350 



NATURE 



{July 25, 1878 



new instrument evidently possesses great advantages. It has no 

 scale attached to it, the graduation and figures being distinctly 

 marked on the stem itself, and the shield effectually preserves 

 them from obliteration by sea-water. The back part of the 

 stem is enamelled white, rendering the graduation and column 

 of mercury extremely distinct. 



When the instrument is immersed in the water the descending 

 line may be stopped or checked any number of times, ani it is 

 of course quite immaterial in what position the instrument enters 

 the water ; the illustrations show at a glance that it will infallibly 

 assume the position "bulb downwards" when descending 

 rapidly, and all that is needed is that care should be taken in the 

 pulling upwards. The first pull in this direction should be 

 quick and sudden and be continued for some little time ; at the 

 same time the pulling upwards must be continuous, since 

 stoppages would invalidate the readings. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



A MEETING of the members of the Yorkshire College of 

 Science was held on Monday at Leeds. A sum of 56,000/. has 

 now been promised in donations, and the endowments from the 

 Akroyd Foundation, the Clothworkers' Company, and the 

 bequest of the late Mr. Brown would, if capitalised, repre- 

 sent a further sum of about 20,000/. On the question of the 

 proposed new university the committee reported that the college 

 had held friendly communications with the authorities of Owens 

 College, but could not at present make them the subject of a 

 public report. Mr. Baines stated that the number of students 

 this year was 355, as compared with 288 last year. 



We have received "a calendar of the Newcastle College of 

 Physical Science, which contains full information concerning 

 the curriculum at that institution, examination papers, scholar- 

 ships, &c. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



Bulletin de VAcadSmie Royale de Belgique, No. 4, 1878. — In 

 a further paper on the scintillation of stars, M. Montigny here 

 deals with the changes of colour in stars of red and orange 

 tints. From a table giving the general averages of relative 

 frequency of the seven colours in such stars, it appears that the 

 relative frequency of red much exceeds that of any of the other 

 colours, whether in rainy or dry weather ; that red, green, and 

 especially orange, are in much greater proportion in dry than in 

 rainy weather ; while on the other hand, the frequency of blue 

 and yellow is more marked under the influence of rain. Taking 

 Pollux and Capella as samples of yellow stars, M. Montigny 

 found in them the frequency of red and especially of yellow was 

 much increased, while the proportion of orange was notably 

 diminished. The proportion of blue was the same as in stars of 

 the other type. — M. Masquelin contributes a valuable paper on 

 the development of the inferior maxillar in man, in which he esta- 

 blishes the concurrence of the two modes of ossification in one 

 bone, viz., that by the direct or metaplastic process, and that by 

 the indirect or osteoblastic. It would thus appear that the histo- 

 logical process of ossification cannot serve to determine the mor- 

 phological value of a bone. — A paper on oscillations of the 

 Belgian coast, by M. Van Rysselberghe, aims at proving a 

 sinking of the coast at Ostend, but the validity of the evidence is 

 doubted by the reporters. — An interesting report on Daltonism 

 in relation to railway-working is presented by M. Delboeuf . — M. 

 Fraipont has a fourth and concluding article on the Acetinians 

 of the Ostend coast, and Dr. Woodward records the discovery 

 of a species of Brachyour crustacean in the coal formation near 

 Mons (to which his attention was called by M. de Koninck). 

 — The theory of the telephone is the subject of a note by MM. 

 Navez. 



Journal de Physique, May, 1878. — A new spectroscope here 

 described by M. Thollon offers several advantages ; it is direct 

 vision and of perfect symmetry, and can be easily adapted to 

 astronomical telescopes ; the prisms (movable) are worked by a 

 rigorously geometrical process, so that a ray coming along the 

 axis of the collimator reaches the axis of the telescope only after 

 twice traversing the whole system of prisms with the minimum of 

 deviation ; a considerable dispersive power may be had and may 

 be widely modified in the same instrument ; lastly, it affords very 

 exact spectrometric measurements. — Some experiments in which 



the electro-magnetic rotation of liquids is illustrated with acidu- 

 lated water containing a little lycopodium powder, the effect 

 being projected by means of Duboscq's new apparatus, are 

 described by M. Berlin. M. Gernez has a note on the produc- 

 tion of different hydrates in concentrated supersaturated solu- 

 tions under the influence of a mechanical action (rubbing the 

 walls of the vessel with a rigid rod). — The metallic reflection of 

 polarised obscure calorific rays is studied by M. Mouton. 



Reale Istituto Lovibardo di Scienze i Lettere, Rendiconti, vol. xi. 

 fasc. vii. — We note the following papers in this number : — Jealous 

 insanity, by M. Verga. — Expression of pain according to sex, age, 

 individual constitution, and race, by M. Mantegazza. — Contribu 

 tions to the study of the Italian chiroptera, by M. Regalia. — On 

 the cranium of Volta, by M. Lombrosi. — Examination of the 

 observations made by the committee appointed to adjudicate a 

 prize on the theme, *' Programme of a Hospital for Contagious 

 Diseases, suited to the City of Milan," by M. Zucchi. — Study on 

 the prevalent diseases of the vine, by MM. Garovaglio and 

 Cattaneo. 



Vol. xi., fasc. viii., ix. — In these numbers we note the fol- 

 lowing : — On dominant diseases of vines, by MM. Garovaglio 

 and Cattaneo. — Studies on the albumen of milk and on the 

 origin of buttermilk curd, by MM. Musso and Menozzi. — On the 

 causes and circumstances affecting hereditary transmission in 

 animals, by M. Lemoigne. — Observations on elephantiasis in the 

 Arabs in the environs of the Ticinese district, by M. Sangalli. 

 — The third molar in the human race, by M. Mantegazza. — On 

 the distribution and termination of nerves in the tendons of man 

 and other vertebrata, by M. Golgi. 



Ztitschrift fUr wissenschaftliche Zoologie, vol. xxx., supplement, 

 part I. — On the form of the crystalline cones in arthropod eyes, 

 especially phronima, by Oscar Schmidt. — On anomia, with 

 remarks on the muscular system of lamellibranchs, by H. von 

 Jhering. — The poison apparatus of ants, by A, Forel, 41 pp. 

 two plates. — The post-embryonic formation of limbs in insects, 

 by H. Dewitz, dealing especially with formica, 28 pp. — Con- 

 tribution to the structure and development of the lungs in 

 mammals, by Ludwig Stieda; figures from embryonic sheep, 

 mouse, and horse. — On the ornamental colouring of Daphnidse, 

 by August Weismann. The author believes the colour patterns 

 are secondary sexual characters developed by sexual selection. — 

 On the action of the voluntary muscles in land snails, by H. 

 Simroth. 



Vol. xxxi., part 3. — Researches on the structure and deve- 

 lopment of sponges, part 4, by F. E. Schulze ; 42 pp., foiu' 

 plates. This part deals especially with the family Aplysiadoe. 

 — Contribution to the development of feathers, by Dr. Th. 

 Studer, Professor at Berne ; the feathers of the Penguin, 

 Megapodius, and Dromoeus, are dealt with and figured in two 

 plates. — On the fertilisation of the e,^g in Fetromyzon planeri, 

 by Ernst Calberla, with a discussion on fertilisation gene- 

 rally ; 50 pp., two plates. — On the formation of ova, and 

 on the male of Bonellia viridis, by Franz Vejdovsky. 



yournal of the Russian Chemical and Physical Societies oj 

 St. Petersburg (vol. x. No. 4) contains the following papers : — 

 On the action of peroxide of hydrogen upon the oxygen com- 

 pounds of thallium, by E. Schone. — On the action of iodine 

 upon certain urea and amidogen compounds, by W. Roudneff. — 

 On nitrophthalic and oxyphthalic acids, by O. Miller. — On the 

 admixture of zinc in different parts of the body after the intoxi- 

 cation with acetate of zinc, by M. Mazkewicz. — On the action 

 of water and oxide of lead on the halogen compounds of 

 ethylene hydrocarbons, by A. Eltekoff. — On the action of the 

 same substances upon bromide of diamylene, by the same. — On 

 the action of trichlorolactic acid upon urea, by D. Cech. — On 

 the magnetic induction of the two spheres, by O. Chwolson. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Geological Society, June 19. — John Evans, D.C.L., 

 F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — Charles Louis Buxton, 

 Wybrandts G. Olpherts, and William Phelps Richards were 

 elected Fellows of the Society. — The following communications 

 were read : — On the section of Messrs. Meux and Co.'s artesian 

 well in the Tottenham Court Road, with notices of the well 

 at Crossness, and another at Shoreham, Kent ;_ and on the 

 probable range of the lower greensand and palnsozoic rocks under 



