DeEcEMBER 10, 1896] 
NATURE 
expressed opinions generally unfavourable to the theory of 
telegony.—Dr. Leonard Hill made some remarks on supposed 
cases of the inheritance of acquired characters as shown by breed- 
ing guinea-pigs.—Mr. Sclater exhibited, on behalf of the Hon. 
H. S. Littleton, a coloured life-sized model of the Australian 
lung-fish (Ceratodus forsteri).—Mr. Blanford, F.R.S., ex- 
hibited, on behalf of Major C. S. Cumberland, some heads of 
zzs amon shot by him on the Altai Mountains in Central 
Asia.—Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper ‘*‘ On Further Collcc- 
tions from Nyasaland,” being a continuation of three previous 
papers on the mammals of that country. The specimens now 
referred to had been collected and sent home by Sir Harry 
Johnston, Consul Alfred Sharpe, Dr. Percy Rendall, and Mr. 
Alexander Whyte. Two species were described as new: a 
peculiar hoary-coloured baboon from Fort Johnston, proposed 
to be called Papio pruénosus, and a steinbok with the white 
streaks in its fur characteristic of the grysbok. The latter had 
been obtained by Mr. Sharpe in Southern Angoniland, and 
was proposed to be called Raphiceros sharpez.—Mr. W. E. 
de Winton read a paper on some rodents from Mashonaland 
and Matabeleland, British South Africa, collected by Mr. 
J. Ffolliott Darling and Mr. F. C. Selous. This memoir con- 
tained descriptions of six species and two subspecies of rodents 
new to science. Amongst these were a dormouse very much 
smaller than Graphiurus murenus, to which the name G. zanus 
was given; a pouched rat, which was called Saccostomus 
mashone ; and a mole-rat, proposed to be called Georychus 
nimvod?.—A communication was read from Mr. Alfred E. 
Pease containing notes on the antelopes of the Aures and 
Eastern Algerian Sahara.—Communications were read from 
Dr. A. G. Butler, on two collections of Lepidoptera made by 
Mr. R. Crawshay in Nyasaland ; and on a collection of Lepi- 
doptera from Nyasaland, presented to the Museum by Sir H. H. 
Johnston, K.C.B., and collected by J. B. Yule-—A communi- 
cation was read from Mr. Joseph I. S. Whitaker, containing 
field-notes on the gazelles of Tunisia. 
Anthropological Institute, November 24.—Mr. E. W. 
Brabrook, President, in the chair. —Lieut. Boyle T. Somer- 
ville, R.N., read a paper entitled ‘* Ethnographical Notes on 
New Georgia, Solomon Islands.” Lieut. Somerville recently 
passed some time in the islands while on surveying duty with 
H.M.S. Penguin, and both he and Lieut. Weigall acquired 
sufficient knowledge of the native dialects to be enabled to 
converse with the people in their own language. To this cir- 
cumstance, and to the fact that the hints given in ‘* Anthropo- 
logical Notes and Queries” were systematically followed, a 
paper of quite exceptional interest was due, which forms a 
valuable addition to previously existing material on the 
ethnology of the South Seas. A point of exceptional import- 
ance is the occurrence of a rarely seen hairy animal in the 
jungles in the interior of the island. From the descriptions 
given by a number of natives, of which Lieut. Somerville 
quoted five of independent origin, this animal would appear to 
resemble an anthropoid ape, though a native who had seen one 
declared that it was not very like a monkey shown to him on 
board a European ship. The peculiar prognathous character of 
the well-known carved figures made in the Solomon Islands is 
possibly copied from a similar characteristic noticed in an 
animal prototype. Whatever this animal may be, the natives 
here canonised it as an evil spirit, and attribute to it the power 
of visiting either with sickness or death those who are unfor- 
tunate enough to see it. In spite of these fanciful beliefs, the 
positive existence of some such animal is confirmed by Lieut. 
Weigall, who himself saw a curious hairy animal on the edge of 
the jungle, but was unable to approach within sufficient distance 
to obtain a perfectly clear view. It must be remembered that 
the vegetation in this part of the Pacific is unusually dense, 
owing to the very frequent and regular rainfall. Nearly all the 
natives live close to the sea, and in order to penetrate into the 
interior it is necessary literally to cut one’s way. Under these 
circumstances it is at least possible that some rare species may 
have hitherto evaded the notice of travellers. Lieut. Somer- 
ville believes this to be the case, and he is a competent 
observer, quite able to estimate the value of the evidence 
presented in the different native accounts. A number of 
admirable lantern-slides accompanied the paper, and specimens 
of native art in the form of pencil-sketches of the frigate-bird, 
canoes, &c., made by natives under the auther’s eye, were 
exhibited. A carefully copied specimen of native music was 
also shown. 
NO. I415, VOL. 55 | 
MANCHESTER. 
Literary and Philosophical Society, December 1.—Dr. 
Edward Schunck, F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The Presi- 
dent exhibited some specimens of the cochineal insect, and of 
the Cactus Ofwtza, the only member of the Cactaceze on which 
the insect lives.—Dr. C. H. Lees called attention to the 
experiments of E. Wiedemann on the specific heats of 
vapours and their variation with temperature, and remarked 
that, since the specific heats of all the vapours experimented 
on increase with the temperature, it is probable that they 
do so for all vapours, including steam. Hence, the value 
of the specific heat of steam between given temperatures, 
required in Rankine’s formula for the total heat necessary to 
raise water from any temperature to steam gas at another 
temperature, is still unknown.—Descriptions of new species of 
mollusca from the millstone grit, and lower coal] measures, 
of Lancashire, by H. Bolton. The author described five species 
of mollusca and one brachiopod from the millstone grit and 
lower coal measures which have recently come into the posses- 
sion of the Manchester Museum, Owens College, by the ac- 
quirement of the collections of Sir U. Kay-Shuttleworth, Geo. 
Wild, and R. W. Cairns. Of the mollusca, three belong to the 
Pelecypoda, and two to the Gastropoda. Two of these are 
altogether new to the coal measures, and one proves to be of 
considerable importance to miners, as it occurs, in all cases yet 
known, immediately over the valuable Cannel Mine of the 
middle coal measures. The brachiopod is interesting in that it 
occurs in the lower coal measures and, also, in a remarkable 
marine band of the middle coal measures at Ashton-under-Lyne, 
the two horizons being separated by nearly 2000 feet of rock 
matter.—On some errors in science, by C. L. Barnes. 
PARIS. 
Academy of Sciences, November 30.—M. A. Cornu in the 
chair.—On periodic solutions and the principle of least action, 
by M. H. Poincaré.—Scientific exploration by balloon, by M. 
Mascart. Simultaneous experiments were carried out with 
captive balloons at Berlin, Munich, Varsovie and St. Petersburg, 
and with free balloons at Paris, Berlin, Strasburg and St. 
Petersburg, for the purpose of carrying out meteorological 
observations. The highest altitude was reached by the Paris 
balloon, 15,000 metres, the temperature indicated bemg — 60° C. 
Each ascent will be described later in full detail.—Estimation 
of nitric acid in the waters of the Seine, Yonne, and Marne, 
during the late rise, by M. Th. Schloesing. The results obtained 
show that great rises in autumn contain much more nitrates 
than those at the end of the winter.—The lymphatics of the 
intestinal villosity in the rat and rabbit, by M. L. Ranvier.— 
On the periodic Giacobini comet, by M. Perrotin. A new 
system of elements for the Giacobini comet, from observations 
made at Nice between September 4 and November 3, 1896.— 
Actinometric observations made on Mount Blanc, by MM. 
Crova and Houdaille. From observations at Grands-Mulets 
3020 metres), a value of 2°9 calories is deduced for the solar 
constant.—Remarks by M. Appell on the presentation of the 
second volume of his work on elliptic functions. —Reclamation 
of priority, by M. Stuart-Menteath, concerning his work on the 
geological constitution of the Pyrenees.—On the singularities of 
linear partial differential equations of the first order, by M. F. 
Marotte.—On a remarkable displacement, by M. Raoul Bricard. 
—On molecular entropy, by M. Georges Darzens. The product 
of the usual expression for the entropy of unit mass by the 
molecular weight of the substance, is called the molecular 
entropy. It is shown that for all bodies possessing similar 
molecular constitutions, compared in corresponding states, the 
difference of molecular entropy between two given states is the 
same.—On the absorption of nitric oxide by ferrous bromide, by 
M. V. Thomas. In aqueous solution at 10°, the absorption 
corresponded to the formation of the compound 3Fe,Brs.4NO, 
at temperatures higher than this (15°-16°), the results indicated 
the formation of Fe,Br,.NO.—On the temye-ing of steel in 
phenol, by M. Levat. Comparative trials on the same steels 
tempered in water and phenol respectively, showed the hard- 
ness and elasticity in the latter case was much greater than in 
the former.—Action of potassium permanganate upon_poly- 
hydric alcohols and their derivatives, by M. L. Perdrix. Carton 
dioxide, formic acid, and water are the only products.—Action 
of ammonium nitrate upon Asfergi//us niger, by M. C. Tanret. 
An excess of ammonium nitrate ina solution in which dspergel/us 
is growing, tends to retard or even to prevent the formation of 
