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NA TURE 



{July 5, 1883 



Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaftliche Zoologit, Bd. xxxviii. Heft 2 

 (April 27, 1883), contains: — Contribution to a knowledge of 

 the infusoria, by Dr. G. Entz (Plate 8). — On the primordial 

 skull of some mimmalia, by Fred. Decker (Plate 9). — On some 

 Coelenterata of the South Sea, by Dr. R. v. Lendenfeld, of 

 Melbourne, Part II. — On new Aplysinidiaj (Plates 10 to 13). — 

 On the embryology of Hydra, by Dr. A. Korotneff (Plate 14). — 

 On the larval development of Phoxichilidium plumularia, nov. 

 sp., by Dr. R. v. Lendenfeld, with woodcuts. 



Rendiconti of the R. htitulo Lombardo di Science e Litters, 

 May 10 and 17. — Preliminary inquiry into Zanardelli's proposed 

 penal code (continued), by Prof. A. Buccellati. — On the com- 

 mentaries of Gaius and the paraphrase of Theophilus, by Dr. 

 C. Ferrini. — A few remarks on the first five sections of 

 Ricardo's chapter on value, by Prof. E. Nazzani. — On the mor- 

 tality of infants in the various provinces of Italy, by Prof. G. 

 Sortnani. The death-rate during the first month is shown to be 

 much higher in winter than in summer, and in the northern than 

 in the southern provinces. Thus : 50 per 1000 in Palermo, 190 

 in Padova, medium for the kingdom 91 '9. — On the formation 

 of the primitive line and primitive cleft in the gastrula of the 

 Mexican axolotl, by Prof. G. Bellonci. —Alterations in the lower 

 hollow vein aggravating hepatic cirri sis, by Prof. A. de 

 Giovanni. — Observations on the comet of Brooks made in the 

 Brera Observatory, Milan, by G. V. Schiaparelli. — On a deposit 

 of fossiliferous Pliocene clay recently discovered near Taino, to 

 the east of Angera, in Lombardy, by Prof. T. Taramelli. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Linnean Society, June 21. — Prof. P. M. Duncan, F.R.S., 

 vice-president, in the chair. — The following gentlemen were 

 balloted for and elected Fellows of the Society, viz. Messrs. E. 

 J. Baillie, J. Borland, K, McKean, E. C. Malan, and H. A. A. 

 Nicholls. — A specimen of Poly poms sulfurcus was exhibited for 

 the Rev. A. A. Harland, obtained from the stem of a yew tree 

 in the Cliveden Woods, Bucks. — A series of fossil fruits, &c, 

 from Australia were shown for Dr. Charles E. Barnard ; among 

 these were species of Phymatocaryon, Eisothecaryon, Ochthodo- 

 caryon, Spondylortrobus, Plesiocapparis, and others. — Mr. W. 

 T. Thiselton Dyer exhibited several interesting vegetable econo- 

 mic products, and made remarks thereon. Of a species of wax 

 extracted by Mr. D. Morris of Jamaica from Myrica microcarpa, 

 it was stated that while the berries are used for obtaining wax in 

 South Africa, the West Indian fruits had not hitherto been used 

 for this purpose. A gray, camphor-like substance, the product 

 of Artemisia noxa, he mentioned as a rare example among the 

 Composite ; and there was a probability that this camphor 

 was used in the production of Indian ink by the Chinese, and 

 gave the peculiar aromatic odour to the true China ink. A rosary 

 was shown made of f raits of Trapa verbanensis, De Not. (locally 

 called Frutti de' Lago), from the Lago di Varese, Italy ; also spe- 

 cimens of wax and candles made from Rhus vemicifira of Japan ; 

 the latter preparation is quite a local industry, which unfortunately 

 is now ceasing on account of the rivalry of the cheap American 

 oils, — The following plants were exhibited, viz., Arntseris pusil/a 

 and .Hypocha-ris glabra, obtained by Mr. Thomas Howse in 

 West Surrey, and specimens of the Cheddar Pink (Dianthus 

 crsi/is), which had been grown freely by Mr. C. F. White on 

 his garden wall at Ealing. — A paper on the structure of the hard 

 parts of the Fungida: (part 2, Lophoserinae), was read by Prof. 

 Duncan, and another by Mr. R. A. Rolfe of Kew, on the Sela- 

 ginere described by Linnceus, Bergius, and Thunberg.— A 

 communication was read from Mr. H. G. Doran, on the 

 malleus of Rhytina stelleri, based on a specimen obtained 

 in the voyage of the Vega, and exhibited in the Swedish De- 

 partment of the International Fisheries Exhibition, under the 

 charge of Prof. Smitt of Stockholm. The author concludes 

 that this auditory os-icle in the extinct Northern Sea Cow (Rhy- 

 tina) is larger than in the Manatee (Manatus), and therefore it is 

 the largest and bulkiest malleus to be found in the whole section 

 of the animal kingdom where such a bone exists. In the cha- 

 racter of its body it resembles that of the Manatee rather than 

 that of the Dugong (Halicore) ; while in the manubrium it 

 differs in Rhytina from the other Sirenia, and is far more gene- 

 ralised. — The following paper was taken as read, Notes on some 

 new economic products recently received tit the Royal Gardens, 

 Kew, by W. T. Thiselton Dyer. Therein he treats of the West 

 African indigo, the Inhambane copal, and the Ogea gum as 



exhibited at a previous meeting. — On the testis of Limulus, 

 formed a communication from Mr. W. B. S. Benham. He 

 describes the structures in question, noting the apparent isola- 

 tion of many of the spermatic sacs, and the probability that 

 they are not diverticula of the spermatic duct, but secondarily 

 acquire connection therewith, the two structures being indepen- 

 dently developed. He remarks that in no crustacean do the 

 ducts of the generative glands form a network, whereas in the 

 King Crab, as in the Scorpion and other Arachnids, they do. — 

 There followed a paper on the Mollusca of H.M.S. Challenger 

 (part xx.), by the Rev. R. Boog Watson. This contains a 

 continued descriptive account of the family Bullida:, dealing 

 with the genera Atys and Scaphander, along with the group 

 Aplysiidd, genus Dolabrifera. 



Zoological Society, June 5.— Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., vice- 

 president, in the chair. — Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks 

 on two birds obtained near Lima by Prof. W. Nation, 

 C.M.Z.S., and on a collection of birds made in New Britain, 

 New Ireland, and the Solomon Islands, that has been sent to 

 him for examination by the Rev. George Brown, CMZ.S. — 

 Mr. Sclater also called the attention of the meeting to a Condor 

 from Peru, living in the Society's Gardens since 1877, which he 

 was induced to believe was a specimen of the " Condor pardo," 

 or Sarcorhamphus aqnatorialis, Sharpe. — Mr. G. French Angas 

 exhibited a collection of butterflies made during a recent visit to 

 the island of Dominica, W.I. — A communication was read from 

 Prof. Owen, C.B., entitled " Embry ological Testimony to 

 General Homology." — A communication was read from the 

 Rev. O. P. Cambridge on some new genera and species of 

 spiders. Eight spiders, representing as many new genera, were 

 de-cribed : two of them belonged to the family Theraphoridas, 

 one to the Dra'iidre, and the others to the Thomisidre. Three 

 of these species were from Ceylon, three from Caffraria, one 

 from New Zealand, and one from California. — A communication 

 was read from Mr. A. G. Butler containing an account of the 

 Lepidoptera collected by Mr. H. O. Forbes in the islands of the 

 TimorLaut group. Examples of twenty-three species were 

 obtained. — A communication was read from Mr. Herbert Druce 

 containing descriptions of some new species of moths of the 

 families Zygaenidae and Arctiidre, mostly collected in Ecuador 

 by Mr. C. Buckley. The number of new species described was 

 fifty, belonging to twenty-four genera. — A paper was read by 

 Messrs. Godman and Salvin, containing remarks on the varia- 

 tions of certain species of butterflies of the genus Agrias. — Mr. 

 G. A. Boulenger read a report on a collection of reptiles and 

 Batrachians from the Timor-Laut group of islands, formed by 

 Mr. H. O. Forbes. Two new species were described — the one 

 a lizard of the Australian genus Lophognathus, and the other a 

 snake of the Indian genus Simotes, propo ed to be named re- 

 spectively L. maculilabris and ..V. forbesii. The snake was of 

 special interest, as no species of the genus Simotes had hitherto 

 been previously known to occur eastward of Java. 



Chemical Society, June 21. — Dr. W. H. Perkin, pre-ident, 

 in the chair. — The following gentlemen were elected Fellows : — 

 G. S. Bowler, C. Beringer, T. H. Coleman, A. Esilman, H. E. 

 Harrison, C. Hulke, H. Heap, B. Hobbs, C. T. Heycock, W. 

 1. Livingston, B. P. Lascelles, H. R. Mill, M. F. Purcell, I. E. 

 Richardson, F. G. Roberts, W. R. Reffel, A. Smith, E. H. B. 

 Stephenson, A. W. Soward, A. H. Samuel, D. Wilson, and 

 R. Williams. — The following papers were read : — On evapora- 

 tion in vacuo, by H. McLeod. The author has contrived several 

 forms of apparatus, and in the present paper describes two. One 

 in which the water was evaporated in a glass dish with ground 

 top, at a temperature not exceeding 50 , 50C.C. evaporated in 

 two hours ; a Kortings water pump was used to obtain the 

 vacuum. Instead of the dish a test tube or a combustion tube 

 may be employed. In the second form of apparatus sulphuric 

 acid was allowed to trickle down the tube into which the 

 aqueous vapour passed, and thus the use of a condenser was 

 avoided. — Note on a hydrocarbon and some substitution deriva- 

 tives from camphor, by H. E. Armstrong. — On the preparation 

 of the pentathionates, by G. S. Shaw. The author has rein- 

 vestigated this subject, because Prof. Spring states in Liebig's 

 Annalen that he was unable to obtain pentathionates by using 

 the method described by V. Lewes. The author comple'ely 

 confirms the results obtained by Lewes, and has obtained beauti- 

 fully crystalline salts in which the ratio of potassium to sulphur 

 was as 2 atoms to 5. A note is appended to the paper by 

 Watson Smith. — On the decomposition of ammonium nitrate ; 



