288 



NATURE 



[January 20, 1898 



Prize between MM. Lebeau, Hebert, Tassilly, and Thomas ; 

 the Saintour Prize to M. G. Andre ; the Prize founded by 

 Mdme. La Marquise De Laplace to M. Crussard, and the Prize 

 founded by M. Felix Rivot to MM. Crussard, Gourguechon, 

 Bertrand, and Bruneau. 



New South Wales. 



Royal Society, November 3, 1897.— The President, Henry 

 Deane, in the chair. — The effect of temperature on the tensile 

 and compressive properties of copper, by Prof. Warren and Mr. 

 S. H. Barraclough. This investigation was carried out on some 

 fifty copper test pieces. The temperature range attained was 

 from 25° F. to 535° F. , the temperatures being measured by 

 certified mercurial thermometers. The chief conclusions.arrived 

 at were : [a) The relation between the ultimate tensile strength 

 and the temperature may be very closely represented by the 

 equation /= 32,000 - 21 /, where / is the tensile strength 

 expressed in pounds per square inch, and t is the temperature 

 expressed in degrees F. (b) Temperature does not affect the 

 elongation or contraction of area in any regular manner : and at 

 any one temperature the variation in these two quantities is so 

 variable for different specimens that no particular percentage 

 could be included in a specification for the supply of copper. 

 (r) The elastic limit in tension occurs at about 5400 lbs. per 

 square inch : this limit probably decreases rapidly with increase 

 of temperature, but the differences in the behaviour of individual 

 specimens are so great as to prevent the determination of the 

 relationship between the two quantities, {d) The elastic limit 

 in compression occurs at about 3200 lbs. per square inch : it 

 decreases with increase of temperature, the relationship between 

 the two being more regular than in the tensile tests, [e) The 

 rate of permanent extension and compression increases rapidly 

 with increase of temperature. — Aurora Australis, by H. C. 

 Russell, C.M.G., F. R.S. This paper contained a list of 

 auroral displays in the southern hemisphere during 1897, also a 

 •detailed account of one which was observed by the captain and 

 officers of the R. M S. Aorangi, on April 20, 1897, when the 

 ship was in long. 96' W. and lat. 4.7^° S.— The basalts of 

 Bathurst and the neighbouring districts, by W. J. Clunies 

 Ross. In this paper the character of the basalt occurring in the 

 neighbourhood of Bathurst, on the Bald Hills, and other hills 

 in the vicinity, was described. Specimens from various localities 

 have been obtained, microscopic sections cut from them, and 

 chemical analysis made. It has been found that there are some 

 differences in the microscopic structure of the rocks from hills 

 close together, but the chemical analysis shows them to be all 

 closely related. The silica was found to be about 47 per cent., 

 but reached 50 per cent, on Mount Pleasant. The alumina, oxide 

 of iron, lime, and magnesia were also determined. For com- 

 parison with the Bathurst basalt, which no doubt originally 

 flowed as a lava from some centre of volcanic activity, and in 

 order to trace the source from which it came, specimens were 

 •■examined from all ihe places within forty miles of Bathurst, 

 where basalts are known to occur. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY January 20. 

 kRovAL Society, at 4.30. — The Relations between Marine Animal and 

 Vegetable Life: H. M. Vernon.— (i) The Homogeneity of Helium; (2) 

 Fergusonite, an Endothermic Mineral : Prof. W. Ramsay, F.R.S., .ind 

 ■Morris W. Travers. — On the Modifications of the Spectra of Iron and 

 other Substances radiating in a Strong Magnetic Field : T. Preston. 



HoYAL Institution, at 3. — The Halogen Group of Elements : Prof. 

 Dewar, F.R.S. 



Society of Arts, at 4.30. — Recreations of an Indian Official : Right 

 Hon. Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant DuflF. G.C.S.I., C.I.E., F.R.S. 



LiNNEAN Society, at 8. — On the Larval Hyobranchial Skeleton of the 

 Anurous Batrachians, with special reference to the Axial Parts : Dr. W. 

 G. Ridewood. — On the " Abdominal Pore " in the Myxinidae : R. H. 

 Burne. 



Chemical Society at 8. — Ballot for the Election of Foreign Members. — 

 The Action of Caustic Alkalies on Amides : Dr. Julius B. Cohen and 

 Edward Brittain. — The Formation of Monomethylaniline from Dimethyl- 

 aniline : Dr. Julius B. Cohen and H. T. Calvert. — Note on the 

 Aluminium- Mercury Couple : Dr. Julius B. Cohen and H. T. Calvert. — 

 Action of Chloroform and Alkaline Hydro.xides on the Nitro-benzoic 

 Acids : W. J. Elliott. — Researches on the Terpenes. II. On the Oxida- 

 tion of Fenchene : J. Addyman Gardner and G. B. Cockburn. — The Pre- 

 paration of Pure Iodine : Dr. Bevan Lean and W. H. Whatmough. 

 FRIDA y, January 21. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— Buds and Stipules : Sir John Lubbock, Bart., 

 M.P. 



Physical Society, at 5. — On Electric Signalling without Conducting 

 Wires: Prof. O. Lodge, F.R.S. — A Tesla Oscillator will be exhibited by 

 Prof. S. P. Thompson, F.R.S. 



TUESDA y. January 23. 

 RoVAL Institution, at 3.— The Simplest Living Things: Prof. E. Ray 



Lankester, F.R.S. 

 Anthropological Institute, at 8.30. — Anniversary Meeting. 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— Reservoirs with High Earthen 



Dams in Western India : W. L. Strange. 

 Royal Victoria Hall, at 8.30.— Mars .-is a World : R. A. G.-egory. 



THURSDAY, January 27. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— The Halogen Group of Elements : Prof. J. 

 Dewar, F.R.S 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— Notes on the Electro- 

 Chemical Treatment of Ore; containing the Precious Metals: Major- 

 General Webber, C.B. 



FRIDA Y, January 28. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— Instinct and Intelligence in Animals : Prof. C. 

 Lloyd Morgan. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Condensing Apparatus : H. 

 Williams. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Books.— The Tutorial Chemistry : Dr. G. H. Bailey. Part 2. Metals 

 (Clive). — On a Sunshine Holyday : The Amateur Angler (Low). — Nature's 

 Diary : F. H. Allen (Gay). — An Elementary Course of Practical Organic 

 Chemistry: F. C. Garrett and A. Harden (Longmans). — The Essentials of 

 Experimental Physiology : Dr. T. G. Brodie (Longmans). — Premature 

 Burial: Fact or Fiction?: Dr. D. Walsh (Bailliere).— The Tailless 

 Batrachians of Europe : G. A. Boulenger, Part i (Ray Society). — A First 

 Year's Course of Experimental Work in Chemistry : Dr. E. H. Cook 

 (Arnold).— Views on some of the Phenomena of Nature : J. Walker (Son- 

 nenschein). — Korea and her Neighbours : Mrs. Bishop, 2 Vols. (Murray). 

 — United States Geological Survey, Monographs .\xv.-xxviii (Washing- 

 ton).— Annuaire de I'Acadimie Royale des Sciences, &c., de Belgique, 1898 

 (Bruxelles). — The Purification of Sewage and Water : W. J. Dibdin 

 (Sanitary Publishing Company, Ltd.). — Proceedings of the Chemical and 

 Metallurgical Society of South Africa. Vol. i (Edinburgh. Hunter). — Au- 

 dubon and his Journals : M. R. Audubon, 2 Vols. (Scribner). — The Ob- 

 server's Atlas of the Heavens : W. Peck (Gall).— The War of the Worlds : 

 H. G. Wells (Heinemann). 



CONTENTS. 



A. . . 



By W. 



E. P. 



PAGE 

 265 

 266 



The Physic of our Fathers. By T. C. 

 A New Work on Popular Astronomy. 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Fleurent : " Manuel d'analyse chimique appliquee a 



I'examen des produits industriels et commerciaux " 



Tarr : "First Book of Physical Geography." — 



Sergi : " Arii e Italici " 



Setchell : " Laboratory Practice for Beginners in 



Botany" 



" On a Sunshine Holyday " 268 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Abridged Long Division. — The late Rev. C. L. 



Dodgson . . 



Optical Illusions produced by Observation of Rotating 



Spirals. {Illustrated.)— O. F. F. Grunbaum 

 Poisonous Koda Millet. — Surgeon-Captain A. E. 



Grant • . . . 



Hermaphroditism in the Herring. — Dan. Pidgeon 

 A Bright Meteor. — Susanna Lehmann .... 

 Recent Seismology. II. {Illustrated.) By Prof. J. 



Milne, F.R.S. 

 The Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits and 



Borneo. By Prof. Alfred C, Haddon 276 



Mine Accidents in 1897 ~Tl 



The Proposed Midland University . ...... 277 



Francesco Brioschi. By G 279 



Rev. C. L. Dodgson 279 



Notes. {Illustrated.) 280 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



A New Spectroscopic Binary 284 



Winnecke's Periodic Comet 284 



Level of Sun-spots 284 



A Variable Bright Hydrogen Line 284 



Astronomical (Constants 284 



Longitude of Madras 284 



Mr. J. 'W. Swan, F.R.S., on Electro-Chemical 



Industries 284 



The Brighton Municipal School of Science and 



Technology. {Illustrated.) 285 



University and Educational Intelligence 286 



Societies and Academies 286 



Diary of Societies 288 



Books Received 288 



267 



268 



268 



268 



269 



271 



271 

 271 

 271 



272 



NO. 1473 VOL. 57] 



