4 28 



NA TURE 



[March 5, 1885 



been inhabited by Vespa norvegica and sylvestris in common. — 

 Mr. W. L. Distant exhibited a series of wings of Indian butter- 

 flies, received from Mr. de Niceville, showing the differences 

 between broods of the same insect in the wet and dry seasons 

 respectively, which had hitherto been generally regarded as 

 distinct species. — Mr. E. A. Butler exhibited egg-cases of three 

 species of Mantidce from Bechuanaland. — Mr. W. F. Kirby (on 

 behalf of Heir Buchecker, of Munich, who was present as a 

 visitor) exhibited three volumes of drawings of Hymenoptera. — 

 Mr. H. T. Stainton exhibited specimens of Chauliodus insicurel- 

 lus from Gascony. — Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited various English 

 Ichneumonidtz and Hemiptera. — Papers read: — Mr. G. F. 

 Mathew, on the life-history of Papilla Schmeltzi, P. Godeffroyi, 

 and Xois Sesara ; and Mr. G. Lewis, on a new genus of Hister- 

 idiT from Japan. 



Edinburgh 



Royal Society, February 16. — Mr. John Murray, Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — Mr. W. E. Hoyle read the first part 

 of a paper on the Cephalopoda of the Challenger Expedition. 

 Mr. Hoyle confined attention in this paper to the octopods. 

 Nineteen of these are new to science. — Sir W. Thomson gave 

 a communication on energy in vortex motion. This subject he 

 treated under five heads : — (a) energy in vibrations ; (b) un- 

 limited augmentation of energy of a simply continuous fluid 

 mass in a space of given shape, by changes from and back to 

 this shape ; (c) annulment of energy under same conditions ; 

 (d) reduction of energy to absolute minimum in a multiply 

 continuous space of given shape ; (<•) unlimited augmentation 

 of energy in a multiply continuous space. — Dr. Thomas Muir 

 submitted the first part of an exhaustive investigation into the 

 theory of determinants in the historical order of development. — 

 Dr. Muir also, in a paper on Bipartite functions, developed a 

 new notation for the expression of quantics, and proceeded to 

 exemplify its use by applying it to the simplification of the proof 

 of Galois's theorem regarding the continued fraction representa- 

 tion of the roots of an equation. — A letter from Prof. Michie 

 Smith was read. He observed the zodiacal light from the top 

 of Dodabettah. No bright lines were seen, and the light did 

 not appear to share in the diurnal motion of the heavens, for 

 it was seen unaltered in position for four hours after sunset. 

 Prof. Smith also showed that in a condensing mist the air- 

 potential is uniformly and markedly higher than the average for 

 the time of day, while the reverse occurs in an evaporating mist. 

 — Prof. Tait gave experimental proof of Sir W. Thomson's 

 theory of the equilibrium of vapour with a liquid under surface- 

 tension by means of two atmometers, in one of which artificial 

 condensation was produced, while under the atmospheric con- 

 ditions at the time evaporation would be going on in both. — 

 Mr. John Aitken exhibited a new apparatus for the combination 

 of colours. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, February 21. — M. R olland in the 

 chair. — Annual elocution, by M. Rolland, President of the 

 Academy for 1884. The chief topics touched upon were the 

 life and work of the late distinguished members of the Academy 

 — M. J. B. Dumas, MM. du Moncel, Wurtz, and Thenard ; the 

 aerostatic essays of MM. Renard and Krebs, which were re- 

 garded as marking a new era in aerial navigation ; M. Janssen's 

 action in reference to the universal meridian adopted at the 

 recent Congress of Washington ; the outbreak of cholera in the 

 south of France and in Paris ; M. Pasteur's experiments with 

 the charbon virus and rabies ; the progress of electric dis- 

 coveries. — Announcement of the prizes awarded for the year 

 1884. Amongst the successful competitors were MM. Manen 

 and Hanusse (mechanics) ; M. Baills (traite de balistique 

 rationelle) ; M. Riggenbach (mountain railway) ; M. Jules 

 Houel (contributions to pure mathematics) ; M. du Rocher 

 du Quengo (improvement in screw steam navigation) ; M. 

 Radau (astronomy) ; M. Ginzel (lunar physics) ; M. G. 

 Cabanellas (theory of applied electricity) ; M. Alfred Durand- 

 Claye (statistics) ; M. Chancel (organic chemistry) ; M. Emile 

 Riviere (geology) ; M. Otto Lindberg (botany) ; M. P. Fischer 

 (zoology) ; M. Testut (medicine and surgery) ; Dr. Cadet de 

 Gassicourt (diseases of infants) ; M. Tourneux (embryology) ; 

 MM. Cadiat and Kowalevsky (anatomy) ; MM. Jolyet and 

 Laffont (experimental physiology); Capt. H. Berthaut (physical 

 geography) ; M. Marsant (improved safety lamp for miners) ; 

 M. de Tastes (meteorology) ; Dr. Neis (geographical explora- 

 tion) ; M. J. Boussingault (applied chemistry). — Programme of 

 the prizes prepared for the years 1885, 1886, 1887, and 



1893. Amongst these is the sum of 100,000 francs left by 

 M. Bre'ant in 1849, and still unawarded, "to whoever 

 shall find an efficacious remedy for Asiatic cholera, or shall dis- 

 cover the causes of this terrible -scourge." To secure this valu- 

 able prize it will be neces ary (1) to find a means of curing 

 Asiatic cholera in the immense majority of cases ; (2) or to 

 indicate with absolute certainty the causes of Asiatic cholera, so 

 that by their suppression the epidemic shall cease ; (3) or to dis- 

 cover a certain prophylactic as infallible, for instance, as is vac- 

 cination for small-pox. 



Stockholm 

 Royal Academy of Sciences, February II. — The following 

 memoirs were presented for insertion in the Transactions of the 

 Academy. — Contributions to the knowledge of the Spongia? of 

 Bohuslan, by Herr C. Fristedt. — On a Silurian scorpion from 

 Gotland, by Profs. Tamerlan Thorell and G. Lindstrom. — 

 Review of the Salmonoids of the Stockholm Museum, by Prof. 



F. A. Smitt. — On the structure of the organs of circulation and 

 digestion in the Annilides of the families of the Amphoretida;, 

 Terebellidre, and Amphictenida;, by Herr A. Wiren. — Prof. 

 Edlund communicated the results of his latest researches on the 

 nature of the electric discharges in air of unequal density. — Prof. 

 Rubenson spoke in his paper on the passage of the light through 

 isotropic substances. — Prof. Nordenskjold presented for the 

 Proceedings — (1) Catalogue of the meteorites in the Mineralogi- 

 cal Museum of the University of Upsala, by Dr. G. Holm ; (2) 

 researches on varieties of Diopside from Nordmarken, by Herr 



G. Flink ; (3) hydrographic and chemical observations during 

 the Swedish expedition to Greenland in 1883, by Herr Axel 

 Hamberg. — Prof. Warming reported on comparative researches 

 on the anatomy of the stems and the subterranean stolons, by Herr 

 Fritz Haupt. — The Secretary of the Academy. Prof. Lindhagen, 

 presented : on the minerals of the didymium group, by Dr. M. 

 Weibull. On mononitro-a-naftalacid, by Dr. A. G. Ekstrand. 

 On the chlorophyllophyceje of Siberia, by Dr. R. Boldt. 



CONTENTS Page 



Ore Deposits 405 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Shaw's " Madagascar and France " 406 



Sartorius's " Three Months in the Soudan " . . . . 407 

 "Lectures on Agricultural Science and other Pro- 

 ceedings of the Institute of Agriculture, South 



Kensington, London, 1883-84" 407 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Sir 'William Thomson's Baltimore Lectures. — Prof. 



Sir William Thomson, F.R.S 407 



Civilisation and Eyesight. — Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. ; 



G. B. Buckton, F.R.S. ; G. W. H 407 



Human Hibernation. — Dr. William B. Carpenter, 



C.B., F.R.S. 408 



Methods of Determining the Density of the Earth. — 

 Prof. Alfred M. Mayer. (Illustrated) .... 40S 



Bees and Flowers. — G. W. Bulman 409 



Free Lectures. — William A. Tilden 409 



A Tracing Paper Screen. — H. Arnold Bemrose . 409 

 An Author's Gratitude.— Dr. Richard Woimell . 409 

 Scientific Laboratories. By Prof. Sir William 



Thomson, F.R.S 409 



Polynomials in Zoology 413 



Tempered Glass 4'3 



The Physiological Laboratory and Oxford Medical 



Teaching 4>4 



The Maxim Gun. (Illustrated) 4'4 



Roraima 416 



Notes 4 l6 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



A Comet in 1717 4'9 



The Variable Star S Cancri 419 



The Melbourne Observatory 419 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, 



March 8-14 4 2 ° 



Recent Engineering Patents. By Sir Frederick J. 



Bramwell, F.R.S 420 



How Thought Presents itself among the Pheno- 

 mena of Nature. By G. Johnstone Stoney, M.A., 



D.Sc, F.R.S 422 



Scientific Serials 422 



Societies and Academies 4 2 3 



