January 24, 1895 



NA TURE 



A I 



nett. The Pellitory of medicine (Anacydus pyrethruni) con- 

 tains an active sulistance, which they name pellitorine ; it closely 

 resembles pi^jerovatine, and is possilily identical with it. — The 

 determination of some high temperature freezing-points by 

 means of platinum-resistance pyrometers, by C. T. Ueycock 

 and F. il. Neville. The authors give the results of freezing- 

 point dcterminali ins of a number of metals and salts. — The 

 preparation of adipic acid and some of its derivatives, by \V. 

 II. Ince. Contrary to the statements of Arppe and Malaguti, 

 adipic acid is not producd in the action of nitric acid on sebacic 

 acid or beef suet. The author has prepared o-monobromadipic 

 acid in a state of purity, and has obtained o-hydroxyadipic acid. 

 — The action of hydrogen chloride on the oxides of calcium, 

 baiium, and magnesium, by V. II. Veley. Dry hydrogen 

 chloride does not act on quick-lime or magnesia at ordinary 

 temperatures ; at higher lemperatures action occurs. Baryta 

 is acted on at all temperatures by the dry gas. — Latent heat of 

 fusion, by H. Crompton. — .Metallic tartrasenites, by G. G. 

 Henderson and A. R. Ewing. Arsenious oxide dissolves in hot 

 solutions of acid tartrates, giving tartrasenites ; the sodium salt, 

 CjlIjOgAsONa, aiHoO, is stable and crystalline. — Note on 

 the inleracti.:n ol hyjrogen sulphide and bismuth haloid com- 

 pounds, by M. M. P. Muir and E. M. Eagles. 



Zoological Society, January 15. ^Dr. St. George Mivart, 

 K.R..S., Vice-Presideiii, in the chair. - Mr. P. Chalmers 

 Milchell exhibited and gave an account ot a tibia and other 

 bones of an extinct bird of the genus .-Kpyomis from Ceniral 

 Madagascar, wtiich hid been lent to him lor exhibition by Mr. 

 Joseph H. Kenn. Wi.h these bones wasassociated a skull of a 

 spet.ies ot Jlippopotanius. — Prof. G. B. Howes exhibited and 

 made remarks on the photograph of an embiyo of Ornilho- 

 rhynihus. — The Secretary exhii i ed, on bfhalf of Mr. K. 

 I.ydckkcr, a lif.-sized drawing of /Jiiiriis zinlceti, a neiv and 

 remaikably small furm of fl)ing S([iiirrel ffi^m West .Vfrica, 

 recently destriled at Berlin. — Lord Lilf n-d sent, for exhibition, 

 the skill! fa duck, beii;ved to be a hybrid "etween the Mallard 

 (Anas l/Dsckas) and tlie 'iesX (Qiieri/ncJitla iricca), that had been 

 caught 111 a decoy in Nurihampionihire. — Tne Rev. T. R. R. 

 Stcbbing exhibiieil a specimen of a species of Peripatus from 

 Antigua. — Mr. Frederick Chapman gave an account of some 

 ForaminifcM olitamed by the Royal Indian Marine Survey's 

 s.s. htvcitii^alor from the Arabian S^-a near the Laccadive 

 Islands. 1 11c auihor described the forms fjund in the samples 

 sent him. .\, many as 277 species and varieties were 

 enumerated, some ol which were new to science. .Several of 

 the species, which were here recorded f )r the first time from 

 recent soundings, had been previously known from the Pliocene 

 deposits of Kai N'icobar. One of the forms found in these 

 recent deposits, viz., Antphistt'^ina yadiata (F. and M.), was 

 described t)y the autr.or as showing the presence of initr^eptal 

 canals, a sliucture which had hitherto appeared to bt? restricted 

 to Nummulres and allied forms. Examples of embryonic 

 forms of 1 he same .'•pecies were also noted as being present in 

 the peripheral chariib*rs of the adult shell. — -V communication 

 was reaii Irom Mi. P. R. Uhler containing an enumeration of 

 the llemiptcra-llomopiera of the Isl.ind of St. Vincent, West 

 Indies. This pajier hati been based on specimens submitted to 

 Mr. Uhler by the joint Committee of the Royal Society and 

 Biiti,h Association for the exploration of ihe Lesser .Viitilles. — A 

 communication from Mr. 1'. D. A. Cockerell contained a 

 descii.'lion of a new species of the family Co.ciil/e belonging to 

 Lichlciiiia, a genus new to the fauna of the Nearctic region. 

 'Ihe species was nained /.. lycii. — Mr. Sclater read some notes 

 on the lecent occurrence ol the IJaibary Sheep in Fgypt. .V 

 iVick of these sheep had vis ted the eastern bank of ihe Nile 

 above W.idy Il.vlfa in the summer of 1890. — .\ second paper 

 by Mr. Sclater contained so-ne notes on the recent breeding of 

 the Surinam Water Toad {Pipa aiiiciicaiia) in the Society's 

 reptile-house. 



Entomological Society, January 16. — The sixty-second an- 

 nual meeting ; .\Ir. llenryjohn Elwes, President, in the chair. — 

 Auabstiaci ol thetreasurcr'saccounts, showing agood b lance in 

 the Society's lavour, having been reail by Mr. W. F. H. Bland 

 ford, one of the auditor-, the secretary, Mr. II. Goss, read the 

 report of the Council. It was then announced that the follow- 

 ing gentlemen hid been elect dl as officers ami Council lor 

 1895 : — Picident, Prof. Raphael Meldola, F. R. S. ; treasurer, 

 Mr. Robert Mcl.achlan, F. R.S. ; secretaries, Mr. Herbert Goss 

 and the Rev. Canon Fowler; librarian, Mr. George C. Cham- 



NU. 13 17, VOL. 51] 



pion : and as other members of the Council, -Mr. George T . 

 BethuneBaker, Mr. Walter F. II. Blandford, Dr Frederick 

 A. Dixey, .Mr. Henry f. Elwes, Mr. Charles J. (Jahan, Prof. 

 Edward B. Poulion, F.R.S., Dr. David Sharp, F.R.S., and 

 the Right Hon. Lord Walsingham, F. R.S. It was also 

 announced that Prof. Meldola, the new President, would 

 appoint Lord Walsingham, Mr. Henry J. Elwes, and Prof. 

 Edward B. Poulton, Vic<"- Presidents for the session 1895-96 

 The outgoing President then delivered an interesting address 

 on the geographical distri'mtion of Lepidoptera. He remarked 

 that though a great deal had been written of late years on the 

 geographical distribution of plants, mammals, birds, fishes, 

 and reptiles, comparatively little had yet been done by ento- 

 mologists to show how far the natural divisions of the earth's 

 surface which have been established for other classes were 

 applicable to insects. Perhaps the proportion of known as 

 compared with unknown inects was still too small, and the 

 classification of the known species still too uncertain, to allow 

 anything like the same methods to be applied to insects that 

 had been used for mammals by Dr. W^allace, F. R.S., for birds 

 by Dr. Sclater, F. R..S. , and Dr. Bawdier .Sharpe, .Tnd for 

 plants by Sir J. Hooker, F.R S., Mr. Thiselton Dyer, K.R.S., 

 and Mr. W. B. Hemsley. The President enumerated 

 the genera of the Rhopalocera, and pointed which of them 

 were characteristic of the various regions and sub-regions into 

 which the world had been divided by the zoologists and botanists 

 above mentioned. He also exhibited specimens typical of these 

 regions and sub-region=. The President then alluded to the 

 prosperous condition of the Society, and to the increase in its 

 numbers and income. Reference was also made to various 

 Fellows of the Society and other entomologists who had died 

 during the year, special mention being made of Herr H. 

 T. Christoph, Mr. J. Jenner-Weir, Dr. F. Buchanan White, 

 M. Lucien F. Leihierry, Pastor Wallengren, Dr. Jacob 

 Si an berg, Major-General Canlen, Dr. Ilearder, and Mr. 

 Wcllman. — A vote of thanks to the President and other officers 

 of the S iciety having been passed, Mr. Elwe=, Mr. McLachlan, 

 Mr. H. Goss, and Canon Fowler replied, ami the proceedings 

 terminated. 



Royal Meteorological Society, January 16. — Mr. R. 

 Inwards, President, in the chair. — ^The Council, in their 

 report, reviewed the work done by the Society during the past 

 year, and also slated that additional accommodation had been 

 provided to meet the growing needs of the library. Forty-five 

 new Fellows had been elected during the year. .Mr. Inwards, 

 in his presidential address, dealt with the subject of 

 "weather fallacies," which he Ireited under the head of 

 saints'-day fallacies, sun and moon fallacies, and tho.se 

 concerning animals and plants. He also referred to 

 the almanac makers, weather prophets and impostor?, 

 who have from time to time furnished the world with fit 

 materials for its credence or its ridicule. — Mr. C. Harding read 

 a paper on the gale of December 21-22, 1S94, over the 

 British Isles. This storm was one of exceptional severity, 

 es^iecially over the northern portions of England and Ireland 

 and in the south of .Scotland. It developed energy very 

 quickly, and travelled with great rapidity. The self-recording 

 anemometers show that the greatest violence of the wind 

 occurred at Fleetwood, where the velocity was 107 miles in the 

 hour between S.30 and 9.30 a.m. on the 22nd ; and for four 

 consecutive hours the velocity exceeded 100 miles. This is the 

 greatest force of wind ever recorded in the British Isles, and is 

 10 miles an hour in excess of the highest win 1 velocity in the 

 great storm of November 16-20, 1893. K\. Huljhead the wind 

 in squalls attained the hourly velocity of 150 miles between 

 10 a. m and no in on the 22nd. The strongest force was 

 mostly from Ihe north-westward. Much destruction was 

 wrought both on sea and land, and there was a heavy loss of 

 life. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, January 14. — On a method of 

 verification, a(>plicable to the calculation of s:ties in astrono- 

 mical problems, by M. Poincarc. — On autumn cultivations for 

 green manures, by M. P. P. Deherain. The author insists on 

 the importance of autumn cultivations for subsequent dig-jing in, 

 lor two main reasons : (1) nitrates are retained by the roots of 

 growing plants, which would otherwise be lost in the drainage 

 waters ; (2) if burieil at ihe proper time, the decomposition of 

 the vegetable matter affords a considerable amount of useful 

 fertilisation. — Experimental researches on the critical point of 



