4o8 



NA TURE 



[February 27, 1896 



to exclude tlial portion into which the ducts of the liver and 

 pancreas open. He then fed the animal on cream, and found 

 that in no single case was any of the emulsified fat absorbed.— 

 Dr. R. du Bois Reymond exhibited a number of Rontgen photo- 

 graphs. 



January 24. — Prof, du Bois Reymond, President, in the chair. 

 — Dr. Apolant spoke on the ciliary ganglion, which has at one 

 time been regarded as a spinal, at another time as a sympathetic 

 structure, these views being based on anatomical, morphological, 

 embryological and physiological researches. Of late years it has 

 been shown by stimulation that this ganglion is in the closest 

 relationship to the oculomotor nerve, and the speaker had made 

 experiments on cats and found that the degeneration set up by 

 section of this nerve progresses only as far as the cells of the 

 ganglion ; whereas the latter, as well as the ciliary nerves which 

 spring from them, remain intact. lie hence concluded that the 

 ganglion belongs to the sympathetic system. — Dr. Rawitz 

 described how he had, by means of his new method of staining, 

 investigated the attraction-spheres in the testicular cells of sala- 

 mander maculosa during the first stages of division. He found 

 that the sphere, which is stained dark by alizarin, becomes 

 larger and stains less deeply, after which amoeboid processes 

 make their appearance on its surface. These then separate off 

 in a globular form, whereby the sphere becomes divided up into 

 some six or nine small dark spherules. Later on the central 

 zone of the sphere becomes elongated, oval, and spindle-shaped, 

 the spherules arranging themselves longitudinally in the axis of 

 the spindle, .\fter this the central spherules disappear, leaving 

 only the two polar end particles, which then undergo the 

 ordinary well-known later changes. .These observations were 

 made on salamanders caught in June ; later in the year, the above 

 phases were no longer to be seen. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



London. 



THURSDA y, February 27. 



RovAL Society, at 4.30. — On the Spinal-Root Connections and Cinglion- 



cell Connections of the Nerve Fibres which produce Contraction of the 



Spleen: Prof. Schafer, F.R.S., and B. Moore.— A Method for rapidly 



producing Diphtheria Antitoxines. Preliminary Note : Dr. C. Wood. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Some Aspects of Modern Botany: Prof. H. 



Marshall Ward, F.R.S. 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — The Electric Wiring 

 Question : F. Bathurst. — Concentric Wiring : Sam. Mayor. — High-Voltage 

 Lamps and their Influence on Central Station Practice : G. L. Adden- 

 brooke. 

 Society of Antiquaries, at 8.30. 



i^^/ZJ^F, February 28. 

 Royal Institution, at 9. — Marine Organisms and their Conditions of 



Environment : Dr. John Murray. 

 Physical Society, at 5. — Experiments with Incandescent Lamps : Sir D. 

 .Salomons. — The Alternating Current Arc : Messrs. Fleming and Petavel. 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Loughborough Sewage-Disposal 

 Works : Arthur S. Butterworth. 



.S-^ TURD A V, February 29. 

 Royal Institution, at 3.— Light : Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. 



MONDAY, March 2. 

 Society of Arts, at 8. — The Chemistry of certain Metals and their Com- 

 pounds used in Building, and the Changes produced in them by Air, 

 Moisture, and Noxious Gases, &c.: Prof. J. M. Thomson. 

 Society of Chemical Industry (Burlington House), at 8.— Artificial 



Silk : Messrs. Cross and Bevan. 

 Victoria Institute, at 4.30.— Paper by Dr. Guppy. 



TUESDA V, March 3. 

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



Prof. Charles Stewart. 

 Society of Arts, at 8. — The Commercial Prospects of English East Africa 



.and British Central Africa : G. Scott Elliot. 

 Zoological Society, at 8. — Remarks on the Divergences between the 

 " Rules for Naming Animals " of the German Zoological Society and the 

 Stricklandian Code of Nomenclature (to introduce a discussion on 

 Zoological Nomenclature): P. L. Sclater, F.R.S.— On the Ornithological 

 Researches of M. Jean Kalinowski in Central Peru : Graf Hans v. 

 Berlepsch and J. Stolzmann. — On West Indian Terrestrial Isopod Crus- 

 taceans : Adrian Dollfus. 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — On Littoral Drift in relation to 



River-Outfalls and to Harbour-Entrances : William Henry Wheeler. 

 Pathological Society, at 8.30. 



KOYAL Victoria Hall, at 8.30. — A Visit to the Orkney Islands : J. Saxon 

 Mills. 



WEDNESDA V, March 4. 

 Society of Arts, at 8. — Rontgen's Photography of the Invisible : A. A. 



Campbell Swinton. 

 British Archaeological Association, at 8. 

 Entomological Society, at 8. 



Society of Public Analysts, at 8. — On the Estimation of the Diastatic 

 Power of Malt : Dr. Walter J. Sykes and C. A. Mitchell. —Further Note 

 on the Detection of Formalin : H. Droop Richmond and L. K. Boseley. 

 —The Detection of Formalin: Otto Hehner.— Note on the Detection of 

 Cotton-Seed Oil in Lard : E.J. Bevan. 



NO. 1374, VOL. 53] 



THURSDA y, March 5. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — Masteis of Modern Thought. I. Volt.iire : 



Rev. William Barry. 

 Linnean Society, at 8.— Segmentally-disposed Thoracic Glands in the 



Larvas of Trichoptera : Prof. Gustav Gilson. 

 Chemical Society, at S, — On the Explosion of Cyanogen: H. B. Dixon, 



E. H. Strange, and E Graham. — On the Mode of Burning of Carbon : H. 



B. Dixon.— On the Detonation of Chlorine Peroxide : .H. B. Dixon and 



J. A. H.-irker. — The Constitution of a New Acid resulting from the 



Oxidation of Tartaric Acid : H. J. H. Fenton. 

 Society of Antiquaries, at 8.30. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books. — Results of Rain, River, and Evaporation Observations made in 

 New South Wales, 18^4: H.C. Russell (Sydney).— Studien zu Methoden- 

 lehre und Erkenntnisskritik : F. Dreyer (Leipzig, EngelmannV — The 

 Present Evolution of Man : G. A. Reid (Chapman) — Applied Magnetism : 

 J. A. Kingdon (Alabaster).— By T.angled Paths : H. M. Briggs (Warne).— 

 The Primary Factors of Organic Evolution : Prof. E. D. Cope (Open Court 

 Publishing Company). — Calendar, History, and General Summary of Regu- 

 lations of the Department of Science and Art, 1896 (Eyre). — British Moths : 

 J. W. Tutt (Routledge).— R^sultats de I'Examen de Dix Mille Observa- 

 tions de Hernies : Prof. P. Berger (Paris, Alcan).— The Methods of 

 Microscopical Research : A. C. Cole, 2nd edition (Bailliere). — Lehrbuch 

 der Experimental Physik : Prof. E. Riecke (Leipzig, Veit).— G6om6trie 

 Descriptive : A. Gouilly (Paris, Gauthier-Villars). — Calendario del Santu- 

 ario di Pompei, 1896 (Valle di Pompei). — Exercises in Physical , Measure- 

 ment : Drs. Austin and Thwing (Boston, AUyn). — Lemons sur I'tClectricit^ 

 et Le Magn^tisme de E. Mascart et J. Joubert, deux edition. E. Mascart, 

 tome premier (Paris, M.isson). 



Pamphlets. — The Ballarat Field (Robertson) — Geological Literature 

 added to the Geological Society's Library during the Year ended December 

 31, 1895 (Geological Society). — Report of Observations of Injurious Insects, 

 &c., 19th Report : E. A. Ormerod (Simpkin). — Realgymnasium des 

 Johanneums zu Hamburg (Hamburg). 



Serials. — Royal Natural History. Vol. v. Part 28 (Warne). — Beitrage 

 zur Psychologie und Philosophic, i. Band, i. Heft (Leipzig, Engelmann). — 

 Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, No. 205 (Longmans). — The 

 Aeronautical Annual, No. 2 (Wesley). — Princeton Contributions to Psycho- 

 logy, January (Princeton). — Psychological Review Index for 1895 (Mac- 

 millan). — National Geographic Magazine, February (Marlborough). — 

 Bulletin de I'Academie Royale des Sciences, &c , de Belgique, 1896, No. i 

 (Bruxelles). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Catalogue of Scientific Papers 385 



Natural Selection and its Critics. By E. B. P. . . 386 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Dana: " Minerals, and how to Study them." — H. A. M. 387 



Carpenter: " Heating and Ventilating Buildings " . 387 

 Macbride : " Lessons in Elementary Botany for 



Secondary Schools " 388 



Dean: " Vegetable Culture " 388 



Letters to the Editor:— 



The Rontgen Rays.— -A. A. C. Swinton; Dr. 



Dawson Turner 388 



The Cause of an Ice Age.— Sir Robert S. Ball, 



F.R.S.; Theodore Ryland 388 



The Measurement of High Temperatures. — E. H. 



Griffiths, F.R.S 389 



Earth Tremors.— W. L. Dallas 390 



" Roches moutonnees."— Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole 390 

 The Age of the Present Canadian Flora. — A. T. 



Drummond 391 



Children's Drawings.— Rina Scott 391 , 



The Rontgen Rays. By Prof. J. J. Thomson, 



F.R.S 391 



The Deepest Sounding yet known. {With Diagram.) 



By Admiral W.J. L. Wharton, F.R.S 392 



The Destruction of Trees by Lightning. By D. . . 393 

 The Great Madrid Meteor. {Illustrated.) By Augusto 



Arcimis 395 



The Frilled Lizard : Chlamydosaurus kiftgi. {Illus- 

 trated.) By W. Saville-Kent 395 



Notes 398 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Cassegrain and Gregorian Reflectors 403 



Wells' Algol Variable 403 



The New Comet 403 



Perrine's Comet (1895) 403 



Magnetic Surveys 403 



The Movements of the Terrestrial Pole during the 



Years 1890-95. {With Diagraju.) 404 



University and Educational Intelligence 405 



Scientific Serials 405 



Societies and Academies 406 



Diary of Societies 408 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 408 



