214 
NATURE 
[Xuby 10, 1873 
the night on which the liqueur glasses were thus charged with 
boiled milk, the author received from Dr. Roberts, of Manches- 
ter, a copy of his paper describing how he had got over all the 
difficulties, as regards milk, by a different and very simple me- 
thod.* But beautiful as Dr. Roberts’s method was, and perfectly 
conclusive against the theory of spontaneous evolution, it would 
not have answered the author’s purpose, as it was essential for 
his investigations that the liquid should be decanted from the 
flask into the liqueur-glasses. The decanting was effected by 
means of a “ heated” syphon, with special precautions against the 
entrance of living organisms, as was fully explained to the 
Society. 
The same plan of ‘‘heating” the vessels and decanting was after- 
wards followed with turnip infusion and with urine ; and in proof 
of the security of the method, flasks containing the residual stock 
of these fluids after decanting into twelve glasses from each nearly 
six weeks before, were shown to the Society quite unchanged. 
And as further evidence of the trustworthiness of the system pur- 
sued, it was mentioned that out of six series of wine-glasses with 
about twelve in each series, containing a!buminous fluid, urine (in 
two series), Pasteur’s solution, boiled milk and turnip infusion, 
although portions of the contents had been often removed for in- 
vestigation or inoculation, only two instances were known to 
have occurred in which any organism (a filamentous fungus) had 
made its appearance which had not been arranged for either by 
inoculation or prolonged exposure, 
(To be continued.) 
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 
Ocean Hizhways for July is a very interesting number. The 
first article, on the ‘‘ Voyage of the o/aris,” accompanied by 
six small maps, shows that notwithstanding the disastrous results 
of Captain Hall’s venture, it proves more strongly than ever 
that a well-equipped Arctic expedition, taking the route of 
Smith’s Sound, would be attended with results of the highest 
value. ‘‘In the present day,” the writer concludes, ‘‘ when 
the true methods of exploring are well known, and men of 
science have clearly enumerated the important problems that 
will be solved, and the numerous valuable results that will be 
derived fron the labours of an Arctic Expedition, the reasons 
for despatching one have acquired tenfold force.” This is 
followed by a long and extremely valuable and interesting 
account of *‘ Personal Experiences of Venomous Reptiles and 
Insects in South America,” by Mr. Richard Spruce, who has 
spent fifteen years in Equatorial Africa for the purpose of 
investigating the natural history of that region. The author’s 
account of his experiences gives a vivid idea of the many dangers 
and trials to which devotees of science are exposed, in their 
endeavours to add to the sum of human knowledge. We would 
strongly recommend Mr, Spruce’s interesting article to all who 
take an interest in the subject, on which, our readers may 
remember, there was recently some correspondence in NATURE, 
H. H. Giglioli contributes two very valuable letters from 
Dr Beceari on his explorations in Papuasia, which are likely to 
be attended with very important results. Other papers in this 
number are ‘‘ On Settlements on the Gold Coast,” with a map ; 
a paper on Khiva, by Rev. G. P. Badger, consisting of a catena 
of extracts from several eminent Arabic writers; the ‘‘ Foot- 
paths of London,” a sort of popular geological lecture, by 
Mr. H. P. Malet; and the second part of Prof. H. Mohn’s 
article on the Meteorological Institute of Norway. 
Bulletin de la Société de Geographie, May. The first article 
in this journal is by M. Charles Maunoir, on the work of the 
French Geographical Society, and the Progress of the Geogra- 
phical Sciences during the year 1872.—Mr. W. Huber contri- 
butes an interesting paper on the telegraphic network of the 
globe, with a map showing at a glance how much has already been 
done in this way to annihilate distance, and how much remains 
to be done to complete this important work.—This is followed 
by the conclusion of M. Balansa’s paper on New Caledonia, the 
present instalment treating specially of the Loyalty Islands.—M. 
Edouard Sayons gives an abstract of the contents of M. Hun- 
falvy’s very interesting work on the Finnish Provinces of the 
Baltic ; the work is published in Hungarian, and is an account 
of the author’s explorations in the districts mentioned in the 
year 1870, 
* See Nature, Feb, 20, 1873. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
Royal Society, June 19.—‘‘ On a newly discovered extinct 
Mammal from Patagonia (Homalodotherium Cunninghame),” by 
William Henry: Flower, F.R.S., Hunterian Professor of Com- 
parative Anatomy, and Conservator of the Museum of the Royal 
College of Surgeons. e 
The author describes the complete adult dentition of a 
new genus of Mammal, founded on remains discovered by 
Dr. Robert O. Cunningham in deposits of uncertain age, on the 
banks of the River Gallejos, South Patagonia. The animal 
appears to have possessed the complete typical number of teeth, 
i.e. twenty-two above and below, arranged in an unbroken 
series, and of nearly even height, and presenting a remarkable 
gradual transition in characters in both jaws, from the first in- 
cisor to the last molar. The molars more clearly resemble those 
of the genus Rhinoceros than any other known mammal ; and, 
judging by the general characters of the teeth alone, the animal 
would appear to have been a very generalised type of Perisso« 
dactyle Ungulate, allied through yracodon (a North-American 
Miocene form) to RAinoceros, also more remotely to Macrau- 
chenia, and, though still more remotely, to the aberrant Vesodon 
and Zoxodon. The generic name Homalodotherium was sug- 
gested for this form by Prof. Huxley in his Presidential Address 
to the Geological Society in 1870. 
‘The Diurnal Variations of the Wind and Barometric Pres- 
sure at Bombay,” by F. Chambers. Communicated by Charles 
Chambers, F.R.S., Director of the. Colaba Observatory, 
Bombay. 
The object of this paper is to bring to notice a remarkable 
relation that has been found to exist between the diurnal varia- 
tions of the wind and the barometer at Bombay. 
The observations made use of are the records of a Robinson’s 
anemograph during the first three years of its performance, viz. 
from June 1867 to May 1870, and the corresponding hourly 
observations of the barometer and the dry- and wet-bulb ther- 
mometer, made at the Government Observatory, Bombay. 
The mean results for each hour of the day during the whole 
period, and the mean diurnal relations of each element are tabu- 
lated and graphically represented by figures. The diurnal 
variation of the wind is then investigated, the most influential _ 
part of which is attributed to the land- and sea-breezes which 
blow from E.S.E. and W.N.W., and are shown to follow 
mainly the same law of progression as the temperature of the 
air, thus affording confirmatory evidence of the truth of Hadley’s 
theory of the trade-winds as applied to land- and sea-breezes. 
Some peculiarities of the curve representing the land- and sea- 
breezes are then pointed out, and these the writer concludes are 
due to the superposition of another distinct variation having two 
maxima and two minima in the twenty-four hours like the baro- 
meter variation ; and he supports his views by a reference to the 
variation of the east components of the wind in the months 
of July and August, when the land- and sea-breezes have almost 
disappeared. This is found to exhibit a decided dowd/e period. 
The north components of the land- and sea-breezes are then ap- 
proximately eliminated from the north components of the whole 
variation, and the variation which then remains exhibits a very 
decided double period in this direction also. These variations 
with double periods are regarded as indicative of the existence of 
a double diurnal variation in the general movements of the at- 
mosphere. Upon this hypothesis typical diurnal variations of the 
wind are deduced for north and south low latitudes; that for 
north latitudes exhibiting a double diurnal right-handed rotation, 
and that for south latitudes a double diurnal left-handed rotation, 
and from these the diurnal variation of the barometer is de- 
duced. 
The movements of the wind-vane at Bombay are then 
analysed, and the writer concludes that the greater part of the 
excess of ‘‘ direct” over “‘retrograde” rotation of the vane at 
Bombay is due to the di#rnal variation of the wind. 
Extracts are given from observations made at St. Helena, 
Toronto, and Falmouth, showing the character of the diurnal 
wind-yariations at those places, and their greater or less agree- 
ment with the deduced typical curves. The writer maintains 
that these variations afford independently a possible, if not a 
probable explanation of that movement of the air which Dové 
had called the ‘* Law of Gyration ;” and in conclusion he points 
to the extent of their applicability in deducing weather proba- 
bilities, and to the method of discussing storms. 
