362 
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[ Fed. 15, 1883 
which possessed the exceptional property of forming fresh 
alkaloids, when treated with certain acids in hydrochloric 
solution as in the preparation from it of atropine and 
homatropine. By acting upon secondary amines by 
chlorhydrines, he has succeeded in obtaining a series of 
bases analogous to tropine, and yielding, like it, other 
basic compouncs, which resemble natural alkaloids in 
their properties and composition. For these bases, which 
perform the function of alcohols and amines, the author 
proposes the name of a/camznes, and for the basic ethers 
derived from them, that of alcameznes. That resulting 
from the action of phenylacetic acid, for instance, has a 
composition represented by the formula C,,H.,NO,, and 
forms crystallisable salts. it is a powerful poison, acting 
on the respiration and the heart. 
A curious relation has been discovered between theo- 
bromine, the active principle of cocoa, caffeine, the active 
principle of tea and coffee, and xanthine, a substance 
found in muscle, and largely contained in beef tea and 
Liebig’s extract. 
Dr. Fisher shows that xanthine may be converted into 
theobromine, and theobromine into caffein. The relation 
between these bodies seems to be that theobromine is 
dimethyl- and caffein is trimethyl-xanthine. 
From the great importance of the cinchona alkaloids 
and their extensive use in medicine, it is exceedingly de- 
sirable that we should be able to make quinine artificially. 
This has not yet been done, but, with a view towards it, 
extensive researches are being made into the constitution 
of the cinchona alkaloids ; and Skraup finds that all the 
four cinchona alkaloids—quinine, quinidine, cinchonine, 
and cinchonidine—when oxidised with potassium perman- 
ganate yield formic acid, and a base apparently related 
to phenol or carbolic acid. Other modes of oxidation 
exhibit a relation between quinine and cinchonine. 
Cinchonine has been prepared artificially by treating .a 
mixture of nitrobenzol, aniline, and glycerol with sulphuric 
acid. In its physiological properties it exhibits a certain 
relation to quinine, and, like it, reduces the temperature 
in fever and lessens or prevents putrefaction. It is said 
to difier from quinine in not producing giddiness, or 
ringing in the ears, and to have very little action on 
alcoholic fermentation. 
An important paper by Plugge relates to the various 
strengths of aconitine. He finds that Petit’s nitrate of 
aconitine has a poisonous action at least eight times 
greater than Meret’s and 170 times greater than Fried- 
lander’s. Such differences as these between preparations 
bearing the same name have already led to fatal cases of 
poisoning—when aconitine has been prescribed medicin- 
ally; and Mr. Holmes considers that the only way to 
secure uniformity in the ordinary preparations of aconite 
is to prepare them only from plants grown in this country, 
and gathered while the plant is in flower. 
In addition to many other interesting papers this 
volume contains a bibliography of chemistry, pharmacy, 
botany, and allied subjects. 
Mémoires de la Société des Sciences Physigues et Naturelles 
de Bordeaux. 2° Série, Tome v. 1° Cahier. (Paris, 1882.) 
IN this number there are several interesting papers. 
We note “La Route d’Australie par le Thermométre,”’ 
with tables, by M. Hautreux; “Sur les Unités de 
Gauss,’ by M. Abria; ‘‘Le Téléphone & Bordeaux,” 
by M. Auguste Bonel; ‘‘ Notice sur les Communications 
Télégraphiques sous-marines,” by the same; ‘ Modifica- 
tion aux Machines a Force centrifuge,” by M. O. de 
Lacolonge ; “ Températures et Densités de I’Eau dans 
) Estuaire de la Gironde,’’ by M. Hautreux ; ‘“‘ Vérification 
expérimentale des Lois de Dalton relatives & l’ Evapora- 
tion des Liquides,” by M. E. Laval. M. P. Tannery con- 
tributes one of his useful critical notes, this time “ Sur une 
Critique ancienne d'une Démonstration d’Archiméde.” 
The criticism is contained in § 36 of the fourth book of 
the “‘ Collections”” of Pappus (Hultsch’s edition), and it 
charges Archimedes (in Prop. 18 of his “ Spirals”) with 
solving as a solid problem (z.e. with the aid of the conic 
sections) the following proposition :—O M 4 is a spiral, 
of which O is the pole, O A the axis, and A C, the tangent 
at A, meets the perpendicular to the axis through O in C, 
then O C is equal in length to the circumference described 
with OA as radius. M. Tannery supplies the gist of 
Archimedes’ proof, and shows that Archimedes “ fait 
appel simplement a Vintuition et au principe de con- 
tinuité”’ Other points of interest turn up in the com- 
munication. Dr. Sigismond Ginther is engaged upon an 
extended inquiry into the processes employed by the 
ancient mathematicians in the extraction of square 
roots, and in the course of his work has met with 
some interesting results. Some of these he puts 
forth in his paper “Sur la dépendance entre cer- 
taines méthodes d’extraction de la racine carrée et 
l'algorithme des fractions continués.” The methods 
examined are those of Mollweide (‘‘ Commentationes 
mathematico-philologicee tres,” Lipsiee, 1813), and of 
Alexeieff (“Sur l’extraction de la racine carrée d'un 
nombre,” Bulletin de la Soc. Math. de France, t. vii. p. 167). 
We have left to the last an article by Dr. Adolf Dux 
(translated from the Pester Lloyd for February 4, 1880), 
entitled “‘La Tombe du Savant.” Bolyai was professor of 
mathematics and physics in the “ Collége Réformée” at 
Maros-Vdsdrhely. No statue, nor marble mausoleum 
with sides covered with laudatory inscriptions, marks the 
spot where this savant lies; but the tomb, by its occu- 
pant’s strict direction, is overshadowed by the boughs of 
an apple-tree, “en souvenir des trois pommes qui ont 
joué un réle si important dans l'histoire de ’humanité, 
et il désignait ainsi la pomme d’Eve et celle de Paris qui 
réduisirent la terre a l'esclavage, et la pomme de Newton, 
quila replaca au rang des astres.” Strangely enough, 
when Dr. Dux visited the tomb there hung on the tree 
just three apples, “ni plus ni moins.” 
Bolyai was not only a mathematician, he was also a 
poet: hence he had not only in his room a portrait of 
Gauss (with whom he had been associated at Gottingen 
from 1797 to 1802), but also the portraits of Shakspeare 
and Schiller. 
In 1855 he wrote his own JVecrologe, and survived its 
completion about one year. In this “Adieu” occur 
passages, some grave, and some humorous; of himself 
he writes, “ S’il a été mauvais, la terre est délivrée de lui ; 
s'il a été bon, il est délivré de la terre.” He burned his 
poetical writings, and collected the ashes in a wooden 
cup, on which he wrote the following lines from 
Horace :— 
“ Poesis 
Si paulum a summo discessit, vergit ad imum.” 
This is now preserved as a relic in the library of the 
College. Here too is shown a photograph taken after 
Bolyai’s death. ‘Une noble figure, au front et au nez 
puissants, illuminée par la majesté de lesprit et du 
sublime repos, avec de longs cheveux lisses, descendant 
jusqu’aux €paules. Quand on a vu ces traits, on com- 
prend mieux le sens du nécrologe que Bolyai a lui-méme 
écrit et suivant le texte duquel un noble pommier a été 
planté_sur sa tombe.’ 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
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No notice is taken of anonymous communications. 
[The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters 
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Natural Selection and Natural Theology 
I HAVE just received last week’s issue of NATURE from Eng- 
land, and find in it some remarks by Prof. Asa Gray on an 
