498 



NATURE 



{Sept, 28, 1876 



Some curious experiments on t^e expansion of liquids to 

 lamellae, have recently been described by M. Cintolesi in the 

 Rendiconti Reale Institute Lotnbardo. He considers that the 

 phenomenon is always accompanied with a development of 

 gaseous masses ; further, that the spreading out of liquids on 

 each other is caused by the vapours of the substances, whose 

 molecules moving in every direction force the liquid molecules 

 out from each other horizontally, and, where the resistance of 

 the liquid is not strong enough, rupture the film. 



In his thermo-chemical researches on gold and^its compounds* 

 M. Julius Thomsen has observed that gold separated out form 

 different solutions and by dissimilar reducing agents presents 

 allotropic differences, three of which he has studied : — i. Re- 

 duced from chloride solution with sulphurous acid, gold forms a 

 balled mass. 2. Reduced similarly from the bromide solution, 

 it forms a very fine dark powder, which retains its powder form 

 even after drying. 3. Reduced from the chloruret, bromuret, or 

 ioduret, with sulphurous acid or hydrogen acid, it forms a very 

 fine powder with metallic brilliancy and yellow colour. These 

 modifications are also distinguished by unequal heat-energy in 

 the several reactions. 



From careful measurements during 1871 and 1872, it appeared 

 that the quantity of water annually flowing past in the Elbe, at 

 the boundary between Saxony and Bohemia, was about 6,179 

 million cubic metres. M. Breitenlohner, considering the quantity 

 along with analyses he made of Elbe water in 1866, has calcu- 

 lated the amount of solid matter carried away by the Elbe out 

 of Bohemia every year. His estimate is, for suspended matters 

 carried off, 547' '4 million kilogrammes, dissolved matters, 

 622 '68 million kilogrammes (of which 9777 million were fixed, 

 and 191 "12 million volatile), giving a total of 11 69 "82 million 

 kilogrammes of solid substances carried off. The numbers are 

 also interesting which indicate the proportions of substances im- 

 portant to agriculture that are thus removed from Bohemia, In 

 the 6 milliards of cubic metres of Elbe water, there are partly, 

 suspended, partly dissolved, 140 "38 million kilogrammes lime, 

 28.13 million kilogrammes magnesia, 54*52 million kilogrammes 

 potash, 39*6 milUon kilogrammes soda, 25 '32 million kilogrammes 

 chloride of sodium, 45 '69 million kilogrammes sulphuric acid, 

 and I "5 million kilogrammes phosphoric acid. The Elbe has 

 a basin of about 880 square miles in Bohemia. 



An essay on the Wines and Wine Industry of Australia, by 

 Rev. Dr. J. I. Bleasdale (Melbourne : Bailliere), contains a 

 great deal of information on a subject of much industrial and 

 economic interest. 



Part i. of Vol. III. of the Transactions of the Connecticut 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences is a thick one, and is profusely 

 illustrated with well-executed plates. The papers are : — "Re- 

 ports on the Dredgings in the Region of St. George's Banks in 

 1872," by Messrs. L.J. Smith and O. Harger ; "Descriptions 

 of New and Rare Species of Hydroids from the New England 

 Coast," by Mr. S. F. Clark; "On the Chondrodite from the 

 Tilly-Foster Iron-Mine, Brewster, N.Y.," by Prof. E. S. Dana; 

 "On the Transcendental Curves sin y sin my — a sin jc sin 

 nx -^r 6," by Professors H. A. Newton and A. W. Phillips; 

 "On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances," by Prof. J. 

 Willard Gibbs. 



We have received Part 4 of the Transactions of the Glasgow 

 Society of Field Naturalists, containing an account of the pro- 

 ceedings for 1875-6. The part contains many valuable papers 

 in natural history, the results of original observations, and we 

 regret that want of space prevents us referring to them in detail. 



There are several papers of considerable value m the last- 

 issued part of the Transactions (vol. iii. No. 2) of the Academy 

 of Science of St. Louis, and we regret that our space will admit 



of our giving only the titles : — " Iron Manufacture in Missouri ; 

 a General Review of the Metallurgical Districts and their Re- 

 sources," by Dr. A. Schmidt; "Remarks on Canker-worms, 

 and Description of a New Genus of Phalcenidoe," by Prof. C. V. 

 Riley, who also contributes " Notes on the Natural History of 

 the Grape Phylloxera (P. vastatrix)," and "Notes on the Yucca 

 Borer {Megathymus yuccce. Walk.) " ; " On a New Form of Lec- 

 ture Galvanometer," by Prof. Nipher ; Dr. G. Engelmann 

 contributes " Notes on Agane (with photographic illustrations)," 

 and "About the Oaks of the United States;!' "The Rocky 

 Mountain Locusts and the Season of 1875," by Mr. G. C. 

 Broadhead, who also contributes papers on "The Meteor of 

 Dec. 27, 1875," and on the "Age of our Porphyries;" Mr. 

 A. J. Conant has a paper on the " Archeology of Missouri." 

 The latter part of the number is occupied with the Journal of 

 Proceedings. 



In the Fenn Monthly, a Philadelphia publication, for May 

 and June are two interesting articles by Mr. C. E. Duttoii 

 containing " Critical Observations on Theories of the Earth's 

 Physical Revolution." 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include two Bonnet Monkeys {Macacus 7-adiatus) from 

 India, presented by Mr. Chas. E. Green and Mr. R. K. Meaden ; a 

 Macaque Monkey {Macacus cynomolgus) from India, presented by 

 Capt. J. C. A. Lewis ; a Striped Hysena (Hyana striata) from Al- 

 geria, presented by Mr. Thos. Barber; an Arabian Gazelle ( C^s^Z/rt 

 arabica) from Arabia, presented by Mr. F. de Havilland Hall ; 

 a Grey Ichneumon {Herpestes griseus) from India, presented by 

 Mr. Geo. J. Hendry ; a Common Boa {Boa constrictor) from 

 South America, presented by Mr. F. B. Bloxham ; a Red and 

 Yellow Maccaw {Ara chloroptera) from South America, depo- 

 sited ; a Hog Deer {Cervus porcinus), born in the Gardens. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



American Journal of Science and Arts, September. — In a 

 second paper on the gases contained in meteorites, Mr. Wright 

 first describes those of the Kold Bokkeveld stony meteorite, one 

 of a distinct class containing a good deal of amorphous carbon, 

 a bituminous substance, and very little metallic iron. The 

 volume of the gases obtained was much greater, but the gaseous 

 mixture was like that of ordinary stony meteorites, except in the 

 very small quantity of hydrogen present. A comparative table 

 is given of the gases of seven iron and six stony meteorites. 

 From experiments on the manner of occurrence of carbon dioxide, 

 the author infers that while some of the gas may be condensed 

 on the fine particles of the iron, a large portion of it and of the 

 water, carbonic oxide, and other gases, is mechanically imprisoned 

 in the stony substance of the meteorite. The idea is favoured of 

 comets consisting of meteoric masses with the gases expanding 

 under action of solar rays. Every cubic mile of a substance like 

 the Kold Bokkeveld meteorite would give thirty cubic miles of 

 gas at the pressure of our atmosphere, and in space this would 

 expand enormously before it would cease to transmit electric dis- 

 charges or be visible by reflected sunlight. These views are 

 confirmed by spectroscopic observations of meteoric gases. — Mr. 

 Storer, questioning Carius' statement that Schoenbein's iodo- 

 starch test for nitrates used with zinc as reducing agent, is not a 

 specially delicate one, finds that the fatal defect of the test, as 

 hitherto applied, lies in the fact that mere water containing no 

 nitrates or nitrites, on being treated with zinc or cadmium, as if 

 to test for a nitrate, will react on iodo-starch just as if a trace of 

 some nitrate were present. This coloration is due to peroxide 

 of hydrogen formed in the water by action of the metal. Mr. 

 Storer also finds that no peroxide of hydrogen is formed when 

 water slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid is boiled on metallic 

 cadmium ; and as the reduction of nitrates and nitrites occurs 

 readily in such solutions, the iodo-starch test can be thus applied 

 for detection of nitrates with great certainty. — Mr. J. Lawrence 

 Smith gives an account of a new meteoric stone which fell in 

 1865 in Wisconsin, and which is identical with the Meno-meteo- 

 rite which fell in 1861. — Mr. Brooks gives a classified list of 



