NATURE 



{June 13, 1878 



accumulation of snow took place in precisely those districts 

 which are now characterised by a very heavy rainfall, and he 

 pointed out how exactly this is in accordance with the views of 

 Prof. Tyndall as to the conditions most favourable to the deve- 

 lopment of glaciers. 



Zoological Society, May 21. — F. D. Godman, F.Z.S., in 

 the chair. — A communication was read from Lieut. -Col. R. H. 

 Beddome, C.M.Z.S., containing the description of a new genus 

 and species of snakes, of the family of Calamariidse, from 

 Southern India, proposed to be called Xylophis indicus. — Mr. 

 P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., read the tenth of a series of reports on 

 the collection of birds made during the voyage of H.M.S. 

 Challenger, containing an account of the birds of the Atlantic 

 Islands and Kerguelen's Land, and of the miscellaneous collec- 

 tions made by the expedition. — Mr. J. Wood Mason, F.Z.S., 

 described several new or little known Mantidae from India, 

 Australia, and other localities.— Mr. H. W. Bates, F.Z.S., read 

 a paper containing the description of new genera and species of 

 Geodephagous Coleoptera from Central America, belonging to 

 the families Cicindelidae and Carabidse. — Mr. G. French Angas, 

 C.M.Z.S., read the description of a new species of Tudicula, 

 which he proposed to name T. inermis. — A communication was 

 read from the Marquis of Tweeddale, F.R.S., being the ninth 

 of his contributions to the ornithology of the Philippines. The 

 present paper gave an account of the collection made by Mr. 

 A. H. Everett in the Island of Palawan, and contained the de- 

 scriptions of nine new species, namely, Tiga everetti, Dicrurus 

 palawanensis, Broderipus palawanensis, Trichostoma rufifrons, 

 Dryniocataphus cinereiceps, Brackypus cinereifrons, Criniger 

 palawanensis, Cyrtostomus aurora, and Corvus pusillus. The 

 collection likewise contained three examples of the remarkable 

 Polyplectron emphanfs, of which the locality was previously 

 unknown, and specimens were excessively rare. — Prof. A. H. 

 Garrod, F.R.S., read a paper in which he gave a description of 

 the tracheae of Tantalus loailator and of Vanellus cayennensis. — 

 A second paper by Mr. Garrod contained some notes on the 

 anatomy of the Great-headed Maleo (Megacephalon maleo). 



Victoria (Philosophical) Institute, May 31, — Annual 

 Meeting ; the president, the Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftes- 

 bury, K.G., in the chair. — From the annual report it appeared 

 that the number of members is now 756. — The Address was 

 delivered by Principal Rigg, D.D., and contained a review of 

 various systems of philosophy now popular. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, June 3. — M. Fizeau in the chair.— 

 The following among other papers were read :— Direct determi- 

 notion at sea of the azimuth and route of a ship, by M. Faye. 

 This is for iron ships, and involves keeping the ship some time 

 in a fixed direction indicated by the log-line and determined 

 astronomically. The log is slightly modified in form. — New 

 researches on the fossil mammalia of South America, by M. 

 Gervais. The author has examined the recent collections of 

 MM. Ameghino, Brachet, and Larroque, from the province of 

 Mines, in Brazil, and some parts of the Argentine Republic. 

 He is able to add some new details about the Toxodon, and 

 describe, mter alia, a new species of Machairodus, and two new 

 species of Glyptodon (the species of which, he estimates, cer- 

 tainly exceed a 'dozen).— On the chalk of the Central Pyrenees, 

 by M. Leymerie. He finds there a bed immediately under the 

 first eocene layer, containing quite a special marine fauna, among 

 which are numerous urchins. — M. Cornu was elected member in 

 the section of physics in place of the late M. Becquerel.— Direct 

 fixation of carbonic acid, sulphurous acid, and phtalic anhydride, 

 on benzine ; synthesis of benzoic acid, hydride of sulphophenyl, 

 and benzoylbenzoic acid, by MM. Friedel and Crafts. The 

 authors suppose in these syntheses an organo -metallic combma- 

 tian of aluminium by the reaction of the chloride of this metal 

 on the hydrocarbons.— On the manufacture of cast manganese 

 and on the volatility of manganese, by M. Jordan. More than 

 100,000 kil. of this cast manganese (from treatmg ores of 

 manganese in the blast furnace) have already been supplied to 

 French steel works. Manganese is volatile at the temperature 

 of metallurgical fiirnaces; and this fact explains several anomalies 

 remarked in the manufacture of very manganesised products.— 

 On Daltonism; sanitary precautions, and preventives, by M. 

 Favre. There are in France more than 3,000,000 persons 

 affected with Daltonism ; the number of women affected is to 



that of men as i : 10. Nine out of ten cases can easily be cured 

 in youth ; the best means being methodic exercise on coloured 

 objects. This should be attended to in all schools, and mothers 

 should seek to develop the chromatic sense in their children. No 

 one should be admitted to the service of railways, the. navy, or 

 schools of painting, without being examined in colours. No Dal- 

 tonians should be charged withservice involving the use of coloured 

 signals. — Information was given regarding observation of the tran- 

 sit of Mercury in the United States. — On the densities of vapour, 

 by M. Troost. He describes the behaviour of vapour of acetic 

 acid, hyponitric acid, sulphur, and hydrate of chloral. Sulphur 

 vapour behaves like ozone, whose density is independent of 

 pressure, and whose transformation into oxygen takes place in 

 proportion as the temperature is raised. — On metallic allotropy, 

 by M. Schutzenberger. By electrolysis of metallic solutions, 

 allotropic varieties of other metals besides copper {e.g. lead) may 

 be got. It is impossible to decide by direct experiment whether 

 or not allotropic copper contains occluded hydrogen eliminable 

 at 100°. In any case the proportion of hydrogen could not 

 exceed 0*03 per cent. — Method of determination and separation 

 of stearic acid and oleic acid proceeding from saponification of 

 tallow, by M. David. The principle of this process is based on 

 the new fact that when into an alcoholic solution of oleic 

 acid one pours acetic acid drop by drop, a moment comes 

 when, suddenly, the oleic acid separates completely. — On the 

 structure of nerves in invertebrates, by M. Cadiat. In 

 Crustacea, insecta, and annelida, the nerves have no myeline, 

 which in vertebrates is found between the cylinder axis and the 

 wall proper of the tube (the grey fibres of the great sympathetic 

 excepted). In gasteropodous and acephalous molluscs the sheath 

 of Schwann is almost always wanting. — On the relations be- 

 tween the volume of motor or sensitive cells of nervous centres, 

 and the length of passage of the impressions transmitted, by M. 

 Pierret. The dimensions of the nerve-cells are in direct ratio of 

 the distances which the motor incitations proceeding from them, 

 or the sensitive excitations reaching them, have to traverse. — 

 There were several other papers on chemical subjects, deter- 

 mination of arsenic in volumes, reciprocal combinations of 

 metallic sesquisulphates, some combinations of platinum, nitro- 

 genised acids derived from acetones, cyanide of ethylene, 

 researches on peptones, &c. 



CONTENTS Pagb 



Ethnology of North-Wkst America. By Prof. A, H. Savce . . 165 



Culley's Practical Telegraphy 166 



Our Book Shelf:— ,,...,. x, . , 



Jordan's "Manual of the Vertebrates of the Northern United 



States, Including the District East of the Mississippi River and 



North of North Carolina and Tennessee, Exclusive of Marine 



Species " 167 



Letters to the Editor :— 



The Phonograph and Vowel Theories.— Prof. Fleeming Jbnkin, 



F.R.S. ; J. A. Ewing 166 



Extinct and Recent Irish Mammals.— Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, 



F.R.S 169 



Alterrjate Vision.— J. I. R i6g 



The Eskimo at Paris.— Dr. J. D. E. Schmeltz 169 



The Telephone.— John Browning ; J. F. W. 169 



Meteor. — W. A. Sanford 170 



Multiple Rainbow.— R. S. •••••,•; A '7° 



Opening of Museums on Sundays.— Dr. W. H. Corfield ... 170 

 The Fisheries of British North America, I. By Dr. William 



B. Carpenter, F.R.S •, ; W. o t^ '7° 



The Microphone. By Jambs Blyth, M.A., F.R.S.E 172 



Resting Spores. By Prof. E. Perceval Wright 173, 



Prof. C. F. Hartt • i74 



The Dark Continent {With Jllustrattons) 175 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Transit of Mercury, 1868, November 4 179 



Brorsen's Comet of Short Period '79 



MiraCeti i°° 



CtRAGRAPHICALi ^^OXES ««•••••"•••"•"••' loO 



On a New Method for Discovering and Measuring /Eolotropy 

 of Electric Resistance Produced by ^olotropic Stress in a 



Solid. By Sir W. Thomson 180 



N©tes ' 



The Royal Observatory ••••••,„ 'o^ 



CosmicalResults OF the Modern Heat IHEORY 184 



The Meteor '°| 



University and Educational Intelligence 180 



Scientific Serials \, 



Societies and Academies ...-...•- 



Errata.— In Mr. Broun's article on Cosmic Meteorology, vol. xviii. 

 p. 152, ist column, line 7, for 464, read 8,464; and p. 153, ^ad column, 



line 16, for "relate to magnetical and meteorological phenomena, read 

 " relate magnetical to meteorological phenomena. 



