576 



NATURE 



\Oct. 13, 1887 



be utilized for the constniction of electric dynamometers. — Fauna 

 of the " Upper Taconic " of Emmons, in Washington County, 

 New York, by Charles D. Walcott. This paper deals specially 

 with the fauna represented by A tops trilineatus and EUiptocephala 

 asaphoides from the black Taconic slate near Bald Mountain, 

 Washington County, as described by Dr. Emmons in his second 

 memoir on the " Taconic System." The paper is accompanied 

 by a plate illustrating nineteen specimens of this fauna. — On the 

 amount of moisture remaining in a gas after drying by phosphorus 

 pentoxide, by Edward W. Morley. This quantity is here deter- 

 mined by the method applied in the case of sulphuric acid, the 

 process consisting in drying the gas with phosphorus pentoxide 

 and then passing it through a weighed apparatus in which the 

 gas is first slightly moistened, then much expanded, and lastly 

 again dried by phosphorus pentoxide. — Is there a Huron group ? 

 by R. D, Irving. In this paper the author inquires whether 

 there can be carved off from the upper part of the great complex of 

 rocks ordinarily known as Archaean, a Huronian series, entitled 

 to rank with such groups as the Cambrian, Siberian, &c. In 

 this first part of the memoir it is shown that the series on the 

 north shore of Lake Huron mapped by Logan on Plate iii. of 

 the atlas to the geology of Canada (1863) is entitled to rank as a 

 separate group by its intrinsic characters and its structural dis- 

 tinction from the older Archaean and younger Cambrian and 

 pre-Cambrian rocks of that region. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, October 3. — M. Herve Mangon in 

 the chair. — On some properties relative to the action of crystal- 

 line plates on light, by M. Mascart. It is shown that a system 

 of waves on the same plane traversing a crystalline plate with 

 parallel faces is decomposed into two systems of polarized waves 

 with unequal retardation which at the exit are reconstituted in a 

 system of waves in a state of vibration different from the first. 

 From this is deduced the theorem that the action on light of any 

 group of crystalline plates, endowed or not with rotatory power, 

 is equivalent to that of a single plate with axis parallel to the 

 incident axis and perpendicular to the incident rays. — On an 

 experiment with M. D. Colladon's artificial waterspout, by M. 

 Mascart. The action of this ingenious apparatus, as well as 

 that of M. Weyher, seems to show that there is undoubtedly an 

 ascending movement in the central part of all cyclonic pheno- 

 mena. With regard to the recent waterspout in Lake Geneva, 

 it is pointed out that the ascending motion stated to have been 

 witnessed by M. Dufour and other observers, could scarcely be 

 an optical illusion, as maintained by M. Faye. Some of the 

 water seen to ascend was afterwards precipitated as rain, drench- 

 ing some men engaged on the railway. — Remarks on M. 

 Colladon's recent experiment, by M. Faye. In reply to the 

 foregoing, it is pointed out that in a series of remarkable experi- 

 ments conducted under like conditions, M. von Bezold, Director 

 of the Berlin Central Meteorological Observatory, has, on the 

 contrary, produced a descending movement in the direction of 

 the long axis. But M. Faye rejects both classes of experiments, 

 holding that his theory is neither refuted by the first, nor con- 

 firmed by the second, as none of the apparatus in question really 

 succeeds in reproducing a natural waterspout. — Experimental 

 study of human locomotion, by MM. Marey and Demeny. In con- 

 tinuation of their previous communications on this subject, the 

 authors here analyze, by means of the photochronographic process, 

 the movements of the trunk in walking and running. The 

 accompanying diagrams show the successive figures of a runner 

 photographed from above at intervals of one-tenth of a second. 

 — On the non-existence of spontaneous tetanus, by M. Ver- 

 neuil. The existence is denied of spontaneous or medical as 

 opposed to traumatical or surgical tetanus. It is shown, how- 

 ever, that besides the latter there also exists a variety of the 

 disorder, for which the term tetanus by absorption is proposed. 

 — Researches on the apparently spontaneous movements of 

 contraction and relaxation which after death are continued in 

 the muscles so long as the rigor lasts, by M. Brown-Sequard. 

 The results are described of numerous experiments carried out 

 on rabbits, dogs, and monkeys by means of the graphic process, 

 showing that complex muscular action continues after death 

 throughout the whole period of rigor mortis ; that is, until 

 putrefaction sets in, which may at times be deferred for several 

 weeks. The action is mostly irregular, but occasionally almost 

 rhythmical, and the more decided movements occur not in the 



early stages, but towards the end, sometimes in the second, 

 third, and even fourth week. It is made clear that they cannot 

 be attributed to changes of temperature, variations of humidity 

 or ozone, barometric pressure, or other atmospheric influences, 

 nor yet to magnetism or electricity, at least to any great extent. 

 It will be shown in a future communication that they are due to 

 the persistence of muscular irritability ; that is, to the funda- 

 mental property of the living muscular tissue surviving till 

 arrested by putrefaction. — General results of fresh studies on 

 several series of fatty and aromatic monamines, by M. Malbot. 

 These studies deal with the ethylamines, the propylamines, butyl- 

 amines, amylamines, caprylamines, and aromatic amines. Their 

 whole history is cleared up, and a general interpretation is 

 arrived at of their formation. Whether occurring in the free 

 state or in combination, they result from a conflict of energies 

 between the rival affinities of ammonia and the amines for the 

 ether and its acid. With regard to their formation, the author's 

 experiments seem to favour the ethylene theory of Berthelot 

 rather than that of ethyl advocated by Hofmann. — A memoir 

 on the syphon barometer was presented by M. Govi, who 

 credits Torricelli with the first idea, and Pascal with the prac- 

 tical execution and first employment of this instrument, the in- 

 vention of which has been successively attributed to Robert 

 Hooke, Robert Boyle, and Borelli. He shows that the princi- 

 ple was known to Torricelli in 1644, when he used it to explain 

 to Ricci the theory of the cistern barometer ; also that Pascal 

 was acquainted with it in 1653, while Hooke mentions it for the 

 first time in 1665, Boyle in 1666, and Borelli in 1667. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



The Student's Hand-book to the Microscope : A Quekett Club Man 

 (Roper and Drowley). — Weather : Hon. Ralph Abercromby (Kegan Paul). — 

 Our New Zealand Cousins : Jas. Inglis (Low). — Our Fancy Pigeons : George 

 Ure (Mathew, Dundee). — The Solomon Islands and their Natives : H. B. 

 Guppy (Sonnenschein). — The Solomon Islands, their Geology, &c. : H. B. 

 Guppy (Sonnenschein). — A Sketch of Geological History : Prof. E. Hull 

 (Deacon).— Factors in Life : Prof H. G. Seeley (S.P.C.K.).— Pictorial 

 Geography of the British Isles: M. E. Palgrave (S.P.C.K.).— Sixth Annual 

 Report of the U.S. Geological Survey : J. W. Powell (Washington). — 

 Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, September (Stanford). — Mind, 

 October (Williams and Norgate). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Scenery of Scotland. By Prof. A. H. Green, 



F.R.S 553 



Our Book Shelf :— 



"Longmans' Shilling Geography " 555 



Bonnier: " Les Plantes des (Zhamps et des Bois " . . 555 

 Sinclair and Fyfe : "The Hand-book of Jamaica for 



1887-88" 555 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Natural History of the Roman Numerals. — ^J. 



Lymburn. {Illustrated) 555 



The " Sky-Coloured Clouds.— T. W. Backhouse . 556 



A Light Fog. — W.G.Brown 556 



Destruction of Young Fish. — Capt. David Wilson- 

 Barker 557! 



On Hamilton's Numbers. By Prof. J. J. Sylvester, | 



F.R.S 557 



Modern Views of Electricity. Part I. — II. By Dr. 



Oliver J. Lodge, F.R.S. (Illustrated) 559 ; 



New Forms of Construction of Object-Glasses 

 intended for Stellar Photography. By Prof. 



Edward C. Pickering 562 



William S. Symonds 562 



Notes 562 , 



Our Astronomical Column : — j 



Proper Motion of LI 26481 



The Washburn Observatory 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1887 



October 16-22 



Meteorological Notes 



The Problem of the Hop Plant Louse {Phorodon 

 humuli, Schrank) in Europe and America. By 



Prof. C. V. Riley 



Education in Germany. By Samuel Smith, M.P. . 

 The British Association : — 



Section B. — Chemical Science 



Section C. — Geology , . 



University and Educational Intelligence 



Scientific Serials 



Societies and Academies 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 57^ 



d 



