May II, 1876] 



NA TURE 



37 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



The Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science contains 

 several papers of importance. The first is by Dr. Klein, en- 

 titled " Observations on the Early Development of the Common 

 Trout (Salmo fario)" in which the condition of the blastoderm 

 between the third and thirteenth day is described. The subject 

 is minutely treated, and the bibliography is very complete. — Mr. 

 John Priestley gives a ^SsuntS oi recent researches on the nuclei 

 of animal and vegetable cells, and especially of ova, and after- 

 wards collates the various statements, indicating their points of 

 divergence. — The investigations of Prof. E. Auerbachand Stras- 

 burger, of Dr. Oscar Hertwig and Van Beneden, are those 

 discussed. — M. Edouard Van Beneden's valuable " Contribu- 

 tions to the History of the Germinal Vesicle, and of the first 

 Embryonic Nucleus " contains much of special interest with 

 reference to the relation of the germinal vesicle and the first 

 cleavage nucleus of the egg, especially with reference to the 

 different results arrived at by the author in his study of the ovum 

 of the rabbit, and M. Hertwig's investigations on the echinoderm 

 Toxopneustes lividus. — Mr. H. R. Octavius Sankey gives a new 

 method for examining the structure of the brain, and reviews 

 some points in the histology of the cerebellum. The dye em- 

 ployed for the staining is aniline blue-black, in which sections of 

 fresh brain should remain twelve hours or so, and afterwards be 

 dried. — Dr. James Foulis gives a lengthy memoir on the deve- 

 lopment of the ova and structure of the ovary in man and other 

 mammalia. Three plates accompany his paper. The author 

 mainly devotes himself in this communication to the description 

 of the appearances in the ovaries of young kittens, and of the 

 human fcetus, with the object of demonstrating, in particular, 

 that whereas the eggs are derived from the germ epithelium, the 

 nutrient cells of the ovum, or the follicular epithelial cells, are 

 derived from the cells of the stroma of the ovary. — Dr. Car- 

 penter, in a paper on the genus Astrorhiza of Sandahl, lately 

 described as Hafckelina, by Dr. Bessels, reintroduces the earlier 

 account of the genus, and figures it. 



Journal of Botany. — Among the more important articles on 

 descriptive and systematic botany in this periodical since the 

 commencement of the current year are a description of Rumex 

 rupeslris, Le Gall, as a British plant, by Dr. Trimen, with a 

 plate ; a description of four new species of Fuchsia from South 

 America, by Mr. Hemsley, and a conspectus of the genus Glycos- 

 mis, by Mr. Kurz, with two plates. Mr. Sorby contributes a 

 paper on the colouring matter associated with chlorophyll, in 

 which he combats some of the conclusions of Pringsheim, and 

 Prof. Church some further notes on plant-chemistry, with analyses 

 q{ Lactuca sativa, Chondrus crispus, in which the ash reaches the 

 very large amount of I4'i5 per cent, of the air-dry plant, and 

 A^asturtium officinale, and of the ash of the bud-scales of the 

 beech, and of the female flowers of the elm. In the April 

 number is the commencement of Prof. De Bary's very im- 

 portant report of researches into the nature of the potato-fungus, 

 Phytophihora infestans. 



Although the articles in the Sco'tish Naturalist are mainly of 

 local interest, two notable exceptions are furnished by those 

 on " Animal Psychosis," by the Rev. J. Wardrop, and " Illus- 

 trations of Animal Reason," by Dr. Lauder Lindsay, portions of 

 which occur in the numbers for January and April, both of 

 which we hope to see reprinted in a form to reach a larger 

 public. There are a large number of notes on the zoology of 

 Scotland, and Mr. A. Sturrock records an addition to the flora 

 of that country in the discovery, in Loch Cluny, Perthshire, of 

 Naias Jlexilis, hitherto confined to Ireland as far as the British 

 Islands are concerned. Dr. Buchanan White and Dr. Sharp 

 continue their lists of the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera of Scot- 

 land respectively. 



Poggendorff^s Annalen der Physik uiid Chemie, No. i, 1 876. 

 — In Regnauli's experiments on the specific heat of gases, it 

 was necessary that the spiral through which the gas streamed 

 should have considerable length, so that the gas might fully take 

 the temperature of the heating vessel, and fiUly yield up its heat 

 in the calorimeter. A correspondingly large size of vessel and a 

 large quantity of gas were required. In a new investigation by 

 M. Wiedemann, here described, the chief object was to diminish 

 the calorimeter, and yet not compromise the yield of heat of the 

 gas, that is, to afford the heated gas as great a surface in as 

 small a space as possible. His heating vessel was a copper 

 cylinder staffed with copper turnings and enclosed in another 



copper vessel containing water or paraffin to be heated. In the 

 calorimeter the gas passed successively through three vertical and 

 connected .silver pipes filled with silver turnings, and gave its 

 heat to the surrounding liquid. The author shows that his 

 method is not behind that of Regnault in accuracy, and as the 

 quantity of water was only a tenth of that which Regnault used, 

 only a tenth part of the gas was required, to obtain as great 

 elevation of temperature. Thus extensive results could be had 

 in shorter time. The tabulated numbers for the seven gases 

 examined do not materially differ from those of Regnault. — A 

 paper by Dr. Dvorak follows, describing many interesting ex- 

 periments on aooustic attraction and repulsion. He studies the 

 case of rods in transverse vibration ; also the action of a screen 

 in a sound wave ; acoustic attraction and repulsion of resonance ; 

 also that in liquids and the phenomena in air columns thrown 

 into continuous vibrations. — The observations of M. Plateau on 

 liquid films are extended by Dr. Sondhauss, who endeavoured 

 to determine the extent to which different liquids could be 

 stretched in films in wire rings, observed such lamellae in closed 

 vessels excluding external disturbances, measured with a balance 

 their tension, and, with a manometer, the pressure of bubbles on 

 the enclosed air ; he also measured the weight of such laraellcK 

 and bubbles, whence their thickness might be inferred. With a 

 simple contrivance, consisting of a thin wire bent horizontally to an 

 angle and a straight wire placed across and drawn gradually away 

 from the angle, it may be shown that all liquids can be stretched 

 in lamellae, and different liquids may be compared in this 

 respect. But Dr. Sondhauss prefers the circular wire rings. He 

 compares (as to size) the films got from forty-six different 

 liquids. Among some facts relating to durability of films, we 

 note that one film from a guillaja decoction, to which a little 

 glycerine had been added, was produced in a vessel on ist 

 Sept., 1872, and lasted till ilth March, 1873, or over half a 

 year. — M. Groth communicates the results of a study of the 

 elasticity of rock salt by observation of the velocity of sound in 

 different directions in it, a method more easily carried out than 

 that of M. Voigt, who measured the elastic bending of rods of 

 the substance. The researches of both leave no doubt that in 

 regular crystals the coefficient of elasticity, and therewith the 

 velocity of sound, is a function of the direction ; and in accord- 

 ance with Neumann's theory, they vary symmetrically with refer- 

 ence to the planes of symmetry of the crystal. A geometrical 

 plane of .symmetry of a crystal is at the same time a physical 

 plane of symmetry. A crystal may be defined as a homogeneous 

 solid body whose elasticity varies with the direction. — We further 

 note the first part of a valuable paper by M. Grotrian, on the 

 constants of friction of some salt solutions and their relations 

 to galvanic conductivity ; and some observations of M. Edlund 

 on the connection of galvanic induction with electro-dynamic 

 phenomena ; also, extracted papers on the occurrence of nitro- 

 genous iron among the fumarole products of Mount Etna, and 

 on the thermo-electric properties of some calcareous spar, beryll, 

 idocrase, and apophyllite. 



Revue des Sciences Naturelles, December, 1875. — The most 

 interesting original observations recorded in this number are 

 contained in a short paper by D. A. Godron, on fertilisation of 

 flowers by Hymenoptera. Near Nancy it is found that the 

 hybrid produced by the fertilisation of Primula grandiflora with 

 pollen of P. officinalis results from the intervention of bees, but 

 the converse hybrid does not occur. M. Godron published an 

 account of this in 1844. The reason for the non-occurrence of 

 the second hybrid is that P. grandiflora flowers earlier in this 

 locality than P. officinalis. M. Godron was able to produce the 

 hybrid P. grandiflora-officinalis artificially, but never saw it as 

 a natural product till March, 1874, when it was brought to him 

 from a locality two kilometres distant from the first. On inves- 

 tigation it was found that only P. officinalis grew at this spot, 

 and that owing to situation and surroundings it flowered much 

 earlier than in the other locality ; but the hybridisation could 

 only be effected by the carrying of the pollen of P. grandiflora 

 two kilometres by bees. — The summaries of French memoirs on 

 science are full and valuable ; foreign summaries of moderate 

 extent are likewise given. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Royal Society, May 4. — "On the Absorption- Spectra of 

 Bromine and Iodine Monochloride," by H. E. Roscoe, F.R.S. , 

 and T. E Thorpe. 



