24 



NATURE 



[November 2, 189; 



of diastole, the whole wall rapidly collapses ; it then rises, 

 slowly at first, as the blood gradually enters the ventricle, and 

 then rapidly, when ihe systole of the auricle takes place. On 

 comparing these trajectories with the sounds heard in man and 

 -ometimes also in animals, it is found that their amplitude is 

 greatest where these sounds are most intense and frequent, that 

 iheir direction is that calculated to produce upon ihe lung a 

 rapid aspiration during systole, and that the rhythm of the sound 

 is itself in correspondence with the variations of speed of the 

 movement. The relation thus discovered solves a complex pro- 

 ".i!em of auscultation. — Observations of the new comet Brooks 

 (1893, October i6), made at the Paris Observatory (west 

 equatorial), by M. G. Bigourdan. — On certain families ot gauche 

 cubics, by M. Lelieuvre. — On the kinetic interpretation of the 

 function of dissipation, by M. Ladislas Natanson. — Determina- 

 tion of the velocity of propagation of an electric disturbance along 

 a copper wire, by means of a method independent of any theory, 

 by M. R. Blondlot. — Analysis of a vauadiferous oil, by M. A. 

 IVIourlot. This oil, of slight density varying between i '15 and 

 I '20, is of a fatly appearance, and contains 51 '52 per 

 cent, of volatile matter. The percentage of hydrogen is much 

 lower than that of the vanadiferous oil recently discovered in 

 Argentina by Mr. Kyle, and carbon and nitrogen show a larger 

 percentage. The most interesting feature of this oil is the 

 presence, in the ashes, of a large proportion of vanadic acid in 

 the shape of alkaline and metallic vanadates. It also occurs 

 free in this oil, and may be extracted by washing with am- 

 moniacal water, A quantitative analysis gave a percentage of 

 o 24 of vanadic acid in the oil, and 38*5 per cent, in the ashes. 

 As the oil is abundant, some important applications of vanadium 

 may be looked for if the properties of the metal are foUnd to be 

 commercially valuable. — On the perfume of the violet, by MM. 

 Ferd. Tiemann and P. Kriiger. This is an account of the suc- 

 cess so far obtained in the analysis of the perfume-oil contained 

 in the fresh flower of the violet or the dry root of the iris, and 

 its synthesis from lemon-juice. — New synthesis of erythrite, and 

 synthesis of an isomeric erythriie, by M. G. Griner. — Influence 

 of organic solvenisupon rotatory power, by M. P. Freundler. — 

 On certain chemical conditions of the activity of brewers' yeast, 

 by M. J. Efifront. It was found by a series of experiments that 

 various kinds of yeast, after treatment with gradually increasing 

 quantities of ammonium fluoride, acquired a very considerable 

 fermenting power, estimated at about ten times that developed 

 before this treatment. It also imparted properties which some 

 physiologists had up to now considered as the privilege of certain 

 species. — On the propagation of the Ponrridie dela Vignc by slips 

 and graft-slips placed in sand "in stratification," by M. A. 

 Prunet. The storage of grafting slips in moist sand for the next 

 season encourages the growth of small fungi upon them, which give 

 rise to a fatal disease of the vine, — On a dislocation in the shape 

 of a mushroom in the Alps of Haute-Savoie, by M. Maurice 

 Lugeon. — On a halo observed at Creteil, on October 22, 1893, 

 by M, Georges Pouchet, 



GuTTINGEN. 



Royal Society of Sciences. — The following papers of 

 scientific interest appear in the Naclirichten of July to Sep- 

 tember 1S93 : — 



July 26. — E. Ehlers : On the morphology of the Bryozoa. 

 \V. Nernst : Dielectric coefficients and chemical equilibrium. 

 W. Holtz : On direct impressions of magnitude in artifi- 

 cially induced optical illusions. W, C. Rontgen : On the 

 influence of pressure on the electric conductivity of electrolytes. 



August 2. — O. Wallach : On compounds of the cftmphor 

 series. W. Voigt : Observations on rigidity under homogeneous 

 deformation. Also, on an apparently necessary exten- 

 sion of the theory of elasticity, W, Meyer: G. F. Grotefend's 

 first announcement of his decipherment of the cuneiform 

 character. 



Amsterdam. 



Academy of Sciences, September 30.— Prof, van de Sande 

 Bakhuysenin the chair. — ]\Ir. Bakhuis Roozeboom described the 

 method for the determination of oxygen dissolved in water studied 

 by Dr. Romyn. This method unites simplicity and accuracy, and 

 can be executed outside the laboratory. Its use in hygiene was 

 indicated by two series of researches, the first aiming at the de- 

 termination of the quantity of pure water necessary to im- 

 prove that of the canals of Leyden, whilst the other concerned 

 ihe analysis of the oxygen in different parts of the water- con- 



NO. 1253, VOL. 49] 



ducts in Arnhem, in view of the corrosion of the iron tubes. 

 — Prof. Schoute treated on sections and projections of tessaract 

 and hexadecatessaract. — Prof. Korteweg dealt with the classi- 

 fication of the curves of the third class or the third order, and 

 a graphical representation of the totality of these curves and 

 their division in three tribes by the points of a jdane, every 

 point representing all the projective and reciprocal transforma- 

 uons of ihe same curve. 



Netherland Zoological Society, September 30. — M. - 

 Hubrecht in the chair. — M. van Wyhe contributed a paper on 

 the ventral nerves (ventral roots) of Amphioxus. With the 

 help of Golgi's method the author was able to state that the 

 ventral nerves are furnished with true terminal organs, Retzius 

 not having succeeded to observe them. The author then dis- 

 cussed the question as to why the ventral part of the motor 

 nerves lies within the myotome, and not, as with the dorsal 

 part is the case, at its medial side. Finally, the same author 

 pointed out that in Ainphioxus the ventral nerves contain 

 sensory nerves also. — M.J. T. Oudemans exhibited specimens- 

 of Alytes ibsletricans, taken by him (or the first time in the 

 Netherlands, viz. near Valkenburg (Limburg). — M. llorst; 

 exhii)ited a new gigantic European earthworm, obtained near 

 Arcachon (France), and which he referred to a new species 

 {Allolobophora Savignyi). The same author observed the 

 larva of a dipterous insect within the mouth of a Perichaeta from 

 Java. — M. Hoek made remarks on the spawning of the Anchovy 

 in the Zuiderzee. Another communication from the same author 

 contained an account of trawling experiments in the North Sea. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



British Forest Trees i 



Astronomy of the Nineteenth Century 2 



Our Bookshelf:— 



Roscoe : " Inorganic Chemistry for Beginners " ... 3 



Muir : "The Chemistry of Fire " 3 



Taylor: "Solutions of the Exercises in Taylor's 



Euclid I. to IV 3 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Recent Glacialion of Tasmania. —Dr. Alfred R. 



Wallace, F.R.S 3 



The Supposed Glaciation of Brazil. — W. T. Thisel- 



ton-Dyer, C.M.G., F.R.S 4 



The Nativity of Rama.— Colonel Walter R, Old . . 4 

 On the Latent Heat of Steam. — P, J. Hartog and J. 



A. Harker 5 



Artificial AmcEbce and Protoplasm. — Dr. G. Quincke 5 

 Human and Comparative Anatomy at Oxford. — Prof. 



J. Burdon Sanderson, F.R.S • . . 6 



Asymmetrical Frequency Curves. — Prof. Karl 



Pearson 6 



Telegony. — Dr. George J. Romanes, F.R.S. ... 6 

 An Ornithological Retrospect. By Dr. R. Bowdler 



Sharpe 6 



Henry Oldenburg, First Secretary of the Royal 



Society. By Herbert Rix 9 



The Natural History of East Equatorial Africa. By 



Dr. J. W. Gregory 12 



Notes 12 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Brooks' Comet ,. iS 



The Planet Jupiter 18 



The Wave-Lengths of the Nebular Lines 18 



Geographical Notes 18^ 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers i8- 



The Arbuthnot Museum, Peterhead. By Alexander 



Meek 20 



The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. {Illus- 

 trated) 20 



University and Educational Intelligence 22 



Scientific Serials 22 



Societies and Academies 23 



