6o2 



NATURE 



[October 17, 1895 



l>eautiful phenomena describeti. The arrangemenl eniploye<l to 

 obtain photographs of drop-splashes, and some of the resuhs, 

 were shown in Nature of July 5, 1894. 



Dr. E. Ri'DOLPH, who has given much attention to sub- 

 marine earthquakes and eruptions, has recently contributed a 

 second valuable memoir on "Seebeben" to the AV/Vr.j^c zttr 

 Geophysik. It contains accounts of more than two hundred 

 additional shocks, and also a small map of the seismic zone of 

 the Equatorial Atlantic. The memoir concludes with a useful 

 list of questions for the observation of submarine earthquakes. 



M. DK FoNVlELl.E has translated into French Lord Salisbury's 

 Oxford .\ddress to the British .Association, and M.M. Gauthier- 

 \'illars et Fils have just published the translation in their .series 

 of Actualitcs Scientifiques, under the title " Les Limites 

 Actuelles de notre Science." The address is prefaced by a long 

 introduction, in which the translator describes the circumstances 

 under which it was given ; and throughout the pages there are 

 numerous notes explanatory of points, the importance of which 

 might be overlooked by French readers. 



.\ NEW volume in the .\ide nicmoire Series, published jointly 

 by (lauthier-Villars and Masson, is "Polarisation et Sacchari- 

 metrie," by D. .Sidersky. The volume is a handy aid to the 

 study of )K>larisation and its numerous applications in analytical 

 chemistry. The first part contains a description of the pro- 

 ;>erties of polarised light, a table of the specific rotatory jwwers of 

 various optically active substances, and explanations of polarising 

 apparatus. The second part of the book is devoted to the ap- 

 plications of the constant of rotation to the (juantitative analysis 

 of sugars, alkaloids, &c., together with a number of tables 

 which will facilitate the practical a)>plication of the pnwc.sses 

 described. 



Bv the recent publication of two nuutbers of the Eiux 

 .Vatiiralist, the Essex Field Club has brought their journal up 

 to date. The first number (November- December 1894) includes 

 |)apers on " Izaak Walton's Association with the Lea," by 

 J. E. Marling, the "Geolc^' of the Lea \alley," by T. V'. 

 Holmes, and on " Navestock in Olden D.ays," by Rev. .S. 

 Coode Horc. The second number (January-June 1895 1, 

 contains a paper, by Prof. .Meldola, on the " Eastern Boundary 

 Stones of Waltham Forest,'' the Presidential address (in which 

 the jMrt played by the Club in the development of technical 

 education in the county is explained), and a series of three 

 papers, by .Messrs. T. V. Holmes, E. T. Newton, and W. .\I. 

 Webb, on the section in brick-earth at Chelmsford in which 

 mammoth remains were recently found. 



Several interesting papers are contained in the part of the 

 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, just publishetl 

 (vol. XX. pp. 385-480). In ".\ Sketch of I jikc- Dwelling Re- 

 search," Dr. Roljcrt Munro shows that over a wide geographical 

 area, extending from Ireland to liosnia, and from North 

 Germany to Italy, the habit of constructing lake- and marsh- 

 ■Iwellings was prevalent in former limes. Prof. .Sir William 

 Turner, F.R.S., has a |>aiK-r "On M. Dulmis' description of 

 remains found in Java, named by him PilAciaiil/irofiis (rectus ; 

 with remarks on so-callcil transitional forms Iwtween .Ajxis and 

 Man." A imper on drops, by Mr. J. B. llannay, summarises 

 the work of various oljservers on the formation of drops, and the 

 variation with density and chemical composition of the liqui<l 

 forming them, and gives the author's own investigations u|X)n 

 the subject. There are also in the Proceedings Prof. T. R. 

 Eraser's two |a|)ers on " -Antivcnine," and a pa|)erby Prof. J. C. 

 I'.wart "On the Dorsal Branches of the Cranial and Spinal 

 Nerve* of Elasmobranchs," 



TiiR fourth edition, revised and enlarged, of Dr. Carl 

 < lunthcr's " Bakleriologie " has Ijcen published by ( leorg Thicme, 



NO- 1355. VOL. 52] 



Leipzig. We noticed the third edition in March of last year 

 (vol. xlix. p. 455), and the present issue sustains the commenda- 

 tion then given, viz. that " the volume is undoubtedly one of the 

 best introductions to the study of Iractcriolog)' which has yet 

 been produced." Another new edition which we welcome is the 

 " Cours Elementaire de Manipulations de Physique,"' by Prof. .A. 

 Witz, published by i;.iuthier-\'illars. The book contains a 

 descriptive course of work covering the fundamental principles 

 and laws of physical science. Each experiment is divided up 

 into four sections, as follows : first, the theory of the exiwriment 

 is stated ; then the apparatus is described ; the experimental 

 operations form the subject of another section, and the results of 

 observations are given in the fourth. Though the book is here 

 and there deficient in the details required liy students of practical 

 physics, it is altogether a useful companion to the physical 

 laboratory. 



The Catalogue of the Libraryof the Royal Geographical Society, 

 comijiled by Dr. H. R. Mill, and lately published, is a very full 

 and valuable index to the literature of geography. The Catalogue 

 contains the titles of all works in the possession of the Royal 

 Geographical Society published up to the close of 1S93. The 

 entries (amounting to as many as iS,CKX)) are arranged in four 

 divisions. The first division, which runs into 521 of the 833 

 Images, is a general alphabetical authors catalogue ; the second 

 comprises collections of voyages and travels, arranged in alpha- 

 betical order under authors' names, and containing a brief 

 analysis of the contents of each volume : in the third division, 

 Government, anonymous, and other miscellaneous publications 

 are arranged geograjihically ; while the fourth consists of a list 

 of transactions and periodical publications, arranged in a similar 

 manner according to the place of publication. With such a 

 comjirehensive classification, it is easy to find the works of each 

 author, and to refer to the literature concerning different 

 divisions of the earth. A valuable supplement to the Catalogue 

 will be the subject index now being pre|)arc<l, and in which the 

 principal contents of all the geograpliical books and periodicals 

 belonging to the Society will be cl.issified. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens during 

 the past week include a Macaque Monkey {Maciiciis cyiio- 

 iiio/giis, 9 ) from India, presented by the Rev. Sidney \'atcher ; a 

 Crested Porcupine (Hyslrix crislala) from East .Xfrica, presented 

 by Captain B. L. .Sclater ; three Common Rheas (A'/iea 

 ainericana) from South America, presented by Mr. Robert 

 CJiinther ; four Rhomb-marked Snakes (Psaiiimofhylax ilnmi- 

 heatus), three Crossed Snakes (Psaminofhis cnici/er). two 

 Rough-keeled Snakes {Dasypellis scahrci), a Smooth-bellied 

 Snake {Hoiiialosoina /nlri.\), sv Robben Island Snake {Civw«t//.7 

 J>liocariiiii) from .South .Africa, presented by Mr. J. E. .Matcham ; 

 a Bt)nnet Monkey (Maaiciis siinciis) from India, a ^'ellow 

 Baboon (Cynoccplialns hahoiiin) from West .\frlca, a Rose 

 Mill I'arrakeet, (P/a/yccrciis iximius)ixom .Australia, deposited; 

 three Prevost's Squirrels (Sciiiriis prcvosli) from Malacca, 

 purchased. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 The Oiiservatorv on Mont Bi.ASr. — Two causes com- 

 bined 10 induce Dr. Janssen to undertake his recent ascent of 

 .Mont Blanc. First, he was anxious to be convinced of the 

 perfect sifely of the new telescope which has lieen conveyed to 

 the observatory : and secon<l, the meteorograjih had ceased to 

 perform its various im|x)rlant duties (Co/////<j>(7;fl'«.(, October 7). 

 It is intended to mount the telescope, which has an aperture of 

 thirteen inches, with its axis parallel lo thai o( the earth, and a 

 minor nearly t«enlyfour inches in diameter will be employed 

 lo reflect the light of the heavenly bodies into the telescope ; the 

 mirror and telescope «ill have a common movement, so that the 

 relative positi<ins of the stars will not change on account of the 

 diurnal motion. The meteorograph was foimd to be some- 



