312 



NA JUKE 



[January 30, i8g6 



fossils in the neighbourhood of Liverdun (Meurtheet- Moselle), 

 by M. Bleicher. The fossils include the bones of large mammals 

 and terrestrial shells, including one species of Helix. The shells 

 are rarely intact. As regards the age of this deposit, the 

 evidence points to its being Tertiary, or possibly Pliocene, 

 certainly not Quaternary. This is the first proof of the forma- 

 tion of purely continental land deposits at that time, and in the 

 east of France. 



Berlin. 



Physical Society, November 22, 1895. — P''of- von Bezold, 

 President, in the chair. — Prof. Thiesen gave an account of some 

 of his scientific publications ; of these, the first deals with a 

 comparison of various mercurial thermometers, of which two 

 were made of Jena glass and one of hard French glass. The 

 others deal with the thermal expansion of solids and liquids. 

 Among these the first treats of the so-called thermic after-effect, 

 and this the author explained by the assumption of minute non- 

 conducting particles distributed throughout the conducting sub- 

 stance. He further developed this hypothesis into mathematical 

 formulae. The second deals with the linear expansion of rods of 

 glass and zinc, and the third with the relative coefficients of 

 expansion of water, mercury and glass between 0° and 100° C. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



London. 



THURSDAY, January 30. 



Royal Society, at 4.30.-011 the Rhythmic Contractility of the Spleen : 

 Prof. Schafer, F.R.S., and B. Moore.— The Electrical Measurement of 

 Starlight. Observations made at the Observatory of Daramona House, 

 Co. Westmeath, in January i8g6. Second Report : Prof. G. M. Minchin, 

 F.R.S.— Contributions to the Chemistry of Chlorophyll. No. VII. Phyl- 

 loporphyrin and Haematoporphyrin : a Comparison ; E. Schunck, F.R.S., 

 and Dr. L. Marchlewski. 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 7.30.— Telemeters and 

 Range-Finders for Naval and other Purposes : Profs. Barr and Stroud.— 

 Calculation of Horse-power for Marme Propulsion : Lieut. -Colonel 

 Thomas English. 



Society of Antiquaries, at 8.^0. 



FRIDA y, January 31. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— National Biography: Sidney Lee. 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 7.30.— Notes on Steam Super- 

 heating : William H. Patchell. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— (i) Ironfounding in Green Sand ; 

 (2) Malleable Cast-iron : F. A. Lart. 



SUNDAY, February 2. 

 Sunday Lecture Society, at 4.— Rubbish : Dr. T. W. Drinkwater. 



MONDAY, February 3. 

 Society of Arts, at 8.— Alternate Current Transformers: Dr. J. A. 



Fleming, F.R.S. 

 Society of Chemical Industry, at 8.— Manufacture of Linoleum : W. 



F. Reid. 

 Medical Society, at 8.30. 

 Victoria Institute, at 4.30.— Mount Sinai : Prof. Hull. 



TUESDA y, February 4. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— The External Covering of Plants and Animals : 

 Prof. C. Stewart. 



Society of Arts, at 8.— The Garden in Relation to the House : F. Inigo 

 Thomas. 



Zoological Society, at 8.30. — Second Report on the Reptiles and 

 Batrachians collected by Dr. A. Donaldson Smith on his Expedition to 

 Lake Rudolf: G. A. Boulenger, F.R S.— On a Collection of Fishes made 

 by Dr. Donaldson Smith during his Expedition to Lake Rudolf: Dr. 

 A. Giinther. — Remarks on the System of Coloration and Punctuation in 

 the Beetles of the Genus Calligrapha : Martin Jacoby. — On the Oblique 

 Septa in Passerines and other Birds : F. E. Beddard, F.R.S. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— Recent Developments in Gas- 

 Engines : Dugald Clerk. — Monthly ballot for Members. 



Koyal Victoria Hall, at 8.30. — Rubies : Prof. J. W. Judd. 



WEDNESDA Y, February 5. 



Society of Arts, at 8.— The Mexican Drainage Canal : F. H. Cheese- 

 wright. 



Ge ^logical Society, at 8.— On the Morte Slates and Associated Beds in 

 North Devon and West Somerset : Dr. Henry Hicks, F.R.S. — Evidences 

 of Glacial Action in Australia in Permo-Carboniferous Times : Prof. T. 

 Edgeworth David.— On the Structure of the Plesiosaurian Skull : C. W. 

 Andrews. 



Entomological Society, at 8.— On the Relation of Mimetic Patterns to 

 the Original Form : Dr. F. A. Dixey.— The Rhynchophorous Coleoptera 

 of Japan. Part IV. Dr. D. Sharp, F.R.S.— The Diptera of St. Vincent : 

 Prof. Williston. Communicated by Dr. D. Sharp, F.R.S. 



Society of Public Analysts, at 8.— The Determination of Oxygen in 

 Commercial Copper : Bertram Blount. — The Composition of Milk and 

 Milk Products : H. Droop Richmond. — A New Form of Carbonic Acid 

 Apparatus : Cecil H. Cribb.— Laboratory Notes : Alfred H. Allen. 



British Archaeological Association, at 8. 



NO. 1370, VOL. 53] 



THURSDA Y, February 6. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30. 



LiNNEAN Society, at 8. — On Po'ystelic Roo^S'^jfcertain Palms: B. J. 

 Cormack. — On a Remarkable Use of Anis in Asi i Minor : R. Morton 

 Middleton. 

 Society of Antiquaries, at 8.30. 

 Chemical Society, at 8. 



FRIDA Y, February 7. 

 Geologists' Association, at 7.30. — Presidential Addrtss : Some Structural 



Characteristics of the Granite of the North-West Himalayas. 

 QuEKETT Microscopical Club, at 8. 



SATURDAY, February 8. 

 Royal Botanic Society, at 3.45. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books.— The Collected Mathematical Papers of Arthur Cayley, Vol. ix. 

 (Cambridge University Press).— Evolution and Man's Place in Nature : 

 Prof. H. Calderwood, 2nd edition (Macmillan). — Ice-Work Present and 

 Past : Prof. T. G. Bonney (K. Paul).— Traitrf de Chirurgie : A. Le Dentu 

 and P. Delbet, tome i. (Paris, Bailliere).— Graphic Arithmetic : H. D. 

 Ellis, charts i and 2 (Philip).— Gtom^rie Descriptive: A. Gouilly (Paris, 

 Gauthier-Villars).— Remarkable Comets : W. T. Lynn, 4th Edition 

 (Stanford). 



Pamphlets. — Die Gletscherlawine an der Altels am 11 Sept., 1895 

 (Ziirich).— Misure A.ssolute degli Elementi del Magnetismo Terrestre : Dr. 

 L. Palazzo (Roma). 



Serials.— Annuaire de L' Academic Royale des Sciences, &c., de Belgique, 

 1896 (Bruxelles). — Bulletin Ditto, tome 30, No. 11 (Bruxelles). — Journal of 

 Malacology, Vol. 4 (Dulau).— Revista Sperimentale di Freniatria e di Medi- 

 cina Legale, Vol. xxi. Fasc. 4 (Reggio Nell' Emilia).— Astrophysical Journal, 

 January (Chicago).— Quarterly Review, January (Murray).— English Illus- 

 trated Magazine, February (198 Strand) —Good Words, February (Isbister). 

 —Sunday Magazine, February (Isbister). — Longman's Magazine, February 

 (Longmans). — Chambers's Journal, February (Chambers). — Natural Science, 

 February (Rait). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Groth's Crystallography. By L. Fletcher, F.R.S. . 289 

 Elementary Ideas of Mankind. By E. Sidney Hart- 

 land 291 



The Birds of Greek Literature. By W. Warde 



Fowler 292 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Thompson : " Polyphase Electric Currents and Alter- 

 nate Current Motors."— G. F 293 



Tarr : " Elementary Physical Geography " 293 



Murray : "An Introduction to the Study of Sea- 

 weeds " 294 



Legge : " Public Health in European Capitals " . . . 294 



Johnson : " History of the Cholera Controversy" . . 294 



Glazebrook : "Mechanics" 294 



Letters to the Editor:- 



Prints of Scars.— Dr. Francis Gallon, F.R.S. 



{Illustrated.) 295 



The Cause of an Ice Age.— Rev. O. Fisher . . . 295 

 Barisal Guns and Similar Sounds. — C. Tomlinson, 

 F.R.S. ; Hy. Harries; R. Lloyd Praeger; D. 



J. Scourfield; W.G.Brown 295 



The Place of " Pithecanthropus" on the Genealogical 

 Tree.— Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S. ... 296 

 The Chemical Society's Helmholtz Memorial Lec- 

 ture. By W. J. P 296 



New Experiments on the Kathode Rays. {Illus- 

 trated.) ByJeanPerrin 298 



The French Magnetic Survey of the 'World .... 299 

 Lilienthal's Experiments on Flying. {Illustrated.) 



By W. J. S. L 300 



Death of Mr, Alexander Macmillan 302 



Notes 302 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



The Double Star 70 Ophiuchi 305 



Minor Planet Photography 306 



Theory of Comets' tails 306 



The Rotation Period of Venus 306 



The International Geodetic Congress at Berlin . . 306 

 Meetings of Affiliated Scientific Societies in 



America -.307 



Geology in Glasgow University. By Prof. John 



Young 307 



University and Educational Intelligence 308 



Scientific Serials 309 



Societies and Academies 310 



Diary of Societies 312 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 312 



