384 



NATURE 



[February 16, 1893 



Butterflies," and the species described in this paper were ex- 

 hibited. — Mr, T. D. A. Cockerell communicated a paper 

 entitled "Two new species of Pulvinaria from Jamaica." — 

 Mr. Martin Jacoby communicated a paper entitled " Descrip- 

 tions of some new genera and new species of Halticidae." 



Linnean Society, February 2.— Prof. Stewart, President, 

 in the chair. — On behalf of Mr. Thomas Scott, the Secretary 

 read a report on the entomostraca from the Gulf of Guinea, 

 collected by Mr. John Rattray. — Mr. H. Bernard gave an 

 account of two new species of Rhax. — An important paper by 

 Mr. Arthur Lister, on the division of nuclei in the mycetozoa, 

 gave rise to an interesting discussion, in which Dr. D. H, 

 Scott, Prof. Howes, and others took part. — This was followed 

 by a paper on the structural differentiation of the protozoan 

 body as studied in microscopic sections, by Mr. J. E. Moore. 

 The meeting adjourned to February i6. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, February 6. — M. de Lacaze- 

 Duthiers in the chair. — On the variations in the intensity of 

 terrestrial gravitation, by M. d'Abbadie. Observations begun 

 in 1837 at Olinda (Brazil), on the variations in the direction of 

 gravitational force also made its constancy doubtful. Experi- 

 ments on falling bodies revealed irregularities similar to those 

 described (last number) by M. Mascart. The closed barometer 

 employed by the latter may be termed a brithometer. — On the 

 preparation of carbon under high pressure, by M, Henri Mois- 

 san (see article). — On the reproduction of the diamond, by M. 

 C. Friedel, Remarks by M. Berthelot (see article).— On the 

 pathogeny of diabetes ; part played by the expenditure and the 

 production of glycose in the deviations of the glycemic function, 

 by MM. A. Chauveau and Kaufmann. The same inferiority of 

 venous with respect to arterial blood, as regards the amount of 

 sugar contained in it, occurs in all the deviations of the glycemic 

 function produced by a lesion of the central nervous system. 

 This inferiority is equally pronounced in the hyperglycemia re- 

 sulting from the extirpation of the pancreas. — On the progress of 

 the art of surveying with the aid of photography, in Europe and 

 America, by M. A. Lausedat. Since 1888 a zone of twenty miles 

 on each side of the Canadian Pacific Railway, in the neighbour- 

 hood of the Canadian National Park, has been surveyed with 

 the aid of photography under the direction of Messrs. Deville, 

 Drewry, and McArthur, at an average rate of 1040 square km. 

 per annum for four men under great climatic disadvantages. The 

 cost of the undertaking amounts to three dollars per square km. 

 — Determination of the amount of carbonic oxide which can be 

 contained in confined air, by means of a bird employed as 

 physiological reagent, byM. N. Grehant. — On the properties of 

 faculae ; reply to a note by Mr. G. Hale, by M. H. Deslandres. 

 — The probability of coincidence between solar and terrestrial 

 phenomena, by M. G. E, Hale. — Note on an explicit expression 

 of the algebraic integral of a hyperelliptic system of the most 

 general form, byM. F. de Salvert. — On a generalisation of Ber- 

 trand'scurves,by M.AlphonseDumoulin. — On the surfaces which 

 admit a system of lines of spherical curvature and which have 

 the same spherical representation for their lines of curvature, 

 by M. Blutel. — On semicircular interference fringes, by M. G. 

 Meslin. Rectilinear interference fringes are sections of hyper- 

 boloids by planes parallel to their axis, the light being propa- 

 gated in a direction at right angles to that axis. If the light 

 proceeds along the axis, a screen perpendicular to it will cut 

 circular sections, and the fringes will have the form of a 

 circumference of which a greater or smaller arc will be seen 

 accordingly as the two pencils overlap more or less. In 

 practice these circular fringes were obtained by separating two 

 of Bellet's half lenses and placing them one before the other in 

 front of a very small hole illuminated by sunlight, such that the 

 axis of the pencil passes through the optical centre of the two 

 lenses. Under these conditions two pencils are formed from 

 the same source of light, which may be made to show circular 

 fringes by moving the lenses slightly in a direction perpendicular 

 to their optical axes. — Study of the fluorides of chromium, by 

 M. C. Poulenc. — On a new soldering process for aluminium 

 and various other metals, by M. J. Novel. For aluminium 

 the following solders are recommended: (i) Pure tin, fuses at 

 250°. (2) Pore tin icoo gr. ; lead 50 gr. (280° to 300°). (3) 

 Pure tin 1000 gr. ; pu.e zinc 50 gr. (280° .0 320°). Thf le 

 solders do not stain or attack aluminium. A mckel soldering 

 bit is preferable. (4) Pure tin 1000 gr. ; red copper 10 to 15 



NO. T2l6, VOL. 47] 



gr- (350° <o 450°). (5) Pure tin looo gr. ; pure nickel 10 to 15 

 gr- (350° to 450°)- These give a slightly yellowish tint, but are 

 very durable. (6) Pure tin 900 gr. ; copper 100 gr. ; bismuth 2 to 

 3 gr. This is specially suitable for soldering aluminium bronze. — 

 Action of acetic acid and formic acid upon terebenthine, by MM. 

 Bouchardat and Oliviers.— On the mode of elimination of 

 carbonic oxide, by M. L. de Saint-Martin. Experiment shows 

 that animals partly intoxicated by carbonic oxide, when placed 

 in conditions under which natural elimination is impossible, 

 destroy slowly but regularly a certain quantity of the poisonous 

 gas, this destruction being the more active the less the intoxica- 

 tion. It is probably converted into carbon dioxide. The toxic 

 effect is entirely dependent upon the time during which the 

 organism is exposed to the gas, and a very small quantity can be 

 fatal on prolonged exposure. — Influence of pilocarpine and florid- 

 zine on the production of sugar in milk, by M. Cornevin. — On 

 the seat of the colouring matter in the green oyster, by M. 

 Joannes Chatin. — On pseudo-fertilisation in the Uredinei, by 

 MM, P, A. Dangeard and Sapin-Trouffly, — On the substances 

 formed by the nucleole in Spirogyra setiformis, and the directive 

 force which it exerts upon them at the moment of the division 

 of the cellular nucleus, by M. Ch. Decagny. — On a process for 

 measuring the double refraction of crystalline plates, by M. 

 Georges Friedel. — A horizontal section of the French Alps, by 

 M. W. Kilian. — On the arrangement of the cretaceous beds in 

 the interior of the Aquitaine basin, and their relations to tertiary 

 formations, by M. Emmanuel Fallot. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Qualitative Chemical Analysis. By Chapman Jones 361 

 Popular Lectures on Physical Subjects. .By Dr. 



James L. Howard 362 



British Jurassic Gasteropoda, By H. Woods . . . 363 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



"The Year-Book of the Imperial Institute of the 



United Kingdom, the Colonies, and India "... 363 



Barber : " Beneath Helvellyn's Shade " 364 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Dr. Joule's Thermometers. — Prof. Arthur Schuster, 



F.R,S. . 364 



Dust Photographs and Breath Figures. — W. B, 



Croft 364 



Fossil Plants as Tests of Climate.— J. Starkie 



Gardner 364 



An Optical Phenomenon, — ^Joseph John Murphy . 365 



Foraminifer or Sponge ? — R. Hanitsch 365 



Unusual Origin of Arteries in the Rabbit. — Philip 



J. White 365 



Holmes's Comet. — W. F. Denning 365 



Helmholtz on Hering's Theory of Colour. By 



Prof. J. D. Everett, F.R.S 365 



Automatic Mercurial Air-Pumps. By Dr, August 



Raps, {With Diagram.) 369 



Crystallised Carbon 370 



Lines of Structure in the Winnebago County 

 Meteorites and in other Meteorites, By Prof. 



H, A. Newton 370 



The Late Thomas Davies, F.G.S, By L. Fletcher, 



F.R.S 371 



Notes 372 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Total Solar Eclipse of April 15-16, 1893 .... 376 



Remarkable Comets 376 



Comet Holmes (1892, in.) 376 



Comet Brooks (November 19, 1892) 376 



Relative Positions;^^of Stars in Cluster x Persei .... 376 



L'Astronomie 377 



Jupiter's Fifth Satellite 377 



Geographical Notes 377 



Twenty Years in Zambesia 377 



The Distribution of Power by Electricity" from a 



Central Generating Station. By A. Siemens . . 378 

 Magnetical and Meteorological Observations made 

 at the Government Observatory, Bombay, 1890, 



with an Appendix 379 



Bacteria and Beer 379 



Ur.ivcisity anu Educational Intellif ence 380 



Scientific Serials 380 



Societies and Academies 381 



