254 



NATURE 



\7uly 26, 1877 



The observations of the third will be seen to follow, 

 though somewhat roughly, this portion of the curve for 

 the month. The means of the third and fourth show a 

 greater divergence from the monthly curve, and so on 

 through the combinations, each successive combination 

 showing instead of a continued approximation to, a con- 

 tinually increasing divergence from, the mean hourly 

 variation of the month. It is this consideration, to which 

 Gen. Strachey does not appear to have given due weight 

 in his paper, which has led Meldrum and others in their 

 investigation of periodicities of the rainfall and tempe- 

 rature, to extend their inquiries not only over lengthened 

 intervals of time, but also over as wide areas as possible. 



It may be added, that this new criterion of a periodicity 

 enunciated and applied by Gen. Strachey at a meeting of 

 the Royal Society in May last would, were it accepted, 

 equally sweep from our view scores of periodicities now 

 everyvvhere accepted, and effectually foreclose inquiry in 

 many fields of research in which science is certain to reap 

 briUiant results, namely, in those departments of research 

 in which the non-periodical are very largely in excess of 

 the periodical variations, of which meteorology may be 

 regarded as presenting the most numerous and best 

 illustrations. 



GEOLOGICAL NOTES 



German Geological Surveys— (i) Austria.— The 

 programme of the Austrian Geological Survey for this 

 year shows that the work is advancing, as it has been 

 doing for some time past, mainly in two directions, one 

 lying on the extreme cast, the other on the far west of 

 the empire. In the Tyrol two sections or parties are in 

 the field ; one of these, under Dr. Stache, and Mr. F. 

 Teller, is investigating the crystalline masses of the 

 Central Alps along bot'i sides of the Vintschgau ; the 

 other, under Dr. E. v. Mojsisovics and Messrs. M. Vacek 

 and A. Bittner, is engaged among the sedimentary 

 formations between Botsen and the Venetian frontier. On 

 the other side of the empire, in Eastern Galicia, Bergrath 



C. M. Paul and Messrs. Tietze and Lenz are busy 

 among the Carpathians and their spurs to the south of 

 Stanislawow. The vice-director of the Survey, Bergrath 



D. Stur, will also this year publish his researches on the 

 flora of the Carboniferous period. The whole of the 

 operations of the Survey are controlled and directed by 

 the able hands of Ritter von Hauer. 



(2) Province of Prussia.— Besides the national survey 

 organised and paid by the government for the investiga- 

 tion of the geological structure of the kingdom of Prussia, 

 there is in progress under the auspices of the Physical- 

 Economical Society of Konigsberg a geological investi- 

 gation of the Province of Prussia with the publication of 

 a map on the scale of TnoWy- I' might seem at a first 

 glance that this wide alluvial plain could hardly offer 

 much opportunity for geological observations or for much 

 variety of colouring on the map. But by means of careful 

 examination of the surface and well-arranged borings 

 below it, much valuable information is being obtained 

 regarding the structure and history of the alluvial, peaty, 

 and drift deposits of the Baltic plain of Prussia. The 

 lively inteiest which has been raised on all sides by the 

 undertaking has suggested the idea to publish yearly an 

 account of the progress of the work with notices of the 

 more interesting observations and discoveries, and such 

 additional information from other investigators or from 

 other countries as may throw light upon the geological 

 history of the province. Dr. Alfred Jentsch has prepared 

 the first J alircsbcricht, which appears in the Transactions 

 of the Physical-Economical Society. After a brief account 

 of the preparation of the map, and of the various boring 

 operations he gives an interesting resume of the geology 

 and physical geography of East Prussia, including the 

 variations of water-level in the Vistula and Pregel, the 



peat-mosses, marls, alluvial clays, drifts, brown-coal, and 

 amber-deposits, with the cretaceous, Jurassic, and 

 palaeozoic rocks made known by boring explorations. 



Geological Survey of Newfoundland.— Mr, 

 Murray has published a second edition of the Index 

 Geological Map of Newfoundland on the scale of twenty- 

 five miles to an inch. It is of course brought up to date, 

 and exhibits with great clearness the distribution of the 

 various rocks of the colony. The remarkable serpentines, 

 slates, and metamorphic rocks overlying the sandstones of 

 the Quebec group on the west iide of the island, are 

 so inserted as to show distinctly their unconformable rela- 

 tions to the rocks below them. Four sections are likewise 

 placed upon the map for the explanation of the geological 

 stracture of different regions. The mnp, in regard to execu- 

 tion, is all that could be desired, considering its small scale 

 and provisional character. Mr. Murray's Report for 1876 

 has just been issued. The ice which hugged the coasts so 

 late last year prevented a start being made until the end 

 of June. During the few months available for explora- 

 tion, Mr. Murray and Mr. Howley succeeded in mapping 

 some portions of the interior about the Gander and 

 Gambo rivers. As usual the routes lay along the river- 

 courses where almost the only geological observations can 

 be made, the intervening country being covered with 

 swamps or forests. The Report shows that considerable 

 areas of good agricultural land lie in the interior, and that 

 while large masses of valuable timber exist they need to 

 be guarded against the ignorant and wanton operations 

 of lumber-men. 



CHEMICAL NOTES 



New Chromium and Manganese Compounds. — 

 Some new compounds of chromium and manganese have 

 lately been prepared and examined by Mr. J. B. Hannay, 

 who has communicated a paper on the subject to the 

 Glasgow Philosophical Society. On examining any 

 general list of carbon compounds it is to be remarked 

 that, however complicated their structure, they are not as 

 a rule decomposed by water ; on the other hand complex 

 compounds of other elements are as a rule decomposed 

 by this substance into two or more simpler compounds. 

 Mr. Hannay was therefore induced to examine whether 

 carbon is or is not the only element capable of forming 

 series of bodies of complicated structure ; and whether 

 the existence of water on this earth is the reason of our 

 not having complex bodies with other elements than 

 carbon for their basis. The plan adopted was to take 

 some complicated substance (containing no carbon) which 

 is decomposed by water, find a solvent for it, and act on 

 it with other reagents out of contact of air and mois- 

 ture. The substance used was oxychlorid of chromium, 

 (Cr02Cl.,), and the solvents employed, carbon disulphide 

 and carbon tetrachloride. Mr. Hannay has devised an 

 apparatus which allows of the substance being precipi- 

 tated, filtered, washed, dried, and weighed off for analysis 

 without coming in contact with air or moisture. The 

 following is a list of the chromium compounds prepared 

 by him : — 



CrsCliSOj. CrjCI^Sj. 



Cr.,Cl4S0.2. Cr^CliiSjOj. 



CroOiBr.,. Cr^ClgSaOij. 



Cr'„Cl4S2b2. CrCloSs.HaO. 



CrXloS. CrCloS.,. 



CrXJ4Br2S. CrClsPSO. 



CrXliS^. CraClePjOn. 



CrjClnP^Oo. 



Mr. Hannay has prepared some analogous manganese 

 compounds, but the analyses of these have not as yet 

 been finished. 



Complex Inorganic Acids. — Dr. W. Gibbs has 

 lately obtained a series of new inorganic acids formed 



CraClsPaBrgOj. 



Cr3ClBP46{HjO). 



CraClgPi. 



Cr3C)„PCl. 



CraOsPBr. 



(Cr3CI„P),0. 



CrXLP. - 



