442 



NATURE 



{March 15, 1877 



of polarisation, by B. Tollens. — On the exhalation of carbon 

 acid and the growth of plants, by L. Rischawi. — Researches on 

 assimilation in plants, by A. Stutzer. — On the assimilation of 

 water and lime salts by the leaves of plants, by J. Bohm. — On 

 the phenomena of heat accompanying muscular action, by J. 

 Nawalichin. — On the molecular volumes of sulphates and 

 selenates, by Otto Pettersson. — Electro-dynamic theory of matter, 

 by F. Zoellner. — Elements of the orbit of the double-star 24 77 

 Cassiopeiie, by Ludwig Graber. — On the action of an electric 

 discharge upon solid isolators, by W. Holtz. — On the external 

 sexual differences upon our fresh-water fish, by V. Fatio. 



The Memoirs of the St, Petersburg Society of Naturalists, 

 vol. vii., contains a series of valuable physiological contributions, 

 the most important of which are : — On the comparative anatomy 

 and metamorphology of the nervous system of the Hymenoptera, 

 by E. K. Brandt. — On the influence of condensed air, oxygen, 

 and carbonic acid on the nervous irritability of animals, by M. 

 TarkhanofF. — On changes in the eye produced by the section 

 of the nervus trigeminus h-'j M. Chistoserdoff. — On the psycho- 

 motor centres and on the bifurcation of electric currents in the 

 cerebellum and corpora quadrigemina, by MM. Weliky and 

 Shepovaloff. — On the influence of salicylic acid on the circu- 

 lation of the blood, by MM. Dubler and Chistoserdoff. — The 

 action of chinine and atropine on the hearts of frogs and rabbits, 

 by Mdlle. Panteleeff, and on the nucleus of the red globules of 

 the blood, by A. F. Brandt. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Royal Astronomical Society, March 9. — Prof. Cayley, 

 F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — The minutes of the pre- 

 vious meeting were read by Mr. Glaisher, F.R. S., the recently- 

 elected secretary. — Two communications of immediate import- 

 ance were made by the Astronoaaer-Royal. The first of these 

 referred to the supposed intra- mercurial planet, and he expressed 

 a wish that it should be published as widely as possible without 

 delay in order that amateur astronomers might lose no oppor- 

 tunity of scrutinising the sun's disk during the latter half of the 

 present month, but especially on the 22nd instant, from sunrise 

 till sunset. He had been requested by M. Leverrier to make 

 known that his computation of the elements of the supposed 

 planet, from such reported observations as were available, 

 pointed to March 22 as the day on which it might be 

 expected to transit the sun's disk. He recommended that the 

 disk should be continuously watched for several days before and 

 after that date. The second communication of the Astronomer- 

 Royal referred to the opportunity which will occur next autumn 

 of determining the solar parallax by observations of Mars in 

 opposition. He read an extract from a paper of his own pub- 

 lished some years ago in the Monthly Notices, showing the great 

 importance he attached to this method as compared with others, 

 and pointing out that fifteen years from the present time must 

 elapse before another nearly equal opportunity will occur of 

 applying it. He dwelt with much emphasis on the ease and 

 simplicity of the observations required and on their singularly 

 inexpensive character. Lord Lindsay had offered to lend his 

 heliometer, and Mr. Gill had offered his services gratuitously for 

 an expedition to St. Helena or Ascension for the purpose, so that 

 the money required would not exceed 500/. The Government 

 would be asked to supply this sum, but if they refused, other 

 means should be taken to raise the money, and if a subscription 

 list became necessary, he would gladly contribute 20/. himself. 

 Another Fellow, a member of the Council, then suggested that 

 a part of the Carrington bequest might be available, and failing 

 that, offered to contribute 100/. towards the expedition if it had 

 to be carried out by private means. — Mr. Gill was called upon to 

 explain the peculiar merits of this method of determining the 

 solar parallax. It depended upon the difference of R.A. 

 between Mars and certain stars measured early and late on the 

 same day, which measures could be made by the heliometer with 

 extreme accuracy. — Papers were presented by Prof. Zenger, C. 

 Todd, A. T. Arcimis, S. W. Burnham, Dr. Robinson, A. de 

 Gasparis, E. J. Stone, A. Marth, J. Tebbutt, Capt. Tupman, 

 Prof. S. Newcomb, Capt. Abney, Sir G. B. Airy, T. W. Back- 

 house, Rev. S. J. Perry, Dr. Ball, Dr. Royston Piggott, Mr. 

 Penrose, Mr. Knott, Mr. Neison, and Mr. Kobel, some of 

 which were read. Four new Fellows were elected. 



Linnean Society, March 1.— Prof. AUmann, F.R.S,, pre- 

 sident, in the chair.— Messrs. R. Gillies, H. Goss, Dr. A. 



Gunther, and M. Moggridge were elected Fellows, and Dr. 

 M. C. Cooke an Associate of the Society. The embryo of 

 Dyospyros embryopteris, Pers., upon the fruit and seed of 

 which species Gsertner founded his genus E?nbryopteris, was 

 exhibited by Mr. W. P. Hiern. He explained how the imma- 

 ture fruit was gathered in India for the sake of the tannin con- 

 tained, and hence the probability of Gasrtner's having been 

 misled as to the true structure of the seed and imperfect embryo, 

 which Mr. Hiern now correctly describes. — Dr. Maxwell Masters 

 brought before the meeting a series of specimens illustrative of 

 what is commonly known as " Burrs " or " Witch-knots." The 

 examples exhibited were collected by Mr. Webster, gardener 

 to the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. Some of these produc- 

 tions were illustrations of dimorphism or bud-variation, probably 

 reappearance of latent ancestral characteristics or disjunction of 

 parental forms usually amalgamated. Others doubtless owed 

 their origin to some injury to the terminal bud, subsequent 

 hypertrophy of the branches, and excessive development of 

 adventitious buds. Injury apparently was frequently the result 

 of insect puncture, as in the case of the birch, the " burrs" on 

 which had been lately discovered by Miss E. Omerod to be pro- 

 duced by a species of Fhytopits, at other times it was the result 

 of parasitic fungi or of injury consequent on frost, the wounds 

 caused by birds, the action of wind, &c. — A most important 

 communication on the flora of Marocco {Spicilegiuvi Florce- 

 Maroccancs) yvz.s read by Mr. John Ball, F.R.S. (Pres. Alpine 

 Club). By a sketch map he pointed out the peculiar physical 

 features of the territory penetrated at several points by Dr. 

 Hooker, Mr. G. Maw, and himself in 1871, and he mentioned 

 how that Marocco, though within but a few days' sail of London, 

 was in many respects a terra incognita to Europeans. Whilst the 

 Sultan and population of Marocco generally are averse to the ad- 

 mission of Christians and strangers into their countiy, the hill tribes, 

 derived from the warlike Berbers, are decidedly hostile and indeed 

 dangerous to travel among. The flora, then, of this interesting 

 region, is necessarily very imperfectly known. Mr. Ball gave a 

 lucid historical account of what little had been done by earlier 

 botanists, Zanoni 1675, Spotswood 1673, and Broussonnet 1790-9. 

 The collections of the latter having been distributed to 

 several European botanists, and here and there incidentally 

 noticed by them ; Cavanilles of Madrid temporarily secured to 

 Spain a fair share of honour by his publications in the scarce 

 periodical Ann. d. Ciencias Nat. M. Cosson has lately been 

 working Broussonnet's material deposited in the Montpellier 

 Museum. Schousboe, Danish Consul at Mogador, commenced 

 1801, but left unfinished a flora of Marocco. Jackson {1809) in 

 his account of the Empire of Marocco, has noticed the curious 

 Cactoid Euphorbias. P. Barker Webb in a short visit (1827) to 

 Tangier and Tetuan, discovered a new genus of Cruciferse. 

 Between 1840-1870 several Frenchmen touched at various points, 

 and the " Pugillus Plantarum " of M. Boissier, contains merely 

 a germ of future work. — The Rev. Mr. Lowe contributed to the 

 Linnean Society, 1850, a list of plants observed by him at 

 Mogador. But notwithstanding the preceding labours, a mere 

 tithe of the flora has yet been worked out, and almost nothing 

 satisfactorily. Mr. Ball, in 1851, attempted to reach the higher 

 summits of the Lesser At'as, but the disturbed condition of the 

 district obliged him to desist. M, Bilansawas likewise repulsed 

 in 1867 (though fortunate in collecting numbers of new and re- 

 markable species) ; but Mr. Maw was more successful in 1869. 

 Messrs. Hooker, Maw, and Ball's routes ia 187 1 were then 

 pointed out, and detailed but tec'nnical description of the plants 

 collected, given. In giving a summary of results in a tabular 

 form, Mr. Ball showed that the proportion of Composite;, legu- 

 minosee, and Liliace£e, is unusually large, whilst Gramineze, and 

 Ranunculacea; is exceptionally small. Of Rosaceae there are 

 16, of Saxifrageae 5, of Primulaceee 7, of Gentianeae 8, and of 

 Cyperaceze only 28 species, thus showing the peculiarity that but 

 a small proportion of these natural orders are present, which 

 otherwise are so characteristic of the mountainous countries 

 of the north temperate zone. It seems as if five temperate 

 floras were represented as follows : — i, Mediterranean in 

 general ; 2, Peninsula ; 3, Desert ; 4, African mountain flora ; 

 5, Macaronesian — to which may be added 6, Cosmopolite 

 or widely-spread European species. The total number of pha- 

 nerogamous plants now described are 1618 species, and among 

 these many novelties. — Mr. J. G. Baker then read a paper on 

 the Liliacete, Iridiacese, Hypoxidaceae, and Hamodoracese of the 

 late Dr. Wehvitsch's Angolan Herbarium, which, through the 

 courtesy of the executors, he has been enabled to work out. 

 Not only are there a large proportion of the species new to 



