212 



NA TURE 



[December 31, 189] 



perhaps those remaining to be found in the coast country are 

 both few and rare. By way of compensation, however, certain 

 Australian birds, the native companion, white ibis, and royal 

 spoonbill, must now be included in the Papuan avifauna as at 

 least temporary sojourners on the banks of the Fly River. It is 

 noteworthy that these birds were found on the Fly River during 

 the continuance in the north of Queensland of a drought which 

 had driven them from their haunts proper and scattered them 

 far and wide in search of water. Of the reptiles, on the other 

 hand, a few new forms are distinguishable. These occur among 

 the lizards. Two handsome snakes, Chond ropy than azureus 

 and piilcher, have been added to the State collection of Papuan 

 ophidians. On the whole, the vertebrate collection is subordi- 

 nate in importance and interest to that of the insect division 

 of the invertebrates. The whole of the insects collected were 

 examined by the Entomological Department, and two reports on 

 the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera are appended. From these it 

 appears that several species both of butterflies and beetles are 

 new to science. The collection contains in many instances a 

 large series pf examples of the same insect, which is all-important 

 in the case of variable forms, whose unknown range of variation 

 is a prolific source of error. Besides Lepidoptera and Cokoptera 

 it contains many Hemipterous insects which have not yet been 

 determined. The few forms of Mollusca procured on the Fly 

 River have yielded but one new species, a remarkably fine 

 Nanina. 



A MEDIUM FOR PRESERVING THE COLOURS 



OF FISH AND OTHER ANIMALS. 

 /^UR readers may remember that Mr. Haly, Curator of the 

 ^^ Colombo Museum, has for some years been making ex- 

 periments so as to discover a medium which will preserve the 

 colours of fish and other animals. We quote the following 

 from the last Annual Report of the Colombo Museum : — 



" In my last year's report I made some remarks on the use of 

 carbolized oil as a mounting fluid for specimens already pre- 

 pared by other means, the idea that it was a preservative in 

 itself not having occurred to me. Further experiments this year 

 seem to show (I do not like to speak too confidently in a climate 

 like this, even with twelve months' experience) that it is one of 

 the most perfect preservatives known both for form and colour. 



" Coco-nut oil and carbolic acid freely mix in all proportions. 

 The mixtures at present under trial are oil raised to the specific 

 gravity of io° and 20° below proof-spirit by the addition of acid. 

 Whilst the gum and glycerine process is absolutely useless for 

 any animals except certain families of fish, this mixture is good 

 for every kind of vertebrate. The most delicate frogs are quite 

 uninjured by it, and snakes undergo no change. 'I'he delicate 

 plum-like bloom on the geckoes, the fugitive reddish tint on 

 such snakes as Ahlabes humberti, are beautifully preserved by it. 



" Another most important use is in the preservation of large 

 fish skins, which can be packed away in it for an indefinite 

 period, and mounted when wanted. These skins do not require 

 varnishing, neither do they turn brown, but although, of course, 

 they do not preserve their sheen like fish in the oil itself, they 

 always maintain a silvery and natural appearance, quite different 

 from that of ordinary museum specimens. If ever we get a new 

 fish gallery, a show of our large species prepared in this way 

 would form a most effective exhibition. 



" It appears also to be a most excellent preservative for 

 Crustacea and the higher orders of Arachnids, and also for 

 Centipedes, but it has hitherto proved a failure for marine 

 invertebrates in general. It must be remembered, however, 

 that the perfect miscibility of the two liquids opens up endless 

 possibilities. Its absolutely unevaporable nature makes it 

 invaluable in a tropical climate, quite apart from its other 

 qualities. 



" With regard to this last remark I take the opportunity of 

 stating that the acid enables coco-nut oil and turpentine to be 

 mixed together. This forms a splendid microscopic fluid, in 

 which objects may be allowed to soak without any previous pre- 

 paration, and in which they become very transparent. A 

 minute species of Crustacean, of the order Copepoda, and the 

 leg of a fly, simply laid on a slide in a drop of this fluid and 

 covered with an ordinary covering-glass, without any cell being 

 made or cement employed, have lain on my table unaltered for 

 the last ten months, and I cannot help tliinking that such a 

 medium as this cannot fail to prove a great boon to all workers 

 with the microscope." 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



American yournal of Science, December. — On Percival's map 

 of the Jura-Trias trap-belts of Central Connecticut, with obser- 

 vations on the up-turning, or mountain-making disturbance, 

 of the formation, by James D. Dana. — The detection and 

 determination of potassium spectroscopically, by F. A. Gooch 

 and T. S. Hart. By dipping platinum coils of different sizes 

 in a solution of the salt to be tested it was found possible to take 

 up known quantities of material for introduction into the 

 volatilizing flame employed. Experimenting in this manner 

 with a single-prism spectroscope, it was found that yJ^ of a 

 milligram of potassium produced a line distinctly visible with a 

 slit of O'lS mm., and ts^ott n^gr- with a slit of 0*23 mm. The 

 test appears to be less delicate with potassium sulphate than 

 when the chloride is used, and rather more delicate in the case 

 of the carbonate. The red line of potassium was unmistakably 

 seen when only -^t-^-^js ™gr. of potassium was introduced into 

 the flame in the form of the carbonate. For quantitative deter- 

 minations a standard solution, from which 5^^ mgr. of potassium 

 was taken by a certain platinum coil, was employed. The modtis^ 

 operandi was to dilute the test-solution until the line given by 

 the potassium contained in a coil-full was of the same brightness 

 as that given by the same quantity of the standard solution. 

 Remarkably consistent results were thus obtained. An interest- 

 ing point brought out by the experiments is that the presence of 

 sodium salts in the flame is of direct influence in strengthening 

 the spectrum of potassium. — The ultra-violet spectrum of the 

 solar prominences, by George E. Hale. This important paper 

 was read at the last meeting of the British Association, and has 

 been previously noted. — Phonics of auditoriums, by Ephraim 

 Cutter. It is generally known that a well-constructed audito- 

 rium resonates certain sounds better than others, and that many 

 clergymen accommodate their tone of speaking to the key-note 

 of their church. Dr. Cutter has made observations on this 

 point in four halls, and recommends those who control 

 auditoriums to find the key-note and post up the result. Thus, 

 an auditorinm at Saratoga Springs was tested in 1890, and a 

 notice was put up, "The key-note of this hall is F." — 

 The secular variation of latitude, by George C. Comstock. 

 This is a general account of the observations made at 

 Greenwich, Pulkowa, Madison, and elsewhere, which indicate 

 that the latitude of a single place is subject to a secular varia- 

 tion. — On the capture of comets by planets, especially their 

 capture by Jupiter, by H. A. Newton. — Distribution of 

 titanic oxide upon the surface of the earth, by F. P. Dun- 

 nington. An estimation has been made of the titanium in 

 eighty different specimens of soil taken from difi'erent parts of 

 the earth's surface. Soils from Virginia gave an average of 

 I '57 per cent, of titanic oxide, and twenty-two samples from 

 other portions of the United States gave an average of 

 o'85 per cent. The average proportion in air-dried soils from 

 Oceania and Asia (14 specimens) was o'go per cent., and 

 16 specimens from Europe gave o'54 per cent. The eight 

 remaining estimations were made on typical rocks of the 

 localities which furnished the samples for analysis. — Notes on 

 a Missouri barite, by C. Luedeking and H. A. Wheeler.— The 

 contraction of molten rock, by C. Barus. A sample of diabase 

 has been fused and allowed to cool slowly. The molten rock 

 contracted regularly until a temperature of 1093° was reached, 

 when the diabase solidified with a sudden contraction of bulk. 

 The density of the original rock was 3*0178, and that of the 

 glass obtained 2717. The observations indicate that "struc- 

 tural rock texture is due to pressure, i.e. pressure induces 

 a redistribution of molecules, such that the smallest specific 

 volume possible under the given conditions may resuh." — Notes 

 on Michigan minerals, by A. C. Lane, H. F. Keller, and F. F. 

 Sharpless. The minerals considered are chloritoid, griinerite. 

 and riebeckite. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, December 10.— " On a Compensated Air- 

 thermometer." By H. L. Callendar, M.A. 



The air-thermometer is the ultimate standard to which all 

 measurements of temperature have 10 be referred. It therefore 

 becomes a .question of considerable importance to determine 



NO. II 5 7, VOL. 45] 



