March 15, 1888] 



NA rURE 



479 



boulder- clay in the val'eys ; 15,000 ycar.s In lhu .iv,cumulation of 

 the estuarine silts, clays, peat, and fore>t beds ; and 2500 years 

 for the blown sand. In the discussion which followed the read- 

 ing of this paper Prof. Prestvvich, Mr. De Ranee, Dr. Evans, and 

 others took part. — Note on the movement of scree-material, by 

 Charles Davison. Communicated by Prof. T. G. Bonney, 

 F. R.S. — On some additional occurrences of tachylyte, by 

 Grenville A. J. Cole.— Appendix to Mr. A. T. Metcalfe's paper 

 " On Further Discoveries of V'ertebrate Remains in the Triassic 

 Strata of the South Coast of Devonshire, between Budleigh Sal- 

 terton and Sidmouth," by II. J. Carter, F. R.S. Communicated 

 by A. T. Metcalfe. 



Mathennatical Society, March 8.— Sir J. Cockle, F.R.S., 

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

 .Supplementaary remarks on tlie theory of distributions, by Capt. 

 P. A. MacMahon, R.A. — Complex multiplication moduli, by 

 Mr. A. G. Greenhill. — Geometrical proof of Feuerbach's nine- 

 point circle theorem, by Prof. Genese.— Isostereans, by Mr. R. 

 Tucker. 



Anthropological Institute, February 2S. — Francis Galton, 

 F.R. S., President, in the chair. — The election of Mr. Henry 

 C. Collyer was announced. — Dr. Edward B. Tylor read a com- 

 munication from Mr. Basil Hall Chamberlain, on the Japanese 

 "go-hei," or paper offerings to the Shinto gods. In olden 

 times the offerings were made of cloth, but later on, when 

 Chinese civilization had brought a variety of manufactures in its 

 train, hempen cloth ceased to be regarded as a treasure worthy 

 of divine acceptance, and paper began to be used instead. The 

 " go-heis " used by different sects differ slightly from one an- 

 other, chiefly in the number of the folds : the Yoshida sect 

 sanctions the use of four folds, while the Shirakavva sect has 

 eight. There is said to be no symbolism attaching to the shape, 

 number of folds in the paper, or the length of the stick ; each 

 sect has clung to its traditional practice in.these matters. Spe- 

 cimens of " go-heis " were exhibited in illustration of the paper. 

 — Mr. Henry Balfour exhibited a series of decorated arrows 

 from the Solomon Islands, in illustration of his theory of the 

 manner in which the decoration of the shafts was gradually 

 developed. — Dr. Tylor gave a brief account of a paper by Mr. 

 A. W. Howitt, " Further Notes on the Australian Class Sys- 

 tems," and in the course of the discussion the President showed 

 a very simple method of understanding the complicated-looking 

 system of Australian marriages, by supposing a cross-division 

 of the tribes. 



Edinburgh. 



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

 in the chair. — Prof. Crum Brown showed and described an 

 apparatus for exhibiting the action of the semicircular canals. 

 The apparatus is also gapable of application as an instrument for 

 the measurement of the irregularity of angular motion. — Mr. 

 John Murray read a paper on the temperature and currents in 

 the lochs of the west of Scotland, as affected by winds. He 

 showed that when the wind is blowing off shore the warm surface 

 water is blown outwards and cold water takes its place from 

 beneath. When the wind blows on shore the warm surface 

 water is driven inwards. This point is of great importance, as it 

 has an evident bearing on the growth of coral-forming animals. 

 — Mr. Murray also communicated a paper by Mr. W. G. Reid 

 on the solution of carbonate of lime in sea water under pressure. 

 The results of Mr. Reid's experiments show that the solubility 

 is increased by pressure. — Mr. Murray then discussed the dis- 

 tribution of carbonate of lime on the floor and in the waters of 

 the ocean. — Mr. John Aitken read a paper (see Nature, 

 March i, p. 428) on the number of dust particles in the atmo- 

 sphere, giving a full account of the apparatus used and the 

 method of experimenting. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, March 5. — M. Janssen in the 

 chair. — Remarks on the first volume of Fourier's works pre- 

 sented to the Academy, by M. G. Darboux. This volume of 

 the complete edition of Fourier's works, now being ii^sued with 

 the aid of the Minister of Public Instruction, contains the full 

 text of the "Theorie analytique de la Chaleur,"' carefully revised 

 by MM. Darboux and Paul Morin. — On the transformation of 

 the nitrates present in the soil into nitrous organic compounds, 

 by M. Berthelot. The experiments here described have been 

 carried out for the purpose of showing that the nitrates contained 



in the ground do not occur in an integral state even indepen- 

 dently of the formation of the higher plants. Oa the contrary, 

 they may be changed into nitrous principles of organic nature 

 under the influence of cliemical agents i>roperly so-called, or of 

 certain microbes present in the soil. It is suggested that these 

 microbes assimilate the combined nitrogen when presented to 

 them in a convenient form, preferring it to the free nitrogen of 

 the atmosphere, thus reversing the action of the microbes of 

 nitrification. The general inference is that the assimilation of 

 the nitrogen of the nitrates by plants is accompanied, if not 

 preceded, by their transformation into nitrous organic, com- 

 pounds in the earth under the influence of chemical reactions 

 and special microbes. Tliese microbes are perhaps the same as 

 those which fix free atmospheric nitrogen in soil destitute of 

 nitrates. In this way might be formed true azoic compounds derived 

 at oncefrom the oxygenated and hydrogenated compounds of nitro- 

 gen. — On perfect numbers, by Prof Sylvester. A slight omission 

 pointed out by M. Mansion in the author's recent paper on this 

 subject is shown in no way to affect the validity of the demon- 

 stration. — On Saccharomyccs elUpsouicus and its industrial 

 applications to the manufacture of a barley wine, by M. Georges 

 Jacquemin. A process is described by which a tartarized wort 

 of barley is made to yield a true wine of pleasant taste, and more 

 nutritive than grape wine, containing as it does more respiratory 

 aliments, besides an albuminoid substance, and a larger propor- 

 tion of phosphates calculated to restore the nervous system and 

 the bony tissues. It also differs from white grape wine by being 

 copiously precipitated by tannin, while a portion of the malt 

 may be replaced by crushed grain (wheat or barley) that has 

 not sprouted. This wheat or barley wine is stated to be 

 equal in quality and cheaper than that of pure malt, and the 

 vinous wort in question is an alcoholic fermentation of a totally 

 distinct character from the ordinary yeast of beer. — Immediate 

 solution of equations by means of electricity, by M. Felix Lucas. 

 A method is described by which an algebraic equation of any 

 degree with real numerical coefficients may be directly solved 

 without calculations by means of electricity. The process here 

 explained is much more rapid than the two methods indicated in 

 previous communications. However high the equation, a single 

 operation suffices to obtain all the roots, real or imaginary. 

 " The power of electricity as a calculator is not to be limited." 

 — On the electric conductibility of concentrated nitric acid, by 

 M. E. Bouty. In previous papers it was shown that a very 

 slight addition of alkaline nitrates to the acid increases its 

 conductibility to a considerable extent. Here it is made evident 

 that the addition of water also causes an increase of conducti- 

 bility nearly proportionate to the quantity of added water. This 

 approximate proportion is maintained even much further than 

 with the nitrates, nearly to N05,4HO. A table is given show- 

 ing the degrees of conductibility measured at o" C, and referred 

 to that of the normal solution of nitric acid at one equivalent 

 per litre, the specific resistance being 4*59 ohms. — On cinchoni- 

 line, by MM. E. Jungfleisch and E. Leger. In previous 

 communications the conditions were explained under which 

 cinchoniline is formed and separated in the state of a di- 

 iodhydrate. Here the authors deal with this base and its chief 

 derivatives. That this substance, which has the formula 

 C.)gH.,.,N„0.i, is isomerous with cinchonine, is made evident not 

 only by the analysis of the base itself, but also of that of a large 

 number of combinations. In ether it forms magnificent rhom- 

 boidal prisms, colourless, anhydrous, and often attaining a weight 

 of several grammes. It dissolves readily in ordinary alcohol, 

 but with difficulty in water, its aqueous solution giving a deep 

 blue tint to turnsol (Dutch orchil), and a red to the phthaleine of 

 phenol. Its basic and neutral salts present some remarkable 

 crystallographic properties.— Products of the oxidation of the 

 hydronitrocamphenes, by M. C. Tanret. From the oxidation of 

 these substances the author has obtained several new compounds, 

 which are here described. The new substance, answering to the 

 formula CgflHe^NjOig, he proposes to call nitrocamphene {azo- 

 camphinc), distinguishing its two modifications as cyanonitro- 

 camphene and leukonitrocamphene. They are isomerous, their 

 analysis yielding the same constituents.— On terpinol, an 

 artificial reproduction of eucalyptol (terpane), by MM. G. 

 Bouchardat and R. Voiry. These researches show that the 

 terpinol of List is formed of a crystallized inactive terpilenol or 

 terpol, CaoH^aOa, boiling at 218" C. ; of terpane,^ CooHigO.,, 

 boiling at 175% and capable of crystallizing at - i" ; lastly of 

 inactive terpilene, CgoPIje- Terpane, which term is here sub- 

 stituted for the older cineol, eucalyptol, cajeputol, spicol, &c., 

 differs also from the active and inactive terpilenols by refusing to 



