37^ 



NATUkli 



{March 7, 1878 



at the last meeting of the Society, on the manifestations of fear 

 and anger by fishes. — A communication was read from the Mar- 

 quis of Tweeddale, F.R.S., containing an account of a coUec- 

 lection of birds made by Mr. A. H, Everett, in the Island of 

 Negros, Philippines. — A second communication from the Mar- 

 quis of Tweeddale contained the description of a new species of 

 the genus Buceros, proposed to be called B. semigaleatus, from 

 the Island of Leyle, Philippines. 



Mineralogical Society, February 19.— Mr. H. C. Sorby, 

 F. R. S. , president, in the chair. — The president read a valuable and 

 important paper on the determination of the minerals in thin 

 sections of rocks by means of their refractive indices. In this 

 paper he showed how the refractive indices might be determined 

 with great accuracy in sections less than ^^ of an inch in 

 thickness, cut for ordinary microscopic purposes. — The Rev. 

 T. G. Bonney then read a paper on some specimens of Gabbro 

 from the Pennine Alps, in which he pointed out the great 

 changes which these rocks had undergone, and their similarity to 

 the rocks of the Lizard district in Cornwall. — Mr. J. H. Collins 

 read a paper on the classification of minerals^ in which he 

 advocated a primary chemical and a secondary mixed system of 

 classification. This paper elicited an interesting discussion. 

 Specimens in illustration of their papers were exhibited by the 

 president and by the Rev. T. G. Bonney. —Dr. Foster exhibited 

 specimens of carbonate of bismuth, and other minerals from ne«v 

 Cornish localities. 



Photographic Society, February 12. — Annual Meeting. — 

 James Glaisher, F.R.S., president, in the chair. — A silver 

 progress medal was awarded to Capt. Abney, R.E., F.R.S., for 

 having made the greatest advance in the science of photograpliy 

 during the past year. — Capt Abney exhibited a very large 

 positive photograph taken from one of Janssen's negatives of the 

 sun, which were taken by a five-inch telescopic objective of 

 about seven feet focal length, corrected for the chemical, but not 

 for the visual rays. — Mr. Edward Viles exhibited the micro- 

 photographic apparatus by which the large photograph (recently 

 seen at the exhibition) of the proboscis of the blow-fly enlarged 

 200 diameters, was taken, the mechanism and use of the heliostat 

 being minutely described. — Capt. Abney also exhibited and 

 described two other forms of heliostats which he had used. 



Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, February 25. — M. Fizeau in the 

 chair. — The President announced the opening of a subscription 

 for a statue to M. Leverrier. The following papers were read : — 

 On the carburation of nickel by the process of cementation, by 

 M. Boussingault. Though combining with carbon, nickel does 

 not acquire, like iron, the properties found in steel ; nor is the 

 cemented nickel rendered less oxidable. (M. Becquerel is exa- 

 mining its magnetic properties.) — On a new product of oxidation 

 of lead, and on some phenomena of dissociation, by M. Debray. 

 Sesquioxide of lead is transformed, gradually at 350°, and rapidly 

 at 440° into minium, which is not susceptible of being hyperoxy- 

 genated in air, or even in pure oxygen. It cannot be said that 

 any compound formed directly will necessarily undergo a limited 

 decomposition at a given temperature. — Imitation of the charac- 

 teristic cupules and erosions found on the surface of meteorites 

 in an industrial operation, by action of a rapid current of air on 

 incandescent stones, by M. Danbree. In a new mode of manu- 

 facture of Portland cement, the stones raised to white heat are 

 subjected to a current of cold air ; the specimen (furnished by 

 M. Hauenschild) showed a surface very like that of meteorites. 

 — Note on a new brochure of M. Him on music and acoustics, by 

 M. Faye. — On the recent communication of M. Broun, and a 

 note of Mr. Jenkins relating to sun-spots and terrestrial mag- 

 netism, by M. Faye. — On telephones with battery, by M. Du 

 Moncel, The author hopefully calls attention to MM. Pollard 

 and Gamier's attempts to strengthen the sound ; the sending 

 telephone being on Edison's graphite system, while the receiver 

 is a Bell telephone connected to the induced wire of a Ruhm- 

 korif coil, the battery currents being passed through the 

 primary wire. With pretty strong currents words can be heard 

 50 or 60 ctm. from the mouth of the telephone, and musical sounds 

 several metres off. — The vibrations of matter and the waves of the 

 ether in ebullition, by M. Fave.— Report on a memoir of M. 

 Haton de la Goupilliere. — On the lines generated in movement 

 of a plane figure. — On some consequences of the constitution of 

 tiie Golar spectrum, by M. Cornu. If the sun's outer layer con- 

 tain, like aerolites, a large amount of iron vapour, this metal 

 probably has an appreciable action on our terrestrial magnetic 



phenomena. The central part of the earth seems to be formed of 

 much denser materials than the crust, probably metallic matter ; 

 and the probable common origin of bodies of the solar system 

 seems to point to iron being largely present, which would explain 

 the earth's action on the magnetic needle. Again, the solar 

 protuberances may correspond to illumination by induction 

 (large magnetic masses being in rapid motion) of rarefied 

 gaseous masses — an illumination easily produced in our labo- 

 ratories by means of the weakest mechanical actions. — On 

 diffei-ential actions of the first order and the first degree, by M. 

 Darboux. — On the temporary variation of permanent magnetism, 

 by M. Gaugain, — When a system (tube and core, or even 

 full bar) magnetised^ at ordinary .[temperature is raised to 300° 

 or 400°, the weakening of the magnetism is not exclusively 

 due to a part of this magnetism being destroyed ; it arises i;i 

 part from the iiiverse magnetism being developed in the tube 

 under influence of heat. — On the action of fluoride of boron 

 on organic matters, by M. Landolph. — Transformation of 

 bromated hydrocarbons of the series of ethylene into bromides 

 of acids of the fatty series, by simple addition of oxygen, by 

 M. Demole. — Analysis of the sulphurous waters of Aix, in 

 Savoy, and of Marlioz, by M. Willm. — Action of oxygen on 

 anatomical elements, by M. Bert. These elements are nourished 

 by reducing the oxyha^moglobic combination (and similarly to 

 the butyric ferment) ; but if their substance be penetrated arti- 

 ficially with chemically free dissolved oxygen, they become 

 incapable of taking oxygen from the matter which furnished it 

 before, and die by a kind of asphyxia ; in a word they are 

 ancerobies. — On local variations of the pulse in the forearm of 

 man, by M. Mosso. He experiments with a hydrosphygnio- 

 graph, which is a modification of his plethysmograph. The 

 effects during intellectual effort, sleep, &c,, are described. — On 

 lactic fermentation of sugar of milk, by M. Richet. It seems 

 that the gastric juice, by its dissolving action on caseine and 

 perhaps another action yet unknown, gives lactic fermentation a 

 surprising activity and rapidity. — Classification of Cestoides, by 

 M. Perrier. 



Vienna. 

 : Imperial Academy of Sciences, January 3. — On the 

 velocity of propagation of spark- waves, by MM. Mach, Tumlirz, 

 and Kogler. — On orthogonal substitutions and some related to 

 them, by M. Igel. — On ballooning, by M. Eitalp. — Three 

 experiments with the telephone, by M. Sacher. 



CONTENTS Page 



Representation of Science at the Paris Exhibition . . . 357 



Metrology ; 357 



Wolf's History OF Astronomy, II By J. R. Hind, F.R.S. . . . 359 

 Our Book Shelf : — 



Proctor's "Spectroscope and its Woik." — M. M. Pattison 



MuiK 360 



Gillmore's " Great Thirst Land ; a Ride through Natal, Orange 



Free State, Transvaal, and Kalahari Desert " 360 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Strychnia and its Antidote. — J. Sinclair Holdkn 360 



Age of the Sun in Relation to Evolution. — John J. Plummer . . 3fJo 



The Zoological Station at Naples. — Dr. Anton Dohrn .... 3^0 

 Faraday's " Experimental Researches." — Prof. Silvan us P. 



Thompson ' . . , . 36r 



Mimicry in Birds. — J Stuart Thomson 361 



Great Waterfalls. — Thos. Bland 361 



Several New Applications of Science Introduced into War . 361 

 Meteorological Notes: — 



Tornado in Chester County, Penn., U.S 362 



The Law and Origin of Thunderstorms 362 



Monthly Meteorological Bulletin of the Montsouris Observatory, 



No. 69 362 



Meteorology of Western Australia 363 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Uranian Satellites, Ariel and Umbriel 363 



1 he Transit of Mercury on May 6 363 



The Radcliffe Observatory 363 



The Harvard College Observatory, U.S 363 



Geographical Notes : — 



The Albert Nyanza , . . . 364 



Mr. Stanley's Work 364 



South-West Africa 364 



African Dwarfs 364 



The North-East Passage 364 



Dr. Lenz 364 



Popular Natural Hlstory (^F/M ///?«/r«/iV«j) 365 



Nitrification. By R. Warington 367 



Fossil Hunting AT Bournemouth. By J. S. Gardner, F.G.S. . 369 



Fathbr Secchi 370 



Notes 370 



Extent and Principal Zone of the Aurora Borealis .... 373 



Paris Academy Prizes for 1878 373 



University and Educational Intrlligence 374 



SciBNTiFic Serials 3,-4 



Societies and Academies 374 



