May 26, 1 881] 



NATURE 



95 



tact, by MM. Stoletoff and Sokoloff. — On the influence of pres- 

 sure on galvanic resistance, by M. Khwolson. — On dynamo- 

 electric machines without iron, by M. Latchinoff". — On the 

 voltaic arc, by M. Sloughinoff. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Royal Society, May 12. — " Physiological Action of S Luti- 

 dine." By Greville Williams, F.R.S., and W. H. Waters, B.A. 



Up to the present the authors' investigations have chiefly 

 related to the action of this poison upon the heart and central 

 nervous system of the frog. 



Various methods were used to study its effect upon the heart, 

 anil each gave most distinct results pointing to an increase of 

 the tonicity. After the introduction of a tmall quantity of 

 ;8 lutidine into the system, stimulation of the vagus failed to 

 cause a cessation of the heart's beat. 



In frogs retaining tlieir spinal cord the injection of the alkaloid 

 removed all powers of reflex action, which removal the authors 

 proved by other experiments to be due to the /3 lutidine acting 

 on the reflex centre. The alkaloid was fou'.d to be antagon- 

 istic to strychnine : removing strychnine-tetanus when injected 

 after that alkaloid and preventing its appearance when injected 

 beforehand. 



Chemical Society, May 19. — Prof. Roscoe, president, in 

 the chair. — The following' papers were read : — On ammonium 

 nitrite and the reaction between hydrogen and nitric oxide in the 

 presence of spongy platinum, by L. T. Wright. The author 

 has repeated the experiments recently made by G. S. Johnson, 

 who stated that the synthesis of ammonia was effected by passing 

 hydrogen and nitrogen over heated spongy platinum. The 

 author .states that the nitrogen was contaminated with nitric 

 oxide. The substance used Ijy Johnson — ferrous sulphate solu- 

 tion — for freeing the nitrogen from nitric oxide does not com- 

 pletely absorb that gas. Wlien pure nitrogen obtained by the 

 action of potassium hypobromite on ammonium chloride, or by 

 passing the nitrogen evolved by heating ammonium nitrite 

 through an alkaline sulphite, w as used no ammonia w as formed. 

 Hydrogen reacts upon ni;ric oxide in the presence of cold spongy 

 platinum to form ammonia. — On the synthetical production of 

 urea from benzol, ammonia, and air by the action of heated 

 platinum, by E. F. Herroun. The author has aspirated air 

 through benzol and ammonia, and then passed the mixed vapours 

 over a heated spiral of platinum wire. Urea was formed, which 

 was identified by its reactions and analysis. Acetylene can be 

 substituted for benzol vapour. — On a proposed volumetric 

 method for the ready estimation of a soluble sul])hite and free 

 sulphurous acid, or of free sulphurous and sulphuric acids even 

 in the presence of sulphates, by O. V. Pisani. — On the identifi- 

 cation of crystallised alkaloids by the microscope, and the use of 

 polarised light, by A. Percy Smith. — On the colour-properties 

 and colour-relations of the metals of the iron -copper group, by 

 T. Bayley. The author continues in this paper his investiga- 

 tions as to the quantities of cobalt and nickel, or of cobalt, 

 copper, and iron, which, when mixed as sulphates, produce 

 colourless grey solutions. — On the effects of the growth of 

 plants on the amount of matter removed from the soil by rain, 

 by E. W. Prevost. — On the action of sodium on cinnamic ether, 

 by F. Hatton. 



Physical Society, May 14. — Prof. Fuller in the chair. — 

 New Members : Mr. D. J. Blakely and Mr. Walter Kilner. — 

 Prof. G. C. Foster read a communication from Prof. Rowland 

 and Mr. E. H. Nichols of B.altimore, U.S., on electric absorp- 

 tion in crystals. According to the theory of Clausius, Maxwell, 

 and others there should be no electric absorption in the case of 

 perfectly homogeneous substances. Prof. Rowland tested this 

 deduction in the case of glass, wdiich is not quite homogeneous, 

 quartz, and calcite. This was done by placing the material as 

 the dielectric in a condenser formed of two amalgamated copper 

 plates. The condenser was charged by six Leyden jars, and the 

 absorption measured by a quadrant electrometer. The results 

 were that quartz had about one-ninth the absorptive power of 

 glass, and calcite rone at all. Dr. Hopkinson said that the kind 

 of glass w.as important, and threw doubts on the theory that the 

 absorption was due to heterogeneity; paraffin wax had little absorp- 

 tive power, and yet was very heterogeneous. Professors Perry and 

 Ayrton thought that two non-homogeneous substances in combina- 



tion might have no residual charge. Mr. Lewis Wright suggested 

 that the optical character of crystals should be considered in 

 these experiments, which might be extended to other crystals. 

 Calcite is uniaxial. — Prof. Minchin, of Cooper's Hill, Engineering 

 College, described his new absolute sine electrometer. This 

 consists of two metal plates, in one of which is an aperture 

 nearly closed by a metal trap-door suspended from the plate by two 

 fine platinum ivires, and resting against fine stops, when the plates 

 are hung vertically. These plates are connected to the poles of the 

 cell to be mea-ured, and tilted out of the vertical till the attrac- 

 tion of the V. hole plate on the suspended trap or shutter is just 

 balanced by the \\ eight of the latter. The electromotive force is 

 then proportional to the sine of the angle of displacement. Dr. 

 Lodge remarked that the apparatus combined sensitivenf ss with 

 practicability. The E.M.F. of a sin,'le cell could be measured 

 by it, whereas Thomson's absolute electrometer could only give 

 the total of a number of cells. Prof. Ayrton stated that lie and 

 Prof. Ferry hoped to modify the in-trameiit in the direction of 

 sensitiveness by adding another plate and giving it a high charge. 

 Dr. Coffin suggested reversing the process of taking an obser- 

 vation. — Prof. Foster read a paper by Dr. J. E. Mills, on the 

 ascent of hollow glass balls through liquids. A glass ball of a 

 pear shape rises through a liquid with a sensibly uniform velo- 

 city, which varies with the liquid. The time of ascent _is pro- 

 portional to the square of the diameter of the vessel, and depends 

 of course on the specific gravity of the contents of the bulb. 

 Dr. Mills measures the density of gases and liquids in this 

 manner. Prof Perry thought that the bulb .should be of a 

 shape having no re-entrant angles. 



Geological Society, May 11.— R. Ethcridge, F.R.S., pre- 

 sident, in the chair. — Joseph Deeley, George Kilgour, Griqua- 

 land West, South Africa, and Roderick William MacLeod 

 were elected Fellows of the Society. — The following communi- 

 cations were read : — Notes on tlie fish-remains of the bone-bed 

 at Au'-t, near Bristol, with the description of .some new genera 

 and species, by James W. Davis, F.S.A., F.G.S. The fossil 

 fishes described in this paper are from the Rhretic bed at Aust 

 Passage. The fi.slies belong to the orders Plagiostomi and 

 Ganoidei, some of the former being of considerable size. It is 

 inferred, from the intermixture of .Sauri.ans and fishes, that the 

 deposit is the result of shallow water existing near land, in which 

 the fishes lived and the Saurians occasionally disported them- 

 selves. Besides the fossil remains of the animals which lived 

 during the deposition of the Aust-beds, there are also others 

 which appear to have been derived from the Mountain Lime- 

 stone and the Coal-measures, representing such genera as Psam- 

 modus, Psephodns, Ihlodus, and Ctenoptychius. — On some fish- 

 spines from the Coal-measures, by J. W. Davis, F.S.A., F.G.S. 

 — The author described in this paper three species of a new 

 genus of fossil fish from the Carboniferous formation, two of the 

 species having been found in the Cannel coal of the West Riding 

 of Yorkshire, and the other in the Burghlea limestone, near 

 Edinburgh. Anodontacanthus is a straight spine, offering many 

 points of resemblance to some of the Pleuracanths ; itt.has a 

 similarly close grained microscopical structure, the internal cavity 

 opens terminally at the base of the spine, and it was not deeply 

 implanted in the flesh of the fish. It however differs from all 

 the Pleuracanths in being quite free from external denticles ; its 

 surface is plain or but slightly striated, whilst that of Pleura- 

 canthus always possesses a double row of denticles either ranged 

 laterally along the exposed part of the spine or in some position 

 between the lateral and posterior aspects of the spine. It is 

 possible that evidence may be discovered which will render 

 necessary the removal of these spines to the genus Pleura- 

 canthus ; but at present there is no evidence that such is 

 advisable. All the specimens of Pleiiraeon/lius-spiDe found 

 associated with teeth or shagreen have been armed with the 

 double row of denticles, and at present no evidence exists 

 that spines without denticles were associated with remains 

 of this genus. It is therefore considered best to institute 

 a new genus for the three species with the name Aiiodon- 

 tacanthus, in allusion to its having no teeth or denticles. — 

 On some specimens of Diastofora and Stomatopora from the 

 Wenlock limestone, by Francis D. Longe, F.G.S. Mr. Longe 

 showed and described some specimens of Eryozoa from the 

 Wenlock limestone of Dudley, which he compared with corre- 

 sponding forms from the Oolites and later periods, and pointed 

 out the close similarity of the Silurian with the later forms, in 

 respect of the shape and dimensions of the cells, as well as in 

 the habit of coenoecic growth.— On a new species oi Plesiosaurus 



