Dec. 14, 1871] 



NATURE 



133 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



Jmiriial of the FrankUii Institute, September. This number 

 opens with numerous editorial notes, principally abstracts 

 from other scientific journals ; there is also the commencement 

 of a description of the Stevens Institute of Technology in 

 Hoboken. Amongst the notes we notice an account of Grubb's 

 automatic spectroscope, and a description of the properties of 

 Nitroglycerine as found by M. Champion. It is stated that when 

 pure it may be heated up to 200° without explosion, but at 257° 

 it deflagrates violently ; and although it explodes with terrific 

 force by a blow, the electric spark does not affect it. A number 

 of original communications follow. Under the head of Civil 

 and Mechanical Engineering, we find a paper containing some 

 useful " formuhx, rules, and examples for cases of earth-work 

 under warped and plain surfaces, "and another " On Descriptions 

 of Wood- working IMachinery." Under mechanics, physics, and 

 chemistry, there is a paper ' 'On Apparatus Illustrating Mechanical 

 Principles;" the various pieces of apparatus are intended to 

 shovi' experimentally the truth of problems, such as the parallelo- 

 gram of forces, the parallelopipedon of forces, and so on ; a 

 machine is also described to illustrate the action of the forces of 

 gravity and projection in giving a projectile its parabolic trajectory. 

 They are designed by J. Pemberton, and seem to be well adapted 

 to the various purposes which have hitherto been neglected. 

 The continuation of a lecture on the sun by Dr. Gould follows ; 

 be deals shortly with the prismatic analysis of light and with 

 the solar spectrum, explaining the curves of thermal, luminous, 

 and chemical intensity. Prof Leeds contributes a valuable paper 

 for the use of students " On the Measurement of the Angles of 

 Crystals," and Mr. Coleman Sellers reviews Mr. Crookes's 

 Experimental Investigation of a New Force ; he boldly states 

 that he believes Mr. Crookes has been deceived, giving several 

 reasons why he is of this opinion. An editorial note is attached 

 to this paper, stating that Mr. Sellers is very accomplished in 

 the field of legerdemain, which would lend peculiar value to his 

 view. 



Journal of the Fraiihlin Institute, October. The editorial 

 notes contain several valuable abstracts, amongst which may be 

 noticed one on Fluorescence, originally published by E. Lommel 

 in the " Repert. der Physik. " From his observations Lommel 

 shows that Stokes's law "that the refrangibility of the exciting 

 rays is always tlie upper limit of the refrangibility of the excited 

 rays " does not always hold good, and also that the very common 

 opinion that Fluorescence is an action by which refrangible rays 

 are converted into less refrangible rays is not altogether true. — 

 Prof Thurston communicates a report "On a Steam Boiler 

 Explosion," to which is added a clear statement of many of the 

 causes of such explosions. Prof. Heines contributes the first of 

 a series of papers on binocular vision ; he deals shortly with the 

 human eye and monocular vision, and then proceeds to some 

 phenomena of binocular vision. The last paper was read before 

 the American Association for the advancement of Science by 

 Prof Owen, "On Physiographic and Dynamical Geology in- 

 volving the discussion of Terrestrial Magnetism," in which it is 

 thought probable that the sun is the source of the modifications 

 on the earth, giving the form and dimensions to the land, and 

 that magnetism, either directly or by conversion into chemical 

 force, has been the most powerful agent in causing various 

 natural phenomena, such as the geysers, volcanoes, ocean cur- 

 rents, &c. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



London 

 Royal Society, December 7. — "On the Fossil Mammals of 

 Australia. Part VI. il^tn\ki riiascolomys, Geoffr." — By Prof Owen, 

 F. R. S. In this paper the author premises a reference to former ones 

 on the Osteology of existing Marsupialia, in the "Transactions 

 of the Zoological Society," and to his " Catalogue of the Osteo- 

 logical Series in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons," 

 in which are defined cranial characters serving to distinguish 

 existing species of the genus Phascoloinys, Geoffr. ; and after 

 showing, in subsequently received materials, the kind and extent 

 of variety of such characters in the same species, he proceeds to 

 apply the knowledge so gained to the determination of some fossil 

 remains of species of Wombat, similar in size to the known existing 

 kinds. The extinct Phascolotnys MitcJielli, indicated by remains 

 brought to England in 1835 by Sir Thomas Mitchell, C.B., the 



discoverer of the bone-caves of Wellington Valley, Australia, is 

 determined by specimens subsequently obtained by Prof Alex. 

 M. Thomson and Mr. Gerard Krefft, from the same caves. i\ 

 second species, distinguished by characters of the nasal bones, is 

 called after its discoverer Pliascolomys Krejftii. Modifications of 

 the lachrymal, maxillary, and palatal bones in the existing kinds 

 of Wombat are also applied to the determination of the fossiU : 

 specimens from the fresh water deposits of Queensland are thus 

 shown to belong to the species Phascoloinys Mitchelli, originally 

 founded on fossils from the breccia-caves of New South Wales. 

 The author next proceeds to point out the characters of the 

 mandible in existing Wombats, available in the determination of 

 extinct species of Phascoloinys. On this basis he defines speci- 

 mens which he provisionally refers to his Phascoloinys Kirff'tii. 

 He then points out the mandibular characters of Phascoloinys 

 Mitchelli, and shows that the existing Phascoloinys latifrons was 

 represented by mandibular fossils from the breccia-caves of 

 Wellington Valley. Proceeding next to the description of fossil 

 mandibular remains of the genus Phascoloinys from the fresh 

 water deposits of Queensland, the author defines Phascoloinys 

 Thoiitsoni, Phase, platyrhinits, and Phase, parvus. The latter, 

 seemingly extinct, species is markedly inferior in size to any of 

 the known existing species. An account of the extinct kinds of 

 Wombat, exceeding in size the existing species, will be the sub- 

 ject of a succeeding communication. The present is illustrated 

 by subjects occupying seven plates and eight woodcuts, all the 

 figures being from nature, aud of the natural size. 



" On Fluoride of Silver. Part III." By G. Gore, F.R.S. 



"On the Solvent Power of Liquid Cyanogen." By G. Gore, 

 F.R.S. 



Zoological Society, December 5. — John Gould, F.R.S., 

 V. P. , in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on the addi- 

 tions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during the 

 months of October and November 1 87 1, and called particular atten- 

 tion to a young female specimen of the Cape Fur-Seal (Otaria 

 piisilla), presented by Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of the 

 Cape Colony, being the first example of this interesting animal 

 received alive in Europe. — A letter was read from Dr. Bur- 

 meister, of Buenos Ayres, containing remarks on Messrs. 

 Sclater and Salvin's " .Synopsis of the Cracidce," published in 

 the Society's " Proceedings " for 1870. ^Dr. E. Hamilton exhi- 

 bited and made some remarks on an adult skull of the newly- 

 discovered Chinese Deer (Hydropotes inerniis), and compared it 

 with an immature skull of the same species exhibited by Mr. R. 

 Swinhoe at a meeting of the Society, February 10, 1S70. Dr. 

 Hamilton also drew attention to the statement made by his corre- 

 spondent respecting the wonderful fecundity of this animal, which 

 tended to corroborate the facts stated by Mr. Swinhoe on that 

 occasion. — Mr. Sclater exhibited and rem.arked on a skin of the 

 Water Opossum [Chironectes variegatus), which had been sent to 

 him by Mr. Robert B. White, from Medillin, United .States 

 of Columbia. — Prof Newton exhibited and made remarks 

 on the humerus of a Pelican (believed to be Pelecaiius crispus), 

 which had been found in the English fens. — A communication 

 was read from Surgeon Francis Day, Inspector-General of 

 Fisheries of British India, containing remarks on the fresh- 

 water Siluroids of India and Burmah, with observations on the 

 range of the species, their classification, and general geographical 

 distribution. — Mr. A. G. Butler read a paper on a small collec- 

 tion of Butterflies made at Loanda, the capital of the Portuguese 

 Settlements of Angola. A second paper by Mr. Butler ga\e the 

 description of a new genus of Lepidoptera, allied to Apaliira, 

 which was proposed to be called Eulaeeiira — A paper by Mr. 

 E. A. .Smith was read, containing a list of species of Shells 

 from the Slave Coast, West Africa, collected by the late Com- 

 mander Knocker, R.N., the majority of which had been dredged 

 at Whydah, on the Dahomey shore. — Prof Newton communi- 

 cated some notes by Herr Robert Collett, of Christiana, on the 

 singular asymmetry of the skull in Tengmalm's Owl (Strix 

 tenginalini). — Mr. Sclater read the third and final portion of a 

 series of notes on rare or little-known animals now or lately 

 living in the Society's Gardens. Mr. Sclater gave an account ot 

 a collection of Birds from Oyapok, on the river of the same name 

 which divides Cayenne from the northern frontier of Brazil, 

 amongst which were two species believed to be undescribed, and 

 proposed to be called Ochthoeca niiirina and Heteropelma igniceps. 

 A third communication from Mr. Sclater contained remarks on 

 the species of the genera Myiozetetes and Conopias, belonging 

 to the family Tyrannidx-. — Mr. E. W. H. Holdsworth 

 read some notes on the Red-spotted Cat (Felis rubiginosa) of 



