6oo 



NA TURE 



[April 23, 1896 



to 35,000 volts, Kerr's law was found to be correct to within 

 at least I per cent. The absolute value of the constant for 

 carbon bisulphide is 37 x lO"''. — On electrified Rontgen 

 rays, by M. A. Lafay. A verification of results previously 

 published. It was found that it was a matter of indifference, 

 in deviating the Rontgen rays, whether they were electrified 

 before or after traversing the magnetic field. — The action of the 

 Rontgen rays upon double and triple electric layers, by M. N. 

 Piltschikoff. The rays discharge the double electric layer very 

 slowly, if at all. — On the mechanical action emanating from 

 Crookes' tubes, by MM. A. Fontana and A. Umani. A claim 

 for priority. — Application of photography by the Rontgen 

 rays to analytical researches on vegetable materials, by M. F. 

 Ranwez. The adulteration of vegetable products with mineral 

 substances, such as saffron with barium sulphate, is readily de- 

 tected by the differences in the shadows cast by the X-rays. — 

 On homolinalool and on the constitution of licareol and 

 licarhodol, by MM. Ph. Barbier and L. Bouveault.— Action of 

 the sodio-cyanacetates of propyl, butyl, and amyl upon diazo- 

 benzene chloride, by M. G. Favrel. The hydrazones obtained 

 exist in two isomeric modifications, distinguishable by their 

 melting points. — On the diurnal lunar wave and on the secular 

 variation of the barometer, by M. P. Garrigou- Lagrange. The 

 action of the moon on the atmosphere is well marked. On the 

 tenth parallel of latitude, the waves caused by the moon may 

 amount to I '2 mm. of mercury. — On the principal results of the 

 last ascent to a great height of the h'AWoo'Ci Aerophile (March 22 

 1895), by MM. G. Hermite and G. Besan9on. At a height of 

 eight and a half miles the minimum temperature recorded was 

 -63°C., or a fall of 1° per -597 feet.— Animal temperatures in 

 the problems of evolution, by M. Quinton. The temperatures 

 prevailing on the globe in the remote past were higher than at 

 present, owing to the gradual cooling of the globe. An animal 

 whose life process was in equilibrium with a given temperature 

 when the temperature commences to fall, must do one of two things 

 — either adapt its chemical and physiological changes to the sur- 

 rounding temperature, as in the case of the pepsin of a reptile, 

 which will act on a food at temperatures near o", or may tend to 

 artificially maintain the temperature of the body, by developing 

 heat. Thus in one group of animals, whose evolution had 

 ceased before appreciable cooling had set in, the greater the 

 antiquity the smaller ought to be their power of developing 

 heat. With animals, on the contrary, whose evolution had 

 been prolonged into the cold ages, the reverse would be the 

 case, the body temperature being the lower, the oMer the 

 animals. Experimental figures confirm these theoretical reduc- 

 tions. 



Berlin. 



Physical Society, March 13. — Prof, von Bezold, President, 

 in the chair. — Dr. Lindau, of Munich, spoke on the cooling of 

 gases during their adiabatic expansion, and showed that from 

 this the specific heat of the gases may be determined. In oppo- 

 sition to this view Prof. Planck pointed out that the cooling 

 does not depend solely on specific heat, but also on the extent to 

 which the gas differs from the condition of a perfect gas. — Dr. 

 Orlich demonstrated how every phasic variation of alternating 

 currents may be shown by means of two of Rubens' vibration- 

 galvanometers placed at right-angles to each other. He intends 

 to carry out further experiments in order to see whether the 

 variations are measurable by this method. — Prof. A. Konig 

 made a communication on the absorption spectra of visual 

 purple from various vertebrates, and on visual yellow, which he 

 had only once been able to investigate as obtained from the 

 visual purple of a human retina, whereas the visual purple of 

 other vertebrates never yielded visual yellow. He hoped to be 

 able to control this single observation, should the chance of so 

 doing present itself. 



March 27. — Prof Warburg, President, in the chair. — Mr. 

 Archenholz reported on his experiments with a view to testing 

 the statements of Le Bon as to black light. He showed how 

 great is the difficulty of completely excluding all lateral light 

 even by using metallic screens, and exhibited photographs in 

 support of this, and came finally to the conclusion that Le Bon's 

 black light is merely a false light. Experiments made with 

 Balmain's material on the permeability of wood and metal by 

 phosphorescent rays were similarly negative. — Prof. Goldstein 

 spoke on the means for increasing the intensity of Rontgen X-rays, 

 of which he mentioned two. The first consists in using the rays 

 which are emitted forwards by1.he phosphorescent substances, since 

 they are much more intense than those that have passed through 



NO. 1382, VOL. 53] 



the substances. The second consists in the employment of potas- 

 sium platinocyanide, which emits a blue light acting very rapidly 

 on photographic plates. Further, a plate had recently been pre- 

 pared by Siemens and Halske, which gives a clear image of the 

 hand in a few seconds by Rontgen's rays, and finally Kahlbaum 

 has prepared a barium platinocyanide which similarly materially 

 shortens the neces.sary exposure. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books —The Treatment of Phthisis: Dr. A. Ransome (Smith, Elders- 

 Handbook for the Bio-chemical Laboratory : Prof. J. A. Mandel (Chap- 

 man). — A Compendium of General Botany : Dr. M. Westermaier (Chap- 

 man) — Modern Stone-Cutting and Masonry: J. S. Siebert and F C. 

 Biggin (Chapman).^Meteorological Observations made at the Adelaide 

 Observatory, &c., 1891, 1892, 1893 (Adelaide).— The Water Supply of the 

 City of New York, 1658-1895 : E. Wegmann (Chapman).— The U.S. Public 

 Works : Captain W. M. Black (Chapman). — Cholera in Indian Canton- 

 ments, and how to deal with it : E. H. Hankin (Cambridge, Deighton). — 

 James Clerk Maxwell and Modern Physics : R. T. Glazebrook (Cassell). — 

 An Elementary Treatise on the Calculus for Engineering Students : J. 

 Graham (Spon).—Les Tramways: R. Seguela (Paris, Gauthier-Villars).— 

 Astronomie, Astrophysique, G6od6sie, Topographie et Photogrammetrie : 

 G. Towne, 2 Vols. (Paris, Bertaux). 



Pamphlets.— Medical Inspection of, and Physical Education in, Schools : 

 C. Roberts (Bale). — Weitere Ausfiihrungen iiber den Bau der Cyanophyceen 

 und Bacterien : Prof. O. Butschli (Leipzig, Engelmann).— Stonyhijrst Col- 

 lege Observatory. Results of Meteorological and Magnetical Observations. 

 1895 : Rev. W. Sidgreaves (Clitheroe).— Colonial Origins of New England 

 Senates : F. L. Riley (Baltimore).— Licht-, Elektricitats- and X-Strahlen : 

 R. Mewes (Berlin, Krayn) —Die Fortpflanzungs-Geschwindigkeit der 

 Schwerkraftstrahlen : R. Mewes (Berlin, Krayn). 



Serials. — Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, Vol. xiv. 

 Part 4 (Taylor). — Journal of Anatomy <-ind Physiology, April (Griffin). — 

 Royal Natural History, Part 30 (W.arne). — Journal of the Chemical Society, 

 April (Gurney). — Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, April 

 (Spon) -Microscopical Studies in Botany, March (Jersey, Hornell).— Mind, 

 April (Williams). — Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium, Vol. 

 iii. No. 7 (Washington). — American Journal of Mathematics, Vol. xviii. 

 No. 2 (Baltimore).^Internationales Archiv fiir Ethnographic, Band ix. 

 Heft 2 (Leiden, Brill). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



A New Book on Man. By Prof. A. C. Haddon . . 577 



Rigid Dynamics. By G. H. B 578 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Gordon : " Our Country's Butterflies and Moths, and 



how to know them " .... 579 



Mandel: "Handbook for the Bio-Chemical Labora- 

 tory" 579 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Buried Celluloid.— Prof. George Forbes, F.R.S. 579 

 Suggested Photography by Transmitted Heat Rays. — 



Bishop Courtenay . 579 



Influence of Terrestrial Disturbances on the Growth of 



Trees. — Henry J. Colbourn 579 



Carib Pottery. (///«j'/'ra/'^(/.)—C. W. Branch . . . 580 

 The New Education Bill and Local Museums. — C. . 580 

 A Bright Meteor.— J. D. La Touche ; A. G. 



Tansley 581 



A Daylight Meteor.— James Shaw 581 



Rana esailenta in Kincardineshire. — Prof. Philip J. 



White 581 



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



F.R.S 581 



The Expert Witness . 583 



H. C. Levinge. By C. B. C 583 



Notes. {Illustrated.) 584 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Uranus and its Satellites 587 



Comet Swift 587 



The Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto . 587 

 Physical Phenomena of the High Regions of the 

 Atmosphere. {Illustrated.) By Prof. A. Cornu, 



F.R.S. {Translated.) • 588 



Immunisation against Serpents' Venom, and the 

 Treatment of Snake-bite with Antivenene. II. 

 {With Diagram.) By Prof. Thomas R. Eraser, 



F.R.S 592 



University and Educational Intelligence 597 



Scientific Serials 598 



Societies and Academies 598 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 600 



