June 25, 1891] 



NATURE 



College) on June i6, in presenting f-jr the honorary degree of 

 Doctor in Science Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R. S., Director- 

 General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland ; 

 Mr. W. H. Flower, C.B., F.R.S., Director of the Natural 

 History Museum ; and Dr. Elias Mets-chnikoff, Chef de Service of 

 the Institut Pasteur, Pari^. 



Salutamus deinceps virum et scientiarum at litterarum laude 

 illustrem, in Academia Edinensi quondam Geologiae Pro- 

 fessorem, Britanniae et Hiberniae exploration! geologicae prae- 

 positum, societatis Kegiaesocium, societal is geologicaepraesidem, 

 societatis denique Britannicae scientiarum terminis prorogandis 

 i)raesiden.i designatum. Geologiae et geographiae studiosorum 

 in manibus sunt scripta eius plurima, scientiis illis aut docendis 

 nut illustrandis destinata. Etiam aliis loquuntur libri eius ele- 

 i^antissime conscripti, quorum in uno Caledoniae montes 

 vallesque per immensam saeculorum seriem causis cotidianis 

 minutatim exsculptas fuisse demonstrat ; in altero vitam et res 

 gestas geologi magni, quem Siluriae regem nominaverim, ea 

 cjuae par est dignitate describit. Viri talis laboribus non modo 

 geologiae fines latius indies propagantur, sed etiam populo 

 aniverso studia ilia praeclara commendantur. 



Duco ad vos geologum illustrem, ab ipsa R^ina nuper novo 

 honore ornatum, Archibaldum Geikie. 



Quod e sapientibus septem unus dixisse fertur, ipx^ ^vZpa. 

 Sfi^ei, de hoc certe viro, per honorum cursum satis longum 

 probato, verum esse constat. Regio Chirurgorum in Collegio, 

 primum Museo conservando praepositus, deinde physiologiam 

 et comparativam quae dicitur anatomiam professus, deinceps 

 Musei Britannici aedificio novo rerum naturae studiis dedicato 

 praefectus est. Idem societati et zoologicae, et anthropologicae, 

 et Britannicae, maxima cum laude praefuit. In Museis autem 

 urdinandis quam perspicax ; in scientiarum studiis populo toti 

 commendandis quam disertus ; hominum in diversis generibus 

 capitis mensura inter sese distinguendis quam subtilis ; maris 

 denique in monstris immensis describendisquam minutus. Ergo, 

 veiut alter Neptunus, intra regni sui fines etiam " immania cete " 

 suo sibi iure vindicat : idem, anthropologiae quoque in studiis 

 versatus, ne barbaras quidem gentes contempsit, sed, velut alter 

 Chremes, homo est ; humani nil a se alienum putat. 



Duco ad vos Regiae societatis socium, virum honoribus 

 plurimis merito cumulatum, Wilelmum Henricum Flower. 



Sequitur deinceps vir, qui scientiarum in provinciis duabus, 

 et in zDologia et in bacteriologia quae dicitur, famam insignem 

 est adeptus. Primum Ponti Euxini in litore septentrionali 

 ^'.oologiam professus, multa de morphologia animalium, quae 

 invertebrata nominantur, accuratissime disseruit. Deinde Pari- 

 siis rerum naturae investigatori celeberrimo adiutor datus, eis 

 potissimum causis perscrutandis operam dedit, per quas genere 

 ;ib humano morborum impetus hostiles possent propulsari. 

 \am, velut hominum in mentibus virtutes et vitia inter sese 

 confligunt, non aliter animantium in corporibus contra pestium 

 exercitus copiae quaedam sanitatis et salutis ministrae concertare 

 iierhibentur. Mentis quidem certamen olim in carmine heroico, 

 I'sychomachia nominato, Prudentius narravit. Inter eos auteui 

 i [ui corporis certamen experimentis exquisitis nuper explicaverunt, 

 locum insignem sibi vindicat vir quidam summa morum modestia 

 praediius, qui, velut vates sacer, proelium illud sibi sumpsit 

 celebrandum, in quo tot cellulae vagantes, quasi milites procur- 

 santes, morborum semina maligna corripiunt, correpta com- 

 primunt, compressa extinguunt. Talium virorum auxilio febrium 

 cohortes paulatim profligantur, et generis humani saluti novum 

 indies affertur incrementum. 



Merito igitur titulo nostro hodie coronatur e salutis humanae 

 ministris unus, Elias Metschnikoff. 



At the annual election at St. John's College on June 22 the 

 following awards in Natural Science were made : — Foundation 

 ^ :holarships, continued or increased : P. HortonSmith, Hewitt, 

 iackman, Woods, MacBride, Whipple. Foundation Scholar- 

 .ip awarded : Villy. Exhibitions : Purvis, Trotman, Hughes 

 I'lize: MacBride. Wright's Prize: Villy. In the Natural 

 S iences Tripos, Part II., Capstick, of Trinity, has been awarded 

 " special distinction " in two subjects, Chemistry and Physics. 

 It is many years since this last occurred. MacBride, of St. John's 

 (Z )ology. Botany), and Xrishnan, of Christ's (Chemistry, Botany), 

 have gained first classes in two subjects. Of the women can- 

 didates. Miss Elliot, of Newnham (Zoology), and Miss Tebb, of 

 Girton (Physiology), have gained first class honours. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 

 American Journal of Science, June. — The study of the earth's 

 figure by means of the pendulum, by E. D. Preston. The author 

 first deals with the history of the subject, then states the quanti- 

 ties involved, and supports the method of study in which the 

 figure of the earth is considered separately from its size as 

 determined by measurement of arcs of meridian. The general 

 results of pendulum work are discussed, and the effect of con- 

 tinental attraction and variations in latitude referred to. The 

 best methods of determining the duration of a pendulum oscilla- 

 tion at a given temperature and pressure are also considered. 

 1 — On the post-glacial hi^tory of the Hudson River valley, by 

 Frederick J. H. Merrill. The result of the action of waves 

 upon a shore depends upon the state of rest or movement 

 of the shore. If the land is subject to alternate periods of 

 rest and elevation, a series of terraces will be formed ; if the land 

 is slowly rising or subsiding with respect to sea-level, an inclined 

 plane of erosion may be produced. Arguing from this and other 

 facts, the author states provisionally that, after the retreat of the 

 continental glacier from the Hudson River valley, the land stood 

 for a long time at a lower level than at present. A gradual 

 elevation and extensive erosion of the Champlain estuary deposits 

 in the river valley then occurred, and was followed by a depres- 

 sion amounting to about loo feet at New York, and which is 

 apparently continuing at the present day. — On alunite and 

 diaspore from the Rosita Hills, Colorado, by Whitman Cro.ss. 

 — Diaspore crystals, by W. H. Melville.— Combustion of gas 

 jets under pressure, by R. W. Wood. Anyone who has watched 

 a burning jet of ether vapour will have noticed that, as the 

 pressure increases, the flame gradually retreats from the orifice 

 and eventually goes out if the pressure is carried beyond a 

 certain point. The author has investigated these phenomena, 

 using various gases. A burning jet of coal gas was extinguished 

 when the pressure was equal to 23 centimetres of mercury— that 

 is, when the velocity of the issuing gas exceeded the speed of 

 combustion for the mixture of gas and air. — Allotropic silver : 

 Part iii., blue silver, soluble and insoluble forms, by M. Carey 

 Lea. From the results given in this and preceding papers, the 

 author is led to believe that allotropic and even soluble silver 

 may be formed in numerous ways. The reducing agents may 

 be either a ferrous or a stannous salt, or any one of a variety of 

 organic substances of very different constitutions. From the 

 j solubility and activity of this substance, and the parallelism 

 j which many of its reactions show to those of silver in combina- 

 tion, it appears probable that silver in solution, like silver in 

 j combination, exists in the atomic form. — Note on the submarine 

 channel of the Hudson River, and other evidences of post-glacial 

 subsidence of the middle Atlantic coast region, by A. Linden- 

 kohl. — Are there glacial records in the Newark system ?, by 

 : Israel C. Russell. Facts are adduced in support of the negative 

 \ view. — A reply to Prof. Nipher on the theory of the solar 

 corona, by F. H. Bigelow. — On the recent eruption of 

 Kilauea, by W. T. Brigham. This is a report of the changes 

 that took place in the crater of Kilauea during March of this 

 year. — Turquoise in south-western New Mexico, by Charles H. 

 Snow. 



SOCIETIES 'AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, June 18. — "Results of Hemisection of the 

 Spinal Cord in Monkeys." By Frederick VV. Mott, M.D., 

 B. S. , M. R. C. P. Communicated by Prof Schiifer, F. R. S. 



While engaged in studying experimentally the connections of 

 the cells of Clarke's column with the ascending tracts of the 

 spinal cord in the monkey, I was surprised to find that after 

 hemisection in the lower dorsal region the sensory disturbances 

 produced in no way corresponded with those already obtained 

 by eminent observers. 



I was therefore led to continue my experiments, and, by 

 the kind permission of Prof. Schiifer, I carried them out in the 

 Physiological Laboratory of University College. My thanks 

 are also due to him for much valuable advice and assistance. 



The subject is one of great importance from a scientific, as 

 well as from a clinical, point of view. Some years ago, a case 

 occurred in my practice which tended to skake my faith in the 

 absolute truth of the doctrine of complete and immediate decus- 



NO. I 1 30, VOL. 44] 



