I20 



NA TURE 



{Dec. 5, 1889 



titatively the absorption of fat from the intestine in the absence of 

 bile. He found, first, that in such animals there is a relatively 

 large absorption of fat from the alimentary canal as long as they 

 receive the fat in company with proteids and starch, but that the 

 absorption is much less when the fat is administered — as it was 

 in the experiments of the older observers — mixed only with pro- 

 teids. It was found that the animals absorbed mare than 70 

 per cent, of such a fat as pig's lard, whose melting-point is low, 

 without the assistance of bile ; they also absorbed an almost 

 proportionately large quantity of the free fatty acids of the lard, 

 thus corresponding exactly to the behaviour of normal animals, 

 which can absorb about 94-98 per cent, of any fat whose melt- 

 ing-point is low, whether it be administered in the form of 

 neutral fat or of the fatty acids which it contains. When a fat 

 was administered whose melting-point is high — especially such a 

 fat as only begins to soften at the temperature of the body [e.g. 

 mutton fat) — the amount absorbed was considerably less, and it 

 was still less when the free fatty acids of this fat were given 

 with the food. The speaker pointed out, with regard to the 

 fseces of animals with a biliary fistula, that they may be dark- 

 coloured, or even black, on a proteid diet, and only appear 

 light-gray in colour when carbohydrates are given with the 

 food. This dark colour is not, however, due to any derivative 

 of the bile-pigments, but to hsematin. The speaker had not 

 been able to detect, with certainty, any further advanced 

 decomposition of the contents of the intestine in animals with a 

 'biliary fistula, neither did he observe any increase of putrefactive 

 products, such as indol, skatol, &c., in their urine. 



In our report, last week (p. 95), of the meeting of the Berlin 

 Physical Society on October 25 (first column, fifth line from 

 foot), fo7' "waves in air 21 metres long" read "waves in air 

 2 kilometres long." 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



London. 



THURSDA Y, December 5. 



Royal Society, at 4.30.— Remarks on Mr. A. W. Ward's Paper on the 

 Magnetic Rotation of the Plane of P uarization of Light in Doubly- 

 Refracting Bodies: O. Wiener and W. Wedding —Researches on the 

 Chemistry of the Camphoric Acids : J. E. Marsh. — The Internal Friction 

 of Iron, Nickel, and C obalt, studied by means of Magnetic Cycles of very 

 Minute Range: H. Tonjlinson, F. R.S.— A Compound Wedge Photo- 

 meter : Dr. Spitta. 



LiNNBAN Society, at 8.— Life History of a Stipitate Fresh-water Alga : G. 

 Massee. — On the Anatomy of the Sand Grouse : G. Sim. 



FRIDAY, December 6. 

 Physical Society, at 5. — The Electrification of a Steam Jet : Shelford 



iBidwell, F.R.S.. — Notes on Geometrical Optics, Part 11.: Prof. S. P. 



Thompson. — On the Behaviour of Steel under Mechanical Stress: C. H. 



Carus-Wilson. — On a Carbon Point in a Blake Telephone Transmitter : 



F. B. Havves. 

 Geologists' Association, at 8. — Conversazione. 



SUNDAY, December 8. 

 Sunday Lecture Society, at 4. — The Wonders of the Yellovi'stone Park, 



■the Recreation Ground of America ; a Personal Narrative (with Oxyhydro- 



gen Lantern Illustrations from the Lecturer's own Camera) : Wm. Lant 



Carpenter. 



MONDAY, December 9. 

 Society of Arts, at 8. — Modern Developments of Bread-making : William 



J ago. 



TUESDAY, December 10. 

 Anthropological Institute, at 8.30. — The Natives of Mowab, Daudai. 



New Guinea : Edward Beardmore. Communicated by Prof. A. C. 



Haddon.— Fire-making in North Borneo : S. B. J. Skertchley. — On the 



Orginof the Eskimo : Jir. H. Rink. 

 Institution of Civil Enginebrs, at 8. — On the Triple-Expansion Engines 



and Engine Trials at the Owens College, Manchester: Prof. Osborne 



Reynolds, F.R.S. (Discussion.) 



WEDNESDAY, December ii. 

 S JCIKTV OF Art.<;, at 8.— The Paris Exhibition: H. Trueman Wood. 

 KoYAL Microscopical Society, at 8. — On the Freshwater Alga and 

 Schizophycese of Hampshire and Devon : A. W. Bennett. 



THURSDAY, December 12. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30. 

 Mathematical Society, at 8.— On the Radial Vibrations of a Cylindrical 



Shell : A. B. Basset, F.R.S. —Note on siS4o.Group : G. G. Morrice.— On 



the Flexure of an Elastic Plate : Prof. H. Lamb, F.R.S. 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— Annual General Meeting. 



— Election of Council and Officers for 1890.^ — Electrical Engineering in 



America : G. L. Addenbro^ke. (Discussion.) 



FRIDAY, December 13. 

 Royal Astronomical Society, at 8. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 7.30.— Hydraulic Station and Ma- 

 chinery of the North London Railway, Poplar : John Hale. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Giornale di Scienze Naturali ed Economiche, 1887 and 188S (Palermo — 

 Challenger Report — Zoology, vol. xxxii (Eyre and Spottiswoode).^ — Collo- 

 type and Photo-lithography : Dr. J. Schnauss ; translated by E. C. Middle- 

 ton (Iliffe). — A Text book cf Human Anatomy : Dr. A. \facAlister (Giiflfin). 

 — A Naturalist in North Celebes : Dr. S. J. Hickson (Murray).— Algebra, 

 Part 2 : G. Chrystal (Edinburgh, Black). — A Hand-book of Modern Ex- 

 plosives : M. Eissler(Lockwood). — Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology, 

 vol. i., Part 2 : J. F Whiteaves (Montreal, Brown). — Modern Thought and 

 Modern Thinkers : J. F. Charles (Relfe). — The Land of an African Sultan : 

 W. B. Harris (L w). — Index of British Plants : R.TurnbuU (Bell).— Manual 

 for Beginners aud for the London Uiiiversity Matriculation Examination. — 

 The Anatomy of the Frog : Dr. A. Ecker ; tran.slatea by Dr. G. Haslam 

 (Oxford, Clarendon Press). — A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and 

 Rio Negro : A R. Wallace (Ward, Lock). — Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk 

 Tales : G. B. Grinnell (New York).— Palestine : Major Conder (Philip). — 

 Tractatus de Globis : R. Hues; edited by C. R. Markham (Hakluyt So- 

 ciety).— Among Cannibals : C. Lumholtz (Murray). — Im Hochgebirge : Dr. 

 E. Zsigmondy (Leipzig, Duncker and Humblot). — Niels Klein's Wallfahrt 

 in die Unterwelt : L. Holbtrg ; edited by E. H. Babbitt (Boston, Heath). — 

 Practical Observaiions on Agricultural Papers, ^c. 2nd ediiion : H. Wilson, 

 Jan. (Simpkin). — Du Transfirmisme et de la Generaiion Spt ntanee : C. A. 

 Rohant and Dr. M. Peter (Paris, Bailliere). — Einiges iiber die Entstehung 

 der Korallenriffe in der Javasee und Branntwunsbai, und iiber Nene 

 Korallenbildung bei Krakatau : Dr. C. Ph. Sluiter (Batavia, Ernst). — 

 Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, October (Williams and Nor- 

 gate).— The Asclepiad, No. 24. vol. vi. : Dr. Richardson (Longmans). — 

 Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xxiv.. Parts i 

 and 2 (Boston). — Journal of Morphology, vol. iii. No. 2 (Boston, Ginn). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Manchester Conference 97 



American Ethnological Reports 99 



Exact Thermometry. By Dr. Edmund J, Mills, 



F.R.S 100 



The Fauna of British India loi 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Cartailhac : " La France Prehistorique " 102 



Hopkins: " Experimental Science " 102 



Letters to the Editor : — 



" Modern Views of Electricity." — The Reviewer . 102 

 The Physics of the Sub-oceanic Crust. — J. Starkie 



Gardner 103 



Area of the Land and Depths of the Ocean in Former 



Periods. — T. Mellard Reade 103 



Distribution of Animals and Plants by Ocean Currents. 



— Rev. Paul Camboue, S.J 103 



A Marine Millipede.— D. W. T 104 



A Case of Chemical Equilibrium. — W. H. Pendle- 



bury 104 



The Use of theAVord Antiparallel. ( With a Diagram.) 



— E. M. Langley 104 



A Surviving Tasmanian Aborigine. — Hy. Ling Roth 105 

 Brilliant Meteors.— P. A. Harris ; R. H. Tidde- 



man 105 



Report on the Magnetical Results of the Voyage of 

 H.M.S. Challenger. By Commander E. W. Creak, 



R.N., F.R.S 105 



On the Supposed Enormous Showers of Meteorites 



in the Desert of Atacama. By L. F 108 



Early Egyptian Civilization. {Illustrated.) By W. M. 



Flinders Petrie ... 109 



Mr. Stanley's Geographical Discoveries in 



Notes 112 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Objects for the Spectroscope. — A. Fowler 114 



Sun-spot of June, July, and Augtist, 1889 115 



Photographic Star Spectra 115 



Comet Brooks (c/ 1889, July 6) 115 



Comet Swift (/ 1889, November 17) 115 



S Cassiopeias 115 



The Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Society . . 116 



A New Method of Preparing Fluorine 117 



Societies and Academies 118 



Diary of Societies • • . 120 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 120 



