December 23, 1897] 



NATURE 



191 



sets of stridulating organs with which they are furnished, were 

 also referred to. A collection of wasps from the islands of 

 Molokai and Kauai were exhibited, to show the great difference 

 in superficial appearance between those inhabiting the latter 

 island, and those from the rest of the group. No protective 

 significance could be attributed to the uniform and conspicuous 

 markings of the Kauai species. — Remarks on a journey to in- 

 vestigate the habits and development of Lepidosiren paradoxa, 

 by Mr. J. Graham Kerr. The author gave a short account of 

 an expedition which he had made to the interior of the Gran 

 Chaco of Paraguay for the purpose of investigating the habits 

 and development of Lepidosiren paradoxa. He was aided by 

 ;i grant from the Balfour Fund, and was accompanied by Mr. J. 

 S. Budgett of Trinity College. Lepidosiren occurs in consider- 

 able quantity in the swamps towards the centre of the Gran 

 Chaco boreal. It is sluggish in habits, wriggling slowly about 

 among the thick vegetation of the swamp. At short but very 

 irregular intervals it visits the surface and takes a breath of air. 

 Its food consists mainly of large AmpuUarias and masses of 

 confervoid algre. The young are to a greater extent vegetable 

 feeders than are the adults. Lepidosiren makes a burrow in the 

 ground at the bottom of the swamp, and lines it with soft grass. 

 In this the eggs are laid. The papillae on the hind limb of the 

 male grow out into long filaments during the breeding season, 

 and during life these are blood-red in colour. They appear to 

 be ornamental structures. The eggs are very large — about 7 

 mm. in diameter. Coelomic eggs have a thick gelatinous coat : 

 in fertilised and developing eggs this becomes thin and horny. 

 Segmentation is during its later stages holoblastic and unequal. 

 Gastrulation takes place in a manner which recalls that of 

 Urodele amphibia, and of Cyclostomes. Eventually a tadpole 

 larva is hatched out. This develops large external gills and a 

 very large sucker of the Amphibian type. The external gills 

 and sucker disappear about six weeks after hatching. At the 

 same time the colour of the young Lepidosiien becomes much 

 darker, and they become much more lively in their habits. For 

 the first ten to twelve weeks of its free existence the young 

 Lepidosiren does not eat, but lives on the yolk in the walls of its 

 gut. A remarkable habit of Lepidosiren was mentioned, in 

 that their normally very dark colour becomes during the night 

 nearly white. The black chromatophores shrink up during the 

 hours of darkness, large yellow chromatophores which are also 

 present remaining expanded. During the dry season the Lepi- 

 dosiren retreats into the mud, in which it remains breathing by 

 means of an air-hole until the waters return and set it free. 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, December 6. — The following are the presi- 

 dent and vice-presidents for the coming session : — Lord Kelvin ; 

 Lord McLaren, Rev. Prof. Flint, Prof. McKendrick, Prof. 

 Chrystal, Sir Arthur Mitchell, and Sir William Turner. Papers 

 were read as follows :— On the food, fuel, and air of the world, 

 by Lord Kelvin. — Chapters on the mineralogy of Scotland, 

 chapter viii.. Silicates, by the late Prof. Heddle. — Note on the 

 disturbance of the magnetic and meteorological instruments at 

 the Colaba Observatory during the earthquake of June 12, 

 1897, by N. A. Moos. — On a problem of Sylvester's in elimina- 

 tion, by Prof. E. J. Nanson. — On the velocity of graded actions, 

 by Prof. Walker. — Preliminary note on a characteristic of 

 certain chemical reactions, by Prof. Gibson. — On the directions 

 which are most altered by a homogeneous strain, by Prof Tait. 



Mathematical Society, December 10.— Mr. J. B. Clark, 

 President, in the chair. — The following papers were read : — 

 Some questions in arithmetic, by Prof. Steggall.— Methods of 

 solution of the equations of elasticity, by Mr. John Dougall. — 

 Trigonometrical notes, by Prof. John Jack. — Note on a 

 transformation of the equations of hydrodynamics, by Mr. 

 Carslaw. 



P.ARIS. 



Academy of Sciences, December 13.— M. A. Chatin in the 

 chair.— The election of M. Ditte, as a Member in the Section 

 of Chemistry, was confirmed by the President of the Republic. 

 —On the work carried out in 1897 at the observatory at Mt. 

 Blanc, by M. J. Janssen. The chief work done was on the 

 value of the solar constant, although the observations were 

 much interfered with by the unfavourable weather.— On the 

 periods of double integrals, by M. H. Poincare.— Signification 

 of the number and symmetry of the fibro-vascular bundles of 

 the petiole in the measurement of the perfection of plants, by 



NO. 1469, VOL. 57] 



M. Ad. Chatin. — On the first modifications of nerves in simple 

 wounds of the cornea, by M. L. Ranvier. The nerve fibres 

 of the cornea, which are divided by section, grow with 

 an unexpected rapidity and activity, if they are in continuity 

 with their origin cells. — Remarks, by M. Loewy, on presenta- 

 tion of the annual publications of the Bureau des Longitudes. — 

 On a new method for determining the vertical, by MM. J. 

 Perchot and W. Ebcrt. The method of DeichmtlUer, floating 

 a mirror in a bath of mercury, can be modified to give good 

 results which are free from the prejudicial effects of capillary 

 phenomena The results are as accurate as with the plain 

 mercury bath, and good measurements can be obtained in Paris, 

 where the amount of vibration renders the use of the plain 

 bath very troublesome. — On the problem of Ribaucour, by 

 M. C. Guichard. — On an analytical form of the integrals of 

 linear partial differential equations of two independent variables, 

 by M. J. Le Roux. — On the resolution of certain differential 

 systems, by M. Riquier. — On a double generalisation of the 

 equations of Lie, by M. E. Vessiot.— On the positions of un- 

 stable equilibrium, by M. P. Painleve. — On the displacement 

 of a plane of which all the points describe spherical lines, by 

 M. Raoul Bricard. — The problem of the distribution of elec- 

 tricity and the problem of C. Neumann, by M. W. Stekloff. — 

 New method of attacking platinum. Preparation of the bromo- 

 platinates of ammonium and potassium, by M. Georges Meker. 

 Platinum is attacked by a fused mixture of ammonium sulphate 

 and bromide, although it resists the action of either salt taken 

 separately. Ammonium bromoplatinate is readily isolated in a 

 pure state from the fused mass.— On phosphorous oxide, by 

 M. A. Besson. By warming together H3PO3 with an excess 

 of PCI3 on the water bath, 'and washing the product with water, 

 a reddish solid is left, which on analysis gives exact figures for 

 the oxide PoO. — Properties of sodium carbide, by M. Camille 

 Matignon. The carbide forms a white powder, not explosive 

 by shock or by friction. On slight heating, it burns in air to 

 sodium carbonate. In chemical activity, sodium acetylide far 

 exceeds the corresponding calcium compound, nearly all the 

 reactions being so violent that carbon is set free, and the sodium 

 acting as in the free state. — On a new series of cyclic ketones, by 

 M. A. Behal. The fractional distillation of the heavy oil from wood 

 tar, followed by conversion the benzoyl-oximes, has furnished 

 two new ketones. — On the neutralisation of glycerophosphoric 

 acid by alkalis, in presence of helianthine and phenolphthalein, 

 by MM. H. Imbert and A. Astruc. The quantities of soda 

 solution required to neutralise a given weight of glycero- 

 phosphoric acid in presence of helianthine and phenolphthalein 

 respectively are as i : 2. A method for the estimation of the 

 acid is worked out from these data. — Heat of neutralisation of 

 glycerophosphoric acid, by MM. H. Imbert and G. Belugou. — 

 New results relating to rachitis, by M. Qichsner de Coninck. 

 — On species in botany, by M. Paul Parmentier — On poly- 

 morphism of branches in inflorescences, by M. H. Ricome. 

 Branches of many inflorescences show differences among them- 

 selves. In branches in which the direction is near the vertical, 

 the symmetry is normal. In branches much inclined to the 

 vertical, this symmetry is more or less disturbed. — On the 

 geology of the islands of Metelin, Lesbos, and Lemnos in the 

 zEgean Sea, by M. L. De Launay. — On an apparatus generating 

 leucocytes observed in the peritoneum, by M. J. J. Andeer. 

 The peritoneum is the starting-point for the ostiolic apparatus of 

 the whole animal. It is here shown that the peritoneum is 

 also the starling- point for the genesis and formation of the 

 elements of the blood. — Cholesterin and the biliary salts as a 

 chemical vaccine against snake poison, by M. C. Phisalix. The 

 bile salts exert the same protecting influence against snake 

 poison as the bile itself. — On the entozoa of man in Normandy, 

 by M. Ed. Spalikowski. 



Amsterdam. 

 Royal Academy of Sciences, October 30. — Prof, van de 

 Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair. — Prof. J. C. Kapteyn on ttie 

 velocity with which the solar system moves in space. This 

 velocity is deduced from the velocity in the line of sight of fifty- 

 one stars measured by Vogel. It was demonstrated that from these 

 velocities the sun's motion can be deduced with a weight more 

 than seven times as great as that of the determination made by 

 Vogel himself, if the ratio of the average velocity of the stars 

 to that of the sun, pieviously communicated to the Academy, 

 be made use of. Prof. Kapteyn found for the velocity of the 

 system 10 "4 ± 07 miles per second. From this, in connection 

 with a previous communication, is further deduced the mean 



