264 



NA TURE 



{July 12, 1888 



tical application of alternative currents in the process of electro- 

 lysis. — Application of Carnot's principle to endothermic re- 

 actions, by M. Pellat. By distinguishing between the tempera- 

 ture of the bodies giving rise to the endothermic reaction and 

 that of the source supplying in the form of heat the energy 

 needed for the reaction, the author is led by the application of 

 Carnot's principle to a law analogous to that of Potier, but of a 

 more general character. — On the hydrochlorate of cupric 

 chloride, by M. Paul Sabatier. The author admits the priority 

 of M. Engel's researches on the properties and preparation of 

 this substance, but points out that this chemist gives it a very 

 different composition from that which he has himself obtained, 

 and which is represented by the formula CuCl, HO, 5HO. — 

 On the artificial reproduction of the micas and of scapolite, by 

 M. Doelter. A process is described, by means of which the 

 author has artificially reproduced the chief minerals of the mica 

 group, as well as of natural scapolite. He has already effected 

 the synthesis of biotite, phlogopite, muscovite, and lepidolite 

 (zinnwaldite variety). — Fresh physiological researches on the 

 organic substance which has the property of hydrogenating 

 sulphur, by M. J. de Rey-Pailhade. During his further study 

 of this substance, to which he has given the name of philothion, 

 the author has determined several new facts, amongst others 

 that when the yeast is treated by reagents, the death of the 

 organism always precedes the destruction of this organic sub- 

 stance. Philothion is generated by the physiological develop- 

 ment of the yeast, and combines with sulphur according to an 

 equation of which sulphuretted hydrogen is a factor. Acting 

 as a diastase, it adds a fresh proof to M. Berthelot's theory of 

 fermentation. Lastly, it is the first known instance of a sub- 

 stance extracted from a living organism which has the property 

 of hydrogenizing sulphur. — Prof. Langley has been elected by a 

 large majority to succeed the late M. Roche as Corresponding 

 Member of the Academy on the Section of Astronomy. 



Berlin. 



Physiological Society, June 22. — Prof, du Bois Reymond, 

 President, in the chair. — Dr. H. Virchow spoke on the blood- 

 vessels of the eye in Carnivora as worked at by Bellarminoff 

 under his direction. The communication was illustrated by 

 drawings and the exhibition of preparations. The points of 

 most general interest which stand out from among the mass of 

 details in this research are that the blood-vessels of the eye have 

 a tendency to form rings from which a large number of fine 

 branches pass posteriorly ; further that the arrangement is often 

 very different in different classes of animals, thus, for instance, 

 the course of the arteries in the eye of a dog as compared with 

 that of a rabbit is such that the dog's eye must be turned through 

 an angle of 180° in order to make the course of its arteries 

 correspond with that of the rabbit's eye. — Dr. Heymans com- 

 municated the results of his researches on the nerve-endings in 

 the unstriated muscle-fibres of the medicinal leech. In the 

 alimentary canal of the Hirudinea the muscle-fibres are placed 

 both longitudinally and circularly ; they consist of a contractile 

 sheath and a protoplasmic axis containing the nucleus, and 

 either have pointed ends or else divide into two or more branches, 

 each of which then ends in a point. The muscle-fibres are 

 separated from each other by large interstitial spaces filled with 

 connective tissue, in which the nerve-plexus lies and sends fine 

 nerve-branches into the muscle-fibres. The nerves end partly as 

 extremely fine filaments and partly as round, flattened end-plates, 

 and in no case does the nerve-ending penetrate the contractile 

 sheath of the fibre so as to come into connection with the proto- 

 plasmic axis. In the vascular system of the leech the muscular 

 layers are principally disposed in a circular fashion, but frequently 

 the speaker noticed that at some point or another a circular fibre 

 divided itself into two branches, and that the latter were then 

 bent through a right angle so as now to pass in a longitudinal 

 course in the wall of the blood-vessel. The nerve-endings in 

 the fibres of the vascular system are the same as in those of the 

 alimentary canal. Similarly, the muscle-fibres in the vascular 

 system do not lie in close apposition to each other, but are 

 separated by interstitial spaces ; each fibre also contains only 

 one nucleus. — Dr. van der Gehnchten, of Holland, gave a short 

 abstract of his observations on the minute structure of striated 

 muscles in Vertebrata and Arthropoda. He described the 

 appearance of the muscles in the fresh conditions, after the coagu- 

 lation of the myosin and after the solution of the amorphous 

 proteid, and illustrated his statements by drawings. According 



to these researches the muscle-fibre of the Vertebrata consists of 

 a network of doubly-refractive filaments, whose meshes are filled 

 with the semi-fluid plasmatic substance. In Arthropoda the 

 structure differs according as the muscle is taken from the wings 

 or the legs ; when taken from the latter the structure is extremely 

 similar to that in the Vertebrata. In the discussion which 

 followed, Dr. Benda pointed out that being engaged for years in 

 studying the structure of striated muscle he had often obtained 

 preparations similar in appearance to those of Dr. van der 

 Gehnchten, but his interpretation of these appearances was very 

 different. He pointed out, moreover, that he had often observed 

 transitional forms between the muscles of the leg and wing in 

 Arthropoda and those of Vertebrata. Without entering into 

 any details, Dr. Benda gave it as his opinion that the network in 

 a striated muscle-fibre must not be regarded as contractile, but 

 as a connective-tissue interstitial substance, in whose interspaces 

 the really contractile muscle fibrillar lie. 



In the report of the meeting of the Physical Society in 

 Nature of June 21, p. 192, for "Dr. Lummer " (line 37 from 

 the bottom) read " Prof, von Helmholtz." 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Geologische Studien ueber Niederlandische West Indien, 2te. Lief. 

 Hollandisch Guyana, K. Martin (Brill, Leyden).— Lectures on Geography : 

 Lieut. -General R. Strachey (Macmillan). — British Dogs, No. 21 : H. Dalziel 

 (Gill).— Speaking Parrots, Part 3 : Dr. K. Russ (Gill).— India in 1887: Prof. 

 R. Wallace (Oliver and Boyd). — Annual Report of the Aeronautical Society 

 of Great Britain for the years 1885-86 (Hamilton).— Beiblatter zu den Anna- 

 len der Physik und Chemie, 1886, No. 6 (Leipzig). — Geological Magazine, 

 July (Trtibner).— Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, July (Williams and 

 Norgate).— J ahrbuch der Meteorologischen Beobachtungen der Wetterwarte 

 der Magdeburgischen Zeitung, Jahrg. v., 1886 ( Magdeburg).— Zeitschrift 

 fur Wissenschaftliche Zoologie, xlvi. Band, 4 Heft. (Leipzig). — Mind, luly 

 (Williams and Norgate). — Notes from the Leyden Museum, vol. x. No. J 

 (Leyden). — Journal of the Chemical Society, July (Gurney and Jackson). 



CONTENTS. page 



Electricity and Magnetism 241 



Synoptical Flora of North America. By J. G. Baker, 



F.R.S 242 



Hydrodynamics 243 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Banbury: "Sierra Leone" 244 



Worsley-Benison : " Nature's Fairyland " 244 



Grieve : " Lessons in Elementary Mechanics "... 244 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



Photography of Lightning. — Dr. Oliver J. Lodge, 



F.R.S 244 



Micromillimetre. — Arthur W. Riicker, F.R.S. . . 244 

 Distribution of Animals and Plants by Ocean Currents. ■ 



— A. W. Buckland 245 



Watches and the Weather. — W. B. Croft 245 



Preserving the Colour of Flowers. — A. W. ; J. G. 



Baker, F.R.S 245 



The Life Statistics of an Indian Province. ( With 



Diagrams.) By S. A. Hill 245 



On the Orbits of Aerolites. {With Diagrams.) By 



H. A. Newton 2150 



Notes 255 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Markings on Mars 258 



Comet 1S88 a (Sawerthal) 258 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1888 



July 15-21 258 



Geographical Notes 259 



On Certain Inequalities relating to Prime Numbers. 



By Prof. J. J. Sylvester, F.R.S 259 



Societies and Academies 262 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 264 



