Fune 19, 1873] 
“Proceedings of the Bath Natural History Society,” is a long 
address by the president, the Rey. Leonard Blomefield, F.L.S., 
F.G.S., on ‘*Local Biology,” containing many valuable hints 
as to the objects which members of such societies ought to have in 
view, illustrated by many interesting facts and recent observa- 
tions in natural history. He shows how valuable the field work 
of local scientific societies might be made when intelligently and 
judiciously conducted, not only in collecting facts as to local 
biology, but in helping to solve many of the most important 
problems which are at present occupying the attention of biolo- 
gists. The main qualification for efficient work of this kind is 
an intelligent and sharp look-out. Mr. Blomefield concludes his 
paper by some remarks on the faunas of Bath and Somerset, 
We are glad to see the address has been printed separately, and 
we would recommend it to the attention of all local scientific 
societies. The two other scientific papers in this number are on 
“Devonian Fossils from the Sandstones on the N.E. of the 
Quantocks,” by the Rev. H. H. Winwood, F.G.S., and ‘‘ The 
Geographical Position of the Carboniferous Formation in Somer- 
setshire, with Notes on possible Coal Areas in adjoining Dis- 
tricts in the South of England,” by J. McMurtrie, F.G.S., the 
latter illustrated by a well-constructed map. 
“WE have received a wonderfully cheap pennyworth in the 
shape of a ‘‘ Descriptive Guide to the Fossil Collection” of the 
Museum of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. The 
pamphlet is interestingly written and well arranged, and con- 
tains a long and valuable list of useful books of reference on 
Palzontology. 
THE Third Annual Report of the Devon and Exeter Albert 
Memorial Museum, Schools of Science and Art, and Free 
Library, is altogether a very satisfactory one. Great facilities 
are offered for scientific study and laboratory practice, and these 
appear to be largely taken advantage of. The number of indi- 
vidual students during the current session is 89, and the subjects at 
present taught in the school are Mathematics, Theoretical Mecha- 
nics, Physical Geography, Geology, Acoustics, Light and Heat, 
Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology, Systematic and Economic 
Botany, Magnetism and Electricity, and Inorganic Chemistry 
with laboratory practice. According to the library statistics, a 
yery large increase during the past year has taken place in the 
number of scientific books sought for, both in the consulting 
and lending libraries. 
THE following is the ephemeris of Tempel’s Comet for the 
days namedas, calculated by Mr. Hind for Greenwich midnight :— 
True R.A. True N.P.D. Log A 
1873 h. m. s, Sam 
June 20 16 14 50°1 rrr 18 19 9'91982 
22 14 23'7 111 38 44 9792529 
24 14 49 rrr 58 53 9'93106 
26 13 53°9 112 18 45 9°93711 
28 13 511 112 38 19 9.94342 
0 13 56'7 112 57 34 9794996 
July 2 14 10°8 113 16 3% 9°95671 
4 14 33°6 113 35 10 9°96365 
6 1615 53 113 53 30 9°97977 
THE additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a black Iguana (AZetopoceros cornutus) from 
San Domingo, presented by Mr. John Dutton; two golden 
Tench (Zinca vulgaris), presented by Lord Herbrand Russell; 
two black Kites (A/i/vus migrans), presented by Mr. H. F. 
Blissett ; two starred Tortoises (Zestudo stellata) from India, 
presented by Capt. C. S. Sturt; a smooth-headed Capuchin 
(Cebus monachus) from Brazil, presented by Mr. J. A. Horsford ; 
a Rhesus Monkey (Aacacus erythraeus) from India, presented 
by Mr. G. Cork ; an Entellus Monkey (Semnopithecus entellus) 
from India ; four Sturgeon (Accipenser sturio) ; two American 
Rice-birds (Dolichonyx oryzivora) ; five horned Lizards (Phryno- 
soma cornutum) from Texas, purchased ; a Lion (Feé/zs /eo) from 
Africa; a Collared Mangabey (Cercocebus collaris), a Diana 
“Monkey (Cercopithecus diana), and a Moustache Monkey 
(C. cephus) from W. Africa, on approval. 
NATURE 
153 
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 
THE Journal of Botany for May commences with a critical 
investigation, illustrated by a plate, by the editor, of the very 
common but badly understood Dock, Rumex obtusifolius, which 
is followed by two papers on the distribution of plants, Addi- 
tions to the British lichen flora, by Rev. M. Crombie, and 
Additions to the flora of Berkshire, by James Britten. In this 
number is also the very useful annual list of the new species of 
phanerogamous plants described in periodicals published in Great 
Britain during the year 1872. The plate which now accompanies 
every number is a great addition to the value of this magazine. 
In the June number the illustrated article is by Mr. W. P, 
Hiern, on Physotrichia, a new genus of Umbelliferous plants 
from Angola, from the Welwitschian collection. Mr. F, 
Townsend contributes a paper on a much controverted subject, 
some points relating to the morphology of Carex and other 
Monocotyledons, The short notesand queries are, as usual, not 
the least interesting portion of these two numbers, 
Poggendorff’s Annalen der Physik und Chemie, Supplement 
vol, vi,, part. I. This number contains the first instalment of a 
series of researches on the volume constitution of solid sub- 
stances ; a lengthy paper in three parts, the first being intro- 
ductory and theoretical, the second describing methods, and the 
third detailing results in the case of chlorides, bromides, and 
iodides.—Prof. Schwedoff of Odessa follows with an interesting 
paper, in which he establishes a correspondence between the 
propagation of electrical currents in thin conducting insulated 
plates and that of light rays in transparent media. A ‘‘ray of 
electricity ” is represented by the line drawn from a pole to any 
given point of the body, and means simply the direction in 
which electrical ‘‘masses” (in the plate) are attracted to the 
pole or repelled from it. He shows that the intensity of such 
rays is inversionally proportional to distance from the pole ; that 
they are reflected (it may be oftener than once), from the edges, 
the angles of reflection and incidence being equal; that they do 
not lose intensity by reflection, nor suffer change of sign. His 
theory and mode of experiment are illustrated by figures——An 
article by Dr. Heinrich Schneebeli on bar-magnetism, contains 
a full and thorough investigation of magnetic moment in per- 
manent bar-magnets, and more especially of the position of the 
magnetic pole ; this is determined by two different methods which 
do not suppose a knowledge of the law of distribution of the 
magnetic fluid, and the results (closely agreeing), are applied in 
correction of the tangent galvanometer.—Carl Pape contributes 
a determination of the optical constants of blue vitriol, and 
Alexander Miiller the first part of studies on chloride of iron 
solutions without change of aggregate state.—Among the ex- 
tracted matter may be noted an article by Kohlrausch on the 
reduction of the Siemens unit of galvanic resistance to absolute 
measure, and one by Edlund on the nature of electricity, which 
has already appeared in English form. 
THE Monthly Microscopical Fournal commences with an 
article by Dr. R. L. Maddox on an Entozoon with ova, found 
encysted in the muscles of a sheep, which he calls Cysticercus 
ovipariens, Then comes a very valuable paper on the de- 
velopment of the face in the sturgeon, by Mr. Parker, F.R.S., 
which, if followed by the description of a few more type-forms, 
will render the development of that complicated portion of the 
body, the head, one of the most easily understood sections of 
the vertebrate body. Mr. Joseph Needham gives a concise 
résumé of the methods employed for cutting sections of animal 
tissues for microscopical examination, in which he strongly ad- 
yocates the method of freezing as ‘‘ the simplest and most elegant 
mode” of obtaining sections of yielding tissues. Assistant- 
Surgeon Woodward describes how that a y')th objective, sent to 
him by Mr. Tolles to test, gave a balsam angie of less than 80°, 
whilst a second, a ith of peculiar construction, having four com- 
binations instead of three, gave the high angle of more than 100° 
when fully closed, and so exceeding the extreme limit assigned 
as attainable by Mr. Wenham. Mr. H. Davis gives further facts 
in support of the originality of his theory respecting the survival 
of Rotifera after desiccation. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
LONDON 
Royal Society, May 8.—‘ Researches in Spectrum Ana- 
lysis in connection with the Spectrum of the Sun.”—No, II. 
By J. Norman Lockyer., F.R.S. 
