384 



NA TURE 



[February i8, 1892 



spicalyx of bracts ; (2) the number of nerves to the calyx ; (3) 

 the junction of the claw with the blade of the petal. This last 

 character was regarded as distinguishing very clearly Dianthus 

 from Funica. In Dianthus ihe blade of the petal is abruptly 

 narrowed into the claw, so that the two are distinct ; in Funica 

 the transition is gradual. Mr. Williams was of opinion that the 

 species of Dianthus might be arranged in three natural groups 

 (sub-genera): (i) in which the flowers are numerous and 

 clustered, as in " Sweet William " ; (2) the largest group, in 

 which the flowers are few and usually solitary on the branches 

 of the stems, as in carnations ; and (3) a small group inter- 

 mediate between Funica and the true pinks, and corresponding 

 with the genus Kohlrauschia of Kunth. The number of species 

 recognized by Mr. Williams in this monograph amount in round 

 numbers to 250. — A paper by Messrs. G, J. Hinde and 

 W. M. Holmes was then read, on the Sponge remains in the 

 Lower Tertiary strata near Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand. 

 Near Oamaru there are beds of white, friable siliceous rock of 

 Upper Eocene age, almost entirely composed of Sponge spicules. 

 Diatoms, and Radiolaria, thus resembling in character the 

 Diatom and Radiolarian ooze of the present deep seas. The 

 Sponge remains are all detached ; they belong largely to the 

 Monactinellida, though Tetractinellid, Lithistid, and Hexacti- 

 nellid spicules are also present. The smaller flesh spicules of 

 these different groups are perfectly preserved, and thus enable a 

 comparison to be made with existing Sponges, to which generic- 

 ally they mostly belong. In all 43 genera and 113 species have 

 been recognized by their characteristic spicules. Many of the 

 forms have not hitherto been known as fossil. The existing 

 relatives of many of them now inhabit the Indian and Southern 

 Oceans, but some are at present only known from the North 

 Atlantic. The remains of deep-water Sponges are intermingled 

 in the deposit with others hitherto supposed to belong to 

 moderate depths only, but in recent dredgings by H.M. S. 

 Egeria off the south-west coast of Australia, at a depth of 3000 

 fathoms, there is a corresponding admixture of similar spicules. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, February 8.— M. d'Abbadie in the 

 chair. — Observations on a note by M. H. Le Chatelier, on the 

 optical measurement of high temperatures, by M. Henri 

 Becquerel. — Silica in plants, by MM. Berthelot and G. Andre. 

 An examination into the occurrence, distribution, and state, of 

 silica in the spring-wheat plant in various stages of its growth, 

 and into the quantity and state of the silica in the soil in which 

 the plants were grown. — A new chart of the currents of the 

 North Atlantic, by Prince Albert I. of Monaco. — Determination 

 of the freezing-point of very dilute solutions : application to 

 cane-sugar, by M. Raoult, The author describes a new method 

 of taking cryoscopic observations, giving readings to within 

 1/500 of a degree. The molecular lowering of the freezing-point 

 of water by cane-sugar is represented by a curve, which demon- 

 strates that the author was correct in asserting that sugar gave, 

 like other bodies, a gradual increase in its molecular lowering 

 beyond a certain stage of dilution. — New measurement of the 

 Perpignan base, by General Derrecagaix. The results are as 

 follows: (i) the measured line, reduced to Delambre's base, 

 gives for the length of this base 11, 706 '69 m. ; (2) this length is 

 verified by the geodesic accordance between the segments and 

 the entire base, to an approximation of 1/250,000. Hence 

 (i) the modern measurement of the Perpignan base makes it 

 longer by 0*29 m. than found by Delambre using Borda's 

 measures ; (2) this new length is less than that calculated from 

 the Paris base by only 5 cm. — New researches on the solar 

 atmosphere, by M. H. Deslandres, — A new interpretation of 

 Abel's theorem, by M. Sophus Lie. — On the integrals of 

 equations of the first order which admit of only a finite 

 number of values, by M. Paul Painleve. — On a new pro- 

 cess for the transmission of electric undulations along me- 

 tallic wires, and a new arrangement of the receiver, by M 

 R. Blondlot. — Refraction of liquefied gases, by M. James 

 Chappuis. The indices of refraction at zero and under their 

 maximum vapour pressure have been found for sulphurous acid 

 and methyl chloride. For D they are respectively I"35i8 and 

 I •3533. — The rotatory power of quartz for the infra-red rays, 

 by M. E. Carvallo. — The action of chlorine upon ruthenium : 

 ruthenium sesquichloride and oxychloride, by M. A. Joly. — On 

 a nitro-silicate of silver, and on the existence of a nitro-silicic 

 acid, by MM. G. Rousseau and G. Tite. — On the decomposition 

 of sulphurous acid by carbon at very high temperatures, by M. 



NO. 1664, VOL. 45] 



Scheurer-Kestner. Sulphurous acid passed over charcoal at a 

 white heat is decomposed in accordance with the equation — 



2S02-f 3C = 2CO-fC02-(-2S. 

 — Chlorosulphide and bromosulphide of lead, by M. F. Par- 

 mentier. The chlorosulphide, obtained by a method described, 

 is found to be PbS.PbClj. Its colour, when suspended in water, 

 is cinnabar-red ; when collected, it appears darker. The pro- 

 perties of the bromosulphide, PbS.PbBrj, are similar, but it is 

 more stable than the chlorosulphide. The existence of an 

 iodosulphide is indicated. — Researches on sodium isopropylate, 

 by M. de Forcrand. — On a nitro-derivative of antipyrin, by M. 

 Edm. Jandrier. — On the rotatory power of diacetyltartric de- 

 rivatives ; reply to a note by M. Colson, by M. J. A. le Bel. — 

 On the minimum perceptible amount of some odours, by M. 

 Jaques Passy. — The law of absorption of carbon monoxide by 

 the blood of a living mammal, by M. N. Grehant. — On the 

 fauna of the fresh waters of Iceland, by MM. Jules de Guerne 

 and Jules Richard. — On the structure of the ovule and the 

 development of the embryonic sac of Dompte-venin ( Vincetoxi- 

 cunt), by M. Gustave Chauveaud. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books.— Stanford's Handy Atlas of Modern Geography (Stanford).— Th« 

 London Matriculation Directory, No. xi. January 1892 (Clive). — Synopsis of 

 Non-metallic Chemistry : W. Briggs (Clive).— Pocket-book of Electrical Rules 

 and Tables, 8th edition: Munro and Jamieson (Griffin) —Philosophical 

 Notes on Botanical Subjects: Dr. E. Bonavia (Eyre and Spottiswoode).— 

 The First Book of Euclid's Elements: Rev. J. B. Lock (Macmillan).— 

 Hourly Means, 1888 (Eyre and Spottiswoode).— Recollections of a Happy 

 Life, being the Autobiography of .Marianne North, 2 vols. : edited by Mrs. 

 J. A. Symonds (Macmillan).— Observations made at the Magnetical and 

 Meteorological Observatory at Batavia, vol. xiii., 1890 (Batavia). 



Pamphlets. — Aboriginal Skin-dressing: O. T. Mason (Washington). — 

 Ten Years' Sunshine in the British Isles, 1881-90 (Eyre and Spottiswoode). 

 —Harmonic Analysis of Hourly Observations of Air Temperature and 

 Pressure at British Observatories (Eyre and Spottiswoode). 



Seriai =.— Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. xviii.,pp. 

 261-374 (Edinburgh). — Transactions of the Burton-on-Trent Natural History 

 and Archaeological Societv, vol. ii. (Bemrose).— The Transactions of the 

 Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, Parts 10 to 16 (Leeds, Taylor).— The En- 

 gineering Magazine, February (New York).— The Geological Magazine, 

 February (K. Paul). Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, new 

 series. No. 130 (Churchill) 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



A Collection of Memoirs on Physics. By Prof. J. J. 



Thomson, F.R.S 361 



The Formation of Beaches ............ 362 



Egyptian History 3^3 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Hutchinson : " The Story of the Hills."— A. H. G. 364 

 Taylor: "The Optics of Photography and Photo- 

 graphic Lenses." — W 3^4 



Mitchell: "The Evolution of Life; or. Causes of 



Change in Animal Forms " 3^4 



Letters to the Editor: — 



A Magnetic Disturbance.— G. M. Whipple .... 364 



The New Star in Auriga.— Thomas D. Anderson . 365 



Nacreous Clouds. — T. W. Backhouse 3^5 



The Cause of an Ice Age.— Sir Robert S. Ball, 



F.R.S 365 



Ice Crystals.— Bernard Hobson 3^5 



A Rare British Earthworm. {Illustrated.)— Rev . 



Hilderic Friend 3^5 



The Implications of Science.— Miss E. E. C. Jones 366 

 Vacuum Tubes and Electric Oscillations. — Prof. 



Oliver J. Lodge, F.R.S 366 



The New Star in Auriga 366 



Electrodynamic Theories and the Electromagnetic 



Theory of Light. By Prof. A. Gray 3^7 



On some Points in Ancient Egyptian Astronomy. 



II. {Illustrated.) By J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S. . 373 



Superheated Steam. By Lord Rayleigh, Sec.R.S. . 375 



Two African Explorers 37^ 



Notes 377 



Our Astronomical Column:— 



Photographic Magnitudes of Stars 3^^° 



The Zodiacal Light 3^1 



The Ancient Tombs and Burial Mounds of Japan. 



By Prof. Hitchcock 381 



University and Educational Intelligence 381 



Societies and Academies 381 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 384 



