136 



NATURE 



\yune 9, 1 88 1 



statement Mr. Man read a translation he had made of an account 

 obtained in 1S76 from a member of the inland branch of the 

 Awko iuwai tribe, inhabiting a portion of the Middle Andamm, 

 retrardinsj their habits and mode of hfe, the deiaiU of which had 

 since been fidly corroborated. In many menta! charai-teristics 

 affinity to the Pa|)uans would appear to exist, and the standard 

 in social and marital relations is shown to be far higher than could 

 be expected from a race so entirely outside the pale of civilisa- 

 tion ; the previous accounts of their laxity in this respect are now 

 proved to be erroneous. They have no forms of religi ^n or 

 ideas of worship, and though they have faith in a Supre ne 

 Being, the Creator, their belief in the Powers of Evil is much 

 more strongly developed. The habitations of the eight tribes of 

 Great Andaman are of three varieties, partaking almost mv riably 

 of the nature of a simple Uan-to, while those of the remiining 

 tribe, larawa (da), are somewhat similar in form to the huts 

 erected by the Nicobarese. The rights of private property are 

 recognised and res) ected ; there also appears to be a fair divi- 

 sion of labour and perfect equnlity between the sexes in their 

 social intercourse. — Dr. Allen Thomson, F.R.S., read a iiaper 

 on some bone necklaces from the Andaman Islands. Several 

 of the sp'-cimens exhibited by the author were cons' ru ted 

 entirely of human bones, while some were composed of hones of 

 various animals, and others were partly made up of piece^ of 

 coral. — Mr. |. Park Harrison. M.A., exhibited an incised slate 

 tablet and other objects from Towyn. The figures upon the 

 slate appeared to represent celts, nms, &c. 



Photographic Society, May 10. — J. Glaisher, F.R. S., 

 president, in the chair. — Mr. Leon Warnerke read a paper on 

 a new discovery regarding gelatine emulsion. This con i-ted in 

 the ob-erved fact that when gelatine emul-ion has been submifed 

 to the combined action of light and pyrogallic acid, it beco nes 

 insoluble in warm water; a gelatine negative is transferred to 

 glass or paper, and from the back, wi'h warm water, all parts 

 not acted upon by light and the developer can he washed aw:iy ; 

 consequently a solvent of the ilver not acted upon, such as 

 hypo-sulphite, becomes unnecessary, and the remaining film or 

 piciure is left intact, and from its purity can be reacted up mi in 

 many ways hitherto extremely difficult or impossible. This dis- 

 covery also becomes valuable in its application to the Wo )dbury 

 printing process, phototype printing, and burnt-in photography 

 on ceramic ware. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, May 31. — Mr. Abernethy, 

 F. R.S.E., president, in the chair. — The paiier read was on 

 "The Production of Paraffin and Paraffin Ods," by Mr. R. 

 Henry Brunbjn, M. Inst.C.E. 



Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, May 30. — M. Wurtz in the chair. — 

 The fi)llowing papers were read : — Memoir on the temperatu-e 

 of the air at the surface of the ground and down to 36 m. depth, 

 also the temperature of two pieces of ground, the one bare, the 

 other covered with gras-^, during 18S0, and on the penetration 

 of fro^t into the^e, by MM Becquerel. The effects ot the 

 severe cold receive special attention. The screening inline -ce 

 of ^now is shown. Inter aiia^ the propagation of frost is slower 

 in grassy ground than in bare ground. In the latter the rate 

 increases very slightly with the depth, the propagation tieing 

 very regular. In gras.sy ground the increase is very notable, and 

 with increasing depth, the rate tend, to c mie near that in hare 

 ground. Each layer of ground is subject to two cilorific 

 effects : one due to variations of external temperature ; the iither 

 to the action of deep layers which tend to give a cin-tant tem- 

 perature. — On rabies, by M. Pasteur, with MM. Chamherland, 

 Roux, and Thuillier. The seat of the virus i- not in the sadva 

 alone ; the brain contains it, and the authors have ^uo-essfully 

 inoculated with brain substance. They have also succeeded in 

 shortening the time of incubation, inoculating rlirectly the brain 

 of a dog with cerebral matter from a mad dog (an! having 

 recourse to trepanation). — Nebulse discivered and ooserved at 

 Mar-eilles Observatory, by M. Stephin.— On the the iry ^if mo- 

 ti in of celestial bodies, by M.Gylden. — Ona new means o^ accele- 

 rating the service of canal locks, by M. DeCaligny. — 1 )nthegeiiera 

 IVtllianisonia Carrath. and Goitiolma- D'Oro {continued), by 

 MM. de Saporta and Merion. — Observation and elements of ihe 

 comet a 1881 (L Swift), by M. Bigourd m. — On Fuchsian 

 functions, by M. Poincare — Algebraic relati ms between the 

 superior sines of a given order, by M. Rouyaux. — On the -iiies 

 of superior orders, by M. West. — On the di,continu lus phos- 



phorescent spectra observed in almost perfect vacuum, by Mr. 

 Crookes. M. Edm. Becquerel recalled his own spectroscopic 

 studie-. of the light of phosphorescent sub>tances and his excita- 

 tion of such substances by submitting them to the discharge in 

 vacuum tubes (in which case the rise of temperature and (he 

 electric light it elf complicated the effects). — New interrupter for 

 induction-coils, by M. Deprez. A claim of priority (to M. 

 Ducretei) on the conical mirror; reply to a communication of 

 M. Pifre, by M. Mouchot. — Discussion of the theory of three 

 fundamental colour sensations ; di-.tinctive character of these 

 colours, by M. Rosenstiehl. Certain properties attributed to 

 primary colours do not belong to them exclusively, e.^^. their 

 producing all perceptible colours when mixed two and two, and 

 the sen-atioii of white arising from the three fundamental sensa- 

 tion-, being excited equally. The fundamental property of the 

 primary triad is stated to be that colours situated on either side 

 of a primary colour (in the graphic triangle) and equi listant to 

 sight have their complementanes so near together that it 

 becomes difficult to di^tinguih those which are consecu:ive. — 

 On the oil of wild thyme, by M. Febve. — On geological 

 microzymas ; reply to MM. Chamherland and Roux, by M. 

 Bechamp. — On a vanadate of lead and copper of Lauriuin, 

 by M. Pisani. — On the exi-tence of the Cambrian formation at 

 Saint Le m and Cbatelperron (Allier), by M. lulien. — On the 

 c<jal- formation of Commentry ; experiments made with a view to 

 explain its formation, by M. Fayol. He reproduced the con- 

 ditions and effects on a small sc de by means of basins with a 

 constant level of liquid, receivnu currents of water with pebbles, 

 sand, clay, coal, plants (previously immersed some time, so as to 

 sink in quiet water), &c. — Moveaieiits of the frog consequent on 

 electric excitation, by M. Richer. Frogs (intact) show great 

 resistance to electric stimuli. (Two Thomson elements wtre 

 used, with a coil.) The response to a single stimulation of the 

 leg or sciatic nerve w.as generally more than o"I5 seconds after ; 

 the delay was oftener half a second, sometimes as much as ten 

 seconds. With repeated excitations the reaction is sometimes 

 extremely slow. In general th- response is more rapid the 

 stronger the excitation. Fatigue comes quickly. Excitations of 

 the se i^ibility stop voluntary mijvements. The general move- 

 ments of flight or defence in intact frogs, on electric excitation, 

 seem to be determined by the bulb. Are they (M. Richet asks) 

 reflex or voluntary? — On symmetrical vasomotor actions, by 

 MM. Teissier and Kaufmann. Under certain conditions the 

 reverse of the law established by Brovvn-Sequard and Tholozan 

 holds good ; a capillary dilatation on the left side, e.g. wdll pro- 

 duce a vascular constriction on the right side, or vice versa. 

 Vienna 

 Imperial Academy of Sciences, June 2. — M. Burg in 

 the chair. — E. Horn-tein, contribution to a knowledge of the 

 system of asteroids. — Prof. S. Strieker, on the law of con- 

 vuUive action. — Dr. Ludwig Langer, on the chemical composi- 

 tion of human fat at different ages. — Prof. E. Zuckerkaodl, on 

 the communications of the vense pulmonales with the bronchial 

 veins and the veins of mediastinum. — Prof. W. Loebisch and 

 Dr. A. Loos, on glycerin-xanlhogenates. — Dr. P. Wesseisky and 

 Dr. R. Benedikt, on hydroquinonic and orcinic ethers. — Dr. L. 

 Szajiocha, contribution to a knowledge of Jurassic Brachiopoda 

 of the Carpathian rocks. — Pnf. T. Finger, on an analogon to 

 Kather's pendalum and its use for measuring gravitation. — -Dr. 

 S. Ehrmann, on the determinations of nerves in the pigment- 

 cells of frogs' skin. 



CONTENTS 



Thh Stephenson Centenary By Prof. Osborne Reynolds 



F.R.S 



The History of Salt 



Oa^ B.ioK Shelf: — 



Jones's *' Text-Book of Practical Organic Chemistry for Ele 

 mentary Students" 



Trevandrum Observatory.— Prof P. SooNDRHM PiLLAY . . . 



Symbolical Logic— Hugh McCoLL 



R-^sonance of the Mouth Cav.ty —John Navlor 



■• How tn Prevent Drowning."— Ur. R. E. Dudgeon ... 



Dust-winds at Hank w — ^urgenn H. B. GuppY 



A Singular Cause of Shipwreck. — A. J. Htjbbard 



An Opiical Illusion. —C J.Woodward 



The Visitation OF IHE Ro.ahjb.ehvatory 



Holtz'-. liLtCTMCAL Shadows (M^«A Z)iVi.fra««) ■ 



Bkn Nevis (Jbsekvatorv 



IlNIVttRSITV AND'EdUCaTIONAL InTKLLIGHNCE ■ 



Scientific Serials 



SociKTihS AND Academies ■ 



