July 1 8, 1889] 



NATURE 



2S7 



logists in working out various orders of Indian insects, — The 

 following motion, which had previously been unanimously 

 passed at the meeting of the Council, was read to the Society : — 



"That papers containing descriptions of isolated species widely 

 remote in classification ordistributionare, asarule, undesirable for 

 publication, as tending to create unnecessary difficulties for faun istic 

 or monographic workers." Mr. McLachlan, Mr. Jacoby, Mr. 

 Elwes, Dr. Sharp, and others took part in the discussion that fol- 

 lowed. — Mr. McLachlan, on behalf of Prof Klapalek, of Prague, 

 who was present as a visitor, exhibited preparations representing 

 \\^t\\iQ-\\\fXoxy o\ A^riotyptis arinatus, Walk., showing thecurious 

 appendages of the case. Prof Klapalek, in answer to questions, 

 described the transformations in detail. A discussion followed, 

 in which Mr. McLachlan and Lord Walsingham took part. — 

 Mr. H. J. Elwes exhibited a specimen of anundcscribed Cliryso- 

 phamis, taken in the Shan States, Upper Burmah, by Dr. 

 Manders, which was very remarkable on account of the low 

 elevation and latitude at which it was found ; its only very near 

 ally appeared to be Polyonimatus Li, Oberthur, from Western 

 Szechuen. but there was no species of the genus known in the 

 Eastern Himalayas or anywhere in the Eastern tropics. — Mr. 

 < r. T. Porritt exhibited a remarkable series of Arctia mendica, 

 L., bred from a small batch of eggs found on the same ground 

 at Grimescar, Huddersfield, as the batch from which the series 

 he had previously exhibited before the Society was bred. This 

 year he had bred forty-five specimens, none of which v\ ere of 

 the ordinary form of the species : as in the former case, the eggs 

 were found perfectly wild, and the result this year was even 

 more surprising than, before. — Mr. R. W, Lloyd exhibited 

 specimens of I/arpalus citpnns, Steph., and Ca'hormiocerus 



•tciiis, Boh., recently taken at Sandown. Isle of Wight. — Mr. 

 O. E. Janson exhibited a fine male example of 7 heodosia howitii, 

 Castelnau, a genus of Ccloniidi2 resembling some of the Dynastidce 

 in the remarkable armature of the head and thorax. The speci- 

 men had recently been received from North- West Borneo. — M r. W. 

 White exhibited specimens of Hiterogynis paradoxa, Ramb., 

 and stated that this insect represented an extreme case of de- 

 generation, the mature female being only slightly more developed 

 than the larva, the prolegs being quite atrophied. Lord Wal- 

 singham made some remarks on the subject. — Mr. T. R. Billups 

 exhibited a fine series of the very rare British beetle, Medon 

 (Lithvcharis) picais, Kr., taken from a heap of weeds and 

 vegetable refuse in the neighbourhood of Lewisham on May 

 19. — Mr. W, F. Kirby read a paper entitled "Descriptions of 

 new species of Scoliides in the collection of the British Museum, 

 with occasional reference to species already known." — Mr. J. B. 

 Bridgman communicated a paper entitled "Further additions 

 to the Rev. T. A. Marshall's Catalogue of British Ichneu- 

 monida;." — Mr. J, S. Baly communicated a paper entitled 

 "On new species of Diabrolua from South America." 



Anthropological Institute, June 2^.— Dr. John Beddoe, 

 F.R.S., President, in the chair. — Prof Victor Hoisley exhibited 

 some examples of pre-historic trephining and skull-boring from 

 America. — His Excellency Governor Moloney, C. M.G., exhibited 

 some cross-bows, long-bows, quivers, and other weapons of the 

 Yorubas. — The Rev. Dr. Codrington read a paper on poisoned 

 arrows, in which he stated that the natives relied upon the 

 words of incantation used during the manufacture of the 

 arrows much more than the toxical effect of any substance into 

 which they might be dipped or which might be smeared upon 

 them; indeed, that in many cases the so-called "poisoned 

 airows " were not poisoned at all. — A ])aper by Mr. Henry 

 Balfour, on the structure and affinities of the composite bow, 

 was read. 



Paris, 



Academy of Sciences, July 8. — M. Des Cloizeaux, Presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — On two new mechanical appliances, by MM. 

 G. Darboux and G. Koenigs. The first of th-se apoaratus has 

 been devised for the purpose of describing a plane in space by 

 means of jointed rods ; the second supplies a representation of 

 the movement of a solid body revolving freely round its centre 

 of gravity. The principles are described on which both have 

 been constructed. — On the relations between the fractures in the 

 terrestrial crust of a given region, and the seismic movements of 

 the same, by M. A. F. Nogues. The auihor's comparative 

 study "of earthquakes in various parts of the world has led him 

 to detect certain relations between these disturbances and the 

 breaks of continuity in the surface of the ea^th. Jn the present 

 paper,he sjio.ws that, in a given seismic region offering a com- 



plicated system of fractures and faults varying in direction, size,, 

 and depth, the underground convulsions are correlated with 

 some one of these systems, and entirely independent of the 

 others. His illustrations are drawn mainly from the teismic 

 zone of Andalusia, extending from Seville to the frontier of 

 Murcia. — Influence of temperature on the mechanical properties 

 of iron and steel, by M. Andre Le Chatelier. In continuation 

 of his previous paper on this subject, the author here gives the 

 results in detail for iron and steel, which are shown to behave 

 quite diffiirently from other metals under like variations of tem- 

 perature. Three chief phases are distinguished, ranging re- 

 spectively from 15° to 80° C. ; from 100° to about 240" ; and froni' 

 240° upwards. — On the solubil.ty of carbonic acid gas in chloro- 

 form, by M. Woukoloffi Continuing his researches on the law 

 of solubility of the gase-, the author here studies the conditions 

 of the solution of carbonic acid in chloroform. With the data 

 obtained he finds that at a temperature of 13° C. his solution 

 does not conform strictly to Dalton's law, although the devia- 

 tions are very slight, as was also shown to be the case for the 

 bisulphide of carbon. — On the solidification of nitrous acid, by 

 M. Fl. Birhans. In his attempts to solidify anhydrous nitric 

 acid still containing small quantities of hyponitrous acid, the 

 author found that it was necessary to operate at a temperature 

 of from - 52° to - 54°, obtained by the evai oration of the 

 methyl chloride by means of a current of dry air. — On the co- 

 baltites of baryta, and on the existence of a dioxide of cobalt 

 with acid properties, by M. G. Rousseau. The experiments 

 here described demonstrate the existence of a cobaltous acid 

 analogous to manganous acid, but weaker. The maximum of 

 stability of the man;;anite of baryta appears to be situated in the 

 neighbourhood of 1100° C. At lower or higher temperatures 

 this compound becomes dissociated like the hydrocarburets 

 heated to the point of decomposition. — On an oxybromide of 

 copper analogous to atacamite, by M. Et. Brun. M. Berthelot 

 has noticed that when a clear solution of cuprous chloride in 

 cupric chloride is exposed to the air, a greenish precipitate cf 

 oxychloride is formed, which is "probably identical with 

 atacamite." The same reaction is produced by substituting 

 for the cuprous chloride as a solvent the ammonium, sodium, 

 and potassium chlorides. From the last two is obtained a 

 crystalline powder, yielding on analysis the numbers corre- 

 sponding to the formula of atacamite : CuCl, 3CuO, 4HO. M. 

 Brun's present researches aim at the production of an oxybromide- 

 of copper from the corresponding bromides. '1 he substance 

 thus obtained possesses a constitution analogous to atacamite, 

 which it closely resembles in its properties and mode of for- 

 mation. — On the disturbances of the vision consequent on 

 microscopic observation, by M, J. J. Landerer. — The 

 large bones of the anthropoid apes, by M. Etienne Rollet. 

 Since his communication of December 10, 1888, the author ha> 

 made fresh measurements on the complete skeletons of forty-twa 

 adult apes, the results of which are here given in detail. From 

 a comparative study of these figures it appears that the gorilla 

 and chimpanzee approach nearest to man, but in different 

 degrees, the orang holding the third place. But great differ- 

 ences exist between the proportions of the human frame and 

 those of all the bimanous apes, 



Berlin. 



Physical Society, June 21, — Prof. Kundt, President, in 

 the chair. ^ — Dr. Frohlich demonstrated experimentally his new 

 method of recording vibrations in the form of curves ; the 

 method has been recently described verbally to the Society. 

 Light from an electric arc-lamp was made to fall upon a small 

 mirror, attached either to the vibrating plate of a telephone, or 

 to a piece of card covered with a thin film of iron, or to a thin 

 india-rubber membrane. From this mirror it was reflected on to- 

 a polygonal rotating mirror, and by this on to a transparent 

 screen, being thus made visible to the whole audience either as 

 a spot of light when the rotating mirror was at rest, or as a line 

 of light when it was set in motion. On sounding various organ- 

 pipes in front of the receiver of the telephone, many very pretty 

 curves were seen ; on singing the vowels into the telephone, very 

 characteristic curves were seen crossing the screen ; so also with 

 the consonant r, whereas on the other hand i^ produced no effect. 

 The next experiment consisted in connecting the rotation of the . 

 mirror with the interrupted electric current, whose action was 

 under investigation, in such a way that the vibrations of the 

 membrane produced by the current gave rise to persistent curves 

 upon the screen. The current from a battery produced ark 



