Feb. 2, 1888] 



NA TURE 



335 



Congo Basin, and contained examples of four species new to 

 science, proposed to be called Indicator emini, Sperinospiza 

 ruficapilla, Ploceiis castanops, and Glareola emini. — Dr. A. 

 Gunther, F.R.S. , read a report on a collection of Reptiles and 

 Batrachians from Monbuttu, sent by Emin Pasha. The author 

 enumerated seventeen specimens, of which nine were almost 

 generally distributed over the African region ; of the remainder, 

 seven were known from various parts of West Africa. One 

 Tree-Snake was described as new, and called, after its discoverer, 

 AfuEtulhi emini. — Mr. Edgar A. Smith, read an account of the 

 Shells coUectel by Dr. Emin Pasha on the Albert Nyanza, 

 Central Africa. Of the five species of which examples were 

 obtained, three were referred to new species. It was stated that 

 fifteen species of shells were now known from Lake Albert, of 

 which seven were peculiar to it. — Mr. Arthur G. Butler gave 

 an account of the Lepidoptera received from Dr. Emin Pasha. 

 The collection contained examples of 155 species, of which 

 thirteen Butterflies, and two Moths were new to science. — A 

 communication was read from Mr. Charles O. Waterhouse, con- 

 taining an account of the Coleoptera from Eastern Equatorial 

 Africa received from Emin Pasha. One of the species was new 

 to science, and six of them had previously been received at the 

 British Museum from West Africa only. 



Geological Society, January 11. — Prof. J. W. Judd, 

 F.R.S. , President, in the chair. — The following communica- 

 tions were read : — On the law that governs the action of flowing 

 streams, by R. D. Oldham. — Supplementary notes on the 

 stratigraphy of the Bagshot Beds of the London Basin, by the 

 Rev. A. Irving. This paper contained the results of field-work 

 during the year 1887. Additional notes on the stratigraphy of 

 the Bracknell and Ascot Hills were given, justifying the reading 

 of the country as shown in Figs, i and 2 of the author's last 

 paper (Q.J.G.S., August 1887), the examination of this line of 

 country having been extended as far as Englefield Green. 

 Sections of the beds of the Middle Group as they crop out at 

 Caesar's Camp, Swinley Park, Ascot, and Suuningdale, were 

 described and correlated with the 76 feet of beds which constitute 

 that group in the Well-section at Wellington College. The 

 stratigraphy of the hills known as Finchampstead Ridges has 

 been worked out from numerous sections on their flanks ; and 

 the strata of the Bearwood Hills were correlated directly with 

 them. All along the northern margin a general attenuation of (a) 

 the Lower (fluviatile) Sands, and of (b) the Middle (green 

 earthy) Sands was shown to occur, and in some places on the 

 northern margin they are found to have entirely thinned away, 

 admitting of distinct overlap at more tlian one horizon. The 

 second part of the paper dealt with the Highclere district, where 

 the author believes he has established the full succession of the 

 three stages of the Bagshot formation, a section being given 

 across the valley south of Highclere Station, showing the 

 succession of the whole -.Eocene series (with the Ostrea bellovacina 

 bed for its base) as it is developed there. Some important con- 

 clusions were drawn as to the Tertiary physiography of the 

 South of England ; and the revised tabulation of the Tertiaries 

 put forward by Prof. Prestwich at the Society's last meeting was 

 referred to as supporting some of the main points for which the 

 author has contended. The reading of this paper was followed 

 by a discussion in which the President, Mr. Monckton, Mr. 

 Herries, and Mr. Drew took part. — The red-rock series of the 

 Devon coast section, by the Rev. A. Irving. 



Chemical Society, January 19. — Mr. W. Crookes, F.R.S., 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read : — Morindon, by 

 T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., and W. J. Smith. Morindin, the active 

 colouring-matter of A'l, the root-bark of Morinda citri folia, 

 yields 48*4 per cent, of morindon on hydrolysis. This latter sub- 

 stance is a methylanthracene-derivative of the composition 

 CigHjoOg, and differs from all of the eight known compounds of 

 the same formula. — Manganese trioxide, by T. E. Thorpe, 

 F.R.S., and F. J. Hambly. The authors have repeated Franke's 

 experiments {Journ. fUr prakt. Chem., 1887) on the so-called 

 volatile oxides of manganese, and have been unable to obtain 

 any evidence of the existence of the blue gaseous manganese 

 tetroxide. They find, however, that manganese trioxide exists, 

 and can be fonned by the action of a solution of potassium per- 

 manganate in sulphuric acid on dry sodium carbonate. — Note 

 on Chatard's process for the estimation of small quantities of 

 manganese, by the same. — Contributions to the theory of the 

 vitriol-chamber process, by G. Lunge. The theory has been re- 

 cently advanced by Raschig {Liebig's Annalen, 241, 161) that 



the vitriol-chamber process consists in the formation in the first 

 instance from nitrous acid and sulphurous acid of dihydroxyl- 

 aminesul phonic acid, which, being acted on by nitrous acid, yields 

 sulphuric acid and nitric oxide, the latter being reconverted into 

 nitrous acid. This theory is regarded by the author as untenable 

 on all points, since it completely ignores the existence of nitrosyl 

 sulphate (chamber-crystals), whilst nitric oxide, oxygen in excess, 

 and water do not yield nitrous acid, but nitric acid. In the 

 author's view it is not NO, but N2O3 which acts as a carrier of 

 the oxygen in the vitriol-chamber, and the principal reac- 

 tions are : 2S0.^ + N2O3 -»- 0„ -f H^ = 2SOo(OH)(ONO) ; 

 2S02(OH)(ONO) -f H.p= 2Sb2(OH)2 -1- N^Og. Much NO 

 is present in the front chambers along with N2O3 ; it is formed 

 by a secondary reaction from nitrosyl sulphate, "2S02(OH)(ONO) 

 4- SO2 + 2H0O = 3SOH0SO4 + 2NO, and is principally ab- 

 sorbed by the direct reaction, 4SO2 -*- 4NO -t- 3O2 -f 2H2O = 

 4S02(OH)(ONO) ; none of it can pass into NOg (which does 

 not occur at all in normally working chambers), but some of 

 it may pass into HNO3, which is at once acted on by SO2 ; — SO 

 ■V HNO3 = S02(OH)(ONO). Thus the normal vitriol-chamber 

 process is not as hitherto understood an alteration of reductions 

 and oxidations, but it is a condensation of nitrous acid, or of NO 

 with SO2 and O2 to nitrosyl sulphate, and a splitting up of the 

 latter into N2O3 and sulphuric acid. 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, January 6. — Sir W. Thomson, President, 

 in the chair. — Mr. J. T. Bottomley described and exhibited a 

 practical constant-volume air thermometer. This instrument has 

 been designed by Mr. Bottomley so as to be more sensitive, 

 more accurate, and, at the same time, of much greater range 

 than air thermometers hitherto in use. Mr. Bottomley also ex- 

 hibited some glass globes with internal cavities produced by 

 cooling. — Prof. Tait communicated a paper by Dr. G. Plarr on 

 the roots of e^ — _ j . ^nd a paper by Prof. Burnside on a 

 simplified proof of Maxwell's theorem. — Prof, Tait also read a 

 paper on the Thomson effect in iron. — Dr. Thomas Muir read a 

 paper on vanishing aggregates of determinants. He has ob- 

 tained the general theorem of which a particular case was dis- 

 covered lately by Kronecker, and attracted much attention in 

 Germany. — Prof. Crum Brown communicated a paper by Dr. 

 Griffiths on the Malpighian tubes and the "hepatic cells " of 

 the araneina and the diverticula of the asteridea. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, January 23. — M. Janssen, President, 

 in the chair. — Remarks in reference to M. J. Bertrand's recent 

 note on the law of probability of error, by M. F. Tisserand. 

 A solution is given of the problem, " To determine the function 

 «|^ (xj - x^, x^-x^, . . . . Xi- x„), where x^, x^, . . . . x„ 

 indicate n arbitrary quantities independent one of the other, 

 in such a way that this function is symmetrical in relation 

 to Xx, x.^, .... x„." — The paper is followed by a communi- 

 cation from M. F. Tisserand on the law of probability as 

 applied to target-firing. — On some notions, principles, and 

 formulas, which come into play in several questions connected 

 with algebraic curves and surfaces, by M. de Jonquieres. 

 A rapid summary is given of these principles, &c., some of 

 which have been established by the author himself, some 

 by other mathematicians. — Note on the second volume of the 

 " Annales de I'Observatoire de Bordeaux," by M. M. Loewy. 

 This volume is largely occupied with the important observations 

 undertaken for the purpose of revising the positions of the stars 

 in Argelander-Oeltzen's catalogue. It contains the precise co- 

 ordinates of about 3500 stars belonging to the southernmost 

 region of the northern hemisphere. — Contributions to the history 

 of the problematical organisms of old marine basins, by M 

 Stanislas Meunier. The paper deals with the so-called Bilo- 

 bites, regarded by some palaeontologists as mere physical 

 tracings, by others as real organic remains. Several arguments 

 are advanced in favour of the latter opinion, which is regarded 

 as fairly well established, although not yet rigorously demon- 

 strated.— On the rapidity with which the report of fire-arms is 

 propagated, by M. Journee. All the facts here described tend 

 to show that a projectile possessing a greater velocity than that 

 of the report produces, during its passage through the air, a 

 continuous sound analogous to the explosion of gunpowder. — On 

 the mean distances of the planets from the sun, by M. Roger. 

 It is shown that, apart from certain deviations within a defined 



