i6o 



NA TURE 



[June 



themselves where only 140 could properly sit. Many sat on the 

 stairs, and in positions where they could not see the blackboard. 

 Mr. Trotter urged that the medical students could not be ex- 

 pected to provide capital sums for buildings. The large class in 

 Elementary Biology this year would want to attend Physiology 

 next year. It was impossible that finality could be attained. 

 Prof. Foster explained the serious inconveniences of requiring 

 every student to bring his own microscope to these classes ; they 

 ought to belong to and remain in the laboratory. The difficulties 

 that now arose had occurred because of past under-estimates. 

 He had been laughed at a few years ago for suggesting that 

 space for one hundred students of Physiology would be wanted 

 soon. He had no lecture-room under his control, and no room 

 in which he could give demonstrations to a large class, yet so 

 important did he deem the practical work of the class in Ele- 

 mentary Biology that, if no new accommodation could be given to 

 it, he should feel compelled to close the practical work of his 

 own large class, and simply give lectures in Physiology, and give 

 up his laboratory for the class in Elementary Biology. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



Journal of the Franklin Institute, No. 700, April. — Prof. 

 Coleman Sellers, mechanics : introductory. Abstract repdrt of a 

 public lecture exposing various fallacies. — W. Dennis Marks, 

 initial condensation of steam cylinders. — W. E. H. Jobbins, an 

 investigation locating the strongest of the bronzes. The tests 

 were made with Thurston's recording testing-machine, and gave 

 for the two strongest bronzes the following: — C1157, Zn42, Sni, 

 and C1156, Zn42, Sn2. — J. C. Hoadley, a tilting water-meter. — 

 S. Lloyd Wiegand, cast-iron in steam-boilers. — G. M. Bond, 

 standards of length and their subdivision. W. Dennis Marks, 

 economy of compound engines. Final agreement cannot be 

 reached until "a more complete and rational set of experiments 

 are made on the compound engine than now exist." — Dr. P. 

 Frazer, reply to T. D. Rand's paper on the geology of Chester 

 Valley, &c. 



No. 701, May. — De Volson Wood, the most economical point 

 of cut-off, a dialogue criticising Prof. Marks' paper. — J. P. 

 Church, alleged remarkable error in the theory of the turbine 

 water-wheel. — N. B. Clark, petroleum as a source of emergency 

 power for war-ships. Proposes to employ furnaces into which 

 petroleum is sprayed along with superheated steam and heated 

 air. — S. L. Wiegand, cast-iron in steam-boilers. — R. Grimshaw, 

 hanging the levers for indication. — R. Grimshaw, doctoring in- 

 dicator cards.— Pliny Earle Chase, the sun-earth balance. This 

 paper briefly expounds the author's views about harmonic rela- 

 tions in the solar system, and deduces values from them for the 

 earth's mean radius of orbit, and for the weight of the sun. — G. 

 M. Bond, standards of length and their subdivision. 



Anna/en tier Physik und Chemie, Band xxi. No. 4, April, 

 1884. — G. Hansemann, on the diffusion of gases through a 

 porous partition. The author concludes that Stefan's theory is 

 not confirmed, but finds that the gaseous molecules within the 

 pores offer a much greater mutual resistance than Stefan supposed. 

 — G. Kirchhoff, on the theory of the diffusion of gases through 

 a porous partition ; a mathematical discussion of Stefan's theory. 

 — Oskar Rother, on capillarity-measurements of salt solutions 

 and their mixtures. — H. C. Vogel, remarks on Dr. O. Frolich's 

 paper on the measurement of sun-temperature. — E. Warburg, 

 on the electrolysis of solid glass. He concludes that in this obscure 

 phenomenon the silica is not affected, and that the sodium only 

 is moved electrically through the mass. — Emil Cohn, on the 

 validity of Ohm's law for electrolytes. — A. Oberbeck, on elec- 

 tric oscillations : their magnetising action (part v.). The author 

 concludes that undulatory currents exercise magnetising effects 

 on iron and steel cores entirely as theory would indicate, pro- 

 vided account be taken of the internally induced currents. — L. 

 Grunmach, absolute barometric measurements under a control 

 of the vacuum by means of phenomena of electric illumination. 

 The refusal of induction sparks to pass, or the phosphorescing 

 of the glass surface, are chosen as indices of the exact state of 

 the barometric vacuum. — W. Voigt, on the history of the 

 Nobili-Guebhardt rings. 



No. 5, May. — A. Winkelmann, on the diffusion of gases and 

 vapours. This paper discusses the bearing of the formulae of Meyer 

 on certain changes in the coefficient of diffusion observed by Ste- 

 fan's method. — L. Boltzmann, on a relation discovered by Bartoli 

 between heat-radiation and the second law of thermodynamics.— 



L. Boltzmann, on the quantity of work which can be obtained in 

 chemical combinations. An important discussion of formulae, 

 and bears on dissociation heat. — A. Overbeck, on electric oscil- 

 lations, especially on their magnetising effect, and on the propa- 

 gation of magnetic oscillations. Describes a method of experi- 

 ment employing an electro-dynamometer, and concludes that 

 the magnetic oscillations propagated along an iron rod decrease 

 in amplitude at points successively distant from the origin of the 

 oscillations, but that the magnitude of the decrement depends 

 only on the quality of the iron, and is independent of its 

 cross-section. — W. llallwachs, on the electromotive force, 

 the resistance, and the efficiency of secondary batteries. 

 This paper, reprinted from the Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift, 

 recounts researches by the author, and gives a summary of 

 others by Tresca and Ayrton and Perry. — J. Stephan, on 

 the calculation of induction-coefficients of wire coils. This paper 

 re-discusses the formulae used by Maxwell and by Lord Rayleigh 

 for the cofficients of the coils used in the determination of the 

 ohm. — J. Frohlich, notice on the calculation of the potential of 

 coils. This paper concludes with two convenient approximate 

 formula; for controlling more elaborate calculations. — S. Wleiigel 

 and S. Henrichsen, on the magnetism of organic bodies. Gives 

 values for a number of alcohols. — J. Elster and H. Geitel, on 

 the electricity of flame ; a reply to J. Kollert. — H. Merczyng, 

 on Fresnel's measurement of wave-length. The author contends 

 that Fresnel never made his well-known determination with the 

 well-known "Fresnel's mirrors," but by diffraction. — J. L. 

 Andrese, Boyle's law : a lecture-experiment. A thread of 

 mercury is introduced into a long narrow vertical glass tube 

 closed at the top, and hangs inclosing a certain volume of air 

 permanently. — Carl Kirn, on a mercury interrupter with which 

 the oxidation of the mercury is obviated. The contact is broken 

 in a closed vacuous vessel. — G. Krebs, three ozone apparatus. — 

 V. Pierre, apparatus for demonstration of the laws of elasticity 

 of traction ; apparatus for demonstration of the constitution of a 

 longitudinal wave ; galvanoscope for lecture-demonstration ; 

 apparatus for freezing water quickly under the air-pump. There 

 is nothing very new in the first two of these. The galvanoscope 

 is a simple modification of the vertical Bourbouze instrument. 

 The air-pump apparatus is identical with forms often used in 

 this country. 



Bulletins d/ la Soeie'/e d' Anthropolozie de Paris, tome vi., 

 serie iii., 1883. — The conclusion of M. Ujfalvy's notes on 

 the so-called Kaftir-Giapochs of Hindoo-Koosh, based on his 

 own observations and those of Biddulph, Elphinstone, and other 

 English authorities. — Communications from M. Ten Kate, on 

 the results of his anthropometric observations of the Yaquis 

 Indians of Sonora and Arizona ; from M. Ellington de la Croix, 

 on the fish-eating modern cave-dwellers of the Island of 

 Socotra ; from M. Hamy, on the dental mutilations of the 

 modern Huaxtecs ; and from M. Manouvrier, on the force of 

 the flexible muscles of the fingers in men and women, having 

 reference to the weight of the brain at different anatomical and 

 physiological periods. — On the Japanese races, by M. de Quatre- 

 fages. — Reports of the Commissions appointed to examine the 

 Cinghalese Araucarians and Kalmuks who have been brought to 

 the Jardin d'Acclimatation for purposes of ethnographic investiga- 

 tion. The reports on the two latter have been drawn up by M. Deni- 

 ker, whose intimate acquaintance with the language and homes of 

 the Kalmucks gives special value to his comprehensive exposition 

 of the ethnological and social characteristics of these people. — 

 Recollections of Paul Broca as a student, by M. Eschenauer. — 

 On the "Tzompantli," or sacrificial cranium, exposed in Aztek 

 temples, by M. Hamy. — On the cranial differences observable 

 in men and women, by M. Manouvrier, who considers that while 

 the parietal is less developed in the latter, the occipital is gene- 

 rally larger in women than in men. — On the microscopical 

 characters of the blood in the principal races, by Dr. Maurel, 

 whose investigations do not appear to have demonstrated any 

 very precise ethnic difference in the relations of the red and 

 white corpuscles, unless we may accept as such his observation 

 that the red globules of different races show different degrees of 

 resistance to different artificial reagents. — On the use of iron in 

 Egypt, by M. E. Soldi ; and on the use of iron in China, by M. 

 Milloue. — A risuml, by M. G. Herve, of the various medical 

 and other reports of the dimensions of Cuvier's brain. M. 

 Herve, basing his remarks on Dr. E. Rousseau's report of the 

 autopsy in which the latter took part, gives the weight as 1830 

 grm., and the horizontal circumference as 6C45 cm. He denies 

 that Cuvier had ever suffered from any malady capable of affect- 



