December 27, 1894] 



NATURE 



2'5 



ascertained species, belonging to sixteen genera, omitting the 

 genera A)uislroeladus and Lophita, which he regards as jastly 

 excluded from the order. Notable species are the Sil tree of 

 India \Sliorea lohista), great forests of which extend along the 

 foot of the Himalayas and in Central India, the Eng tree 

 {^Diptcrccarpus hil'iyciilaltis) of similar growth in Burma, and 

 others found in Cochin China and Borneo. In the discussion 

 which followed, an extended ctitici?m was oftered by Mr. 

 Thiselton Dyer, who had paid special attention to this order of 

 trees, and who, admitting the soundness of the author's views, 

 considered his exposition of ihem most valuable. The paper 

 was illustrated by lantern-slides showing the chief peculiarities 

 of structure in the flowers and fruit. 



Royal Meteorological Society, December 19. — Mr. R. 

 Inwards, President, in the chair. — Mr. II. Southall read a paper 

 on floods in the West Midlands, in which he gave an interesting 

 account of the great floods which have occurred in the rivers 

 Severn, Wye, Usk, and .Vvon. lie has collected a valuable 

 record of the floods on the Wye at Ross, which he arranges 

 in three classes, viz. (l) primaiy or highest of all, those of 

 14 feet 6 inches and above ; (2) secondary, those with a height 

 of 12 to I4.\ feet ; and (3) teitiary, those «ith a height of 10 to 

 12 feet. The dales of the floods above 14 feet 6 inches are as 

 follows: 1770, November 16 and 18 ; 1795, February tl and 

 12; 1809, January 27; 1S24, November 24; 183:, February 

 10 ; 1852, February 8 and November 12. The height of the 

 recent flood on November 15, 1894, was 14 feet 3 inches, which 

 was higher than any flood since November 1852. The flood on 

 the Avon at Bath on November 15, 1S94, is believed to have 

 been the highest on record. — Mr. R. H. Scott, F.R.S., gave 

 an account of the proceedings of the International Meteoro- 

 logical Committee at Upsala in August last, with special refer- 

 ence to their recommendations on the classification of clouds 

 and the issue of a cloud atlas (see Nature, December 20). — 

 .\ paper by -Mr. S. C. Knott was also read, giving the results 

 of meteorological observations made at Mojanga, Madagascar, 

 during 1892 lo 1894. 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, November 27. — Prof. Copeland, Astro- 

 nomer-Royal for Scotland, Vice-President, in the chair. — 

 Prof. M'Kendrick read a paper on observations with the 

 phonograph, with experimental illustrations. He has devoted 

 great atttniion to the development of the instrument. He 

 uses very large conical metallic resonators, and has succeeded 

 largely in getting rid of the nasal sound of the instrument, so 

 that part-songs and concerted instrumental pieces can be 

 reproduced with considerable accuracy, and can be made 

 audible throughout a very large room. He exhibited, by means of 

 a lantern, a large number of photographs of the surface of the 

 wax drum, pointing out the peculiariiies of the record 

 corresponding to various qualities of instrumental or vocal 

 notes and chords. 



December 3. — Prof. Geikie, Vice-President, in the chair. 

 — Dr. John Smith communicated notes on a peculiarity it 

 the form of the mammalian tooth. Roughly speaking, the 

 general appearance of the mammalian tooth is that of a cone, 

 flattened to some extent, and twisted about its axis to a greater 

 or less degree, and then bent so as to form a port ion of a circle. 

 If this bending takes place to a large extent, it is not easy to 

 recognise the axial twist. The author showed that the charac- 

 teristic is always present, being easily seen in the strong 

 spiral of the narwhal's tusk, or the remarkably twisted teeth of 

 the Meioploilon described by Sir William Turner in the Reports 

 of the Challenger expedition, and being almost unrecognisable 

 in the human tooth. The axis of the twist is directed back- 

 wards and inwards from the face of the tooth, and it is this 

 characteristic which enables dentists to distinguish teeth from 

 each side of the mouth. — Mr. Gregg Wilson read a paper on 

 the development of the Miillerian duct of amphibians. 

 He contends that this duct does not arise from splitting of the 

 segmental duct, but is developed in the same way as the 

 Miillerian duct of the higher mammals. — Dr. George Hay, 

 Pittsburg, submitted an account of a new method of correcting 

 courses at sea. His apparatus consists of two superposed 

 compass cards, whose north points are set at an angular 

 distance apart which is i qiial to the magnetic variation. The 

 true course being read oft on one, the corresponding point of 

 the other gives the compass course. Simple as this arrange, 

 ment is, Dr. Hay asserts that he has never known it to bg 



employed at sea. — Prof. Tait read a note on the constitution 

 of volatile liquids. His equation, deduced from the graph of 

 the Cliallenger results, applies with great accuracy to non- 

 volatile liquids, such as water, at ordinary temperatures and 

 at pressures up to 3000 atmospheres. It does not apply 

 with quite so great accuracy at the lower pressures to such 

 liquids at or near their boiling points, and it is still less 

 accurate in this respect when applied to volatile liquids. 

 Prof. Tait suggests that this may be due to the existence, 

 in the liquid, of dissolved gases or of vapour. — Prof. Tait 

 also read a note on the isothermals of ethylene." His 

 equation enables one to calculate, with great accuracy, the 

 pressure, at a given temperature and volume, in the neighbour- 

 hood of the critical point, from Amagal's observations ; but the 

 volume, at a temperatu-e and pressure in the neighbourhood of 

 the critical point, given by .Vmagat's observations, cannot be 

 calculated, with any approach to accuracy, from the equation. 

 This is due to the excessive rapidity with wh'ch the diflerence 

 of the volumes in the liquid and vapourous states diminishes with 

 increase of temperature as the critical point is approximated to. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, December 17. — Annual public 

 meeting. — M. Maurice I o-wy in the chair. — The proceedings 

 were commenced by an address, delivered by the President. 

 The past year was referred to as a period of slow growth and 

 con>olidation of knowledge rather than as being characterised 

 by any very brilliant discoveries. The members and associates 

 deceased during the year — MM. Edmond Fremy, Brown- 

 Sequard, Mallard, Duchartre, Ferdinand de Le5sep~, General 

 Fave, MM. Hermann von Helmholiz and P. Tcehbichef — 

 were referred to appreciatively, and their influence on the pro- 

 gress of science pointed out. The system of prizes given by the 

 Academy was referred to at the conclusion of the address, which 

 was followed by the reading of the awards by M. Berthelo*. In 

 Geometry the grand prize for the mathematical sciences was 

 awarded to Dr. Julius Weingarten ; honourable mention was 

 accorded to M. C. Guichard. The Bordin prize was adjudged 

 to M. Paul Painlevc'( Analytical Mechanics), MM. Liouville and 

 Elliot receiving honourable mention. The Francoeur prize was 

 obtained by M. J. Collet ; the Poncelet prize by M. H. Laurent, 

 for his mathematical works. In Mechanics the extraordinary 

 prize of 6coo francs was awarded to (i) M. Lebbond (2000 

 fr.), for his works on electricity ; (2) Commandant Gossot (2000 

 fr.). for the determination of the velocity of projectiles by means 

 of sound phenomena ; (3) Commandant Jacob (i50ofr. ), for his 

 study of the ballistic effects of the new powders ; (4) M. 

 Souillagouet (500 fr.), for his ." Recueil de Tables du point 

 auxiliaire." The Montyon prize fell to M. Bertrand de 

 Fontvioland, for his works on the resistance of materials. The 

 Plumey prize was equally divided between M. .\nd'e Le 

 Chaielier and M. J. .\uscher. M. Autonne received the 

 Dalmont prize (3000 fr. triennially) for his works on rralysis. 

 In connection with the same prize, M. Maurice d'Ocigne 

 was awarded a supplementary prize, M. Pochet exceptionally 

 honourable mention, and M. Willotte very honourable mention. 

 In Astronomy the LaLande prize was adjudged to M. Javelle 

 for his researches on nebulcc. The Damoisean prize, for per- 

 fecting methods of calculation of pertui bations of minor planets, 

 went to M. Brendel. The Valz prize was awarded to M. 

 Coniel for work on small planets, and the Janssen prize to 

 Prof. George Hale (soLir photographic observation ). In 

 Statistics the Montyon prize was adjudged to M. Boutin, a 

 supple:nentary prize to Dr. Faidhorbe, and honourable men'ion 

 to Dr. A. Cartier and Dr. Tastiore. In Chemistry the Jecker 

 prize was divided between M.M. Barbier, Chabrie, P. .-Vdam, 

 and Meslans. In Mineralogy and Geology the VaiUant prize was 

 not awarded, as no memoir had been presented. In Botany the 

 judges for the Desmazicres prize awarded an "encounagement," 

 to M. Sappin-Troufly. The Montagne prize was accorded lo 

 M. Husnot for his publication on Mosses ; Brother Joseph 

 Hcribaud received a second prize for his " Dialomaceje of 

 Auvergne." In Anatomy and Zoology the Thore prize to 

 M. Cuenot for work on the physiology of insects. The Savigny 

 prize to M. M.iyerEymar for researches in conchology. The 

 Da Gama Machado prize was reserved, although the Commis- 

 sion gave high praise to work submitted by Dr. L. Phisalix 

 and M. L. Joubin. In Medicine and Surgery the Montyon 

 prize to (l) M. Felizet for a treatise on "inguinal hernia of 

 infancy, (2) M. Laborde for his work on " the physiological 



NO. 



13 13, VOL. 51] 



