240 



NA TURE 



\July 5, 1883 



Berlin 



Physical Society, May 25. — Dr. Aron spoke on the glow- 

 light coal, which, as is well known, is di.-tinguished by its electrical 

 conductibility and by its resistance to combustion when exposed 

 to the atmosphere in an incandescent condition, and which thus 

 resembles graphite, which posse-ses both these properties in a 

 high degree. Experiments which were made in order to deter- 

 mine whether such good conducting and indestructible coal, as 

 well as artificial graphite, could be made artificially, led to the 

 result that organic substances, e.g. paper, cloth, wadding, when 

 charred in vacuo at very high temperatures in graphite crucible-, 

 acquire the property of resisting combustion and afterwards 

 become good conductors. Wood-coal also, which, though it is 

 with difficulty combustible, is a bad conductor, was converted 

 into a good conductor by strong incandescence. When the 

 incandescence and the subsequent cooling down were conducted 

 in a stream of hydrogen, this had no effect upon the resistance 

 to combustion. Soot, which was made incandescent under simi- 

 lar conditions, also acquired the properties of graphite in a high 

 degree, so that for many purposes (e.g. in galvano-plastic work) 

 soot that has been made strongly incandescent can be made 

 to replace graphite. The property of leaving an impression 

 which graphite possesses, and which makes it so well adapted to 

 the manufacture of lead-pencils, was not acquired by the different 

 kinds of carbon in the process of incandescence ; very probably 

 this property depends upon the cry-talline composition of the 

 graphite. 



Vienna 



Imperial Academy of Sciences, March 8. — E. Mach, 

 experiments and notes on the system of lightning-conductors of 

 Mr. Melsens. — C. von Ettingshausen, contributions to the know- 

 ledge of the Tertiary flora of Java. — L. Pfaundler, on the mantle- 

 ring machine of Kravogl, and its relation to the machine of 

 Pacinotti-Gramme. — F. Hochstetter, sixth report of the Prehis- 

 toric Commission : on the mounds recently found at Watsch and 

 St. Margarethen (Carniola). — F. Steindachner, on Japanese 

 fishes. — G. Goldschmidt and R. Wegscheider, on the derivatives 

 of pyrene. — R. Wegscheider, on some derivatives of opianic 

 acid. — E. von Bruecke, on alcophyr, and on the true and the so- 

 called biuret reaction. 



April 5' — E. Mach, preliminary communication on new ex- 

 periments made with the influence-machine. — F. Lukas, on the 

 knowledge of the absolute strength of vegetable tissues. — W. 

 Simerka, on the power of conviction (a mathematical study). — 

 T. V. Tanovsky, on nitro and amido derivatives of azoben- 

 zene. — A. Nalepa, contributions to the anatomy of Stylommato- 

 phora. — A Lieben and L. Haitinger, preliminary communica- 

 tion on chelidonic acid. — E. Lippmann, on azylines. — B. 

 Schwarz, on an eclipse of the sun mentioned by Archilochos. 

 T. M. Pernter, psychrometrical studies. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, June 25. — New methods of deter- 

 mining the right ascensions and absolute declinations of the 

 stars (continued), by M. Lcevvy. — Experimental studies in rela- 

 tion to the photometric observation of the eclipses of the satel- 

 lites of Jupiter, by MM. A. Cornu and A. Obrecht. — A study of 

 the deformations produced by sharp-edged tools in drilling, by 

 M. Tresca. — On the employment of partial photographs in 

 studying human and animal locomotion, by M. Marey. The 

 object of this process is to avoid the great confusion caused by 

 the superposition of numerous reflections in the case of slow 

 locomotion. It is illustrated by a cut showing the attitude of 

 the left leg of a man walking at a moderate pace and reflected at 

 the rate of about sixty per second. The partial photographs ob- 

 tained by this method enable the observer to analyse all kinds 

 of motion, such as walking, running, leaping, and even action 

 confined to one place. — On the action of mixtures of air 

 with vapour of chloroform, and on a new process of anes- 

 thesia, by Paul Bert. The experiments were made on dogs, 

 which were treated with doses of chloroform diluted in varying 

 proportions with air. From the effects observed it is hoped that 

 many important problems may be solved connected with the 

 action of this anaesthetic. But although all risk may thus be 

 avoided in its application, the disadvantages inherent in chloro- 

 form itself cannot be overcome, and protoxide of azote still 

 maintains its preeminence above all the anaes helics. — On the 

 reciprocal of homogeneity ; similitude of mathematical formulas, 

 by A. Ledieu. — Methods of separating gallium from ruthenium, 

 osmium, arsenic, and selenium, by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran. — 



On a case of long-standing hysteria, all the symptoms of which 

 disappeared under the influence of aluminium, by M. Burcq. — 

 On a method of computing secular perturbations in the elements 

 of the orbits of planets, asteroids, comets, &c, by O. Callan- 

 dreau. — A new generalisation of a formula of Lagrange, already 

 generalised by Cauchy, by Em. Barbier. — On the relations of 

 induction to electrodynamic action, and on a general law of 

 induction, by M. Quet. — Automatic impression of telephotic 

 despatches, that is, of despatches transmitted by light, memoir 

 by M. Martin de Brettes. — On a method of determining by con- 

 stant registration the slight movements of the crust of the earth. 

 This method of recording microseismic movements was first sug- 

 gested by MM. Bertelli and de Rossi, and forms the subject of a 

 paper published in the Engineer for December 17, 1875. — On 

 the sulphate of thorium, by Eug. Demarcay. — On a base derived 

 from crotonic aldtuyde, by Alph. Combes. — Researches on mesi- 

 tylene, by MM. P.obinet and Colson. A new glycol is described, 

 and it is shown that the dichloride and the dibromide of 

 mesitylene obtained by the action of chlorine and bromine on 

 mesitylene gas are identical with the dichlorhydric and dibrom- 

 hydric ethers of this gas. — Observations on the fermentation of 

 breadstuff's, by M. Moussette. — On the concomitance of the 

 anatomic and organography characters of plants, by M. J. 

 Vesque. — Borings at Rilhac, in the Brassac basin, east of 

 Arvant, by M. Daubree. These borings were most suc- 

 cessful, revealing at a depth of eighty-six metres productive 

 carboniferous strata underlying horizontal beds of clay and 

 more or less argillaceous sandstones. — Borings at Toussieu, 

 department of Isere, by M. Grand'Eury. — After pierc- 

 ing various alluvial, limestone, clay, and sandstone forma- 

 tions, coal was reached at a depth of 364 metres. These 

 borings were begun after those of Chaponay had revealed 

 carboniferous beds at the depth of 212 metres immediately 

 below the marine molasse. The chief object of both is to deter- 

 mine the extension of the coal measures of the Loire basin under 

 the tertiary plain in the north of Lower Dauphiny. — Scientific 

 results of Col. Prejeval-ky's journeys, and especially of his 

 third expedition towards Tibet and the sources of the Yellow 

 River, by M. Venukoff. Amongst the more important results 

 were the animal and vegetable collections, comprising 408 

 specimens of go species of mammalia, 3425 of 400 species of 

 birds, 976 of 50 species of reptiles, 423 of 53 species of fishes, 

 6000 of insects, and 12,000 of 1500 species of plants. 



CONTENTS Page 



William Spottiswoode 217 



Sir Edward Sabine 218 



A Minister of Public Instruction 221 



Evolution and Creation. By Dr. George J. Romanes, 



F.R.S 222 



Our Book Shelf: — 



Kobelt's "European Marine Mollusca." — Dr. J. 



Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S 224 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Sand. — J. S. Gardner 224 



The Great Comet b 1882.— E. Ristori ; A. S. 



Atkinson 225 



Sun Pillar seen in Jamaica. — Maxwell Hall . . . 225 

 Error in Hutton's Tables of Logarithms. — Maxwell 



Hall 225 



Palaeozoic Sclerotic Plates.— T. P. Barkas ... 225 



Graft-Hybridisation. — Joseph John Murphy . . 225 



Wild Duck and Railways.— John Rae, F.R.S. . . 226 



Large Hailstones. — R. Webb 226 



Extinction of Flatfish. — Malcolm McNeill . . . 226 



Garfish. — S. Archer 226 



The "Spirogyra quinina." — Fredk. Haigh . . . 226 

 Action of Light on Indiarubber. By Prof. Herbert 



McLeod 226 



On Whales, Past and Present, and their Probable 



Origin, II. By Prof. Flower, F.RS 226 



The American Observations of the Eclipse. By J. 



Norman Lockyer, F.R.S. (With Diagrams) . . . 230 



Agriculture in Japan. By B. Koto 231 



Notes 233 



On the Causes of Glacier Motion. By Walter R. 



Browne, M.Inst.C.E 235 



Scientific Serials 237 



Societies and Academies 238 



