May 23, 1 901] 



NA TURE 



95 



Entomological Society, May l. — The Rev. Canon 

 W. W. Fowler, president, in the chair. — Mr. C. G. Barrett 

 exhibited f<:)r Mr. H..^^'. A'ivian a specimen of Xyhphasia 

 laterilia, Ilufn., a species not hitherto recorded in the 

 British Islands, taken in South Wales by Mr. W. E. R. Allen ; 

 also Dciopcia pulc/iel/a, from the same district ; Dianthecia 

 hitea^^o, var. harrettii^ from one of the islands off the 

 Glamorganshire coast, and varieties of Eiipithccia virgaiireala, 

 much blackened, E. hirkiata, E. sa/yrala and E. exigunia, 

 taken by Mr. Vivian. — Mr. M. Jacoby exhibited specimens 

 of Hcliocopris gigas, L. , from Mashonaland, and Silpha 

 higiittaia, Fairm., from Patagonia. — Sir George Hampson 

 exhibited two females of an apterous Lasiocampid from the 

 Transvaal, with cocoon and ova bred by Colonel J. M. Fawcett, 

 5th Lancers. The larva is very much like that of the British 

 Lasiocampa riibi. The female does not emerge from the 

 cocoon, its antennae being aborted and all the joints coalesced 

 with a flabellate organ with slight stria; indicating the joints ; 

 the fore tibioe short with traces of tibial claws. The male is 

 unknown. — Mr. H. -St. J. Donisthorpe exhibited specimens of 

 Kipersia tomlini, Newst., a coccid new to Britain, taken among 

 Lasiiis iiiger gX Portland in April 1900. — Mr. C. P. Pickett 

 exhibited aberrations and varieties of Lycaeim bellargiis, L. 

 corydon and L. astrarc/u, taken by him in August 1900 at 

 Folkestone and Dover. — Mr. H. Goss exhibited a gynandro- 

 morphous specimen of I.ycaena hellargus which he had 

 taken at Reigate in June 1900. It had the characters 

 of a male in the right wings, and the characters of a female 

 in the left wings, which were, however, not entirely free 

 from the blue scales of the male. — Dr. Chapman exhibited a 

 cocoon of Anlheraea inylitia and a flint from Redhill — two 

 objects with practically nothing in common. Whilst dissenting 

 in tola from those who see nothing in many cases of mimicry 

 but accidental resemblance, he presented them with this as a 

 case undoubtedly in accordance with their views, the cocoon 

 and the flint being remarkably alike. — Prof Poulton exhibited 

 an apparatus invented by him to determine the strength of the 

 formic acid discharged by the ant in defence of its nest. A dis- 

 cussion followed, in which Prof. Hudson Beare said he had 

 found his skin affected by Formica riifa, and Mr. Donisthorpe 

 that the skin had been removed from his hand and his gloves 

 burnt in patches after being placed in the nest of the same 

 species. — Mr. F. Enock exhibited numerous specimens illustra- 

 tive of the metamorphoses of dragon-flies. — Mr. Enock read a 

 paper entitled " The Metamorphoses of .Eschna cynnea, illus- 

 trated by the electric lantern with photographs taken from life." 

 — Sir George Hampson, Bart. , communicated a paper on the 

 classification of a new family of the Lepidoptera ; Mr. Martin 

 Jacoby a paper entitled " .\ further contribution to the know- 

 ledge of African Phytophagous Coleoptera"; and Mr. Gilbert 

 Arrow a paper entitled " The Carabid genus Pheropsophus ; 

 notes and descriptions of new species." 



Mathematical Society, May 9.— Dr. Hobson, F.R.S., 

 president, in the Chair. — Major MacMahon, R.A., F.R.S., com- 

 municated two notes, on the series whose terms are the cubes and 

 higher powers of the binomial coefficients and a case of algebraic 

 partitionment. — Mr. J. B. Dale read a paper on the product of 

 two spherical surface harmonics and Mr. H. M. Macdonald 

 communicated a note on the zeros of the spherical harmonic 

 P«~"' (m)- — A note on a property of recurring series by Mr. G. B. 

 Mathews, F. R.S., was communicated from the chair. 



Royal Meteorological Society, May 15. — Mr. W. H. Dines, 

 president, in the chair. — Mr. Rupert T. Smith read a paper on 

 the periodicity of cyclonic winds, which was the result of a 

 discussion of his own observations made in the neighbourhood 

 of Birmingham during the twenty-six years 1874-1899. The 

 equinoxes do not appear to be very stormy periods, but from the 

 author's tables it is shown that the greatest frequency and force 

 of cyclonic wind occurs some two weeks before the spring 

 equinox and some three weeks after the autumn equino.x. — 

 Mr. W. Marriott gave an account of the bequest by the late 

 Mr. G.J. Symons, F. R.S., to the Royal Meteorological Society. 

 By his will Mr. Symons bequeathed to the Society his Cross of 

 the Legion of Honour, the gold Albert Medal awarded to him 

 by the Society of Arts, the testimonial album presented to him 

 in 1S79 by the fellows of the Royal Meteorological Society, and 

 , the sum of 200/. , as well as such of his books, pamphlets, maps 

 \\ and photographs of which there were no copies in the Society's 

 1 library. Mr. Marriott stated that from Mr. Symons's valuable 



NO. 1647, VOL. 64] 



collection he had selected for the Society over 5000 books and 

 pamphlets and about 900 photographs. \. large number of 

 the books were old and rare works, 750 bearing dates previous 

 to 1800, while S were as early as the fifteenth century. By 

 this bequest the Royal Meteorological Society now possesses 

 the most complete and extensive meteorological library in 

 existence. 



Cambridge. 

 Philosophical Society, May 6. — Prof. A. Macalister in the 

 chair. — The oscillations of a fluid in an annular trough, by Mr. 

 B. Cookson. — Some experiments upon beams under endlong 

 compression, by Mr. H. E. Wimperis. — Liveingite, a new 

 mineral from the binnenthal, by Messrs. R. H. Solly and 

 H. Jackson. This new mineral, to which the name "Liveingite" 

 has been given in honour of Prof. G. D. Liveing, F. R.S. , is a 

 new member of the group of sulpharsenites of lead which com- 

 prise Sartorite PbS -f As.jSj, Rathite 3PbS-l-2A52S3, Dufrenoysite 

 2PbS-f AS.jSs and Jordinite 4PbS -I- AsjS;,. — Note on the mag- 

 netic deflection of kathode rays, by Mr. H. A. Wilson. In this 

 note the results of measurements of the magnetic deflection of 

 kathode rays proceeding from kathodes of different metals are 

 recorded. The results show that t/;« is independent of the 

 nature of the metal forming the kathode. — On the diminution of 

 the potential diff'erence between the electrodes of a vacuum tube 

 produced by a magnetic force at the kathode, by Mr. J. E. 

 .-Vlmy. — An attempt to discover radiation from the surface, of 

 metals carrying alternating currents of high frequency, by 

 Mr. O. W. Richardson. The experiments were suggested by 

 the corpuscular theory of the conduction of electricity in metals. 

 The radiation expected was of the nature of secondary Rontgen 

 rays. It was sought to detect this by its photographic effect 

 and by the conductivity it would produce in the surrounding 

 air. 'The maximum current density at the surface of the wires 

 used was 130,000 amperes per sq. cm. and was produced by the 

 discharge of two Leyden jars connected to an induction coil. 

 A 'sensitive method was used to detect the leak, which was 

 shown to be not greater than that generally present in air. 



Dublin. 



Royal Dublin Society, February 20. — Mr. J. Holms 

 Pollok in the chair. — In the absence of Prof. W. F. Barrett, 

 F.R.S., Mr. R. J. Moss read a paper by the Rev. H. V. 

 Gill, S.J., on the stratified discharge in Geissler tubes, which 

 was communicated to the Society by Prof. Barrett. — Prof. J. 

 Joly, F.R.S., read a note on the pseudo-opacity of anatase. 



March 20. — Sir Howard Grubb, F.R.S., in the chair. — Sir 

 Howard Grubb read a paper on a new collimating telescope 

 sight for large and small ordnance. — A paper entitled "Varia- 

 tion — Germinal and Environmental," by Prof. J. C. Ewart, 

 F.R.S., was communicated by Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S. 

 — Mr. J. Holms Pollok read a paper on a new thermo-chemical 

 notation. — Prof W. N. Hartley, F.R.S., presented a paper on 

 the conditions of equilibrium of hygroscopic and deliquescent 

 salts of copper, cobalt and nickel. — Dr. W. E. Adeney read a 

 paper on ultra-violet spark spectra from the Rowland's spectro- 

 meter in the Royal University of Ireland. — Prof. W. F. Barrett, 

 F. R.S., exhibited a series of recent radiographs. 



April 17. — The Earl of Rosse in the chair. — Prof. J. Joly, 

 F'.R. S. , read a paper describing a new form of electric lurnace. 

 The furnace consists of a fire-clay crucible in the walls of 

 which a platinum wire, wound in the form of a spiral, is imbedded 

 and through which a current is passed. Very high temperatures, 

 up to the softening of the clay, are obtainable. A pattern in 

 which the charged crucible is placed within an outer fire-clay 

 ve.ssel or muffle, heated as described, is recommended. Here the 

 crucible may be of platinum or any refractory material. A reflector 

 surrounds the muflle. A minute pattern was also shown in 

 operation designed to give an intense local temperature in certain 

 experiments on the viscosity of silicates. These furnaces are 

 sufficiently durable to be of value in many experiments where a 

 prolonged high temperature is required, controlable with con- 

 siderable accuracy and free from flame contamination. — Prof. 

 Joly also read a paper on a new method of identif)'ing minerals 

 in rock-sections by their birefringence. The degree of thinness 

 which it is necessary to confer upon rock-sections is attended 

 with the evil that the value of birefringence as a means of 

 diagnosis is largely restricted to substances of high birefringence, 

 the polarisation colours of many of the most important rock- 



