576 



NATURE 



\Oct. 13, 1 88 1 



Cambridge. — Prof. Paget will lecture on Clinical Medicine 

 at the Hospital tliis term ; and Prof. Latham on the Physiological 

 Actions and Therapeutic Us-es of Remedies, at Downing Colle.L'e. 



Practical Anatomy commenced at the I)i■^secting l-'oom on 

 October 5 ; and demonstration for second year men on October 7. 

 Prof. Humphry's lectures <in the Organs of Digestion begin on 

 October 13. A class in amitomy and physiology, preparatory 

 for the seconi M.B. and the Natural Sciences Tripos, will meet 

 for the first time on October 17. 



Prof. Liveinu' lecture, this term on the General Principles of 

 Chemistry, and also on Spec'ro cnpic Analysis, taking limited 

 classes at suc<:essive hours on the latter sulject; there will be 

 both practical observation with spirctr.iscopes, and explanations 

 of principles and results. Prof. I'ewar will lecture three times a 

 weel< on Physical Chemistry, beginning October 14 ; and two 

 tutorial lee ures weeUy will lie f^iven in connection with the-e 

 lectures by Mr. A. Scott, the professor's assistant. Invesliua- 

 tions may be carried on in the labaratories, \\ ith the approval of 

 the professirrs. Demonstrations in Volumetric Analysis will be 

 given by one of the deuion trators three times a week. 



Mr. K. M. Balfour will ijive two cour>es of lectures (elementary 

 and advanced) on Morphology, with practical work, at the New 

 Museums, each course to extend over two teriiis. Both courses 

 will be on the Itivertebrata this term. 



Dr. Vines commenced his lectures on the Physiology of Plants 

 at Christ's College on Octolier 12. 



Prof. Stuart lectures on Mechanism three times a week ; the 

 workshops and drawing office open on October 14. Mechanical 

 drawing and machine designing w ill be taught in the drawing 

 office ; and the use of tools, the elements of practical engineering 

 and the construction of physical instruments in the workshops. 



Prof. Lewis has two courses this term, one on Descriptive 

 Crystallography, and the other on the principal minerals knov\ n 

 as rock-ccu^ituents. 



Lord K^cicjh lectures on Electricity and Magnetism ; Prof. 

 Cayley on Abel's Theorem and the Theta-functions , the deputy 

 Plumian Professor on Practical Astronomy. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Entomological Society, September 7. — Mr. H. T. Stainton, 

 r.R.S., president, in the chair. — Kev. A. E. Eaton exhibited a 

 dried specimen of the nymph of a specie; of Enthyplocia, a genus 

 of Ephemeridiz previously known only in the adult condition. — 

 Mr. E. A. Fitch exhibited a larva of Zcnzera asculi, infested 

 with a species of Encyritis in extraordinary numbers ; speci- 

 mens of a fly (Drosophila cellaris) bred from a bottle of pickles ; 

 a series of interesting galls (Cecidomyida), atid some stems of 

 Equisettim in which larvfe of Dolerus e^lanteriic were feeding. — 

 Mr. T. R. Billups exhibited six new Briti h Ichneumonida:. — 

 Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited a specimen of the common 

 mouse attacked by the larva of an CEstrus. — Sir S. S. Saunders 

 exhibited specinens of Sarcoplia^a lineata. Fall., which destroys 

 locusts in the Troad, atid of Chalcis flavip:s, Panz., parasitic on 

 the parasite it-elf. — The pre-ide-it read a letter from the Colonial 

 Office respecting the report forwarded by the Society on locust 

 parasites.— Mr. C. O. Waterhou e read descriptions of some 

 new- CoLoflera from Sumatra. — Mr. J. S. Baly communicated 

 descriptions of some new species of Eiimolpidtv ; and Mr. A. G. 

 Butler communicated a list of butterflies collected in Chili by 

 Mr. T. Edmonds. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, October 3. — M. Wurtzinthe chair. 

 — .M. Dumas communicated the deci.sions recently come to by the 

 Congress of Electricians on electrical stand.ards. He also ex- 

 hibited an ingot of steel produced by Dr. Siemens in the Exhi- 

 bition, by electric fu-ion (in fourteen minu'es) of a few kilo- 

 grammes of steel in a magnesia crucible. The expenditure of 

 fuel to drive the machine was less than that required by direct 

 fusion in a common furnace. — On the secular displacements of 

 the planes of orbits of three planets, by M. Tisserand. — Public 

 experiments on vaccination of symptomatic charbon, made at 

 Chaumont (Haute-Marne) on September 26, 1S81, by M. 

 Bouley. Symptomatic charlion is proved to be distinct from bac- 

 teridian charb m ; inter alia, the microbe .of the former, intro- 

 duced into the veins, insures future immunity, producing at the 

 time only slight fever. This vaccination of MM. Arlong, 

 Cornevin, atid Thomas, differs frrmi that of M. Pasteur in that 

 the naturd virus is used in all its energy (not attenuated). Care 

 has to be taken not to let the virus enter cellular tissue, but 



only the (jugular) vein. The experiments here recorded were 

 made nn 25 young cattle, 13 of which had been vaccinated, 

 and the results distinctly vindicate the method. In the second 

 iiijecti m the cannula was deeply insetted in muscular tissue. — On 

 a new application of the equation of Lame, by M. Gylden. — 

 Observations of the comet rf 1881 (Encke) and e 1S81 (Barnard), 

 made at Paris Observatory, liy M. Bigourdan. — Application of 

 radiophony to telegraphy; multiple inverse electric teleradio- 

 phine, by AL Mercadier. (This wa; a sealed packet, depr sited 

 May 31.) A contituious current traverses a series of radio- 

 phonic selenium receivers and telephones at station A, then 

 the line, then another series at B. B.'fore each receiver 

 a wherl with circle of holes rotates regularly, and the 

 passage of the hght rays is blocked at will with a Morse 

 key, giving interruptions of the musical notes in the 

 telephone-, corresponding to Morse signal . The wheels are 

 arranged to give different note-, and each listener with a tele- 

 phone concentrates his thoUijht on a particultr note. The sj stem 

 may be applied to lines of great length. — On a new electromag- 

 netic pointer designed for experimeiital researches, by M. Noel. 

 The author sought a means of e-timating very quickly and 

 exactly the physiolot-ical duration of tendinrjus reflex pheno- 

 mena tn mu.scles. A needle is arranged with a friction-coupling 

 of two hollow cones, one of which, when in contact with its 

 concetilric c ine, causes the needle to traver.-e a graduated disk 

 at the rate of once in one second ; contact of the other cones 

 stops the needle. The motion is determined by currents 

 in a Hughes diffe'entiat train, /,<>. two opposite electro-magi ets 

 with common armature in equilibriutn between. When one 

 current pas es through their four coils, the armature is attracted 

 to one magnet, and remains there till an oppo ite current brings 

 it to the other. The e currents flow respectively on apt lying to 

 the tendon an instrument, which clones the fir.^t circuit, and on 

 contraction of the muscle, which opens this circuit atid closes 

 the other.— On secondary batteries, by M. Rou S". In riiie 

 arrangement he uses a palladium plate as negative pole, and lead 

 as positive ; the liquid being sulphuric acid solution (one-tenth). 

 Another batter)' also giving good results i; made with sheet-iron, 

 lead, and a solution of sulphate of ammonia (the lead either pure 

 or covered with litharge, or pure oxide or sulphate, or all these 

 mixed). Again, sheet iron, ferro- manganese, and sulphate 

 of ammonia solution. — On a manganese battery, the salts of 

 which are utilised or regenerated, by M. Kousse. Ferro-man- 

 gaiiese is substituted for zinc in the Bunsen battery. For weak 

 currents and in ajiartments, permanganate of potash is used f t 

 depolirisation (in other cases nitric acid). The salts produced 

 are sulphate and nitrate of manganese, or sulphate and nitrate 

 of potash. Permanganate of potash, or peroxide of manga- 

 nese is then obtained by chemical processes. — On levulose, 

 by MM. Jungfleisch and Lefranc. — On an egg of an ancient 

 ostrich, by M. Ballaud. This was from a subterranean colum- 

 barium at Gonzaga. He compares its chemical constitution w iih 

 that of a recent egg. There is more carbonate and phosphate of 

 lime, and less carbonate of magnesia, &c. 



CONTENTS p.>G8 



Mr. Darwin on the Work or Wor.ms. By Geoisge J. Romanes. 



F.R.S 553 



OuK Book Shhlf : — 



Macdonell's " Atlas-Geo»ranhy " 55* 



Grisebach'.'i "Gesammelte Abhandlungen und kleinere Scliriften 



zur Pfianzengeograpliie " 556 



Lett a I .s to the fc.DlTOK : — 



Tte Solar Outburst of July 25. 1881.— Rev. S. J. Pekry, F.R.S. . 556 



On the Velocity of L!ght.—W. H. Macaulav 55* 



An Aquatic Hymempterous Insect. — Edwin BosTOCK .... 556 



Practical Phy-ics for Boys.— H. B. Jui-p 557 



A New Comet.- W. F. Denning 557 



A Kiiiematical Theorem.— George M Minchin 557 



Integrating Anemometer. — H. S. Hei-k Shaw 557 



Infusorial Parasites on Stickleback.— W. Saville Kent . . . . S57 



The Dark Day in New Ergl.and — Chaklks W. Harding . . . 5S7 

 The Evolution of the Cryptogams, II. By J. StafkieGardner 



(With I llustratioiis') 558 



Museums and Exhibitions in Japan 562 



Thh Intrrnational Exhibition and Congress of Elfctricitv 



at Paris, III 5«3 



Notes 5^4 



Grographical Notes 567 



On so.me Applications of Electric Knergy to Horticultcrk 



and Agricdlture. By Dr. C.William Siemens. F.R.S ... 567 

 The Electrical Discharge, its Forms and its Functions, II. 



By Dr. Willia.m Spottiswoode. P.R.S 560 



Biology as an Academical Study. II By Prof T. Jeffery 



Parker 573 



University and Educational Intflligbncf 575 



Societies and Academies 57^ 



