2l6 



NATURE 



[June 28, 1883 



June 18. — M. Blanchard, president, in the chair. — A despatch 

 from San Francisco was read announcing M. Janssen's discovery 

 of the Fraunhofer spectrum and of the dark lines of the solar 

 spectrum in the corona, implying the presence of cosmic matter 

 round the sun. Five photographs were taken of the corona and 

 circumsolar regions to a distance of 15° for intra- Mercurial 

 planets. — A new method of determining the right ascensions 

 and absolute declinations of the stars (continued), by M. Lcewy. 

 — On a drawing of the great comet of 1882, executed at M. 

 Bischoffsheim's observatory near Nice, by M. Faye. — On the 

 movements observed in the monolithic pillars supporting the 

 meridian of the Neuchatel Observatory, by M. Faye. From 

 these observations, which have been regularly recorded since the 

 foundation of the Observatory in 1859, it appears that even the 

 most solid parts of the earth's crust are subject to slight move- 

 ments, slow, regular, and partly oscillatory ; also that the 

 variable intensity of the movements depends on the one hand on 

 the meteorological conditions of the year, while it is connected 

 on the other with the periodical perturbations produced in the 

 solar photosphere. — On a system of optical telegraphy established 

 by M. Adam between the Islands of Mauritius and Reunion, 

 by M. Faie. — On a carbon meteorite which fell on June 30, 

 1880, near Nogoga, province of Entre-rios, Argentine States, 

 by M. Daubree. — Experimental and clinical researches on the 

 method of producing anaesthesia in the organic affections of the 

 encephalon, by M. Brown-Sequard. — Numerous experiments 

 made on dogs, rabbits, &c, seem to show that the paralysis 

 caused by an organic affection of one of the various parts of the 

 brain depends scarcely ever, if at all, on the cause usually 

 assigned to it, that is, the loss of function of the part destroyed. 

 — On the determination of the fly-wheels of tool-engines, by 

 M. X. Kretz. — On the sulphurets of phosphorus, by M. Isam- 

 bert. — On a method of transformation of figures in space, by 

 MM. J. S. and M. N. Vanecek. — On the theory of the 

 binary form of the sixth order, by R. Perrin (continued). — On 

 the continuous reduction of certain quadratic forms, by E. 

 Picard. — On the magnifying power of optical instruments, byM. 

 Monoyer. — Evaporation of sea water in the south of France, and 

 more particularly in the Rhone delta, by M. Dieulafait. From 

 various observations the author concludes that throughout the 

 deltaic region, even to a distance of twelve miles inland, the 

 mean annual evaporation of the sea water is at least 6 mm. every 

 twenty-four hours. — On some properties of the sulphuret, selen- 

 ide, and telluride of tin, by A. Ditte. — Determination of the 

 carbonic acid of the air in the stations selected for observing the 

 transit of Venus, by MM. A. Muntz and E. Aubin. — Volumetric 

 quantitative analysis of sulphuret of carbon in sulphocarbonates, 

 by E. Falieres. — On the emeticsof mucic acid, by D.Klein. — On 

 the respiratory organs in the Chelonia, by L. Charbonnet Salle. 

 — On the cellules of the follicule in the ovum, and on the nature 

 of sexuality, by A. Sabatier. From his protracted studies of 

 the processes of gemmation and parthenogenesis, the author con- 

 cludes that in the reproductive elements there are two principles 

 of opposed polarities, the centripetal (blastophore)and centrifugal 

 (spermatoblast). When the two polarities are in a reciprocal state 

 of equilibrium the cellule is in a state of sexual neutrality, and 

 capable of parthenogenesis. But should the equilibrium become 

 disturbed by the disappearance of either element through any 

 biological change, one of the elements becomes predominant and 

 the cellule acquires a determined sexuality, male by the elimina- 

 tion of the centrifugal, female by that of the centripetal element. 

 There may thus be various degrees of sexuality, which become 

 completely differentiated only through successive processes of 

 elimination. — New method of discolouration of the pigment in 

 the eye of Arthropods, by C. E. della Torre. — Observations on 

 the movements of the ground in the Chiloe Archipelago, by 

 Ph. Germain. 



Berlin 



Physiological Society, June I. — Prof. Kronecker reported 

 that in a demonstration of the action of the cooling down of 

 nerves upon their conductibility, he observed a lesser velocity of 

 conduction of the stimulus instead of the greater velocity that he 

 expected, and that he had found this observation confirmed by 

 subsequent experiments. Hence the correctness of an earlier 

 casual observation of Herr von Helmholtz, that the cooling 

 down of a nerve diminished its conductibility, which had been 

 denied by subsequent observers, has been vindicated ; but Prof. 

 Kronecker admits that the contrary may also be true, because 

 frogs may present, under different conditions and at different 

 seasons, utterly diverse phenomena. The influence of tempera- 



ture on the excitability of sensory nerves, the complement of the 

 above observation, was investigated in frogs whose spinal cord 

 was cut through by measuring the length of time occupied by 

 reflex movements when their legs were dipped into dilute sul- 

 phuric acid ('5 or I per thousand) at different temperatures. In 

 the case of all frogs and at all active degrees of concentration of the 

 acid, the time required for the reflex action was shortest, i.e. the 

 immersed leg was quickest drawn out, when the acid was coldest — 

 o° or +4° up to +6° — and the time required for the reflex action 

 was on the contrary longer at the temperature of the air of the 

 room, and longest at the highest temperature that was employed, 

 30° to 35 . The influence of cooling down, not the peripheral 

 nerves, but the spinal cord itself, will be investigated in future 

 experiments. — Prof, du Bois Reymond communicated a short 

 notice from a letter of Prof. Babuchin's to him, which contains 

 a fact interesting as showing the power of adaptation to their 

 surroundings that electric fish possess. Prof, du Bois Reymond 

 had previously called attention to the fact that the electric eels 

 and malapterurus that live in badly-conducting fresh water show, 

 in as far as they have accommodated themselves to this medium, 

 a considerable development of their electric organ in length 

 compared with the small size of its transverse diameter, whereas 

 in the electric rays that live in sea water, which is a good con- 

 ductor, the electric organ has a greater transverse development ; 

 consequently the electromotor powers of the electric organs of 

 the electric eel and malapterurus on one side, and of the electric 

 ray on the other, were to one another inversely as the conducti- 

 bility of the surrounding media. The measurements of Hum- 

 boldt and of Sachs of growing electric eels had shown that in 

 their growth the electric organ increased proportionately more 

 in length than in transverse diameter, which is a Ideological 

 adaptation to the badly-conducting fresh water. Now the above- 

 mentioned note of Prof. Babuchin contained the communication 

 that in growing electric rays the electric organ increased pro- 

 portionately much more in breadth than in height ; this is like- 

 wise in conformity with the adaptation to the sea water, which 

 is a good conductor. 



CONTENTS page 



The Links of the Animal World. By Henry de 



Varigny 193 



Colin Clout's Calendar. By Dr. George J. Romanes, 



F.R.S 194 



Agriculture in India. By Prof. John Wrightson . 195 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



Aurorae of October 2 and November 17, 1882. — Dr. 



J. A. C. Oudemans 196 



Effects of Lightning.— Lieut. -Col. A. Parnell, R.E. 197 



The Soaring of Birds.— Rev. W. R. Manley. . . 198 

 Geology of Cephalonia. — Dr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, 



F.R.S 199 



On the Chemical Characters of the Venom of Serpents. 



—Sir J. Fayrer, K.C.S.I., F.R.S 199 



Earthquake in South- West England. — W. F. Collier ; 



Samuel Drew 199 



On Whales, Past and Present, and their Probable 



Origin. By Prof. Flower, F.R.S 199 



The Perak Tin-Mines 202 



The Size of Atoms. By Sir William Thomson, 



F.R.S {With Diagrams) 203 



Death of the President of the Royal Society . . . 205 



Notes 205 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Next Total Solar Eclipse 208 



The Annular Solar Eclipse of October 31, 1883 . . 208 



The Great Comet of 1882 209 



Geographical Notes 209 



The Spectrum of the Aurora. By Thos. William 



Backhouse 209 



Science at Kazan 212 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 213 



Scientific Serials 213 



Societies and Academies 214 



