66o 



NATURE 



\OcL 31, 1889 



Berlin. 



Meteorological Society, October 8. — Dr. Vettin, President, 

 in the chair. — Prof. Assmann spoke of his meteorological ex- 

 periences on the Sentis (Canton Appenzell). In order to be 

 able to reply to the objections which have been raised in many 

 quarters against his aspiration-thermometer, he submitted this 

 instrument, in the form which it has now assumed, to a testing 

 under the most unfavourable conditions. The instrument ought 

 to record the temperature of the surrounding air alone even when 

 exposed to the most intense solar radiation, and not be in any 

 way affected by the latter. In order to determine whether it 

 conforms to the above requirement or not, he lived for four 

 weeks on the Sentis, and found, as the outcome of several thou- 

 sand experiments, that the instrument thoroughly acts up to 

 what is required of it, when its form, as originally exhibited to 

 the Society, is modified so that a constant current of air is drawn 

 through the metallic tube which surrounds the thermometer by 

 means of an arrangement of clock-work. This clock-work is 

 attached to the upper end of the tube, and drives a fan with 

 considerable velocity, thus forcing the air out of the tube at the 

 top and drawing it up from the lower portion of the tube ; by 

 this means a rapid constant current of air is kept streaming over 

 the bulb of the thermometer. He had previously satisfied him- 

 self by direct experiments with hot water that the indications of 

 the thermometer are not in any way affected, even when the 

 temperature of the metal tube which surrounds it is raised to 

 20° C. above that of the surrounding air. On the Sentis, how- 

 ever, the direct solar radiation never raised the temperature of 

 the metal tube by more than 3° C. The solar radiation, mea- 

 sured by means of a blackened thermometer in vacuo, was 

 33° C, while at the same time the temperature of the air was 

 3° C. Simultaneously with the speaker's own measurements of 

 temperature on the Sentis, Dr. Siegfeld, in Munich, made similar 

 measurements with a similar instrument in a balloon floating at 

 a height equal to that of the Sentis peak ; and further, at the 

 same time, a corresponding set of experiments were carried on 

 in a balloon at Berlin. It is his intention to publish an account 

 of these interesting experiments in some scientific treatise which 

 will appear shortly. Dr. Assmann further described the ar- 

 rangement of the meteorological station on the Sentis, his testing 

 of the instruments which it contains, and a prolonged series of 

 very interesting observations on thunderstorms, which were of 

 daily occurrence : these storms were remarkable for the sudden- 

 ness of their development, and the very striking cloud-formations 

 by which they were accompanied, the latter being recorded 

 photographically. One of his most striking experiences was of 

 a fall of hail which lasted for an hour and a half, the hail falling 

 from a cloud which was not more than 350 metres above him. 

 He concluded his address by a very full description of a series 

 of observations on cases of St. Elmo's fire which were charac- 

 terized by acoustical rather than optical phenomena. — Lieutenant 

 _Gross gave a short account of the balloon journey which he 

 made in order to determine, simultaneously with the observations 

 on the Sentis, the temperature of the air in the higher regions 

 above Berlin. The balloon reached an elevation of 3600 

 metres, at which height the temperature recorded was - 7° C, 

 the temperature at the earth's surface being at the same time 

 -F25°C. — Dr. von Dankelmann exhibited a series of curves of 

 temperature and air-pressure which had been registered in 

 Cameroon by means of self-recording instruments. 



Hiairif of Societies* 



London. 



FRIDAY, November i. 



Physical Societv, stts. — On Electrifications due to the Contact of Gases 

 with Liquids : J. Euright. — On a New Electric Radiation Meter ; W. G. 

 Gregory. — On a Physical Basis for the Theory of Errors : Dr. C. V. 

 Burton. 



Geologists' Association, at 8. — On Metal Mining : Upfield Green. 

 SATURDAY, November 2. 



Essex Field Club, at 7. — Exhibition and Remarks thereon.-^Delegate's 

 Report of the British Association Conference of Local Societies at New- 

 <;astle-onTyne : William White. — On Collecting Diptera ; with Remarks 

 on the Diptera of Epping Forest : E. Brunetti. — Notes on the Pleistocene 

 Deposits at Felstead, Essex : J. French. 



MONDAY, November 4. 



RovAL Institution, at 5. — General Monthly Meeting. 

 TUESDAY. November 5. 



Zoological Sociktv, at 8.30. — On New Indian Lepidoptera, chiefly 

 Heterocera: Colonel C. Swinhoe. — On the Genus Urothoe and a New 

 Genus Urothoides : Rev. Thomas R. R. Stebbing. — List of Birds collected 

 by Mr. Ramage in St. Lucia, West Indies : P. L. Sclater. — On the Rela- 

 tions of the Fat-bodies of the Sauropsida : G. W. Butler. 



University College Biological Society, at 5. — ^The Defence of Plants 

 against Animals : F. Ernest Weiss. 



WEDNESDA Y, November 6. 



Geological Society, at 8. — Contributions to our Knowledge of the Dino- 

 saurs of the Wealden, and the Sauropterygians of the Purbeck and the 

 Oxford Clay : R. Lydekker. — Notes on a " Dumb Fault " or " Wash-out " 

 found in the Pleasley and Teversall Collieries, Derbyshire : J. C. B. 

 Hendy. Communicated by the President. — On some Palseozoic Ostra- 

 coda from North America, Wales, and Ireland : Prof. T. Rupert Jones, 

 F.R.S. 



Entomological Society, at 7. — Notes on the Entomology of Iceland : 

 Rev. Dr. Walker.— Additional Notes on the Genus Hilipus : Francis P. 

 Pascoe. 



University College Chemical and Physical Society, at 4.30. — The 

 Nature of Electricity : Dr. A. H. Fison. 



THURSDAY, November 7. 



LiNNKAN Society, at 8. — On a Collection of Dried Plants chiefly from the 

 Southern Shan States, Upper Burma : Colonel H. CoUett and W. Bolting 

 Hemsley, F.R.S. 



Chemical Society, at 8. — The Isolation of a New Hydrate of Sulphuric 

 Acid existing -• Solution : S. U. Pickering. — Further Observations on the 

 Magnetic Rotation of Nitric Acid, of Hydrogen Chloride, Bromide and 

 Iodide in Solution: Dr. W. H. Perkin, F.R.S.— On Phosphoryl Tri- 

 fluoride: T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., and F. T. Hambly.— On the Acetyla- 

 tion of Cellulose : C. F. Cross and E. Bevan.— On the Action of Light on 

 Moist Oxygen : A. Richardson. — Anhydracetophenonebenzil and the 

 Constitution of Linius lepideus : Drs. Japp, F.R.S., and Klingsman. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



The Viking Age, 2 Vols. : P. B. du Chaillu (Murray).— Alternative Ele- 

 mentary Chemistry, 2nd edition : J. Mills (Low). — Charts of the Constella- 

 tions : A. Cott.am (Stanford).— The Birds of Oxfordshire: O. V. Aplin 

 (Oxford, Clarendon Press).— Topics in Geography : W. F. Nichols (Boston, 

 Heath). — An Introduction to Chemical Science : R. P. Williams and B. P. 

 Lascelles (Ginn). — Five Months' Fine Weather in Canada, &c. : Mrs. 

 Carbutt (Low).— Survey of India Department Report, 1887-88 (Calcutta).— 

 Science of Every-day Life : J. A. Bower (Cassell).— The Teacher's Manual 

 of Geography : J. W. Redway (Boston, Heath).— Elementary Physics : 

 M. R. Wright (Longmans).— E.xperiraental Science : G. M. Hopkins (Spon). 

 Special and Atomic Energy, 2 parts : F. Major (Eyre and Spottiswoode). — 

 Introductory Lessons on Quantitative Analysis : J. Mills and B. North 

 (Chapman and Hall).— Elements of Physiology : J. H. E. Brock (Chapman 

 and Hall). — Solutions to the Questions set at the May Examinations of the 

 Science and Art Department, 1881-86, Machine Construction: H. Adams 

 (Chapman and Hall). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



" Oxford and its Professors " 637 



Subjects of Social Welfare 637 



Service Chemistry 639 



Watts' Dictionary of Chemistry. By Sir H. E. 



Roscoe, M. P., F.R.S 640 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Watts: " Index of Spectra " 641 



Jamieson : "A Text-book on Steam and S team- 

 Engines. "—N. J. L 642 



Letters to the Editor : — 



An Unusual Geological Sequence. — The Duke of 



Argyll, F.R.S 642 



Mr. Galton on Natural Inheritance. — Hiram M. 



Stanley • . 642 



Head Measures at Cambridge. — Francis Galton, 



F.R.S 642 



Trimorphism in Scabiosa sziccisa.—P^xVayxx Turner . 643 

 On the Aquatic Habits of Certain Land Tortoises. — 



R. W. Shufeldt 644 



Delambre's Analogies.— R. Chartres 644 



Classified Cataloguing.— Dr. Jas. Lewis Howe . . 644 

 Valuable Specimens of Vertebrates for liiological 



Laboratories. — G. Baur 644 



"Darwinism."— Prof. George J. Romanes, F.R.S. 645 



Sunset Glows.— Dr. M. A. Veeder 645 



"The Teaching of Science."— Prof. Henry E. Arm- 

 strong, F.R.S 645 



Telescopes for Stellar Photography. II, {llluitrated.) 



By Sir Howard Grubb, F.R.S. . . . 645, 



On the Principle and Methods of assigning Marks 

 for Bodily Efficiency. {Illustrated.) By Francis 



Gallon, F.R.S. ; A. A. Somerville 64d 



Notes 65I 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Natal Observatory 65J 



The Spectrum of R Andromedse 656 



Comet 1889 a^ (Brooks, July 6) 655' 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1889 



November 3-9 656 



Seismological Work in Japan, By Prof. John 



Milne 656 



University and Educational Intelligence 659^ 



Scientific Serials 65c' 



Societies and Academies 65JJ 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 66 



