24 



NA TURE 



[May 5, 1892 



characters representing them. Follow ing on this is an account 

 of the earliest or hieroglyphic form of the writing, with ex- 

 amples, and the development of this resulting in the ideographic 

 characters. These are taken as being illustrative of the ideas 

 of the people on political, social, scientific, and religious ideas. 

 For example, the importance which was attached to the quali- 

 ties of a sovereign is exemplified in the choice of the symbol 

 employed to express a supreme ruler, the component parts of 

 which together signify "ruler of himself." By means of the 

 same graphic system a kingdom is shown as "men and arms 

 within a frontier." Passing to the social habits of the people, 

 their domestic life is illustrated by a number of ideograms 

 descriptive of their household arrangements and relationships. 

 In succession are traced in the written characters the ideas 

 associated with men and women, their virtues and their failings ; 

 the notions associated with marriage ; and the evidences of 

 pastoral as well as of agricultural habits among the people. 

 Turning to the popular religious faiths it is shown how promi- 

 nent is the belief in the god of the soil, whose presence brings 

 blessings, and whose averted countenance is followed by mis- 

 fortune. The ideas associated with objects of nature are next 

 treated of, and the paper concludes with references to the 

 coinage of the country as described in the ideograms employed 

 to represent its various forms. — Mr. Joseph Offord, Jun., read a 

 paper on the mythology and psychology of the ancient Egyptians. 



Entomological Society, April 27. — Mr. Robert McLach- 

 lan, F.R.S., Treasurer, in the chair,— Mr. C. G. Barrett 

 exhibited, for Mr. Sabine, varieties of the following species : 

 viz. one of Papilio machaon, bred by Mr. S. Baily, at Wicken, 

 in 1886 ; one of Argynnis lathonia, taken at Dover in Septem- 

 ber 1883 ; one of .^. cuphrosyne, taken at Dover in 1890 ; and 

 one of A. selene, taken at St. Osyth, in 1885, by Mr. W. H. 

 Harwood. He also exhibited a long series of Demas coryli, 

 reared by Major Still from larvae fed exclusively on beech, 

 which he said appeared to be the usual food of the species in 

 Devonshire, instead of hazel or oak. Mr. Barrett also ex- 

 hibited, for Mr. Sydney Webb, a number of varieties of 

 Arge galathea, Lasiomtnata megara, Hipparchia tithonus, and 

 Canonympha pamphilus, from the neighbourhood of Dover. — 

 The Rev. J. Seymour St. John exhibited a variety of the female 

 of Hybernia progemmaria, taken at Clapton in March last, in 

 which the partially developed wings were equally divided in 

 point of colour, the base being extremely dark and the outer 

 portion of the wing very pale. — The Rev. Canon Fowler 

 made some remarks on the subject of protective resem- 

 blance. His attention had been recently called to the fact 

 that certain species of AW/?>«a apparently lose their protective 

 habit in some localities, and sit with their wings open ; and 

 Dr. A. R. Wallace had informed him that he had heard of a 

 species silting upside down on stalks, and thus, in another way, 

 abandoning its protective habits. Mr. W. L. Distant referred 

 to certain species of South African butterflies, which, when 

 at rest, were protected by their resemblance to the plants 

 on which they reposed, or by their resemblance to the 

 rocks on which they settled, but which frequently abandoned 

 their protective habit and sat with open wings. Mr. Barrett 

 Mr. McLaclan, Mr. Jacoby, Mr. Champion, Mr. H. Goss 

 Canon Fowler, and Mr. Frohawk continued the discussion. — 

 Mr. Goss informed the meeting that, in pursuance of a resolution 

 of the Council passed in March last, he and Mr. Elwes had re- 

 presented the Society at the recent Government inquiry as to 

 the safety and suitability of the proposed rifle range in the New 

 Forest, held at Lyndhurst by the Hon. T. W. H. Pelham, on 

 the 20th, 2ist, 22nd, and 23rd inst., and that they had given 

 evidence at such inquiry. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, April 25.— M. d'Abbaidie in the 

 chair. — On the photography of colours (second note), by M. G. 

 Lippmann. In his first communication on colour photography, 

 M. Lippmann remarked that the results would have been much 

 better if isochromatic lilms had been employed. He has now 

 obtained some new pictures, and presented them to the Academy. 

 Silver bromide films, stained with azalin and cyanin, were used 

 in connection with the arrangement previously explained. The 

 solar spectrum appears to have been photographed in all its 

 beauty with an exposure of about thirty seconds. On two of the 

 plates the colours viewed by transmitted light are seen to be 

 complementary to those given by reflected light. A photograph 

 of a window containing red, green, blue, and yellow glasses ap- 

 pears to be very satisfactory. Others of a group of drapery and 

 a parrot were obtained with an exposure of from five to ten 



NO. II 75, VOL. 46] 



minutes. Several hours' exposure were given to a plate of oranges 

 surmounted by a poppy, diffused light being employed. In all 

 cases the forms of the objects were reproduced as well as 

 the colours. — On the means employed in producing raiti 

 artificially, by M. Faye. The author states Espy's opinions 

 on the formation of cyclones and other atmospheric dis- 

 turbances, and quotes a letter on rain-making experiments 

 carried out in Florida in 1857. He is of opinion that the 

 theory which led to the experiments is wrong. For, according 

 to M. Faye, (i) water-spouts, tornadoes, and cyclones move 

 quickly during calm weather : ascending columns of heated air 

 do not move. (2) Tornadoes and water-spouts whirl vigorously 

 in a certain direction : ascending columns of air do not rotate, 

 or only do so very faintly. (3) Tornadoes and water-spouts are 

 cold in the centre : ascending columns of air are warm. (4) 

 Tornadoes and water-spouts descend from clouds : ascending 

 columns rise towards the clouds, &c. — On the division, according 

 to terrestrial latitudes and longtitudes, of the geological groups 

 on the earth, by M. Alexis de Tillo. The following are the 

 sums of the distribution of groups of rocks, &c., given in the 

 tables for every ten degrees of latitude ; the dimensions are 

 expressed in millions of square kilometres : — 



Pre-Cambrian ... I9'85 Glaciers i'94 



Primary 17-18 Igneous rocks ... 3-96 



Secondary I9'8S Coral islands ... 0"02 



Tertiary 871 ^ . /Explored 98*03 



Quaternary 19-17 ^^S'°"\ Unexplored 36-16 



Gravels 7-35 Total I34'i9 



Tables are also given showing the proportion of the known 

 surface of the globe occupied by each of the above groups, 

 and also showing the distribution in longitude. — Observations 

 of two new planets, discovered at Nice Observatory on March 

 22 and April i, by M. Charlois. Observations for position are 

 given. — Photography of the Ring Nebula in Lyra, by M. F. 

 Denza. — Solar observations made during the first quarter of 

 1892, by M. Tacchini. (See Our Astronomical Column). — On a 

 problem in mathematical analysis connected with equations in 

 dynamics, by M. R. Liouville. — Direct and indirect measures 

 of the angle which the surface of a liquid makes with glas> 

 which it does not wet, by M. C. Maltezos. — On thermo-electric 

 phenomena produced by the contact of two electrolytes, by M. 

 Henri Bagard. — Addition to the law of the position of nervous 

 centres, by M. Alexis Julien.- — Analysis of a chromiferous clay 

 from Brazil, by M. A. Terrell. — On the waters and muds of the 

 lakes of Aiguebelette, Paladru, Nantua, and Sylans, by MM. 

 L. Duparc and A. Delebecque. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Text-books of Psychology. By C. LI. M i 



Dynamics of Rotation. ByJ. L 4 



The Mammalia of British India. By W. H. F. . . . 5 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Hore : " Tanganyika : Eleven Years in Central Africa " 6 



" Beginner's Guide to Photography " 6 



Thane: "Quain's Elements of Anatomy " 6 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Zebra's Stripes.— Dr. S. Schbnland 6 



The Protective Device of an Annelid.— A. T. Watson 7 

 The General Circulation of the Atmosphere.— J. 



Carrick Moore, F.R.S 7 



The Surface-Film of Water, and its Relation to the 

 Life of Plants and Animals. {^Illustrated.) By Prof. 



L. C. Miall 7 



The Discovery of Australian-like Mammals in South 



America. {Illustrated.) By R. Lydekker 11 



Photography in Colours 12 



Notes 12 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Sun-spots 16 



Eclipse of the Moon, May 1 1 17 



Spectrum of Swift's Comet (a 1892) 17 



Comet Swift, 1892 i? 



Nova Aurigse J 7 



A New Variable 17 



The Temperature of the Brain. {Illustrated.) By 



Prof. Angelo Mosso 17 



The Magnetic Storm of February in Mauritius ... 20 



University and Educational Intelligence 21 



Societies and Academies 21 



