142 



NATURE 



[June 7, 1888 



artificial salicylic acid, by Prof. Hartley, F.R. S. Spectroscopic 

 examination of the two compounds establishes their identity. — 

 Researches on the relation between the molecular structure of 

 -carbon compounds and their absorption spectra (part viii.), by the 

 same. — A definition of the term atomic weight and its reference 

 to the periodic law, by the same. The author is of opinion that 

 the fact that the atomic weights are real measures of the quantity 

 of matter in the atoms of the elements is often overlooked, and 

 advocates the adoption of the definition : The atomic weight of 

 an element is the ratio of the mass of its atom to the mass of an 

 atom of hydrogen. The periodic law then admits of being stated 

 thus : The properties of the atoms are a periodic function of 

 their masses. 



Geological Society, May 23.— Dr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., 

 President, in the chair. — The following communications were 

 read : — On the spheroid-bearing granite of Mullaghderg, Co. 

 Donegal, by Dr. Frederick H. Hatch. Communicated with the 

 permission of the Director-General of the Geological Survey. 

 This paper deals with a remarkable variety of granite which 

 may be compared with the well-known orbicular diorite or 

 Napoleonite of Corsica. According to Mr. J. R. Kilroe, of 

 the Geological Survey of Ireland, who first discovered this 

 interesting rock, the concretionary balls occur in close juxta- 

 position in a mass of granite of 5 or 6 cubic yards in size. They 

 have not been found in any other portion of the granite area. 

 The author gave a detailed description of the microscopic struc- 

 ture of the normal granite. He also described the spheroidal 

 bodies, and gave a synopsis of the literature concerning the 

 occurrence of similar concretionary bodies in granite. The 

 conclusion arrived at was, that concretionary bodies occurring in 

 granite may, according to the mode of arrangement of their 

 constituents, be divided into three classes, viz. (1) the 

 concretionary patches of Phillips ; (2) the granospherites of 

 Vogelsang ; (3) the belonospherites of Vogelsang. The 

 spheroids from Mullaghderg belong to the last-mentioned class. 

 They must be regarded as concretions formed, during the con- 

 solidation of the granite magma, by a process of zonal and 

 radial crystallization around an earlier-formed nucleus. Re- 

 marks on this paper were offered by Mr. Rutley, Prof. Bonney, 

 Dr. Hicks, and Prof. Jucld. — On the skeleton of a Sauroptery- 

 gian from the Oxford Clay near Bedford, by R. Lydekker. — On 

 the Eozoic and Palaeozoic rocks of the Atlantic coast of Canada 

 in comparison with those of Western Europe and the interior of 

 America, by Sir J. W. Dawson, F. R. S. The author referred to 

 the fact that since 1845 he had contributed to the Proceedings of 

 the Geological Society a number of papers on the geology of 

 the eastern maritime provinces of Canada, and it seemed useful 

 to sum up the geology of the older formations and make such 

 corrections and comparisons as seemed warranted by the new 

 facts obtained by himself, and by other observers of whom men- 

 tion is made in the paper. With reference to the Laurentian, 

 he maintained its claim to be regarded as a regularly stratified 

 system probably divisible into two or three series, and character- 

 ized in its middle or upper portion by the accumulation of organic 

 limestone, carbonaceous beds, and iron-ores on a vast scale. He 

 also mentioned the almost universal prevalence in the northern 

 hemisphere of the great plications of the crust which terminated 

 this period, and which necessarily separate it from all succeeding 

 deposits. He next detailed its special development on the coast 

 of the Atlantic, and the similarity of this with that found in Great 

 Britain and elsewhere in the west of Europe. The Huronian 

 he defined as a littoral series of deposits skirting the shores of 

 the old Laurentian uplifts, and referred to some rocks which may 

 be regarded as more oceanic equivalents. Its characters tn 

 Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and New Brunswick were referred 

 to, and compared with the Pebidian, &c, in England. The 

 questions as to an upper member of the Huronian or an inter- 

 mediate series, the Basal Cambrian of Matthew in New Bruns- 

 wick, were discussed. The very complete series of Cambrian 

 rocks now recognized on the coast-region of Canada was noticed, 

 in connection with its equivalency in details to the Cambrian of 

 Britain and of Scandinavia, and the peculiar geographical con- 

 ditions implied in the absence of the Lower Cambrian over a 

 large area of interior America. In the Ordovician age a marginal 

 and a submarginal area existed on the east coast of America. 

 The former is represented largely by bedded igneous rocks, the 

 latter by the remarkable series named by Logan the Quebec 

 Group, which was noticed in detail in connection with its 

 equivalents further west, and also in Europe. The Silurian, 

 Devonian, and Carboniferous were then treated of, and detailed 



evidence shown as to their conformity to the types of Western 

 Europe rather than to those of America. In conclusion, it was 

 pointed out that iho.igh the great systems of formations can be 

 recognized throughout the northern hemisphere, their divisions 

 must differ in the maritime and inland regions, and that hard and 

 fast lines should not be drawn at the confines of syste ms, nor 

 widely different formations of the same age reduced to an 

 arbitrary uniformity of classification not sanctioned by Nature. 

 It was also inferred that the evidence pointed to a permanent con- 

 tinuance of the Atlantic basin, though with great changes of its 

 boundaries, and to a remarkable parallelism of the formations 

 deposited on its eastern and western sides. The President, 

 whilst recognizing the importance of the paper, doubted whether 

 the question of correlation of the Pre-Cambrian rocks on either 

 side of the Atlantic was ripe for discussion. Dr. Hicks agreed 

 with most of the conclusions of the author, including the correla- 

 tion of the Huronian with the Pebidian. Some observations on 

 the paper were also made by Dr. Scott, Dr. Hinde, and Mr. 

 Marr. — On a hornblende-biotite rock from Dusky Sound, New 

 Zealand, by Captain F. W. Hutton. 



Zoological Society, May 15. — Dr. A. Giinther, F.R.S., 

 Vice-President, in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on 

 the additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie 

 during the month of April 1888 ; and called special attention 

 to two Rock-hopper Penguins from the Auckland Islands, pre- 

 sented by Capt. Sutcliff, R.M.S. S. Aorangi, on April 19 ; also 

 to two Indian Hill-Foxes, and to a fine example of the Spotted 

 Hawk-Eagle {Spizaetus nipalensis), presented by Colonel Alex. 

 A. A. Kuiloch, and received on April 20. — A communication 

 was read from Mr. George A. Treadwell, containing an 

 account of a fatal case of poisoning from the bite of the Gila 

 Monster {HAoderma suspectum). — Mr. Boulenger exhibited the 

 type-specimen of a singular new genus of Snakes {Azemiops fece) 

 recently discovered by M. Fea, of the Museo Civico of Genoa, 

 in the Kakhim Hills, Upper Burma. Mr. Boulenger proposed 

 to refer this genus provisionally to the family Elapida;. — The 

 Secretary read a letter addressed to him by Mr. E. C. Cotes, 

 Entomological Department, Indian Museum, Calcutta, respecting 

 the insect-pests of India, and requesting the assistance of entomo- 

 logists in working out the species to which they belong. — Mr. 

 H. Seebohm exhibited and made remarks on a series of speci- 

 mens of Pheasants from Mongolia, Tibet, and China, including 

 examples of the two species discovered by Colonel Prjevalski, 

 Phasianus strauchi and P. vlangali. — Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell 

 exhibited and made remarks on three specimens of a large 

 Pennatulid {Fmiicidina quadrangularis) obtained by Mr. John 

 Murray on the west coast of Scotland. They showed very 

 clearly the differences between examples of this species of differ- 

 ent ages.— Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe gave an account of a third 

 collection of birds made by Mr. L. Wray in the main range of 

 mountains of the Malay Peninsula, Perak. The present paper 

 contained descriptions of ten species new to science, amongst 

 which was a new Pericrocotus, proposed to be called P. wrayi. — 

 Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell read the descriptions of four new species of 

 Ophiuroids from various localities. — Mr. F. E. Beddard read a 

 paper containing remarks on certain points in the visceral 

 anatomy of Balceniceps rex bearing upon its affinities, which he 

 considered to be with the Ardeidse rather than with the Ciconi- 

 idae. Mr. G. B. Sowerby gave the description of a gigantic 

 new species of Mollusk of the genus Aspergilltim from Japan, 

 which he proposed to name A. giganteum. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, May 29. — Annual 

 General Meeting. — Mr. George B. Bruce, President, in the 

 chair. — After the reading of the Report, hearty votes of 

 thanks were passed to the President, to the Vice-Presidents, 

 and other members of the Council, to the Auditors, to the 

 Secretaries and staff, and to the Scrutineers. — The ballot for the 

 Council resulted in the election of Mr. G. B. Bruce, as President ; 

 of Sir Tohn Coode, Mr. G. Berkley, Mr. H. Hayter, and Mr. 

 A. Giles, M.P., as Vice-Presidents ; and of Mr. W. Anderson, 

 Mr. B. Baker, Mr. J. W. Barry, Sir Henry Bessemer, F.R.S., 

 Mr. E. A. Cowper, Sir James N. Douglass, F.R.S., Sir 

 Douglas Fox, Mr. C. Hawksley, Mr. J. Mansergh, Mr. W. H. 

 Preece, F.R.S., Sir Robert Rawlinson, K.C.B., Sir E. J. 

 Reed, K.C.B., F.R.S., M.P., Mr. W. Shelford, Mr. F. C. 

 Stileman, and Sir William Thomson, F.R.S., as other mem- 

 bers of the Council. — The Council has made the following 

 awards to the authors of some of the papers read and discussed 

 at the ordinary meetings during the past session, or printed in 



