500 



NATURE 



[March 27, 1879 



practically ai-e also non-actinic. Quinine, he found, cuts off 

 the ultra-violet rays, and no others.— Mr. C. Bennett, on the 

 .relatine emulsion process, enforced the fact that the extreme 

 sensitiveness of his process was produced by the long time he 

 allowed the gelatine and salts to emulsify or ripen before elimin- 

 atin<^ the bromide and silver not taken up.— Mr. W. Wain- 

 wri-^lit, jun., note on Bennett's gelatine emulsion process ; also, 

 Mr.'' Howard Grubb exhibited some new forms of stereoscope?, 

 one* designed to exhibit pictures of a much larger size than 

 ordinary. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, March ii.— Mr. Bateman, 

 president, in the chair. — The paper read was on movable 

 bridges, by Mr. James Price, M. Inst. C.E. 



Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, March 17. — M. Daubreein the chair. 



The following papers were read : — On an electric burner and 



blowpipe, by M. Jamin. Two carbons are supported vertically 

 abreast, hinged below, and drawn together at the top by a spring. 

 A current is sent up one (a), down the other (b), then round a 

 rectangular circuit inclosing the two, and passing first round A ; 

 by current attraction the carbons are drawn apart, and the arc 

 appears at the top and descends gradually, consuming one or 

 both carbons. When the action of the rectangle is sufficient, the 

 arc driven beyond the points is like a gas flame, and M. Jamin 

 receives it on a piece of lime, magnesium, or zirconium, getting 

 intense li<^ht. It is also so hot as to fuse the lime, and the author 

 recommends it as a blowpipe to chemists and physicists. — On a 

 meteorite belonging to the group of eukrites, which fell on July 14, 

 1S45, in the Commune of Teilleul (Manche), by M. Failli.— 

 M. Larrey communicated a letter from M. Tholozan, Persia, on 

 the plague, which he shows to have sprung up and died out in 

 certain localities in the absence of restrictive measures. The 

 French Government have sent Dr. Zuber to Astrakhan to study 

 the disease. — On a new type of anomalous stems, by M. Cornu. 

 This relates to supplementary cortical ligneous bo .ies anasto- 

 mosed together, in c&vts.ivi Sei?iperviz'um 2.\\d Crassu^a ; their rdle 

 seems to be to strengthen the fragile stems when they have to 

 bear a large inflorescence. — On the amyloid granules of the yolk 

 of eggs, by M. Dareste. He urges reasons for thinking the 

 granules starch, and not lethicine (as has been affirmed). They 

 are difficult to study. — On the correspondence between Chladni's 

 acoustic figures and liquid systems produced on vibrating circular 

 plates, by M. Decharme. It was stated that the Italian Society 

 of Natural Sciences had formed a service of antiphylloxeric 

 vedettes, to survey vineyai-ds, and i-eport the first suspicions of 

 the disease. — On a new catadioptric telescope, by MM. Paul and 

 Prosper Henry. The tube of a reflecting telescope is hermetically 

 sealed by means of a thin crown glass lens of the same size as the 

 mirror, very slightly concave, and not detracting from the optical 

 power of the instrument. The instrument has given remarkable 

 results. — Demonstration of the convergence of a double series 

 met with by Lame in his researches in mathematical physics, by 

 M. Escary. — On the integration of a differential equation, by M. 

 Halphen. — On the determination of the imaginary roots of alge 

 braic equations (concluded), by M. Farcas. — On a system of 

 light signals permitting the determination of differences of longi- 

 tude between different stations not connected electrically, of a 

 triangulation of parallel or meridian, by M. Liais. This system 

 has been adopted in Brazil. M. Liais shows the advantage of 

 making rhythmic signals commanded by a clock, and received at 

 the other station by a chronographic inscription. In this way 

 there is no variable personal equation to be concerned about. 

 The point is to make a screen, with aperture, beat seconds {e.g., 

 by a clock commanding an electro-magnet) so as to give an in- 

 stantaneous appearance of li^^ht each second. The receiving- 

 station may either register with a chronograph or (better) compare 

 directly the clocks of the two stations by the method of coincid- 

 ences ; a screen, with apertm-e, passing before the objective of 

 the telescope, and the light seen only when the two clocks are 

 in coincidence. — On the distribution of heat on the sun's sur- 

 face; results of the first series of observations at the Impel ial 

 Observatory of Rio de Janeiro, by MM. Cruls and Caille. 

 These researches fully confirm the results got by Secchi, though 

 there are some differences as to absolute value of radiations. 

 The absolute radiation of the whole disk was estimated at -^^, 

 the absorption, ^Vu- — Determination of the approximate value 

 of a coefficient relative to the viscosity of water, by M. Geoffroy. 

 — New experiments on telephones without a diaphragm, by M 

 Ader. He gets better results than with an ordinary telephone 



from a thin piece of wire (with small helix round it) fixed at one 

 end in a wooden board (a microphonic speaker being used), 

 better if the two ends are in contact with metallic masses. Voice 

 is reproduced, too, from a mere bobbin without core, if the 

 windings are very free. He supports M. du Moncel's view that 

 the sounds in the telephone are from contractions and elongations 

 of the magnetic rod. — M. Du Moncel described some observa- 

 tions in the same sense. — M. Resis presented a note on a hydro- 

 electric telephone, in which the variations in intensity of the 

 current are reproduced by variations in resistance of a liquid 

 column, which serves a^ receiver (without any electro-magnetic 

 organ). — On new combinations of hydrochloric acid with am* 

 monia, by M. Troost. The two specified are the tctra and 

 hepta-ammoniacal chlorhydrates. — Combinations of phosphu- 

 retted hydrogen with cuprous chloride, and its determination in 

 gaseous mixtures, by M. Ribau. — On the crystalline form of 

 combinations of stannmethyls and their homologues, by M. 

 Hiertdahl. — On a new process of treatment, by the dry way, of 

 iron and copper pyrites, by M. Simonin. This relates to Mr. 

 Hollo way's method.— On the state in which precious metals are 

 found in some of their combinations ; ores, rocks, products of 

 art, by MM. Cumenge and Fuchs. — On the constitution of coal, 

 by M. Guignet. He treated powdered coal with phenol, nitric 

 acid, &c. With the latter he obtained, inter alia, trinitrorcsor- 

 cine (oyxpicric acid), probably from resinous or waxy matters re- 

 tained in the coal. No resorcine was found. — On alcoholic 

 fermentation, by MM. Schutzenberger and Destrem. Yeast 

 prevented from developing and multiplying still retains its 

 power of decomposing sugar ; and yeast acting on sugar 

 deassimilates more nitrogen than that kept in presence of 

 water, but without sugar and oxygen. — On the determination 

 of glucose in the blood, by M. Cazeneuve. He criticises 

 Bernard's method (by cupropotassic liquor) as inexact, and 

 thinks the study of glyccemia should be taken up again when 

 a more precise method is acquired. — On the derivatives of nor- 

 mal methyloxybutyric ac d, by M. Duvillier. — Analysis of some 

 fodders, and observations on damage done to Italian beans by 

 weevils, by M. Grosjean. — Comparative evolution of the male 

 and female genital glands in the embryos of mammalia, by M. 

 Rouget. — On the non-excitability of the grey cortical substance 

 of the brain, by M. Couty. — Note on the history of peduncular 

 expansions, by M. Bitot.— On the nature of the albumen of 

 hydrocele, by M. Bechamp. — Experimental researches on a 

 leptothrix found during life in the blood of a woman attacked 

 with gi-ave puerperal fever, by M. Feltz. — On the modifications 

 of the physical properties of starch, by M. Musculus. — On fer- 

 ruginous particles observed in dust brought by a blast of sirocco 

 to various parts of Italy, by M. Tacchini. This was in Feb- 

 ruary. He thinks the phenomenon of so-called meteoric spherales 

 must in many cases be attributed to this phenomenon. — Morpho- 

 logy of the dental follicle in vertebrates, by MM. Legros and 

 Magitot. — Pathogeny and treatment of intermittent convergent 

 strabism, without operation, by use of mydriatics and myosics, 

 in children, by M. Boucheron. 



CONTENTS Page 



Organisation and Intelligence. By Alfred R. Wallace . . 477 



Rodwell's Etna 4^° 



Letters to the Editor:— 



The Trans-Neptunian Planet.— Prof . Asaph Hall 481 



Rats and Water-Casks.— Ckarlhs Darwin, F.R.S. .... 481 



Tides at Chepstow.— W. B. Clegram 481 



Migration of Birds. — E. H. Pringlk 481 



The IMicrotelephone.— Dr. Julianj Ochovowics (IViih Dia- 



g}a.m) 402 



Vacuum Tube Phenomena.— J. J. H. Teall 482 



Leibnitz's INIathematics.— Thomas Muir 482 



Blue Flame from Common Salt.— A. Percy Smith (With Dia- 



gratn) 4o3 



Unscientific Art (?)— Chas. Coppock 484 



Our Astkonomical Column : — 



The Distant Herschelian Companion of 7 Leonis 484 



A Meteor with Short Period of Revolution 48-1 



Fossil Calcareous Alce. By Prof. Ed! Perceval Wright {iVith 



Illustrations) ^oS 



Electricity AND Water Drops. By Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. . . 48* 



A Study IN Loco MO HON, in. By Fiof. Marry {IVitA IllMSiratiims) 488 



Geographical Evolution. By Prof. Geikie, F.R.S 49«> 



Geographical Notes 49" 



Notes • • • • 49^ 



Speculations ox the Source of Meteorites. By Prof. Robert 



S. Ball, F.R.S 493 



Recent Researches on Absorption Spectra 495 



Intellect in" Brutes 49° 



University AND Educational Intelligence 497 



Societies AND Academies • 49^ 



