6o 



NATURE 



[May 20, 1875 



females in these specimens, as compared with those met with on 

 Andrena convexiuscula, and rehiarked on the importance of not 

 confounding the species obtained from different Andrence, 

 Stylo ps Spencii having been described from A. atriceps, while 

 S. Thwaitesii had been described fr«m A. convexiuscula. Mr, 

 Smith beUeved that eventually a great many species would be 

 found to inhabit this country, and that as many as a dozen 

 different species would probably be found on the genus Andrena 

 alone, independently of Halictus. — Mr. M'Lachlan read an 

 extract from a report made to the Royal Society, on the Natural 

 History of Kerguelen's Island, by the Rev. A. E. Eaton, who 

 was attached as Naturalist to the Transit of Venus Expedition to 

 the island (Nature, vol. xii. p. 35). Nearly all the insects were 

 remarkable for being either apterous or with greatly abbreviated 

 wings. Mr, M'Lachlan said that the theory as to the apterous con- 

 dition of the insects was that the general high winds prevailing in 

 those regions rendered the development of wings useless ; and Mr. 

 Jenner Weir remarked that the apterous condition was correlated 

 with the fact that plants under similar circumstances were apetalous 

 and self- fertilising ; and hence it was supposed that the existence of 

 winged insects was unnecessary, — Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhi- 

 bited a Chelifer which he had discovered under the elytra of a 

 Fassalus from Rio Janeiro, — Mr. C. O, Waterhouse also ex- 

 hibited a drawing of a Neuropterous insect of the family Asca- 

 laphidce, from Swan River, presenting the pecuUarity of having 

 a large bifid hump ©n the basal segment of the abdomen, 

 dorsally, each division of the hump bearing a crest of hairs. He 

 believed it to be the male of Suphalasca magna, M'Lachlan. — 

 Mr. Wormald exhibited a collection of Coleoptera, Neuroptera, 

 and Lepidoptera, sent by Mr. H. Pryer, from Yokohama. — Prof. 

 Westwood communicated descriptions of some new species of 

 short-tongued bees belonging to the genus Nomia, Latreille ; 

 and also a paper, on the species of Rutelid(Z inhabiting Eastern 

 Asia and the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, —Mr, C, O. 

 Waterhouse communicated a description of a new species be- 

 longing to the Lucanida {Prosopoccelus Wimberleyi), by Major 

 F. J. Sidney Parry ; and also a description of the male oiAlcimus 

 dilatatus, by himself. 



Royal Microscopical Society, May 5, — Mr. H, C. Sorby, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — A discussion took place upon a 

 paper read at the last meeting by the president, upon spectrum 

 analysis by means of the microscope, and some additional par- 

 ticulars of interest were furnished by the author in reply to 

 questions addressed to him by Dr. Pigott, Dr. Matthews, Mr. 

 Slack, and Mr. Crisp. — Mr. Slack read a paper on the rela- 

 tion of angular aperture to surface markings and accurate 

 vision, in which he showed the fallacy of the present system of 

 using high-angled objectives for these purposes to the exclusion 

 of those of small angular aperture, and pointed out that extreme 

 angles were only to be obtained at the expense of accurate cor- 

 rection and penetrating power. 



Cambridge 



Philosophical Society, May 3. — A communication was 

 made by Mr. Pirie, on a method of introducing a current into a 

 galvanometer circuit. Mr. Pirie said that electricians had often 

 to work with currents far too strong for their galvanometer. He 

 mentioned various methods in use for checking the swing of the 

 needle ; but contended that an easily made and easily used con- 

 troller for rough work was a desideratum. He described an 

 instrument in the form of a continuously varying shunt, in which 

 a moving connection was obtained by a tube filled with mercury 

 sliding on a wire of suitable resistance. This form of connec- 

 tion was first used by Prof. Barrett of Dublin. With the aid of 

 Mr. Gamett, the Demonstrator of Physics, Mr. Pirie showed 

 that a verv good connection was obtained by this means ; and 

 subsequently, that the instrument described gave a control over 

 the movements of the needle in a galvanometer whose resistance 

 was not too different from its own. 



Glasgow 



Geological Society, April 15. — Mr. James Thomson, 

 F.G.S., vice-president, read a paper on the geology of the 

 River Liddel, Dumfriesshire. He described several fine sections 

 exposed along the banks of that river, showing wonderful con- 

 tortions, with great "faults" and "down-throws" of strata. 

 He also referred to the striking identity of the fossils found in a 

 band of impure limestone in that district with those found in 

 many parts of the Ayrshire and Lancashire coal-fields. — Mr. 

 Thomson also read some notes on new species of carboniferous 

 corals, giving an account of hLs recent investigations in that 

 department. - 



Berlin 

 German Chemical Society, May 10.— T. Bohm studied the 

 influence of various salts on the growth of Phaseolus multiflorus, 

 and found lime salts alone efficient for the culture of these plants. 

 — G. Gerlich, bringing into contact sulphocyanide of potassium 

 or of ammonium with bromide of allyl, obtained sulphocyanide 

 of allyl when the reaction was allowed to take place at 0°, while 

 at higher temperatures the isomeric mustard -oil prevailed. — L. 

 Nilson has studied the selenites of beryllium, lanthanium, cerium, 

 didymium, yttrian, erbium, and yttrium. The former metal 

 appeared to enter into the salt as a diad, the rest as triads ; 

 thorium as a tetrad. — V. Hsemilian has proved the presence of a 

 considerable portion of ordinary alcohol in commercial methyUc 

 alcohol, — L, Pfaundler stated the influence various solvents have 

 on the proportion in which a base is divided between two acids, 

 — W, Ebstein and J, MuUer have isolated the ferment contained 

 in the liver and found its action on glycogen to disappear not 

 only when phenol but when the trace of any acid was added. — 

 O. Fischer has transformed methyl-anthracen into methylalizarine, 

 C15H10O4. — A. Ladenburg observed the action of acetic acid on 

 diamines to consist in the formation of ethenyl compounds : 



C7H6{NH2), -1- C2H4O2 = C7H6N2HC2H3 + 2H2O. 

 Toluylendiamine. Ethenyltoluylendiamine. 



— V. Meyer and W. Michler, by treating disulphobenzolic acid 

 with cyanide of potassium and potash, have obtained both tere- 

 pthalic and isophthalic acid in the same reaction. — Drs. von 

 Mering and Musculus, after giving large quantities of chloral to 

 patients, have found an acid in the urine of the composition 

 C7Hi2Cl20g. They deny the decomposition of chloral into 

 formic acid and chloroform to take place in the human system. — 

 P. T. Austin, treating chloronitrobenzol CgH3(N02)2Cl with 

 ethylate of sodium, has obtained the ether C6H3(N02)20C2H4. — 

 A. W. Hofmann has observed the following reaction of cyanogen 

 cnmercaptansRSH-hCNa = CNH + R-S-C-N. Where 

 R is = C3H5 allyl, the sulpho-cyanide is first obtained, which at 

 ordinary temperatures passes into the isomerical oil of mustard. — 

 R. Lussy has been able to combine one molecule of toluylene- 

 diamine with two molecules of phenyl-iso-sulphocyanate. The 

 compound diphenyl-toluylen-sulphurea, when treated with hy- 

 drochloric acid, yields aniline and the mustard-oil of toluylene 

 C7H8"{NCS)2. 



BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED 



British.— A Sketch of Philosophy : J. G. Macvicar, LL.D., D.D. (Wm. 

 Blackwood and Sons). — Wanderings in the Interior of New Guinea : Capt. 

 J. A. Lawson (Chapman and Hall). — The Chemistry of Light and Photo- 

 graphy in its applications to Art, Science, and Industry : Dr. Hermann 

 Vogel (H. S. King and Co.) — Fourth (December 1872 to December 1873) and 

 Fifth (December 1873 to December 1874) Annual Reports of the Wellington 

 College Natural Science Society. — Vestiges of the Molten Globe : William 

 Lowthian Green (E. Stanford). — The Native Races •f the Pacific States. 

 Vol. ii. : Hubert Howe Bancroft (Longmans). — The Province of Psychology 

 — the Inaugural Address at the First Meeting, April 14, 1875, of the Psycho- 

 logical Society of Great Britain, by the President, Mr. Serjeant Cox. — On 

 the Distribution of Rain over the British Isles during the Year 1874. Com- 

 piled by G, J. Symons, F.R.B.S. (E. Stanford). 



CONTENTS Pack 



The Unseen Universe 41 



The Tides of the Mediterranean 43 



Our Book Shelk : — 



Bonney's "Cambridgeshire Geology". . . ._ 45 



Warburton's "Journey across the Western Interior of Australia" . 46 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



AcousticPhenomenon.— Andrew French (H^2VA///?«/ra//<7«). . 46 



The Degeneracy of Man. — Rev. S. J. Whitmee 47 



The Law of Muscular Action. — F. E. Nipher 47 



Physiological Effects of Tobacco Smoke 48 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



New Variable Star (f) 48 



The Binary Star f Herculis 48 



Peters' Elliptic Comet 1846 (VL) 48 



Minor Planets 48 



Our Botanical Column : — 



The Pandanese 48 



Santal Vert 49 



Some Results OF the "Polaris" Arctic Expedition 49 



On the occurrence of a Stone Mask in New Jersey, U.S.A. By 



Dr. Chas. C, Abbott (IVith Illustration) 49 



Fertilisation of Flowers by Insects, X. By Dr, Hermann 



MuLLER {With Illustrations) 50 



Note on THE Hvrcanian Sea. By Major Herbert Wood, C.E. . 51 



The Commons Experiments on Animals Bill 52 



Ballooning and Science. By W. de Fonviellk .... ; . , 52 



Notes 53 



Arctic Marine Vegetation. By Mrs. Mary P. Merrifield . . 55 



Scientific Serials 5S 



Societies and Academies 58 



Books and Pamphlets Received 60 



