3§4 



NATURE 



[August 1 6, 1888 



main object of these remarks is to enable chemists to judge for 

 themselves as to the degree of confidence his conclusions are 

 entitled to. — On the density of chlorine and on the vapour 

 density of ferric chloride, by MM. C. Friedel and J. M. Crafts. 

 For chlorine the mean at 21 C. is here determined at 2^471, 

 and at 440 C. 2'448, while between 321 and 442 C. the per- 

 chloride of iron is shown to have a somewhat constant density 

 corresponding to the formula Fe 2 Cl 6 . — On the vapour density of 

 the perchloride of gallium, by MM. C. Friedel and J. M. Crafts. 

 According to Lecoq de Boisbaudran's determinations the per- 

 chloride of gallium (Ga 2 Cl 6 ) melts at 75°\5 and boils at 215 to 

 220°. Here the density at 237 and 307 is found to be 1 1 73 

 and io"6i respectively, or somewhat less than the theoretic 

 density. Above 307° it diminishes considerably, falling to 8° "5 

 at 357°, and 6° 6 at 440°. — On the gigantic dimensions of some 

 fossil mammals, by M. Albeit Gaudry. These remarks are 

 made in connection with the accurate measurements of the St. 

 Petersburg mammoth {Elephas primigenius) supplied by Tilesius. 

 The skeleton, a photograph of which has recently been taken by 

 M. Strauch, is 3^42 metres high to the top of the head, as com- 

 pared with the4 - 22 of the Durfort skeleton {Elephas meridionalis) 

 in the new gallery of the Paris Museum. Comparing these with 

 the remains-, of Dinotherium giganteutn and other monsters of 

 the Upper Miocene and later epochs, the author groups the 

 larger extinct mammals according to their dimensions in five 

 classes, as follows : (1) Dinotherium giganteum of the Upper 

 Miocene, Attica ; (2) Elephas antiquus of the Quaternary, neigh- 

 bourhood of Paris ; (3) Elephas meridionalis of the Upper 

 Pliocene, Durfort (Gard) ; (4) Mastodon amcricanus, of the 

 Quaternary, United States ; (5) Elephas primigenius, of the 

 Quaternary, Siberia, this last being about the same size as the 

 living elephants. — Observations of the comet 1888 a, by M. 

 Cruls. These observations were made at the Imperial Ob- 

 servatory of Rio Janeiro for the period from February 24 to 

 April 2. — Positions of the comet 1888 I., measured with the 

 8-inch equatorial of the Observatory of Besancon, by M. Gruey. 

 The positions of the comet and comparison stars are given for 

 the period from June 7 to June 19. — An isochronous regulator, 

 by M. Baudot. The object of this apparatus is to maintain at 

 a uniform velocity the rotation of the distributor employed by 

 the inventor in his multiple printing telegraph system, despite 

 the variations of the motor power and those of the resisting 

 force caused by the action of the several parts of the instru- 

 ment, or by any other disturbing element. Its action consists 

 in introducing into the motor mechanism a resistance varying 

 automatically whenever necessary, thus maintaining a perfect 

 equilibrium between the total motor and resisting forces. — On a 

 telephone with closed magnetic field, and plaque with equal con- 

 centric cylindrical sections, by M. Krebs. With the appliance 

 here described the vibrations preserve a large degree of ampli- 

 tude, while the section is saturated at no point of the magnetic 

 circuit. These dispositions greatly facilitate the construction of 

 powerful instruments of all sizes. — Magnetic charts of the West 

 Mediterranean basin, by M. Th. Moureaux. The magnetic 

 charts which the author now presents to the Academy have been 

 mainly prepared from the data supplied by the series of observa- 

 tions described in the last number of the Comptes rendus. They 

 comprise, besides the chief islands, the whole of the European 

 seaboard from Cadiz to the Strait of Messina, and the North 

 African coast between Tangier and Tripoli. — The storage of 

 electricity and thermodynamics, by M. Gouy. In this paper 

 the author endeavours to connect the principle of the preserva- 

 tion of electricity with the general laws of thermodynamics, 

 taking as his experimental starting-point the first law of electric 

 actions. — On the electric conductibility of mixtures of salts in 

 solution, by MM. E. Bouty and L. Poincare. In the present 

 communication the authors deal mainly with the special case of 

 the nitrates of potassa and soda, their object being to ascertain 

 whether it be possible to deduce the electric conductibility of a 

 mixture of saline solutions, without chemical action, from the 

 conductibility of each, assuming this to be a known quantity. — 

 On the production of ozone by electric shocks, by MM. Bichat 

 and Guntz. Here the authors propose to study the various 

 circumstances which influence the production of ozone by means 

 of explosive discharges. The results obtained show that the 

 formation of ozone is primarily connected with the greater or 

 less elevation o'f the temperature of the oxygen under the action 

 of the electric shocks. — Notes follow, by M. A. Carnot, on the 

 lithine present in mineral waters ; by M. J. Ribau, on a method 



of analyzing and separating zinc ; by M. de Forcrand, on the 

 giycol-alcoholate of soda ; by M. J. Meunier, on a dibenzoic 

 ether derived from mannite ; by M. E. Gley, on the comparative 

 toxic properties of wabaine and strophanthine ; and by M. 

 Prillieux, on an efficaceous treatment of black rot, a disease of 

 the vine which has spread from America to France. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



The Speaking Parrots, Part 4 : Dr. K. Russ (L. U. Gill).— British Dogs, 

 No. 22 : H. Dalziel (L. U. Gill). — Challenger Expedition Reports — Zoology, 

 vol. xxvi. (Eyre and Spottiswoode). — Contributions to the Natural History of 

 Alaska, No. 2 : L. M. Turnrr (Washington) — A New Theory of Parallels ; 

 C. L. Dodgson (Macmillan). — Atlantic Weather Charts, Part 4 (Eyre and 

 Spottiswoode). — Arithmetical Exercises and Examination Papers : H. S. 

 Hall and S. R. Knight' (Macmillan). — Entomology f r Beginners: Dr. A. 

 S. Packard (Holt, New York). — Catalog der Conchylien-Sanunlung, Liefg. 

 8: F. R. Paetel (Berlin).— The Structure and Classificaiion of the Meso- 

 zoic Mammalia: H. F. Osborn (Philadelphia). — Insect Life (Washington). 

 — 11 Terremoto nel Vallo Cosentino del 3 Dicemb-e, 1887 : G. Agamennone 

 (Roma). — Morphologisches Jahrbuch, Band 14, Heft 1 (Williams and Nor- 

 gate) — Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 1888. No. 9 (Leirz g). — Verhand- 

 lungen des Naturhistorischen Vereines, 5 Jahrg. Erste Halfte (Bonn). — 

 Annual Report of the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, 

 New York, for the Year 1887-88. 



CONTENTS. page 



Celtic Heathendom. By Prof. A. H. Sayce .... 361 



Hand-book of the Amaryllideae 362 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Schofield : " Another World ; or, The Fourth Dimen- 

 sion " • 363 



Blunt : "Euclid's Method, or the Proper Way to Teach 



Geometry " 363 



Symons : " On the Distribution of Rain over the 



British Isles during the Year 1887 " 363 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The "Tamaron" of the Philippine Islands. — Dr. P. 



L. Sclater, F.R.S 363 



Functionless Organs. — Prof. E. Ray Lankester, 



F.R.S. ; J. T. Hurst 364 



Dr. Romanes's Article in the Contemporary Review. — 



Prof. George J. Romanes, F.R.S 364 



Taxation in China. — Dr. D. J. Macgowan .... 364 



Partial Eclipse of August 7. — A. C. Crommelin . . 364 



Macclesfield Observations. — Prof. Cleveland Abbe 365 



A Lunar Rainbow. — T. D. A. Cockerell 365 



Globular Star Clusters. By A. M. Clerke 365 



Timber, and some of its Diseases. XL {Illustrated.) 



By Prof. H. Marshall Ward, F.R.S 367 



Natural Selection and Elimination. By Prof. C. 



Lloyd Morgan 370 



The Fauna and Flora of the Lesser Antilles .... 370 



Sonnet 371 



Notes 37' 



Our Astronomical Column .- — 



Further Cometary Discoveries 375 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1888 



August 19-25 375 



Geographical Notes 375 



The Gases of the Blood. I. {Illustrated.) By Prof. 



John Gray McKendrick, F.R.S 37 6 



The Bath Meeting of the British Association ... 382 



Societies and Academies 383 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received . . . . • 384 



