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Wel ORE 
| FEBRUARY 25, 1897 
industries have been almost entirely weeded out, and in spite of 
the raising of the standard in the Government examinations. It 
is worth noticing that prior to 1891, not more than 20 students 
attended mining classes, although there are over 150,000 people 
dependent on. this industry. There are now close upon 600 
such students. Mr. Hawkridge also points out that in 1891, 
after the Science and Art Department had been in existence for 
over 25 years, less than 100 pupils of secondary schools in 
Derbyshire were receiving instruction in science, which instruction 
was wholly theoretical in character. There are now 500 pupils 
under scientific instruction 27 properly equipped class-rooms and 
faboratortes. This is a point the importance of which it is 
almost impossible to over-estimate. The facts are held to 
indicate that local authorities, being more intimately in touch 
with local needs and circumstances than any central body, are 
better able to develop educational work in the right direction. 
Mr. Hawkridge hopes, therefore, that so far as secondary and 
technical education are concerned, future legislation and future 
administrative changes may tend to place the details of local 
management more completely and unreservedly in the hands of 
responsible and representative local authorities. 
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 
IN a continuation of the important paper, in the Journal of 
Zotany for January, on Welwitsch’s African Freshwater Algze, 
W. and G. S. West describe no less than three new genera— 
Psephotaxus, belonging to the Ulotrichacez ; 7emogametum, 
tthe type of a new family of Conjugate ; and Pyxispora, be- 
longing to the Zygnemacee. 
THE number of the Wezovo Giornale Botanico Italiano for 
January contains the commencement of a Pyodromus of the 
mosses of Bolivia, by Sig. K. Miiller ; an account of the ferns 
and fern-allies collected by Father Giraldi in China, by Sigg. 
Baroni and Christ ; and a description, by Sig. Massolongo, of 
the galls produced on S¢zpa pennata by Tarsonemus Canestriniz. 
In a batch of the Azzdlet/ino of the Italian Botanical Society, 
which has just reached us (October 1896 to January 1897), are 
a very large number of papers of special interest to Italian 
‘botanists. In addition, Sig. A. Jatta discusses at length 
Minks’s theory of symbiosis in lichens. While admitting the 
importance of the facts brought forward by Minks, he does not 
‘consider that these militate against the theory of the parasitism 
-of lichens. Prof. L. Macchiati describes the microbe which 
yproduces flaccidity in silkworms. Prof. Arcangeli discusses the 
‘cause of the presence or absence of the black spots on the 
leaves of Arum ztalicum, which may be connected with the 
attraction of insects for the purpose of fertilisation. Prof. Mac- 
chiati has a further note on the vexed question of the endosperm 
in the seeds of Vaca narbonensis. 
American Journal of Science, February.—Outlines of a natural 
classification of the Trilobites, by C. E. Beecher. The present 
state of knowledge of their structure and development is in 
favour of giving the trilobites the rank of a sub-class, but for 
purposes of comparison and correlation the fullest results can 
be brought out by recognising the old and well-known sub- 
classes, the Entomostraca and Malacostraca. This gives three 
divisions of Crustacea, and the trilobites agree closely with the 
theoretical crustacean ancestors of the other sub-classes. The 
author gives a complete diagnosis of the Trilobita, and intends 
-in a subsequent paper to give a classification based upon their 
-ontogeny.—Preliminary trial of an interferential induction 
balance, by C. Barus. The slender iron cores of two identical 
helices are placed at right angles to each other in a horizontal 
plane, and at the same distance from their point of convergence. 
The distant ends are rigidly fastened, and the fore ends are pro- 
vided with small plane mirrors. The latter form part of a 
Michelson refractometer system. Interference fringes may be 
produced when the apparatus is at rest, or the two mirrors 
vibrate in an identical manner. They vanish when the plane is 
displaced. This apparatus is capable of many useful applica- 
tions to alternating currents and magnetic induction.—The 
multiple spectra of gases, by J. Trowbridge and T. W. Richards. 
The difference between the red spectrum of argon obtained with 
a steady current from a high-potential accumulator and the blue 
-spectrum obtained by means of undamped oscillations has its 
counterpart in nearly all the other elementary gases. The 
fluted spectrum of nitrogen is obtained by the steady discharge, 
and the line spectrum by the condenser. Hydrogen in the 
NO. 1426, VOL. 55] 
former case gives a band spectrum resolvable into sharp lines. 
Similar differences are observed in the spectra of the halogens. 
They may, however,’ be simply due to a change of temperature. 
Further experiments are being made to decide this point.— 
Nocturnal protective colourations in animals as developed by 
natural selection, by A. E. Verrill (will be printed in full),— 
The Stylinodontia, a sub-order of Eocene Edentates, by O. C. 
Marsh. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 
LonpDoNn. 
Royal Society, February 4.—‘‘ The Gaseous Constituents 
of certain Mineral Substances and Natural Waters.” By William 
Ramsay, F.R.S., and Morris W. Travers, B.Sc. 
Helium was found to be present in the gases evolved on 
heating fergusonite, monazite, samarskite, columbite, and pitch- 
blende. 
In malacone (a specimen from Hitterd, collected by one of 
the authors) both argon and helium were found. This is re- 
markable as being the only case of a mineral yielding argon. 
The result was twice confirmed. 
The following minerals gave carbon monoxide :—Cinnabar and 
cryolite. 
The following gave a mixture of hydrogen and carbon mon- 
oxide :—Apatite ; also blue clay from the Kimberley diamond- 
fields. 
The following gave hydrogen alone :—Serpentine, gneiss. 
The following gave no gas :—Baryta, celestine, and scapolite. 
Five meteorites were examined ; only hydrogen was evolved. 
A previously examined specimen gave both argon and helium. 
The sulphur wells of of Harrogate and of Strathpeffer gave 
argon but no helium. 
The mineral waters of Cauterets, Pyrenees, gave both argon 
and helium. The spectra of these samples of gas were care- 
fully examined in the hope of finding evidence of some new 
substance, but without result. If a new substance is present, it 
cannot exist in measurable quantity in any of the samples 
examined. 
February 11.—‘ The Artificial Insemination of Mammals and 
subsequent possible Fertilisation or Impregnation of their Ova.” 
By Walter Heape, M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge. Received 
January 15. : 
Chemical Society, February 4.—Mr. A. G. Vernon Har- 
court, President, in the chair.—The following papers were read : 
—Observations upon the oxidation of nitrogen gas, by Lord 
Rayleigh. It is doubtful whether Davy’s statements respecting 
the oxidation of dissolved nitrogen in water during electrolysis 
are correct. A detailed account is given of the apparatus used 
in oxidising nitrogen by an electric arc ; the apparatus causes 
21 litres of the mixed gases to combine per hour at an expendi- 
ture of 1 horse-power. The influence of pressure upon the 
oxidation of nitrogen was also studied.—On some apparatus for 
steam-distillation, by F. E. Matthews.—Researches in the 
stilbene series, I., by J. J. Sudborough. Small quantities of 
benzil are-formed on heating benzoin with acetic acid. Deoxy- 
benzoin is converted into a solid chlorostilbene by phosphorus 
pentachloride ; similarly methyl- and ethyl-deoxybenzoin yields 
methyl- and ethyl-chlorostilbene. Diortho-substituted benzoic 
acids. III. Hydrolysis of substituted benzamides, by J. J. 
Sudborough, P. G, Jackson, and L. L, Lloyd. In order to 
determine whether diortho-substituted benzamides exhibit a 
similar degree of stability towards hydrolysing agents as do the 
diortho-benzoy] chlorides, a number of substituted benzamides 
have been examined.—Conversion of campheroxime into methyl- 
camphorimine and camphenylnitramine, by M. O. Forster. 
The base which the author has obtained by heating camphor- 
oxime with methylic iodide is methyleamphorimine, 
CH, 
<l 
MNC : NMe. 
—Note on Wechsler’s method for the separation of fatty acids, 
by A. W. Crossley, The author finds that Wechsler’s process 
for separating fatty acids by partially neutralising and steam 
distilling the mixture is unsatisfactory.—On the crystalline 
structure of gold and platinum nuggets and gold ingots, by 
A. Liversidge. The author suggests, as the result of experiment, 
that the gold in nuggets has been slowly deposited from solution, 
C,H 
