July 2 1, 1887] 



NA TURE 



287 



Katzen-Buckel, none were truly holocrystalline, and hence they 

 could not be compared with foyaite or elaeolite-syenite. — Notes 

 on the metamorphic rocks of South Devon, by Miss Catherine 

 A. Kaisin, B.Sc. Communicated by Prof. T. G. Bonney, 

 F.R.S. — On the ancient beach and boulders near Braunton and 

 Croyde in North Devon, by Prof. T. McKenny Hughes. — Notes 

 on the formation of coal-seams, as suggested by evidence 

 collected chiefly in the Leicestershire and South Derbyshire 

 coal-field, by Mr. W. S. Gresley. — Note on some Dinosaurian 

 remains in the collection of A. Leeds, Esq. ; Part L OntUlwpsis 

 IceJsii, Part IL Oinusjurus, sp., by Mr. J. \V. Hulke, 

 F.R.S. — Notes on some Polyzoa from the Lias, by Mr. Edwin 

 A. Walford. — On the superficial geology of the southern portion 

 of the Wealden area, by Mr. J. Vincent Elsden. Communicated 

 by the President. — Report on palseobotanical investigations of 

 the Tertiary flora of Australia, by Dr. Constantin Baron von 

 Ettin_^shausen. — On some new features in Pclanechtnus coral- 

 linus, by Mr. T. T. Groom. Communicated by Prof. T. 

 McKenny Hughes. — On boulders found in seams of coal, by 

 Mr. John Spencer. 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, June 6. — Mr. J. Murray, Vice-President, in 

 the chair. — Mr. J. B. Readman read a paper on a furnace 

 capable of melting nickel and cobalt. — Mr. R. Kidston com- 

 municated the last part of his paper on the fossil flora of the 

 Radstock series of the Somerset and Bristol coal-fields. — Prof. 

 Grainger Stewart read a paper on investigations into the dis- 

 charge of albumen from the kidneys of healthy people. — Dr. H. 

 R. Mill communicated the result of his investigations on the 

 salinity and temperature of the Firths of Inverness, Cromarty, 

 and Dornoch, and of the North Sea. — Prof. Ewart discussed the 

 existence of Bacteria in the lymph, &c., of fish and other verte- 

 brates. 



June 20. — Sheriff Forbes Irvine, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 — Prof. Geikie communicated a paper by Prof. Frederico Sacco 

 on the origin of the great Alpine lakes. — Dr. E. Sang read a 

 paper on the minute vibrations of a uniform chain hung by one 

 end, and on the functions arising in the course of the inquiry. — 

 Dr. A. W. Hare read a note on the biological tests employed in 

 estimating the purity of water. — Prof. Tait submitted a paper by 

 Mr. A. H. Anglin on alternants which are constant multiples 

 of the difference-product of the variables. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, July 11. — M. Janssen in the chair. 

 — Presentation of the minutes of the International Astronomical 

 Congress for the execution of the photographic chart of the 

 heavens, by M. Mouchez. It was stated that although the 

 Congress held in Paris last April concluded its labours before 

 the end of the same month, the publication of its proceedings 

 has been delayed till now, owing to the necessity of sending the 

 proofs for revision to the members scattered over various parts 

 of the world. Two main resolutions were arrived at, the first 

 regarding the adoption of the photographic process, and of a 

 uniform class of instruments, so as to secure the greatest possible 

 degree of homogeneity in the results. The instrument unani- 

 mously adopted was that of Gautier, already in use for two years 

 in the Paris Observatory. The second resolution regarded the 

 period and extent of work to be carried out at the various 

 international stations. It was decided that there should be two 

 series of stellar photographs, the first comprising stars to the 

 nth magnitude approximately, the second to include all down 

 to the 14th magnitude, or about 15,000,000 altogether. A per- 

 manent Bureau was also appointed, for the purpose of executing 

 the decisions of the Congress and maintaining constant relations 

 between the members and the Observatories taking part in the 

 work of stellar photography. A special bulletin may also 

 perhaps be issued from time to time, to report generally on the 

 progress of this great astronomic undertaking. — Heat of forma- 

 tion of hydrotelluric acid, by MM. Berthelot and Ch. Fabre. 

 Four determinations eflfected by the agency of the perchloride 

 of iron in solution, give a mean of 29*12 calories. — On the 

 presence of microscopic crystals of albite in various limestone 

 rocks of the Western Alps, by M. Ch. Lory. The genesis of 

 these crystals appears to have been generally favoured in the 

 Western Alps by the conditions under which the Triassic 

 formations have been developed. They occur somewhat ex- 

 ceptionally in association with the Middle Lias at Villette, and 

 *bout the head of the long fjord of the Miocene sea, which 



flowed from the Mariiime Alps to a point a little north of Saint- 

 Jean-de-Maurienne. Hence the formation of these microscopic 

 crystals appears to be connected with the special character of 

 the deposits, and to be independent of the more or less intense 

 local mechanical actions which affected the various stratified 

 rocks at the time of the Alpine dislocations. — Presentation of 

 M. Godcfroy Malloizel's volume containing a complete list of 

 M. Chevreul's writings issued between the years 1806-86, by 

 M. de Quatrefages. The cost of this publication has been met 

 by the balance of the sum subscribed by the youth of France to 

 strike a medal in honour of M. Chevreul on his hundredth 

 anniversary. Besides the titles and dates of everything issued 

 by M. Chevreul during the last eighty years, careful tables of 

 contents are appended to all memoirs and scientific papers of any 

 considerable length. An introduction is added by M. Desnoyers, 

 Librarian of the Museum, and a fine portrait of the illustrious 

 doyen of the savants of the whole world, by M. Champollion. — 

 On antipyrine as a substitute for morphine in subcutaneous in- 

 jections, by M. Germain See. The continued experience of 

 the author since his first communication on antipyrine as an 

 anaesthetic (April 18, 1887), shows its decided superiority over 

 morphine in all cases of rheumatic, hepatic, and cardiac affec- 

 tions. It is administered in the same way, but is more easily 

 prepared, more efficacious, and entirely free from the dangerous 

 consequences too often attending the use of morphine. — On a 

 simple dynamic method of deter oiining the degree of isotropy of 

 an elastic solid body, by M. E. Mercadier. According to Saint 



Venant, in all true solid isotropes _ = i, where A and /i are 



two characteristic quantities of a solid body, by means of which ^ 

 may be expressed all the coefiicients relative to its elasticity 

 (Lame). Hence, if this relation can be measured for different 

 bodies, their degree of isotropy may be determined by the 



I difference between the value of such relation and unity. M. 



I Mercadier here supplies a simple method for making this deter- 

 mination based on the theory of the vibrations of circular plaques, 

 the laws of which have recently been verified by him. He 

 shows, for instance, that for glass A = /i ; that is to say, that it 

 is an isotropous body. This is an extremely simple confirma- 

 tion, by a dynamic process, of the result of the beautiful experi- 

 ments made by M. Cornu on glass by a static method. — On the 

 alums formed by selenic acid, by M. Charles Fabre. Continuing 

 the studies of Wohlwil, Wohler, and Petterson, the author 

 here describes a series of selenic alums with alumina or sesqui- 

 oxide of chromium base, which he has succeeded in preparing. 

 They comprise the alums of alumina corresponding to the 

 general formula Al.^Og . sSeOs 4- MO . SeOj + 24HO, and 

 the alums of chromium corresponding to the general formula 

 CrjOs- sSeOs + MO . SeOs -\- 24HO. — Researches on the re- 

 actions of the vanadates considered from the stand-point of 

 chemical analysis, by M. Ad. Carnot. In this paper the author 

 completes the study of the reactions produced between the 

 vanadates and the chief metallic salts under the ordinary con- 

 ditions of analysis. Amongst the salts here treated are those of 

 cobalt, nickel, zinc, cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, and bis- 

 muth. 



Berlin. 



Physiological Society, June 17. — Prof. Du Bois-Reymond, 

 President, in the chair. — Prof. Ewald spoke on the behaviour 

 of salol (salicylate of phenol) in the stomach, a question which 

 he has investigated in order to obtain information as to the 

 movements of the stomach in relation to the time in which the 

 contents of this organ are sent on into the intestine. Prof. 

 Nencki had stated that salol is not acted upon by gastric juice, 

 but is split up into salicylic acid and phenol by the action of 

 pancreatic juice. Prof, Ewald's experiments confirmed the 

 statement that salol undergoes no change in the stomach ; thus, 

 after administering salol, this substance could be detected in 

 portions of the contents of the stomach examined at intervals of 

 from one-half to three hours after it had been taken. Pan- 

 creatic juice was found to be similarly inert on salol, but on the 

 other hand it was decomposed by most alkaline fluids. When 

 injected into the intestine through a fistula, salol could readily 

 be detected after half an hour, as salicyluric acid, in the urine. 

 Since, therefore, salol undergoes no change in the stomach, but 

 is readily decomposed in the intestine, and appears in half an 

 hour as salicyluric acid in the urine, it was found to be extremely 

 well suited to the purposes of the proposed experiments. When 

 salol is given to healthy men whose gastric apparatus is in 



