October 30, 1890] 



NATURE 



655 



! the stratigraphy of the United Kingdom ; outlines of the 

 classification of organized beings, existing and extinct ; the 

 commoner rocks and rock-forming minerals, and the commonest 

 and most characteristic British fossils. Candidates must send 

 in their names, on or before October 12, 1891, to Miss A. John- 

 son, LlandafiF House, Cambridge, from whom further information 

 may be obtained. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



American Journal of Science, October 1890. — A description 

 of the " Bernardston Series" of metamorphic Upper Devonian 

 rocks, by Prof. Ben. K, Emerson. With respect to this paper, 

 Prof. J. D. Dana remarks: — "Prof. Emerson has given the 

 I egion a thorough investigation, in which he has removed the 

 doubts as to the relations of the beds, made out, as far as pos- 

 sible, the system of faults and flexures, studied the rocks as to 

 tlieir kinds and transitions, and determined the age of the series 

 to be Upper Devonian. The paper will be accepted in Ame- 

 rica, and should be elsewhere, as putting the facts beyond doubt 

 that gnei?s, diorite, granite, and the other crystalline rocks de- 

 scribed are not always of Archaean or pre-Cambrian make ; that 

 i^ranite and diorite are not always of igneous origin ; and these 

 conclusions are made sure on the well-established criterion of 

 a;^e, that is, fossils — Crinoids, Corals, Brachiopods." — On the 

 circular polarization of certain tartrate solutions, by J. H. Long. 

 The author describes certain peculiarities of solutions of potas- 

 sium antimony tartrate, when mixed with potassium or sodium 

 carbonate, acetate, or phosphate in amounts insufficient to pro- 

 duce immediate precipitation. A decrease of specific rotation 

 took place in the case of each of the mixtures. It is probable, 

 therefore, " that a temporarily stable antimony salt is formed 

 with a corresponding amount of alkali tartrate. The ob- 

 served rotation is due to this in conjunction with that of 

 the potassium antimony tartrate which remained unchanged. — 

 A rapid method for the detection of iodine, bromine, and 

 chlorine, in presence of one another, by F. A. Gooch and F. T. 



ooks. — Metacinnabarite from New Almaden, California, by 

 H. Melville.-r-On the Keokuk Beds at Keokuk, Iowa, by 

 H. Gordon. — Note on the vapour-tension of sulphuric acid, 

 with the description of an accurate cathetometer microscope, by 

 Dr. Chas. A. Perkins. The author finds that the vapour- 

 tension is not greater than about o'oi mm. at ordinary tempera- 

 tures.— Experiments upon the constitution of the natural sili- 

 cates, by F. \y. Clarke and E. A. Schneider. — On five new 

 American meteorites, by George F. Kunz. Descriptions and 

 analyses are given of the group of meteorites recently discovered 

 in Brenham Township, Kiowa County, Kansas ; the Winnebago 

 County, Iowa, meteorite ; the meteoric stone from Ferguson, 

 Haywood County, North Carolina ; the meteoric iron from 

 Bridgewater, Burke County, North Carolina ; and the meteoric 

 iron from Summit, Blount County, Alabama. — On the determina- 

 tion of the coefficient of cubical expansion of a solid from the 

 observation of the temperature at which water, in a vessel made 

 of thin solid, has the same apparent volume as it has at 0° C. ; 

 and on the coefficient of cubical expansion of a substance deter- 

 mined by means of a hydrometer made of this substance, by 

 Alfred M. Mayer. 



The American Meteorological Journal for October contains 

 articles : — On cyclical periodicity in meteorological phenomena, 

 by E, D. Archibald, in which he advocates investigations as to the 

 possible connection between weather and other physical agencies, 

 on the following plan : (i) the collection and analysis of all pre- 

 vious investigations which bear traces of any value, and their dis- 

 tribution under the head of the- particular element dealt with ; 

 (2) the arrangement of the periods in the matter of length ; (3) 

 the choice of the particular working hypothesis intended to be 

 employed, and the working out of its supposed effi;cts in diffisrent 

 parts of the world ; (4) the reduction and comparison of the 

 data representing the various elements, and their comparison 

 with the deductions from the hypothesis ; (5) the investigation 

 of the causes of apparent exceptions, and the exhibition of the 

 final results, both in tabular and graphic form. — On accessory 

 phenorrieria of cyclones, by H. Faye. The author draws 

 attention to the theories of Redfield and Reid, and to the 

 contradictory theories of Espy and Bache, from which he argues 

 that only one conclusion could be drawn, viz. that there were 

 two entirely different kinds of storms and tornadoes ; and he 



NO 1096, VOL. 42] 



refers to the advance made by the study of synoptic charts, both 

 as regards the movements of cyclones and thunderstorms. The 

 article contains an illustration of what he assumes to be a typicaT 

 figure of a cyclone. — On temperatures in and near forests, by 

 Prof. M. W. Harrington. The author shows that this subject 

 admits of a much less satisfactory solution than that of s-oiJ 

 temperatures discussed in an earlier paper. The observations 

 used are from several sources over Central Europe, and refer in 

 this part of the discussion to ditferences of temperature extremes. 

 They show that the forest cuts off the mean daily maxima on 

 the yearly average to the extent of 2' or 3' ; the effect is most 

 marked in summer and least in winter. The action of the forest 

 on the minima of temperature is also a moderating one : the 

 temperature does not on the average fall as low in forests as 

 outside. With long-continued unchanging weather the pecu- 

 liarities of forest climate tend to disappear. — On the Meteoro- 

 logical Section of the French Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, held at Limoges in August last, by A. L. Rotch. The 

 attendance of meteorologists was not large, but some important 

 matters were discussed, among which may be mentioned the use 

 of self-recording instruments on mountain stations, the subject 

 being introduced by M. Teisserenc de Bort, and a paper on 

 the recent seismic activity of Japan, by M. Y. Wada, of Tokio. 



In the Journal of Botany for October is a very interesting 

 biographical sketch, accompanied by an excellent portrait, of 

 the late Mr. John Ralfs, of Penzance, whose classical work, 

 "The British Desmidieae," one of the most valuable monographs 

 ever published, was brought out as long ago as 1848. The 

 value of this work may be judged from the fact that before its 

 publication the number of species of Desmids recorded as 

 British was four. An interesting note is given on the fertiliza- 

 tion of the sugar-cane, by Dr. Fressanges, President of the 

 Medical Society of Mauritius. 



The greater part of the number of the Nttovo Giornalc Bo 

 tanico Italia^io for October is occupied by the completion of 

 Signor L. Nicotra's interesting and important paper on the flora 

 of Sicily. Going through the natural orders successively, he 

 describes in general terms the representation of the order in the 

 flora of the island, and points out the contrast between the flora 

 of its north eastern and that of its south-western portion, due to 

 geological causes, the former having more of a European, the 

 latter more of a North African character. Some particulars are 

 added with regard to the flora of the small islands adjacent to 

 Sicily. The remaining articles in the number are of special 

 interest to Italian botanists. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 Paris. 

 Academy of [Sciences, October 20. — M. Duchartre in the 

 chair. — Study of the movement of a double cone which appears 

 to rise, though it really descends, on an inclined plane, by M. 

 H. Resal. A double cone placed on two guides inclined to the 

 horizon, and nearer to one another at the lower than at the upper 

 end, appears to ascend. The author has studied the mechanics of 

 this movement. — Note on lightning-flashes which meet one an- 

 other, by M. A. Trecul. On September 29, M. Trouvelot pre- 

 sented a paper on the identityin the structure of lightning and dis- 

 charges from an induction machine. The author calls attention 

 to the fact that he made similar observations ten years ago. — 

 Observations of Brookes's comet (March 19, 1890), made with 

 the great equatorial of Bordeaux Observatory, by MM. G. 

 Rayet, L. Picart, and Courty. Seventy-one observations for 

 position are given, extending from June 21 to October 12. — 

 Remarks relative to a cause of variation of latitudes, by M. R. 

 Radau. The movements of the sea, as well as certain meteoro- 

 logical phenomena (avalanches, &c.), may give rise to small 

 deviations of the axis of our globe. It is shown that a mass of 

 water 2000 cubic kilometres in size could produce an effect larj^e 

 enough to be observed. — On the established variations in the 

 observations of the latitude of the same place, by M. A. Gaillot. 

 Observations made at Berlin, Potsdam, and Prague, indicate that 

 the latitude of a place is subject to a periodic variation, the 

 maximum occurring in the summer, and the minimum in the 

 winter, the amplitude of the oscillation about the mean value 

 being ± o"'25. M. Gaillot gives two hypotheses to account for 

 this variation, and points out the means of testing each of them. 



