196 



NATURE 



\_yan. 4, 1872 



in which lie claims to have proved long ago that mercury gives 

 off vapours even below the Ireezing point of water. Upon this 

 paper M. Boussingault ma'e some remaiks. — M- P. A. Favrc 

 presented a paper " On the Electrical Conductibility of Lie] aids 

 without Electrolysis," in which he gives the details of certain ex- 

 periments which seem to sliovv that liquids have a conductibility 

 of their own. — M. S. Meunier read a note on the co-existence 

 of two lithological types in the same fall of meteorites. The 

 author stated that the specimens in the Museum at Paris, from the 

 falls of .Sigena in Spain, on November 17, 1773, and of Tren/ano 

 in Italy on November 12, 1856, each includes two forms of rock, 

 one, the Indian meteoric stone, described by Maskelyne under 

 the name of bnstitc, the other identicil with pirnallite. He re- 

 marked upon the singularity of this phenomenon, which, he thinks, 

 indicates that the stones which fell at Trenzano and Sigena were 

 derived from the same deposits, and that bustite and parnallite 

 have been stratigraphically related. — M. W. de Fonvielle pre- 

 sented an explanation by means of the theory of fringes of the 

 appearance of luminous halos observed during balloon ascents. 

 — M. Berthelot communicated a farther series of thermo-chemical 

 investigations upon the state of bodies in solutions, in which he 

 discussed his researches upon the double decomposition of cer- 

 tain metallic salts. — A note was read on an apparatus for measur- 

 ing the temperature of alterations and detonations of explosive 

 compounds by MM. L. Leygue and Champion. This apparatus 

 consists of a bar of metal to be heated at one end, upon various 

 parts of which the explosive compounds maybe p aced. — M. F. 

 Pisani communicated an analysis of the amblygonite (montebra- 

 site) of Montebras, showing that the only difference between 

 this mineral and the amblygonite of Arnslo.f consists in its con- 

 taining a little less soda. — M. A. Trecul read an important 

 memoir on the origin of the lactic and alcoholic yeasts, upon 

 which M. Pasteur made some remarks. — M. H. .Sainte-Claire 

 Deville presented a note by M. F. Cailletet on the origin of the 

 carbon fixed by plants contaming chlorophyll, which he regards 

 as wholly derived from the carbonic acid of the atmosphere ; 

 and M. Beclard referred to memoirs presented by him in 185S 

 on the influence of violet light upon vital phenomena. 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



iiNGLlSH. — Researches of the Calculus of Variations 

 millan and Co.).--Volcanocs, the Characters of thei 

 bcrope (Longmans).— A Vision of Creation, a Poem : C 

 mans).— Hymns for Modern .Man : H. Noyes (Longm: 



Foreign. — Principes de Biologi 

 (Bailliire et fils). 



I. Todhunter (Mac- 

 Phenomena: J. P. 

 Collingwood (Long- 

 appliques a la Medecine ; Dr. Ch. Girard 



PAMPHLETS RECEIVED 

 English.— Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute, Vol. II., No. 4 — Ij 



— Science Directory of 

 logical Notes for use in Science 

 Uceanic Explorations : W. L. 

 Croll.— The Quarterly German 

 belore the Scottish Arboricul- 

 The 



irly Journal of Amateur Mechan 

 the Department of Science and Art. — Mete 

 Classes: J. H. Collins.— Remarks on cert 

 Jordan.— On Ocean Currents, Parts. !■ 

 Magazine for November. — Inaugural Add 

 tural Society : R. Hutchison.— Public School Refo) 



Fauna of Devon, Part 7 : E. Parfitt.— On the Boring of Molluscs, kc. : n.. 

 Parfitt. — TransactioUN of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. -^Ei^ht 

 Days with the Spiritualists : Jas. Gillingham — Report of the Board ofVisitors 

 to the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. — Figures of Characteristic British 

 Fossils, Parts: W. H. Baily. — Method of Teaching Arithmetic: J. G. 

 Fitch.— On the Relation of Therapeutics to ilodern Physiology ; R. Madden. 

 —On the Method of Measuring the Lateral Diffusion of a Current : J. G. H. 

 Gordon.-The Power above Matter: D. de B. Hovell.— Annual Report of 

 the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers. — Mining Magazine and 

 Review, No. i.— Ordin.try .Meetings of the Newcastle-on-l'yne Chemical 

 Society, 1871. 72. — ^Annual Report and Transactions of the Plymouth Insti- 

 tute, Vol. II., Part 2 ; Vol. III., Parts i, 2 ; Vol. IV., Parts i, 2.— Denuda- 

 tion in relation to Sedementary Stratification : G. Race. — List of Members of 

 the Royal Microscopical Society, 1871. 



American .-^nd Colonial.— Notes of some Cretaceous Vertebrates : E. 



D. Cope. — Preliminary Catalogue of the Bright Lines in the Spectrum of the 

 Chromosphere: C. A. Voung.— Monthly Notices of Papers and Proceedings 

 of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 1870.— A Catalogue of the Birds of New 

 Zealand : F. W. Hutton. — Remarks on the .adaptive Colouration of Mollusca : 



E. S. Morse.— Transactions of the Entomological Society of New South 

 Wales, Vol. II., Parts. 



Foreign.- Ofversigt af kongl. Vetenskaps Akad. Furhandlingar, Nus. 3, 

 4, 8, 9, 10.— Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologic, No. 5.— Zeitschrift fiir Meleorologic 

 No. 23,— Giornale di Sicilia, No. 268.— Nova plantarum species : A. Kerner. 

 — Kdnnen aus Bastarten Aitcn werden : A. Kerner. — Ueber Iris Cengiaiti 

 Ambrosi ; A. Kerner.— Ueber den Einfluss der Winde auf die Verbreitung 

 dcr Samen: A. Kerner —Association Scientifique di France, No. :ij.— 

 Gazzetta Chimica Italiana, No. g. — Sul brumuro di etilidene : E. Patcrno. — 

 Sintesi due nuovi clorobromuri di carbonio : E. Patemo. — Azione del bromo- 

 cloruro di fosforo al clorales : E. Paterno. 



THURSDAY, Januarv 4. 



n: rioN, at 4.— The Philosophy of Magic. 3. The M:.gic uf 

 : J. C. Brough, F.C.3. 



FRIDAY, jANUAkv 5. 

 iSOCiA 1 ION, at S.— On the Overlapping of Several Geological 

 1 the North Wales Border : D. C. Davies. 



SATURDAY, Januarv 6. 

 at 2.- On Ice, Water, Vapour, and Ail 



Dr.Tyi 



SUNDAY, Januarv 7. 

 SiiNUAV Lecture Societv, at 4. — On Atoms ; bein^ an expl.ination of what 

 is definitely known abfut Ihem : Prof. W. K. Clifford, M. A. 



MONDAY, Januarys. 



RovAL GEOGRAPUirAL SociETY, at 8. 30. — On Buodcr Murayah, Somal 

 Land : Capt. S. B. Miles.— On a Journey to the Murut Country in 

 Northern Borneo: Lieut. De Crespigny — On a Description of Feinandu 

 Noronha : Dr. A. Rattray. 



Victoria Institute, at 8,— Chance Impossible : Dr. J. H Wheailiy. 



TUESDAY, Januarv q. 



8.- On Photography In the Print'ng Press ; 



Photographic Socii 

 J. R.Sawyer. 



WEDNESDAY, Januarv lo. 



Geological Societv, at 8. — On the Foraminifera of the family Rola'ina: 

 (Carpenter) found in the Cretaceous formations, with Notes on their Ter- 

 tlarv and Re:ent Reprc-entatives : Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.G.S.,aod 

 W. K. Pa.ker, F.R.S.— Notes on the Geoligy of the Plain of Morocco and 

 the G eat Atl .s : Gei. Mav, F.G S.— Further Notes on the Geology of 

 the Ne'ghbourhnod of Malaga: M. D, M. d'Orneta. 



THURSDAY, Janu 

 : 8 30. 



OVAL Society, : 



)CiETV OF Antiquaries, at 8.30. 



:.\TrtEMATicAL SociErY, at 8. -On the Surfaces the loci of the vertices of 



cones which satis V SIX Condi ions: Prof Cayley.— On the Constants that 



occur in certain summations by BernoulUi's series: J. W. L. GlaisI.er.— 



On the Construction of large tables of divisors and of the factors of the 



first difierencesof prime powers: W. B. Davis. -On the Parallel Surfaces 



of Conicoids and Conies : S. Roberts 



ONDON Institution, at 4. — The Philosophy of Magic. 4. The Magic of 



the Laboratory : J. C. Brough, F. C.S. 



CONTENTS Page 



British Preparations kor the Approaching Transit op Venus. 



By J. Carpenter, F.R.A.S 177 



JuKEs's Manual of Geology 179 



Brehm's Bird-Life 180 



Our Book Shelf iSi 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Mayer and De Saussure.— Prof W.T.Thiselton DVER . . . iSi 



PhenomenaofCoiUact.— E.J. Stone, F.RA.S 182 



The Origin of Insects.— Benjamin T. Lowne 183 



In Re Fungi 184 



Mr. Baily on Kiltork.an Fossils.— William Carruthers, F.R.S. . 1S4 

 Zoological Results of the Eclipse Expedition. By H. N. 



MOSELEY 1S4 



Melting AND Regelation OF Ice. By James Thomson Botto.mlev 185 



Electrophysiolocica.— I. By Dr. C. B. Radcliffb r86 



Ice-Making in the Tropics. By Dr. T. A. Wise 189 



Notes . . . , ^90 



Periodicity of Sun-Spots. By W. De La Rue, F.R.S., Prof. 

 Balfour Stewart, F.R.S., and B. Loewy, F.R.A.S. (Willi 



diagram.) 192 



Prof Agassiz's Exploring Expedition "M 



Scientific Serials I'H 



Societies and Academies '95 



Books and Pamphlets Received 19"^ 



Diary lo^ 



NOTICE 

 IVc beg leave to state that we deelinc to rduru rejected communica- 

 tions, and to this rule tve can make no exception. Communica- 

 tions respecting Subscriptions or Aikertiscmeiits must be addressed 

 to the Publishers, NOT to tlit Editor. 



