488 



NATURE 



[Sept. 



df 



1888 



* Indicates that the rising is that of the preceding evening and the setting 

 that of the following morning. 



Occultations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich). 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, September 3. — M. Janssen, Presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — Microbism and abscess, by M. Verneuil. 

 The ordinary type of abscess is studied in connection with the 

 new light thrown on the subject by microbic researches on 

 suppuration. The almost constant presence of the micro-organisms 

 described by Klebs, Pasteur, and others, shows that they are in 

 all probability the real and exclusive cause of pyogenesis, a con- 

 clusion placed almost beyond doubt by the fact that, when 

 introduced into ihe animal system, these organisms invariably 

 produce suppuration and abscesses. A classification is given of 

 the microbes in question, which are divided into two distinct 

 groups: (1) pyogenic microbes, properly so called, which are 

 normally present, such as the orange, lemon, white, and other 

 yarieties of Micrococcus and Diplococcus ; (2) those which occur 

 irregularly in the purulent matter, but which may exist normally 

 in the system apart from any pyogenic symptoms or centres of 



suppuration — various kinds of Bacteria, Vibriones, Bacilli, &c. A 

 classification follows of abscesses themselves, based on the 

 etiology of pyogenesis as well as on their pathological anatomy 

 and physiology. — Inscription giving the details of a lunar eclipse, 

 by M. Oppert. This inscription, the text of which was first 

 published by Strassmaier in the Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie, 

 vol. ii , is referred to the year 24 B.C., 232 of the era of the 

 Arsacides. It describes the eclipse as having been predicted by 

 the astronomer Uruda (Orodes), and as taking place, as predicted, 

 in the month of Nisan, on the 13th night, at the hour of 

 5 and 51 parts, which is reduced to Monday, March 23, 

 9h. 30m. p.m., Paris meantime. — The fluorescent compounds of 

 chromium and manganese, by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran. These 

 substances are studied and prepared synthetically with a view to 

 determining their several degrees of oxidation. — Note on the 

 position of some points on the Brazilian seaboard, extracted 

 from a memoir of the Commissao de Longitudes, by M. 

 Cruls. The places, whose positions are here astronomically 

 determined by the officers attached to the Brazilian Hydrographic 

 Service, are Cape Frio, oh. 4m. 34*055. (with probable error 

 o - i2s.), east of Rio de Janeiro; and Santos, oh. 12m. 33 - 44s. 

 (with probable error o'20s.), west of Rio de Janeiro. — On the 

 measurement of the refraction indices of crystals with double 

 axis, by M. Charles Soret. These measurements are here 

 effected by the observation of the limiting angles of total 

 reflection on any facets. — Physiological action of the chloride of 

 ethylene on the cornea, by M. Raphael Dubois. In a previous 

 paper (Comptes rendus, vol. civ., No. 26, 1887) the author 

 showed that the chloride of ethylene (C 2 H 4 C1 2 ) introduced in 

 any way into the system produces in the dog, several hours after 

 waking, an opacity of the cornea of a very remarkable character. 

 Here he studies the nature of this phenomenon, and determines 

 the mechanism by which it is produced. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Eclectic Physical Geography: R. Hinman (Cincinnati). — Solutions of the 

 Examples in an Elementary Treatise on Conic Sections : C. Smith (Mac- 

 millan). — Chart for Great Circle Sailing. Nos. 1 and 2 : R. A. Proctor 

 (Stanford). — Les Tremblements de Terre : F. Fouque (Bailliere, Paris) — 

 Die Structur und Zusammensetzung der Meteoreisen, Liefg. 1, 2, 3: A. 

 Brez'.na and E. Cohen (Stuttgart). — The Speaking Parrots, Part 5 : Dr. 

 K.Russ (U. Gill). -The Flowering Plants of Wilts: Rev. T. A. Preston 

 (Wilts Archaeological and Natural Historv Society). — Results of Experi- 

 ments at Rothamsted on the Growth of Root Crops : J. H. Gilbert. — 

 Memoranda of the Origin, Plan, and Results of the Field and other Experi- 

 ments at Rothamsted. — On Infant Feeding and the Value of Preparations of 

 Pure Alpine Milk : Dr. Nachtigal (Ridgway). — Proceedings of the Bristol 

 Naturalists' Society, vol. v. Part 3 (Bristol). — Proceedings of the American 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences, New Serie?, vol. xv. Part 1 (Boston). — 

 Meteorological Record, vol. vii. No. 28 (Stanford). — -Quarterly Journal of 

 the Royal Meteorological Society, July (Stanford). 



CONTENTS. page 



Experiments on the Growth of Wheat 465 



The Japanese Volcanic Eruption 466 



Calculation of Ranges, &c, of Elongated Pro- 

 jectiles. By Rev. F. Bashforth 468 



The British Association 469 



Section B — Chemical Science. — Opening Address by 

 Prof. William A. Tilden, D.Sc. Lond., F.R.S., 



F.C.S., President of the Section 470 



Section D — Biology. — Opening Address by W. T. 

 Thiselton-Dyer, C.M.G., M.A., B.Sc, F.R.S., 



F.L.S., President of the Section 473 



Section E — Geography. — Opening Address by 

 Colonel Sir C. W. Wilson, R.E., K.C.B., 

 K.C.M.G., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S., F.R.G.S., 

 Director-General of the Ordnance Survey, President 



of the Section 480 



Notes 4S5 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1888 



September 16-22 487 



Societies and Academies . 488 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 488 



