“Fune 26, 1873) 
NATURE 
175 
by death, and it was only fitting that their p 
be hung together on the walls of the Society.—Paper ‘On a 
stereographic projection of the transit of Venus in 1882,” by 
R. A. Proctor. The author said that his paper was intended to 
show the desirableness of limiting the preparations for Halley’s 
method to the transit of 1874. In the transit of 1882 the lines 
bounding the region where the whole transit can be seen will lie 
much closer. This is the natural effect of the transit lasting only 
six hours. Again, the southern pole where difference of duration 
is greatest, instead of lying within the region where the whole 
transit can be seen as in 1874, lies outside that region. It should 
be remembered also that in searching for suitable places of obser- 
vation a fringe of 10° wide, measuring along the lines where the 
beginning and end of the transit are seen at sunrise or sunset, 
must be thrown out of account. Taking this into account the 
transit of 1882 is seen to be very little suited for Halley's method. 
Maps were shown to illustrate the paper.—‘‘ On occultations of 
stars by the moon and eclipses of Jupiter's satellites,” by the Rev. 
R. Main. This paper contained a very extensive table of obser- 
vations of eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites. Several such sets of 
observations have recently been received by the Society, and it was 
remarked that a paper on the subject read by the Astronomer 
Royal last year was beginning to bear good fruit.—‘‘ Note on the 
discovery of a new minor planet, No. 131,” by Dr. Peters. This 
is the nineteenth planet discovered by Dr. Peters. Dr. Luther 
has also discovered 19. Thanks to the American telegraphic 
system, it has already been observed in England as well 
as at Leipzig and Marseilles—‘‘ Note on the Mass of 
Jupiter,” by W. T. Lynn. In 1866, he had had the honour 
of laying before the Society an account of a determination of this 
element by Prof. Kriiger, of Helsingfors. That determination 
having been recently improved by the aid of subsequent obser- 
vations, the result was communicated by the author to the 
Astronomische Nachrichten (No. 1,941.) Mr. Syme has, in this 
** Note,” placed it in juxtaposition with the determinations by 
Airy, Bessel, Jacobs, and Mdller, The agreement thus shown 
is very satisfactory, especially as the methods employed are 
different—Airy, Bessel, and Jacobs deducing Jupiter’s mass 
from the motions of his satellites, Méller from those of 
Faye’s Comet, and Kriigen from those of the planet Kemis. 
This important element in the solar system may be considered 
as well established.—‘ Note on Dr. Oudeman’s Photographs 
of the Solar Eclipse of Dec. 11, 1871,” by Col. Tennant. He had 
received two paper copies of the photographs takenin Java. He 
could recognise almost every depression of outline as in the 
Indian photographs, but there was much less detail. He thought 
we might learn something from them as to photography. It was 
evident that the light was more intense than in the Indian pho- 
tographs, but the exposure for a short time had not had the effect 
of producing the halation which was there visible. He was con- 
vinced that in future eclipses it will be better to use a reflector. 
—Mr. Ranyard remarked that the paper copies of the Dutch 
photographs which he had seen had been printed from enlarge- 
ments on glass in which the moon had been stopped out with 
black paper, or some other material. On measuring, he had 
found that the body of the moon, as given in the photographs, 
was by no means circular; and Mr. Davis had pointed out to 
him that the irradiation under the prominences was perfectly 
sharp at the edges as it would be when printed through a paper 
nitch. _ It was therefore unfair to institute any comparisons as to 
the amount of the irradiation in these and in theother photographs, 
—‘‘ Note on the sympathetic influence o! clocks,”’ by Mr. William 
Ellis. He had been testing a number of clocks placed upon a 
wooden frame at the Royal Cbservatory. At first he found a 
Sympathetic influence, but when the frame was considerably 
strengthened, so as to prevent vibration, they ceased to influence 
one another. He concluded that the popular notion as to the 
Vibrations in the air proiuced by the swing of one peniulum 
having any susceptible usfluence on another swinging near to it 
was erroneous. —‘‘ On a recording micrometer,” by Mr. W. 
H. Christie. This contained a description of two rather elabo- 
rate instruments for recording the transits of stars by pricks on 
along strip ot paper. It is intended to make experiments as 
to the possible use of the instruments at Greenwich.—Proposal 
to determine the solar paraliax by observativns of the opposition 
of the planet Flora. M. Galle invited the assistance of Engli-h 
and Australiana astronomers. He hai prepared and submitted 
to the Society a long list of suitable comparison stars. 
Linnean Society, June 19.—Mr. Bentham, president, in 
, _ : 
ortraits should now 
the chair.—Prof. P. M, Duncan read a paper on the Deyelop- 
ment of the Gynzcium and method of Fertilisation of the Ovule 
in Primula vulgaris. Prof. Duncan had carefully followed the 
account given by Duchartre of the mode of development of the 
ovule in Pritiulacee, from which he differed in many im- 
portant points, believing that the French observer had been 
led into etror by dissecting only a cultivated and therefore to 
some extent abnormal variety. In tracing the development of 
the floral organs Duchartre states that he first of all detected 
the calyx, then the stamens, and finally the pistil, the placenta 
being formed in the centre of the cavi'y of the pistil,and never 
connected with the ovarian wall. With this statement Payen 
agrees. Dr. Duncan’s observations agreed with these as far as the 
formation of the calyx and stamens was concerned ; but within 
the latter he found simply a mamiilary process. At the next 
stage there was a very short style, solid ani not perforated, the 
ovarian wall including the placenta on which were the rudi- 
mentary ovules; the ovarian wall does not grow up over the 
placenta, but is produced from it by a kind of differentiation ; 
subsequently the style lengthens and the small stigma is pro- 
duced. The ovules appear in a spiral series, and are recognised 
by their power of reflecting light; the summit of the placenta 
has never any connection with the style. The ovule consists of 
nothing but a single integument and an embryo-sac: there is no 
inner integument and no nucleus. The lower portion of the 
tissue of the style is absolutely impervious to the pollen-tubes ; 
and if these could enter the ovary in this way, the micropyles 
are in such intimate contact with the placenta, that they could 
never be reached by the tubes from the cavity of the ovary. 
Dr. Duncan has detected the passage of the pollen-tubes actually 
through the tissue of the placenta itself, from which they again 
emerge to reach the micropyle of the ovule. In the discussion 
which followed, this view of the course of the pollen-tubes was 
confirmed by Dr. T. S. Cobbold. —Dr. Hooker read a paper by 
the Rey. C. New, on the sub-alpine vegetation of Kilma-njaro, 
This is the only tropical African alpine flora with which we 
are acquainted ; the mountain being situated in Eastern Africa, 
3° S. lat., rising to a height of 20,000 ft., or nearly 5,o00ft, 
above the snow-level. The flora is essentially that of the 
Cameroons. The flora may be divided into seven regions of 
successive heights; the rst is the inhabited district, with 
plantains, maize, &c.; the 2nd region is jungle; the 3rd is a 
forest of gigantic trees covered with moss, the herbaceous 
vegetation being essentially European, with the dock and stinging- 
nettle, frosts almost every night; the 4th consists of green 
hills covered with clover ; the 5th is heath ; the 6th bare hills ; 
the 7th, everlasting snow. Of the fifty species contained in the 
collection, twenty were from the zone immediately beneath the 
perpetual snow ; nearly all were of South African genera, very 
few European, and no new species not already known from the 
Cameroons. The flora is therefore essentially South African. 
Meteorological Society, June 18.—Dr, J. W. Tripe, pre- 
sident, in the chair.—The following papers were read :—On 
some results of temperature observations at Durham, by John 
J. Piummer.—On tne Meteorology of New Zealand, 1872, by 
C. R. Marten.—On the Climate of Vancouver Islani, by Robert 
H. Scott, F.R.S.—Meteorological Observations at Zi-Ka- Wei, 
near Shanghai, by Rev. A. M. Colombel, with note by Rev. 
S. J. Perry, F.R:A.S.—Notes on the connection between Col- 
liery Explosions and Weather, by R. H. Scott, F.R.S., and 
William Galloway.—Distribution of Rainfal Maxima in Great 
Britain and Ireland between the years 1848 and 1872 inclusive, 
by W. R. Birt, F.R.A.S., and note on the heavy Rainiall of 
March 4 at Natal, by R. J. Mann, M.D, F.R.A.S. The ordinary 
meeting was then adjourned and the Annual General Mee ing 
was heid, and ‘he Report of the Council read. The Report 
stated that the Council had much pleasure in congratulating the 
Society, at the close of the twenty-third session, upon the termi- 
nation of a year which will bear favouravle c mparison with 
any that precedes it, whether regard be had to the chara ter of 
the papers read, to the attendance at the pe iodic meetings, to 
the number of new Fellows elected, or to the activity and inte- 
rest evinced in the general proceedings. It was stated that it 
had been found necessary to hold an exira meeting in May to 
enable all the papers which had been received to be presented 
before the Society; and the Council had the gratification to 
announce that it is in contemplation to hold eight monthly meet- 
ings next session, instead of six as has been the practice h therto. 
The numcer of new Fellows added to the Scciety duing the 
year had amounted to 35, the accession thus indicated being 
considerably larger than upon any years since 1864. Reference 
