Feb, 17, 1876] 



NATURE 



319 



for a fluvial period in considering the rate of deposition of stalag- 

 mite, and also for the influence of herbage in reducing the pre- 

 sent amount of water percolating the rocks. The habits of | 

 beasts of prey and of aged animals frequenting caves was next | 

 considered. Shandon Cave, near Dungarven, was then de- . 

 •cribed, and an accoimt given of its excavation by Prof. Leith 1 

 Adams and the author, during which remains of mammoth, 

 reindeer, red-deer, wolf, fox, hare, goat, and various birds were 

 found. The author concluded with some suggestions as to the 

 state of Ireland and of its fauna during the period when these 

 deposits took place. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, Feb. 8.— Mr. Geo. Robt. 

 Stephenson, president, in the chair. — The paper read was on 

 Carlingford Lough and Greenore, by Mr. James Barton, 

 M.Inst. C.E. 



Watford 



Natural History Society, Feb. 10. — Aimiversary Meeting. 

 — Mr. John Evans, F.R.S., president, in the chair. — The report 

 of the Council and the Treasurer's account for 1875, showing 

 that the Society was in a prosperous condition, were submitted 

 to the members, and the President delivered an address on the 

 work which had been done by the Society in the investigation of 

 the natural history of Hertfordshire, and on the field of investi- 

 gation open to the members. — Mr. John Evans, F.R.S, was 

 elected president for the ensuing year. 



Vienna 



Geological Society, Jan. 4. — The director, M. v. Hauer, 

 read the anniversary report, describing the work of the 

 Society in its various departments. During the last two 

 years geological surveys have been continued in the Tjrrol, in 

 Galicia, and the Bukovina. In the Tyrol, Dr. Stache, with the 

 assistance of il. Koch, and of two volunteers, M. Schranz and 

 Dr. Posewitz, mapped the principal part of the Oetzthaler 

 Mountains, and the Mountains of Tirol- Vorarlberg, forming the 

 boundary of Switzerland, northward from the Ortler to the region 

 of Bakers. At the same time M. Mojsisovics, with Dr. Homes 

 and the volunteers, Dr. Reyer and Dr. Kotschy, completed the 

 mapping of the region eastward from the porphjTic massives 

 near Botzen j northward to the Sexten and Puster valley ; 

 southward, including considerable parts of the Venetian Alps — as 

 ■ar as the line of dislocation near Primiero-Agordo-Zoldo ;1 and 

 in the east as far as the Piave ; whilst M. Dolter made special 

 investigations of the various eruptive rocks of the same region. — 

 K. M. Paul, assisted by the Roumanian engineers. Const. 

 Pihde and Const. Bottea, finished the detailed geological maps 

 of the Bukovina, and in Galicia M. H. Wolf began the mapping 

 on the eastern frontier of the country, between the Dniester 

 southward, the line Siderow-Petlikowce northward, and the 

 river Stry westward. On the whole 250 Austrian square miles 

 have been mapped. Many other researches were carried on in 

 almost all parts of the Empire. Among these are the follow- 

 ing : — M. Stur examined the coal-mines of Bohemia, Moravia, 

 and Silesia, for the purpose of making a detailed classification of 

 their strata. By means of a grant that he obtained firom the 

 Urban-Schlonbach legacy, he was enabled to investigate and 

 compare the large phyto-palaeontological collections in Dresden, 

 Halle, Berlin, and Breslau. Moreover, he visited chiefly on be- 

 half of the museum of the Geological Society, some of the most 

 important beds of Lias and Jura fossils in Salzburg and the 

 Salz-Kamergut. The Ministry of Commerce, intending to 

 establish a special school for workers in stone, commissioned the 

 vice-director, M. F. Fotterle, to examine such rocks near Pre- 

 dazzo as might be used for technical purposes ; this he did, and 

 the school was oj>ened on December 15, 1875. At the request of 

 the same Ministry, M. H. Wolf made geolc^cal researches along 

 the line of some railroads, and M. G. A. Koch along the recently 

 plaimed Arlberg tunnel, <S:c. After a summary report of the 

 labours performed by the committee for the geological investi- 

 gation of Bohemia, and the Geological Society in Hungary, 

 which had mapped 150 square miles of the south-western part of 

 Hungary, in the last two years, M. v. Hauer proceeded to speak 

 of the travels of members of the Geological Society and other 

 Austrian geologists in foreign countries. He mentioned the 

 labours of M. Stache in Tunis, of M. Tietze, lately returned 

 from Persia, and of M. Lenz in the western part of Africa ; from 

 the last, a letter dated Lope in the Okando, July 28, 1875, arrived 

 some days ago. To this place he had been conducted from Elim- 

 bareni by the old King Renoki, and he was going to pass through 

 the dreaded r«^ons of Oschebo (Mpangwe) in order to reach the 



Umbeke, and if possible the Mikaueke. "I shall try," Lenz 

 writes, " to follow as far as possible a north-east direction ; per. 

 haps I shall succeed in reaching the upper course of the River 

 Schari.'' Further, M. v. Hauer referred to Dr. Drasche, who 

 intended to spend the winter on the Philippine Islands, and then 

 to extend his investigations as far as Japan and Kamtschatka ; 

 also to the researches of Dr. Feistmantel in India. Finally, he 

 gave a report of some expeditions sent from Vienna in the last 

 two years to examine European Turkey and Greece. The work 

 performed in the museum, the laboratory, and the study were 

 not less successfiil than those in the field. In the museum have 

 been newly arranged and classified according to their different 

 zones, by il. D. Stur, the fossils of the Lias, Jura, and Tithon for- 

 maUons of the Northern Alps. This collection consists of 6,000 

 specimens under 1,214 numbers, found in 444 different locahties ; 

 by M. Vacek have been arranged the neocomian fossils of the 

 Northern Alps ; by M. Homes, those of the tertiary from the 

 Upper Danube and Vicenza. M. Stache completed the arrange- 

 ment of the paheontological collections from Istria. In the 

 course of the last two years the museum has received valuable 

 presents in minerals, fossils, species of rock or worked stones from 

 more than ninety institutions, offices, friends, and protectors of the 

 Geolc^cal Society. The Ubrary has been augmented by 1,735 

 volumes and sheets. It contained, at the end of 1875, 20,971 

 volumes and sheets ; 161 new folios were added to the coUec ion of 

 maps. In the laboratory there worked, besides the chief, M. v. 

 Hauer, and the assistant, M. C. John, the volunteers Baron 

 Jiiptner, M. Schbnleld, and M. Mattesdorf. Many analyses were 

 performed, especially of iron-stones, coals, cokes, &c., also of rocks. 

 The collection of artificial crystal?, a scientific treasure that no 

 other museum or laboratory can show in nearly such abundance, 

 has been again augmented materially, and comprises now more 

 than 2,000 specimens. As to the publications of the Society, 

 the Verhandlungen and the "Jahrbuch appeared in regular 

 course ; from the Memoirs in quarto, five sheets, including fifty- 

 nine single and sixteen double plates, were published. M. v. 

 Hauer expresses his graritude, in the name of the Geological So- 

 ciety, to the Minister, Dr. Stremayer, for the liberahty and pro- 

 tection he alwa3rs showed to it. He also refers to the many 

 kindnesses bestowed on the Society and its members in the 

 course of the past year, and concludes by expressing his lively 

 gratification at the resolution taken by Government to establish 

 new professorships for geology in the Universities of Prague, 

 Graz, and Innsbruck. — Papers were then read by Dr. Stache on 

 the geology of the environs of Tunis ; by Dr. R- Homes on the 

 recently-discovered horizon with BdUrophon peregrinus at the 

 base of the triassic beds in the Alps of South Tyrol ; and by 

 Dr. Dolter on some minerals of South Tyrol 



Berlin 

 German Chemical Society, Jan. 24. — A. W, Hofinann, 

 president, in the chair. — R. Fittig has found amongst the pro- 

 ducts of distillation of citric acid an anhydride CgH^^Og (boiling- 

 point 242*^) of a bibasic acid CgH^oO^, a polymeride of crotonic 

 acid, to which he gives the name xeronic acid. This acid jrields 

 well-defined salts, but passes at once into its anhydride when 

 hberated. The same chemist is investigating the question if 

 non-saturated compounds have free affinities. He is inclined to 

 answer this question affirmatively for the following reasons. 

 Hydrosorbic acid CgH^^O, absorbs easily HBr, yielding 

 CgHuBrOj monobromo-capronic add ; pyroterebinic acid 

 CgHioO.2 does not. Sorbic acid CgHgOj forms CgHj^BrjO, 

 dibromocapronic acid. Fumaric acid C4H^0^ absorbs HBr 

 yielding monobromo- succinic acid at 100° ; malsic acid C^H^O^ 

 is simply transferred into fumaric add at ordinary tempe- 

 ratures by the action of HBr. — E. Fisher explains the action 

 of nitrous add on diethylurea, and described the fitrst hydrazine 

 of the fatty series obtained as follows : — 



C2H5— NH CjHs— N— NO 



CO -J- HNO, = HjO -^ 



CO 



CjHj— NH C2H5— NH 



diethylurea nitrous add nitroso-dieth^nrea. 



The latter body diethyl-nitrox-urea, with iron and acetic add 

 C2H5N— NHjHCl 



yields — CO which with HCl and w»ter 



I 

 CgH^N— NH 



yields ethylamine-chlorhydrate, carbonic-anhydride and ethyl- 



