January ii, 191 2] 



NATURE 



Paris in aid of the new Institute of Chemistry, and that 

 M. David Weill has made a third donation of 30,000 francs 

 to the Universit). 



Buildings costing nearly 200,000/. are, says Science, 

 either being constructed or will be started at the University 

 of Wisconsin before the next academic year opens. Nine 

 new structures will be completed within the next twelve 

 months on various parts of the University grounds. The 

 new buildings and their cost will be as follows : — Biology 

 hall, 40,000/. ; wing to library, 33,000/. ; home economics 

 building, 23,000/. ; model high school, 30,000/. ; women's 

 dormitory, 30,000/. ; agricultural chemistry, 18,000/. ; 

 chemistry building wing, 15,300/. ; horticultural building, 

 11,400/.; gymnasium annexe, 3000/. 



A COL'RSE of ten lectures on illuminating engineering 

 will be given on Tuesday evenings at the Northampton 

 I'olytechnic Institute, St. John Street, London, E.G., 

 commencing January 16. The lectures are intended for a 

 technical audience, and each lecture will be given by a 

 ■-pecialist in the particular subject. The subjects of the 

 lectures are: — "The Nature of Light and of Radiation "; 



Photometrt and the Measurement of Light "; " The Pro- 

 duction of Electric Light and its Distribution " ; " The 

 Chemistry of Gas Manufacture and Lighting " ; " The Use 

 of Shades and Reflectors " ; " Physiological Factors in 

 Illumination"; "The IVactical Use of .^rc Lamps"; 



The Practical Use of Metallic Filament Glow Lamps"; 

 " The Practical Use of Gas Lamps." 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 

 Royal Microscopical Society, Deceiiil)er 20, 191 1. — Mr. 

 M. G. Plimmer, P\R.S., president, in the chair. — 

 F. Shillington Scales : The photomicrography of the 

 < I'-ctrical reactions of the heart. The lecturer described the 

 [irinciple and construction of the Einthoven string galvano- 

 meter, with especial reference to the optical arrangements 

 and the methods of photographing the movements of the 

 wire, resulting from the differences in potential set up 

 by the heart-beat. Photomicrographs of the movements 

 of the hearts of various animals under the influence of 

 drugs were shown. — Rev. Hilderic Friend : British 

 Tubificidic. The author first gave a brief historical sketch, 

 alluding to the work of Lankester, Beddard, and Benham, 

 and the various Continental and other authorities who 

 have in past years written on the family. After showing 

 the difficulties attending definition, and the value of the 

 sft<-je for the purposes of classification, the author pro- 

 ceeded to arrange the British species in two classes : — 

 (i) those genera which are destitute of capilliform setae; 

 and (2) those which possess them. These two groups are 

 again subdivided, and no fewer than thirty species, besides 

 some subspecies and varieties, are placed on record, of 

 which ten are described for the first time, and sixteen have 

 b"en added by the author during the year. Specially 

 interesting is the discovery of a new genus, named Rhyaco- 

 drilus, containing two species, of which one (R. hichtielus, 

 Friend) is new to science. These two species are as yet 

 lown only in Derbyshire. Hyodrilus is now definitely 

 corded as British, with no fewer than five species. 



Linnean Society, D.'cember 21, 1911.— Dr. D. 1 1. Scott, 

 1-. R.S., president, in the chair. — Rev. Hilderic Friend: 

 Some annelids of the Thames Valley. 



Dublin. 

 Royal Irish Academy, December 11, 191 1.— Rev. Dr. 

 Mahaffy, president, in the chair. — W. F. de V. Kane : 

 lare Island Survey Reports. — Butterflies and moths. 

 ' he lepidopterous fauna of Clare Island is relatively poor, 

 nd shows a marked preponderance of northern species. 

 I he island affords a second Irish habitat for Dasydia 

 "hfuscaria, a remarkably melanic variety. The coast sand- 

 hills of Achill and of isolated points on the adjoining main- 

 land are noteworthy for the occurrence of Nyssia zonaria, 

 and the discontinuous range of this species, with its wing- 

 1' ss female and sluggish herb-eating larva, presents an 

 interesting and difficult problem to the student. — F. Balfour 

 Browne : Water-beetles. Ninety species of water-beetles 

 ai< now known to occur in the Clare Island district. 



NO. 2202, VOL. 88] 



-Amongst these are some uncommon species, notably 

 Deronectes griseo-striatus and Agabus congener ; the latter 

 insect had not been previously found in Ireland. The local 

 Octhebius legolissii occurred on Clare .sland. In addition 

 to the full lists of species, a careful analysis is given of the 

 West Mayo water-beetle fauna. The author recognises the 

 occurrence of a distinct west-ranging Irish group of species 

 — of both northern and southern European origin — a fact 

 which has also been noticed in other sections of the fauna 

 of the west of Ireland. — Miss Jane Stephens : Fresh- 

 water sponges. Five species of fresh-water sponges were 

 found, namely, .'^/xjn^i/Za fragilis, S. lacustris, Ephydatia 

 millleri, E. fluviatilis, and Meter omeyenia ryderi. The 

 first-named is new to "Ireland. Of the remaining species, 

 H. ryderi, a sponge common to North .\merica and the 

 west of Ireland, is very widely distributed throughout the 

 district examined. Different forms of this species are 

 described for the first time from Ireland. The differences 

 between the sponges growing in lakes lying on limestone 

 and those in lakes on non-calcareous rocks are noted. 



Rural Schools. 

 Year's Course. 

 (London : Mam 



By G. 



Pp. 48. 



lillrui and 



Book vi. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Die Chemie der Cellulose unter besonderer Beriick- 

 sichtigung der Textil- und Zcllstoffindustrien. By Prof. 

 C. G. Schwalbi . Zwtitc Ilalftr (Schluss des Werkes). 

 Pp. i73-;)(i() + \ii. (Hiilin: Gibruder Borntraeger.) 14.80 

 marks. 



Handbuch der bautechnischen Gesteinspriifung. By 

 Prof. J. Hirschwald. Erster Band. Pp. xi + 387. (Berlin : 

 Gebriider Borntraeger.) 



Annuaire .Astronomique et M6t6orologique pour 1912. 

 By C. Flammarion. Pp. 360. (Paris : E. Flammarion.) 

 1.50 francs. 



Mineralogy. By Dr. F. H. Hatch. Fourth edition. 

 Pp. ix + 253. (London: Whittaker and Co.) 45. net. 



Increasing Human Efficiency in Business. By Prof. 

 W. D. Scott. Pp. v-t-339. (London: Macmillan and Co., 

 Ltd.) 55. 6d. net. 



The Rational .Arithmetic for 

 Ricks. Scholar's Book. Third 

 Fourth Year's Course. Pp. 48. 

 Co., Ltd.) 3d. each. 



Black's Literary Readers. By J. Finnemore. 

 Pp. 268. (London : A. and C. Black.) is. qd. 



Twenty-seventh .Annual Report of the Bureau of 

 .American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, 1905-6. Pp. 672. (Washington : Government 

 Printing Office.) 



Supplement to the Fourth Report of the Wellcome 

 Tropical Research Laboratories at the Gordon Memorial 

 College, Kharloum. By Dr. A. Balfour, Captain R. G. 

 .Archibald, and others.' Pp. 448. (London : Bailli^re, 

 Tindall and Cox.) 15s. net 



Handbuch der vergleichenden Physiologic. Edited by 

 H. Winterslein. iS Lieferung, Band ii., Erste Halfte. 

 Pp. 1145-15634X. u) Lieferung, Band iii., Erste Halfte. 

 Pp. 160. (Jena : G. Fischer.) 5 marks each. 



Complete Yield Tables for British Woodland- and the 

 Finance of British Forestry. By P. T. Maw. Pp. \\\ + 

 108. (London : Crosby Lockwoo'd and Son.) 75. (id. net. 



Shackleton in the .Antarctic : being the Story of the 

 British .Antarctic Expedition, 1907-9. By Sir E. Shackle- 

 ton, C.V.O. Pp. 255. (London : W. Heinemann.) 15. 6d. 



Flashes from the Orient, or a Thousand and One Morn- 

 ings with Poesv. By J. Hazelhurst. Book four— Winter. 

 Pp. xi + 284. (London: Hazell, Watson and Viney, Ltd.) 

 IS. 6d. net. 



An Intermediate Course of Practical Physics. By Raja- 

 nikanta De. Pp. .xii + 284. (Calcutta: International 

 Publishing Company.) 



Willing's Pi's^ "Ciiid", 101?. Pp- Niv + .iS<). (London: 

 J. Willing, jun.. Ltd.) i>. 



Biological .Aspects of Human Problems. By Dr. C. A. 

 Herter. Pp. xvi + 344. (London: Macmillan and Co., 

 Ltd.) 6s. 6d. net. 



A Geography of the World. By B. C. Wallis. Pp. 

 xvi + 372. (London: .Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 3s. 6d. 



The Chemistry of Bread-making. By J. Grant. Pp. 

 vi + 224. (London : E. .Arnold.) 5s. net. 



Memories i)f 1 School Inspector: Thirty-five Years in 



