January i6, 1896] 



NATURE 



263 



A portion of the spectrum of 8 Cephei, at the time of 

 maximum, is compared with the spectra of 7 Cygni and Arcturus 

 in the accompanying diagram. These have been enlarged about 

 ton times from the original negatives taken at Kensington. 



Taking Arcturus as a representative star of the solar type 

 [Phil. Trans., 1893, vol. 184, A, p. 699), it will be seen that 

 although the spectra of 7 Cygni and 8 Cephei resemble it in 

 showing a large number of dark lines, they differ considerably 

 from it in point of detail. 



Since the greater part of the foregoing was written, the results 

 of a photographic study of the spectrum of 8 Cephei, with 

 special reference to its movement in the line of sight, have been 

 pubhshed by Belopolsky (Imp. Acad. Sc, St. Petersburg Bull., 

 November 1894). Belopolsky differs from me in classing the 



report upon the species. It contained 162 specimens, almost 

 all of which were collected in the Indian Seas, from the Persian 

 Gulf to the coast of Australia, during the cruise of H.M.S. 

 fni'estigator. Fifteen genera were represented, and several new 

 species were described belonging to the genera Chairolenthis, 

 Htstiopsis, Ahralia, Loliolns and Faonius. The paper was 

 illustrated by original drawings. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, January 6. — M. A. Cornu in 

 the chair. — M Chatin was elected Vice-President for 1896. — 

 The retiring President (M. Marey) announced to the Academy 

 how the vacancies arising in 1895 amongst the members and 

 corresponding members had been filled up. — Note on the 



1.6 CEPHEI 



3. ARCTURUS 



tar as a solar one, although he draws attention to numerous 

 lifferences between the spectrum of the star and that of the sun. 



He also finds, as I have found, that there is probably no 

 hange of spectrum corresponding to the light changes, except 

 a general change of intensity. 



Linnean Society, December 19, 1895. — Mr. W. P. Sladen, 

 Vice-President, in the chair. — Mr. William Scott was elected, 

 ind the Rev. T. R. Stebbing, Rev. H. P. Fitzgerald, and Mr. 

 A. W. Geffcken were admitted Fellows of the Society. — Mr. 

 W. B. Hemsley exhibited specimens and photographs of Cactea 

 from the Galapagos Islands, and gave an account of some of i 

 the more remarkable species. — Mr. George Brebner exhibited j 

 and described, with the aid of microscope and lantern slides, 

 several new and rare Algae. — Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited a 

 living specimen of the Snow Bunting (E/nherizu imialis), which ] 

 had been captured, with several others, off Cipe Rice on board 1 

 the S.S. Ottoman in October last, during the voyage from Boston | 

 to Liverpool, as mentioned at a former meeting (November 7). 1 

 — Mr. R. A. Rolfe gave an abstract of a paper entitled "A '< 

 Revision of the Genus Vanilla," in which some fifty species | 

 were enumerated, seventeen of which were new, though five of , 

 them had been previously confused with older form's. The 

 plants in this genus were described as tall forest climbers, some | 

 of them leafless, found almost throughout the tropics, though | 

 generally somewhat local in their distribution. Of the species \ 

 described, 29 were American, 1 1 Asiatic, and 10 African — \ 

 Mr. E. S. Goodrich communicated a report on the collection 

 of Cephalopoda in the Calcutta Museum. He explained that 

 this collection had been forwarded from Calcutta to Prof. Ray 

 Lankester, at whose request he had undertaken to examine and 



NO. 1368, VOL. 53] 



works of Mr. John Russell Hind, late correspondent 01 the 

 Astronomical Section, byM. F. Tisserand. — An aneurism of the 

 neck, face, and mouth treated by the sclerogenous method, by 

 M. Lannelongue. An account of the successful treatment of a 

 widespread aneurism by injections of zinc chloride solution 

 (10 percent.). — On the Calendar, by M. Flamant. A criticism of 

 an alteration of the Gregorian rule for finding leap-year, 

 suggested by M. Auric. The alternative proposed by the author, 

 not to consider as leap-years the dates (32)" x 100, that is, 3200, 

 6400, &c., has the advantage of postponing any departure from 

 the Gregorian rule for 1200 years. The length of the mean solar 

 year deduced from this is only two-millionths of a mean solar 

 day in excess of the truth. — On integral invariants, by 

 M. G. K'snigs. — On a method of splitting up some defi- 

 nite integrals into simple elements, by M. M. Petrovitch.— 

 On the absolute values of the magnetic elements on January 

 I, 1896, by M. T. Moureaux. The absolute values and secular 

 variation during 1895 of declination, inclination, horizonal and 

 vertical intensity, and total force are given for the two observa- 

 tories of Pare Saint- Maur and Perpignan. — The action o. 

 nitrogen peroxide on the halogen salts of tin, by M. V. Thomas. 

 The reaction was studied in chloroform solution. Tin tetra- 

 chloride gave a crystalline substance of the empirical composition 

 Sn4Cln.N.2.0rt. This is hygroscopic, and is decomposed on 

 heating. Tin tetrabromide gave Snj.Brj.N^Ojp as a white 

 powder. The product obtained from the tetraiodide contained 

 no iodine, and had the composition Sn50,i(N03)2 + 5H^O. — On 

 a mode of decomposition of some amides and amido-com- 

 pounds, by M. Gichsner de Coninck. An account of the 

 results obtained on treating some aromatic amides and amido- 



