August 8, 1895] 



NATURE 



559 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



I'ROF. J. \V. Ji'lH), C.B., F.R.S., has been appointed Dean 

 of the Royal College of Science, in succession to the late Prof. 

 H uxley. 



Thk following list of Royal scholarships, medals, and prizes 

 awarded last month in connection with the Royal College of 

 Science, London, has just been issued by the Department of 

 Science and Art. Royal scholarships : — Kirst year's Royal 

 scholarships, Ernest Smith, George Marks Russell, Frank Fishei, 

 Norton Baron ; second year's Royal scholarships, Robert Sowter, 

 |oe Crowther. Medals and prizes : — " Kdward Forbes" medal 

 and prize of books for Biology, William (ieorge FVeeman ; 

 " Murchison" medal and prize of books for Geology, John Cas- 

 pell ; " Tyndall" prize of books for Physics, Part I., William 

 Herbert White; " De la Beche" medal for Mining, Robert 

 William I'ringle; '* Bessemer" medal and prize of books for 

 Metallurgy, John Collet Moulden ; " F'rank Hatton " prize of 

 l)ooks for Chemistry, William Longshaw, Prizes of books given 

 by the Department of Science and Art : — Mechanics, Cecil 

 Alwyne Selpram Baxter : Astronomical Physics, Ernest F'dward 

 Leslie Dixon, William Herbert White; Practical Chemistry, 

 Henry William Hutchin ; Mining, Robert William Pringle ; 

 Principles of Agriculture, William Williams. 



The University of Pennsylvania has issued an appeal (says 

 Scieme) asking for an endowment fund of ;^i, 000,000 to meet 

 the immediate requirements of the University. Mr. Thomas 

 McKean has given without restrictions a sura of ^10,000 in 

 addition to the ;^io,ooo given a few months ago. A contribu- 

 tion of ^2000 has also been received from Mr. Richard F. 

 Loper. It is stated that this is the thirteenth contribution of a 

 similar kind that has been received. We learn from the same 

 source that the University of Cincinnati has received a gift of 

 j^gooo from Mr. Henry Hanna. 10 Ije used in the erection of a 

 wing in the new University building. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



DCBl.IN. 



Royal Dublin Society, .\pril 24. — Prof. J. Mallet Purser in 

 the chair. The following communications were read: — Dr. E. 

 J. .M'Weeney on a temporary variation in the quality of the 

 \'artry water. [Tliis is the \\a!er-sup])ly of the city of Dublin.] — 

 Dr. l).avid Hepburn (of Edinburgh I, on the i)apillary rid'^es on 

 the hands and feet of monkeys and men. The material for this 

 [aper was supplied tiy the anthropological laboratory of Trinity 

 College. Dublin, and the paper was communicated by Prof. D. 

 I. Cunningham, F.R..S. — Mr. Walter V.. Adeney, on the course 

 and nature of fermentative changes in natural and polluted 

 waters, and in arlitlcial solutions, as indicated by the composi- 

 tion of the gases in solution. 



May 22. — Mr. Thomas Preston in the chair. — The following 

 communications were presented : — Prof Emerson Reynolds, 

 F.R.S., note on the spectrum of argon. — .Mr. W. K. -Vdeney, on 

 the chemical examination of organic matters in river water. — 

 .Mr. Richard \. Moss, on the preparation of helium. —Mr. Moss 

 also exhibiled a simple form of apparatus for the distillation of 

 mercury in vacuo ; and Dr. W. Frazer showed some photographs 

 of the natives of Formosa. 



June 26. — Dr. J. Joly, F.R.S. , in the chair. — The following 

 papers were read: — NIr. Thomas Preston, on the rectilinear 

 propagation of light. — Dr. J. Joly, on photography in natural 

 colours. — Sir J William Dawson, F. RS., note on a paper on 

 *' Eozoonal struolm'e of the ejcctetl blocks of Monte Somma,'' 

 by Dr. H. J. Johnston- Lavis and Dr. J. W. Gregory, and reply 

 to the note by the last-named authors. — Dr. ('•. Johnstone 

 Sloney, F.R.S., criticism of the kinetic theory of ga.ses regarded 

 as illustrating nature. — Dr. E. J. M'Weeney, further observa- 

 tions on the Vartry water. — Dr. M. Weeney exhibited cultivations 

 of rhoma Bcltc, a fungus that produces a disea.se of the mangold 

 wurzel. 



P.XRIS. 



Academy of Sciences, July 29.— M. Marey in the chair. — 

 On the presence of water vapour in the atmosphere of the planet 

 Mars, by M. J. Janssen. Mr. W. W. Campbell has recently 

 isserled that the atmosphere of Mars does not contain water 



NO. 1345, VOL. 52] 



vapour, and has requested further details concerning the authors 

 observations, from which the pre.sence of water vapour had been 

 supposed to be proved. These details are now supiilied ; the 

 author particularly points out that his Etna observations were 

 carried out under exce]>tionally favourable conditions, and that 

 the definite and convincing evidence they afforded was confirmed 

 by observations carried out at Palermo and at .Marseilles. — On 

 groups of substitutions of the same order and degree, by XL 

 Levavasseur. — On algebraical surfaces admitting of a continuous 

 group of internal biraticmal transformations, by MM. G. Castel- 

 nuovo and F". F^nriques. — On algebraical machines, by M. 

 Leonardo Torres. — X'ibrations of the tuning-fork in a magnetic 

 field, by M. Maurain. — New photographs of lightning flashes, 

 by M. N. Piltschikoff. .Several types of lightning tiash are 

 defined, and the dimensions are given for ceitain flashes; for 

 instance, a photograph taken during a storm at Odessa on June 

 13, shows a luminous band 075 mm. wide, caused by a flash at 

 a greater distance than 10 kilometres ; the actual width of the 

 flash was therefore more than 62 metres. A new voltaic cell, 

 by M. -Morisot. The cell consists of a carbon pole immersed in 

 I : 4 sulphuric acid saturated with potassium bichromate and a 

 zinc pole within a porous cell containing concentrated caustic 

 soda solution (sp. gr. i'25), this cell being .separated 

 from the depolarising acid solution by a sec(md larger 

 porous cell containing dilute caustic soda (sp. gr. I '05). The 

 E. M.F". of this cell is to begin with 2 '5 volts, and remains above 

 2"4 volts during at least ten hours of uninterrupted action, and 

 with variable external resistance remains constant. The inter- 

 mediate bath of dilute alkali diminishes the action across the 

 porous diaphragm between the soda and the sulphuric and 

 chromic acids without materially increasing the resistance. The 

 zinc is less attacked than with an acid bath, and may readily be 

 brought into good condition after long use by a short immersion 

 in acid. — Action of aniline on mercurous iodide, by M. Maurice 

 Francois. The aniline decomposes the mercurous iodide w ith the 

 formation of the substance diphenylmercurodiammonium iotlide 

 (CsH,NH.^)._,HgI;, and metallic mercury. The reaction is in- 

 complete and exactly similar to the action of water on bismuth 

 sulphate or mercuric sulphate. The boiling saturated aniline 

 .solution (Hssolves mercurous iodide and redeposits it on cooling 

 in the crystalline form. — .Vction of nitric peroxide on campho- 

 lenic acid, by MM. .V. Behal and Blaise. — On the products of 

 the condensation of isovaleric aldehyde, by M. L. Kohn. — (.)n 

 the estimation of boric acid, by .MM. H. Jay and Du])a.squier. 

 The boric acid is distilled over into soda by the aid of methyl 

 alcohol used continuously and the residual soda determined by 

 titration. — On the elimination of linte among those aft'ected with 

 rickets, by .M. Oechsner de Coninck. — On the utility of injections 

 of oxysparteme before ana;sthesia by means of chloroform, by 

 .MM. P. Langlois and G. .Maurange. The injection, an hour 

 before the operation, of 4 to 5 cgr. of sparteme or 310 4 cgr. 

 of oxysparteine, together with I cgr. of morphine, gave rapid 

 naicosis easily maintained with little chloroform and a regular 

 pulse, energetic even when the respiration became superficial. — 

 Influence of toxines on jjrogeny, by M. .\. Charrin. Bacterial 

 poisons derived from the mother, like those introduced otherwise 

 into the system, retard the growth of infants l)y rendering 

 assimilation less perfect. — On the structure of the ectoderm and 

 of the nervous system of parasitic Plathelminthes (Trcmatodes 

 et Cestodes), by M. Leon Jamnies. — Contributions to the 

 euibryogeny of simple ,\.scidians, by .M. Antoine Pizon. — <._)n 

 the composition of the monazite sands of Carolina, by M. 

 Boudouard. — Discovery of gigantic remains of fossil elephants, 

 made by M. Le HIanc, in " la ballastieredeTilloux (Charente)," 

 by M. .Marcellin B<.ule. 



Bkki.in. 

 Physical Society, June 14. — Prof, du Bois Reymond, 

 President, in the chair. — Dr. F. Kurll)aum gave an account of 

 his determination of the unit of light made in conjunction with 

 Prof. Lummer. The unit W'as based im the light entitted by 

 white-hot platinum foil. Since the radiant energy varies with 

 the temperature, it was necessary to keep the latter constant for 

 a prolonge<l jieriod, and to be able to re-establish it at any time. 

 This result was arrived at bolometrically by measuring the ratio 

 of the total radiant energy from the glowing foil to the radiation 

 taking place across an absorbing metiium. This ratio is de- 

 pendent upon the temperature of the radiating body, and pro- 

 vides a trustworthy measure of its temperature. It was nece.ssary 

 to find some covering for the bolimieter which should absorb all 

 rays as uniformly ;is possible ; after many experiments a layer of 



