144 



NATURE 



[December io, 1891 



a tropical region, by MM. V. Marcano and A. Muntz. The 

 observations were made at Caracas, in the Gulf of Venezuela, 

 lat. io°*3 N., altitude 922 metres. An examination of twenty- 

 samples of rain gave a mean proportion of ammonia of i -58 

 milligram per litre, with a minimum of 0-37 and a maximum of 

 4"Oi. The proportion of gaseous ammonia present has been 

 determined by exposing a known surface of acidulated water to 

 the air and observing the ammonia absorbed in a certain time. 

 Eleven determinations, extending over 174 days, have been 

 been made, and they show that, on the average, an acid sur- 

 face of I mq. absorbed, in twenty-four hours, 12*52 mgr. of 

 ammonia, with a minimum of 5 '30 mgr. and a maximum of 

 27 mgr. It appears, therefore, that the air of the tropical sta- 

 tion is not so rich in gaseous ammonia as that of temperate 

 regions. — Influence of the sun's rays on the bacilli of fermenta- 

 tion found on the surface of grapes, by M. V. Martinand. — On 

 some effects of the parasitism of plants, by M. A. Magnin. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



London. 

 THURSDA V, December 10. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. — fn a Compensated Air-Thermometer : H. L. 

 Callendar. — Note on the Necessity of using Well-annealed and Homo- 

 geneous Glass for the Mirrors of Telescopes: A. A. Common. F.R S.— 

 On some of the Properties of Water and of Steam: Prof. Ramsay, 

 F.R.S., and Dr. Young.— On the Surya Siddhanta (Hindoo Astronomy) : 

 W. Brennand. — Repulsion and Rotation produced by Alternating Electric 

 Currents : G. T. Walker. 



Mathematical Society, at 8.— The Equations of Propagation of Dis- 

 turbances in Gyrostatically-loaded Media : Dr. J. Larmor.— Theory of 

 Elastic Wires: A. B. Basset, F.R.S.— Researches in the Calculus of 

 Variations: II. Discrimination of Maxima and Minima Solutions when 

 the Variables are connected by Algebraical Equations, the Limits being 

 supposed Fixed : E. P. Culverwell. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— Annual General Meeting. 

 — Election of Council and Officers. — On the Specification of Insulated Con- 

 ductors for Electric Lighting and other Purposes : W. H. Preece, F.R.S. 



London Institution, at 7.— An Hour with my Mozart Manuscripts 

 (Illustrated) : Prof. Bridge. 



Camera Club, at 8.— A Short Description and Demonstration of New 

 Telescopic Lens for Photography : T. R. Dallmeyer. — The Use of the 

 Lantern for Scientific Illustration : Dr. A. H. Fison. 

 FRIDAY, December ii. 



Royal Astronomical Society, at 8. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 7.30. — Meters for Recording the 

 Consumption of Electrical Energy : C. H. Wordingham. 



Camera Club, at 8. — Retouching Class. 



SA TURD A Y, December 12. 



Royal Botanic Society, at 3.45. 



SUNDAY, December 13. 



Si'NDAY Lecture Society, at 4 — the Origin and Histoiy of the 



Thames (with Oxyljydrogen Lantern Illustrations): Prof. J. F. Blake. 



MONDAY, December 14. 



Society of Arts, at S.— The Pigments and Vehicles of the Old Masters : 

 A. P. Laurie. 



Aristotelian Society, at 8.— The True Sense of the Term a Priori: 

 J. H. Muirhead. 



London Institution, at 5.— Tropical Plants and Flowers (Illustrated) : 

 D. Morris. 



Camera Club, at 8.30.— Development : Lyonel Clark. 

 TUESDAY, December 15. 



Royal Statistical Society, at 7.45.— Enumeration and Classification 

 of Paupers and State Pensions for the Aged : Charles Booth. 



University College Biological Society, at 5.15.— The Sources of 

 Nitrogenous Food of Leguminous Plants : H. Thompson. 



Institution OF Civil Engineers, at 8.— The Sale of Water by Meter in 

 Berlin : Henry Gill. (Discussion.) 



WEDNESDAY, December i'6. 



Society of Arts, at 8. — Typological Museums, as Exemplified by the 

 Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford : General Pitt Rivers. 



Royal Meteorological Society, at 7.— Report on the Thunderstorms 

 of 1888 and 1889 : William Marriott. — On the Prevalence of Fog in London 

 during the Twenty Years 1871-90 : Frederick J. Brodie. 



Royal Microscopical Society, at 8.— On the Resolution of Podura: 

 Hon. J. G. P. Vereker. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 2.— Students' Visit to the Stations 

 of the Westminster Electric Supply Corporation, 11 Millbank Street, and 

 Eccleston Place, S.W. 



Camera Club, at 8.— Retouching Class. 



THURSDAY, December 17. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. 



LiNNKAN Society, at 8.— Development of the Head of the Imago of 

 Chironomous : Prof. L. C. Miall and A. R. Hammond.— On Two Species 

 of Cumacea in New Zealand: G. M. Thomson. 



Chemical Society, at 8.— The Composition of Cooked Vegetables : Miss 

 K. Williams —On some Metallic Hydrosulphides : S. E. Linder and H. 

 PiCton. — On the Physical Constitution of some Solutions of Insoluble 

 Sulphides: Harold Picton. — Solution and Pseudo-solution: H. Picton 

 and S. E. Lindor. — The Change proceeding in Acidified Solutions of 

 Sodium Thiosulphate when the Products are retained within the System ; 

 and The Action of Sulphurous Acid on Flowers of Sulphur: Dr. A. 

 Colefax. — The a. and ^ modifications of Chlorobenzene Hexachloride : 

 Dr. Matthews. — Camphrone, a Product of the Action of Dehydrating 

 Agents on Camphor: Drs. Armstrong and Kipping. — Studies on the 

 Dibromonaphthalenes : Dr. Armstrong and Mr. Rossiter. 



London Institution, at 6.— Winchester Cathedral (illustrated): Very 



Rev. the Dean of Winchester. 

 Camera Club, at 8.30. — Simplified Collographic Process (Description and 



Demonstration) ; Leon Warnerke. 



FRIDAY, December 18. 

 Physical Socibtt, at 5.— On Interference with Alternating Currents : H. 



Kilgour. 

 Camera Club, at 8.— Retouching Class. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, AND SERIALS 

 RECEIVED. 



Books.— The Univensal Atlas, Part IX. (Cassell).— The Pow< whicb 

 Propel and Guide the Planets : S. Laidlaw (Kegan Paul).— Progressive 

 Mathematical Exercises, First Series: A. T. Richardson (Macmillan).— 

 The Principles of Chemistry, 2 vols, : D. Mendel6eff; translated by G. 

 Kamensky ; edited by A. J. Greenaway (Longmans). — Lehrbuch der Ver- 

 gleichenden Entwicklungsgeschichte der Wirbellosen Thiere, Specieller 

 Theil, Zweites Heft : Dr. E. Korschelt and Dr. K. Heider (Jena, Fischer). 

 — Proceedings of the American Association, August 1890 (Salem).— Oriental 

 Cicadidae, Part 4 : W. 1,. Distant (London). — Annalen der k.k. Univer- 

 sitats-Sternwarte in Wien, Band vii. (Williams and Norgate). — 'J'ravels in 

 Africa during the Years 1879-1883 : Dr. W. Junker ; translated by A. H. 

 Keane (Chapman and Hall). — An Essay on Reasoning : E. T. Dixon. 

 (Cambridge, Deighton). — Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, vol. 

 xiii., 1890 (Washington). — An Introduction to Chemical Theory : Dr. A. 

 Scott (Black).— Himalayan Journals : Sir J. D. Hooker (Ward, Lock).— 

 Falling in Love, &c. : Grant Allen ; new edit. (Smith, Elder). — Nature and 

 Man in America: N. S. Shaler (Smith, Elder). — Annuaire 1891, par le 

 Bureau des Longitudes, Paris (Gauthier-Villars).. — Connaissance des Temps 

 ou des Mouvements Celestes, 1893 (Gauthier-Villars). — Eph6m6rides des 

 Etoiles de Culmination Lunaire et de Longitude pour i8gi : M. _M. 

 Loewy (Gauthier-Villars). — The Harveian Oration on Harvey in Ancient 

 and Modern Medicine : Dr. W. H. Dickinson (Longmans). — The 

 Cause of an Ice Age : Sir R. S. Ball (Kegan Paul). — Scien- 

 tific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission — Introductory Note and 

 Map, 1878-91. — Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission — Aves : 

 Dr. R. B. Sharpe (Taylor and Francis). —Animal Sketches : C. Lloyd 

 Morgan (Arnold). — A Manual of Physics : Dr. W. Peddle (Bailliere). — 

 Memory, its Logical Relations and Cultivation : Dr. F. W. Edridge-Green ; 

 2nd edition (Bailliere). 



Pamphlets. — Connaissance des Temps, Extrait pour I'an 1892 (Paris, 

 Gauthier-Villars). — Australian Museum, Sydney ; Hand- List of Australian- 

 Mammals : J. D. Ogilby (Sydney).— Compass-Deviation ; Syllabus ot 

 Examination in the Laws of Deviation (Imray). 



Serials. — Records of the Australian Museum, vol. i., No. 9 (Sydney). — 

 North" Alnerican Fauna, No. 5 (Washington). — Proceedings of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1891, Part 2 (Philadelphia). — Brain, 

 Parts 54 and 55 (Macmillan). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



German Technology for English Manufacturers. 



By Prof. T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S 121 



Diphtheria 123 



The New York Mathematical Society 124 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Monteiro : " Delagoa Bay : its Natives and Natural 



History" 124 



Sadtler : "A Hand-book of Industrial Organic 



Chemistry" 125 



Richardson: "Progressive Mathematical Exercises." 



W I2S 



Letters to the Editor :— 



The Implications of Science.— Edward T, Dixon . 125 



TheKoh-i-Nur.— Dr. V. Ball, F.R.S 126 



Pfaff's " Allgemeine Geologic als Exacte Wissen- 



schaft."— J. Joly 126 



Seismometry and Engineering in Relation to the 

 Recent Earthquake in Japan. By Prof. John 



Milne, F.R.S 127 



Further Researches upon Azoimide, N3H. By A. 



E. Tutton ". 127 



Beast and Man in India. {Illustrated.) 131 



On an Optical Proof of the Existence of Suspended 

 Matter in Flames. By Sir G, G. Stokes, F.R.S. . 133; 



Notes 13+ 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



The Secular Acceleration of the Moon and the Length 



of the Sidereal Day I37 



State of Solar Activity I37 



Observations of ;u Cephei 137 



The Eastern Taurus and Anti-Taurus, By D. G. 



Hogarth 138 



The Zoology and Botany of the West India Islands 139. 



University and Educational Intelligence 139^ 



Scientific Serials 140 



Societies and Academies 141 



Diary of Societies I44- 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 144. 



NO. I 154, VOL. 45 



