174 
fossil which appears to be nearly allied to Necrocarcinus, is 
figured on a plate accompanying the paper. Mr. C. Lapworth 
communicates a note on the Graptolitic black shales of the 
south of Scotland, in which he reiterates his opinion that there 
si but a single group of these shales, divisible, however, into 
three divisions—the Lower, Middle, and Upper Moffat shales. 
The first he regards as of Lower Llandeilo age, the second as 
equivalent to the Upper Llandeilo of Builth, and the third as 
Caradoc. —From Mr. S. Allport we have a valuable paper on 
the microscopic structure of the pitchstones and felsites of the 
island of Arran, in continuation of a former note published in 
the Geological Magazine. The number also contains a reprint of 
an interesting paper by Dr. Carpenter on the temperature and 
other physical con ditions of inland seas, in their relation to 
geological inquiry.—Among the reports, &c., we find Mr. 
Woodward’s sixth report on fossil crustacea, presented to the 
last meeting of the British Association. This contains a genea- 
logical tree of the Crustacea. 
Annalen der Chimie und Pharmacie, Nos. 11 and 12, 1872. 
—This double number contains a paper by Dr. Abeljanz on 
bichlorether, in which some of Lieben’s results are called in ques- 
tion. The writer discusses chiefly the preparation of bichlor- 
ether, the action of pentachloride of phosphorus upon it, and its 
decomposition by water and by alkali.—In an essay on diphtaly], 
Dr. Ador describes the preparation of this substance, through 
the action of finely-divided silver on dyphtalyl chloride. It has the 
formula Cs Hy Oy. It is insoluble in water, and soluble largely 
only in heated phenol and cold concentrated sulphuric acid. It 
fuses at 300°. The actionof alkalies on dyphtalyl, dyphtalyl acid, 
its salts, and capability of oxidation, action of pentachloride of 
phosphorus and bromine on diphtalyl, and some of the by- 
products of preparation are among the points taken up.—J. 
Wislicenus communicates some observations on the so-called 
anhydrides of lactic acids. He finds that before all the water is 
evaporated from a solution of lactic acid, some anhydride is al- 
ways present (with the acid), the quantity of which increases 
with the decrease of the water, and that, therefore, pure lactic 
acid of the formula C, H, O, does not exist. Further, that when 
lactic acid is kept in a dry atmosphere at ordinary temperature, 
there is formed not only the so-called anhydride, but alsoa lactide. 
—Th. Zincke and A. Franchimont describe nonylic acid, a colour- 
less oily fluid, having the formula Cy Hy, O.,, boiling about 253 ; 
specific gravity at 17'5° =0'9065. It is little soluble in water, 
but distils slowly over with the vapour of boiling water. Ata 
low temperature it solidifies to a crystalline mass, and it melts at 
+ 10°.—Among the remaining papers in this number are lengthy 
monographs on some of the cyanogen derivatives of aceton, 
by Dr. F. Urech, and on the reduction products of silicic 
acid ether and some of its derivatives, by A. Ladenburg ; also 
notes on the action of sodium on dibrombenzol, by Dr. Riese, 
and the constitution of sodium ethylate, by A. Laubenheimer. 
Nos. 3 and 4 of the Proceedings of the Swedish Academy 
of Sciences for the present year, contains the proceedings of 
the Academy for March and April. The first paper is an 
account of an experimental investigation upon the electromotive 
and thermo-electric forces of certain metallic alloys in contact 
with copper, by M. A. F. Sundell. The alloys employed in 
these experiments consisted of bismuth and tin, and bismuth and 
antimony in various proportions, and of a white metal (Vysi/ven) 
the composition of which is not given. The action of bismuth is 
lessened in proportion to the amount of tin, and also by gs of 
antimony, but increased by x of the latter metal. Iron is very 
low in the scale, which is similar for the electromotive and 
thermo-electric powers of the different metals and alloys. —Dr. 
C. Stal communicates a synopsis of the European genera of 
Pentatornidee in Latin, from which, curiously enough, the 
Cydnina are omitted,—Dr. H. D. J. Wallengrew furnishes a 
further contribution to the Lepidopterous fauna of South Africa, 
founded upon a small collection sent home by M. Akerberg, 
Swedish Consul at the Cape. His list, which includes species 
belonging to the groups from the butterflies to the Crambidz, 
numbers seventy-one species, several of which are described as 
new, whilst descriptions and notes on synonymy are appended 
to many of the others. A new genus of Lyccenide butterflies, 
Arrugia, is proposed for Zerythts basuta Wall, protumnus Lin. 
‘The new species are all Geomitrina,—they are Conchylia pacto- 
Jaria, Camptogramma quaggaria, C. sylvicultrix, Macaria grimmia, 
M. getula, Tephrina nemorivaga, Panagra platyrhyncata, L. 
vtomaculata and Mesotype textilis.—A new species of mica called 
Manganophyll, from the iron and manganese mines of Paysberg 
NATURE 
[ Fan. 2, 1873, 4 
in Wermland, is described by M. L. J. Igelstrém,—It contains 
21°40 per cent. of protoxide of manganese, and varies from bronze 
to bright copper colour.—Prof. Angstrom enumerates 
describes some mosses and Hepaticz collected by Prof. N. J. 
Anderson, during the voyage of the frigate Zugenie, in 1851-53+ 
The specimens are from Port Famineyfrom near Wollongong m 
Australia and from Honolulu. A great many of them are des 
scribed as new species, and these belong to the genera Gymmno- 
stornum, Orthotricum, Dicranum, Tortula, Bartramia, Gottschea, 
and jungermanina (from Port Famine), Zhamnium and Le- 
jeunia (from Wollongong) Hypnum, Plagiothecium, Omatia, 
Campylopus, Macromitrium, Fissideus, Fungennanina, Shag- 
nacetis, Lejeunia and Frullania, (from Honolulu). M.C, A. F. 
Sadbour notices the nocturnal migratory habits of JZyodes 
schisticolor Lilljeb. The number concludes with a report by — 
the secretary on the activity of the Academy during the year 
1871-72. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
LONDON 
Royal Society, Dec. 13, 1872,—‘‘ Researches in Spectrum 
Analysis in connection with the Spectrum of the Sun.”—No. I, 
By J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S. 
The author, after referring to the researches in which he has 
been engaged since January 1869 in conjunction with Dr, 
Frankland, refers to the evidence obtained by them as to the ~ 
thickening and thinning of spectral lines by variations of pres- 
sure, and to the disappearance of certain lines when the method 
employed by them since 1869 is used. This method consists of 
throwing an image of the light-source to be examined on to the 
slit of the spectroscope. 
It is pointed out that the phenomena observed are of the 
same nature as those already described by Stokes, W. A. Miller, 
Robinson, and Thalen, but that the application of this method 
enables them to be better studied, the metallic spectra being 
clearly separated from that of the gaseous medium through 
which the spark passes. Photographs of the spark, taken in 
air between zinc and cadmium and zine and tin, accompany the 
paper, showing that when spectra of the vapours given off by 
electrodes are studied in this manner, the vapours close to the 
electrode give lines which disappear from the spectrum of the 
vapour at a greater distance from the electrode, so that there 
appear to be long and short lines in the spectrum, 
Maps of the following elements have been mapped on this 
method :—Na, Li, Mg, Al, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, 
and Pb, the lines being laid down from Thalen’s maps, and the 
various characters and lengths of the lines shown. 
In some cases the spectra of the metals, enclosed in tubes and 
subjected to a continually decreasing pressure, have been ob- 
served. In all these experiments the lines gradually disappear 
as the pressure is reduced, the shortest lines disappearing first, 
and the longest lines remaining longest visible. 
Since it appeared that the purest and densest vapour alone 
gave the greatest number of lines, it became of interest to ex- 
amine the spectra of compounds consisting of a metal combined __ 
with a non-metallic element. Experiments with chlorides are 
recorded. It was found in all cases that the difference between 
the spectrum of the chloride and the spectrum of the metal was, 
that under the same spark-conditions all the short lines were 
obliterated. _ Changing the spark-conditions, the final result 
was, that only the very longest lines in the spectrum of the ~ 
metallic vapour remained. It was observed that in the case of 
elements with low atomic weights, combined with one equiva- 
lent of chlorine, the numbers of lines which remain in the 
chloride is large, 60 per cent. ¢.g., in the case of Li, and 40 per 
cent. in the case of Na; while in the case of elements wth 
greater atomic weights, combined with two equivalents of - 
chlorine, a much smaller number of lines remain—8 per cent, in 
the case of barium, and 3 per cent. in the case of Pb. 
The application of these observations to the solar spectrum, to 
elucidate which they were undertaken, is then given, 
It is well known that all the known lines of the metallic 
elements on the solar atmosphere are not reversed, The author 
states what Kirchhoff and Angstrom have written on this sub- 
ject, and what substances, according to each, exist in the solar 
atmosphere. He next announces the discovery that, with no 
exception whatever, the lines which are reversed are the longest 
dins, With this additional key he does not hesitate to add, on 
