134 



NA TURE 



{Jtme 6, 1889 



of any kangaroo whose skin weighs less than ten-twelfths of a 

 pound ; and, from a note on the subject in the Zoologist, by Mr. 

 A. F. Robin, of Adelaide, we are glad to see that a serious 

 attempt is being made to secure the enforcement of this restric- 

 tion throughout Australia and Tasmania, and the proclamation 

 of a close season between January i and May i. We must hope 

 that the Australian Legislatures will understand the necessity of 

 taking speedy action in this matter. It would be scandalous if, 

 in deference to the wishes of a few greedy traders, they were to 

 allow Australia to lose the most famous and most interesting of 

 its characteristic fauna. 



At the concluding meeting of the thirty- first session of the 

 Geological Society of Glasgow, which was held last week, Mr. 

 John Young read a paper on '* The Occurrence of Spines 

 within Spines on the Shells of the Carboniferous Productidse." 

 He said that, though long familiar with the spines themselves, it 

 was only recently he had discovered the peculiar structure 

 he was about to describe. He pointed out that the spines of 

 the Productidse were tubular, and referred to the varied opinions 

 expressed by those palseontologists who had previously taken up 

 the group for investigation respecting the functions of these 

 spines. Mr. Young said he had now discovered that within the 

 tubes of the spines, of at least four species, there existed a barrier 

 of small spines of microscopic size placed in the tubes just above 

 the junction of the spines with the shell itself. These small 

 spines were planted deeply within the walls of the large spines, 

 and radiated to the centre of the tubes, varying from twenty to forty 

 or more in number. He was inclined to believe that the de- 

 tection of these minute spines favours the view held by De 

 Verneuil, that the spines themselves conveyed water to the in- 

 terior of the shell. In illustration of his paper, Mr. Young 

 exhibited under the Society's microscope several beautifully pre- 

 pared slides showing the presence and arrangement of these 

 remarkable "spines within spines." 



A SERIES of new aromatic compounds of bismuth have been 

 prepared by Drs. Michaelis and Marquardt. The first member 

 of the seiies, bismuth triphenyl, BilCuHs)^, isasolid, crystallizing 

 in two distinct forms of the monoclinic system, thus forming an 

 example of dimorphism in the same system. In order to obtain 

 it a quantity of the sodium-bismuth alloy is first prepared by melt- 

 ing 500 grammes of bismuth in a Hessian crucible and gradually 

 adding 50 grammes of sodium in small pieces. The resulting hard 

 alloy is then powdered in a warmtd metallic mortar, and heated 

 for two days to i6o° C. in an oil bath with an equal weight of 

 brom-benzene, CgHgBr, a little acetic ether being from time to 

 time added. The filtered product is afterwards distilled until 

 benzene ceases to pass over ; water is then added, and the excess 

 of brom-benzene distilled off in steam, the bismuth triphenyl re- 

 maining behind unaltered. The cooled residue in the distilling 

 flask is next extracted with chloroform, the chloroform solution 

 separated and dried over calcium chloride. After removal of the 

 greater part of the chloroform by distillation, thebismuth triphenyl 

 is thrown out of solution, byadditionofabsolute alcohol, asa brown 

 ►oil. On standing the oil soon crystallizes, and on recrystallization 

 from a mixture of alcohol and chloroform the bismuth triphenyl 

 is obtained in beautiful long colourless monoclinic prisms of 

 brilliant lustre. The prism angle of these crystals is 109° 40', 

 and the plane of the optic axes is perpendicular to the plane of 

 symmetry. On the other hand, if jDure warm alcohol be employed 

 as the solvent, the crystals are found to be qulje different, being 

 tabular in habit, but still belonging to the monoclinic system. 

 The principal prism angle is much less than that of the other 

 form, being 100° 23', and the plane of the optic axes is parallel 

 to the plane of symmetry. No difference of composition could 

 be detected, but the melting-point of the prismatic variety was 

 found to be 78°, while that of the tabular form was 75°. ' Both 



varieties are converted by concentrated hydrochloric acid to 

 benzene and bismuth trichloride — 



Bi(C6H5)3 -(- 3HCI = 3C«Hg + BiCl3. 



In a similar manner two higher homologues of the series, 

 bismuth tritolyl, Bi(CgH4 . CH3)3, and bismuth trixylyl, Bi 

 [Cgllj. (CH3)2l3, were obtained by heating the bismuth sodium 

 alloy with brom-toluene and brom-xylene respectively. Both 

 form good crystals, but no dimorphism was observed. Perhaps 

 the most important property of the compounds is their affinity for 

 chlorine or bromine, for by direct addition they take up two 

 atoms of either halogen, with production of compounds in which 

 bismuth assumes its full pentad atomicity, thus supplying an 

 additional proof of the similarity of bismuth to antimony, arsenic, 

 phosphorus, and nitrogen. For instance, bismuth triphenyl 

 forms Bi(C6H5)3Cl., and Bi(CgH5)3Br2, the tolyl and xylyl com- 

 pounds acting precisely analogously. Not only is this the case, 

 but with nitric acid they form dinitrates of the type Bi(CgH5)3 

 (N03)n, neutralizing two equivalents of the acid. It is interest- 

 ing to note that the preparation of these aromatic compounds of 

 bismuth completes a wider series, for the preparation of which 

 we are mainly indebted to Dr. Michaelis and his assistants, as 

 we are now acquainted with analogous compounds of antimony, 

 arsenic, phosphorus, and nitrogen. 



A VIPER and a lizard in spirit were lately sent, for examina- 

 tion, to the British Museum by Mr. R. H. Ramsbotham, 

 Waterside, Todmorden, with the following remarks: — "This 

 adder was caught at Trowbers Warren, Sussex, on April 24, 

 18S9, about noon. It was kept in this bottle without spirit till 

 the following morning, between nine and ten, when the bottle 

 was filled. Immediately after this was done, the lizard (which 

 is still in the bottle, and has not been touched) crawled out of 

 the snake's mouth, and was quite lively for a short time." 

 Commenting in the Zoologist on this statement, Mr. G. A. 

 Boulenger points out that it includes three facts well worthy of 

 record: (i) that vipers do occasionally swallow lizards, al- 

 though their food normally consists of small rodents; (2) that 

 in this instance the snake did not avail itself of its poison- 

 apparatus in seizing its prey ; (3) that a lizard retained life for 

 nearly twenty-four hours in the gullet of a viper. The lizard is 

 an adult feaiale, Lacerta vivlpara. 



Among the contents of the new number of the Journal of the 

 Anthropological Institute is an interesting paper, by Mr. T, W. 

 Shore, on the distribution and density of the old British popula- 

 tion of Hampshire. Miss Buckland has an instructive paper on 

 the monument known as King Orry's grave, in the Isle of Man, 

 compared with tumuli in Gloucestershire. There are also 

 valuable papers on Australian message sticks and messengers, 

 by Mr. A. W. Howitt; on social regulations in Melanesia, by 

 the Rev. R. H. Codrington ; and on the Nicobar islanders, by 

 Mr. E. H. Man. The number contains Mr. Galton's Presiden- 

 tial address, which our readers have already had an opportunity 

 of studying, 



The "Medical Register " and the " Dentists' Register," for 

 1889, have been issued. Both are published under the direction 

 of the General Council of Medical Education and Registi-ation 

 of the United Kingdom, 



The Cambridge University Press has issued a second edition 

 of Mr. M. M. Pattison Muir's "Treatise ou the Principles of 

 Chemistry." In the preface, Mr. Muir states that the whole has 

 been thoroughly revised, and that Book II., dealing with 

 chemical kinetics, has been entirely re-written. 



Messrs. Longmans and Co. announce as nearly ready, 

 " Physical and Chemical Studies in Rock-Metamorphism, based 

 on the Thesis written for the D, Sc. Degree in the University of 



A 



