220 



NATURE 



IJuly 15. 1875 



The " Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences " for 1874-5 ^'^^ j"st to hand ; the following is a list of 

 the papers contained in the volume : — Researches on the Hexa- 

 tomic Compounds of Cobalt, by Wolcott Gibbs, M.D. Contribu- 

 tions to the Botany of North America, by Asa Gray. Graphical 

 Integration, by Edward C. Pickering. On the Solar Motion in 

 Space, by Truman Henry SafFord. Historical Sketch of the 

 Generic Names proposed for Butterflies : a contribution to 

 Systematic Nomenclature, by Samuel H. Scudrler. On the 

 wide diffusion of Vanadium and its_ association with Phosphorus 

 in many Rocks, by A."A. Hayes, M.D. Foci of Lenses placed 

 obliquely, by Prof. E. C. Pickering and Dr. Chas. H. Williams. 

 On the Effect of Heat upon the Magnetic Susceptibility of Soft 

 Iron, by H. Amory and F. Minot. A Conspectus of the North 

 American Hydrophyllaceje, by Asa Gray. Revision of the 

 Genus Ceanothus, and Descriptions of New Plants, with a 

 Synopsis of the Western Species of Silene, by Sereno Watson. 

 List of the Marine Algse of the United States, with Notes of 

 New and Imperfectly Known Species, by W. G. Farlow. On a 

 New Induction Coil, by John Trowbridge. On the Effect of 

 Armatures on'the Magnetic State of Electro-Magnets, by B. O. 

 Peirce and E. B. Levafour. On the Time of Demagnetisation 

 of Soft Iron, by W. C. Hodgkins>nd;J. H. Jennings. Light 

 transmitted by one or m«re Plates of Glass, by W. W.Jacques. 

 On the Application of Logical Analysis to Multiple Algebra, by 

 C. S. Peirce. On the Uses and Transformations of Linear 

 Algebra, by Benjamin Peirce. On a New Optical Constant, 

 and on a Method of Measuring Refractive Indices without the 

 use of Divided Instruments, by Wolcott Gibbs, M.D. Inten- 

 sity of Twilight, by Charles H. Williams. Light of the Sky, by 

 W. O. Crosby. Light absorbed by the Atmosphere of the Sun, 

 by E. C. Pickering and D. P. Strange. Tests of a Magneto- 

 electric Machine, by E. C. Pickering and D. P. Strange. 

 Answer to M. Jamin's Objections to Ampere's Theory, by 

 William W. Jacques. Melanosiderite : a New Mineral Species, 

 from Mineral Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, by Josiah 

 P. Cooke, jun. On Two New Varieties of Vermiculites, with 

 a Revision of the other Members of this Group, by Josiah P. 

 Cooke, jun., and F. A. Gooch. 



At a meeting of the Council of the Royal School of Mines, 

 held on Saturday, July 3rd, the following gentlemen received, the 

 diploma of Associate of the Royal School of Mines : — Mining 

 and Metallurgical Divisions : Harry H. Becher, W. Frecheville, 

 F. II. Marshall, Ambrose R. Willis. Mining Division : Archi- 

 bald E. Pinching, G. Seymour, H. Lamont Yomig. Metal- 

 lurgical Division : G. Fitz Brown, Robert Hellon, W. Foulkes 

 Lowe, Thomas Purdie. Geological Diivsion : G. C. Frames. 

 The following scholarships and prizes were also awarded : — 

 Third-year Students : The De la Beche Medal and prize of 

 books to Mr. G. Fitz Brown ; the Murchison Medal and prize 

 of books for Geology to Mr. G. Seymour. Second-year Stu- 

 dents : H.R.H. the Duke of Cornwall's Scholarship of 30/. for 

 two years to Mr. H. Louis, and the Royal Exhibition of 25/. to 

 Mr. W. Hewitt. First-year Students : Two Royal Scholar- 

 ships of 15/. each to Mr, A. N. Pearson and Mr, L, J. Whalley. 



During the past week the Commission on Vivisection have 

 held several meetings. The absence of Prof. Huxley is to be 

 regretted. 



In the secret committee which was held after Monday's sitting 

 of the Paris Academy of Sciences the claims of M. Mouchez and 

 M. Wolf to the vacant membership in the section of Astronomy 

 were warmly discussed. The election will probably take place 

 next Monday. M. Mouchez is one of the most successful of the 

 Transit observers, ^and M. Wolf is the sub-director of the Paris 

 Observatory. 



A SECOND specimen of a Two-homed Asiatic Rhinoceros was 

 yesterday deposited in the Zoological Society's Gardens. It 

 closely resembles the Hairy-eared species, and does not differ 

 much from the Sumatran animal. 



A SECOND edition has been issued of "The Unseen Uni- 

 verse ; or. Physical Speculations on a Future State " (Macmillan 

 and Co.) 



The Geologists' Association will make a five days' excursion 

 into East Yorkshire, commencing on July 19, 



In connection with the calamitous floods around Toulouse, on 

 the 25 th June a singular phenomenon was observed at Clermont- 

 sur-Lanquet. The whole of the earth on the slope of a moun- 

 tain was moved bodily, a shepherd's house being transported 

 uninjured to a distance. 



We have received a paper addressed to the Royal Society of 

 Edinburgh by M. F. Lefort, Inspecteur-General des Ponts et 

 Chaussees, containing Observations relative to Mr. Edward 

 Sang's " Remarks on the Great Logarithmic and Trigonometrical 

 Tables calculated in the Bureau du Cadastre under the direction 

 of Prony." Appended to the paper is Mr. Sang's reply to M. 

 Lefort's observations. 



We have received the "Astronomical and Meteorological 

 Observations " made during the year 1872 at the U.S. Naval 

 Observatory. 



To those who are interested in the question of the pollution of 

 rivers, we would commend a letter to the Right Hon. G. 

 Sclater-Booth, President of the Local Government Board, en- 

 titled "The Pollution of Rivers, by a Polluter" (Mr. E. C. 

 Potter, of Manchester). In a very moderate and reasonable way 

 it advances some arguments in favour of the polluter's side of 

 the question. 



The Thirteenth Annual Report of the Birmingham Free 

 Libraries Committee for 1874 is on the whole a satisfactory one. 

 The aggregrate number of issues for the year is 542,887, and 

 although this is only an increase of about 3,000 over 1873, there 

 is a very marked increase in the issues of books to readers in 

 the Reference Library, indicating the growing use of a higher 

 class of works than are deposited in the L&iding Library, and 

 showing that the Free Library system is bearing fruit in raising 

 the standard of taste and cultivation among readers. The issue 

 of scientific works both in the Lending and Reference Libraries 

 bears a very fair proportion to that in other departments. 



We have received a paper by Mr. W. W. Wagstaffe, of St. 

 Thomas's Hospital, on the mechanical structure of the cancellous 

 tissue of bone, in which the arrangement of the trabeculse of the 

 articular ends of the human bones are described, from sections, 

 on the same principle as that previously adopted by Mr, F. 

 Ward, Julius Wolff, and others. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Maholi Galago [Galago maholi) from 

 S. Africa, presented by Mr. C, E, Thomson ; two Angulated 

 Tortoises {Chersina angulata) from S. Africa, presented by Mr. 

 L. A. Knight; a Roseate Cockatoo {Cacafua rosdcapilla) from 

 Australia, presented by Mr. Alfred^Thompson ; seven Garganey 

 Teal {Querquedula circia), and a Temminck's Tragopan {Ceriornis 

 temmincki) from China ; two Argus Pheasants {Argus giganleus) 

 from Malacca, deposited ; two Giant Tortoises { Testudo indica) 

 from the Aldabra Islands, purchased ; a Malbrouck Monkey 

 {Cercopithecus cynosurus) from W. Africa, received in exchange ; 

 a Hog Deer {Cervus porcinus) and five Chiloe Wigeons {AJareca 

 ckiloensis) born in the Gardens. 



