306 



NA TURE 



[July 24, 1! 



Lasaulx. — On the granites of the Watawa district, Bohemia, by 

 Dr. ]. Lehmann. — On the progress of electrical appliances, by 

 H. Coerper. — Memoir on Anoplophora {Unionap hlig), by Prof, 

 von Koenen. — Obituary notice of Dr. Hermann Midler of Lipp- 

 stadt, by Ernst Krause. — On the crystals of oxalate of lime 

 present in the foliage and stem of Irisjlorcntina (four illustrations), 

 by Prof, von Lasaulx. — Remarks on a human skull and other 

 human remains recently discovered in the loess of the Mosel near 

 Metternich, by Prof. Schaffhausen. — Report of a geological excur- 

 sion to the island of Corsica, by Prof, von Rath. — On the bacillus 

 of tuberculosis and its presence in the human tissues, by Dr. II. 

 Menche. — Remarks on some small crystals of leucite of unusual 

 formation, by Prof, von Rath. — On ten small mammoth teeth 

 from the Schipka Cave, Moravia (one illustration), by Prof. 

 Schaffhausen. — On the action of bromide of aluminium on the 

 dibromide of acetyl and on benzine, by Dr. Anschiitz. < Mi .1 

 new synthesis of anthracene, by the same author. — Note on 

 pyrites from the Gommern and Ploetzky sandstone, near Magde- 

 burg, by Prof, von Lasaulx. — On the treatment of bites by 

 venomous snakes, by Prof. Binz. — On a manganese and copper 

 alloy, by H. Heusler. — Report of a scientific excursion in the 

 island of Sardinia, by Prof, von Rath. — On the Tertiary forma- 

 tions of the Bonn district, by Dr. Pohlig. — On the naphtha and 

 petroleum regions of Caucasia, by Dr. O. Schneider. — On the 

 fossiliferous diluvium of the North German lowlands, by Dr. A. 

 Remele. — Microscopic examination of a series of Norwegian 

 rocks from the Tromsoe district and the Lofoten Islands, by A. 

 Philippson. — Effects of heat on the optical bearing of crystals, 

 by W. Klein. — On the properties of racemic acid and of the 

 inactive pyrotartaric acid of calcium, by Dr. Anschiitz. — Geo- 

 logical and palaeontological researches in the Bonn district, by 

 Dr. Pohlig. — Microscopic examination of some specimens of 

 volcanic matter from Krakatoa, by Prof, vi.n Lasaulx. — Remarks 

 on a new variety of glaukoppan from the island of Groix, on 

 the west coast of Brittany, by the same author. 



RendUonti del R. litituto Lombardo, May 29 and June 5. — 

 Etruscan notes, by Prof. Elia Lattes. — Remarks on the laws 

 affecting contract labour, by U. Gobbi. — On the colouring sub- 

 stances of putrefaction, and on some methods of discharging 

 colours, by Dr. Paolo Pellacani. — On the supposed d 

 to cretinism in patients operated on for affections of the parotid 

 glands, by Dr. ( ',. Fiorani. — A new determination of the latitude 

 of the Brera Observatory, Milan, effected in the months of 

 February and March of the present year, by L. Struve. — On a 

 problem connected with the theory of stationary electric currents, 

 by Prof. E. Beltrami. — On the nature of the colouring substance 

 found in the urn of St. Ambrose, dating from the ninth century, 

 by Prof. G. Carnellutti. — On the relation between the elasticity 

 of some metallic wires and their electric conductibility, by Dr. 

 C. Poloni. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Geological Society, June 25. — Prof. T. G. Bonney, D. Sc, 

 F.R.S., President, in the chair. — James Campbell Christie was 

 elected a Fellow, and Baron C. von Ettingshausen, of Graz, . 

 Foreign Correspondent of the Society. — The following com- 

 munications were read : — Additional notes on the Jurassic 1 1 K 1. 

 which underlie London, by Prof. John W. Judd, F.R.S. Since 

 the reading of the former paper on the subject (February 6, 

 1884) the well-boring at Richmond has been carried to a depth 

 of more than 1360 feet. The point reached is, reckoning from 

 Ordnance-datum line, 220 feet lower than that attained by any 

 other boring in the London basin. A temporary cessation of 

 the work has permitted Mr. Collett Homersham to make a more 

 exact determination of the underground temperature at Rich- 

 mond. At a depth of 1337 feet from the surface this was found 

 to be 75i° F., corresponding to a rise of temperature of 1° F. for 

 every 52^43 feet of descent. The boring is still being carried on 

 in the same red sandstones and "marls," exhibiting much false- 

 bedding, which were described in the previous communication. 

 The Rev. H. H. Winwood, of Bath, has had the good fortune 

 to find the original fossils obtained by the late Mr. C. Moore 

 from the oolitic limestone in the boring at Meux's Brewery in 

 1878. A careful study of these proves that, though less numerous 

 and in a far less perfect state of preservation than the fossils from 

 the Richmond well, they in many cases belong to the same 

 species, and demonstrate the Great Oolite age of the strata in 



which they occur. — On some fossil Calcisponges from the well- 

 boring at Richmond, Surrey, by Dr. G. J. Hinde, F.G.S. — On 

 the Foraminifera and Ostracoda from tile deep boring at Rich- 

 mond, by Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S. — Polyzoa (Bryozoa) 

 found in the boring at Richmond, Surrey, referred to by Prof. 

 J. \V. Judd, F.R.S., by G. R. Vine, communicated by Prof. 

 Judd, F.R.S. — On a new species of Conoceras from the Llanvirn 

 beds, Abereiddy, Pembrokeshire, by T. Roberts, B.A. Only 

 five species of Conoceras have as yet been described ; the author 

 compared the Llanvirn species with these, and also with a fossil 

 from the Devonian of Nassau, which Kayser referred to Gompho- 

 ceras, but which possesses several characters in common with 

 Conoceras. The horizon from which this new species was ob- 

 tained is that of the Llanvirn beds, some typical Llanvirn fossils 

 having been found with it. The author named the species Cono- 

 ceras llanvii 11 msis. — Fossil Cyclostomatous Bryozoa from Aus- 

 tralia, by A. W. Waters, F.G.S. In the present paper the 

 Cyclostomata from Curdies Creek, Mount Gambier, Bairnsdale, 

 Muddy Creek, &c, Aldinga and River Murray Cliffs were 

 described, bringing the total number of fossil Bryozoa from Aus- 

 tralia, dealt with in this series of papers, up to 195, of which 85 

 are known living. Of the 32 Clyclostomata now dealt with, 12 

 at least are known living, and one cannot be distinguished from 

 a Palaeozoic form ; 9 are apparently identical with European 

 Cretaceous fossils. Although so many remind us of European 

 Chalk and Miocene species, great stress was laid upon the im- 

 perfect data available for such comparisons, the Cyclostomata 

 furnishing but few characters which are available for classifica- 

 tion, which, so far, has, almost entirely been based upon the 

 mode of growth, which, in the Chilostomata, has been shown to 

 be of secondary value. In consequence of the few available 

 characters, the Cyclostomata do not seem likely to be ever as 

 useful paUeontologically as the Chilostomata, and as they are 

 less highly differentiated, it is not surprising to find that they are 

 more persistent through various periods. In order to see how 

 far oilier characters might be available, the author has examined 

 Cyclostomata, both recent and fossil, from many localities and 

 strata, and pointed out that the size of the zocecia should always 

 be noticed, as also the position of the closure of this tube. The 

 arrangement of the interzocecial pores may frequently give great 

 assistance^ and these are considered the equivalents of the 

 rosette-plates; but the most useful character of all is no doubt 

 the ovicell, which varies specifically in position and structure ; 

 but this unfortunately occurs on but few specimens, and has 

 rarely been described fossil, although greater attention to this 

 will no doubt lead to its being frequently found and noticed. — Ob- 

 servations on certain Tertiary formations at the south base of the 

 Alps, in North Italy, by Lieut. -Col. H. H.Godwin- Austen, F.R.S. 

 — On the geological position of the YVeka-Pass stone, by Capt. 

 F. W. Ilutton, F.G.S. The beds described in this paper are 

 of older Tertiary and newer Secondary age, and occur in the 

 northern part of Ashley county, in the province of Canterbury, 

 between the Hurinui and Waipara Rivers. All of the beds are 

 met with at Weka Pass, on the railway and road between Christ- 

 church and Nelson, and the following is the section in descending 

 order: — (1) Mount-Brown beds ; pale yellowish sandstone with 

 bands of shells and coral limestone, considered by all New 

 Zealand geologists upper Eocene or Oligocene ; (2) gray sandy 

 marl ; (3) Weka-Pass stone, yellowish with arenaceous limestone, 

 usually with small green grains ; (4) Amori limestone, white, 

 flaggy, and argillaceous ; (5) green sandstone with remains 

 of marine Saurians. The last rests conformably on beds of 

 coal and shale, with leaves of dicotyledonous Angiosperms, form- 

 ing the base of the Waipara system. To this system Nos. 4 and 

 5 of the above section have also been referred by Dr. von Haast 

 and the writer. The upper beds are the Oamara system of the 

 same authors. The question to be decided is the limit between 

 the two. The green sandstone (No. 5) and the coal shales are 

 generally admitted to be Cretaceous. The geographical distri- 

 bution of the beds enumerated was briefly described, the gray 

 sandy marl (No. I), the Amori limestone (No. 4), and the green 

 sandstone having a northerly extension to Cook's Straits, whilst 

 the other beds have been traced to the south only. An exami- 

 nation of the stratigraphies! evidence shows that at Weka Pass, 

 and also on the Waipara, the Weka-Pass stone rests on a water- 

 worn surface of the Amori limestone, and near the Pass the 

 former overlaps the latter. The gray marl (No. 2) is evidently 

 unconformable to the lower beds of the Waipara system, whilst 

 at Waipara and Weka Pass it passes down conformably into 

 the Weka-Pass stone. The gray marl also passes up conform- 



