May 31, 1883] 



NA TURE 



119 



organisms found in ordinary and roalariac earths, by A. Ceci. — 

 Transfusion of blood and its effects on nutrition, by P. Albertoni. 

 — On the pathological anatomy of the cornea in the glaucomatous 

 eye, by F. Tartuferi. — On the presence of a cordon or slip on 

 the Uncus of the Hippocampus in the brain of man and some 

 other animals, by C. Giacomini. — On the chemical composition 

 of the egg and its envelope in the common |frog (Rana tern- 

 poraria), by P. Giacosa. — Anatomical considerations of the 

 doctrine of cerebral localisations, by C. Golgi. 



Tome ii. fasc. 3, February I, 1883, contains anatomical con- 

 siderations of the doctrine of cerebral localisations, by C. Golgi 

 (continued). — On compensative hypertrophy of the kidney, 

 by C. Golgi. —Experimental studies on hypnotism, by A. 

 Tamburini and G. Seppili. — The origin of the mesoderm and 

 its relations to the vitelius, by G. Romiti. — On the anatomy of 

 a fcetal Otaria (O.jubala), by L. Camerano. — On the physiology 

 of smooth muscular tUsue, by A. Capparelli. — On the physio- 

 logical action of certain substances on the vesical muscles, by P. 

 Pellacani. — On the anemia of miners from a parasitological 

 point of view, by E. Perroncito. — On the change in form of uric 

 acid by the action of glycerine, by J. Colasanti. — On Ptomaines, 

 by J. Guareschi and A. Mosso. — On some endoparasitic Protista, 

 by Dr. Grassi. 



Tome iii. fasc. i., April 15, 1883, contains : — On the sanitary 

 improvement of the Roman Campagna, by C. Tomma-i- 

 Crudeli. — On the anemia of miners (conclusion), by E. Perron- 

 cito. — On some endoparasitic Protista (conclusion), by Dr. 

 Grassi —On the presence of a secretive tissue in vertebrates, by 

 C. Emery. — On vibratile endothelium in mammals, by J. 

 Paladino. — On the attenuation of charbon vims, and on its 

 transmission from mother to fcetus, by E. Perroncito. —On 

 the acoustic epithelium, by A. Tafani. — On the termination of 

 nerves in the striated muscles of torpedo, by J. V. Ciaccio. — The 

 general physiology of smooth muscular tissue, by E. Sertoli. — 

 On a new morphological element of the blood, and its import- 

 ance in thrombosis and coagulation, by J. Bizzozero. — New 

 studies of the che-tnut disease, known as the ink disease, by 

 J. Gibelli. 



The Bulletin de V Academic Royale des Sciences, des Lettres, 

 et des Beaux-Arts for 1883, part i., contains papers by F. 

 Henrijean, on the part played by alcohol in nutrition ; by MM. 

 Valerius and Van der Mensbrugijhe, on M. Deliurier's observa- 

 tions on the concentration of solar rays and the transformati in 

 of electricity into heat ; by W. Spring, on the colour of marine, 

 Ucustrine, and fluvial waters; by C. Le Paige, on the holo- 

 graphy of the third order in algebra ; by Baron Northomb, on the 

 political relations of the Netherlands during the seventeenth 

 century. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Royal Society, February 1. — "On the Affinities of Thyla- 

 coleo." By Prof. Owen, C.B., F.R.S., &c. 



Since the communication of the paper " On Thylacoleo," in 

 the Philosophical Transactions for 1871, further explorations of 

 the caves and breccia-fissures in Wellington Valley, New South 

 Wales, have been made, by a grant for that purpose from the 

 Legislature of the Colony, and carried out by E. B. Ramsay, 

 F.L.S., Curator of the Museum of Natural History, Sydney. 

 The present paper treats of the fossils contributing to the further 

 restoration of the great carnivorous Marsupial ( Thylacoleo 

 carnifex, Ow.) They exemplify the entire dentition in situ of 

 the upper and lower jaws of a mature individual ; the bones of 

 the forelimb, of which those of the antibrachium and the ungual 

 phalanges are described, are compared with those of other Mar- 

 supials, and of placental, especially feline, Carnivora. An 

 entire lower jaw with the articular condyles adds to the grounds 

 for determination of the habits and affinities of the extinct 

 Marsupial. 



Figures of these fossils of the natural size accompany the 

 paper. 



Geological Society, May 9. — J. W. Hulke, F.R.S., pre- 

 sident, in the chair. — Rev. William Spiers and H. A. Williams 

 were elected Fellows of the Society. — The following communi- 

 cations were read : — The age of the newer gneissic rocks of the 

 Northern Highlands, by Mr. C. Callaway, D.Sc, F.G.S., with 

 notes on the lithology of the specimens collected, by Prof. T. G. 

 Bonney, F. K.S. The object of the author was to prove that the 

 eastern gneiss of the Northern Highlands, usually regarded as 



of " Lower Silurian " age, was to be placed in the Archaean. 

 While admitting that this gneiss frequently overlies the quartzo- 

 dolomitic group of Erriboll and Assynt, he held that this rela- 

 tion was due to dislocation accompanied by powerful thrust from 

 the east, which had squeezed both formations into a series of 

 folds, thro-vn over towards the west, so as to cause a general 

 easterly dip. In Assynt the "Upper Quartzite" was first 

 discussed. The author described several sections which he con- 

 sidered to prove that this band was the ordinary quartzite 

 repeated east of a great fault, which brought up the Hebridean ; 

 in one place, Glen Coul, the quartzite being conformably suc- 

 ceeded by the brown flags and dolomite. The " igneous rocks " 

 of Nicol ("Logan Rock" of Dr. Heddle) were rcg<rded as the 

 old gneiss brought up by a fault and thrown over on to the 

 Assynt group to the maximum breadth of more than a mile. 

 The "Upper Linestone" of authors was described as either 

 outliers of the dolomite or a part of the Caledonian series. The 

 " Caledonian" rocks were seen in Glen Coul to be immediately 

 overlying the Hebridean, the Assynt group being caught in the 

 angle between the two gneisses, and bent back in overthrown folds. 

 The mountain groups of Assynt were described as usually 

 consisting of cores of Hebridean gneiss swathed in or capped by 

 sheets of quartzite. In the former case the quartzite on the 

 western slopes was contorted into overthrown folds by the 

 thrust from the east. In the Loch Erriboll district, the "gra- 

 nulite" of Nicol was considered to be a lower division of the 

 Caledonian gneiss, though bearing some resemblances to the 

 Hebridean. In other respects the views of Nicol were regarded 

 as substantially correct. Along the entire length of' Loch 

 Erriboll, a distance of about twelve miles, the thrust from the 

 east had bent back the Assynt group into overthrown folds, and 

 pushed the Caledonian gneiss on the top of the inverted 

 quartzite. This had produced the appearance of an "upper" 

 quartzite passing "conformably" below the eastern gneiss. 

 The superior antiquity of the Caledonian was confirmed by the 

 occurrence of outliers of quartzite upon the Arnaboll (Lo-ver 

 Caledonian) series, and by the fact that the granite, which sent 

 numberless veins into the gneiss, never penetrated the quartzite 

 and associated rocks. — On a group of minerals from Lilleshall, 

 Salop, by C. J. Woodward, B.Sc, F.G.S.— Fossil Chilosto- 

 matous Bryozoa from Muddy Creek, Victoria, by A. W. Waters, 

 F.G.S. 



Chemical Society, May 17. — Dr. W. H. Perkin, president, 

 in the chair. — Capt. W. de W. Abney, F.R.S., delivered a 

 lecture on photographic action studied spectroscopically. The 

 lecturer said he wished that all chemists were photographers : 

 photography occupied the borderland between chemistry and 

 physics ; he was firmly convinced that photographic action was 

 interatomic. The action of a developer was then experimentally 

 illustrated ; this action is physical. Light causes the liberation 

 of iodine in a film of silver iodide, and the developer precipi- 

 tates metallic silver. The silver so reduced is infinitesimal, and 

 must be in many cases derived from the film. The positive pole 

 of the electric arc was found to be the best source of light. 

 Gratings could not be used for quantitative work, as they varied 

 so much in their ruling ; a glass prism was therefore used to form 

 the spectrum. A film of silver chloride absorbs only the violet 

 end of the spectrum ; silver iodide absorbs more, and the 

 bromide most of all ; accordingly when a photograph of the 

 spectrum was taken on these three films it was seen that the 

 portion of the chloride acted upon was very much less than 

 when bromide of silver was used. It was shown that a sensi- 

 tiser essentially takes up the halogen liberated by the action of 

 light. One salt of silver may act as a sensitiser to another salt 

 of silver. Photographic action is completely prevented by 

 the presence of oxidisers, as bichromate, &c. Reverse photo- 

 graphs were discussed, and the action of sodium sulphite in 

 preventing the evil effects of over exposure. The peculiar green 

 condition of silver bromide which is sensitive to ultra-red rays 

 was explained. In conclusion the lecturer said that his principal 

 object was to warn chemists of some of the numerous pitfalls 

 which they might encounter in scientific photography. 



Meteorological Society, May 16.— Mr. J. K. Laughton, 

 F.R.A.S., president, in the chair.— F. A. Bellamy, T. A. 

 Mercer, Rev. H. J. Poole, and A. Wise, M.D., were elected 

 Fellows of the Society. The following papers were read :— 

 Composite portraiture adapted to the reduction of meteorological 

 and other similar observations, by G. M. Whipple, B.Sc., 

 F.R.A.S. It has often been remarked that one of the main, if 



