240 



NA TURE 



[January 4, 1906 



(3) porridge ; (4) horse flesh ; (5) ox flesh. Interesting 

 details were given and illustrated by diagrams and tables. 

 The rats were found to thrive best on the skim milk and 

 bread. Rice, because of its lack of proteid qualities, 

 stunted the growth. Porridge was inferior to the skim 

 milk and bread, while horse flesh and ox flesh were 

 positively deleterious, being fatal to young rats. More- 

 over, the mortality among the young was greatly increased 

 when the adult parents were fed on flesh. Experiments 

 were also tried on the effects of change of diet. For 

 example, after the young rats had been reduced almost to 

 starvation point by a flesh diet, they were put on milk and 

 bread, and immediately began to recover, and rapidly 

 reached the maximum growth. In this set of experiments 

 it was found that sweet milk and bread were inferior as a 

 recuperative diet to skim milk and bread. Prof. Schafer, 

 in whose laboratory the experiments had been carried out, 

 referred to the importance of the research in relation to 

 physical deterioration. Although it would be absurd to 

 apply the results directly to the question of human diets 

 and nutrition, there was no doubt that the physical 

 deterioration so much spoken about was due, not only to 

 underfeeding, but to wrong feeding. So far as the public 

 was concerned, the moral was that we must feed our 

 children correctly. 



New South Wales. 



Royal Society, October 4, 1905. — Mr. H. A. Lenehan, 

 president, in the chair. — Note on some simple models for 

 use in the teaching of elementary crystallography : Dr. 

 W. ". Woolnough. The models illustrated the connec- 

 tion between the number of faces in a crystal " form " 

 and the elements of symmetry of the group to which the 

 crystal belongs. Planes of symmetry are represented in 

 the models by mirrors suitably arranged, and crystal faces 

 by triangles of cardboard. The mirrors are so fixed that 

 the multiple reflection of the card reproduces the shape of 

 the most general form possible in the crystal group. 



November 1. 1005. — Mr. H. A. Lenehan, president, in 

 the chair. — Provisional determination of astronomical re- 

 fraction, from observations made with the meridian circle 

 instrument of the Sydney Observatory: C. J. Merfield. 

 This paper gives the results of an investigation into astro- 

 nomical refraction, deduced from some five hundred and 

 fifty observations of forty fundamental stars taken with 

 the meridian circle of the Sydney Observatory during the 

 month of July, 1005. The conclusions arrived at by the 

 author are as follows : — That if observations of zenith dis- 

 tance of celestial objects are taken between limits of time 

 separated by some hours, then greater accuracy in the re- 

 ductions, to obtain correct positions, can be obtained by- 

 taking fully into consideration the fluctuations of the height 

 of the barometer, and especially the variation of the 

 temperature, indicated by the readings of the thermometer, 

 when computing the refractions for a series of observations 

 extending over a period of several hours' duration. Adopt- 

 ing a state of tin- atmosphere fur a mean of the times of 

 observation does not srem sufficient. Further, the refrac- 

 tion table (Bessel) in use at the Sydney Observatory would 

 represent the observed refractions much better if a correc- 

 tion be applied for the difference in the force of gravity 

 ■ 'I Greenwich an. I Sydney. Ibis correction is represented 

 b\ 1 very simple equation which is a function of the lati- 

 tudes ol the two places. The author also considers that the 

 refractions computed from the Pulkowa tables, after apply- 

 ing the gravity correction, would represent the observed 

 values better than those of Bessel. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



MONDAY, January 8. 

 Society of Chemical Industry, at 8. — Cinchona Barks and their 

 Cultivation : D. Howard —A New Method for the Quantitative Estima- 

 tion of Acetone . S.J. M. Auld. 



TUESDAY, January 9. 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — The Elimination of Storm- 

 water from Sewerage Systems : D. E. Lloyd-Davies.— On the Elimina- 

 tion of Suspended Solids and Colloidal Matters from Sewage : Lieut.- 

 Colonel A. S. Jones and Dr. W. O. Travis. 



WEDNESDAY, January 10. 

 Geological Society, at 8.— The Clay-wiih-Flints : its Origin and 

 Distribution : A. J. Jukes- Browne.— On Footprints from the Permian of 

 Mansfield (Nottinghamshire): G. Hickling. 



Company's City of Lot di 

 Discussion). 



by Large Cylind 

 Algebraic Functic 



THURSDAY, Janu. 



I1NEERS, 



AL SOCIET Y, at 5-3O 



J. W. Nicholson. 

 Dr. H. F. Baker. 



at 8 —The Charing Cross 

 H. Patchell {Conclusion of 



-On the Diffraction of Sound 

 -On the Monogeneity of an 



FRIDAY, January 12. 



Royai. Astronomical Society, at 5. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Lecture on the Theory of 

 Machines: Prof. J. D. Cormack. 



Malacological Society, at 8. — Note of the Dates of Publication of 

 C. L. F. von Sandberger's " Die Land- und Siisswasser-conchylien der 

 Vorwelt," 1870-75: B. B. Woodward.— New Species of Siphonaria, 

 Terebra, and Maugilia, and a Remarkable Form of Cypraea cntenta, from 

 South Africa: G. B. Sowerby.— Remarks on some Forms .,( Chloritis 

 with Description of a New Species : G. K. Gude.— Notes on the 

 Anatomy of S. African Aplysiida* with Descriptions of two New Species : 

 R. H. Burne— Notes on I'otnta kenyoniana, V. papulosa var. costata, 

 l'. roadknighti. Juv., Cypraea tigris, v:ir. lineata, and Coitus water. 

 ftOMSae, var. mauritiana : Mrs. Kenyon. — D.scription of a New Species 

 of Crepidula from Victoria : Mis. Kenyon. 



the Sogne Fjord and the Hardanger Fjoo 



NO. l88S, VOL. J$] 



CONTENTS. page 



British Progress in Engineering 217 



A Standard Atlas of England and Wales 218 



Leather for Bookbinding. By H. M 219 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Foster and Brough : "A Treatise on Ore and Stone 



Mining" 220 



Safford : " The Useful Plants of the Island of 



Guam" 221 



" The British Journal Photographic Almanac and 



Photographer's Daily Companion for 1906" . . . 221 

 Patterson: " Nature in Eastern Norfolk " .... 221 

 Letters to the Editor: - 



The British Association and our Colonies. — Prof. 



J. C. Beattie ... 222 



Monotremes and Bitds. — Dr. H. Gadow, F.R.S. . 222 

 Sounding Stones at Ch'cifu, Shantung. — (Illustrated.) 



— Alfred Tingle 222 



Aurora? of November 15 and December 12. — Dr. 



Alexander Graham Bell 223 



The Principles of Heredity. — Dr. G. Archdall Reid ; 



A. D. D 223 



A Suggested Change in Nomenclature. — Dr. Chas. 



W. Andrews 224 



Notes on Stonehenge. X. Sacred Fires. (Illustrated.') 



By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S 224 



Scientific Exploration in Central Asia. (Illustrated.) 227 

 A large Headed Dinosaur. (Illustrated.) By 11. W. 228 



Notes 229 



Our Astronomical Column. — 



Astronomical Occurrences in [anuary . 232 



A Fourth New Comet (1905^) 232 



New Elements and Ephemeris for Comet 19051:. 



(Illustrated.) 232 



The Expected Return of Comet 1892 V 232 



Micrometer Measures of Double Slars 232 



French Astronomical " Annuaiies " 233 



Piizes Awarded and Proposed by the Paris Academy 



ot Sciences 233 



Volcanic Rocks from New Zealand. (Illustrated.) 



By A. H 234 



Insects as Carriers of Disease. By A. E. Shipley, 



F.R.S 235 



University and Educational Intelligence 238 



Societies and Academies 23S 



Diary of Societies 240 



