504 



NATURE 



[March 23, 1893 



could only be obtained with nickel owing to the oxidation of 

 the thin films of iron and cobalt at high temperatures (300°). 

 With nickel a rise of temperature produced at first no change in 

 the rotation, but above 300° a sudden diminution was observed 

 which rapidly became progressively greater ; the relationship of 

 the diminution of rotation to the increase of temperature was 

 the same as for the magnetic susceptibility of the metal. 



February 24. — Prof. Schwalbe, President, in the chair. 

 — Dr. Raps demonstrated his latest and most im])roved form 

 •of automatic gas-pump for blood-gas analysis. Dr. Richarz 

 developed, in accordance with the kinetic theory of gases, 

 ^nd under certain assumptions as to the constitution of 

 solid bodies, the formulae for the law of Dulong and Petit. 

 The formuLne furnished an explanation of the divergence from 

 this law which is exhibited by certain elements. Dr. Gross 

 spoke on the laws of energy, proceeding with his criticism of 

 Clausius's views, stating that he regarded Clausius's second law 

 •as unproved, and finally coming to the conclusion that entropy is 

 .constant. 



Physiological Society, February 17.— Prof Zuntz, 

 President, in the chair. — Dr. von Noorden gave an account of 

 four experiments on nutrition carried out under his direction on 

 men. The first established the fact that nitrogenous waste, as 

 in the case of diabetes, even when excess of proteid is given, 

 ■can be most definitely lessened by the ingestion of large quanti- 

 ties of carbohydrates. Fats cannot take the place of carbohydrates 

 in the above. The second showed that when carbohydrates are 

 given in increasing quantities over a prolonged period to a 

 person in nitrogenous and calorimetric equilibrium, they lead 

 for the most part to a storage of fat (95 per cent. ), and to a less 

 extent of proteid (5 per cent.). The speaker expressed the 

 opinion that this proteid is laid on in the living cell as a sort of 

 non-living reserve proteid. The third set of experiments showed 

 that when the food of a fat person is diminished down to the 

 requirements of a seven- to ten-year-old child, then any increase 

 of its proteid constituents leads to a storage of proteid with a 

 simultaneously considerable loss of fat. Experiments on the 

 respiratory interchange of the person experimented upon showed 

 that the intake of oxygen had been reduced to a minimum and 

 that the respiratory quotient was 07. The last set of experi- 

 ments, made on a gouty patient, showed that with a constant 

 diet, the ratio of intake and output of nitrogen was very 

 variable, at one time a large amount of nitrogen being retained 

 in the body while at another time much more nitrogen was 

 excreted than was given with the food. 



Amsterdam. 



Royal Academy of Sciences, February 25. — Prof, vande 

 Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair. — Mr. Weber read a paper on the 

 origin of the mammalian hair. The author ga.ve a. resume of 

 his earlier researches on the scales of mammals, which led him 

 to the hypothesis that the primitive mammals were covered with 

 true scales. A weak point ia this hypothesis was, that except 

 Manis and the Dasypodidas, generally the tail alone is scaled. 

 The author showed, however, that according to the researches 

 of H. de Meyere, the arrangement of the hairs onscalelessskin 

 of numerous mammals is the same as that in scaled parts. Both 

 are placed in alternating groups. The author believed that 

 primitive mammals were covered with scales, and that few and 

 small hairs were placed behind them. On acquiring a constant 

 temperature the hair coat got denser as a good protection from 

 loss of heat. This was the cause of the reduction of the scales, 

 and also mostly of their final loss. — Mr. Lorentz dealt with the 

 influence of the motion of the earth on the propagation of light 

 in doubly refracting media. In the September meeting the 

 author communicated a simple form for the equations which 

 determine the proi)agation of light in isotropic bodies, moving 

 through the aether with a constant velocity /, the aether itself 

 being supposed to remain at rest. It is now shown how these 

 formulae are to be modified in the case of a crystallised medium, 

 and to what consequences they lead, as to the motion of light, 

 relatively to the ponderable matter. The velocity of propagation 

 of a ray of light (to be distinguished from that of the waves) 



is found to be W = W„ - t 



same direction and for 



the velocity /, V the velocity of light in vacuo, and n 



cos S, Wfl being the value for the 

 1- 



0, 5 the angle between the ray and 

 V. 



NO. 122 I, VOL. 47] 



The course of reflected and refracted rays may he deduced from 



Huygens's principle or from the condition that / ^f must be a 



/ W 

 minimum {ds being a linear element). Owing to the above value 

 of W, the motion of the earth will neither affect the course of 

 the rays nor the interference phenomena. In this way some 

 experimental results of Ketteler (Astronomische Undulations- 

 theorie, pp. 151-173, Pogg. Ann Bd. 147), and Mascart (^««. 

 de r Ecole normale, 2« serie, t. i. pp. 191-196) may be explained. 

 — Mr. Kamerlingh Onnes gave the results of measurements of 

 Dr. Zeeman on the dispersion of Sissingh's magneto-optic differ- 

 ence of phase in Kerr's phenomenon. The dispersion is contrary 

 to the theory of Drude. — He described further a new entoptical 

 phenomenon found by Dr. Zeeman in sighting a split, and com- 

 municated the results of the measurements of Dr. de Vries on 

 the variation of the ascension of capillary tubes for aether with 

 the temperature from - I02°C. to the critical temperature I93°'6. 

 The surface work plotted in function of temperature gives a 

 curve turning the convex side to the axis of temperature and 

 ending tangentially to it. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED 



Books. — An Elementary Treatise on Pure Oeometry : J. W. Russell 

 (Clarendon Press).— Comit^ International des Poids et Mesuree, Qiiinzieme 

 Rapport (Paris, Ganthier-Villars).- The Intellige ce of Animals: G. W. 

 Purnell (Christchurch, N.Z., Whitcombe and Tombs). — How to Improve 

 the Physique: " Medicus" (Mock) - Handbook of Jamaica, 189^ (Stan- 

 ford). — Modern Meteorology : Dr. F. Waldo (Scott). — '"■esammelte Abhand- 

 lungen fiber Pflanzen Physiologic : J. Sachs, Zweiier Band (Leipzig, Engel- 

 mann). — An Elementary Treatise on Modern Pure Geomeiry : R. Lachlan 

 (Macmillan). — The Food of Plants : A. P. Laurie (Macmillan). — Elements of 

 Physiography : Pr. H. Dickie (Collins). 



Pami'HLETs. — Ueber die Bestimmung der Geographischen Lange und 

 Brei'e und der Drei Elemente des Erdmagnetismus, &c. : Dr. H. Fritsche 

 (St Petersburg). — Diseases incident to Workpeople in Chemical and other 

 Industries : W. Smith (Eyre and Spottiswoode). 



Serials. — Hiramel und Erde, Marz (Berlin, Paetel).— Revista Inter- 

 nazioi ale di Scienze Sociali e Discipline Ausiliarie, February (Roma). — 

 Journal of the Chemical Society, March (Giirney and Jack'son). — Annates 

 de rObservatoire de Moscou, deux s^rie, vol 3, liv. i (Moscou). — Medical 

 Magazine, March (Souihwood). — Botanische Jahrbucher, Fiinfzehntec 

 Band. v. Heft (Williams and Norgate).— Transactions of the Wagner Free 

 Institute of Science of Philadelphia, vol. 3, part 2 (Philadelphia). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Colliers and Colliery Explosions. By W. G. . . . 481 

 Reveries of a Naturalist. By Dr. Alfred Russel 



Wallace 483 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Strasburger : " Ueber das Verhalten des Pollens und 



die Befruchtungsvorgiinge beiden Gymnospermen " 484 



Guillemin : " Autres Mondes " 485 



Paget : " Some Lectures by the late Sir George E. 



Paget 485 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Origin of Lake Basins.— The Duke of Argyll, 



F.R.S 485 



The Cause of the Sexual Differences of Colour in 



Eclectus.— Prof. A. B. Meyer 485 



Blind Animals in Caves.— Prof. E. Ray Lan- 



kester, F.R.S. 486 



Lunar '•Volcanoes" and Lava Lakes. — S. E. Peal , 486 



The Croonian Lecture 487 



Applied Natural History. By W. L. Calderwrood . 492 



The South Kensington Laboratories and Railway . 494 



Notes 494 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Melbourne Observatory 498 



Natal Observatory 498 



The Bielids of 1872, 1885, and 1892 498 



Comet Holmes (1892 III.) 498 



Prof. Hale's Solar Photographs 498 



Geographical Notes 498 



Flies and Disease Germs 499 



Scientific Serials 499 



Societies and Academies 500 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 504 



