March 20, 1890] 



NATURE 



479 



March 3. — Sir W. Thomson, President, in the chair. — Prof. 

 Tait communicated a note on ripples in a viscous liquid. He 

 investigates in it the motion of a continuous set of ripples, and 

 discusses the effects of gravity, surface-tension, surface-stiffness, 

 and viscosity. — Dr. Thomas Muir communicated a paper by 

 Mr. D. Maver, on a geometrical method based on the principle 

 of translation. — Prof. J. Stuart Blackie read a paper on the 

 phases of the living Greek language. 



Paris. 



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

 chair. — ,Note on the life and works of George Henry Halphen, 

 by M. Emile Picard. — On the phenomena seen about the sun on 

 March 3, 1890, by M. A. Cornu. Halos and parhelia were 

 seen about the sun on this date, and observations of the aqueous 

 Jiands of the solar spectrum made at the time when the first halo 

 of 22° appeared, showed that warm and moist currents existed in 

 the higher regions of the atmosphere in spite of the exceptional 

 cold (- 11° C.) at Paris. — Thermal researches on the allotropic 

 modifications of arsenic, by MM. Berthelot and Engel. The 

 amount of heat evolved on treatment with bromine and water 

 was found to be nearly the same in both the forms ; arsenic, in 

 this respect, behaving like carbon.— Second note on the absorp- 

 tion of atmospheric ammonia by soils, by M. H. Schlcesing. 

 From the experiments described in this and the previous note, 

 the author finds that calcareous, acid or neutral, dry or wet 

 soils, absorb atmospheric ammonia. Moist earth, however, 

 favours the fixation of ammonia, and dry earth retards it. — The 

 muscular and elastic elements of the retrolingual membrane of 

 the frog, by M. L. Ranvier. The problems investigated are : 

 the attachment of the elastic fibres to the muscular bundles, and 

 whether a fibril terminates in a thick or thin disc or a clear 

 space, all of which occur in the muscular bundles. — On the 

 microbes of acute osteomyelites called infectious, by MM. 

 Lannelongue and Achard. — Study of the errors of observation, 

 by M. J. E. Estienne. — Sun-spot in very high latitude, by M. 

 Dierckx. To this note we refer elsewhere (p. 472). — On Stirling's 

 formula, by M. E. Rouche. — On regular surfaces which pass 

 through a given curve, by M. Ch. Bioche.— On the compounds 

 of phosphoretted hydrogen and ammonia with boron chloride 

 and silicon hexachloride, by M. A. Besson. — Note on the com- 

 pounds of the metals of the alkalies with ammonia, by M. J. 

 Moutier.— On the estimation of free halogens and of iodides in 

 presence of chlorine and bromine, by M. P. Lebeau. Iodine is 

 estimated by liberation from its compound in aqueous solution 

 by a standard solution of bromine, the iodine being dis- 

 solved out from the water by CSj as soon as liberated : the end 

 of the reaction is indicated by the decoloration of the supernatant 

 aqueous solution, to which a few drops of indigo solution has 

 been previously added.— On the formation of thiosulphate of 

 lead, note by M. J. Fogh.— Decomposition of thiosulphate of 

 lead by heat, Trithionate of lead, byjhe same author. It is 

 shown that, by the prolonged action of boiling water, thio- 

 sulphate of lead decomposes according to the equation 

 aPhSgOj — PbS + PbSsOg.- On a new iodide of bismuth and 

 potassium, M. L. Astre. — Note on the molecular increase of dis- 

 persion of saline solutions, by MM. Ph. Barbier and L. Roux. 

 If the constant K given in a previous communication be multi- 

 plied by the molecular weight of the dissolved salt, what the 

 authors term the molecular increase of dispersion is obtained. 

 MK for chlorides of the type MCI is shown to have the mean 

 value 0020, for chlorides MCU the mean value is 0-044. — l^e- 

 searches upon the application of measurements of the rotatory 

 power to the. determination of compounds resulting from the 

 action of malic acid upon the neutral molybdates of lithium 

 and magnesium, by M. D. Gernez.— The volumetric estimation 

 of tannin, by M. E. Guenez.— Estimation of acetone in methyl 

 alcohol and in the raw methyl alcohol used for methylation, by 

 M. Leo Vignon. — On the diminution of fermenting power of 

 the ellipsoidal wine-yeast, in presence of salts of copper, by M. 

 A. Kommier. — On a Coleopterous insect attacking the vine in 

 Tunis {Ligniperda framisca, Fabricius), by M. A. Laboulbene. 

 —The preparation of crystallized basic nitrate of copper and its 

 identification with gerhardtite, by M. L. Bourgeois. 



Berlin. 



Meteorological Society, February 11.— Prof. Schwalbe, 

 President, m the chair.— Dr. Danckelmann spoke on the 

 meteorological conditions which exist on the Gold and Slave 



Coast. General observations had been started in New Guinea, but 

 were soon reduced to observations of rainfall only ; during the 

 ye^rs 1886 to 1889, they had yielded some interesting results on 

 the connection between rainfall and the direction of the mon- 

 soons and trade-winds. No trustworthy data are as yet to hand 

 of the meteorological conditions of Southern Africa, Cameroon, 

 and East Africa, but, on the other hand, there is a mass of material 

 accumulated at many stations on the Guinea coast. P"rom the 

 latter it appears that the atmospheric pressure varies but slightly, 

 and shows a maximum in July and August. In Bismarckburg the 

 wind blows from the north and north-east from the Sahara in 

 December, January, and February ; in June, July, and August 

 it blows west and south-west. Variations of temperature are 

 but slight, presenting a maximum in December to February, 

 and a minimum in July and August. The amount of rainfall is 

 very variable, being, in some places, as low as 575 mm. per 

 annum ; in others, 1000, 1500, or even 3500. The speaker 

 concluded by describing the climatic conditions of this region, 

 pointing out that they may be explained with reference to the 

 contiguity of the Sahara Desert.— Dr. Eschenhagen gave a de- 

 tailed description of the Magnetic Observatory at Potsdam, 

 dealing with its structural arrangements and the internal loca- 

 tion of the instruments. "While exhibiting the photographically 

 recorded curves of the previous fortnight, he dealt with the 

 breaks in these which result from any more than usually severe 

 shock of earthquake. These he attributed to purely mechanical 

 causes rather than to magnetic, basing his views on observations 

 of the movement of the surface of mercury at the time. He 

 pointed out that the opposite view, urged by French meteoro- 

 logists, as based upon observation of a copper rod with a bifilar 

 suspension, is inconclusively supported by such observations, 

 inasmuch as the equilibrum of a copper rod is relatively stable, 

 while that of a bifilar magnet is unstable. — The President re- 

 ferred, in conclusion, to the loss which meteorology had sustained 

 in the death of Buys Ballot. 



Physiological Society, February 14.— Prof, du Bois Rey- 

 mond. President, in the chair. —Prof. Zuntz gave an account of 

 experiments conducted in his laboratory by Dr. Katzenstein, on 

 the influence of bodily labour on the metabolism of man. After 

 giving an historical rhuTiic of previous researches, he described 

 the methods employed in the present research. The experi- 

 ments were conducted in a very convenient form of respiration- 

 apparatus, the analysis of the gases being made by Hempel's 

 method. Great stress was laid on the accurate determination 

 of the work done ; the latter consisted in either turning a wheel 

 against a graduated resistance, or else in motion on either a 

 plane or inclined surface. In the latter form of work an appa- 

 ratus was used which had previously been employed in experi- 

 ments on a horse. The oxygen consumed in each experiment 

 was taken as a measure of the metabolism. It was found that 

 this was permissible, from the fact that the respiratory quotient 

 was observed to be constant during the three conditions of rest, 

 walking, and climbing. From this it appeared that the energy 

 required for any given work was the outcome of the union of 

 oxygen and carbon in the formation of carbonic acid gas. The 

 increased respiratory interchange which accompanied any extra 

 work fell to the normal some two or three minutes after the 

 work ceased. In each experiment the distance covered and 

 height through which the body was raised was measured in 

 kilogram-metres ; the oxygen simultaneously absorbed was 

 determined, and from this the amount of oxygen which would 

 have been absorbed if no work had been done was subtracted, 

 so that the amount of oxygen required for the given work was 

 obtained. It was found that, as in Smith's experiments, the 

 metabolism might be increased to two or three times the normal 

 during work. The experiment was then repeated, employing a 

 different rate of motion and steepness of ascent, so that it was 

 readily possible to calculate the oxygen, in cubic centimetres, 

 required for a progression of one metre or the raising of 

 one kilogram ; the former was then reduced to a unit of 

 one kilogram of body-weight. The result obtained from 

 the person on whom most of the experiments were made 

 was that the moving of one kilogram of body-weight over 

 one metre of space on the level involved a consumption of 

 I'll c.c. of oxygen, and for the raising of one kilogram through 

 one metre, a consumption of I "438 c.c. In conclusion, the 

 speaker drew some interesting comparisons between the results 

 of these experiments and those previously made on a horse. — 

 Dr. Benda exhibited several preparations of sense-organs of 

 mammals; and Dr. Katz showed some specimens of the organ 



