April 25, 1895] 



NA TURE 



621 



authors have succeeded in prepiririT; a number of new 

 oxypyridine derivatives. — Oi the colouring principle of 

 Toildalia acitleata and Evodia meticfolict, by A. G, Perkin 

 and J. J. Hummel. — Some ethereal derivatives of sircolactic 

 acid, by P. Frankland and J. Henderson. The molecular 

 rotations, molecular deviations an 1 asymmetry products of a 

 number of alkylic salts of sarcolactic acid and its acidic 

 derivatives have been investit^ated. — Electrolysis of potassium 

 alloethylic camphorate, by J. Walker and J. !Ienderson. The 

 chief products of the electrolysis of p-jtassium allo-ethylic 

 camphorate are salts of allo-campholyiic acid, CHuO^, and 

 allo-campholhetic acid, C,.,H;„,04. — Trimethylsuccmic acid, by 

 W. A. Bone and \V. \\. Perkm, jun. — New isomeric sulphonic 

 chlorides derived from camphor, by F. S. Kipping and W. J. 

 Pope. The authors describe two isomeric chlorocamphene- 

 sulphonic chlorides and their derivatives. 



Royal Meteorological Society, April 17. — Messrs. F. C. 

 Bayard and W. Marriott communicated a paper on the frost of 

 January and February 1895 over the Rritish Isles. The cold 

 period which commenced on Pecember 30 and terminated on 

 March 5 was broken by a week's mild weather from January 

 14 to 21, otherwise there would have been continuous frost 

 for sixty-six days. Temperatures below to' F., and in some 

 cases below zero, were recorded in parts of England and Scot- 

 land between January 8 and 13, while from the 26th to the 

 31st and from February 5 to 20, temperatures below 10' 

 occurred on every day in some part of the British Isles. The 

 coldest days were February 8 to 10. The lowest tempera- 

 tures recorded were: -17° at Braemar and -11 at Buxton 

 and Drumlanrig. The mean tempera'ure of the British Isles 

 for January was about 7°, and for February from 11° to 14° 

 below the average, while the mean temperature for the period 

 from January 26 to February 19 was from 14' to 20' below the 

 average. The distribution of atmospheric pressure was almost 

 entirely the reverse of the normal, the barometer being highest 

 in the north and lowest in the south, the result being a con- 

 tinuance of strong northerly and easterly winds. The effect 

 of the cold on the public health was very great, especially on 

 young children and o'd people. The number of deaths in 

 London due to diseases of the respiratory organs rapidly 

 increased from February 2 to March 2, when the weekly 

 number was 1448. or 945 above the aver.age. Rivers and lakes 

 were frozen, the ice tieing more than 10 inches thick. The 

 frost will long be remembered for its effect on the water. pipes 

 all over the country, in many cases householders being without 

 water for more than nine weeks. .\s the result of inquiries 

 the authors find that mains have frozen which have been laid 

 as low as 3 ft. 6 in. from the surface of the ground to the top of 

 the pipe. It appears, however, that the nature of the soil 

 had far more to do with the depth to which the frost penetrated 

 than the intensity of the frost itself From a comparison of 

 previous records, the authors are of opinion that the recent frost 

 was more severe than any since 1814. — Mr. Birt Acres read 

 a paper on some hints on photographing clouds. 



Mineralogical Society, April 2. — .\ paper was read by 

 Mr. Spencer upon enargite. Several new forms were discovered 

 upon the specimens of this mineral examined. The parameters 

 calculated from the measurements were 



a:li:c— 0'8694 : I :-O'8308, 

 numbers which differ somewhat from those previously given by 

 Dauber. The habits of the crystals and their mode of twm- 

 ning were fully discussed, ami the fact pointed out, bearing 

 upon the possibility of the identity of clarile with enargite, that 

 measurement of cleavage fragments of clarite gave angles 

 identical with those existing lietween the prism cleavages of 

 enargite when three crystals are twinned together. — Mr. A. E. 

 Tutton exhibited his new instrument for culling, grinding, and 

 polishing accurately orientated section-plates and prisms of min- 

 eral or other crystals, and demonstrated the readiness with whirS 

 the cutting disc or grinding or polishing lap may be driven by 

 a small electric motor. Mr. II. A. Miers suggested the possi- 

 bility of simplifying the instrument somewhat for the commoner 

 purposes of the mineralogist, by employing only one driving gear 

 and making the cutting disc and laps interchangeable ; he also 

 suggested the experiment of using carborundum for the cutting 

 edge instead of diamond dust. — .Mr. Miers exhibited a crystal 

 o( hrandi/e, the new arseno-sulphide of thallium discovered by 

 Kreuner ; also a fine crystal of dhicile, the mineral which had, 

 at his suggestion, been examined for argon by Prof. Kamsay. 



NO. 1330, VOL. 51] 



The specimen exhibited was from the neighbourhood of Mns», 

 and this variety, as well as (hat from .\ren lal, had been foun I 

 to yield the spectrum of helium. 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, January 21.— Prof. Sir \V. Turner, Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — Drs. Gulland and Noel Paton 

 communicated a paper on the absorption of carbotiydrates from 

 ihe inte.'.tine. — Prof. Ewart read a paper, by Dr. [. D. F. 

 (iilchrist, on the torsion of the molluscan body. — Prof. Tait 

 communicated a note on a curious property of determinants. 



February 4. — Prof. J. G. M'Kendrick, Vice-President, in the 

 chair. — Prof. Crum Brown communicated a note on normal 

 nystagmus. — Sir W. Turner read a note on M. Dubois' account 

 of I ithecanlhropoid remains recently found in Java. The 

 remains are a skull, a thir<l molar tooth, and a left femur. 

 They were found in a bank of a river in Java, at some distance 

 from each other, and at different times. M. Dubois supposed 

 that he had established the exis'ence of a connecting link 

 bptween the ape and man, and he named it the "erect ape 

 man," in recognition of the differences from man and the ape. 

 .Sir W. Turner remarked that it was not at all certain that the 

 three bones belonged to the same creature. A comparison of 

 the skull wiih several specimens of the skulls of aboriginals, 

 left him unconvinced that it might not have belonged to a 

 human neing. The features of the femur could all be made out 

 in a large collection of human thigh bones, and the tooth had 

 quite as much resemblance to the tooth of a human being as to 

 the tooth of an ape. He considered that the remains were of 

 a low human type. 



February iS.~The Hon. Lord M'Laren, Vice-President, in 

 the chair. — Prof. Chrystal discussed a theorem regarding the 

 equivalence of systems of ordinary linear differencial equations 

 with constant coefficients, and its application to the theory of 

 such systems. — Dr. C. G. Knott communicated a note on 

 volume-changes in iron and nickel tubes when magnetised. 

 He dealt specially with the effects which are caused when the 

 lubes are closed by a non-magnetic cap instead of a cap of the 

 same metal as the tubes themselves. — Dr. W. Peddie compared 

 the case of yellow-hlue blindness, described by him some 

 weeks ago, with the case recently described by v. Vintscbgan 

 and Hering. In the present case, unlike the latter, the whole 

 range of the .spectrum is visible. So far as the tests have yet 

 been carried out, the presence of red seems to be very easily 

 recognised, but all other colours seem to be nearly, or entirely, 

 grey. Only one neutral point (near D, in tho yellow part of 

 the spectrum) seems to exist. 



March 4.— Sir Douglas .Maclagan, President, in the chair. — 

 At the request of the Council of the Society, Dr. Munro gave 

 an address on lake dwelling research. Whatever was the object 

 of these dwelling=, or the causes of their development, it is 

 certain that they were for centuries the characteristic dwellings 

 of the early tribes of Central Europe. Research on the subject 

 began with the discovery of remains in a bog in Ireland, more 

 than half a century .ago. Another discovery was afterwards 

 made in Switzerland, and gave new significance to the Irish 

 discovery. Dr. Munro sketched the results of the investigations 

 made in Switzerland and in other parts of Europe, especially 

 Italy. Perhaps no part of Europe is more prolific in remains 

 than the valley of the Po. The first great discovery made in 

 Scotland was in a loch in Wigiownshire. When the Inch was 

 drained, several aitificial islands were found, and evidences of 

 early .Scottish civilisation, previously unknown, were discovered. 

 .\mong the articles found were canoes and Roman broijze 

 dishes. Subsequent Scottish discoveries were descrilicd, and 

 then the recent discoveries in Bosnia were dealt with. The 

 coincidence of the style of art in the ornaments recently found 

 at Glastonbury with that of the North German articles is 

 peculiarly significant. 



Scottish Meteorological Society, March 27. — Prof. 

 Copeland, Astronomer Royal for Scotland, in the chair. — Mr. 

 R. C. Mossman gave a paper on "The Frost of 1895," in 

 which he pointed out that Ihe severe frost began on December 

 28, and ended about February 20, covering a period of fifty-four 

 days. During this lime the average temperature of the British 

 Isles as a whole was 8° below normal, the greatest deficiency 

 being in the central highlands of Scotland and the midland 

 districts of England. .Vt the same time barometric pressure 

 was highest in Scandanavia, Lapland, and West of Russia, and 

 lowest about Spain ; an almost exact reversal of the normal 



