1 66 



NATURE 



'\yune 28, 1877 



three inches on to a glass plate. Each figure represents 

 a rather later stage of the splash than the preceding. 



Set 2 was drawn from the final stages of a milk drop, 

 jin. in diameter, falling 4 in. on to smoked glass; but 

 the forms are almost identical with those of mercury. Of 



this set la and Ila' are vertical central sections of the 

 middle part of the drop, while Ila and Ilia are alterna- 

 tive forms of II and III. 



From the ends of the rays of Fig. 4, usually twenty- 

 four in number, small drops often split off. These are not 



shown in the figure. One of the most curious features of 

 the phenomenon is the transition from twenty-four rays to 

 twelve arms, shown in Fig. 5. The beauty of many of 

 the forms, especially of the ridged shell-like form shown 

 in Fig. 4, when composed of shining quicksilver ap- 

 parently rigidly fixed, is very striking. Very similar forms 



are obtained with milk, but whether with milk or mercury 

 are liable to occasional variations. For a more detailed 

 account the reader is referred to the Proceedings of the 

 Royal Society, Nos. 174 and 177, 1876-77. 



A. M. WORTHINGTON 



