May 2, 1889] 



NATURE 



n 



executors of the late Madame Comely, widow of the late M. 

 (. M. Cornely, an old and valued corresponding member of the 

 Society, of a valuable library of zoological books. The Cornely 

 Library consisted of about 840 volumes, of which 256 were new 

 to the Society's Library, and many of these were rare and diffi- 

 cult of acquisition. In the (ladens in Regent's Park, the work 

 during the past year had been entirely confined to repairs and 

 renewals, which, however, had kept the staff of workmen busily 

 engaged. The visitors to the Gardens during the year 188S had 

 been altogether 608,402, the corresponding number in 1887 

 having been 562,898. The number of animals in the Society's 

 collection on Decenber3i last was 2290, of which 666 were 

 Ma nmals, 1280 Birds, and 314 Reptiles. Amongst the additions 

 during the past year nine were specially commented upon as of 

 remarkable interest, and in most cases representing species new 

 to the Society's collection. About thirty-one species of Mammals, 

 seventeen of Birds, and two of Reptiles had bred in the Society's 

 Gardens during the summer of 1888. — The Report having been 

 adopted, the meeting proceeded to elect the new members of 

 Council and the officers for the ensuing year. The usual 

 ballot having been taken, it was announced that Lieut. -Colonel 

 the Lord Abinger, C.B., Mr. Henry A. Brassey, Mr. Henry 

 E. Dresser, Lieut.-General Sir H. B. Lumsden, K.C.S.L, and 

 the Lord Arthur Russell, had been elected into the Council in 

 place of the retiring members ; also that Mr. Walter Morrison, 

 M.P. , elected into the Council since the last anniversary, had 

 been re-elected in place of the late Surgeon- General L. C. 

 Stewart (deceased) ; and that Prof. Flower, C.B., F. R. S., had 

 been re-elected President ; Mr. Charles Drummond, Treasurer ; 

 and Mr. Philip Lutley Sclater, F. R.S., Secretary to the Society 

 for the ensuing year. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, April 15. — M, Des Cloizeaux, 

 President, in the chair. — Researches on the thionic series, by M. 

 Berthelot. The author describes a new method recently discovered 

 by him, by means of which he has succeeded in measuring the 

 heat of formation of nearly all the terms in the thionic series, 

 such as the dithionic, trithionic, tetrathionic, and pentathionic 

 iicids. Ttie method consists in oxidizing the salts of the thionic 

 acids, previously dissolved, by means of bromine dissolved 

 either in water, or, better, in bromide of potassium. For acids 

 formed by the union of the same element combined in multiple 

 proportions of oxygen there is in most cases a certain proportion 

 between the liberated heat and the combined oxygen, a law 

 already indicated by Dulong. — Experiments on putrefaction and 

 on the formation of manures, by M. J. Reiset. Detailed de- 

 scriptions are given of the critical experiments briefly referred to 

 by the author in his recent communication on. this subject. He 

 also deals with a serious objection that has been raised against 

 his general conclusion regarding the liberation of nitrogen during 

 the process of putrefaction. — Movement of cyclonic storms in the 

 various regions of the globe, by M. H. Faye. A general survey 

 is given of the salient features of these phenomena in the North 

 Atlantic, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, 

 the China Sea, and Japan waters — that is, in the regions where 

 they have been most carefully studied. The author insists on 

 the essential identity of all their main characteristics ; everywhere 

 the same rapid trajectory from the equator towards one or other 

 of the poles ; the same manner of gyration narrowing towards the 

 base round about vertical axes ; the same progressive expansion 

 frequently developing phenomena of varied segmentation far 

 from the equator ; the same independence of local climatic con- 

 ditions pointing to their common origin in the upper atmospheric 

 regions, and showing that these violent disturbances do not 

 belong exclusively to the science of meteorology, but are the 

 grandest terrestrial manifestations of the mechanics of fluids, 

 acting in conformity with the simple theory already, on 

 several occasions, announced by the author. — Observations 

 of Barnard's new comet, March 31, made at the Observatory 

 of Algiers with the 050 m. telescope for the period April 

 4-10, by MM. Trepied, Ram baud, and Renaux. — On the 

 specific heat of sea water at different degrees of dilution and 

 concentration, by MM, Thoulet and Chevallier. The measure- 

 ment of the specific heat has been executed according to M. 

 Berthelot's - method with water taken on the Fecamp coast, 

 sometimes pure, sometimes with distilled water added, and 

 sometimes concentrated by evaporation, the determination both 

 of the densities and of the specific heats being made at the 

 temperature of I7°*5 C. The calculations here worked out 

 explain the enormous influence exercised by the sea in regulating 



the climates of the globe, -^On the intensity of telephonic eflTccts, 

 by M. E. Mercadier, In continuation of his previous note 

 {Comptes rendttSf cviii. p. 737) the author here describes his 

 further experiments with aluminium and copper diaphragms. 

 The efft'cts produced with these are found, under like conditions, 

 to be far less intense than with iron diaphragms, the chief 

 cause of the difference being the very slight specific magnetism 

 of the former as compared with the latter. On the other hand, 

 the qtiaiity of the efTects produced by the aluminium and copper 

 diaphragm-; is very remarkable, as they give the timbre of 

 sounds and of articulate speech far better than iron, — Researches 

 on some new metallic sulphides, by MM. Arm. Gautier and 

 L. Hallopeau. In continuation of the already described studies 

 {Comptes rendtis, cvii. p. 911) on the action of carbon-di 

 sulphide on the argillaceous earths, the authors have been 

 led to examine its action on various metals at a red heat. 

 The sulphides thus produced include those of iron, manganese, 

 and the silicate of manganese described in this paper, and 

 of nickel, chromium, lead, and aluminium, which are reserved 

 for a future communication, — On the heat of combustion of 

 some organic substances, by M. Ossipoff. The author has 

 undertaken a series of experiments for the purpose of determin- 

 ing the heats of combustion of certain organic bodies not yet 

 studied from the thermic standpoint. He has already com- 

 pleted the study of cinnamic, atropic, and terebic acids, all 

 of which are described in the present paper. — Bacteriological 

 researches on the disinfection of hospitals, dwellings, &c., by 

 gaseous substances, and especially by sulphurous acid, by MM. 

 H. Dubief and I.Bruhl. From these experiments it appears 

 that gaseous sulphurous acid has a destructive effect on germs 

 contained in the air, especially when saturated by the vapour of 

 water ; that it acis mainly on the germs of bacteria, and that 

 when employed in the pure state for a prolonged period it may 

 prove fatal to germs even in the dry state. 



April 23. — M. Des Cloizeaux, President, in the chair. — On 

 the theory of the capture of periodical comets, by M. F, 

 Tisserand, The object of this paper is to supply a rigorous 

 proof of the theory, based on Laplace's study of Lexell's comet, 

 that the influence of Jupiter, acting on a comet with parabolical 

 orbit, may under certain conditions transform its course to an 

 elliptical orbit analogous to those of the group of periodical 

 comets. Some of the formulas here worked out agree very well 

 for two of Tempel's comets and for that of Vico ; but full details 

 are reserved for the next issue of the Bulletin Astronomique. — 

 Mejioir on the ravages caused to agriculture by the cockchafer 

 and its larva, by M. J, Reiset, Ttie results are described of the 

 measures that have been taken in France for the destruction of 

 this pest since the year 1866. A de. ailed account is appended 

 of its remarkable biological transformations, and instances given 

 of its surprising vitality, surviving complete immersion in water 

 for over four days, and when buried to a depth of 040 metre in 

 the earth remaining in a state of suspended animation for 150 

 days. — Observations of Barnard's new comet, March 31, made at 

 the Observatory of Paris (equatorial of the east tower), on April 

 19, by Mdlle. D. Klumpke ; at the same Observatory (equatorial 

 of the west tower), on April 18-19, by M. G, Bigourdan ; and 

 at the Observatory of Bordeaux with the 38 cm. equatorial, on 

 April 20, by M, G. Rayet, Daring these observations the comet 

 generally presented the appearance of a slight nebula with a 

 nucleus of the fourteenth magnitude. — On magnetic rotatory 

 polarization, by M, Vaschy, It is shown that M, Potier's recent 

 hypothesis {Comptes rendus, March 11, 1889) on the action of 

 the ether on ponderable matter offers a remarkably simple ex- 

 planation of this phenomenon. On the other hand, it lends no 

 support to Ampere's theory regarding molecular currents. — On 

 the initial mode of deformation of the ellipsoidal crust of the 

 earth, by M, A, Romieux. M, Daubree's well-known experi- 

 ments serve as the basis of a theory of the original crumpling 

 and folding 'of the terrestrial crust, which is here worked out 

 with illustrations, M. Romieux considers that, although now 

 far removed from that initial deformation, the globe still retains 

 many traces of its effects as here described. Thus, the Pacific 

 Ocean, a vast and very ancient equatorial basin, acting in op- 

 position to a continental mass with its more recent depression of 

 the Central Mediterranean, is supposed to have impelled by suc- 

 cessive spasmodic pressure-: three or four zones of folding against 

 the resisting mass of the North Pole. — On the combinations of 

 ruthenium with nitric oxide, by M. A, Joly, Continuing his 

 investigations on this subject (see Comptes rendus, cvii, p. 

 994), the author here adds a considerable number to the 



