382 



NATURE 



\_Feb. 20, 1890 



Entomological Society, February 5. — The Right Hon. 

 Lord Walsingham, F.R.S., President, in the chair. — The Presi- 

 dent announced that he had nominated Mr. J. W. Dunning, 

 Captain H, J. Elwes, and Mr. F. D. Godman, F.R.S., Vice- 

 Presidents for the session 1890-91. — Mr. F. D. Godman 

 exhibited a specimen of Papilio t/ioas, from Alamos, Mexico, 

 showing an aberration in the left hind wing. Mr. R. Trim en, 

 F. R.S., remarked that butterflies of the genus Papilio were 

 seldom liable to variation. — Mr. C. G. Barrett exhibited a series 

 of specimens of Phycis subornatella, Dup., from Pembroke, the 

 east and west of Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Perthshire ; and 

 a series of Phycis adornafella, Tr., from Box Hill, Folkestone, 

 Norfolk, and Reading ; also a number of forms intermediate 

 between the above, taken in the Isle of Portland by Mr. N. M. 

 Richardson. He said that these forms proved the identity of 

 the two supposed species, which he believed were both referable 

 to P. dilutella, Hb. He also exhibited specimens of Hesperia 

 lineola, and a pale variety of it taken in Cambridgeshire ; 

 specimens of Epischnia bankedella, a recently-described species, 

 taken in Portland ; and a specimen of Retinia margarotana, 

 H.-S., a species new to Britain, discovered amongst a number 

 of Retinia pinivorana, which had been collected in Scotland. — 

 Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher showed a series of Gelechia fumatella, 

 from sandhills in Hayling Island and near Littlehampton, and, for 

 ■comparison, a series of G. distinctella, from the same places. 

 He also showed a few bred specimens of G. terrella, and a series 

 of preserved larvae. He stated that on the downs the larvas live 

 in the middle of the tufts of such grasses as Festuca ovina and 

 allied species. — Mr. H. Goss read a communication from Dr, 

 ■Clemow, of Cronstadt, St. Petersburg, on the subject of the 

 coincidence of vast flights and blights of insects during the years 

 JSio, 1757, 1763, 1782, 1783, 1836, and 1847, and the epidemic 

 of influenza. During the year 1889 no unusual activity in the 

 insect world had been recorded. Mr. H. T. Stainton, F. R. S., 

 and Mr. McLachlan, F. R.S., made some remarks on the subject, 

 the purport of which was that there was no connection between 

 epidemics and theoccurrenceof swarms of insects. — Mr. G. A.J. 

 Rothney communicated a paper entitled " Notes on Flowers 

 avoided by Bees." It appeared, according to the author's 

 observations, made in India, that dahlias were exceptionally 

 attractive, but that the passion-flower was only resorted to by a 

 few species of Xylocopa ; and that, with one exception, he had 

 never seen any insects feeding on the flowers of the oleander. 

 Mr. Slater, Colonel Swinhoe, Mr. Trimen, Lord Walsingham, and 

 Mr. McLachlan took part in the discussion which ensued. — Dr. D. 

 Sharp read a paper entitled " On the Structure of the Terminal 

 Segment in some male Hemiptera." — Colonel Swinhoe read a 

 paper entitled "On the Moths of Burma," which contained 

 descriptions of several new genera and 107 new species. — 

 Dr. F. A. Dixey read a paper entitled "On the Phylogenetic 

 Significance of the wing-markings in certain genera of the 

 Nymphalida." A discussion ensued, in which Lord Walsingham, 

 Mr. Jenner-Weir, Captain Elwes, and Mr. Trimen took part. 



Zoological Society, February 4. — Prof. W. H. Flower, 

 F.R.S. , President, in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on 

 the additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie 

 during the month of January 1890. — A communication was read 

 from Mr. W. K. Parker, F. R. S., containing an account of the 

 morphology of the Hoatzin {Opisthocomus cristatus). The 

 author treated of the early stages of the development of this 

 Reptilian Bird, and its shoulder-girdle, sternum, and hind 

 limbs. — A communication was read from Mr. A. D. Bartlett, 

 containing observations on Wolves, Jackals, Dogs, and Foxes. 

 Mr. Bartlett's remarks tended to show that all the varieties of 

 Domestic Dogs owe their origin to Wolves and Jackals, and that 

 the habit of barking has been acquired by, and under the 

 influence of, domestication ; also that the Dog is the most per- 

 fectly domesticated of all animals. — A communication was read 

 from Mr. G. E. Dobson, F. R.S., containing a synopsis of the 

 genera of the family Soricidse. The author recognized nine 

 genera, and divided them into two sub-families. New methods 

 of defining the genera were introduced, each genus was briefly 

 characterized, and remarks on certain genera, not admitted in 

 the synopsis (although hitherto generally recognized), were ap- 

 pended. — Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper containing observa- 

 tions upon some species of Earthworm of the genus Perichceta, — 

 A communication was read from Mr. J. M. Leslie, containing 

 notes on the habits and oviposition of the clawed Aglossal Frog 

 {Xenopus lavis), as observed at Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, 

 "where this species was said to be of ordinary occurrence. — Mr. 



Oldfield Thomas read an account of a collection of Mammals 

 from Central Vera Cruz, Mexico, made by a scientific expedi- 

 tion organized by the authorities of the Mexican Museum, under 

 the superintendence of Dr. F. Ferrari- Perez. The collection 

 consisted of about 100 specimens, belonging to 21 species. 

 Amongst these, two (a Hare and a Squirrel) were described as 

 new, and proposed to be called Sciurus niger melanonotus and 

 Lepics verce-crticis. 



Geological Society, February 5.— W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., 

 President, in the chair. — The following communications were 

 read : — The variolitic rocks of Mont-Genevre, by Grenville A. 

 J. Cole and J. W. Gregory. — The propylites of the Western 

 Isles of Scotland, and their relations to the andesites and 

 diorites of the district, by Prof. John W. Judd, F.R.S. 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, January 27. — Rev. Prof. Flint, Vice-Presi- 

 dent, in the chair.- — Prof. Calderwood read a paper on evolution 

 and man's place in Nature. A discussion followed. 



February 3. — Sir W. Thomson, President, in the chair. — Dr. 

 William Peddie read a paper on new estimates of molecular 

 distance. He showed that the ratio of the latent heat of 

 vaporisation of a liquid to six times its surface-tension gives an 

 approximation to the number of molecules per linear unit in 

 that liquid. The liquids water, alcohol, ether, chloroform, 

 carbon bisulphide, turpentine, petroleum, and wood spirit, have, 

 according to this method, 50, 52, 30, 15, 19, 30, 40, and 70 

 millions, respectively, of particles per linear centimetre. Of 

 course no stress is to be laid upon the relative values of these 

 numbers ; the point of interest is the complete agreement as to 

 the order of the unknown quantity. — Prof. Tait communicated 

 a paper by Prof. Dittmar on the gravimetric composition of 

 water. — Mr. John Aitken read a paper on the number of dust- 

 particles in the atmosphere of certain places in Great Britain and 

 on the Continent, with remarks on the relation between the 

 amount of dust and meteorological phenomena. He believes 

 that dust condenses moisture before the air is saturated. For the 

 same number of dust-particles per cubic centimetre, the atmo- 

 spheric transparency depends upon the depression of the wet 

 bulb, being large when the depression is large, but becoming 

 small before the depression vanishes. Increase of temperature 

 also reduces transparency when the number of particles remains 

 the same, for increase of temperature means increase of vapour- 

 pressure. As a rule, quantity of dust decreases when the wind 

 increases. When calms occur dust accumulates. This increases 

 the radiating power of the air, so that it cools quickly and fog 

 forms. Thus a fog may be regarded as a suspended dew. — The 

 dust-measuring instruments intended for use at Ben Nevis were 

 exhibited. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, February 10. — M. Hermite in the 

 chair. — Note on an unpublished memoir of Descartes', indicating 

 the right of the author to the priority of a discovery in the theory 

 of polyhedrons, by M. De Jonquieres. Some passages are 

 pointed out in the memoir which show that Descartes knew and 

 applied the formula F-l-S = A4-2, and furnished the elements of 

 the demonstration, hence his name should be associated with 

 that of Euler as an independent discoverer of the famous formula. 

 — A physical process for the measurement of the inclination of 

 the declination-thread of meridian-circles, by M. Hamy. With 

 ordinary astronomical methods this value can be determined to 

 within half a degree, but using the process described, it is pos- 

 sible to obtain it within a few seconds. The complete descrip- 

 tion will be given in the coming number (January) of the Bulletin 

 Astronomique. — Upon the exponential function, by M. Stieltjes. 

 A demonstration is given of a relation of the form 



N-f£*Ni + ^*N2. . . . +e''l^n = o . . . . . (i) 



a,b,. . . , h being whole numbers, N, Nj, Ng, . . . N„ coeffi- 

 cients. Starting with the polynomial function 



F(2) = zi^{z- aY^^^ {z - bY+^"' . . . .{z- /lY+^n 



the author deduces that assuming (i) to hold 



/: 



{z)e-'F{zyz=o, 



and then proves this function not to hold if ^ be an even number. 

 — Note on a method of transformation in kinematic geometry, 



