. Atlantic Ocean. 
NoveMBER 26, 1896] 
NATURE 95 
great munificence, and this token of his good will, the gratitude 
of all here is equally due to Sir John Kirk, without whose kind 
and ready intervention, the University would have been unable 
to procure this desirable acquisition. —Remarks on the structure 
and athinities of Zgzanodon, by Mr. H. Gadow. Though birds 
are descendants of some reptilian stock, it was held that 
the particular group of ancestral reptiles is not to be found 
among the Iguanodonta, not even among the much wider group 
of Dinosauni, in spite of the close resemblance of the pelvis and 
most parts of the hind-limbs with the corresponding organs in 
birds. The composition of the skull, the formation of the fore- 
limbs, and the palzeontological evidence absolutely forbid such an 
intimate connection with birds. Bipedalism, upright gait, is a 
feature which has been acquired independently and at various 
geological epochs by the most heterogeneous creatures, for 
instance by kangaroos, jerboas, birds, iguanodonts, and even by 
chlamydosaurus, the peculiar frilled lizard of Queensland.— 
Notes on cyclostomatous polyzoa, by Mr. S. F. Harmer. 
DUBLIN. 
Royal Irish Academy, November 9.—The Earl of Rosse, 
President, in the chair.—Dr. R. F. Scharff read a paper on the 
origin of the European fauna. In a previous paper he had 
dwelt on the importance of, in the first place, ascertaining the 
facts relating to the origin of the fauna of a smallarea, such as that 
of Great Britain or Ireland. If that of Great Britain be closely 
examined, its fauna will be found to consist of three elements, 
viz. northern, southern, and eastern. There is also a mass of 
evidence to prove that this latter element reached England after 
the others, and this is strengthened by the fact that the eastern 
fauna, which in many respects corresponds with the so-called 
Teutonic flora, is absent from Ireland. If the geological date of 
the arrival of this eastern, or, as it might be called, Siberian 
fauna into England, could be even approximately ascertained, 
the period of the migration of the southern and northern faunas 
could also be fixed as taking place at an earlier period, while 
the separation of Ireland would have occurred at a time inter- 
mediate between these events. Dr. Scharff showed that not 
only was the lower continental boulder clay an undoubtedly 
marine deposit, but that the eastern or Siberian migration-forms 
all occur in inter-glacial or later deposits, overlying the boulder 
clay. The very earliest members of that migration arrived in 
England during the deposition of the forest bed; so that the 
newest English, so-called, pliocene crags would therefore be con- 
temporaneous with the lower continental boulder clay. The 
faunistic evidence proved that the land connection between Ire- 
land, Scotland and Scandinavia, existed until a much later 
period, and that the Arctic marine fauna which is found in the 
newer English crags came direct from the Arctic Ocean across 
the plains of Northern Europe. At that period it was suggested 
that the Arctic Ocean was completely separated from the 
To enable the mammoth to cross from Asia, 
with other large mammals, the American and Asiatic continents 
must have been connected at Behring’s Straits, whilst another 
mass of land stretched from Arctic America by way of Green- 
land and Spitzbergen to northern Scandinavia. The Arctic 
Ocean swept over Russia and Northern Germany, as far as the 
east coast of Great Britain. The climatic conditions of European 
land as then existing were peculiar ; while the west coasts of the 
British Islands and Scandinavia were bathed by the waters of 
the Gulf Stream, the eastern shores of these countries were 
lashed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. There therefore 
existed the necessary conditions for an excessive snowfall and 
consequent glaciation on the territories between the two oceans, 
without requiring any very extreme lowering of the temperature 
in Northern Europe—viz. evaporation of the warm waters from 
the Gulf Stream, and the condensation of these vapours on their 
coming into contact with the cold air from the Arctic Sea.— 
A paper on the melting point of some minerals, being work 
done in the Physical Laboratory of Trinity College, Dublin, by 
Mr. Ralph Cusack, was communicated by Prof. G. F. Fitz- 
Gerald, F.R.S.—Sir Robert Ball, F.R.S., communicated a 
memoir, being the eleventh, on the theory of screws, entitled 
“* Further development of the relations between impulsive screws 
and instantaneous screws.” —Several recently-published parts of 
the thirtieth volume of Zvamsactions were laid on the table. 
Paris. 
Academy of Sciences, November 16.—M. A. Cornu in 
the chair.—The Perpetual Secretary announced to the Academy 
the loss it had sustained by the death of M. H. Gylden, of 
NO. 1413, VOL. 55 | 
Stockholm, Correspondent in the Astronomical Section.— 
Notice on the work of M. Hugo Gyldén, by M. O. Callandreau. 
—Researches on phosphoric acid ; estimation of pyrophosphoric 
acid, by MM. Berthelotand G. André. The pyrophosphoric acid 
1S precipitated as magnesium pyrophosphate in presence of an 
excess of acetic acid, by a mixture of magnesium chloride, 
ammonium chloride, and ammonium acetate. Test analyses are 
given showing the accuracy obtainable by this method.—Trans- 
formations of pyrophosphoric acid, by MM. Berthelot and 
André. The acid was prepared by the action of an aqueous 
solution of hydrogen sulphide upon the lead salt. The aqueous 
acid is very slowly converted into orthophosphoric acid, 87 per 
cent. remaining unchanged after five days’ standing, 43 per cent. 
after 121 days, no metaphosphoric acid being formed. The 
velocity of transformation is greater the more concentrated the 
solution. —On the earths of the yttrium group contained in the 
monazite sands, by MM. P. Schutzenberger and Boudouard. 
Two methods have been tried for the separation of these earths, 
the fractional crystallisation of the sulphates from the hot 
aqueous solutions, and the partial decomposition of the nitrates. 
All attempts at separation by the first method proved ineffectual, 
but the fractional decomposition of the nitrates by heat gave 
better results, fractions being obtained with atomic weights 
varying between 92 and 148. Only one spectrum, however, 
that of yttria, was given by all the fractions.—Determination of 
the positions of Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, Saint Louis (Senegal), 
and Dakar ; measurement of the acceleration due to gravity, by 
M. Bouquet de la Grye.—Memoirs on some problems in 
navigation and on magnetic observations at sea, by M. 
Guyou.—On an extension which may be given to a 
theorem by Poisson, relating to the invariability of the 
axes, by M. H. Andoyer.—On the convergence of uniform 
substitutions, by M. E. M. Léméray.—On surfaces of lines 
of isometric curvature, by M. T. Craig —Some problems in 
rigid mechanics, by M. René de Saussure.—On the perma- 
nent changes of glass, and the displacement of the zero points 
of thermometers, by M. L Marchis. With a view of studying 
the laws regulating the changes of zero in mercury-glass ther- 
monieters, a glass was purposely chosen that should make these 
changes as large as possible. The experiments were conducted 
at temperatures between —60° C. and 357° C.—Influence of 
magnetisation upon the electromotive force of a thermo-couple, 
of which iron is one of the elements, by MM. U. Lala and A. 
Fournier. A diminution of the electromotive force was observed 
to take place when the couple was placed in a strong magnetic 
field. —The absolute measurement of small thicknesses, by MM. 
Ch. Fabry and A. Perot.—On the densities of nitrogen, oxygen, 
and argon, and the composition of atmospheric air, by M. A. Leduc 
(see p. $4). —On a law relating to water vapour, by M. Rateau.— 
On a new tap for use with compressed gas-cylinders. This tap 
is so constructed as to allow rapid filling during compression, 
but to prevent the rapid exit of the gas. It is especially suit- 
able for use with liquefied acetylene.—The neutrality of salts 
with reference to coloured indicators, by M. H. Lescceur. The 
blueing of litmus, or reddening of phenol-phthalein, is regarded 
as indicating not the change from acidity to alkalinity, but from 
neutrality to alkalinity. With methyl orange, on the contrary, the 
change to yellow indicates the change from acidity to neutrality. 
A salt would, from this point of view, be defined as neutral if 
methyl orange and phenol-phthalein remained colourless, and 
litmus remained red. Under this definition, such salts as alum 
and zine sulphate would be neutral.—Action of sulphuric 
acid and iodine upon iodic acid. Practically pure iodic anhydride 
in crystals can be obtained by recrystallising the crude substance 
from concentrated sulphuric acid to which a little fuming nitric 
acid has been added.—Analysis of air by Agaricus atramentarius, 
by M. T. L. Phipson. The absorption of oxygen from a confined 
volume of air by this fungus appears to be as complete as with phos- 
phorus.—On some properties of pure glucina, by M. P. Lebeau. 
Glucina melted in the electric furnace has its density practically 
unchanged. The oxide is not reduced by heating with mag- 
nesium, sodium, potassium, or aluminium, but boron, silicon, 
and carbon can reduce it with the formation of crystalline com- 
pounds —On an iodide of molybdenum, by M. Guichard. By 
the action of hydrogen iodide upon the chloride MoCl,, the 
iodide Mol, can be prepared in the amorphous state.—On the 
separation of tungsten and titanium, by M. Ed. Defacqz.—The 
spectrum of chlorophyll, by M. A. Etard. The conclusion is 
drawn that several distinct green colouring matters have been 
described under the name of chlorophyll.—On the fixation of 
