192 



NATURE 



[June 19, 1890 



Coleoptera compiled some years ago by Mr. Crotch, which ap' 

 pears to have been lost sight of. — Mr. McLachlan alluded to the 

 damage done by insects to orange-trees in Malta, and stated that 

 the Rev. G. Henslow had lately been studying the question ; 

 one of the chief depredators was the widely-spread "fly," 

 Ceratitis citriperda, well known as devastating the orange. He 

 found, however, that another and more serious enemy was the 

 larva of a large Longicorn beetle {Cei-ambyx miles, Bon.), which 

 bores into the lower part of the stem and down into the roots, 

 making large galleries ; in all probability the larva, or that of 

 an allied species, is the true Cossus of the ancients. Lord 

 Walsingham stated that a species of Prays allied to P. olcellus 

 and our common P. curtiselhis was known to feed in the buds 

 of the orange and lemon in Southern Europe. — The following 

 papers were communicated, and were read by the Secretary : — 

 Notes on the species of the families Lycida and Lampyrid(V 

 ■contained in the Imperial Museum of Calcutta, with descrip- 

 tions of new species, and a list of the species at present de- 

 scribed from India, by the Rev. 11. S. Gorham. — A. catalogue 

 of the Rhopalocerous Lepidoptera collected in the Shan States, 

 with notes on the country and climate, by Dr. N. Manders, Sur- 

 geon, Medical Staff. The latter paper contained a very inter- 

 esting description of the chief physical features of the Shan 

 States and neighbouring parts of Burmah. 



Mathematical Society, June 12. — ^J. J. Walker, F.R.S., 

 President, in the chair, — The President announced that the 

 Council had unanimously awarded the De Morgan Memorial 

 Medal to Lord Rayleigh, Sec.R.S., for his writings on mathe- 

 matical physics. — The following papers were read: — On sim- 

 plicissima in space of n dimensions (third paper), by W. J. C. 

 Sharp. — Rotatory polarization, by Dr. J. Larmor. — Parabolic 

 note, by R. Tucker. — Prof Greenhill, F. R.S., communicated a 

 paper by Prof. Mathews on the expression of the square root of 

 a quartic as a continued fraction, and one by R. Russell on 

 modular equations. — The President gave a brief sketch of a 

 paper by A. R. Johnson, on certain concomitants of a system of 

 conies and quadrics, and on the calculation of the covariant S of 

 ihe ternary quartic. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, June 9. — M. Hermite in the chair. 

 — On the movement of a prism, resting on two supports, sub- 

 mitted to the action of a variable normal force following a par- 

 ticular law, applied at a determined point of the axis, by M. H. 

 Resal. — Theory of the state produced near to the wide opening 

 of a fine tube where the threads of a liquid which flows there 

 have not acquired the normal inequalities of velocity, by M. J. 

 Boussinesq. — Action of the alkalies and alkaline earths, alkaline 

 silicates, and some saline solutions on mica : production of 

 nepheline, sodalite, amphigene, orthoclase, and anorthite, by 

 MM. Charles and Georges Friedel. — On the fauna of deep parts 

 of the Mediterranean around Monaco, by the Prince of Monaco. 

 Some dredging operations carried on at various depths up to 

 1650 metres show that, at certain parts at least of these regions, 

 the Mediterranean Sea is by no means devoid of inhabitants as 

 has been previously asserted. — Observations of Brooks's comet 

 {a 1890), made with the cc^mo'/ equatorial of Algiers Observatory, 

 by MM. Rambaud and Renaux. The observations of position 

 extend from May 10 to 31. — Photographic observation of 

 Brooks's comet made at Algiers Observatory, by M. Ch. Trepied 

 {see "Our Astronomical Column "). — On a particular case of 

 the movement of a point in a resisting medium, by M. A. de 

 Saint-Germain. — Propagation of light in gold-leaf, by MM. 

 Hurion and Mermeret. — On the amplitude of the diurnal varia- 

 tion of the temperature, by M. Alfred Angot. The author 

 shows how the diurnal temperature variation in any station on 

 the earth may be expressed by the formula — 



a = ?^ (A -f B sin / -f C cos 2/), 



in which K is a function of cloudiness, and = i when the sky 

 is clear, A, B, and C are coefficients depending only upon the 

 geographical position of the station and its climatological cha- 

 racters, / the sun's longitude, and r the distance of the earth 

 from the sun. — Electrolysis of fused aluminium fluoride, by 

 M, Adolphe Minet. The author finds a mixture of 40 

 parts of the double fluoride of aluminium and sodium with 

 60 parts of sodium chloride to give him the best results yet 

 obtained. — On the isomeric states of chromium sesquibromide : 

 the blue sesquibromide, by M. A. Recoura. A method of pre- 



paring the solid hydrated bromide, Cr2Brg, 12H0O, correspond 

 ing to the violet solutions is given. It is shown that th< 

 grey-blue solid obtained is less stable than the green crystal: 

 formerly described, whereas the violet solutions corresponding 

 to the blue solid salt are more stable than the green solutions 

 thermochemical data are given in confirmation. — On the estima 

 tion of zinc in the presence of iron and manganese, and iti 

 separation from those metals, by M. J. Riban. The zinc ii 

 separated as sulphide from a solution to which has been addet 

 an excess of sodium thiosulphate. — On the composition of clay; 

 and kaolins, by M. Georges Vogt. — On the synthesis of th( 

 fluorides of carbon, by M. C. Chabrie. — On the products o 

 saccharification of amylaceous matters by acids, by M. G 

 Flourens. — On the decomposition of organic manures in th( 

 soil, by M. A. Muntz. — On the anatomy of horny sponges o 

 the genus Hircinia, and on a new genus, by M. H. Fol. — Oi 

 the circulatory system in the carapace of decapodous Crustacea 

 by M. E. L. Bouvier. — On two new species of Coccidia, para 

 sitic on the stickleback and sardine, by M. P. Thelohan.— 

 Interesting nuclear modifications of the nucleolus which ma; 

 ultimately throw some light on its signification, by M. E 

 Bataillon. — On a hymenopterous insect injurious to the vine, b; 

 M. E. Olivier. — On the diversities and similarities in sonK 

 j dentary systems of mammifers, by M. Heudes. — Researches 01 

 the development of the seminal integuments of Angiosperms, b; 

 M. Marcel Brandza. — On the nature of the phosphate beds o 

 Dekma (departement de Constantine), by M. Bleicher. — On th< 

 existence of marine deposits of the Pliocene age in the Vendee 

 by M. G. Vasseur. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED 



Japan and the Pacific : M. Inagaki (Unwin). — The Mineral Resources o 

 Ontario (Toronto). — A Treatise on Practical Chemistry and Qualitatisi 

 Analysis, 5th edition : Dr. F. Clowes (Churchill).— Primo Resoconto de 

 Risultati della Inchiesta Ornitologia in Italia ; Parte Seconda, Avifaunr 

 Locah: E. H. Giglioli (Firenze).— The Speciesof Ficus ofthe Indo-Malayar 

 and Chinese Countries, Appendix : Dr. G. King (Calcutta). — Sammlungvoi 

 Vortragen und Abhandlungen, Dritte Folge : W. Foerster( Berlin, Diimmler) 

 — Lehrbuch der Verg. Entwicklungsgeschichte der Wirbellosen Thiere 

 Specieller Theil, Erstes Heft : Dr. E. Korschelt and Dr. K. Heider (Jena 

 Fischer). — The Life and Letters of the Rev. Wm. Sedgwick. 2 vols. : J. W 

 Clark and T. McK. Hughes (Cambridge University Press).— The Forest Flor, 

 of South Australia, Part 9 : f. E. Brown (Adelaide). — Les Bact^ries, 2 vols. 

 A. V. Cornil and V. Babes (Paris, Alcan).— Physiological Botany : Dr. G. L 

 Goodale (Macmillan). — An Elementary Treatise upon the Method of Leas 

 Squares : G. C. Comstock (Arnold). — The Lepidopterous Fauna of Lanca 

 shire and Cheshire : J. W. Ellis Leeds (McCorquodale). — La R^volutioi 

 Chimique Lavoisier : M. Berthelot (Paris, Alcan). — Beitriige zur Geologi( 

 Syriens, Die Entwickelung des Kreidesystems in Mittel- und Nord-Syrien 

 eine Geognotisch-Palaontologische Monographic : Dr. Max Blanckenhori 

 (Berlin, Friedlander). — Zur Kenntniss der Fauna der " Grauen Kalke " de 

 Sud-Alpen : Dr. L. Tausch v. Gloeckelsthurn (VVien, Holder).— The Law ant 

 Practice of Letters Patent for Inventions: L. Edmunds and A. W. Rentoi 

 (Steven.s). 



CONTENTS. PAGi 



British and Oriental Cicadidse .... • i6c 



Machine Design. By N. J. L 171 



Our Book Shelf:— 



" Investigation of the Fur-Seal and other Fisheries of 



Alaska" 171 



Smithson : " Pond Life : Algae and Allied Forms " . 171 



Spiers : " Rambles and Reveries of a Naturalist " . . 172 



Watson: " Sketches of British Sporting Fishes " . . 17: 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Coral Reefs, Fossil and Recent.— Captain W. J. L. 



Wharton, R.N., F.R.S 17: 



Electro-magnetic Radiation. {With Diagram.) By 



Prof. G. F. Fitzgerald, F.R.S 172 



The Climates of Past Ages. II. By Dr. M. 



Neumayr i7! 



Notes i8c 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Objects for the Spectroscope.— A. Fowler 18: 



Observations of Meteors 18: 



Brooks's Comet {a 1890) 18: 



Photograph of Brooks's Comet (a 1890) 18; 



Astronomical Telescopes. By A. A. Common, 



F.R.S 18; 



Annual Visitation of Greenwich Observatory ... 18; 



University and Educational Intelligence i8{ 



Societies and Academies i8c 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 19: 



NO. 1077, VOL. 42] 



