233 



NATURE 



[July 5, 1888 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



The Journal of Botany continues, in its numbers for April, 

 May, and June, Mr. J. G. Baker's Synopsis of the Tillandsiese, 

 and MM. Britten and Boulger's valuable biographical index of 

 British and Irish botani-ts (deceased). — Students of diatoms 

 will be interested in Mr. J. Rattray's paper on Aulacodiscus, in 

 which the many and singular abnormalities of this genus of 

 fossil diatoms are described and illustrated by a plate. — Mr. G. 

 Massee contributes a revision of the genus Bouista, in which 

 several new species of this genus of Fungi are described, also 

 illustrated by a plate. — We have also biographies of Prof. Asa 

 Gray, and Mr. John Smith, of Kew (the portrait of the 

 former is not a pleasing one), and several papers on local or 

 descriptive botany. 



In the Botanical Gazette for February, March, and April, we 

 have no important papers of original research or observation such 

 as sometimes reach us in this record of the doings of botanists in 

 the Far West (published at Crawfordsville, Indiana). The 

 original papers in these numbers relate almost entirely to the 

 •distribution of plants in the Western States of America, and to 

 the description of American species. 



The number of the Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano for 

 April contains the conclusion of Prof. A. N. Berlese's mono- 

 graph of the genera of Fungi Pleospora, Clatkrospora, and 

 Pyrenophora, with the ten coloured plates which serve to 

 illustrate the whole paper ; and a description by Sig. C. Massa- 

 longo of a number of instances of teratology, chiefly relating to 

 the flower. It serves further as the medium of publication of 

 the proceedings of the Italian Botanical Society, reports being 

 appended of a number of smaller contributions in various 

 departments of botany. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, June 21. — "Muscular Movements in Man, 

 and their Evolution in the Infant : a Study of Movement in 

 Man, and its Evolution, together with Inferences as to the Pro- 

 perties of Nerve-centres and their Modes of Action in expressing 

 Thought." By Francis Warner, M.D., F.R.C.P., Physician to 

 the London Hospital, and Lecturer on Botany in the London 

 Hospital Medical College. Communicated by Prof. J. 

 Hutchinson, F.R.S. 



Before proceeding to give an account of the visible evolution 

 of voluntary movement in man, it is necessary to define the 

 •different classes of movements seen, indicating the criteria by 

 which the observer may be guided in the examples before him. 



The new-born infant presents constant movement in all its 

 parts while it is awake, and this is not controlled by impressions 

 from without. Graphic tracings of such movements are given 

 This spontaneous movement in the infant appears to be of great 

 physiological importance, and is here termed " microkinesis." 

 It is argued that the mode of brain action which produces micro- 

 kinesis is analogous to the action producing spontaneous 

 movements in all young animals, and to the modes of cell- 

 growth which produce circumnutation in young seedling plants. 

 It is argued that as circumnutation becomes modified by external 

 forces to the modes of movement termed heliotropism, geo- 

 tropism, &c , so microkinesis in the infant is replaced by the 

 more complicated modes of brain action as evolution proceeds. 



The conditions of movement are then described, as seen at 

 successive stages of development of the child, and it is shown 

 that they become less spontaneous, and more under control of 

 stimuli acting upon the child from without, while the phenomena 

 termed memory and imitation are evolved. 



From observations made, two hypotheses are put forward. It 

 is suggested that when a well co-ordinated movement follows a 

 slight stimulus, the impression produces temporary unions 

 among the centres, preparing them for the special combinations 

 and series of actions which are seen to follow. Such unions 

 among nerve-centres appear to be formed when a period of 

 cerebral inhibition, produced by a word of command, is seen to 

 be followed by a co-ordinated series of acts. A graphic tracing 

 indicating suspension of microkinesis to the stimulus of sight 

 and sound is given. It is further suggested that the brain action 

 corresponding to thought is the formation of functional unions 

 among cells, whose outcome is seen in the movements which 

 express the thought, or its physical representation. Properties 

 similar to those described in brain-centres may be illustrated in 

 modes of growth. 



" Evaporation and Dissociat'on. Part VIII. A Study of the 

 Thermal Properties of Propyl Alcohol." By William Ramsay, 

 Ph.D., F.R.S., and Sydney Young, D.Sc. 



In continuation of our investigations of thermal properties of 

 pure liquids, we have now determined the vapour-pressures, 

 vapour-densities, and expansion in the liquid and gaseous states 

 cf propyl alcohol, and from these results we have calculated the 

 heats of vaporization at definite temperatures. The compressi- 

 bility of the liquid has also been measured. The range of 

 temperature is from 5 to 280 C, and the range of pressure 

 from 5 mm. to 56,000 mm. 



The memoir contains an account of the purification of the 

 propyl alcohol ; determinations of its specific gravity at o°, and 

 at io°"j2 ; and of the constants mentioned above. 



The approximate critical temperature of propyl alcohol is 

 263°'7 ; the approximate critical pressure is 38,120 mm., and 

 the approximate volume of 1 gramme is 3 '6 c.c. The first two 

 of these constants must be very nearly correct ; the third cannot 

 be determined with the same degree of precision. 



The memoir is accompanied by plates, showing the relations 

 of volume, temperature, and pressure in a graphic form. 



Royal Meteorological Society, June 20. — Dr. W. Marcet, 

 F. R. S. , President, in the chair. — The following papers were 

 read : — First Report of the Thunderstorm Committee. This Re- 

 port deals with the photographs of lightning-flashes, some sixty 

 in number, which have been received by the Society. From the 

 evidence now obtained it appears that lightning assumes various 

 typical forms, under conditions which are at present unknown. 

 The Committee consider that the lightning-flashes may be 

 arranged under the following types : (1) stream, (2) sinuous, (3) 

 ramified, (4) meandering, (5) beaded or chapletted, and (6) 

 ribbon lightning. In one of the photographs there is a dark 

 flash of the same character as the bright flashes, but the Com- 

 mittee defer offering any explanation of the same until they get 

 further examples of dark flashes. As the thunderstorm season 

 is now coming on, the Committee propose to publish their 

 Report at once, along with some reproductions of the photographs 

 by the autotype process, in order that observers may be pre- 

 pared to notice the various forms of lightning. — The cold period 

 from September 1887 to May 1888, by Mr. C. Harding. The 

 mean temperature for each of the nine months from- Septem- 

 ber 1887 to May 1888 was below the average, whilst in the case 

 of October there has been no corresponding month as cold 

 during the last half century, and only three colder Aprils. In 

 London the mean temperature for the period was only 42° '4, and 

 there has been no similarly low mean for the corresponding 

 period since 1854-55, which will be remembered as the time of the 

 Crimean War, and only three equally cold periods during the 

 la t 50 years. The temperature of the soil at Greenwich at 3 

 feet below the surface was below the average in each month 

 from October to April ; in October and April the temperature at 

 this depth was the coldest on record, observations being avail- 

 able for the last 42 years, and in November it was the coldest 

 f° r 37 years. — Observations on cloud movements near the 

 equator ; and on the general character of the weather in the 

 " Doldrums," by Hon. R. Abercromby. The author gives the 

 results of observations made during four voyages across the 

 equator and the "Doldrums," with special reference to the 

 motion of clouds at various levels. Two voyages were across 

 the Indian Ocean during the season of the north-west monsoon, 

 and two across the Atlantic in the months of July and December. 

 The nature of the general circulation of the atmosphere near the 

 " Doldrums " is discussed as regards the theory that the Trades, 

 after meeting, rise and fall back on themselves ; or, according to 

 the suggestion of Maury, that the Trades interlace and cross the 

 equator ; or, as following the analogy of Dr. Vettin's experiments 

 on smoke. It is shown that the materials at present available 

 are insufficient to form a definite conclusion, but details are 

 given of the general character of the weather and of the squalls 

 in the "Doldrums," with a view of showing what kind of 

 observations are required to solve this important problem. The 

 old idea of a deep Trade — with a high opposite current flowing 

 overhead —is certainly erroneous ; for there is always a regular 

 vertical succession of the upper currents as we ascend, according 

 to the hemisphere. 



Zoological Society, June 19. — Prof. Flower, F.R.S., 

 President, in the chair. — A letter was read addressed to the 

 President by Dr. Emin Pasha, dated Tunguru Island (Lake 

 Albert), October 31, 1887, announcing the despatch of further 

 collections of natural history objects, and promising for the 



