February 21, 1S95J 



NA TURE 



407 



and, in particular, a curious basic moriification which occurs 

 near iis junction with the gabbro described in a former paper. 

 The granophyre here passes into a coarse type rich in augite, 

 iron ores, and apatite, its silica-percentage falling to as low as 

 58. The author attributed this to the acid magma having 

 incorporated in iiself portion-- of the highly basic margin of 

 the gabbro. The latter rocl< seems to have been fu^ed or ' 

 dissolved by the magma, with the exception of certain of its 

 more refractory minerals which survive in the modified 

 marginal part of the granophyre. The latter part of the paper 

 ilealt with a remarkable quartz-mica rock found on the north 

 side of the Skiddaw granite. Ii differs in some r< spects from the 

 Cornish grcisens, and rtsembles in is mode of occurrence 

 certain pegm.atites in the Scottish Highland-. The author 

 considered the rock to have been extruded from the granite 

 in connection with the post-.Silurian crust-movements of the 

 district, while iis compr-ilion has probably been further 

 modified by subsequent chemical change'. — The geology of the 

 country abound Fishguard (Pembrokeshire), by F. R. Cowjier 

 Reed. — The tract of country forming the subject of this 

 communication occupies the nonhun part of Pembrokeshire, 

 from Newport to Sirumble Head. — On the mean radial 

 variation of the glube, by J. Logan Lobley. The author 

 submitted considerations (chiefly derived from the characters 

 of the earlier sediments) which led him to suppose that crust- 

 folds have not been produced by continuous contraction of the 

 earth, and ihat the planetary heat and mean radius of the earth 

 have been pr.aciically invariable during the period which has 

 elapsed since Cambrian times. 



Zoological Society, February 5. — Sir W. H. F'ower, 

 K.C H., F.R.S., President, in he chair. — A communication 

 w.as read from Dr. E. A- Goeldi, in which lie described the 

 breeding haliits of some trce-fro^5 ob-erved by him in the 

 Province Rio Janeiro. J/yla fub^r, Wied, constructs nests of 

 mud on the shallow borders ol p mds, wherein the young are 

 protected from enemies whilst in the larval s'ate. Hyla gceldn^ 

 Boulenger, dispenses with the metamorphose?, whtch are 

 hurried through within the egg', these being carried by the 

 female on her back. Hyla nchuloia, Spix, depo-^its its eggs in 

 a slimy ma-s attached to withered banana. leaves, the young 

 remaining in this soit of nest until in the perfect, air-breathing 

 condition. — Mr. Eilgar A. Smith gave an account of a col- 

 lection of anl-shelU made principally by Mr. A. Everett at 

 Sarawak, liriiish North Bori.c", Pa'anan, andoilierneighbour 

 ing islands. — Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper upon the 

 loiig-lo>t mammal Putonus iifriianus, Desm. , and its occur- 

 rence in M.ilta. — Mr. F. E. Beldard, F.R..S., read a paper on 

 the visceral anatomy of the tree-kangaroo (Dcndrolagus 

 henneltti), and pointed out the structure of the brain and other 

 organs. 



CAMnRIDGE. 



Philosophical Society, January 28. — Prof. J. J.Thomson, 

 President, in the chair. — The following resolutions were pro- 

 posed by Prof. Sir. G. G. .Stokes, seconded by Mr. Glaze- 

 brook, and passcil unanimously: (i) "That the Cambridge 

 Philosophical Society desires to express its sense of the great 

 loss sustained by the Univeisiiy and the .Society by the death 

 of Prof. Cayley ; whose eminence conferred honour on the 

 .Society which reckoned him amongst its Presidents, and whose 

 simple and earnest character was an ex\mple to all and endeared 

 him to those who knew him." (2) "That the Society do now 

 adjourn without transacting the business of the meeting, as a 

 mark of respect to Prof. Cayley." 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, February ii. — M. Marey in the 

 chair. — .M. Faye gave a short accoun' of the contents of 

 volumes iv. and v. of the Annates </e I'Obscrvatoire dc Nice. — 

 On the presence and distribution of alumina in plan's, by M.\I. 

 lierthelot and G. Andre. Alumina is found in quantities com- 

 parable with the amounts of other bases present, mostly in the 

 roots of pl.ints hiving deep and abundant roots. — Preparation 

 and pro| Cities of titanium, by M. Henri Moissan. Titanium 

 has been prepared in the electric furnace. It requires the most 

 intense heat capable of production, and e> en then contains at 

 least 2 per cent, of carbon. It forms friable ma-ses, having a 

 bright white fracture. It is harder than quartz and steel. Its 

 specific gravity i-i 487. The chemical pi Oiierties arc given in 

 detail. Its silicide and boride are as hard as the diamond. The 



carbide, TiC, and nitride, Ti,N.,. are also fully describe 1.— On 

 some derivatives of phenolph'halein, by MM. A. HaUer and A. 

 Guyot.— M. Guignard was elected Member of the Dotany Sec- 

 tion. — Report on a work by M. E. Hardy relative to the 

 application of sound vibrations to the analysis of two gases of 

 difTerent densities. By means of an inUrument (termed a 

 FormOnophonc) consisting essentially of two pipes tuned to give 

 the same note, and blown wi'h air and with air containing a 

 lighter gas, the quantity of lighter gas pre5ent may be ascer- 

 tained by the production of beats between the sounds emitted 

 by the two tubis. — On a property of meromorphic functions, 

 by M llmile Borel — On certain system; of equations to the 

 derived partial*, by M. J. Beudon. — On the electrostatic capacity 

 of resistance bobbins, and its influence in ihe measurement of co- 

 eflicien'sof induction by the Wheatsto le bridge, by M. J. Cauro. 

 Bobbins with double coils should only be used for small resist- 

 ances ; if the resistance increases, acapacity-error greater than 

 that due to self-induction may be caused. To minimise 

 capacity-errors the Chaperon winding should be used. These 

 capacity effects may be neglected in measurements made with 

 ordinary Wheat stone bridges ; but they come into play with 

 bobbins having small coefficients of self-induction with great 

 resistances. — On the measuremement of luminous flux, by M. .\. 

 Blondel.— On the passage of light across a thin plate in the 

 case of total retl;ction, by M. Ch. Fabry. The formuI?e of 

 thin plates are shown to apply with )ut modification to the case 

 of a transparent spot at and surrounding the point of contact 

 of a convex and plane-glass surfaces when the included lliin 

 plate is viewed at the angle of total refl-ction. — On the lower- 

 ing of the freezing-point of dilute solutions of sodium chloride, 

 by M. \. Ponsot. The author obtains results by his own 

 method differing from those of previous observers. He finds 

 that in the limit the loweiingof the freezing-point is propor- 

 tional to the num'ier of grams of salt existing in 100 grams of 

 solution.— On sulphide of gold, by M. A. Diite. The be- 

 haviour of gold sulphide in presence of alkaline sulphides, 

 with and without excess of dissolved sulphur, is described. The 

 compounds: AH..S.2>Ia„S 2oH„0 and AuoS.Na^S. loH. O and 

 Au.,S.4K„S„ I2H'„0 are' noted.' — On a method of causing the 

 crystallisation of precipitates ; manganese and zinc sulphides 

 and cupric hydrate, by M. A. Villiers. — On cinchonigine, a 

 case of dimorphism of a compound having a specific molecular 

 rotatory power, by i\I\I. Ii. Juugncisch and E. Leger. Cin- 

 chonigine is dimorphous, its two forms readily passing 

 from one to the other. The monoclinic form is stable at 

 the ordin.ary temperature, the rhombic form at about 35°. — On 

 the plurality of chlorophjlls ; the second chlorophyll isolated 

 from lucerne, by M. A. Etard. — A comparison beiween the 

 coloured and colourless derivatives of bexamethyl tiiamidotri- 

 phenylmcthane, by M. A. Rosen-tiehl.— On a new type of 

 ethereal salt, methylene lacta e, by M. L-niis Henry. The 

 preparation and properties are described of the substance 



CHj. CH . CO 

 represented by the formula | | . — On the rela- 



O.CH3 O 

 tion between the general form and the composition of the body 

 in protozoa, by M. Fe ix Le Dantec — A study of the agricul- 

 tural value of the phosphate of aluminium from Grand-Connc- 

 labile, by M. A. Andouard. — On ihe contact phenomena of 

 the iheizolite of the Pyrenees, by M. A. Licruix. — New- 

 relations between the barom-tric movements in the iiorihern 

 hemisphere and the movemens of the sun and moon in declin- 

 ati.in, by M. P. Garrigou-Lagran,e. (l) In the northern 

 hemi-phere the atmosphere oscillate-i about the 30 h parallel, 

 corresi)onding to the movement of the moon in declination, so 

 that the pressures are lower with boreal thin «iih ausral moon 

 below 30", and inversely above. (2) The gradients take 

 corresponding modihca'iuns. The barometric slopes from 30° 

 south and north, are altern.ately increased and lowered, m .re 

 strongly with boreal moon below 30°, more feebly above, and 

 inversely with austral moon. (3) These difTerencs in pre-sures 

 and gradient; augment towards the pole, at least up to the 70th 

 parallel. (4) These movements are superposed on more general 

 movements. 



A^tSTERIlAM. 

 Royal Academy of Sciences, December 29, 1894. — Prof. 

 Van de Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair.— .-V treatise on a simple 

 method of roughly disiinguishing between Scandinavian and 

 southern diluvial sand, atnl between alluvial and diluvial sand, 

 by separating (he heavy minerals from the sand through in.- 



NO. 



I32I, VOL. 51] 



