96 



NA TURE 



[May 23, 1S95 



in relation to ihc liiioti.'n of siibmergLiice, by Diigald Bell. The 

 drifts of this region have been describe<i by Sir. lamieson, and 

 also in the publications of the Geological .Survey. The two 

 authorities agree that the lower (grey) boulder clay of the district 

 was produced by a local glaciation. The geological surveyors, 

 however, maintain that the intervening sands and gravels with 

 marine shells were produced during a submergence of 500 feet or 

 upwards, whilst the up|)er (red) Iwulder clay was formed by an 

 ice-sheet from the south. Mr. Jamieson, on the other hand, 

 assigns a purely glacial origin to the middle sands and gravels, 

 and considers that the red clay (which contains a few fragments 

 of marine shells) indicates a submergence. The author discussed 

 these views, and maintained that submergence is not proved in the 

 case of either middle gravels or red clay, but that-the former are, 

 as Mr. Jamieson maintained, truly glacial, whilst he advocated 

 the existence of extra-morainic lakes to explain the latter. 

 I'.ARIS. 

 Academy of Sciences, May 13.— M. .Marey in the chair.— 

 On the Cftlosiat, a mirror apparatus giving an image of the sky 

 which remains fixed with regard to the earth, by M. Ci. Lipp- 

 mann. A plane mirror is mounted on an axis resting on fixed 

 bearings. The mirror and its axis are ])arallel to the polar axis. 

 A motor turns the system at a uniform speed once round in forty- 

 eight sidereal hours, in the same direction as that of the celestial 

 sphere. The author gives a proof that this mirror fulfils the 

 necessary conditions, and points out wherein it differs from the 

 ordinary siderostat. He shows how the siderostat can Ije used 

 to demonstrate the principle of the ctvlostat, and how the latter 

 instrument can be employed in pKice of an equ,atorial. — Thermo- 

 chemical relations between the isomeric forms of ordinary 

 gluccKe, by M. Berthelot. Three forms of gluco.se are dis- 

 tinguished : o, the ordinar)' form, for which ap = -I- 106° ; Q, 

 produced by transformation of a at 100', giving od = -f 52'S° ; 

 and -jr, formed from a at I to", having ou = -F 22°-5. These 

 rotations are oljserved immediately on solution ; left for some time 

 all are converted into the 18 form in solution. The change of 

 a into /3 glucose absorbs 1-55 Cal., the corresponding change 

 of 7 into )3 glucose absorbs 0-67 Cal., in the anhydrous state. — 

 On an automatic registering measuring machine for the comjiari- 

 son of end measures, by XI. L. Hartmann.— Researches on the 

 hatching of " I'ceuf dcs sexues'" of the vine Phylloxera, by 

 M. L. J. Leroux. — The works printed in the corresjiondence 

 arc : A nccrological notice on Krnesl Mallard, by .M. A. 

 de Lapparent. I'elroleum, asphalt, and bitumen, from the 

 geological point of view, by M. A. Jaccard. Invasions 

 of locusts in Algeria, by M. J. KUnckcl d'llerculais.— 

 Demonstration of Tchebychef s theorem, by M. Andre Markoff. 

 — On the equivalence of six different forms of expression of the 

 tjuadratures of algebraical tliffercntials reducible to elliptic 

 Integrals, by .M. K. de .Salverl.— On the integration of the .sysitcm 

 of differential equations, by M. .\. J. Stodolkievitz.— On a new 

 mctho<l for the production of fringes with great differences of 

 |)hase, by M. tlouy. A theoretical paper. — On the electro- 

 magnetic theory of the alworption of light in crystals, by M. 

 Bernard Brunhes. — Anomalous rotatory dispersion of absorbent 

 iMxIics, by M. A. Cotton. — General solution of MaxwelKs 

 equations for a homogeneous and isotropic absorbent medium, 

 by M. Hirkeland. — On argon and helium. .An extract from a 

 letter by I'rof. Ramsay to M. Berthelot. \n account is given of 

 a sample of gas obtained from a meteoric iron from Augusta , 

 County, Virginia, U.S.A. After sparking with oxygen and over 

 caustic .soda, the residual gas gave spectroscopic evidence of the 

 presence of argon and helium. Only the lines of argon and 

 helium were oljscrved. This evidence is taken as proof that 

 argon exists in extra-terrestrial Ixxlies, though it has not been 

 noticed in the sun. Helium is found in most of the rare earth 

 minerals e.\amined by I'rof. Ramsay. — On the definite combina- 

 tion in copper-aluminium alloys, by M. H. I,e Chatelier. The 

 author ci)rrect» his previous announcement of the alloy AlCu. 

 The substance had Iwcn more profoundly altered by the reagents 

 used than was at the time suspected. — Kstimation of sulphur in 

 cast-iron,, steels, and irons, by M. Louis Cani])redon. - 

 Researches on mercurous chloride, bromide, iiKlide, and oxide, 

 by M. Raoul \arel. A thermochemical paper giving 

 delaiJ!! concerning the heals of formation of these .salts. - 

 On the molecular r.rigin of the absorption Imnds of cobalt 

 and chromium salts, by M. A. fCtard. The conclusions 

 arc drawn :— (I) That chromium salts and the red colralt salts 

 have fine s|>ectro!icopic l>ands, just as is the CTse with the rare 

 earths and uranium salts. (2) That these arc spectra of mole- 



NO. 1334, VOL. 52] 



cules like the spectra given by oiganic sul«tances of the chloro- 

 phyll type. (3) The h)-]iothesis that each band of the spectrum 

 of a rare earth corresponds to an element is not necessarily true, 

 according to the evidence of cobalt. (4) The hands may be dis- 

 placed or tlisappear for one and the s;ime element according to 

 the nature of the molecules in solution or of the compound ob- 

 served. — On the molecular modifications of glucose, by M. C. 

 Tanret. — On the use of carbon tetrachloriilc as a means of 

 separating methylene from ethyl alcohol, by M. Maxime Cari- 

 Mantrand. — On a brown pigment in the elytra of CtiriUlio 

 (Upreiis^ by M. A. B. Griffiths. —On the aeration of the soil in 

 the Paris promenailes and plantations, by .M. Louis Mangin. — 

 On the existence of numerous cry.stals of ortlioclase felspar in the 

 chalk of the Paris basin ; proofs of their genesis in situ, by .M. L. 

 Cayeux. — On gyp.sum from the neighbourhood of Serres (Ilautes- 

 Alpes) and Nyons (Drome), by M. Victor Paquier. —On the 

 miocene near Bourgoin and Tour-du-Pin, by M. Henri 

 Douxami. — On the presence of Ostr,a ( Exogj'ra ) virgii/a in 

 the u])per Jurassic of the Alpes .Maritimes, by M. Adrien 

 Guebhard. 



I 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



HiiuKS.— Thi: Study of ■• Primitive .M.ui ; K. Clodd (Xcwnes).— Oua- 

 logue of the Fishes in the British Museum, 2nd edition, \o\. i (lAindon). — 

 Year-Book of the Scientific and I,«arned Societies of llreat Britain and Ire- 

 land, 12th annua! issue ((iriffin).— L'Industric Chimique : A. Haller (Paris, 

 Baitliire).— My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus : A. K. Mummery (Unwin). 

 —Transmissions par Cables M^talllques: H. LeauK and A. B^rard (Paris, 

 Gauthier-Villars). — Lessons in Klementary Physics : Prof. J. B. Stewart, 

 new edition (Macmillan). — Agriculture, Practical and Scientific: Prof. J. 

 Muir (Macmillan).— A Monogr.tph of the Order of Oligochata : F. E. 

 Beddard (Oxford, Clarendon Press). — Fingerprint Directories : Dr. F. 

 Galton (Macmillan). — First Principles of Astronomy : Prof. S. Cooke, sth 

 edition (Bell).— First Principles of Chemistry : Prof. S. Cooke, 6th edition 

 (Bell). 



Pa Mi'H LETS.— Rapport Annuel sur I'Etat de I'Dbservatoirc de Paris, 1894 

 (Paris). — Jamaica in 1895 (Kingston, Jam.iica). — The Rise and Development 

 of the Bicameral System in America : T. A. Moran (Baltimore). — The Pocket 

 Gophers of the United States: V. Bailey (Washington)-— The Student's 

 Practical Chemistry : Test Tables for Qualitative .Analysis: Prof. S. Cooke, 

 3rd edition (Bell).— Report of the Departmental Committee upon Merioneth- 

 shire State Mines (Eyre and Spottiswoode). 



Skkiai.s.— Journal of the Franklin Institute, M.iy (Philadelphia).— Royal 

 Natural Historj*, Part 19 (Warne).— .\us deni Archiv dcr Deutschen See- |j 

 warte, xvii. Jahrg. 1894 (Hamburg). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Werner von Siemens. lU W, Watson 73 



Atmospheric Pressure of the North Atlantic Ocean . 76 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



lximl)LT : *' Text-book of Analoui)' and Physiology for 



Nurses" 77 



Kedgrave : " Calcareous Cements : their Nature and 



L'ses."— E. A. W 77 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Origin of tlie Cultivated Cineraria.— W. T. 



Thiselton-Dyer, C.M.G., F.R.S 78 



Some Hililiogra|ihical !)i«-iiveries in Terrestrial Mag- 

 netism. Dr. L. A. Bauer 79 



The Unit of I hat. - Spencer Pickering, F.R.S. ; Dr. 



J. Joly. F.R.S 80 



Kipiiiiil Traces of Negrito Pygmies in India. Dr. V, 



Ball, F.R.S 80 



lipjiing I'orest : .\n Kxplanation. Prof. R. Meldola, 



F.R.S. 81 



Professor Lothar Meyer. Hy M. M. Pattison Muir . 81 



Notes 82 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



.Stars with Kfmarkal)Ie Spectra 86 



Till- I'nris Observatory . 86 



The Action of Light on Animal Life. |{y Mrs. 



Percy Frankland 86 



The Construction of Standard Thermometers ... 87 

 The Influence of Magnetic Fields upon Electrical 



Resistance 87 



Tonbridge School Laboratories. (Ilhislralcd.) l!y 



Alfred Earl 88 



The Development of the Experimental Study of 

 Heat Engines. Ily Prof. W. C. Unwin, F.R.S. . 89 



University and Educational Intelligence 93 



Scientific Serials 94 



Societies and Academies 94 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 96 





I 



