6o8 



NATURE 



[October 21, 1897 



very stable. —Mr. Burr exhibited a Mantis, Phyllocrania illti tens, 

 from Madagascar, with a close resemblance to the dead leaves 

 among which it lived, some of which were shown with it.— A 

 new British coccid, Kerines variegattis, from Kent, was exhibited 

 by Mr. Waterhouse.— Mr. G. C' Griffiths read a paper on "The 

 Frenulum of the Lepidoptera," Mr. Kirkaldy communicated a 

 " Preliminary Revision of the Notonectidit, Part I.," and Mr. 

 Waterhouse a " Description of a new Coleopterous Insect of 

 the family Paussidae." 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, October ii.— M. A. Chatin in the 

 chair. — New experiments on the liquefaction of fluorine, by 

 MM. H. Moissan and J. Dewar (see p, 596).— The direct 

 transformation of heat into electric energy, by M. MarCel 

 Deprez.— An application of the remarkable magnetic properties 

 of the nickel-steel alloys discovered by M. Guillaume. For 

 these alloys a rise of temperature of about 50° causes the change 

 from a strongly magnetic to a nonmagnetic state.— On the 

 -spectra of the coloured components of double stars, by Sir 

 William Huggins. — On the spectra of the principal stars of 

 the trapezium of the Nebula of Orion, by Sir William Huggins. — 

 Note relating to the saprophytic aptitude of the tubercle bacillus, 

 to its relations with the bacilli of typhoid and Colt communis, 

 and to the immunising and therapeutic properties which are pos- 

 sessed by the bacillus in its saprophytic state, by M. J, Ferran. 

 By gradually modifying the culture medium, the tubercle ba- 

 cillus was finally induced to multiply readily in ordinary meat 

 broth at temperatures between 10° and 20" C. The bacillus 

 during this time had undergone notable changes, so that morpho- 

 logically it might be taken for the typhoid bacillus. Its patho- 

 genic properties, however, remained unimpaired, but injections 

 •of the dead cultures proved to have an immunising effect upon 

 guinea pigs. — On orthogonal systems and cyclic systems, by M. 

 <J). Guichard. — On the geodesic lines of certain surfaces, by M. 

 Emile Waelsch. — On a new algorithm, by M. Lemeray.— On a 

 new mixed platinous salt, by M. M. Vezes. By the action of 

 oxalic acid upon potassium platinonitrite a crystalline platino- 

 oxalonitrite is obtained, K2Pt(Co04)(NO.j)o -f H^O. This 

 salt is very stable, and being but slightly soluble in 

 cold water, it may be of service in the separation of 

 platinum from its congeners. Above 240° it breaks up 

 quantitatively into platinum, potassium nitrite, and carbon 

 dioxide. — Method for the separation and distillation of bromine 

 from a mixture of alkaline bromide and chloride, by MM. H. 

 Baubigny and P. Rivals. The bromine is set free by the 

 :addition of sulphate of copper and potassium permanganate, 

 •and removed by a current of air at 100°. — Reversible trans- 

 'formation of styrolene into metastyrolene under the influence of 

 iheat, by M. Georges Lemoine. After a sufficiently prolonged 

 heating, for a given temperature the final equilibrium is the 

 •same whether the starting point be styrolene or metastyrolene, 

 provided that the volume be the same. The quantity of un- 

 altered styrolene depends upon the volume open to the trans- 

 •formation. — On the temperature of maximum den.sity of solu- 

 'tions of barium chloride, by M. L C. de Coppet. The molecular 

 lowering of the temperature of the point of maximum density 

 is practically proportional to the weight of barium chloride dis- 

 solved in the litre of water. — On two colour reactions of 

 pyruvic acid, by M. Louis Simon. — Action of nitric acid 

 lupon potassium cobalticyanide, by M. E. Fleurent. Indications 

 •of the existence of a nitrocobalticyanide analogous to the niiro- 

 "prussiates. — Contribution to the biological history of phosphates, 

 •by M. L. Jolly. Prolonged maceration of muscular tissue in 

 •dilute nitric or acetic acids does not remove the phosphoric acid, 

 the muscle still showing a strong reaction with the molybdic 

 reagent. — On the reversal of the respiratory current in the 

 Decapods, by M. Georges Bohn. The reversal of the current of 

 water in the branchial chamber appears to be a general phe- 

 nomenon in this group of Crustaceae. The frequency of the 

 reversal varies somewhat with the species, but is usually about 

 two per minute.— On the systematic position of the genus 

 Ctendi-ihis (Clap.) and its relations with the Cirratulise, by MM. 

 Felix Mesnil and Maurice Caullery. — On the segmentation of 

 the egg of Tethys fitiibrtata, by M. Viguier. — On the evolution 

 of the primary sieve-tubes, by M. G. Chauveaud. — Influence of 

 the spring frost of 1897 upon the vegetation of the oak and 

 beech, by M. Ed. Griffon. In the oak, the shoots destroyed by 

 the frost were frequently replaced by new shoots. This was 

 ^Iso sometimes the case with the beech, but more rarely. These 



NO. 1460, VOL. 56] 



new shoots showed a marked inferiority in the supporting and 

 protecting tissues, certain fibres being completely wanting. 

 The leaves also showed deviations from the normal.— On the 

 invasions of black rot, by M. A. Prunet. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVf;D. 



Books.— Aoijlied Mech.-inics : Prof. J. Perry (Cassell).— An Elementary 

 Course of Infinitesimal Calculus: Pro^ H. Lamb (Cambridge Univrsity 

 Press).— The Wealth and Progress of New South W,iles, 1895-96, Vol. i 

 (Sydney, Gullick).— The F.icts of the Moral Life : Prof. W. Wundt, trans- 

 lated by Profs. Gulliver and Titchener (Sonnenschein).— Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, Report of the U.S. National Museum, 1893 and 1894 (Washington). 

 —A Text- Book of Physics: Prof. E. H. Hall and J. Y. Bergen, new edi- 

 tion (Ne a- York, Holt).— Steam Boilers : G. Halliday (Arnold).— The 

 Living Substance as such and as Organism : G. F. Andrews (Bcston, Oinn), 

 — Allgemeine Erdkunde : Hann Briickner and Kirchhoff, Fiinfte Auflage, 

 n. Abtg. (Wien, Temp.sky).-The New Man: E. B. Oberholtzer (M.ila- 

 delphia, Levytype Company). — Laboratory Directions in General Biology : 

 Dr. A. Randolph (New York, Holt).— Elements of Comparative Zoology : 

 Prof. J. S. Kingsley (New York. Holt).— The Local Distribution of tleciric 

 Power in Workshops, &c. : E K. Scott (Biggs). 



Pa.mphlets.— ."V Bibliography of Norfolk Gl iciology : W. J. Harri-on.— 

 The Great Meteoric Stiowr of November: W. F. Denning (Taylor). — 

 Humanitarian E.ssays (W. Reeves). 



Serials.— Mind, October (Williams).— Journal of the Royal Statis.ical 

 Society, September (Stanford) —Bulletin de I'Academie RoyaledesScienc s, 

 1897, No. 8 (Bruxelle.s)— Records of the Geological Survey of Jiidii., Vol. 

 XXX Part 3 (Calcutta).- Annals of the Institute of Jamaica, September 

 (Kingston, Jamaica).— Canadian Magazine, October (Toronto).— Indian 

 Weather Review, Annual Summary, 1896 (Calcutta). — Kngineering Mag.->- 

 zine, October (222 Strand).— Zoologist, October (West).— Bulletin de la 

 Socie'te Imp^riale des Naturatistes de Moscou, 1897, No. i (Moscou). — 

 Himmel und Erde, October (Berlin). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Geology from an American Point of View. By 



H. B. W 585 



An Anatomy of the Horse 586 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Davies : " First Stage Physiography " 5S6 



Colson : " La Plaque Photographique " 586 



Murani : " Luce e Raggi Rontgen " . 587 



Garbasso : " 15 Lezioni Sperimentali su la Luce " . . 587 

 Roose : "Waste and Repair in Modern Life." — 



F. W. T 587 



" Missouri Botanical Garden. Eighth Annual Re- 

 port" 587 



"Year- Book of the United States Department of 



Agriculture for 1896" 587 



Letters to the Editor: — 



On the Meaning of Symbols i.i Applied Algebra. — 



Prof. Alex. McAulay 5S8 



Dog Running on Two Legs. — Worthington G. 



bmith 588 



Foraminifera in the Upper Cambrian of the Malverns. 



Frederick Chapman 588 



Acquired Immunity from Insect Stings. — Kumagusu 



Minakata 5S9 



A New Class of Organic Acids. By Dr. F. Stanley 



Kipping, F.R.S. .... 589 



Drainage and Irrigation Works in Mexico .... 589 



Ridgway's Birds of the Galapagos 590 



The Late Professor Roy, M.D., F.R.S 591 



Notes . . 593 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Law of Spectral Series • 597 



The Variable Star f\ Aquilte 597 



Comet Perrine . - 598 



Hereditary Colour in Horses. By Francis Galton, 



F.R.S 598 



Aeronautical Ascents for Measuring the Electrical 



Field of the Air By W. de Fonvielle 599 



Botany at the British Association 600 



On Obtaining Meteorological Records in the Upper 

 Air by means of Kites and Balloons. By A. 



Lawrence Hotch 602 



The Agency of Man in the Distribution of Species. 



By Dr. L. O. Howard 604 



University and Educational Intelligence 605 



Scientific Serials 607 



Societies and Academies 607 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 608 



