Nov. 9, 1 87 1 J 



NATURE 



31 



comet. It would probably now be seen with a much smaller 

 aperture than that mentioned above, and, as it is approaching us, 

 small telescopes will probably soon show it. 



The German Astronomical Society has recently held its trien- 

 nial meeting at Stutgart, under the presidency of Prof. Otto 

 Struve. The gathering was eminently a social one ; after papers 

 read in the morning, tliey adjourned for excursions in the after- 

 noon, one day visiting the birth- place of Kepler, a small town 

 aliout an hour by rail from Stu'gart. The inhabitants, who have 

 recently erected a bronze statue to their great fellow townsman, 

 decorated it with flowers for the occasion. 



The Scientific Societies have now mostly commenced their 

 winter session. The greater numlier held tlieir first meeting 

 either last or during the present week. The first meeting of the 

 Royal Society for the season is on November 16. 



The Annual General Meeting of the five Academies which con- 

 stitute the Institute of France was lield on the 25th of October, 

 the anniversary of the day on which the Institute was established 

 by the famous Directory suppressed by the first Napoleon. The 

 third Napoleon, by an Imperial decree, changed the day of the 

 anniversary meeting from that instituted by the Republic to his 

 file day, the 15th of August. Last year the meeting was not 

 held, and on the present occasion the original date has been 

 resumed. The presidency of the Institute is filled each year 

 by the president of one of the five academies in rotation, the 

 Academic des Sciences, Academic Fran^aise, .Vcademie des 

 Sciences Morales et Politiques, .\cadem'e des Beaux Arts, and 

 Academie des Inscriptions et lielles Lettres. This year it is 

 occupied by M. Jules Simon, president of the Academie Fran- 

 ^aise, to which belong M. Thiers himself and four of his 

 colleagues in the Government, including M. Simon. The annual 

 address for the Academic des Sciences w.15 delivered by General 

 Morin, and dealt chiefly with military science, especially with the 

 inventions of the great artillery officer General Piobert. 



Mr. J. J. MuRTHY delivered the opening address to the Belfast 

 Natural History and Philosophical Society for the current session. 

 It was occupied chiefly with a rhums of the most important fresh 

 applications of applied science during the year. 



Mr. Rutherford, of New York, the most eminent American 

 amateur astronomer, and especially known for his magnificent 

 photographs of celestial bodies, has lately presented to Mr. 

 Brothers, the Eng'ish astronomicil photographer, three superb 

 negatives of the moon — one representing her in the first quarter, 

 one when full, and one in the third quarter ; and it is proposed 

 to publish these in a volume containing about one hundred pages 

 of descriptive letterpress. The work will also contain a map of 

 the moon, as we see her, and a chart, on the stereographic pro- 

 jection, showing the true shape and the relative dimensions of 

 all the chief lunar features The letterpress, map, and stereo- 

 graphic chart will be prepared liy Mr. Proctor ; the photographs 

 by Mr. Brothers. The work will be got out on a magnificent 

 scale, and sold at a guinea and a half to subscribers. 



Messrs. Tri bmer announce the proposed publication of a 

 new magazine. The Pioneer ; a monthly journal of Sociology, 

 Psychology, and Biology. The great aim which the Pioneer 

 has in view will be "the expression of truly philosophic principles, 

 and their application to human progress »nd welfare. The 

 opinions of all will be treated with respect when expressed with 

 the clearness and force arising from strong conviction." The sub- 

 jects of " Psychic Force " and Anthropology are especially 

 alluded to in the prospectus as coming within the range of the 

 proposed serial. 



The Geological Expedition to the Rocky Mountain region 

 under the charge of Dr. Hayden, to which we have already made 

 briet allusion, according to ffarfer's IVeeilv, had reached Fort 



Hall, Idaho, on the l8th of September. After completing the 

 survey of the Yellow Stone Valley, the party left Fort Ellis on 

 the 5th of September, passing down Gallatin Valley to the Three 

 Forks, and thence by the Jefferson to its very source, exploring 

 many of its branches, and pursuing a direction nearly parallel to 

 that which the party had traversed in the June previous. The 

 valleys of the Gallatin, Madison, and JefiTerson forks of the 

 Missouri, with all the little branches, were found occupied by 

 industrious farmers and miners— a contrast quite striking to the 

 doctor, who, twelve years ago, in exploring that same region, met 

 with not a single white inhabitant. The Rocky Mountain Divide 

 was crossed at the Horse Plain Creek, from which the party 

 passed over into Medicine Lodge Creek, following this down into 

 the Snake River Plain. An interesting fact observed was the 

 occurrence of two species of trout in great quantities in streams 

 such as Medicine Lodge, Camas, and other creeks all sinking 

 into the plains after a course of from fifty to seventy-five miles. 

 The trout appeared to be of the same two species in all, although 

 the waters had no apparent connection. The party expected to 

 leave Foit Hall, and to proceed to Fort Bridger by way of Soda 

 Springs, Bear Lake, and Evanston, and there to disband the 

 scientific corps returning to the East. 



In a very important paper on the " Estimation of Antimony," 

 published in the Chemical Mnus, Hugo Tamm calls the attention 

 of chemists to a new phenomenon which the author describes 

 under the name of " Hygraflinity." This phenomenon was dis- 

 covered in a peculiar compound of antimony — bigallate of anti- 

 mony. This compound is totally insoluble in water, and yet it 

 possesses a powerful affinity for moisture, which it absorbs 

 rapidly from the air after being dried at the temperature of 100° 

 Cent. Most powders and precipitates, as it is well known, dried 

 at that temperature, absorb moisture on exposure to the atmo- 

 sphere, but this is a purely physical phenomenon due to porosity. 

 On the contrary, m the case of gallate of antimony, chemical 

 affinity is at work, and this precipitate, after exposure to the air 

 for two or three hours, actually absorbs two equivalents of water. 

 In a word, this insoluble substance has as much affinity for 

 moisture as deliquescent salts. But one of the most curious 

 features in connection with this extraordinary phenomenon is that 

 on being dried at 100° Cent., bigallate of antimony loses the two 

 equivalents of water which it had absorbed from the air, and that 

 on being left exposed once more to the atmosphere, it reabsorbs 

 the same amount of moisture. This interesting experiment may 

 be repeated indefinitely. 



In the Comptes Rendiis for August and in the Philosophical 

 Magazine, M. Angstrom gives an analysis of the spectra which are 

 observed in connection with hydrogen, and criticises the conclu- 

 sions of M. WiiUner "that hydrogen has no less than four and 

 oxygen no less than three distinct spectra." He explains that the 

 spectrum lines of hydrogen (as observed by Pliicker in rare hy- 

 drogen) spread out in disruptive discharges when the tension of 

 the gas is increasing, and end by uniting so as to form a conti- 

 nuous spectrum. With regard to M. Wiillner's second spectrum 

 of hydrogen, he points out that it is no other than the spectrum 

 observed by M. Berthelot and ascribed by him to acelylene. Also, 

 by a comparison of wave-lengths for sulphur and for M. Widl- 

 ner's third hydrogen-spectrum, he shows this to be in all proba- 

 bility the spectrum of sulphur. M. Angstrom also points out 

 the close agreement between one of the oxygen spectra of M. 

 Wiillner and the spectrum of oxide of carbon, and his tables 

 show also a very close agreement between another of these 

 oxygen spectra and the spectrum of chlorine, and concludes that 

 neither oxygen nor hydrogen has more than one spectrum. 



Pr^\ Young has communicated to the Philosophical Maga- 

 zine 2, catalogue of more than a hundred bright lines in the spec- 

 trum of the chromosphere, in which the observed lines are referred 



