460 



NA rURE 



[September 8, 1892 



terygium macleayanum (PI. 3) by A. H. Lucas ; Anthropology 

 in Australia, by A. W. Howitt ; On the nomenclature of chick- 

 embryos (Pis. 4-7). Instead of indicating the stages in the 

 development of the chick by the number of hours or days, which 

 is unsatisfactory, as different eggs incubated for the same length 

 of time will frequently be found to contain embryos which have 

 reached quite different stages of development, the stages are 

 marked based upon the external form, and each is designated by 

 a letter of the alphabet. On some Victorian Land Planarians, 

 by Prof. W. B. Spencer (Pis. 11 and 12), enumerates ten species 

 of Geoplana and describes G. dendyi, sp. n., and G. 

 frosii, sp, n. ; all the species are figured in two admir- 

 ably executed coloured plates. On the movemente of the 

 heart of Hoplocephalus superbus in and out of the body, by Dr. 

 McAlpine ; On a Nematode from the stomach of Hoplocephalus 

 superbus, and on a fluke parasitic in the respiratory and aliment- 

 ary systems of the same. Neither parasites are named but the 

 Nematode (Ascaris) is figured on pi. 8. On the presence of 

 amoeboid corpuscles in the liquid discharged from the nephridial 

 apertures and oral papillae of Peripatus, by A. Dendy ; On the 

 shell money of New Britain, by R. H. Rickard ; On the 

 Dukduk Association of New Britain ; Notes on the miocene 

 strata of Jemmy's Point and on the older tertiary at Bairnsdale, 

 by J. Dennant. Some new or little known Polzyoa, by P. H, 

 MacGillivray (Pis. 9 and 10) ; Notes on the marine rocks under- 

 lying Warrnambool, by G. S. Griffiths. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, August 29. — M. Duchartre in the 

 chair. — Observations of the new planet M. Wolf, made at the 

 observatory of Paris (west equatorial), by M. G. Bigourdan. 

 From observations of comparison stars, the R. A. of the planet 

 in question on August 27, at I2h. 20m. 33s. p.m. Paris mean 

 time, was 22h. 41m. 24-955., its apparent declination- 10" 25' 

 5i"-8, and its magnitude 12-5. — Measures of the diameter of 

 Mars, by M. Camille Flammarion. To settle the divergence 

 between the values of the diameters of Mars as predicted by the 

 Nautical Almanac, the Connaissance des Temps, and Marth's 

 " Ephemerides," measurements were taken with the 24cm. 

 equatorial of the Juvisy observatory, resulting in values ranging 

 from 24" '50 to 24" "9 1. These confirm Marth's calculations, 

 while the other two ephemerides are about 5" in excess, based as 

 they are upon Leverrier's tables instead of Hartwig's. — On the 

 solar phenomena observed at the Royal Observatory of the 

 Roman College during the second quarter of 1892, by M. P. 

 Tacchini.— On the bacterian origin of the bilious fever of hot 

 countries, by M. Domingos Freire. A microscopic comparison 

 of the germs of the yellow fever with those of the somewhat 

 similar bilious fever of tropical countries shows that the former 

 is due to a micrococcus, which is round, highly refractive, and 

 easily coloured by fuchsine, methyl blue, &c., whereas the 

 bilious fever is originated by a bacillus which the writer has 

 succeeded in cultivating. It is about nine microns long and 

 three broad. It is motionless, and accompanied by numerous 

 moving spores. Each bacillus undergoes rapid segmentation 

 into two parts, which give rise to terminal spores. It has been 

 found possible to produce the disease in a pig by inoculation. — 

 On the comparative assimilation of plants of the same species, 

 developed in the sun and in the shade respectively, by 

 M. L. Geneau de Lamarliere. A series of quantitative 

 results, showing that under similar external conditions 

 the decomposition of carbonic acid varies in intensity, for leaves 

 of the same species, according to the conditions of development 

 of these leaves ; and that the leaves of a species developed in 

 the sun, all other oonditions being equal, decompose the car- 

 bonic acid of the air more energetically than those developed in 

 the shade. — On the present eruption of Etna, by M. Wallerant. 

 The eruption of 1892, without having the importance of that of 

 1865, is, from several points of view, superior to that of 1886 ; 

 the flows of lava are more extended and the craters more 

 numerous. On July 8 the volcano gave its usual warnings. 

 Thick columns of black smoke emerged from the principal 

 crater, and earthshocks were felt as far as Catania. On the 

 following day the eruption began in earnest. Two openings 



NO. 1193, VOL. 46] 



appeared a short distance apart, one of which only gave off 

 steam, while the other gave rise to a flow of lava which passed 

 westwards of Monte Nero, and which has been called the 

 western stream. It was not till after the flow had ceased that 

 four volcanic cones arose successively from north to south at 

 a distance of about 60 m. to the east of this cleft. Another 

 flow of lava passed to the east of Monte Nero, and was called 

 the eastern stream. For about a month the eruption followed 

 its normal course ; the lava continued to flow and the cones 

 increased in height. But on August 9 important modifications 

 took place. The ejections diminished and the explosions 

 ceased. It was thought that the disturbance was dying out, 

 but on the nth such an eruption of steam took place that Etna 

 disappeared entirely in an absolutely opaque cloud. At the 

 same time it was found that the lava, leaving the first tracks, 

 had taken a new path across the vineyards. In the morning of 

 the 1 2th the opening of a new crater in the line of the preced- 

 ing ones was found in the act of building up a cone. The 

 previous evening the observers had passed over the same spot 

 and had found small vents giving off vapours, but nothing to 

 indicate the formation of a crater in so short a time. The for- 

 mation of this crater was accompanied by a complete cessation 

 of the ejections from the second volcanic cone, which had been 

 very violent. The eruption thus seemed to have entered a new 

 stage of development. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Higher Theory of Statistics. By F. Y. E. . . 437 



Theoretical Physics in Italy. By C. G. K. . . . , . 439 



The Microscope in the Class-room and Laboratory. 



By W, H, Dallinger 440 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Stewart: " An Elementary Text-book of Magnetism 



and Electricity " 441 



J, and E, J. Brooksmiih : "Key to Arithmetic for 



Beginners " 441 



Letters to the Editor : — 



International, Geological, and other Records. — H. J. 



Johnston-Lavis . 441 



A Suggestion for the Indexing of Zoological Litera- 

 ture.— T. D. A. Cockerell 442 



Rain with a High Barometer. —Robert M, W. 



Swan . 442 



The Perseids.— ^J. Edmund Clark 442 



Variable Star T Cassiopeiae. — Cuthbert E. Peek . . 443 

 The Opposition of Mars. {Illustrated.) By J. Norman 



Lockyer, F.R.S 443 



Notes 448 



Our Astronomical Column :- 



The Staff at the Lick Observatory 452 



The Observations of Klinkerfues Reduced 452 



Photographs of Solar Phenomena 452 



A Meteorite 452 



Mounting of Objectives 452 



Jupiter 453 



Nova Aurigse 453 



Comet Swift (March 6, 1892) 453 



Geographical Notes 453 



American Association for the Advancement of 



Science 453 



The International Congress of Orientalists .... 456 



The Eruption at Sangir 457 



The West Indian Fauna in South Florida. By T. D. 



A, Cockerell 458 



"A New Sect of Hero-Worshippers " . 459 



Scientific Serials 459 



Societies and Academies 460 



