CA PILLAR Y A TTR ACTION. 53 



on surface-tension. Over a portion of this tin 

 plate there is a thin layer of resin. I lay the tin 

 plate on the top of this hot copper cylinder, when 

 we at once see the fluid resin drawing back from 

 the portion of the plate directly over the end of 

 the heated copper cylinder, and leaving a circular 

 space on the surface almost clear of resin, showing 

 how very much the surface-tension of hot resin is 

 less than that of cold resin. 



Note of January 30, 1886. The equations (8) 

 and (9) on p. 59 of Clerk-Maxwell's article, on 

 " Capillary Attraction " in the ninth edition of 

 the " Encyclopaedia Britannica " do not contain 

 terms depending on the mutual action between 

 the two liquids, and the concluding expression 

 (10), and the last small print paragraph of the 

 page are wholly vitiated by this omission. The 

 paragraph immediately following equation (10) is 

 as follows : 



" If this quantity is positive, the surface of 

 contact will tend to contract, and the liquids 

 will remain distinct. If, however, it were negative, 

 the displacement of the liquids which tends to 



