
 -« ta bee 

256 

France, of which M. Leverrier is now the chairman. The dis- 
cussion en the observations is a long work which is not yet 
finished in consequ-nce of the late war. he observations could 
not be completed in 1870, but the Association Scientifique de 
France is resuming its labours, and will be ready to mike obser- 
vations by August 1871 on the former principles.—M. Leverrier 
sent the description of a bolide observed at Ioh. 6m. in the 
afternoon, 1° 30' higher thane Andromedi, and exploding in 
Pegasus. _ He asks for some observations from the astronomical 
public.—The sam2 question is put as to a magnificent falling 
star seven times larger than Jupiter observed by M. Chapelas 
1th. 12m, in the afternoon, on the 18th July, from @ Pegasus 
to the horizon in the north-west. It must have been seen 
in England.—At the last sitting we omitted to mention the 
presentation of some grains of wheat, &c., burned by elec- 
tricity in a storm, a few years ago and preserved as a great 
curiosity.—M. Bert, Professor of Physiology at the Museum, 
formerly a prefect of Lille during the latter part of the war, sent 
a most interesting paper on the influence that the diminution of 
pressure exerts on animal life. Living frogs were placed under 
the air-pump, and proved to be killed very soon if pressure is 
diminished quickly to seven or eight inches, but if diminished 
gradually, they can live ina more perfect vacuum if proper pre- 
cautions are taken to renew the residual air offered to them for 
respiration, Certainly the same thing can be said of aéronauts, 
who cannot reach a high level without inconvenience, except by 
very gradual ascent—M. Dumas presented a smill pamphlet 
fron M. Janssen, narrating his ascent on December 2 with 
Volta. Dr. Janssen was himself the aéronaut, and his ascent 
was the occasion of some interesting observations. He was ap- 
pointed a commissioner for visiting the meteorological establish- 
ments in England, and reporting upon them, and is now on his 
way to London.—M. Beaugrand, an engineer in the Parisian 
hydraulic service, presented a report on Roman aqueducts. He 
has written a very long essay on the matter, which would have 
been burned by the Communists with his office at the Hotel de 
Ville, if he had not brought it home on purpose to write out of 
it a paper for the Academy. 
VIENNA 
Imperial Academy of Sciences, April 13.—Prof. von 
Reuss reported on the fossil remains of a crab found in the 
Leithakalk of the Rauchstallbrunn pit near Baden. The fossil most 
nearly approaches the living genera Acton and Daira.—Prof. 
A. von Waltershofen reported on a new thermopile of great 
efficacy. —Prof. V. Graber communicated a memoir on the physio- 
logy and minute anatomy of insects, especially the Pediculina, 
in which he treated chiefly of the Malpighian vessels and trachez. 
Yhe former in many cases consist merely of prolongations of 
the peritoneal membrane.-—Prof. V. von Lang presented a 
memoir containing researches upon the influx of gases, under- 
taken for the purpose of testing the laws which have been 
established for the dependency of inflowing gases upon the 
pressure.—Prof. C. von Ettingshausen presented a first memoir 
upon the flora of Sagor in Carniolia, in which he described nu- 
merous species of fossil plants from the brown coal of that locality. 
This memoir included the Thallophytes, vascular Cryptogams, 
Gymnosperms, Monocotyledons, and Apetale. The Thallophytes 
include a Sf/eria nearly allied to the Greenland species, and a 
Laurencia, which is the only marine plant found in the deposit. 
Of the Coniferze Glyprtostrobus europeus and Seguoia Couttsie are 
the most abundant, and of the latter genus three other species 
occur. A Cunninghamia, very like C. sinensis, is remarkable 
as adding a new genus to the Tertiary flora. Grasses are rare, 
but Naiadz are abundant and remarkable. A Pandanus and 
a species of palm occur. 
two species of Casuarina, one of which is new and allied to C. 
qguadrivalvis. The other orders represented are Myricacez 3 
species, Betulaceze 6, Cupuliferzee 15, Ulmacez 4, Celtidez 2, 
Artocarpez 2, Salicineze 2, Nyctagineze 1, Monimiacez 1, San- 
talacez 4, Daphnoidez 2, Proteacez, 21, Moree 19, and 
Laurinez 18.—Prof. Carl Koritska exhibited and explained a 
hypsometrical map of the Alban Mountains, with profiles and 
views. He regarded the district as particularly instructive, from 
the intimate collocation of the three forms of volcanic craters 
and their apparent transition one into the other which prevails 
there.—Dr. E. Klein communicated a contribution to the 
knowledge of the Malpighian corpuscles in the human kidney, by 
Dr. Victor Seng; andacontribution to the knowledge of the finer 
nerves of the buccal mucous membrane, by Dr. E. Elin.—Prof. 
Ludwig Boltzmann presented a memoir containing several pro- 

NATURE 

Among the Apetalz the author noticed | 

positions on the equilibrium of heat, and another on the main 
proposition of the mechanical theory of heat.—Prof. E. Weiss — 
furnished the elements and ephemeris of the comet discovered by — 
Winnecke at Carlsruhe on the 7th April. 
April 20.—Prof. C. von Ettingshasuen presented a memoir onthe © 
leaf-skeleton of the Loranthacez. —Prof. Simony noticed some 
peculiarities of the glaciers of the Dachsteingebirge. The Gosau 
glacier descends to an elevation of 6030 feet, the Hallstatt — 
glacier to 6115 feet, and the Schladminger Fern:r to 6935 feet. — 
The most instructive moraine phenomena are presented by the 
lower part of the Hallstatt glacier.—Prof. Seeger presented a — 
memoir on the methods at present employed for detecting small 
quantities of sugar in the urine, which he regards as unsatisfac- 
tory.—A paper on the perforationsin the vessels of plants, by 
Dr. Tangl, was communicated by Prof. Ad. Weiss. ; 
April 27.—Prof. Lang communicated some remarks on the 
abnormal dispersion observed by Christiansen and Kundt in solu- 
tions of fuchsine, cyanine, &c. 
is due to the defective achromatism of the human eye.—M. F. 
Schwackhifer reported on the occurrence and mode of forma- — 
tion of phosphorite balls in Russian Podolia. He stated that 
these balls were originally carbonate of lime formed by concretion, 
and converted into phosphate of lime formed by the lixiviation 
; of the Silurian clay slate in which they occur, which contains 
The analysis of these balls led to the formula — 
phosphoric acid. 
3 (Ca? P? O') + Ca FI’, agreeing with that ‘of apatite in the 
proportion of fluorine, 
PHILADELPHIA 
of iron, from specimens from Bengal. He reported find- 
ing specimens of Hersinite in N. Carolina Corunduns, and 
believes the emery of Massachusetts is to be referred to the 
same mineral, In Chester County, Penna., ‘‘ Corundun pseu- 
domorphs” occur which are quite soft like talc or scaly tale, 
which prove to be Margarite. A third pseudomorph very much 
foliated has not yet been determined.—Prof. Cope presented a 
paper entitled, ‘‘ A preliminary report on the Vertebra discovered 
in the Port Kennedy Cave.”—Prof. Cresson stated that the young 
and tender shoots of the Symplocarpus fortidus (skunk cabbage) 
had forced themselves through a solid asphaltum composition 
pavement two inches in thickness in many places in ‘* Belmont 
Glen,” Park. The road was used for heavy hauling at the time. 
—Prof. J. P. Lesley described a discovery which he had made in 
East Tennessee of a sharp anticlinal axis crossing the coal 
measures of the Cumberland Mountains at right angles to the 
dominant system of disturbances, and showed its important 
bearing on the question of the conversion of the northern anti- 
clinals of the Alleghanies, into the southern system of down- 
throws. Also its relationship to the latter and to the cross undu- 
lations worked out by Joseph Lesley in his instrumental survey 
of E. Kentucky thirteen years ago; and to the N.W.-S.E. 
system of faults described by Owen, Hall, and other geologists 
in the Valley of the Mississippi. 


CONTENTS Pace 
ae Crookes ON THE “Psycuic” Force. By Prot. B. Stewart, 
SRS. es mi gist cout Be Pein (Riga cya «ih iemen eee 5 aw eae 
TyNDALL’s FRAGMENTS OF ScieNcE. By J. STUART . Baty Scuc oe 
Datu's BracHiopopa oF THE UniTep States Coast Survey. By 
J.,\Gwy¥s JERFREYS, FUR.S. ©. so) (ajc) Jls Sei uae eee 
Our Book SHELF. . . 2 gfe! Jel eal cel oy fom eingiel Mrerieen ema te mR 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR :— 
Mr. Howorth on Darwinism.—Henry H. Howortu; Dr. J. Ross 240 
Recent Neologisms.—Dr. C. M. INGLEBY . . . . . i 
The British Association and Local Scientific Societies . 242 
Science Teaching in Schools. —T. Jones . . . . .. 243 
Ocean Currents.—R. A. Proctor, F.R.AS. . ars 243 
Western Chronicle of Science.—J. H. Coturns . . . . . 243 
Formation of i lints:s, 05 Bosca ae Meco chica ane + 243 
Nh eee ao) Oo Oana womtebea Ss sf a 6g Tu 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORIES. (With Idlustrations.) . . . . 245 
On THE ReEcENT SoLar Eciipse. (Concluded) By J. Norman 
Lockyer, FURS. 0 sero eia Us ost) en tn n e neRES 
On THE DisTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE IN THE NorTH ATLANTIC. 
By Prof. WYVILLE THOMSON RRS ar re aay omen (nn 
PuystoLocy.—The Mouse's Ear asan Organ of Sensation . . . . 253 
SCIENTIFIC/SEREALS) (jel Gaeewtc mel (eae cise meee + 253 
MOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES cic) ve: ic; bel cer aieiue! (ome agile naman naan 254 
He showed that the appearance 
3 
4 
: 
7 
4 
’ 
| 
American Philosophical Society, April 21.—Dr. Geuth . 
described the results of recent investigations by himself into 
Corundun pseudomorphs of Hersinite, an aluminate of oxide 





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