540 



NA TURE 



[September :;, 1894 



for indexing current periodical chemical publications by inter- 

 national co-operation. It is extremely gratifying to record that 

 the necessity of international cooperation has since been 

 suggested by so weighty an authority as the Royal Society 

 (London). That splendid monument of the hioliography of 

 science, "The Catalogue of -Scientific Papers," published by 

 the Royal Society, has failed to satisfy the requirements of 

 students in science, owing to the lack of a subject-index to the 

 prodigious material classified under the names of the authors ; 

 but according to a circular is-'ued by the Royal Society in April, 

 " it is hoped that a key to the volumes already published may 

 be eventually issued." The Royal Society further announce'; 

 its intention of continuing the " Catalogue of .Scientific Papers" 

 after Jan. I, 1900, on an enlarged and improved plan, with 

 the aid of international co-operation, and asks for suggestions 

 as to the l«st methods of inaugurating such a scheme. 



Although this report deals with chemistr)-, it may be proper 

 to mention here an important undertaking in another branch of 

 science, as it affords an additional instance of the progress now 

 making towards international cooperation in bibliography. At 

 the Washington meeting of the International Congress of 

 Geologists a committee on the Bibliography of Geology was 

 appointed for the purpose of preparing a list of the geologic 

 bibliographies now in existence. This work is now approach- 

 ing completion under the direction of M. Emmanuel de 

 M.argerie (Paris), the Secretary of the International Committee. 



-American botanists also are showing their appreciation of 

 bibliographical work. A committee of the Torrey Botanical 

 Club publishes in the Bulletin of the Club an " Index to recent 

 Literature relating to American Botany." This Index was 

 begun in January 1S94, and is continued each month ; the 

 arrangement is alphabetically by authors. 



At the Chicago Congress of Chemists a committee was 

 appointed to bring about the organisation of a triennial (or 

 quinquennial) international meeting of chemists. Prof. Frank 

 \V. Clarke, one of the members of your committee, is chair- 

 man of that body. Perhaps the future World's Chemical 

 Congresses may arrange the publication of an exhaustive Index 

 to the Chemical Literature of the World by international co- 

 operation, cither in accordance with the scheme proposed by 

 your chairman in his address at Chicago, or in some more 

 efficient way. 



Thus, it is evident that immense progress is being made in the 

 compilation of indexes and bibliographies in many branches of 

 science, in both Europe and America ; it is to be hoped that 

 American chemists, who have been in some measure pioneers 

 in the matter, will feel stimulated to still greater exertions 

 than before. 



The chairman has a limited number of copies of the Tenth 

 Report, containing a list of forty-five Indexes to Chemical 

 Literature, which he will be glad to send to applicants. Com- 

 munications should be addressed to the Chairman, at the 

 University Club, New York City. 



■H. Carri.sgton Bolton, Chairman, 

 F. W. Clarke, 



Albert R. Leicds (Id Europe), 

 Committee, .Alexis A. Julien, 

 John W. Langley, 

 Albert B. Prescott (in Europe), 

 [Alfred Ti;ckerman. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, September 17. — M. Lnwy in the 

 chair. — .V note was presented by M. P'aye concerning the 

 International Geodetic Association at Innspruck, and intimating 

 the probability ol a certain number of geologists being requested 

 to jom its permanent Commission. — Shootmg-stars observed in 

 Italy in August 1894 ; a note by P. Francois Denza. The 

 numbers of shooting-stars olwerved at some four-andtwenly 

 ttalions scattered all over Italy are recorded. The swarm was 

 thickeron ihenightof 10 II than on other nights. By observa- 

 tions made at the Vatican, the principal railiant point had the 

 co-ordinalei a = 45', 8 = 54°. — f)n the problems of dynamic; 

 of which the differential equations allow an infinitesimal trans- 

 formation, by M. P. Slackel. An infinitesimal transformation 

 I'/, which allows « - I differential equations between the inde- 

 pendent varialilcs /,, / , /» which determine the posi- 



lion of the mobile system, does not exist when the variables 



/,,/s, . . . , /n p.re so chosen that : (1) The function of the 



forces n depends only on t.,, /■^ //, ; (2) the expression 



of the acting force is reduced to 



if-'' 2 fit 



ih'U 



../.,) 



di ,u 



I is an arbitrary constant, and the coefficients i^u depend only 

 on the arguments f:,, ^3, . . . , /„. Then the iniiiiitesimal 



transformation P^has the canonic form P/= ^^ — These condi- 



ditions are necessary and sufficient. — On the linear equations 

 from the derived partials of the second order, by M. A. Petot. — 

 f)n the mixture of liquids, by M. J. de Kowalski. Ihe author 

 has endeavoured to obtain experimental confirmation of Van 

 der Walls' theory of the niiscibility of liquids if suliicient 

 pressures be applied. Negative results only were obtained in 

 the cases of isobutyl alcohol and water and etlier and water. 

 The system ethyl alcohol : isobutyl alcohol : water with a blue 

 colouring matter, completely mixing at 22 7, Ljave at 19' 5 

 mixture at a pressure of SSo to 900 atmospheres. -\t 19 the 

 same system showed no signs of becoming homoi^eneous, even 

 under a pressure much greater than 1000 atmospheres. — On the 

 presence of Thyllcs gommeuus in the vine, by M. Louis 

 Mangin. — On a vine disease caused by AurcohasiJiiim vilis, by 

 M. P. Eloste. The disease known as the " maladie rouge" 

 has been widely disseminated this year. The author has found 

 the mycelium of .4iin\>/'asiWiiim :i/is in the altered parts of the 

 leaves, but he has not yet found its fructifications, not is its 

 parasitism completely proved ; a full description of the progress 

 of the disease in an attacked plant is given. — .\ waterspout at 

 sea, by M. Genot. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Books.— Fertilisers .ind Fciling-StufTs : Dr. B. Dyer (C. Lockwood).— 

 Proceedings of the Roy-il Physical Society, Session iS9i-94 (Edinburgh).— 

 University College, Bristol; Cileod.ir lor the Session 1534-95 (Bristol, 

 .-Vrrowsmith).- Newfoundland as it is in 18^4 : Rev. M. H.arvey (K. Paul) — 

 Lehrhuch der Bakteriologischen untersucluing und Diacnostik ; Dr. L. 

 Heim (Stuttgart. Enke).— The Collected Mathematical Papers of .Vrlhur 

 Cayley, Sc.D., F.R.S., Vol. vii. (Cambridge University Pre«). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Works of Henry J. S.Smith. By Major P. A. 



MacMahon, F.R.S 5'7 



Abstract Geometry. By A. E. H. L 520 



Three Great Empires 52* 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Webb : "Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes" 523 

 Scherren : "Ponds and Rock- Pools, with Hints on 

 Collecting for, and the Management of, the Micro- 

 Aquarium " 523 



Harvey : " Newfoundland as it is in 1894 ; .X Hand- 

 book and Tourist's Guide " • . . 5-3 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Logicof Weismannism.— J. T. Cunningham 525 

 " Darwinism is not Evolution." — A. A W. H. . . 524 

 Extraordinary Phenomenon. — Admiral Sir Eras- 

 mus Ommanney, F.R.S 524 



.-;Krf//,2,;H>-;/(j. — Edward T. Browne 524 



Science in the Medical Schools.— Prof. H. Alleyne 



Nicholson 5^4 



On the Doctrine of Discontinuity of Fluid Motion, 

 in Connection with the Resistance against a 

 Solid moving through a Fluid. Hy Lord Kelvin, 



P.R.S 524 



Science, in School and after School. Py H. G. 



Wells 525 



With Prof Heim in the Eastern Alps. HyH. M.C. 526 



Notes 527 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Accur.acy of Astronomical Observations .... .S3' 



Liverpool Observatory 53' 



1 he Variable K I.)ra; 53» 



The Cleaning of Object-glasses 53' 



On the Magnitude of the Solar System. I'.y Prof. 



William Harkness 53* 



The Metcor[and Meteor Streak of August 26, 1894. 



{///in/ratf,/.) liy W. F. Denning 537 



The Indexing of Chemical Literature 539 



Societies ana Academies 54° 



Books Receivfd 54° 



NO. 1300, VOL. 50] 



