November 17, 1910] 



NATURE 



97 



more northern origin. AH these facts seem to point to 

 rather narrow limits, outside of which the Physophoridae 

 perhaps die down to a large extent seasonally, except for 

 a few specimens which will reproduce when the tempera- 

 re optimum is again reached. The second point of 

 iterest to which the author directs attention is that all 

 lie ten species captured — except one new genus and species 

 f^were also taken in the eastern Pacific expedition of the 

 XVbatross under the late Prof. .Alexander -Agassiz. The 

 }lIection included one new species of Diphyes and one 

 EW genus, Nectopyramis. apparently a monophyid. On 

 de question of vertical distribution, which was a main 

 bject of the cruise, the author has arrived at some con- 

 Jjflusicns of interest. The Calycophoridae were compara- 

 pvely rare at the surface, but most plentiful somewhere 

 elow 25 and above loo fathoms. The only species taken 

 jfficjently often to allow of discussion was Diphyes 

 kppendiculata. The diphyid or polygastric generation was 

 icommon at the surface, seemed to reach its plurimum 

 ^bout 75-ioq fathoms, and below that was very seldom 

 jet with. The eudoxid or sexual generation, on the other 

 ind, presented a plurimum at the surface, was taken 

 often down to loo fathoms, and only once below that 

 >th, namely, between 400 and 500 fathoms. .Another 

 captured. Chiiiiiphyes niultidentata. has so far been 

 corded only from considerable depths ; the captures by 

 le Research fix it as low as between 2000-1000 fathoms, 

 it is. between nearly 3J miles and 2 miles deep. The 

 »hest caoture was in an open net hauled for an hour 

 250 fathoms, and thence to the surface : but as it was 

 iken in none of the ninety-five hauls above 250 fathoms, 

 is is probably about its upper limit. 



Mathematical Society, November 11. — Sir \V. D Niven, 

 resident, and subsequently Dr. H. F. Baker, newly 

 :ted president, in the chair. — Sir W. D. Niven : The 

 tlations of mathematics to experimental science (presi- 

 enrial address). — G. T. Bennett : The double-six of lines. 

 Dr. W. H. Young: and Mrs. Young: : The existence of a 

 differential coefficient. — Dr. W. H. Young:: (i) Note on 

 .e property of being a differential coefficient ; (2) condi- 

 ons that a trigonometrical series may have the Fourier 

 form. — F. Tavani : .\ class of integral functions which 

 includes Riemann's Zeta-f unction. — ^T. W. Chaundy : The 

 geometrical representation of non-real point* in space of 

 two and three dimensions. — J. E. Litttewood : The 

 extension of Tauber's theorem. — F. B. Pidduck : The 

 -ability of rotating shafts. — J. E. Campl>ell : \ class of 

 rthogonal surfaces. — S. Chapman : Non-integral orders 

 of summabilit}- of series and integrals. — Dr. A. R. 

 Forsyth : Lineo-linear transformations, especiallv in two 

 variables. — Dr. W. F. Sheppard : Notes on terminating 

 hypergeometric series.— H. Bateman : The transformation 

 of a particular type of electromagnetic field and its phvsical 

 interpretation. — Dr. P. Mahio : Uber die Dimensionen- 

 typen des Herrn Frechet im Gebiete der linearen Mengen. 

 Manchester. 

 Literary and Philosophical Society, October 18 —Mr. 

 F- Jones, president, in the chair.— Prof. G. Elliot Smith: 

 The convolutions of the brain. The cortex is mapped out 

 into a great number of territories, differing in structure 

 and function, and varying in size in different mammals, 

 not only because the sense-organs themselves varv in size 

 and acuteness in different creatures, but also because in 

 diMerent orders and families a sense organ of a given size 

 will have a varying cortical representation. Thus, if one 

 were to take a dog and a baboon with eyes of the same 

 size, the monkey will be found to possess a much larger 

 cortical visual area than the dog. It is these differences 

 which determine the varied plans of cortical folding and 

 • /«"^''"^ varieties in the patterns of the convolutions 

 in different mammals. Folding occurs most often along 

 the boundary line between two areas of different structure 

 and function. The difference in the rate of e.xpansion of 

 two such areas is no doubt the reason for this type of 

 nssurc-formation— limiting sulci. In the second place a i 

 rapidly growing cortical territorv, meeting with obstruction ' 

 ro Its expansion on all sides, may become buckled in. and 

 w !i""'r''' °^.^'-lops ak>ng its axis (i.e., within its area), : 

 mstead of at ,ts edges. This second class of furrow is I 

 much less frequent than the first class, and mav be distin- 1 

 fuished as the group of axial sulci. There is a third ] 

 XO. 2142, VOL. 85] 



variety, which may be called the operculated sulcus, in, 

 which one lip projects over a submerged area. Sulci of 

 this type are produced by the submerging of a specialised- 

 fringing territory surrounding a main sens<Ky area. In 

 the fourth place various mechanical factors come into 

 operation to modify the form of furrows formed in one 

 of these three ways, or even to produce new sulci. By 

 the application of these principles it is possible to interpret 

 the meaning and the mode of formation of most of the 

 furrows which subdivide the higher types of cortex into 

 numerous convolutions. 



November i. — Mr. Francis Jones, president, in thff 

 chair. — Dr. A. N. Meldrum : The devek)pment of the 

 I atomic theory, (ii) The various accounts of the origin of 

 I Dalton's theory, (iii) Newton's theory and its influence 

 I in the eighteenth century. There are numerous accounts 

 : of the genesis of Dalton's theory, one of which comes 

 j from W. C. Henr>-, another from Thomas Thomson, a 

 third from J. A. Ransome, and two come direct from 

 Dalton. .All the narratives come from Dalton originally, 

 for Henr)-, Thomson, and Ransome based theirs on con- 

 versations they had with him. The discrepancies between 

 these various accounts can be explained only on the sup- 

 position that Dalton was deficient in historical instinct, 

 and never appreciated the difference between describing the 

 •■ genesis of his theor\- and expounding the theory itself. 

 ; The main conclusions of the second paper are (i) that 

 ! Newton's contribution to the development of the atomic 

 theory was made under the influence of Descartes ; (2) that 

 Newton exerted an influence in the eighteenth centurv on 

 Br>an Higgins, and through him on William Higgins. 

 The atomic theory advanced by Bryan Higgins (1776) and 

 amplified by William Higgins (1789) can be understood 

 only when regarded as springing from Newton's theory 

 under the conditions of the time. Those conditions 

 were : — (a) the knowledge due to Priestley of different 

 kinds of gases, and (b) the new light which Lavoisier 

 threw on chemical composition, consequent on Priestlev's 

 discovery of oxygen. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, November 7.— M. Emile Picard 

 in the chair. — M. Bassot : Halley's comet. Observations 

 of this comet were made at the Observatory of Nice on 

 November 2 and 3. It is visible in the morning a little 

 before sunrise. The sky was covered on the nights of 

 November 4 and 5, but in spite of the absence of a third 

 observation there is no doubt of the identity of the comet. 

 I — -A. Muntx : The struggle for water between the soil and 

 I the seed. For each specific kind of soil there is a definite 

 j percentage of moisture, below which the seed, instead of 

 I gaining moisture, actually loses it. For the seed to 

 i absorb sufficient water to be able to germinate, a higher 

 , percentage of moisture, fixed for each class of soil, is 

 j necessary. Thus in a sandy soil 05 per cent, of water is- 

 sufficient for germination ; with loams the required per- 

 centage of water is from 2^ to 7-7 per cent., according as 

 the proportion of clay increases ; with a garden soil con- 

 taining a large proportion of humus, nearly iq per cent, of 

 ' water must be present before germination can take place 

 i — Charles Nordntann : A means of determining bv colour 

 photometry the parallaxes of a certain class of stars. First 

 application to two stars. The method applied to .Algol 

 ; gives a distance of 59 years of light, or a parallax of 

 ; 0055''. a figure in good agreement with the 0-051' given 

 , for this star by M. Bijourdan in his recent catalogue of 

 I stellar parallaxes. The same method applied to 5 Libra 

 gives a distance of 355 years of light and a parallax of 

 0-009*. — A. Demoulin : Certain couples of triple-orthogonal 

 systems. — ^^■. StekloffT : The development of an arbitrary 

 function in series of fundamental functions. — L. Fav^ 

 and L. Driencourt : Observations of the tides made at 

 sea in the Channel and the North Sea. .A self-recording 

 instrument has been devised by the authors which, when 

 placed on the sea floor, measures pres<;ure variations 

 directly, from which the changes of level due to the tides 

 can be deduced. .An automatic differential arrangement 

 renders the sensibilit\- ver>- nearly independent of the depth. 

 .A diagram is given of obser\ations taken at a point 

 situated 52° 29' N.. 0° 47' E.. and the bearing of these 

 data upon Whewell's work on the tides of the North Sea 

 is discussed. — .A. Petot : L'nsymmetrical motors. — Eugene 

 Bloch : The action of a magnetic field on the electric 



