38 



NATURE 



[May 13, 1875 



On the paper in the direction of its greatest length are ruled 100 

 lines, -^0 inch apart, each indicating 1° Fahrenheit. Across the 

 paper, at right angles to these lines, are ruled twenty-four lines in 

 dark ink, indicating the hours ; between these three others, more 

 lightly marked, for the quarters. The cylinder is so placed that 

 as it revolves the surface of the paper is y\ of an inch away from 

 the point of the pencil register moving at right angles to its sur- 

 face. A small striker is connected with the clockwork in such a 

 manner that every five minutes (or oftener if required) it gives 

 the pencil a gentle tap, thus striking its point against the paper. 

 By this means all friction of the moving pencil against the paper 

 is avoided, and the index is marked by a series of dots. 



" Sonie particulars of the Transit of Venus across the Sun, 

 1874, Dec. 9, observed on the Himalaya Mountains, Mussoorie, 

 at Mary Villa."— Note II., with appendix, by J. B. N. Hen- 

 nessey, F.R.A.S. 



Linnean Society, May 6.— Dr. G.J, Allman, F. R. S., president, 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read : — On the anatomy 

 of two parasitic forms of TetrarhynchidcB, by Mr. F. H. Welch. 

 — Notes on the Lepidoptera of the family Zyganida, with 

 descriptions of new genera and species, by Mr. A. G. Butler, 

 F.L.S. The main object of the paper was to rescue this section 

 of Lepidoptera from the confusion into which it had been 

 brought by the creation of new species and genera on insufhcient 

 grounds, by Mr. J. Walker. Some very curious instances of 

 mimetism were mentioned between parallel series of species of 

 hornet-moths and of Hymenoptera. — On the characteristic 

 colouring matters of the red groups of Algae, by Mr. H. C. Sorby, 

 F. R. S. In this paper the author gave an account of some of 

 the leading characters of the various remarkable blue, purple, 

 and red substances soluble in water characteristic of red Algse. 

 The compound nature of the solutions obtained from the plants 

 may be proved by the varying decomposing action of heat on 

 the different colouring matters. He also showed that though 

 Oscillatorice and Rhodosporea: yield closely -related colouring 

 substances, the specific differences serve to separate these two 

 groups of Algse quite as much as their general structure. Con- 

 necting links do indeed occur, and the further study of this 

 question will probably yield interesting results. Specimens 

 illustrating these facts were exhibited. A discussion followed, 

 in which the President, Prof. Dyer, Mr. A. W. Bennett, and 

 others took part. 



Chemical Society, May 6.— Dr. Odling, F.R.S., vice-pre- 

 sident, in the chair. — Prof. N. S. Maskelyne read a paper on 

 Andrewsite and Chalcosiderite, the former of which is a new 

 mineral from Cornwall named after Prof. Andrews. There were 

 also papers entitled " An examination of methods for effecting 

 the quantitative separation of iron, sesquioxide, alumina, and 

 phosphoric acid," by Dr. W. Flight ; and "On sodium ethyl- 

 thiosulphate," by Mr. W. Ramsay. — Mr. J. Williams, in his 

 communication "On a milligrade thermometric scale," proposes 

 to substitute the freezing and bo ling points of mercury for those 

 of water, and to divide the scale into a thousand parts. — Mr. 

 C. Griffin exhibited and described some new gas furnaces which 

 are very economical and of great power. 



Zoological Society, May 4. — Mr. E. W^. H. Ho!dsworth 

 in the chair. — Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on a 

 skin of a chick of a Cassowary {Casuatius picticollts), received 

 from Dr. George Bennett, of Sydney, New South Wales. 

 The bird had been obtained alive from the natives in 

 Milne Bay, New Guinea, by , Mr. Godfrey Goodman, Staff 

 Surgeon, R.N., when in the Basilisk in 1873. — Prof. Newton 

 exhibited and made remarks on a series of tracings of some 

 hitherto, unpublished drawings discovered in the Library of 

 Utrecht, representing the Dodo and other extinct birds of 

 Mauritius. Prof. Newton also exhibited and made re- 

 marks on two specimens of Ross's Arctic Gull, Rhodostethia 

 rossi, one of the rarest of Arctic birds. — Mr. H. C. Sorby, 

 F.R.S., read a paper on the colouring matter of the shells of 

 birds- eggs as studied by the spectrum method, in which he 

 showed that all their different tints are due to a variable 

 mixture of seven well-marked colouring matters. Hitherto the 

 greater part of these had not been found elsewhere. The 

 principal red colouring-matter was connected with the hamo- 

 globin of blood, and the two blue colouring matters were 

 probably related to bile pigments ; but in both cases it was only 

 a chemical and physical relationship, and the individual sub- 

 stances were quite distinct, and it seemed as though they were 

 special secretions. There appeared to be no simple connection 



between the production of these various egg-pigments and the 

 general organisation of the birds, unless it were in the case of 

 the Tinamous, in the shells of the eggs of many species of which 

 occurs an orange-red substance not met with in any other eggs, 

 unless it were in those of some species of Cassowary. — Mr. A. 

 IT. Garrod read a note on the hyoid bone of the Elephant, as 

 observed in two specimens of the Indian Elephant which he had 

 lately dissected, and showed that the position of the bone in siiu 

 had been mis-stated by former authorities. — A second paper by 

 Mr. Garrod contained remaiks on the relationship of two 

 pigeons, lanthcenas leiicolccma and Erythrcenas piilcherrima, 

 which he lately had an opportunity of examining. —A communi- 

 cation was read from Mr. G. E. Dobson on the bats belonging 

 to the genus Scotophilue, in which he gave the description of a 

 new genus and species allied thereto. The specimen in question 

 had been obtained in the Bellary Hills, India, by the Hon. J. 

 Dormer, by whom it had been presented to the British Museum. 

 It was proposed to name it Scotozous dormer i. — A communica- 

 tion was read from Lieut. W. Vincent Legge, R. A., giving 

 particulars of the breeding of certain Grallatores and Natatores 

 on the south-eastern coast of Ceylon, together with notes on the 

 nestling plumages of the same. 



Geological Society, April 28.— Mr. John Evans, V.P.R.S., 

 president, in the chair. — The following communications were 

 read : — " On Stagonolepis Rohertsoni, and on the evolution of the 

 Crocodilia," by Prof. T. H. Huxley, Sec. R.S. jAfter referring 

 to his paper read before the Society in 1858, the author stated 

 that he had since obtained, through the Rev. Dr. Gordon of 

 Birnie, and Mr. Grant of Lossiemouth, further materials, which 

 served at once to confirm the opinion then expressed by him, 

 and to complete our knowledge of Stagonolepis. The remains 

 hitherto procured consist of the dermal scutes, vertebrae of the 

 cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral and caudal regions, ribs, part 

 of the skull and the teeth, the scapula, coracoid and interclavicle, 

 the humerus, and probably the radius, the ilium, ischium and 

 pubis, the femur, and probably the tibia, and two metacarpal or 

 metatarsal bones. The remains procured confirm the determina- 

 tions given by the author in his former paper, except that the 

 mandible with long curved teeth therein, superstitiously referred 

 to Stagonolepis, proves not to belong to that animal. From the 

 extant evidence it appears that in outward form Stagonolepis 

 resembled one of the existing Caimans of intertropical America, 

 except that it possessed a long narrow skull, like that of a Gavial. 

 The dermal scutes formed a dorsal and ventral armour, but the 

 dorsal shield did not contain more than two, nor the ventral 

 shield more than eight longitudinal series of scutes. The posterior 

 nares were situated far forward, as in lizards, neither the palatine 

 nor the pterygoid bones uniting to prolong the nasal passage 

 backwards, and give rise to secondary posterior nares, as in 

 existing crocodiles. The teeth referred to Stagonolepis have 

 short, swollen, obtusely pointed crowns, like the back teeth of 

 some existing crocodiles ; they sometimes present signs of wear. 

 The scapula resembles that of recent crocodiles ; the coracoid is 

 short and rounded like that of the Ornithoscelida and of some 

 lizards, such as Hatttria. The humerus is more Lacertian than 

 in existing crocodiles. The acetabular end of the ischium re- 

 sembles that of a lizard, and the rest of the bone is shorter dorso- 

 ventrally and longer antero-posieriorly than in liviny; crocodiles, 

 thus resembling that of Bdodoji. The latter reptile, from the 

 Upper Ktuper of Wiirtemberg, is the nearest ally of Stagono- 

 lepis ; both are members of the same natural group, and this 

 must be referred to the order Crocodilia, which was described 

 as differing from other Reptilia as follows : — The transverse pro- 

 cesses of most cervical and thoracic vertebrae are divided into 

 more or less distinct capitular and tubercular portions, and the 

 proximal ends of the corresponding ribs are correspondingly 

 divided j the dorsal ends of the subvertebral caudal bones are 

 not united ; the quadrate bone is fixed to the side of the skull ; 

 the pterygoids send forward median processes which separate the 

 palatines and reach the vomer ; there is an interclavicle, but no 

 clavicles ; the ventral edge of the acetabular portion of the ilium 

 is entire or but slightly excavated; the ischia are not much 

 prolonged backwards, and the pubes are directed forwards 

 and inwards ; the femur has no inner trochanter, and the 

 astragalus is not a depressed concavo-convex bone with an 

 ascending process. There are at least two longitudinal rows of 

 dorsal dermal scutes. The Crocodilia are divided by the author 

 into three sub-orders : — 



I. Parasuchia, with no bony plates of the pterygoid or pala- 

 tine bones to prolong the nasal passages ; the Eustachian pas- 



