June 1 6, 1881] 



NATURE 



159 



Revue Inlcrnationale des Sciences, May, 1881.— M. Debierre, 

 on physical dynamism and biological dynamism (concluded). — 

 A. Charpentier, on the examination of the powers of vision, from 

 a general medical point of view. — J. Morton, the city of Gheel, 

 in Belgium, and its asylums. — H. Miiller, on the pretended 

 refutation of Boumer of the theory of flowers (translated from 

 Koitnos). 



Nyt Magasin for Naturvidenskaberne, Christiania, 1880-1881. 

 Band 26, Heft i. — Herr Leonhard Stejneger continues his con- 

 tributions to the ornithology of Madagascar, and describes a 

 new Tylas, which appears to be closely allied to the T. 

 madagasc. of Grandidier. — L. Meinich gives the result of his 

 examination of the quartz and sandstone formations of the 

 Trysilfjeld near Kongsberg, Norway, and Herr H. Rensch, 

 editor of Nntio-eii, describes the geological character of the 

 strangely dislocated and fissured fjeld known as the Torghattee, 

 on an island off the Heligoland coast. The same writer occu- 

 pies nearly all the pages of Heft 2, first in giving the remainder 

 of his observations of the Torghatten caverns and rocks, and 

 next in a comprehensive and elaborate description of the cha- 

 racter of the conglomerate sandstones and metamorphosed schists 

 in the Nordfjord and Gondfjord districts near Berglun, to which 

 he adds the analyses and histological results obtained from the 

 examin-tions of these rocks in the Leipzig mineralogical labora- 

 toiy. These numbers of the magazine contain, however, some 

 specially interesting communications by Herren Uanielssen and 

 Koren of the various new forms of Gephyre:e and Echinoder- 

 mata obtained in the Norwegian Arctic Expedition. These 

 observers describe a form of Bonellia, to which they have given 

 the name of Hamingm Arclica, which approximates closely to 

 Bonellia viridis, first found in the northern seas aljout forty years 

 ago by Herr Koren. Only one specimen was obtained of 

 Hamingia. In regard to echinoderms the expedition has proved 

 more fortunate, and Herren Daniels^en and Koren describe 

 several new forms of Asterias, Solaster, and Asterina. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Mathematical Society, June 9. — S. Roberts, F.R.S., pre- 

 sident, in the chair. — Prof Mannheim and Mr. T. Craig (United 

 States Coast Survey) were admitted into the Society, and Mr. 

 G. R. Dick, Professor of Mathematics in the Royal College, 

 Mauritius, was elected a member. — Much interest was excited at 

 the meeting by the fact that one of the Scciety's Foreign 

 Members was present, and proposed to read a paper. M. Mann- 

 heim is well known in this country to be a most elegant culti- 

 vator of the modern geometry on the lines of Poncelet and 

 Chasles. He has more especially worked at the following sub- 

 jects : — (l) The method of geometrical transformation, following 

 out in this direction Poncelet's re-earches in the theory of reci- 

 procal polars ; (2) the plane representation of certain space- 

 figures ; (3) the wave surface (his early papers form the suljject 

 of an article in the Quarterly Journal for 187S by Prof. C. 

 Niven, F. R.S.) ; but lastly, he has been more particularly engaged 

 upon the study of properties relative to the displacement of 

 figures in space; to this he has given the name of "Geometric 

 Cinematique " (Dr. Ball in his "Theory of Screws" says, "To 

 M. Mannheim belongs the credit of having been the first to 

 study geometrically the kinematics of a constrained body from a 

 perfectly general point of view"): — his recent work with this 

 title has obtained a warm recognition propter merita in this country 

 — on this occasion Prof. Mannheim communicated a jiaper " Sur 

 les surfaces paralleles," which was characterised by all the clear- 

 ness and power of exposition so well known to belong to mathe- 

 maticians of the French school. Dr. Hirst, F.R.S., in pro- 

 posing a vote of than Is, Hghtly touched upon the novelties of 

 the communication, and expressed the pleasure it gave him and 

 the meeting to see his fellow-student and friend present in the 

 Society's rooms. A cordial vote of thanks having been carried, 

 M. Mannheim briefly thanked the members present for their 

 kind reception of him. — Other communications were : — On 

 certain symbolic operators, by Mr. J. W. L. Glaisher, F.R.S. — 

 On a system of co-ordinates, by Prof. Genese. — Note on a 

 system of Cartesian ovals passing through four points on a circle, 

 by Mr, K. A. Roberts. — On the Gaussian theory of surfaces, by 

 Prof Cayley, F.R.S. — On a theorem in the calculus of opera- 

 tions, by Mr. J. J. Walker.-— On spherical quartics, with a 

 quadruple cyclic arc and a triple focus, by Mr. H. M. Jeffery, 

 F.R.S. — Note on the wave surface, by Prof. Mannheim. 



Chemical Society, June 2. — Prof. Roscoe, president, in the 

 chair. — It w.as announced that a ballot for the election of 

 Fellows would take place at the next meeting of the Society 

 (June 16). — The following papers were read : — Experimental 

 researches on the amalgamation of silver ores, by C. Rammels- 

 berg. — On the action of solvents on saponified oils and waxes, 

 by A. H. Allen and W. Thomson. The authors have made 

 many experiments with a view of discovering a correct method 

 for the analysis of mixtures of hydrocarbons with animal and 

 vegetable fatty matters. Two methods are suggested. In both, 

 the sample is boiled with a solution of caustic soda in alcohol, 

 which is, in one case, diluted with water, and then shaken up 

 with ether, to dissolve out the unsaponifiable matter, leaving the 

 soap in the solution ; in the other method alcohol is added to 

 the mixture, and then some sodium bicarbonate and ignited 

 sand ; the whole is dried and extracted by ] etroleum spirit in a 

 Xoxhettes apparatus. Some an.alyses ate given in the paper ; 

 good results were obtained.— On the sulphides of copper 

 and a determination of their molecular weight, by S. U. 

 Pickering. The author has heated cupric sulphide alone, in a 

 current of hydrogen and in a current of carbonic acid, and con- 

 cludes that the sulphur is given off in two se|iarate and equal 

 portions at totally different temperatures ; therefore the molecule 

 contains two atoms of sulphur. Hydrogen reduced the sulphide 

 to the metallic state. — Chemical examination of the Buxton 

 thermal water, by J. C. Thresh. The author has disproved the 

 extraordinary statements of Playfair and Muspratt that one 

 gallon of this v ater contains 206 and 504 cubic inches of nitro- 

 gen. The water really contains 22'98 c.c. of nitrogen per litre, 

 lie points out how the error originated. A complete analysis of 

 the mineral constituents is given ; amongst them are molybdic 

 acid, cobalt oxide, &c. — On potable waters ; determination of 

 total solids, tjy E. J. Mills. This determination is made by 

 carefully noting the time required by a glass bulb to rise a given 

 distance through the water. — On the estimation of the value of 

 zinc powder and on a gauge for measuring tlie volume of g.ases 

 without calculation for temperature and pressure, by J. Barnes. 



Zoological Society, June 7. — Prof. W. II. Flower, LL.D., 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — The Secretary called the atten- 

 tion of the meeting to the opening of the Inseclarium in the 

 Society's Gardens, which had taken place on A]iril 25, and read 

 a report on the insects that had been reared and exhibited there, 

 drawn up by Mr. \V. Watkins, the Superintendii.g Entomologist. 

 — Mr. F. M. Balfour, F.Z.S., read a paper on the development 

 of the skeleton of the paired tins of Elasmobranchs convideredin 

 relation to its bearings on the nature of the limlis of the Verte- 

 brata. The object of the investigations recorded in this paper 

 was explained by the author to be twofold — viz., on the one 

 hand to test how far the study of the development of the skeleton 

 of the fins supported the view which had previously been arrived 

 at by the author, to the effect that the paired i:ns were the 

 specialised and highly-developed remnants of a once continuous 

 lateral fin on each side, and on the other to decide between the 

 views of Gegenbaur and Huxley and Thacker and Mivart as to 

 the primitive type of fin-skeleton. The author pointed out that 

 the results of his researches were entirely favourable to the view 

 that the paired fins were structures of the same nature as the 

 unpaired, and that they gave a general support to the views of 

 Thacker and Mivart. Thty clearly showed that the pelvic fins 

 retain more primitive character than the pectoral. Conclusions 

 were drawn somewhat adverse to the views recently put forward 

 on the structure of the fin by Gegenbaur and Huxley, both of 

 whom considered the primitive type of fin to be most nearly 

 retained in Ccratodus, and to consist of a central nudiisegmented 

 axis with numerous rays on its two sides. It appeared, iii fact, 

 that the development of the skeleton demonstrates that a biserial 

 type of fin like that of Ceratodus could not have been primitive, 

 but that it must have been secondarily derived from a uniserial 

 type, by the primitive bar along the base of the fin (the bast- 

 pterygium) being rotated outwards, and a second set of rays 

 being developed on its posterior border.— Mr. W. T. Blanford, 

 F.Z.S., read some notes on a collection of Persian reptiles 

 recently added to the British Museum, amongst which was an 

 example of a new species of lizard, proposed to be called Agama 

 Persica. — A communication was re.ad from the Rev. O. P. Cam- 

 bridge, C.M.Z.S., on a new spider of the family TlierapIwsidcE. 

 The1;hief interest attaching to this spider wa- the fact that it 

 had lived in the Gardens of the Society from Mar, h to October, 

 1S80 Mr. Cambridge proposed to name the species Homa-omma 

 Stra'dliniiii, after Dr. Stradling, who had brought the specimen 



