36o 



NATURE 



[Feb. 13, 1890 



■of a swim-bladder is in exactly the same condition as the diver, 

 for it also is in unstable equilibrium in the witer. The fish can 

 only remain at rest in the water by continually readjusting its 

 "hydrosphere" by means of shght contractions of the bladder, 

 and thus balancing itself in a position of rest. When the fish 

 rises or sinks, or moves horizontally, the alterations of the swim- 

 bladder and the changes in specific gravity which are the result 

 of this, play an important part, inasmuch as they strike a con- 

 tinual balance between the forces tending to raise and depress 

 the fish's body. The laws according to which the swim-bladder 

 plays its part in a fish are in general the same as those which 

 hold good for the Cartesian diver, and these laws are now con- 

 siderably cleared up by the speaker's researches. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 

 London. 



THURSDAY, Feisruarv 13. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30. — The Liquation of Gold and Platinum Alloys: 



E. Matthey. — On the Unit of Length of a Standard Scale by Sir George 



Shuckburgh : General Sir J. T. Walker, R. E., F.R.S. 

 Mathkmatical Society, at 8. — Concerning Semi-invariants : S. Roberts, 



F.R.S. — Ether-Squirts: Prof. K. Pearson. — On Class- Invariants : Prof. 



G. B. Mathews. 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — The Theory of Armature 



Reaction in Dynamos and Motors : Jas. Swinburne. 

 Royal Institijtion, at 3 — The Three Stages of Shakspeare's Art : Rev. 



Canon Ainger. 



FRIDAY, Februarv 14. 

 Royal Astronomical Society, at 3. — Anniversary Meeting. 

 Amateur Scientific Society, at 7.30. — Annual General Meeting. — 



Election of Council, &c.— The Old Red Sandstone of North-East Scot- 

 land : J. W. Evans. 

 Royal Institution, at 9. — Problems in the Physics of an Electric Lamp ; 



Prof. J. A. Fleming. 



SATURDAY, February 15. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — Electricity and Magnetism : Right Hon. Lord 

 Rayleigh, F.R.S. 



SUNDAY, February 16. 

 Sunday Lecture Society, at 4. — Norway ; its Scenery and its People 

 (with Oxyhydrogen Lantern Illustrations) : H. L. Brakstad. 



MONDAY, February 17. 

 Society of Arts, at 8. — Stereotyping : Thomas Bolas. 

 Aristotelian Society, at 8. — The Distinction between Society and the 



State : J. S Mann. 

 Victoria Institute, at 8. — Iceland (concluding paper) : Rev. Dr. Walker. 



TUESDAY, February 18. 



Society of Arts, at 8. — Oce.-in Penny Postage and Cheap Telegraph 

 Communication between England and all Parts of the Empire and 

 America : J. Henniker Heaton, M.P. 



Zoological Society, at 8.30. — First Report on Additions to the Lizard 

 Collection in the British Museum (Natural History): G. A. Boulenger. — 

 On a Guinea-fowl from Zambesi, allied to Numida cristata : P. L. Sclater, 

 F.R.S.— Notes on the Genus Cyon : Dr. Mivart, F.R.S. 



Royal Statistical Society, at 7.45. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — The Shanghai Water-Works: 

 J. W. Hart.— The Tytam Water- Works, Hong-Kong: Jas. Orange.— The 

 Construction of the Yokohama Water-Works : J. H. T _ Turner. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — The Post-Darwinian Period: Prof. G. J. 

 Romanes, F.R.S. 



WEDNESDAY, February 19. 



Society of Arts, at 8. — The Organization of Secondary and Technical 

 Education in London : Prof. Silvanus P. Thomps)n._ 



Royal Meteorological Society, at 7. — Observations on the Motion of 

 Dust, as illustrative of the Circulation of the Atmosphere, and of the 

 Devel >pment of certain Cloud Forms : Hon. Ralph Abercromby. — Cloud 

 Nomenclature (illustrated by Lantern Slides) : Captain D. Wilson- 

 Barker. — An Optical Feature of the Lightning Flash (illustrated by 

 Lantern Slides : Eric S. Bruce. 



"University College Chemical and Physical Society, at 5. — The 

 Chemical History of a Crystalline Schist : E. Greenly. 



THURSDAY, February 20. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. 



LiNNEAN Society, at 8. — On the Fruit and Seed of Juglandia ; on the 

 Shape of the Oak-leaf ; and on the Leaves of Viburnum ; Sir John Lub- 

 bock, Bart., P.C, M.P., F.R.S. 



■Chemical Society, at 8. — The Behaviour of the most Stable Oxides at 

 High Temperatures: G. H. Bailey and W. B. Hopkins. — The Influence 

 of Different Oxides on the Decomposition of Potassium Chlorate: G. J. 

 Fowler and J. Grant. 



Zoological Society, at 4. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. 



>R}YAL Institution, at 3. — The Three Stages of Shakspeare's Art : Rev. 

 Canon Ainger. 



FRIDAY, February 21. 



Gbological Society, at 3. — Annual General Meeting. 



Physical Society, at 5. — On a Carbon Deposit in a Blake Telephone 

 Transmitter : F. B. Hawes. — The Geometrical Construction of Direct 

 Reading Scales for Reflecting Instruments : A. P. Trotter. — A Paralle 

 Motion Suitable for Recording-Instruments : A. P. Trotter. — On Ber- 

 trand's Refractoraeter : Prof. S. P. Thompson. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 7.30. — Some Types of American 



Locomotives, and their Construction : C. N. Goodall. 

 Royal Institution, atg. — Magnetic Phenomena: Shelford Bidwell, F.R.S. 



SATURDAY, February 22. 



Royal Botanic Society, at 3.<5. _ _ 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Electricity and Magnetism: Right Hon. 

 Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry, vol. i : Prof. T. E. Thorpe (Long- 

 mans). — Prodromus Faunae Mediterranea;, vol. 2, Part i : J. V. Carus 

 (Stuttgart, E. Koch).— Reports from the Laboratory of the Royal College of 

 Physicians, Edinburgh, vol. 2 (Pentland) —Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia 

 and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part 3 : R. Lydekker 

 (London). — Elements of Logic: E E. C. Jones (Edinburgh, Clark). — Pi. 

 Catalogue of British Fossil Vertebrata : A. S. Woodw.ard and C. D. Sher- 

 born (Bulau) — The Elements of Astronomy : Prof. C. A. Youn? (Arnold). 

 — American Spiders and their Spinning Work, vol. i : Dr. H. C. McCook 

 (Author, Philadelphia).— The Flowering Plant: J. R. A. Davis (Griffin).— 

 The Electrician Electrical Trades' Directory .ind Handbook for T890 

 {Electrician Office). — The Photographers' Diary and Desk Book, 1890 

 {Camera Office). — Untersuchungen iiber die Bewegungsverhaltnisse in dem 

 Dreifachen Sternsysteme Scorpii : B. Schorr (Miinchen, Straub) —A 

 Modern University : Hy. Dyer (Perth. Cowan). — On a University Faculty 

 of Engineering : Hy. Dyer (Glasgow, Munro). — Types of Metamorphosis 

 in the Devel 'pment of the Crustacea: I. C. Thompson (Liverpool). — Mag- 

 netism and Earth Structure : Dr. E. Naumann ( I'riibner). — Journal of the 

 Chemical Society, February (Gurney and Jacks m). — Brain, No. 48 (Mac- 

 millan). — Journal of the Institute of Actuaries, January (Layton).-;-Mono- 

 graph of the British Cicadae, Part i : G. B. Buckton (Macmillan).-— 

 Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, No. i8i (Longmans). — Bulletin 

 of the U.S. Geological Survey, No. 54 (Washington). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Religious Institutions of the Semites 337 



Prof. Chrystal's " Algebra." 338 



Fermentation with Pure Yeast. By Prof. Percy F. 



Frankland • . . 339 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Collins : "An Epitome of the Synthetic Philosophy." 



— G. J. R 340 



Brown :" The Earth and its Story " 341 



Ripper : " Steam."— N. J. L 341 



Giles: " Australia Twice Traversed " 341 



Moore: "New Zealand for the Emigrant, Invalid, 



and Tourist " 342 



Letters to the Editor : — 



A Key to the Royal Society Catalogue.— James C. 



McConnel 342 



Osteolepidse.— R. L. ; E. Meyrick ; Dr. J. A. H. 



Murray 342 



Compounds of Selenium.— Prof. William Ramsay, 



F.R.S 343 



Royal Victoria Hall and Morley Memorial College. — 



A Member of Committee 343 



Galls.— T. D. A. Cockerell 344 



Foreign Substances attached to Crabs. — Prof. W. 



A. Herdman 344 



The Ten and Tenth Notation. —B. A. Muirhead . 344 



Earth Tremors from Trains. By H. H. Turner . . 344 



Titanotherium in the British Museum. (Illustrated.) 346 



Notes 347 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Objects for the Spectroscope.— A, Fowler 350 



Spectrum of the Zodiacal Light 351 



Solar and Stellar Motions 351 



Dun Echt Observatory 351 



Melbourne Observatory 351 



Geographical Notes 351 



Smokeless Explosives. II. By Sir Frederick Abel, 



C.B., F.R.S 352 



Note on Mr. Melde's Vibrating Strings. (Illustrated.) 



By Rev. W. Sidgreaves, S.J 355 



Eighth Congress of Russian Naturalists 356 



Technical Education in Elementary Schools . . . 356 



University and Educational Intelligence 357 



Scientific Serials 357 



Societies and Academies 35^ 



Diary of Societies • • 360 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 360 



