172 



NATURE 



[December 13, 1900 



New South Wales. 

 Royal Society, October 3.— The President, Prof. Liversidge, 

 F.R.S., in the chair.— Marriage and descent among the Austra- 

 lian aborigines, by R. H. Mathews.— On the constituent of 

 peppermint odour occurring in many Eucalyptus oils, part i., by 

 Henry G. Smith. The first Eucalyptus oil was distilled by Dr. 

 White in 1 788, at Sydney, and owing to the great resemblance 

 between this oil and that obtained from the peppermint Mentha 

 piperita, he named the tree from which he had obtained the oil 

 the "Peppermint Tree." Its botanical name is Eucalyptus 

 piperita. Since then many other species of Eucalyptus have been 

 found to ■ have this peppermint odour, and are generally known 

 as " peppermints." The constituent giving this odour has now 

 been isolated. It occurs in greatest amount in the oil obtained 

 from the leaves of E. dives,next in that of E. radiata, and in 

 fair amount in the oils of several other species. — On the crystal- 

 line structure of gold nuggets from Klondyke, Victoria and 

 New Zealand, by Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S. Sections of three 

 nuggets from Klondyke were shown. The crystal faces are 

 comparatively small, and the nuggets have a granular structure, 

 as if built up of separate grains, of one or two millimetres in 

 diameter. They are also more fissured and contain more cavities 

 than usual. The sections of Victorian (Australian) and New 

 Zealand nuggets are also made up of small crystals, and they 

 present numerous small cavities after the removal of the quartz 

 and iron oxide by treatment with hydrofluoric and hydrochloric 

 acids, so that the sections present quite a difi^erent appearance 

 to the very compact and largely crystallised nuggets from West 

 Australia. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDA K, December 13. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30.-011 the Spectrum of the More Volatile Gases of 

 Atmospheric Air, which are not Condensed at the Temperature of Liquid 

 Hydrogen. Preliminary Notice : Prof Liveing, F.R.S., and Prof. 

 Dewar, F.R.S. — Additional Notes on Boulders and other Rock Speci- 

 mens from the Newlands Diamond Mines, Griqualand West : Prof. 

 Bonney, F.R.S. — The Distribution of Vertebrate Animals in India, 

 Ceylon and Burma : Dr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S.— Elastic Solids at 

 Rest or in Motion in a Liquid : Dr. Chree, F.R.S. 

 Mathematical Society, at 5.30. — The Syz^getic Theory of Orthogonal 

 Bivariants : Prof. Elliott, F.R.S. — On Discriminants and Envelopes of 

 Surfaces : R. W. Hudson. — Note on the Inflexions of Curves with 

 Double Points: H.W.Richmond. — On some Properties of Groups of 

 Odd Order, ii. : Prof. Burnside, F.R.S. 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — Possible continuation 



of Discussion on Mr. Langdon's paper. Time permitting: Rapid 



Variations in the Current through the Direct Current Arc : W. Duddell. 

 Chemical Society, at 8.30. — Rammelsberg Memorial Lecture : Prof. 

 H. A. Miers, F.R.S. 



FRIDAY, December 14. 

 Physical Society ("Royal College of Science), at 5. — (i) Electric Inertia ; 

 (2) The Effect of Inertia on Electric Currents in a Rotating sphere : 

 Prof. A. Schuster, F.R.S. — Exhibition and Description of a Quartz- 

 Thread Gravity- Balance : Prof. R. Threlfall, F.R.S.— On the Theory of 

 Magnetic Disturbances by Earth Currents : Prof. A. W. Riicker, F.R.S. 

 Notes on the Practical Application of the Theory of Magnetic Disturb- 

 ances by Earth Currents : Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S. — The New 

 Physical Laboratories of the Royal College of Science: Prof. A. W. 

 Rucker, F.R.S. — Exhibition of a Set of Half-Seconds Pendulums: W. 

 Watson. 

 Royal Astronomical Society, at 8. — On the Connection between Solar 

 Spots and Earth-Magnetic Storms : Rev. W. Sidgreaves. — Watch for the 

 Leonids, 1900, at Markree : F. W. Henkel. — The Diameter of Juno 

 (3), determined with the Micrometer of the 40-inch Refractor of the 

 Yerkes Observatory ; with Remarks on some of the other Asteroids : 

 E. E. Barnard. — Observations of the Leonids made at Blackheath, igoo 

 November 14 : E. M. Antoniadi and A. C. D. Crommelin. — The Leonids : 

 Observations at the University Observatory, Oxford : H. H. Turner. — 

 Ephemeris for Physical Observations of Jupiter, 1901 : A. C. D. Crom- 

 melin. — The System of f Herculis : T. Lewis, Probable paper: 



Observations of Capella as a Double Star with the 28-inch Equatorial of 

 the Royal Observatory, Greenwich ; W. H. M. Christie. 

 Malacological Society, at 8. — Note on Bensonia and an apparently 

 undescribed Species, B. -mimela: W. T. Blanford. — Note on Bensonia 

 inainwaringi and Macrochlainys . dalingensis : W. T. Blanford. — 

 Further Notes on the British Pliocene Non-Marine Mollusca : A. S. 

 Kennard and B. B. Woodward:-^The Anatomy of Beddotnea and the 

 Relationships of Amphidromus : Henry A. Pilsbry. 

 Institution OF Mechanical Engineers, at 8. — Power-Gas and Large 

 Gas-Engines for Central Stations : H. A. Humphrey. 

 SATURDAY, December 15. 

 Essex Field Club (Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), at 6.30. 

 — Notes on the Mollusc Paludesttina jenkensi. Smith, in Essex and else- 

 where : A. S. Kennard and B. B. Woodward. — Aquatic Autocrats and 

 Fairies (Lecture) : Fred. Enock. 



MONDAY, December 17. 

 Society of Arts, at 8.— Electric Oscillations and Electric Waves : Prof. 

 J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. 



TUESDA Y, December 18. 

 Zoological Society, at 8.^0. — Notes on the Fauna of the White Nile 

 and its Tributaries: Captam Stanley S. Flower. — An Account of a Large 

 Branchiate Polynoid from New Zealand {Lepidonotus giganteus. Kirk) : 

 W. Malcolm Thomson. — On a New Genus of Flat-fishes from New Zea- 

 land : H. M. Kyle. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Papers to be further discussed : 

 The Signalling on the Waterloo and City Railway ; and Note on the Sig- 

 nalling of Outlying Siding Connections : A. W. Szlumper. — Signalling 



on the Liverpool Overhead Railway : _S. B. Cottrell. Papers to be 



read, time permitting : Glasgow Bridge : B. Hall Blyth. — Railway 

 Bridge over the Fitzroy River, at Rockhampton, Queen.slind : W. J. 

 Doak.— The Niagara Falls and Clifton Steel Arch Bridge : L. L. Buck. 



Royal Statistical Society, at s_. — The Statistical Results of the State 

 Monopoly of Spirits, established in Russia in 1895, and its Influence on 

 the Economic Development and Morality of the Population : Alexis 

 Raffalovich. 



Royal Photographic Society, at 8. — Photography in War : H. C. 

 Shelley. 



WEDNESDAY, December iq. 



Geological Society, at 8. — On the Igneous Rocks as.sociated with the 

 Cambrian Beds of the Malvern Hills: Prof. T. T. Groom.— On the 

 Upper Greensand and Chloritic Marl of Mere and Maiden Bradley in 

 Wiltshire : A. J. Jukes-Browne and John Scanes. 



Royal Meteorological Society, at 7.30. — The Seasonal Rainfall of 

 the British Isles : Henry Mellish. — A Review of Past Severe Winters in 

 England, with Deductions therefrom : Albert E. Watson. 



Royal Microscopical Society, at 8. — A Demonstration of Lantern Pro- 

 jection in Conjunction with the Microscope : Mr. Barton. 

 THURSDAY, December 20. 



LiNNEAN Society, at 8. — On the Structure and Habits of the Ammo- 

 charidas : Arnold T. Watson. — The Flora of Vavau, one of the Tonga 

 Islandx : J. H. Burkill. — Warning Colours in Insects : Prof. E. B. 

 Poulton, F.R S. 



Institution OF Electrical Engineers, at 8. — Lecture on the Electrical 

 Engineers (R.E.) in South Africa : Lieut. -Colonel Crompton. 



Chemical Society, at 8. — On the Union of Hydrogen and Chlorine ; 

 J. W. Mellor. 



FRIDAY,T)%ce.vi^%v. 21. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — The Use of Geometrical 

 Methods in investigating Mechanical Problems : C. E. Inglis. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Organography and its Relations to Biological 



Problems. By Prof. J. B. Farmer 149 



The History of the Devil 151 



Sir H. Maxwell's " Memories of the Months." By 



R. L 152 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Poincare " Cinematique et Mecanismes, Potentiel et 



Mecanique des Fluides." — H. L 153 



Cotgreave : '* A Contents-Subject Index to General r*^- 



and Periodical Literature" . 153 



Castle: "Workshop Mathematics". ...... 153 



Maclean : " Exercises in Natural Philosophy, with 

 Indications how to Answer thiem " . ....... 154 



" Memoirs of the Countess Potocka " 154 



Letters to the Editor :— 



Inverse or a Posteriori Probability. — Prof. J. Cook 



Wilson 154 



Instruments of Precision at the Paris Exhibition. — 



Prof. C. V. Boys, F.R.S 156 



A New Form of Coherer. {With Diagram.) — 

 Prof. Augustus Trowbridge . ..... . 156 



Secondary Sexual Characters and the Coloration of the 

 Prong-buck.— R. I. Pocock ..... . . IS7 



A New Race of Musk-Ox.— R. Lydekker, F.R.S. . 157 

 The Optics of Acuteness of Sight.— F. Twyman . . 157 

 Euclid i. 32 Corn— Stam. Eumorfopoulos .... 157 



A Plea for the Study of the Native Races in South 

 Africa. By Prof. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S. . ... . 157 



Zoology in the West Indies ........... 159 



Notes 160 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Local Conditions for Observation of the Total Solar 



Eclipse, 1901, May 17-18 163 



" Annuaire Astronomique, &c., for 1901 " 163 



"The Heavens at a Glance," 1901 . 164 



" Companion to the Observatory" for 1901 . . . . 164 

 Argon and its Companions. By Prof. William 



Ramsay, F.R.S., and Dr. Morris W. Travers . . 164 

 Action of Terrestrial Magnetism on the Rates of 



Chronometers. By C. P. B 165 



The Effects of an Earthquake on Human Beings. 



{Illustrated.) By Dr. Charles Davison 165 



The Cambridge Sentinel Milk Steriliser 166 



New Syntheses of some Diureides . . . • . 167 



Artificial Rain. By Prof. Cleveland Abbe 167 



On the Statistical Dynamics of Gas Theory as Illus- 

 trated by Meteor Swarms and Optical Rays. By 



Dr. J. Larmor, F.R.S 168 



University and Educational Intelligence 169 



Scientific Serials 169 



Societies and Academies • • • ^^9 



Diary of Societies 172 



NO. T624, VOL. 63I 



