268 



NATURE 



\yan, 1 8, 1877 



cies of crustacean described by Mr. E. J. Miers. It was dredged 

 at seven fathoms, and came up along with a number of Cancroidea, 

 &c., and which it resembles much, though structurally undoubt- 

 edly belonging to the family Leucosiidas. — Mr. H. N. Moseley 

 tendered a paper descriptive of two new and remarkable forms 

 of deep-sea Ascidians obtained by him during the Challenger 

 expedition. The first of these aberrant forms was trawled in 

 the North Pacific, from a depth of 2,900 fathoms. This Hyby- 

 thius calycodes, of cup-like shape, is probably allied to BoUenia, 

 but differs, among other things, in possessing a series of cartila- 

 ginous plates developed with symmetrical arrangement on its 

 otherwise soft test. The second Ascidian, named by the author, 

 Octacnemus bythius, was got from 1,070 fathoms. Star-shaped 

 or of eight-rayed form, its gill-sac is nearly horizontal, and gill- 

 network absent ; muscular prolongations of the tunic run into 

 the curious conical protuberances of the test ; nucleus contracted 

 and small like that of Salpa. This unique specimen, so far as 

 our present knowledge goes, is presumed to b2 without living 

 allies. 



Anthropological Institute, January 9. — Col. A. Lane Fox, 

 president, in the chair. — Mr. Henry Hyde Clarke exhibited a 

 handsome feather dress from the Amazon. — Mr. Moseley, 

 naturalist to the Challenger expedition, then read a long and 

 most interesting account of the inhabitants of the Admiralty 

 Islands, He considered that in their arts, as shown in the 

 ornamentation of their weapons, &c., they resembled the natives 

 of New Guinea, while in a peculiar note in their chants or sing- 

 ing he noticed a strong Fijian resemblance ; their manner of 

 hafting the stone implements differed from that in other groups, 

 the stone being fixed in a slot in the wood. Obsidian spear and 

 knife heads were shown, the mounting of the obsidian tlakes in 

 the spear heads being effected with a strong gum and twine. 

 The lecturer described most fully the customs, dress, and manners 

 of the natives, and gave some thirty-five words of the language. 

 The whole was illustrated with maps, sketches, and numerous 

 objects. The president and Prof. Rolleston took part in the 

 discussion. — Mr. J. P. Harrison then read the report on recent 

 excavations at Cissbury Camp. The pit that has been excavated 

 immediately adjoins the one cleared out by Mr. E. Willett in 

 1874, and is of nearly |he same size. There are two platforms, 

 one above the other, in a kind of apse on the highest, or eastern 

 side of the pit. Galleries radiate in all directions, excepting 

 towards the west, where, under a mass of chalk rock which 

 projects into the pit some six feet, there is a small chamber. Out- 

 side of it a quantity of charcoal and smoked chalk indicated 

 that a fire had been made on the floor of the pit. Lines in 

 different combinations were found at the entrances of two of the 

 galleries and also on loose blocks of chalk ; some of them may, 

 perhaps, possess a definite meaning, but the majority were most 

 probably idle marks. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, January 3.— M. Peligot in the chair. 

 The following papers were read : — Observations on a reclama- 

 tion recently presented by M. Faye, with regard to whirlwinds 

 produced in the atmosphere, by P. Secchi. The supposition of 

 descending currents in whirlwinds is very old ; we find it 

 in Lucretius and the ancient physicists. Besides trombes with 

 descending pressure, there are many which exert suction. M. 

 Faye replied, denying the latter fact, maintaining the novelty of 

 his ideas, &c. — Practical processes for the destruction of 

 Phylloxera, by M. Boiteau. He describes an apparatus, a per- 

 forator with automatic distribution, employed in applying the 

 insecticide liquid. — The programme of a prize founded by the 

 late Dr. Bressa, was announced from the President of the Turin 

 Academy of Sciences. It is 12,000 francs, and to be awarded 

 every two years to Italian and foreign savants alternately, for 

 the most brilliant and useful discovery or most remarkable work 

 in the physical and experimental sciences, natural history, pure 

 and applied mathematics, physiology, and pathology, not ex- 

 cluding geology, history, geography, and statistics. First award, 

 in 1879, to a savant of any nationality. — The cyclic or logarith- 

 mic periods of the quadratrix of an algebraic curve of degree m 

 are the products by 2 t V^ of the roots of an algebraic equa- 

 tion of degree m, which may always be obtained, and the coeffi- 

 cients of which are rational functions of those of the equation of 

 the curve proposed. Theorem by M. Maximilien Marie. — On 

 the cause of motion in the radiometer, by MM. Berlin and 

 Garbe. In a suspended radiometer, according to the initial con- 



ditions, the movement of the vessel may be nil, positive, or 

 negative, and thus may be explained various errors of observa- 

 tion. From the equation I « + I' co' = const, (where I, I' are 

 the moments of inertia of vessel and vane- system, w &»' their 

 angular velocities), the authors draw several consequences 

 which are verified by experiment. — On the flow of mercury 

 by capillary tubes, by M. Villari. The quantity which 

 flows in a second is proportional to the pressure under 

 which the flow occurs, and to the fourth power of the 

 radius of the tubes, and inversely proportional to the length of 

 the tubes, if a certain minimum length have been passed which is 

 smaller the narrower the tubes, and the less the pressure. For 

 tubes with elliptic section, the minimum length under which 

 these laws are no longer verified is smaller than for circular 

 tubes whose radius is equal to the mean radius of the elliptical 

 section. The quantity of flowing mercury, lastly, depends on a 

 certain constant, which depends on the form of aperture of the 

 tube and the nature of the sides. — On an experiment similar to 

 that of singing flames, by M. Montenat. Into a long vertical 

 metallic tube is lowered a metallic basket with glowing charcoal. 

 When this has reached the lower part, the air-current produces, 

 a sound. On raising the charcoal towards the middle, the 

 sounds increase, diminish, and cease ; on continuing the move- 

 ment they recur, but at the double octave of the first, 

 and they cease as the charcoal nears the orifice. M. Jamin 

 recalled M. Kastner's pyrophone. — On the rotatory power of 

 mannite and its derivatives, by M. Bouchaidat. Contrary to 

 MM. Miintz and Aubin, who supposed mannite to be a substance 

 with indifferent rotatory power, it is shown to possess a real 

 levorotatory power near — o'' 15'. — Researches on Melezitose, by 

 M. Villiers. — Remarks on this communication and on the con- 

 stitution of the isomerous sugars of cane sugar, by M. Berthelot. 

 The unison of two molecules of the same glucose, regarded in turn 

 as aldehyde and as alcohol, produces three distinct types of isome- 

 roussaccharoses. Of these three types, mixed eiher, mixed aldehyde, 

 and ether aldehyde, the first and third alone are capable of re- 

 producing their generators by simple hydration, under the 

 influence of acids or ferments. — Graphic study of the move- 

 ments of the brain in man, by MM. Giacomini and Mosso. 

 — On the alterations of quaternary deposits by atmospheric 

 agents, by M. Vanden Brceck. Such alterations in the Paris 

 valley permit of assimilating the red diluvium to the grey, a 

 simple fades of modification of the same layer. — M. Virlet 

 d'Aoust described a lunar halo observed by him at Paris on the 

 30th ult. 



CONTENTS Page 



Fermentation, II. By Charles Graham ?49 



Cav[.ey's Elliptic Functions. By C. W. Merrifield, F.RS. . . 752 

 Our Book Shblf : — 



Abney's " Instruction in Photography" 253 



Lbtters to thb Editor : — 



Just Intonation.— Lieut. -Col. A. R. Clarke, R.E. . ..... 253 



South Polar Depression of the Barometer. — Rev. W. ClemEiNT 



Ley 253 



Sense of Hearing, &c , in Birds and Insects.— Robert M'Lach- 



LAN, F.RS 254 



The "Challenger" Collkctions. By Prof. Sir C. Wvville • 



Thomson, F.R.S 235 



Prof. Agassiz ov THs "Challe.\ger" Collections ... . 256 

 Remarks on the New Monotrkme from Nkw Guinea {With 



Illustraitons) • 237 



On THE Tropical Forests of Hampshire, II. By J Stark ie 



Qt^-RX)V.Ti,\s.,'S.Q.'s>. {With Illustrations) . 258 



The Report ON THE Austrian " NovARA " Expedition. . . . 261 



Thb Cyclone Wave in Bengal 261 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



An Observatory on Etna 262 



The New Star of 1604 262 



Meteorological Notes : — 



Storms and Floods of the Past Six Weeks 263 



Physics of the Atlantic Ocean 26? 



Weather Maps of Germany 263 



Thunderstorms in Central Europe' 263 



Sunspots and Weather 263 



Biological Notes : — 



Chemical Changes Observed daring Progress of th ■ Pot jto Disease 863 



Cummensaliam among Caterpillars HK/M ///?<jc.'v.7 r".) .... 264 



Blistering Beetles as a Cure for Hydrophobia 2^4 



Carboniferous Amphibia in Nova Scotia . 2^4 



Action of the Brain 261 



Papuan Plants ='<54 



Nest-building Fish =^5 



Beaver in Siberia ^^S 



Notes '^^^ 



SciiiNTiFic Serials *^7 



Societies and Academies • '^°^ 



