 Beverages, Effects on Digestion of various, 326 Bibliography of Protozoa, Sponges, Coelenterata, and Worms, &c., D’Arcy W. Thompson, 174 Bicycling, Dynamics of, 455 Bidwell (Shelford), on Iron Wires under Tension, 597 Biela’s Comet, the Story of, Prof. H. A. Newton, 392, 418 Bienne (Lake of), Skulls found in Pile-Dwellings of, Dr. Studer, 17 Binary Star y Corone Australis, 425 Binary Star B Delphini, 518 Biological Notes, 329, 398, 367, 519 Biological Research, Italian Aid to, Prof. Trinchese, Prof. Todaro, Prof. Passerini, Prof. Giglioli, Lieut. Chierchia, and Prof, Dohrn, 52 Birch (Dr. Samuel, F.S.A.), Death of, 207 Birds: Bird, Australian Lyre, Alfred Morris, 30; South Ame- rican Bird Music, W. H. Hudson, 199; Bird-Murder, Prof. R. Bowdler Sharpe, 553; the Visceral Anatomy of Birds, F, E. Beddard, 93; Blackbird with White Feather, J. J. Murphy, 176; J. Busk, 222; E. Brown, 222 ; A. S. Mathews, 269; British Cage-Birds, R. L. Wallace, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412; History of British Birds, Henry Seebohm, 453 ; Method of Watching the Embryo Growth in Birds’ Eggs, Prof. Gerlach, 497 Birmingham, Science Teaching in, 182 Birmingham Philosophical Society, 431 ‘Bishop's Ring,” Edward F. Taylor, 533 Bismarck Archipelago, Official Names of Places in, 186 Black Colour, Protective Influence of, from Light anl [eat, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 559 Black Sea, Winds on Shores of, Spindler, 184 Black-lime of China, 590 Blackberry Blossoms in November, J. J. Murphy, 31 Blackbird with White Feather, J. J. Murphy, 176; Thos, J. Busk, 222; E. Brown, 222; A. S. Mathews, 269 Blake (W. P.), Meteorite found in Tennessee, 332 Blakesley (Thos. H.), Alternating Currents of Electricity, 243 Blanchard (Prof. R.), Traité de Zoologie Médicale, 174 Blanford (H. F., F.R.S.), on the Winter Rains of Northern India, 234 Blood, on the Coagulation of, Ernst Freund, 395 Blossoms, Blackberry, in November, J. J. Murphy, 31 Blumentritt (Prof.), the Caroline Islands, 44 ; on the Tribe of Guinaus of Abra in Luzon, 378 M Boas (Dr.), Journeys in Baffin Land, 211 Bodies at Low Temperatures, Prof. Langley on the [mission- Spectra of, 426 vi INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Bohrman (J.), on the Heating of the Glass of Condensators in consequence of the alternative Electrisation, 548 Boiteau (P.), Phylloxera, 336 Boletin of Geographical Society of Madrid, 108 Bombus, Nocturnal Hymenoptera of the Genus, Marquis G. Doria, 392; Jno. C. Wilson, 487 Bommel6 Gold-Mines, the, Reusch, 17 Bone-Caves in North Wales, Recent Researches in, Henry Hicks, F.R.S., and W. Davies, 166 Boole Justified and Monge Reinstated in His Rights by Prof. Beman, of the University of Michigan, U.S., Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 581 Borings: in Kent, 190 ; in Oxfordshire, 191 ; at Dover, William Whitaker on, 269 Borneo, North, Frank Hatton, 267 Bornholm, Island of, the Antiquities of, 208 Borsch (Dr.), on Seismic Oscillations observed in Berlin, 72 Botany, 23, 3333 Action of Argillaceous Clays in fixing Free Atmospheric Nitrogen in Plants, 24; Candolle Prize, 88 ; Return of M. Moller, 913; Botanical Gazette, 164; The Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the U.S., Leo Lesquereux, J. Starkie Gardner, 196 ; the Nival Flora of Switzerland, 206 ; Report on the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, 234 ; Botani- cal Results of the Challenger Expedition, 338 ; Botany of the Rocky Mountain Region, Dr. John M. Coulter, 433; the Saharunpur Botanical Gardens, J. F. Duthie, 539; Botany of the Arctic Regions, Buysman, 550; Botany of the Naga Hills, C. B. Clarke, 550; Plants Considered in Relation to their Environment, 607 Bottomley (J. T.), Radiation of Heat from the same Surface at different Temperatures, 85, IOI Boulenger (Geo. Albert), Catalogue of Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History), 316 Bouley (M.), Death of, 105 Bourne (G. C.), on the Anatomy of Sphzrotherium, 120 Bow, Mist-, 366 Boys (C. V.), Right-Footed Parrot, 8; Machine for the Solu- tion of Equations, 166 Brachial Plexus, on the Minute Anatomy of the, W. P. Herring- ham, 620 Brachiopoda, Recent, Dr. Thos. Davidson, 70 ; Sense-Organs of, 191 Bradshaw (Henry), Obituary Notice of, 366 Brain, Human, Broca on the Weight of, 425 Brandsford (Dr.), the Discovery of Ancient Sculptures in Guate- mala, 17 Brandis (Herr von), the Volcano Merapi in Java, 468 Brazza (M. de), Exploration of the French Congo, 304 Bread, Bark, 429 Breitenlohner (Dr.), Respective Heights of the Meteorological Stations of Europe, 610 Bremen Geographical Society, 44 Bremen Natural History Society, Formation of a Rutenberg Fund at, 375 Brettes (Vicomte de), Explorations in Southern Grand Chaco, 468 : Bright Lines in Stellar Spectra, 161 Brilliant Meteor, John Stevenson, 176 Britain, the Races of, John Beddoe, Chas. Roberts, 217 British Association, Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies of the, held at Aberdeen, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 81; the 1886 Meeting at Birmingham, 276 British birds, History of, Henry Seebohm, 463 British Cage-Birds, R. L. Wallace, W. B. ‘legetmeier, 412 British Islands, Rainfall of the, 353 British Museum: Prof. Douglas’s Catalogue of Printed Maps and Charts in, 63 ; Catalogue of Lizards in the (Natural History), Geo. Albert Boulenger, 316; Catalogue of Fossil Mam- malia in the, Richard Lydekker, 365 ; Ethnological Collec- tion at, 565 British Myzostoma, New, P. Herbert Carpenter, F.R.S., 8 British Zoophytes, A. S. Pennington, 149 Broca Memorial, the, 88 Broca on the Weight of the Human Brain, 425 Brodie (Rev. O. G.), on Two Rheetic Sections in Warwickshire, 51 Bek, Relation of Yolk to Blastoderm in Fish-Ova, 335 Bbrook-Trout, the Value of, in England, 425 ; Brooks, W. K.), Artificial Propagation of Oysters, 329 Brown (E.), Blackbird with White Feather, 222 eae Brown (Edwin Ormond), Death of, 160 Brown (Prof. G. T.), Animal Life on the Farm, 292 Brown (J. Croumbie, LL.D.), Forests and Forestry in Poland, 27 Bruce’s (E. S.) System of Military Signalling, 41 Bruxelles, Tableaux-Résumés des Observations Faites 4, A. Lan- caster, 390 Bryant (Mrs.), School-Children as Observers, 94 Buchanan (J. Y.), Surveying at St. Thomas, 495 Bucharest, Earthquake in, 425 Buckland Museum Collection, 88 Buckland Museum, Incubation of Salmonidz at the, 210 Bulletin de ’ Académie Royale de Belgique, 23, 213, 332, 524, 572, 620 Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission for 1884, 38 Bulletin of Belgian Society of Geography, 108 Bulletins de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, 548 Bunge’s (Dr.) Exploration to New Siberian Islands, 539 Burgbrohl (Rhine), Natural Supply of Carbonic Acid Gas at, 17 Burma, as it was, as it is, and as it will be, James George Scott, 530 Burn (Robert Scott), Systematic Small Farming, 266 Bushe (Col. C. K.), Friction and Molecular Structure, 199 Bushmen, Mr. Bertin on the Ethnological Position of the, 375 Busk (J.), Blackbird with White Feather, 222 Butter, Vaseline as a Substitute for, 450 Butterflies : European, W. F. de Vismes Kane, R. McLachlan, F.R.S., 171; Longevity of, 183; in Ceylon, Migration of, 277; an Enterprising Butterfly, Danais archippus, 467 Biittner (Dr.), Death of, 2118 Buysman (M.), Botany of the Arctic Regions, 550 Cage-Birds, British, R. L. Wallace, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Calcareous Formations of the Solomon Group, Observations on the Recent, H. B. Guppy, 202 Calculus of Variations, a Treatise on the, L. B. Carll, 51 Calculus, Differential and Integral, an Introduction to the, with Examples of Application to Mechanical Problems, W. J. Millar, 99 Calculus, Differential and Integral, A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., Major Allan Cunningham, 412 Calcutta, Report on the Royal Botanic Garden, 234 California, Ravages by Sea-Lions on Fish in, J. D, Reading, 41 California, University of, 61 Calidste gouldi, Sclater, 93 Calorimetrical Thermometers, 405 Cambodia, Ascent of Meikong Rapids by Commander Reveillére, gl Cambridge, Award of the Smith Prizes, 93 Cambridge Philosophical Society, 168 Cameron, William, an Honorary Colonial Explorer, 18 Cameroon, Exploration of, 399 Canada: Cretaceous Floras of, Sir William Dawson, F.R.S., 31; Agriculture in, 218; Ancient Mounds in, 279; Fish Culture in, 302, 303; French Language in, 497 Candolle Prize, 88 Cane-Sugar, Mahwa Flowers as a Source of, Prof. A. H, Church, 343 Cantoni (Prof. Gaetano), on the Grape-Vine Mildew, 473 Cape, Phylloxera at the, 392 Capello and Ivens (MM.), Proposed Money Grant to, 44 Caporali (Prof. ), on P-ychis, 62 ; Nuova Scienza, on the Modern School of Metaphysicians, 611 Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen, Traube on Chemical Results of Explosion of, 63 Carbonic Acid Gas, Natural Supply of, near Burgbrohl (Rhine), I ciate Acid in Air, Measurements of, Spring and Roland, 18 Caen Oxide, Action of Steam on, H. B. Dixon, 286 Cardiff, Proposed Medical Faculty and Engineering School at, 6 505 Carhart (H. S.), Relation between Direct and Counter Electro- motive Forces expressed by an Hyperbola, 548 Carlisle (Bishop of), Weather Forecasts, 79 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX Vil Carll (L. B.), a Treatise on the Calculus of Variations, 51 Carnivora in Finland, 184 Caroline Islands, the, Prof. Blumentritt, 44 Carpenter (Alf.), Recent Star-Shower, 221 Carpenter (Dr. W. B., F.R.S.), Death of, 39 ; Obituary Notice of, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 83 Carpenter (P. Herbert, F.R.S.), New British Myzostoma, 8 ; on Variations of Cirri in Antedon phalangium, 165 ; Report on the Crinoidea, 409 Carroll (Lewis), a Tangled Tale, Dr. A. R. Willis, 389 Cartailhac (Emile), on Human Crania found in Cave of Nabriguas, 120 Carter (W. August), Ferocity of Rats, 533 Cartographical Work in Russia in 1884, 9 Casey (J., F.R.S.), a Treatise on Atala Geometry, 172 Cashmere, Earthquakes in, 62 Caspian Sea, Drying up of the Steppes around, 520 Castell-Evans (Jno.), Variable Stars, 486 Castilloa elastica, Sir J. D. Hooker, F.R.S Cat, a Horrified, E. J. Dungate, 487 Cattle Plague in Russia, 496 Cave of Nabriguas, on Human Crania found in, Emile Cartailhac, 120 Caye-Dwellings in Saxony, 303 Cazeneuve and Lépine, Safranine and Fuchsine in Colouring Wines, 95 Cecil (Henry), Frost in Devonshire, 418 Celestial Objects near the Horizon, Apparent Enlargement of, S., 165 89 Celestial Photography, M. Mouchez on, 383 Cell Theory, Prof. Huxley on the, 122 Census of the Hawaiian Archipelago, 568 Centenary, Integer Numbers of the First, satisfying the Equa- tion 47 = 42+ C*, Sir G. B. Airy, F.R.S., 532 Central Asia, Prjevalsky’s Explorations in, 283 Cephalonia, Curious Phenomenon in, Rey. E. R. S. Newall, F.R.S., 270 Ceylon: Science in, 62; Migration of Butterflies in, 277; Ceylon Orientalist, 518; Sunrise Shadow of Adam’s Peak, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 532 Cheetoderma, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 201 Challenger Expedition, Botanical Results of the, 338 ; Zoological Results of the, Sir C. Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., 409 Chamberlain (J.), on Pasteur’s Cure for Hydrophobia, 464 Chambers (G. F.), Hints on the Construction and Equipment of Amateur Observatories, 56 Change of Temperature, the Effect of, on the Velocity of Sound in Iron, Herbert Tomlinson, 582 Chanulade (Dordogne), Workmen Entombed in a Subterranean Gallery a', 497 Chapin (A. ibe ), Beloit College Observatory, 81 Chartology : on a Map of the World in which the Proportion of Areas is Preserved, Walter Baily, 479 Charts, Weather, ‘‘ Weatherology” and the Use of, Campbell M. Hepworth, 512 Chemistry, 287; Natural Supply of Carbonic Acid Gas at, Burgbrohl (Rhine), 17 ; Chemical Notes, 63, 350; Grant ofa Royal Charter to the Institute of Chemistry, 73; Chemical Society, 93, 165, 286, 405, 526; Elements of Inorganic Chemistry, Jas. H. Shepard, 98; the Whole Duty of a Chemist, 73; Prof. William Odling, F.R.S., 99; Dr. G. Gore, F.R.S., 150; Numerical Exercises in Chemistry, T. Hands, 99; Growth of Chemistry in Washington, 255 ; Studies from the Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College for 1884-85, 316; Value of Refraction Goniometer in Chemical Work, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 352; Outlines of Organic Chemistry, Dr. H. Forster Morley, Dr. F. R. Japp, F.R.S., 435, 461; Practical Chemistry, with Notes and Questions on Theoretical Chemistry, W. Ripper, 459 ; Iso- meric States of Chlorides of Chromium, A. Recoura, 479 ; Practical Introduction to Chemistry, W. ‘A. Shenstone, 484 5 Chemistry of the Non-Metallics, Dr. E. B. Aveling, 557 ; Short Manual of Chemistry, A. Dupré and H. Wilson Hake, 602 ; Lessons in Elementary Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Sir Henry E. Roscoe, 603 ; Chemical Affinity and Solution, W. Durham, 615 Chersonese People, Religious Beliefs of the, M. Stephanoff, 496 Ledger, 246 ; Chester Society of Natural Science, 278 Chevreul (M.), his Health and Age, 424, 449 Chierchia (Lieut.), Italian Aid to Biological Research, 52 Chimneys, Destruction by Gun-cotton of three Tall, in Berlin, 208 China : Meteorology in, Pére Dechevrens, 17 ; Superstition con- cerning Death in, 41 ; Arrival of Chinese Fish, 41 ; Extension of Telegraphs in, 62; Telegraphy in, 349; Ethnology in, 106; Geology of Malaysia and, Rey. J. E. Tenison- Woods, 231 ; Proposed Russian Chinese Expedition, 281 ; Shooting- Stars in China, 383; the Movement and Air Cure in, Dr. Macgowan, 465 Chloridation, a New Method of, Colson and Gautier, 120 Chlorophyll, Prof. J. H. Gilbert, F.R.S., 91 Cholera, Etiology of, 97 Cholestearine, the Constitution of the Derivatives from, Dr. Weyl, 144 Christiania University, Collection of Ethnographical Objects at, 424 Christie ((W. H. M., F.R.S.), Universal or World Time, 521 Christy (Mr.), Ethnological Collection at the British Museum, 565 Chromatography, Field’s, J. Scott Taylor, 530 Chromium, Chlorides of, Isomeric States of, A. Recoura, 479 Church (Prof. A, H.), Mahwa Flowers as a Source of Cane- Sugar, 343 Cicadas, on the Sound-Producing Apparatus of the, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, 368 ; C. S. Middlemiss, 582 Cider in Paris, Movement to replace Wine by, 329 Cinchona, Cultivation of, in Jamaica, 207 Cinder, Basic, Prof. Wrightson and Dr. Munro, 595 Cinnabar Mines, Discovery of, in the Mining Region of the Don in Russia, 496 Circles and Spheres, on Systems of, R. Lachlan, 572 Cirri in Antedon phalangium, Variations of, P. H. Carpenter, 165 City and Guilds of London Institute, 182 Clark Cell as a Standard of Electromotive Force, Lord Ray- leigh, F.R.S., 357 Clark's (Latimer) Transit Tables for 1886, 175; and Herbert Sadler, the Star Guide, 483 Clarke (Hyde), Rain at Smyrna, 154 ; Climbing Powers of the Hedgehog, 604 Clayden (A. W.), Note on Prof. Clarke ’s Paper on Determina- tion of Heat-Capacity of Thermometer, 335 Clays, Argillaceous, Action on fixing Free Atmospheric Nitrogen in Plants of, Berthelot, 24 Clerke (Agnes M.), Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century, Sir Robert S. Ball, F.R.S., 313; Stars with Banded Spectra, 583; the Pleiades, 561 Clifford’s Mathematical Fragments, R. Tucker, 460 Climate, Influence of Forests on, Dr. A. Woeikof, 190 Climate of Lucerne, Herr Suidter, 404 Climate of Norway, Dr. Hesselberg, 16, 277 Climatologists and Hydrologists, International Congress ot, 5 Climatology, Marine, R. H. Scott, F.R.S., 334 Climbing, Alpine, Observations on Physiological Effects of, M. Vernet, 18 Climbing Powers of the Hedgehog, Hyde ‘Clarke, 604. Cloaca, Remarks on the, and on the Copulatory Organs of the Amniota, Dr. Hans Gadow, 573 Cloud-Formation, on the Action of Dust in, R. von Helmholtz, 552 Cloudiness over Earth’s Surface, Attempt to determine Daily Course of, Herr Liznar, 40 Clouds : Colours in, Lieut.-Gen. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S., 343, 514; . Heights of, N. Ekholm, 53; Iridescent, Edward Greenhow, 199; T. W. Backhouse, 199, 486; W. Macgill, 219; John Thomson, 219; D. Patterson, 220; Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 219; John Stevenson, 220; Charles Davison, 220, 292; Clouds and Upper Wind-Currents over the Atlantic Dol- drums, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 294 Coagulation of Blood, on the, Ernst Freund, 395 Coal-Dust Question, W. Galloway, 197, 366, 441 Coal-Dust and Explosions, Sir Fredk. A. Abel, F.R.S., 417 b2 Robert H. Scott, 583; vi INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Bohrman (J.), on the Heating of the Glass of Condensators in consequence of the alternative Electrisation, 548 Boiteau (P.), Phylloxera, 336 Boletin of Geographical Society of Madrid, 108 Bombus, Nocturnal Hymenoptera of the Genus, Marquis G. Doria, 392; Jno. C. Wilson, 487 Bommelo Gold-Mines, the, Reusch, 17 Bone-Caves in North Wales, Recent Researches in, Henry Hicks, F.R.S., and W. Davies, 166 Boole Justified and Monge Reinstated in His Rights by Prof. Beman, of the University of Michigan, U.S., Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 581 Borings: in Kent, 190 ; in Oxfordshire, 191 ; at Dover, William Whitaker on, 269 Borneo, North, Frank Hatton, 267 Bornholm, Island of, the Antiquities of, 208 Borsch (Dr.), on Seismic Oscillations observed in Berlin, 72 Botany, 23, 333; Action of Argillaceous Clays in fixing Free Atmospheric Nitrogen in Plants, 24; Candolle Prize, 88; Return of M. Moller, 91; Botanical Gazette, 164; The Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the U.S., Leo Lesquereux, J. Starkie Gardner, 196 ; the Nival Flora of Switzerland, 206 ; Report on the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, 234 ; Botani- cal Results of the Challenger Expedition, 338 ; Botany of the Rocky Mountain Region, Dr. John M. Coulter, 433; the Saharunpur Botanical Gardens, J. F. Duthie, 539; Botany of the Arctic Regions, Buysman, 550; Botany of the Naga Hills, C. B. Clarke, 550; Plants Considered in Relation to their Environment, 607 Bottomley (J. T.), Radiation. of Heat from the same Surface at different Temperatures, 85, IOI Boulenger (Geo. Albert), Catalogue of Lizards in the British Muséum (Natural History), 316 Bouley (M.), Death of, 105 Bourne (G. C.), on the Anatomy of Spherotherium, 120 Bow, Mist-, 366 Boys (C. V.), Right-Footed Parrot, 8; Machine for the Solu- tion of Equations, 166 Brachial Plexus, on the Minute Anatomy of the, W. P. Herring- ham, 620 Brachiopoda, Recent, Dr. Thos. Davidson, 70 ; Sense-Organs of, 191 Bradshaw (Henry), Obituary Notice of, 366 Brain, Human, Broca on the Weight of, 425 #randsford (Dr.), the Discovery of Ancient Sculptures in Guate- mala, 17 Brandis (Herr yon), the Volcano Merapi in Java, 468 Brazza (M. de), Exploration of the French Congo, 304 Bread, Bark, 429 Breitenlohner (Dr.), Respective Heights of the Meteorological Stations of Europe, 610 Bremen Geographical Society, 44 Bremen Natural History Society, Formation of a Rutenberg Fund at, 375 Brettes (Vicomte de), Explorations in Southern Grand Chaco, 468 Bright Lines in Stellar Spectra, 161 Brilliant Meteor, John Stevenson, 176 Britain, the Races of, John Beddoe, Chas. Roberts, 217 British Association, Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies of the, held at Aberdeen, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 81; the 1886 Meeting at Birmingham, 276 British Birds, History of, Henry Seebohm, 463 British Cage-Birds, R. L. Wallace, W. B. ‘legetmeier, 412 British Islands, Rainfall of the, 353 British Museum: Prof. Douglas’s Catalogue of Printed Maps and Charts in, 63 ; Catalogue of Lizards in the (Natural History), Geo. Albert Boulenger, 316; Catalogue of Fossil Mam- malia in the, Richard Lydekker, 365 ; Ethnological Collec- tion at, 565 British Myzostoma, New, P. Herbert Carpenter, F.R.S., 8 British Zoophytes, A. S. Pennington, 149 Broca Memorial, the, 88 Broca on the Weight of the Human Brain, 425 Brodie (Rev. O. G.), on Two Rheetic Sections in Warwickshire, 551 Brook, Relation of Yolk to Blastoderm in Fish-Ova, 335 Brook-Trout, the Value of, in England, 425 Brooks, W. K.), Artificial Propagation of Oysters, 329 Brown (E.), Blackbird with White Feather, 222 : Brown (Edwin Ormond), Death of, 160 Brown (Prof. G. T.), Animal Life on the Farm, 292 Brown (J. Croumbie, LL.D:), Forests and Forestry in Poland, 27 Bruce’s (E. S.) System of Military Signalling, 41 Bruxelles, Tableaux-Résumés des Observations Faites 4, A. Lan- caster, 390 Bryant (Mrs.), School-Children as Observers, 94 Buchanan (J. Y.), Surveying at St. Thomas, 495 Bucharest, Earthquake in, 425 Buckland Museum Collection, 88 Buckland Museum, Incubation of Salmonidz at the, 210 Bulletin de l’ Académie Royale de Belgique, 23, 213, 332, 524, 572, 620 Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission for 1884, 38 Bulletin of Belgian Society of Geography, 108 Bulletins de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, 548 Bunge’s (Dr.) Exploration to New Siberian Islands, 539 Burgbrohl (Rhine), Natural Supply of Carbonic Acid Gas at, 17 Burma, as it was, as it is, and as it will be, James George Scott, 53r Burn (Robert Scott), Systematic Small Farming, 266 Bushe (Col. C. K.), Friction and Molecular Structure, 199 Bushmen, Mr. Bertin on the Ethnological Position of the, 375 Busk (J.), Blackbird with White Feather, 222 Butter, Vaseline as a Substitute for, 450 Butterflies: European, W. F. de Vismes Kane, R. McLachlan, F.R.S., 171; Longevity of, 183; in Ceylon, Migration of, 277; an Enterprising Butterfly, Danazs archippus, 467 Biittner (Dr.), Death of, 211 Buysman (M.), Botany of the Arctic Regions, 550 Cage-Birds, British, R. L. Wallace, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Calcareous Formations of the Solomon Group, Observations on the Recent, H. B. Guppy, 202 Calculus of Variations, a Treatise on the, L. B. Carll, 51 Calculus, Differential and Integral, an Introduction to the, with Examples of Application to Mechanical Problems, W. J. Millar, 99 Calculus, Differential and Integral, A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., Major Allan Cunningham, 412 Calcutta, Report on the Royal Botanic Garden, 234 California, Ravages by Sea-Lions on Fish in, J. D. Reading, 41 California, University of, 61 Caliste gouldi, Sclater, 93 Calorimetrical Thermometers, 405 Cambodia, Ascent of Meikong Rapids by Commander Reéveillére, gl Cambridge, Award of the Smith Prizes, 93 Cambridge Philosophical Society, 168 Cameron, William, an Honorary Colonial Explorer, 18 Cameroon, Exploration of, 399 Canada: Cretaceous Floras of, Sir William Dawson, F.R.S., 31; Agriculture in, 218; Ancient Mounds in, 279; Fish Culture in, 302, 303; French Language in, 497 Candolle Prize, 88 Cane-Sugar, Mahwa Flowers as a Source of, Prof. A. H, Church, 343 Cantoni (Prof. Gaetano), on the Grape-Vine Mildew, 473 Cape, Phylloxera at the, 392 Capello and Ivens (MM.), Proposed Money Grant to, 44 Caporali (Prof. ), on P-ychis, 62 ; Nuova Scienza, on the Modern School of Metaphysicians, 611 Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen, Traube on Chemical Results of Explosion of, 63 Carbonic Acid Gas, Natural Supply of, near Burgbrohl (Rhine), Carbonic Acid in Air, Measurements of, Spring and Roland, 183 Garbouic Oxide, Action of Steam on, H. B. Dixon, 286 Cardiff, Proposed Medical Faculty and Engineering School at, 565 Carhart (H. S.), Relation between Direct and Counter Electro- motive Forces expressed by an Hyperbola, 548 Carlisle (Bishop of), Weather Forecasts, 79 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX Vii Carll (L. B.), a Treatise on the Calculus of Variations, 51 Carnivora in Finland, 184 Caroline Islands, the, Prof. Blumentritt, 44 Carpenter (Alf.), Recent Star-Shower, 221 Carpenter (Dr. W. B., F.R.S.), Death e 39; Obituary Notice of, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, BoRsSs5 Carpenter (P. Herbert, F.R.S.), New oO itish Myzostoma, 8 ; on Variations of Cirri in Axtedon phalangium, 165 ; Report on the Crinoidea, 409 Carroll (Lewis), a Tangled Tale, Dr. A. R. Willis, 389 Cartailhac (Emile), on Human Crania found in Cave of Nabriguas, 120 Carter (W. August), Ferocity of Rats, 533 Cartographical Work in Russia in 1884, 92 Casey (J., F.R.S.), a Treatise on Analytical Geometry, 172 Cashmere, Earthquakes in, 62 Caspian Sea, Drying up of the Steppes around, 520 Castell-Evans (Jno.), Variable Stars, 486 Castilloa elastica, Sir J. D. Hooker, F.R.S Cat, a Horrified, E. J. Dungate, 487 Cattle Plague in Russia, 496 Cave of Nabriguas, on Human Crania found in, Emile Cartailhac, 120 Cave-Dwellings in Saxony, 303 Cazeneuve and Lépine, Safranine and Fuchsine in Colouring Wines, 95 Cecil (Henry), Frost in Devonshire, 415 Celestial Objects near the Horizon, Apparent Enlargement of, 89 Celestial Photography, M. Mouchez on, 383 Cell Theory, Prof. Huxley on the, 122 Census of the Hawaiian Archipelago, 568 Centenary, Integer Numbers of the First, satisfying the Equa- tion 42 = 52+ C*, Sir G. B. Airy, F.R.S., 532 Central Asia, Prjevalsky’s Explorations in, 283 Cephalonia, Curious Phenomenon in, Rey. E. R. S. Newall, F.R.S., 270 Ceylon: Science in, 62; Migration of Butterflies in, 277; Ceylon Orientalist, 518; Sunrise Shadow of Adam’s Peak, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 532 Cheetoderma, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 201 Challenger Expedition, Botanical Results of the, 338 ; Zoological Results of the, Sir C. Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., 409 Chamberlain (J.), on Pasteur’s Cure for Hydrophobia, 464 Chambers (G, F.), Hints on the Construction and Equipment of Amateur Observatories, 56 Change of Temperature, the Effect of, on the Velocity of Sound in Iron, Herbert Tomlinson, 582 Chanulade (Dordogne), Workmen Entombed in a Subterranean Gallery a', 497 Chapin (A. in ), Beloit College Observatory, 81 Chartology : on a Map of the World in which the Proportion of Areas is Preserved, Walter Baily, 479 Charts, Weather, ‘‘ Weatherology” and the Use of, Campbell M. Hepworth, 512 Chemistry, 287; Natural Supply of Carbonic Acid Gas at, Burgbrohl (Rhine), 17 ; Chemical Notes, 63, 350; Grant of a Royal Charter to the Institute of Chemistry, 73; Chemical Society, 93, 165, 286, 405, 526; Elements of Inorganic Chemistry, Jas. H. Shepard, 98; the Whole Duty of a Chemist, 73; Prof. William Odling, F.R.S., 99; Dr, G. Gore, F.R.S., 150; Numerical Exercises in Chemistry, T. Hands, 99; Growth of Chemistry in Washington, 255; Studies from the Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry of the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College for 1884-85, 316 ; Value of Refraction Goniometer in Chemical Work, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 352; Outlines of Organic Chemistry, Dr. H. Forster Morley, Dr. F. R. Japp, F.R.S., 435, 461; Practical Chemistry, with Notes and Questions on Theoretical Chemistry, W. Ripper, 459 ; Iso- meric States of Chlorides of Chromium, A. Recoura, 479 ; Practical Introduction to Chemistry, W. "A. Shenstone, 484 ; Chemistry of the Non-Metallics, Dr. E. B. Aveling, 557; Short Manual of Chemistry, A. Dupré and H. Wilson Hake, 602 ; Lessons in Elementary Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, Sir Henry E. Roscoe, 603 ; Chemical A finity and Solution, W. Durham, 615 Chersonese People, Religious Beliefs of the, M. Stephanoff, 496 +5 165 Ledger, - 246 ; Chester Society of Natural Science, 278 Chevreul (M.), his Health and Age, 424, 449 Chierchia (Lieut.), Italian Aid to Biological Research, 52 Chimneys, Destruction by Gun-cotton of three Tall, in Berlin, 208 China : Meteorology in, Pére Dechevrens, 17 ; Superstition con- cerning Death in, 41 ; Arrival of Chinese Fish, 41 ; Extension of Telegraphs in, 62; Telegraphy in, 349; Ethnology in, 106; Geology of Malaysia and, Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 231 ; Proposed Russian Chinese Expedition, 281 ; Shooting- Stars in China, 383; the Movement and Air Cure in, Dr. Macgowan, 465 Chloridation, a New Method of, Colson and Gautier, 120 Chlorophyll, Prof. J. H. Gilbert, F.R.S., 91 Cholera, Etiology of, 97 Cholestearine, the Constitution of the Derivatives from, Dr. Weyl, 144 Christiania University, Collection of Ethnographical Objects at, 424 Christie ((W. H. M., F.R.S.), Universal or World Time, 521 Christy (Mr.), Ethnological Collection at the British Museum, 565 Chromatography, Field’s, J. Scott Taylor, 530 Chromium, Chlorides of, Isomeric States of, A. Recoura, 479 Church (Prof. A. H.), Mahwa Flowers as a Source of Cane- Sugar, 343 Cicadas, on the Sound-Producing Apparatus of the, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, 368 ; C. S. Middlemiss, 582 Cider in Paris, Movement to replace Wine by, 329 Cinchona, Cultivation of, in Jamaica, 207 Cinder, Basic, Prof. Wrightson and Dr. Munro, 595 Cinnabar Mines, Discovery of, in the Mining Region of the Don in Russia, 496 Circles and Spheres, on Systems of, R. Lachlan, 572 Cirri in Antedon phalangium, Variations of, P. H. Carpenter, 165 City and Guilds of London Institute, 182 Clark Cell as a Standard of Electromotive Force, Lord Ray- leigh, F.R.S., 357 Clark’s (Latimer) Transit Tables for 1886, 175 ; and Herbert Sadler, the Star Guide, 483 Clarke (Hyde), Rain at Smyrna, 154 ; Climbing Powers of the Hedgehog, 604 Clayden (A. W.), Note on Prof. Clarke’s Paper on Determina- tion of Heat-Capacity of Thermometer, 335 Clays, Argillaceous, Action on fixing Free Atmospheric Nitrogen in Plants of, Berthelot, 24 Clerke (Agnes M.), Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century, Sir Robert S. Ball, F.R.S., 313; Stars with Banded Spectra, 583; the Pleiades, 561 Clifford’s Mathematical Fragments, R. Tucker, 460 Climate, Influence of Forests on, Dr. A. Woeikof, 190 Climate of Lucerne, Herr Suidter, 404 Climate of Norway, Dr. Hesselberg, 16, 277 Climatologists and Hydrologists, International Congress ot, 5 Climatology, Marine, R. H. Scott, F.R.S., 334 Climbing, Alpine, Observations on Physiological Effects of, M. Vernet, 18 Climbing Powers of the Hedgehog, Robert H. Scott, 583 ; Hyde ‘Clarke, 604. Cloaca, Remarks on the, and on the Copulatory Organs of the Amniota, Dr. Hans Gadow, 573 Cloud-Formation, on the Action of Dust in, R. von Helmholtz, 552 Cloudiness over Earth’s Surface, Attempt to determine Daily Course of, Herr Liznar, 40 Clouds : Colours in, Lieut.-Gen. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S., 343, 5143 Heights of, N. Ekholm, 53; Iridescent, Edward Greenhow, 199; T. W. Backhouse, 199, 486; W. Macgill, 219; John Thomson, 219; D. Patterson, 220; Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 219; John Stevenson, 220; Charles Davison, 220, 292; Clouds and Upper Wind-Currents over the Atlantic Dol- drums, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 294 Coagulation of Blood, on the, Ernst Freund, 395 Coal-Dust Question, W. Galloway, 197, 366, 441 Coal-Dust and Explosions, Sir Fredk, A. Abel, F.R.S., 417 b2 vill INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Coal-Gas, Heat-Values of, Witz, 184 Coal-Mines, Explosions in, Sir Frederick Abel, F.R.S., 108, 138 Cae on the Development of, Dr. Theodor Fischer, 64 Cobbold (Dr. T. Spencer, F.R.S.): Strongylus axet, 334 ; Mor- phology of Strongyles, 478; the Death of, 495; Obituary Notice of, 534 Cobra, Indian, Dr. R. Norris Wolfenden on the Venom of the, 238 Cochin China, French, Excursions et Reconnaissances of, 62 ; Science in, 67 Ceelenterata, and Worms, Bibliography of Protoza, Sponges, D’Arcy W. Thompson, 174 © Coffin’s (Prof.) Observations of Eclipse of the Sun, August 7, 1869, 105 Cole (J. Francis), Meteor, 301 Coleoptera, Central American, H. W. Bates, F.R.S., 77 Coleoptera of New Zealand, 191 Colima, Eruption of the Volcano of, 234, 301 College Observatory, Beloit, A. L. Chapin, 81 Colliding Spheres, on the Rotation of Energy between Two Systems of, Prof. Tait, 270 Collins (F. H.), Ferocity of Animals, 583 Colonial Fish, Proposed Aquarium of, 183 Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 495, 5163; Colonial Fisheries at, 61; Australian Grapes at, 301; Variety of Exhibits at, 536 Colonies and India, 567 Colson and Gautier, a New Method of Chloridation, 120 Colour- Blindness, Dr. Konig, 288 Colour-Relations between Larva of Swerinthus ocellatus and its Food Plants, E. B. Poulton, 474 Colour Photometry, Capt. Abney and Gen. Festing, 525, 520 Colours in Clouds, Lieut.-Gen. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S., 343, 514 Comets: Fabry’s, 161, 184, 236, 256, 426, 466, 518; T. W. Backhouse, 366; Fabry and Barnard, 376; Barnard’s, 185, 236, 256, 426, 466, 518; a New Comet, 210; Brooks’s Comet, 279 ; the Story of Biela’s Comet, Prof. H. A. Newton, 392, 418 Composite Photography, 182 Condensators, on Heating in Consequence of Alternative Elec- trisation of Glass of, J. Bohrman, 548 Conder (Capt.), Condition of Natives in Bechuanaland, 552 Conduct, Springs of, an Essay in Evolution, C. Lloyd Morgan, Prof. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 436 Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies of the British Association held at Aberdeen, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 81 Congo Expedition: Dr. Lenz’s, 91 ; Proposed Swedish, 108 ; Lieut. Wissmann’s Exploration of the Congo District, 377 Congo State: M. de Brazza’s Exploration of the, 304 ; Maps of the, 304 Conifers, History of Certain, Dr. Maxwell Masters, 334 Conroy (Sir John), Polarisation of Light, 453 Constance, Lake of, Roman Remains near, 303 Consumption, Inoculation as a Preservative against, M. Verneuil, 395 Contact-Actions : Konovaloff’s Researches on, 350, 351; Dis- sociation and, A. Irving, 485 Continents and Oceans, Permanence of, J. Starkie Gardner, 53 Continuity of Protoplasm, 398 Cooke’s (Dr. M. C..) Illustrations of Agaricus, 404 Cope (Prof. Edward D.): Vertebrata of the Tertiary Forma- tions of the West, E. T. Newton, 193; on the Reptiles and Batrachians of North America, 302 Copenhagen, East Greenland Exhibition at, 375 Cora (Prof. Guido) on Geographical Reform, 521 Corea before the Treaties, Jametel, 91 ; Telegraphic Extension to, 106 Cornevin (Ch.), on the Toxic Properties of the Cytisus, 52 Cornwall: Earthquake at St. Austell, 301; Pumice on the Cornish Coast, H. B. Guppy, 559 ; W. Whitaker, 604 Corona, Photographing the, in Full Sunshine, W. H. Pickering, | 42; Capt. W. de W. Abney, F.R.S., 53 Coronz Australis, Binary Star y, 425 Corpora Striata in Pigeons, Prof. H. Munk, 216 Correlation of the Different Branches of Elementary Mathe- matics, R. B. Hayward, F.R.S., 543 Cosenza, Earthquake at, 450 Coulter (Dr. John M.), Botany of the Rocky Mountain Region, 433 Count ?, Can an Animal, Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 80 Cox (Homersham), Principles of Arithmetic, 29 Crania: Human, found in Cave of Nabriguas, Emile Cartailhac, 120; found inthe Baye Caverns, 524: of various Nations, 302 Craniography, Eine exacte Methode der Craniographie, Dr. C. Rieger, Dr. J. G. Garson, 314 Crayfish, Faxon on, 519 Creak (Commander E. W., F.R.S.), on Local Magnetic Disturbance in Islands situated far from a Continent, 404 Creole, a, the Viper and its Young, 269 Cretaceous Floras of Canada, Sir William Dawson, F.R.S., 31 Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the United States, Leo Lesquereux, J. Starkie Gardner, 196 Crinoidea, Report on the, Herbert Carpenter, 409 Crisp: on D’Arsonval’s Water Microscope, 70; on Micro- scopical Examination of Material from Intestines of Lieut. Kisslingbury (Greely Expedition), 71 Crispin (A. Trevor), Was it an Earthquake ?, 559 Crocodiles, History of Fossil, 331 Crombie (J. W.), on Hop-scotch, 167 Crookes (William, F.R.S.): on the Spectra of Erbia, 474; on Radiant Matter Spectroscopy : Note on the Earth Ya, 525 Crookshank (Edgar M.), Practical Bacteriology, 361 Crustacea, Decapod, the Blood of, Dr. W. D. Haliburton, 472 Crustacea, Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition, Zoology, G. O. Sars, 148 Cryoscopic Method of Determination of Molecular Weights, Raoult, 120 Cryptogama: Norwegian Toadstools, 213 Cryptommatus jansont, Matt., A. S. Olliff, 23 Crystal, Rock, Retentiveness of Diamagnetism, Dr. Tumlirz, 32 Cuckoo: the Life-History of, 519 ; Habits of the, 519 Cucurbitaceee, Tendril Movements in, D. P. Penhallow, 332, 548 Cumberland, Stone Circles in, A. L. Lewis, 334 Cunningham (Major Allan): Travellers’ Snake Stories, 222 ; Differential and Integral Calculus, A. G. Greenhill, F.R.S., 412; Design and Construction of Harbours, Thos. Steven- son, 579 Cunningham (Prof. D. J.), Lumbar Curve in Man and Apes, 378 Cunningham (J. T.), Resting Position of the Oyster, 129 Cunningham (W.), Ventilation, 294 Cunyngham (H. H.), Machine for Solution of Cubic Equations, 166 Currents, Upper Wind-, in the South Indian Ocean and over the North-West Monsoon, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 460 Curve, Lumbar, in Man and Apes, Prof. D. J. Cunningham, 378 Curves, on the Method of Reciprocants as containing an Ex- haustive Theory of the Singularities of, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, E..RiS:,) 224; 33 Cycles, 132, 177 Cyclone in the Gulf of Aden, 504 Cyclones in India, 349 Cygni, B, or 6 Cygni?, 184 Cygni, Double-Star 61, 350 Cytisus, on Toxic Properties of the, Ch. Cornevin, 552 Dalla-Torre (Prof. K. W. v.), Tourist’s Guide to the Flora of the Alps, 557 Danais archippus—an Enterprising Butterfly, 467 Danakils, Murder of M. Barral and Wife by the, 612 Danube, the True Source of the, De Wogan, 280 Dareste (M.), Hypothetical Suggestions as to Origin of Left- Handedness, 549 Dark Transits of Jupiter’s Fourth Satellite, 466 D’Arsonval (Dr.), New Method of Reading Small Angular Deflections, 610 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX ix Darwin (Charles, F.R.S.), Grant Allen, Dr. Ernst Kraus, Dr. George J. Romanes, F.R.S., 147; and the late Prof. H. Fawcett, 208 Darwin (F.), on the Bloom of Leaves, 404 Darwin (Prof. G. H., F.R.S.), Tidal Friction and the Evolution of a Satellite, 367 Darwin (Horace), an Improved Form of Temperature Regulator, 596 Davidson (Dr. Thos.), Recent Brachiopoda, 70 Davidson (Dr.), Obituary Notice of, 449 Davies (Langdon), the ‘‘ Phonophore,” New Telephonic Inven- tion, 610 Davies (W.), Animal Remains found in Bone-Caves in North Wales, 166 Davison (Chas.), Iridescent Clouds, 219, 292 Dawson (Sir J. William, F.R.S.), Cretaceous Floras of Canada, 31; Deposits of the Nile Delta, 221, 295, 417 Day, Proposed Change in the Astronomical, M. Raoul Gautier, 92 ‘ Day (Francis), Sa/mo salar and S. ferox in Tasmania, 8 Day (R. E.), Numerical Examples in Heat, 558 Dearborn Observatory, 107 Dechevrens (Pére), Meteorology in China, 17 Deeley (R. Mountford), Movement of Telegraph Wires, 343 Delaford Park, Fish-Culture at, 327 Delphini, Binary Star B, 518 Deltas of Glacial Rivers, 343 De Morgan (Augustus), Newton: his Friend: and his Niece, 557 Denmark, Highest Peaks in, M. Hangsen-Blangsted, 468 Denning (W. F.), November Meteors, tor; Recent Star- Shower, 127, 152; the Return of the Leonids in 1885, 162 Densities, Von Meyer’s Apparatus for Determining, 63 Density of Saturn’s Ring, 303 Denza (P. J.), Meteoric Dust, 16 ; the Recent Star-Shower, 150 Deposits of the Nile Delta, Sir J. William Dawson, F.R.S., 221, 295, 417; Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 317 Depths of Alpine Lakes, Dr. F. A. Forel; Dr. G. F. Wollas- ton, 195 Deutsche geographische Blatter, 44 Devon, Rousdon Observatory, Cuthbert Peek, 538 Devonshire, Earthquake in, 234; Frost in, Henry Cecil, 418 Dew, 293; Mr. Aitken on, 256; Tropical Dew, Lieut.-Col. A. T. Fraser, 583 Dialyser, Best Material for a, Herr Zott, 497 Diamagnetic Substances, Residual Magnetism in, Prof, J. A. Ewing, 512 Diamagnetism, Retentiveness of Rock Crystal of, Dr. Tumlirz, 325 Diastase, the Origin of, E. Jorissen, 332 Dickens (F. V.), Pictorial Arts of Japan, 386, 418 Dielectric Media, on the Conduction of Electricity in, Dr. Schulze-Berge, 432 Differential and Integral Calculus, an Introduction to the, with Examples of Applications to Mechanical Problems, W..J. Millar, 99 Differential and Integral Calculus, A. G. Greenhill, Major Allan Cunningham, 412 Digestion, Experiments as to Effects of various Beverages on, 26 Dilatancy, Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S., 429 Diluvial Clays, Remarkable Discovery of Rare Metals in, Dr. Strohecker, 461 Diphtheria, M. Pasteur on the Treatment of, 423 Directory, an Astronomical, M. Lancaster, 538 Displacement of Lines in Solar Prominences, 498 Dissipativity, Maximum, Theorem of, G. F. Becker, 548 Dissociation and Contact-Action, A. Irving, 485 Distribution of Driving-Power in Laboratories, 248 Distribution in Latitude of Solar Phenomena, 498 Disturbances, Magnetic, Prominences and, 498 Diurnal Inequalities of Terrestrial Magnetism, on the Forces concerned in Producing the Solar, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 613, 620 Diurnal Period of Terrestrial Magnetism, on the, Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 614 Dixon (Chas.), Evolution without Natural Selection, 26, 100, 128 ; Evolution without Natural Selection, Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 26 . Dixon (H. B.), Action of Steam on Carbonic Oxide, 286 Dijmphna Expedition, Proposed New, 91 Dog, on the Intelligence of the, Sir John Lubbock, F.R.S., 45; Miss Mary Knott, 418 Dohrn (Prof.), Italian Aid to Biological Research, 52 Doldrums, Atlantic, Clouds and Upper Wind-Currents over the, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 294 Dolerites, Gabbros, and Basalts of the Tertiary Age, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 263 Doria (Marquis G.), Nocturnal Hymenoptera of the Genus Bombus,” 392 Dorndorf, Hill-Fissures near, 464 Double-Star 61 Cygni, 350 Douglas’s (Prof.) Catalogue of Printed Maps and Charts, British Museum, 63 Dover, Deep Well-boring at, 255 ; William Whitaker, 269 Downes (Arthur, M.D.), on the Action of Sunlight on Micro- organisms, 357 Draper (Henry) Memorial, Photographic Study of the Stellar Spectra, Edward C. Pickering, 535 Draper (Dr. John Christopher), Death of, 254 Dravidians, on the Common Origin of Malays and, M. O. Beau- regard, 549 Dresden Geographentag, Sixth, 539 Dresden Museum of Science and Art, 327 Driving-Power, Distribution of, in Laboratories, 248 Dublin Royal Society, 191, 335, 382, 575 Dublin University Experimental Science Association, 455 Du Bois Reymond (Prof.), on the Electric Ray, 106 Dudgeon (Dr. R. E.), Ophthalmologic Education in the United Kingdom, 29 Duncan (Prof. P. M.), on the Perignathic Girdle of the Echinoidea, 119 / Dunér (N. C.), Sur les Etoiles 4 Spectres de la Troisiéme Classe, Miss A. M. Clerke, 583 Dungate (E. J.), a Horrified Cat, 487 Dupont (E.), some New Fossil Groups from Belgian Forma- tions, 333 Dupré (A.), Short Manual of Chemistry, H. Wilson Hake, 602 Durham (W.), Chemical Affinity and Solution, 615 Dust in Cloud-Formation and Saturated Air, on the Action of, R. von Helmholtz, 552 Dust, Meteoric, Father Denza, Hon. R. Abercromby, 16 Dust, Coal-, Question, W. Galloway, 366 Dust-Glows, Krakatdo, of 1883-84, 483 ; E. Douglas Archibald, 604. Dutch Geographical Society, the Proposed Exploration of New Guinea by the, 91 Duthie (J. F.) the Saharunpur Botanical Gardens, 539 Dyer (W. T. Thiselton, F.R.S.), nominated Director of Kew Gardens, 105 Dynamo, the Law of the, Prof. S. P. Thompson, 94 Dynamo-Electrical Machines, Investigations into Theory of, Dr. Frohlich, 552 Earth’s Axis, Secular Nutation of the, 376 Earth’s Crust, the Constitution of the, 527 Earth-Currents: the Automatic Record of, Prof. Shida, 235 ; Dr. Weinstein, 624. Earth’s Motion, Effect upon the, Produced by Small Bodies passing near it, 210 Earth-Tremors, Records of the, of the Flood-Rock Explosion, 39 Earthquakes: R. S. Newall, F.R.S., 129; in Sweden, 18, 41, 591; in Cashmere, 62; in Spain, 88, 327; in Switzerland, 88; in San Francisco, 88; in Algeria, 137, 161, 184, 327; in Japan, 209 ; in Asia Minor, 161, 184, 255 ; in Devonshire, 234; in Venice, 234; in Roumelia, 255; East Anglian Earthquake of April 22, 1884, Report on, Raphael Meldola and William White, 265 ; Earthquakes in Central and South America, 278 ; at St. Austell, 301 ; at St. Blazey, 301; in Madeira, 327: inthe Island of Lemnos, 349; at Jaska, 349; Earthquake Shocks in Rockland County, N.Y., 375; in Norway, 397, 424, 591; in Bucharest, 425; at Cosenza, 450; in Granada and Wiesbaden, 464; Earthquake Shock felt at Gorebridge, 611; Best Method of Constructing Buildings to Stand Earthquake Shocks, 465; Was it an Earthquake ?, A. Trevor Crispin, 559; Earthquake Inven 63 INDEX [Wature, Fune 3, 1886 tion, D, A. Stevenson, 7, 534; Prof. John Milne, 438; Measurement of Movements of the Earth with Reference to Proposed Earthquake Observations on Ben Nevis, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 68 ; Earthquake Observations in Japan, New System of, Seikei Sekiya, 603 Earthworms, Studies on, W. B. Benham, 547 East Anglian Earthquake of April 22, 1884, Report on the, Raphael Meldola and William White, 265 Echinoidea, Prof. Duncan on the Perignathic Girdle of the, 119 Eclipses: Recent Total, of the Sun, Killingworth Hedges, 6 ; N. A. Graydon, 29; A. S. Atkinson, 175, 184, 536; Prof. Coffin’s Observations of Eclipse of Sun, August 7, 1869, 10 RIE Volcanic Eruption in, 396 Edelweiss, the, 279 Edible Bird’s-Nest Caves in the Malay Peninsula, 517 Edible Fungus, New, 399 Edinburgh : Mathematical Society, 95, 214, 287, 406, 479, 575 ; Royal Physical Society of, 214, 335; Royal Society, 214, 263, 479, 5523; Scottish Meteorological Society, 622 Edmonds (Richard), Death of, 536 Education, Geographical, 273 ; and Natural Science, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 451 Education, Medical, in Japan, 40 Education, Ophthalmologic, in the United Kingdom, Dr. R. E. Dudgeon, 29 Education, Scientific, the Earl of Iddesleigh on, 160 Education, Technical, in London, 182; in New South Wales, 462 Edwards (Thomas), Death of, 609 Eiffel (M.), Proposed Erection of the Gigantic Metallic Tower Invented by, at the Paris Exhibition, 611 Einhorn (Herr), on Quantitative Determination of Sugar in Urine, 348 Ekholm (N.), Heights of Clouds, 53 Elasticity, History of, Dr. Karl Pearson, 53 Z Elasticity, the Internal Friction of Metals, Herbert Tomlinson, 549 Elder (Harry M.), Heat Quantities, 391 Electricity : M. Menier’s Speculation in Electric Lighting, 88 ; Electric Light and Locomotives, 209; Electric Lighting, Notions Générales sur I’Eclairage Electrique, Henry Vivarez, 342; Electric Lighting Legislation, 507; Alter- nating Currents of, Thos. H. Blakesley, 243: G. H. Wyatt on a Magneto-Electric Phenomenon, 263; Gas and Oil as Lighthouse Iluminants, Report to the Trinity House on the Inquiry intothe Relative Merits of, 271 ; Lighting of Lighthouses by Electricity, 312; on the Conduction of, in Dielectric Media, Dr. Schulze-Berge, 432; Dr. Frohlich’s Investiga- tions into Theory of Dynamo-electrical Machines, 552; Prof. Du Bois Reymond on the Electric Ray, 106; Electrical Exhibition at St. Petersburg, 277; on the Heating of Glass of Condensators in consequence of Alternative Electrisation, J. Bohrman, 548 ; Electrodes, on Resistance at Surfaces of, in Electrolytic Cells, Dr. G. Gore, F.R.S., 431; Electro- deposition of Gold, Silver, &c., A. Watt, 510; Prof. Lodge, Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., Prof. Schuster, F.R.S., and Prof. Helmholtz on Electrolysis, 20 ; the Law of the Electro- magnet, Prof. S. P. Thompson, 94; Electro-magnetic Rota- tion, 496; Electromotive Force of certain Iron Cells, E. J. Herroun, 93; on the Clark Cell as a Standard of Electro- motive Force, Lord Rayleigh, 3, 57 ; Relation expressed by Hyperbola between Direct and Counter-Electromotive Forces, H. S. Carhart, 548 Element, Discovery of a New, by Clemens Winkler, 418 Elementary Mechanics, O. J. Lodge, 28 Elements of Refraction, M. Leewy’s Method of Determining the, Mr. Gill, 566 Elgar (Prof. Francis), Notes on the Straining of Ships caused by Rolling, 381 Elgin, the Reptiliferous Sandstone of, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 310 Elliptic Space, Sir Robert S. Ball, F.R.S., 86 Ellis (Alex. J., F.R.S.), on Measuring the Vibratory Periods of Tuning-Forks, 54 Ellis (William), Solar Halo with Parhelia, 535 ; History of the Barometer, 551 Elverum, Earthquake at, 397 Embankments, the Consolidation of, by Double Poppies, 209 Embryo-Growth in Birds’ Eggs, Method of Watching the, Prof. Gerlach, 497 Embryology, Methods of Research in Microscopical Anatomy and, C. O. Whitman, 243 Emission-Spectra of Bodies at Low Temperatures, Prof. Lang- ley on, 426 Encyclopeedia Britannica, 121 Endowment of Research, the New York Madcon on, 39 Enemies, Insect, Theodore Wood, 6 Energy, on the Partition of, between Two Systems of Colliding Spheres, Prof. Tait, 270 Engadine, Lake-Balls in the, 465 Engineering Society Sozrée, 396 England, a Fishery Board for, 505 English Measures ?, Metric or, 9 Enoksen, Discovery of Apatite in Norway, 40 Entomology, 23; Central American Coleoptera, vol. i. part I, by H. W. Bates, F.R.S., 77; Entomological Society, 168, 382, 455, 598; Annual Meeting, 358; New Zealand Coleo- ptera, 191 ; Obnoxious Insects in Russia, 449 ; an Enterpris- ing Butterfly, 467 ; Morphology of Strongyles, Prof. S. T. Cobbold, 478 ; Entomology of Indo-China, 575; Papers on Indian, 591 Environment, Plants considered in Relation to their, 607 Epilepsy, Dr. Ziehen, 215 Equation 4° = 4? + C*, Integer Numbers of the First Centen- ary satisfying the, Sir G. B. Airy, F.R.S., 532 Equation-Machines, Cunyngham’s and Boys’s, 166 Equations, Differential, Solution of Wrouski’s Universal Pro- blem, Ch. Lagrange, 332 Equatorial-Coudé in Paris, Proposed, Loewy, 464 Erbia, on the Spectra of, Wm. Crookes, F.R.S., 474 Ernst (Dr. A.), on some Interesting Cases of Migration of Marine Fishes on the Coast of Venezuela at Cartpano, 21 Errera (Léo), Une Expérience sur ]’Ascension de la Seve chez les Plantes, 580 Eruption, Vesuvian, of February 4, 1886, Dr. H. J. Johnston- Lavis, 367 Eskimo, the Snow Houses of the, 349 Ethics of Naturalism, on the, W. R. Sorley, 175 Ethnography, German, 281 Ethnology: Paris School of, 105 ; Ethnology in China, 106 ; Dr. Otto Finch’s Ethnological Collection, 327; the Study of Ethnology, 374; a new Journal of Ethnology, 424 ; the Christy Ethnological Collection at the British Museum, 565; Sale of the Godeffroy Ethnological Collection, 566 Etiology of Cholera, 97 Etna, Mount, Eruption of, 450 Eucalyptus, the, 70 Europe, Tracing a Typhoon to, 205 Europe, Meteorological Stations of, Respective Heights of, Dr. 3reitenlohner, 610 European Butterflies, W. F. de Vismes Kane, R. McLachlan, F.RS?) ty Evans (Sir F. J. O., R.N., F.R.S.), Death of, 182; Obituary Notice of, 246 Everett (J. D.), Outlines of Natural Philosophy, 78 Evolution without Natural Selection, Chas. Dixon, 26, 100, 128 ; Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 26, 100, 128 Evolution of a Satellite, Tidal Friction and the, Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 367 Evolution, an Essay in, the Springs of Conduct, C, Lloyd , Morgan, Prof. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 436 Evolution des Phanérogames, L’, MM. Saporta and Marion, J. Starkie Gardner, 388 Ewald (Prof.), Second Swallowing Noise, 576 Ewart (Prof.), on Herring Hatching, 214 Ewing (Prof. J. A.), Measurement of Movements of the Earth with Reference to proposed Earthquake-Observations on Ben Nevis, 68 ; Residual Magnetism in Diamagnetic Substances, 512; Effects of Stress and Magnetism on Thermo-Electric Quality of Tron, 550 Excursions et Reconnaissances of French Cochin China, 62 Exeter Science Classes, Lord Iddesleigh at the, 160 Exhibition, Liverpool International, C. E. De Rance, 9 Exhibition, Indian and Colonial, 61 Eee Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX xi Explorations in Pahang, Rey. J. E. Tenison- Woods, 31 Explosion, Velocity of the Wave of, Prof. Mach, 375 Explosions in Coal-Mines, Sir Frederick A. Abel, F.R.S., 108, 138; at the Mardy Mine, 208; Coal-Dust and Explosions, Sir Fredk. A. Abel, F.R.S., 417 Eyes, Colour of the, of Italians, 348 Fabry’s Comet, 161, 184, 236, 256, 426, 466, 518; T. W. Backhouse, 366; Fabry and Barnard Comets, 376 Family Names in Sweden, 349 Farm, Animal Life on the, Prof. G. T. Brown, 292 Farming, Systematic Small, Robert Scott Burn, 266 Farr’s (Dr.), Papers on Statistics, 89 Faune profonde des Lacs Suisses, Dr. F. A. Forel, G. H. Wollaston, 195 Fawcett (the late Prof. H.), on Darwin, 208 Faxon on Crayfish, 519 Faye on the Constitution of the Earth’s Crust, 527 Fenton (H. J. H.), on the Limited Hydration of Ammonium Carbamate, 262 Fergusson (James, F.R.S.), Death of, 254 Ferocity of Animals: Unus, 560; F. H. Collins, 583; Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 513, 604 ; W. August Carter, 533 Field’s Chromatography, J. Scott Taylor, 530 Filiform Silver, the Growth of, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 26 Finch’s (Dr. Otto) New Guinea Collection, 327 Finland, Carnivora in, 184 Fire-Ball observed in the District of Aas, 375 Fischer (Dr. Theodor), on the Development of Coasts, 64 Fischer (Dr. Heinrich), Death of, 374 Fish: Arrival of Chinese and Japanese, 41 ; Ravages of Sea- Lions on Californian, J. D. Redding, 41 ; Observations on the Effect of Certain Influences on Marine Fishes, 41 ; the Hatch- ing of Fish Ova, 106; Relation of Yolk to Blastoderm in, Brook, 335; Naturalisation of Lobsters and other Fish in Tasmania, 137; Fish-Culture at Delaford Park, 182; in Canada, 302, 303; National Fish-Culture Association, 327 ; Fish-Culture, 537; Instance of Vital Resistance in Fishes, 208; Fish Fauna of Lake Balkhash, Nikolsky, 327 ; Fish- Breeding in the Lake of Como, 396; Star-Fishes from South Georgia, 399; the Pelagic Stages of Young Fishes, Agassiz and Whitman, 467; Torture of the Fish-Hawk, 520 Fisheries, Colonial, at Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 61 Fishery Board for England, 505 ; Scotland, 558 Fissures (Hill), near Dornsdorf, 464 Fitzgerald (Prof. Geo. Fras.), Admiralty Manual on Terrestrial Magnetism, 246 Fletcher (Thos.), Ventilation, 153, 199 Flight (Walter, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of, 85 Flint-knapping in Albania, 527 Flood Rock Explosion, Attempts to obtain Records of Earth Tremors from, Prof. Mendenhall and Paul, 39 Flora of the Peruvian Andes, John Ball, 70 Flora, Nival, of Switzerland, 206 Flora, Fossil, of Basalt Rocks of Mull, J. S. Gardner, 285, Boe. of the Alps, Tourist’s Guide to the, Prof. K. W. vy. Dalla-Torre, 557 Floras, Cretaceous, of Canada, Sir William Dawson, F.R.S., 31; Cretaceous and Tertiary, of the United States, Leo Lesquereux, J. Starkie Gardner, 196 Flower (Prof. W. H., F.R.S.), an Introduction to the Osteology of the Mammalia, 364 Flowering Plants, Symbiosis between Fungi and the Roots of, Alf. W. Bennett, 212 Flowers, Mahwa, Prof. A. H. Church, 343 Flowers, Fraits, and Leaves, Sir John Lubbock, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 601 Foetus, Apneea of the, Prof. Zuntz, 143 Fog-Penetrating Power of Double Quadriform Burner, Prof. W. F. Barrett, 335 Folie (M.), Secular Nutation of the Earth’s Axis, 376 Folk-Lore Journal, 278 Folk-Lore: Religious Beliefs of the Chersonese People, M. Stephanoff, 496; Ceylon Orientalist, 518 ’ Forbes’s (H. O.) Exploration in New Guinea, 108, 280 Force in Modern Science, M. Hirn on, 213 Forecasts, Weather, Bishop of Carlisle, 79 Forel (Dr. F. A.), on Seiches, 184; La Faune profonde des Lacs Suisses, Dr. G. F. Wollaston, 195 Forestry in Norway, 88 Forestry, John R. Jackson, 201 Forests on Climate, Influence of, Dr. A. Woeikof, 190 Forests and Forestry in Poland, &c,, J. Croumbie Brown, LL.D., 27 Formosa, the Aborigines of, 302 ; G. Taylor, 612 Forms of Ice, Rev. Geo. Henslow, 486 Fossil Crocodiles, History of, 331 Fossil Flora of Basalt Rocks of Mull, J. Starkie Gardner, 285, 33 Fossil Groups from Belgian Formations, E. Dupont, 333 Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum, Catalogue of the, Richard Lydekker, 365 Foster (Prof. M., F.R.S.), Article on Physiology in the Encyclopzdia Britannica, 121 Foucault’s Revolving Mirror, Velocity of Light as Determined by, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 439; J. Willard Gibbs, 582 Fox, the Behring Straits, 136 France: Travelling Juries on Science, &c., 16; Anthropology in, 18; Extension of Telephonic Communication in, 18, 106 ; Ballooning in, 88; French Photographs of the Transit of Venus, 89; French Institute, 159 ; Progress of the Study of Natural Science in; 255; Birth-Rate in, 348 ; Topographical Society of, 593 Franklin Institute, Journal of the, 309 Fraser (Lieut.-Col. A. T.), Tropical Dew, 583 Free Public Libraries, Thos, Greenwood, W. Odell, 459 Free Libraries, the Sheffield, 517 French Cochin China, Science in, 67 French Language in Canada, 497 Freund (Ernst), on the Coagulation of Blood, 395 Friction and Molecular Structure, Rey. Edward Geoghegan, 154 ; Col. C. K. Bushe, 199 Friction, Tidal, and the Evolution of a Satellite, Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 367 Friederichsen (L., and Co.), Sea-Mills at Argostoli, 154 Fritsch (H.), Aurora, 559 Frog: Young, Devolopment of Larve of Rana esculenta, 95 ; on Variations of Fat in Liver-Cells of, J. N. Langley, F.R.S., 164; the Frog, Prof. A. Milnes Marshall, F.R.S., 242 Frohlich (Dr.), Investigations into Theory of Dynamo-Electrical Machines, 552 Frost in Devonshire, Henry Cecil, 418 Frosts, Anchor, T. Hands, 246; Dr. John Rae, F.R.S., 269 Fruits, Flowers, and Leaves, Sir John Lubbock, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 601 Fungi and the Roots of Flowering Plants, Symbiosis between, Alf. W. Bennett, 212 Fungi, British, Dr. Cooke’s Illustrations of, 464 Fungus, New Edible, 399 “ Furcula” or ‘* Furculum,” R. W. Shufeldt, 8 Gabbros, Dolerites, and Basalts of the Tertiary Age, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 263 Gadow (Dr. Hans), on the Reproduction of the Carapax in Tortoises, 473 ; Remarks on the Cloaca and on the Copu- latory Organs of the Amniota, 573 Gage (S. H. and S. P.), Aquatic Respiration in Soft-Shelled Turtles, 548 Galloway (W.), the Coal-Dust Question, 197, 366, 441 Galton (Francis, F.R.S.), Conference of Delegates of Corre- sponding Societies of the British Association held at Aberdeen, 81; Anthropology, 94; Hereditary Stature, 295, 317 Galvanometers, a New, 455 ; Maxwell’s, Prof. S. P. Thompson, 574; on Calibration of, T. Mather, 166; the Reading of Small Angular Deflections, 610 Gamel (Mr.), Proposed New Greenland Expedition, 91 Garden, the Vegetable, MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., 241 Gardner (J. Starkie): Permanence of Continents and Oceans, 53; the Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the U.S., Leo Les- xii INDEX [Wature, Fune 3, 1886 quereux, 196; Fossil Flora of Basalt Rocks of Mull, 285, 3343 Parallel Roads, 343; L’Evolution des Phanérogames, MM. Saporta and Marion, 388; on Grasses, 574 Garson (Dr. J. G.) : Dr. Paul Topinard’s Elements d’Anthropo- logie générale, 3; Eine exacte Methode der Craniographie, Dr. C. Rieger, 314 Gas, Electricity, and Oil as Lighthouse Illuminants, Report to the Trinity House on the Inquiry into the Relative Merits of, 271 Gas Fog-Penetrating Power of Double Quadriform Burner, W. F. Barrett, 335 Gas Analysis, Technical, Clemens Winkler, 603 Gas-Light, Dr. Auer’s New, 208 Gases, Aérostatic Balance for Determining the Specific Gravity of, 397 Gases ond Liquids under Various Conditions of Temperature and Pressure, Thos. Andrews, F.R.S., 550 Gaskell (Dr. A. H.), the Visceral and Vascular Nerves, 548 Gautier and Colson, on a New Method of Chloridation, 120 Gautier (M. Raoul), the Proposed Change in the Astronomical Day, 592 Gautsch (Dr.), on the Use of Ruled Paper in Schools, 208 Gegenbaur’s Morphologisches Jahrbuch, 473 Geikie (Arch., LL.D., F.R.S.), Louis Agassiz, His Life and Correspondence, 289 ; Class-Book of Geology, 348, 554 Gemmell (J. W.), on the Magnetisation of Steel and Iron, 473 Geoghegan (Rev. Edward), Friction and Molecular Structure, 154 Geography : Geographical Notes, 43, 63, 90, 108, 185, 280, 304, 377, 467, 520, 539, 567, 593, 612; Geographical Society of Tokio, 44; Geographical Society of Lisbon, 44; Deutsche geographische Blatter, 44; Vienna Geographical Society, 211; Geographical Society of Vienna, 593; Bulletin of Paris Society of Geography, 211; Geographical Education, 273; Want of Analytical Index in Geographical Books, 378; Geographical Education and Natural Science, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 451; Statistics of Geographical Societies in Europe, 468 ; Geography of the African Continent, 567 Geology: Prof. Prestwich, F.R.S., Geology, 16, 385; Geology in the Malay Peninsula, 18; Geology of England and Wales, Woodward’s, 107; Geological Society, 94, 166, 190, 262, 358, 502, 551, 574, 621; Geological Magazine, 159 ; Geology of Malaysia, Southern China, &c., Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods, 231; Old Sea-Beaches at Teignmouth, G. Wareing Ormerod, 263; the Marks of the Ice Age on the Northern Alpine Slopes, 348; Class-Book of Geology, Arch. Geikie, F.R.S., 348, 554; Geologists’ Association, 574; at the Science Schools, 534; on Two Rheetic Sections in Warwickshire, Rev. P. G. Brodie, 551: Geology of India, Contributions to the, 574; Geology of Palestine, Edward Hull, F.R.S., 601 Geometrical Teaching, Association -for the Teaching of, 233, 277 Geometry, 88 Geometry, Analytical, a Treatise on, J. Casey, F.R.S., 172 Geometry, Elements of, G. Bruce Halsted, 340 Gephyrea, Report on the, Dr. E. Selenka, 410 Gerlach (Prof.), Method of Watching the Embryo-Growth in Birds’ Eggs, 497 Germ-Plasma considered as the Basis of a Theory of Heredity, the Continuity of the, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., Dr. August Weismann, 154 German Alpine Lakes, Temperature of, 375 German Naval Observatory, 411 ss Cenmaniam New Element discovered by Clemens Winkler, 41 Germany, Accidents from Lightning in, 425 Gessi (Romolo), Objects collected in East Central Africa, 468 Gibbs (J. Willard), Velocity of Light as determined by Fou- cault’s Revolving Mirror, 582 Giglioli (Prof.), Italian Aid to Biological Research, 52 Gilbert (Prof. J. H., F.R.S.), Chlorophyll, 91 Gill (Mr.), M. Loewy’s Method of determining the Elements of Refraction, 566 Gilman (D. C.), Benefits which Society derives from Univer- sities, 281, 305 Girard (M.), Award of the Prix Montyon to, 347 Glacial Rivers, Deltas of, 343 Glacial Shell-Beds in British Columbia, G. W. Lamplugh, 621 Glacier Bay in Alaska, G. W. Lamplugh, 461 Gladstone (Dr. J. H., F.R.S.): Obituary Notice of Alfred Tribe, 180 ; the Value of the Refraction Goniometer in Chemi- cal Work, 352; the Growth of Filiform Silver, 526 Glasgow, the Present Position of the Museum and Art Galleries of, 496 Glasgow, Proposed Photographic Exhibition in, 565 Glasgow, Report of the Mitchell Library, 590 Glazebrook (R. T., F.R.S.), Optical Theories, 18 Glows: Sunset, W. Ainslie Hollis, 198; Sunrise, R. T. Omond, 487; Krakatdo Dust-, of 1883-84, 483 ; E. Douglas Archibald, 604 Glycogenic Function of the Liver, 122 Goajira Peninsula, F. Simons’s Exploration of, 185 Goat, Book of the, H. Holmes Pegler, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Godeffroy, Ethnological Collection, Sale of, 566 Godman and Salvin’s Biologia Centrali Americana—Insecta : Coleoptera, Vol. I., Part 1, by H. W. Bates, 77 Gold-Mines, the Bommelo, Reusch, 17 Gold, Silver, &c., Electro-Deposition of, A. Watt, 510 Goniometer, Refraction, Value of, in Chemical Work, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 352 Goodwin (W. L.), Tertiary Rainbows, 8 Gore (Dr. G., F.R.S.), the Whole Duty of a Chemist, 150; on Resistance at Surfaces of Electrodes in Electrolytic Cells, 431 Gore’s Nova Orionis, 235, 256 Gorebridge, Earthquake Shock felt at, 611 Gottingen, Royal Society of Sciences of, 600 Gould (Dr.) his Work in the Argentine Republic, 9 Graber (Vitus), Die dusseren mechanischen Werkzeuge der Thiere, 291 Granada, Earthquake at, 464 Granular Masses (‘‘ Dilatancy”’), F.R.S., on, 429 Grape-Vine Mildew, on the, Prof. Gaetano Cantoni, 473 Grasses, Australian, at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 301 Grasses, J. Starkie Gardner, 574 Gravis (A.), Recherches Anatomiques sur les Organes Végé- tatifs de l Urtica dioica, 363 Graydon (N. A.), Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun, 29 Grayling Ova at the National Fish Culture Association, 591 Great Nebula, Nova Andromeda and its Relation to the, 89 Greaves (John), Elementary Treatise on Statics, 537 Greely (Lieut.) : Arctic Expedition, 481; Microscopical Exam- ination of Material from Intestines of Lieut. Kisslingbury, Frank Crisp, 71 ; Lecture on his Arctic Expedition by, go ; Lieut. Greely on Ice, Dr. John Rae, 126, 244; Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society Awarded to, 495 Green (J.), Proteid Substances in Latex, 382 Greenhill (A. G., F.R.S.), Differential and Integral Calculus, Major Allan Cunningham, 412 Greenhow (Edward), Iridescent Clouds, 199 Greenland: Proposed New Expedition to, 91 ; East Greenland Exhibition at Copenhagen, 375 Greenwood (Thos.), Free Public Libraries, W. Odell, 459 Greville Memoirs, the, 16 ; Greville’s Respect for Science, 16 Grilleau (B. de), les Aérostats dirigeables, 460 Groth (P.), Physikalische Krystallographie und Einleitung in die krystallographische Kenntniss der wichtigeren Substanzen, 316 Ground Temperatures and Wind-Holes, 312 Grunmach’s (Dr.) Barometrical Observations, 480 Guatemala, the Discovery of Ancient Sculptures in, Vreeland and Brandsford, 17 Guerault (M.), Death of, 449 Guinaus of Abra in Luzon, Prof. Blumentritt on the Tribe of, 378 Guppy (H. B.), Observations on the Recent Calcareous Forma- tions of the Solomon Group, 202; Pumice on the Cornish Coast, 559 Gurina, Prehistoric Settlements of, Dr. A. B. Meyer, 517 Guthrie (Prof. F., F.R.S.), on Molecular Equivalents, 21 ; a New Musical Instrument, 335 Prof. Osborne Reynolds, Nature, Fune 3, 1886) INDEX xiil Gutta-percha of Bassia parkit, the, Heckel and Schlagden- hauffen, 120 Haast (Dr. Julius Von, F.R.S.), Visit to England, 423 Hair: the Colour of, among Italians, 348; on Body, Abnormal Development of, 326 Hake (H. Wilson), and A. Dupré, Short Manual of Chemistry, 602 Haliburton (Dr. W. D.), the Blood of Decapod Crustacea, 472 Hall (Prof. Asaph), Parallax of Nova Andromede, 566 Halle Verein fiir Erdkunde, 468 Hallstatt, the Prehistoric Necropolis at, 517 Halo, Solar: E. J. Stone, F.R.S., 222; with Parhelia, William Ellis, 535; Variegated Iridescent Halo, G. H. Stone, 391 Halsted (G. Bruce), Elements of Geometry, 340 Hands (T.), Numerical Exercises in Chemistry, 99; Anchor Frosts, 246 Hangsen-Blangsted (M.), on Disagreement between Geo- graphers as to Highest Peaks in Denmark, 468 Hansen (Dr. Andr. M.), ‘‘Seter,” ‘‘ Strandlinjer,” or Parallel Roads in Central Norway, 268, 365 Harbours, Design and Construction of, Thos. Stevenson, Major Allan Cunningham, 579 Harrar, Emir of, Massacre of the Members of a Geographical Expedition by, 612 Harries (Henry), on Tracing a Typhoon to Europe, 205 Harvard College Museum Report, Prof. Agassiz, 462 Harvard College Observatory, 376 Haslam (J. B.), Recent Star-Shower, 128, 220 Hatton (Frank), North Borneo, 267 Hauer (Ritter Franz von), the New Natural History Museum, Vienna, 345 Haushofer (Dr.), Microskopische Reactionen, 174 Haviland (Cyril), Proposed Exploration of Pacific Islands, 280 Hawaiian Archipelago, Census of, 568 Hawks : the Torture of the Fish-Hawk, 520 Hayden (F. S.), Report of the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories, E. T. Newton, 193 Heape (Walter), on the Development of the Mole, 547 Heart, on Sulphate of Sparteine as Medicine for Irregular Action of, Germain Sée, 120 Heat: Radiant Light and, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 35, 251, 369; Radiation of, from the same Surface at Different Temperatures, J. T. Bottomley, 85, ror; Prof. Langley’s Observations on Solar, 105; Invisible Heat-Spectra, S. P. Langley, 332; Heat Quantities, Harry M. Elder, 391; Nu- merical Examples in, R. E. Day, 558; Protective Influence of Black Colour from Light and, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 5395 Lectures on Sound, Light, and, Richard Wormell, 580 Heavens, the Story of the, Sir Robert Stawell Ball, F.R.S., 12 Heckel and Schlagdenhauffen, the Gutta-percha of Bassza parkii, 120 Hedgehog, Climbing Powers of the, Robert H. Scott, 583; Hyde Clarke, 604 Hedges (Killingworth), Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun, 6 Heer (Prof. Oswald), on the Nival Flora of Switzerland, 206 Hehn (Victor), Wanderings of Plants and Animals, Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, 170 Heights of Clouds, N. Ekholm, 53; Thos. W. Backhouse, 486 Hellmann (Dr.), on Mountain Meteorological Observatories, 72 Helm Wind, the, Dr. A. Woeikof, 30; Lieut.-Gen. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S., 54; William Marriott, 94 Helmholtz (Prof. R. von, F.R.S.), on Electrolysis, 20; the Action of Dust on Cloud-Formation in Saturated Air, 552 pemsley (W. B.), Botanical Results of the Challenger Voyage, 33 Henry (Prof. Joseph), Collected Works of, 302 Henry (MM.), the Pleiades as Seen and as Photographed, 592 Henslow (Rev. George), Effects of Solar Spectrum on the Transpiration of Plants, 165 ; Forms of Ice, 486 Hepworth (Campbell M.), ‘* Weatherology”’ and the Use of Weather Charts, 512 Herat Valley, Col. Stewart’s Account of the, 468 Herdman (Prof. W. A.), on some Points in the Phylogeny of the Tunicata, Dr. B. Uljanin, 546 Hereditary Stature, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 295, 317 Heredity, the Continuity of the Germ-Plasma Considered as the Basis of a Theory of, Dr. August Weismann, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 154 Heredity, Ch. Van Bambeke on, 520 Herring Hatching, Prof. Ewart on, 214 Herring, Habits of the, 349 Herringham (W. P.), on the Minute Anatomy of the Brachial Plexus, 620 Herrings, Attempt to Naturalise, at South Kensington Aquarium, 376 Herroun (E. J.), Electromotive Force of Certain Iron Cells, 93 Herschel (Prof. A. S.), November Meteors, 102 Hesselberg (Dr. Karl), the Climate of Norway, 16, 277 Fleterocephalus phillipsi, O. Thomas, 93 Heyes (J. F.), ‘‘ Radical ” or ‘‘ Radicle,” 559 Hicks (Henry, F.R.S.), Recent Researches in Bone-Cayes in North Wales, 166 Hirn (M.), on Force in Modern Science, 213 Histological Studies of Batrachian Larve, Prof. A. Kolliker, 473 History of British Birds, Henry Seebohm, 463 History of Elasticity, Dr. Karl Pearson, 53 Hoang-ho, Potanin’s Journey to the Upper, 43, 304 Hoarding Insects, Bees and other, 64 Hoff (J. H. van’t), Experiments on Phenomena of Phosphonium Chloride during Decomposition, 63 Holden (Prof. E. S.), 61 Holder (Chas. F.), Marvels of Animal Life, 532 Hollis (W. Ainslie), Sunset-Glows, 198 ; a Meteor, 245 Hooker (Sir J. D., F.R.S.), Scandinavian Ice-Floes, 79 ; Re- tirement of, 88 ; on Castilioa elastica, 165 Hopley (Miss Catherine C.), a Family of Rare Java Snakes, 295 Hop-scotch, J. W. Crombie, 167 Horizon, Apparent Enlargement of Celestial Objects near the, 9 Hornaday (William T.), Two Years in the Jungle, 173 Horrified Cat, E. J. Dungate, 487 Hudson (W. H.), South American Bird-Music, 199 Huggins (Dr. W. H.), on Photographing the Corona in Full Sunshine, 42 Hughes (Prof. D. E., F.R.S.), 87 Hull (Edward, F.R.S.), Geology of Palestine, 601 Hunt (A. R.), Resting Position of Oysters, 8, 154 Hunter’s (John) House, Dr. B. W. Richardson, F.R.S., 233, 275 Huxley (Prof. T. H., F.R.S.), Resignation of the Presidentship of the Royal Society, 16 ; Pension Conferred on, 105 ; Address to the Royal Society, 112 Hydrochloric and Hydrosulphuric Acids, Reciprocal Action o£ Salts of Antimony and, Berthelot, 287 Hydrography, 280 Hydrophobia and M. Pasteur, 1, 423, 599; H. M. Tomlin, 245 ; Precautions against, 337; Deaths from, in Paris during 1885, 348; Proposed Hospital in Paris, 448; J. Chamber- lain on Pasteur’s Cure for, 464 Hydrosulphuric and Hydrochloric Acids, Reciprocal Action of Salts of Antimony and, Berthelot, 287 Hymenoptera, Nocturnal, of the Genus Bombus, Marquis G. Doria, 392; Jno. C. Wilson, 487 Hypertrichosis, 326 Tapetus, Orbit of, 303 Ice : Lieut. Greely on Floebergs, 126 ; Dr. 126, 244; Worms in, 399 Ice Age and the Northern Alpine Slopes, 348 Ice Cavities, Prof. Schwalbe, 312, 384 Ice-Floes, Scandinavian, Sir J. D. Hooker, F.R.S., 79; Reve A. Irving, 129 Ice-Forms, Peculiar, Henslow, 486 Ichthyology, 333; Arrival of Chinese and Japanese Fish, 41 ; the Pelagic Stages of Young Fishes, Agassiz and Whitman, 467 John Rae, F.R.S., B. Woodd Smith, 461; Rev. Geo. alv INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Iddesleigh (Earl of), on Scientific Education, 160 Illuminants, the South Foreland Experiments with, 39 Images, After-, 270 Index, Analytical, Want of, in Geographical Books, 378 India: Transfrontier Surveys of, Scott, 44; Indian Antiquary, 210; H. F. Blanford on the Winter Rains of Northern India, 234; Dr. R. Norris Wolfenden on the Venom of the Indian Cobra, 238; Cyclones in India and Telegraphic Warnings, 349; Survey of India, 441, 489; Indian and Colonial Exhi- bition, Drawings of Australian Fish at, 233; Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 278 India-rubber, on the Behaviour of Stretched, when Heated, Herbert Tomlinson, 7 Indo-China, the Languages of, Prof. T. de Lacouperie, 40; B. de St. Pol Lias’s Journeys in, 44; Confusion of the Names of States in, 378 ; Entomology of, 575 Ingersoll (E.), Effect upon Wild Animals of Settlements of North America, 89 Ingram (Percy T.) November Meteors, 104 Injurious Insects, Reports on, Chas. Whitehead, Eleanor A. Ormerod, 577 Inoculation as a Preservative against Consumption, M. Verneuil, 395 Inorganic Chemistry, Elements of, James H. Shepard, 98 Inorganic and Organic, Lessons in Elementary Chemistry, Sir Henry E. Roscoe, F.R.S., 603 Insanity Statistics, 182 Insect Enemies, Theodore Wood, 6 Insect, Mimicry in a Neuropterous, Dr. E. R. Johnson, 365 Insects: Bees and other Hoarding, 64; Longevity of, 199; Obnoxious, in Russia, 449; Injurious, Reports on, Chas. Whitehead, Eleanor A. Ormerod, 577 Institute of Chemistry, Grant of a Royal Charter to, 73 Institution of Civil Engineers, 286, 382, 575 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 277; Annual Meeting, 351 Institution of Naval Architects, 585 Integer Numbers of the First Centenary satisfying the Equation A* = 3B? 'C*, Sir G. B: Airy, F-R:S., 532 Integral Calculus, Differential and, A. G. Greenhill, Major Allan Cunningham, 412 Intelligence of Dogs, Mary Knott, 418 International Exhibition, Liverpool, C. E, De Rance, 9 International Sanitary Conference of Rome, 1885, 25 Intra- Vascular Clotting, L. C. Wooldridge, 382 Invention, an Earthquake, D. A. Stevenson, 7, 534; Prof. John Milne, 438 Ireland, Auroric Displays in, 537 Iridescent Clouds, ‘Thos. W. Backhouse, 199, 486; Edward Greenhow, 199; Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 219; John Steven- son, 220; W. Macgill, 219; John Thomson, 219 ; D. Patter- son, 220; Charles Davison, 220, 292 Iridescent Halo, Variegated, G. H. Stone, 391 Tron, the Thermo-electric Quality, Effects of Stress and Mag- netisation on, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 550 Iron, the Effect of Change of Temperature on the Velocity of Sound in, Herbert Tomlinson, 582 Iron Ships, on the Use of Models for Instruction in the Mag- netism of, 587 Iron and Steel Bars, Tensile Tests of, Peter D. Bennett, 351 Iron and Steel Institute, Annual Meeting of, 610 Iron Wires under Tension, Shelford Bidwell, 597 Irving (Rev. A.), Scandinavian Ice-Floes, 129 Irving (A.), Dissociation and Contact-Action, 485 Island, New, in the South Seas, 308 Islands situated far from a Continent, on Local Magnetic Disturbances in, Commander E. W. Creak, F.R.S., 404 Ismidt, Earthquake in, 255 Isodynamic Surfaces of Compound Pendulum, F. E, Nipher, 332 Isopoda, Report on the, Frank E. Beddard, 409 Italy: Italian Aid to Biological Research, Prof. Trinchese, Prof. Todaro, Prof. Passerini, Prof. Giglioli, Lieut. Chierchia, and Prof. Dohrn, 52; Thunderstorms in, 302; Climate of Rome in Winter and the Tuscan Hills in Summer, David Young, 342; Colour of the Eyes and Hair of Italians, 348 ; Italian Geographical Society, 468 Ivens, MM. Capello and, Proposed Money Grant to, 44 Izvestia of Russian Geographical Society, 43, 161, 183 Jackson (John), Practical Arithmetic on an entirely New Method, 29 Jackson (John R.), Forestry, 201 Jacob (Dr. Ernest H.), Ventilation, 222 Jamaica: Hand-book of, 150; the Public Gardens and Planta- tions of, 207, 255 ; Cultivation of Cinchona in, 207; Rainfall in, 277; Mr. Morris’s Tour in, 424 Jametel (M.), Corea before the Treaties, 91 Jamin (Prof. Jules), Death of, 374; Obituary Notice of (with Portrait), 493 Janssen (J.), Photography as a Means Astronomy, 287 : Japan: Medical Education in, 40; Arrival of Japanese Fish in England, 41 ; Earthquakes in, 209 ; the Seismological Society of Tokio, 235 ; Seismology in, Prof. Milne, 405 ; New System of Earthquake Observations in, Seikei Sekiya, 603 ; Japanese Homes and their Surroundings, Prof. Morse, 235 ; Vaccina- tion in, 235 ; Naval Astronomical Observatory of, 2553; the Pictorial Arts of, W. Anderson, F. V. Dickins, 386, 418; A Short Statement of the Aim and Method of the ‘‘ Romajie Kai,” 487 ; Imperial Engineering College at Tokio, 424, 496 ; Proposed Meteorological Observatory on the Loochoo Islands, 496 ; Japanese National Survey and its Results, Dr. Naumann, 617 ; Japp (Dr. F. R., F.R.S.), Outlines of Organic Chemistry, H. Forster Morley, 435 ; a Correction, 461 Jaska, Earthquake at, 349 Java Snakes, a Family of Rare, Miss Catherine C. Hopley, 295 Java: Volcano Merapi, the, Herr von Brandis, 468 ; Volcanoes on the Island of, 568 Jeaffreson (J. B.), Death of, 278 Jodin (Victor), on a Photo-chemical Reaction of Schiitzenberger’s Oxymetric Fluid, 552 John (Dr. E. R.), Mimicry in a Neuropterous Insect, 365 Johns Hopkins University, 61; Physics at, 237 Johnston-Lavis (Dr. H. J.), Krakatao, 6; Vesuvian Eruption of February 4, 1886, 367 Joly (Prof. J.), the Meldometer, 15 ; on Determining the Specific Gravity of a Dense Solid, 382 Jordan, Across the, Gottlieb Schumacher, 578 Jordan (W. L.), the Ocean, 28 Jordan’s Photographic Sunshine Recorder, 95, 180 Jorissen (E.), the Origin of Diastase, 332 Joukowsky (Prof. N.), on the Laws of Motion of a Solid Body, 349 Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, 188, 473 Journal of the Asiatic Society, 209 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 234 Journal of Botany, 403, 572 Journal of the Franklin Institute, 309 Journal of Physiology, 472, 548 Journal de Physique, 309, 473 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, 218 Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, 119, 380, 547 Journal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Society, 356, 548, 597 Judd (Prot J. W., F.R.S.): on Specimens of the Deposits of the Nile Delta, 142, 317; on the Gabbros, Dolerites, and Basalts of the Tertiary Age, 263; the Relation of the Repti- liferous Sandstone of Elgin to the Upper Old Red Sandstone, 310; on the Science Schools at South Kensington, 534 Jungle, Two Years in the, William T. Hornaday, 173 Jupiter : Lunar Inequalities due to the Action of, 450 ; Relation of Asteroid Orbits to that of, Prof. H. A. Newton, 592 Jupiter’s Fourth Satellite, Dark Transits of, 466 Juries, Travelling-, on Science, &c., French, 16 of Discovery in Kane (W. F. de Vismes), European Butterflies, R. McLachlan, EARNS el Kassubs, the Pomeranian, Wienkowski, 281 Kaulbars (Baron), Information concerning the former Bed of the Amu-Daria River, 611 Keane (Prof. A. H.), Kilima-Njaro, 332 Kekulé, Auguste, 87 Keller (Dr. Conrad), Scientific Exploring Expedition to Mada- gascar, 612 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX XV Kent, Borings in, E90 Keratosa, Report on the, N. Poléjaeff, 409 Kew Gardens, 105 Kew : Thermometer-Testing at, G. M. Whipple, 93 ; Magneto- graphs at, 262 Khorassan, Natural History of, 326 Kilima-Njaro, Prof. A. H. Keane, 322 Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, W. Robertson Smith, Andrew Lang, 529 Kirghis, the, 524 Kite-Wire Suspended Anemometers, some Results of Observa- tions with, up to 1300 feet above the Ground, in 1883-85, E. Douglas Archibald, 593 Klein (Dr., F.R.S.), Bacteriological Research, 405 Klement and Renard (MM.), Micro-chemical Reactions, 566 Knott (Mary), Intelligence of Dogs, 418 Koch (Dr.), on Cholera, 97 Kolliker (Prof. A.), Histological Studies of Batrachian Larve, 473 Konig (Dr.), Colour-Blindness, 288 ; Photometers, 480 Konovaloff’s Researches on Contact Actions, 350, 351 Krakatao: Dr. H. J. Johnston-Lavis, 6; ‘‘ Bishop’s Ring,” Edward F. Taylor, 533; Mr. Verbeek on, 560; Dust-Glows of 1883-84, 483 ; E. Douglas Archibald, 604 Kraus (Dr. Ernst), Charles Darwin, Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 147 Krystallographie, Physikalische, P. Groth, 316 La Coste on Van Meyer’s Apparatus for Determining Densities, 63 La Nuova Scienza, 62 Laboratories, Distribution of Driving-Power in, 248 Laboratory Practice, Physical, First Course of, A. M. Worth- ington, 580 Lacaze-Duthiers (M. le), on a Curious Optical Phenomenon in a Parrot, 136 Lachlan (R.), on Systems of Circles and Spheres, 572 Lacouperie (Prof. T. de), the Languages of Indo-China, 40 Lagrange (Ch.), Solution of Wrouski’s Universal Problem, 332 Lake-Balls in the Engadine, 465 Lake of Como, Breeding of Fish in, 396, 496 Lake Constance, Investigation of Depths of, 567 Lake-Dwellings, British, Dr. R. Munro, 334 Lakes : Changes of Level of, Prof. Forel, 184 ; German Alpine, Temperature of, 375 Lalande’s Element, 528 Lamellibranchiata, Report on the, Edgar A. Smith, 410 Lamont’s Zones, Observations of Neptune occurring in, 498 Lamplugh (G. W.), Notes on the ‘‘ Muir Glacier” of Alaska, 299; Glacier Bay in Alaska, 461; Glacial Shell-Beds in British Columbia, 621 Lancaster (A.), Tableaux-Résumés des Observations Meétéorolo- giques faites 4 Bruxelles, 390 Lancaster (M.), an Astronomical Directory, 538 Lang (Andrew), Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, W. Robertson Smith, 529 Langley (J. N., F.R.S.), on Variations of Fat in the Liver- Cells of Frog, 164 Langley (Prof. S. P.), Researches on Solar Heat, 105 ; on the Temperature of the Surface of the Moon, 210, 211: Invisible Heat-Spectra, 332; on the Emission-Spectra of Bodies at Low Temperatures, 426 Language, French, in Canada, 497 Lankester (Prof. E. Ray, F.R.S.), Obituary Notice of Dr. Carpenter, C.B., F.R.S., 83; Royal Medal Awarded to, 87 ; Pleomorphism of the Schizophyta, 413 Lanoline, Prof. Liebreich on, 216 Lapland, Russia, Chas. Rabot, 280 Lasaulx (Dr. A. K. P. F.), Death of, 347 Latex, Proteid Substances in, J. R. Green, 382 Latitude, Distribution in, of Solar Phenomena, 498 Lavis (Dr. H. J. Johnston-), Supposed Fall of an Aérolite in Naples, 153 Law of the Resistance of the Air to the Motion of Projectiles, Rev. F. Bashforth, 604 Leangen, Meteor Observed at, 397 Least Squares, Method of, a Text-Book on the, Mansfield Merriman, 51 Leaves, on the Bloom of, F. Darwin, 404 Leaves, Flowers, Fruits and, Sir John Lubbock, Dr, Maxwell T. Masters, 601 ~ j Le Conte (Prof. John), Do Young Snakes take Refuge in the Stomach of the Mother ?, 441 ; Ledger (Rev. E.), Curious Phenomenon in Cephalonia, 246 — Lee (Dr. F. Arnold), Flora of the West Riding of Yorkshire, I Tee, Ferment of the Saliva of, and Coagulation, 144 Lefroy (Gen. Sir J. H., F.R.S.), a Stray Balloon, 99 Left-Handedness, Hypothetical Suggestions as to Origin of, Dareste, 549 Legislation, Electric Lighting, 507 Lemnos, Earthquake in, 349 | Lenz’s (Dr.), Congo Expedition, 91 Leonids in 1885, Return of the, William F. Denning, 162 Lesquereux (Leo), the Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the U.S., J. Starkie Gardner, 196 Leslie (Robert), November Meteors, 103 Lesseps (F. de), Progress of the Panama Canal, 552 Level, Changes of, in the Nile Basin, S. Archer, 317 Lewis (A. L.), Stone Circles in Cumberland, 334 Leyden Museum, Notes from the, 390 Leyden Observatory, 42, 256 ; Lias (B. de St. Pol), Journeys in Indo-China, 44 Libraries : Free, in United States, 277; Free Public, Thomas Greenwood, W. Odell, 459; the Sheffield, 517 Lick Observatory, 61 Liebreich (Prof.), on Lanoline, 216 Life, Marvels of Animal, Chas. F. Holder, 532 Light, Standards of White, 236 ; Light, the Action on Gases of, Dr. Pringsheim, 287 Light, Zodiacal, 350 Light, Polarisation of, Sir John Conroy on, 453; Herr Sohncke, 497 Light : Velocity of, as determined by Foucault’s Revolving Mirror, Dr, Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 439; J. Willard Gibbs, 582; Velocity of, and the Solar Parallax, 518 | Light, Lectures on Sound, Heat and, Richard Wormell, 580 Light and Heat, Radiant, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 35, 251, 369; Protective jInfluence of Black Colour from, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 559 i Lighthouse Illuminants, Report to the Trinity House on the Inquiry into the Relative Merits of Electricity, Gas, and Oil as, 271 ; Lighthouse Illumination, Wigham’s Latest Adaptation of Gas to, 33 Tipit sos Lighting of, by Electricity, 312 sf Lighthouses, South Foreland, Experiments with Iluminants, 39 Lightning : Remarkable Effect of, 396; Accidents from, in Germany, 425 Lines in Solar Prominences, Displacement of, 498 Linguistic Revolution, 487 Linnean Society, 70, 119, 165, 189, 333, 404, 454) 478, 550, 508 kw Linnean Society of New South Wales, 23 Linstow (Dr. von), Metamorphosis in Nematodes, 329 Lioness’s Brain, Dissection of, 517 Lions and Tigers Killed in Algeria, 303 Liquids under Various Conditions of Temperature and Pressure Thomas Andrews, F.R.S., 550 Lis Island, Sweden, Earthquake in, 18 Lisbon, Geographical Society of, 44 Lithologie, Elemente der, 342 Liverpool College, Presentation of an Observatory to, 566 Liverpool International Exhibition, C. E. De Rance, 9 ___ Lizards, Catalogue of, in the British Museum (Natural History), Geo. Albert Boulenger, 316 ‘ Liznar (Herr), Attempt to Determine Daily Course of Cloudi- ness over Earth’s Surface, 40 Load-Lines of Ships, 169 Lock (Rev. J. B.), Trigonometry for Beginners, 438 Lockyer (J. Norman, F.R.S.): a New Form of Spectroscope, 189 ; Sun and Stars, 399, 426, 469, 499, 540 Locomotion, Human, the Mechanics of, Marey and Demeny, 71 XVI INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Locomotives and the Electric Light, 209 Lodge (Prof. O. J.): on Electrolysis, 20; Elementary Me- chanics, 28 ; Mechanics, 80; Permanent Magnetic Polarity, 484 Leewy (M.): on the Use of Refraction in Astronomy, 287 ; Equatorial-Coudé in Paris, Proposed, 464; Method of De- termining the Elements of Refraction, Mr. Gill, 566 London Sanitary Protection Association, 450 London, Technical Education in, 182 Long (J.), Poultry for Prizes and Profit, 412 Longevity of Insects, 199 Loochoo Islands, Proposed Meteorological Observatory on the, 496 Loomis (Elias, LL.D.), Contributions to Meteorology, 49 Lowe (E. J.), the Recent Star-Shower, 152 Lubbock (Sir John, F.R.S.): on the Intelligence of the Dog, 45; appointed Rede Lecturer, 449; Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 601 Lubrication, on the Theory of, Prof. Osborne Reynolds, F.R.S., 476 Lucerne, the Climate of, Herr Suidter, 464 Lumbar Curve in Man and Apes, Prof. D. J. Cunningham, 378 Lunar Irregularities Due to the Action of Jupiter, 450 Lydekker (Richard), Catalogue of Fossil Mammalia in the British Museum, 365 Lyell (J. G.), Fancy Pigeons, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Lyne (W. H.), the Recent Star-Shower, 152 Lyre-Bird, Australian, Alfred Morris, 30 W. B. Tegetmeier, Macallum (A. B.), Nerve-Terminations in the Tadpole, 285 McConnel (James C.), on the Form of the Wave-Surface of Quartz, 213 Macgill (W.), Iridescent Clouds, 219 Macgowan (Dr. D.J.), the Movement and Air Cure in China, 465 ; Square Bamboo, 560 Mach (Prof.), Velocity of the Wave of Explosion, 375 McIntosh (Prof. William C.): Annelida polycheta, 409; the Distribution of Appendicularia, 514 M’Keague (John), the Recent Star Shower, 151 Mackenzie (Capt. T.), Meteorological Phenomena, 245 McLachlan (R., F.R.S.), European Butterflies, W. F. de Vismes Kane, 171 Macleay, Ravages of Larva of Longicorn Beetle on Orange- Trees, 23 McNab (Prof. W. R.), on Macrozamia denisonii, 191 Macro-molecules, on, Prof. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., 21 Macrozamia denisonn, Prof. W. R. McNab, 191 Madagascar: Notes on the Volcanic Phenomena of Central, Rev. R. Baron, 415; Dr. Konrad Keller’s Scientific Ex- ploring Expedition to Madagascar, 612 Madan (H. G.), Note on some Organic Substances of High Refractive Power, 335; ‘‘ Radicle” or ‘‘ Radical,’’ 533 Madeira, Earthquake in, 327 Magdeburg, Prehistoric Remains in, 450 Magnetic Fluctuations, Rev. S. J. Perry, F.R.S., and Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 262 Magnetic Disturbance, Local, in Islands situated far from a Continent, Commander E. W. Creak, F.R.S., 404 Magnetic, Permanent, Polarity of Quartz, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 441 ; Prof. Oliver Lodge, 484 Magnetic apisturbances: Prominences and, 498 Magnetic Phenomena, Solar and, Connection between, G. M. Whipple, 559 Magnetisation, Effects on Thermo-Electric Quality of Iron of Stress and, J. A. Ewing, 550 Magnetisation of Steel and Iron, on the, J. W. Gemmell, 473 Magnetism, on the Diurnal Schuster, F.R.S., 614 Magnetism of Iron Ships, on the Use of Models for Instruction in the, 587 Magnetism, Residual, in Diamagnetic Substances, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 512 Magnetism, Terrestrial, Admiralty Manual on, Prof. Geo. Fras. Fitzgerald, 246 Magnetism, Willoughby Smith, 364 Period of Terrestrial, Arthur Magnetism, on the Forces concerned in Producing the Solar Diurnal Inequalities of Terrestrial, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 613, 620 Magneto-Electric Phenomenon, G, H. Wyatt on, 263 Magnetographs at Kew, 262 Mahwa Flowers, as Source of Cane-Sugar, Prof. A. H. Church, ven Maia, Nebula round, 425, 518 Main (J. F.), Recent Star Shower, 128 Main (Rev. Thomas John), Death of, 233 Malaga, Earthquake at Velez, 327 Malan (E. de M.), Vibration of Telegraph Wires, 295 Malay Peninsula, Appointment of Mr. W. Cameron as ‘‘ Hono- rary Explorer and Geologist ” to the Straits Settlements, 18 Malays and Dravidians, on the Common Origin of, M. O. Beauregard, 549 Malaysia, Southern China, &c., Geology of, Rey. J. E. Tenison- Woods, 231 Mammalia, Fossil, Catalogue of, in the British Museum, Richard Lydekker, 365 Mammalia, Osteology of the, an Introduction to the, W. H. Flower, 394 Mammalia in their Relation to Primeeval Times, Oscar Schmidt, 556 Man (E. H.), on the Nicobar Islanders, 190 Man and Apes, Lumbar Curve in, Prof. D. J. Cunningham, 378 Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 40, 287, 358, 382 Mangin (Capt.), Death of, 88 Mansion House, Science at the, 564 Maps and Charts, Printed, in British Museum, Catalogue of, Prof. Douglas, 63 Maps, Bathy-hypsographical, Ravenstein on, 280 Mardy Mine, the Explosion at, 208 Marey and Demeny, the Mechanics of Human Locomotion, 71 Marine Fishes on the Coast of Venezuela at Carupano, on some Interesting Cases of Migration of, Dr. A. Ernst, 321 Marion (M.), and M. Saporta, l’Evolution des Phanérogames, J. Starkie Gardner, 388 Marriage, Kinship and, in Early Arabia, W. Robertson Smith, Andrew Lang, 529 Marriott (William), the Helm Wind, 94 Mars, Rotation-Period of, 42; Richard A. Proctor, 81, 245 ; H. G. Van de Sande Bakhuyzen, 153 Marshall (Prof. A. Milnes, F.R.S.), the Frog, 242 Marshall Archipelago, Statistics of, 281 Marvels of Animal Life, Chas. F. Holder, 532 Masters (Dr. Maxwell T., F.R.S.), Models Illustrative of Phyllo- taxis, 176; the Vegetable Garden, MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux, 241; on the History of Certain Conifers, 334; Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves, Sir John Lubbock, 601 Mathematical Fragments, Clifford’s, R. Tucker, 460 Mathematical Society, 70, 165, 286, 382, 478, 573 Mathematics, American Journal of, 531 Mathematics, Correlation of the Different Branches of Elemen- tary, R. B. Hayward, F.R.S., 543 Mather (T.), On Calibration of Galvanometers, 166 Mathews (A. S.), White Blackbirds, 269 Matter in Gaseous and Liquid States under Various Conditions of Temperature and Pressure, Thos. Andrews, F.R.S., 550 Mauritius, Meteor Shower at the, C. Meldrum, F.R.S., 276 Mayall (J., jun.), On Riddell’s Binocular Microscope, 71 Measurement of Movements of the Earth with Reference to Proposed Earthquake Observations on Ben Nevis, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 68 Measures, Metric or English ?, 9 Mechanics, Elementary, O. J. Lodge, 28 Mechanics, Prof. Oliver Lodge, 80 Medical Education in Japan, 40 Medical Study in Oxford, 445 Médicale, Zoologie, Traité de, Prof. R. Blanchard, 174 Megalania, Two Species of, Sir Richard Owen, F.R.S., 573 Meignan (Victor), from Paris to Pekin over Siberian Snows, 219 Meikong Rapids, Ascent by Commander Réveillére of, 91; Study of the, at Low Water, 567 Melbourne Telescope, the Great, 538 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX fe XVI Meldola (Raphael) and William White, Report on the East Anglian Earthquake of April 22, 1884, 265 Meldometer, the, Prof. J. Joly, 15 Meldrum (C., F.R.S.), Meteor Shower at the Mauritius, 276 Melsens (Prof.), Death of, 609 Melvin (Jas.), Parallel Roads in Norway, 293 Mendenhall (Prof.), Attempts to obtain Records of Earth Tremors from Flood Rock Explosion, 39 Menier’s (M.), Speculation in Electric Lighting, $8 Mercadier (E.), Telemicrophonic Instruments, 336 Mercurial Bath, a New, 311 Mercury, on the Expansion of, 575 Mercury, on the Vapour-Pressures of, Ramsay and Young, 165 Merriman (Mansfield), a Text-Book on the Method of Least Squares, 51 Merv Oasis, 520 Mestorf’s (Fraulein) Hand-book of the Prehistoric Antiquities of Schleswig-Holstein, 536 Metamorphosis in Nematodes, Von Linstow, 329 Metals in Diluvial Clay, Remarkable Discovery of Rare, Dr. Strohecker, 461 Metals, the Internal Friction of, Herbert Tomlinson, 549 Meteoric Dust, Father Denza, Hon. R. Abercromby, 16 Meteorite Found in Tennessee, W. P. Blake, 332; Fall of, in Norway, 537 Meteorology : in China, Pére Dechevrens, 17 ; in Austria, 40 ; Contributions to, Elias Loomis, LL.D., 49; Meteorology, 61; Dr. Hellmann on Mountain Meteorological Observa- tories, 72; Typhoon, Origin of British Weather, Henry Harries, 95; Meteorological Society, 96, 624; Rainfall at Ben Nevis Observatory, 159, 347; M. Yurgens’s Report on Meteorology of Russia, 161; in the New England States, 181 ; Proposed Mountain Meteorological Station in Mexico, 182; Influence of Forests on Climate, Dr. A. Woeikof, 190; Great Storm at Partenkirchen, 190; Tracing a Typhoon to Europe, 205; H. F. Blanford on the Winter Rains of Northern India, 234; Meteorological Phenomena, H. Toyn- bee, 245; Capt. T. Mackenzie, 245 ; Chas. West, 245 ; John C. Willis, 319; Rainfall of Singapore, 302; Thunderstorms in Italy, 302 ; Exhibition of Barometers at the Meteorological Society, 347 ; Snow-Covering and the Weather, Dr. Woeikof, 379; Berlin Meteorological Society, 384, 408; Tableaux- Résumés des Observations Météorologiques faites 4 Bruxelles, A. Lancaster, 390; the Weather, 447; Extraordinary Dry- ness of the Air, 464; Proposed Meteorological Observatory on the Loochoo Islands, 496; the Recent Weather, Capt. Henry Toynbee, 513; the Exhibition of Meteorology, 515 ; Weather in South Australia, Stevenson’s Thermometer Screen, Clement L. Wragge, 533; Continental Information, 610 ; Observations in the Straits Settlements, 610; Cuthbert E, Peek’s Second Report of the Rousdon Meteorological Ob- servatory, 610; Respective Heights of Meteorological Stations of Europe, Dr. Breitenlohner, 610; Royal Meteorological Society. See Royal Meteors: in Norway, 61, 397, 424, 590; November, W. F. Denning, tor; Prof. A. S. Herschel, 102; Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommanney, F.R.S., 103; Robert Leslie, 103; F. T. Mott, 103; E. F. Bates, 104; Percy T. Ingram, 104; James Smieton, 104; G. J. Symons, F.R.S., 104; Brilliant Meteor, John Stevenson, 176 ; Meteor Showers, 184; at the Mauritius, C. Meldrum, F.R.S., 276 ; a Meteor, W. Ainslie Hollis, 245 ; Remarkable, 278 ; seen at Sutton, Surrey, 301 ; seen near Barnstaple, 327; Vessel set on Fire by, 516; in Siberia, 591 ; Meteoric Display of November 27, 524 Method of Least Squares, a Text-Book on the, Mansfield Merriman, 51 Metric or English Measures ?, 9 Mexico, Proposed Mountain Meteorological Station in, 182 ; Volcanic Eruption in, 327 Meyer (Dr. A. B.), Prehistoric Settlements of Gurima, 517; on the Prehistoric Necropolis of Hallstatt, 517 ; Album of Phil- ippine Types, 591 : Meyer (General), on the Transcaspian Region, 186 Meyer’s (Von), Apparatus for Determining Densities, 63 Michael (A. D.), on the Nymphal Stage of Zegeocranus cephet- Sormis, 119 Micro-Chemical Reactions, MM. Klement and Renard, 566 Micro-Organisms, on the Action of Sunlight on, Arthur Downes, M.D., 357 Microscopical Anatomy and Embryology, Methods of Research in, C. O. Whitman, 243 Microscopical Examination, 9 Microscope, Water-, D’Arsonval’s, Crisp, 70 Microscope, Riddell’s Binocular, J. Mayall, jun., 71 Microscopical Society. See Royal Microskopische Reactionen, Dr. Haushofer, 174 Middlemiss (C. S.), Sound-Producing Apparatus of the Cicadas, 82 #44 Midleton (R. Morton), the Viper (Vipera berus, L.), 176 Migration of Marine Fishes on the Coast of Venezuela at Cartt- pano, on some Interesting Cases of, Dr. A. Ernst, 321 Military Signalling, Bruce’s System of, 41 Milky Way, Photographs of, 311 Millar (W. J.), an Introduction to the Differential and Integral Calculus, with Examples of Application to Mechanical Pro- blems, 99 Millardet and Gayon, Lime and Sulphate of Copper, Treatment of the Vine, 95 Miller (Hugh), Parallel Roads in Norway, 318 Mills (Edmund J.), Variable Stars, 440, 514 Mills, Sea, at Argostoli, J. Lloyd Thomas, 129; L. Frieder- ichsen and Co., 154 Milne (Rev. J. J.), Solutions of Weekly Problem Papers, 391 Milne (Prof. John), an Earthquake Invention, 438 ; Seismology in Japan, 465 Mimicry in a Neuropterous Insect, Dr. E. R. Johnson, 365 Mineralogical Society, 23, 168 Mineralogy in Norway, 40 Mineralogy, Rudiments of, Alex. Ramsay, 316 Mines, Coal-Dust Explosions in, 197 Mines Commission Report, 568 Mines, the Explosion at the Mardy, 208 Minor Planets, Discovery of, Herr Palisa, 567 Mississippi, Discovery of the Source of the, Henry Gannett, 221 Mist Bow, 366 Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Report of, 590 Mithun, the, S. E. Peal, 7 Mittheilungen of Vienna Geographical Society, 44, 251 Mittheilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bern, 47) 473 Mobius (Dr. Karl), Resting Position of Oysters, 52 Models Illustrative of Phyllotaxis, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., 176 Models for Instruction in the Magnetism of Iron Ships, on the Use of, 587 Mole, on the Development of the, Walter Heape, 547 Molecular Constitution of a Solution of Cobaltous Chloride, Prof. W. J. Russell, F.R.S., 21 Molecular Equivalents, Prof. F. Guthrie, F.R.S., 21 Molecular Physics, 330 ‘ Molecular Structure, Friction and, Rev. Edward Geoghegan, 154; Col. C. K. Bushe, 199 Molecular Weights, 20; of Salts, S. U. Pickering, 21; of Solids and Salts in Solution, Prof. W. A. Tilden, F.R.S., 21; Cryoscopic Method of Determination of, Raoult, 120 Molecules, the Size of, Prof. A. W. Reinold, F.R.S., 20 Moller (M.), Return of, 91 Monatsschrift fiir den Orient, 91 Monge Reinstated in His Rights by Prof. Beman of the Uni- versity of Michigan, U.S., and Boole Justified, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 581 Montsouris, Observatory at, 424 Moon, on the Photographing the Corona of the, in Full Sun- shine, 42 ; Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite, James Nasmyth, 79 ; Temperature of the Surface of the, 210, 211 Morgan (Prof. C. Lloyd), on the Sound-Producing Apparatus of the Cicadas, 368; the Springs of Conduct, an Essay in Evolution, Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 436 Morley (Dr. H. Forster), Outlines of Organic Chemistry Dr. F. R. Japp, F.R.S., 435 ; a Correction, 461 Morphologisches Jahrbuch (Gegenbaur’s), 473 Morren (Prof. C. J. Edward), Death of, 423; Obituary Notice of, 446; on the Sensibility and Movements of Plants, 520 Morris (D.), and the Public Gardens and Plantations of Jamaica, XVill INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 207; Offered the Assistant Directorship of Kew Gardens, 207 Morris (John), Obituary Notice of, 248 Morse (Prof.), Japanese Homes and their Surroundings, 235 Mortillet (M. de), Resignation of, 137 Moseley (Prof. H. N., F.R.S.), the Continuity of the Germ- Plasma considered as the Basis of a Theory of Heredity, Dr. August Weismann, 154 ; Geographical Education and Natural Science, 451 Moser (Dr. James), 61 Mosses, Hand-book of, Jas. E. Bagnall, 557 Motion: Effect upon the Earth’s, produced by Small Bodies passing near it, 210; Prof, N. Joukowsky on the Laws of, 349 Motion of Projectiles, Law of the Resistance of the Air to the, Rey. F. Bashforth, 604 Mott (F. T.): November Meteors, 103; Movement of Tele- graph- Wires, 366 Mouchez (M.), on Celestial Photography, 383 Mounds, Ancient, in Canada, 279 Boyonent and Air Cure in China, the, Dr. D. J. Macgowan, 405 Movement of Telegraph-Wires, F. T. Mott, 366 Movements of the Earth, Measurement of, with Reference to Proposed Earthquake Observations on Ben Nevis, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 68 Movements of Plants, Sensibility and, §20 “Muir Glacier” of Alaska : Notes on the, G, W. Lamplugh, 299 ; Lieut. Chauncey Thomas, 441 Mull, Isle of : Pisciculture at, 278; the Basalt Rocks of, Worss Gardner, 285; Fossil Plants from, J. Starkie Gardner, 334 Miillenhoff (Dr.), Kepler’s Description of the Structure of the Bee’s Cell, 407, 623 Munk (Prof. H.), on the Corpora Striata in the Pigeon, 216 Munro (D. R.), British Lake Dwellings, 334 Munro (Dr.) and Prof. Wrightson, Basic Cinder, 595 Murder, Bird-, Prof. R. Bowdler Sharpe, 553 Murphy (J. J.), Blackberry Blossoms in November, 31; Black- bird with White Feather, 176 Murray (G.), Rhipilia, 478 Mus musculus in the Behring Straits, 137 - Mushrooms, Norwegian Toadstools, 213 Music, South American Bird, W. H. Hudson, 199 aa the Fresh- Water, how it opens its Shell, Herr Pawlow, 10} Myzostoma, New British, P. Herbert Carpenter, F.R.S., 8 Nabriguas; Cave of, Emile Cartailhac on Human Crania found in, 120 Naga Hills, Botany of the, C. B. Clarke, 550 Naples, Supposed Fall of an Aérolite in, Dr. H. J. Johnston- Lavis, 153 Nasmyth (James), the Moon Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite, 79 Nation, the New York, on the Private Endowment of Research, 39 National Fish Culture Association, 348 Natural History Museum, the New Vienna, Ritter Franz von Hauer, 345 ; Natural Philosophy, Outlines of, J. D. Everett, 78 Natural Science, Geographical Education and, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 451 Natural Selection, Evolution without, Chas. Dixon, Geo. Ne Romanes, F.R.S., 26, 126 Naturalism, on the Ethics of, W. R. Sorley, 175 Nature and Her Servants, Theodore Wood, 150 Neen (Dr.), Japanese National Survey and its Results, 17 Naval Observatory, Washington, 376, 494; Report of the Superintendent of the, G. E. Belknap, 330 Navigable Balloon, M. Renard on, 421 Navigation, Aérial, Dr. William Pole, F.R.S., 444 Nebula in Andromeda, Spectrum of the Great, 42; Nova Andromedz and its Relation to the Great Nebula, 89, 397 Nebula, New, Discovery of, by Photography, 235 Nebula Round Maia, 425, 518 Neesen (Prof.), Experiments on Sounding Air-Columns, 95 Nematodes, Metamorphosis in, Von Linstow, 329 Neptune, Observation of, occurring in Lamont’s Zones, 498 Nerves, Visceral and Vascular, the, Dr. W. H. Gaskell, 548 Nettle, the Anatomy of the, A. Gravis, 363 Neuropterous Insect, Mimicry in a, Dr. E. R. Johnson, 365 New England States, Meteorology in the, 181 New Guinea: the Reported Massacre of the Expedition to, 44; the Dutch Government and the Proposed Exploration of, 91 ; Mr. H. O. Forbes in, 108, 280 ; Exploration of, 305 ; Dr. Otto Finch’s New Guinea Collection, 327 New South Wales, Technical Education in, 462 New York: Harbour, the Flood Rock Explosion and Earth Tremors, 39; Pasteur Institute, 233; Agricultural Experiment Station for the year 1884, Prof. John Wrightson, 243 New Zealand : Institute, 187; Coleoptera, 191; Salmon and Trout Ova despatched to, 376 Newall (R.S., F.R.S.): Earthquake, 129 ; Curious Phenomenon in Cephalonia, 270 Newall (H. F.) and Prof. J. J. Thomson on the Formation of Vortex Rings, 356 Newbould (Rev. W. W.), Death of, 609 Newton (Prof. Alfred, F.R.S.), Article on Ornithology in the Encyclopedia Britannica, 121 : Newton (Prof. H. A.), the Story of Biela’s Comet, 392, 418; Relation of Asteroid Orbits to that of Jupiter, 592 Newton (E. T.), Tertiary Vertebrata of the West, 193 Newton: His Friend: and His Niece, Augustus De Morgan, 557 Nicobar Islanders, E. H. Man, 190 Nikolsky, Fish-Fauna of Lake Balkhash, 327 Nile Basin, Stone Implements and Changes of Level in the, F. Archer, S. Archer, 317 Nile Delta, on Specimens of the Deposits of the, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 142, 317; Sir. J. Wm. Dawson, F.R.S., 221, 295, 417 ‘ Nineteenth Century, Astronomy during the, Agnes M. Clerke, Sir Robert S. Ball, F.R.S., 313 Nipher (F. E.), Isodynamic Surfaces of Compound Pendulum, 332 Nitrification, Warington on, 63 Nitrogen in Plants, Action of Argillaceous Clays in Fixation of Free Atmospheric, Berthelot, 24 Nitrogen in the Soil, 46 Nival Flora of Switzerland, 206 Nocturnal Hymenoptera of the Genus Bombus, Marquis G. Doria, 392; Jno. C. Wilson, 487; Non-Metallics, Chemistry of the, Dr. E. B. Aveling, 557 North Borneo, Frank Hatton, 267 Norway : the Climate of, Dr. Hesselberg, 16, 277 ; Discovery of Apatite in, Enoksen, 40; Meteors in, 61, 397, 424 ; Norwe- gian Forest Association, 88 ; Norwegian North Atlantic Ex- pedition, 1876-78, Zoology, Crustacea, G. O. Sars, 148; Norwegian Toadstools, Dr. Schiibeler, 213; ‘‘ Seter,” ‘* Strandlinjer,” or Parallel Roads in Central, Dr. Andr. M. Hansen, 268; Jas. Melvin on, 293; Hugh Miller on, 318; Palinurus vulgaris in Norwegian Waters, 279 ; Introduction of the American Trout into (Salmo fontinalis), 611 ; Nor- wegian Native Minerals Used for Fabricating Objects of Art, 375; Aurora Borealis in, 397 ; Earthquakes in, 397, 424, 591 ; Ethnographical Objects at Christiania University, 424 ; Herrings on the Coast of, 497; Fall of Meteorite in, 537; Fishery Board in, 611 Nosiloff, New Route between Obi and Petchora Rivers, 186 Notions Générales sur l’Eclairage Electrique, Henry Vivarez, 342 Nouveaux Mémoires de la Société Helvetique des Sciences Naturelles, 70 Nova Andromedz and its Relation to the Great Nebula, 89 Nova Andromedze of 1885 and Nova Scorpii of 1860, 466 Nova Andromede, Parallax of, Prof. Asaph Hall, 566 Nova Orionis, Gore’s, 235, 256 Nova Scorpii of 1860, Nova Andromede of 1885 and, 466 November, Blackberry Blossoms in, J. J. Murphy, 31 November Meteors: W. F. Denning, 1or; Prof. A. S. Herschel, 102; Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommanney, F.R.S., Robert Leslie, and F. T. Mott, 103; E. F. Bates, Percy T. Ingram, James Smieton, and G. J. Symons, F.R.S., 104 q E Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX xix Numbers, Integer, of the First Centenary, satisfying the Equa- tion 42 = B+ C?, Sir G. B. Airy, F.R.S., 532 Numerical Examples in Heat, R. E. Day, 558 Numerical Exercises in Chemistry, T. Hands, 99 Nuova Scienza, on the Modern School of Metaphysicians, Prof. Caporali’s, 611 Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano, 189, 403 Nutation, Secular, of the Earth’s Axis, 376 Obi and Petchora Rivers, New Route between, Nosiloff, 186 Obligado (Col.), Death of, 44 Observation of Neptune occurring in Lamont’s Zones, 498 Observatories: the Zi-ka-wei, 17; Hints on the Construction and Equipment of, for Amateurs, G. F. Chambers, 56; Mountain Meteorological, Dr. Hellmann on, 72; Beloit College, A. L. Chapin, 81; Dearborn, 107; Ben Nevis, 159 ; Pulkowa, 185 ; Leyden, 256 ; Report of the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval, G. E. Belknap, 330; Rainfall on Ben Nevis, 347 ; Harvard College, 376 ; Astrophysical, of Potsdam, 376 ; Naval, Washington, 376; German Naval, 411 ; Montsouris, 424; U.S. Naval, 494; Armagh, 498; Rousdon, Devon, Cuthbert Peek, 538, 610 Observatory, Annual Companion to the, 396 Observers, School Children as, Mrs. Bryant, 94 Ocean, the, W. L. Jordan, 28 Oceans, Permanence of Continents and, J. Starkie Gardner, 53 Qdell (W.), University Extension Movement, 344; Free Public Libraries, &c., Thomas Greenwood, 459 Odling (Prof. William, F.R.S.), Address before the Institute of Chemistry, 73 3; Whole Duty of a Chemist, 99 Oil, Gas, and Electricity as Lighthouse Iluminants, Reports to the Trinity House on the Inquiry into the Relative Merits of, 271 Old Sea-Beaches at Teignmouth, G. Wareing Ormerod, 263 Olliff (A. S.), Cryplommatus jansoni, Matt., 23 Ommanney (Admiral Sir Erasmus, F.R.S.), November Meteors, 103 Omond (R. T.), Sunrise-Glows, 487 Ophthalmologic Education in the United Kingdom, Dr. R. E. Dudgeon, 29 Optical Theories, R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S., 18 Orange-Trees, Ravages of Larva of Longicorn Beetle on, Macleay, 23 Orbit of Iapetus, 303 Orbit of Tethys, 303 Organic Chemistry, Outlines of, Dr. H. Forster Morley, Dr. F. R. Japp, F.R.S., 435 ; a Correction, 461 Organic and Inorganic Lessons in Elementary Chemistry, Sir Henry E. Roscoe, 603 Ormerod (Eleanor A.), Reports on Injurious Insects, 577 Ormerod (G. Wareing), Old Sea-Beaches at Teignmouth, 263 Orientalist, the Ceylon, 62, 518 Orientalists, Congress of, 234 Orionis, Gore’s Nova, 235, 256 Orionis, New Star near x, Prof. A. Riccd, 269 Ornithology, notes on, 93; Prof. Alfred Newton’s article on, in the Encyclopzedia Britannica, 121 Osteology of the Mammalia, an Introduction to the, W. H. Flower, F.R.S., 364 Otago University Museum, Notes from the, Prof. T. Jeffery Parker, 163 ‘ Otter-hunting in Behring’s Sea, 136 Owen (Sir Richard, F,R.S.): an Extinct Worbat, 94; De- scription of Fossil Remains of Two Species of a Megalanian Genus (Meiolania, Ow.) from Lord Howe’s Island, 573 Oxford, Medical Study in, 445 Oxygen, Absorption-Spectrum of, 89 Oxygen, Chemical Results of Explosion of Carbon Monoxide and, Traube, 63 Oxymetric Fluid (Schiitzenberger’s) on a Photo-Chemical Reaction of, Victor Jodin, 552 Oysters: Resting Position of, A. R. Hunt, 8, 154; Prof. W. Turner, F.R.S., 30; Dr. Karl Mobius, 52; a Correction, John A. Ryder, 80; J. T. Cunningham, 129; Artificial Propagation of, W. K. Brooks, 329; Oyster-Culture in Sweden, 537 Pacific Islands, Proposed Exploration of, Cyril Haviland, 280 Pahang, Explorations in, Rey. J. E. Tenison-Woods, 31 ‘*Palan Byoo,” or ‘‘ Teindoung Bo,” some Account of the, J. Wood-Mason, 6 Palestine, Geology of, Edward Hull, F.R.S., 601 Palinurus vulgaris in Norwegian Waters, 279 Palisa (Herr), Discovery of Minor Planets, 567 Panama Canal, Progress of the, F. de Lesseps, 552 Paper, the Use of Ruled, in Austrian Schools, 208 Paraguayans, Abnormal Development of Hair on, 326 Parallax of Nova Andromede, Prof. Asaph Hall, 566 Parallax of y° Aurigee, Herr W. Schur, 612 Parallel Roads in Central Norway, ‘‘ Seter,” ‘‘Strandlinjer,”’ or, Dr. Andr. M. Hansen, 268; Jas. Melvin, 293; Hugh Miller, 318; J. Starkie Gardner, 343 ; Dr. Andr. M. Hansen, 365 Parhelia, Solar Halo with, William Ellis, 535 Paris: Telephonic Communication between Rheims and, 18 ; Brussels and, 375; Academy of Sciences, 24, 48, 71, 95, 120, 143, 168, 192, 215, 239, 264, 287, 311, 336, 359, 383, 406, 431, 455, 479, 503, 527, 552, 575, 599, 622; Prizes given by the, 187, 215; Astronomical Prizes of the, 235 ; and M. Paul Bert, 347; Award of the Prix Montyon to M. Girard, 347 ; Appointment of a Committee on Hydrophobia, 448 ; Geographical Society, 44, 64, 108, 281; Medals for 1886 of, 467; Anthropological Society of, 89; School of Ethnology, 105 ; Society of Geography Bulletin, 211 ; Paris to Pekin over Siberian Snows, Victor Meignan, 219; Electric Lighting of the Opera House in, 234; Use of Salt in Lique- faction of Snow in, 326; Movement to Replace Wine by Cider in, 327 ; Deaths from Hydrophobia in, during 1885, 348 ; the Tower of St. Jacques, 396 ; Proposed Loewy Equa- torial-Coudé in, 464; Proposed Erection of the Gigantic Metallic Tower Invented by M. Eiffel at the Paris Exhibition, 611 Parker (Prof. T. Jeffery), Notes from the Otago Museum, 163 Parliament, Scientific Men in, 160 Parrot, Right-Footed, C. V. Boys, 8 Partenkirchen, Great Storm at, 190 Passerini (Prof.), Italian Aid to Biological Research, 52 Pasteur (Louis), and Hydrophobia, 1, 159, 423, 448, 464, 599; Pasteur Institute in New York, 233; the Cure of Diphtheria, 423; Application of Pasteur’s Method against Rabies in St. Petersburg, 464; the Proposed Pasteur Insti- tute, 479 Patterson (D.), Iridescent Clouds, 220 Paul (Prof.), Attempts to obtain Records of Earth Tremors from Flood Rock Explosion, 39 Pawlow (Herr), How the Fresh-water Mussel opens its Shelli, 106 Peach (Chas. William), Obituary Notice, 446 Peal, S. E., the Mithun, 7 Peale (A. C.), on the Method of stating Results of Water Analyses, 546 Pearson (Dr. Karl), History of Elasticity, 53 ; Obituary Notice of M. Barré de Saint-Venant, 319 Peck (W.), the Apparent Movements of the Planets and the Principal Astronomical Phenomena for the Year 1886, 438 Peculiar Ice-Forms, B. Woodd Smith, 461 Peek (Cuthbert), Rousdon Observatory, Devon, 538, 610 Pegler (H. Holmes), Book of the Goat, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Pekin, from Paris to, over Siberian Snows, Victor Meignan, 219 Pelagic Stages of Young Fishes, 467 Pendulum, the Compound, the Isodynamic Surfaces of the, F. E. Nipher, 332 Penhallow (D. P.), Tendril Movements in Cucurbitaceze, 332, 548 Pennington (A. S.), British Zoophytes, 149 Pennsylvania, Fall of Huge Aérolite in, 183 Pennsylvania, Notes on the Physiological Laboratory of the University of, N. A. Randolph, 126 Peptones, Alimentary Walue of the, Prof. Zuntz, 144 Perak, Tribes of the State of, 377 Periods, Universal Secular Weather, E. Douglas Archibald, 52 Peripatus, Cape, on the Development of, Adam Sedgwick, 547 Permanence of Continents and Oceans, J. Starkie Gardner, 53 XX INDEX [Vature, Fune 3, 1886 Permanent Magnetic Polarity, Prof. Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 8 Perry (Prof. John), Note on Ramsay and Young’s Paper on some Thermodynamical Relations, 334 Perry (Rev. S. J., F.R.S.) and Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., on Magnetic Fluctuations of the Declination at Kew and Stonyhurst, 262 Perthshire Society of Natural Science, 160 Peruvian Unit of Measure Preserved in the French Observatory, on the Authenticity and Exact Value of the, M. C. Wolf, 503 Petchora and Obi Rivers, New Route between, Nosiloff, 186 Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 64, 211, 425, 567 Peters (Dr. C. W.), Double Star 61 Cygni, 350 Petrie (Wm. F.), Recent Star-Shower, 128 Petrography, a New Work on, 449 Petroleum-Wells, Reported Discovery of, at Jemsah, 496 Phanerogams, Evolution of the, MM. Saporta and Marion, J. Starkie Gardner, 388 Phenological Observations for 1885, Rev. T. A. Preston, 190 ‘* Philippine Types,” Dr. Meyer’s Album of, 591 Phillips (R. E.) on the Construction of Modern Cycles, 132, 177 Philology, Comparative, Prof. T. de Lacouperie, 40 “*Phonophore,” New Telephonic Invention, Langdon Davies, 610 Phosphonium Chloride, Experiments on Phenomena during De- composition of, J. H. van’t Hoff, 63 Photography : Photographing the Corona in Full Sunshine, 42 ; Photography of the Corona, Capt. W. de W. Abney, F.R.S., 53; French Photographs of the Transit of Venus, 89 ; Jordan’s Photographic Sunshine Recorder, 95, 180; Composite Photography, 182; Discovery of New Nebula by Photography, 235; Photography as a Means of Discovery in Astronomy, Janssen, 287 ; Photographic Evidence as to the Constitution of Sunspots, 328; Photography, Stellar, 376; Photographic Study of Stellar Spectra, ‘‘ Henry Draper Memorial,” Edward C. Pickering, 535; Photography, Celestial, M. Mouchez on, 383 ; the Pleiades as Seen and as Photographed, MM. Henry, 592 Photometer, 42; Prof. Wilsing on the, 42; Mr. Chandler on, 2; the Wedge, Dr. Konig on the, 480 Photometry of the Pleiades, 161 Photometry, Colour, Capt. Abney and Gen. Festing, 525, 526 Phyllotaxis, on some Models Illustrating, Prof. T. Jeffery Parker, 163; Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., 176 Phylloxera, P. Boiteau, 336 Phylloxera at the Cape, 392 Phylogeny of the Tunicata, on some Points in the, Dr. B. Uljanin, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 546 Physical Laboratory Practice, First Course of, A. M. Worthing- ton, 580 Physical Society, 93, 166, 263, 334, 405, 478, 526, 574, 620 Physics at Johns Hopkins University, 237 Physics, Molecular, 330 Physikalische Krystallographie, P. Groth, 316 Physiology : Physiological Effects of Alpine Climbing, Observa- tions on, M. Vernet, 18; Prof. M. Foster’s Article on Physio- logy in the Encyclopeedia Britannica, 121 ; Physiological Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania, Notes on the, N. A. Randolph, 126 ; Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Physiology, Dr. P. H. Pye-Smith, 150; Studies from the Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry of the Sheffield Scien- tific School of Yale College for 1884-85, 316 Pickering (Edward C.), Photographic Study of the Stellar Spectra, ‘‘ Henry Draper Memorial,” 535 Pickering (S. U.), Molecular Weights of Salts, 21 ; on Calori- metrical Thermometers, 405 Pickering (W. H.), Photographing the Corona in Full Sunshine, 42 Pictorial Arts of Japan, W. Anderson, 386; F. V. Dickins, 386, 418 Pierres 4 Cupules, 525 Pigeons, the Corpora Striata in, Prof. H. Munk, 216 Pigeons, Fancy, J. G. Lyell, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Pigments, Artist’s Manual of, H. C. Standage, 530 Pilcomayo River, Exploration of, 521 Pile-Dwellings of Lake of Bienne, Skulls ound in, Dr. Studer, 17 Pinto (Major Serpa), Exploration of Africa, 521 Pisciculture, 41, 61; at South Kensington, 106, 278; at Isle of Mull, 278 ; in Canada, 302, 303 Plagiostomata, the Anatomy of the Central Nervous System ot the, Alfred Sanders, 333 Planets: the Moon Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite, James Nasmyth, 79 ; Telescopic Search for the Trans- Neptunian, David P. Todd, 258 ; Apparent Movements of the Planets, W. Peck, 438; Discovery of Minor Planets, Herr Palisa, 567 Plantes, une Experience sur l’Ascension de la Séve chez les, Léo Errera, 580 Plants, Action of Argillaceous Clays in Fixation of Free Atmo- spheric Nitrogen in, Berthelot, 24 Plants and Animals, Wanderings of, Victor Hehn, Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, 170 Plants considered in Relation to their Environment, 607 Plants, Sensibility and Movements of, the late Prof. Morren on, 520 Plants, the Transpiration of, the Effects of Solar Spectrum on, Rev. G. Henslow, 165 . Playfair (Sir Lyon, F.R.S.), Appointed Vice-President ot the Council, 347 Pleiades, Photometry of the, 161 Pleiades, the, Miss A. M. Clerke, 561 Pleiades as Seen and as Photographed, MM. Henry, 592 Pleiades Group, Photographic Map of, 599 Pleiades, the—Sonnet, 516 Pleomorphism of the Schizophyta, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 413 Poland, Forests and Forestry in, J. Croumbie Brown, LL.D., 27 Polarisation in the Dielectrics, on the Influence of Magnetisation on, E. van Aubel, 332 Polarisation of Light, Sir John Conroy on, 453; Herr Sohncke, 497 Polarity, Permanent Magnetic, Prof. Oliver Lodge, F.R.S., 484 Polarity of Quartz, Permanent Magnetic, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 391, 441 ; Pole (Dr. William, F.R.S.), Aérial Navigation, 444 Poléjaeff (N.), Report on the Keratosa, 409 Political Economy, Text-Book of, Francis A. Walker, Prof. R. Adamson, 457 Poppies, Double, and the Consolidation of Embankments, 209 Potanin (G. N.), Journey to the Upper Hoang-ho, 43, 186, 304, 539 Potsdam, Astrophysical Observatory of, 376 Poulton (Edward B.), Snails Eating Whitening, 176; Special Colour-Relations between Larva of Smerinthus ocellatus and its Food-Plants, 474 Poultry for Prizes and Profit, J. Long, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Powell (J. W.), on the Growth of Barbarism and Civilisation from the Savage State, 537 Prehistoric Periods, the Three Great, 590 Prehistoric Remains found near Magdeburg, 450 Preston (Rev. T. A.), Phenological Observations for 1885, 190 Prestwich (Prof. Joseph, F.R.S.), Geology, 16, 385 Primzeval Times, Mammalia in their Relation to, Oscar Schmidt, 556 Prime Meridian Time, 259 Pringsheim (Dr.), the Action of Light on Gases, 287 Prisms, on the Flexion of, H. Resal, 552 Pritchard, Note on Sonnet to, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 558 Prjevalsky’s Explorations in Central Asia, 108, 283, 468 Problem Papers, Solutions of Weekly, Rev. J. J. Milne, 391 Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 189, Proctor (Richard A.), Rotation of Mars, 81, 245 Projectiles, Law of the Resistance of the Air to the Motion of, Rev. F. Bashforth, 604 Prominences and Magnetic Disturbances, 498 Prominences, Solar, Displacement of Lines in, 498 | Prospector’s Hand-book, J. W. Anderson, 317 i Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX XX1 Protective Influence of Black Colour from Light and Heat, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 559 Proteid Substances in Latex, J. R. Green, 382 Protoplasm, Continuity of, 398 Protozoa, Sponges, Ccelenterata, and Worms, Bibliography of, D’Arcy W. Thompson, 174 Prussia, Amber-Digging in, 18 Psychis, Prof. Caporali on, 62 Pulkowa Observatory, 185 Pumice on the Cornish Coast, Whitaker, 604 Putiatin (Prince), Important Archzeological Discovery, 611 H. B. Guppy, 559; W. Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 188, 254, 547 Quartz, on the Form of the Wave-Surface of, James C. McConnel, 213 Quartz, Permanent Magnetic Polarity of, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 391, 441 Quedenfeldt, Lieut., 278 Rabies: Pasteur’s Method against, Application in St. Peters- burg of, 464 ; Proposed Hospital for Treatment of, 448, 479. See also Hydrophobia Rabot (Chas.), Explorations in Russian Lapland, 280 Races of Britain, the, John Beddoe, Chas. Roberts, 217 Radiant Light and Heat, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 35, 251, 369 ; Radiation of Heat from the same Surface at Different Tempera- tures, J. T. Bottomley, $5, ror * Radical” or ‘‘ Radicle,” H. G. Madan, 533; J. F. Heyes, 559 Radiolaria, W. H. Shrubsole, 154 Rae (Dr. John, F.R.S.), Lieut. Greely on Ice, 126, 244; Anchor Frosts, 269 Railway-Sleepers, Steel, 41 Rain at Smyrna, Hyde Clarke, 154 Rainbows: Tertiary, W. L. Goodwin, 8; White, A. Ramsay, gt Retofall : at Ben Nevis Observatory, 159 ; Tropical, 277; of the British Islands, 353 Rain-Gauges in Berlin, 72 Ramsay (Alex.), Rudiments of Mineralogy, 316 Ramsay (A.), White Rainbows, 391 Ramsay (Dr. W.) and Dr. Young, on the Vapour-Pressures of Mercury, 165 ; on Thermodynamics, 263 Rana esculenta, Development of Larvze of, Yung, 95 Rance (C. E. De), Liverpool International Exhibition, 9 Randolph (N. A.), Notes on the Physiological Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania, 126 Raoult (F. M.), Cryoscopic Method of Determination of Mole- cular Weights, 120 Rats, Ferocity of, W. August Carter, 533 ; Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R-S., 513 Rausch (Dr.), on Meteors and Earthquakes in Norway, 424 Ravenstein (E. G.), on Bathy-hypsographical Maps, 280 Ray, the Electric, Prof. Du Bois-Reymond on, 106 Rayleigh (Lord, F.R.S.), on the Clark Cell as a Standard of Electromotive Force, 357 ; on the Velocity of Light as De- termined by Foucault’s Revolving Mirror, 439 Reale Istituto Lombardo, 381 ; Rendiconti of, 213, 473, 524, 597, 620 Reciprocants, on the Method of, as containing an Exhaustive Theory of the Singularities of Curves, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 222, 331 Recorder, Jordan’s Photographic Sunshine, 95, 180 Recoura (A.), Isomeric States of Chlorides of Chromium, 479 Redding (J. D.), Ravages of Sea-Lions on Fish in California, 41 Rede Lectureship, Sir John Lubbock, F.R.S., appointed to, 449 Redwood Scholarship, Proposed, 278 Refraction, Astronomical, New Method of Determining the Amount of, 303 | Refraction in Astronomy, Use of, Loewy, 287 Refraction Goniometer in Chemical Work, Value of the, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 352 Refraction, M. Loewy’s Method of determining the Elements of, Mr. Gill, 566 Refractive Power, Note on some Organic Substances of High, H. G. Madan, 335 Reinold (Prof. A. W., F.R.S.), on the Size of Molecules, 20 Relief Fund, Scientific, 433 - Renard (M.), the Navigable Balloon, 421 Reptiliferous Sandstone of Elgin and the Upper Old Red Sandstone, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 310 Resal (H.) on the Flexion of Prisms, 552 Research, the Private Endowment of, 39 Residual Magnetism in Diamagnetic Substances, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 512 Resistance of the Air to the Motion of Projectiles, Law of the, Rey. F. Bashforth, 604 Respiration (Aquatic) in Soft-Shelled Turtles, S. H. and S. P. Gage, 548 Resting Position of Oysters, Arthur R. Hunt, 8, 154; Prof. W. Turner, F.R.S., 30 ;a Correction, John A. Ryder, 80; J. T. Cunningham, 129 Reusch (Dr.), the Bommel6 Gold-Mines, 17 | Réveillére (Commander), Ascent of Meikong Rapids by, 91 Revolution, Linguistic, 487 Revolving Mirror, Foucault’s, Velocity of Light as Determined by, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 439; J. Willard Gibbs, 82 Revue d’ Anthropologie, 326, 524 Reynolds (Prof. Osborne, F.R.S.), Dilatancy, 429; on the Theory of Lubrication, 476 Rhatische Pompeii, Dr. S. Tenny on, 303 Rheims, Telephonic Communication between Paris and, 18 Rhipilia, a New Species of, G. Murray, 478 Ricco (Prof. A.), New Star near x Orionis, 269 Richardson (Dr. B. W., F.R.S.), John Hunter’s House, 233, 275 Riddell’s Binocular Microscope, J. Mayall, jun., on, 71 Rieger (Dr. C.), Eine exacte Methode der Craniographie, Dr. J. G. Garson, 314 Right-Footed Parrot, C. V. Boys, 8 Riley (Dr.), his Collection of Insects, 301 Ring, Bishop’s, Edward F. Taylor, 533 Ring, Saturn’s, Density of, 303 Ripper (William), Practical Chemistry, with Notes and Ques- tions on Theoretical Chemistry, 459 Rivista Scientifico-Industriale, 119, 213, 381, 524, 572 Roads, Parallel, in Central Norway, ‘‘ Seter,” “ Strandlinjer,” or, Dr, Andr. M. Hansen, 268, 365; Jas. Melvin, 293 ; Hugh Miller, 318 ; J. Starkie Gardner, 343 Roberts (Chas.), the Races of Britain, John Beddoe, 217 Robin (Charles), Death of, 9 Robins (Edward Cookworthy), Science Schools at Home and Abroad, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., 491 Rockland County, N.Y., Earthquake Shocks in, 375 Rocky Mountain Region, Botany of the, Dr. John M. Coulter, 433 poland (Spring and), Measurements of Carbonic Acid in Air, 103 “* Romajie Kai,” a Short Statement of the Aim and Method of the, 487 Roman Alphabet Association of Japan, 487 Romanes (Geo. J., F.R.S.), Evolution without Natural Selec- tion, 26, 100, 128; Evolution without Natural Selection, Chas. Dixon, 26; Can an Animal Count?, 80; Charles . Darwin, Grant Allen, Dr. Ernst Kraus, 147 ; the Springs of Conduct; an Essay in Evolution, C. Lloyd Morgan, 436; Ferocity of Rats, 513 ; Ferocity of Animals, 604 Rome, International Sanitary Conference of, 1885, 25 Rome in Winter and the Tuscan Hills in Summer, David Young, 342 Roots of Flowering Plants, Symbiosis between Fungi and the, Alf. W. Bennett, 212 Roscoe (Sir Henry, F.R.S., M.P.), Spectrum Analysis, 437 ; Tee in Elementary Chemistry, Inorganic and Organic, 103 Rosse (Earl of, F.R.S.), on the Changes of Radiation of Heat from the Moon, 210 XXil INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Rotation-Period of Mars, 42; Richard A. Proctor, 81, 245 ; H. G. Van de Sande Bakhuyzen, 153 Roth (H. Ling), on the Orgin of Agriculture, 599 Roumelia, Earthquake in, 255 Rousdon Meteorological Observatory, Cuthbert E. Peek’s, 538, 610 Royal Agricultural Society, Journal of the, 218 Royal Geographical Society, 160, 468 ; Founder’s Medal of the, Awarded to Major Greely, 495 Royal Institution, Lectures at the, 105, 208, 277, 348, 423, 536, 589; Actonian Prize, 423 Royal Meteorological Society, 94, 190, 334, 406, 551; Exhi- bition of Barometers, 347, 449, 515 Royal Microscopical Society, 70, 167, 191, 327, 430, 527 Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, 184, 238, 262, 285, 310, 333; 356, 381, 403, 453, 473 Royal Society, 87, 142, 164, 189, 213, 525, 549, 572, 597, 620; Resignation of the Presidentship by Prof. Huxley, 16 ; the New Council, 39 ; Mode of Admission into, 54 ; Address of the President, Prof. T. H. Huxley, P.R.S., 112; New Fellows, 589 Royal Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 191, 215 Royal Society of Tasmania, 61 Royal Victoria Hall, 302 Russell (Prof. W. J., F.R.S.), on the Molecular Constitution of a Solution of Cobaltous Chloride, 21 Russia: Cartographical Work in, 1884, 92; Geodetical Survey of Ferghana, 137; Russian Chemical Society, 351, 591 ; Obnoxious Insects in, 449 ; Proposed Russian Chinese Expe- dition, 281 ; Russian Geographical Society, 161, 183, 520, 611, 612; Cattle Plague -in Russia, 496; Russian Physical Society, 591 Rutenberg Fund, Formation of a, at the Bremen Natural History Society, 375 Ryder (John A.), Resting Position of the Oyster, 80 Sadler (Herbert) and Latimer Clark, the Star Guide, 483 Safranine and Fuchsine in colouring Wines, Cazenenve and Lé- pine, 95 Saharunpur Botanical Gardens, J. F. Duthie, 539 St. Austell, Earthquake at, 301 St. Blazey, Earthquake at, 301 St. Petersburg Electrical Exhibition, 277; Application of Pasteur’s Method against Rabies in, 464; Discovery of Mineral Water in, 496 St. Thomas, Botany of, 91; J. Y. Buchanan, on the, 495 Saint-Venant (M. de), Death of, 254 ; Obituary Notice of, Prof. Karl Pearson, 319 Salmon: Salmo fontinalis, Introduction of, into Norwegian Waters, 611 ; Salmo salar and S. ferox in Tasmania, Francis Day, 8; Extraordinary Run of, 396; Importation of Ova of Land-locked Salmon, 537 ; Spawning Salmonidz, 182; Arti- ficial Spawning of, 209 ; Incubation of Eggs of, at the Buck- land Museum, 210; another Consignment of Salmonidze Ova, 376 Salt (Sir Titus), Memorial, 89 Salt, Use in Liquefaction of Snow of, 326 Salts, Molecular Weight of, S. U. Pickering, 21 Salvin and Godman’s Biologia Centrali-Americana—Insecta : Coleoptera, Vol. I. Part 1, 77 San Francisco, Earthquakes at, 88 Sandstone, Reptiliferous, of Elgin and the Upper Old Red Sandstone, Prof. J. W. Judd, F.R.S., 310 Sanitary Assurance Association, 182 Sanitary Conference of Rome, 1885, International, 25 Sanitary Institute of Great Britain, 89 Sanitary Protection Association, 450 ‘*Sanpo,” the River, 304 Saporta (M.) and M. Marion’s l’Evolution des Phanérogames, J. Starkie Gardner, 388 Sars (G. O.), Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition, 1876-78, Zoology, Crustacea, 148 ; Report on the Schizopoda, 410 Satellite, the Moon considered as a Planet, a World, and a, James Nasmyth, 79 Satellite, Tidal Friction and the Evolution ot a, Prof. G, H. Darwin, F.R.S., 367 Saturn’s Ring, Density of, 303 Saxony, Cave-Dwellings in, 303 Scandinavia: Ice-Floes in, Sir J. D. Hooker, F.R.S., 79; Rey. A. Irving, 129; After-Glows in, 137 Schaumberg (Jules), Death of, 516 Schellen (Dr. H.), Spectrum Analysis, 28 Schizopoda, Report on the, Prof. G. O. Sars, 410 Schizophyta, Pleomorphism of the, Prof. E. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., 413 Schlagdenhauffen, Heckel and, the Gutter-percha of Bassia parkit, 120 Schleswig-Holstein, the Prehistoric Antiquities of, Fraulein Mestorf, 536 Schmidt (Dr. Oscar), Death of, 326; Obituary Notice of, 392 ; his Work on Mammalia and their Relation to Primeeval Times, 556 School-Children as Observers, Mrs, Bryant, 94 Schools, Science, at Home and Abroad, Edward Cookworthy Robins, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., 491 Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Danzig, 620 Schriften der Physikalisch-Oekonomischen Gesellschaft zu Konigsberg i. Pr., 23 Schiibeler (Dr.), Norwegian Toadstools, 213 Schulze-Berge (Dr.), on the Conduction of Electricity in Di- electric Media, 432 Schumacher (Gottlieb), Across the Jordan, 578 Schur (Herr W.), Parallax of ~? Aurigee, 612 Schuster (Dr. Arthur, F.R.S.), on Electrolysis, 20; Permanent Magnetic Polarity of Quartz, 391, 441; Velocity of Light as Determined by Foucault’s Revolving Mirror, 439; on the Diurnal Period of Terrestrial Magnetism, 614 Schiitzenberger’s Oxymetric Fluid, on a Photo-Chemical Reac- tion of, Victor Jodin, 552 Schwalbe (Prof.), Ice-Cavities, 312, 384 Schwerin (Baron), Proposed Congo Expedition by, 108 Science in French Cochin China, 67 Science, Greville’s Respect for, 16 Science at the Mansion House, 564 Science Schools at Home and Abroad, Edward Cookworthy Robins, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., 491 Science Teaching in Birmingham, 182 Scientific Men in Parliament, 160 Scientific Relief Fund, 433 Scientific Work, .Sczece on, 254 Selater (Dr. P. L., F.R.S.), on Calliste gouldi, 93 Scotland, Fishery Board of, 558 Scott (James George), Burma, as it was, as it is, and as it will be, 531 Scott (Robert H., F.R.S.), Marine Climatology, 334 ; Climbing Powers of the Hedgehog, 583 Scott, Transfrontier Surveys of India, 44 Scottish Geographical Magazine, 468 Scottish Geographical Society, 424 Scottish Meteorological Society, 44 Screw-Pile, the, Léauté, 552 Sculptures, Ancient, in Guatemala, the Discovery of, Vreeland and Brandsford, 17 Sea-Fish, Observations on Effect of Certain Influences on, 41 Sea-Lions, Ravages on Californian Fish of, J. D. Redding, 41 Sea-Mills at Argostoli, J. Lloyd Thomas, 129; L,. Frieder- ichsen and Co., 154 Sea-Trout, Fertility of, 278 Sea-Trout, at South Kensington Aquarium, 425 Seaman (Wm. H.), on the Method of Stating Results of Water Analyses. 546 Search, Telescopic, for the Trans-Neptunian Planet, David P. Todd, 258 Searle (Prof. Arthur), on the Zodiacal Light, 350 Secular Nutation of the Earth’s Axes, 376 Secular Weather Periods, Universal, E. Douglas Archibald, 52 See (Germain), Sulphate of Sparteine asa Medicine for Irregular Action of the Heart, 120 Seebohm (Henry), History of British Birds, 463, 519 Seeliger (Prof.), New Star in the Great Nebula in Andromeda, 397 Seewarte, aus dem Archiv der Deutschen, 411 Seiches, Prof. Forel on, 184 Seidlitz (M.), Population of the Transcaspian Region, 186 Seismology: Attempts to obtain Records of Earth-~Tremors from the Flood Rock Explosion, Profs. Mendenhall and Paul, Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX XXili 39; Measurement of Movements of the Earth with Reference to Proposed Earthquake Observations on Ben Nevis, Prof, J. A. Ewing, 68; Seismic Oscillations Observed in Berlin, Dr. Borsch on, 72 ; Seismological Society of Tokio, 235, 465 ; Seismology in Japan, Prof. Milne, 465; New System of Earthquake Observations in Japan, Seikei Sekiya, 603 Sekiya (Seikei), New System of Earthquake Observations in Japan, 603 Selenka (Dr. E.), Report on the Gephyrea, 410 Sensibility and Movements of Plants, 520 Septic Organisms, Life History of, 430 “ Seter,” ‘‘ Strandlinjer,” or Parallel Roads, in Central Norway, Dr. Andr. M. Hansen, 268, 365 Shadow, Sunrise, of Adam’s Peak, Ceylon, Hon. Ralph Aber- cromby, 532 Shamanism in Upper Austria, Dr. Zehden, 211 Sharpe (Prof. R. Bowdler), Bird-Murder, 553 Sheffield Free Library, 517 Sheffield, Scientific School of Yale College (U.S.), 316 Shenstone (W. A.), Practical Introduction to Chemistry, 484 Shepard (Jas. H.), Elements of Inorganic Chemistry, 98 Sherman (O. T.) on the Spectrum of the Great Nebula in Andromeda, 42 Shida (Prof.), on the Automatic Record of Earth-Currents, 235 Ship Set on Fire by a Meteor, 516 Ships, the Load-Lines of, 169 Ships, Notes on the Straining of, Caused by Rolling, Prof. Francis Elgar, 381 Ships, on the Use of Models for Instruction in the Magnetism of Iron, 587 Ships, War, on the Speed Trials of Recent, W. H. White, 585 **Shom Pen,” 190 Shooting Stars in China, 383 Shower-Clouds, the Thickness of, 406 Shower, Recent Star, W. F. Denning, 127; J. B. Haslam, 125 ; Wm. F. Petrie, 128; J. F. Main, 128 Shrubsole (W. H.), Radiolaria, 154 Shufeldt (R. W.), ‘f Furculum ” or ‘‘ Furcula,” 8 Siberia: Yadrintseff on Civilisation among the Ural Altayans, 183; from Paris to Pekin over Siberian Snows, Victor Meignan, 219; Dr. Bunge’s Expedition to New Siberian Islands, 539; Terrific Meteor in Siberia, 591 Sicily, Tea Cultivation in, 279 Sidgwick (Adam), on the Development of Cape Peripatus, 547 Siemens (Sir William), Menorial Window, 104, 159 Signalling, Military, Mr. E. S. Bruce’s System of, 41 Silver, Filiform, the Growth of, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 526 Simons (F.), Exploration of Goajira Peninsula, 185 Singapore, Rainfall of, 302 Sitzungsberichte der physikalisch-medizinischen Societét zu Er- langen, 524 Sklarek (Dr. W.), Resignation of the Editorship of Matu7- Sorscher, 208 Skulls, Dr. Weissbach’s Collection of, 160 Skulls, Prehistoric Human, Dr. Studer, 17 Skulls of Various Nations, 302 Smaland Amber-Diggings, the, 18 Smerinthus ocellatus and its Food Plants, Special Colour-Rela- tions between Larva of, E. B. Poulton, 474 Smieton (James), November Meteors, 104 Smith (B. Woodd), Peculiar Ice-Forms, 461 Smith (Chas.), Elementary Algebra, 413 Smith (Edgar A.), Report on the Lamellibranchiata, 410 Smith (Dr. P. H. Pye-), Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Physiology, 150 Smith (Willoughby), Magnetism, 364 Smith (W. Robertson), Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, Andrew Lang, 539 Smithsonian Institution, 106, 301; Anthropological Papers issued by, 17 ; Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the, __ for the year 1883, 126 ; and the Study of Ethnology, 374 Smyrna, Rain at, Hyde Clarke, 154 Smyth (Prof. C. Piazzi), Iridescent Clouds, 219 Snails Eating Whitening, Edward B. Poulton, 176 Snake-Stories, Travellers’, Major Allan Cunningham, 222 Snakes, a Family of Rare Java, Miss Catherine C. Elopley, 295 Snakes, Do Young, take Refuge in the Stomach of the Mother ? Prof. John Le Conte, 441 Snow, the ‘‘ Binding” Effects of Intense Cold and Wind on, 349 Snow, Use of Salt in Liquefaction of, 326 Snow-Covering and the Weather, Dr. Woeikof, 379 Société de Physique et d’Histoire Naturelle de Genéve, 88 Society of Arts, 88; Papers to be read at, 39; Lectures, 234 Sohncke (Herr), Polarisation of Light, 497 Soil, Nitrogen in the, 46 Solar Activity, Present State of the, M. R. Wolf, M. Tacchini, 398 Solar Diurnal Inequalities of Terrestrial Magnetism, on the Forces concerned in Producing the, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 613, 620 Solar Eclipse, Total, 1886 August 28-29, 184, 536 Solar Eclipses, the Brown Ring and, Dr. Zenker, 96 Solar Envelope, Structure of the, 328 Solar Halo, E. J. Stone, F.R.S., 222 Solar Halo with Parhelia, William Ellis, 535 Solar Heat, Prof. Langley’s Researches on, 105 Solar and Magnetic Phenomena, Connection between, G. M. Whipple, 559 Solar Parallax, Velocity of Light and the, 518 Solar Phenomena, Distribution in Latitude of, 498; on the Latitudinal Distribution of the, observed during the Year 1855, M. P. Tacchini, 504 Solar Prominences, Displacement of Lines in, 498 Solar Spectrum, Effects of, on the Transpiration of Plants, Rev. G. Henslow, 165 Solar Statistics of 1885, 312 Solar System in Space, Spectroscopic Determination of the Motion of the, 450 Sole, the Artificial Reproduction of the, 449 Solid, on Determining the Specific Gravity of a Dense Solid, J. Joly, 382 Solly (Edward, F.R.S.), Death of, 536 Solomon Group, Observations on the Recent Calcareous For- mations of the, H. B. Guppy, 202 Sonnet—the Pleiades, 516 Sonnet to Pritchard, Note on, Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S., 558 Sorley (W. R.), on the Ethics of Naturalism, 175 Sound, Heat, and Light, Lectures on, Richard Wormell, 580 Sound-Producing Apparatus of the Cicadas, on the, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, 368, 582; C. S. Middlemiss, 582 Source of the Mississippi, Discovery of the, Henry Gannett, 221 South American Bird-Music, W. H. Hudson, 199 South Australia, Weather in—Stevenson’s Thermometer-Screen, Clement L. Wragge, 533 ; Plan of, 567 South Foreland Experiments with Illuminants, 39 South Georgia, Star-Fishes from, 399 South Indian Ocean, Upper Wind-Currents in the, and over the North-West Monsoon, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 460 South Kensington Aquarium, Proposal to. Introduce Herrings, 376 South Seas, New Island in the, 398 Space, Elliptic, Dr. Robert S. Ball, F.R.S., 86 Spain, Earthquakes in, 88 Sparteine, Sulphate of, as a Medicine for Irregular Action of Heart, Germain Sée, 120 Spectrum Analysis: Absorption-Spectrum of Oxygen, 89; Spectrum of Cobaltous Chloride, 21; Dr. H. Schellen, 28 ; Sir Henry E. Roscoe, F.R.S., 437 ; a New Absorption Spec- troscope, Maurice de Thierry, 24 ; the Spectrum of the Great Nebula in Andromeda, 42 ; Effects of the Solar Spectrum on the Transpiration of Plants, 165; on the Spectrum of Ab- sorption of Oxygen, N. Egoroff, 168; New Form of Spec- troscope, J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 189; Spectroscopic Determination of the Motions of the Solar System in Space, 450; onthe Spectra of Erbia, Wm. Crookes, F.R.S., 474; on Radiant Matter: Note on the Earth Ya, William Crookes, F.R.S., 525; Colour Photometry, 525, 526; Stars with Banded Spectra, N. C. Duneér, Miss A. M. Clerke, 583; A. Ricco on some Spectroscopic Phenomena, 599 Speech, the Photography of, 312 Speed Trials of Recent War-Ships, W. H. White, 585 Spermatogenesis, Dr. Biondi on, 369; Dr. Benda, 623; Spey Bay, the Salinity of the Water of, 264 XXIV Spheerotherium, G. C. Bourne on the Anatomy of, 120 Spindler, Winds on Shores of Black Sea, 184 Sponges of Australia, 359 Sponges, Ccelenterata, Protozoa, and Worms, D’Arcy W. Thompson, 174 Spring and Roland, Measurements of Carbonic Acid in Air, 183 Springs of Conduct, an Essay in Evolution, C. Lloyd Morgan, Dr. Geo. J. Romanes, F.R.S., 436 Square Bamboo, Dr. J. Macgowan, 560 Standage (H. C.), Artist’s Manual of Pigments, 530 Standards of White Light, 236 Stanforth (Robert), on the Viper, 176 Stars: Recent Star-Shower, W. F. Denning, 127, 152; J. B. Haslam, 128, 220; Wm. F. Petrie, 128: Jor Main, 128; P. J. Denza, 150; John M’Keague, 150; "Robert Hi. West, 152; Arthur W. Waters, 152; Coan oung, 152; E. J. J.owe, 152; W. H. Lyne, 152; Alf. Carpenter, 221; a Shower of Stars seen at Bagamoyo, 424; B or 6 Cygni?, 184; Suspected ‘‘ New” Star, 185; New Instrument for Observ- ing the Colours and Magnitudes of, 191 ; New Star in Orion, 255; New Star near x Orionis, Prof. A. Riccd, 269 ; Cheap Star Maps, 255 ; Shooting-Stars in China, 383; New Star in the Great Nebulain Andromeda, Prof. Seeliger, 397 ; Sun and Stars, J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 399, 426, 469, 499, 540; Binary Star y Coron Australis, 425 ; Binary Star 8 Delphini, 518; Variable Stars, Edmund J. Mills, 440, 514; Jno. Castell-Evans, 446; Star Guide by Latimer Clark and Herbert Sadler, 483; Stars with Banded Spectra, Miss A. M. Clerke, N. C. Dunér, 583 Star-Fishes from South Georgia, 399 Stas (J. S.), Royal Society Davy Medal awarded to, 87 Statics, Elementary Treatise on, by John Greaves, 537 Statistical Society, Jubilee Volume of the, 161 Statistics, Dr. Farr’s Papers on, 89 Statistics on Insanity, 182 Stature, Hereditary, Francis Galton, F.R.S., 295, 517 Stavanger, Discovery of Apatite, 137 Steam, Action of, on Carbonic Oxide, H. B. Dixon, 286 Steel Railway-Sleepers, 41 Steel and Iron Bars, Tensile Tests of, Peter D. Bennett, 351 Steel and Iron, on the Magnetisation of, J. W. Gemmell, 473 Stejneger’s (Leonard) Expeditions in Behring’s Sea, 44, 136 Stellar Photography, 376 Stellar Spectra, Bright Lines in, 161 ; Photographic Study of the “‘Henry Draper Memorial,” Edward C, Pickering, 535 Stephanoff (M.), Religious Beliefs of the Chersonese People, 496 Sterlet in Germany, Proposed Acclimatisation of the, 537 Stevenson (D. A.), Earthquake Invention, 7, 534 Stevenson (John), Brilliant Meteor, 176 ; Iridescent Clouds, 220 Stevenson (Thos.), Design and Construction of Harbours, Major Allan Cunningham, 579 Stevenson’s Thermometer-Screen, and Weather in South Austra- lia, Clement L. Wragge, 533 Stewart (Prof. Balfour, F.R.S.), Radiant Light and Heat, 35, 254, 369; and the Rev. S. J. Perry, F.R.S., on Magnetic Vluctuations of the Declination at Kew and Stonyhurst, 262 ; and W. L. Carpenter, on Sunspot Areas, 525; on the Forces concerned in Producing the Solar Diurnal Inequalities of Terrestrial Magnetism, 613, 620 ; on the Cause of the Solar Diurnal Variations of Terrestrial Magnetism, 620 Stewart’s (Col.) Account of the Herat Valley, 468 Stockholm ;: Royal Academy of Sciences, 24, 216, 240, 456, 600; Sun-Glow at, 61 ; the Telephone in, 425 Stokes (Prof.) Proposed as President of the Royal Society, 16 Stokes (Prof. G. G., P.R.S.), Actonian Prize Awarded to, 423 Stone (E. J., F.R.S.), Solar Halo, 222 Stone (G. H.), Variegated Iridescent Halo, 391 Stone-Circles in Cumberland, A. L. Lewis, 334 Stone Implements and Changes of Level in the Nile Basin, F. Archer, 317; S. Archer, 317 Stoney (Gerald), Dynamics of Bicycling, 455 Stories, Travellers’ Snake, Major Allan Cunningham, 222 Storm at Partenkirchen, 190 Story of the Heavens, Robert Stawell Ball, F.R.S., 124 Straining of Ships caused by Rolling, Notes on the, Prof. Francis Elgar, 381 Straits Settlements, 302 Stray Balloon, Gen. Sir J. H. Lefroy, F.R.S, 99 Bibliography of, INDEX ae Fite 3, 1886 Strohecker (Dr ), Remarkable Discovery of Rare Metals in Diluvial Clay, 461 Strongylus axet, Dr. T. S. Cobbold, 334, an Structure, Molecular Friction and, Col. C. 199 Structure of the Solar Envelope, 328 Studer (Dr.), Skulls found in Pile-Dwellings of Lake of Bienne, . Bushe, 17 Sugar, Mahwa Flowers as a Source of, Prof. A. H. Church, 343 Suidter (Herr), the Climate of Lucerne, 464 Sulphuric Acid, Prof. Mendeléeff on the Dilution of, 591 Sun, Eclipse of August 7, 1869, Prof. Coffin’s Observations of, 105 Sun, the, a Familiar Description of His Phenomena, Rey. Thos. W. Webb, 126 Sun, Recent Total Eclipse of the, Killingworth Hedges, 6 ; N. A. Graydon, 29 Sun and Stars, J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., 399, 426, 469, 499, 540 Sun-Glows at Stockholm, 61 Sunlight, Action of, on Micro-organisms, M.D., 357 Sunrise-Glows, R. T. Omond, 487 Sunrise Shadow of Adam’s Peak, Ceylon, Hon. Ralph Aber- cromby, 532 Sunset-Glows, W. Ainslie Hollis, 198 ; Solar Eclipse, Dr. Zenker, 96 Sunshine, Photographing the Corona in Full, 42 Sunshine Recorder, Jordan’s Photographic, 95, 180 Sunspots : Photographic Evidence as to the Constitution of, 328 ; Present State of the Solar Activity, 398; Sunspot Areas, Prof. Balfour Stewart and W. L. Carpenter, 525 Superstition, a Death, in China, 41 Surnames of the Nobility of Sweden, 349 Suspected ‘‘ New” Star, 185 Swallowing Noise, Second, Prof. Ewald, 576 Sweden: Earthquake in, 18, 41, 591; Family Names in, de- rived from Natural History, 349; Oyster-Culture in, 537 ; Proposed Swedish Congo Expedition, 108 Switzerland, Earthquakes in, 88 ; Nival Flora of, 206 Sydney: Australian Museum, 355; Linnean Society of New South Wales, 359, 383 ; Royal Society of New South Wales, IQI, 215, 287 Syivester (Prof. J. J., F.R.S.), Lecture on Algebraical Forms, 88; on the Method of Reciprocants as Containing an Ex- haustive Theory of the Singularities of Curves, 222, 331; Note on Sonnet to Pritchard, 558 ; Boole Justified and Monge Reinstated in his eee by Prof. Beman, of the University of Michigan, U.S., Symbiosis between ee and the Roots of Flowering Plants, Alf. W. Bennett, 212 Symons (G. J., F.R.S.), nial to, 277 Systematic Small Farming, Arthur Downes, the Brown Ring and November Meteors, 104; Testimo- Robert Scott Burn, 266 Tacchini (P.), Present State of the Solar Activity, 398; on the Latitudinal Distribution of the Solar Phenomena Observed during the Year 1885, 504 Tadpole, Nerve-Terminations in the, A. B. Macallum, 285 Tait (Prof. P. G.), on the Partition of Energy between Two Systems of Colliding Spheres, 270 Talmage (Charles George), Death of, 516, 536 Tangled Tale, Lewis Carroll, Dr. A. R. Willis, 389 Taprobanian, the, 62 Tasmania, Sa/mo salar and S. ferox in, Francis Day, 8; Naturalisation of Lobsters and other Fishes in, 137 Taylor (Edward F.), Bishop’s Ring, 533 Taylor (G.), Aborigines of Formosa, 612 Taylor (J. Scott), Field’s Chromatography, 530 Tea-Cultivation in Sicily, 279 Technical Education in London, 462 Technical Institute, 514 Tegeocranus cepheiformis, Mr. A. D, Michael on the Nymphal Stage of, 119 Tegetmeier (W. B.), Fancy Pigeons, J. G. Lyell; Poultry for Prizes and Profit, J. Long ; Book of the Goat, H. Holmes Pegler ; British Cage- Birds, R. L. Wallace, 412 182; in New South Wales, Nature, Fune 3, 1886] Telegraphy : Extension of, in China, 62, 349; a Manual of, W. Williams, 97; Telegraph Extension to Corea, 106; Vibration of Telegraph-Wires, E. de M. Malan, 295 ; Move- ment of Telegraph-Wires, R. Mountford Deeley, 343; F. T. Mott, 366 Telemicrophonic Instruments, E. Mercadier, 336 Telephone : in France, 18, 106; in Stockholm, 425; Tele- phonic Connection between Paris and Brussels, 375; the “«Phonophore,” Langdon Davies, 610 Telescope, the Great Melbourne, 538 Telescopic Search for the Trans-Neptunian Planet, David P. Todd, 258 Telpherage, 12 Temperature, the Effect of Change of, on the Velocity of Sound in Iron, Herbert Tomlinson, 582 Temperature of German Alpine Lakes, 375 Temperature by Means of Vapours of Chemical Compounds, Variations of, Ramsay and Young, 63 Yemperature Regulator, an Improved Form of, Horace Darwin, 596 ‘Temperature of the Surface of the Moon, 210, 211 ‘Yemperatures, Prof. Langley on the Emission-Spectra of Bodies at Low, 426 Temperatures, Radiation of Heat from the same Surface at Different, J. T. Bottomley, 85, 1o1 Tendril Movements in Cucurbitaceze, D. P. Penhallow, 332, 548 Tenison-Woods (Rev. J. E.), Explorations in Pahang, 31 Tennant (Lieut.-Gen. J. F., F.R.S.), the Helm Wind, 54; Ventilation, 176; C: lours in Clouds, 343, 514 Tennessee, Meteorite found in, W. P. Blake, 332 Tenny (Dr. S.) on Rhatische Pompeii, 303 Terrestrial Magnetism : Admiralty Manual on, Prof. Geo. Fras. Fitzgerald, 246 ; on the Diurnal Period of, Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 614; on the Forces concerned in Producing the Solar Diurnal Inequalities of, Prof. Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., 613, 620 Tertiary Floras, Cretaceous and, of the United States, Leo Lesquereux, J. Starkie Gardner, 196 Tertiary Rainbows, W. L. Goodwin, 8 Tertiary Vertebrata of the West, E. T. Newton, 193 Test-Recording Apparatus, J. H. Wicksteed on a, 351 Tethys, Orbit of, 303 Thames Trout, Culture of, 61 Theory of Heredity, the Continuity of the Germ-Plasma con- sidered as the Basis of a, Dr. August Weismann, Prof. H. N. Moseley, F.R.S., 154 Thermic Sense in Animals, 209 Thermo-Chemistry, a New Law of, G. F. Becker, 548 Thermo-Electric Quality of Iron, Effects of Stress and Magnet- isation on, Prof. J. A. Ewing, 550 Thermodynamic Relations, Prof. W. Ramsay and Dr. Sydney Young on, 263; Note on, by Profs, Ayrton and Perry, 334 Thermometer, Determination of Hleat-Capacity of, Note on Prof. Clarke’s Paper on, A. W. Clayden, 335 Thermometer-Screen, Stevenson’s, Weather in South Australia, Clement L. Wragge, 533 Thermometer- Testing at Kew, Process of, G. M. Whipple, 93 Thermometers, Calorimetrical, 405 Thierry (Maurice de), a New Absorption Spectroscope, 24 Thomas (Edward, F.R.S.), Death of, 374 Thomas (J. Lloyd), Sea-Mills at Argostoli, 129 Thomas (Oldfield), Heterocephalus phillipsi, 93 Thompson (D’Arcy W.), Bibliography of Protozoa, Sponges, Ccelenterata, and Worms, 174 Thompson (Elizabeth), Science Fund, 88, 286 Thompson (Prof. S. P.), the Law of the Electro-Magnet and the Dynamo, 94; Maxwell’s Galvanometer, 574 Thomson (Sir C. Wyville, F.R.S.), Zoological Results of the Challenger Expedition, 409 Thomson (John), Iridescent Clouds, 219 Thomson (Prof. J. J., F.R.S.), and H. E. Newall, on the Formation of Vortex Rings, 356 Thomson (Sir Wm., F'.R.S.), on Electrolysis, 20 Thorpe (Prof. T. E., F.R.S.), Science Schools at Home and Abroad, 491 Thouar’s Exploration of the Pilcomayo River, 521 Thunderstorms in Italy, 302 Tidal Friction and the Evolution of a Satellite, Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S., 367 Tigers and Lions killed in Algeria, 303 INLEX XXV Tilden (Prof. W. A., F.R.S.), on the Molecular Weights of Salts and Solids in Solutions, 21 Time, Prime Meridian, 259 Time, Universal or World, W. H. M. Christie, F.R.S., 21 Tin Cells, Electromotive Force of Certain, E. J. Herroun, 93 Toadstools, Norwegian, Dr. Schiibeler, 213 Todaro (Prof.), Italian Aid to Biological Research, 52 Todd (David P.), Telescopic Search for the Trans-Neptunian Planet, 258 Tokio : Geographical Society of, 44; the Seismological Society of, 235 ; Imperial Engineering College at, 496 Tomlin (H. M.), Hydrophobia, 245 Tomlinson (Herbert), on the Behaviour of Stretched India- rubber when Heated, 7; the Coefficient of the Viscosity of Air, 403 ; the Internal Friction of Metals, 529 ; the Effect of Change of Temperature on the Velocity of Sound in Iron, 582 Tonquin, the Climate of, 378 Topinard (Dr. Paul), Eléments @’Anthropologie Generale, Dr. J. G. Garson, 3 Topographical Society of France, 41, 593 Torpedoes, Living, 407 Tortoises, on the Reproduction of the Carapax in, Dr. Hans Gadow, 473 Torture of the Fish-Hawk, 520 Total Eclipse, Recent, of the Sun, 184 ; Killingworth Hedges, 6 5 N. A. Graydon, 29; the Late A. S. Atkinson, 175 Tour St. Jacques, Paris, 396 Toynbee (Capt. Henry), Meteorological Phenomena, 245; the Recent Weather, 513 Tracing a Typhoon to Europe, 205 Trans-Neptunian Planet, Telescopic Search for the, David P. Todd, 258 Transcaspian Region, General Meyer and M. Seidlitz on the, 186 Transit, Dark, of Jupiter's Fourth Satellite, 466 Transit Tables for 1886, Latimer Clark, 175 Transit of Venus, French Photographs of the, 89 Travellers’ Snake Stories, Major Allan Cunningham, 222 Travelling Juries on Science, French, 16 Triangle, the Harmonic Hexagon of a, 478 Tribe (Alfred), Death of, 159 ; Obituary Notice of, Dr. J. H. Gladstone, F.R.S., 180 Tricycles, 134, 177 Trigonometry for Beginners, Rey. J. B. Lock, 438 Trinchese (Prof.), Italian Aid to Biological Kesearch, 52 Trinity House: Experiments with Illuminants, 39; Report to the, on the Inquiry into the Relative Merits of Electricity, Gas, and Oil as Lighthouse Iluminants, 271 Tropical Dew, Lieut.-Col. A. T. Fraser, 583 Tropics, Barometric Pressure in the, Dr. A. Woeikof, 342 Tropics, the Question of Acclimatisation of Europeans in, 464 Trout, Artificial, Spawned at South Kensington Museum, 425 Trout, Brook, the Value of, in England, 425 Trout, Thames, Culture of, 61 Tschudi (Dr. N. F. von), Death of, 326 Tucker (R.), Clifford’s Mathematical Fragments, 460 Tuggurt, Latitude and Longitude of, 378 Tumlirz (Dr.), Retentiveness of Rock Crystal of Diamagnetism, 325 Tunicata, on some Points in the Phylogeny of the, Dr. B. Uljanin, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 546 Tuning-Forks, on Measuring the Vibratory Periods of, Alex. J. Ellis, F.R.S., 54 Turner (Prof. W., F.R.S.), Resting Position of Oysters, 30 Turner (Prof., F.R.S.), the Bottle-Nosed Whale in Scottish Seas, 335 Tumer, on a Solar Halo with Parhelia, 535 Turtles, at Indian and Colonial Exhibition, 278 Turtles, Soft-Shelled, Aquatic Respiration in, S. H. and S. P. Gage, 548 Tuscan Hills in Summer and Rome in Winter, David Young, 342 Two Years in the Jungle, &c., William T. Hornady, 173 Tyndall Fellowships in America, 449 Typhoon-Origin of British Weather, Henry Harries, 95 Typhoon to Europe, Tracing a, 205 XxXvl INDEX [Nature, Fune 3, 1886 Uljanin (Dr. B.), on some Points in the Phylogeny of the Tuni- cata, Prof. W. A. Herdman, 546 Ullesberger (Xavier), Death of, 160 Umlauft’s (Dr.), Rundschau, 280 United Kingdom, Ophthalmologic Education in the, Dr. R. E. Dudgeon, 29 United States: Fish Commission for 1884, Bulletin of the, 38; Meteorology in the New England States, 181 ; Report of the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories, F. V. Hayden, E. T. Newton, 193 ; Cretaceous and Tertiary Floras of the, Leo Lesquereux, J. Starkie Gardner, 196; Free Lib cries in the, 277; Tyndall Fellowships in, 449 ; Report of the U.S. Naval Observatory, Superintendent G. E. Bel- knap, 330, 494 Universal Secular Weather Periods, E. Douglas Archibald, 52 Universal or World Time, W. H. M. Christie, F.R.S., 521 Universities, Benefits which Society derives from, D. C. Gilman, 281, 305 University of California, 61 University Extension Movement, W. Odell, 344 University Intelligence, 22, 47, 69, 93, 119, 164, 188, 238, 284, 308, 332, 356, 380, 453, 472, 619 Unwin (Prof. W. C.), Relations of Pressure, Temperature, and Volume in Saturated Vapours, 478 Upper Wind Currents in the South Indian Ocean and over the N.W. Monsoon, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 460 Urine, Quantitative Determination of Sugar in, Einhorn, 348 Urtica dioica, A. Gravis on, 363 Vaccination in Japan, 235 Vapours of Chemical Compounds, Variations of Temperature by Means of, Ramsay and Young, 63 Vapours (Saturated), Relations of Pressure, Temperature, and Volume in, Prof. W. C. Unwin, 478 Variable Stars, Edmund J. Mills, 440, 514; Jno. Castell- Evans, 486 Variegated Iridescent Halo, G. H. Stone, 391 Vaseline as a Substitute for Butter, 450 Vegetable Garden, MM. Vilmorin-Andrieux, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., 241 Velocity with which Air rushes into a Vacuum, Henry Wilde, 358 Velocity of Light as determined by Foucault’s Revolving Mirror, Dr. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S., 439 ; J. Willard Gibbs, 582; and the Solar Parallax, 518 Velocity of Sound in Tron, the Effect of Change of Temperature on the, Herbert Tomlinson, 582 Velocity of the Wave of Explosion, Prof. Mach, 375 Venezuela at Cariipano, on some Interesting Cases of Migration of Marine Fishes on the Coast of, Dr. A. Ernst, 321 Venice, Earthquake in, 234 Ventilation, 129 ; Thos. Fletcher, 153, 199; Lieut.-Gen. J. F. Tennant, F.R.S.,176 ; W. Wilkinson, 199 ; W. Cunningham, 294; Dr. Ernest H. Jacob, 222 Ventricle, Contractility of the, on the Influence of the Organic Constituents of the, Dr. Sydney Ringer, 473 Verbeek (M.), on Krakatado, 560 Verhandlungen of the Berlin Geographical Society, 108, 567 Verhandlungen der Naturhistorischen Vereines der preussischen Rheinlande, Westfalens, und der Reg-Bezirks Osndriick, 70 Verhandlungen der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesell- schaft in Lucerne, 473 Verhandlungen der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesell- schaft in Zurich, 70 Vernet (M.), Observations on Physiological Effects of Alpine Climbing, 18 Verneuil (M.), Inoculation as a Preservative against Consumption, 395 Vertebrata of the Tertiary Formations of the West, Edward D. Cope, E. T. Newton, 193 Vesuvian Eruption of February 4, 1886, Dr. H. J. Johnston- Lavis, 367 Vibration of Telegraph- Wires, E. de M. Malan, 295 Vibratory Periods of Tuning-Forks, on Measuring, Alex. J. Ellis, F.R.S., 54 Victoria Institute, 168, 239, 358, 406, 575 Victoria Royal Society Transactions, 119 Vienna: University, 61; Annalen of the Natural History Museum, 424 ; Geographical Society, 211, 521, 593; Geological Society of, 44; Imperial Academy of Sciences, 72, 96, 240; Natural History Museum of, 160; Ritter Franz von Hauer, 345 Vilmorin-Andrieux (MM.), the Vegetable Garden, Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, F.R.S., 241 Vines, Lime and Sulphate of Copper Treatment of, 95 Viper, the (Vipera berus, L.), R. Morton Middleton, 176 Viper and its Young, a Creole, 269 Viscosity of Air, the Coefficient of the, Herbert Tomlinson, 403 Vision, Abnormal Single, 360 Vivarez (Henry), Notions Générales sur l’Eclairage Electrique, 342 Vogel (Prof.), Astrophysical Observatory of Potsdam, 376 Volcanoes: Notes on the Volcanic Phenomena of Central Madagascar, Rev. R. Baron, 415 ; New, in the Pacific Ocean, Shipley, 187; Eruption of Colima, 234, 301; in Ecuador, 396; Eruption of Mount Etna, 450; Volcano Merapi in Java, Herr von Brandis, 468 Vortex-Rings, on the Formation of, Prof. J. J. Thomson and H. F. Newall, 356 Vreeland (Lieut.), the Guatemala, 17 Discovery of Ancient Seulptures in Wales, North, Bone-Caves in, Recent Researches in, Henry Hicks, F.R.S., and W. Davies, 166 ‘Wales, the University Colleges of, 397 Walker (Francis A.), Text-Book of Political Economy, Prof. R. Adamson, 457 Wallace (Dr. Alfred R.), Wanderings of Plants and Animals, Victor Hehn, 170 Wallace (R. L.), British Cage-Birds, W. B. Tegetmeier, 412 Wanderings of Plants and Animals, Victor Hehn, Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, 170 War-Ships, Speed Trials of Recent, W. H. White, 585 Warington on Nitrification, 63 Washington : Anthropological Society, 537 ; Growth of Chem- istry in, 255; Naval Observatory, 376 Water Analyses, on the Method of stating Results of, A. C. Peale, 546; Wm. H. Seaman, 546; Chas. H. White, 546 Waters (Arthur W.), the Recent Star-Shower, 152 Watt (A.), Electro-Deposition of Gold. Silver, &c., 510 Wave of Explosion, Velocity of the, Prof. Mach, 375 ra Weather, the, 447; Universal Secular Weather Periods, E. Douglas Archibald, 52; Weather Forecasts, Bishop of Car- lisle, 79 ; British Weather, Typhoon-Origin of, Henry Harries, 95 ; Snow-Covering and the Weather, Dr. Woeikof, 379 ; the Recent, Capt. Henry Toynbee, 513; Weather in South Australia, Stevenson’s Thermometer-Screen, Clement L. Wragge, 533; ‘‘ Weatherology” and the Use of Weather Charts, Campbell M. Hepworth, 512 Webb (Rev. Thos. Will.), the Sun: a Familiar Description of his Phenomena, 126 Wedel, on the Antiquities of the Island of Bornholm, 208 Wedge Photometer, Prof. Wilsing on the, 42 Weights, Molecular, 20 Weinstein (Dr.), Earth-Currents, 624 Weismann (Dr. August), die Continuitat des Keimplasma’s als Grundlage einer Theorie der Vererbung, Prof. H. N, Moseley, F.R.S., 154 Weissbach (Dr), Collection of Skulls, 160 Welcker (Herr), on the Skulls of Various Nations, 302 Wellington College Natural Science Society, Annual Report of the, 611 West (Chas.), Meteorological Phenomena, 245 West (Robert H.), the Recent Star-Shower, 152 Westminster Aquarium, 326 Weyl (Dr.), on the Constitution of the Derivatives from Chole- stearine, 144 Whale, Bottle-Nosed, in Scottish Seas, Prof. Turner, F.R.S., 335 Whipple (G. M.), the Process of Thermometer-Testing at Kew, 93; Connection between Solar and Magnetic Phenomena, 559 Whitaker (William), Dover Boring, 269 ; Pumice on the Cor- nish Coast, 604 White (Chas. H.), on the Method of Stating Results of Water Analyses, 546 Nature, Fune 3, 1886] INDEX XXVI1 White (William) and Raphael Meldola, Report on the East Anglian Earthquake of April 22, 1884, 265 White (W. H.), on Speed Trials of Recent War-ships, 585 White Blackbirds, A. S. Mathews, 269 White Light, Standards of, 236 White Rainbows, A. Ramsay, 391 White Varieties of Animals in Germany, 302 _ Whitehead (Chas.), Reports on Injurious Insects, 577 Whitening, Snails Eating, Edward B. Poulton, 176 Whitman (C. O.), Microscopical Anatomy and Embryology, Methods of Research in, 243 Whole Duty of a Chemist, 73 ; Prof. W. Odling, F.R.S., 99; Dr. G. Gore, F.R:S., 150 Wicksteed (J. H.), ona Test-Recording Apparatus, 351 Wiedemann’s Annalen, 309, 380 Wienkowski, the Pomeranian Kassubs, 281 Wiesbaden, Earthquake at, 464 Wigham’s Latest Adaptation of Gas to Lighthouse Illumination, 335 Wild Animals of North America, Effect of Settlement upon the, E. Ingersoll, 89 Wilde (Henry) and the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 40; on the Velocity with which Air rushes into a Vacuum, 358 Wilkinson (W.), Ventilation, 199 Williams (W.), a Manual of Telegraphy, 97 Willis (Dr. A. R.), a Tangled Tale, Lewis Carroll, 389 Willis (John C.), Meteorological Phenomena, 319 Wilsing (Prof.), on the Use of the Wedge Photometer at the Oxford Observatory, 42 Wilson (Jno. C.), Nocturnal » Bombus, 487 Wind, the Helm, Dr. A. Woeikof, 30; Lieut.-Gen. J. F. Tennant, Inala ig It Wind-Currents, Clouds and Upper, over the Atlantic Doldrums, Hon. Ralph Abercromby, 294 Wind-Holes and Ground Temperatures, 312 Winds, on Shores of Black Sea, Statistics of, Spindler, 184 Wines, Safranine and Fuchsine in Colouring, Cazeneuve and Lépine, 95 Winkler (Clemens), Discovery of a New Element by, 418; Technical Gas Analysis, 603 Wires, Iron, under Tension, Shelford Bidwell, 597 Wires, Telegraph-, Movement of, R. Mountford Deeley, 343 ; F. T. Mott, 366 Wires, Vibration of Telegraph-, E. de M. Malan, 295 Wissmann’s (Lieut. ), Exploration of the Congo District, 377 Witz, Heat Values of Coal Gas, 184 Wedderspoon’s Star Maps, 255 Woeikof (Dr. A.), the Helm Wind, 30; Barometric Pressure in the Tropics, 342 ; Snow-Covering and the Weather, 379 Wogan (De), the True Source of the Danube, 280 Wolf (M. R.), Present State of the Solar Activity, 398 Wolfenden (Dr. R. Norris), on the Venom of the Indian Cobra, 238 Wollaston (Dr. G. F.), La Faune profonde des Lacs Suisses, Dr. F. A. Forel, 195 Wombat, an Extinct, Sir Richard Owen, 94 Wood (Theodore), Insect Enemies, 6 ; Nature and her Servants, 150 Hymenopterze of the Genus Wood-Mason (J.), Account of the ‘‘Palan Byoo” or ‘ Tein- doung Bo,” 6 Woods (Rey. J. E. Tenison-), Geology of Malaysia, Southern China, &c., 231 Woodward (Dr. H., F.R.S.), Geology of England and Wales, 107 ; Testimonial to, 159 Wooldridge (L. C.), Intra- Vascular Clotting, 382 | World, a Planet, and a Satellite, the Moon Considered as a, James Nasmyth, 79 | World Time, Universal or, W. H. M. Christie, F.R.S., 521 Wormell (Richard), Lectures on Sound, Heat, and Light, 580 Worms, Bibliography of Protozoa, Sponges, Ccelenterata, and, D’Arcy W. Thompson, 174 Worms in Ice, 399 Worthington (A. M.), First Course of Physical Practice, 580 Laboratory | Wragge (Clement L.), Weather in South Australia—Stevenson’s Thermometer-Screen, 533 Wrightson (Prof. John), Third Annual Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for the Year 1884, 243; and Dr. Munro, Basic Cinder, 595 Wrouski’s Universal Problem, Solution of, Ch. Lagrange, 332 Wyatt (G. H.), on a Magneto-Electric Phenomenon, 263 Yadrintseff (M.), on Civilisation among the Ural Altayans, 183 Yorkshire, Flora of the West Riding of, Dr. F. Arnold Lees, 517 Young (C. A.), the Recent Star-Shower, 152 Young (David), Rome in Winter and the Tuscan Hills in Summer, 342 Young (Dr. S.) and Dr. Ramsay, on the Vapour-Pressures of Mercury, 165 Yung, Development of Larve of Raza esculenta, 95 Yurgens (M.), Report on the Meteorology of Russia, 161 Zakharow (Prof.), Death of, 233 Zehden (Dr.), Shamanism in Upper Austria, 211 Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologie, 189, 473 Zenker (Dr.), the Brown Ring and Solar Eclipses, 96 Ziehen (Dr.), on Epilepsy, 215 Zi-ka-wei Observatory, the, 17 Zodiacal Light, 350 Zoological Gardens, Additions to, 18, 41, 62, 89, 107, 138, 161, 210, 235, 256, 279, 303, 327, 350, 376, 397, 425, 450, 466, 497, 518, 538, 566, 591, 612 Zoological Record, the, 16, 88, 341 Zoological Results of the Challenger Expedition, Sir C. Wyville Thomson, F.R.S., 409 Zoological Society, 48, 93, 165, 184, 311, 358, 405, 455, 5206, 621 Zoologie Médicale, Traité de, Prof. R. Blanchard, 174 Zoologische Jahrbiicher, 61 Zoology, Norwegian North Atlantic Expedition, Crustacea, G. O. Sars, 148 Zoophytes, British, &c., A. S. Pennington, 149 Zott (Herr), Best Material for a Dialyser, 497 Zuntz (Prof.), Apnoea of the Feetus, 143; Alimentary Value of the Peptones, 144 a oonkd & v7 phe oy, fe ode ei ~e a Ps i aed i a | whe pert wien’t ry a | toe? , ay 2 at é carl ¢ ps a om ter cameta pie By (tot vd ¢ | =A) ede A ‘a es Rey fit alt dil th Poem 4 Sith 4 f Paw of ata | ‘1 eh ev aes bed y ey wi Vay ie Ou diet es t= hat: eat 4+ - _ i, _ A WEEKLY ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL OF SCIENCE “© To the solid ground Of Nature trusts the mind which builds for aye.” —WORDSWORTH THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1885 HYDROPHOBIA ‘SpopoBiay Greci appellant : miserrimum genus morbi. NCE more M. Pasteur is attracting the attention of the civilised world by his brilliant investigations. The disease which he hopes to prevent and ultimately to erase from the records of human misery is happily rare, but those who have watched it know that it is one of the most terrible in its effects, and that it is incurable by any means at present known. So strange are its symptoms and its course, that it has been asserted to be no real malady but a mere result of fright and superstition.! But of its reality there is unhappily no room for serious question. It never arises of itself. Like small-pox and syphilis, it is always the result of contagion, and the method and conditions of its transference from rabid dogs or other animals to man are well known. Hitherto the only chance, when a human being has been bitten by a mad dog, has been to remove or isolate or destroy the virus by suction, or ligature, or cautery. And it has been doubted whether these methods are really successful even when the disease does not manifest itself afterwards. For there is often reasonable doubt as to the nature of the disease in the biter. All vicious dogs are not “ mad,” and all mad dogs are not truly rabid. And when, as often happens, the dog has been at once destroyed, it is impossible to supply deficiencies of previous observation. Moreover, when bitten by a rabid dog, the sufferer may yet escape, for the teeth may only have grazed the skin, and not penetrated to the living tissues beneath, or the poisonous saliva may have been mechanically wiped off by the clothing which the teeth have pierced. As with the venom of snakes, so with the saliva of rabid dogs : it is not enough for it to be spread over the skin, for that will not absorb it, nor even to be swallowed and taken into the stomach, for there, as physiologists say, it is still “outside the body,” and, before it can be absorbed, * So, in the last century, Sir Isaac Pennington, Regius Professor of Physic at Cambridge, and in recent times Prof. Mashka, of Prague. VoL. XXxI1I.—No. 836 undergoes such changes by the process of digestion, as kill the germs or decompose the chemical compound. The virus must be introduced into the living tissues before it can be carried over the whole body by the channels of the lymph and blood, and reach the central nervous system, on which it exerts its characteristic poisonous action, But, when once so introduced, there is every reason to believe that the terrible effects are constant and uniform. The state of the receiver of the venom at the time may probably modify the rapidity of absorption, as is the case with stimulants and with poisonous drugs; but so far as we know there is no power in the most healthy organism by which the subtle venom, once absorbed, can be neutralised or thrown out. The methods above mentioned !—suction by the mouth or by cupping glasses, ligature, and caustics or the actual cautery—all aim at getting the poison out before it has been absorbed. Often they come too late, often they are impracticable or ineffectual from the first. However long the time of “incubation” may be, the interval between the reception of the virus and its spread over the body, no method of preventing the terrible result is known. The length of incubation is far longer than it is in the case of small-pox, of cow-pox, of syphilis, and other known contagions. In two-thirds of the cases col- lected by Prof. Bollinger, of Munich, the interval of incubation was under two months ; and probably it never extends to so long a period as was formerly supposed. The length of this period makes it almost certain that we have to do, not witha mere chemical compound, asin the case of subcutaneous injection of morphia, and probably of the cobra-poison, but with a “ particulate contagium,” like that of small-pox and chicken-pox, with a living and growing organism, like those of relapsing fever and of anthrax. Whatever the conclusions to which pathologists will at last be led on these points, the important fact remains that there is an interval of days or months in which the latent plague, established in the patient’s body, but not yet ripe for mischief, may be attacked. 1 These are what were known to the ancients :—‘ Si rabiosus canis est, cucurbitula virus ejus extrahendum est. Deinde .. . yulnus adurendum est.” Celsus de Medicina, lib. v. cap. xxvii. § 2. B 2 NA ORE [Vov. 5, 1885 Experience has shown that it cannot be mechanically removed by any surgical operation, nor chemically neutralised or destroyed by any drug. The only promis- ing path of investigation is to seek for some method of forestalling the action of the virus by rendering the organism unfit for its action, as patriots have ravaged their fields and burnt their towns to save their country from an invading army. By this method Jenner robbed small-pox of most of its terror and almost all its danger, so that where Jen- nerian vaccination is thoroughly carried out, as in the German army and in Ireland, small-pox is practically extinct. Pasteur’s method of dealing with hydrophobia is avow- edly based on the practice of vaccination ; but it is not the mere introduction of the poison in a way that makes its effects less dangerous, like the inoculation of small-pox practised in the last century. Nor is it exactly analogous to Jenner’s vaccination, although that term is appropriated by Pasteur himself. For in vaccination an allied disease (or possibly small-pox itself, greatly modified by long transmission through other organisms) is inoculated. In either case the course and symptoms of cow-pox are dis- tinct from those of the more serious disease against which it protects. But in the case of hydrophobia, as in that of “chicken-plague” and anthrax, the poison of the same disease is transmitted through a succession of “bearers” until it is so modified that it may be safely inoculated, and thus the altered virus protects from that which is unmodified. The “ bearers ” chosen for these experiments were rab- bits. The test of the result was made, not upon human beings but upon dogs, for M. Pasteur is a philanthropist first and a zoophilist after. Fifty dogs were inoculated with modified virus obtained from the bodies ! of rabbits which had themselves been affected with rabies by inocu- lation. Would a dog thus inoculated show the ordinary symptoms of the disease? Would it, if bitten by a rabid dog, or designedly inoculated with the unmodified venom of rabies, be protected? Would it, if infected with the modified virus after such direct inoculation, still be safe from its effects? The results have, so far, proved the affirmative to each of these questions. None of the “vaccinated ” dogs showed signs of the dreaded disease. Then came two cases of human beings bitten by mad dogs who were sent up to M. Pasteur in Paris from their homes in Alsace. One of them, a grocer named Vone (? Wohn), had escaped without rupture of the skin, and was sent home with the comfortable assurance that he had never been infected with the disease. The other, a boy of nine years old, had been terribly worried on the 4th of last July ; not only bitten in parts covered by his clothes but also on the hands. He was rescued covered with foam, and bleeding from no less than fourteen wounds. There was no question that the dog was mad, and in all human probability this child, Joseph Meister, was doomed to a certain and horrible death. Such was the opinion of the eminent pathologist, M. Vulpian, and he was supported in this judgment by Dr. Grancher. Under these circumstances M. Pasteur felt himself justified in applying the means to this suffering fellow- * Not the mirrow, as the 7¥es states, but the spinal cord, soed/e épiniére. | creature, which had already proved efficacious in the case of brutes.! The inoculations were made with a subcutaneous needle, began on the 7th, and were concluded on the 16th of July. “Control experiments” were “made with the same injections upon rabbits, and proved that the virus was active. Moreover, since the effects of the modified virus, when introduced into an unprotected animal, are rapid and severe, and its period of incubation extremely short, the result of the attempt to rescue the child from a horrible death would soon be apparent. If he had died of hydrophobia, it would probably have been within a month. If he survived this period there was every reason to hope that he would be as much protected against its future manifestation as the dogs which had been tested before. Joseph Meister was in perfect health at the end of August, at the end of September, and at the end of October. M. Pasteur believes that he is safe from hydrophobia for the rest of his life. If similar cases should be followed by similar results, medical science has for the first time a method of com- bating a frightful and incurable disease.” But beyond this, by inoculating dogs, as infants should be vaccinated, they will be rendered insusceptible to rabies. Any mad dog will be destroyed, and the dogs he has bitten will escape. Thus the disease may, it is hoped, be extirpated altogether. These, however, are but hopes; at present the whole question is sb judice. Other competent observers must repeat the experiments, and every result must be sub- mitted to searching criticism. This is no slight on M. Pasteur, it is only worthy respect to his genius and his skill. For the credentials of the champion who has undertaken the task of ridding the world of this horrible plague of hydrophobia are well known. M. Louis Pasteur won his spurs asa chemist. It was his discovery of remarkable forms of crystallisation of racemic acid which first made his name known, and which gave M. Renan the opportunity for the exquisite raillery with which the man of letters welcomed the man of science to the Academy. In dealing with the disease of silk-worms in the south of France, Pasteur first handled a physiological problem, and his thoroughness of research, fertility of resource, and felicity in experiments ended in the best result— practical success as the result of strictly scientific in- vestigation. Pasteur subsequently investigated the so-called cholera of domestic fowls, and by the method of “attenuated ” inoculation has succeeded in protecting them from a destructive epidemic. His far larger and more important work on the pre- vention of splenic fever (charbon or anthrax), the most destructive plague among cattle, has had important and useful results. It has in all probability saved countless multitudes of sheep and oxen in France. In Algeria the results were less satisfactory, and also in Hungary. On the other hand Dr. Roy found the method valuable in La * “La mort de cet enfant paraissant inévitable, je me décidai, non sans de vives et cruelles inquiétudes, on doit bien le penser, A tenter sur Joseph Meister} la méthode qui m’avait constamment réussi chez les chiens” | (Comptes Rendus de Académie des Sciences, October 26. 1885). * One other patient, a shepherd boy, who was bittenwwhile gallantly attack- | inga rabid dog, has been inoculated, and the result is to be seen. =a Nov. 5, 1885] NALORE 3 Plata. The results of Pasteur’s experiments on “pig- typhoid” have also been criticised, and not without reason, by Prof. Klein. It is foolish for newspaper corre- spondents to attribute hesitation in accepting scientific re- sults to jealousy. Much scrutiny will be necessary. Adverse criticism will be welcomed. M. Pasteur’s fame stands in no need of artificial protection. , His past achievements are great: his last attempt was prudent in conception, and carried out with untiring zeal and admirable care. It deserves to succeed. If so, he will again receive the applause of the civilised world ; if not, he will have the sympathy and respect of every pathologist. It ismelancholy to reflect that it would be practically impossible for any duly qualified man in England to repeat, to confirm, or to correct his results. We must wait till a wiser and more humane public opinion repeals the present restrictions upon investigations like Pasteur’s. TOPINARD'S “GENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY” Eléments a? Anthropologie générale. Par le Dr. Paul Topinard. (Paris: A. Delahaye et E. Lecrosnier, 1885.) HE study of anthropology has been pursued, especially of late years, with great zeal by many leading savants, both in the Old and New World, and many valuable contributions to our knowledge have been made in all departments included under its extensive range. This is more particularly the case with respect to that part of the subject which deals with the anatomical characters of the human body. Until this branch of anthropology was so vigorously and successfully studied by Broca, complete ignorance of many fundamental ques- tions ‘prevailed. The direct result of the work of that great anthropologist was immense, while the indirect result due to the incentive which he gave to the study of anthropology generally cannot be over-estimated, but may be inferred from the numerous societies devoted to its study which have rapidly sprung up in various countries. Broca must be considered the great pioneer of modern anthropology, but his untimely death left his work by no means complete, and many extensive fields remained almost untrodden by the foot of the inves- tigator. By the accumulated observations of his followers these deficiencies have been in great part made good, and the time had arrived when it was possible to form generalisations from sufficient data, and when a compre- hensive work embracing the whole subject was urgently needed. For the production of such a work no one more highly fitted could be found than Prof. Paul Topinard, trained at the feet of the great master himself, possessed of an extensive knowledge of his subject, and intimately acquainted, by personal visits to the chief centres of anthropological research, with the methods employed by his contemporaries. The volume before us deals with the elements of general anthropology, and is the first part of Prof. Topinard’s contemplated work, which, when completed, will consist of three parts, the second and third parts being devoted to special anthropology and a general survey of the whole subject, concluding with man’s place in time, his origin and future. Prof. Topinard begins by giving an historical account of the origin and development of anthropology, and claims that it is not a new science developed during the latter half of the present century, but that it has, during the last twenty years, attained its adult age and gained its independence. He divides its history into different periods : (1) from antiquity till the year 1230, the date of the birth of human anatomy ; (2) from 1230-1800, when anthropology asserted itself under the influence of Buffon, Blumenbach, Sammering, and White; (3) from 1800-1860, during which time three important events occurred that mate- rially assisted its development—viz. the founding of the Society of Anthropology of Paris, the demonstration of the high antiquity of man, and the promulgation of the doctrine of evolution by Darwin. To these a 4th and more recent period is added—viz. that during which Broca’s personal influence, aided by the advance of natural sciences, gave great impulse to anthropology. Each of these periods is considered in detail, and many matters of much interest are discussed. Chapters VII. and VIII. are devoted to generalities including under this a definition of anthropology, its object and the subjects which it embraces. Anthro- pology is defined as the branch of natural history which treats of man and of the human race. It includes two distinct departments of study—viz. anthropology proper and ethnography ; the former treating of the human species and its varieties or races from a purely animal aspect, and therefore essentially anatomical and physio- logical in its nature ; the latter dealing with people and intimately connected with sociology. For the study of anthropology proper, anatomical and zoological know- ledge is essential ; but such knowledge is not necessary for the study of ethnography, as questions of race are excluded from it. Having discussed the various essential and accessory anthropological sciences, the place of anthro- pology in science, the meaning of the terms, “ characters,” “types,” “races,” “people,” “nationalities,” &c., he pro- ceeds in the ninth chapter to consider general methods of anthropological research. ‘The different kinds of physical characters and their study are first discussed. These are of three kinds—morphological and anatomical, descriptive and anthropometrical, and finally zoological and anthro- pological. After a few remarks on anthropometry, and on the comparison of measurement on the skeleton and on the living, which are stated to be not generally directly com- parable, an observation which entirely agrees with our own experience, the subject of craniology is discussed, the vari- ous points on the skull to which it has been found conve- nient to give technical names are defined, and derivations and meanings of various terms such as “ brachycephalic,” &c., applied to skulls to express their form, are explained. In discussing the merits of instruments for measuring the skull, their simplicity is insisted upon. The elaborate instruments used in Germany, and by those who follow the German school (of which happily there are few) are very justly condemned. Broca’s compas ad’cpaisseur and the compas glissiére are figured and recommended. These are certainly simple, but, after considerable expe- rience in their use, we rather take exception to the former, as not being very exact, on account of the measurements being read off on a scale reduced to one-half the actual 4 NATURE [Mov. 5, 1885 length of the measurement. This may be avoided by using Flower’s craniometer, which has the further ad- vantage that it combines both Broca’s instruments in one, The consideration of the characters used in the classi- fication of races is begun in the tenth chapter. The first of these d’scussed is the hair. A very concise vésumé is given of the anatomy of the hair follicles and the develop- ment of hair, its distribution, size and form in various races. Six types of hair are described, and good illustra- tions of each are given. The characters of the nose are next considered. The anatomy of the soft and hard parts forming it are described and illustrated by means of beautifully executed woodcuts. The nasal indices of the skulls of various races are tabulated, and show clearly the value of the form of the nasal opening as a race character. In the living subject eight forms of nose are recognised and figured. All of these are easily distinguishable, and we would suggest the desirability of having cards with these forms printed separately for the use of travellers as a means of obtaining much more accurate information than we now obtain from descriptions of this part of the face, which are very frequently extremely vague and un- satisfactory. If furnished with such a card the traveller would be able to record the form of the nose by simply noting the number of the type to which the nose of each person examined corresponds. The table of nasal indices in the living will prove useful for comparison with those of the bony parts. The colour of the skin, eyes, and hair are dealt with in the following chapter in the same systematic manner as the previous characters treated of. Prof. Topinard con- cludes that there ate only two types—the blond and the dark ; that the other so-called types—yellow and red in particular, can only in a very minor degree serve to dis- tinguish races, and that colour as a rule is an uncertain character, liable to alter in individuals, and difficult to determine and express. As a concession, however, to the general practice, he gives a table of classification of races by their colour under the three denominations—white, | yellow, and black. The cephalic index, unlike colour, is described as a cha- racter of prime importance in the classification of races, since it indicates the general form of that portion of the skull which contains the brain. Before the cephalic index can have the same value in all cases, it is absolutely necessary that there should be complete uniformity in the manner of measuring the length and breadth of the cranium, the two measurements from which it is deduced. Unfor- tunately this has not hitherto been the case. French anthropologists have uniformly measured the cranial length as that between the most prominent points of the glabella in front and the occipital behind in the mesial line, and the breadth between the most widely distant points on the same plane of the parietal or squamosal bones at right angles to the length. This we contend is the only satisfactory method of measuring these diameters. In England the anterior point of length has been taken until recently from the ophryon, while in Germany the length is measured from the glabella to a point on a line perpendicular to the most posterior part of the occiput at right angles to a plane adopted by the Frankfort agree- ment as the horizontal of the skull. The breadth likewise has been differently measured on the parietal bones or on the squamosals. Fortunately the methods of measuring these diameters is uniform now in France, England, and most other countries, except Germany. Skulls are classi- fied according to their cephalic indices into three groups —dolichocephalic, mesaticephalic, and brachycephalic ; but the limits assigned to each group by different anthro- pologists vary very considerably, as the tables in Prof. Topinard’s work will show. The limits assigned by the author to each group are such as to commend his classi- fication generally. He subdivides the dolichocephalic and brachycephalic groups—the former into dolicho- cephalic and sub-dolichocephalic, and the latter into sub- brachycephalic and supra-brachycephalic, and gives these subdivisions and the mesaticephalic group each a limit of five units. Thus we have practically five groups— viz. dolichocephalic, where the index is between 65 and 69 inclusive ; sub-dolichocephalic, 70-74 inclusive ; mesa- ticephalic, 75-79 inclusive ; sub-brachycephalic, 80-84 inclusive ; and supra-brachycephalic, 85-89 inclusive. Skulls with indices below or above the extreme limits of these groups are termed ultra-dolichocephalic and ultra- brachycephalic respectively. This classification and the limits of each class agree with the ideas on the subject most genera!ly entertained, and we would earnestly urge their acceptance. In one small point the nomenclature might be improved by the insertion of the word “ sus,” or in English supra, to distinguish the higher group of the dolichocephalic class (if its omission is not an overlook in the correction of the proof sheets of the work) so as to make the nomenclature of this subdivision correspond to that of the higher division of the brachy- cephalic class—sus-brachycephalic.” The tables of cephalic indices of skulls and of the heads of various races will prove extremely useful for reference. Chapters XIII. and XIV. are devoted to stature. The development of the skeleton and its variations in height are first considered ; then, secondly, the stature of the inhabitants of different countries. These chapters contain much information collected together from many sources. The two following chapters treat of the weight and size of the brain at different ages, and in different persons and races, its relation to the weight and stature of the body, and other questions of much interest regarding it, which will well repay perusal by those interested in neurology as well as anthropologists. The next chapter (XVII.), on the cubage of the cranial cavity, will be read with much interest, being a subject to which Prof. Topinard has given special attention. It reveals the great diversity of opinion which still exists regarding the best method of measuring the capacity of the encephalon. A system of cubage easy of application which would yield constant results in the hands of different operators, and at the same time indicate the actual size of the encephalon would probably be readily accepted by most anthropologists. Broca’s system, which is perhaps the one most generally used, gives constant results, but is somewhat complicated and does not indicate the absolute capacity. Even with its faults Prof. Topinard considers it is the best method we have at present, he however contemplates some modifications of it which will simplify it and make it more satisfactory. This being the case it is needless to criticise the chapter further at present, but pass on to the next sabject—viz. the skull itself, its Nov. 5, 1885 | NATURE 5 measurements, and its characters—a most important part of the work, occupying ten chapters. In the limited space at our disposal it is impossible to enter into an examina- tion of this part of the work adequate to its importance. When it is studied in conjunction with Broca’s “ In- structions Craniologiques,” the results of more extended researches on a larger amount of material and more matured views are observable. Many measurements recommended by Broca in his work published in 1876 were abandoned by him before his death or delegated to a place of secondary importance. If any exception can be taken to this part of Prof. Topinard’s work it is that it is too much an exposition of Broca’s views to the exclusion of those of the author. Broca’s methods are strictly adhered to in some instances where more independent consideration with knowledge acquired since his death might have resulted in a modification of the opinions expressed regarding them. After discussing the general development of the skull and the relations between the configuration of the exterior of the cranium and of the brain, the measurements of the skull are considered. The skull is divided into a cranial and a facial portion, and the measurements of each are detailed and their relative importance pointed out. The measurements of the cranial portion recommended and the method of making them are those usually adopted; those of the facial portion, however, will give rise to some discussion. The ophryon of Broca is shown to be some- what unsatisfactory in its determination ; Prof. Topinard with much pains shows that a better point is the super- cilliary point, which corresponds to the most anterior part of the brain, and is situated in the mesial line immediately above the glabella on the level of a line drawn horizontally above the supercilliary ridges. It seems to us absurd to give a second name to a point so closely corresponding to the ophryon, and we would consequently recommend that the definition of the “ point intersourcilier ” should be considered only as an amendment of Broca’s definition of the ophryon. Natural or pathological and artificial deformities of the cranium and their effect on the brain are very fully and ably considered and illustrated by woodcuts. The vexed question of the proper plane of orientation of the skull receives due consideration, and the condylo-alveolar plane, which was determined by Broca after much research, is recommended as the best and simplest. Of all the positions proposed we also con. sider this the best, and hope to see it universally adopted. From the skull in this position the prognathism of the several parts of the face is easily determined by means of a vertical equerry and a small triangular one. Prof. Topinard finds that the prognathism which is most im- portant in distinguishing race characters is the alveolo- subspinal, and he figures five different typical modifica- tions of the form of the face in this region. In his remarks on Prof. Flower’s method of indicating pro- gnathism we think Prof. Topinard has misunderstood the object of selecting the basio-nasial line as the standard of comparison. This line is specially chosen as being as nearly as possible the primary line of develop- ment of the skull, and because it is more constant than perhaps any other measurement of the skull. By means of the indices measurements from the basion to the alveolar point, or to the sub-nasal spine, with the basio-nasial radius, the relative prominence of the various parts of the face can be easily expressed, and compared in different races. Though Prof. Topinard’s method is perhaps the more strictly correct one, that of Prof. Flower has the advan- tage in being the more practical, from its being simpler. We may here remark regarding certain measurements recommended by Prof. Topinard between the occipital point and various points on the face, with the object of indicating its profile outline, that we consider it would be preferable if the basion was selected as the starting point for them, instead of the occipital point, on account of the former being much more fixed than the latter. The rela- tive proportion which these radii bear to one another according as the occipital point is situated high up or low down on the occipital bone is very great ; indeed so much so as to render their indices almost valueless for purposes of comparison. This fact has probably been overlooked by Prof. Topinard in his desire to obtain a method of measuring the skull, which would be applicable also to the head of the living person. In treating of the facial index, Prof. Topinard adheres to Broca’s method of measuring the length of the face from the ophryon. This point we consider very unsatis- factory, as two observers will seldom place it at exactly the same spot. The facial height is best measured from the nasion, and we prefer the facial index of Kollmann to that of Broca. The lines of contour of the face are valu- able in demonstrating the relative proportions of the upper and lower parts of the face to the maximum or bizygomatic width, and supplement the facial indices. The number of measurements of the mandible have been much reduced by Prof. Topinard, and it is studied more in connection with the skull, as it should be, than as a mere isolated bone. Chapter XXVII. contains a useful 7ésvmmé of the various systems of measurements of the skull employed in Germany and England, a table of the measurements con- sidered by the author to be of prime importance, and a more extended list to be used in making more minute researches. The method of orientation of the skull and of making measurements in relation thereto, advocated by the Frankfort agreement, is very justly condemned, but in an unoftensive and truly scientific spirit. The last chapters of the work treat of the characters of the trunk and extremities, and contain valuable tables of the proportions of these parts of the body in different races. Throughout the work the characters in the living subject are carefully considered side by side with those of the skeleton, which is of great practical value not only to the anthropologist alone but to artists and others wishing to make themselves acquainted with the subject of human morphology. The work concludes with a carefully drawn up table of directions and measurements of the body for the use of travellers, which will doubtless prove very valuable, and we hope will be the means of bringing us more exact information regarding the physical characters of many races yet imperfectly described. The work is one in every respect worthy of the author, and cannot fail of being highly appreciated by anthro- pologists everywhere. We hope the time may not be far distant when the other volumes promised will be in our hands. J. G. GARSON 6 NALORLEG [Vov. 5, 1885 OUR BOOK SHELF Our Insect Enemies. By Theodore Wood. 220 pp. small 8vo. (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1885.) WE have read the book through without discovering any- thing (save in some questions that may be regarded as essentially controversial) to find fault with. The illustra- tions are not numerous, but to the point, and, although somewhat coarse, are better selected than is sometimes the case in books of this nature. There are fourteen chapters in all, of which four are not inappropriately de- voted to Aphides. The important subject indicated by the title is treated calmly, and apparently with a view to discourage the undoubtedly ill-effects produced by panic- mongers in economic entomology. The first (or “ intro- ductory”’) chapter is well considered and well reasoned. Some Account of the “ Palan Byoo,” or “ Tetndoung Bo,” (Paraponyx or ‘ysalis), a Lepidopterous Insect-pest of ‘the Rice-Plant in Burma. By J. Wood-Mason, Officiating Superintendent, Calcutta Museum. (Cal. cutta, 1885.) A PAMPHLET of 12 pp., with a plate, concerning a lepidopterous larva that damages, but does not, as a rule, appear to kill the rice-plant. It is more useful as a contribution to pure biology than to economic ento- mology. It describes one of the few Lepidopterous larve that breathe mainly by gills (or branchiz), and from this cause is considered an ‘ally of our common little aquatic moth known as Parafonyx stratiotalis, The vernacular names by which the insect is known are not such as to be readily remembered by “ foreigners ;” yet it might have been better had the author not applied a scientific name based solely on larve and habits. All babies are supposed to be very much alike, save to the fond parents of each in particular. EETLERS LO THE EDIDROR [ The Editor does not hold himself responsiblefor opinions exbressed 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 | The pressure on his space ts so great | as short as possible. that it ts impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containing interesting and novel facts.) Krakatao ALTHOUGH I have not yet had the good fortune of reading Dr. Verbeek’s ‘‘Krakatao,” yet in the review published in NATUuRE of October 22 (p. 601) there are one or two points I would like to draw attention to. In speaking of the earth- quake of September, 1880, we are told that it may have facili- tated the entrance of water by the Sunda fissure. If this were so, it certainly seems a strange thing that no less than three years should be necessary to heat the water before the explosion took place. I think that at present few geologists believe in water gaining access to the magma by fissures while we neglect percolation through porous rocks. It seems to me that the above earthquake was the result of rupture and extension of the magtia-filled fissure towards the surface, in consequence which the final outburst was put off for a short time by increas- ing the space for, and so lowering the tension of, the magma- filled fissure. By a careful study of the products of many vol- canoes I have shown how the magma gradually dissolves or takes up within it water from the surrounding rocks, and as this is a slow process, the longer a volcano remains inactive, other things being equal, the more violent will be the subsequent eruption and the more vitreous will be the pumice owing to the rapid cooling of the magma froth in consequence of the large absorp: tion of heat in converting the dissolved water into the gaseous state of steam, in the samé way that the temperature of seltzer water falls on allowing the gas to escape on removal of the cork. The above earthquake has its parallels in A.D. 63 at Vesuvius, of | those of 1536 and 1537 at Monte Nuovo, and in the late Ischian shocks. The thickness of ejected materials is certainly gigantic, for the maximum thickness of the Plinian eruption at Vesuvius was under Io metres, or just one-sixth that of Kratakdo. There is reference made to round concretions called ‘‘ Krakatao marbles” that are met with amongst the ejectamenta, as being things so far unobserved. Of course, it is not possible to judge clearly from the description, but I have little doubt that they may be similar to those met with in the marl-like tufa of Ischia and others, commonly found amongst the ejectamenta of Monte Nuovo, which at the latter locality are fossiliferous. They are simply concretions in a marine resorted tufa. The cooling of the atmosphere, referred to, at Batavia and elsewhere at a moderate distance around the volcano, might be explained by the vortex inrush of air towards the vapour column. Observations of wind direction would be interesting as settling this point. Another question of interest that was raised is the cause of non-correspondence of one part of the earth with another in seismic or volcanic activity. If we suppose a volcano to be supplied with magma by ramifications from large extensions of fluid rock within our globe, the gradual absorption of water by one of these ramifications, and the consequent increase in its tension may be quite independent of another ramification not far off, yet perhaps more or less favourably placed in relation to porous strata and superincumbent pressure and the necessary results. I have drawn attention to these few points not with any intention to undervalue the report, which has all the characters of being one of the most important additions to the vulcano- logical literature of the nineteenth century, but simply to prevent certain unsound theories from becoming current. Naples, October 26 H. J. JoHNsTon-LAVIS The Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun Ir may be interesting to your readers to supplement the description given in NATURE, vol, xxxii. p. 631, with the fol- lowing notes which I have just received from a friend who observed the eclipse at Nelson, N.Z.: ‘‘ As the period of totality passed away, a bright point of light as from a diamond Total Eclipse of the Sun, Nelson, N.Z., September 9, 1885. of wonderful brilliance shot forth from the upper surface of the moon, and at first this seemed to be only a flame, but it speedily extended to the moon’s shadow, passed downwards and to the right, and totality was over.” Another feature was the fall in the temperature: ‘‘A thermometer which registered 50° at Nov. 5, 1885 | NATURE 7 seven o’clock, stood at 30° immediately after totality; the keen breeze which was blowing before the sun was shadowed died completely away at the time of totality.” I inclose a photo- graph which clearly shows the protuberances noticed by all the observers. KILLINGWORTH HEDGES Westminster, October 30 An Earthquake Invention THE object I had in view in my former communication to NATURE (vol. xxxii. p. 213) on this subject, has been attained, as the following quotations from Prof. Milne’s letter in NATURE (p. 573) show: ‘‘I have no desire to claim the authorship of the aseismatic joint ;” and again, ‘‘I amas yet in the dark as to who was the first inventor of the aseismatic joint.” Well, I can enlighten him, and I claim the invention for Mr. David Stevenson, whose paper describing it was read before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts in 1868, and published in their Zyansactions ; whose firm designed, superintended the con- struction of, tested and sent out to Japan seven lighthouse apparatus, carried on tables 8 feet in diameter, fitted with this contrivance. Further Messrs. Stevenson designed two light- house duz/dings, iron towers 29 feet in diameter at the base and 46 feet in height, with an aseismatic joint a¢ their base, which were constructed and erected in the work-yard of the contractors in Edinburgh, and finally, in 1869, shipped to Japan, but un- fortunately they never reached their destination, as the vessel went down on the voyage out. There are three points in Prof. Milne’s letter on which I wish to make a few remarks. The first is to give the explanation Prof. Milne asks as to the part the late Mr. Mallet took in the invention of the aseismatic joint which I may observe Mr. Mallet never claimed for himself. Mr. Stevenson consulted with Mr. Mallet as to what was the exact mécanique of an earth- quake shock, and how he thought it would affect the delicate apparatus usually placed in a lighthouse. This information Mr. Mallet furnished, but so far from suggesting a ball and plate joint, he expressed a fear that the superstructure, if placed on balls as proposed by Mr. Stevenson, would be thrown down, and in a letter dated March 14, 1868, acknowledging a copy of the Scotsman newspaper, containing a notice of Mr. Stevenson’s paper, he says that if the balls and plates proposed are confined to the apparatus in the light-room, he ‘‘ would augur much more favourably of the result being satisfactory,” but that his ‘“own notion for Japan or other shaky places would be to make all the towers rather of timber or of boiler plate work.” This, I think, should put Prof. Milne’s mind at rest on this point. The second point is with reference to ball and plate seismo- graphs, I never described a seismograph, but my brother did, in 1883, in NATURE, vol. xxviii. p. 117, though, so far from claiming the zdea as original, he says: ‘‘ The idea of the instru- ment I propose was suggested to me by the aseismatic arrange- ment designed by my father, Mr. David Stevenson, for averting damage to buildings and lighthouse apparatus in countries subject to earthquakes.” I entirely agree with Prof. Milne that the joint employed in ball and plate seismographs, lamp tables in Japanese lighthouses, model houses, and the Professor’s own dwelling-house, all ‘‘ in- yolve the same principles, and they only differ in their dimen- sions,” and my point is that Mr. David Stevenson was not only the original inventor of this contrivance, but, what is of far more importance, suggested and carried into practice ‘he only known method of mitigating the effects of earthquake-shocks on buildings, and the astatic house of which Prof. Milne reported such good results to the British Association of 1885, which is described in NATURE, vol. xxxii. p. 527, as being ‘‘ rested at each of its piers upon a handful of cast-iron shot each a quarter of an inch in diameter” placed ‘‘ between flat iron plates,” is obviously merely a modification of the same principle. The third point is as to the success of the aseismatic joint. It does seem a little curious that Prof. Milne, in the 7Zramsactions, British Association of 1884, when he appeared to me and to others to claim the invention for himself, thought it perfection, though now he appears to have changed his mind. I do not think, however, it affects the question at issue, whether the a eismatic joint is a success or not; but that it is a success will be seen from Prof. Milne’s own reports in the Ziazsactions of the British Association, and from the following information which was supplied by Mr. Simpkin in 1884, who had just re- turned from Japan, where he was engaged in the lighthouse service. At Isuragisaki and Kashmasaki lighthouses the aseis- matic tables were firmly strutted with timber to prevent any motion, as inconvenience was felt from the oscillations of the table when winding up the machine, the steadying screws sent out with the apparatus for the purpose of temporarily doing so having for some reason not been put in at these stations. These two are the only lighthouses at which any damage has been done by earthquake, while those stations at which the tables are in an account of it was published in their 7yansactions ; but, after all, the apparatus was actually at work in Japan where he was living. D, A. STEVENSON 84, George Street, Edinburgh, October 19 The Mithun I was glad to see in NATURE of July 16 (p. 243) that Mr. W. F, Blanford had drawn attention to the extraordinary mis- take made by Dr. Kuhn in considering the gayal and gaur specifically identical, and their differences as due to domestica- tion. If this latter were true we should see endless intermediate forms instead of two invariably distinct. To those who know them in their habitat the confusion must seem extraordinary, eyen though both are here called ‘‘ Mithun.” The gayal (2. Srontalis, v. gaveus) is known (domestic only) all through these hills, and not in the plains ; is pied black and white, with pink muzzle, white legs, and the tips of the horns point outwards. The gaur (B. gaurus, v. cavifrons) is only known wild, in the hills and also plains, never pied, has white legs, and the tips of adult horns invariably point zzwards. The gayal domestic, and never known wild ; the gaur wild, and never known domestic ; and they do not cross. I have known both here now many years, and had good opportunities of observing and contrasting them. I have had a fine bull gaur feeding along beside me at twenty yards in short grass for over quarter of an hour, as I sat motion- less in my Rob Roy canoe, an enormous Dontal (tusker) elephant at the same distance off on the opposite bank ; each occa- sionally left off to sniff me, but resumed again, taking me, in brown-grey costume and grey-coloured canoe, for a snag in mid- stream (which stream was deep and stagnant). It is not always easy or possible to point out to such a man as Dr, Kuhn that the study of the ‘‘dry bones” of an animal is really but half the battle in comparing it with its allies. The study of specific dis- tinctions should include the whole animal, alive as well as dead. But the clearest proof that these two distinct forms are not due to domestication is that, instead of endless intermediate forms, we find absolutely none. S. E. PEAL Sibsagar, Asam, September 26 On the Behaviour of Stretched India-rubber when Heated I sHOULD like to make the following remarks with reference to the letter of Mr. H. G. Madan which appeared in the last number of NATURE :— (2) Though the fact that india-rubber becomes o¢ when stretched might be, and no doubt is to be, fartly attributed to molecular friction, we cannot thus account for the coodizg which resulted from contraction in the experiments of Joule and Sir William Thomson. (4) Text-books as a rule are not, I am afraid, sufficiently ex- plicit as to whether the stretched india-rubber is contracted in volume when heated, or only in /exgth. Thermodynamic theory does not require, in order that longitudinal pull should produce rise of temperature, that the ve/ume should be diminished when the temperature is raised, and the results of Joule’s experiments are in reasonable accord with theory. (c) The real state of things seems to be that the effect of heating a stretched piece of india-rubber is to /engthen it if the tension is sma//, and to shorten it if the tension is large (Hr. Schmulewitsch, Vierteljahrschrift der Naturforsch. Geselischaft, Ziirich, xi. 202) ; thus, for a certain tension there will be neither elongation nor contraction, and my own experiments on the 8 NATURE [WVov. 5, 1885 effects of stress on the physical properties of matter lead me to infer that the critical tension will be lower the higher the tem- perature. HERBERT TOMLINSON King’s College, Strand, October 31 The Resting Position of Oysters As your correspondent, Mr. J. T. Cunningham, expresses a doubt as to the evidence on which the current belief of concho- logists is founded that oysters rest on the convex valve, I beg to inclose a cluster of three, brought to me among others from Torbay this morning. Thuy are all attached by their convex valves, and confirm the descriptions of Messrs. Woodward, Jeffreys, and Huxley. Mr. Cunningham’s Sertularia and Thuiaria go to prove that he has seen oysters from the Firth of Forth that rested on their flat valves. This is easily accounted for. Solitary, unattached oysters, resting on the sea-bottom, would easily, from their peculiar form, be turned over by wave-currents (if exposed to them); or they might fall on their flat valves when thrown overboard by dredges as too young for market. In either case, once overturned, they would be powerless to regain their natural position, With regard to the Pectens, Mr. Cunningham does not specify the species found covered, as to the convex valves, with Balanus, &c. In two such common sorts as P. maximus and P. opercu- Zaris, we find in the one the under-valve more convex, in the other the upper valve. In each case the mollusk rests on the same valve. ARTHUR R. Hunt Torquay, October 27 Salmo salar and S. ferox in Tasmania In your issue of October 29 is a communication from Mr. Saville Kent, in which he ‘‘concludes that no true salmon has yet been established in the lakes and rivers of Tasmania. The fish of large size which abound in the great lakes and other large sheets of water are really essentially the same as the great lake trout, Salmo ferox, of Great Britain.” Respecting the salmon, although very possibly Mr. Kent has not yet seen a true one in Tasmania, such does not abso- lutely prove their absence. In the Feld of last May I drew attention to an undoubted salmon smolt, 9 inches long, which was sent home from Tasmania by Mr. Robins, on January 3, 1880, and is now in the national collection. As regards the great lake trout, I observed in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, January 15, 1884, that the original stock of British fresh-water trout from which ova were procured to send to Tasmania, were solely obtained in Hampshire and Buckinghamshire, localities where the great lake trout is not found, zzless it 2s merely a variety of the brook trout. The late Mr. W. Arthur, whose recent death at Dunedin will prove an irreparable loss respecting these investigations, sent me two specimens in ice in July 1883. One was a male, 324 inches long, the other a female, one inch less. I remarked that ‘‘these two beautiful specimens of trout are so exceedingly similar to so-called lake trout, that any ichthyologist who be- lieved in the numerous species of this fish, and was unaware from whence they came, would undoubtedly term them Salmo ferox.’ Whether Mr. Saville Kent in the note in question considers the great lake trout, S. ferox, a distinct species from the brook trout, S. fevzo, seems left to the reader to surmise. Should he be correct in his identification (as I believe him to be), then the great lake trout has been raised from the eggs of the small brook trout, showing it to be merely a variety which, under favourable conditions, will attain to a large size. Francis Day Cheltenham, October 30 A Right-footed Parrot IF my memory does not deceive me, Mr. Romanes asked some months ago for an account of any peculiarities shown by parrots, in which case you may be able to find a corner for the following incident :— Last Sunday I gave our parrot—an ordinary grey bird—the hardest walnut I could find, as when busy cracking the shell she is less noisy. After struggling for a long time in vain, at first on the perch and then on the bottom of the cage, holding the walnut as usual with the right foot, she changed feet, whether because the right foot was tired or not I cannot say; but now utterly failed to make the walnut reach her beak. Time after time the walnut was raised above the bird’s head, rather over the neck. At the same time she was unable to stand steady, but fell over and rested on her right wing. After about a dozen fruitless attempts, and by the time every one in the room was shaking with laughter, she flung the walnut down with a shriek and returned to her perch. C. V. Boys The New British Myzostoma SINCE recording the discovery of an encysting JZyzostoma on the Comatulz of Milford Haven (NATURE, August 27, p. 391) I have examined a large number of other examples of Avtedon vosacea from different British localities; and I have found Myzostoma-cysts oc other modifications of the pinnule-joints on individuals from Torquay, Cumbre, Arran, and Oban, while in one or two cases the arm-joints are also affected. Prof. A. C. Haddon has kindly sent me some Comatulz which he dredged last summer in Berehaven, County Cork, and in Dalkey Sound, County Dublin, and I have found slightly malformed pinnules in one individual from each locality, though there are no traces of definite cysts. It is clear, however, from what has been said above, that this encysting AZyzostoma has a tolerably wide distri- bution in the British area; and I shall be very glad to hear of its discovery on Comatulz from other localities than those which I have mentioned. The cysts are fairly conspicuous on the Cumbre specimens (dredged by Mr. Sladen), though nothing like the size of those which occur on the Crinoids of more tropical seas ; and I sup- pose that this is the cause of their having so long escaped the notice of the many naturalists who have dredged at this locality. Now, however, that attention has been directed to them, it is quite possible that they may be discovered at Roscoff and at various localities in the Mediterranean, where A x/edon rosacea is equally abundant. P. HERBERT CARPENTER Eton College, October 31 Tertiary Rainbows THE following extract from my journal may be of interest with regard to the subject of ‘‘ Tertiary Rainbows ” :— “May 5, 1885.—Extraordinary display of rainbows at 4.30 p-m. on Grand Trunk Railway between Kingston and Montreal. Stx bows in all were seen. The primary was flanked on the inside by four bows quite near, and on the outside at some distance by a fifth.” The bows were all quite distinct, but of course of decreasing brightness in passing from the primary inward. They were noticed by several persons besides myself. W. L. GoopwINn Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, October 15 *Furculum” or ‘ Furcula” Dr. SCLATER in his letter to NATURE (vol. xxxii. p. 466) calls attention to a very interesting point in regard to the use of the word farculum, asking, as he does so, for its authority. Not only are the eminent anatomists— Balfour, Huxley, and Rolleston —mentioned by him, authorities for it, but the majority of ana- tomical writers, both of the Continent and Great Britain ; they having also lent their influence, through custom, to the intro- duction of this word. In this country the same holds true, and the use of the term farculum for furcula receives the support of such high authority as Marsh (‘‘ Odontornithes,” p. 58, Fig. 14) and many others. Dr. Sclater further states that he has failed to find its use sanctioned by any dictionary. For the large dictionaries of the language this no doubt is true, but in quite a number of works upon anatomy that present us with a ‘‘ glossary of terms,” we find the word /zacz/2m given, and not ferceda, as, for instance, see ‘‘Elements of Zoology,” by M. Harbison, Head Master, Model School, Newtownards, and ‘‘ Handbook of Vertebrate Dissection,”’ Part II., by Martin and Moole. More than this, furculum is the only word given in certain scientific dictionaries, as Dunman’s ‘‘Glossary of Scientific Terms,” London, 1878, and published by D. Appleton and Co., New York, 1879. I find myself also in the same category, deserving the censure of your correspondent, and agree with him entirely in the incor- rect use of the word furcelam for furcula, or still more properly Nov. 5, 1885 | NATURE 9 as he suggests, though perhaps less convenient term, os /trcula- torium. R. W. SHUFELDT Fort Wingate, New Mexico, October 8 Metric or English Measures ? WOULD any of your readers have the great kindness to give me their opinion on the following question ? In writing a school-book in which such branches of physics as dynamics and heat are to be treated in a very elementary but exact way, would it be best to use the metric system or the English system of weights and measures ? Personally, I am strongly inclined to take the former course ; it seems to me that as soon as a boy’s scientific education begins he should make acquaintance with the units of measurement now generally adopted by scientific men throughout the would. Ro Pe CHARLES ROBIN @ the 6th of last month died in Josseron (Depart- ment l’Ain) Charles Robin, sixty-four years old. He was one of the few men in Europe who may be justly con- sidered the founders of modern histology. Although some of his views, as, for instance, on the formation of cells out of a blastema, are now only of historical interest, there remain a considerable number of valuable facts which he has contributed to histology, anatomy, and zoology. A chair of General Anatomy was created for him in 1862 in the Paris Faculty of Medicine, and here he always col- lected round him a number of ardent students who, under his direction and imbued with his ideas, did excellent work in histology. He was, in fact, until a few years back (until Ranvier) the only exponent of and original worker in histology in France. There is hardly a chapter in this science to which he has not largely contributed. His chief works are “ The Natural History of Vegetable Parasites in Man and Animals”; ‘On the Tissues and Secretions” ; and his many articles in the “ Dictionnaire Encyclopédique des Sciences Médicales.” THE LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION jPee credit of the inception of the idea of the practica- bility of carrying on an International Exhibition at Liverpool appears to be due to Alderman David Rad- cliffe, the present Mayor of the City, who laid it before Lord Derby, who at once became the first guarantor of a fund which now exceeds 60,0007. The support this move- ment has now secured in England and on the Continent renders its success assured. It is a matter of surprise that no International Exhibi- tion has ever yet taken place in the North of England, when the fact is remembered, commented on by Lord Derby at the last annual banquet given to him by the Mayor of Liverpool, that the inhabitants of that City and the district lying within a radius of fifty miles of it are as numerous as those of the City of London, and the greater London, which lies within a radius of fifty miles of St. Paul’s. The value of exhibi- tions it is difficult to over-estimate. Visitors however un- intelligent must of necessity learn something of the processes and methods carried out by their countrymen in the arts and manufactures, while the exhibitors in- crease their technical grasp, and get their thoughts removed from stereotyped grooves by the inspection of products from countries where workmen obtain so much larger a share of technical education, based on practical science, than is accorded by the education department of this country. Placed as is Britain, as it were between Europe and America, an Exhibition of Navigation and Travel | would at all times appear to be singularly appropriate: | but this has still greater significance at Liverpool, itself the second, if not the first, seaport of the world. This is rendered still more important from the evident care evinced by the projectors that the Exhibition should be on a scientific basis, and that it should be the means of spreading accurate scientific and technical knowledge in the construction and manipulation of all the appliances of locomotion, travel, and transport by sea and land, by rivers, by air, or through cultivated lands, or across the desert. In addition to this it is proposed, should, as is hoped, a surplus be realised at the end of the Exhibition, that it be devoted to the foundation of a school of tech- nical education, to be called after the late Prince Leopold, whose last public appearance in Liverpool was marked by special advocacy of the claims of technical education. Commerce and manufactures are also to be represented, including all substances used in the arts derived from animals, from vegetables, and from metallic and non- metallic minerals. The Corporation of Liverpool has granted a site of 35 acres near the Edge Hill Station of the London and North-Western Railway ; fountains, bands, and electric illuminated trees are to reproduce the features of South Kensington, and the scheme is not only supported by the cities of the north, but by Paris, Vienna, and Berlin, while Belgium, Sweden, and other countries, and the Isle of Man, are applying for courts. The Exhibition will be opened in May next year, and continue open for six months. C. E. DE RANCE DR. GOULD'S WORK IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC V E have from time to time during the last fifteen years recorded the progress made by Dr. Gould in his stupendous work on the southern stars. Te has now returned to the United States, and we are glad to be able to give an account of the reception he met with on his return. Rarely has such a reception been better deserved, and carried out as it was it did credit to science all the world over, as well as to the country and the man most closely interested. A letter signed by upwards of eighty of the most pro- minent men in Boston awaited Dr. Gould’s arrival, asking him to fix a date “when it will be agreeable for you to meet us at a dinner, that we may welcome you home.” Pursuant to arrangement a reception and dinner took place at the Hotel Vendéme, Boston, on the evening of May 6, 1885. The Hon. Leverett Saltonstall presided, and, after the banquet, arose to introduce the guest of the evening. The president referred to Dr. Gould’s early career and his hard work :—-“‘ We have thus met,” he said, “that we may extend to Dr. Gould our most cordial welcome, to show him our high respect for his character and attainments, to express to him our deep sympathy for all the severe trials he has been called upon to encounter, and to prove to him in every possible way how proud we are of his high fame, world-wide, as one of the greatest astronomers of this or any former age. . . . “When the opportunity presented itself for doing a far greater work than that, in my opinion, accomplished by any astronomer now living, and equalled in extent and importance by but few in any previous age, a work so vast in its design that its mere suggestion might well have staggered a much younger man, he already having passed what is considered the prime of life, courageously took the great step and exiled himself from home, con- scious that it was a work which he could scarcely hope to live to complete. He buried himself in a country so far away and so little known that it might well have seemed another world, and with no hope of reward such as the world generally values for all the cause he loves with 10 MATURE [Vov. 5, 1885 such devotion—the cause of science. He sailed with his family for Buenos Aires, and there for fifteen years he has been searching the heavens by night, and making his calculations by day, till he has finished a complete cata- logue of the stars of the southern hemisphere. And in this great work, the greatest perhaps ever known, an exile from home, almost alone and unaided, feeling that on the continuance of his life and strength depended its accom- plishment, he braved and endured all with a courage and devotion worthy of our highest admiration.” In reply to the toast of his health, Dr. Gould spoke as follows :— My Dear FRIENDS,— Would that I knew how to give some fit expression to my deep sense of your kindness, and to my gratitude for this delightful manifestation of your approval and regard. No man could fail to be profoundly moved, or to indulge a pardonable pride, under such circumstances ; and it is only natural that one, who is perhaps too sensitive to the opinions of those whom he loves and esteems, should find it difficult to control his emotions or to give full utterance to his thanks. If the pursuance of my appointed task has entailed sacrifices, the chief among them has certainly been the long separation from the friends at home, whose companionship, encouragement and sympathy were always my greatest source of happiness, outside the narrow limits of domestic life. But there has been something more than mere separation ; for, however cherished and abiding may be our memory in the hearts of the friends spared to us for that reunion to which we are always yearningly looking forward, there still remains the consciousness that we have ceased to form an element in their lives, and that all human associations become dulled by the lapse of time. Had I been able to foresee this welcome from those to whom I am most closely bound by ties of affection, sympathy and respect, the anticipation would have lightened many a weary hour, and given new strength when courage threatened to fail. You, my dear classmates of forty years ago, like the other friends around us here, need not be reminded that public speak- ing was never comprised in the short list of my attainments. It will not surprise you that fifteen years’ disuse of our native language should have given me no greater command of it, nor that an unremitting employment of telescopes and logarithm- tables, should have made it no easier to face a large assemblage, even though composed only of kind and indulgent friends. All that I can do is to offer to all of you my overflowing thanks, and to assure you that the long severance from friends and country, now at last ended, shall give greater earnestness to my resolve to atone in the future, as well as may be, for the past neglect of my duties to them and to this community, in which I will never abdicate my priceless birthright. As you have implied in your too flattering words, that incen- tive has never been wanting during my expatriation, which came from the consciousness that whatever it might be within my power to accomplish well, would be credited in part to our native land. It is a source of pride to the Argentines that their political organisation was modelled upon that of the United States—that their precedents in constitutional law are based upon the decisions of North American courts, and that the word ** America” vibrates in their ears with the same melody we know so well. If a conquest from the realm of the unknown be made by American effort, they rejoice in it, before considering which is the hemisphere whence the soldiery came. And the success of any laudable effort emanating from this western hemi- sphere is doubly prized by them when the two Americas have united for its accomplishment. Science knows no narrow bounds of nationality ; yet who would be so cruel or so unwise as to censure, or attempt to weaken, the intense stimulus which is given by the hope that what honour may attach to a good work will be reflected upon one’s own country? Does not a part of the world’s tribute to a Franklin, Fulton, Bache, Henry, Agassiz, or Peirce—to an Irving, Bryant, Prescott, Motley, or Longfellow (I name only such as have left us)—belong to their country? And is it not a wholesome incentive to the labourer that he should feel that a portion of his reward will be assigned to his country, or even in a wider sense, to his own continent, when this has started late in the race, handicapped by the shortness of its history and the restrictions of its past opportunities ? From this point of view it may not be unseemly if I comply with the request to relate briefly what has been attained at Cor- doba in these fourteen and a half years, chiefly by North Americans, labouring in the service of the Argentine nation, which has never failed to afford them all needful support and encouragement. The undertaking began, as you know, with the project of a private astronomical expedition, for which my friends in Boston and its vicinity had promised the pecuniary means. The selec- tion of Cordoba, as an especially desirable place, was chiefly due to our lamented countryman, Gilliss, whose astronomical mission to Santiago de Chile had resulted in extensive and valu- able observations of southern stars, and in the establishment of a national observatory, while it had enabled him to form a sound judgment as to the relative advantages of different points in South America for astronomical purposes, notwithstanding the total want of trustworthy meteorological data. This choice of place was confirmed by the counsel of the Argentine Minister to this country. That minister was Sarmiento, a man who needs no encomium here, for, during his brief residence in the United States, he gained an exceptional number of friends and admirers. He transmitted to his Government, then under the presidency of Gen. Mitre, my application for certain privileges and assur- ances, all of which were at once cordially conceded ; but his interest in the plan became furthermore so great that when, soon afterwards, he was himself elected President, he obtained the assent of the Argentine Congress to the establishment of a national observatory, and wrote asking me to change my plans accordingly, The official invitation was sent in due time by the Minister or Public Instruction, Dr. Avellaneda. The Govern- ment assumed the expense of the instruments and equipments already bespoken, and authorised the engagement of the requisite assistants, In 1874 Dr. Avellaneda succeeded Sarmiento in the presi- dency, and in 1880 he was himself succeeded by Gen. Roca. Thus, four successive administrations have encouraged and sus- tained the undertaking ; and, notwithstanding the high political excitement which often prevails, and might easily have disinclined the members of any one party to give cordial aid to institutions established or fostered by its opponents, there has never been wanting a spirit of decided friendliness to the Observatory and to the scientific interests which have been developed under its auspices. No president of the nation, and no minister of the department under which the Observatory is placed, has failed to give strong practical evidence of his good will ; there has been none of them to whom I do not owe a debt of gratitude ; I have never made an official request which has not been granted, and almost always in such a way as to enhance the favour. And, just as the official founders of the Observatory met us with a cordial welcome on our arrival, so the Government of to-day has over- whelmed me with kindness and tokens of regard on my de- parture. On the very last evening before embarking—when it was my privilege to receive the farewells of a crowded assem- blage in the halls of the Argentine Geographical Institute, and to hear words of sympathy and commendation from the lips of Gen. Sarmiento, my earliest Argentine friend, speaking in behalf of that Society—I replied, in the few words which alone were possible at the time, but with all sincerity and truthfulness, as follows :— “Tt was you, sir, who provided the opportunity for which I was yearning ; it was the Argentine Republic which made it easy for me to avail myself of it; it has been the National Government which, in its various phases, and under so many different administrations, always provided all needful means and resources ; it is the Argentine people which has accompanied me in my tasks, giving support by their sympathy and incentive by their kindness,” The original purpose of the expedition was to make a thorough survey of the southern heavens by means of observations in zones between the parallel of 30° and the polar circle; but the plan grew under the influence of circumstances, until the scrutiny comprised the whole region from the tropic to within 10° of the pole—somewhat more than 57° in width, instead of 37°. Al- though it was no part of the original design to perform all the numerical computations, and still less to bring the results into the form of a finished catalogue, it has been my exceptional privilege, unique in astronomical history so far as I am aware, to enjoy the means and opportunity for personally supervising all that vast labour, and to see the results published in their definite, permanent form. Of course this has required time. The three years which I had purposed devoting to the less ait Nov. 5, 1885] NATURE Min complete work have been drawn out to nearly fifteen ; and you will comprehend what ‘that implies for one who loves the friends of his youth, his kindred, and his country. Yet even here there has been consolation. For, while the work has demanded all that period, it did not absorb the whole time, and opportunity was left for other studies. Among the astronomical ones it has been possible to examine all the stars as bright as the seventh magnitude, up to 10° of north declination, for careful estimates of their respective brilliancy, and to reform the arrangement and boundaries of the southern constellations. Also to carry out the observations and computations for another stellar cata- logue, more precise than that of the zones, and extending over the whole southern hemisphere. The total number of stars in this catalogue is less than in the other; but that of the ob- servations is greater, since each star has been observed several times, as well as with greater precision. This catalogue, too, is at last finished and in the hands of the printer, and thus it is that I am once more at home with you, my cherished friends. Iam hopeful that the data now collected may throw some additional light upon the great problem of the distribution of the stars in space. Yet, even should these prove insufficient, there is reason to believe that the new labours, already begun by my successor, Dr. Thome, who has been connected with the ob- servatory from the very first, will provide whatever additional information may be needful for the purpose. Among the other researches which have gone forward, while the preparation of the zone-catalogue dragged its slow length along, has been a study of the meteorology of the country. The absolute lack of information on the subject had forced itself unpleasantly upon my notice when endeavouring to select the most suitable place for the observatory ; and, as it would have been disgraceful for any scientific inquirer to reside in the country without trying to supply the want in some degree, I succeeded in enlisting the aid of various educated men and women in different parts of the country andadjacentones. Tne Governmentand Congress acceded to my recommendation that a modest sum should be annually appropriated for the purchase of barometers, thermometers, rain-gauges, &c., to be leut to volunteer observers, and for arranging, computing, and publishing the results. In this way was organised, in 1872, the Arzentine Meteorological Office, which has established no less than fifty-two stations, scattered from the Andes to the Atlantic, and from Bolivia to Tierra del Fuego. At the end of the year 1884 there were already twenty- three points at which the observations had been continuously made, three times a day, for at least four years, and sixteen others at which they had already been continued for more than two years. These have provided the necessary data for con- structing the isothermal lines, with tolerable precision, for all of South America from the torrid zone to Cape Horn. Some little has also been accomplished in determining local constants of terrestrial magnetism ; and our determinations of geographical position have nearly kept pace with the extension of the tele- graph wires. The beats of the Cordoba clock have been heard and automatically recorded amid the plash both of Atlantic and Pacific waves. And the series of longitude determinations made by the United States naval expeditions, between Buenos Aires and Europe on the one side, under Capt. Green, and between the United States and Valparaiso under Capt. Davis on the other, give, when combined with the two South American measurements, values for the longitude of Cordoba, which differ only by one-sixth of a second—this ‘being the total amount of the aggregate errors of the several determinations in a series which, passing through Brazil, the Cape Verde Islands, Madeira, Portugal, England, Ireland, Newfoundland, the United States, Central America, and down the coasts of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, completes the full circuit at Cordoba again. But I will not descant upon collateral matters, nor convert this gathering of friends into an astronomical lecture-room. There are but two points more that I wish to mention. One is, that I cherish a hope that our sojoura at Cordoba may hereafter be considered as marking an epoch in a new method of astronomical observation, namely, the photographic. The in- ception and introduction of this method belongs to our country- man, Mr. Rutherfurd ; and it was only through his friendly aid in several ways that I was enabled to give it a larger scope, in spite of many obstacles. Now I can report that every important cluster of stars in the southern hemisphere has been repeatedly photographed at Cordoba with a precision of definition in the stellar images which permits accurate microscopic measurement ; that these measurements are at present actively going on, and that the Argentine Government has undertaken to provide the means for their continuance under my supervision. It may be that I over-estimate the importance of this new method ; but I confess that my expectations are very high. Another year ought to show us whether they are exaggerated or not. The other point is, that a very large share of the merit which you so liberally attribute to me belongs to the faithful staff cf fellow workers, with whose assistance I have been singularly favoured. Their unselfish devotion to the great undertakings ir which they took part, their loyalty, trustworthiness and ability, have, in the great majority of cases, been beyond all praise. Happily, their faithful and inestimable services to science are placed on durable record ; and yet unborn astronomers will know, at least in part, how great have been their deserts. The senior of them, Dr. John M. Thome, whose services began in 1870, before we started southward, is now director of the Observatory, where he has begun a new and important work, which will do honour to him and to the institution. Another, Mr. Walter G. Davis, who has laboured most earnestly and efficiently for eight and a half years, is now director of the Meteorological Office, which is assuming large proportions, and under which he is now organising at Cordoba a meteorological station of the highest class. One noble young man, Mr. Stevens, was summoned, without an instant’s warning, to a higher rewar | than earth could give, leaving no memories behind him other than of affection, admiration, and respect. It was a sore loss for us, and for the bereaved parents in New Hampshire, to whom he was their only earthly stay and staff. Had he lived, his friends and country would have had abundant cause for pride in him. As it is, the number of those who love and honour his memory may perhaps be smaller, but their pride and admiration are no less, than had they seen the full harvest instead of the rich promise only. Mr. Bachmann, a native of Austria, who laboured with us for more than ten years, is now at the head of the Argentine Naval Academy in Buenos Aires, with more than three hundred pupils and an elegant little observatory, where he finds repose from administrative cares, in astronomical work analogous to that to which he gave his energies at Cordoba. He has already under- taken some longitude-determinations and arranged a time-ball, which is probably by this time giving daily signals by which the shipping in the outer roads, twelve miles away, may correct and rate their chronometers. I have spoken longer than I intended, but will make no apologies, for I know your friendly indulgence. It only remains to say, for these Argentine scientific institutions, that I believe their success is now assured. They will enter upon new and enlarged fields of usefulness, as indeed they ought, for the world moves. And for myself, that the remembrance of this occasion and of your goodness will be a source of pride to me through life, and to my children afterwards. Hardly had the sound of Dr. Gould’s voice died away when he was the recipient of a splendid ovation, the guests of the evening seeming to vie with each other in a generous rivalry as to which should outdo the other in rendering honour to the distinguished guest of the evening. The chairman, in introducing Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, pleasantly referred to him as not a small star, but one of the first magnitude. Dr. Holmes received just such a welcome as he is entitled to, and which is always accorded him, and in response thereto read the following poem, which was received with round after round of applause :— A WELCOME To Dr. BENJAMIN APTHORP GOULD Once more Orion and the sister Seven Look on thee from the skies that hailed thy birth— How shall we welcome thee, whose home was Heaven, From thy celestial wanderings back to earth ? Science has kept her midnight taper burning To greet thy coming with its vestal flame : . , Friendship has murmured, ‘‘ When art thou returning ? “Not yet ! Not yet!” the answering message came, 12 NATURE [WVov. 5, 1885 Thine was unstinted zeal, unchilled devotion, While the blue realm had kingdoms to explore— Patience, like his who ploughed the unfurrowed ocean, Till o’er its margin loomed San Salvador. Through the long nights I see thee ever waking, Thy footstool earth, thy roof the hemisphere, While with thy griefs our weaker hearts are aching, Firm as thine equatorial’s rock-based pier. The souls that voyaged the azure depths before thee Watch with thy tireless vigils, all unseen— Tycho and Kepler bend benignant o’er thee, And with his toy-like tube the Florentine— He at whose word the orb that bore him shivered To find her central sovereignty disowned, While the wan lips of priest and pontiff quivered, Their jargon stilled, their Baal disenthroned. Flamsteed and Newton look with brows unclouded, Their strife forgotten with its faded scars— (Titans, who found the world of space too crowded To walk in peace among its myriad stars). All cluster round thee—seers of earliest ages, Persians, Ionians, Mizraim’s learned kings, From the dim days of Shinar’s hoary sages To his who weighed the planet’s fluid rings. And we, for whom the northern heavens are lizh‘ed, For whom the storm has passed, the sun has smiled, Our clouds all scattered, all our stars united, We claim thee, clasp thee, like a long-lost child. Fresh from the spangled vault’s o’erarching splendour, Thy lonely pillar, thy revolving dome, In heartfelt accents, proud, rejoicing, tender, We bid thee welcome to thine earthly home. The Rev. James Freeman Clarke in saying a word in honour of “our friend, the eminent astronomer, who is our guest to-night,” remarked that— “‘We are on the verge of still greater discoveries than any yet made, and our own country is prepared to do its full part in the work. When the Russian Government wishes for a better telescope than any now in Europe, it sends to Cambridgeport to get it. Mr. Rutherfurd invents an instrument which gives us the best photographs of the moon ever made. The Washington Observatory discovers the two satellites of Mars. Prof, Langley, in the midst of Pittsburg smoke, has made observations with instruments of his own invention, with anaccount of which he is now arousing great interest among the men of science of England. Dr. Peters, of Clinton, N.Y., and Prof. Watson, of Ann Arbor, have been the chief discoverers of the asteroids. Prof. Young and Harkness first gave, in 1869, the true theory of the solar corona. The two Bonds, at the Cambridge Observatory, have taken rank among the chief astronomers of our time. Our friend, Prof. Pickering, amid all his other labours, has invented instruments of precision by which the light of the stars can be measured with accuracy. And now we welcome home Dr. Gould, who has given long years of labour in a far-off land, away from home and friends, to complete his great work of a catalogue of the southern stars. To him and to his noble wife who shared lis labours, sustained his courage, was his companion in his sacrifices, we give our thanks and our love to-night. We sympathise with him in that great loss, and we thank God with him that he and she had this great opportunity, and that they were able to share together, side by side, the consciousness of doing a work which will never be forgotten.” Other tributes were paid to the work of Dr. Gould by Prof. Lovering, of Harvard, Prof. Pickering, of Harvard Observatory, Dr. William Everett, Prof. W. A. Rogers, of Harvard. The last-named said that there is no exaggeration in the statement that the work which Dr. Gould has accomplished during the past thirteen years is without a parallel in the annals of astronomy. ‘First of all it needs to be said that in 1870 there was no Cordoba Observatory. I suspect, also, that it must be said that astronomers had at that time little faith in the fulfilment of plans which required that the Government of a South American Re- public should persistently pursue, for a series of years, that wise, enlightened and liberal policy which has made the Argentine Republic a conspicuous example of the way in which a govern- ment may foster learning and research with the most encouraging results. I do not know of a better way to give a clear idea of the magnitude of this work than by comparing it with similar work done previous to 1872. There are in the northern heavens, between the north pole and a little distance below the equator, about 4500 stars visible to the naked eye. These stars have been observed with more or less regularity at various observa- tories since about 1750. Within the same limits there are about 95,000 stars as bright or brighter than the ninth magnitude, which are usually observed in narrow belts or zones, and such stars are usually referred to as zone stars. The bright stars are common to nearly all general catalogues, but the positions of the fainter stars depend for the most part on two or three separate observations. Dr. Gould has formed two catalogues since 1872 —a general catalogue of stars extending to the south pole, con- taining 34,000 stars, and a catalogue of zone stars, numbering 73,000. ‘hese two catalogues 1epresent about 250,000 separate observations. It is stated in one of the printed volumes that the chronographic register of the transits, the pointing of the tele- scope for declination, and the estimation of the magnitude have all been done by Di. Gould personally. The distinct and sepirate observations involved in this work must certainly exceed 1,000,000. I suppose there must be several gentlemen present who have a realising sense of what a million really means, but for myself I commonly say that it seems to me to be a very large number. Having made less than 50,000 observations during the time covered by Dr. Gould’s observations, can you wonder that this work, which seems so far beyond the limit of human endurance, is at once my amazement, my admiration, and—I must add—my despair? The whole number of stars in the two Cordoba catalogues is nearly three times as great as in any single catalogue thus far constructed ; and it must be remembered in this connection, that the great catalogues of Lalande, of Bessel, of Argelander, and of Schjellerup, represent the labours of a life-time. The total number of stars in all catalogues formed previous to 1870, is about 260,000 as against the 105,000 stars in the Cordoba catalogues. But there is another comparison which may be made, which will reveal yet more clearly, not only the magnitude of the work which Dr. Gould has now finished, but the intense energy with which it has been pushed to com- pletion. Since 1869 a confederation of fourteen observatories, situated in different parts of the world, has been engaged in the accurate determinations of the positions of the 100,000 stars to the ninth magnitude, in the northern heavens. Up to 1882 a total of about 346,000 observations had been made. Considerable progress had been made in this work before Dr. Gould left this country for South America. His work, involving two-thirds as many observations as all others combined, is completed, and is all in the hands of the printer, while the actual formation of the catalogue to be issued under the direction of the Astronomische Gesellschaft can hardly be said to have been begun.” TELPHERAGE N Saturday, October 17, a special train from Victoria conveyed a party of about 200 guests, among whom were many leading electricians, engineers, and other well- known men of science, to Glynde, in Sussex, to witness the ceremony of the opening of the first telpher line erected in this country. The ceremony was performed by the Viscountess Hampden, and was of an exceedingly simple character; on lifting a small box containing a present which the Chairman of the Company invited her ladyship to accept, electric communication was instantly established between the dynamo in the engine-house and the telpher line, and a train loaded with clay at once began to move up an incline towards the Glynde Railway Station, amidst the applause of the assembled spectators. Whether this ceremony, which brought so many distin- guished visitors down to Lord Hampden’s estate on Saturday, is the inauguration of a great commercial en- terprise is beyond our province to inquire; but it is unquestionable that the slight flash seen when Lady Hampden lifted the little box lying on the table in front LVov. 5, 1885] of the engine-house marked the beginning of a new departure in electro-technology. Telpherage has been defined as the transmission of goods and passengers by means of electricity without driver, guard, signalmen, or attendants. The conception of propelling electrically a continuous stream of light trains along an elevated szg/e rail or rope was due to the late Prof. Fleeming Jenkin, but, as stated by him in his introductory address at the University of Edinburgh, he NATORE ng did not see his way to carry this conception into practice until he read the account of the electrical railway ex- hibited by Professors Ayrton and Perry at the Royal Institution in 1882, when the idea of subdividing the rubbed conductor into sections and providing an absolute block for automatically preventing electric trains running into one another was first publicly described. A com- bination between these three gentlemen was then effected, which led ultimately to the formation of the Telpherage ree a Company and to the series of experiments, lasting for over two years, on actual telpher lines erected at Weston in Hertfordshire, on the estate of Mr. Pryor, the chairman of the company. Various devices were worked out form- ing the subject of patents, which, together with the other patents of Professors Fleeming Jenkin, Ayrton, and Perry in telpherage, previously taken out, are possessed by the present Telpherage Company. At the commencement of : this year matters had sufficiently advanced for the erec- tion of commercial telpher lines, and as a tramway or road would have much interfered with the grazing and hay growing carried on in the fields at Glynde, and, as in addition these fields are under water during the winter, telpherage appeared to furnish the cheapest and most suitable mode of carrying the clay from the clay pits to the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway. Con- Carbon Fic. 2. sequently the Sussex Portland Cement Company decided to adopt this method of transport. The line now opened is nearly a mile long, and com- posed of a double set of steel rods each 66 feet long, three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and 8 feet apart, supported on wooden posts standing about 18 feet above the ground, as seen in our illustration (Fig. 1), which is from a photograph taken of the line just before it crosses the stream. On the death of the late lamented Prof. Jenkin the construction of the Glynde telpher line was left for completion in the hands of Prof. Perry, who was then appointed the engineer to the company. The new line, it must be understood, is more than a mere experimental attempt. Although, as scientific men will appreciate, a new undertaking must necessarily involve much tentative experience, the programme carried out on Saturday 14 NATURE [Vov. 5, 1885 marked the final result of the experiences gained by the constructors under the direction of Prof. Perry, and the Company are now regularly delivering clay at the Glynde Railway Station for the use of the Newhaven Cement Company at a price, as we are informed, of 73d. per ton. The garlanded train which passed along the steel rod- way on Saturday consisted of an electric locomotive, seen in’ Fig. 1 at about the middle of the train and propelled by the electromotor M, and ten skeps, or buckets, which hang by their travelling wheels from the steel line. Each skep weighs ro! lbs., and carries 250 to 300 lbs. of dry clay, and, by distributing these evenly and somewhat widely apart, the strain on the steel line is small although the total weight of the train and clay is about two tons, also as equal weights are simultaneously ascending and de- scending similar inclines on the several spans the effect of the sag on the mechanical resistance of the train is neutralised, and little more resistance is experienced than in hauling a similar train along a rigid road. The rate of travelling is 4 to 5 miles an hour about two electric horse- power only being necessary to be furnished at the engine- house to propel the train at this speed, and the train is under the control of a workman, who, by touching a key, can start, stop, or reverse the train at pleasure. On the arrival of each telpher train at the railway siding the clay is emptied into the railway waggons by:the skeps being tipped over, this being effected either by a man touching with a pole the handles which are seen in Fig. 1 hanging down from the skeps, or automatically by these handles coming successively into contact with a wooden arm padded with india-rubber which is made to stand out from the post where it is desired the clay is to be emptied. One train will deliver the minimum amount of | clay (150 tons per week) required by the Cement Company, but, 1f necessary, twenty trains can be run on the line without fear of a collision as an absolute automatic block is provided, and the trains are, moreover, governed auto- matically so as to run up or down an incline at the same speed. This automatic governing of the speed of the train is effected in two ways—first, there is a governor attached to each motor, which interrupts the electric circuit, and cuts off the power when the speed becomes too high ; secondly, there is a brake which is brought into action should the speed attain a still higher value. To avoid the formation of a permanent electric arc when the circuit is broken, the governor (Fig. 2) is so arranged that the diverging weights are in zzsfadle equilibrium between two stops—they fly out at about 1700 revolutions per minute of the motor, and fly back at about 1600, When the circuit is closed the current is conveyed across the metallic contact at c. When the weights w w fly out this contact is first broken, but no spark occurs because a connection of small resistance is continued at B between the piece of carbon and a piece of steel, which being pressed out by a spring follows the carbon for a short distance as the arm A begins to fly out. This contact is next broken, producing an electric arc, which however is instantly extinguished by the lever A flying out to the dotted position. The brake is shown on Fig. 3, and con- sists simply of a pair of weights, w w, which at a limiting speed greater than 1700 revolutions per minute of the motor press the brake blocks BB against the rim CC, and introduce the necessary amount of retarding friction. In practice, however, with the gradients such as exist at Glynde, and which do not exceed 1 in 13, the economic method of automatically cutting off the power with the governor is all that is necessary to control the speed of the train; the brake rarely coming into action. With steeper gradients, however, the brake would undoubtedly be very useful. The current required is 8 amperes per train, this current being measured by an ammeter in the engine- house, and by roughly timing the intervals when no current is being given to a train, that is, when the governor is acting, the particular hill the train is descending can be electrically determined by practice, and so the progress of a train along the telpher line can be approximately followed by | simply watching the ammeter in the engine-house. The | electric current is supplied from a 200-volt dynamo driven by a steam-engine, and controlled by a Willans electric governor which automatically varies the speed of the engine and dynamo so as always to keep the electro- motive force at 200 volts whatever be the number of trains«running ; hence the starting or stopping. of one telpher train in no way affects the speed of the remainder. It is obvious that water-power or any other source of power can be used where available, even when the source of power is at a considerable distance from the Jine. By means of compensating gear the tension of the line is so regulated that it can never exceed 27 tons on each rod, whatever the temperature, and for straining the steel rods, when first erected, up to the right tension an | ingenious arrangement has been devised during the con- struction of the line of vibrating them and determining the strain on a rod from the number of vibrations it makes per minute. The way in which a single wheel track is made to serve for one train, or rather two wheel tracks for two trains, instead of the necessity of having four wheel tracks for two trains, as in the ordinary electric railways, is seen from Fig. 4. D is the dynamo maintaining two long con- ductors permanently at different potentials indicated by Nov. 5, 1885 | NATURE J) the signs + and — ofeach section. The wheels L and T of one train, and L, and 7, of the other, are insulated from their trucks and joined by a conductor attached respec- tively to the terminals of the motor M and M,. A current consequently is always passing from a + section to a — section through each motor. Mechanically then each train is supported by what is practically one continuous steel rod, but in reality at the tops of the posts the rods are electrically subdivided into sections and joined across by insulated wires, one of which may be seen at the top of the posts in Fig. 1. The wires connecting the two skeps with the motor, shown in Fig. 4, are not seen in Fig. 1, as they were too thin to appear in the photograph from which this figure was taken. To prevent the metallic wheels of the skeps short circuiting the two sections as they cross the tops of the posts, there are insulated gap pieces, which may be seen in Fig. 1, at the tops of the posts where the steel rod is electrically divided. Various devices have been tried for gripping the rod to obtain the hold necessary to enable the locomotive to haul the train, and these, with many ingenious plans of nest gearing for economically communicating the power given out by the very quickly revolving electro-motor to the much more slowly moving wheels of the telpher loco- motive, formed the subject of Prof. Jenkin’s lecture at the Society of Arts in the spring of 1884. Practically, how- ever, it is found that for moderate inclines direct driving, with pitch chains, of two wheels with india-rubber treads gives a gravitation grip sufficiently large for satisfactory haulage ; hence the expense of the locomotive, the com- plexity and wear and tear of its parts combined with the risk of its getting out of order have been all most mate- rially reduced during the last twelve months. As the result of the experience gained in the con- struction of the Glynde line, it is estimated that a similar line could now be erected at short notice for a total cost of 1200/., including engine, dynamo, permanent way, and five trains, with locomotives to carry 100 tons daily ; the working expenses, including coal, attendance, and depreciation, being less than 3d. per ton per mile upon the material carried. A double line like that at Glynde, ten miles long, worked heavily, would carry material at a cost of 2¢ per ton per mile, the skeps being empty on their return journey. The larger part of the original cost of the Telpher line is due to dynamos and rolling stock. This plant can be increased, as we are informed, in pro- portion to the work required, so that there is a very moderate increase of cost in the rate per ton per mile for a small traffic, as compared with a larger one. On the other hand, a line constructed for a small traffic will accommodate a much larger one with no fresh outlay on the line itself. Leaving these facts and figures to speak for them- selves, it now only remains to point out the advan- tages claimed for this system of electric carriage. In the first place the facility with which such a line can be run up and carried over uneven ground or across streams, high fences, and deep ditches, where an ordinary railway would involve serious expense, is sufficiently obvious. A Telpher line need not, as a railway necessarily does, impede the ordinary agricultural operations, but may be carried over fields and pasture lands with little incon- venience. The Telpher line is, moreover, in itself a source of power which can be simultaneously tapped at any desired points and made to assist in the work of agriculture, as the visitors on Saturday had an oppor- tunity of witnessing when, by means of a motor con- nected with the line, a turnip-cutter was put into opera- tion. The possibility of utilising natural sources of power like falling water, and of working the line at great distances from such sources will, as already stated, be evident to our readers. A special advantage claimed for the new system is the ease with which the trains can go round sharp curves without loss of power, since electricity, having no momentum, experiences no loss in going round a corner, whereas, with the overhead wire haulage system, as used in Spain and elsewhere, there is both considerable friction and great wear and tear of the running wire ropes where they go round sharp curves. The constructors of the Glynde Line are careful to point out that the present line is far from perfect; un- necessary gradients have been introduced in order to show how the system can be carried over uneven land, and many other improvements have suggested them- selves in the course of their experience, of which ad- vantage would be taken in future undertakings. In face of these disadvantages, the success which marked Saturday’s proceedings renders Telpherage, as a system, a very hopeful and cheap method of transference, and the Company is to be congratulated in having taken the first initiative step in this new application of electricity. That Telpherage will ever come into serious competition with the large railways is not intended, for the state- ment made by the Company is to the effect that the function of the Telpher line is not to compete with rail- ways, but to do cheaply the work of horses and carts, light tramways, and the wire rope haulage system, and this, we think, it has a good chance of successfully accomplishing. THE MELDOMETER ee apparatus which I propose to call by the above name (péAdw, to melt) consists of an adjunct to the mineralogical microscope, whereby the melting points of minerals may be compared or approximately determined and their behaviour watched at high temperatures either alone or in the presence of reagents. As I now use it it consists of a narrow ribbon of plati- num (2mm. wide) arranged to traverse the field of the microscope. The ribbon, clamped in two brass clamps so as to be readily renewable, passes bridgewise over a little scooped-out hollow in a disk of ebony (4cm. diam.). The clamps also take wires from a battery (3 Groves cells), and an adjustable resistance being placed in circuit the strip can be thus raised in temperature up to the melting point of platinum. The disk being placed on the stage of the microscope the platinum strip is brought into the field of a 1” ob- jective, protected by a glass slip from the radiant heat. The observer is sheltered from the intense light at high temperatures by a wedge of tinted glass, which further can be used in photometrically estimating the temperature by using it to obtain extinction of the field. Once for all approximate estimations of the temperature of the field might be made in terms of the resistance of the platinum strip, the variation of such resistance with rise of tempe- rature being known. Such observations being made on a suitably protected strip might be compared with the wedge readings, the latter being then used for ready de- terminations. Want of time has hindered me from making such observation up to this. The mineral to be experimented on is placed in small fragments near the centre of the platinum ribbon, and closely watched while the current is increased, till the melting point of the substance is apparent. Up to the present I have only used it comparatively, laying frag- ments of different fusibilities near the specimen. In this way I have melted beryl, orthoclase, and quartz. I was much surprised to find the last mineral melt below the melting-point of platinum. I have, however, by me as I write, a fragment, formerly clear rock-crystal, so completely fused that between crossed Nicols it behaves as if an amorphous body, save in the very centre where a speck of flashing colour reveals the remains of molecular symmetry. Bubbles have formed in the surrounding glass. 16 NATURE [Vov. 5, 1885 Orthoclase becomes a clear glass filled with bubbles :— at a lower temperature beryl behaves in the same way. Topaz whitens to a milky glass—apparently decom- posing, throwing out filmy threads of clear glass and bubbles of glass which break, liberating a gas (fluorine ?) which, attacking the white-hot platinum, causes rings of colour to appear round the specimen. I have now been using the apparatus for nearly a month, and in its earliest days it led me right in the diagnosis of a microscopical mineral, iolite, not before found in our Irish granite, I think. The unlooked-for characters of the mineral, coupled with the extreme minuteness of the crystals, led me previously astray, until my meldometer fixed its fusi- bility for me as far above the suspected bodies. Carbon slips were at first used, as I was unaware of the capabilities of platinum. A form of the apparatus adapted, at Prof. Fitzgerald’s suggestion, to fit into the lantern for projection on the screen has been made for me by Yeates. In this form the heated conductor passes both below and above the specimen, which is regarded from a horizontal direction. J. JOLY Physical Laboratory, Trinity College, Dublin, November 1 NOTES Our readers will hear with regret that Prof. Huxley has placed in the hands of the Council of the Royal Society his resignation of the office of President, and that the Council have felt it their duty to accept that resignation. It would appear that Prof. Huxley had wished to resign so long ago as November last, when he had decided to winter abroad, and again, last summer, he definitely placed his resignation in the hands of the Council. On both these former occasions Prof. Huxley was induced to continue in office, in the hopes that he would soon regain complete health. On the present occasion we gather that the resignation was accepted, because, though Prof. Huxley is rapidly improving in health, the cares of the presidential chair seemed likely to prove a hindrance to his complete recovery being so rapid as could be desired. We feel sure that the whole scientific world will share the regret of the Council of the Royal Society at the necessity of such a step, but we also feel that every one must recognise the wisdom of the decision. We may add that every one hopes that freedom from the responsibilities of office may soon convert the marked improvement in Prof, Huxley’s health, visible to all his friends, into complete and perfect restoration. WE understand that Prof. Stokes has consented to allow himself to be nominated as Prof. Huxley’s successor in the presidential chair. We believe that this choice of the Council will give universal satisfaction to the Fellows of the Society ; while it makes Prof. Stokes doubly the successor of Newton, it does honour to the Society. A CONSIDERABLE portion of the ‘‘ Zoological Record” for 1884 has already been issued to subscribers; the Reports on Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenopters, by Mr. W. F. Kirby, were issued in September, and those on Reptiles, Fishes, Mollusca, Tunicata, Polyzoa, and Brachiopoda last week. The remaining parts are in a very forward state, Mr. W. L. Sclater, B.A., having undertaken the Mammalia in the place of Dr. Murie. THE French Government has just created a certain number of travelling-juries, This is a modified form of an institution esta- blished by the first Republic. In the organic law of the Institut it was ordained that the Institut was to select yearly ten citizens to travel abroad and collect information useful to science, com- merce, and agriculture. These scientific travellers will not be appointed by the Academy of Sciences or the whole Institut, but by a special administrative commission on the basis of a com- petitive examination, WHILE so much public attention is attracted by the second part of the Greville ‘‘ Memoirs,” it will interest our readers to learn that the acute and observant Clerk to the Council, who, on the whole, had a very low idea of the great men with whom he came in contact, possessed a great respect for the men of science of his generation. Under March 17, 1838, we find the follow- ing interesting entry (‘‘ Memoirs,” vol. i. p. 78) :—‘* Went to the Royal Institution last night in hopes of hearing Faraday lecture, but the lecture was given by Mr. Pereira upon crystals, a subject of which he appeared to be master, to judge by his facility and fluency ; but the whole of it was unintelligible to me. Met Dr. Buckland and talked to him for an hour, and he intro- duced me to Mr, Wheatstone, the inventor of the electric tele- graph, of the progress of which he gave us an account. I wish I had turned my attention to these things and sought occupation and amusement in them long ago. I am satisfied that, apart from all considerations of utility, or even of profit, they afford a very pregnant source of pleasure and gratification. There is a cheerfulness, an activity, an appearance of satisfaction in the conversation and demeanour of scientific men that conveys a lively notion of the f/easwre they derive from their pursuits. I feel ashamed to go among such people when I compare their lives with my own, their knowledge with my ignorance, their brisk and active intellects with my dull and sluggish mind, become sluggish and feeble for want of exercise and care.” THE first volume of ‘‘Geology, Chemical, Physical, and Stratigraphical,” by Prof. Joseph Prestwich, F.R.S., will be ready for publication immediately by the Clarendon Press. This work is a general treatise on Geology adapted both for elementary and advanced students. Vol. I. treats of questions in chemical and physical geology, and special attention is paid to such subjects, among others, as Hydro-Geology, the geological bearings of the recent deep-sea explorations, volcanic action, joints, mineral veins, the age of mountain ranges, and meta- morphism, Vol. II., which is far advanced, treats of strati- graphy and paleontology, and touches upon various theoretical questions. The author advocates the xon-wniformitarian Views of geology. The book is copiously illustrated with woodcuts, maps, and plates. FATHER DENzA, according to the Z¢es Rome correspon- dent, writing from the Observatory of Moncalieri, gives inter- esting particulars of a remarkable shower of dust which fell in various parts of Italy in the night of October 14-15. This dust-shower accompanied the violent gale of wind which occurred at the time, and seems to have fallen thickest in places situated more or less in the latitude of Rome. Father Denza regards the dust as meteoric. Mr. Abercromby writes to the Zimes to point out that this is probably premature, if by meteoric Father Denza means the product of meteors. But is it not probable that by meteoric sand he simply means sand which falls as ‘‘a meteor” or meteorological phenomenon? As Mr. Abercromby points out, this dust probably came from the Sahara. AN interesting series of papers, copiously illustrated by charts, and comparative tables, is appearing in Va/uren, on the climate of Norway. The author, Dr. Hesselberg, enters fully into the various causes on which depend the great differences between the inland and littoral climates, and notes in detail the varying relations of temperature for each month in the interior, and on the coast. From these tables it would appear that while in Norway, generally, the five months, from November to March | inclusive, exhibit a purely winter temperature, no single month Nov. 5, 1885] NATURE 17 presents throughout a complete summer temperature. remaining four months pass through the various stages of tem- perature between winter and summer. In the more northern and more elevated parts of the interior not a single month of the year is free from the risk of night-frost, while in such localities frost occurs on from 225 to 230 days in the year. On the coast- lands, on the other hand, the mean winter temperature is gene- rally from 2° to 3° Cels. above the freezing point, and here the greatest cold occurs in February, while in the interior December and January are the coldest months. WE learn, from a recent report by Heir Reusch, of the con- dition of the Bommelé gold-mines worked by Messrs. Oscar and Daw, that gold to the value of 8000 kroner has been obtained during the three months in which these works have been in operation. The writer believes the mines may be made remu- nerative, but only moderately so, and provided they are worked with care and economy, and he emphatically warns his country- men not to waste time and money, as has frequently been done in Norway, in seeking for gold in localities where the existence of any appreciable quantity of quartz is not well attested before- hand. He, moreover, points out the fallacy of believing that any large proportion of the auriferous quartz deposits of Norway are capable of yielding more than the mere fragmentary traces which are so constantly met with. Quite recently, indeed, the presence of gold has been shown in new localities, Herr Hansen having obtained in the quartz at Haugesund a number of micro- scopically small granules of the precious metal with titanic iron, while at Meeland, in Bommelo, about four miles from the spot where the first finds were made, he extracted gold after crushing and washing the white quartz which occurs in large lumps, accu- mulated on a hillock about 5 feet high, by 36 in length, and 13 in breadth. PrRE DECHEVRENS, the head of the Zi-ka-wei Observatory near Shanghai, has published a pamphlet entitled, ‘‘The Meteorological Elements of the Climate of Shanghai: Twelve Years of Observations made at Zi-ka-wei by the Missionaries of the Society of Jesus.” It is a series of tables containing ‘‘all the information that meteorology can supply concerning the climate of Shanghai.” A complete meteorological period in China is said to be about eleven years, and consequently this pamphlet embraces one such period. The tables show maximum and minimum, mean and normal readings of the barometer and thermometer, intensity of solar radiation, relative and absolute humidity, nebulosity, rainfall, and direction and velocity of the wind for every month throughout the twelve years, conveniently tabulated for comparison. There is also a table of eight years’ observations of ozone, and a special section is devoted to terres- trial magnetism. Explanations are given in most cases of the methods of taking the various observations, and the objects which they serve. The readings are all given according to English methods of computation ; but for the convenience of those who are more familiar with the metric barometer scale and the centigrade degrees of temperature, tables for the conversion of the English into the Continental systems are given. AmMoNGsT the anthropological papers recently issued by the Smithsonian Institution, special intere-t attaches to the memoir by Lieut. C. IE. Vreeland and Dr. J. F. Brandsford on the antiquities recently discovered on the Pantaleon estate, near Santa Lucia, Guatemala. This piace, which lies about thirty miles north-west of Escuintla on the railway from San José to the city of Guatemala, was visited in 1884 by the authors for the purpose of photographing the objects, which had here been observed two years previously by Dr. Brandsford, and earlier by Dr. Habel. Several of the finest specimens had been removed to Berlin, where an account of them was published by Dr. Adolph Bastian. Those here The described and figured from the photographs form a group of remarkable sculptures, all of black basalt or hard lava mounted ona low wall round the fountain of the Pantaleon courtyard, and disposed in front of a grand central piece raised on a pedestal. This figure, which is in an excellent state of preservation, the nose alone being injured, is a new revelation in native American art, characterised by great strength and simplicity of outline. It is well formed, the lines simple and clearly cut, without a trace of the usual conventional style. Majesty is so plainly stamped on the countenance, that it was known to the Indians by the name of El Rey—the king. The brow, the eyes, and the nose, as far as can be judged, are in good shape and well pro- portioned ; the mouth hard, the chin firm and full of character. Near it stands the head of an old person whose venerable appearance is heightened by the deep lines on brow and cheek. In contrast to this is another head of an old person, where calm- ness of expression is replaced by the inexpressible sadness of age with blindness. As in the case of some other figures, the eyes are here represented as hanging from the sockets, the balls resting on the cheeks. The chin and lower lip protrude, while the upper lip has fallen in as from the loss of teeth. To the long ears are appended large pear-shaped ornaments, and the turban-like headdress is surmounted with a little Tam O’Shanter cap. All the figures show real artistic skill, far beyond the elaborate but fantastic style of the conventional sculptures found at Copan and other parts of Central America. A BORE-HOLE made about two years ago to a depth of 52 metres into the older Devonian strata near Burgbrohl on the Rhine, yields a large and steady supply of carbonic acid gas (with water) which is variously utilised, In a recent paper to the Niederrheinische Gesellschaft in Bonn, Herr Heusler says the normal quantity of gas amounts to about 2160 cubic metres in twenty-four hours. The supply having proved constant, a compressing apparatus was set up last autumn; the gas being taken directly over the bore hole. The present system produces per minute from 500 litres of gaseous C.O;., I litre of liquid, weighing 1 kilogram. As the liquefaction depends on the external air-temperature, and is impossible at a temperature over 30°9 C. (the critical point), it is necessary in high temperatures to cool the apparatus, and the water of the spring (which keeps at 12°) serves for this. The pressure employed ranges from about 50 to 70 atmospheres. The wrought-iron vessels for despatch of the liquid contained about 8 litres, or 8 kilograms, and are tested to about 250 atmospheres; they very rarely explode. The enormous expansion of carbonic acid with rise of temperature yields a pressure which is utilised, it is known, for compression of steel and other casts, and Messrs. Krupp at Essen have thus got, ¢.g. a pressure of 1200 atmospheres for a temperature rise of 200° C. Among other rises are pressure of beer, impregnation of natural water, apparatus for fire extinction, motor force for torpedoes, &c. Solid carbonic acid is to a large extent produced from liquid by opening the cock of the vessel into a canvass bag tied over the mouth. IN his recent investigation of pile-dwellings of the Lake of Bienne, Dr. Studer has met with two extreme types of human skulls—the brachycephalic and the dolichocephalic; the former (at Schaffis and Liischery) belonging to the pure Stone period, and the latter (found at Vinelz and Sutz) to the Bronze period. The facts point to an invasion by the bronze men, involving a complete transformation of the group of domestic animals; the horse appears for the first time, and new races of sheep and dogs drive out the old forms of the Stone period. The occurrence of mesocephalic, and even much shortened, skulls in the Bronze period shows that there was no extinction of the brachycephalic race, but that the two races mixed. This mixture of races in prehistoric times increases the difficuity of tracing back the skull- 18 NWA TORE [Vov. 5, 1885 forms of the present population. Dr. Studer suggests that the Rhaetian short-headed type may be referred to the old dwellers of the Stone period, in which case the prevalent dark hair, eyes, and skin of the present natives of Graiibtinden may recall the aspect of the older prehistoric race. There is also a large dark population about the lakes in Canton Berne. M. VERNET has recently made a number of physiological observations on himself during eighteen ascents of high Alpine summits (between 1680 and 4638 metres in height), He finds that the strong muscular efforts made both in mounting and descending caused a rise of temperature of about 1°64° to 1°70° C, on an average ; a rise in the pulse from about 75 to 83 in a minute, and an increase in the respiratory acts from about 21 to 25 inaminute. A few hours’ rest after the effort ceased brought back the temperature to its normal value. Other muscular efforts, such as riding, wood-sawing or chopping, &c., had quite the same effect. The author’s observations are detailed in the Archives des Sciences. THE School of Anthropology, created a few years ago under the auspices of the city of Paris, has opened its 1885-86 session. The course of lectures delivered by M. de Mortillet on pre- historic anthropology will be illustrated for the first time by a series of projections. English anthropologists will learn with pleasure that M. Gabriel de Mortillet, who was one of the com- panions of Agassiz, has been elected representative of the Seine et Oise Department. THE engineers of the French Service are establishing a tele- phonic communication between Paris and Rheims, 160 kilometres from Paris. The Paris terminus of this line will be the Exchange. A sum of one franc for each five minutes will be charged for conversation. As soon as this line is finished the work will begin of connecting Rouen with Paris (126 kilometres). Rouen has been already connected with Havre, 78 kilometres distant, by a telephonic line. Conversation between these two cities is very easily held. It is the success of this system which led to further extension on larger distances. ON October 9, between 9 and 10 a.m., two severe shocks of earthquake were felt on the Lis Island, in the parish of Sorunda, in Sweden. In the school-house, while teaching was going on, two severe shocks were felt like two blows from an enor- mous hammer in the north-western corner of the building. In this corner the windows rattled, the floor swayed, and rumbling like that of distant thunder was heard. Simultaneously a great thunderstorm passed over the district, accompanied by heavy rain. It has, however, been ascertained beyond doubt that the shocks were not due to the former, as the shocks were felt by many persons out of doors. The earthquake went from west to east. SINCE 1880, when diggings for amber were commenced under the Smaland Peninsula in East Prussia, the yield of the veins here has greatly increased. In 1864 the revenue was 1700/. against 25,000/, in 1883. Mr. WILLIAM CAMERON, F.G,S., the Singapore papers state, has been appointed Honorary Explorer and Geologist to the Straits Settlements. ‘‘ Honorary Explorer” is a curious office, and we cannot recollect ever having heard of one before ; but as Mr. Cameron, it is to be presumed, has accepted these two honorary offices, they must be of some assistance to him in his explorations in the Malay Peninsula. One so rarely hears of an Honorary Colonial governor, secretary, treasurer, or other official, that an ‘* Honorary Colonial Explorer” is something of a vara avis, and as such deserves to be specially chronicled. THE additions to'the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynomolgus 3), a Bonnet Monkey (MJacacus sinicus}?) from India, presented by Mr. C. E. McCheane; a Macaque ‘Monkey (M@acacus cyno- molgus 8) from India, presented by Mr. C. Canfor ; a Mexican Deer (Cariacus mexicanus 8) from Florida, presented by Mr. G. B. H. Marton; two Spotted-tailed Dasyures (Dasyurus maculatus $ 9), three Short-headed Phalangers (Belideus brewi- ceps 6 6?) from South Australia, presented by Sir W. C. F. Robinson, K.C.M.G. ; an Osprey (Pandion halietus), captured at sea, presented by Capt. Morgan ; an Alexandrine Parrakeet (Paleornis alexandri) from India, presented by Mr. Chas. Williams ; a Black-eyebrowed Albatross (Diomedea melanophrys) from False Bay, South Africa, a Vulturine Eagle (Aguila verreauxt) from South Africa, a Sharp-headed Lizard (Lacerta oxycephala) from Madeira, presented by Mr. W. Ayshford Sandford, F.Z.S. ; a Black-crested Eagle (Zophoelus occipitalis) from South Africa, presented by the Lady Robinson : a Rufescent Snake (Leplodiva rufescens), a Hoary Snake (Coronella canz), a Keeled Euprepes (Zufreges carinatus), five Rough-scaled Zonures (Zonurus corydlus) from South Africa, presented by the Rey. G. H.R. Fisk, C.M.Z.S. ; three Grey-breasted Parrakeets (Bolborhynchus monachus) from South America, a Pale-headed Broadtail (Platycercus pallidiceps) from North-East Australia, deposited ; two Lesser Vasa Parrakeets (Coracopsis nigra) from Madagascar, purchased. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, NOVEMBER 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 November 8 Sun rises, 7h. 8m. ; souths, 1th. 43m. 54°Is.; sets, 16h. 20m. ; decl. on meridian, 16° 43’ S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 19h. 32m. Moon (two days after New) rises, 8h. 28m.; souths, 13h. 9m. ; sets, 17h. 46m, ; decl. on meridian, 16° 33’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian m. h. m. h. m. Be; Mercury... (8034) -. 912938 (oraz 21 42S. Venus| 9 32: tre22) a Iqeoay eon 20. 26 12S. Mars) 28 23y48™ =. | kOe ge 13 11 N. Jupiter sss 27340 AO nS S © 33.Ne Satire ee Omi siren Sue5 LL 33 22 18 N. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding day. Phenomena of Fupiter’s Satellites Noy. h. m. Nov. h. m. 8 .. 4:54 JIT. ecliidisap: | 3. =. 4550) Teitradups 9 «.. 5) 40 DL voccireap)| 13 716 I. tr. iepre IO <2. 442) ail strrepn: 14 4 37 I. occ. reap: 12)... 16054) devecl. disap: The Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. Nov. h. NO} eg. #40) Venus in conjunction with and 7° 49’ south of the Moon. OPTICAL THEORIES THE last general report on Optics which was laid before the Association was read at Dublin by the late Dr. Lloyd in the year 1834, fifty-one years ago. Since then, in 1862, Prof. Stokes dealt very completely with double refraction so far as the elastic-solid theory is concerned, and there is little to add to what he said then. In all branches of his subject the fifty-one years since Dr. Lloyd’s' report have been most fruitful, and in consequence the mass of papers to be dealt with has been very large. The report is divided into four sections: the first, which is introductory, deals with the work of Green, MacCullagh, Cauchy, and Neumann, the founders of the elastic-solid theory. In the second section the more modern writers on the elastic- = a eee presented to the British Association by R. T, Glazebrook, M.A.. Nov. 5, 1885 | NATURE 19 solid theory are considered—De St. Venant, Sarrau, Lorenz; Stokes, Lord Rayleigh, Kirchhoff, and others. The third section is devoted to theories in which the mutual iction between the matter molecules of the transparent body and the ether is considered as the main cause of refraction, dispersion, and other phenomena. The chief workers in this field seem to be Boussinesq, Sellmeier, Helmholtz, Lommel, Ketteler, Voigt, and, in his lectures at Baltimore, Sir W. Thomson. The fourth and last section deals with the electro-magnetic theory of Maxwell, and the developments it has received from the hands of Helmhoitz, H. A. Lorentz, Fitzgerald, J. J. Thomson, Rowland, and Glazebrook. ‘ The report is devoted strictly to general optical theories. This has been required by the necessities of both space and time, and, as a consequence, the optical papers of many most dis- tinguished workers, such as Fizeau, Jamin, and Quincke, are hardly noticed, except in so far as the results at which they have arrived bear on some point or other of the general theory. There is ample room for a report dealing with optics from an experimental standpoint which should arrange and compare the conclusions of various experimenters on debated points. Turning, then, to the sections in order : in the second section, which deals with the elastic-solid theory, the optical properties of media are considered on the hypothesis that they arise entirely from differences in the rigidity or in the density of the ether in these media. While the development of this theory has taught us much, we are driven to conclude that the fundamental hypothesis will not account for all the optical phenomena. The papers of Stokes on diffraction, of L. Lorenz and Lord Rayleigh on refraction and the scattering of light by small particles, have proved conclusively that we must look to differ- ence of density, or of apparent density, in the media to explain the phenomena, and not, as was suggested by MacCullagh and Neumann, to difference of rigidity. With this conclusion Fresnel’s hypothesis that the direction of vibration in polarised light is normal to the plane of polarisa- tion is necessarily connected. On the other hand, the only strict elastic-solid theory of double refraction is that of Green, and according to it, if we suppose the medium initially free from stress, the direction of vibration lies in the plane of polarisation, and even this conclu- sion is only arrived at by supposing certain arbitrary relations between the coefficients. These two conclusions, then, of the elastic-solid theory are hopelessly at variance. It is true that, by supposing the medium initially to be inastate of stress, Green arrived at a second theory in agreement with his theory of reflection, but this agreement is gained by the introduction of a second set of arbitrary relations. In connection with this point I should mention that it seems to me that Green’s theory of reflection can be reconciled with experiment by adopting the suggestions of Lord Rayleigh as to the refractive index of the media for the normal waves. The elastic-solid theory also fails to explain anomalous dis- persion and metallic reflection. Cauchy’s expressions for the mathematical analysis of the latter agree with experiment ; but then they require that «? should be complex quantity with its real part negative, and this involves the instability of the medium as regards the problem of ordinary dispersion. Cauchy’s theory has been advanced by the writings of Sarrau ; while the investigations of Ketteler have shown that a formula of the form— SG i" D NS w= A+ Bt agrees very closely with experiment. Stokes has given us an explanation of aberration by showing us that we may suppose the earth to move through space and carry the surrounding ether with it, the ether at some distance fron it being at rest ; provided that the motion thus produced in the ether be irrotational, all the known phenomena of aberra- tion will follow. And he has further shown us that any small tendency to variation from such irrotational motion will call into action the rigidity of the ether, and be propagated into space with the velocity of light. According to the views developed in these papers of Prof. Stokes, the ether may be treated as a perfect fluid for the large motions produced in it by the motion of the earth; while at the same time it has rigidity, and obeys the equations of an elastic-solid for such small motions as are involved in the passage of a wave of light. According to the views dealt with in the second section, the ether is of the same density and rigidity in all transparent media. For such media, however, its motions are affected by the pre- sence of the molecules of the medium. Some of the energy of the incident light may be used up in setting these matter-molecules into motion. The amount required for this depends on the nature and properties of the matter-molecules, and hence is different for different media and for waves of different length. This gives rise to reflection and refraction. There are indications in the writings of Fresnel that he looked to some explanation himself, but it seems to be to;Boussinesq that we owe the first real development of the theory. He forms the equation of motion of the ether and matter combined on the supposition that the forces on the matter arising from the direct action of surrounding matter are owing to the smallness of the displacements negligible. He then supposes that the matter displacement (7/may be expanded in terms of the ether displacements z and its differential coefficients, and finally arrives at equations of the form au 5 a) f — BAS Cac. (p+ 4p) Tp Ee epee where du ,dv,dw = = 3 ax 2 dy az B and C involve the period, p is the density of the ether, and p’ of the matter; and hence dispersion is accounted for. Double refraction is explained by supposing 4 to be a function of the direction, while 4 and C remain constant ; and for this reasons are given, and it is shown that on certain other hypotheses this leads to Fresnel’s theory. This theory deals also with the phenomena of elliptic polarisation in quartz, and of aberration. In Boussinesq’s theory the motions of the matter particles are neglected, except in so far as they act on the ether and modify its motion. Sellmeier was the first to see that reflection and refraction would be profoundly modified in the cases in which the free period of the matter particles agrees with that of the incident light, and when, therefore, the energy in that light is absorbed in setting the matter into motion. His work was continued by Helmholtz, Lommel, Ketteler, Voigt, and Sir W. Thomson. The equations of motion employed by all these writers are the following : d°u ral hae , Pag ae a pe ree Ae erest at? In these equations Y represents the force on the ether, in the element of volume considered, arising from the surrounding ether; X’, from any external impressed forces; and 4, from the matter; while =, =’, and 4, are the same for the matter. According to all ¥ = X¥'=o0. Wemustalsohave A + 4 =0. The difference in the theories consists in the different forms given to 4. Sellmeier, Thomson, and Helmholtz put 4A = B’(u —- VU). Lommel puts 4 = B* s (uw — 7). ¢ The results of Ketteler’s theory are, except in one small and, I venture to think, non-essen- Gs 6 F 5 a tial point, identical with those found by putting 4 = p° 28 (w — U) (Ketteler obtains his equations in a different form from the above). Voigt investigates the general form possible for A consistent with the propagation of a plane wave and the conservation of energy. He finds F : d? ae ea A=(e?+ Bp? — eS eh -U). - (« ae at® at az" dt” dz" ye ) For the value of Yall the authors put—taking waves travelling parallel to z— au Laas az* X= while Voigt adds the term - For & all but Voigt and Thom- son write— a = (Ohh sr a at 6 QS =e . ; Thomson objects to the term ane involving a viscous ex- penditure of energy. Voigt argues, with Boussinesq that in 20 NATURE | Vou. 5, 1885 ordinary transparent media U is so small compared with w that it may be neglected, and puts it zero everywhere, The results of the various theories differ in the form they give for the dispersion formula. Lommel’s theory has been shown by Voigt to be untenable. The theories of Helmholtz, Thom- son, and Sellmeier lead, when @ is small, to the same result, and give par 9 Oe ee Pp or a which Ketteler’s gives 9 p* D wWHIt+— +s, a pee a 7 is the period of the ether vibration, « of the matter vibration, and g, D, &c., are functions of the constants. Voigt’s formula, since he does not consider the matter motion, is different and not so general. With regard to these formule, I am not aware that Helmholtz’s has been tested by comparison with experiment. Ketteler’s has, and agrees excellently over a long range of values of 7. Double refraction is generally explained by supposing f” to be a function of the direction ; but, as Sir W. Thomson has pointed out, this involves for Helmholtz’s theory—he did not, however, apply his formulze to crystals—dispersion with double refraction. For Ketteler’s theory this is not the case. can be a function of the direction independently of 7. The mechanism which would make the action between the matter and ether in each element of volume a function of the acceleration is perhaps not so easy to conceive as that supposed by Helmholtz and Thomson; but still Ketteler’s theory seems to overcome some of the difficulties inherent in the latter. Either of these theories can be shown to lead to Fresnel’s wave-surface, provided we do not consider it necessary that the vibrations should lie in the wave-front. The vibration, as indeed Ketteler and Boussinesq have pointed out, will be nor- mal to the ray. In all other respects Fresnel’s construction will hold. Ketteler and Voigt have tried, without much success, to apply their theories to reflection and refraction. Thomson, in that most valuable appendix to his Baltimore lectures, has given a complete theory. adapted to Ketteler’s theory, and the results in many points agree in a striking manner with experiments both for transparent and opaque bodies. The occurrence of a real negative value for uw? is explained by the supposition that the period of the incident light is higher than the hizhest possible mode of vibra- tion for the matter-molecules in the medium. The last section deals with Maxwell’s electro-magnetic theo: ; of light. Electro-magnetic disturbance travels in air with a velocity equal to that of light ; and in a double refracting medium obeys Fresnel’s laws. The difficulty lies in giving a physical explanation of light motions, and of accounting for the mechanical structure of the ether required by the theory. No complete theory of dis- persion has yet been given. The work of Willard Gibbs does not explain why there is no dispersion in a vacuum. The objection made to Cauchy’s theory holds good. It is probable that some theory such as is developed in the third section may be successfully applied to the electro-magnetic disturbance. The theory has the great advantage of connecting naturally with the theory of light the important electro and magneto- optical discoveries of Faraday, Kerr, Kundt, and Quincke, and to the development of this much is due to Prof. Fitzgerald. The theory of reflection and refraction as at present developed is only approximate. BEECTROLEVSTS: PROF. LODGE opened the discussion at the Aberdeen meeting of the British Association on Electrolysis by reading a paper, the notes of which have already appeared in NATURE. Sir W. Thomson referred, in his remarks on Prof. Lodge’s paper, to a matter of importance in electro-plating—viz. the selection which takes place in the electrolysis of solutions con- taining several salts, as, for instance, in the electrolysis of copper sulphate containing ferrous sulphate, which, when decomposed by a strong current gives a deposit containing impurities, where- as a slower decomposition yields a very pure deposit. Sir W. Thomson spoke also of the necessity for the careful investigation of those cases in which the formation of deposits between the electrodes had been observed, and it would be important to know whether deposits could be formed in the line of conduction without a nucleus at all. Such matters are of importance to physio- logy, indicating a possible danger in the passing of long con- tinued currents through the human body. Prof. Schuster explained the views propounded by Von Helmholtz in his recent papers on this subject. Helmholtz explains the phenomena of electrolysis by assuming a_ dif- ferent attraction of different chemical elements for electricity. If this be admitted, most of the difficulties connected with the phenomena of contact electricity disappear. In electrolysis the element (say hydrogen) charged with positive electricity travels to the negative electrode and forms a coating over it. Any electromotive force, however small, is sufficient to produce this effect, as no work is done. The hydrogen does not appear as free hydrogen, however. It is only liberated when the electromotive force is sufficient to produce a transfer of the positive electricity from the hydrogen molecule to the electrode. When the dissociated elements appear in a neutral state an interchange of the electricities of the elements must have occurred before dissociation. In this way we may explain the conversion of stannic in stannous chloride, which was mentioned by Prof. Armstrong in his address. Prof. Schuster did not think that Prof. Lodge had laid sufficient stress on the fact that in very dilute solutions an ion has the same rate of transference, no matter with what element it was combined. This fact affords strong evidence in favour of the above views, from which it follows as a necessary result. Prof. Schuster also explained his own views of the discharge of electricity in gases. He believes | that the phenomena present some analogy to those exhibited in electrolysis of liquids. The phenomena exhibited at the negative pole are, he thinks, due to dissociation of the compound molecule. They do not appear in the case of monatomic mercury vapour. Experiments which he hopes to conclude in the next few months will decide whether or not the law of the constancy of molecular charge holds. The next contribution to the discussion was a paper by Dr. C. | R. Alder Wright, containing an account of the nature of his This can be readily | investigations, conducted with the view of measuring Chemical Affinity in terms of E.M.F, On the Sensitiveness to Light of Selenium and Sulphur Cells, by Shelford Bidwell, M.A., LL.B.—The author suggests that the operation of annealing in the making of selenium cells in- creases the sensitiveness to light by promoting the combination of the selenium with the metal of the electrodes, forming a selenide which completely surrounds the electrodes, and is, per- haps, diffused throughout the selenium when in a liquid con- dition ; further, that the apparently improved conductivity of the selenium, together with the electrolytic phenomena which it exhibits, are to be accounted for by the existence of this selen- ide. This view finds considerable support in the fact that cells, constructed with sulphur, replacing the selenium and containing a proportion of silver sulphide, are all more or less sensitive to light, and exhibit properties of annealed selenium. The author also read a paper On the Generation of a Voltaic Current by a Sulphur Cell with a Solid Electrolyte, a short account of which has already appeared in NATURE (vol. xxxii. p. 345). MOLECULAR WEIGHTS ae HE discussion on the Molecular Weights of Liquids and solids was opened in Section B of the British Association by the reading of a paper by Prof. A. W. Reinold, F.R.S., the subject of which was the S%ze of Molecules. In this paper an account was given of the different lines of argument by which Sir W. Thomson has been led to form an estimate of the size of molecules. The estimate is based upon four lines of argument—the first, from the refractive dispersion of light ; the second, from the phe- nomena of contact electricity ; the third, from liquid films ; and the fourth, from the kinetic theory of gases. All four agree in showing that in liquids and transparent solids the mean distance between the centre of contiguous molecules is something between 1/toth and 1/200th of a millionth of a millimetre. Recently Exner (Monatschrift fiir Chemie, vi. 244-278) has proposed another method for estimating the diameter of gaseous molecules, the results obtained by this method being slightly smaller than those deduced from the above. The author gave an account of his experiments on soap-films, conducted conjointly with Prof. Rucker (NATURE, vol. xxxii. p. 210), the results of which are _ Nov. 5, 1885 | not out of accord with Sir W. Thomson’s estimate of the size of molecules. On Macro-molecules, with the Determinations of the Form of some of them, by Prof. G. Johnstone Stoney, D.Sc., F.R.S.— The author suggested that the molecule of a crystal, which in all probability, consists of several chemical molecules, should be termed a macro-molecule. He then went on to show that it is possible to deduce the form of the macro-molecule from the composition of the chemical molecule ; this he illustrated by the cases of iron pyrites, boracite, and quartz. An Approximate’ Determination of the Absolute Amount of the Weight of Chemical Atoms, by Prof. G. Johnstone Stoney, D.Sc., F.R.S.—The author showed that the mass of a molecule of hydrogen is a quantity of the same order as a decigramme divided by to**—z.e. a twenty-fourth decigrammet, which is the same as the twenty-filth grammet. (The grammets are the decimal sub-divisions of the gramme, of which the first is the decigramme, the second the centigramme, &c.) The mass of the chemical atom of hydrogen may be taken to be half the twenty-fifth of the grammet. This value is based on the con- clusion arrived at by several physicists—that the number of molecules in a cubic millimetre of a gas at ordinary temperature and pressure is somewhere about a unit eighteen (10'%), from which it can be shown that the number of molecules per litre must be about a unit twenty-four (10"4). From this, together with a knowledge of the weight of a litre of hydrogen, the above value for the mass of a molecule of hydrogen has beendeduced. The mass of a molecule of hydrogen being known, it is possible now to determine approximately the masses of all other simple sub- stances and of compounds also. Prof. Osborne Reynolds then made a communication to the Section on the subject of Di/atancy, which was also read before Section A (see NATURE, vol. xxxii. p. 535). On Physical Molecular Equivalents, by Prof. F. Guthrie, F.R.S.—The author pointed out that the cryohydrates are solid compounds of water and salts possessing very low melting-points, in which the mass ratios, whilst definite, are other than those of the ordinary chemical mass ratios. Another class of somewhat similar compounds has been discovered, which are quite analo- gous to the ordinary hydrates, and to these the name sud cryohydrates has been given. Metallic alloys are true homo- logues of the cryohydrates ; the ratios in which metals unite to form the alloy possessing the lowest melting-point are never atumic ratios, and when metals do unite in atomic ratios the ailoy produced is never extectic, 7.c., having a minimum solidify- ing point. Thus pure cast-iron is not a carbide of iron, but an eutectic alloy of carbon and iron, Similar hyperchemical mass ratios are found to exist amongst anhydrous salts ; when one salt fused fer se acts as a solvent to another salt, forming ezéectic salt alloys, similar to ezfectic metallic alloys and the cryohydrates. The study of solution affords other instances of masses of unlike matter dealing critically with one another when not in any in- tegral ratio of their molecular masses. Liquids, unsuspected of having chemical or physical relationships, are found, when mixed with one another, either to get warm and finally lose volume, or get cool and gain volume. In the first place che- mical union is supposed to take place, and it appears certain that chloroform unites chemically with alcohol, ether with amyl- ene, and benzene with ether, forming bodies analogous to the sub-cryohydrates and their prototype the seb-cryohydrate C,H,O + 4H,O. The examination of those cases in which expansion and cooling results from admixture, shows that the maximum effects are produced when the admixture takes place in certain simple molecular weight ratios. This the author pro- poses to call the maximum molecular repulsion, which, in the case of carbon disulphide and chloroform, is attained with a mixture in which the molecular ratios areas 1: 1. Mixtures in these proportions are found to show abnormally high vapour- tensions. And the author has made experiments which appear to show that, when carbonic acid and hydrogen are mixed, the joint volume is measurably greater than the sum. On the Evidence Deducible from the Scudy of Salts, by Spencer Umfreville Pickering, M.A.—In this paper the author deals with the evidence as to the molecular weights of salts, derived from a study of the composition (1) of hydrated salts ; (2) of basic salts; (3) of double salts. He also criticises the evidence deducible from experiments on hydration, dehydration, and the vapour tension of hydrated salts, and finally examines the conclusions drawn from the calorimetric investigations of such compounds. The conclusions arrived at by the author are MA TOL 21 that, although in a few isolated cases the molecular weights ob- tained would appear to be greater than the analytical results necessitate, still, in a vast majority of cases there are no grounds for multiplying these weights, and indeed there is a considerable mass of evidence in favour of adhering to the simplest possible formulz. Such a conclusion may, at first sight, appear opposed to conclusions drawn from other sources. On the one hand the author considers it undeniable that if we succeed in determining the number of replaceable portions of the elements in any com- pound, we determine ex hyfothesi the number of atoms in the molecule, that is, the molecular weight ; and whilst the data at our disposal at present are of the most meagre description, nevertheless are such as seem to point to the simplicity of these molecules. On the other hand, considerations based on the crystalline form and other physical properties of bodies force on us the conclusion that liquid and solid molecules are in all probability of a very complicated nature, certainly more com- plicated than gaseous molecules. Both these conclusions the author considers to be reconcileable with one another and con- tends that because the smallest particle of a substance which enters into a chemical reaction may be simple, there can be no reason why many of these particles may not agglomerate and act in unison as regards certain physical forces. That this agglom- erate does not act as a unit towards chemical forces would simply imply that the force which unites the individuals consti- tuting it is not chemical force, or is chemical force of such a weak nature that, in presence of the strong chemical agents we make use of, it is inappreciable. The molecule of a chemist is not necessarily identical with the molecule of the physicist. On the Molecular Weights of Solids and Salts in Solution, by Prof. W. A. Tilden, D.Sc., F.R.S.—Accepting the conclusion that bodies in the solid state consist of units or molecules of a very complex character, and made-up of a number of such smaller aggregates as compose the molecules of gases, the author is inclined to go further, and sees no reason for limiting the number of small molecules, which may thus be bound together to form a physical unit. From the law of Dulong and Petit, and of Neumann’s law, it would appear that in solid ele- mentary bodies, and in salts, &c., there is no difference between molecule and mass, and that the physical unit is the atom. The facts known concerning specific volumes and refraction equi- valents support such a conclusion. According to this view solid bodies are composed of atoms, which are only distributed into molecules capable of independent existence ; when the body becomes a fluid. Such a view implies that chemical combina- tion between atoms and the combination of molecules which ensues when a gas or liquid returns to the state of a solid are phenomena of the same nature, which agrees with the commonly recognised resemblance between the process of dissociation and those processes of fusion and evaporation. Another consequence of this view is that the idea of limited valency must be confined to gaseous substances. With regard to solutions, many facts are known, which indicate that the molecules of dissolved sub- stances are smaller than those of solids. With regard to the question of water of crystallisation, the author does not alto- gether agree with the views of Dr. Nicol (see Report on Solution, NATURE, vol. xxxii, p. 529), but considers that the composition of the salt molecule in solution is dependent chiefly upon tem- perature, and in such a way that the dissolved molecule retains the same amount of water as the crystals formed at the same temperature. As the temperature rises these molecules undergo a gradual dissociation, and at a certain temperature the salt molecules lose this water and become anhydrous. On the Molecular Constitution of a Solution of Cobaltous Chlor- ide, by Prof. W. J. Russell, Ph.D., F.R.S.—A thin layer of cobaltous chloride gives an absorption spectrum consisting of two broad, ill-defined bands. If the chloride be mixed with potassium, sodium, or calcium chlorides, the spectrum of these mixtures, both in the solid and fused state, is different from that of cobaltous chloride, and consists essentially of four bands, two of which are marked and characteristic. This same spectrum is obtained with solutions of cobaltous chloride in absolute alcohol, in amyl alcohol, in hydrochloric acid, or in glacial acetic acid. This spectrum would, therefore, appear to be that of cobaltous chloride in an altered molecular state. The spectrum of an aqueous solution is again different, and consists of one broad band nearer to the blue end than the other bands, but the addi- tion of cobaltous chloride to such a solution, or of such bodies as possess an affinity for water, causes a reversion of the spectrum to that of the anhydrous cobaltous chloride. Heat also produces 22 NATURE [Vov. 5, 1885 the same effect, and it would appear from these results that the anhydrous chloride can exist in aqueous solutions. The changes in the character of the spectrum of an aqueous solution produced by heat may be explained as arising from a dissociation of some of the hydrates existing in the solution, and the production of anhydrous cobaltous chloride. Further, the fact that those solu- tions containing the anhydrous salt more readily transmit the blue rays and absorb the red rays, whilst those containing hydrates in solution more readity transmit the red rays, would indicate that the molecule of the hydrate is smaller than that of the anhydrous salt. The action of water on the anhydrous salt, therefore, is not to form an additive compound, but to split the molecule of the anhydrous salt and form one in which water replaces cobaltous chloride. In the discussion which followed the reading of these papers Prof. Ramsay said that the density of a saturated vapour afforded a clue to the molecular complicity. Now while a liquid such as water or alcohol gave a saturated vapour, which at a sufficiently low temperature and corresponding low pressure had normal density, the saturated vapour of acetic acid, on the contrary, had an increasing density with fall of temperature, this density showing that the molecule has passed the stage C,H,O, and is on its way to C,H,,.0,, if the results are to be explained by agglomeration of simple molecules at all. Dr. Gladstone remarked that from the evidence of coloured salts in solution such as the sulphocyanides of cobalt, he believed that a dissolved salt might be in an anhydrous condition and might become more and more hydrated as the mass of water in its pres nceisincreased orits temperaturelowered. Evidence of other changes might also be obtained from the colour of solutions. He did not think that the refraction of light by a body is often likely to tell anything about its molecular volume ; but in the case of the polymeric olefines, C,,Hy,, the specific refraction and dispersion will probably decrease considerably as the value of becomes greater, on account of the increasing proportion o carbon in the normal condition. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE.—The following have been appointed examiners for the ensuing year :—Physics and Chemistry: Prof. Schuster, F.R.S., and Mr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S.; Chemistry : Messrs. A. Scott and W. J. Sell ; Mineralogy: Prof. Liveing ; Geology : Messrs. J. J. H. Teall and J. E. Marr; Botany: Messrs. W. Gardiner and H. M. Ward; Human Anatomy: Profs. A. Macalister, F.R.S., and G. D. Thane ; Comparative Anatomy: Mr. A. Sedgwick; Physiology: Prof. Michael Foster, Sec.R.S., and Mr. A. S. Lea; Pharmacy and Pharma- ceutical Chemistry : Prof. Wyndham Dunstan. Mr. F. H. Neville, Sidney Sussex College, is appointed as teacher of chemistry with reference to certificates for M.B. In the late Higher Local Examinations the arithmetic and Euclid were fairly well done. In Algebra and Trigonometry the cases of gross failure were fewer, while the work of the better candidates was not so good as last year. Considerable care had been taken to apprehend the facts of Mechanics, but some candidates merely stated a result when asked to ‘‘ prove” or ‘‘ establish” it ; and when asked to draw inferences by means of the laws of motion, they drew inferences from quite other considerations. A certain amount of know- ledge of Descriptive Astronomy was shown by some of the candidates: two of the twenty-two obtained more than half matks. Only four candidates took the paper in Differential and In- tegral Calculus. Two of them showed a sound knowledge of the early definitions and rules for differentiation ; the other two (who alone attempted the last eight questions) were less success- ful on the whole, and had confused ideas on the elementary parts of the subject. No marks were obtained in Integral Calculus. In the Elementary Natural Science paper the work was as a whole extremely poor, notably in Chemistry. In Physics the candidates seemed to possess very little power of giving concise and definite answers. The attempts to describe experiments and experimental proofs of physical laws were re- markably weak, and might be described as a mere echo of experimental lectures only partially understood ; they showed none of the results that might fairly be expected from a careful consideration of those facts and principles which were clearly within the candidates’ reading. - In Physical Geography and Geology most of the papers were good, but none excellent. In Physiology the answers were on the whole satisfactory, while three or four papers showed that the writers had gained a very creditable acquaintance with the subject. In Zoology most of the papers were far from creditable, and exhibited but little real or intelligent knowledge. The answers to the practical questions were uniformly bad. In Botany the candidates displayed but little knowledge of what is meant by the terms ‘‘ growth,” and “collateral,” and no one gave a good description of the method of measuring growth. The plant given for description was fairly well described, but the floral diagram was in many cases imperfect. The germina- tion of a seed was not well described. Several students described Penicillium, Mucor, and Agaricus, as parasites. At Gonville and Caius College an examination will be held on December 8 for open scholarships and exhibitions. Natural Science candidates, who must be under nineteen years of age, will be examined in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Animal Physiology ; proficiency will be expected in at least two of these subjects, of which chemistry must be one. Further information will be given by the tutors. At the annual election on November 2 at St. John’s College, the following were elected to Fellowships :—A, Harker, M.A., Eighth Wrangler 1882, First Class Nat. Sciences Tripos (Physics) 1883, Woodwardian Demonstrator in Geology ; D. W. Samways, M.A. (D.Sc. London), First Class (with distinction in Physics) Nat. Sciences Tripos, 1881, University Extension Lectures in Physics and Physiology ; W. H. Bennett, M.A. (M.A. London, Mathematics), First Class Theological Tripos 1882, Tyrwhitt Hebrew Scholar; W. Bateson, B.A., First Class Nat. Sciences Tripos (Zoology) 1883, Assistant Demon- strator of Animal Morphology; R. W. Hogg, B.A., Sixth Wrangler 1883, First Class, Part III., Mathematical Tripos, 1884. Tue annual election of Fellows of St. John’s College, Cam- bridge, took place on Monday, when the five vacancies were filled up by the election of the following graduates of the College :-— . (1) A. Harker, M.A., 8th Wrangler, 1882—First-class Natural Sciences Tripos, PartI., June, 1882, First-class Natural Sciences Tripos, Part II., June, 1883, for Physics, Woodwardian Demonstrator in Geology. (2) D. W. Samways, M.A., D.Sc. London—First-class Natural Sciences Tripos, 1881, distinguished in Physics. (3) W. H. Bennett, M.A. (4) W. Bateson, B.A.—First-class Natural Sciences Tripos, Part I., June, 1882, and First-class Natural Sciences Tripos, Part II., June, 1883, for Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, Assistant Demonstrator in Animal Morphology. (5) R. W. Hogg, B.A., 6th Wrangler, June, 1883, and in the first division Mathematical Tripos, Part III., January, 1884. PRELIMINARY SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATION OF THE UNI- VERSITY OF LoNDoN.—The following statistics of the Pre- liminary Scientific Examination for the degree in Medicine of the University of London are of importance as conclusively proving that those members of the medical profession who so urgently declare this examination to be too severe are entirely misinformed. At the examination in last July there passed from all parts of the United Kingdom 159 candidates. Nearly an equal number were rejected ; but that this is owing to the fact that the candidates had not sought the usual and proper methods of preparation, and not to the fact that the examination is a specially difficult one, is proved by the following important facts :—63 candidates entered for this examination, stating that they had prepared for the examination wholly or in part at Uni- versity College, London. Of these 63 candidates 52 passed, and several took honours. Thus less than one-fifth were rejected of those candidates who attended the carefully-organised teach- ing of University College. This is an exceedingly small propor- tion of failures for any pass examination. From other London colleges a much smaller number of successful candidates is recorded. The largest number after the University College list is that of St. Bartholomew’s Medical School. Instead of 52 we fine here, however, 16. Then come Guy’s, St. Thomas’s, and King’s College, each with 11, London Hospital with 5, St. Mary’s with 3, and St. George’s, Middlesex, and Charing Cross, each with 1. These figures lend strong support to the Nov. 5, 1885 | NATURE 25 suggestion which has so often been made, that the Hospital schools would do well to cease the attempt to teach purely scientific subjects, and should recognise the Faculty of Science of University College as the common preliminary scientific school for all London hospitals. The students themselves, it is obvious, already take this view. Of the 52 successful candidates belonging to the Faculty of Science of University College only 12 have entered the Faculty of Medicine of that institution. The remaining 40 have selected their hospitals without prejudice. Several have obtained entrance scholarships at the large London hospitals. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Bulletin de 7 Académie Royale de Belgique, July.—Observa- tions on the planets Jupiter and Venus, made at the Astronomic Institute of Ongrée, by M. L. de Ball.—On the eurites, or older _ rhyolithic formations of Grand-Manil, by M. Ch. de la Vallée Poussin.—On the pretended bacterian origin of diastase, by M. Emile Laurent.—On the organic structure and growth of Phycomyces nitens, by the same author.—On the Devonian lime- stones of coral origin and their distribution throughout the paleozoic formations of Belgium, by M. E. Dupont.—Theory of elliptic functions : Hermite’s equation, by M. J. A. Martius da Silva.—The philosophic system of the Bhagavadgita, by M. Le Roy.—An unpublished Latin inscription referring to T. Desticius Severus, Procurator of Gallia Belgica, by M. Bartolini. |—Origin of the Flemish inhabitants of Belgium, with pre- liminary remarks on the Suevi of Flanders, by M. Alph. Wauters. __ August.—Fresh researches on the apparent enlargement of the sun, moon, and stars at the horizon, by M. Paul Stroobant. -—Reaction of the sulphate of barium and the carbonate of sodium under the influence of pressure, by M. W. Spring.— Note on the lower Devonian rocks of Belgium: the pudding system of Weris and its transformation, by M. E. Dupont.— Experimental researches on the sense of sight in insects: Do insects distinguish the outlines of objects? by M. F. Plateau.— Determination of an empirical relation connecting the tension of yapour with the coefficient of internal friction in fluids, by M. P. De Heen.—The eurites of Grand-Manil (continued), by M. Ch. de la Vallée Poussin.—Biographical notices of Mathieu de | Morgues and Philippe Chifflet, by M. Auguste Castan.—On the old Persian, Hindu, and Chinese literatures, by M. Ch. de Harlez.—Note on the domain of the Aduatica, and on some other questions of ancient Belgian geography, by M. L. Vander- kindere. | Schriften der Phystkalisch-Okonomischen Gesellschaft zu K onigs- berg t. Pr., 25th year (1884).—r1st and 2nd parts.—Memorial address on Oswald Heer (with list of works) by A. Jentzsch.—On the development of the oil-vessels in the fruits of Umbelliferz, by J. Lange.—Festival address on the centenary of Bessel’s birth, by I. Franz.—Correction of Sanio’s memoir on the numerical relations of the flora of Prussia, by J. Abromeit.—Reports on local botany, museum collections, &c. i { SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDGN Mineralogical Society, October 20.—The Rey. Prof. Bonney, President, in the chair.—Messrs. F. R. W. Daw, John Daw, Jun., G. F. Kung, and C. C. Ross, M.P., were elected members. The following were elected officers and Council for the ensuing year :—-President: L. Fletcher, F.G.S. ; Vice- Presidents: Rev. S. Haughton, F.R.S., Rev. Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S. ; Council: €. A. Burghardt, LL.D., A. Geikie, F.R.S., Rev. H. Gurney, M.A., Hugo Miiller, F.R.S., Rev, W. W. Peyton’; Treasurer: R. P. Greg, F.G.S.; General Secretary: R. H. Scott, F.R.S. ; Foreign Secretary : @. Davies, F.G.S.; Auditors: B: Kitto, F.G.S., F. W. Rudler, F.G.S. The Secretary read the following Report of Council :—The balance-sheet for the year 1884, which appeared in No. 28 of the /owrnal, showed that the finances of the Society were in a healthy condition, the excess of assets over liabilities amounting to 2157. 125. 4¢. The number of Members and Associates elected during the year has been seven, and the number of resignations five, while the names of four Members ‘and one Associate have been removed from the list for non-pay- i ra ment of subscriptions for three years. The Council regret that they have to report also the death of Alexander Murray, C.M.G., of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Three meetings have taken place since the last anniversary: those in December and March were held in the Museum of Economic Geology, by kind permission of the Director-General of the Survey ; the third was held in Glasgow in the month of June, in the rooms of the PhilosophicalgSociety. This, the second Scottish meeting, was, like its predecessor in 1884, a decided success. Three parts of the YFournal have been issued during the year. Among their contents the Council would especially draw attention to Mr. Miers’ contributions, including his careful index to the mineral- ogical literature of the year. Herr Sjogren’s paper on graphite also deserves notice ; it is a translation from the Swedish, as it originally appeared in the Forhandlingar of the Stockholm Academy. In conclusion the Council would only remind the members that it is very desirable that they should co- operate actively in the working of the Society by the contribution of papers to be’ read at its meetings and published in its Fouwrnal. It is by such co-operation alone that the Society can be maintained in a state of vigorous activity. The President then delivered his address, which will appear in the Fouwrnal. Prof. Bonney then vacated the chair, which was taken by the newly-elected President, Mr. Fletcher, and the following papers were read::—H. A. Miers, on a crystal of orthoclase.—R. H. Solly, notes from the Mine- ralogical Laboratory, Cambridge, being an account of the fol- lowing minerals :—garnet, axinite, asbestus, and semiopal from the Mid-Devon Copper Mine, apatite or Francolite from the Leyant Mine, and Fluor Spar from Holmbush.—Dr. Max Schuster, results of the crystallographic study of danburite.—W. E. Dawson, analysis of a supposed new chromate of lead from the Transvaal.—Prof. Lewis exhibited a fine crystal of cole- manite ; and Mr. Fletcher exhibited some Roman coins found near Chester and presenting crystals of cuprite. SYDNEY Linnean Society of New South Wales, August 26.— Prof. W. J. Stephens, M.A., F.G.S., President, in the chair.— The following papers were read :—List of plants in use by the natives of the Maclay Coast, New Guinea, by N. de Miklouho- Maclay, with botanical remarks by Baron Ferd. von Miiller, K.C.M.G., &c. Baron Maclay in this paper gives (1) a list of the plants used as food, dividing them into those cultivated and those growing wild ; (2) those cultivated as stimulants or for medicine ; (3) those useful in various ways for household pur- poses ; and (4) those introduced since 1871. An Appendix by Baron Miiller gives an account of some of the plants mentioned by Baron Maclay and gives a description of a new species named Bassia maclayana.—Catalogue of the Coleoptera of Australia, by George Masters. This is the first of a series of papers intended by Mr. Masters to make a complete and perfect list of all the known species of Coleoptera in Australia. The present part comprises the Cicindelidze and Carabidze, and numbers 950 species.—Descriptions of three new Port Jackson fishes, by J. Douglas-Ogilby, Assistant Zoologist, Australian Museum. The three species here described are Scyllium anale, Heliastes im- maculatus, and Pempheris lineatus,—Mr. Macleay exhibited a section of a branch of an orange tree completely perforated by the larva of a longicorn beetle. Also three specimens of a beetle found in the perforated wood. The exhibit had been sent by Mr. M. de Meyrick, a member of the Society, who stated that many orange trees had suffered in the same way in the neighbourhood of Penrith. Mr. Macleay said the injury was caused by the larva of Monohammus fistulator, a grub destructive to all kinds of fruit trees, but, as far as his experience went, its ravages were confined to old or decaying trees, and it would be interesting to know if in any instance it had been found to attack young and vigorous plants. The accompanying beetles were heteromerous insects of the genus Amarygmus, and were not in any way the cause of the injury to the tree.—Mr. A. Sidney Olliff exhibited specimens and sketches of Cryptommatus jansoni, Matt., a curious beetle which was found under the fur of the common rat in Tasmania, and said that he believed new and interesting species with similar habits might be found in Australia if the smaller mammals were examined when freshly killed. Two allied species were known from Peru, one of which was found in the fur, and also in thenests, of mice. The specimens exhibited were captured by Mr, A. Simson and had been obtained from Mr. Morton, of the Hobart Museum. 24 NA TORE [Vov. 5, 1885 PARIS Academy of Sciences, October 26.—M. Bouley, President, in the chair.—A means of preventing rabies from the bite of a mad dog, by M. L. Pasteur. After almost endless experiments the author announces that he has at last succeeded in obtaining a practical and prompt prophylactic remedy, which has already proved sufficiently efficacious in the case of dogs, to justify the belief in its general efficacy when applied to all animals, includ- ing man himself, A full account of the process will be found at p. 1 of this week’s NATURE.—Direct fixation of free atmospheric nitrogen in plants through the agency of certain argillaceous clays, by M. Berthelot. “Some years ago the author found that to atmospheric electricity was largely due the attraction of free nitrogen to the immediate elements of vegetable organisms. After fresh experiments conducted for two years at the Meudon station for vegetable chemistry, he has now discovered a new and perhaps a more general cause of this arrestation in the silent but incessant action of argillaceous clays and of the microscopic organisms contained in them. In this memoir he gives the results of over 500 analyses of four different clays constituting five distinct but simultaneous series of experiments in a closed chamber, in a field under shelter, on top of a tower 28 metres high without shelter, in hermetically sealed flasks, and lastly in soil artificially sterilised. —Note on the Cynthiadz of the French seaboard, by MM. H. de Lacaze-Duthiers and Yyes Delages. In the present paper the authors restrict their remarks to the typical Cynthia morus, a characteristic group of simple ascidians occurring in the English Channel, in the Atlantic, and in the Mediterranean. The several varieties are determined and the anatomy of the whole group described in detail.—Note respecting some recent com- munications on waterspouts, by M. Faye. The author’s remarks refer to the report issued by the United States Army Signal Service on the thirteen tornadoes of May 29-30, 1879, the most complete and elaborate account of these phenomena hitherto published. —Experiments on the transmission of force by electri- city between Paris and Creil, by M. Marcel Deprez. These costly experiments, begun on October 17, 1884, and carried out with the aid of MM. Rothschild, have so far proved very satis- factory. In a future communication complete tables are pro- mised of all the electric and mechanical data of the experiments hitherto made both by the author and by M. Collignon.—On the propagation of motion in bodies, and especially i in perfect gases, by M. Hugoniot.—Note on a new process for making hydrogen gas, by MM. Felix Hembert and Henry. By this simple and economic process hydrogen gas available for nume- rous combinations applicable to the arts and industries may be produced at the rate of o'or5 franc the cubic metre. —Discovery of a new planet (No. 25a, of 13th magnitude) at the Observatory of Nice, by M. Perrotin.—Remarks on the new star in the nebula of Andromeda, one illustration, by M. E. L. Trouvelot. | This new star A, as well as the already discovered B, would appear to form part not of the nebula itself, but of the Milky Way. — Application of M. Leewy’s new methods for determining the absolute co-ordinates of the circum- polar stars, withuut the necessity of ascertaining the instrumental constants (polar distances), by M. Henri Renan.—Questions relating to a bundle of plane cubic figures (continued), by M. P. H. Shoute.—On birational plane geometrical trans- formations, by Mr. G. B. Guccia.—General differential equa- tions reducible to quadratures, by M. Wladimir Maximowitch. —Note on a new absorption spectroscope, by M. Maurice de Thierry. This apparatus enables the observer to study fluids under a thickness of 3 to 10 metres, and to detect the presence of oxyhemoglobine in a liquid containing not more than I-5,000,o00th of that substance. It is an instrument of extreme precision, capable of rendering great services to forensic medicine, physics, and biological chemistry, by facilitating the study of the absorp- tion spectra of fluids examined under a great thickness.— Note on a new neutral carbonate of magnesia, by M. R. Engel. This is an anhydrous carbonate absolutely different both from the natural neutral carbonate (CO,Mg) and from the crystallised and anhydrous neutral carbonate artificially obtained by M. de Senarmont.—On the volatile property of the mixed organic compounds, by M. Louis Henry.—Note on the zymotic proper- ties of four kinds of virus: those of the spleen, of puerperal septicemia, of gangrenous septicemia, and of the symptomatic charbon of the ox, by M. S, Arloing.—On the existence of two kinds of sensibility to light—the sense of colour and of form, by M. H. Parniaud.—On the physiological action of the sodic sulpho-conjugate of rocellic acid, by MM. P. Cazeneuve and R. Lépine.—On the circulation of the blood in the nerve-cells of the intervertebral ganglia, by M. A. Adamkiewicz.—On the method of distribution of certain sympathetic intra-cranial chord:, and on the existence of a sympathetic root of the ciliary ganglion in the goose, by M. F. Rochas.—On the development of the nematodes (second note), by M. Paul Hallez.—Fresh researches on the influence of shocks on the egg-germ of the hen during the period between laying and hatching, by M. Dareste. Theoretical researches on the distribution of heat on the surface of the globe, by M. Alfred Angot.—On the varying dates of the vintage season in France since the year 1236, by M. Alfred Angot.—Application of thermo-chemistry to the explanation of geological phenomena: carbonate of zinc, by M. Dieulafait.— On the green luminous ray observed at sunset in the Indian Ocean, by M, Tréve.—Remarks on M. G. Arth’s recent note regarding the action of the nitrate of anhydrous ammoniacal ammonia on some metals, by M. Id. Divers. STOCKHOLM Academy of Sciences, October 14.—The following papers were presented for insertion in the Society’s Yournal :—A monographic revision and synopsis of the Microceridz and Pro- tomantinide, by Prof. Aurivillius.—Lois de l’équilibre chimique dans l'état dilué, gazeux ou dissous, by M. T. H. vant Hoff.— On the distribution of the sexes in Acer platanoides, L., and in some other species of Acer, by Prof. V. Wittrock.—Codiolum polyrhizum, 0.Sp., a contribution to the knowledge of Codiolum A. Braun, by Herr G. Lagerheim.—Contributions to the know- ledge of the specific warmth of some minerals, by Dr. W. Oberg. —On Petrus de Dacia, by Dr. G. Enestrom.—The osteology and exterior conformation of Sowerby’s whale (Aficropteron bidens, Sow.), by Dr. Carl Aurivillius.—Researches on remains of the limbs in the Ophidians, by Miss Albertina Carlsson.— Investigations into some sources of error in measuring the amount of the rainfall, by Dr. S. A. Hjeltstrom. CONTENTS PAGE Hydrophobia .. . *) ea ee I Topinard’s ‘* General Anthropology.” By DrjaG: Garson. . a do Sh Seine Our Book Shelf :— Wood’s ‘‘ Insect Enemies” Wood-Mason’s ‘‘ Account ‘Teindoung Bo’”. . Letters to the Editor :— Krakatdo.—Dr. H, J. Johnston-Lavis . The Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun, —Killingworth Hedges. (//lustrated) E An Earthquake Invention.—D. A. Stevenson . Spt The Mithun.—S. E. Peal. . On the Behaviour of Stretched “India: rubber when Heated.—Herbert Tomlinson .. The Resting Position of Oysters. —Arthur R. Hunt . Salmo salar and S. Jerox in Tasmania.—Francis Day A Right-footed Parrot.—C. V. Boys . . The New British Myzostoma.—P. Herbert Car- penter, HRS. 0.06 5 age Tertiary Rainbows.—W. ‘L. Goodwin 2a : “ Furculum” or ‘‘Furcula.”—R. W. Shufeldt Metric or English Measures?—E. R. P.. ..... Charles Robin of the ‘ Palan Byoo,’ or The Liverpool International Exhibition, "By C. E. DejRance .. cae Dr. Gould’s Work in the “Argentine Republic Telpherage. (L//ustrated ) : : The Meldometer. By Prof. J. Toly Notes! <7: 3 MOONS oS o6 Astronomical Phenomena for the Week, 1885, November 8-14 «2 4.6 a aeecoue enue oy Ce Optical Theories. By R. T. Glazebrook, M.A., F.R.S. Pile arco loecareavcwa.c SY Electrolysis... Pet, OOO rono: -CMCUNTAG ORO. 0 «2G F Molecular Weights 300 mr GS University and Educational Intelligence Serco. | 22 ScientificiSerials) (ere SPACmone croc 2 Societies'and!Academies) << 7.) 1c) +) =)! ol ee en) An wow Oso mmm mnmem~r SATO an fon) DQ wv NAIC Te 25) THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1885 THE INTERNATIONAL SANITARY CONFERENCE OF ROME, 1885 HE first volume of the Proceedings of the Inter- national Sanitary Conference of Rome has been issued just at the time when the question of the re- assembling of the Conference is a matter of diplomatic discussion. The Roman Conference of this year was brought together by the Italian Government because it was felt that, after the cholera experience of 1883 in Egypt and of 1884 in Southern Europe, advance might be made in determining the bases of an International Code as to quarantine or other preventive measures. The previous Conference had been held at Vienna in 1874, and the conclusions then arrived at had indicated sub- stantial progress since the preceding meeting at Con- stantinople in 1866. Under these circumstances nearly all civilised Governments responded to the appeal of Italy, and five delegates were deputed to represent this country. Two of these, Sir W. Guyer Hunter and Dr. Thorne Thorne, acted with the British Ambassador at Rome for Great Britain, and Sir Joseph Fayrer with Dr. Timothy Lewis went as representatives of our Indian Empire. Soon after the opening proceedings, a Technical Commission, consisting of the medical delegates, was formed, and it is essentially with the proceedings of that Commission that the volume referred to has to do. With the ready assent of Dr. Koch, the Commission decided at the onset not to discuss scientific questions bearing upon etiology or otherwise, and the series of resolutions arrived at deal almost exclusively with the measures which are deemed necessary to prevent the spread of cholera in Europe. Perusal of the proceedings at once shows that the Powers bordering on the Medi- terranean had one principal object in view. They were convinced that shipping passing from India wzé the Suez Canal constituted the great source of danger to ports on the basin of the Mediterranean; they knew that the sanitary state of the majoiity of those ports could not withstand the importation of infection ; hence, cost what it might to other nations, they were de- termined to place restrictions upon shipping passing through the canal. It is true that the utter failure of quarantine measures had once more been abundantly shown during the 1884 epidemic, and for this reason the Commission decided to drop the word quarantine alto- gether ; and they proposed, instead of the ten days’ quarantine which had been sanctioned at Vienna, to require a detention of five days for the purposes of “observation.” But, as was pointed out by the English delegates, this was quarantine pure and simple, for it involved the disembarkation of all on board vessels which might be regarded as infected by some internationally appointed officer, and the detention of men, women, and children in the filthy lazarets of the Red Sea shores for as many consecutive periods of five days as the officer in question might choose to dictate, so long as he could ‘regard any one amongst the persons thus isolated as VOL. XXXIII.—NO. 837 having suffered from symptoms which in his opinion resembled cholera. As regards European protection, it was also contended that such a measure was unnecessary in the case of British ships, and the Commission were twice challenged to give a single instance in which cholera had been brought into the continent of Europe by means of a British ship coming from India. And if it was unnecessary, it was contended that, provided British ships touched at no ports on their way home, they should be allowed the free passage of the Suez Canal as of an ordinary arm of the sea. But quarantine restrictions were not only held to be unnecessary, they were also shown to be distinctly mis- chievous in so far as they led the inhabitants of threat- ened countries to rely on Government measures of that description instead of adopting measures of sanitation which constituted the true remedy against cholera spread. And here the experience of England was shown to be strikingly opposed to quarantine. It is now some ten years since England, adopting one of the alternative measures sanctioned at Vienna, decided that since quarantine must always fail, the country would place its trust in an inspection of in-coming vessels, together with the immediate isolation of the sick in hospital, and in securing such improvement in the sanitary state of the country as would tend to remove the conditions favour- able to the diffusion of cholera if imported. And Dr. Thorne Thorne, whilst pointing out in detail that during that period of ten years our sanitary authorities had spent some 27,250,000/. in large public health works and that this had in truth been a remunerative expenditure by reason of the saving of life which had followed it, asked what country had shown a greater proof of the value it set on human life than England had, and contended that it would be an unfortunate day if we were to replace such a system by the imposition of a five days’ quarantine. Indian statistics proving similar results were also brought forward by Sir Joseph Fayrer, and they must be regarded as unanswerable. In short, the Engiish delegates contended that we must look, above all, to improved sanitation in order to get rid of the danger of cholera ; that countries which are taught to rely on the false security of quarantine measnres and sanitary cordons will not at the same time spend their money on sanitation ; and that the very countries which had fitted themselves to resist cholera by making real and substantial progress as regards sanitary improve- ments, and had thus effected a saving in life from infec- tious diseases, were those which had determined to place little or no trust in measures of quarantine. Compared with the resolutions of the Vienna Con- ference, the conclusions arrived at in Rome do in many respects admittedly afford evidence of considerable advance, but they are vitiated by the initial error of trusting to (modified quarantine restrictions, instead of boldly facing,the need for improved sanitation. As yet these conclusions are those of the Technical Commission only, and it remains to be seen whether, since the English delegates are opposed to their colleagues on a matter of such vital principle, any object will be gained by the re-assembling of the Plenary Conference, to discuss the recommendations made by the Commission. 26 NATURE [Vov. 12, 1885 “EVOLUTION WITHOUT NATURAL SELECTION” Evolution without Natural Selection; or, The Segrega- tion of Species without the Aid of the Darwinian Hypothesis. By Charles Dixon. (London: R. H. Porter, 1885.) Alpe title of this little book is misleading. Far from offering any account of evolution without natural selection, the author habitually ascribes to natural selec- tion the lion’s share of the work, only reserving a few odds and ends of small detail as results ascribed by him to other agencies. Such odds and ends have reference almost exclusively to minute differences of coloration in allied species of birds—the argument being that these differences are too minute to count for anything in the struggle for existence, and therefore cannot have been due to survival of the fittest. Now, although Mr. Dixon has presented in a brief and very readable form a con- siderable number of most interesting facts upon this head, they cannot be said to have any bearing upon the Darwinian hypothesis. For even if it were conceded, for the sake of argument, that all the cases given of slight variation in allied species are without utilitarian signific- ance (although this would be a large concession), we should still be well within the four corners of Darwinism. It is the very essence of the Darwinian hypothesis that it only seeks to explain the apparently purposive varia- tions, or variations of an adaptive kind ; and, therefore, if any variations are taken to be non-adaptive, er hyfo- thest they cannot have been due to natural selection. But as such variations are, even upon the showing of our author himself, for the most part rare and always trivial, they may be freely presented to the anti-Darwinians without any loss to Darwinism. Indeed, Mr. Darwin himself has clearly recognised the occurrence of such trivial specific characters, and observes that if they are “really of no considerable importance in the struggle for life, they could not be modified or formed through natural selection.” But it is no part of the theory of natural selection that it should necessarily occupy the whole field of possible causation in the genesis of species. It is surely enough if it be taken to explain all cases of adaptation; and this, if we understand him aright, Mr. Dixon is prepared to allow. Thus, for example, he says :—“ We can therefore understand how the modifica- tions which many species have undergone, through clim- atic and other causes, have been taken advantage of when they began to be of service; although at the time the modifications too’ place they were not of the slightest use!” The note of admiration here seems to imply, in accordance with the whole tone of his book, that the writer considers this view to be in some way an important emendation of Darwinism. But, in point of fact, it is Darwinism pureand simple. For Darwin is most express in affirming that natural selection cannot be supposed the original cause of variation, being only called into play when the variations, as Mr. Dixon says, begin to be of service. What these original causes of variation may be is a distinct question, and one which it remains for the future to answer. For, as we shall immediately proceed to show, Mr. Dixon has not been successful in furthering the solution. The influence on which he chiefly relies is that of iso- lation, and he has gathered a number of interesting facts whereby to justify his opinion. It is needless to say that this opinion also is quite in harmony with Darwinian teaching ; for when a section of a species is geographic- ally isolated, the constituent members of it are virtually confined to a world of their own whereon to begin a new course of history, and being thus cut off from interbreed- ing with the main stock, there is nothing remarkable in the fact that, under su-h circumstances and in some cases, the history of the isolated section should not run perfectly parallel with that of the main stock. This, indeed, is Mr. Dixon’s own view, and we should have no criticism to offer uponit, if, on the one hand, he did not present it as anti-Darwinian, and ifon the other hand he had been more clear in distinguishing between a condition and a cause. He everywhere speaks of isolation as the cause of minute specific characters ; whereas it is obvious that at best it can only be the condition to the operation of causes, the nature of which it apparently does not occur to him to suggest. Another agency invoked by the writer as a direct cause of variation is climate. But here again his views cannot be said to be anti-Darwinian, save in so far as they appear to err on the side of exaggeration. For even Mr. Spencer—who, by the way, ought to have been men- tioned by Mr. Dixon as having long ago argued in | favour of such direct causes of variation—would scarcely go so far as to attribute to climatic influences variations of a protective kind. This, however, is done by Mr. Dixon; but he maintains a judicious silence upon the closely-allied topic of mimicry. Yet such remarks as the following apply with even more force to the facts of mimicry than to those of protection :—“ If the colour was donned from protective motives, to escape some special enemy, it seems impossible not to believe that the species would have become exterminated long before the pro- tective colour reached a beneficial degree of development.” Does Mr. Dixon believe that the exquisite details of form and colour whereby an insect is made to resemble a leaf can reasonably be ascribed to climatic influences? If not, what becomes of his argument touching the much less remarkable cases of protective colouring ? There still remains one other criticism of a general kind which it seems impossible to avoid making. On p- 7 it is said: “ Natural Selection is probably the most potent agent in the evolution of new species only at such times when the earth is undergoing violent changes. . . . We can conceive how, as soon as violent changes once more pervade the world, the struggle for life will be infinitely greater than it is now. Then species will be matched against species, race against parent form, or race against race; all Nature will be thrown into a kind of chaos; and then Natural Selection will adjust the disordered balance,” &c., &c. Now, this passage, which appears to be intended as conciliatory to Darwinism, is the only really anti- Darwinian passage in the essay. For not only are the views expressed by it in direct contradiction to the now universally-accepted teaching of uniformitarianism, but they equally run counter to the emphatic contention of Darwin, that the great merit of his theory consists in its agreement with that teaching. Not in chaos or in —rr Car te eS Wen © vow Nov. 12, 1885] NATURE 27 cataclysm is the influence of natural selection to be sought, but in forest and in field, in river, lake, and sea, where all may seem most orderly and eloquent of peace. But although we are thus unable to commend Mr. Dixon’s philosophical views on topics connected with natural history, we should be sorry to take leave of his work without explicitly stating what has already been im- plied—namely, that his facts are better than his theories. On this account we consider that his essay well repays perusal, and therefore recommend it to the notice of- zoologists. GEORGE J. ROMANES FORESTRY IN POLAND forests and Forestry in Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine, and the Baltic Provinces of Russia. With Notices of the Export of Timber from Memel. Dantzig, and Riga. Compiled by John Croumbie Brown, LL.D., &c. (Edinburgh ; Oliver and Boyd. London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., and William Rider and Son, 1885.) HIS is another contribution of Dr. Brown’s to the subject of forestry and to the furtherance of the formation of the Museum and School of Forestry in Edin- burgh, which, it was thought, might be the outcome of the Forestry Exhibition held in the Scotch capital last year. The consideration of the establishment of a forest school has since occupied a wider range of thought, consequent upon the action of Sir John Lubbock in the House of Commons, and in connection with this Dr. Brown’s latest volume will probably be of some interest in showing what is effected in forest matters in countries somewhat beyond the track of the ordinary English traveller, not- withstanding that Dr. Brown has given us similar books to the present on the forests of Norway, Northern Russia, the Ural Mountains, &c. The present book commences with a very readable comparison of the facilities of travelling in Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Estonia, and Livonia some forty years since and at the present time. In the first chapter the character of the country along the railway for some 200 miles from St. Petersburg to- wards Poland is described as a dead level of marshes and bogs ; such dry land as there is being to some extent covered with trees probably of no great age, “ appar- ently,” Dr. Brown says, “the scraggy representatives of extensive forests of a former day.” Nowhere are such forests as may be seen in travelling in the Governments of Olonetz and Archangel in Northern Russia, and of Moscow, Orel, and others in Central Russia. Entering Poland at Kovna, about 200 miles from Duns- burg, and advancing through the eastern portion of that country, Dr. Brown says the traveller remarks that agri- culture appears to be carried on with a more scientific character than in the lands through which he has been passing. Agriculture seems also to be more remunerative ; the crops are thicker. The fields are sown with wheat, whereas to the north of Koyna barley, oats, and flax alone are cultivated. All the more valuable cereals seem to flourish in Poland, and in passing through this district there is produced an impression that the soil is more m productive than it is further to the north; that the climate must be more equable ; and the superficial aspect of the land being more undulating, and at the same time more thickly wooded ; that as an agricultural district it must be at least 50 per cent. superior to the Governments of St. Petersburg and of Pskoff. In Poland both wheat and wool are raised for exportation. Large crops of potatoes are grown for the production of spirits by distillation, and beetroot for the manufacture of sugar; and wood for building purposes is exported largely. The Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestvis) and the oak (Quercus Robur) are of very superior quality. The trees in this district are described as being different in character from those of the region traversed in coming hither. In the earlier stages of the journey they con- sisted almost exclusively of firs, birches, and willows, while around Berdicheff in Poland the woods are com- posed in a great measure of oaks, elms, and chestnuts. Dr. Brown’s second chapter is devoted to forest ex- ploitation, and the third chapter to the important sub- jects of area, distribution, management, and produce of forests. The information under these heads is, however, to some extent technical and statistical. Some interesting facts are quoted regarding what may be called bye-pro- ducts of the forest, such, for instance, as honey, which is collected by the bees largely from the flowers of the lime- tree, as well as from the thyme, hyssop, and buck- wheat. Regarding the schools of forestry in Poland, the most important arrangements for the study of forest science and economy by forest officials are at Novoi Alexandria. Of these arrangements details are given, from which it seems that the institute is ranked as a college of the first class with two sections—one devoted to the study of rural economy and agriculture, the other to the study of forest science and forestry, with a farm, forest, and an extensive domain attached to it, the whole being placed under the Minister of Public Instruction at Warsaw. The staff of officials includes a director, inspector, five professors, eight tutors and three teachers, a laboratory superintendent, a mechanic, foreman of the workshop, land steward or manager of the estate, gardener and assistant, surgeon, secretary, book-keeper, and a superintendent of buildings. No professor can hold two chairs, and any of them after twenty-five years may be again and again reappointed for successive terms of five years each. A Board of Manage- ment, consisting of the director, inspector, and two pro- fessors, has the charge of expenditure to the amount of 300 roubles, to be sanctioned by the director; the ex- penditure of sums between 1000 and 5000 roubles requires the sanction of the Council ; and the expenditure of sums above this amount that of the Ministry. The course of instruction embraces a very wide range of subjects. The instruction is given in the Russian language. Each pro- fessor and tutor is required to give six lectures a week, and teachers to spend twelve hours a week in class duties. In the second part of Dr. Brown’s book, which is devoted to Lithuania, the chapters are apportioned to considerations of the people, the aspects of the country, forests of the Dnieper, while Parts III., IV., and V. are respectively given up to the Ukraine, the timber exports of the Baltic, and the Baltic provinces of Russia. 28 NATURE [Vov. 12, 1885 OUR BOOK SHELF Elementary Mechanics. By O. J. Lodge. Edinburgh: Chambers, 1885.) THIS is a revised edition of Prof. Lodge’s Text-Book :— not much altered, so far as we can see even by the help of the rapid yet searching stereoscopic squinting, from the former edition. Why a writer, who begins by acknowledging his indebtedness to the really scientific works of Thomson and Tait, Clerk-Maxwell, and Clifford, should make frequent references to the merely “ popular ” and singularly loose évochures of Deschanel and Ganot, is a question more easily asked than answered. But it is totally unintelligible to us that, having begun with classical works, he should proceed to ‘recommend real students to read one or other” of these poor compilations. Was it not Horace Smith who said :— ‘« Ts there such scanty store of standard works, That students must be fed on foreign trash?” But Prof. Lodge’s own standard is far above that of the books to which he, unfortunately and unaccountably, refers his “real students.” His work is a curious one. There is scarcely a trace of the dogmatism which is asserted to be so natural to the gexus Professor! The author seems to place himself on the same level with his reader, and anxiously to seek for confirmation of his own statements in the assent of his pupils. This is, to say the least, unusual ; but we cannot at once either commend, or find fault with, it. It is a new departure, and its value and usefulness must be judged by its success. There are a few elementary, but important, points in Dynamics, by his treatment of which every author on the subject shows at once whether he is “sound in the faith ” or not. On the whole, Prof. Lodge passes these tests with credit ; and the rest of his book is of a much higher order than the run of elementary treatises. There are, however, here and there some singular slips, which should be corrected in future editions. We note only one or two, but even these are destructive of the character for definiteness and accuracy which should be the leading feature of every scientific book. Thus, in §5 (where, unfortunately, a “ statical” definition of force is introduced as well as a “kinetic” one) we are told that change of motion “is called”? Acceleration ; though in later sections the true meaning :—i.e. Rate of Change of Velocity :—is assigned to Acceleration. ‘To the mere popular reader this may appear hypercriticism; but science is most careful to distinguish not only between Change and Rate of Change, but also between Motion and Velocity. Again, in § 16, serious confusion is intro- duced by the statement that the velocity of a point at unit distance from an axis “zs called” the angular velo- city of the rotating body. Prof. Lodge knows perfectly well that it is not so,and that none but unscientific people could confound a quantity of dimensions [T~1] with an- other of dimensions [LT-"] ; even when, as in the present case, their 2zmerica/ values happen to be equal. Weare tempted to seek an explanation of, and thus to find an excuse for, these and other similar slips, in his inexcusable partiality for the works of Deschanel and Ganot. 1 (Es Al Second Edition. (London and The Ocean, &. By W. L. Jordan. (London: Longmans, 1885.) OF this elaborate work it is enough to say that it is based on “ 7he New Principles of Natural Philosophy.” These principles we sketched (June 21, 1883) in an article which, as his mode of ac!:snowledgment showed, was by no means satisfactory to our Author. That Ves Jnertiz was entirely misunderstood by Newton, and that z- resisted motion ultimately comes to rest, are among the chief foundations of this work! That a terrestrial globe whose frame is carried round through a portion of a curve, and then suddenly stopped, will rotate in conse- quence, is conceivable: but we should try to explain the fact by bad centering, or some such cause ; certainly not by the assumption that, during the curvilinear motion, one part of the equator had necessarily a greater /izear velocity than the opposite part. Our Author does not seem to be acquainted with the most elementary properties of the kind of motion called Translation! But this is merely, on his part, the most recent revival of Jelinger Symonsism :—for it assumes the fundamental tenet of that peculiar heresy ; viz. that a body, which revolves round a centre, is not rotating if it turn always the same side to the centre. It is needless to say more on this melancholy waste of time, trouble, and ready money (the latter especially) ; on the part of an author who has been complimented by a reviewer of one of his other works as having “a familiar acquaintance with questions of finance.” See Advertisement appended to the present volume. Leh (Ee 10 Spectrum Analysis. By Dr. H. Schellen. Translated from the Third German Edition by Jane and Caroline Lassell. Edited, with Notes, by Capt. Abney, R.E., F.R.S. (London: Longmans, 1885.) THIS is the second edition ef a well known book: in its general arrangement the.: is little departure from the first, which appeared in 1872. While the German edition from which it has been translated was being prepared, the author unfortunately died ; it is not to be wondered at therefore that the present reprint does not reflect the present state of our knowledge so accurately as did the former one; indeed there is evidence that the German editor has been compelled by the sad circumstances under which this task devolved upon him to take what was readiest to his hand. Some of the material however is very valuable: thus, for instance, we have a complete and well illustrated account of Vogel and Huggins’ work on the spectra of stars, much interesting information concerning Prof. Rowland’s new concave gratings; while the English editor has added a full account of Abney, Festing, and Langley’s work on infra-red spectra, and Abney and Schuster’s discussion on the photographs taken during the eclipse of 1882. With these exceptions the English, French, or Italian work accomplished during the last ten years is but imperfectly referred to. The names of Thollon and Tacchini, to say nothing of Crookes and Hartley, not even being in the index. To the student therefore the book is worse than useless, it is misleading. The popular reader, however, who does not care too much for completeness will find much information con- veyed in a pleasant form. The main branches of the science, both in its terrestrial and celestial applications, are dealt with, and the methods of work are given. Great interest also attaches to the various forms of instru- ments used in the new science; many of these are described, from a new form of pocket spectroscope— which we learn from the index was devised by Capt. Abney—to the more complex apparatus designed by Vogel, von Konkoly, and others. The theoretical parts are perhaps most to be avoided. The chapter on the plurality of spectra, for instance, will help the reader very little in coming to a conclusion upon a subject of fundamental importance. Such a state- ment, too, as that on p. 268, “ That Kirchhoff’s theory has received full confirmation from the observations of solar total eclipses” is not so true as the writer evidently thought it to be. Again, on the question of the change of refrangibility of light due to the motion of a light source towards or from the eye. The complete statement made by Fizeau in 1848 appears to be unknown to the author, who attri- butes the solution of the problem to Mach, of Prague, in the year 1860. The translators have done their work throughout in a Nov. 12, 1885 | very admirable manner, showing that they possess a perfect acquaintance with the subject. There are, however, a few minor blunders ; thus, for instance, the substitution of the word ‘‘length” for “longitude ” in connection with the perihelion and node, plays havoc with the elements of a comet’s orbit, given on p. 584, while the diagram on p. 387, illustrating the change of wave-length, is rendered unintelligible by the misplacement of the figures indicating miles per second. A Practical Arithmetic on an entirely New Method. By John Jackson. (London: Blackie, 1885.) Principles of Arithmetic. By Homersham Cox, M.A. (Cambridge : Deighton, 1885.) As the title-pages indicate, these attack the subject from quite different sides: the former is eminently practical, and everything unpractical is carefully eschewed: the latter goes into the principles and considers all from the theoretic side, giving very little practice. Mr. Jackson aims at giving the easiest and shortest rules he can ; explanations are few, the deficiency to be met by black-board illustration. The fractional form for the solution of questions is adopted in the advanced rules ; but the most noticeable feature is the exclusion of the rule of “subtraction” and the substitution of what the writer calls “incremental or complementary addition.” To take an example in compound complementary addition :—A pays a bill of 15s. 8$@. with a sovereign ; the tradesman says, ‘15s. 8$@. with a farthing (puts it down) make 155. 9@., and 3d. (puts it down) make 16s., and 4s. (puts it down) make one pound.” There is no new difficulty in- troduced here, and a beginner is taught a good practical lesson. There is a vast collection of examples, numerous examination papers, and a good store of sums worked out on the usual plan, as well as on that put forward by the writer. There are 25 pages of tables containing specific gravities, a mariner’s compass, a perpetual calen- dar (to A.D. 1925), compound interest results, square and cube numbers, prime numbers and logarithms. Some space, as might be expected, is devoted to “mental arith- metic.” We have shown, we think, that this book well merits its title of a “ practical” arithmetic. Mr. Cox at once states “the object is to give an ac- count of the principles of arithmetic, omitting all merely mercantile applications.” The author takes as his guide, in the main, Cantor’s “ Geschichte der Mathematik,” consulting also Hankel and Nesselmann (“ Algebra der Griechen”) ; but “the conception of the subject as a whole, and many of the details, have been taken from the mathematical portions of the works of Auguste Comte, and in especial from his last great work, the ‘ Synthése subjective.’ ” There is no index nor table of contents, which is a drawback to the ready use of the book. ‘There is an in- troduction, and then come seven chapters. Chapter I. discusses Numeration ; Chapter II. is devoted to the first fourrules in four sections ; Chapter III., on Froperties of Numbers, is divided into four sections: (1) Theorems (the commutative, the associative, and distributive) ; (2) G.C.M.; (3) Prime and Composite Numbers; (4) L.C.M. Chapter IV., in four sections, treats of the four rules for fractions, and in the fifth section discusses Ratio and Proportion. Chapter V., in six sections, treats of Decimal fractions. Chapter VI., in four sections, dis- cusses powers and roots, with geometrical illustrations and resumes (in Section IV.) the subject of Ratio and Proportion (applied to incommensurable quantities). Chapter VII., in three sections, resumes the discussion of Properties of Numbers, as regards Permutations, the Arithmetical and Geometrical Progressions, and Figurate Numbers. There are a few exercises appended to the sections. The book in parts reminds us much of De Morgan’s Arithmetic : it will be valuable for teachers, even if they have read the works cited in Mr. Cox’s pre- NATURE 29 face. It is by no means a school-book, though senior boys may derive much interest as well as profit from its perusal. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ The Editor does not hold himself responsiblefor opinions exbressed 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 Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun By last mail I sent you a brief account of my eclipse observa- tions at Tahoraite on the gth inst., and a diagram illustrating the corona. Owing to a miscalculation as to closing time of mail the account had to be very hurriedly written ; there was no time to revise it or to find out the longitude and latitude of the point of observation, but this information I am now able to supply from the Trigonometrical Survey Records at Napier :— Latitude Koy gy ny} ea Centre of railway station Longitude at Tahoraite, Hawkes- > 176° 5’ 7'°07 DAY cc: ss Poe ees j The longitude and latitude of the nearest Trigonometrical Station, No. 83, from which the above were calculated, seems to have been originally fixed with reference to Trigonometrical Station No. 60, Lighthouse Reserve, Napier, whose latitude then, ac- cording to observations taken in January 1871, was 39° 28’ 47°30. According to fresh observations taken in February 1885 the lati- tude of the same point is 39° 28’ 43°52 t0° 0’ o”'04. If both series of observations are correct, a veduction in latitude to the extent of about 3’°78 must have taken place since 1871. Considering the position of New Zealand at the Antipodes of Europe, where a reduction of latitude seems to have occurred, a reduction like the one above indicated, bearing as it does on a very interesting question, has particular importance and urgently calls for confirmation. As mentioned in my last letter, the corona reminded me of an auroral display. The rays all seemed radially disposed and perfectly straight with well defined edges. The differences in length were very remarkable, All the ob- servers I have spoken to agree as to the position of the longest ray, but not as to that of the others. The public attention was, however, fixed on the red protuberances and the other pheno- mena of the eclipse, and little notice was evidently taken of the corona. N. A. GRAYDON Hastings, Hawkesbay, New Zealand, September 25 Ophthalmologic Education in the United Kingdom I DID not see your notice of my translation of Fuchs’s “‘ Causes and Prevention of Blindness” until to-day. I find two accusations brought against me, which I do not admit to be well founded. (1) Iam accused of ‘‘mistranslation” because I have often rendered ‘* Augenheilkunde” by the word ‘‘ ophthalmology.” You state that ‘‘the treatment of diseases of the eyes’ would be the correct translation. ‘Ophthalmic medicine,” which is my alternative translation, is more correct than the translation you offer ; but ophthalmology is quite sufficiently cor- rect, and in many cases is employed by the author indifferently with ‘* Augenheilkunde,” to express the same thing. No doubt ‘* ophthalmology,” etymologically considered, is a more com- prehensive word than ‘‘ Augenheilkunde” or its English synonym ‘‘ ophthalmic medicine ;” but custom has sanctioned its employment in the limited sense of the latter word in Germany, in France, and in this country. Thus the Professor of Ophthalmic Medicine in Vienna was Professor of Ophthalmology. Fuchs constantly speaks of ‘‘ ophthalmological clinics,” and in many of the medical schools of this country the lecturers on what is in other schools called ‘‘ ophthalmic surgery,” ‘‘ diseases of the eye,” &c., are called lecturers on ‘‘ ophthalmology” (King’s College, Yorkshire College, Liverpool University College, Owens College, Catholic University School of Medicine, Dublin). » (2) I am blamed for not correcting Fuchs when he says, ‘‘ As arule no regular lectures on ophthalmology (Augenheilkunde) 30 NATURE [Mov. 12, 1885 are delivered in the medical schools of Great Britain and Ireland.” You say: ‘‘ Systematic lectures are delivered in every medical school in the United Kingdom ; and it is difficult to believe that the translator could have been unacquainted with the fact.” Now, I do not admit that it is the duty of a mere translator to correct all the errors of the original, and, as a matter of fact, I have, I think, only once put the author right (at p. Icg) ; but I do not admit the author to be wrong in his assertion. Looking through the Afedical Directory for this year, I find that eleven medical schools make no provision whatever for ophthalmological instruction, and I doubt very much if the ‘* Ophthalmic Demon- strations,” ‘‘ Clinical Lectures on Diseases of the Eye,” ‘* Oph- thalmic Surgery,” &c., advertised at many of the other schools, would properly come under the head of Dr. Fuchs’s “regular lectures,” or the ‘‘systematic lectures”? you speak of. As it is upwards of forty years since [ was a student at a medical school, I may of course be mistaken respecting the present state of ophthalmologic education in this country ; at all events, I had not any knowledge of an opposite state of things which would have enabled me to say that Dr. Fuchs was wrong in saying that ““as a vude no regular lectures on ophthalmology are delivered ” in our medical schools, and the facts I have given above seem to prove that ‘‘regular lectures’? on ophthalmic medicine are still the exception in the medical schools of the United Kingdom. R. E. DuDGEON 53, Montagu Square, November 4 [We have referred Dr. Dudgeon’s letter to the writer, who replies as follows :— Dr. Dudgeon’s letter will not bear a moment’s examination. In the first place he misstates what he calls the ‘‘ first accusa- tion.”” He was not accused of ‘‘often” rendering ‘* Augen- heilkunde”’ by ‘‘ Ophthalmology,” but of having done so in one particular place, in which the effect of the mistranslation was to give a certain amount of colour to a statement which, in the original, was wholly untrue. It is obvious that ‘‘ Ophthalmology” is neither English, French, nor German. It iscommon to all three, and the forms of it differ only in termination. ‘‘ Ophthalmologie ” should be rendered by ‘‘ophthalmology,” and wice versed. Its meaning embraces everything appertaining to the eyes, azd its German equivalent is ‘* Augenlehre.” “ Augenheilkunde,” on the other hand, is a word of limited significance, the meaning of which embraces only the treatment of affections of the eyes. Dr. Dudgeon’s suggested rendering, “Ophthalmic Medicine,” is so far inadequate that it might not be understood to include surgery, and it could hardly be understood to include the use of optical appliances. ‘‘ Augen- heilkunde” forms part of ophthalmology, an important part indeed, but a part only. Dr. Fuchs asserted that, ‘fas a rule, no regular lectures on ‘Augenheilkunde’ were delivered in the medical schools of Great ° Britain and Ireland.” ‘This assertion, very possibly made in honest ignorance, is absolutely the reverse of the truth. Dr. Dudgeon altered it into the statement that ‘‘no regular lectures on ophthalmology” were so delivered. This, in a sense, is true; because the lectures, which cover the whole extent of “ Augenheilkunde,” neither cover, nor attempt to cover, ‘* ophthalmology.” I do not think it is too much to expect that a translator shall correct a misstatement in the original work, especially when that misstatement is one which casts a wholly unmerited stigma upon the institutions of the translator’s native country. Instead of correcting it, Dr. Dudgeon casts it into an altered form, in which it may be said to be true literally, although caleulated to produce an entirely erroneous impression upon the reader. Dr. Dudgeon must not go to the extremely condensed state- ments of the Medical Directory for complete accounts of the work done by British Schools of Medicine, but to the pro- spectuses of the schools themselves. There are thirteen such schools in London, and regular lectures on ‘‘ Augenheilkunde ” are delivered at all of them; at Bartholomew’s by Messrs. Power and Vernon; at Guy’s by Mr. Higgins and Dr. Brailey ; at King’s College by Mr. MacHardy ; at the London by Mr. Waren Tay ; at the Middlesex by Mr. Lang; at St. George’s by Mr. Brudenell Carter and Mr. Frost; at St. Mary’s by Mr. Critchett ; at St. Thomas’s by Mr. Nettleship ; at University College by Mr. Tweedy; at the Westminster by Mr. Cowell ; at the West London by Mr. Vernon; at the School of Medicine for Women by Mr. Mackinlay. At Charing Cross the lectures are delivered by arrangement with the staff of the adjacent Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital. It would be tedious to enter into particulars with regard to the provincial, Scotch, and Irish schools, but similar lectures are delivered in all of them.] The Helm Wind THE helm wind of Cumberland has beer the subject of much discussion in England. I wonder how the true explanation has not been found, viz. that the helm wind ts a bora, i.e. identical in character with the extremely strong dry east and north-east winds blowing on the coasts of Istria and Dalmatia, as well as on the north part of the east coast of the Black Sea, especially at Novoros- siisk. At the latter place it blows from the Varada chain, about 2090 feet high, and, as with the helm wind, it is not felt a little distance to the east. I give the translation of a passage on the bora in my book on ‘* The Climates of the World” :— “Seamen call the bora an at7-zwaterfall. There is reason to believe that it begins when the stable equilibrium between the air-strata on the mountain and the bay is disturbed, z.e. when the latter is more than 10° warmer than the former. The Varada chain falls in a gentle slope eastward towards the broad Adegoa valley, to the north-east of which is the Svinzovy (Lead) chain. In this walled-in valley the temperature is much lower than on the coast, especially in winter and autumn, and when the cold air fills it to overflowing there arises an unstable equilibrium towards the west, and the colder it is on the mountain in comparison to the bay, the stronger is the reaction, ze. the bora.” Here also the bora may arise, not only on account of a strong local cooling of the air in the Adegoa valley, but also accompany general north-east winds to the north of the Caucasian chain. They bring cold air from afar, are sometimes prevented by the Varada chain from sinking to the sea-level, and during this time the equilibrium is disturbed and they appear as bora, even if they blow as gentle farther to the east. I have no doubt the Enzlish helm wind ts also due to a dis- turbed equilibrium. The east is colder than the west, and the contrast is stronger when east winds blow, z.e. local radiation makes the east yet colder, and in short a difference of tempera- ture of about 14° is likely to occur between the Cross Fell Range and the Penrith valley. In summer the wind is not felt— the west being then colder than the east ; and it is less frequent in winter than in November, March, and April, because the prevailing west winds and the cloudy weather which necessarily accompanies them equalise the temperature. St. Petersburg, October 19[31] A. WOEIKOF The Resting Position of Oysters THE evidence adduced by Mr. Cunningham to prove that oysters rest on the right or flat valve in their natural state seems conclusive. Remembering, however, that I possessed a young oyster-shell detached from a sandstone rock years ago on the coast of Arran, I turned to it, and was surprised to find that the lower or attached valve was unmistakably the larger, overlap- ping the other at the hinge and all round. I have another single valve of some foreign species taken from a Haliotis shell, which furnishes similar evidence. Apparently, therefore, in the young or attached state it is the larger or convex valve which is the lower, and probebly this is the evidence on which the ordinary statement in conchological books rests. It will be curious if the truth turns out to be that the oyster changes its position when it becomes unattached. Perhaps the remarkable inequali- ties in the shape of the convex valves may arise from the in- equalities in the objects to which they are originally fixed. - W. TURNER 27, Queen’s Crescent, Edinburgh The Australian Lyre Bird HAvinG been stationed at intervals for some years on the mountains of Eastern Manaro, in the southern part of New South Wales, the habitat of the Lyre Bird or Native Pheasant (Menura superba or Paradisea), 1 have thought some fuller particulars regarding its habits, than are usually obtainable, might be interesting to your readers. This range of mountains, the more sheltered sides of which form the home of these interesting birds, attains a height of over 4000 feet above sea level. The sides, sloping towards the coast at a general angle of about 45°, are heavily timbered with i | Nov. 12, 1885] NATURE 2 31 eucalypti, wattle, and musk trees, and covered with a dense undergrowth of ferns and creepers, the gullies being filled with tree ferns. Generally speaking there is a noticeable ab:ence of game, but at certain seasons the forest resounds with the varied cries of the male lyre bird. The hen builds her nest at the foot of a trunk of a tree, of twigs and bark, lining it with dried ferns and grass, and leaving an opening in the front of the top. Here- in she deposits the ove egg on which she sits to incubation (for, as an Irish friend said, ‘“‘she only lays one egg at a time”), leaving the nest daily for food. The country abounds in the hills of ants, from those of the large bull-dog ant, an inch long, to those of a small black variety, and it is upon these insects and their larvze that the lyre bird chiefly subsists. The bird is of a sooty black colour, with a body somewhat larger than that of a pigeon, but has a tail of graceful form and beautifully marked. Ordinarily, this tail is simply carried behind like a peacock’s in repose, but if found upon their “dancing beds” with head erect and tail expanded over the back they are decidedly handsome. These ‘‘dancing beds” are patches of comparatively clear ground, from one to two yards in diameter, with the ferns trodden smoothly upon the surface, upon which the birds assemble, and dance and strut to their apparent great delight. The original cry or call of the lyre bird is a very simple one, but his adopted one partakes of that of every sound he hears ; for he is a most wonderful mocker, not only of other birds, such as the parrot, cockatoo, yang yang, or magpie, but he will imitate, to the life, the bullock driver with his whip, the step of the teamster’s horses, the rasping of the cross-cut saw, and the blows of the axe and tomahawk, and more wonderful still, more than one of these at the same time, so that the solitary explorer is led to believe he has suddenly come upon pioneers of civilisation in the heart of the forest. The male bird is exceedingly pugnacious, and this fact is made use of by the settlers to his destruction, for his tail is worth $3. By imitating one of his prominent calls, the hunter can lure him within gun-shot, although naturally very shy ; he comes to repel a fancied intruder into his domain. His flesh is very dark-coloured and coarse, and only used as food in cases of necessity. Many attempts have been made to rear the birds in captivity, and there is a report that owe has been successful. With this exception, which I cannot authenticate, T never heard of any result but failure. The sound of his call so alters in proportion as his tail is in full feather or indifferently ornamented, that hunters can judge from that whether or no any individual bird is worth pursuit. My apology for asking for so much of your valuable space must be in the fact that until I set myself the task of getting the above information, I could not obtain it from published accounts. ALFRED MORRIS Railway Survey Camp, Manaro, New South Wales, September 1 Blackberry Blossoms in November I HAVE this day seen blackberry blossoms in a hedge on this road, and yet the autumn has been rainy and inclement. : JosErpH JoHN MuRPHY Osborne Park, Belfast, November ro EXPLORATIONS IN PAHANG AHANG is a small state in the Malay peninsula on the eastern side of the dividing range, with a coast- line on the China Sea. The territory is almost exclusively occupied by Malays, who live on the banks of the rivers ; but in the unexplored forests of the interior near the mountains there are a few tribes of wild aboriginal Sakeis. Though Pekan, the capital, is not quite 200 miles from Singapore, it is rarely visited by Europeans. It is situated at the mouth of the river Pahang, and on this stream the bulk of the population is to be found. The Pahang is the main artery of communication with the interior. Its course is inaccurately laid down on the map published by the Straits Government in 1879. Quite recently, however, Mr. W. Cameron, a surveyor, has by his own efforts, unassisted by the Government, mapped the whole course of the stream, and his map, not yet published, is in the hands of the Straits branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Recently also the river was ascended by Mr. G. Scaife. He went up by the Semanten River and one of its tributaries to the dividing range, and then, accompanied by Malays only, he crossed to Klang, in Selangor, in three days, and so reached the western coast. In May of this year Mr. Swettenham, the Govern- ment Resident in Selangor, succeeded in passing the dividing range from Perak by ascending the River Slim. Having descended on the eastern side of the mountains he reached the Lipis River, down which he came on rafts to the Pahang, and so on to Pekan. The whole journey occupied one month. It may seem strange that a territory so near Singapore should be so little known. The reasons for this are that on the land side its jungles and forests are very inac- cessible, and that for six months of the year, when the north-east monsoon is blowing, the rivers and coast-line can scarcely be approached from the sea. Pahang has always had a peculiar interest because of the large and rich gold mines said to exist within its limits. Curious specimens of nuggets are constantly reaching the British settlements from this locality. In July last I started from Singapore with the intention of seeing some of the gold fields and generally to examine the geology of the river and some of its tributaries. I was accompanied by Mr. H. G. James and Mr. Scaife. A small steam launch had been sent on previously, and we hoped by its means to save time and the inconvenience of depending on native boatmen. Pekan, the capital, lies about six miles above the mouth of the river. It is a small town of perhaps 1500 inhabitants. It is well laid out in rectangular grassy streets. The sides of these are formed of high bertane fences, within which, buried in tropical foliage, are the detached bungalows of the inhabitants ; the houses are built high off the ground with attop roofs. There is one street of wretched Chinese shops called the market. In the midst of this is a somewhat pretentious two-story palace for the Sultan. Close by are many sheds built for games for royal diversion, amid which is a conspicuous inclosure covered in, where for many hours almost daily his Highness plays at top-spinning with his nobility and gentry. He received us courteously at midnight (a common hour for receptions) and seemed quite pleased to have his country visited by Europeans. He gave us a letter commanding all chiefs (Datus) to give us any help we might require. He does not affect any royal splendour, but is very simple in his habits. Heis a liberal-minded man, who might do much but for his indolence. We started with a party of thirteen in a large river prahm, in case the launch should fail us, which it promptly did. Though only drawing 2 feet 5 inches we lost four days in advancing fifteen miles. At last the shallows stopped us altogether, and we had to take to the prahm. The Pahang drains animmense basin and is fed by innumerable tributaries, so that it is rather disappoint- ing to find that unless in times of flood it is only navigable for the small prahm of the Malay. The largest of these scarcely draws two feet of water. The channel is from 300 to 600 yards wide, interrupted continually by jungle islands and large sandbanks. On the latter pea-fowl (Pavo javanicus) are commonly seen. The banks are lined at intervals with small villages. They may be known at a distance by the clumps of cocoa- nut and betel palm. On our approach we frequently heard the wooden gong or drum echoing with singular clearness through the forest. It reminded one of what Stanley tells us of the River Congo, except that the Pahang natives are very peaceable. The vegetation was of the usual Malay character. The common:trees were Ficus, Phyllanthus, Vitex, Castanopsis, Garcinia, Diptero- carpus, Fagreea, Hibiscus, &c., with creepers and vines innumerable, especially Bauhinia, Vitis, Ipomcea, Entada, 32 and Mucuna. I saw very little that was new to me, but there was no time for any search. At forty miles we came to the River Lint, which at one time had a great reputation for its gold mines. Two Europeans have started to prospect the locality. We met with them on our return. They had found traces of very extensive work- ings in former times, but the whole are quite abandoned. The country around is hilly, and the banks of the river are beautifully picturesque. Scarcely any natives live in the vicinity. We passed many small tributaries to the right and left, and at ninety-one miles, or eight days, from Pekan passed the Semanten, a large affluent coming from the west. Our course had been west hitherto, but now turned to the north-west. Our progress was but slow. We had hired a second boat, and both had to be urged against a strong current by means of long poles— the usual mode of up-stream progress in the Malaysia. One seldom averages more than a mile an hour in this way. At about 130 miles we passed the Tomoleng, a large stream to the right. It was up this, I believe, that Baron Maclay passed in 1875. The river to the left is called the Jelis ‘or Jelai. Between the two there is a very small stream which is called the Pahang. In Cameron’s map the Jelai is marked as the Pahang, but the natives do not call it so. The Jelis is still a fine river, with fewer sandbanks, and I think a deeper bed. Fifty miles further we reached the Lipis. Where we left the Jelis it was still an important stream at least 200 yards wide. The Lipis is also a good stream, half the width of the former. We only went about ten miles up it, and at that distance or less came to Punjom, a large village, the second in importance to Pekan. We found that the cholera had just visited the place, and carried off half the inhabitants, and we found subsequently that several other villages had been visited, or were actually suffering from this terrible epidemic. About three miles from Punjom is a celebrated gold mine at a village called Jelai, which has been worked for centuries. The formation is just like what is seen in the auriferous districts of Australia—that is to say, highly inclined slate schists and sandstones with quartz lodes containing the gold. The mines, I am told, have been worked in succession by Siamese, Malays, and Chinese. At present about thirty Chinese are employed, with a few Malays, who wash the sands for gold dust. The locality is very curious, from the evident antiquity of the work- ings. An enormous quantity of material has been quarried away, and shafts have been sunk in the solid rock. Subsequently the rock has been removed, leaving traces of the shafts on the faces of the quarries. It seems as if the miners had found gold in the alluvium, and then had removed the rock in searching for more. The lodes were scarcely touched, probably being too hard. But just beside the lodes the casing with some pockets of pyrites have been taken out in small quantities and are still worked. Doubtless these ores are rich, but a small quantity of free gold dust is all that these miners get. The ground for acres around is covered with refuse heaps, and after each rainfall the native women and children may be seen searching for specks of gold in the sand. There is a good deal of iron pyrites in the heaps, and as this gradually decomposes, the gold is liberated inthe form of fine dust. The mine is about to be worked by a European company. I returned from Punjom down the Pahang as far as the Semanten, and ascended that river almost due west for about 50 miles. It then forks into the Karau (W.N.W.) and the Brentong (S.W.). As the latter was a series of rapids we changed our boats for small canoes. The water is very deep in places, but shallow at the rapids, where it falls over barriers of beautiful black marble with white veins, or over slate rocks, highly inclined and much NATURE [Mov. 12, 1885 jointed. It took us a whole day to ascend about 15 miles, as there was a fresh in the stream. This made the work of poling up the rapids difficult and exciting. After the first few miles we saw no habitations, but we met small bamboo rafts carrying down ingots of tin from the village of Brentong. The river flows in a channel about 50 yards wide, through a dense forest echoing with the cry of the large black siamang or gibbon monkey (AyJlodates syn- dactylus ?). Occasionally we heard the peculiar warning shriek, as I may call it, of the wild aboriginal Sakei. We left our canoes at the junction of a mountain torrent called the Dua. Here we camped one night, and then crossed to the sources of the stream, passing over several high mountain spurs from the main divide. In the mountains we found a few Malays washing stream tin from a shallow, coarse gravel. This consisted of broken Paleozoic slates and sandstones. We visited two or three mines of this kind in various places in the ranges. Travelling was very difficult, because of the undergrowth amid a fine forest of Dipterocarpus, oak, chestnut figs, Dammar, Fagrea, &c., with much Bertam palm (Hugues- sonia). Traces of tigersand elephants numerous. Game plentiful. In the river a very large barbel and a smaller one abundant (Barbus burmanicus and Kolus ?), both tasteless fishes and full of bones. We found also an eel- like voracious fish, which I took to be Ofphiocephalus micropeltes, excellent eating, but uncommon. I have found the same fishes in all the mountain rivers of the Malay peninsula. We returned direct to Pekau from the Sungei Dua, having spent about five weeks in the boats. Throughout we found the people affable and courteous, not timid of strangers, though some of them had never previously seen white men. Their only medium of exchange is a tin coinage, shaped for the most part like an old-fashioned square inkstand. They objected to receive the smaller silver coin of the Straits Settlements, but would take an empty bottle or a meat or biscuit tin in exchange for a fowl, and fruit such as bananas, cocoa-nuts, mangostems, and papaws, besides tapioca, maize, and brinjals. We saw a few slaves, who seemed to be Sakeis or Africans. The whole population of the State can scarcely be 50,000, of which probably not 500 are Chinese. About half way between the dividing range and the sea there is a belt of detached conical steep mountains 1500 to 2000 feet high. From the specimens of rock abutting on the River Pahang I judge these hills to be volcanic, and to consist of trachytic and felspathic rocks. I also found in the bed of the stream isolated patches of andesite, felsite, molaphyre, and limestone. In respect to the vol- canic rocks the eastern side of the Malay peninsula differs much from the western. J. E. TENISON-Woop Singapore, August 28 P.S.—I have just seen in a number of NATURE, pub- lished in the early part of this year, a letter from Mr. L. Wray, jun., correcting what he considers certain mis- takes of mine. It is due to your readers to state that I do not accept any of these corrections. During the Jong period that I have spent in exploring in these regions, Mr. Wray travelled with me for about a fortnight. I should like to repeat that I have never seen on the Malay peninsula any sign of upheaval or subsidence. The instance Mr. Wray refers to at Matang obviously admits of a very different interpretation. THE CRETACEOUS FLORAS OF CANADA Geological Relations of the Floras 1 a memoir published in the first volume of the Transactions of this Society I have given a table of the Cretaceous formations of the western North- * By Sir William Dawson, F.R.S., &c. From advance sheets of a memoir to appear in the 7vansactions of the Royal Society of Canada. Nov. 12, 1885 | NARORE: 33 West Territories of Canada, prepared by Dr. G. M. Dawson, and have fully stated the geological position of the plants at that time described. The new facts de- tailed now require us to intercalate in our table three distinct plant-horizons not previously recognised in the western territories of Canada. One of these, the Kootanie series, should probably be placed at the base of the table as a representative of the Urgonian or Neocomian, or, at the very least, should be held as not newer than the Shasta group of the United States Geologists, and the Lower Sandstones and Shales of the Queen Charlotte Islands. It would seem to correspond in the character of its fossil plants with the oldest Cretaceous floras recog- nised in Europe and Asia, and with that of the Komé formation in Greenland, as described by Heer. No similar flora seems yet to have been distinctly recognised in the United States, except, perhaps, that of the beds in Maryland, holding cycads, and which were referred many years ago by Tyson to the Wealden. The second of these plant-horizons separated, according to Dr. G. M. Dawson, by a considerable thickness of strata, is that which he has called the Mill Creek series, and which corresponds very closely with that of the Dakota group, as described by Lesquereux, and that of the Atané and Patoot formations in Greenland, as described by Heer. This fills a gap, indicated only con- jecturally in the table of 1883. Along with the plants from the Dunvegan group of Peace River, described in 1883, it would seem to represent the flora of the Ceno- manian and Turonian divisions of the Cretaceous in Europe. Above this we have also to intercalate a third sub-flora, that of the Belly River series at the base of the Fort Pierre group. This, though separated from the Laramie proper by the marine beds of the Pierre and Fox Hill groups, more than 1700 feet in thickness, introduces the Laramie or Danian flora, which continues to the top of the Cretaceous, and probably into the Eocene, and in- cludes several species still surviving on the American continent, or represented by forms so close that they may be varietal merely. Lastly, the subdivision of the Laramie group, in the last Report of Dr. G. M. Dawson, into the three members known respectively as the Lower or St. Mary River series, the Middle or Willow Creek series, and the Upper or Porcupine Hill series, in connection with the fact that the fossil plants occur chiefly in the lower and upper mem- bers, enables us now to divide the Laramie flora proper into two sub-floras—an older, closely allied to that of the Belly River series below ; and a newer, identical with that of Souris River, described as Laramie in Dr. G. M. Daw- son’s Report on the 49th Parallel, 1876, and in the Report of the Geological Survey of Canada for 1879, and which appears to agree with that known in the United States as the Fort Union group, and in part at least with the so- called Miocene of Heer from Greenland. From the animal fossils and the character of the flora it would seem probable that the rich flora of the Creta- ceous coal-fields of Vancouver Island is nearly synchron- ous with that of the coal-bearing Belly River series of the western plains. It will thus be seen that the explorations already made in Canadian territory have revealed a very complete series of Cretaceous plants, admitting, no doubt, of large addi- tions to the number of species by future discoveries, and also of the establishment of connecting links between the different members, but giving a satisfactory basis for the knowledge of the succession of plants and for the deter- mination of the ages of formations by their vegetable fossils. The successive series may be tabulated as follows, with peers for details to the fuller table in my memoir of 1883 :— Successive Floras and Sub-Floras of the Cretaceous in Canada (in Descending Order) Periods | Floras and Sub-Floras References o a 8 4 | a6 (Platanus beds of Souris Stee es } Upper Laramie or Por- | ) Be on Salen, 22) | cupine Hill Series... eport) Geol) Sunvey or BO | | | Canada for 1879, and Biol | memoir of 1885. s a Middle Laramie or Willow Creek Series. of bad lands of 49th Parallel, Red Deer River, &c., with Lig- nites. Report 49th Parallel and memoir of 1885. ea and Pistia beds Lower Laramie or St. | } Mary River Series... | Fox Hill Series Marine. Fort Pierre Series ... Marine. Sequoia and Brasenia | beds of S. Saskatche- wan, Belly River, &c., | with Lignites. Memoir of 1885. Belly River Series. (See note. ) AS Rate. dc Upper Cretaceous (Danian and Senonian) Many Coal Measures of Nanaimo, Palms B.C., probably here ... cans, Memoir of 1883. &e. Memoir of 1883. Many Dicotyledons, Cycads, &e. Dunvegan Series of Peace J River. (See note.) Dicotyledonous leaves, similarto Dakota Group Mill Creek Series of Rocky oan of the U.S. Memoir Mountains ... ... Middle Cretaceous (Turonian and Cenomanian) of 1885. Suskwa River and Queen |( Cycads, Pines, a few Charlotte Island Series. Dicotyledons. Report Intermediate Series of Geol. Survey. Memoir Rocky Mountains of 1885. ( Cycads, Pines, and Ferns. Memoir of 1885. Kootanie Series of Rocky Mountainsereseesmteseil|il Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian, &c.) Nore.—Though the flora of the Belly River Series very closely resembles that of the Lower Laramie, showing tha similar plants existed throughout the Senonian and Danian periods in North America, yet it is to be anticipated that specific differences will develop themselves in the progress of discovery. In the meantime it scarcely seems possible to distinguish by fossil plants alone the Lower Laramie beds from those of Belly River, and if these are really separated by 1700 feet of marine strata, as is now believed on stratigraphical grounds, the flora must have been remarkably persistent. The Dunvegan series of Peace River probably corresponds in time with the marine Niobrara and Benton groups farther south, and the Mill Creek with the Dakota group 34 NATURE [WVov. 12, 1885 Physical Conditions and Climate indicated by the Cre- taceous Floras.—In the Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous periods the prevalence, over the whole of the Northern Hemisphere, and for a long time, of a monotonous assemblage of Gymnospermous and Acrogenous plants, implies an uniform and mild climate and facility for inter- communication in the north. Towards the end of the Jurassic and beginning of the Cretaceous, the land of the Northern Hemisphere was assuming greater dimensions, and the climate probably becoming a little less uniform. Before the close of the Lower Cretaceous period, the dicotyledonous flora seems to have been intro- duced, under geographical conditions which permitted | a warm-temperate climate to extend as far north as Greenland. In the Cenomanian we find the Northern Hemisphere tenanted with dicotyledonous trees closely allied to those of modern times, though still indicating a climate much warmer than that which at present prevails. In this age extensive but gradual submergence of land is indicated by the prevalence of chalk and marine limestones over the surface of both continents ; but a circumpolar belt of land seems to have been maintained, protecting the Atlantic and Pacific basins from floating ice, and per- mitting a temperate flora of great richness to prevail far to the north, and especially along the southern margins and extensions of the circumpolar land. These seem to have been the physical conditions which terminated the existence of the old Mesozoic flora and introduced that of the Middle Cretaceous. As time advanced, the quantity of land gradually increased, and the extension of new plains along the older ridges of land was coincident with the deposition of the great Laramie series and with the origination of its peculiar flora, which indicates a mild climate and con- siderable variety of station in mountain, plain, and swamp, as well as in great sheets of shallow and weedy fresh water. In the Eocene and Miocene periods the continent gradually assumed its present form, and the vegetation became still more modern in aspect. In that period of the Eocene, however, in which the great nummulitic limestones were deposited, a submergence of land occurred on the eastern continent which must have assimilated its physical conditions to those of the Middle Cretaceous. This great change, affecting materi- ally the flora of Europe, was not equally great in America, which also by the north and south extension of its moun- tain chains permitted movements of migration not possible in the Old World. From the Eocene downwards, the remains of Jand animals and plants are found only in lake basins occupying the existing depressions of the land, though more extensive than those now remaining. It must also be borne in mind that the great foldings and fractures of the crust of the earth which occurred at the close of the Eocene, and to which the final elevation of such ranges as the Alps and the Rocky Mountains belongs, permanently modified and moulded the forms of the continents. These statements raise, however, questions as to the precise equivalence in time of similar floras found in different latitudes. However equable the climate, there must have been some appreciable difference in proceeding from north to south. If, therefore, as seems in every way probable, the new species of plants originated on the Arctic land and spread themselves southward, this latter process would occur most naturally in times of gradual refrigeration or of the access of a more extreme climate, that is, in times of the elevation of land in the temperate latitudes, or conversely, of local depression of land in the Arctic, leading to invasions of northern ice. Hence the times of the prevalence of particular types of plants in the far north would precede those of their extension to the south, and a flora found fossil in Greenland might be supposed to be somewhat older than a similar flora when found farther south. It would seem, however, that the time required for the extension of a new flora to its extreme geographical limit, is so small in comparison with the duration of an entire geological period, that practically, this difference is of little moment, or at least does not amount to antedating the Arctic flora of a par- ticular type by a whole period, but only by a fraction of such period. It does not appear that during the whole of the Cre- taceous and Eocene periods there is any evidence of such refrigeration as seriously to interfere with the flora, but perhaps the times of most considerable warmth are those of the Dunvegan group in the Middle Cre- taceous and those of the later Laramie and oldest Eocene. It would appear that no cause for the mild temperature of the Cretaceous needs to be invoked other than those mutations of land and water which the geological deposits themselves indicate. A condition, for example, of the Atlantic basin in which the high land of Greenland should be reduced in elevation and at the same time the northern inlets of the Atlantic closed against the invasion of Arctic ice, would at once restore climatic conditions allowing of the growth of a temperate flora in Greenland. As Dr. Brown has shown (“ Florula Discoana”), and as I have elsewhere argued, the absence of light in the Arctic winter is no disadvantage, since, during the winter, the growth of deciduous trees is in any case sus- pended, while the constant continuance of light in the summer is, on the contrary, a very great stimulus and advantage. It is a remarkable phenomenon in the history of genera of plants in the later Mesozoic and Tertiary, that the older genera appear at once in a great number of specific types, which become reduced as well as limited in range down to the modern. - This is no doubt connected with the greater differentiation of local conditions in the modern ; but it indicates also a law of rapid multiplica- tion of species in the early life of genera. The distribu- tion of the species of Salisburia, Sequoia, Platanus, Sassafras, Liriodendron, Magnolia, and many other genera, affords remarkable proofs of this. Gray, Saporta, Heer, Newberry, Lesquereux, and Starkie Gardner, have all ably discussed these points ; but the continual increase of our knowledge of the several floras, and the removal of error as to the dates of their appearance must greatly conduce to clearer and more definite ideas. In particular, the prevailing opinion that the Miocene was a period of the greatest extension of warmth and of a temperate flora into the Arctic, must be abandoned in favour of the later Cretaceous and Eocene ; and if I mistake not, this will be found to accord better with the evidence of general geology and of animal fossils. Novre.—While this memoir was passing through the press, the Report of Mr. Whiteaves, F.G.S., Paleon- tologist to the Canadian Survey, on the invertebrate fossils of the Laramie and Cretaceous of the Bow and Belly River districts appeared (“‘ Contributions to Canadian Paleontology,” vol. i. part 1, 89 pp. and 11 plates). This valuable Report constitutes an independent testimony, based on animal fossils, to the age of the beds in question, and accords in the main very closely with the conclusions above derived from fossil plants. Unfortunately, how- ever, no animal remains have yet been found in the Kootanie series, and the only fossil recorded from the Mill Creek beds is a species of Zmoceramus characteristic in the United States of the Niobrara and Benton groups, a position a little higher than that deduced from the plants. Nov. 12, 1885] NATURE is RADIANT LIGHT AND HEAT" IV. Radiation and Absorption—Celestial Applications. HE continuous emission of light and heat from the sun. and stars through long periods, consisting of millions of years, cannot fail to strike us with amazement, more especially if we regard the great intensity of this radiation. It has been conjectured that the amount of solar heat received by the earth in one year would liquefy a layer of ice 100 feet thick, covering the whole surface of the earth. Now if we bear in mind that the solar heat reaching the earth at any time is only ssppaon000 Of that which leaves the sun, we may obtain some conception of the enormous radiation from our luminary. It has been calculated by Sir William Thomson that if the sun were a hot solid body, such as carbon, its surface would cool in a few minutes of time. It therefore becomes an object of great scientific interest and importance to discover what is the nature of the peculiar machinery which enables the sun to continue, without interruption, dis- charging, as it does, into space such enormous quantities of radiant energy. The reply to this question can best be given by a detailed study of the surface of the sun. | Whether viewed telescopically or spectroscopically, this Fic. rr. surface is by no means that of a globe of uniformly luminous heated matter. Let us begin by examining this surface telescopically. Shortly after the invention of the telescope Galileo and Scheiner showed that the disc of the sun is far from being uniformly luminous, since it frequently presents the ap- pearance of having large sfofs on its surface. This is a fact which had been previously known to the Chinese. Further research showed that these black spots exhibit at least two degrees of darkness, consisting of a central intensely dark wdra, surrounded by a penumbra, or semi-dark border. We know now that even the umbra is not absolutely black, but consists of matter at a tem- perature comparatively low as regards the sun, but com- paratively high as regards the earth. It was likewise found in the course of telescopic research that there are patches which are brighter, not darker than the average solar surface or photosphere, and these bright patches have been termed /aci/e. Thus we have on the solar surface things with three degrees of brightness, consisting of the normal solar surface or photosphere, of the spots which are darker than it, and of the facule, which are the brightest of all. * Continued from vol. xxxil. p. 551- The faculz: are more especially to be found in the neigh- bourhood of spots. These are the phenomena which may generally be viewed on the sun’s surface on any occasion by means of an ordinary telescope. Nevertheless, there are occasions on which we shall find no spots. Schwabe, a German observer, after forty years’ patient study of the sun’s surface, was successful in detecting a periodicity of these phenomena. There are certain years of maximum and other years of minimum sun-spot frequency, and the average distance from one maximum to the next, or from one minimum to the next, is about eleven years. Bic. 12: I have said nothing hitherto about the rotation of the sun, which was discovered by means of the apparent motion of the sun spots over the solar disc. This rotation takes place in about twenty-six days, and its plane is not | far removed from the ecliptic, or that in which the earth | moves around the sun, the two motions being likewise in the same direction. It has been discovered by Carrington | that, as a rule, spots are confined to the regions around the solar equator, never by any chance appearing at the poles. é The nature of these spots has been a subject of much discussion. Professor Wilson, of Glasgow, was the first to bring forward evidence indicating that they are below the general level of the solar surface—pits, in fact, the bottoms of which are intensely black, while the sloping sides are less so. This evidence consisted in the fact that when near the sun’s border that portion of the penumbra of a spot which is next the visual centre is hidden from our view, a behaviour which is illustrated in Fig. 11. Again, it has been pointed out by the Kew observers that the bottom of a spot is blacker because it is colder than the general surface, and they have likewise brought forward evidence to show that this diminution of temperature has 36 NATURE [Wou. 12, 1885 probably been produced by the downrush of comparatively | looked upon in the light of a celestial hurricane or hail- cold matter from above, a conclusion which has since been | storm. abundantly verified by spectroscopic observations. We have in the spot the downrush of a vast quantity of comparatively cold matter from above, and in the faculee the necessary re-action of this, or the uprush of comparatively hot matter from below, the scale of the operation being occasionally cf such a vast magnitude that thirty or forty of our earths might be buried in the pit which represents a spot. What we have on a large scale in spots and faculae we have on a small scale all over the sun’s disc. When viewed with a powerful telescope the brightness of his disc is found to be far from uni- form, the whole surface being made up of bright and dark patches existing side by side. This mottled appearance was first noticed by the elder Herschel, who considered the pores, as he termed them, to be small spots—a conclusion which has since been abundantly verified by the spectroscope. Quite recently M. Janssen, the well-known French observer, has obtained admirable photographs of the sun, exhibiting this mottled appearance on a very large scale. In Fig. 12 we have a picture of a cyclonic sun spot, while in Fig. 13 we have one of faculze surrounding a spot seen near the sun’s edge. Fig. 14 again is a picture by Secchi exhibiting the general mottled appearance round a spot, and the lengthening out of the irregular masses into “straws” in the penumbra. The phenomena which I have just described are those which are seen projected upon the solar disc. I now go on to describe those which take place near his border. On the occasion of total solar eclipses ved flames, or prominences, are seen to surround the darkened disc of our luminary. At first it was not known whether these belonged to the sun or not, but we are now quite certain that they are true solar appendages. On the same occasions we have, in addition to the red flames, a solar covona, or glory, extending sometimes to a very great distance around the solar disc, perhaps even a million of miles or more. Recent observa- tion has proved that this corona is likewise, in part, at least, an undoubted solar appendage. Having now described the results given us by telescopic observation, let me proceed to those which the spectroscope reveals. Allusion has already been made to the dark lines which occur in the solar spectrum, and which form the charac- teristic difference betwixt his spectrum and that of the electric light. We have also mentioned the fact that the double solar line D corresponds quite exactly in spectral position with the bright lines given out by incandescent sodium, and that Prof. Stokes conjectured from this coincidence that sodium must exist in the solar atmosphere at a compara- tively low temperature. Professors Bunsen and Kirchhoff in their spectro- scopic researches greatly extended this branch of inquiry, showing that many of the dark lines of the solar spectrum are coincident in spectral position with bright lines seen in terrestrial spectra, and concluding that the gaseous substances which afford these spectra must occur in a comparatively cold state in the atmosphere of the sun. The fol- lowing substances have thus been found to occur in the atmosphere of our luminary—hydrogen, | magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron, nickel, man- Fic. 15. ganese, chromium, cobalt, barium, copper, zinc, titanium, aluminium. In fine, these phenomena attest the existence or an ex- The spectroscope has been applied with equal success to tensive and extremely active solar atmosphere, which | the border or limb of our luminary. It was a subject of grows quickly colder as we ascend from the sun’s surface, | some surprise that the red flames seen at the time of a and a spot with its accompanying facule may perhaps be | total eclipse should be invisible on other occasions ; and Nov. 12, 1885] NATURE 37 this perhaps induced observers to imagine that they were not true solar appendages. Independently and nearly simultaneously Janssen and Lockyer showed that these red flames may be rendered visible on ordinary occasions by means of the spectroscope, and they are now the daily study of solar observers. It has been shown that they consist chiefly of incandescent hydrogen, and the reason is very obvious why we cannot see them without the spectroscope. The glare of light around the sun’s disc Fic. 16. (a strictly teriestrial phenomenon due to reflexion) is in general so strong compared to the light from the red flames, that it is impossible for the eye to distinguish the latter. Now during a total eclipse this glare is re- | moved, and hence the eye can see the red flames. But | in the spectroscope we have a means not so much of | removing as of diluting the glare, while at the same time the light from the red flames is not diluted. This arises from the fact that the glare is ordinary sun-light, con- i li Hl ho BG | hydrogen hydiregen an enlarged view of one of the red flames, showing the } curious shapes which these phenomena frequently assume. | The application of the spectroscope by Lockyer and | others to selected portions of the solar disc and its sur- roundings has been most fruitful in its consequences. One of the first results obtained by Lockyer was the arrow-shaped appearance of the bright line F of the sun’s atmosphere, when the slit of the spectroscope is made to form a continuation outwards of the solar radius ; | that is to say, is perpendicular to the rim of the sun. sisting of rays of a great many refrangibilities which are spread out into a long ribbon by the spectroscope, and | consequently diluted. On the other hand, that from the | red flames consists only of one or two widely-separated refrangibilities which are not spread out, and therefore not diluted. The consequence is that the red flames | give us a few bright spectral lines standing out in a solar ee BM Deo hi = 13 spectrum so diluted as to be almost invisible. In Fig. 15 we have a representation of the eclipsed sun showing the | red flames near the sun, and the corona extending to a | great distance around his disc; while in Fig. 16 we have D age Pal, “| Tagnesvuny sodium hydrogen Fic. 19.—Exhibiting the spectrum of the chromosphere above and that of the photosphere below. This is shown in Fig. 17, and the explanation is very simple. It will be remembered that the line F of hydrogen is one which is very susceptible to an increase of pressure. It is therefore much wider at the bottom of the solar atmosphere than at the top, thus presenting the appear- ance seen in the figure. When the same observer applied the spectroscope to a sun-spot there was found to be a | thickening of various absorption lines in the region of the spot, thus indicating an increase of pressure, and proving that a spot is a phenomenon that occurs below 38 INA TORE, [Mov. 12, 1885 the general surface of the photosphere. In Fig. 18 we have the spectrum of a sun-spot as given by Young, ex- hibiting this thickening in the double line D,a line which, like F, is eminently susceptible to variations of pressure. It is, however, erroneous to suppose that the solar atmosphere consists entirely of the red prominences already mentioned. These denote merely (as their name indeed implies) the most violently agitated portions of an atmosphere surrounding the whole sun. Lockyer has named this atmosphere the chromosphere, and it extends to an average height of about 4ooo miles above the surface of the sun. In Fig. 19 we have a picture of the spectrum of the sun’s photosphere below and of the chromosphere above. One prominent constituent of the chromosphere is hydrogen, but we have here a very strange circumstance. Besides certain well-known hydrogen lines, we have in the chromosphere spectrum an orange-yellowline near D, which we cannot identify with the spectrum of any terrestrial substance. It is probably due to some unknown gaseous body which is mixed up with the hydrogen in the atmo- sphere of our luminary. Again, in the solar corona, we have a green line which we likewise cannot identify ; but our opportunities of examining this region are so few and so transient that any conclusion we may come to with respect to its lines must be regarded as provisional. BALFOUR STEWART (To be continued.) BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION FOR 1884} dhe those who are not already familiar with this publica- tion, it is necessary to explain that the bulletin is a journal whose successive numbers appear at short but irregular intervals, each number containing a small collec- tion of brief articles, notes, and reports, on subjects con- nected with the work of the Commission. At the end of each year the numbers that have been issued during its course are collected into a single volume and republished. Some of the notes and articles in the volume for 1884 have but a very remote connection with fish or fisheries, broad as is the interpretation given to those terms by the American Commission. In most cases it may be conceded that the information given has some relation to the supply of human food derived from aquatic organisms, or at any rate some bearing on aquatic life. But it is difficult to see the connection between a report on the sanitary condition of the inhabitants of Old Providence Island and the sub- ject of aquiculture. The Report referred to contains many interesting facts concerning the fecundity, education, and diseases of the people mentioned ; it would form a valuable contribution to a medical journal, but the fact | that its author was surgeon on board the A/satross when he acquired the knowledge of his subject is scarcely sufficient to prevent surprise at the appearance of a sanitary report in the Fish Commission Bulletin. A considerable proportion of the volume is occupied with reprints and translations from journals and publica- tions of other countries, and nearly all of these are in- teresting and useful. By the republication of these foreign papers the Bulletin becomes a guide to the knowledge of what is being done in aquicultural enterprise in all parts of the world. Among the reprints are several from British journals—for example, the articles which appeared last year in NATURE on the capture of fish larve by Utricularia, and an article on the sea-serpent by Richard A. Proctor, which is taken from the Mewcastle Weekly Chronicle. Dr. P. Brecchi’s Report on the condition of oyster- culture in France in 1881, originally published in the Fournal Officiel, is given in full; and there are also * Proc. of the U.S. National Museum, vol. vii. 1884. (Washington, 1885.) several other useful articles on the subject of oyster-culture. Mr. John A, Ryder contributes a description with illus- trations of a new sand-diaphragm to be used in the cultiva- tion of oysters in marine pounds, and a report on the condition of the oyster fishery at St. Jerome Creek. Lieutenant Francis Winslow reports on some experiments made in 1883 on the rearing of oyster larve. The ex- periments were not completely successful, and the problem of establishing a working system of oyster-culture on the east coast of America still affords scope for the energies of the Fish Commission. Several articles and reports contain data from which may be ascertained the extent and success of the efforts which are being made to acclimatise various species of fish in waters far distant from their native homes. The introduction of American fish into French streams has been in many cases successfully accomplished by the Société Nationale d’Acclimatisation. Details of the ex- periments are given in an article compiled from the monthly bulletin of the Society. Pisciculture and the acclimatisation of new species in Germany is treated in several articles by Max. von dem Borne, who is the founder and owner of a large piscicultural establishment at Berneuchen. The bare record of the successful trans- mission of whitefish eggs to Nelson, New Zealand, and of | American black bass to the river Nene in England, is contained in letters which are reprinted. Reference to any particular article or subject in the volume, in spite of its extremely heterogeneous character, has been made perfectly easy by the number and com- pleteness of the indexes with which it is provided. In the table of contents the names of all the contributors are given in alphabetical order. A topical synopsis follows, in which the various subjects treated in the articles and notes are given under five headings. Finally, at the end of the book, is an accurate and complete general index. The Proceedings of the United States National Museum is published on the same plan as the Au//etzn of the U.S. Fish Commission. In the “advertisement” to the volume before us (vol. vii. 1884, Washington, 1885) we are told that the series was commenced in 1878 to provide a means for the prompt publication of descriptions of the new and interesting material which was being sent to the Museum by the activity of the collectors employed in its interest. The articles are published in signatures, one of which is issued whenever printed material to the extent of sixteen pages has accumulated. The produce of each year is issued as an annual volume. The articles consist of papers by members of the scientific corps of the Museum, of papers by others founded on the collections in the Museum, and of interesting extracts from the correspond- ence of the Smithsonian Institution. The more extensive and complete publications of the Museum are issued in the series of Bulletins. Both series are published at the expense of the Interior Department, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, and with the supervision of Mr. Spencer F. Baird, director of the National Museum. The present volume, containing a large proportion of articles on fishes, has been edited by Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, curator of the Department of Fishes. Aconsiderablenumber of new species of fish are described in this volume. Dr. Bean describes a new species of Core- gonus from Alaska, two new species obtained by the Fish Commission, and two from Jamaica. Mr. David Jordan contributes notes on a collection of fishes from Pensacola, Florida, with two new species, one of Exoccetus ; and nine other short papers on collections of fishes from Mexico, Florida, and the Mississippi. The same natural- ist, in collaboration with Ch. H. Gilbert, gives four, with Seth E. Meek two, and with Joseph Swain six, notes on fishes. The volume contains several additions to the natural history of the Commander Islands in the Behring Sea. One of these is a refutation, by Leonhard Stejneger, Nov. 12, 1885] NATORE So of the story reported by Nordenskidld, that a sea-cow (Rhytina givas) had been seen alive in 1854. There are two plates: one of the Saccopharyngoid Ophiognathus ampullaceus, the other of some new shells from Alaska. The index is as complete as usual in American books of this class. NOTES THE following is a list of the names which the President and Council of the Royal Society will recommend to the Society at their forthcoming Anniversary Meeting on the 3oth inst. for election into the Council for the ensuing year :—President, Prof. George Gabriel Stokes, M.A., D.C.L., LL.D. Trea- surer, John Evans, D.C.L., LL.D. Secretaries : Prof. Michael Foster, M.A., M.D., The Lord Rayleigh, D.C.L. Foreign Secretary, Prof. Alexander William Williamson, LL.D. Other Members of the Council: Prof. Robert B. Clifton, M.A., Prof. James Dewar, M.A., Prof. William Henry Flower, LL.D., Archibald Geikie, LL.D., Sir Joseph D. Hooker, K.C.S.1., Prof. Thomas Henry Huxley, LL.D., Admiral Sir A. Cooper Key, G.C.B., J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.A.S., Prof. Henry N. Moseley, M.A., F.L.S., Prof. Bartholomew Price, M.A., Prof. Pritchard, F.R.A.S., William James Russell, Ph.D., Prof. J. S. Burdon Sanderson, LL.D., Prof. Arthur Schuster, Ph.D., Lieut.-Gen. R. Strachey, R.E., C.S.I., General James Thomas Walker, C.B. WE greatly regret to announce the death, on Tuesday, of Dr. W. B. Carpenter, at the age of seventy-three years. His death, it would seem, was the result of an accident a few hours before. The funeral will take place to-morrow (Friday) at Highgate Cemetery. We hope next week to refer at length to the scien- tific work of Dr. Carpenter. A VERY remarkable article appears in the adion of October 29, on ‘‘ The Private Endowment of Research,” remarkable as appearing in a paper like the Vazior, published ina ‘* practical ” country like America. ‘‘ Society,” the Madion says, ‘* may not be prepared to interfere with the breeding of great men, but when they have once been sporadically produced there is no reason why it should not concern itself with their careful pre- servation. In a state of nature there is a sure process for securing the supremacy of the most perfect individuals of a race, but the qualities which make the human being great are not always qualities which fit him for taking part in the vulgar struggle for existence. . . . Huxley has well said that any country would find it greatly to its profit to spend a hundred thousand dollars in first finding a Faraday, and then putting him in a position in which he could do the greatest possible amount of work.” To expose a man of genius, according to the Vaéion, “to the same harsh treatment which is good for the hod-carrie: and the bricklayer, is to indulge in a reckless waste of the means of a country’s greatness. But instead of the rarely-gifted being treated more favourably by the present highly scientific genera- tion, they actually receive less consideration than they have done in many past ages of the world. . . . The waste of water-power at Niagara (the article concludes) is as nothing compared with the waste of brain-power which results from compelling a man of exceptional qualifications to earn his own living, The owner of a great estate admits that the important charities of his town have a well-founded claim upon his purse; it would not require a very great change of heart for him to feel a vivid sense of shame if a few scholars are not carrying on their researches at his expense.” THE following papers (among others) will be read at the Society of Arts during the present Session :—Apparatus for the Automatic Extinction of Fires, by Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson ; The Load Line of Ships, by Prof. Francis Elgar, F.R.S.E. ; Technical Art Teaching, by F. Edward Hulme, F.L.5S. ; The Treatment of Sewage, by Dr. C. Meymott Tidy ; Calculating Machines, by C. V. Boys; The History and Manufacture of Playing Cards, by George Clulow ; Domestic Electric Lighting, by W. H. Preece, F.R.S.; The Scientific Development of the Coal Tar Industry, by Prof. R. Meldola, F.C.S. The First Course of Cantor Lectures will be on ‘‘ The Microscope,” by John Mayall, Jun., on November 23, 30, December 7, 14, 21; the Second Course will be on ‘‘ Friction,” by Prof. H. S. Hele Shaw, on January 18, 25, February 1, 8; the Third Course will be on ‘‘ Science Teaching,” by Prof. F. Guthrie, F.R.S., on February 15, 22, March 1; the Fourth Course will be on “© Petroleum and its Products,” by Boverton Redwood, F.C.S., on March 8, 15, 22, 29; the Fifth Course will be on “The Arts of Tapestry-Making and Embroidery,” by Alan S. Cole, on April 5, 12, 19; and the Sixth and concluding Course will be on ‘‘ Animal Mechanics,” by B. W. Richardson, M.D., F.R.S., on May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. The two Juvenile Lectures on ‘ Waves” will be given by Prof. Silvanus P. Thompson on Wednesday évenings, December 30, 1885, and January 6, 1886, for which special tickets will be issued. Science contains accounts by Profs. Mendenhall and Paul of the attempts made to obtain records of earth tremors from the explosion at Flood Rock at the entrance to New York harbour. Arrangements to secure observations were made by the Geo- logical Survey, together with representatives from the Naval Observatory and Signal Service. The apparatus used by the Naval Observatory party was that usual in mercury observations, and three seismoscopes, one chronograph, and a number of chronometers. Unfortunately the firing of the mine was delayed for fourteen minutes, and this prevented good observations being taken at many places. The reports so far received indicate that out of seventeen stations (three occupied by geological survey parties and fourteen co-operating with them) five watched till the disturbance came, and got more or less satisfactory observa- tions. At one of these the rock was directly in sight, and the others were so near that the observers felt sure that it had not escaped them. Four observed and timed some slight disturb- ances between 11h. 3m. and 11h. 7m., and, attributing them to the explosion, ceased watching for more, and either missed it entirely or were taken by surprise ; two heard nothing at all up to about 11h. tom., and so ceased observing and missed it, and six were yet to be heard from. It will thus be perceived that the results with regard to earth-tremors, which there was every reason to expect from this colossal explosion, have been greatly diminished by the long delay in firing the mine. Parr II. of the Report of the Trinity [louse Committee on the recent experiments with electricity, gas, and oil as light- house illuminants at South Foreland, which is now issued, con- tains some interesting details in connection with the trials. The first portion is devoted to fllustrations of the arrangements made at the South Foreland for exhibiting, observing, and measuring the lights. The second section consists of the report of Prof. W. Grylls Adams, F.R.S., of King’s College, London, on the electric light apparatus employed in the production of the light shown from A tower. Following upon Prof. Adams’s report is a de- tailed description by Baron A. de Meritens of the magneto-electric machines supplied by him for the experiments. This communi- cation shows the principles of construction of the machines and the mechanical disposition of the magnets. Section IV. is a detailed record of the photometric observations made by Mr. Harold Dixon, of Balliol College, Oxford, and referred to by him in his report in Part I. The record consists principally of tables showing the work done on each night. Following this are some remarks upon the pentane standard devised by Mr. Vernon Harcourt, and adopted as the basis of measurement throughout the trials. Soe interesting experiments to ascertain 40 the effect of different atmospheric pressures upon this flame are described, in connection with which Mr. Harcourt and Mr. Dixon went to the summit of Ben Nevis. They found that the variation in the burning of the pentane flame due to variation in atmospheric pressure was less than had been anticipated, and that consequently no correction for such variation was necessary for the photometric results obtained at the South Foreland. Sections V., VI., and VII. deal with a very important question. A tabular statement is given illustrating the range of temperature within the gas and oil lanterns during the working of the higher power of these illuminants. In the gas lantern three of the four lens panels used to illustrate a fixed light have been seriously damaged, as shown by copies of photographs published. The lowest panel has not suffered.» In the oil and electric lanterns the lenses are uninjured. The inference is that the damage has been caused by the direct or indirect action of heat. Section VIII. consists merely of a reproduction of a table from Mr. Thomas Stevenson’s work on lighthouse construction and illumination in reference to the penetrating power of lights in relation to the increase of their intensity. Section IX. gives the result of observations made to ascertain the suitability of the respective illuminants for the exhibition of coloured sectors of light. The question of duration of flashes is dealt with in Section X. Under the heading ‘‘ Divergence of Beam” Section XI. deals further with this question of the size of the beam. Section XII. con- sists of reports of experiments with sky-flashing lights, the object being to illuminate the clouds with sudden beams of light. In Section XIII. are given some memoranda for consideration in estimating the expenses of first cost and maintenance for light - houses illuminated by gas. Section XIV. consists of a table showing the duration of fog at lighthouse and light-vessel stations on the English coasts, compiled from four years’ records. Sec- tion XV. is a summarised journal of the lights shown each night during the year of the experiments. Ir is stated that in order to make adequate provision for medical education in Japan, the Government intends dividing the country into six medical divisions, and to establish a medical college in each, in which the future surgeons and physicians will be trained. On the 2oth ult. Prof. Terrien de Lacouperie delivered the first of a series of lectures at University College, Gower Street, on the Science of Language and its recent progress, in connection with the languages of Indo-China. These languages, the lecturer said, are a new field of research in comparative philology which may lead to the reconsideration of several vital problems in the science of language. They offer a more satisfactory solution of these problems, and one more in accordance with the known facts of language past and present, but their influence has hitherto been injurious to the progress of linguistic science. The classi- fication of languages into monosyllabic, agglutinative, and inflec- tional, is, he said, now recognised to be inadequate, and was based on a hypothesis of a primitive monosyllabic stage in the history of human speech which has never existed. The languages of Thibet, Burmah, Pegu, Siam, Annam, China, are generally called monosyllabic, and are still erroneously supposed by many to be living illustrations of the imaginary primitive language of monosyllabic roots. Such monosyllabism does not and never did exist. There are, the Professor said, three sorts of monosyllabism only—one of decay, one of writing, and one of elocution. It is to the last that the tongues of South-Eastern Asia belong, while the monosyllabism of English belongs to that of decay. The languages of the Far East, according to Prof. Lacouperie, belong to two great stocks—the Turanian and Himalayan—besides a residuum of Negrito and Papuan dialects. Turanian is represented by the great Kuenlunic branch, including (a) the Chinese family, (4) Tibeto-Burman group, (c) Yao-Karen group, (¢) Dravidian NATURE (Mov. 12, 1885 family. Himalayan includes two great branches : (1) Indian, for the Kolarian languages, &c. ; (2) Indo-Pacific, with four divisions—(z) Mon-Taic, subdivided into two families—(1) Mon- Annam, (2) Tai Shan—(6) Malayan, (c) Polynesian, (¢) Micro- nesian. The second lecture, on the formation, evolution, and influence of Chinese, will be delivered on the 17th instant. AT a recent meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philo- sophical Society the special thanks of the Society were offered to Mr. Henry Wilde for the great liberality recently displayed by him in connection with the changes recently made in the building belonging to the Society, and in which it holds its meetings. When it was determined that new libraries should be erected to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of the Society’s books, Mr. Wilde contributed the sum of 500/. to the building fund. The difference between the elegance of the new rooms and the dilapidated condition of the old ones offended Mr. Wilde’s eye, and he resolved that he would, at his own expense, undertake their renovation. This he has now done at an additional cost to himself of troo/, But the contribution of that money is only a part of what Mr. Wilde has done. He has personally superintended all the details of the work, rarely missing a day, during the last three months, in devoting several hours to that purpose. The results obtained evince at once the taste Mr. Wilde has displayed in regulating the style and character of the decorations. WE learn froin a communication in Maturen that apatite has been found by Herr Enoksen, within the last few months, in certain parts of Norway where its presence had not previously been detected. The importance of this discovery to local industry is all the greater, owing to the fact that the Baml2 beds, which have hitherto been the principal source from which this valuable mineral has been derived, are in the hands of a French company, which purchased them some fyears ago for 350,000 kroner, and still monopolises the trade. The demand for the mineral is, moreover, very considerable in Norway, one Nor- wegian factory, the chemical works of Stavanger, taking from the Company about 1000 tons annually, at a cost of 100 kroner pecton. According to the well-known geologist, Herr Hans Reusch, there is every reason to expect that apatite will be found with tolerable frequency in Norway when working engi- neers have learnt to distinguish it from the numerous valueless minerals, to which its variability of colour gives it some resem- blance—for the geological formation in which it has now for the first time been detected near Stavanger, is not of uncommon occur- rence in Norway. The little island of Hille, lying about five miles to the north-east of Stavanger, where Herr Enoksen has been so fortunate as to find true apatite, exhibits no products of eruption, but has extensive deposits of mica schist, largely intermixed with hornblende, and finely granulated gneiss. Here apatite is found near titanic iron in isolated masses, varying in size from a man’s head to that of a nut. It occurs in various parts of the island, but its true character was not detected till Herr Enoksen showed that a piece of a stone not uncommon in the Hille schists, which had been sent to him as a scapolite, was in reality a fragment of genuine apatite. This unexpected discovery has given great impetus to the further search for this valuable mineral, which, as we learn from recent reports, has also been found in the hornblende schists of the Egersund. AN attempt has been recently made by Herr Liznar, of the Austrian Meteorological Society, to determine the daily course of cloudiness over different parts of the earth’s surface. In most places there are two maxima and two minima in the day. He distinguishes four types, viz. :—(1) A maximum about midday, a minimum in the evening ; this occurs, e.g. at Madrid (the maxi- mum in summer becomes as late as 4 p.m.). (2) A maximum Nov. 1 2 tr) 1885 | NATORE 4I in the morning, and a minimum at midday ; this is found at Los Angeles on the plateau of the Rocky Mountains. (3) Two maxima and two minima: the chief maximum in the morning, and the chief minimum in the evening ; this type being met with in Vienna in. winter and autumn, and in Bombay. (4) Two maxima and minima, but the chief maximum about midday and the chief minimum in the evening ; this is the case at Vienna in summer and spring. The greatest amplitude of cloudiness ap- pears at the stations on the Rocky Mountains plateaux ; the sky being sometimes quite covered with clouds in the morning, and quite clear a few hours later. It is curious that the Sherman Station has a cloudiness exactly opposite in its course to that of Los Angeles. This meteorological element perhaps deserves more consideration than it has hitherto received. A CORRESPONDENT of the North China Herald calls attention to a strange instance of Chinese belief and practice with regard to the human soul, which lately came under his notice. Lying awake at 3 a.m. he heard in the street close to his house two strange answering voices. Evidently two persons were engaged in this weird dramatic performance, one representing a departing soul, the other acting as the friends and relatives deprecating the departure. The first actor gave a low, prolonged cry, which was answered by a loud and earnest ‘‘Come, come.” After a pause, the cry and the answering call were repeated ; this went on for about ten minutes, when suddenly the inarticulate cry ceased. The second actor, in an agony of distress at the de- parture into the unseen of the soul he had been entreating to stay, shouted loudly in a voice, which he no doubt hoped would reach to the confines of the spirit world, “Return, return—come,” at the same time calling by name. Then there was another pause, presently the low cry was heard as at a distance. ** Come, come,” eagerly responded the actor ; and now the cry and the answer followed one another more rapidly till the cry seemed close to the caller, and in a smothered chorus as of welcome, the performance, which was probably directed by a Taoist necro- mancer, ceased. It is described as being strangely impressive in the stillness of the night, notwithstanding the grotesqueness of the superstition ; but of course it was not known whether there was actual death in this case, within twelve hours of which the Chinese call for the soul to return, or whether it was only a case of serious illness, fainting, or collapse. This peculiar custom, it appears, varies in different parts of China. Up the Vangtsze it is usual for two women to perform the office. When a man dies suddenly the women walk through the streets, one calling out the name of the deceased, and the other responding “Tam coming,” the idea being to prevail on the wandering spirit of the deceased to return to its material abode, which, it is presumed, it has temporarily abandoned. A NEw course of lectures has been established at the College de France on the mechanical theory of heat, magnetism, and electricity. The course will be given by M. Bouty. ON October 22, at about 6 p.m., a slight shock of earthquake was felt at Ramsjé, in Sweden. It went from east to west, and lasted only a few seconds. A LARGE consignment of Chinese and Japanese fish has lately reached this country, including the variegated goldfish, the nigger goldfish, the veil or fantail, the fringetail, and the nymphi. Some specimens have been on view at the Inventions Exhibition Aquarium, as well as some Russian loach and Hungarian beard- fish. A large conger eel weighing 30lbs., which had been in the tank for a long period, has just died. Mr, JosrrH D. REDDING, a California Fish Commissioner, writes to Prof. Baird stating that he has invited investigation into the question of the devastation caused by sea-lions in the bays and seas of San Francisco, where they abound in very large ' numbers. They are very voracious, and it is alleged that they destroy hundreds of thousands of pounds of edible fish daily ; whilst fishermen declare that their business is rapidly declining in consequence. Mr. Redding intends to present an exhaustive report to the California Legislature and to the United States Fish Commission. THE observations that are to be undertaken by the National Fish Culture Association with a view to discovering the effect of certain influences upon marine fishes will be commenced this month. The stations from which observations will be made in the first instance are the Seven-Stones, the Royal Sovereign, and the Outer Dowsing. Besides these, other localities will be visited from time to time by observers appointed for the purpose, who will make the most complete investigations as to surface and bottom temperatures of the sea, the density and transparency of the water, the temperature of the air, &c. The question as to the declension in the yield of certain fisheries and the deve- lopment of others will form the subject of inquiry, as will also the question of restoring depleted fishing-grounds to their former fertility. A society for popularising the use of scientific methods has been established in France under the name of the Topographical Society. It held its festive meeting on November 8 in the large hall of the Sorbonne ; M. Ferdinand de Lesseps was in the chair. WE understand that Messrs. Macmillan and Co. will shortly publish a book on Elementary Algebra, by Mr. Charles Smith, the author of well known and popular treatises on Conic Sec- tions and Solid Geometry. After the severe remarks made by Prof. Chrystal at the last meeting of the British Association on the teaching of elementary algebra, a new work on this subject will be looked for with more than usual interest. Tue Belgian Technical Railway Commission has pronounced in favour of experiments on a large scale with steel railway sleepers. It is announced that the first trial will be made on 60 kilometres of line. Mr. Eric Stuart Bruce has been carrying on experiments at Chatham for the English Government, with a view to the adoption of his system of military signalling. The official trial of his invention took place on October 17. To test the sig- nalling apparatus the balloon was sent up four or five miles from Chatham and allowed to ascend 500 feet, when a series of sentences were flashed by the Morse system. The officers of the Royal Engineers who were deputed to inspect the apparatus have pronounced the experiments “‘ eminently satisfactory.” It has been suggested that this translucent balloon may be utilised for other military operations besides signalling—such as for a ‘* point light,” for concentrating forces by night ; and owing to the wide area which is illuminated by the balloon, it has been proposed to use it for lighting working parties. THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynomolgus $) from India, presented by Mr. Montague C. Clark ; a Gannet (Suda bassana), British, presented by Mr. H. Archer ; a Tawny Owl (Syrnium aluco), British, presented by Mr. J. Hillier ; a Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) from Aus- tralia, presented by Mr. C. A. O. Marsham ; a Squirrel Monkey (Chrysothrix sciurea 2) from Guiana, a Ruffed Lemur (Lemur varius &) from Madagascar, a Macaque Monkey (AZacacus cyno- molgus @) from India, a Capercaillie ( Ze¢vao urogallus 8) from Norway, deposited ; a Brazilian Tree Porcupine (Sphingurus prehensilis), a Naked-throated Bell-bird (Chasmorhynchus nudi- collis) from Brazil, two Blue-winged Teal (Querguedula cyano- plera) from South America, five Lesser Snow Geese (Chen albatus) from Alaska, purchased ; five Golden-bellied Beaver Rats (Hydromys chrysogaster) from Australia, received in ex- change. 42 NATURE [Mow. 12, 18858 OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN Tue RoraTion PERIOD oF Mars.—The seventh volume of the Annals of the Leiden Observatory contains a very thorough and painstaking investigation by Prof. Bakhuyzen of the rotation period of the planet Mars. In previous determinations one of two courses has usually been adopted, either to compare drawings of Huygens or Hooke with the most recent observa- tions attainable, or to discuss some modern series which seemed to promise to compensate for its restricted 1ange by its greater accuracy. Prof. Bakhuyzen has. however, endeavoured to utilise the entite mass of observations at his disposal, so as to avoid the sources of error to which the other methods are liable, and he possesses a great advantage over earlier investigators, in having access not only to the numerous observations made in 1877 and 1879, but also to the great series of more than 200 drawings which Schroeter had prepared for his projected ‘‘ Areo- graphischen Beitrage,” and which, becoming the property of the University of Leiden in 1876, was edited and published by Prof. Bakhuyzen in 1881. Prof. Bakhuyzen, in the reduction of these drawings, has adopted provisionally Schiaparelli’s position for the pole of Mars—R. A. 317° 46’0, Dec. 53° 25’"4, mean equinox of 1833°0—and Proctor’s rotation-period—24h. 37m. 22°74s.— and deduces corrections to these elements from a comparison of the results obtained by reducing the various observations at his command with them. His first step is, from a discussion of the drawings of Kaiser, Lockyer, Lord Rosse, and Dawes, made during the oppositions of 1862 and 1864, to obtain the time of transit on January 1, 1863, of his adopted prime meridian over the Martial meridian which passes through the earth’s north pole, choosing as his prime meridian the one which lies 2° to the east of the centre of Madler’s point a, corresponding almost exactly to Schiaparelli’s Faséigiwm Aryn, or to Proctor’s Dawes Forked Bay, he finds the time of transit over the meridian passing through the north pole of the earth on January 1, 1863, to be 2oh. 27°0om. + 40m, Berlin M.T. The areographic longitude of the centre of the Ocz/us, the conspicuous circular spot, called by Green the Zerby Sea, and by Schiaparelli Lacus Solis, will be, with this prime meridian, 90°87’. The second section contains the determination of the areographic longitudes of ten of the most conspicuous and_ easily identified markings on the surface of Mars as_ inferred by means of the above elements from the drawings of various observers from the time of Hooke and Huygens up to 1879. For the last-named year only Schiaparelli’s observations are used, but for 1877 there is an abundant supply, there being available, besides the observations of Schiaparelli, the drawings of Lohse, Green, Dreyer, and Niesten. Beer and Madler’s drawings afford material for 1830, Herschel and Schroeter give a very full series from 1777 to 1803; and Huygens and Hooke supply a few drawings from 1659 to 1683, from which the longi- tude of Madler’s f, the Kaiser or Hourglass Sea, Schiaparelli’s Syrtis Major, can be inferred. These longitudes are discussed in the third section, and a corrected rotation period is obtained of 24h. 37m. 22°66s + 0’0132s., a value exceedingly close to the mean of the best previous determinations, which are as follows :— h-P em. ese Kaiser, 1864 24 37 22°62 Kaiser, 1873 tos ae 1592 Schmidt, 1873... ae ny) Proctor, 1868 735 Proctor’s value is clearly too large, a comparison of the mean longitudes obtained for the Aa/ser Sea with his period showing a steady decrease for successive oppositions ; the only observa- tions which stand conspicuously out from the rest being those of Hooke, upon which he had based his determination. There can be no doubt that Prof. Bakhuyzen’s value is a distinct improve- ment upon the earlier ones, and that its uncertainty lies only in the second place of the decimals. A table for computing the time of transit of the prime meridian over that meridian of Mars which passes through the earth’s noith pole, completes the memoir. Prof. Bakhuyzen supplies also a short note as to changes on the surface of Mars. The most conspicuous of all the markings on the planet’s surface has always been the Kaiser Sea ; but the drawings of Schroeter and Herschel, as Dr. Terby has already pointed out, exhibit a second marking near it, nearly as con- spicuous, and very similar in shape and size. There can be no doubt that the only modern representative of this spot is /7/ig- zins Inlet, Schiaparelli’s Cyclopum, a narrow streak, by no means easily observed, and now entirely unlike the Aa/ser Sea in i shape. Prof. Bakhuyzen also considers that there is sufficient evidence for thinking that Schroeter on several occasions ob- served Schiaparelli’s Zes/rygonum—one of the most difficult objects on the planet—which could scarcely have been the case — had it not been much more conspicuous than it has been of late years. These changes, Prof. Bakhuyzen thinks, lend a high degree of probability to the theory that certain districts of Mars are covered by liquid. THE SPECTRUM OF THE GREAT NEBULA IN ANDROMEDA,— Mr. O.T, Sherman, assistant at Yale College Observatory, reports in Scéence (vol. vi. Nos. 138. and 141) the discovery of three bright lines in the spectrum of this nebula. Of these the most refrangible corresponds to Hf, and the wave-lengths of the other two are given as 5312°5 and §594"0. It is suggested that the second of these lines is the well-known coronal line 1474 K, and that the third is one of the feebler coronal lines which Prof. Young observed in the 1869 eclipse, viz. the one at 1250+ of Kirch- hoff’s scale. The observation, if confirmed, will go far to settle the disputed question as to whether the (ova is really or only apparently connected with the nebula, for two bright lines, of which one is probably 1474 K, have been observed in the spec- trum of the former at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. THE WEDGE PHOTOMETER.—Dr. Wilsing in the Astrono- mische Nachrichten, No. 2680, criticises at considerable length several points with regard to Prof. Pritchard’s use of the wedge photometer at the Oxford Observatory. Dr. Wilsing considers that Prof. Pritchard’s investigations as to the figure of the wedge and its selective absorption leave nothing to be desired, but that the state of our knowledge of the physiological side of the ques- — tion is’ still very incomplete. Experiments which Dr. Wilsing has made with two wedges of his own have convinced him that the variations in the sensibility of the eye are neither slight nor unimportant, and that they occasion discordances in the obser- vations considerably greater than Prof. Pritchard is inclined to admit. Dr. Wilsing also finds that comparisons of differently coloured stars give results not directly comparable with eye estimations. He objects to the u:e of the method of limiting apertures for the determination of the value of the wedge con- stant, and points out that the influence of the intensity of the background affects Prof. Pritchard’s magnitudes of the fainter stars very perceptibly. Despite all these drawbacks, however, he regards the wedge photometer as a useful addition to our equipment. Mr. Chandler, who must at Harvard College enjoy special facilities for making himself well acquainted with the working of different forms of photometers, has recently expressed his pre- ference for Argelander’s method. There can, however, be no doubt but that the labours of Profs. Pritchard and Pickering have greatly advanced our knowledge of the comparative bright- nesses of the northern stars. PHOTOGRAPHING THE CORONA IN FULL SUNSHINE.—Mr. W. H. Pickering, of Harvard College, made a series of attempts during the partial eclipse of last March 16, to obtain a photograph of the corona. In this he was quite unsuccessful, for, though his plates showed several corona-like markings, they were clearly not due to the true corona, as they were found in front of the moon as well as on the sun’s limb. From this Mr. Pickering was evidently led to conclude that the results which Dr. Huggins had obtained were probably of a similar character, and he expressed as much in a letter to Scéence. Dr. Huggins in reply pointed out that Mr. Pickering’s method was faulty and was calculated to produce such false images. The latter, therefore, somewhat modified his apparatus, without, however, altering the two points which Dr. Huggins considered most erroneous—viz. the use of an object-glass instead of a reflector, and the placing his drop-slit close in front of the object-glass instead of in its primary focus. The result has been that he has obtained photographs free from false coronz, but showing no real ones. At the same time he has made experiments which convince him that to produce a perceptible image of a coronal rift it is necessary to be able to discriminate between degrees of illumination which do not differ from each other by more than one-tenth the intrinsic brilliancy of the full moon. He con- siders that the eye is more able to detect small differences of light than a photograph is, and states that the moon cannot be photographed in full daylight, even though it may be easily seen. His investigations also lead him to think that even in the clearest weather the atmospheric illumination is 300 times as Nov. 12, 1885 | NATURE 43 bright as it should be for it to be possible to obtain any image of the corona. To these points Dr. Huggins has repliec in the Observatory for November. Dr. Huggins states that he has had no difficulty at all in photographing the moon in full sun- shine, and that the observations of Prot. Langley and others of Mercury and Venus, which have been seen as black disks before they reach the sun, proves that the corona must have a sensible brigh'ness as compared with the atmospheric illumination. He also points out that Mr. Pickering fails to obtain any trace on his photographs even of the defects of his own instrument. Dr. Huggins declines further discussion, preferring to wait the re- sult of the work now being carried on by Mr. Ray Woods at the Cape Observatory. Mr. Pickering replies in Sczence for October 23, admitting the possibility of photographing the moon in full sunshine, but contending that these very photographs of the moon supply an additional proof of his opinion that the light of the atmosphere near the sun is more than 300 times too intense for it to be possible to obtain a photograph of the corona, since the sky light near the sun was fifty times as bright as that near the moon, and coronal photographs, to be of any use, should be able to record differences of illumination of only one- tenth the brightness of the full moon. : He explains the visibility of Venus and Mercury as being caused by the refraction of the sun’s light through their atmo- spheres, the black disk being thus surrounded by a narrow luminous ring. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, NOVEMBER 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 Novemb2r 15 Sun rises, 7h. 21m. ; souths, rrh. 44m. 48°4s. ; sets, 16h. gm. ; decl. on meridian, 18° 37’ S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, tgh. 49m. Moon (one day after First Quarter) rises, 13h. 18m.}; souths, 18h. 37m. ; sets, oh. 3m.* ; decl. on meridian, 8° 43’ S. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian 1. mm. h. m. h. m, ay McLCULVEe ONO! wee ZC 54 tO) 42 3.4) 24a SrS Venus pS) ney IS Ee cog SECIS cae PG Giey Ss Mars RE23 40) ON AO) an 352), PaeeouNe Jupiter Da Am ct On238 oe TAS Soe er, | Slee SeNe Saturn 5 BH SI Ben SAO ee alae el 22 20 N. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding and the setting that of the following day. Occultation of Star by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- Nov. Star Mag. Disap. Reap: “tes'toniehetor “y inverted image h. m. h. m. ° ° Men vAR Ce. O305, .-. OF -.. 22,41 ... 23) 44) 166 208 Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellitis Noy. h. m. Noy. h. m MBp ee) 5) © LV occ: reap. || 17 4 35 II. tr. ing. 16... 2 45 III. ecl. disap. | 20 G Soe) destr ing. PORE Sesh lllevecl reap. || 20 3 16 1. ecl. disap. 16... 6 47 III. occ. disap.| 21 The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. I. occ. reap. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES THE last number of the Zzvestia of the Russian Geographical Society (xxi. 3) contains a variety of interesting papers. M. Ivanoff describes some Turkestan antiquities: namely, the Akhyr-tash, situated at the foot of the Alexander ridge, twenty- seven miles from Aulie-ata, one of the grandest buildings of antiquity, which covers nearly 20,900 square yards, and must _ have been some projected immense temple or palace; it was built from immense stones, weighing about one ton each, and brought from Tash-tube. M. Ivanoff gives for the first time a plan and a detailed description of the ruins of this immense building. Stone idols on the Issyk-kul, as also a burial-ground on the shores of the same lake, are described and represented by drawings. The whole is a most valuable contribution M. Trusman’s paper on Finnish elementsin the Gdovy district of St. Petersburg will be welcome to Russian archeologists. Capt. Gedeonoff gives a list of forty-three places in the Trans- caspian region, whose positions have been determined by means of astronomical observations, as also their heights, determined by barometrical measurements. We notice the following: Khiva (house of Mat-murat), 41° 23’ 01 N. lat., 60° 22' 18’°9 E. long., 351 feet above the sea-level ; Merv (Koushut-khan- kala), 37° 35° 376 N. lat., 61° 50’ 279 E. long., 565 feet ; and Tchardjui, 39° 1’ 33”°8 N. lat., 63° 36’ 12”°9 E. long., 433 feet. M. Konshin’s paper on the Sary-kamysh lake basin and the western basin deserves more than a short notice, as it sums up the latest researches in this region, and presents the whole question as to the bed of the Amu-daria in quite a new light. A report on cartographical work in Russia in 1884 will be summed up under a separate head, as also two letters from Col. Prjevalsky and M. Potanin. Finally, the same issue con- tains two most valuable maps, by Gen. Tillo. One of them, on a larger scale, gives the lines of equal magnetic intensity, full and horizontal only, for Russia in Europe, reduced to the year 1880. On this map all places where observations have been made, as also where anomalies have been observed, are marked. Two other maps, on a smaller scale, give the lines of equal secular variation, both of the horizontal and of the total mag- netical intensity. All three have explanations in German. These maps thus complete the remarkable work on ‘‘ Earth- Magnetism in Russia,” undertaken a few years since by M. Tillo, and already mentioned in Nature. THE last news from M. Potanin’s expedition is embodied in a letter, dated San-chuan, January 25, and published in the last issue of the St. Petersburg /evestia (xxi. 3). Leaving San- chuan on November 14, M. Potanin followed the right bank of the Hoang-ho up to He-cheu. The same red sandstones and conglomerates, covered with loess, were met with; the ridge which separates the Hoang-ho from the Tao-ho, intersected by deep ravines, is all covered with cornfields and villages ; the soil abounding with moisture, villages are situated as high as 2000 feet above the bottom of the valleys. Crossing the Tao-ho and next the Da-sya-ho, the little half-ruined town of He-cheu was reached. The Da-sya-ho River is formed by the junction of three rivers—the Huishu, the Tumun, and the Leu-guan— situated 7o li above the town. This last river was followed by the expedition, and its source was reached after a two days’ march. Its valley is wide and well-peopled in its lower half, the upper one being a mere gorge thickly covered with brush- wood, and quiteunpeopled. Crossing a ridge at the sources of the Leu-guan and its tributary, Urunka, the broad valley of the Tchitai was next reached. Its banks consist also of sandstones and conglomerates, and it is thickly peopled with Salars, its upper part being occupied by Tanguts. Descending this valley, a two days’ march brought the expedition to the confluence of the Tchitai with the Yellow River; and another two days’ march brought them to San-chuan. On this stretch the Yellow River flows in a narrow gorge between steep crags of the red sand- stones and conglomerates, and the road ascends these crags or follows their slope on narrow wooden balconies, or by flights of steps cut in the hard rock. The right bank of the river is inhabited by Salars. They have maintained their Vurkish language in great purity. The men wear a Chinese dress, but the women wear broad trousers, and a broad overcoat with sleeves, and a pointed bonnet which covers the upper part of the back. They are all Mussulmans, but their mosques are of Chinese architecture, and are decorated with dragons, lions, and tigers. Above its gorge the Yellow River flows through a de- pression seven miles long and less than two miles wide, which has received the name of San-tchuan, or Gurban-tala, and i; peopled exclusively by Mongolian Shirongols. Their central village is Ni-ja. The Shirongols seem to belong to the same stem as that described by M. Prjevalsky under the name of Dalda in the vicinity of Kuku-nor. Both are called Tu-jen by the Chinese. If this supposition is correct, they would appear to occupy the territory from the longitude of He-cheu to that of Gan-cheu. They speak Mongolian, with an addition of Chinese words, but have some words of their own which must be re- mains of the language they have spoken in their former territory, the Urdus. ‘Their dress is Chinese, but the women have maintained the same trousers as the Salars, and their houses have much likeness with those of these last. They live 44 NATURE (Vou. 12, 1885 on agriculture and gardening. All the religions of the region are met with among them. Around He-cheu they are all Mussul- mans; but families having several male children send one of them to a Lamaite monastery so as not to divide their land- holdings too greatly, and soa class of Buddhist Lamas has arisen. Those who have received Chinese instruction follow the teach- ings of Confucius, while the remainder go indifferently to Bud- dhist or Chinese temples, and many have Shamanist divinities. As to M. Berezovsky, he has left the expedition and has taken another route, v7@ Hoy-syan; he proposes to rejoin MM. Potanin and Skassi on their way to the south. THE expedition which is reported to have been massacred in New Guinea was sent out by the Geographical Society of Aus- tralasia, founded in May 1883. Charles Everill, had been selected from a number of candidates, and his staff included a naturalist, a surgeon, two sub-leaders, one on land and the other on sea, a photographer, three natural history collectors, a surveyor, an engineer, and a ‘general utility ” volunteer. Very full instructions were drawn out for the expedition, while considerable discretion was left to the leader to adapt his operations to circumstances. The instruc- tions included directions not only for surveying work, but for observations on the natives, on zoology, botany, and geology, with directions for the collection and preservation of specimens. The expedition was to enter the Aird River, which is probably only an east arm of the Fly River. As a matter of fact, a tele- gram of September 22 announced the arrival of the Bovifo (the vessel in which the expedition sailed from Sydney) in the Fly River. It was to penetrate as far as possible into the interior. The Australasian Society contributed 5007. to the expedition of Mr. H. O. Forbes, who, according to latest news, was at Port Moresby preparing to penetrate into the interior. Happily the report of the massacre is discredited by the British resident on Thursday Island. THE Geographical Society of Lisbon passed a resolution at its last meeting asking the Portuguese Government to make a money grant by way of remuneration to the explorers MM. Capello and Ivens, and to pay the cost of publishing not less than 5000 copies of the account of their journey. It was also resolved to address every commercial association throughout the country pointing out the necessity of establishing a company or society for the purpose of investigating colonial markets hitherto imperfectly known, but of which MM. Capello and Ivens are showing the importance. AT the last meeting of the Paris Society of Commercial Geo graphy on the 2oth ult., the Burmese Envoy being present, M. Bran de Saint Pol Lias described his recent journeys in Indo- China, which appear not to have extended far beyond Saigon, Cambodia, and the delta of the Red River. Indeed, travel even in these comparatively frequented parts of the peninsula must have been difficult when the traveller was there, for the greater part of Tonquin and Cambodia was in rebellion at the time of his visit. THE Bulletin (2° trimestre, 1885) of the Paris Geographical Society, just published, contains a long report on the labours of the society, and on the progress of the geographical sciences, by M. Maunoir, the secretary. The work is, as usual, well and thoroughly done. The only other paper in the number is a description of the regions of Algeria traversed by the meridian of Paris, by Commander Derrien. This is accompanied by a map, and describes in succession, and with great detail, their orography, hydrography, geology, military roads, meteorology, military and administrative divisions, and also discusses the origin of the tribes of the Jebel Amour. THE Geographical Society of Tokio appears to be steadily pursuing its work. The recent numbers of its Yoe«rnal, which we have before us, show much activity in regions around Japan. Amongst the papers in the sixth volume we notice the follow- ing :—The five races of the Chinese Empire, and their ancient progress, by Mr. Otori ; the interior of Northern Corea, by Mr. Kaizu ; travels in Siam ; notes on Thibet (compiled from Euro- pean sources) ; Formosa under the Chinese ; Manchuria: recent events in Annam ; travels in South-eastern Russia; the salt-tax in China ; colonisation in Saghalien (a review) ; Formosa during the Dutch occupation ; historical notes on the relations between Russia and China; notes on the aboriginal language of For- mosa, with a considerable vocabulary ; Candahar and the Lower Cabul Valley, with a sketch map; the mines of Central Japan, The commander, Capt. Henry | with a map, and various other minor communications. The first number of the tenth volume contains a paper by Mr. Akamatsu on the origin and condition of the Chinese emigrants to the Philippines, based apparently on the writings of Prof. Blumentritt on the subject; and one on the longitude of Japan, by Mr. Arai, the head of the meteorological bureau. The Yournal is printed in Japanese, but a short table of contents is appended in English. THE leading paper in the current number (Heft 3, Band viii.) of the Deutsche Geographische Blatter, the vrgan of the Geographical Society of Bremen, is one by Leonard Steineger, describing a voyage around Behring Island, off the coast of Kamchatka, in the autumn of 1882. It describes at some length the incidents of the voyage, the capabilities of the island, &c. The writer visited and describes the ruins of the hut in which Behring and his companions wintered 141 years previously, and where the traveller himself died, and was buried. Dr. von Steiner com- piles from Mr. Im Thurn, an account of the Indians of Guiana. The usual geographical news concludes the number. Mr. Scott, of the Indian Survey Department, recently de- livered a lecture at ‘Calcutta on the transfrontier surveys of India, in which he pointed out that 20,000 square miles on the immediate north-western frontier needed exploration. Here lie the Kafila routes into Afghanistan, which he much regretted had not been used for the advance into Afghanistan instead of the hot and thirsty Bolan Pass. He suggested that the rules against British officers crossing the frontier should be relaxed, and that they should be permitted to accept invitations, with a guarantee of safety, by native officers to their homes across the border. THE death of Col. Obtigado, of the Argentine Army, on September 22 at Buenos Ayres is announced, In recent years he had made many scientific explorations on the coasts and in the interior of Patagonia. He traversed the forests in the basins of the Negro, Limay, and Nanquen rivers, which had never been explored before ; and several places in these regions now bear his name. His death was due to ill-health, caused by his journeys in Patagonia. THE last issue of the J/itthed/aneen of the Geographical Society of Vienna contains two papers on the Carolines ; one by Prof. Blumentritt describing the historical relations of Spain to the archipelago. He makes more interesting quotations from books used in Spanish schools, in which the Carolines are men- tioned amongst the colonies of Spain, and the usual elementary school-book information is given about them. The secretary to the Society also gives a map of the group, with much geo- graphical and other information respecting them. Herr Jiilg concludes his paper on the erosive action of the sea, and the usual current geographical information brings the number (Band xxvili., No. 10) to a conclusion. THE SCOTTISH METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY At a meeting of the Directors of the Ben Nevis Observatory held on October 30, it was intimated that during the summer Prof. Ewing, of Dundee, had visited the Observatory to make arrangements for the observations on earthquakes and earth movements which it had been resolved to carry on there. Prof. Vernon Harcourt and Mr. Harold Dickson, both of Oxford, also spent some time at the Observatory conducting experiments and observations on the intensity of light in flames, it being necessary, in connection with the important practical question of a satisfactory determination of the light-giving qualities of coal gas supplied to the public, to make experiments on such a situation as Ben Nevis, where barometric pressure is low. Mr. H. N. Dickson resided two months at the Observa- tory, being chiefly engaged in carrying out, under the superin- tendence of Prof. Tait and Mr. Buchan, a valuable series of observations and experiments on. the methods of observing the temperature and humidity of the air. For this purpose the season was a singularly suitable one, on account of the extremes of temperatures and humidities the weather presented during the summer on the Ben. As regards the humidity, where there were of course abundant opportunities of studying the behaviour ofthe instruments in an atmosphere completely saturated through a wide range of temperature, many cases occurred of excessive and protracted dryness of the atmosphere. On one occasion, in September, no deposition of dew took place on Nov. 12, 1885] NATORE 45 Prof, Chrystal’s condensation hygrometer, though its tempera- ture was lowered to 9°'0. These quite exceptional arid states of the air on Ben Nevis during the past summer are of the greatest interest, especially in their relations to the unprecedentedly severe early frosts which were so destructive to the potato and cereal crops over extensive breadths of the country during Sep- tember. It was reported that since the middle of August sub- scriptions to the amount of about 300/. had been already received from the original subscribers, and it was resolved to make the claims of the Observatory more widely known. At the same meeting the Council resolved that the discussion of the observa- tions of the temperature of the sea round Scotland be undertaken by the Scottish Marine Station at Granton chiefly with the view of constructing isothermal maps of the sea for each month round the Scottish coasts. The Secretary reported that he had duiing the summer inspected twenty-six of the Society’s stations. The Duke of Buccleuch, and Messrs. Donald Beith, W.S. 3 Robert Irvine of Royston; B. N. Peach, Geological Survey ; and ohn Horn, also of the Geological Survey, were elected members of the Society. ON THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE DOG* HE man and the dog have lived together in more or less intimate association for many thousands of years, and yet it must be confessed that they know comparatively little of one another. That the dog is a loyal, true, and affectionate friend must be gratefully admitted, but when we come to consider the psychical nature of the animal, the limits of our knowledge are almost immediately reached. I have elsewhere suggested that this arises very much from the fact that hitherto we have tried to teach animals, rather than to learn from them—to convey our ideas to them, rather than to devise any language or code of signals by means of which they might communicate theirs to us. The former may be more important from a utilitarian point of view, though even this is questionable, but psychologically it is far less interesting. Under these circumstances it occurred to me whether some such system as that followed with deaf mutes, and especially by Dr. Howe with Laura Bridgman, might not prove very instructive if adapted to the case of dogs. I have tried this in a small way with a black poodle named ‘* Van.” I took two pieces of cardboard about ro inches by 3, and on one of them printed in large letters the word “ food,” leaving the other blank. I then placed two cards over two saucers, and in the one under the ‘‘ food” card put a little bread and milk, which ‘* Van,” after having his attention called to the card, was allowed to eat. This was repeated over and over again till he had had enough. In about ten days he began to distinguish between the two cards. I then put them on the floor and made him bring them to me, which he did readily enough. When he brought the plain card I simply threw it back, while, when he brought the food card, I gave him a piece of bread, and in about a month he had pretty well learned to realise the difference. I then had some other cards printed with the words ‘‘ out,” ‘‘ tea,” “pone,” “water,” spelt phonetically, so as not to trouble him by our intricate spelling, and a certain number also with words to which I did not intend him to attach any significance, such as “nought,” ‘ plain,” “ ball,” &c. ‘* Van” soon learned that bringing a card was a request, and soon learned to distinguish between the plain and printed cards; it took him longer to realise the difference between words, but he gradually got to recognise several, such as ‘ food,” ‘‘ out,” ‘* bone,” ‘‘ tea,” &c. If he was asked whether he would like to go out for a walk, he would joyfully pick up the ‘‘out” card, choosing it from several others, and bring it to me, or run with it in evident triumph to the door. I need hardly say that the cards were not always put in the same places. They were varied quite indiscriminately and in a great variety of positions. Nor could the dog recognise them by scent. They were all alike, and all continually handled by us. Still I did not trust to that alone, but had a number printed for each word. When, for instance, he brought a card with ‘‘food” on it, we did not put down the same identical card, but another bearing the same word, when he had brought that a third, then a fourth, and so on, For a single meal, therefore, eighteen or twenty cards would be used, so that he evidently is not guided by scent. No one who has seen him look down a row of cards and pick up the one he wanted could, I think, doubt that in bringing a card he feels he is making a request, r Abstract of paper by Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M-P., F.R.S., read at the Aberdeen meeting of the British Association. and that he can not only distinguish one card from another, but also associate the word and the object. This is, of course, only a beginning, but it is, I venture to think, suggestive, and might be carried further, though the limited wants and aspirations of the animal constitute a great difficulty. My wife has a very beautiful and charming collie, ‘‘ Patience,” to which we are much attached. This dog was often in the room when ‘‘ Van” brought the food card, and was rewarded with a piece of bread. She must have seen this thousands of times, and she begged in the usual manner, but never once did it occur to her to bring a card. She did not touch or indeed even take the slightest notice of them. I then tried the following experiment :—I prepared six cards about 10 inches by three, and coloured in pairs—two yellow, two blue, and two orange. I put three of them on the floor, and then holding up one of the others, endeavoured to teach “Wan” to bring me the duplicate. That is to say, that if the blue was held up, he should fetch the corresponding colour from the floor; if yellow, he should fetch the yellow, and so on. When he brought the wrong card he was made to drop it, and return for another till he brought the right one, when he was rewarded with a little food. The lessons were generally given by my assistant, Miss Wendland, and lasted half an hour, during which time he brought the right card on an average about twenty-five times. I certainly thought that he would soon have grasped what was expected of him. But no. We continued the lessons for nearly three months, but as a few days were missed, we may say for ten weeks, and yet at the end of the time I cannot say that ‘‘ Van” appeared to have the least idea of what was expected of him. It seemed a matter of pure accident which card he brought. There is, I believe, no reason to doubt that dogs can distinguish colours ; but as it was just possible that ‘‘ Van” might be colour blind, we then repeated the same experiment, only substituting for the coloured cards others marked respectively I., II., and III. This we continued for another three months, or, say, allowing for intermissions, ten weeks, but to my surprise entirely without success. I was rather disappointed at this, as, if it had succeeded, the plan would have opened out many interesting lines of inquiry. Still in such a case one ought not to wish for one result more than another, as of course the object of all such experiments is merely to elicit the truth, and our result in the present case, though negative, is very interesting. I do not, however, regard it as by any means conclusive, and should be glad to see it repeated. Ifthe result proved to be the same, it would certainly imply very little power of combining even extremely simple ideas. I then endeavoured to get some insight into the arithmetical con- dition of the dog’s mind. On this subject I have been able to find but little in any of the standard works on the intelligence of animals. Considering, however, the very limited powers of savage men in this respect—that no Australian language, for instance, contains numerals even up to four, no Australian being able to count his own fingers even on one hand—we cannot be surprised if other animals have made but little progress. Still, it is surprising that so little attention should have been directed to this subject. Leroy, who, though he expresses the opinion that ‘‘the nature of the soul of animals is unimportant,” was an excellent observer, mentions a case in which a man was anxious to shoot a crow. ‘To deceive this suspicious bird, the plan was hit upon of sending two men to the watch-house, one of whom passed on, while the other remained ; but the crow counted and kept her distance. The next day three went, and again she perceived that only two retired. In fine, it was found necessary to send five or six men to the watch-house to put her out in her calculation. The crow, thinking that this number of men had passed by, lost no time in returning.” From this he inferred that crows could count up to four. Lichtenberg men- tions a nightingale which was said to count up to three. Every day he gave it three mealworms, one at a time; when it had finished one it returned for another, but after the third it knew that the feast was over. I do not find that any of the recent writers on the intelligence of animals, either Buchner, or Peitz, or Romanes, in either of his books, give any additional evidence on this part ofthesubject. There are, however, various scattered notices. For instance, there is an amusing and suggestive remark in Mr. Galton’s interesting ‘‘ Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa.” After describing the Damara’s weakness in cal- culations, he says :—‘‘ Once while I watched a Damara flounder- ing hopelessly in a calculation on one side of me, I observed ‘Dinah,’ my spaniel, equally embarrassed on the other ; she was overlooking half a dozen of her new-born puppies; 46 NATURE [Wov. 12, 1885 which had been removed two or three times from her, and her anxiety was excessive, as she tried to find out if they were all present, or if any were still missing. She kept puzzling and running her eyes over them backwards and forwards, but could not satisfy herself. She evidently had a vague notion of count- ing, but the figure was too large for her brain. Taking the two as they stood, dog and Damara, the comparison reflected no great honour on the man.” But even if ‘‘Dinah” had been clear on this subject, it might be said that she knew each puppy personally, as collies are said to know sheep. The same remark applies yenerally to animals and their young. Swans, for in- stance, are said to know directly if one of their cygnets is missing, but it is probable that they know each young bird individually. This explanation applies with less force to the case of eggs. According to my bird-nesting recollections, which 1 have re- freshed by more recent experience, if a nest contains four eggs, one may safely be taken; but if two are removed, the bird generally deserts. Here, then, it would seem as if we had some reason for supposing that there is sufficient intelligence to dis- tinguish three from four. An interesting consideration arises with reference to the number of the victims allotted to each cell by the solitary wasps. One species of Ammophila considers one large caterpillar of Woctua segeltim enough ; one species of Eumenes supplies its young with 5 victims ; another 10, 15, and even up to 24. The number appears to be constant in each species. How does the insect know when her task is fulfilled? Not by the cell being filled, for if some be removed she does not replace them. When she has brought her complement she considers her task accom- plished, whether the victims are still there or not. How, then, does she know when she has made up the number 24? Perhaps it will be said that each species feels some mysterious and innate tendency to provide a certain number of victims. This would, under no circumstances, be any explanation ; but it is not in accordance with the facts. In the genus Eumenes the males are much smaller than the females. Now, in the hive-bees, humble-bees, wasps, and other insects, where such a difference occurs, but where the young are directly fed, it is of course obvious that the quantity can be proportioned to the appetite of the grub. But in insects with the habits of Eumenes and Am- mophila the case is different, because the food is stored up once for all. Now, it is evident that if a female grub was supplied with only food enough for a male she would starve to death : while if a male grub were given enough for a female it would have too much. No such waste, however, occurs. In some mysterious manner the mother knows whether the egg will pro- duce a male or female grub, and apportions the quantity of food accordingly. She does not change the species or size of her prey ; but if the egg is male she supplies 5; if female, 10 victims. Does she count? Certainly this seems very like a commencement of arithmetic. At the same time it would be very desirable to have additional evidence how far the number is really constant. Considering how much has been written on instinct, it seems surprising that so little attention has been directed to this part of the subject. One would fancy that there ought to be no great difficulty in determining how far an animal could count ; and, whether, for instance, it could realise some very simple sum, such as that two and two make four. But when we come to consider how this is to be done the problem ceases to appear so simple. We tried our dogs by putting a a piece of bread before them and preventing them from touching it until we had counted seven. To prevent ourselves from un- intentionally giving any indication we used a metronome (the mstrument used for giving time when practising the pianoforte), and to make the beats more evident we attached a slender rod to the pendulum. It certainly seemed as if our dogs knew when the moment of permission had arrived ; but their movement of taking the bread was scarcely so definite as to place the matter beyond a doubt. Moreover, dogs are so very quick in seizing any indication given them, even unintentionally, that, on the whole, the attempt was not satisfactory to my mind. I was the more discouraged from continuing the experiment in this manner by an account Mr. Huggins gave me of a very intelligent dog belonging to him. A number of cards were placed on the ground, numbered respectively 1, 2, 3, andso onupto1o. A question is then asked: the square root of 9 or 16, or such a sum as 6x 52—3. Mr. Huggins pointed consecutively to the cars, and the dog barked when he came to the right one. Now Mr. Huggins did not consciously give the dog any sign, yet so quick was the dog in seizing the slightest indication, that he was able great interest in connection with the so-called ‘‘ thought-reading.” No one, I suppose, will imagine that there was in this case any “‘thought-reading” in the sense in which this word is used by Mr. Bishop and others. Evidently ‘‘ Kepler” seized upon the slight indications unintentionally given by Mr. Huggins. The observation, however, shows the great difficulty of the sub- ject. I have ventured to bring this question before the Section partly because I shall be so much obliged if any lady or gentle- man present will favour me with any suggestions ; and partly in hope of inducing others with more leisure and opportunity to carry on similar observations, which I cannot but think must lead to interesting results. Dr. Flower remarked that the crowded state of the room was sufficient evidence of the interest taken in whatever of the humerous subjects Sir John Lubbock cared to enlighten them upon. Sir John Lubbock was unable to make his dog count seven, but a dog at a place where he (Dr. Flower) was living recently certainly knew when the seventh day of the week came. The dog, most eager on every other day of the week to go for a wall, betrayed no desire to go on Sunday when his master took up his hat and stick to go to church. It struck him that the method which Sir John had adopted was the only one by which they could put themselves in relation to the minds of these animals— namely, the method of kindness and encouragement. Too many had tried to do these things by a system of intimidation and cruelty, but he did not think they could really know what dogs could do, and bring out their faculties, without patience and perseverance, encouragement, and uniform kindness. Miss Catherine Rae explained the way in which she got a dog, within three weeks, toring a bell. She began by letting ‘‘ Tiny” smell the bone of a mutton chop, and then tied the bone to the string of the bell. At first ‘‘ Tiny” was in a great tremor, but, by taking her very kindly and stroking her, she found that she could induce her to pull at the bone and so to ring the bell. After that she tied a small piece of wood to the string, but the dog would not pull it. At last she pulled her gently back till the bell rang, and in this way, in the short course of three weeks, with not more than one or two lessons a day, the dog would go and ring the bell by being told—‘* ‘ Tiny,’ go and ring the bell.” At the end of three weeks she gave an evening party, and during the evening they were all electrified by the sudden and violent ringing of the bell. ‘* Tiny” had been neglected to be indulged with any tit-bit, and had taken this means of receiving atten- tion, Miss Becker said, with regard to the experiments with the crow mentioned by Sir John, to show that it could not count | beyond three, that something of the same kind might happen with a person. Place three eggs upon the table, and any one could say there were three; but if there were twelve he would require to count them to be sure of the number. Mr. C. C. Walker gave an instance of a dog being taught politics. He belonged to a family where Liberal politics pre- vailed, and the dog showed his sympathy by growling fearfully when the name of ‘‘ Dizzy’ was mentioned, and at the name of his master giving expression to unbounded delight. Similar demonstrations at public meetings, he added, were often made with as little intelligence as those of the dog. Some other remarks were made, one gentleman suggesting that as long as the dog was ignorant of the words ‘‘ one,” *‘ two,” “three,” ‘‘four,”” he would not be able to count or get beyond the mere perception of magnitude. Sir John Lubbock thought with reference to the question of Sunday that there were so many slight indications in the house- hold generally to distinguish the day that he had never been able to regard that as proof of a dog counting, although it was a very interesting fact in itself. As regards several of the other cases they were clever tricks, but his suggestion was to operate in exactly the opposite direction ; not to teach the dog, but to enable the dog to communicate with us. NITROGEN IN THE SOIL RAck of the elements required for building up the frame of animals and plants is of equal importance from a scientific standpoint, but in agriculture the various salts and substances which yield food for crops or for cattle must necessarily be valued according to their cost. There are exceptions to this rule, no doubt. Gypsum is a cheap manure, but it has sometimes doubled to give the correct answer. This observation seems to me ef | the clover crop, and kainit salts are comparatively cheap. Yet Nov. 12, 1885 | NATURE 4 7 for some crops, especially potatoes, in cases of a deficient supply of potash in the soil, they have sometimes proved invaluable. In general, however, cost ard efficiency are closely associated, and as plants and animals are almost alike in their chemical composition the same rule as to the value of their constituents holds good. You may purchase starch and the carbo-hydrates at a much lower rate than the nitrogenous substances in food. Turnips, bread fruit, and bananas, consisting chiefly of carbo- hydrates, are sold by their respective growers at a very different and much lower price than milk or peas, which are rich in albu- minous elements. In every form nitrogen is always compara- tively costly. The albumen in eggs, the fibrine in cereals, the casein in milk, and the legumin in peas and beans, all owe their importance and cost to this particular element, which is the source of force and vigour, of the labour of the hardest-worked cattle and men, of lean meat and muscle. Considering the limited supply of nitrogen and the cost of obtaining it, it is not surprising that it should often be present in cultivated soils in quantities insufficient for a full crop, and that the land, when dressed with salts of nitrogen, should answer to their toucli asa horse does tothe spur. In the Rothamsted ex- periments the unmanured field yielded for years about fourteen bushels, or half a crop, till a dressing of nitrogen was given to it, when immediately the crop was doubled, nitrogen having been, as it often is in clay soils, the one thing needful to a full crop. Sir John Lawes has been sometimes asked by American farmers how to restore the exhausted fertility of their fields, so that the land, yielding fourteen bushels per acre, which is about the average of corn-exporting countries, might be induced to return twice as much. It is fortunate for English farmers that Sir John can only send advice into the far West; he cannot send nitrogen. Some years ago the agricultural community was flattered by the immediate prospect of a never failing supply of nitrogen. The marvels of chemistry and analysis had recently been un- folded by the writings of Sir H. Davy and Baron Liebig, and the efficacy of guano had accustomed farmers to the new method of supplying nitrogen to the land in concentrated forms and from sources outside the farmyard. Then came the promise of ob- taining nitrogen from the atmosphere. The agricultural classes are rarely much moved by anything but bad weather and falling prices, and the chemists had explained to them that the nitrogen of the atmosphere, existing as it does in a free state mixed with oxygen, was not available for agricultural purposes. If it could be induced, they were told, to enter into combination with hydrogen the result would be ammonia, an invaluable manure. This was understood by farmers, and a great sensation was occasioned among them when Mr. Nasmyth, the inventor of the steam hammer, proposed to control the supply of the most costly of plant constituents by knocking it out of the atmosphere. It is easy to see that if Mr. Nasmyth had succeeded in knocking nitrogen and hydrogen into combination at a moderate cost, a revolution in the price of manures and of food must have speedily occurred. But as the plan failed and as plants still ‘‘live and move and have their being” in the midst of an element which they cannot feed on, it was certainly surprising to learn lately that nitrogenous manures had ceased to produce their accustomed effect. The phenomenon occurred at the Duke of Bedford’s experimental farm at Woburn, where, according to official statements, the yield of wheat manured by the dung of animals fed on maize proved as abundant as the crop which followed from manure produced by the feeding of cotton cake, which enriches the excreta with far more nitrogen than that produced by feeding maize. The Woburn experiments were instituted by the Royal Agri- cultural Society and were placed under the management of its chemist, the late Dr. Voelcker, for the purpose of testing the value of manure obtained by the consumption of different kinds of food and to compare the effects of such manures with those of artificial manures. It is evident that in such a comparison the land to which the various fertilisers were applied should have been of similar quality. But there are other disturbing causes which may vitiate experiments of this kind, and these were not at first generally recognised. The mistake occurred in some rotation experiments in which the manure derived from cotton cake containing about 40 per cent. of nitrogenous constituents was compared in its results with that obtained from maize, a cereal containing only ro per cent. of albuminoids. The results _ of these experiments were known to the agricultural community i before the report of Dr. John Voelcker, who has succeeded his late father as chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society, had been made, and much surprise was expressed that at the close of the second rotation the cotton cake had not shown any decided superiority over the maize. It has been recently explained in an official report on the ‘*Objects, Plan, and Results of the Woburn Experiments,” that this was ‘‘ probably due to the large amount of unexhausted manure in the land.” Before commenc- ing experiments, therefore, on the comparative value of manures the land should be exhausted by repeated scourging crops, as at Rothamsted, where in some cases the deep-rooting Bokara clover has been grown for the special purpose of ‘reducing the fertility of the soil to 77. It haslongsince been established that nitrogen is neither absorbed by plants from the atmosphere nor conveyed into the soil to any appreciable extent in any way except by the direct application of manure: still there are some crops which collect nitrogen and leave the surface-soil richer than before. Red clover is usually grown as a preparation for wheat, and although clover hay must necessarily withdraw a great deal of plant-food from the soil, it does not prove exhaustive in practice because the deep and fleshy roots of the plant collect nitrogen from the subsoil and, in their decay, supply it to the growing wheat-crop. Under such circumstances a strong nitrogenous manure may not be required, and may perhaps prove less desirable than a weak manure con- taining less nitrogen. Enough has been said to show that the field experiments which are now becoming popular, and which are being instituted at many ‘‘stations” throughout the country, will require great care and the supervision of managers who possess a competent knowledge both of ‘‘ practice and science.” He E- UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Lonpon. —In accordance with resolutions passed at the extra- ordinary meeting of the Convocation of the University of London held on July 28 last, an adjourned extraordinary meeting of the House was held on Tuesday week in the University Building, Burlington Gardens, which was very numerously attended. The Chairman of Convocation (Mr. F. J. Wood, LL.D.) presided, and in his opening address explained his ruling that under the said resolutions the business pending before the former meeting might now be proceeded with, and invited the House to resume the debate accordingly. At the time of the adjournment the House had a motion before it, made by Lord Justice Fry, for the reception and adoption of the report of the special committee appointed to consider the project of the ‘‘ Association for Pro- moting a Teaching University for London.” To this motion an amendment had been moved by Mr. J. W. Bone, seconded by Mr. Philip Magnus, omitting all the words in the original motion after the word ‘‘received.” At Tuesday’s meeting leave was given to Lord Justice Fry to accept the amendment, which thus ecame a substantive motion, to which his Lordship, however, immediately proposed to add ‘‘ And that the House now con- sider what amendments, if any, ought to be made in the said scheme, and that such amendments, if any, be by way of instruc- tion to a committee of revision.” For Lord Justice Fry’s motion 76 only voted against 122 who negatived it. Ultimately after a three hours’ sitting the debate was adjourned to ‘Tuesday, December 8. ALDERMAN Sir R. N. Fow ver, Bart., M.P., has consented to present the City and Guilds of London Institute’s Scholar- ships, Prizes, and Certificates at a meeting to be held on Wednesday evening, December 9, at the Salters’ Hall, St. Swithin’s Lane, E.C. he Right Hon. the Lord Mayor will preside. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Mittheilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bern, Nos. 1064 to 1091, 1883-4 (three parts).—Contributions to the doctrine of metal-poisoning, by Marti.—Terrestrial and fresh-water mollusca collected in the neighbourhood of Berne and Onterlacken, by G. Regelsperger.—An automatically- acting thermograph, by G. Hasler.—Influence of sexual excita- tion on the composition of cow's milk, by F. Schaffer. —Furthes paper on the animal world in the pile-dwellings of the Lake of Bienne, by Th. Studer.—On a parasite in the intestine of the horse, by M. Flesch.—On the nature of odorous matters and 48 NATURE [Vov. 12, 1885 the causes of smell, by A. Valentin.—Mathematical considera- tions on the structure of bees’ cells, by A. Jonquiere.—On the inhibitory mechanism of the heart, by A. Glause.—On the | separation of manganese and nickel by means of ozone, by V. Schwarzenbach.—On determinate integrals, by J. H. Graf. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LONDGN Zoological Society, November 3.—Prof. W. H. Flower, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Sclater exhibited the skull of a Tapir received by the Society in May, 1878, which was then described as Zapirus roulini, but which had since been found, upon anatomical examination, to be merely a dark variety of Tapirus americanus.—A letter was read from Mr. J. Cald- well, C M.Z.S., of Port Louis, Mauritius, announcing the finding of a new deposit of dodo-bones in a small cavern in the south-west part of the island.—An extract was read from a letter addressed to the Secretary by Dr. F. H. Bauer, C.M.Z.S., of Buitenzorg, Java, containing some notes on the Flying Lizard (Ptychozoon homalocephalum) of that island.—Prof. Bell exhibited and made remarks ona fine specimen of the Decapod Crustacean, Alpheus megacheles, obtained by Mr. Spencer at Herm, Channel Tslands.—Mr. Martin Jacoby communicated the second portion of his paper on the Phytophagous Coleoptera of Japan obtained by Mr. George Lewis during his second journey, 1880-81. The present part treated of the Halticine and Galerucine of Mr. Lewis’s collection. —Mr. A. G. Butler read a paper containing an account of two collections of Lepidotera recently received from Somali Land. Mr. Butler considered that the Lepidopterous fauna of Somali Land was essentially Arabian in character.— Mr. L. R. Lydekker, F.Z.S., described a last upper molar of a Mastodon, which had been obtained by Mr. A. H. Everett, C.M.Z.S., in Borneo, and referred it to a small race of J7/. Jatidens, previously known only from the Pliocene Siwaliks of India and Burmah. The specimen was of much interest, as increasing our knowledge of the eastern range of the Siwalik mammals.—Mr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., read a monograph of the genus Paradoxurus. After a critical examination of a large series of specimens Mr. Blanford came to the conclusion that it | would be necessary to reduce the numerous so-called species of this genus to about ten well-marked forms.—Mr. W. T. Blan- ford, on behalf of Mr. J. A. Murray, read a paper containing the description of a new species of AZws from Sind, proposed to be called Aus gleadow?.—Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.Z.S., read an | account of the specific characters and structure of some New Zealand earthworms of the genus Acanthodrilus. PaRIs Academy of Sciences, November 2.—M. Bouley, Presi- dent, in the chair.—The Perpetual Secretary announced the death of M. Joly, Corresponding Member of the Section for Anatomy and Zoology, who died at Toulouse on October 17, 1885.—Remarks on the subject of M. Hirn’s recent experi- ments on the velocity of gases with a view to testing the truth of the kinetic theory of gases, by M. Faye. The author infers from the results of these experiments that the kinetic hypothesis will have to be reconsidered, if not absolutely rejected. The limit which it imposes on the velocity of gases under certain conditions of temperature and pressure is shown to be imaginary. —Fresh researches on the origin of the glandular nervous fibres and of the vaso-dilator nervous fibres which form part of the chord of the tympanum and of the glosso-pharyngian nerve, by M. Vulpian.—Remarks on M. H. Filhol’s new work entitled “‘Recherches zoologiques, botaniques, et géologiques faites a Vile de Campbell et en Nouvelle-Zelande,” by M. Alph. Milne- Edwards. The researches embodied in this work tend to show that since the Chalk or beginning of the Tertiary epoch Campbell Island can have formed no part of New Zealand or of any other Australasian region.—Solution of a question of indeterminate analysis constituting a fundamental principle in the theory of the Cremona transformations, by M. de Jonquiéres.—Experimental researches on the temperature ob- served in the mother at the moment of delivery and of the child at birth: comparison of these two temperatures, by M. Bonnal. —On the attenuation of the virus of ovine variola, by M. P. Pourquier. From his researches, continued fora period of seven or eight years on the principles established by M. Pasteur, the author concludes that it is possible to attenuate this virus, to | transform it into a true vaccine, and thus avoid the serious losse | hitherto incurred by inoculating sheep against the disease.—On the Cremona transformations in a plane of 7 order, by M. G. B. Guccia.—On the decomposition of quadratic forms, by M. Benoit.—Note on the theory of M. Helmholtz respecting the preservation of solar heat, by M. Ph. Gilbert.—Note on the doubly-refracted dispersion of quartz, by M. J. Macé de Lépinay.—On the theoric distribution of heat over the surface of the globe, by M. A. Angot.—Combination of the nitrate of silver with the alkaline nitrates (nitrates of potassa, rubidium, am- moniac, soda, and lithine), by M. A. Ditté.—On the anhydrous chloride and silicate of cerium, by M. P. Didier. Having already determined the action of hydrosulphuric acid on the anhydrous chloride of cerium, the author now communicates a process for preparing this substance, and describes’ some other compounds obtained by its means by the dry process.—Note on the Asteriadz collected during the 7adésman expedition, by M. Edm. Perrier. As many as fifty-four species, represented by nearly 200 specimens, were obtained on this occasion, some ~ fished up from depths exceeding 4000 metres.—On the respira- tion of leaves in the dark: carbonic acid retained by them, second note, by MM. Dehérain and Maquenne.—Note on artificial earthy specular iron, by M. Stan. Meunier.—On the zymotic properties of charbon and septicemic blood, by M. A. Sanson.—On the transmission of virulent glanders to the pig, by MM. Cadéac and Malet.—Treatment of mildew in the vine by means of the sulphate of copper, by M. A. Miintz.—The sulphate of lye-ashes and its employment against animal and vegetable parasitic diseases, by M. Duponchel.—Account of a remarkable meteoric phenomenon observed at Pondicherry on June 13, 1885, by M. C. Andre. PAGE CONTENTS The International Sanitary Conference of Rome, TOSS. os os eee ws. Bie ee es ee te ee ‘Evolution without Natural Selection.” By George J. Romanes, F.R.S. . 2k G: 5 eee Forestry in Poland 27 | Our Book Shelf :— Lodge’s ‘‘ Elementary Mechanics ”’ 28 ordants) (Oceanian prensa) eee) ete 28 Schellen’s ‘Spectrum Analysis” ......... 28 Jackson’s ‘‘ Practical Arithmetic on an entirely New Method” and Cox’s “‘ Principles of Arithmetic ” 29 Letters to the Editor :— The Recent Total Eclipse of the Sun,—N. A. Graydon Fo ios = 2) 2 2 8 fo ie ee Ophthalmologic Education in the United Kingdom,— DroR OE. Dudgeon 5.7: . .) . fo. eee The Helm Wind.—Dr. A. Woeikof ....... 30 The Resting Position of Oysters. —Prof. W. Turner, BRjS.6 0 aos ee on ee ee The Australian Lyre Bird.—Alfred Morris Pa Si) Blackberry Blossoms in November.—Joseph John Mihbtgihe Gano opto moo oo ooo SH Explorations in Pahang. By Rev. J. E. Tenison- Wood TiS Ga OR RMneraee eee The Cretaceous Floras of Canada, By Sir William Dawson, -HARAS = ic Secs = sl ost el) coe Radiant Light and Heat, 1V. By Prof. Balfour Stewart, FIRIS) (illustrated) 2 5.) Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission for 1884 so Se Notes Cusene Gt Ona pO Es 39 Our Astronomical Column :— Dbe Rotation Penodiof Mars’. . - .9. 2). 0s 2 The Spectrum of the Great Nebula in Andromeda . 42 dite Wiedgevehotometer << =) =) =) un mtaaeee nnn 42 Photographing the Corona in Full Sunshine... . 42 Astronomical Phenomena for the Week, 1885, November s=20 of) ce) ele ratte irccnten nme nr=nui-y n-ne Geographicaliotesi = jis sit-miiemt mn maemnotts 43 The Scottish Meteorological Society per oS ts On the Intelligence of the Dog. fBy Sir John Lubbock, Bart. Mops eho Rasen i 2 +) ele Nitrogen‘inthelSoil cme ae ae University and Educational Intelligence .. . 47 Scientific Serials Do DOM ONS Georg ooo) Ai SocietiesiandAicademiesi remus ict clietiein ont ea r-a eT INAIRCRR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1885 LOOMIS’S “CONTRIBUTIONS TO METEOROLOGY” Contributions to Meteorology. By Elias Loomis, LL.D., Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in Yale College, &c. Revised Edition. (New Haven, Conn., U.S., 1885.) (2 is now fifty years since Prof. Loomis’s attention was directed to the study of meteorology, his interest in the subject having been awakened by Redfield’s investi- gations respecting the phenomena and laws of storms. During the first forty years his principal writings were elaborate discussions of the great storm which occurred in’ America in December 1836, and an equally remarkable storm which occurred. in Europe shortly after the American storm, and an account of another United States storm in February 1842, which in a part of its course was accom- panied by a tornado of unusual violence. The chief out- come of these investigations was a new method of charting observations, now so familiar to all the world in our weather maps, and the demonstration of the capital fact in meteorology, that in storms the movement of the wind is spirally inwards, circulating from right to left about the centre of the cyclone. The generally imperfect character of the barometric observations for a long time precluded all attempts at any satisfactory investigation of the storms and weather of the United States ; and it was not till 1871, when the Signal Service was organised, with its uniform methods of observation and reliable barometers, that the data required “tor the investigation was supplied. When two years’ observations had accumulated, Prof. Loomis resumed his inquiries, and from July 1874 a series of papers by him, entitled “ Contributions to Meteorology ” have appeared from time to time in the American Fournal of Science. A large number of these we have noticed in NATURE as they appeared. As the subjects investigated were taken up without any regard to systematic order, and as a change of views has necessarily come about as the investigations proceeded, Prof. Loomis has wisely resolved to reduce them to a more systematic form and incorporate into the revised work the results of observa- tions now available, not only from the United States, but also from Europe and other parts of the world. The present pamphlet contains the first chapter of this revision, and the subject dealt with is the areas of low atmospheric pressure, their form and magnitude, and the direction and velocity of their movements. As regards the forms of areas of low pressures, or cyclones as they are conveniently termed, the greatest and least diameters of all the cyclones represented on the Weather Maps of the Signal Service during a period of three years were actually measured, with the result that the average ratio of the longest diameter to the shortest was 1°94. In 53 per cent. of the whole number of cases the ratio was 1°5; in 33 per cent. 2; in II per cent. 3; and in 3 per cent.4. Similarly the Atlantic storms, as delineated on Hoffmeyer’s charts for a period of three years, have been examined, and the measurements show that the ratio of the longest diameter of the cyclones to VOL. XXXIII.—NO. 838 the shortest is 1°70; and that while in 54 per cent. of the whole number of cases the ratio was 1°5, in I7 per cent. it was 2,and in 1 per cent. 3—thus showing a marked deficiency of very elongated low pressure areas over the Atlantic Ocean as compared with the United States. Observations show that the longest diameter of cyclones may be turned in any azimuth. In the States it is most frequently directed towards a point somewhat East of North, the point towards which the longest diameter is most frequently directed being N. 36° E. The average direction is sensibly the same for the cyclones of the Mississippi Valley and for those of the Atlantic coast. Over the Atlantic Ocean the direction of the longest diametersare more equally distributedin azimuth than they are in the United States, but the point towards which the longest diameter is most frequently directed is N. 35° E., which corresponds almost exactly with the direction found for the United States. The cyclones of the tropics frequently exhibit a violence greater than is ever known in the storms of the middle latitudes, but their geographical extent is comparatively small. The inclination of the winds inwards upon the centre is shown to be more strongly marked in tropical cyclones than in most storms of the middle latitudes. From an examination of the weather maps of the Signal Service it is found that in the United States a low pressure area, with only one system of cyclonic winds, frequently has a diameter of 1600 English miles, and Hoffmeyer’s charts show that cyclones over the Atlantic have frequently diameters of 2000 English miles. Widespread areas of low barometer, having several centres of cyclonic action, may have a diameter of 6000 English miles or may even form a belt extending nearly, if not entirely, round the globe between the parallels of 40° and 50° N. lat. On the other hand, tropical cyclones are often only 500 miles in diameter, and are occasionally of still less dimensions. When low pressure areas are very much elongated, two or three cyclonic centres are frequently included within the same area of low pressure. Though these cyclonic centres are occasionally of equal depth, yet they are more geperally of very unequal depth and intensity. The weather charts of the morning of March 9, 1876, showed a very large area of low pressure overspreading Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, having a principal centre of low pressure in the north of Scotland, around which violent winds prevailed, rising to 12 on Beaufort’s scale, with very steep gradients on the western side of the cyclone. About the same time, and within the same widespread low pres- sure area, there were four other cyclones, with their centres at St. Petersburg, South Russia, south coasts of the Black Sea, and over the Caspian Sea, respectively. As an illustration of one of the more extensive areas of low pressure, Prof. Loomis adduces the great baro- metric depression of June 7, 1882, as shown on the International Weather Map of the Signal Service of that day. This area of low pressure covered the whole of Asia, apparently extending from the equator to a consider- able distance beyond the North Pole; it covered the whole of Europe with the exception of a small portion of its southern margin, and also the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean and stretched across the central portion of North America to the Pacific Ocean: thus extending D 50 NATURE [Vov. 19, 1885 through 320 degrees of longitude. The principal low centre, 29°200 inches, was north of the Caspian Sea; a second low centre, 29°400 inches, was over the northern part of India ; a third low centre, 29600 inches, over the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; a fourth low centre, 29'$00 inches, over China; a fifth low centre, 29'800 inches, north-east of Japan; and if every part of this large portion of the earth’s surface had been sufficiently represented by observing stations several other subordinate low centres would doubtless have been exhibited. On the other hand, a centre of high pressure, 30°400 inches, was found over the Atlantic Ocean; a second, 30°200 inches, over the south-eastern part of the United States; and a third, over the eastern part of the Pacific near latitude 30° N. The area of high pressure formed a belt closely following the parallels of 30°—35° and extending through at least 240 degrees of longitude, but interrupted by the Asiatic Continent. We drew attention five years ago to the all-important bearings of these areas of high and low pressure on the weather in all the regions of the globe over which anom- alously high and low barometers at any time prevail (NATURE, vols. xxi., xxii. and xxiii.). But the importance of this department of meteorology is much enhanced when it is considered that it is through a careful record of the ap- pearance and disappearance in different regions of the globe of these cyclonic and anti-cyclonic areas and an investigation of the causes determining their form, position, and intensity from time to time that we may hope to reach the solution of the problem of the weather. In prosecuting this large inquiry, the results of Prof. Loomis’s careful measurements of meteorological phenomena, as detailed in the revised edition of his “ Contributions” now before us, form one of the best guides we at present possess. Direction of Movement of Areas of Low Pressure.—Areas of low pressure, or cyclones,seldom remain stationary in the same position for many hours. The centre of low pressure generally changes its position steadily from hour to hour, and everywhere there is observed a marked uniformity in the direction of this movement. Prof. Loomis gives several charts showing the progressive movement of cyclones in different parts of the world, including one showing nearly all the different storm tracts delineated on the International Weather Maps of the United States Signal Service for a period of more than four years. Maury’s Storm Charts are also brought under review. The lowest latitude reached by the centre of any cyclone, which has been distinctly traced, is 6° 1’ N., and there are only eight cases of cyclones whose paths have been traced to points south of lat. 10° N. Observations indicate that, both in the Pacific and Atlantic, gales are of extremely rare occurrence within six degrees of the equator, and, when they do occur, the barometric depression is small, and the cyclonic character of the winds indistinctly marked. But in low latitudes, a little higher than six degrees, gales are more frequent over the Pacific than over the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical storms which are found to pursue a westerly course are limited to two regions of the globe—viz. the Atlantic Ocean, but particularly its western portion, near the West India Islands, and the region south of the continent of Asia. As regards the Pacific, no cyclone has ever been observed, except near Asia or its outlying islands. As regards the tracks of tropical cyclones in the neigh- bourhood of the West Indies, the teaching of the data represented on the International Charts is that nearly all the areas of low barometer which occur within the tropics and advance westwards, instead of following the ordinary course of the trade winds, advance in a direction some- what north of west. Of these West Indian cyclones, 68 per cent occurred in August, September, and October, thus leaving only 12 per cent. for the other nine months of the year. On the other hand, of the Asiatic cyclones 52 per cent. occurred in September, October, and November, and 43 per cent. in April, May, and June, thus > leaving only 5 per cent. for the other six months. There is, therefore, a marked seasonal difference as to the frequency of the tropical cyclones of the Atlantic as com- pared with the Pacific: in the Atlantic they are almost exclusively confined to the autumn, but in the Pacific they are nearly as frequent in spring as in autumn. ‘The average direction of the course of the Asiatic cyclones, while moving westward, is 38° north of west, which closely accords with that found for West Indian cyclones. But, as regards the onward progress of tropical cyclones, whilst Asiatic cyclones advance westwards at the average rate of 8 English miles per hour, the average velocity of West Indian cyclones is double that amount. Asiatic cyclones come around to a due north course about lat. 19°°S N., but West Indian cyclones do not assume a due northerly course till, on the average of instances, lat. 30° N. is reached. In the Pacific the average course of cyclones, after turning eastward, was 35° E. of N., and their velocity was 9°8 miles, which is scarcely half of the velocity of the West Indian cyclones. These striking and vital differences between the tropical cyclones of the Atlantic and the Pacific will doubtless play no unimport- ant part in the development of the theory of the cyclone. An examination of Prof. Loomis’s chart of storm- tracks for the northern hemisphere, with wind charts indicating the prevailing direction of the wind, shows a ~ remarkable correspondence between the two classes of facts. Examining the point more narrowly, Prof. Loomis finds that for the middle region of the Atlantic, near lat. 50°, the average direction of storm paths corresponds very closely with that of the average direction of the wind ; but in the western part of the Atlantic the average course of storms is considerably more northerly than that of the wind, while in the eastern part it is more southerly. These results, which fairly accord with those derived from tropical storms, seem to indicate, in the opinion of the author, that in the middle latitudes of the northern — hemisphere the direction of progress of storm-centres is _ not the same as that of the average wind, but is sensibly affected by some other causes ; and that the results de- rived from observations in the China Sea indicate that _ one of the causes is the prevalent direction of the wind which immediately follows a storm. The subject is _ further prosecuted by an examination of the prevailing _ winds and storm-tracks during the three winter months for the ten winters ending 1882 of that portion of the :| United States between long. 90° W. and the Rocky | Mountains. The result of this somewhat exhaustive — comparison is similar to that derived from the observa- _ | Nov. 19, 1885 | NATGRE 51 tions on the Atlantic—there being observed no rigorous correspondence between the average direction of the movement of storm-centres and the prevailing wind ; but that in some regions the average course of storm- centres is more northerly than that of the wind, and in some regions more southerly. While in middle latitudes the generally progressive movement of cyclones is in an easterly direction, cyclonic areas are occasionally observed, both in Europe and America, advancing to westward. After a careful in- vestigation of forty-one of the most decided cases which have occurred of these westerly movements of cyclones, it is considered that the following conclusions are warranted—viz. that the westerly movement of low- pressure centres is due to a fall of rain or snow, in most cases unusually great, in the region towards which the low centre advances; and the influence of one low- pressure area acting apparently as an attractive force upon another adjacent low-pressure area; to the influ- ence exerted by two areas of high pressure, not far apart, by which a new movement is imparted to the air included between them, a new low centre being sometimes de- veloped; or to the influence of a high pressure on the north-east side of a low-pressure area, when the gradients on the south-west side of the low area are slight, in which case the centre of the low-pressure area may be crowded towards the south-west. Rate of Progress of Cyclones—The rate of progress of the United States storms for thirteen years has been calculated, and the results arranged according to the months, and expressed in miles per hour. The average rate of progress for the year is 28'4 miles, rising to the maximum, 342 miles in February, and falling to the minimum, 22°6 miles, in August. As regards different years, the variation is also much greater in the winter than in the summer months. Thus, in November, 1878, the rate was 21'2 miles per hour, but in the same month of the following year it was 40°7 miles; and, on the other hand, in July, 1882, the rate was 19°8 miles, but in July, 1881, it was 266 miles—the difference between the extremes of November being thus 19°5 miles, and in July only 6°8 miles. In Europe during the five years ending 1880 the mean annual rate of progress was 16'7 miles, rising to the maximum, 190 miles, in October, and falling to the minimum, 140 miles, in August. Hence the onward movement of storms in the United States is two-thirds greater than in Europe, the rate of excess for the United States over Europe being 1'9 in winter, and 1°5 in summer. On the mean of the year the average onward movement of storms is, in miles per hour, 28°4 for the United States, 180 for the middle latitudes of the Atlantic, 16°7 for Europe, 14°7 for the West Indies, and 8°5 for the Bay of Bengal and the China Sea. Prof. Loomis is led to conclude that the general system of atmospheric circulation, consisting of the trades of equatorial regions and the westerly winds of the middle latitudes, is the primary cause which determines both the direction and velocity of the movement of storm centres ; but as respects each individual storm, the determining cause is not so much the average system of atmospheric circulation, as the general movement of the atmosphere going on at the time, and in the vicinity of that particular : "< storm. The influence of this general movement is, more- over, materially modified by a variety of causes, among which may be enumerated the rainfall, and the position of the region over which it falls with respect to the centre of the storm ; the size and position of neighbouring areas of high and low pressure, the distribution of temperature, and the physical configuration and character of the surface. In further prosecuting this important discussion, the time has perhaps now come for meteorologists to give more consideration and weight to the physical conditions of the cyclone, more particularly to the method of distri- bution of temperature and aqueous vapour within and in the more immediate neighbourhood of the cyclone. This point, which was so strongly dwelt on and urged by Dove, has for some time past been allowed to fall too much into the background. A cyclone is not merely a system of low pressure with winds all around blowing vorticosely inwards upon the centre; but it is further distinguished by this, that the atmosphere in front of its path is relatively warm and moist, and in the rear cold and dry. These features are seldom kept so steadily in view by meteorologists as they ought to be in the discussion of such questions as Prof. Loomis has here brought under review. One outstanding difference of the storms of America and those of Europe is that nearly all of the American storms originate on the continent, not far from the Rocky Mountains, whereas the storms of Europe originate mostly on the ocean. It is not improbable that more than one of the important points of difference between these two classes of storms shown by Prof. Loomis have their ex- planation in the different conditions under which they have their origin. OUR BOOK SHELF A Treatise on the Calculus of Variations. Carll, A.M. (London: Macmillan, 1885.) A Text-Book on the Method of Least Squares. Mansfield Merriman. (London: Macmillan, 1885.) BotH these works by American mathematicians have been, we believe, printed in America, and are now intro- duced to the attention of English students by Messrs. Macmillan. They are first-class representatives of the good work now being done in this field: we have (NATURE, vol. xvi. p. 21, vol. xxvi. p. 59) already given account of other American mathematical publications. Mr. Carll, on his title page, states that his treatise is “farranged with the purpose of introducing, as well as illustrating, its principles to the reader by means of problems, and designed to present in all important parti- culars, a complete view of the present state of the science.” The subject is one which certainly has not engaged the time of our book-compilers, for which good and sufficient reasons might be assigned. In 1810, as Todhunter writes, a work was published by Woodhouse, which has obtained a high reputation for accuracy and clearness. That work was not followed by any systematic treatise in English until the year 1850, when Mr. Jellett brought out his valuable ‘‘ Elementary Treatise on the Calculus of Variations,” an octavo volume of 377 pages, with an introduction of 20 pages. In the later editions of Mr. Todhunter’s integral calculus are given such portions of the subject as are generally read by students. The same writer’s ‘“ History” and “ Researches” should be in the hands of all who desire to get up this branch thoroughly. After the lapse of so long an int#rval as thirty-five years Bye Le Be By 52 we are not surprised to find that Jellett’s work is difficult of access to general readers, and on this ground, if on no other, we welcome the present attempt to bring the “Calculus” to the fore again. The author follows Airy and Todhunter in the view he takes of a variation, and Jellett and Strauch in the treatment of varying functions, but he has not neglected to give fairly full accounts of the conceptions and methods of other writers. A good deal of the preface is taken up with details which might well be omitted should the work reach a second edition, as we hope it may. There are in all five chapters (568 and xvii. pages) printed in good type and in excellent style. Chapter i, maxima and minima of single integrals, involving one dependent variable is broken up into ten sections ;: Chapterii., maxima and minima of single integrals involving two or more dependent variables in two sec- tions: Chapter ill, maxima and minima of multiple integrals in six sections. Chapter iv., applications to determining the conditions which will render a function integral one or more times in two sections. Chapter v. gives a historical sketch of the rise and progress of the calculus of variations founded upon Tod- hunter’s “ History,” and closes with an account of the “ Researches in the Calculus of Variations,” referred to above. We have nothing to say of Mr. Merriman’s work in addition to what we have said already (NATURE, vol. XXX. p. 334): the works are identical, except in the title pages. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [ Zhe Editor does not hold himself responsiblefor opinions exbressed 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 hts space ts so great that it ts impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even of communications containinginteresting and novel facts.) Italian Aid to Biological Research THE Committee appointed by the Royal Academy of the Lincei in Rome at the request of H.E. the Minister of Naval Affairs, to see that the best possible use in the interests of science be made of the natural history specimens collected by officers of the Royal Italian Navy, wishes to make known to all students of biology that rich material for study, consisting of a certain number of plants and extensive collections of ani- mals of nearly all classes, is at present deposited at the Zoologi- cal Station at Naples. This material has all been collected by the officers of the Royal Navy, principally by the Vztlor Pisanz in a recent voyage round the world, and by other Italian men- of-war in the Red Sea and the 42gean Sea. These collections have been preserved by the best and most modern methods, and can be used for histological and morphological researches, in accordance with the actual requirements of science, as well as for systematic and faunistic investigations. The Committee places this rich material at the disposal of the men of science of all countries who will ask to take part in its illustration, either to complete monographs in course, or for monographical works or for special research on any organic system of a given group. The requests, on which the Committee will decide, are to be sent to Prof. Trinchese, University of Naples. Prof. TRINCHESE, Naples Prof. TopARo, Rome Prof. PASSERINI, Parma Prof. G1GLioLt, Florence Lieutenant CHIERCHIA (Royal Italian Navy), Naples Prof. DOHRN, Naples WAT ORE. [Vov. 19, 1885 The Resting Position of Oysters In a letter from Mr. J. T. Cunningham in your impression of NATURE of October 22 (p. 597) it is sought to show that the oyster does not rest on its left but on its right valve. The evidence which appears to him conclusive on this question is ‘*that the right flat valve is always quite clean, while the convex valve is covered with worm-tubes (Sty/ea grossularia) and Hydroids.” This observation is correct on the whole, but not decisive for the question under consideration. After reading Mr. Cunning- ham’s letter I proceeded to examine 140 oysters in my collection of Schleswig oysters, and found only on a few right valves a worm (Pomatoccros tricuspis) or a Cirripede (Balanus crenatus), whereas on many /eft valves I distinguished sponges (Hai- chondria panicea), Alcyonium digitatum, WUydroids (Sertularia argentea, Tubularia indivisa, Eadendrium rameum), Bryozoa (Alcyonidium gelatinosum), Balanus crenatus, Pomatoceros tri- cuspis, or Sabellaria anglica. Of the 140 oysters examined 43 still bore on their shells the body on which as spawn they had reared themselves, namely pieces of oyster-shells, AZyéz/us edudis, Mya arenaria, Mya truncata, Cardium edule, or Buccinum wndatum. All these adherent bodies were attached to the nucleus of the left valve, not one single piece to the nucleus of the right. And this is a circumstance decisive in the question raised by Mr. Cunningham. ‘The places on the right valve, where living animals rest, did not stick close to fixed bodies, but the water flowed freely over them, thus admitting embryos to settle on them. The bottom of oyster banks is not a smooth surface, but is formed mainly of old oyster-shells on which many living oysters do not assuredly plant themselves closely and hori- zontally, but lie often obliquely. It is thus that Hydroids, Sponges, Alcyonium, and Alcyonidium, having settled on the right lower valve, are enabled to grow freely in the water and without let or hindrance develop to the length of four or five inches. Kiel, October 31 Karvu MOsius Universal Secular Weather Periods I Do not want to pose as a statistical cycle-hunter, or to bolster up any mere apparent local periodicity of a certain meteoro- logical element, but I wish to place before your readers the ap- pended independent paragraphs from two journals, one on each side of the Atlantic, and to ask any unprejudiced person if we have not here some preliminary evidence (all the more valuable from its being so evidently incidental and unconscious) in favour of the march of certain secular weather areas, possibly connected with barometric waves, similar to those traced out by Messrs. Chambers and Pearson in India, across the Atlantic, from America to Europe. I would not submit such slender evidence to criticism were it not that it concurs entirely with certain views put forward by myself in a recent paper in the Royal Meteorological Society’s Quarterly Fournal, on ‘‘ The Height of the Neutral Plane of Pressure in India,” and that I have long felt that the entire question demands attention both on scientific and economical grounds. Also both paragraphs include last year, thus bringing the apparent periodicity up to date. Being at present fully engaged in two other branches of re- search, I am unable just now to take up this hopeful and important problem, but I would suggest that if we ever intend to forecast the general character of the weather of a season or year, which even in this country undergoes long periodic changes, during which it remains for weeks and months together of the same type, some such method as the following must be adopted :— Annual and seasonal mean barometric charts must be con- structed from records at principal stations in America, Europe, and Asia for the past fifty or sixty years, and from them baro- metric abnormals for each year, and for each season, must be calculated, and charted. An examination of these ought to throw great light on, if not to some extent solve, the question of the motion of the larger pressure areas which in turn guide and control the motion of the smaller diurnal systems. The work would, I admit, be one of some considerable magnitude, but surely it is one imperatively demanded in the interests of the science, besides being a frzorvt likely to yield valuable results. It has long been a cherished idea of mine to endeavour to carry out the scheme myself, and it is only because I feel pre- cluded from doing so at present by the pressure of other work that I throw out the suggestion for the benefit of any who feel disposed to take it up. Nov. 19, 1885 | The paragraphs are as follows :— Mr. Baldwin Latham, in a discussion which ensued upon the Report of the Committee on Decrease of Water Supply (Quarterly Fournal Roy. Met. Soc., p. 223), said :— ‘‘ The records showed that there appeared to be a recurrence of low water every ten years. There was lower water in 1824 and in 1835; the period 1844-5 was low, especially when compared with the years immediately before and following ; 1854 was re- markably low ; also 1864-5, 1874-5, and now they come to the present low period of 1884-5. “* As to what was the cause of this marked periodicity it was very desirable to ascertain, and, having pointed it out, probably some light might be thrown on the subject.” The other is from the American Meteorological Fournal under the heading ‘‘Cold Winters in Michigan,” and the writer says :— Te is interesting in this connection to notice that the local reports of extremely cold winters place them at intervals of be- tween ten and eleven years. . . . The winter of 1842-3 is thus shown to have been extremely cold ; also the winter of 1853-4 ; the winter of 1863-4 noted for its terribly cold new year ; the winter of 1874-5, when the frost penetrated into the ground in Port Huron four to six feet, there being scarcely a thaw between January 1 and the middle of March ; and, lastly, the winter of 1884-5, which beats the record for extreme cold during January and February.” I may add that before I had seen either of these paragraphs I had concluded from other sources that the years 1821-2-3-4, 1833-4, 1844-5, 1866-7, and 1875-7 were characterised by mild winters in Europe and unusual cold in Iceland and America, being preceded in most cases by drought during the summers ; but of course this represents merely the result of a preliminary glance at some general records of noteworthy seasons. November 9 E. DouGLas ARCHIBALD Photography of the Corona I WAVE been following with interest the communications which have been made from time to tim? to Scéence by Mr. W. H. Pickering regarding the photography of the corona in full sunshine. Whilst admiring the manner in which he has built up his» theoretical objections to its possibility, I am forced to dissent from his deduction from the fact that the theory does not fit in with the results actually obtained during the eclipses observed in Egypt and the Caroline Islands. I have in my hands at present spectrum and other photographs of the corona made during the expeditions to those localities, and from them I gather he has evidently much underestimated the photographic brightness of the corona as compared with that of the sky. As I propose shortly to read a paper before the Royal Society on the subject, I cannot enter into details at the present moment. All I will say is that the comparative photo- graphic intensity of both can be estimated with approximate exactness from the data I have by me. I write this for insertion in your columns, as in your last issue you have a note regarding Mr. W. H. Pickering’s communica- tions on this subject. W. DE W. ABNEY Permanence of Continents and Oceans MANY naturalists are accustomed, in lecturing, to speak of the existing ocean basins as ‘“‘permanent.” Though this must to a large extent be a true statement, many geologists at all events must be perfectly aware that the former distribution of life requires that nearly all land:, however remote at present, must have been, perhaps more than once, in connection with each other. Tropical South America is perhaps the most iso- lated continental province now existing. I would ask these naturalists to explain how its species of tropical genera not peculiar to it got there, and how many of them came to be represented in Europe in Tertiary times. That the lands are always chiefly centred about the same spots, and also the converse, would, I think, be an acceptable way of putting it; but that the Atlantic was never bridged except towards the Arctic and Antarctic circles, is a statement that is unwarrantable because contradicted by unimpeachable evidence. J. STARKIE GARDNER History of Elasticity _ In order to estimate Poncelet’s services to the theory of elas- ticity I am extremely desirous of examining certain works by NATURE him. These works are not to be found in the London or Cam- bridge Libraries, and the Paris booksellers to whom I have applied despair of being able to procure copies. It will hardty be possible for me to go to Metz to examine them before the publication of the first volume of the ‘‘ History of the Mathe- matical Theories of Elasticity.’ Possibly some of your readers may know of the existence of accessible copies in this country. If so, I should esteem it a great favour if they would communicate with me at University College. In 1827-29 Poncelet gave at Metz a ‘‘ Cours de Mécanique Industrielle aux Artistes et Ouvriers Messins.” In this ‘‘ Cours” various important points of theoretical elasticity were considered for the first time. It was published as follows :— (az) Part I. Lithographed edition, Metz, 1827. (4) Part II. First edition lithographed 1828 ; second edition lithographed 1831. (c) Part III. Lithographed edition, 1831. (Z) Part I. First printed edition, Metz, 1829 ; second printed edition, Metz, 1831. It is needful to remind your readers that there are numerous other works entitled ‘‘ Mécanique Industrielle,” by Poncelet, published at Liége, Paris, and Brussels, differing from each other, and entirely from the above. These I have examined, but they do not contain what I require. IXKARL PEARSON University College, London, November 15 The Heights of Clouds In the very favourable notice of our ‘* Mesures des Hauteurs et des Mouvements des Nuages,’ in NaTuRE of October 29 (p. 630), there exists a misunderstanding as to the probable errors of our measurements, which makes our observations seem much more inexact than they really are. I therefore ask your permission to correct it. Mr. W. de W. A. says: ‘‘ Perhaps one of the most easily- observed clouds is the cumulus, and we find from a table given that the probadle error of observation is very considerable.” But, in fact, what is there referred to as an error of observation is not such an error; it is the probable uncertainty (‘‘incertitude probable”) depending on the variability of the phenomenon itself. This is expressly stated in the treatise. On p. 39 (that following the table quoted) there may be read: ‘* L’incertitude calculée comprend ainsi et celle dépendant de la variation des hauteurs des nuages, et celle provenant des erreurs d’observation. Celle-ci est cependant assez petite par rapport a la premiere et 4 peu pres constante pour les différentes heures du jour, comme on le trouvera en la calculant séparément a l’aide des erreurs moyennes m.” That mean error 2 is just the mea error of observation in the height of a cloud, and in our ‘‘ list of observations” we have given it for every observation, as well as the corresponding mean angular error of the observation. By calculating the probable error of an observation of cumulus by means of those values of mean errors we have found it to be 35 metres (instead of 748 metres, as Mr. W. de W. A. thinks it to be), and the probable error of the mean is found to be 3 metres (instead of 40 metres), the whole number of observations being 134.” Thus the above assertion is fully justified, viz. that the errors of observation may be quite neglected when compared with the uncertainty depending upon the variability of the heights of the cumuli from one cloud to another. That variability is itself a phenomenon worthy of investigation, varying as it does accord- ing to the hour of the day and the barometrical state of the weather, and that is the reason for which we have calculated it. As to the mean angular error in observing a cloud, we have found it very often to be inferior to that obtained in observing the centre of the sun, and in all the better observations that error is fully comparable to the error in observing the sun, as may be seen from our treatise. This proves that, for such observations, the uncertainty of an identical point of cloud did not exist at all, the whole uncertainty depending on the unavoid- able instrumental errors. Still it may be that the errors are I For the figures in the table quoted represent simply the probable differ- ence of an observation (of the mean found) from the #7~e mean calculated by the method of least squares. 2 For the higher clouds, as the pure cirri, this error was often very great indeed, but it was so because their distance was much too great when com- pared with our basis, the parallax obtained being not greater than x° or 2. ‘This year (1885) the measurements are regularly pursued from the ends ofa basis of 302 metres, and we can now determine with great accuracy the height even of the most elevated cirri, as well as their horizontal and vertical velocities. 54 NATURE [Nov. 19, 1885 somewhat less in using a photographic theodolite than in using our instruments. But on the other hand our method enables us to observe the clouds even in twilight and moonlight, in rain and storm. Also, it is, no doubt, much cheaper than the photo- graphic one. N. EKHOLM Up ala, November 6 The Helm Wind SoME years ago I passed a summer at Melmerby, which is about the best place for seeing the ‘‘ helm,” which is incorrectly described as affecting the Penrith valley (for, in fact, it never extends to Penrith) by your correspondent, M. Woeikoff. Melmerby is at the foot of the Cross Fell range, and gets the “helm” with great violence. When an easterly wind comes on, the summit of Cross Fell becomes clouded ; 2¢ pats ove rts /elm: then from this a violent cold wind pours down the hill- side (which is steep) and rises up again at no great distance. At Melmerby, and places similarly situated, there is clear sky, for the moisture in the sky is invisible, but further from the range it is precipitated where the current rises, and there is cloudy sky, without the strong wind. The phenomenon is, in fact, precisely that at Table Mountain, where the cloud on the crest is called the ‘‘ table-cloth.” Judging from M. Woeikoff’s description there seems to be a difference in the phenomena. Probably owing to the gevéle slopes of the Varada chain the air does not seem to rése again, and there is no cloud-bank parallel to the chain. It would seem, too, that the wind extends to the zes/, unless there is a misprint. J. F. TENNANT 37, Hamilton Road, Ealing, W., November 13 THE MODE OF ADMISSION INTO THE ROYAL SOCIETY : (Us contemporary Sczence, in the last number which has reached this country, makes some remarks concerning the admission of candidates into the Royal Society, against which, in the interests of truth and accuracy, itis our duty to protest, the more especially as it is also implied that the French system of canvassing those who are already Fellows of the Society is also adopted. The statements actually made are (1) that there is an “actual competitive examination, on the result of which a certain number of successful candidates are annually chosen,” and (2) “that the English method has the addi- tional disadvantage that it does not secure the men whom it is most desirable to honour.” We read also, “During the schoolboy period the distinction between | different individuals is a distinction of learning, and an examination is not unfitted to discover the boy who deserves reward. But learning is not the quality which a State needs to make it great. Casaubons are not the kind of men who have built up English science. The qualities which ought to be encouraged, and which it should be a nation’s delight to honour are qualities too subtle to be detected by a competitive examination.” For the benefit of our transatlantic brethren we may as well state the facts as we know them. For reasons into which we need not enter here, as they do not affect the question at issue, nearly forty years ago the Royal Society determined to limit the yearly admissions to fifteen ; and to throw upon the Council the responsibility of selecting the fifteen who are to be nominated for elec- tion, a general meeting of the Society reserving to itself the right of confirming or rejecting such nomination. It may be instructive to remark that for thirty years that right has not been exercised. The way in which the matter is worked is as follows :— The friends of a man, who are already in the Society, and who think he is entitled to the coveted distinction, prepare a statement of his services to science, in many cases without consulting him in any way. This paper thus prepared is sent round to other Fellows of the Society, who are acquainted with the work of the candi- date, and who sign it as a testimony that they think he is worthy of election. In this way when the proper time arrives some fifty or sixty papers are sent in to the Council for their consideration. In the Council itself we may assume that the selection of the fifteen is made as carefully as possible in view not merely of individual claims but of the due representation of the different branches of science. It is not for us to state the safeguards or mode of procedure adopted, but we think we may say that the slightest action or appeal to any member by the candidate himself would be absolutely fatal to his election. Finally, we may say that, years back, when a heavy entrance fee had to be paid, there were cases in which the question had to be put to one whose friends were anxious to see him elected, whether he would accept election. The small yearly subscription of 32, now the only sum payable, makes even this question unnecessary at the present time. ON MEASURING THE VIBRATORY PERIODS OF TUNING-FORKS HE tuning-fork when its number of double vibrations, to and fro, in a second, or briefly its /reguency, has been ascertained, is a most convenient instrument for measuring minute divisions of time. As such it is now extensively used for physical, physiological, and military purposes (velocity of bullets and cannon balls). The antecedent difficulty of ascertaining the frequency, is however very great. The old processes, sufficient for roughly ascertaining musical pitch, and depending upon wires of known weight, length, and tension, or the action of the siren, are totally insufficient for modern purposes. It was the contradictory nature of the results furnished by the monochord in the division of the Octave into twelve equal parts that led Scheibler to his system of a series of tuning-forks differing from one another by known numbers of vibrations, leading to countable beats, and extending over an Octave. Nothing can be more con- venient to use than such a series of forks for all musical purposes. They enable the frequency not only of any small as well as large tuning-fork, but also of any sus- tained tone to be ascertained within one-tenth of a vibra- tion, that is, one vibration in ten seconds. The writer has for some years been in the constant habit of using such a set of forks with the most satisfactory results. His own forks were measured by Scheibler’s (exhibited in the Historic Loan Collection of Musical Instruments at the | Albert Hall this year), but extend over a greater range, | from about 224 to about 588 vib., that is, rather more than an Cctave and a major Third. The great advantage of such a tonometer is extreme portability, immediate application to any sustained tone (even that of a pianoforte string), and the independence of the result from any (almost always imperfect) estimation of unison by a musical ear. There are of course antecedent difficulties in ascertaining the pitch of each particular fork, but these are overcome by patient observation, the extension of the series beyond an Octave furnishing in itself the required check. Scheibler died in 1837. In 1879 Prof. Herbert MacLeod and Lieut. R. G. Clarke, R.E. (Proc. R. Soc., vol. xxviii. p- 291, and Philosoph. Trans., vol. clxxi. p. 1) invented an optical arrangement, which under proper management (but the manipulation was very difficult) gave excellent results for large tuning-forks, like those of Koenig. And in 1880 Koenig (MW7edemann’s Annalen, 1880, pp. 394- 417) invented a clock method for ascertaining with extreme accuracy the frequency of one large standard fork of 64 vib. at 20° C. Before both Prof. MacLeod and Dr. Koenig, Prof. Alfred Mayer, of Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S., had invented a most careful and ingenious electro- graphic method, of which a full account has just appeared in vol. iii. of the Zyvansactions of the National Academy 7 Oar ee ws BE Nov. 19, 1885 | NATURE 55 of Sciences, U.S.1_ Briefly this last method consists, first, of making the tuning-fork itself, by means of an added style of extreme tenuity, scribe its vibrations as sinuosities in a curve on a revolving cylinder of smoked paper, an old conception ; and, secondly, of determining the exact number of such sinuosities as occurred in a second, by means of electricity, which was entirely new, and in which lies the pith and difficulty of the method. When ‘in 1879 the writer was collecting materials for his “History of Musical Pitch” (Fourn. of Soc. Arts, March 5 and April 2, 1880, and January 7, 1881), it became necessary to verify Scheibler’s forks, and to do so he had five large forks constructed, giving the pitches of certain forks preserved in the Conservatoire at Paris. These forks he measured with great care by Scheibler’s tonometer, and then Prof. MacLeod measured them by his process, after which they were sent to America to be measured by Prof. Mayer (the particulars of his measure- ments of these forks are given in his paper cited above), and on their return they were remeasured by the writer with the scribing-points on, and by Prof. MacLeod with the scribing-points on and off, in order to ascertain the flattening caused by the scribing-points, and also any losses that might have been occasioned by the journey. The sum of the two affected only the second place of decimals, except in one fork, where they amounted to 02 vibrations. By adding these, and also correcting for temperature, the result was an agreement of all the three methods within 0'1 vibrations.” But Prof. Mayer’s results are given to three places of decimals, which it would be extremely difficult to check, not only because of the delicacy of the measurement, but on account of the alteration of pitch by temperature, and the uncertainty which prevails over the coefficient of alteration. Thus for 1° F. Prof. Mayer considers this coefficient to be ‘00004638, or I in 21561 ; Prof. MacLeod takes I in 20,490, and Dr. Koenig as I in 16,097, or in 16,112, or 16,000. The writer’s own experiments, between 59° and 175° F., gave 1 in 18,280. For all ordinary purposes I in 20,000 may be conveniently used. But the coefficient certainly alters with the size, shape, and quality of the fork observed, and hence it is necessary to correct each observation for temperature separately, before taking the mean, as Prof. Mayer has done. Under these circumstances, at most 2 places of decimals (per- haps only 1) out of 3 of Prof. Mayer’s means can be trusted. That is, it is doubtful whether his process for measuring the frequency of tuning-forks is superior to Scheibler’s, properly carried out. The difficulties of the process, which caused Prof. Mayer much trouble to overcome, may now be referred to. The kernel of the method consists in a very exact assignment of the beginning and end of each second on the sinuous curve of vibrations. This is obtained from a clock, the rate of which has to be ascertained. Its pendu- lum is armed with a point which cuts through a globule of mercury in a cup, screwed up to be small and rigid, and, as this globule rapidly becomes oxidised, by the passage of electricity, it must be renewed for each experi- ment. The spark from the inductorium at every contact of the pendulum and mercury, must make a szzg/e per- foration of the smoked paper covering the cylinder. To effect this the strength of the current must be carefully regulated, as otherwise a great number of holes may be made. The paper is very interesting on this point, which is well illustrated by experiments and a diagram, Other * “On a method of precisely Measuring the Vibratory Periods of ‘Tuning- Forks, and the determination of the Laws of the Vibrations of Forks; with special reference of these Facts and Laws to the Action of a Simple Chrono- scope.” * Prof Mayer measured, at temperatures varying from 63°3 F. to 69°25 F. The standard temperature of the writer was 50° F. =15° C., the temperature at which the Diapason Normal in Paris has been settled. It may be men- tioned that in Prof. Mayer's tables xiii. and xiv. of this paper, the titles have been transposed; the first related to the Tuileries fork, 434 vib., and the second to the Feydeau fork, 422°8 vib., and not conversely as printed. precautions are necessary, but the above two are the most important. The primary coil of the inductorium and the clock (through the pendulum and globule of mercury) are placed in the circuit of a voltaic cell. The fork and cylinder (separated from the style by the thickness of the smoked paper) are placed in the secondary circuit of the inductorium. The work of the fork on the paper in scribing was found not to flatten by more than ‘oo4 vib. The flatten- ing from the appended scribing-point was shown by Prof. MacLeod’s measurements of the writer’s forks to vary from ‘o21 to ‘0475 vib. It therefore always sensibly affected the second place of decimals, showing that the results for determining the frequency of an unarmed fork, when the effect of the arming could not be determined (as it cannot be by Prof. Mayer’s method), could not be trusted beyond one decimal place. This limit can be reached very simply without all this apparatus and these precautions, by simply counting the beats of good forks within beating distance of each other. Prof. Mayer’s method, therefore, does not surpass Scheibler’s for simply determining the frequency of tuning-forks, but is fully equal to it, provided the forks are sufficiently large. Neither Prof. Mayer’s nor Prof. MacLeod’s process is applicable to small forks, The writer is doubtful whether the passing of a current through one prong of the fork and not the other may not affect the period of the fork. The necessity of screwing the fork on to a block (as indeed of screwing it into a resonance box) is always dangerous from the possibility of twisting the prongs. The writer has known of a fork which was thus consider- ably altered. The frequency of a fork screwed on to block in this way is not the same as that of a fork on a resonance box, Prof. Mayer has himself, in his paper, determined that the amount of correction for support and scrape may amount to —‘o26 vib. Prof. Mayer does not renew the excitation with a bow during the same obser- vation, as Prof. MacLeod had to do, and he has shown that the frequency is practically independent of the amplitude of vibration. Prof. Mayer did not himself apply his instrument to determine the frequency of forks generally, but, as he states in the title of his paper, specially as a chronoscope. In that case the above difficulties disappear. What is wanted to know is the exact number of vibrations of the scribing-fork as it scribes, affected by all the circum- stances mentioned—screwing, scribing, passage of elec- tricity, &c. We are not in the least concerned to discover the frequency of the unscrewed, unarmed, unelectrified fork. Even temperature is of no consequence, provided it be uniform during the experiment. The velocity of rotation of the cylinder is also immaterial, provided it be constant for one double vibration, which can hardly help being the case for such a small fraction of a second. There is only one source of error, the inequality of the seconds’ pendulum, arising from the globule of mercury being of a sensible magnitude, so that an appreciable time is occupied in traversing it (eliminated by counting the sinuosities for every two seconds instead of every second), and the inevitable want of true centering of the globule and pendulum (eliminated by taking a mean). Prof. Mayer’s arrangement then becomes an extremely simple and also an extremely accurate means of measur- ing short intervals of time within, to a certainty, one- hundredth of a vibration of the fork. Thus, if the fork gives 400 vibrations in a second, the measure- ment would be correct to one-forty-thousandth part of a second ! Prof. Mayer concludes his very valuable and interesting paper—which is recommended to the attention of all ex- perimenters requiring accurate chronoscopic observations —with showing the arrangement for experimenting with this chronoscope “ on the velocities of fowling-piece shot of various sizes projected with various charges of powder from 12- and 1o-gauge guns,” with a diagram giving the 56 NATURE (Nov. 19, 1885 position of the wires and make-circuit lever, and tables of the results, and says, finally :— “The simplicity and inexpensiveness of the chrono- scope we have described in this paper, its accuracy, and the ease with which it is used, must commend it to all who will give it a trial under the conditions of the action which we have endeavoured to set forth in this paper. Another of its advantages is that its records on the paper covering the cylinder are easily rendered permanent by drawing the unsmoked side of the paper over the surface of a dilute solution of photographic negative varnish con- tained in a wide shallow dish. On the records may be written with a blunt style the nature of the experiments they record before the carbon is fixed by the varnish, and then they can be bound together in book-form for preservation and reference.” ALEXANDER J. ELLIS HINTS ON THE CONSTRUCTIONSRAND EQUIPMENT OF OBSERVATORIES, FOR AMATEURS 2 it were necessary to offer any apology for the short series of articles of which the first is now presented to the readers of NATURE, it might be found in the fact that, so far as I know, nothing fulfilling the above title has been put into circulation in England for more than forty years. This is the more remarkable when one con- siders the great development of astronomy in this country during the present generation, a development the credit of which is far more due to amateur effort than to the influence of Governments or public establishments. The reason I have fixed upon the year 1844 is. that that was the year in which Admiral Smyth published his well- | known “ Bedford Catalogue of Celestial Objects,” to which | he prefixed certain chapters dealing with the construction and management of small observatories. Those chapters have never been reproduced in any form, partly, no doubt, for the reason that they are a good deal out of date; but they are still capable of furnishing many useful hints to any one who wishes to write on the subject of observatories. It is not too much to say that the Bedford Observatory has directly or indirectly served as the model for nearly all the private observatories of moderate dimensions since erected in England, and it is equally certain that, what- | ever may be the changes which considerations of finance, or architecture, or geology, may render expedient in _par- ticular instances, no important alterations need be made in the main features of the Bedford Observatory, although upwards of half a century has elapsed since it was erected, and more than forty years have passed away since it was pulled down. In order to compress as much information as possible | into a small compass I propose to classify what I have to say in such a way as shall successively conduct the reader step by step through the stages which he himself will have to pass through between the time when he determines to erect an observatory and the time when he finds himself the happy possessor of the completed building. Of tele- scopes as such I shall here say nothing, and the only other prefatory remark which seems requisite is this: that an amateur astronomer with only a given and moderate sum of money to lay out will do well to appropriate an ade- quate part of his funds to the purchase of a fairly good stand and of a suitable structure in which to house his instruments, rather than spend too much on his tube and then be obliged to starve the stand and to put up with inadequate shelter from the weather or no shelter at all. To begin, therefore, at the beginning. The Choice of a Stte—As to this the amateur will probably in most cases be obliged to suit himself as best he can. If his garden offers any varieties of site, he should endeavour to secure one on slightly rising ground, | with an uninterrupted horizon to the south (for meridian purposes) and to the west (for comets and inferior planets in the vicinity of the sun at sunset). A clear horizon to the east is of less moment, unless searches for comets before sunrise are intended to be systematically carried out. In making preparations for building an astronomical observatory—and occasionally, indeed, for other purposes —it Is necessary to know how to set out a meridian line. Of course this may be done by means of a mariner’s compass (correcting for the magnetic deviation); but there are other ways of doing this independently of a com- pass, and as it is not always easy to ascertain the devia- tion a statement of at any rate one of these other ways, as given by Challis, will be useful. Set up a pole at the spot through which the proposed meridian line is required to pass, using a plumb-line to ensure the pole being vertical. Draw around the pole as a centre several con- centric horizontal circles, and mark the points of coin- cidence of the extremity of the shadow of the pole with these circles both before and after noon. Then if the two points on each circle be joined by a chord the mean of the directions of the middle points of the chords from the pole will be approximately the direction of the meridian line. This method answers best about mid- summer when the sun’s diurnal path is high in the heavens, and the change of declination is small. A little forethought must be displayed in suiting the dimensions of the circles to the height of the vertical pole employed. Fic. r.—Ground plan of the Bedford Observatory. Foundations.—The foundations of an observatory are a matter of great importance, and unless a rock! or chalk bottom can be readily obtained, an artificial bottom of concrete, more or less thick according to the height of the intended superstructure, must be made. | This of course applies to the piers which are to carr pp Pp vi instruments. In the case of the observatory itself, especially if the material of the fabric is to be of wood, which is so often used, the ordinary precautions against settlement taken by a competent builder will suffice. As no fire-place is permissible in an observatory because of the disturbing currents of air to which fires give rise, special precautions must be taken to protect the build- ing and its contents against damp, and the consequences thereof. In heavy clay soils clear away the soil all around the outside of the observatory by making a trench, say 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep, and fill up the excavation with broken bricks, coarse gravel, or other hard porous material. Provide by suitable gutters and pipes, that all rain-water falling on the observatory shall be carried away to a distance as quickly as possible. Details of the Structure of the Observatory.—Fig. 1 represents the ground plan and Fig. 2 the elevation of the Bedford Observatory. The external dimensions were about 35 feet by 13 feet 6 inches. The building was divided into two apartments: (I) an equatorial room, circular, and 15 feet in diameter on the inside; and (2) a transit-room, 17 feet by 12 feet on the inside, and Io feet ‘ A rock foundation is not necessarily the most stable possible, and some authorities deem a sandy substratum best. Nov. 19, 1885 | NATURE Oa high. At Bedford the transit room contained a transit circle and a transit instrument, with a clock so placed that it could be used with either, as wanted; but an ordinary amateur will only need to have one meridian instrument, and the surplus space may advantageously be partitioned off to form a calculating-room, or the Fic. 2.—Elevation of the Bedford Observatory. space may be used as an ante-room, and the entrance door put there, and not on the north side, as at Bedford. It will now be convenient to describe the several parts of an observatory more in detail. The Equatorial Room.—The equatorial being the principal instrument in every amateur’s observatory, the provision made for its accommodation deserves attention first. It is not an uncommon practice to arrange that the floor of the equatorial room shall be 2 feet or 3 feet below the level of the adjoining room, and where a large equatorial is worked with a small transit instrument used merely for setting the clock, and economy and difficulties of site have to be considered, a sunken equatorial room may be unavoidable. highly inconvenient and ojectionable. An observer should be able to move rapidly from one part of his observatory to another in the dark, and without having to think of steps up or steps down. Moreover, in order to secure free internal ventilation nothing more substantial than a green baize curtain should separate the equatorial room from the transit room, and it is obviously not safe to use such Fic. 3.—Diagram showing ribs of a dome intended to be covered with copper or sheet iron. a curtain where it will conceal a difference of level of 2 feet or more. Fig. 1 contemplates an equatorial of what is called the “English” form, with two separate piers for the support of the polar axis; but this construction of equatorial has But all the same the practice is | become almost obsolete, owing to its numerous practical disadvantages, and the “ German” form, with one pier and pillar, centrally placed, is now all but universally used, at least by amateurs. The construction of a roof for an equatorial room (technically called the “dome,” whatever may be its precise form) is a great crux to the intending builder of an observatory. Theoretically the hemisphere is the proper form, and roofs truly hemispherical are occasion- ally met with ; but they are extremely troublesome and expensive to make, and can only be tackled by pro- fessional engineers. Fig. 3 represents the skeleton framework of such a dome of large dimensions, before the sheet copper, or other material to be employed in covering it, has been been put on. Of late years, especially for large observa- tories, “drum” domes have come much into use as com- paratively easy to construct, and capable of being made strong and watertight ; but they offer much resistance to the wind, and architecturally are bound to be ugly. For the purpose of protecting the smaller sizes of equa- torials, say those from 4 inches to 7 inches in aperture, a polygonal dome is recommended. Or, in the case of equatorials of the smallest size, say from 24 to 5 inches, the roof of the equatorial room may be flat, and arranged to open by sliding it to one side. Such a sliding roof should not be quite mathematically flat but should have a slight inclination, to throw off the rain. Whatever be the form of the dome chosen the problems, Fic. 4.—Wooden Observatory erected at Eastbourne in 1854. how to uncover a slit in it, and how to move the whole of it, are matters which require in all cases careful con- sideration. Where the dome is a large one, say more than 12 feet in diameter, the shutters which close the slit should slide. They may slide laterally on a suitable | staging (as in Fig. 4), or they may slide up and down. The latter is a very convenient expedient, especially when the observatory is to be erected in a situation exposed to strong winds, or when the telescope is to be much used on the sun; for the observer can open just so much space as will uncover the whole aperture of the telescope, and can keep himself and the greater part of his telescope _ protected from the direct impact of the wind, or the direct rays of the sun, as the case may be. When arranged in the best form the shutters will be three or four in number, each protecting a third or a fourth of the slit, measured vertically. Each shutter must have its own rabbet, and its own ropes and pulleys, in order to enable the observer to open at one time only so much of the whole slit as is necessary to enable him to scrutinise the particular por- tion of the heavens which he desires to examine. The advantage of thus being able to shelter himself and his telescope will soon be appreciated in windy weather, or under a meridian sun by the owner of an observatory fitted with sliding shutters. Another important matter is the question of the bear- ings on which a dome is to be mounted. Large domes can only be made to move with facility by the aid of mechanical appliances which are often in practice both complex and cumbersome, and needing much muscular effort on the part of the person who has to move the 58 IVT TOL | ov. 19, 1885 dome. Where the weight of this does not exceed a ton, a set of grooved wheels running ina concave wall-plate of iron generally works well. For weights beyond this, special mechanical appliances must be used, which it is foreign to my present purpose to treat of. On the other hand, light domes—by which is meant domes up to, say, half a ton—are best dealt with by being mounted on iron balls (cannon balls in fact) travelling on a circular wall- plate, and kept in place by an upper plate, the arrange- ment being such as is indicated in Fig. 5. The ironwork may be simplified in character and lessened in weight if the upper plate, which in Fig. 5 is, like the lower one, a solid casting, is replaced by two detached rails about an inch square in section and placed about 3 inches apart. The balls need only be three in number where the diameter of the dome does not exceed 10 feet. Ifthe diameter is greater than that a fourth ball may be desirable in order to distribute better the weight, and lessen the risk of the framework of the dome being strained. The diameter of the balls may be 4 or 5 inches (say 24-pounder or 32-pounder balls), and the more truly spherical they are the less the friction,and consequently the less the muscular effort, required to impart motion to the dome ; and to this it may be added the less likely are the balls to approach one another after being some time in use and so in a sense dismount the dome. When this does happen the dome must be slightly prised up by means Fic, 5.—Section of bearings for a dome (Bedford Observatory) of a lever or jack, and the balls separated and set at a distance from one another of 120° or 90°, according as there are three or four of them. Where the dome is a light one, mounted on cannon balls, motion may be imparted to it by the simple process of pushing a long and strong handle which descends from the roof to a sufficient distance towards the floor; in other words, which is 4 feet or 5 feet long. Where a handle of this sort is used it should be affixed to the dome by strong screws or bolts, exactly opposite the shutters which cover the main opening, because when so placed the observer can grasp the handle and bring the openings exactly to that part of the heavens to which he has pointed his telescope, and can be sure that he has done so. In this facility of being able to watch how far the dome is moved resides the great advantage of the fixed handle; its disadvantage is that the observer in moving the dome has to follow it himself by walking around on the floor. To obviate this inconvenience, such as it is, some prefer a fixed wheel permanently attached to some one place in the wall of the observatory, and having cams in its periphery to catch suitable pins attached at short intervals to the inside circumference of the revolving dome. Whatever may be the form of the dome, it is evident that in plan it must at the bottom be circular, and that the wall-plate must be circular also, and of the same dimensions. But the plan of the equatorial room, as regards its walls and floor, is another question. Where the room is large, say 15 feet or 20 feet, or more, in diameter, it will be best that it also should be circular, or perhaps octagonal. Where, however, the dome is not more than 12 feet across, and consequently the whole establishment is on a small scale, there are great advant- ages in making the equatorial room square. In such a | case the corners will be found very useful for various purposes: for instance, in one a desk or writing-slab may be fixed; in another, the clock; in a third, a lamp; whilst the fourth corner may take a chair or a stool. In other words, the corners become available as places of refuge for things and persons whilst the observer is turn- ing the dome round from one part of the heavens to another. Moreover, the cost of building a square room is less than the cost of building a polygonal one, because the difficulty is less, be the material brick or wood. If wood is employed for the walls of an observatory, it will in all cases be desirable to place the frame on a dwarf wall of brickwork rising at least 2 feet above the general level of the ground. The floor must be supported on joists, trimmed so as to form square frames around the piers which are to carry instruments. This will enable the floor-boards to be fixed firmly, yet quite clear of the piers, and will pre- vent tremors, caused by persons passing over the floor, being conveyed to the piers, and so to the instruments. A free circulation of air must be secured by means of small brass ventilating gratings suitably disposed around the floor near the walls. Making due allowance for the different purposes for which it is to be used, many of the remarks just made with respect to the equatorial room will apply also to the transit room, The main part of the roof is a fixture, but an opening about 1 foot 6 inches wide has to be made | right across the top, and to be continued into the north and south walls from the eaves downwards towards the floor, so as to enable the observer to sweep the meridian with the transit instrument from the south horizon through the zenith to the north horizon. The openings must be protected by shutters, which may either slide or lift. For large observatories Grubb has devised a form of balance shutter which swings, and is said to work well. In cases where the top transit shutter, which consti- tutes part of the roof, is in the form of a flap and lifts, it must be counterpoised by a weight or weights travelling up and down inside the room. ‘Lhe vertical shutters must be treated as casements, and be fitted with handles and fastenings accordingly. The remarks made in speaking of the equatorial room as to the advantages offered by sliding shutters or sashes, apply equally to the case of sliding shutters for a transit room. Light should be obtained for an observatory by inde- | pendent windows, and not, as in Fig. 2, by panes of glass inserted in the shutters ; for glasses are very apt to get broken by the constant moving of the shutters. The transit instrument as such I need not describe in detail, but it may be worth while to show how a transit instrument is mounted where space is no object, and the instrument is intended for the determination of Right Ascensions rather than for the commonplace purpose of setting a clock. The transit instrument at Bedford consisted of a tele- scope of 34 feet focal length furnished with an object-glass whose aperture was 3; inches ; the telescope was sup- ported by broad cones forming an axis 28 inches long, the pivots of which rested on covered Y’s offering a surface of polished Brazilian pebble an inch in bearing, and which (owing to their bases being hemispherical and working in corresponding sockets) held their propor- tionate weight, as well as ensured the axis of the pivots being always strictly in the same right line. The Y’s row eee Se ag | | | Nov. 19, 1885] NATURE a) were placed on improved chucks whose azimuthal and vertical motions were effectually secured from dust and injury, and left the shoulders of the pivots just sufficient room for moving without friction ; the Y’s were morticed upon 2 piers of Portland stone rising 5 feet 7 inches above the floor, and which with their bases weighed a ton each. The axis of the instrument was perforated at one end in the usual way for the admission of light from a lamp at night, but it also contained a contrivance for regulating, by means of a milled head on the telescope tube, the light falling on the wires ; and there was, moreover, a rack- screen to the lamp for the same purpose. In the optical focus were five principal vertical wires (besides two for the Pole-star) crossed by one horizontal wire; with a slide and divided scale for bringing the axis of the eye tubes exactly over the respective wires, and thereby destroying late Mr. Walker, of Eidowranion memory, in which he describes a visit he made to the celebrated Jesse Ramsden in 1780 ; and mentions that he was shown an ingenious mode of elevating a transit instrument by a circle of about 3 inches diameter and a level at theeye-end. The vernier fixed and the circle with its attached level movable. To this statement is the sketch of a telescope so fitted, the accompanying portion of which I traced.” Meridian Mark.—Vhis is an accessory to the transit instrument, so useful and so convenient that it is a matter of surprise that a meridian mark is not more generally provided in connection with transit instruments. It affords by day, and, if illuminated, also by night, a means of verifying the meridian adjustment of the transit instru- ment. Fig. 8 represents the meridian mark used in connection with the Bedford Observatory. A plate of parallax. This part of the tube was also fitted with a simple means for adjusting the eyepiece to the solar focus, and for taking out the frame bearing the spider lines in case they needed examination or repair. For setting the telescope the eye-end was furnished with two circles, 6 inches in diameter, each provided with a level and show- ing altitudes and zenith distances. But it is strongly recommended that such circles should in all cases be graduated and adjusted so as to show declinations.? Setting circles attached to the eye-ends of telescopes are so extremely convenient for approximate settings that it is a matter of surprise that they are not more generally used. They are thought to have been invented by Troughton, and to have been first applied in 1816 to the Greenwich transit instrument. As to this, Smyth has a note as follows :— Mr. Jones lent me a note-book of the clock. brass about 4-roths of an inch thick, 5 inches long, and 3 inches wide was fastened by four screws, passing through its corners, to a stone, into which four brass sockets to receive them had been made fast by molten lead. On this plate it was arranged that another of the same thickness should slide; this was 3 inches long by 14 inches broad, and was attached to the former by dove- tailed side-pieces, and was capable of being adjusted by two long screws pressing against its ends. In the sliding plate there were four slots to receive four capstan- headed screws, by means of which the sliding-plate could be firmly made fast to the fixed plate after the mark had been duly adjusted to the meridian. This done, the end screws were withdrawn to prevent the possibility of their t Tf information is needed as to how this is to be brought about reference | may be made to Challis’s ““ Lectures on Practical Astronomy,” p. 26. 60 NATURE [Vou. 19, 1885 being tampered with and the mark displaced from the meridian. On the sliding plate there was soldered a square piece of silver exhibiting a well-defined black cross, the centre of which was to mark the actual meridian. As this cross taken by itself hardly afforded sufficient vertical length for comparing the wires of the transit a small circle of silver (with a black dot in its centre) was placed above the cross as an auxiliary mark. - This silver circle, like the larger silver plate below, was capable of lateral motion by means of capstan-headed screws which Fic. 7.—Setting circle devised by Ramsden. could be removed when the dot had been brought exactly over the cross below. The stone to which the mark was fixed was firmly morticed into a dwarf pier, to guard against lateral movement, and the whole superstructure was firmly bedded on a solid substructure sunk into the earth. It is of the utmost importance to guard against settlements likely to cause any lateral movement, for it must be remembered that with a 50-foot radius a dis- placement of about second. The remaining and important part of the 3-1oooths of an inch is equivalent to one | arrangement at Bedford was a 4-inch lens of 493 feet focus, being exactly its distance from the diaphragm. This lens was mounted in a brass collar, and having been attached by screws to a plate of cast-iron, was let into the wall of the transit window in a line with the transit instrument and the meridian mark. It is evident that the rays of light from the meridian mark become parallel after passing through the lens, and that the diaphragm can therefore be viewed through the telescope of the transit instrument as adjusted to solar focus. Another con- sequence of the rays being rendered thus parallel, is that no parallel motion of the transit axis would cause a change in the place of the object seen, so that the meridian is a line drawn from the diaphragm through the axis of the lens; and provided that these two points remain rigidly permanent, they offer all the advantages of a very distant meridian mark. And after all, a distant | mark when obtainable can still be used as a check to the home mark. It will often happen that an observer will be able to find at the distance of a mile or two, or even of several miles, some well-defined line or point—e.g. a window sash, or the pinnacle of a church, or a piece of squared stone, which will serve him as a meridian mark for the simple reason that it lies in the meridian of his | transit instrument. | Clocks.—A clock is a very important article of furniture | in every observatory. i einai “em = i] ii | HI Fic, 8.—Meridian mark. Whilst a proper sidereal clock showing twenty-four hours is what an amateur should have, he can very easily make shift with a much less pretentious time-piece, especially if his equatorial is provided with the best modern form of driving clock which only requires to be | set once, or occasionally, during an evening’s work. Indeed all that is essential in such a case is really a good dining-room clock (with its pendulum adjusted to sidereal time) which once set at the commencement of an evening by means of a transit instrument can be depended upon to maintain a tolerably even rate for half a dozen hours. The price of sidereal clocks for observatory purposes has been much reduced of late years, and from 20/. to 30/. will now command a fairly good one. Where an observatory includes a transit room the clock should of course be placed so as to be visible both to an observer sitting at the transit instrument and facing the direction in which transits are most usually taken (that is, for the northern hemisphere, south) and also visible to an observer working with the equatorial. This desirable combination makes it expedient that the equatorial room should be at the west end of the buildings ; but local | reasons connected with the site of the not always render this possible. For the clock there should be provided a stone pier observatory may constructed and isolated with much the saine precautions as those already suggested in respect of the piers prepared to carry the telescope. On the top of the clock case there is sometimes placed a “Hardy’s noddy.” This is a small and _ sensitive inverted pendulum inclosed under a glass bell and standing on a frame provided with three adjusting screws to level | it. The use of the noddy is to discover whether the pendulum of the clock imparts any motion to its supports. But this is a refinement with which in a general way amateur observers need not concern themselves. Meteorological Instryuments.— Although an astronomical observatory is one thing and a meteorological observatory is altogether another thing, yet every astronomical establishment should be provided with a few of the more ordinary meteorological instruments, even though their owner does not profess to be a meteorologist. All astro- nomical observations are in a measure affected by changes in the temperature and humidity of the air; consequently, a self-registering maximum and minimum thermometer, a hygrometer, and a rain-gauge should be regarded as indispensable accessories to every observa- tory. No doubt, also, the desirability of having a | barometer will naturally suggest itself, though its astro- |momical usefulness is very small indeed--by which I | Nov. 19, 1885] NAL ORE 61 mean that changes of pressure only require to be taken account of in the very exact instrumental observations carried out in first-class observatories. It is also im- portant that a respectable weathercock should be in sight, for the direction of the wind exercises, as is well known, a potent influence on the condition of the air, as revealed by the scrutiny of a celestial object through a telescope. A good-“ Six’s” thermometer is quite good enough for general purposes, although not a self-registering instru- ment of the highest scientific precision. As a hygrometer, “Mason’s wet-and-dry-bulb ” instrument leaves nothing to be desired. The one special precaution of a meteorological charac- ter to be taken in connection with all astronomical ob- servations, whether made in an observatory or in the open air, is that equality of temperature should be secured everywhere. Whilst the due ventilation of the observa- tory should at all times be provided for, it is absolutely essential, in order to insure good results with every kind of instrument, that all doors and windows should be thrown open, so as to obtain a free current of air every- where for fully half an hour before observations are to be begun ; in hot summer weather, indeed, a longer time will generally be found necessary. The object of these precautions is obvious enough: it is to insure the inside air and the metal of the instruments being cooled down (or, as it may sometimes happen, being warmed up) to the temperature of the external air. In order to learn whether this equality exists, every observatory should have a thermometer outside as well as inside. The former should be hung on the north side, away from the sun, and, if possible, not actually in contact with the observatory itself. G, F. CHAMBERS (To be continued.) NOTES WE learn with much pleasure from Scéexce the election of Prof. E. S. Holden to be President of the University of Cali- fornia, and Director of the Lick Observatory. Prof. Holden’s resignation as Director of the Washburn Observatory at Madison, Wis., takes effect on January 1 next. His appointment as Director of the Lick Observatory will hardly be a matter of surprise to those who are aware that, as consulting astronomer, he has virtually had the direction of the work as it has pro- gressed, visiting the site on Mount Hamilton in 1881, and again in 1883 and 1884. Very happily the choice both of the Lick trustees and of the regents of the University has fallen upon Prof. Holden. It is understood that, in his letter of resignation to the regents of the University of Wisconsin, he strongly urges the name of Prof. W. A. Rogers, of Harvard College Observa- tory, as his successor, THE wealthy American, Senator Stanford, proposes to esta- blish a Californian University. He intends to give to it, besides estates worth 5,309,000 dollars, a donation in money increasing its endowments to 20,000,000 dollars. The University will be located at Palo-Alto, thirty miles from San Francisco, and is apparently to be modelled somewhat after the plan of the Johns Hopkins institution. THE prospectus has been issued by Herr Fischer, publisher, of Jena, of anew scientific periodal entitled Zoologische Farhbiicher : Lettschrift fiir Systematik Geographie und Biologie der Thiere, which is to be brought out under the editorship of Dr. J. W. Sprengel, of Bremen. Notwithstanding the vast number of Scientific journals, both author and publisher think that this department of science does not receive the attention which it deserves. It is not excluded, they say, from scientific periodi- cals ; but communications relating to it appear more or less as Strangers by the side of others. The new periodical will be wholly devoted to this class of subjects. In the first section the papers will, for the most part, be of a higher kind than the mere description of new species, except those for which no special journal exists. The geographical section will contain studies on the distribution of all kinds of animal and vegetable life, and special attention is promised to the biological section. Contributions will be received in German, French, English, and Latin. The periodical will appear quarterly, each four issues making a volume. THE success of the last electrical exhibition at the Paris. Observatory was so complete that the International Society of Electricians is preparing another for next spring. A GENERAL meeting of members of the French Association for the Advancement of Science has been summoned to approve of the fusion with the Société Francaise. Lectures and meetings will take place this year under the patronage of the united societies as a single body. THE well-known electrician, Dr. James Moser, who was working for some time at Prof. Guthrie's laboratory, has been appointed as Jrivatdocent at Vienna University. THE Colonial fisheries are to form a prominent feature at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition which is to be held next year. The Aquarium will be considerably enlarged, and special tanks are now being prepared for the reception of the various fish from the Colonies. A tank of colossal proportions is to be allotted for the purpose of exhibiting turtles in large numbers which will be despatched from India together with other specimens in the early part of next year. We do not yet know what fish are to be forwarded from the various colonies, but the utmost care will have to be exercised and the most perfect arrangements made in order to provide for their various necessities. The collection promises to be one of great interest and value, although its success all depends upon how the fish withstand the long journeys to which they will be subjected. TowAarRDs the end of October the remarkable sun-glows were again seen at Stockholm. In the western horizon a yellow cloud-bank, strongly illuminated, appeared behind a number of tiny clouds, greyish in colour, the sky above the former, to a | height of about 45°, being lurid, entirely colouring the clouds. Later on in the evening the glow imparted to the edges of the clouds the most remarkable reflections of colour, varying from ochre to yellow, violet, and pink, with shadings of blue. At times the higher-lying clouds formed most remarkable forma- tions. It seemed that the glow was situated between cumulus and cirrus clouds. On October 21, at about 5 a.m., a brilliant meteor was observed at Skaad6, on the south-east coast of Norway. It appeared first near the zenith, and describing a circle of about 70°, disappeared in the south-west, about 20° above the horizon. In spite of the sky being covered with clouds, and its being still dark, the country around was lit up as in daylight, objects being clearly discernible at a great distance. As no sound or explosion was heard, it is assumed tha‘ the track of the meteor lay in the upper parts of the atmosphere. Some Thames trout are being spawned at Sunbury by the Thames Angling Preservation Society, who are doing their utmost to replenish the stock of this fine species of Salmonidz, which, unhappily, have now become a rarity. The ova will be incubated by the National Fish Culture Association, and the fry will ultimately be deposited in one of the Thames nurseries. THE Catalogue of the Library of the Royal Society of Tas- mania is a considerable volume; and it is a matter of some surprise to find that men of science in this distant colony have 62 NATURE [Vov. 19, 1885 such an excellent library as this. It embraces every class of literature, and appears especially rich in periodicals, and in works relating to Australasia. THE last “Circular” of the Johns Hopkins University Library contains a list of the periodicals, including the scientific and literary publications of various societies, regularly received. Although newspapers and official reports are omitted, the list extends over eleven closely-printed columns, and probably con- tains the name of every periodical in the world in any way connected with science. ; AN interesting bi-monthly periodical has just made its appear- ance in Colombo. It is entitled the Zuprobanian ; a Dravidian Journal of Oriental Studies in and around Ceylon in Natural History, Archeology, Philology, History, &c.,” and is edited by Mr. Nevill, F.Z.S., of the Ceylon Civil Service. The first number contains various notes and queries, relating mainly to scientific subjects, and articles on Tamil inscriptions in Ceylon, comments on Ptolemy’s geography, on Ceylonese inscriptions in the Asokha dialect, archeological reports on Ceylon (No. 1), and on the Vaedda- dialect. The whole of the contents of the thirty-two pages of the first issue is from the pen of the editor, who hopes to make his periodical a storehouse of details, available hereafter for the elaboration of any special subject connected with the Tamil and other Dravidian races. He promises to do his utmost to procure for investigators in Europe, America, or elsewhere, any local information of scientific interest that they may seek. We hope the venture will have the success which the editor’s learning and enterprise so well deserve. WE are glad to notice the re-appearance of the Orientadist, another Ceylon periodical, containing articles of much scientific interest, and which has been noticed in NATURE. It ceased publication for some months, but the editor is now publishing double numbers to make up for lost time, which, it is only fair to add, was due to negligence of subscribers, not to that of its learned editor. THE present number (x. No. 23) of Zxcursions et Recon- naissances of French Cochin China contains the fourth part of M. Landes’s article on Annamite tales and legends; but it is mainly occupied with the continuation of M. Tirant’s long account of the fishes of Lower Cochin China and Cambodia. THE inhabitants of Srinagar, Cashmere, have again been thrown info a state of alarm and consternation at the recurrence of earthquake shocks there. The first shock—a severe one— was felt on the night of the 15th inst., and this has been followed by a constant series of slighter ones. THE last number of Za Nuova Scienza contains instructive papers on ‘‘ Modern Italian Thought,” on ‘* Cosmic Evolution,” and on the ‘German Pessimist Philosophy.”’ The first of these papers deals with Prof. G, Sergi’s ‘‘ Origin of Psychic Pheno- mena” (Milan, 1885), which forms the fortieth volume of the Italian ‘‘ International Scientific Library,’ and which contains a useful summary of the arguments of physiologists and psycho- logists on the genesis and nature of psychic force. Sergi con- tends that psychis is merely a function, or rather an implement of the body, analagous to the teeth, claws, and other offensive and defensive members. Against this materialistic conception Prof. Caporali, author of the paper in question, and editor of La Nuova Scienza, contends that pscyhis is inherent in all forms of matter, from the atom to the highest organisms, and that it is the cause, not the effect, of motion, that is, of all progress and evolution, It is an error to suppose that the organ originates the psychic function, for the function precedes the organ. The lowest organisms, such as the amcebe, have no differentiated organs, yet they exercise psychic functions, as shown by O. Zacharia in his new work on ‘‘Organismen ohne Organe” (1885). Hence, to regard psychis as a mere function of the body, and introduce it later into the fully-developed nervous system as the product of the system, is neither philosophic nor scientific. The article on the German Pessimist school contains biographical notices and short summaries of the teachings of Schopenhauer, Von Hartmann, Geiger, Noiré, and other exponents of that philosophy. The Mzova Scienza, which continues to be con- ducted with remarkable learning and ability, deserves more general recognition than it appears to have yet received in this country. TELEGRAPHS are extending with extraordinary rapidity over Southern China. At the present moment Pekin in the'far north is connected by a direct line through Canton with Lungchow on the frontier of Tonquin, the extension from Canton to the latter place being made during the recent war, purely for military pur- poses. Thus we have one great line stretching through the Chinese Empire from north to south, and at the present moment an important line is being constructed along the southern borders of China through the provinces of Kwangtung, Kwangsi, and Yunnan. Starting from Nanking in Kwangsi, where it joins the Canton-Lungchow line, it will extend for nearly 600 miles to Mung-lih in South Yunnan, running for half the distance along the Yukiang, the name of the Canton river in its upper The work is being carried out by the Chinese them- selves with the assistance of one European, and it is stated that during the recent war the Canton authorities equipped a com- plete field telegraph staff, the members of which were so tho- roughly trained that they have been able to put up 35 miles of line inasingle day for war purposes. Telegraphs have now secured a firm footing in China, and their extension over the whole country is a matter of time only, aided perhaps by politi- cal events. In the great movement towards a centralised Government now progressing in China the telegraph line will play a vital part, for it will utterly destroy the semi-independence of the provincial viceroys, hitherto secure in their remoteness from the seat of government. course, THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the past week include a Green Monkey (Cercopithecus callitrichus ) from West Africa, presented by Miss Hodgson; a Macaque Monkey (Macacus cynomolgus g ) from India, presented by Mrs. Berens ; an 31 Arabian Gazelle (Gazel/a arabica 2) from Arabia, — presented by Mr. John Patton; two Short-headed Phalangers — (Belideus breviceps 2 2) from Australia, presented by Mr. P. S. Abrahams, F.Z.S. ; a Ring-necked Parrakeet (Pateornis tor- guatus) from India, presented by Mrs. Morgan; two Indian Cobras (Waza tripudians) from India, presented by Mr. W. G. Burrows ; two European Tree Frogs (Aya arborea), European, presented by Mrs. A. Bratton ; two Catfish (Amcurus catus) from North America, presented by the National Fish Culture Association ; two Mule Deer (Cariacus macrotis 2 2) from North America, a Triton Cockatoo (Cacatua triton) from New Guinea, deposited; two Barbary Wild Sheep (Ouds trage- laphus 6 2) from North Africa, four Spotted-billed Ducks (Anas pecilorhyncha & 8 2 3) from India, purchased ; a Sam- bur Deer (Cervzs aristotelis 2 ), born in the Gardens. ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR THE WEEK, 1885, NOVEMBER 22-28 (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 November 22 Sun rises, 7h. 33m. ; souths, 11h. 46m. 22°9s.; sets, 16h. om. ; decl. on meridian, 20° 15’ S.: Sidereal Time at Sunset, 20h. 7m. win se ee eh A ee ae te Nov. 19, 1885 | NA POLE 63 Moon (at Full) rises, 16h. 43m.; souths, oh. 25m.* ; sets, Sh. 14m.*; decl. on meridian, 17° 1’ N. Planet Rises Souths Sets Decl. on meridian h. m. h. m. h. m. Sas os Mercury --. 9°32 <.. 13) 9 16 46 25 32/9: Venus ... 11 28 1 a) 18 48 25) 13) 9° Mars)... 23 317 6 31 13 31 10 54N. Jupiter ... 1 53 8 0 TAN 7, o 40N. Satur ... 18 19* 2 27 10 35 22) 200 Nr. * Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding and the southing and setting those of the following day. Occultations of Stars by the Moon Corresponding angles from ver- Nov. Star Mag. Disap. Reap: ‘tex'to right for inverted image h. m. h. m. ° ° 22 ... 6! Tauri Ameen Los 20) cselQ) Lijeee) 300272 Zein, OF) Lauri... Athens L838) es 101 Om... | £01209 Boers 75) Lauri... Clee ORAC ELON ON. --n Qapliy2 Pome WAG. 1390 2-5, =. 19,18, -.. 20) 17 60 246 22 ... Aldebaran 3, 21 48 22057 75 257 eae. Li7) Lauri... Ges Uy) ae) 18 42 29 271 BAD... 130 lauri... 6 2 52 3 58 92 323 24 ... 26Geminorum... 5% ..: 22 59... oO 6 54 241 26 ... I Cancri 26 5) 40)... 0) 46 107 292 + Occurs on the following day. For further particulars in regard to the occultation of Alde- baran see NATURE, vol. xxxil, p. 610. Phenomena of Jupiter's Satellites Nov. h. m | Noy. h. m. 22 3 42 I. tr. egr. | 26 4 19 II. occ. reap. 23 6 43 III. ecl. disap. | 27 Ay 2;ulievtrs eprs 24 Tom les tevin. 28 5 9 I. ecl. disap. The Occultations of Stars and Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites are such as are visible at Greenwich. Novy. h. ; X BA. 23 Saturn in conjunction with and 3° 59’ north of the Moon. A special watch should be kept on November 27 and the days immediately preceding and following, in order to note whether there is any recurrence of the meteoric shower observed on November 27, 1872, and believed to be connected with Biela’s comet. The radiant point is near y Andromede. CHEMICAL NOTES In order to obtain constant temperatures easily maintained and completely under control, Messrs. kamsay and Young (C. S. Fournal, Trans., 1885, 640) employ vapours of the following compounds, and alter the pressure to which each yapour is subjected: carbon disulphide, ethy] alcohol, chloro- benzene, bromobenzene, aniline, methyl salicylate, bromo- naphthalene, and mercury. By the use of the vapours of these bodies at various pressures, any desired temperature between that of the atmosphere and 360° can be easily obtained. The authors have very carefully determined the vapour-pressures of these compounds for a large range of temperature. The methods of experiment are fully described, and the results are presented in the form of tables, which must prove of much service to those chemists and physicists who have occasion to aise pieces of apparatus to a known temperature, to vary that temperature if required, or to keep it perfectly constant for an indefinit2 period. ___As was noticed in these columns some time ago, Dixon has recently proved that a mixture of perfectly dry carbon monoxide and oxygen is not exploded by the passage of electric sparks ; but that the presence of a minute quantity of water suffices to determine the combination of the gases. Dixon supposed that the action of the water was as represented in the following two equations :— ‘ (1) CO + H,O = CO, + Hy, (2) 2H, + O, = 2H,0. Now Traube (Zev. 18, 1890) has shown that carbon monoxide does not decompose water in complete absence of air or oxygen, eyen at very high temperatures ; he has also shown that when moist carbon monoxide and oxygen are exploded together, hydrogen peroxide is an invariable product. Traube suggests rm that the following three changes probably occur during the explosion in question :— (1) CO+2H,0 + O,=CO(CH), +H,O>. (2) CO+H.O,=CO(OH)s. (3) 2CO(OH),=2CO, + 2H,0. When hydrogen is burnt in moist oxygen, hydrogen peroxide is always produced, according to Traube. Whether a perfectly dry mixture of hydrogen and oxygen could or could not be ex- ploded by electric sparks cannot be regarded as settled ; Traube thinks that such a mixture would prove to be non-explosible. He regards the mutual action of hydrogen, oxygen and water as in all respects comparable with that of carbon monoxide, oxygen, and water, or with that of zinc, lead, and some other metals, oxygen, andwater. The changes which occur in the explosion of moist hydrogen and oxygen are formulated by Traube thus :— (1) H,+2H,0 + 0,=2H,0 + H,0,. (2) H,O,+H,=2H,0. The occurrence of the second part of this reaction has been experimentally demonstrated by Traube. IN continuing his experiments on nitrification, Warington (C.S. Fournal, Trans. 1885, 758) has shown that the limit of concentration (about 12 per cent.) beyond which urine ceases to be nitrifiable under ordinary conditions may be largely extended by adding gypsum to the liquid. A_ solution containing 50 per cent, of urine, and 22 milligrams of gypsum for every c.c. of urine, began to nitrify after about five months ; solutions con- taining 15, 20, and 30 per cent. of urine began to nitrify after the lapse of 53, 68, and 78 days respectively. The gypsum prevents the accumulation of ammonium carbonate in the liquid. J. H. van’? Horr describes (Berichte, xviii. 2088) experi- ments on phenomena, analogous to those exhibited by gases at their ‘‘ critical points,” occurring during chemical decomposi- tion. Phosphonium chloride, PH,Cl, which melts at 25°, was heated to 50°-51° at a pressure of 80-90 atmospheres in a Cailletet’s apparatus ; under these conditions the line of separa- tion between liquid and vapour disappeared, and, on cooling, the formation of nebulous streaks became plainly visible. It is well known that the yapour obtained by heating PH,Cl under ordinary conditions consists of PH, + HCl; it is not possible to say to what extent the melted substance in van’t Hoff’s experiment consisted of a compound of PH, and HCl, and the gaseous part coasisted of a mixture of these constituents, yet it seems certain that, when PH,Cl, a compound which is chemi- cally decomposed when vaporised, is heated to 50° under a pressure of 80-90 atmospheres, there exists identity between the vapour and the condensed portion of the body. La Coste describes (Berichte, xviii. 2122) a modification of V. Meyer’s apparatus whereby the densities of easily decomposed compounds may be determined at low temperatures under small pressures. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES A CATALOGUE of the printed maps, plans, and charts in the British Museum has been prepared by Prof. Douglas, and will be issued in two large volumes. It represents the contents of the manuscript catalogue in 323 volumes, the catalogue of the maps and plans in the Royal Library in two printed volumes, and the manuscript catalogue of charts in the same library. The original manuscript catalogue was made under the superintend- ence of Mr. Major, late Keeper of the Department of Maps. The orthography adopted in the present catalogue is that used in Keith Johnston’s ‘‘General Dictionary of Geography,” with the exception of India, for which Hunter's ‘‘ Gazetteer” has been taken asa guide. The utility of this catalogue to the geographical student will be found in the comparatively simple alphabetical arrangements for the headings of countries and places, combined with the names of geographical writers, which last often serve as short cuts to any particular atlas or map. Thus, under the head of ‘‘ Ptolemy,” the pillar and foundation of ancient geography, there are seventy-four entries referring to the various editions and copies of his ‘‘ Geographica.” Turning to the names of the fathers of modern geography, Ortelius and Mercator, we find under the former twenty-nine entries describ- ing the various copies and editions of. his ‘‘ Theatrum orbis Terrarum.” ‘The geographical labours of his contemporary and friend, Mercator, will be best ‘realised by a reference to the 64 MATURE [ Mov. 19, 1885 heading ‘‘ World: Atlas: Modern,” p. 4491, where will be found probably the most complete list of Mercator’s atlases extant, ranging from 1495 to 1636. AT the meeting of the Geographical Society of Paris on the 6th instant, M. Germain, who presided, pronounced a eulogium on Milne-Edwards. M. Duveyrier called attention to a report addressed to the Spanish Government by Capt. Bonelli, relative to the Spanish possessions on the West Coast of Africa, according to which it appeared that the writer claimed on behalf of Spain nearly a hundred kilometres of the coast belonging to the French in Senegal. A letter was read describing the departure from Buenos Ayres of M. Thouar on a new expedition to complete his work onthe Pilcomayo. A note was read from M. Venukoff on the recent incidents of Russian geographical exploration. M. Chaffaujon described his late explorations in the basin of the Orinoco, to which we have already made frequent reference. THE current number of Petermann’s Mittheilungen has for its first article a lengthy communication by Dr. Theodor Fischer on the development of coasts. His conclusion is as follows :—- Wherever the sea by breakers and currents has exercised a pre- ponderating influence on the form and development of coasts, whether flat or precipitous, the line of coast takes the form of a succession of arcs, in the case of steep coasts with a short, and of flat coasts with a long, radius ; where the coasts exhibit other features than these, although the action of the sea be not wholly excluded, yet other causes, especially tectonic alterations in the surface and movements of the earth’s crust, are more powerful or are very recent. Herr Langhaus gives a map of the Cameroon Mountains, with an accompanying description, con- taining a short sketch of recent exploration in the region. Dr. Boas writes on the topography of Hudson’s Bay and Hudson’s Straits, with a map; and Herr Wichmann describes the new republic in South Africa, also with a small but remarkably clear map by Dr. Havernick. The usual geographical and critical notes and lists conclude the number. M. EuGENE AUBERT has been charged by the Ministry of Public Instruction with a scientific mission to the basin of the Amazon. BEES AND OTHER HOARDING INSECTS} Their Specialisation into Females, Males, and Workers [X discussing the differentiation of bees into females, males, and workers, I shall have no need to call your attention to any new discoveries in the world of wonders among those minute creatures that we have had with us for all ages, and whose life we are just now beginning faintly to understand. My illustrations will be drawn mainly from other orders, in which it will be impossible for me to make a mistake without its being readily seen by some of the general public as well as the specialists. The limits of this paper will not permit elaborate definitions, or fine discriminations, and I have therefore to ask that you will kindly make your own definitions, taking care to give to my words in general the narrowest sense compatible with the use to which I apply them. From the creatures and the plants, that man has domesticated for his use, we have learned nearly all of the lessons in heredity, which we have no good reason to unlearn, and my first illustra- tion shall be from one of these, the barn yard fowl. If we mate a Black Spanish fowl with a Buff Cochin, and hatch out the eggs as the bees do theirs, in an incubator, till we have a hundred chicks, among these we shall find a very great diversity. Some when fully grown will be nearly, if not quite, as heavy as the Buff Cochin, and some will weigh little, if any, more than the Black Spanish. Their respective weights will probably vary between those natural to their sex in the two varieties to which their progenitors belong, but much the larger | number will be very nearly half way between. And as colour is not necessarily correlated with weight, it is quite possible that the heaviest chick will be the blackest ; that is to say, that he may take his colour almost entirely from one parent, and his | weight and form from the other. In colour every one of the hundred chicks will, when fully grown, be in some degree dis- tinguished from every other; and if we take colour, size and form together for our guide, there will not be one among the t Read before the Brooklyn Entomological Society, December 29, 1884, by Edwin A. Curley. whole number that we cannot readily distinguish from every other. Now this particular cross from the great difference in size, form and colour of the parent stock enables us to see very clearly a fact which the closest and most careful investigation shows to be a general law. It is this: All offspring are variable by heredity. And under some circum- stances the variations are wide. Nearly every youth, who has amused himself with an aquarium, knows that he can dwarf his fish if he chooses to do so. Other things being equal, the weight of a fish depends upon the amount of food it is allowed to consume, This vari- ability is so great among fishes, that of two as nearly alike as possible, either one may be fed so that he shall exceed a pound in weight, before the other, receiving very little food, shall turn the scale at an ounce. Thus insufficiency of food affects the development of all organs. All breeders of animals have some knowledge of this fact as applied to their own business, and of which our fish merely affords a striking example. It is an inevitable deduction, that when the food is of the general quality which is suitable for the due nourishment of all the organs but is insufficient in amount, the stronger organs, if such there be, will take more than their share, and the weaker organs will go to the wall. From this matter of food supply we have a general law, which may be stated as follows : Living creatures are variable from the amount and quality of their food. And among some orders the limits of this variation are wide. It is scarcely necessary for me to go into the fact that the insects, being exposed to more extreme vicissitudes than the larger orders of animal life, are much more variable in almost every respect. It will be interesting, however, and it may be instructive in the line of our inquiry, to point out some powers of variation in sex in a very common plant, which, while they are very much greater than those of the bee, have some points of striking resemblance. Indian corn is pictured to the unobserving mind asa plant bearing something good to eat at the side and a tassle on the top. The botanist tells us that the tassle on the top is a male plant, that at the side is a female plant or perhaps more than one, that all these are joined upon one stalk, and that the some- thing good to eat is the product of the female plant, fertilized by the pollen of the male. All this is fact as far as it goes ; but it gives us no conception of the whole truth. On going into the field in bloom we find that nearly all of the stalks have tassels on the top; they are male plants. Ina good field we shall find perhaps half of them with reproductive females at the side, say two good ears of corn toa hill. There are, therefore, nearly twice as many perfect males as there are of perfect females. We find also that the undeveloped females are very numerous—from one to half a dozen ona stalk. Anda close examination shows that the number of females that become developed is almost entirely a matter of food. Such an investi- gation shows also some plants bearing only a female on the stalk and some that are eiitirely undeveloped in both sexes. Thus in our field of Indian corn we have male stalks, male and female stalks, female stalks, neuter stalks. And the stalks that bear developed male and developed female individuals all have (a) a male individual on the top, (4) one, two, or’ three females at the side, (c) one to six undeveloped females at the side, and possibly with, possibly instead of these (c) they may have (@) one to half a dozen buds and germs of females at the side. If, when the corn is ripe, we go with the farmer and gather a basketful, we shall invariably find that on each ear there are kernels less perfectly developed than others, and we shall have every reason to believe that in the basketful there are some kernels that could not reproduce, that some kernels would repro- duce but would, under the most favourable circumstances, give but imperfect offspring, and that there would be a very wide range in the degrees of the imperfection of the plants produced from these imperfect kernels. As a matter of fact, the farmer in planting, selects with care the most perfect ears, and the most perfect parts only of the ears so selected, and yet we have the males, the females, and the neuters or the undeveloped for the result as I have described them. Indian corn is so extremely variable in this matter of sex, that careful experimenting in this direction would be likely to give most interesting results in a single lifetime. — | } me ot Nov. 19, 1885 | NATORE 05 Having now illustrated some principles of variability, and given some idea of the extent to which it may go, under our own observation, we must deal with the question before us by way of hypothesis. Let us suppose a primitive or typical Bee among the honey- seeking insects of early days. She is necessarily a creature having such attributes as are common to all species of bees which are her offspring, but in many respects she is very unlike our Hive Bee of to-day. Wesee her at a time when this typical species has already learned the wonderful lesson of thrift. She stores honey in times of plenty to provide for times of want. She is feeding her offspring from her stores. As the keen com- petition of life goes on, she must provide for the wants of her offspring for an ever-increasing period, and, as her powers in this respect are taxed to the utmost, her powers of reproduction are of necessity diminished ; she produces some imperfect eggs, and she produces fewer eggs. Still, the vast majority of her off- spring perish, either for lack of sufficient food or as prey to natural enemies before their power of self-defence are sufficiently developed for successful flight or resistance. It is quite reasonable to suppose that the bee has been sub- jected to such vicissitudes as these. The extraordinary differ- ences in the sizes of the various living species of bees would indicate the truth of the theory of insufficient food as far as we have yet followed it. If we have a species of bee only one- eighth of an inch in length while some others are an inch and a quarter inlength and stout in proportion, it will take one thous- and (1000) of these Lilliputian bees to weigh as much as a single specimen of one of these largest species. Is it not most reasonable to suppose that this tremendous variation in size is chiefly due to the matter of food supply, as is the well-known fact in the very large variation we can thus make in the size of an individual fish ?’ Now when the food supply is so very scant that the size of the offspring is necessarily much dwarfed, evidently the weakest will die in the process of rearing ; evidently also the mother-bee whose reproductive powers are the weakest as to the number of offspring, and whose maternal instincts are the strongest, that is to say, the one that lays the fewest eggs and takes the best care of her young, will best succeed. If any broods of young perish altogether from famine, it will be those that are so numerous as entirely to overtax the powers of the mother-bee in feeding them. ‘Thus we gradually approach a time when the care of the mother-bee extends to a period in the life of the offspring when they appreciate and respond to her affection. The offspring are still numerous and the struggle for existence is severe. The food supply is sufficient to bring the young to that point in existence when they are capable of applying with some prospect of success the instinct, that is to say, the congenital knowledge, inherited from the mcther. And as the mother-hee continues after this period to help them in their struggle for existence, they see and understand her assist- ance, and they necessarily respond to her affection. Here is definitely established filial love, in response to maternal affection, and it is necessary that this filial love should be established in strength even in this little insect before it is possible that the specialization under consideration shall commence. It must not be supposed that the size of these tiny creatures renders them incapable of this strong feeling—we must in this respect as in others go by the evidence of our senses and the necessities of the case. Without strong affection the whole life of these bees is quite inexplicable, while with it their conduct is the natural out- come of a certain amount of intelligence applied to certain conditions of existence. Among all creatures nursed with a mother’s care, filial love grows stronger and stronger according to the capacity and cir- cumstances of the offspring and the strength of that affection which calls it forth. But when the time for mating approaches the young seek other relationships and so far as it is incompatible with these does filial love decay. But what happens if the young are by nature incapacitated for these other relationships ? Then filial love necessarily grows with the individual and strengthens with her strength. _ The mating instinct may be almost or wholly lacking ; and, if wholly lacking, then all of that part of the highly nervous organization inherited from the mother that is devoted to the affections will have no other outlet than in filial love. The common life around us, and man himself will perhaps afford us some partial illustrations of this necessary law. The best illustration outside of the insect world is one of which the facts may be easily ascertained by any person who will make the inquiry. The breeding of mules is an important industry. The horse and the ass are capable of strong affection, but their colts seldom develope a filial love which has a controlling influence on their adult life. But the mule, the hybrid between the male ass and the female horse, except in very rare instances, is congenitally incapable of reproducing its kind. It has more ox less of the instinct for mating, but it necessarily does not have the strong sexual passion of a perfect equine animal. Its love for its mother however amounts to a master passion; it is not spasmodical, but it is intense and it continues as long as there is an opportunity of showing it. It is capable of transfer to another object and those who breed mules in large numbers take a useful, instructive, and amusing advantage of this fact. When the young mules are weaned, the mothers are with- drawn from their company, and one, otherwise worthless old mare is substituted for many mothers. The poor young things turn to the good-natured old mare as to a very goddess ; while she receives their worship with the equanimity of her sex, never hinting in the mildest terms that it is an idolatry that should be abated. As the dilapidated goddess herself may be depended upon for her staid qualities, it follows that her worshippers are thereby kept out of mischief. And the poor mule is not a backslider, it is always a consistent worshipper. Ihave stated that filial love is absolutely necessary to the specialisation under consideration. It should be added that it mu-t be intense in its character and capable of replacing to a large extent the maternal instinct of the perfect creature. From the fact that insufficiency of food would affect the growth of all organs we deduce the further fact that it would affect weak organs the most, giving those .not congenitally perfect an irregular development. It follows also that if a very young animal congenitally perfect, receives for a long period only sufficient food to sustain life, the organs not vital will be more or less dwarfed in their proportions, as compared to the vital organs. For here the law of parsimony is absolute. The vital organs must receive a certain supply, or the life perishes. The non- vital organs make no such imperative demand, and they conse- quently get less in proportion. And an organ that is entirely useless to the life of the individual, would under such circum- stances receive no nourishment whatever ; excepting only as it is correlated to the organs that are useful or vital. The repro- ductive organs of the young of all species are entirely useless to the life of the individual ; their powers are latent, and, excepting as they are correlated to other organs, they make no demand for nourishment. Starvation must therefore dwarf the reproductive organs of very young individuals, in proportion to those which are very important, or absolutely necessary to life. In plants this fact is constantly shown all around us and our maize is a striking example. The reproductive powers of swine are very great. But a young pig that is half-starved will not only have its reproductive powers very much retarded in their growth, it will have them diminished in their ultimate strength. This is a matter in which general observation furnishes the proof. I have not asked fish- culturists the question but I am absolutely certain that, other things being equal, the number of fish-eggs will depend upon the size and thrift of the individual, and these, other things being equal, depend upon the question of food. It is easy to imagine a possible case among the vertebrates or even the mammals in which a perfectly normal organism by long continued insufficiency of food, is allowed a slow development of those organs that are absolutely necessary for its life, and of the others most nearly correlated to these, while the organs of re- production, in the incipient or undeveloped stage in which they were when starvation commenced, still remain till they become fixed and immutable, notwithstanding any abundance of food that may be given at a later period of life. Let us now go back to the variability of eggs as shown by our hundred chicks or the variability of seeds as shown by our ears of corn. This variability is variability of the germs, and this is congenital variability. This variability as shown in the hundred chicks gives us from three to six pounds for their adult weight and they all differ in colour, form, or both. We take no account at present of the fact that our primitive bee as shown by her offspring of to-day was far more variable 66 NATURE than fowls, but we note that she was a hoarding insect, gathering with great care and industry in good times food for times of scarcity ; that she supplied her young from her stores ; and that they responded to her maternal cares with filial affection. We left her at a time when the struggle for existence was keen and some of her offspring starved through no fault of her own. She was exhausted with a constant search for food and the cares of a numerous and starving family. This necessarily involved the fact that her reproductive system was quite out of balance, she was incapable of producing as many eggs as her progenitors, and many of those that she did produce were imperfect. ; Of these imperfect eggs some addled and some hatched out imperfect offspring. At this point we proceed to inquire into the nature of the imperfections of the offspring. There would probably be quite a variety in these defects. One might be wanting in legs, another deficient in wings, another insane, another deaf, another possibly congenitally blind, or perhaps wanting in that sense, whatever it is, by which ants and bees intelligently converse with their fellows. All of these and many other congenital defects are possible and even probable, because we see them in other and the least changeable orders and species of creatures. But the greatest in number of all the very important defects would be defects of the reproductive organs ; because they are the organs in the mother which have been most affected by her unfortunate environment. Under these circumstances, what must become of all the imperfect offspring in a sharp struggle for existence ? Manifestly all wanting in legs, or wings, or eyes, or in any organs necessary for quick and intelligent movements in attack- ing or resisting enemies, or in collecting food, must die at an early age, notwithstanding any possible care of fhe mother. Manifestly none of those defective in the reproductive organs would so die, unless they were also defective in some other particular, unless indeed the struggle became so keen that perfect and imperfect went to the wall together. Manifestly also these insects thus congenitally imperfect in the reproductive organs would have a great advantage over all others in the struggle for existence, from the time at which the reproductive period in those cthers commenced. If altogether incapable of reproduction, they would have | vitality enough for themselves and a surplus to expend. The energy inherited from the hardworking progenitors would be too great for idleness. The surplus must be expended at the dictates of love or hate. Hate, beyond that healthy indignation at attack or imposition which is necessary to self-protection, is unnatural to such beings.1 But they have one to love, and that is the mother. The perfect offspring depart to reproduce their kind, and the one, two, three, or the dozen of the imperfect ones, stay behind with the mother bee, or if she dies they transfer their affection to some one of their perfect sisters. Now another hoard of honey must be gathered, and another lot of eggs laid, hatched out and cared for. The female bee works industriously and, true to her instinct, denies herself of necessary food that she may lay by the more for her future offspring. And now these creatures, happy in their deprivation, capable of supplying their own wants with ease, insist on gathering food for the mother-bee. She takes it with eagerness, tastes and stores it away. And after the young are hatched out, the like attempt to feed the mother-bee results in feeding them. Thus this family have for a time a great advantage in the struggle for ‘existence and there isa perfectly adequate motive for the conduct of the kind little creatures who minister to the wants of the mother-bee. Still this happy family is not precisely the foundation of our modern bee-hive ; itis really too affluent for complete success. The mother-bee, no longer overworked, recovers her health and unfortunately lays perfect eggs ; with the help of the nurse- maids she rears her young without overtaxing her powers. Her family and any others like it have very decided advantages over the old type, to which nevertheless they inevitably revert, to fall into a state of starvation as before; for, in this family, the nursemaids have, and can haye, no probable successors while there is plenty to eat. If this happens to one family of bees, it will probably happen * Lubbock's instances of ants attacking strangers and not rescuing friends by no means demonstrates the opposite of this proposition. [Vov. 19, 1885 to many families. The temporary affluence of one family caused by the presence of the helpers will itself increase the depth of poverty in the neighbouring families, and this poverty will give them helpers in undeveloped bees in the next generation, by which in turn they will be raised to affluence. Thus there will be alternating generations of bees—that is to say, generations with helpers, followed by generations without them. Among those that go forth from the mother-nest to find mates and rear families of their own are some that are congenitally weak in the reproductive organs. The majority of these meet with sound mates and the variation dies out. But some individ- uals thus congenitally imperfect meet with like mates. The congenital weakness of the reproductive organs is intensified in the offspring. The majority are perhaps so imperfect as not to be able to reproduce their kind. Any of these that reach maturity will be glad helpers of the mother-bee. Their less imperfect brothers and sisters are defective in many degrees. The offspring of one never reach maturity. Those of another nearly all thrive and there are a dozen reproductive females among them. In their migrations at swarming time these bees sometimes become established near less affluent families, congenitally perfect, and are sometimes crossed with them. Here we have the bees in a condition of the greatest variability as to reproductive powers, but all of those that are getting on well in the world have among their offspring some that cannot reproduce, and helpers are consequently numerous. variety. Sick and discouraged with the unsuccessful battle of life, they are more or less tolerated in the affluent families of their neighbours. But when they have recovered their bodily strength, they have not also regained their mental balance. They have become accustomed to a life of tolerated dependence ; so they live in the nest and lay eggs to be reared by their in- dustrious neighbours. Sometimes the imposition becomes too great for good nature to stand and there may be a terrible slaugh- ter of the innocent paupers and their offspring. The ones how- ever that most nearly resemble the useful members of the com- munity escape destruction and thus are established the Cuckoo- Bees, their simulation of virtue being ever the closer as indigna- | tion increases at their vice. | The varieties become extremely numerous ; many of them however becoming rapidly extinct. At first in all families where there are helpers there are almost or perhaps quite as many undeveloped males; but this being for bees a hurtful variation the tendency of natural selection is to their diminution. On the whole those families are the most successful in which there are the largest number of undeveloped females. All this time experience is being gathered in the mothers and | differentiated and stored in their systems, to re-appear as instinet | and intelligence in the offspring. ; Sometimes the most affluent families come to want, and perfect females are dwarfed in their reproductive organs by | scarcity of food and are only capable of being helpers. | From all this diversity there is at last a type evolved which is on the whole the best for the majority of the bees. This type is one involving a degree of imperfection in the reproductive organs of all offspring unless highly stimulating food in large quantity is supplied from a very early stage of growth. Thus the normal product is simply a helper and the number of males and females in proportion to the number of helpers and the food supply is a matter entirely under the control, not of chance nor of the mother, but of the community. This then, I think, is the foundation of the Hive-Bee family, the highest type of the flying Hymenoptera. As instinct enlarges and intelligence increases, the helpers take more and more upon themselves the care of the household. They become pre-eminently the workers, and their officious interference is continually stopping the mother-bee’s toil, and stuffing her with the best food they can obtain. She gives herself up more and more exclusively to the work of reproduc- tion, and her powers increase till she becomes capable of chang- ing food into eggs and individually starting a hundred thousand existences in her single lifetime. Between this highest type of the bee and the lowest, we find several hundred varieties all capable of explanation, either as progressive or retrogressive developments from our primitive bee. Many of them are highly specialised in their social habits, and it seems to me that all those that have two fully developed sexes and one or more undeveloped sexes, must necessarily have About this time the paupers are established as a distinct | | Nov. 19, 1885 | NATURE 67 thrift, intelligence and filial love as the foundation without which it is impossible that such creatures should of themselves build up such a singular condition. It seems to me that hunger, something approaching starvation, is necessary as a beginning of the specialisation. Now we all know that from their capacity to increase with enormous rapidity some insects are subject to great vicissitudes in the matter of food. The locusts, for instance, increase in numbers till, having eaten everything in their native habitat, they leave it in dense masses that obscure the heavens and which devastate vast regions. Of the next brood, immensely more vast in numbers than even these, comparatively a small remnant reach maturity, and scarcely any reproduce their kind. The race grows up again from the few starved individuals too weak to leave the old habitat and of which a few manage to survive long enough to lay some eggs. Those doubtless produce many imperfect insects, but these specialisations are not useful to the race in this case, and they cannot survive. I think it likely, however, that man could specialise locusts and many other insects in this way without difficulty. I think it likely that he could with great care so specialise fish and possibly fowls and with great patience and much difficulty some of the mammals. I think also that if mules were from a thrifty hoarding stock like squirrels they would be in the habit of feeding the old mare as the workers feed the mother-bee. But while it may he allowable to mention these as interesting possibilities I do not propose to discuss them inthis paper. There is another element which is, I think, very important in fixing the definite type of the workers, and which [ had intended to discuss. But while I think that element important in the bee and perhaps absolutely necessary for the still higher specialisa- tion of the ant, I think also that a permanent body of workers is necessarily evolved from the conditions which I have assumed as natural and proper to the primitive bee. To recapitulate in few words : I presuppose a primitive bee fertile and affectionate, hoarding and intelligent. I show that great want will necessarily diminish the number of her eggs. That it will render some eggs imperfect by deranging the reproductive organs of the mother. ‘That consequently some of the offspring will be defective in the reproducing organs. That while other imperfect bees will generally die before maturity, those imperfect only in the reproductive organs will live if the perfect offspring live. That some of these being incapable of mating, will not go away for that purpose, but will stay with the mother-bee. That, having surplus energy to expend, they will use it in accordance with the instinct of the race in gathering and storing food. That the surplus food will be utilised by the mother-bee, and that therefore this family will be affluent. That, being affluent, the formerly overtaxed mother will recover her health, and that her offspring will thereafter be perfect. That consequently these nursemaid-bees will have no successors, and the family will therefore be again reduced to _want. That some bees of the same hatch with the nursemaids will be congenitally imperfect, notwithstanding that they leave the mother and find mates. That the offspring of congenitally imperfect bees will be extremely variable. That some of this offspring will be unable to reproduce and that they will remain with the mother-bee as nursemaids or helpers. 4 That these helpers from the congenital imperfections of their mothers will have successors ; substantially as is seen among the hive-bees and the humble-bees of the present day, and That the variation thus started will eventually be reduced to a definity type or to definite types—by the survival of the fittest. That whatever other circumstances may aid in producing the result in question, this is sufficient of itself to account for the Specialisation of the bee and the ant into females, males and workers. - SCIENCE IN FRENCH COCHIN CHINA V E have already referred to an official publication of the i French Colonial Government in Saigon, entitled 2axca- sions et Reconnaissances, which appears every two months, and is . wholly devoted to recording the investigations made by French officials in French Cochin China and the neighbouring semi- independent and independent States. The course and results of the numerous scientific missions despatched to these regions by the Ministers of Education and the Colonies, as well as the travels and researches of private individuals, are published in this periodical ; and as there are six numbers published annually, of about 200 large octavo pages each, it will readily be perceived, apart altogether from the dearth of information, other than political, with regard to the great Indo-Chinese peninsula, that these volumes form a mine of knowledge of the most authentic and trustworthy description, for the writers are for the most part men who have been specially selected in France to study the subjects with which they deal. Unfortunately, however, the publication is but Jittle known in this country, no copy being obtainable in some of our largest official libraries. As it is on sale in Saigon, and doubtless also in Paris, there is no reason why a periodical so valuable should not be made accessible to English students. We have before us the three last numbers, and from them it is possible to obtain an idea of the scientific work which the French are performing in their new possessions, No depart- ment of research escapes their attention, and they are indefatig- able in studying the country and people for whose welfare they have now become responsible. In one respect these volumes resemble those of many learned societies in India and elsewhere : they are extremely varied in their contents. Shafts have been driven in all directions, and the result is here ; but when we recollect the short period that the French have been even at Saigon, the still shorter period that they have been able to travel in the interior, it will be apparent that no merely private society could accomplish the work done here. The traveller in most parts of Cochin China still requires a guard of twenty or thirty ¢27a7//ew7-s, which can only be provided by the Government. Again, few private persons, however enthusiastic, could afford to spend several years travelling over every part of Cochin China in search of ancient inscriptions, as M. Aymonier has done. Such work as this could, under the circumstances, only be performed with the assistance of Government; and it is greatly to the credit of the French Government that amongst its responsibilities in connection with colonies in the East, it recognises that of thoroughly investigating in a scientific manner the people and territories around them. It has often been said that the French are more sympathetic rulers of subject races than the English, and that they succeed sooner in gaining their affection ; whether this be true or not, it is certain that they go the right way to rule properly, by setting themselves at the out- set to comprehend what manner of people and of country it is that they are called upon to rule. Science, at any rate, gains by the French practice a consideration which is not very often present to the minds of our colonial rulers. Geography naturally plays a considerable part in the Axces- sions et Reconnaissances, for a great part of Cochin China is still a evra incognita. Fora like reason there is much that is specially ethnological. Thus, in the numbers before us we have two papers on the Mois tribes : one by M. Nouet, recounting a journey amongst the Mois on the north-eastern frontier; the other, by M. Humann, on the independent Mois. In the first these curious people are described as slothful and careless, knowing nothing of money, wandering about from place to place in search of subsistence, without any industry beyond producing articles which are absolutely necessary, and always hungry. They are excessively timid, flying into the forest on the approach of a stranger; they have no writing, and appear to have no religion either; they bury and burn the dead, but there are no subsequent ceremonies in connection with the de- parted. Even those within French territory lead a savage life ; their existence is described as, not dying of hunger, rather than positive living. But the race is disappearing slowly from misery and disease ; the prohibition against burning the forests is said to bear hardly on them, as it is the only method they know for clearing patches for the cultivation of their rice. The inde- pendent tribes, described by M. Humann, are braver than those which are found further south; they can work in iron, and appear more provident and less nomadic. But they live amongst the mountains, whither they have fled before the Annamites on one side and the Siamese on the other. Dr. Tirant contributes a very long paper, extending over the last three numbers, on the reptiles of Cochin China and Cam- bodia. It does not profess to be complete, for an exhaustive study of the subject would require collections and books not to 68 NATURE [Nov. 19, 1885 be obtained at Saigon. That it must be tolerably full, however, appears from the list of serpents, of which there are 87 in all, 17 being poisonous, the rest harmless. The scientific name, the Annamite and Cambodian names, are given in each case. The inscriptions scattered all over Cambodia, which, like the great ruins of Angkor, have come down from an earlier civilisation which has otherwise disappeared, have attracted much attention, and have now apparently reached a stage in which scholars are violently quarrelling about them. Papers on them, generally accompanied by copies of the inscriptions, appear in every number of the periodical. M. Aymonier was specially sent out from France to study them, and in less than three years he succeeded in obtaining a corfus of about 350 inscriptions. These are in many languages, the principal, however, being in Khmer, or ancient Cambodian ; and their examination has thrown much light on the history of Cambodia in ancient times, and possibly on the ethnological problems of the Indo-Chinese peninsula. The general result of the investigation so far, represents the distribution of the in- habitants of the southern part of the peninsula in the first centuries of the Christian era as follows :—The Annamites were still confined to Tonquin, while the Chams occupied the coast of the present Annam ; tribes more or less numerous called Chongs, Kouis, Samre, &c., occupied the present Cambodia and Southern Laos. Probably their social state was more advanced than that of the tribes still existing between the valley of the Meikong and the coast of Annam. The Laotian people spread along the valley of the Meikong from Luang Prabang in Siam to Lokhon, while the Siamese were scattered about in principalities in the centre of the country now occupied by them. There existed a primitive religion amongst all these tribes : in April they rendered homage to the spirits of the high places, and in October they offered of the fruits of the earth to the wanes of their ancestors. . They knew of the use of iron and made arms and tools for themselves, and they cultivated rice. Then came Indian traders, who penetrated by the Meikong River, founded small colonies, and reduced some of the natives to slavery. They established independent states, and from them we get the name Cambodia, originally a title of honour. Thus the present population of Cochin China is the result of two totally distinct races and civilisations—Indian and the aboriginal native. The inscrip- tions give the history of the Khmer dynasty down to the twelfth century. M. Landes writes on the folk-lore of the Annamites, while M. Aymonier has another long paper entitled ‘‘ Notes on the Laos,” being a series of observations made during journeys in the Laos country, which he has not been able to work up into a connected paper on this curious people. They embrace every conceivable subject relating to the Laos: the geography of the country, their ethnological features, customs, rites, There are up to the last issue seventy-nine of these notes, referring to as many different points connected with these tribes. A lengthy report by Dr. Burck, Director of the Botanical Garden at Buitenzorg, in Java, is printed. It contains an account of his exploration in the highlands behind Padang, on the west coast of Sumatra, in search of the trees which produce guttapercha. The present state of the subject is this : Specimens of guttapercha are found in considerable quantities in trade, but it is impossible with our present knowledge to determine the botanical origin of a single one of these specimens. The Dich- opsis gutta (Benth.), the /sonandra gutta of Hooker, is the only species of tree producing guttapercha of which botanical specimens have been sent to Europe. But it has never been exactly and completely described, for no man of science has seen the fruit or seeds in their maturity. No one can at present affirm with certainty the origin of such or such a kind of guttapercha in trade. Dr. Burck maintains that the tree has never been found at Singapore and that since the disappearance of the forests there no one can affirm that the Dichops?s gut/a can be found in its wild state. The paper is of considerable length and the writer disputes certain statements in the Kew reports with refer- ence to the trees producing guttapercha and the places where they are found. An account of a journey in Siam and a trans- lation of a long Tonquinese poem with copious explanatory notes and an excursus on Annamite literature are the remaining papers of these three numbers, the product of six months’ work. At this rate the eastern part of the Indo-Chinese peninsula cannot long remain unknown to Europe. Since the above was in type we have received the succeeding number (vol. ix. No. 22) of the periodical here referred to. It contains a report from M. Aymonier on a further journey of his in search of inscriptions, and describing in some detail the tribe of Chams in Cambodia. He promises a complete work later on this tribe in the province of Binthuan, which have been almost wholly unknown hitherto. The same writer concludes his valu- able notes on the Laos, the present instalment dealing with the Kouis, the Khmers, and the province of Korat. These notes occupy more than half the whole number, and, in the present state of our knowledge of the Laos tribes, are simply invaluable, supplying as they do the results of long and close observation on the part of the only European traveller who has yet had an opportunity of living and travelling amongst them. M. Baux has a short encyclopedia sort of article on tea, which is of no especial note. M. Landes continues his folk-lore of Annamites, under the title ‘‘ Contes et Légendes Annamites.” So far he has given fifty popular tales and fables, in which we find many old friends. Androcles and the lion reappear, for example, as the midwife and the tigress, the reward being a pig caught by the latter and carried as a present to the woman. Dr. Tirant, having concluded his study of the reptiles, commences in this number a paper on the fishes of Lower Cochin-China and Cam- bodia. Fishes play here a preponderating zoological 7éle ; Southern Indo-China forms an ichthyological province closely - allied with Malayasia ; Lower Cochin-China in particular has curious affinities in this respect with Borneo. The present number contains only the first instalment of Dr. Tirant’s “Notes,” as he modestly styles a paper of great research and investigation. ON THE MEASUREMENT OF MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH, WITH REFERENCE TO PROPOSED EARTHQUAKE-OBSERVATIONS ON BEN NEVIS? M EASUREMENTS of earth-movements are of two distinct 5 types. In one type the thing measured is the displace- ment, or one or more components of the displacement, of a point on the earth’s surface. For this purpose the mechanical problem is to obtain a steady foint, to be used as an origin of reference, and this is effected by making use of the resistance which a mass opposes to any change of motion. This may be called the /vev/za method of observing earth-movements. It is applicable to ordinary earthquakes, and also to the more minute earth-tremors which would pass unnoticed if instrumental means of detecting their presence were not employed. The steady point is to be obtained by suspending a heavy mass (with one, two, or three degrees of freedom) in such a manner that its equilibrium is very nearly neutral. Any moderately sudden displacement of the ground in the direction in which the mass has freedom to move leaves the mass almost undisturbed, and the displacement of the ground is therefore easily measured or recorded by a suit- able autographic arrangement, which must be so designed as to { introduce exceedingly little friction. The second type of measurement is that in which the thing measured is any change in the inclination of the surface of the ground relatively to the vertical. Movements of this class have been examined by d’Abbadie and Plantamour, and also by G. H. and H. Darwin, who have given the results of their observa- tions to the British Association in two reports on the lunar dis- turbance of gravity (1882-3). Perhaps the most convenient name for these movements is “ earth-tiltings.” They are mea- sured by what may be called the Zyzzlzbvium method. A pendulum, suspended in a viscous fluid, is employed to show, by its equilibrium position, the true direction of the vertical, and that is compared with the direction of a line which is fixed relatively to the surface of the ground ; or, instead of a pendu- lum, a dish of mercury or a pair of spirit-levels are employed to define a truly horizontal surface, and the tilting of the earth’s surface relatively to that is observed. This method is prac- ticable only when the displacements of the surface have so great a vertical amplitude, in comparison with their horizontal wave- length, that the slope of the wave is sensible ; and, further, only when the changes of slope occur slowly enough to put the inertia of the pendulum or fluid out of account. On the other hand, the inertia method is applicable only when the displacements have so short a period, in comparison with their amplitude, that the acceleration of the ground, during 1 Paper read before Section A of the British Association at Aberdeen, by Prof. J. A. Ewing, of University College, Dundee. (Abstract.) a na il wn) Nov. 19, 1885 | the greater part of the motion, is large relatively to the frictional resistance of the suspended mass. Between ordinary earthquakes and tremors, on the one hand, capable of observation by the inertia method, and slow earth- tiltings, on the other, capable of observation by the equilibrium method, it is at least possible that there may be many move- ments, not reducible to either type. For example, if successive upheaval and subsidence of small amplitude were to occur with a very long horizontal wave-length, and with a period of (say) one or two minutes or more, it would be practically impossible even to detect its existence by either of the methods named, unless by chance it were repeated several times with uniform period in the presence of a very frictionless vibrator whose free period happened to agree nearly with the period of the disturbance ; even then, no measurement of its amount could be made. We are in fact forced to classify earth-movements under the two heads which have been named, not because there is any necessary discontinuity between the two, but because they must be treated by two entirely distinct modes of observation. For the measurement of palpable earthquakes by the inertia method, the writer has devised many instruments which have been successfully applied to the registration of Japanese earth- quakes, and which are described in a memoir on earthquake measurement, published in 1883 by the University of Tokio. He has not attempted in any case to give the astatically suspended mass three degrees of freedom, and nothing would be gained by doing so. An instrument with two degrees of freedom is now ex- hibited to the Association. It consists of an ordinary pendulum coupled with an inverted pendulum, in such a manner that the two bobs move together in any horizontal direction. This com- bination of a stable with an unstable mass can be adjusted to give any desired degree of astaticism. In practice it is con- venient to allow the joint mass to have a free period of from five to ten seconds, the period of ordinary earthquake waves being much less than this. A long and light lever, pivoted to the frame of the instrument at one point, and to the steady mass at another, forms a registering index, by which a magnified trace of the earth’s horizontal movement is deposited on a fixed plate of smoked glass with the least possible friction. In another instrument two components of horizontal motion are separately determined, each by a horizontal pendulum, tilted slightly forwards to give a small degree of stability, and furnished with a multiplying pointer. In this instrument the pointers trace the successive movements of the earth on a plate of smoked glass which is kept revolving uniformly by clockwork. The velocity and acceleration of the movements are deducible from the records. This is the standard form of seismograph employed by the writer, and, to make the information it gives complete, another instrument for registering (on the same plate) the vertical motion of the ground is added. The vertical-motion seismograph is a horizontal lever, sup- ported on a horizontal fixed axis, and carrying at one end a heavy mass. A spring attached to a fixed point above holds up the lever by pulling on a point near the fulcrum. To make the mass nearly astatic the point at which the spring’s pull is applied is situated below the horizontal line of the lever, so that when the spring, by (say) being lengthened, pulls with more force, the point of application moves nearer the fulcrum, and the moment of the pull remains very nearly equal to the moment of the weight. Apart from its application to palpable earthquakes the inertia method is to be applied to minute earth-tremors of the kind ob- served in Italy by Bertelli and |ossi, which are probably to be found wherever, and whenever, one searches for them with sufficient care. But in dealing with them no mechanical means of recording can well be applied, on account of its friction, and a still more frictionless method of suspending the heavy mass is de- sirable. The writer prefers for this purpose a mode of suspension based on Tchebicheff’s approximate straight-line motion ; and to detect the movement of the ground he observes, by a microscope fixed rigidly to the frame of the machine, the displacement of the frame with respect to the suspended mass. This is Bertelli’s method, except for the substitution of a nearly astatic mass for the stable mass used by him—namely, the bob of a short pendulum—which of course gives a mi-leading magnification of certain vibrations. The writer was recently requested by the Directors of the Ben Nevis Observatory to design seismometers for use there, and obtained a Government grant for their construction. The equipment at Ben Nevis will include recording-seismographs, NALORE 69 and a micro-seismometer of the kind just described. To measure slow earth-tiltings an instrument is being constructed in which a modification (due to Wolf) of d’Abbadie’s arrangement (de- scribed in Prof. Darwin’s Reports) is followed. Light from a lamp travels some twenty feet horizontally to a mirror inclined at 45° to the horizon. It passes vertically down through a lens which brings the rays into parallelism. They then strike two reflect- ing surfaces—one the surface of a basin of mercury, the other a plane mirror very rigidly fixed to the rock. The rays come back to form two images near the source, and any relative dis- placement of the two images is measured by a micrometer- microscope. In the choice and design of this instrument the writer has to acknowledge much assistance from Prof. G. H. Darwin. This apparatus, like the others, was intended for Ben Nevis, but a visit to the Observatory there has convinced the writer that to use it on that site, and in the atmosphere which prevails on the top, would be a matter of extreme difficulty, and that, in the first instance at least, observations should be made with it on lower ground. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL INTELLIGENCE CAMBRIDGE. — Prof. P. G. Tait has been elected an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse ; and Mr. T. T. Jeffery, M-A., a Fellow of the same College. Mr. J. Larmor, M.A., of St. John’s College, has been appointed one of the University Lecturers in Mathematics, and also Examiner for the First Part of the Mathematical Tripos of 1886. The Syndicate appointed to re-arrange the additional subjects of the Previous Examination have reported in favour of adding Elementary Dynamics to Statics, and reducing the Trigonometry to what is needed for the Examination in Mechanics ; Mathe- matical Honour students, they recommend, shall no longer be required to pass this Examination, but instead be required to pass in either French or German. Physical Science and Bio- logy are still to receive no recognition even as optional subjects. Dr. Burghardt, Lecturer in Mineralogy in Owens College, Manchester, is appointed to examine in Mineralogy in the Natural Sciences Tripos; Prof. Ray Lankester, F.R.S., to examine in Zoology and Comparative Anatomy in the same Tripos, the First M.B., and the Special Examinations. Christ’s College offers Scholarships and Exhibitions for Natural Science, the Examination beginning January 5, 1886. The Examinations at Jesus College begin on the same day. The Special Boards for Physics and Chemistry and for Biology and Geology have issued the following notice with regard to the First Part of the Natural Sciences Tripos :— In Part I. of the Examination all the questions will be of a comparatively elementary character, and will be such as to test a knowledge of principles rather than of details. Specimens may be exhibited for description and determination. In Physics the questions will be limited to the elementary and fundamental parts of the subject, and, in particular, special at- tention will be paid to the definition of physical quantities, the general principles of measurement, the connguration and motion of a material system, the laws of motion, the comparison of forces and of masses, and the properties of bodies. In Sound, Light, Heat, Electricity and Magnetism, only the fundamental laws, their simpler applications, and the experiments which illustrate them, will be required. In Chemistry the questions will relate to the leading principles and experimental laws of Chemistry, the properties of the com- moner elements and their principal compounds, the outlines of Metallurgy, and simple qualitative and quantitative analysis. In Mineralogy the questions will be confined to elementary Crystallography, the general properties of minerals and th- special characters of those species only which are of common occurrence or of well-known mineralogical importance. In Geology the questions will be limited to Physical Geo- graphy, the interpretation of the structure of the crust of the earth and the history of its formation, so far as to involve only the elementary parts of Palzeontology and Petrography. In Botany the questions will relate to the elementary parts of Vegetable Morphology, Histology, and Physiology ; and to the principles of a natural system of classification as illustrated by the more important British natural orders. Candidates will be required to describe plants in technical language. Questions 7O NATORE [ Nov. 19, 1885 will not be set on Vegetable Paleontology or the Geographical Distribution of Plants. In Zoology and Comparative Anatomy minor details will not be included in the questions relating to classification. Geo- graphical distribution of animals is held to be a part of Zoology, and Comparative Anatomy includes the structure of extinct as well as of recent forms. Human Anatomy will include the mechanism of the human body, the comparison of its parts with those of lower animals, its development, &c. ; but the questions will be of a simple and elementary character. In Physiology the questions will be of a comparatively ele- mentary character. A practical examination will be held in each of the above subjects. SCIENTIFIC SERIALS Verhandlungen der Schwetz:rischen Naturforschenden Gesell- schaft in Ziirich, August 7-9, 1883.—We note here the opening address by Prof. Cramer, on unicellular fungi. Verhandlungen der Naturhistorischen Vereines der preussischen Rheinlande, Westfalens, und der Reg-Bezirks Osndriick, 42nd year, first half, 1885.—The greensand of Aacken and its mollus- can fauna, by J. Bohm.—The forest vegetation of the outer North- western Himalaya, by D. Brandis.—On Devonian Aviculacez, by O. Follmann.— The biology of water plants, by H. Schenck. Nouveaux Mémoires de la Société He weligue des Sciences Naturelles, vol. xxix. part _1, 1884,—Geological sections of the Tunnels of Doubs, by M. Mathay.—On the nisal flora of Switzerland, by M. Heer. Fossil woods from Greenland, by M. Beust. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES LoONDGN Mathematical Society, November 12,—J. W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. L. Jj. Rogers, Balliol College, Oxford, was elected a member.—The following gentle- men were elected to form the Cyuncil for the ensuing Session :— President: J. W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S.; Vice-Presidents : Dr. O. M. Henrici, F.R.S., Prof. Sylvester, F.R.S., Gale Walker, F.R.S.; Treasurer: A. B. Kempe, F.R.S.; Secre- taries: M. Jenkins, R. Tucker ; other Members of the Council : Prof. Cayley, F.R.S., Sir J. Cockle, Knt., F.R.S., E. B. Elliott, A. G. Greenhill, J. Hammond, H. Hart, C. Leudesdorf, Capt. P. A. Macmahon, R.A., Samuel Roberts, F.R.S.—The following communications were made :—On waves propagated along the plane surface of an elastic solid, by Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S.—On the application of Clifford’s graphs to ordinary binary quantics, by A. B. Kempe, F.R.S. (Messrs. Hammond and Macmahon put questions to the author).—On Clifford’s theory of graphs, by A. Buchheim.—On unicursal curyes, by R. A. Roberts.—On some consequences of the transformation formula y = sin(L+4+B8+4+C+. —), by J. Griffiths. Linnean Society, November 5.—Sir John Lubbock, Bart., President, in the chair.—Mr, T, Christy exhibited orchids of the genus Catasetum, showing that owing to the plants having been moved, the flower in both instances had become mal. formed.—Mr. E. A. Heath showed a golden eagle in its cha- racteristic plumage of the second year.—Mr. J. Carter exhibited a collection of seeds, lately introduced, remarkable for their peculiarities as specimens under the microscope.—There was shown for the Baron von Mueller a collection of skeleton leaves of species of Eucalyptus, prepared by Mrs. Lewellin of Mel- bourne, These confirm Baron von Mueller’s observations as to definite layers, and the relation of these to the .skeletonising process. The leaves in decaying pioduce no bad odour. Von Mueller’s observations do not support M. Riviére’s statement that the bamboo is as good as eucalypts to subdue malaria ; the former dry up, but do not exhale volatile oil as do the latter, and the eucalypts moreover absorb moisture as quickly as Willows, Poplars, and Bamboos.—Dr. Ondaatje showed examples of walking-sticks from Ceylon palms, viz. the Kittool Palm (Cayota urens), the Areca and Cocoa-nut.—Mr. J. G. Baker made remarks on an exhibition by Mr. Thiselton Dyer of Darwin’s potato (Solanum moglia), grown at Kew, the weight of twelve tubers being 28 oz. ; also the “‘papa de Oso,” Bear’s potato (.S. ¢aderosum, var.), grown out of doors from tubers received from Dr. Ernst of Caracas, who obtained them from Merida, where they are found wild.—Then followed a paper, viz. contributions to the flora of the Peruvian Andes, with remarks on the history and origin of the Andean flora, by Mr. John Ball. In this paper the author says that his state- ments chiefly refer to the western slope of the Cordilleras. From the collections made and other data, so far, therefore, a this region of Peru is concerned, it may confidently be averre that the limit of Alpine vegetation has been placed by previous writers on the subject far too low. In the present instance there can be no serious error as to heights, seeing these are based on those of the railway engineers. The explanation of this relatively high extension of the temperate flora depends on the peculiar climatical conditions. Rain occurs but sparingly, the nights are cold, but frost scarcely known; whereas in the plateau region eastward storms, heavy snow, and fros!sare frequent. The vegetation of the region visited Mr. Ball divides into a sub- tropical dry zune from coast to 8000 feet, a temperate zone reach- ing to 12,500 feet, and an Alpine zone upwards to 17,000 feet, above the sea-level. As regards the proportion in which the natural families of plants are represented in the Andean flora, the Compositz amount to nearly one-fourth of the whole species, the grasses equal one-eighth, the Scrophularinez supply five per cent., while Cruciferze, Caryophyllez, and Leguminosz each are | represented by about one-thirtieth of the whole. The Cyperacez are conspicuous by their absence; a remarkable feature is the presence of four Crassulaceze. If we take the proportions of the endemic genera and species as criteria, then, as far as materials admit, the Andean flora appears to be one of the most distinct existing in the world. Mr. Ball agrees with those who think it probable that the south polar lands constitute a great archipelago of islands. To this region in question he is inclined to refer the origin of the Antarctic types of the South American flora.— The first part of an exhaustive monograph on recent Brachio- poda, by the late Dr. Thos. Davidson, was read by the Secretary. In this part of his contribution the author reviews the labours of his predecessors in the field, with regard to the shell, to the anatomy of the adult, and to the embryology. As regards the perplexing question of affinities he remarks :—‘‘ Now, although I do not admit the Brachiopoda to be worms, they may, as well as the Mollusca and some other groups of inverte- brates, have originally diverged from an ancestral vermiform stem, such as the remarkable worm-like mollusk Meomenia would denote.” He lays stress on the brachiopodous individual being the product of a single ovum, and not giving rise to others by gemmation. He considers that the shell, the pallial lobes, the intestine, the nerves, and the atrial system, afford characters amply sufficient to define the class. The greatest depth at which a living species has been found alive has been 2990 fathonis. As to classification, he groups the recent species into two great divisions :—(1) Anthropomata (Owen) = Clistenterata (ing), (2) Lypomata (Owen) = Tretenterata (King). The Anthropo- mata he groups in 3 families :—rst Fam. Terebratulaceze, with 7 sub-families and 13 genera and sub-genera, 70 species, and 21 uncertain species. 2nd Fam. Thecideidz, with 1 genus and 2 species. 3rd Fam. Rhynchonellide, 1 genus, 1 sub-genus, and 8 species. The Lypomata he also groups into 3 families, 5 genera and sub-genera, 23 species, and 7 uncertain species :— Ist Fam. Craniide, with 1 genus and 4 species, 2nd Fam. Discinidz, with r genus, 1 sub-genus, and 8 species. 3rd Fam. Lingulidee, with 1 genus and 1 sub-genus, and 11 species. He does not concur with M. Delongchamps’ scheme (1884) of classifying the Terebratulina, bringing forward Mr. Dall’s ob- servations on Waldheimia floridana, of delicate spicule in the floor of the great sinuses as telling evidence against the arrange- ment. Dr. Davidson then proceeds to treat of the various genera and species, adding remarks in detail on the Terebratu- laceze from his standpoint, and throughout gives copious descrip- tions and observations on each. Royal Microscopical Society, October 14.—The Rev. Dr. Dallinger, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. Crisp exhibited D’Arsonval’s water microscope, a suggestion for improving the means of focusing. The body-tube of this extraordinary instru- ment contained a glass cylinder which was connected by an india-rubber tube with a syringe. On turning the handle of the syringe water was forced into the cylinder, and the focus was altered according as more or less water was pumped in. Of course, an alteration of focus did result from the operation, but the arrangement destroyed the correction of the objective, and was Nov. 19, 1885 } NATURE Jal otherwise objectionable. —Mr.]J. Mayall, jun., described Riddell’s binocular microscope, which was exhibited by Mr. Crisp, and was of considerable interest, as having been the first binocular microscope with a single objective. He pointed out as a note- worthy feature that it was. provided with a means of separating the prisms, so as to give to each eye-piece a full field of view. There was also a screw with a right- and left-handed thread for separating the tubes to suit the width between the observer's eyes. An ingenious application of reflectors at the top of the eye-pieces effected a perfect inversion of the image, so that the instrument could be used for dissecting purposes. It was also a point of special interest in the history of the development of the binocular microscope, that so early as this Prof. Riddell had applied two mirrors for the purpose of equalising the illu- mination in both fields.—Mr. Crisp exhibited a ‘‘twin” simple microscope having two lenses of different powers, also two forms of magnifiers sent by Mr. Hippisley as examples of the capabilities of lenses made out of spherules of glass, and of a simple method of holding them.—Dr. Maddox read his paper, further experiments on feeding insects with the curved or ‘‘comma”’ bacillus. —Mr. Crisp said they had received six slides of material taken from the intestines of Lieut. Kisslingbury, U. S.N., one of the victims of the unfortunate Greeley Arctic Expedition. When the question of cannibalism was being discussed, his body was exhumed, and a good deal of the flesh was found to have been cut oft the bones. In order to ascer- tain if possible what was the last food of which the deceased had partaken, and to establish whether the officers had joined in the cannibalism ofthe men, the contents of thestomach were submitted for examination. The letter of Mr. C. E. Alling, accompanying the slides (which were sent by Dr. Mandeville and himself) was read to the meeting. Mr. Groves said that although it might be possible to say, from an examination of these slides, whether the material consisted of the flesh of 2 mammal, a bird, or a fish, it would be quite impossible to say if it was human flesh or not, unless it happened that some hair had been taken with it. Mr. Crisp said that this opinion was confirmed by Prof. Stewart of the Royal College of Surgeons, who, how- ever, thought that a means of identification might be found in the small hairs of the general surface of the body. The slides, however, showed no such hairs.—Mr. P. D. Penhallow’s note as to a handle for cover-glasses was read.—Mr. C. Beck ex- hibited a compact form of Mr. Stephenson’s catadioptric illu- minator.—Mr. Kitton’s and Mr. Kain’s notes on balsam of Tolu were read, and Mr. Kitton’s note on a new diatom, Wawicula Durrandii.—Mr. J. C. Stodder’s note was read, giving the views held by the late R. B. Tolles on the formation of a small battery of objectives to cover reasonably well all the require- ments of the general microscopist: 3 in., I in. (30°), 4-10 in. (110° dry), 1-10 in. (oil-glycerin-water immersion with a balsam angle of not much less than 120° for best results).—Mr. C. D. Ahrens’ paper on an improved form of Stephenson's erecting and binocular prisms was read, in which he proposed to unite the lower prisms by a wedge of glass. He also proposed an alteration in the upper prisms (when they are used in place of a plate of glass).—Mr. T. B. Rosseter’s paper on the uses and construction of the gizzard of the larva of Corethra plumicornis was read by Prof. Bell, and prepared specimens in illustration exhibited.—Mr. Dowdeswell’s paper on the cholera comma- bacillus was read.—The President called the attention of the meeting to the death of Mr. Robin, the eminent histologist, and one of the Honorary Fellows of the Society. —Seventeen new Fellows were elected and proposed. PARIS Academy of Sciences, November 9.—M. Jurien de la Graviére in the chair.—Determination of the mechanical work effected in human locomotion (one illustration), by MM. Marey and Demeny. This is an attempt to estimate the quantity of muscular energy developed by man in the various forms of loco- motion from the physiological standpoint, which is shown to be different from the mechanical. Three chief elements in the measurement of muscular action in horizontal movement are here considered separately: The labour expended along the vertical ; the labour expended along the horizontal ; and the labour required for the oscillation of the lower member during its suspension.—Variations in the mechanical labour expended in the different attitudes of man during locomotion (three illustra- trations), by the same authors. The estimates here recorded are the results of experiments made on two persons only, walking and running on the level. The experiments will require to be repeated on a large number of subjects in order to determine the influence of weight, height, slope of the ground, and thus arrive at amean ayerage.—On the radicular nature of the stolons of Nephrolepis : a reply to M. P. Lachmann, by M. A. Trécul.— On the derivation of the solutions in the theory of the Cremona transformations, by M. de Jonquiéres.—Note on the combe of Péguére, near the thermal station of Cauterets, Pyrenees, by M. Demontzey. The destructive landslips to which this upland valley has long been subject, are shown to be due to denudation and erosive action, hence may be pre- vented by gradually restoring the vegetation along the steep slopes of the surrounding mountains.—Experimental researches tending to show that the muscles affected by *zgor montis remain endowed with vitality till the appearance of putrefaction, by M. Brown-Séquard. Experiments made on dogs some days after being killed seem to render it probable that muscular rigidily is not a state of absolute death, but a transition from life to death, a transition which may last for weeks.—On the action of a mixture of sulphate of copper and lime on the mildew of the vine, by MM. Millardet and U. Gayon.— Analytical theory of the movements of Jupiter’s satellites, second part: Reduction of the formulas to numbers, by M. C. Souillart.—An undated letter of the Countess de Lafayette (reign of Louis XIV.) addressed to Segrais, and inviting him to witness ‘‘the experiment with an artificial fire giving warmth the whole day for two sous,” by M. Feuillet de Couches.— Application of M. Loewy’s new methods for the determination of the absolute co-ordinates of the circumpolar stars without the necessity of ascertaining the instrumental constants (right ascensions), by M. Henri Renan.—On the numerical tables intended to facilitate the transformations of co-ordinates in astronomical calculations, by M. Vinot.—On the irregular integrals of linear equations, by M. H. Poincaré.—Note on the compressibility of fluids, by M. E. Sarrau. The formula— Dee 1 JE K va T (vu + B)? proposed by M. Clausius for carbonic acid, in which # = the pressure, 7 = volume, and 7 = absolute temperature, is shown to be applicable to other gases. The author claims that for these gases he had deduced the elements approaching the critical point before the experiments of MM. Wroblewski and Olszew- skii—On two new kinds of radiophones, by M. E. Mercadier. With these instruments, which he names the ‘‘ thermo-electro- phone ” and the ‘‘ thermo-magnetophone,” the author thinks it will be possible, with an intense solar radiation, to reproduce articulate speech.—An explanation of the anomalous magnetic effects produced by the discharges of condensers, by M. Ch. Claverie.—Note on Schleesing’s law respecting the solubility of the carbonate of lime by carbonic acid, by M. R. Engel. —On a coloured reaction of rhodium, by M. Eugene Demargay. Certain blue solutions of rhodium yield with potassa a greenish precipitate, which changes to a dark blue in acetic acid. This colouration appears due to the formation of a salt corresponding to the green hydrate of bioxide of rhodium.—On the antiseptic and other properties of rosolene (retinol, C3)Hy,), by M. Emile Serraut.—On the root of Danais fragrans, Comm. (yellow liane) and its chemical composition, by MM. Edouard Heckel and Fr. Schlagdenhauffen.—On the composition and fermenta- tion of interverted sugar, by M. Em. Bourquelot.—On the hypnotic properties of phenylmethylacetone (acetophenone), by MM. Dujardin-Beaumetz and G. Bardet.—On the nervous system of Phylloxera, by M. Victor Lemoine.—On the Limaciz of the neighbourhood of Saint-Vaast la Hougue, department of La Manche, by M. S. Jourdain.—Variations in the respiration of plants at the different stages of development, by MM. G. Bonnier and L. Mangin.—On a rare amygdaloid granite from the Riaillé Quarry, Saint-Hilaire de Loulay, Vendée, by M. Stanislas Meunier.—On some fragments of human skulls and a potsherd found in immediate association with two skeletons of Ursus sfeleus in the Nabrigas Cave, Lozére, on August 28, 1885, by MM. E. A. Martel and L. de Launay. The discovery of these remains seems to place beyond doubt the existence of man already possessing a know- ledge of the potter’s art at the epoch of the Cave bear in the Lozere district.—On the relation of whirlwinds and _waterspouts to cyclones, by M. Ad. Nicolas.—Remarks on M. Jourdy’s “Geology of East Tonkin,” by M. Albert Gaudry. 72 BERLIN Meteorological Society, October 13.—The President, Geheimrath Dr. Thiel, reported that, in accordance with a resolution passed by the Society in furtherance of the esta- blishment of a thickly planted series of rain-stations, rain-gauges had been set up at seven places in the outskirts of Berlin to the north-west and west, and since July had been working well. It was to be hoped that their number would soon be increased and that a lengthened series of observations would yield data for an exact determination of how closely rain-gauges must be placed to each other, in order to obtain a correct representation of the rainfall of any district.—Dr. Hellmann then, after a brief historic survey of the institution of meteorological stations at high points, gave a full description of the meteorological ob- servatory at Ben Nevis in Scotland, which he had visited in August last. The topographical situation of the station, the construction and position of the instruments, and the mode of observation were set forth, while some of the climatic peculiari- ties of this station, such as its great humidity, its small yearly and daily variations of temperature, its scanty sunshine, the frequent reversal of the change of temperature with the height, and other particulars, were also remarked on. Following up the minute description of this important high station in Scotland Dr. Hellmann enumerated all the stations on the peaks of mountains that had hitherto been erected, which comprised only the Puy de Dome and Pic du Midi in France, the Santis in Switzerland, the Schafberg and Hochobir in Austria, the Schneekoppe and Brocken in Prussia, and Mount Washington and Pike’s Peak in the United States of America. Of these stations only the two French, the Swiss, and the Austrian were of the first rank, or between the first and second rank. In addition to these stations on mountain tops there was a whole series of high situated meteorological stations on mountain passes and plateaus in operation, which collected valuable material towards the meteorology of the higher atmospheric strata, in Italy, Switzer- land, Germany, India, South America. In the case even of a temporary residence at high situated points brief but very valuable series of observations had been gained—at Ararat, for example. It must, nevertheless, be the endeavour of scientific meteorology to increase the number of mountain-top stations of the first rank, and the speaker expressed the hope that under the contemplated reorganisation of the meteorological service in Germany, and particularly in Prussia, at least one mountain- top station of the first rank, namely, on the Schneekoppe, which was very peculiarly adapted for this purpose, would be esta- blished. In the discussion which followed it was maintained on one hand that self-registering instruments at high stations were perfectly useless, and on the other hand that even tourists, many of whom every summer reached heights beyond 4000 metres high, might, by means of portable pocket instruments, supply contributions quite available towards the meteorology of the higher strata. A member of the Society gave some proofs to this effect, and mentioned the remarkable fact that the red- brown ring round the sun, which he had everywhere seen dis- tinctly, appeared from Monte Rosa, not red-brown, but very distinctly reddish-yellow.—Dr. Boérsch related that during a determination of longitude between Berlin, Breslau, and Konigs- berg, the observer in Berlin on August 2 was sensible of such lively disturbances of his level that he was obliged to discontinue for a time the use of the transit instrument, and considered the oscillations to be seismic. When he afterwards read in the newspapers of violent earthquakes in the interior of Asia having happened at the same time, he made inquiry of the observers at Breslau and Konigsberg, and learnt that they too had been disturbed by lively oscillations of the ground. These vibrations had been all the stronger the more to the east was the station, a circumstance which likewise pointed to a connection with the earthquakes of the interior of Asia. More careful observation of such phenomena would render possible the exact measurement of the propagation of earth-vibrations. VIENNA Imperial Academy of Sciences, July 2.—Researches on the structure of striped muscles, by A. Rolett.—Contributions to general nerve and muscle physiology (eighteenth communica- tion), on inhibitory effects produced by electrical stimulation of striped muscles and on positive cathodic polarisation, by W. Biedermann.—On pyroracemic glycide ethers, by F. Erhar* — Contributions to the theory of respiratory innervation (fifth com- munication), by Ph. Knoll.—Studies on the endosperm of some NAT OEE [Vov. 19, 1885 Graminez, by E. Tangl.—On a new hydrodensimeter, by A. Hand].—On the nutrition of ganglion cells, by A. Adamkiewicz. —On cyanhydrines of nitroso-compounds, by E. Lippmann.— Contribution to the knowledge of dichinolins, by O. W. Fischer. —On benzoyl-ecgonine and on its transformation to cocaine, by Zd. H. Skraup.—Statistics of earthquakes from 1865 to 1885, by W. C. Fuchs.—Contribution to the morphology and anatomy of the Coccida, by E. Witlacil—On the Lower Eocene formation of the Northern Alps and on its fauna (Part I. Lamellibranchiate), by K. F. Frauscher.—On para- chloraldehyde, by C. Natterer.—On the action of phenol and sulphuric acid on hippuric acid, by T. Zehenter.— On the gum-ferment, a new diastatic enzyma, by which the formation of gum and mucilage in the plants is induced, by FE. Wiesner. July 16.—Note on the meteorites of Angra dos Rais (Brazil), by G. Tschermak.—A contribution to the theory of the mechanics of explosion, by E. Mach and T. Wentzl.—On the anatomy of Tyroglyphidz, by A. Nalepa.—Contributions to the theory of respiratory innervation (sixth communication), by Th. Knoll.— On the products of decomposition formed by the action of hydrochloric acid on albumins ; II. on elastin, by T. Hor- baczewski.—Researches on the cloacal epithelium of Plagiosto- mata, by T. H. List.—On chloro- and bromo-derivatives of phloroglucin, by R. Benedict and K. Hazura,—On the action of potassium cyanide on dinitro-derivatives of organic bases, by E. Lippmann and F. Fleissner.—Note on hydrobromo-apoquinine, by P. Julius.—On the action of ammonia on anthragallol, by G. von Georgevics.—On the behaviour of liquid atmospheric air, by T. Wroblewski.—-On ethylsulphuric acids of some carbo- hydrates, by M. Heenig and St. Schubert.—Contribution to chemistry of cerium-metals, by B. Brauner.-—-On the elements and ephemeris of Barnard’s (Nashville) comet (July 7, 1885), by — E. Weiss.—On the meteoric fall observed on March 15, 1885, by E. Holletschek.—-Studies on pyridine-derivatives, by H. Weidel and F. Blau.—On the electric and thermic pruperties of salt-solutions, by James Moser.—On the formation of striped fibres from sarcoplasts, by T. Paneth. CONTENTS Loomis’s ‘‘ Contributions to Meteorology ” . Our Book Shelf :-— Carll’s ‘‘ Treatise on the Calculus of Variations,” and Merriman’s ‘‘Text-Book on the Method of Least Squares? + 2) eds Se) 2) ee Ge et Letters to the Editor :— Italian Aid to Biological Research.—Prof, Trinchese, Prof. Todaro, Prof. Passerini, Prof. Giglioli, PAGE 49 Lieut. Chierchia, and Prof. Dohrn... .... 52 The Resting Position of Oysters.—Dr. Karl Mobius 52 Universal Secular Weather Periods.—E. Douglas Archibald’ *. . .. :o. 5-2 = 2) Se Photography of the Corona.—Capt. W. de W. Abney) eo Es babs rene) bond oust =i e-Teie a! Permanence of Continents and Oceans.—J. Starkie Gardner 3) 5) se ee oiiies one 1 Woy History of Elasticity —Dr. Karl Pearson... .. 53 The Heights of Clouds.—N.Ekholm....... 53 The Helm Wind.—Col. J. F. Tennant, R.E.,F.R.S. 54 The Mode of Admission into the Royal Society . On Measuring the Vibratory Periods of Tuning- Forks. By Alexander J. Ellis, F.R.S.....-. 54 Hints on the Construction and Equipment of Ob- servatories for Amateurs. By G. F. Chambers. (Jdustrated); ee ko ew a ol enn Notes 0 3052 eee cs be fo OD Astronomical Phenomena for the Week, 1885, November 22-28 =: > a: 00) bo else OCS ChemicalyNotes: | <<. RiG.S.5 We be Jackson, J. Richardson, M.Inst.C.E., F.G.S., A. L. Rotch, and C. Todd, C.M.G., were elected Fellows of the Society.— The following papers were read :—The Helm wind of August 19, 1885, by William Marriott, F.R.Met.Soc. This wind is peculiar to the Cross Fell range, Cumberland, and is quite local, but very destructive. The chief features of the phenome- non are the following :—On certain occasions when the wind is from some easterly point, the helm suddenly forms. At first a heavy bank of cloud rests along the Cross Fell range, at times reaching some distance down the western slopes, and at others hovering above the summit ; then at a distance of one or two miles from the foot of the Fell there appears a roll of cloud suspended in mid-air and parallel {with the helm cloud: this is the helm bar. A cold wind rushes down the sides of the Fell and blows violently till it reaches a spot nearly underneath the helm bar, where it suddenly ceases. The space between the helm cloud and the bar is usually quite clear, blue sky being visible. At times, however, small portions of thin vaporous clouds are seen travelling from the helm cloud to the bar. The bar does not appear to extend further west than the River Eden. The author visited the district in August last, and was fortunate enough to witness a slight helm. He gives a detailed account of what he experienced, and also his observations on the tempera- ture of the air at the summit and base of Cross Fell, the direc- tion and force of the wind, the movement of the clouds, &c,— The typhoon origin of the weather over the British Isles during q Nov. 26, 1885 | NATURE 95 the second half of October, 1882, by Henry Harries. The author shows, by means of daily charts, that a typhoon which originated near the Philippine Islands on Septem- ber 27 passed over Japan and the Aleutian Archipelago, entering the United States on October 10. Crossing the Rocky Mountain range, it proceeded through the Northern States and Canada to Labrador and Davis Strait. In the Atlantic it was joined on the 18th by another disturbance which had come up from the Atlantic tropics, the junction of the two being followed by a cessation of progressive movement from the 19th to the 25th. During this period the severe gale which passed along our southern counties on the morning of the 24th was formed, its sudden arrival upsetting the Meteorological Office forecasts of the previous night. Observations are quoted show- ing that it would have been impossible for the Department to have been aware of its existence before about 3 a.m. of the 24th. Following in the wake of this storm the parent cyclone reached the French coast on the 27th, its advent being marked, as in Japan and America, by violent gales and extensive floods over the whole of Western and Central Europe and Algeria. The village of Grindelwald was destroyed, and in the Austrian Tyrol the damage caused by floods reached at least two millions Sterling. Passing through France and the Netherlands the dis- turbance showed signs of exhaustion, and on November 1, in the Baltic, it quietly dispersed, after accomplishing a journey of over 16,000 miles in thirty-six days. This is the first storm which has been followed day by day from the Pacific to Europe.— Notes as to the principle and working of Jordan’s photographic sunshine-recorder, by J. B. Jordan and F. Gaster, F.R.Met.Soc. This instrument consists of a cylindrical dark chamber, on the inside of which is placed a prepared slip of photographic paper. The direct ray of sunlight being admitted into this chamber by small apertures in the side, is received on the sensitised paper, and, travelling over it by reason of the earth’s rotation, leaves a distinct trace of chemical action whenever the light is of suffi- cient intensity to show a definite shadow on a sun-dial. The cylinder is mounted on a stand with adjustments for latitude, &c. The record is fixed by simply immersing it in water for a few minutes. As this instrument records the actinic or chemical Yays, it usually shows more sunshine than is obtained by the ordinary ‘‘ burning” sunshine-recorder. EDINBURGH Mathematical Society, November 13.—Mr. George Thom; Vice-President, in the chair.—Sir William Thomson communi- cated a theorem in determinants, which was read by Dr. Muir. Mr. J. S. Mackay gave an account of the ancient methods for the duplication of the cube.—Mr. William Harvey contributed Some geometrical notes.—Mr, A. J. G. Barclay read a paper on physical science in schools.—The following office-bearers were elected :—President: Dr. R. M. Ferguson ; Vice-Presi- dent: Mr. George Thom; Secretary: Mr. A. Y. Fraser ; Treasurer: Mr. John Alison; Committee: Messrs. R. E. Allardice, A. J. G. Barclay, W. T. Macdonald, J. S. Mackay, Dr. Thomas Muir, Mr. William Peddie. PARIS Academy of Sciences, November 16.—M. Jurien de la Graviere in the chair.—Researches tending to show that the trigemini nerves contain, from the first, vaso-dilatator fibres, by M. Vulpian.—Obituary notice of the late W. B. Carpenter, Corresponding Member for the Section of Zoology, by M. A. Milne-Edwards.—Treatment of the vine by a mixture of lime and sulphate of copper: determination of the distribution of the copper on the plant, and its persistence in the fruit and must, by MM. Millardet and Gayon. From these _Tesearches it appears that most of the copper remains deposited on the leaves, the must containing extremely small quantities, and the wine only doubtful traces, or at most o'r gramme in 1000 litres.—Letter accompanying the presentation of a new ‘edition of Ptolemy’s ‘‘ Optics,” by M. Gilbert Govi.—On the irregular integrals of linear equations, by M. H. Poin- caré.—Dynamic effects produced by the passage of loco- ‘motive and carriage wheels at the junction of the rails, by M. A. Considére. It is shown that these effects con- ‘stitute a new and important element in estimating the wear and tear of traffic on the metals of railways. Several experi- “ments show that they are much more serious at the points of contact of the rails than had hitherto been supposed.—On the tension of saturated vapours, by M. E. Sarrau.—Theory of is De refrigerating mixtures, by M. A. Potier.—Theory of the flow of gases: adiabatic lines, by M. Marcellin Langlois.—On the theory of the receptor electro-magnetic telephone, by M. E. Mercadier.—Description of a new spectroscopic optometer, by M. Ch. V. Zenger. Besides its use in spectroscopic studies, this ingenious little instrument is expected to render great services to physiologists in determining the defective: achromatism of the human eye and its variations with age.—Spectroscopic study of the flames of blast furnaces and of the Bessemer process, by M. Ch. V. Zenger.—On the numerical laws of the chemical equilibria, by M. H. Le Chatelier.—Fixation of free atmospheric nitrogen in cultivated ground, by M. H. Joulie.—Note on the physio- logical action of safranine, and of the crystallised sulfo de fuchsine used in colouring wines, by MM. P. Cazeneuve and R. Lépine. From various experiments made on do2s, pigs, and human subjects, the authors conclude that the fuchsine is a perfectly harmless substance without physiological or therapeutic interest, whereas safranine gives rises to serious toxic phenomena when injected into the veins in a solution of salt water containing 7 per cent. of this substance.—Note on the zymotic properties of charbon and some other kinds of virus, by M. S. Arloing.— Researches on the comparative anatomy of the chord of the tym- panum in birds, by M. L. Magnien.—Note on the nerve centres of the cephalopods, by M. Vialleton.—Influence of the number of individuals in the same vessel, and of the form of the vessel on the development of the larvz of the frog (Raza escu- Zenta), by M. E. Yung. The author finds ‘that the rapidity of development is in inverse ratio to the number of tadpoles in the vase, although the supply of food may be superabundant ; also that the development is the more rapid the larger the diameter (and consequently of the surface exposed to the air) of the vessels.—Note on the respiration of leaves in the dark, by MM. Deherain and Maquenne.—On the variations presented by the composition of the gases in the foliage of plants growing in the air, by M. J. Peyron.—-Note-on the floral polymorphism of aquatic ranunculi, by M. Louis Crié.—A study of the Qua- ternary deposits in the district of Perreux, east of Paris, by M. Emile Riviére.—Note on an experiment undertaken to de- termine the direction of the Atlantic currents, by the Prince of Monaco.—Observation of the crepuscular lights on November 2 and 16, in Paris, by M. A. Boillot. BERLIN Physical Society, October 23.—Prof. Neesen reported on the experiments he had made on sounding air columns, with the object of determining the relation of Kundt’s dust-figures to the tone-pitch. By means of an electric tuning-fork, whose tone- pitch, through the imposition of weights, might be variously modified, the air was maintained in permanent vibration in a glass tube closed at the bottom by a membrane, and the inter- vals of the sand-ribs from each other measured. To further extend the scale of tone-pitches, rubbed pieces of wood were utilised as sources of sound. The very numerous measurements taken led to a negative result, no relation of the intervals of the ribs from each other to the tone-pitch could be established. On the other hand, however, the speaker succeeded in making“some interesting observations of a different kind and prosecuting them to an important stage. He first established that the long-known wandering of the ribs in a permanently sounding tube stood in no demonstrable relation to the vibrations of the air, and in one and the same tube was found at one place directed one way, and at another place another way. Herr Dworzak’s presentation of the matter, that this wandering of the ribs was induced by air- currents setting in at the wall of the tube in one direction, and at the middle in another, the speaker was unable to confirm. The cause of the wandering of the ribs could not be ascertained. On the subject of the origin of the ribs several observations had been made, at spots in the tube, namely, where the wanderings of the ribs issued in contrary directions, and where, accordingly, comparative rest obtained. Here, first, a cork sand granule was seen executing movements hither and thither, in which, shortly, ever more and more granules, and at last a whole series, took part. This layer of granules next began to roll up towards the sides, growing ever thicker in the process, and ending in the formation of a rib. The ribs further showed elevations of a character like to that of waterspouts, the branches of which, falling downwards, assumed the shape of whirls, and returned to the rib. On viewing them with intermittent light, these formations appeared at rest, when the number of light intermissions corre- sponded with the number of vibrations of the exciting sound. A 96 NA TORE [Vov. 26, 1885 very interesting phenomenon was observed on taking the measure- ments of pressure in the sounding-tube. A narrow glass tube, open on both sides, with an oil index, the movements of which were ob- served, served as manometer. No displacement of the index was ever noticed, but out of the interior end of the manometrical tube there appeared to issue a current of air impelling the cork sand a long way. This current of air was stronger when the mouth of the narrow tube was conical than when it was cylin- drical. The current of air was present both when the upper end of the tube was open and when it was closed, as also when the lower end turned towards the source of sound was diverted from it, in consequence of an incurvation. The current of air was finally identified at all points of the sounding-air column, but the intensity of the apparent air-current varied according as the lower end was in the belly or in the node of the tube, and according to its length. The maxima of the current were more pronounced than the minima. If the upper end were likewise in the sounding-tube, then was there a current from the manometrical tube forthcoming. The index in the manometer, however, remained persistently unmoved, a demon- stration that in point of fact there was no actual current in the narrow tube. ‘Lhe strength of the apparent air-current might be measured by little mills, and when small radiometers with paper wings were introduced into the sounding-tube, they fell into very lively rotation. If instead of full paper wings the radiometers had small conical paper tubes, directed all alike, they rotated just as fast, and in just the same manner as did the other radiometers. When, however, one approached the node of the sounding-tube, the rotation became slower, ceased, assumed the contrary direction, in order, after further progress, to pause again, and next pass into the former lively rotation. The fast rotation of the sound radiometers Prof. Neesen explained as anemometrical movements which, as was known, were independent of the direction of the wind. The contrary movement of the tube radiometers in the node were explained as determined by the currents of air in the little tubes which had been observed in the manometers as stated above ; they entered into the phenomena in which the vibratory movements were less. The attractions and repulsions produced by the sound appear to be based on similar processes. Meteorological Society, November 3.—With reference to a recent publication of Dr. Lender, Prof. Sporer made some obser- vations regarding the line of demarcation which must be drawn between meteorology and hygiene, and by way of illustration re- lated a number of personal experiences gathered in the course of his stay in the tropics, pointing out how the explanation of them did not properly belong to the office of meteorology.—A paper on the brown ring and the solar eclipses, by Dr. Zenker, who was unable to be present, wasread. The abnormal sunset glows which had appeared in the skies since the autumn of 1883 and the brown-red ring round the sun were still visible, though in reduced intensity. The fact that these phenomena were not earlier observed showed that they owed their existence to some- thing novel which had been introduced into the atmosphere, and were not at all due to the presence of ice-crystals or globules of fog in the higher strata of the air. The fine particles giving rise to the reflex-phenomena in question might be of terrestrial or of cosmic origin. The first of these two assumptions had to contend with the facts that the dust concerned with the phenomena kept so long afloat that the constituent dust-particles were of a very different character from that of the Krakatdo ashes, and that it was at very great altitudes that they appeared to be suspended. Against the second of these assumptions—that, namely, of their cosmic origin—there was the fact of the absence of metallic particles from the dust and also the fact that the dust was found occurring likewise in lower strata. No decision had yet been arrived at in the matter, and it was therefore of great im- portance to determine precisely the altitude of the dust-cloud floating above the earth. The measurements hitherto taken had yielded very different results. In this respect it was a most striking fact that on one and the same day in Steglitz, near Berlin, the height of the reflecting dust was calculated from the glowing phenomena at from 2 to 17 kilometres, while in Dresden the glow was observed the whole night ; and that for the end of the astronomical twilight about midnight, on taking a single reflection, the height of the reflecting surface gave itself as equal to 900 kilometres, and, on taking a double reflection, showed a height of from 200 to 300 kilometres. Dr. Zenker suggested that on the occurrence of the next solar eclipses observations of the brown ring be made. For the zone of totality he calculated the formule for the exact determina- tion of the height of the dust-cloud. These formulz were not communicated, because the paper itself would shortly appear in the AZeteorologische Zeitschrift. Ut was only briefly mentioned that if during the totality the whole of the brown-red ring were seen, a height of 67 would be the result, 7 being the diameter of the cone of shadow. An exact representation of the total solar eclipse in the year 1886, visible in America, and that of 1887, visible in Europe and Asia, was appended to the paper.—In ~ the discussion which followed the reading of this paper Prof. — von Bezold referred to the fact that the brown ring was very difficult of perception in the plain, being not at all visible in Berlin, for example ; while even at a slight elevation it could be very beautifully observed. He further advised caution against the assumption that the brilliant sunset phenomena were some- thing entirely new. He himself occasionally observed such phenomena as far back as 1863, though it was formerly not possible to awaken general interest in the spectacle as can now be done. Regarding the brown ring, too, he conjectured that it had been formerly seen, though attention had not been paid to it. VIENNA Imperial Academy of Sciences, July 9.—On some ex- periments made on total reflection and abnormal dispersion, by E. Mach and T. Arbes,—Experiments on electrical double- refraction of liquids, by G. Taumann.—On phenomena of ab- sorption in crystals of zircon, by E. Linschmann.—On a mite (Zarsonemus intectus, n.sp.) living on man and corn, by L. Karpelles.—On the epithelium of the mouth of Salamandra — maculata, by M. Holl.—On the determination of solubility of some salts in water at different temperatures, by G. A. Raupen- strauch.—On the botanical results of Dr. Polak’s expedition to Persia in the year 1882, by O. Stapf.—On the development of chlorophyll-corpuscles, by K. Mikosch.—Determination of the orbit of the Kriemhild (242) planet, by N. Herz.—On rotation and precession of a liquid spheroid, by S. Oppenheim. CONTENTS PAGE The Whole Duty of aChemist .......+-+-+ 73 Central American Coleoptera. .......++++ 77 Our Book Shelf :-— Everett’s ‘‘ Outlines of Natural Philosophy”. . - 78 Nasmyth and Carpenter’s ‘‘ The Moon, Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite” ....-++.+ 79 Letters to the Editor :— Weather Forecasts: The Bishop of Carlisle. . 79 Scandinavian Ice-Floes.—Sir J. D. Hooker, F.R.S. 79 Can an Animal Count?—George J. Romanes, PRIS. OL Pe fl et ee a ee Lodge’s *‘ Mechanics.” —Prof. Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. 80 The Resting Position of the Oyster—A Correction.— John A, Ryder =... :: 2 5 3) eee The Rotation Period of Mars.—Richd. A. Proctor. 81 Beloit College Observatory.—A. L. Chapin . = 18 Conference of Delegates of Corresponding Societies of the British Association, held at Aberdeen. By Francis Galton, F-R!S. .. ..> 2. 5 ee Dr. Carpenter, C.B., F.R.S. By Prof. E. Ray Lan- ester, FyRUSs: «<2 < acaoede oe Gs ee nO Walter Flight) D:Sc., FURIS: ae 00 melee eo On Radiation of Heat from the Same Surface a Different Temperatures. By J. T. Bottomley . . 85 Elliptic Space. By Dr. Robert S. Ball, FoR Sse Notes) is -pe-t nae 9 Our Astronomical Column The French Photographs of the Transit of Venus . . The Absorption-Spectrum of Oxygen . - .- + + The Apparent Enlargement of Celestial Objects nea (inGul skeen MEIGNONO Slo Geo oo 00.0.0 0 Nova Andromedz and its Relation to the Great Nebula ; The Nice Observatory . s «+ - = - «= * = 9 2 2 190 Astronomical Phenomena for the Week, 1885, November 29 to December5 ...-+-++++ 90 Geographical Notes ...--- +--+ - «== - 90 Chlorophyll. By Prof. J. H. Gilbert, LL.D., F.R.S. 91 Cartographical Work in Russia in TSSAN (os cece to! PA Stanley Colliery, near Wakefield... se ree 2 as 1880 | 1318 499 | 462 | 357 F Seaham Collery : Eas a : 164 Fe a Risca Colliery ... 120 AA DD Penygraig Colliery . oer a aa Es =) LOL 52 38 Leycett Colliery ree a ons 4 Fe ts) 102 5p 1881 954 116 | 450] 388 Ee Abram Colliery, Wigan a m a3 = Ay as ae Whitfield Colliery, Tunstall ... a . ss i 25; 1882 | 1126 250 | 468 | 408 os Trimdon Grange Colliery, Durham ... af bes eee 74: - aA Tudhoe Colliery, Durham —.. an 5 Ae sen 50 0 Clay Cross Colliery, Derbyshire