Dec. 5, 1889J 



NA TURE 



119 



Linnean Society, November 7. — Mr. \V. Carruthers, 

 F.R.S., President, in the chair. ^Mr. H. Veitch and Rev. 

 Prof. Henslow exhibited a beautiful series of East Indian hybrid 

 rhododendrons, on whicli Prof. Henslow made some valuable 

 remarks on the effects of cross-fertilization in regard to colour 

 and alteration of structure, upon which some critical observations 

 were made by Mr. Veitch, Prof. Bower, and Captain Ehves. — 

 Mr. Y... M. Holmes exhibited and made remarks upon some 

 new British marine Alga;, describing their origin and affinities. 

 — Dr. St. George Mivart, F.R. S., exhibited a drawing by a 

 surgeon, who had been consulted as to amputation of a tail-like 

 process in the human subject, being a prolongation of the 

 coccyx to the extent of 4^ centimetres. Dr. Mivart also 

 exhibited a photograph, showing a remarkable resemblance 

 between two arm stumps ; one the result of an amputation, the 

 other a congenital defect in the child of a nurse who had attended 

 the patient whose arm was amputated. Both cases were com- 

 mented on and explained by Dr. W. O. Priestley, and further 

 remarks were offered by Dr. Murie, and Mr. W. Thiselton- 

 Dyer. — Mr. W. B. Hemsley then read a paper by General 

 CoUett, C.B., and himself, on a collection of plants made in 

 the Shan Stales, Upper Burmah. An interesting discussion 

 followed, in which Messrs. J. G. Baker, C. B. Clarke, and 

 Captain Elwes took part. 



Anthropological Institute, November 12. — Dr. J. Beddoe, 

 F.R. S., President, in the chair. — Dr. Beddoe read a paper on 

 the natural colour of the skin in certain Oriental races. Dr. 

 Beddoe's observations showed that the parts of the skin covered 

 by clothing were very much lighter than those exposed to the 

 sun and air ; and that those people whose skin was the darkest 

 in the covered parts, were not those who tanned to the blackest 

 hue. — A paper by the Rev. James Macdonald was read on the 

 manners, customs, superstitions, and religions of South African 

 tribes. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, November 25. — M. Hermite in the 

 chair. — On the November number of the American Mdeoro- 

 logical Jottnial, by M. H. Faye. With this number begins the 

 publication of a complete exposition of the author's theory of 

 cyclonic movements, translated into English by Mrs. W. Har- 

 rington. The first part deals with storms, the second with 

 tornadoes, while the third is occupied with the relations of 

 tornadoes and storm phenomena to cyclones properly so called. 

 — On animal heat, by M. Berthelot. In continuation of his 

 previous paper on this subject, the author here discusses the 

 question of the heat liberated by the action of oxygen on the 

 blood. The quantity thus set free, referred to the molecular 

 weight of oxygen (O., = 32 gr. ), is found, by the extremely 

 delicate experiments here described, to average 14 77 calories.^ 

 On the exhaustion of soils cultivated without manure, and 

 on the value of the organic matter in the soil, by M. P. P. 

 Deherain. A series of experiments carried out at the Agri- 

 cultural vSchool of Grignon clearly shows that the substance 

 chiefly lost by continuous cultivation without manure is carbon, 

 the proportion of phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen 

 eliminated being comparatively slight. It also appears that the 

 organic matter itself is as important a fertilizing element for 

 beetroot as are the nitrates, phosphates, or potash. — On the 

 freno-secretory fibres, by M. Arloing. Experiments are de- 

 scribed which demonstrate the existence of these fibres in the 

 cervical chord of the large sympathetic nerve. — Observations on 

 Swift's new comet (November 17) made at the Paris Observatory 

 with the equatorial of the west tower, by M. G. Bigourdan. 

 On November 21 the comet had the appearance of a very faint 

 nebulosity (about 13 '4), nearly round, diameter about 50", with- 

 out marked condensation. Observations made by Mdlle. D. 

 Klumpke with the equatorial of the east tower on November 23 

 yielded similar results. — Generalization of Makeham's law of 

 probabilities, by M. A. Quiquet. The chief property of Gom- 

 pertz's formula as generalized by Makeham has been demon- 

 strated in a very simple way by M. J. Bertrand. M. Quiquet 

 in his turn now inquires whether this property may not itself be a 

 particular case of a still more general principle, and whether the 

 function discovered by the two eminent English actuaries may not 

 therefore be capable of further generalization. — On the employ- 

 ment of electric conducting mediums in studying the displace- 

 ments and distribution of acids with complex nature, by M. 

 Daniel Berthelot. Of the numerous substances acing both as 

 acid and as alkali one of the simplest is aspartic acid. The 



author here studies the equilibria that are produced in the pre- 

 sence of this acid in diluted saline solutions. The measurements 

 have been made wiih the Lippmann capillary electrometer, by 

 M. Ecuty's eleclrometric method. — Variations of the electric 

 resistance of nitric peroxide at different tempeialures, by M. J. J. 

 Boguski. Measurements obtained by several methods lead to the 

 conclusion that an increase of temperature of nitric peroxide 

 produces an increase of its electric resistance, the most abrupt 

 variations occurring between 0° and if C. Above 70° this acid 

 forms an almost perfect insulator. During the process of heating 

 two consecutive phenomena were observed which call for specijil 

 attention. To a rise of temperature up to a given limit generally 

 corresponds a s/atic and definite increase of resistance ; but this 

 increase itself is preceded by a dynamic (passing) decrease of re- 

 sistance, whose momentary value is at times no more than j^ir 

 or Tjy^jj of ^he static and normal resistance. — Preparation and 

 properties of the anhydrous platinous fluoride, by M. H. Moissan. 

 In continuation of his previous researches, the author here 

 shows that platinous fluoride, PtF].,, decomposes vater at the 

 ordinary temperature, which accounts for the impossibility of 

 preparing it by the wet process. At red heat it is dectmposed 

 into crystallized platinum and fluorine. — Contribution to the 

 study of double decompositions between the halogen salts of 

 mercury and zinc, by M. Raoul Varet. The author has studied 

 (i) the action of cyanide of mercury on bromide of zinc; (2) the 

 action of cyanide of zinc on bromide of mercury. — On a new 

 sugar of the aromatic group, by M. Maquenne. To inosite and 

 quercite, the only saccharine substances hitherto obtained from 

 benzene, the author adds a third, provisionally named ;3-inosite, 

 which he obtains from a pinite derived from the resin of Finns 

 laml'crtiain-i, of Nebraska. — Synthesis of metaphenylene-diamine, 

 by M. Alphonse Seyewitz. The author has succeeded in effecting 

 this synthesis by heating, to 280° or 300'' C, a mixture of resor- 

 cine and calcium chloride under conditions here described. — 

 Papers were submitted by MM. A. Behal and Choay, on the 

 action of heat on chloral-ammonia ; by M. Raphael Dubois, on 

 the mechanism of awakening in hilernating animals ; by M. E. 

 Couvreur, on the pulmonary circulation of the frog, as aflected 

 by the excitation of the pneumogastric nerve; by M. R. 

 Moniez, on the larva of the new species Tania Gi-intaldii, a 

 parasite of the dolphin ; by MM. Appert and Henrivaux, on the 

 devitrification of the ordinary glass of commeice; fjy MM. E. 

 A. Martel and G. Gaupillat, on the formation of springs in the 

 interior of the limestone plateaux of the causses of Languedoc ; 

 and by M. J. Thoulet, on the quantitative analysis of the fine 

 sediment held in suspension in natural waters. 



Berlin. 



Physiological Society, November 15.— ^Prof. du Bois- 

 Reymond, President, in the chair. — After the appointment of 

 officers for the year 1889-90, Dr. Virchow spoke on the spiracle 

 gill of Selachians. With the assistance of drawings and a series 

 of diagrams he discussed the varying ariangements and divisions 

 of the blood-vessels which go to form the gills of Selachians ; 

 he also described the frequent occurrence, confined to certain 

 regions of the head, of blood-vessels which are elaborately con- 

 voluted ; the physiological significance of these vessels is quite 

 unknown, but their morphological interest is so great that an 

 extended investigation of them in other groups of animals is a 

 matter of great importance. In all probabili y they are rudi- 

 mentary structures, whose significance would be understood if 

 the above extended investigations were carried out. — Dr. I. 

 Munk spoke on the absorption of fats and fatty acids in the 

 absence of bile in the intestine. The older classical experi- 

 ments on animals with a biliary fistula had taught that, in the 

 absence of bile, proteids and starch are digoteel ns completely 

 as in a normal animal, whereas, on the other hand, the absorp- 

 tion of fat is largely interfered with. In correspondence with 

 this view, the later observers were of opinion that all fat which 

 is not absorbed does not leave the body as neutral fat, but as 

 fatty acids, and from this the conclusion was drawn that the fats 

 of food are decomposed into fatty acids (anel glycerin) before 

 they are normally absorbed. The speaker had carried out a 

 series of experiments on dogs with biliary fistulas, during the 

 past summer, with a view to clearing up several obscure points 

 in the whole question of the absorption of fats. After he had 

 confirmed the older views as to the normal digestion of proteids 

 and starch, and the appearance of unabsorbed fat in the form of 

 free fatty acids in the faeces, he proceeded to determine quan- 



