136 



NATURE 



{May 30, 1878 



author of the paper then showed, by an examination of various 

 phases of the classificatory system, especially the Australian, 

 that although kinship may for certain purposes have been 

 ori<^nally traced through the mother, the regulations as to 

 marriage were based also on the relationship of a father to his 

 child, and that the ideas which gave rise to those regulations also 

 originated the classificatory system. — Mr, A. L. Lewis described 

 a rude "stone monument, known as the "Devil's Arrows," near 

 Boroughbridge, Yorkshire. 



Geologists' Association, May 3. — Prof. J. Morris, F.G.S., 

 president, in the chair. — On the coralline oolites, &c., of York- 

 shire, by W. H. Hudleston, M.A., F.G.S. The beds between 

 the Kimmeridge clay and L.C.G. may be summarised as 



follows : — 



Feet. 

 ^ „. I Upper Calcareous -Grit: "Throst- ) r -^ 

 Supracoralhne j \l^,, dement Stone, &c \ ^"^^ 



r, r A ^T ■( Coral Rag : Subzone of Cidaris \ q _ 



Zone of A. ph- ) ^^^;„^..T,,.^ \ o-\'^ 



.J. -. Jlorigemma , 



'^'^^ ( Coralline, Oolite and Middle Grit. 30-80 



Upper part of) Lower Limestones, including Lower ) ^„ ,^^ 



zone of A. J ^oral Rag, Passage-beds, &c. ... ^°-'^° 



The great mass of limestone in the zone of A. perartnahis is 

 an exceptional feature as regards England : fauna Oxfordian, 

 especially towards the base, but the highest shell-bed in some 

 places may be classed with the succeeding zone. The middle 

 grit, a sandbank of variable thickness, developed in the Tabular 

 range, and passing upwards through a series of shelly sub- 

 oolitic grits [e.g. Pickering Trigonia-hoAs) into the coralline 

 oolite, the whole constituting the lower subdivision of the zone 

 of A. plicatUis ; absence of Brachiopoda. The topographical 

 sections described, and the Howardian oolites compared with 

 those of the Tabular range : lithology of the group. — The 

 coral rag sometimes sharply separated from underlying oolites ; 

 sometimes, though more rarely, blended by coralliferous oolites, 

 coral shell-beds, &c. Ammonites rare, but where found in the 

 intercoralline pastes, a peculiar form of A. plicatUis (? A. vari- 

 coslatus, Buckl.) prevails. Topographical sections described, 

 and the strong contrast between the coralline oolite of Picker- 

 ing and the coral rag of North Grimston pointed out. Obser- 

 vations on the silicification of the Rag, and the frequent forma- 

 tion of flints ; presumed connection in certain cases, with 

 abundance of sponge spicules, especially "globo-stellates." 

 The supracoralline beds principally argillaceous limestones, 

 and sandy shales, with a capping of upper calcareous grit; 

 numerous ammonites of a lower Kimmeridge type, but other 

 fossils few and badly preserved. A slight sketch of the strati- 

 graphy of the region surrounding the Vale of Pickering, and a 

 brief notice of the palaeontology of the entire corallian series in 

 Yorkshire, explanatory of the table of fossils, concluded the 

 paper. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, ?May 21. — Mr. W. H. 

 Barlow, F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — The paper read was 

 on the design generally of iron bridges of very large spans for 

 railway traffic, by Mr. T. C. Clarke, M.Inst.C.E., of Phila- 

 delphia. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, May 20. — M. Fizeau in the chair. — 

 Tlie following among other papers were read : — On the tempe- 

 rature of the air at the surface of the ground and in the ground 

 to 36 m. depth, also the comparative temperature of turf -covered 

 and bare ground, during 1877, by MM. Becquerel. The tem- 

 perature was a little higher on an average in the turf-covered 

 than in the bare ground, and in the former it never sank 

 below zero. In the latter, at o'05 m., it only once sank 

 below the temperature of melting ice. — On the action of the 

 nervous system on the sudoriferous glands, by M. Vulpian. 

 These glands seem (like the salivary glands) to be subject to 

 two antagonistic influences exerted by different nerve-fibres ; the 

 one class, which conduct the exciting influence, nearly all come 

 directly from the bulbo-medullary centres ; the other class, which 

 conduct the moderating influence, also emanate from these centres, 

 but indirectly, through the great sympathetic. — A letter from Prof. 

 Hughes stated that by inserting an induction-coil in the circuit, in 

 his arrangement, the Bell telephone couldbe heard over a large hall. 

 His system was a very sensitive thermoscope, &c. — Application of 

 the telephone on board the cruiser La Desaix, by M. Treve. 

 This ship communicated very successfully with another in tow 



by means of the telephone, the circuit being completed by the 

 sea and copper sheathing. Another application was, fitting a 

 telephone to the head of divers' apparatus. — On alloys of 

 gallium and aluminium, by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran. One 

 such alloy (containing a good deal of aluminium) is solid but 

 brittle ; it decomposes water, with rise of temperature, libera- 

 tion of hydrogen, and formation of a brown powder, later re- 

 solved into white flocks of alumina ; nearly all the gallium is 

 liberated in the form of globules. Liquid or pasty alloys may 

 also be formed, with much greater decomposing power. — Pro- 

 duction of liquid and gaseous carbonised hydrogens by the 

 action of pure water on a carburetted alloy of iron and man- 

 ganese, by M. Cloez. Water alone, acting with heat on such an 

 alloy, yields its oxygen to the metal, forming, first, protoxides, 

 which afterwards, by action of air, pass to a higher degree of 

 oxidation. A part of the hydrogen enters into the free state ; 

 the rest combines with the carbon to produce hydrocarbons similar 

 to petroleum. — On an induction machine, byM. Gaiffe. Toob 

 tain a current as constant as possible he employs a bobbin of ellip 

 tical section instead of circular (Siemens) ; the change of polarity 

 is thus effected gradually during the whole of a half -revolution. — 

 On an allotropic modification of copper, by M. Schiitzenberger, 

 This is got by electrolysis of a solution of about 10 per cent, of 

 acetate of copper (previously boiled), with two Bunsen or three 

 Daniell elements, the negative platinum plate being placed 

 parallel to the larger positive copper electi'ode, and 3 to 4 

 ctm. from it. The allotropic copper is then deposited on the 

 platinum, as brittle, rugous metallic plates, of bronze aspect. 

 The specific gravity is 8'o to 8*2 ; that of ordinary copper is 

 6*9. The moist plates quickly oxidise at the surface in air. 

 Allotropic copper is changed to ordinary copper by heat, and 

 prolonged contact with dilute sulphuric acid. — On a new syn- 

 thetic method of formation of carbides of hydrogen, by M. 

 Randolph. This is by causing a substance like fluoborethylene to 

 act on oxygenated organic compounds capable of furnishing given 

 carbides by dehydration. — On pelletierine, an alkaloid from the 

 bark of the pomegranate tree, by M. Tanret. This volatile alka- 

 loid is thought to explain the tanifuge properties of pomegranate 

 bark in the fresh state. — On the distinction between luminous 

 and chromatic sensations, by M. Charpentier. The luminous 

 sensibility may change under certain conditions (rest in darkness 

 and exposure to bright rays), while the sensibility to colours 

 remains constant. — On the existence of reflex trembling, in 

 the unparalysed member, in certain hemiplegic subjects, by 

 M. Dejerine. This may be produced, e.g., by flexion of the foot 

 on the leg. — On the terminations of nerves in the sudo- 

 riparous glands of the cat's paw, by M. Coyne. The glandular 

 cul-de-sac is brought into relation with the peripheric nerve 

 system (i) by nerve tubes losing themselves in the limiting 

 membrane ; (2) by cells similar to multipolar nerve -cells 

 situated outside the limiting membrane. — On the unity of forces 

 in geology, by M. Hermite. 



CONTENTS Page 



Balfour ON Elasmobranch Fishes. By Prof. E. Ray Lankester, 



F.R.S "3 



Our Book Shelf: — 



Streeter's "Gold" 115 



Lkttbrs to the Editor :— 



Alternate and Stereoscopic Vision.— W. M. Flinders Petrie. . 115 



Inside Out.— C. J. Monro 116 



Physical Science for Artists.— Robert J.- Leckv . . ,' . . . . 116 

 Dr. P. P. Carpenter's Collection.— Principal J. W. Dawson, 



F.R.S "<5 



Menziesia Caerulea.— G. C. Druce ii6 



Landrails.— Charles Dixon \ n6 



Hereditary Transmission. — George S. Watson ii6 



The Phonograph and its Future "6 



Sir G. Nares' Accountof the EnglishArctic Expedition {With 



Illustrations) "8 



Transplantation of Shells. By Dr. Charles Darwin, F.R.S. 



(With Illustration) - 120 



The National Water Supply 121 , 



Physical Science for Artists, IV, By J. Norman Lockver, 



F.R.S. {With Illustrations) . 122 



Cosmic Meteorology. By John Allan Broun, F.R.S 126 



The Microphone. By Dr. C. William Siemens, F.R.S. ; Geo. M. 



Seabroke; F. J. M. Page . 129 



Earthquake in Venezuela. By Dr. A. Ernst 130 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Tempel's Comet, 1873, II '3° 



The Recent Transit o£ Mercury 'S^ 



Encke's Comet 'S^ 



Ge»graphical Notes '3^ 



Notes ^3* 



The French Meteorological Service ^34 



University and Educational Intelligence ......•• '35 



Societies and Acade.miesj '35 



