480 



NATURE 



\_Sept. 13, 1 88 j 



upper screw to tighten the upper tier of plates to pre- 

 vent damage during travelling. The multiplex back fi's into 

 the camen in the usual manner. When the plate has been 

 exposed, the shutter is closed, back removed from camera, and 

 both screws at back unscrewed. Then the back is gently turned 

 over ; the first half turn causes the front plate of lower tier (just 

 exposed) to pass into the upper tier, and then the second half- 

 turn causes the back plate of upper tier to pass to the back of 

 lower tier, while the second plate of loner tier has now come to 

 the front, and is ready for exposure. 



If any particular plate is required to be exposed, repeat the 

 operation of revolving the box until the number of that par- 

 ticular plate is seen through the window in the shutter. An 

 ivory tablet is provided on the side of the cabinet to register the 

 numbers of the plate? as exposed. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



PARIS 



Academy of Sciences, September 3. — M. Blanchard, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — The si' ting; was chiefly occupied with the 

 reading of the report on the French mis ion to the Pacific to 

 observe the total eclipse of the sun on May 6, 1883. The rep >rt 

 was prepared and read by M. J. Janssen, head of the mi-sion, 

 to which, besides M. Trouvelot, of the Meudon Observat iry, 

 and M. Pasteur, photographer, were also attached MM. 

 Tacchini, director of the Roman Observatory, and Palisa, of 

 the Vienna Observatory. The station selected was Caroline 

 Island, in 10° S. and 152° 20' YV., about 200 leagues north of 

 Tahiti, a point lying very nearly wiibin the zone of total obscura- 

 tion. In the rep irt are summed up the results of all the 

 observations, which aimed especially at the solution of certain 

 questions touching the con titution of the sun and the existence of 

 the so-called infra-Mercurial planets. As regards contact the 

 commencement of total obscuration was determined at 23)1. 

 31m. 5f8s. mean time at Caroline Island; end of sane 23I1. 

 37m. 15'Ss., leaving a difference of 5m. 24/is. as the actual 

 duration of totality according to M. Trouvelot. M. Tacchini 

 gave 5m. 23s., or a difference of slightly over one second, which 

 was considered as so far satisfactory. M. Tacchini also made 

 some remarkable observations, e-pecially touching a certain 

 analogy between the constitution of the spectrum of certain parts 

 of the corona and that of comets. In his attempt to ascertain 

 w bother the light of the corona contains any large proportion of 

 solar light, M. Jan sen succeeded beyond his expectations. The 

 complete Frauenhofer spectrum seen by him shows that, apart 

 from what may be due to diffraction, there exists in the 

 corona, and especially in certain parts of it, an enormous 

 mass of reflected light. And as the coronal atmosphere is 

 known to be extremely attenuated, such an abundance of 

 reflected solar light can be explained only by the presence in 

 these regions of cosmic matter in the form of solid enr- 

 1 uscules. The photographs of the corona yielded several 

 interesting phenomena, which are reserved for future study. 

 For the present it will suffice to remark that these photographs 

 show a more extended corona than that obtained fr im telescopic 

 observation. The phenomenon also appeared limited and fixed 

 during the period of total obscuration. A photometric measure- 

 ment of the luminous intensity of the corona, which M. Janssen 

 bad prepared by means of photography, showed that in Caroline 

 the luminosity of the corona was greater than that of the full 

 m ion. This is the first time that a precise calculation has been 

 made of this phenomenon. On May 13 the mission re-embarked 

 on board the Eclair cur, and on the home voyage visited Hawaii 

 during the volcanic disturbances in the crater of Kilauea M. 

 Janssen took this opportunity of making a spectrum analysis of 

 (i • flames emitted by the molten lava-, and was able to deter- 

 mine the presence of sodium, hydrogen, and carburetted com- 

 binations. — On the antiseptic frigidity of sores, by M. Go'selin. — 

 Note by M. J. Delauney on the indications some years ago formu- 

 lated by him on the probable epochs of great earthquakes. 

 In a note inserted in the Compies Rendus for November 17, 

 1S79, the author considered it probable that the influence of 

 Jupiter and Saturn on seismic disturbances is due to the passage 

 of these planets through meteoric bodies situated in the mean 

 longitudes of 135 3 and 265°. In the approximate table of 

 future earthquakes accompanying the note, the (year 1883 was 

 not mentioned. But in another note inserted in La Nature for 

 Ocober 23, 1880, a fresh calculation of probable epochs of 

 seisnic agitation, brought down to the year 1920, mention is 



made of the date 1883-85, when disturbances mi^ht be expected 

 owing to the transit of Jupiter through the August meteors. — 

 Observations of the new planet (234) made at the Paris Observa- 

 tory (equatorial of the we-t tower), by M. G. Bigourdan. — On 

 the affinities of the eocene floras of England and the west of 

 France, by M. L. Crie. — Fresh remarks on the Phylloglossum 

 Drammondii (Kunze), by M. C. Eg. Bertrand. — On a process 

 fir extracting alcohol by means of lemon juice, by M. Levat. — 

 On the fermentation of bread-stuffs, by M. G. Chicandard. 



Vienna 



Imperial Academy of Sciences, July 12. — D. Stur, on 

 the m irpholouy and systematics of culmian and carbon fauna. 

 ■ — H. Jahn, electrolytic studies (preliminary note). — A. Adam- 

 kieuicz, on the theory of brain pressure and on the pathology of 

 brai 1 compression (part ii.) — Th. von Oppolzer, communication 

 on a series of observations (just completed) for the absolute de- 

 termination of gravity at Vienna. — \V. Fossek, on a derivative 

 of isobutyraldehyde analogous to hydrobenzoin. — On the pre- 

 paration of isobutyraldehyde free from acetone, by the same. — 

 H. Molisch, researches on hydrotropism. 



July 19. — C. von Ettingshausen, on the Tertiary flora of Japan. 

 — F. Brauer, on two parasites of the June beetle (Rhizostrogus 

 solstitialis) : 1, Hirmoncnra obsenra, Mg. ; 2, Phorosioma lata, 

 Eg'- — "• Mandelstamm, studies on innervation and atrophy of 

 the laryngeal mu cles. — T. Korteweg, on the question whether 

 the variations in the length and height of the singular peri ids of 

 frequency of sun-spots were produced by the interference of two 

 periods of unequal hut invariable length and height. — V. Haus- 

 manninger, new observations on the impact of cylindrical caout- 

 chouc rods. — M. Loewit, on the formation of white and red 

 blood-corpuscles. — L. von Barth and H. Weidel, on the oxida- 

 tion of morphine. — G. Gjldschmidt, on papaverine. — J. Haber- 

 inann, on some basic sulphates. — Onarbutin, by the same. — M. 

 Hoenig and E. Zatzek, on the direct estimation of carbonic acid 

 in presence of sulphides, sulphites, and thiosulphates. — On the 

 action of permanganate of potassium on some sulphur com- 

 pounds, by the same. — A. Waage, on the action of ammonia on 

 propionaldehyde. — E. Lippmann and F. Fleissner, contribution 

 to a knowledge of azylines. 



CONTENTS Page 



Scientific Aspects of the Java Catastrophe . . . 457 



Autumn Sanitation 458 



Tropical Agriculture. By Prof. W. Fream . . . 459 

 Our Book Shelf: — 



Sachs's " Vorlesungen uber Pflanzen-phvsiologie " . 460 

 Jackson's " Accented Five-figure Logirithms of Num- 

 bers from 1 to 99999 without Difference "... 460 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



The Earthquake of Ischia. — Prof. J. P. O'Reilly . 461 

 Mr. Romanes and Modern Philosophy. — Alfred 



Stapley 461 



Animal Intelligence. — A. B. G 461 



" Cholera and Copper." — W. Terrill 462 



Antiquities saved by Protective Resemblance. — Wor- 



thington G. Smith 462 



Meteor. — Thomas H. Potts 462 



The Meteor of August 19. — C. D 462 



Hermann Miiller 462 



Second Note on the Electrical Resistance of the 



Human Body. By Dr. W. H. Stone 463 



The International Bureau of Weights and Mea- 

 sures (With Illustrations) 464 



The Vienna International Electric Exhibition . . 466 



The Edinburgh Biological Station 467 



Notes 468 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Total Solar Eclipse of May 6 471 



A New Comet 471 



The German Survey of the Northern Heavens. By 



Prof. William A. Rogers 471 



Indian Meteorology, III. By E. Douglas Archibald 477 



Multiplex Camera Back ( With Illustration) .... 479 



Societies and Academies 480 



