February 2, 189^ 



NATURE 



analogous petrological features of the several islands of the Tus- 

 can Archipelago, of Corsica, Sardinia, the Carrara mountains, 

 and the Maremma hills. The President also spoke. 



Zoological Society, January 17. — Sir VV.H. Flower, F.R.S.. 

 President, in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on the ad- 

 ditions that had been made to the society's menagerie during 

 the month of December, 1892.— Mr. F. C. Seious exhibited and 

 made remarks on the head of a hybrid antelope between the 

 Sassaby {Bubalis Itinata) and Hartebeest {B. caama) ; also a 

 head of a female Koodoo (Strepsiceros kudu) with horns, and 

 heads of some other South African antelopes. — Mr. O. Thomas 

 exhibited some examples (from the Baram River, Sarawak, col- 

 lected by Mr. Hose) of the monkey that he had lately described 

 as Semnopithccus critciger, and stated that, in spite of the con- 

 firmation afforded by these specimens, Mr. Hose thought that 

 this species might possibly be only an erythrism of 6". chiysomelas. 

 — A communication was read from Mr. E. Y. Watson, entitled, 

 " A proposed classification of the Ilesferiidte, with a revision of 

 the Genera." This contained a preliminary classification of the 

 Hesperiidce, including the numerous modern genera, which were 

 arranged under three subfamilies according to the sexual dif- 

 ferences, the resting posture, the antennae, the spurs on the hind 

 tibiae, and the position of vein 5 (relative to veins 4 and 6) of 

 the fore wing. The subfamilies were named Pyrrhopyginae, 

 Hesperiinae, and Pamphilinae, and the two last were subdivided 

 into sections without names. In all 234 generic names were 

 dealt with, of which 49 were treated as synonyms, while 45 new 

 genera were described. Complete diagnoses were given of all 

 the admitted genera. — A communication was read by Mr. E. 

 E. Austen, entitled " Descriptions of New Species of Dipterous 

 Insects of the Family Syrphida, in the Collection of the British 

 Museum, with Notes on Species described by the late Francis 

 Walker." This communication contained descriptions of 

 twenty-three new species belonging to the division Bacchini, 

 and of one belonging to the Brachyopini (genus Rhingia). An 

 attempt was made to divide the genus Baccha, as at present 

 existing, into three groups, based chiefly upon the shape and 

 markings of the abdomen. The true position of the remarkable 

 genus Lycasirirhyncha, founded by Bigot on a species from 

 Brazil, and afterwards cancelled by its author in favour of 

 Jihingia, was established. It was shown that this genus had 

 nothing to do with Ehingla, but was one of the Eristalini, closely 

 allied to Eristalis. It was also shown that the genus Lycastris, 

 founded by Walker for a species from India, was not identical 

 with Rhingia (as had been likewise suggested by Bigot), but 

 belonged to the Xylotini, and was allied to Criorrhina. A 

 communication was read from Mr. Gilbert C. Bourne, contain- 

 ing descriptions of two new species of Copepodous Crustaceans 

 from Zanzibar, proposed to be called Canthocainptus finni and 

 Cyclops africanus. — Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on 

 the typical specimen of a rare Argentine bird {Xenopsaris 

 albinucha) described by the late Dr. Burmeister in 1868. 



Anthropological Institute, January 24. — Anniversary 

 meeting.— Dr. Edward B. Tylor, F.R.S., in the chair. — The 

 following were elected officers and council for the ensuing year : 

 — President, Prof A. Macalister. Vice-Presidents, J. G. 

 Garson, Chas. H. Read, F. W. Rudler. Secretary, C. Peek. 

 Treasurer, A. L. Lewis. Council : G. M. Atkinson, Henry 

 Balfour, E, W. Brabrooke, Hyde Clarke, J. F. Collingwood, 

 Prof D. J. Cunningham, W. L. Distant, J. Edge Partington, 

 A. J. Evans, H. Gosselan, Prof. A. C. Haddon, T. V. Holmes, 

 J R. Biddulph Martin, R. Munro, F. G. H. Price, Oldfield 

 I Thomas, Arthur Thomson, Coutls Trotter, M. J. Walhouse, 

 Gen. Sir C. P. Beauchamp Walker. 



Edinburgh. 

 Royal Society, January 16.— Prof Copeland, Vice-Presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — A paper, by Dr. W. Pole, on the present 

 state of knowledge and opinion in regard to colour blindness, 

 was communicated. He discussed alone the red-green form of 

 colour blindness. In such a case the solar spectruca presents 

 only two hues separated by a nearly colourless portion — a 

 mixture of blue and yellow lights giving rise to a gray colour. 

 According to Young the three primary colour sensations corre- 

 spond to red, green, and blue or violet, and Maxwell and 

 Helmholtz, reasoning on this theory, conclude that the colours 

 seen in dichromic vision are green and blue. According to 

 Dr. Pole, they are yellow and blue. He asserts that com- 

 parisons between normal and abnormal visions show that in 



general matches of colours made by a normal eye are also 

 matches when regarded by a dichromic eye. He concludes that 

 the two dichromic colours are colours known in normal vision. 

 He then gives reasons for the conclusion that these colours are 

 normal blue and yellow. In answer to the suggestion that the 

 real subjective impressions may differ from what they are sup- 

 posed to be, he says that the correspondence is proved by a 

 large amount of evidence obtained by comparison with normal 

 phenomena. He thinks that the following conclusions may be 

 drawn from the second edition of Helmholtz's work on optics : 

 — (i) The original mode of explanation of colour blindness by 

 Young's theory is essentially withdrawn as no longer consistent 

 with modern knowledge. The universal concurrent testimony, 

 that the ordinary colour dichromic vision generally corresponds 

 with is normal yellow and blue and white, is no longer dis- 

 puted, and although there are variations of sensations in regard 

 to red and green, the old ideas of blindness to red and green 

 as separate and contrasting defects are abandoned ; (2) that 

 Young's general theory of three fundamental colour-sensations 

 is still adhered to, but that the colours are now believed to differ 

 considerably in the spectrum ; (3) that dichromic vision 

 might exist consistently with the retention of three funda- 

 mentals ; (4) that the most prevalent form of dichromatism 

 might be explained by the junction of the red and green funda- 

 mentals forming yellow. In conclusion, he regretted that the 

 colour-vision committee of the Royal Society, in a recent chart 

 dealing with colour blindness, had adhered to the old view held 

 by Clerk Maxwell. Sir George Stokes remarked that the 

 fundamental part of Young's original theory was that there were 

 three colour sensations; and though he supposed them to be 

 red, green, and violet, that was not essential. Maxwell only 

 chose red, green, and blue, as representative sensations. He was 

 doubtful of the wisdom of publishing the charts alluded to lest 

 it might lead to misconception. The object of publishing them 

 was to give to the public a general idea of the conclusions de- 

 rivable from the trichromic theory. 



Sydney. 



Royal Society of New South Wales, December 7, 

 1892. — Prof Warren, President, in the chair. — The Chair- 

 man announced that the Clarke Medal for 1893 had been 

 awarded by the Council to Prof Ralph Tate, of the Adelaide 

 University. — A letter was read from the Hon. Ralph Aber- 

 cromby, enclosing a cheque for ^100, which he desired to place 

 in the hands of the Council of the Society with the object of 

 bringing about an exhaustive study of certain features of the 

 Australian weather, the particulais to be furnished in a later 

 letter. The following papers were read : — Observations on shell 

 heaps and shell beds, the significance and importance of 

 the record they afford, by E. J. Statham. — A new mineral 

 from Broken Hill, by C. .W. Marsh (communicated by Prof 

 Liversidge). — Notes on some Australian stone weapons, by Prof. 

 Liversidge, F.R. S. — Notes on the recent cholera epidemic in 

 Germany, by Dr. Schwarzbach. — Results of observations of 

 Wolf's comet II., 1891, Swift's comet I., 1892, and Winnecke's 

 periodical comet, 1892, at Windsor, New South Wales, by John 

 Tebbutt. — On the comet in the constellation Andromeda, by 

 John Tebbutt. — Languages of Oceania, by Dr. John Eraser. 



August 17. — Engineering Section. — C. W. Darley in the 

 chair. — Papers read: — Various systems of tramway traction, by 



W. F. How. November i6. — Some notes on the economical 



use of steam, by T. II. Houghton. — Recent bridge building in 

 New Zealand, by A. Alabaster. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, January 23.— M. Loewy in the 

 chair. — Note on Nicolas de Kokcharow, by M. Daubree. — Con- 

 tributions to the study of the function of camphoric acid, by M. 

 A. Ilaller. — On the pepto-saccharifiant action of the blood and 

 the organs, by M. R. Lepine. If blood is poured into several 

 parts of water at 56" C. a considerable quantity of sugar is formed 

 in a few seconds, and the formation goes on for about an hour 

 with decreasing rapidity. In cold or lukewarm water sugar is 

 also produced, but its production is for the most part com- 

 pensated by simultaneous glycolysis. It is also probable that 

 the production of sugar is preceded by that of peptone. If an 

 organ which does not enclose glycogen in any perceptible 

 quantity be macerated for about an hour in three or four parts 

 of water, the aqueous extract only contains a very small quantity 



NO. I 2 14, VOL- 47] 



