264 



NATURE 



{Jan. 12, 1888 



observed on August 19, 1887, at Petrovsk, Government of 

 Jarosiav, by M. G. M. Stanoiewitch. Owing to the extremely 

 unfavomable atmospheric conditions the observer was unable 10 

 carry out any important part of his pi-ogramme. A chief result of 

 his observations was the conclusion that the gloom prevailing 

 during eclipses is all the deeper the less clouded is the sky and 

 the flatter the ground, especially oi the horizon. The sky 

 being on this occasion almost completely overcast, he was able 

 to read the title of a pamphlet printed on a red cover at a 

 distance of 2 metres — On the variations of temperature of gases 

 and vapours which preserve the same quantity of heat under 

 different tensions, by M. Ch. Antoine. A simple means is 

 proposed for avoiding the laborious calculations reqvtired to 

 determine the values and ©^ in the formula j = 25^/ © - ©^ 

 deduced from V. Regnault's experiments on atmospheric air. — 

 On the energy needed to create a magnetic field and to mag- 

 netize iron, by M. Aime Witz. The researches here described 

 serve to verify Lamont's statement that the effect produced by 

 a magnetic field on a magnet is greater when the force acts to 

 diminish than it is when the force acts to increase the mag- 

 netizing power. — On the rapidity of transformation of meta- 

 phosphoric acid, by M. Paul Sabitier. Solutions of metaphos- 

 phoric acid are transformed spontaneously with greater or less 

 rapidity. Berzelius and Thomsen suppose that there is at first pro- 

 duction of pyrophosphoric acid, which is afterwards changed to 

 orthophosphoric acid. Others, with Graham, think that there is 

 immediate formation of triba^ic orthophosphoric acid, and the 

 author's researches tend to show that this is normally the case 

 It is also established that the rapidity of transformation is at 

 each instant proportional to the mass of transformable substance 

 present in the system. — On an alloy of titanium, silicium, and 

 aluminium, by M. Lucien Levy. Wohler indicated two alloys 

 of these metals without giving their composition. The author 

 here determines a similar alloy differing in some of its properties 

 from those of Wohler. He has also determined its composition, 

 as apparently a mixture of two isomorphous bodies crystallized 

 together with formula TiAl4 and SiAl4. The same preparation 

 with zinc or magnesium substituted for aluminium yielded no 

 results. — On some derivatives of cinchonine, by MM. E. 

 Jungfleisch and E. Leger. The authors were able some 

 time ago to announce that the sulphate of cinchonine being 

 heated to 120° C. for forty-eight hours with a mixture in equal 

 parts of sulphuric acid and water, the alkaloid changes to di- 

 verse bases, of which they have isolated the six most abundant. 

 H^re they explain the process by which they have succeeded in 

 separating the alkalie-. — On the presence of diaphragms in the 

 aeriferous ducts of roots, by M. C. Sauvageau. The transverse 

 diaphragms intersecting the aeriferous ducts of vascular plants 

 have hitherto been supposed to be confined to the middle region 

 of the bark of their various members. But the author has now 

 determined their presence also in the root of at least one such 

 aquatic plant, the Hydrocharis inorsiis-raiits, 



Berlin. 



Physiological Society, December 16, 1887. — Prof, du Bois 

 Reymond, President, in the chair. — Herr Meyer, from Hamburg, 

 discussed the nature of ventriloquism, and combated the opinion, 

 so widely spread among physiologists, that it consists in speaking" 

 while inspiring, and without the cavity of the mouth acting in 

 any way as a resonator ; on the contrary, ventriloquists speak 

 while expiring, and do move their mouths. An extended series 

 of laryngoscopic observations on the speaker, who has practised 

 ventriloquism for many years, has shown that in ventriloquizing 

 the vocal opening of the larynx is shortened as it is when pro- 

 ducing the falsetto, and that the soft palate is pressed back 

 and that the uvula becomes invisible. Everybody who naturally 

 possesses a high voice can easily learn to ventriloquize. One 

 most important factor in the deception of the listeners is the 

 contrast between the loud, full and metallic tone in which the 

 question is asked and the answer which immediately follows in a 

 high and gentle falsetto. Sibilants and the high I should be as 

 far as possible avoided. The speaker then gave a series of ex- 

 tremely successful examples of ventriloquism, which did not 

 presuppose any particular training, and showed that it is never 

 accompanied by any special action of the abdominal muscles. 

 Pi'of. Gad has made some experiments on Herr Meyer, and by 

 graphically recording the variations in pressure of the air, has 

 shown that the curve obtained when a certain sentence is spoken 

 in the ordinary way is in all respects identical with the one 

 which is described when the same sentence is spoken ventri- 



loquially. In the latter case the volume of air expired was con- 

 siderably less than during normal speech ; in one particular case 

 it amounted to only 900 c.c, whereas during normal speech the 

 volume expired was 1300 c.c. Dr. Benda expressed his idea 

 that when ventriloquizing the Eustachian tubes are open and the 

 cavity of the tympanum, together with the tympanic membrane, are 

 set into simultaneous vibration. He had not been able to detect 

 any resonance of the tympanic membrane in Herr Meyer ; but he 

 believes that this explaniition of the curiously veiled tones emitted 

 is not thereby invalidated, since they closely resemble the tones 

 produced by speaking while yawning, in which case the 

 Eustachian tubes are certainly open and the tympanic cavity acts 

 as a resonator.- -Dr. Henda gave a further account of his re- 

 searches on the developiient of spermatozoa, and referred to 

 several works which have been recently published and do not 

 agree with the results obtained by himself. For his own part he 

 could only confirm his earlier opinions by his later researches. 

 In Marsupials he finds some resemblance to that which holds 

 good in Sauropsida. In general it maybe said that the very 

 varying relationships observed in Mammalia between the parent- 

 cell and the spermatozoa-cells which are connected with this may 

 be looked at from one common piint of view ; it is only neces- 

 sary to adopt for animals the differentiation of the cells of 

 pollen-grains, observed by botanists, into vegetative or nutritive, 

 and into generative, from which the spermatozoa then arise. 

 These vegetative and generative cells can be made out both in 

 the functioning and not yet active testes of embryos, the cells 

 having extremely varying relations each to the other. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and btCKlALS KliCiilVED. 



A Course of Elementary Instruction in Practical Biology : T. H. Huxley 

 and H. N. Martin ; Revised Edi ion. extended and edited by Profs. Howes 

 and Scott (Macmillan) — Early Christian .4rt in Ireland: Margaret Stokes 

 (Cnapman and Hall). — Diseases of the D.>g : J. H. Steel (Longman.s). — 

 Papers of Fleeming Jenkin. 2 vols. (Longmans^ — Practical Gtiide to Photo- 

 graphic and Photo-mechanical Printing : W. K. Burton (Marion). — United 

 States Commission of Fish and Fi>;heries, Part 13, Report of the Commis- 

 sioner for 1885 (Washington). — Mechanics and Experimental Science — 

 Mechanics: E. Aveling (Loigmins). — Astronomy ( )T Amateurs: J. A. W. 

 Oliver (Longmans). — .vlodern Theories of Chemistry: Dr. L. Meyer, 

 translated by Profs. Beds m an J Williams (Longmans). — Calendar of the 

 University College of Wales. AberystwUh. 1887-S8 (Cornish. Manchester) — 

 The C lildren : How to SuiJy Them : Dr. F. Warner (Hodgson). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Physical Chemistry. By M. M. Pattison Muir . . 241 



British and Irish Salmonidae 242 



The Echinoidea. By Prof. P. Martin Duncan, 



F.R S 243 



Fritsch's Palseontological Researches 244 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Hart: "The Flora of Howth" 245 



Rutley : "Mineralogy" 245 



Letters to the Editor : — 



" A Conspiracy of Silence." — The Duke of Argyll, 



F.R.S 246 



Mr. Seeboh'Ji on Physiological Selection. — Dr. 



George J. Romanes, F.R.S 246 



An Incorrect Footnote and its Consequences. — 



Thomas Muir 246 



The Periodic Law. {With Diagram.) —'Donald 



Murray 247 



The Leaps of Z^//«.—R. W. Schufeldt 247 



A New Magnetic Survey of France. {Illustrated.) By 



Prof T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S 247 



Timber, and some of its Diseases. IV. (Illus'j'ated.) 



By Prof. H. Marshall Ward 251 



Perpetual Motion. By Prof. Hele Shaw 254 



The Chair of Darwinism in Paris 256 



Notes 256 



Our Astionomical Column : — 



O'Gyalla Spectroscopic Catalogue 259 



Astronomical Prizes of the Paris Academy of Sciences 259 



New Observatory in Vienna 259 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1888 



January 15-21 259 



Duner on Stars with Spectra of Class III. II. . . . 260 

 The Art of Computation for the Purposes of Science. 



II. By Sydney Lupton 262 



Societies and Academies 263 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received , . . . . 264 



