Marcu 25, 1897 | 
to show the correctness of the latter supposition, and he brought 
forward evidence to prove that the red rocks rest unconformably 
upon the Lower Palzozoic rocks, or are faulted against them, 
and that the breccias of the red rocks contain fragments of the 
Lower Palzeozoic rocks, and also of intrusive rocks which break 
through the latter. The red rocks also resemble deposits which 
are known to be of Old Red Sandstone age.—On the depth 
of the source of lava, by J. Logan Lobley. The author 
contended that lava could not have been brought to the 
surface from a depth of thirty miles, as fissures which would 
serve as conduits could not exist at that depth, and, moreover, 
the lava would be consolidated before it reached the surface, 
owing to contact with cool rock for a considerable period. 
He argued that the pressure of the overlying rocks would cause 
the rocks even at a depth of ten miles to be practically plastic, 
as shown by M. Tresca’s experiments, and that no continuous 
fissure could occur in such rocks. Estimates of the volumes of 
ascending laya-columns were given, with a diagram comparing 
them with a 30-mile thickness of rocks. 
Mathematical Society, Thursday, March 11.—Prof. Elliott, 
F.R.S., President, in the chair.—The President referred toa letter 
received from the President of the Royal Society with reference 
to the Victoria Research Fund, which it is proposed to institute 
in commemoration of Her Majesty's long reign, and commended 
the fund to the generous consideration of the members. He 
next spoke briefly on the loss the mathematical world had sus- 
tained by the recent death of Prof. Weierstrass. —Mr. Jenkins, 
Vice-President, having taken the chair, the President communi- 
cated a paper, by Mr. J. E. Campbell, on a law of combination 
of operators bearing on the theory of continuous transformation 
groups.—On resuming the chair, the President read some notes 
on symmetric functions, by Mr. W. H. Metzler.—The Senior 
Secretary briefly communicated a note on some circles connected 
with a triangle, by Prof. Steggall.—Lieut.-Colonel Cunning- 
ham, R.E., mentioned three high primes recently determined 
by him—85,280, 581 ; 234,750,601 ; 2,413,941,289 ; and gave a 
sketch of the methods used. ' 
Zoological Society, March 16.—Dr. W. T. Blanford, 
F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.—Mr. Sclater called atten- 
tion to the two specimens of otters, now living in the Society’s 
Gardens, which had been received from Co. Down, Ireland, 
last year, and pointed out that they differed in several respects 
from the common otter.—Mr. A. Smith Woodward gave an 
account of his recent paleontological tour in Brazil and 
Argentina, and made remarks on the fossil remains of verte- 
brated animals that had come under his observation in those 
countries.—Dr. R. H. Traquair, F.R.S., exhibited and made 
remarks upon a new specimen of the supposed fossil lamprey 
(Paleospondylus gunni) from the Old Red Sandstone of Caith- 
ness, and read a note on its affinities. —A communication was 
read from Dr. Robert Collett, on a collection of mammals 
made by Mr. Knut Dahl in North and North-west Australia in 
1894-96. The collection contained specimens of thirty four 
species, two of which—viz. Pseudochirus dahlie and Smithopsis 
nitela—proved to be new to science. The former species had 
been described in the Zoologéscher Anzezger for 1895; the latter 
was characterised in the present paper.——Mr. P. L. Sclater, 
F.R.S., read a paper “On the Distribution of Marine 
Mammals.” The marine area of the globe was divided into 
six sea-regions, viz. Arctatlantis, Mesatlantis, Indopelagia, 
Arctirenia, Mesirenia, and Notopelagia, which corresponded to 
a certain extent with the six land-regions proposed by Mr. 
Sclater in 1874. The characteristic mammals of each sea- 
region were pointed out.—Mr. F. E. Beddard, F.R.S., read 
a paper on a collection of earthworms from South Africa, 
belonging to the genus Acanthodrilus, which had been made 
in the Cape Colony by Mr. Purcell, of the South African 
Museum, and forwarded to him by Mr. W. L. Sclater. Ex- 
amples of nine new species were contained in the collection, 
which fact was of great interest, as previously only one repre- 
sentative of the genus Acazthodri/us had been known to exist 
in South Africa. Mr. Beddard also described a new genus of 
earthworms, belonging to the family Zudrz/ide, from Lagos, 
West Africa, under the name of /rédodri/us.—Dr. Forsyth Major 
exhibited a series of skulls and photographs of species of the 
African bush-pigs (Pofamocherus), and pointed out the char- 
acters of a new species from Nyasaland, which he proposed to 
call P. johnstonz, remarkable for its large size and slender snout. 
He also showed that the Wyctecharus hassana of Heuglin, 
from Abyssinia, formed a distinct species of Potamocharus. 
NO. 1430, VOL. 55] 
NATURE 
503 
EDINBURGH. 
Royal Society, March 1.—Lord Kelvin in the chair.—The 
Chairman exhibited models illustrating the dynamical theory of 
hemihedral crystals. —Mr. R. C. Mossman read a second paper 
on the meteorology of Edinburgh during the past 138 years. 
There had been no appreciable change in the climatic conditions 
during that period. The graphs showed nothing approaching 
to weather cycles. Great snowstorms prevailed during the first 
quarter of the present century, and during the past twenty-five 
years there had been an unusually large number of thunder- 
storms.—Prof. Tait read a paper on the linear and vector 
function. 
Mathematical Society, March 12.—Mr. J. B. Clark, Vice- 
President, in the chair. —The following papers were read :— 
Note on combinations, Mr. J. B. Clark.—Note on maxima and 
minima, Mr. J. Alison.—An application of Sturm’s functions- 
Mr. J. D. Héppner.—A geometrical proof of certain trigono, 
metrical formule, Mr. J. W. Butters. 
PARIS. 
Academy of Sciences, March 15.—M. A. Chatin in the 
chair.—The election of M. G. Bonnier inthe Section of Botany, 
in the place of the late M. Trécul, was approved by the Pre- 
sident of the Republic.—A new apparatus for the application 
of spectrum analysis to the recognition of gases, by M. Berthelot- 
The gas is contained at ordinary atmospheric pressure over 
mercury in a short glass tube carrying one of the platinum 
wires, the other terminal being fused into a smaller glass tube, 
capable of vertical adjustment. The regulation of the striking 
distance of the spark is of considerable importance in this 
apparatus, the results obtained in which, although not so deli- 
cate asin tubes containing rarefied gas, are still sufficiently good 
for practical analysis. —On the electric absorption of nitrogen by 
carbon compounds, by M. Berthelot. A preliminary study 
showed that much more rapid absorption took place when the 
induction coil was fitted with a Marcel Deprez high-speed 
interrupter than when a low-speed vibrator of the Foucault 
pattern was used. The maximum amount of nitrogen absorbed 
by a given weight of benzene was 12 per cent. by weight, by 
carbon bisulphide 11°7 per cent., and by thiophene 8°6 per cent., 
corresponding to the ratios 3C;Hg:No; 3CS,:N.; and 
4C,H,S:N,. The absorption was most rapid when carbon 
bisulphide was used, and in presence of an excess of either this 
or of benzene, the last trace of nitrogen could be completely 
absorbed. —On the theory of algebraic surfaces from the point 
of view of geometry of position, and on the integrals of total 
differentials, by M. Emile Picard.—On a property of asyn- 
chronous motors, by M. A. Potier.—Studies on the energy 
changes in living muscle, by M. A. Chauveau. An inquiry 
into the relations between the law of conservation of energy 
and the work done by living muscles. In a comparison of the 
elastic properties of muscle and india-rubber, it is of the highest 
importance that the muscle should be living, the elastic pro- 
perties of muscular tissue separated from the body being quite 
different from those of the same muscle in the living state. 
This precaution being observed, there iscomplete analogy between ° 
the elasticity of india-rubber and muscular tissue. —On the rela- 
tions expressing that the various coefficients considered in thermo- 
dynamics should satisfy the law of corresponding states, by M.E.H. 
Amagat.—On the systems of orthogonal and isothermal surfaces, 
by M. A. Pellet.—On the method of successive approximations 
of M. Picard, by M. S. Zaremba.—On the spark discharges and 
the use of the Hertz oscillator, by M. Swyngedauw. The spark 
resistance, considered as the resistance of a bad conductor, is 
regarded by the author as depending upon its length, section, 
temperature, and the nature of the luminous conductor which 
constitutes the spark. The consequences of this point of view 
are different to those deduced by Thomson, who regarded the 
resistance as constant, and lead to the result that the discharge 
of a condenser, oscillating for large capacities. becomes con- 
tinuous for capacities sufficiently small. The Hertz exciter is a 
condenser of small capacity, and the preceding considerations 
are applied to it—On the action of the silent electric discharge 
upon gases, by M. Emile Villari. Gases which have acquired 
the property of discharging electrified bodies either by having 
been sparked, or by having been traversed by the X-rays, lose this 
power when submitted to the silent discharge of an ozone 
apparatus. This neutralising power of the ozoniser persists for 
a certain time after disconnecting it from the coil, the effect 
being produced by the accumulated charges on the glass.— 
