: alcohol on aniline chlorhydrate at a high temperature 
ssure, far from yielding exclusively methyl- and 
ine, as has been formerly believed, is capable of 
iyiston of the phenyl group, and thus producing 
d | of higher homologues of dimethylaniline. ; 
we endeavour to gain an insight into the mechanism of 
action, we are led to assume that in the first instance the 
hlorhydric acid of the aniline salt gives rise to the formation of 
ethylic chloride, which in its turn induces substitution, first in 
theammonia fragment, and ultimately in the phenyl group itself. 
ff, on the other hand, we remember that a tertiary monamine, 
“such as must be formed by the final methylation of the ammonia 
fragment in aniline, when submitted to the action of an alcohol 
chloride, is invariably converted into an ammonium compound, 
_ it must appear rather strange that in the process above alluded 
to only tertiary, and never any quaternary bases are observed. 
_ Under these circumstances the idea very naturally suggested 
itself of submitting the behaviour of quaternary compounds at a 
gh temperature under pressure to an experimental investi- 
ation. : uly ga ; yuh 
The simplest compound that could be detected for such an 
Aquiry appeared to be trimethylphenylammonium iodide. 
C,H, Cu, CH, .CH NL 
| _ Reserving for a future communication the experimental details 
of this inquiry, I will limit myself for the present to a brief state- 
| mént of the principal result obtained. ' 
_ Leaving secondary reactions out of consideration, the transfor- 
mation of the trimethylated phenylammonium iodide is repre- 
_ sented by the following equations :— 
_____ Transformation of quaternary into tertiary compound. 
¢ Hs.CH,.CH,;.CH, .NI=(CsH,. CH,) CHy. CH, N. HI. 
__ Transformation of tertiary into secondary compound. 
F (C;H,.CH,).CH;.CH,.N.HI =[C,H,(CH,(CH,),]CH. HN.HI 
. Transformation of secondary into primary compound. 
[C, Hg (CHg).] CH;. HN =[C, H, (CH,),] HHN. HI. 
Accordingly trimethylated phenylammonium iodide, when 
submitted to the action of heat, is transformed in the first place 
into iodhydrate of dimethylated methylophenylamine or dimethyl 
toluidine ; this, in a second phase of the reaction, becomes 
dyhdrate of monomethylated dimethylophenylamine, or 
dine, which in its turn is ultimately converted into 
ydrate of trimethylophenylamine, 7.2. of cumidine. The 
tial character of the reaction is thus seen to be an 
molecular change in the positionof the methyl groups. 
ccording to the duration of the process, there are. incorporated 
the benzol nucleus, first the methyl group of the alcohol iodide, 
and then successively the two methylic groups which are stationed 
in the ammonia fragments. The action of heat on the quaternary 
“ammonium compo:ind thus places at our disposal a simple means 
of rising from the benzol series itself to the toluol-, xylol-, and 
‘cumol series, or, generally (for the reaction may probably be 
utilised in many other cases), of passing;from a less carbonated to 
‘a more carbonated series of compounds. 
** New Method for producing Amidesand Nitriles.” By E. A. 
Letts, Berlin University Laboratory. 
_ Investigation of the Attraction of a Galvanic Coil on a small 
Magnetic Mass.” By James Stuart. 
“Geological Society, Nov. 20.—Prof. P. Martin Duncan, 
R.S. vice-president, in the chair.—‘ On the Geology of the 
hunder Bay and Shabendowan Mining Districts on the North 
re of Lake Superior.” By H. Alleyne Nicholson, M.D. 
author described the general characters of Thunder Bay, 
ich is almost landlocked on the south-east by the bold pro- 
ontory of Thunder Cape and a series of islands which form a 
mtinuation of this. The rocks immediately surrounding 
hunder Bay belong to the ‘‘ Lower and Upper Copper-bearing 
series” of Canadian geologists. The author described the general 
characters of Lake Shabendowan, and stated that from the foot 
of the lake for about 15 miles westward there is a succession of 
trappéan rocks, beyond which, to the head of the lake, distant 
miles, the country is occupied by Huronian slates like those 
veen the lake and Thunder Bay. These slates extend for an 
inknown distance north-west of the head of the lake, and con- 
in numerous yeins, having an. E.N.E. and W.S.W, direction, 
conformable with the strike of the beds, and some of them are 
Mriferous. The vein-stuff is- quartz containing copper pyrites ; 
he gold is contained in the copper pyrites, or disseminatéd in 
NATURE 
115 
very minute grains through the quartz. Several of these veins 
are being worked, and their peculiarities were noticed by the 
author.—‘ Note on the Relations of the supposed Carboniferous 
Plantants of Bear Island with the Palzeozoic Flora of North 
America,” by J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S. The author 
referred to Dr; Heer’s paper on the carboniferous flora 
of Bear {sland (see Q. J. G. S. vol. xxviii, p- 161), and stated 
that the plants cited by Dr. Heer as characteristic of his “ Ursa 
Stage,” are in part representatives of the American flora belong- 
ing to what the author has called the ‘‘ Lower Carboniferous 
Coal-measures ” (subcarboniferous of Dana). He considered 
that the presence of Devonian forms was due either to the mix- 
ture of fossils from two distinct but contiguous beds, or to the 
fact that in these high northern latitudes there was an actual in- 
termixture of thetwo floras. He dissented altogether from Dr. 
Heer’s identification of these plants with those of the Chemung 
group, or with those of the Middle Devonian of New Bruns- 
wick. Mr. Carruthers stated that the list of the eleven Lower 
carboniferous plants published in Principal Dawson’s ** Acadian 
Geology ” did not contain a single species found in Bear Island ; 
but, on the other hand, some species and several well-marked 
forms were common to the Bear Island deposits and the Devo- 
nians of North America, and he had no doubt that Prof. Heer 
had in his paper rightly correlated these floras, As to the age 
of these plant-bearing beds, found alike in Bear Island, Treland, 
the Vosges Mountains, Canada, and Australia, Mr. Carruthers 
said that it was difficult to draw any lines which would separate 
the Palzozoic plants into clearly-marked and distinct floras ; but 
if the Devonian is to be retained as a system, all these plant- 
bearing beds belonged rather to that system than to the carbon- 
iferous.—‘‘ Further Notes on Eocene Crustacea from Ports- 
mouth.” By Henry Woodward. In this paper, after referring 
to his former communication on Crustacea from the Lower 
Eocene deposits at Portsmouth (Q.J.G.S., vol. xxviii. Pp. 90), 
the author gave a full description of Rhachiosoma bispinosa, one 
of the new species described in it, the materials being furnished 
by several fresh specimens, which show the whole structure of 
the animal. The new points include the description of the 
limbs, the anterior border of the carapace, the lower surface of 
the body in both sexes, and the maxillipeds. The author also 
characterised, under the name of Zivoricola, a new genus of 
shore-crabs allied to Grapsus, from the same deposits. Of this 
genus he described two new species, Z. e/abra and‘Z. dentata— 
**On a new Trilobite from the Cape of Good Hope.” By 
Henry Woodward. The Trilobite described in this paper is 
from the Cock’s Comb Mountains at the Cape of Good Hope, 
and was preserved in a nodule, the impression retained in which, 
when broken, furnished the most instructive details as to its 
structure. Each of the eleven thoracic segments was furnished 
with along median dorsal spine, giving to the profile of the 
animal a crested appearance ; on each side of this the axis of 
the segment bears two or three tubercles, and the ridge of the 
pleura four or five tubercles. The tail is terminated by a spine 
more than half an inch in length, and all the spines are annu- 
lated. For this Trilobite the author proposed the name of 
Encrinurus crista-galli, although with some doubt as to the 
genus, the head being only imperfectly preserved. 
Paris 
Academy of Sciences, Dec. 2,—M. Faye, president, in 
the chair.—The first paper was by M. de Saint-Venant on the 
division of the force due to a vibratory movement into those due 
to simple and isochronous oscillations, &c., and of the work due 
to the same composite movements, at any two moments, between 
the constituent movements. —M. Claude Bernard read a note in 
answer to M. Bouillaud’s paper on animal heat. He states that 
the latter author, in asserting that the arterial blood in the heart 
is warmer than the venous, has disregarded numberless experi- 
ments which prove the direct contrary to be the case, To this 
M. Bouillaud replied, defending the theory of the heat of the 
body actually being formed in the lungs by the combustion in 
them of carbon compounds in the blood, this being Lavoisier’s 
original theory, which he defends.—A letter from Father Secchi 
on the metcors of Nov. 27 was then read; from 7.30 P.M. to 
I A.M, 13,892 meteors were observed.—MM. Is. Pierre and Ed. 
Puchot read a paper on certain observations on the laws deduced 
from the boiling points of the members of homologous series. 
The authors find that the rise in boiling point for each addition 
of C Hy is not so regular as is supposed.—M. A. Caligny read a 
paper on the “Theory of the Sluice of L’Aubois,” a paper 
