Sept 5, 1878] 



NATURE 



505 



iiig often to a thousandth of the entire weight of the plant, 

 while no traces could be detected in the plant which had 

 remained in the air during the same time In this connection ^^■e 

 should mention a detailed account in the Jvurnal fur Prakt. 

 Cheinie, of experiments instituted by Prof. Gunning, of Amster- 

 dam, to settle the question of the ability of bacteria to exist in 

 media free from oxygen. They consisted in inclosing in glass 

 tubes easily decomposable substances, such as raw flesh, green 

 peas, &c., infecting with a drop of a mixtiu-e of decayed peas 

 and -white of egg, which contains nearly all varieties of bacteria, 

 — closing the tubes by fusion after freeing entirely from oxygen, 

 and allowing to stand for periods ranging from foiu: months to 

 two years. The results of all these experiments showed that by 

 exclusion of oxygen the bacteria were completely destroyed, the 

 putrefaction being entirely stopped, and not continuing after- 

 ward, on the admission of filtered air free from bacteria. 



The appearance of phylloxera at Sachsenhausen, near Frank- 

 fort-on-the-Main, is officially reported. The appearance of the 

 Colorado beetle at Jaratschewo in the district of Schrimm in the 

 Prussian province of Posen is also reported. 



At Oderberg, in Austrian Silesia, we learn from a report 

 to the Imper. Geol. Instit., March 19, some pile-structures, 

 or rather the floors associated with them, were found in digging 

 for the foundations of gas-works. Two rows of parallel, hori- 

 zontal oak stems-, 60 to 90 centimetres thick, 3J metres apart, 

 were met with. They were covered with peat, and a quantity of 

 hazel nuts and seed of cereals lay under the peat. At 3 metres 

 deeper more hard wood was found. 



Prof. A. M, Mayer asks us to make the following correc- 

 tions in his article on "Floating Magnets" in Nature for 

 July 4 (vol. xviii.) :— On p. 258, 2nd col., line 13 from bottom, 

 delete the sentence beginning "This is the only instance, " &c. On 

 p. 258, 2nd col., line ii from bottom, for "This nucleus of 20 

 cannot be formed without the circumposed magnets as in Fig. 20," 

 read "This nucleus can be formed without the circumposed 

 magnets." On p. 259, 2nd col., line II from top, for " lat " 

 read "8a:." 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during the 

 past week include a White-hpped Peccary {Dicotyles labiatus) 

 from South America, a Golden Agouti {Dasyprocta aguti) from 

 Gui»na, presented by -Mr. G. H. Hawtayne, C.M.Z.S. ; a 

 Bonnet Monkey {Macacus radiatus) from India, presented by 

 Capt. Clarke ; a Cape Bucephalus {Bucephalus capensis) from 

 South Africa, eleven Spinose Lizards (Agama colonorum) from 

 North- West Africa, received in exchange ; a Common Marmoset 

 (Hapale Jacchus) from South-East Brazil, a Grey Parrot {Psiiiacus 

 erithecus) from West Africa, deposited; a Red Deer {Cervus 

 elaphus) bom in the Gardens. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 



REPORTS. 



Report op the Canmittee on Mathematical Tables. — Mr, James 

 Glaisher has undertaken the calculation of the factor tables for 

 the fourth, fifth, and sixth millions, similar to Burckhardt's and 

 Dase's. Burckhardt's tables (Paris, 1814-1817) contain the 

 least factor of every number not divisible by 2, 3, or 5, from 

 unity to three millions, and Dase's tables (Hamburg, 1862- 

 1865) give similar information for the seventh, eighth, and ninth 

 millions. Dase undertook the calculation at the suggestion of 

 Gauss, who urged him to begin at 6,000,000, as the three 

 millions between 3,000,000 and 6,000,000 had been calcu- 

 lated by Crelle and presented to the Berlin Academy, and 

 Gauss did not doubt that they would be published sooner or 

 later. It appears, however, that the Berlin manuscript is too 

 inaccurate to admit of publication, and therefore, in order to 

 fill up the gap, it is necessary to undertake the calculation again, 

 as the nature of the work is such that errors committed do not 

 readily admit of discovery and correction. Mr. Glaisher has 



completed the portion from 3,000,000 to 4,039,500, which is 

 ready for press, and the remaining two millions are being actively 

 proceeded with. 



Report of the Committee on Oscillation Frequencies of the Rays 

 of the Solar Spectnan. — Mr. G. J. Stoney explained the objects 

 of the Committee, and stated that in the table now published 

 the oscillation frequencies of the principal rays of the visible 

 part of the solar spectrum have been computed from Angstrom's 

 determinations of their wave-lengths in air, combined with 

 Ketteler's observations on the dispersion of air. Such a table 

 and its accompanying map afford the most assistance that can 

 be given towards the detection of harmonic relations, for rays 

 that are harmonically related are therein represented in the 

 simplest form practicable ; in the table by an arithmetical series 

 of the same type as the series of natural numbers, where the 

 common difference is equal to the first term ; and on the map 

 by a series of equidistant lines. 



Report of the Committee on Luminous Meteors. — Mr. James 

 Glaisher read this report, which consisted of (i) an account of 

 meteors doubly obser^'ed, with a table showing their real paths, 

 velocities, and radiant points ; (2) a detailed account of large 

 meteors ; (3) general directions and instructions to observers for 

 recording meteors and aerolites, by Prof, A. S. Herschel; (4) 

 the discussion of a meteor of short period (viz., the fireball of 

 November 27, 1877, for which a short period, such as, say, 500 

 days, is found), by Capt. G. L. Tupman ; (5) an elaborate 

 analysis of the constituents of masses of meteoric iron and 

 stone-falls, by Dr. W. Flight. 



Report of the Commil'ee on Underground Temperature. — Prof. 

 J. D. Everett read this report. The principal novelty was 

 the proposal to make observations in filled up bores by a thermo- 

 electric method. Two wires, one of iron and the other of 

 copper, each covered with gfutta-percha, were to be joined at 

 both ends, where a portion would be left uncovered. One 

 junction would be buried in the bore, while the other would 

 remain above groimd available for observation. A current 

 would flow through the circuit composed of these two wires 

 whenever the two junctions were at unequal temperatures, and 

 the observer would immerse the accessible junction in a basin 

 of water containing a thermometer, and would regulate the 

 temperature of the water until he found by a galvanometer that 

 no current passed. He would then know that the temperature 

 of the water as indicated by the thermometer was the same as 

 that of the buried junction. 



SECTION A. — Mathematical and Physical. 



Researches made at Dtinsink on the Annual Parallax of Stars, 

 by Prof. R. S. Ball. — The author stated tliat it was, of course, 

 well known that up to the present time no parallax of a star 

 had been detected which exceeded a single second of arc. In 

 the great majority of cases the parallax was very much less, even 

 if it was appreciable. But when they reflected that not one star 

 out of ten thousand had yet been regularly examined for paral- 

 lax it was obvious that it would be rash to conclude that there 

 were no stars nearer to us than those of which the distance was 

 already kno\vn. In selecting objects for investigation of annual 

 parallax astronomers had generally cliosen those stars which 

 were exceptional either on account of their brilliancy or the 

 largeness of their proper motions. Either of these features in a 

 star afforded, doubtless, a prima facie presumption that the star 

 was comparatively near the earth. On the other hand, even 

 Sirius had, according to Gylden, a parallax of only one-fifth of 

 a second, while for another star, which had the enormous proper 

 motion of seven seconds annually, Brunnow had found a paral- 

 lax not greater than one-tenth of a second. The presumptions 

 of nearness founded on great brilliancy or great proper motion, 

 except, perhaps, in the case of 61 Cygni, could hardly be said 

 to be justified by the results of observation. There was, how- 

 ever, a presumption that some of the red stars might be near the 

 earth, and that some of the variable stars were really small, and 

 therefore, as they were visible, comparatively near us. Before 

 commencing the observations described and tabulated in the 

 paper a working list was formed, containing red stars, variable 

 stars, stars with large proper motions, and several other stars 

 which were chosen on different grounds. The observations had 

 the special object of seeing whether any of them had a large 

 parallax. Forty-two different objects had been selected from 

 this working-list, but in almost every case the observations con- 



