Nov. 5, 1 8 74 J 



NA TURE 



19 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



The yotirnal of Mental Science, October 1874. — This number 

 opens with the address of Thomas Laws Rogers, M.D., presi- 

 dent at the annual meeting of the Medico- Psychological Associa- 

 tion, Aug. 6, 1S74. Ilis object was to procure a fixed meaning 

 for the terms " restraint " and " seclusion," and the clear sense 

 and practical aim of his remarks present a sharp contrast to the 

 rather wandering discussion which followed, — Dr. J. Batty Tuke 

 has a paper on a case in which the clinical history and post- 

 mortem examination will, he thinks, support its being designated 

 one of syphilitic insanity. — Dr. Daniel Hack Tuke writes about 

 the Hermit of Red-Coat's Green, and finds him insane, an opinion 

 from which there is little room for dissent. Probably also it 

 would have been well had he individually "been put under the 

 protection of the Lord Chancellor and the inspection of his 

 visitors;" it " would have been better for the neighbourhood, 

 better for his family, and better for the Hermit of Red-Coat's 

 Green himself" But could not those very considerations be 

 urged, and often with greater force, in favour of a curtailment of 

 the lilierty of thousands of frivolous, reckless, immoral persons, 

 who are a far greater pest to their family and neighbourhood 

 than poor Lucas was after he became the hermit ? — Dr. H. Hayes 

 Newington contributes a thoughtful paper On different forms of 

 stupor. — In an interesting article on the mental aspects of ordi- 

 nary disease. Dr. J- Milner Fothergill obtrudes his materialism 

 in a way that will be distasteful to many, while to others the 

 thing itself will appear shallow. Thought " is the product of 

 the combustion of what was originally food." The brain of 

 " Robbie Burns transmuted his oatmeal porridge into Tam 

 O'Shanter." — In reviewing Dr. Maudsley's " Responsibility in 

 Mental Disease," Mr. J. Burchell Spring, chaplain to the Bristol 

 Lunatic Asylum, while doing justice to the ability of the work, 

 seems to have the advantage of the author in matters of history. 

 He very cleverly cuts away the ground from under Dr. Maudsley's 

 rather uncalled-for assertion that the brutal treatment of the 

 insane "had its origin in the dark ages of Christian super- 

 stition." 



yoiininl lie Physique, tome iii., No. 33, September. — This 

 number commences with a description of the " phonoptometer " 

 by M. J. Lissajous. This apparatus consists of an ordinary 

 terrestrial telescope, of which the eye-piece is broken across, and 

 the third lens from the eye (the one which inverts the image formed 

 by the objective) attached to the prong of a tuning-fork. The 

 lens is thus capable of vibrating in a vertical plane, the vibra- 

 tions of the fork being maintained by an electro-magnet and 

 contact-breaker. The telescope being directed to a distant 

 object presenting a brilhant point, and tl'.e electro-magnet put 

 into action, the point becomes a luminous vertical line if at rest, 

 but if vibrating in a direction transverse to that of the motion of 

 the lens, then the composition of the two movements gives rise 

 to the well-known optical sound figures. The author claims for 

 this ingenious instrument the power of determining the velocity 

 of a luminous point on its trajectory, such as luminous projec- 

 tiles, bolides, &c. — Theory of the phenomena of difiraction ob- 

 served to infinity or in the focus of a lens, by M. J. Joubert. — 

 On the mutual influence which two bodies vibrating in unison 

 exercise upon one another, by JL A. Gripon. The author de- 

 scribes several experiments illustrating this remarkable action, 

 employing for the purpose collodion membranes, which vibrate 

 in unison with the column of air in the resonance boxes of 

 tuning-forks, organ-pipes, &c. A small pendulum composed of 

 a pith ball suspended by a thread of cotton is attached to such a 

 membrane, and the system is then brought near the resonant 

 case of a vibrating fork, with which the membrane is capable of 

 vibrating in unison. The membrane vibrates strongly when 

 at a distance of one metre, but when brought to within 

 four or five centimetres of the mouth of the case, the 

 sound of the latter undergoes a considerable weakening, and 

 the pendulum of the membrane is scarcely moved. If the 

 vibrations of the fork have but smaU amplitude, the prox- 

 imity of the membrane to the resonant case extinguishes the 

 sound altogether. None of these effects are produced if the mem- 

 brane is not capable of vibrating in unison with the fork. If a 

 membrane of a low-er note is placed in front of the case and a 

 current of warm air directed upon it, the weakening of the 

 sound only occurs when the note of the fork is reached. Ar- 

 rangements for repeating the experiments with organ-pipes are 

 also described. — Graphic representation of the constants of vol- 

 taic elements, by M. A. Crova.— Some experiments concerning 



the effects of magnetism on the electric discharge through a 

 rarefied gas when the discharge occurs in the prolongation of the 

 axis of the magnet, by MM. Auguste De la Rive and Edouard 

 Sarasin. The authors employed in this research a eolumnar 

 electro-magnet. The tube through which the discharge is trans- 

 mitted rests on the upper extremity of the magnet, the line of 

 electrodes being a prolongation of the axis of tlie magnet. Va- 

 rious gases sealed up in Geissler tubes have been exjierimented 

 with, the discharge from a Ruhmkorff coil being allowed to 

 traverse the gas. Changes occur in the appearance of the 

 luminous discharge where the magnet is excited, these changes 

 being accompanied by a change in the resistance offered to the 

 current by the gas. Thus a tube containing hydrogen permitted 

 the passage of an induced current marking 25° on the galva- 

 nometer when the magnet was not excited, but when excited the 

 galvanometer reading was 40°. It seems to be a law that the 

 augmentation in the intensity of the current is greater with a gas 

 which is a good conductor than with one which is an inferior 

 conductor of electricity. The authors confine themselves in this 

 paper to a description of the facts without entering into theo- 

 retical considerations.— The number concludes with three papers 

 reprinted from Foggendorff's Annalen : On the stroboscopic 

 determination of the intensity of sounds, by E. Mach ; Re- 

 searches on magnetisation, by Holz ; O. E. Meyer and F. 

 Springmuhl, On the internal friction of gases. 



Zeitschrift der CEstcrreichischen CeseUschaft fiir Mcleorolofie, 

 Oct. 15.— In an article on the state of development or forward- 

 ness of vegetation in Italy compared with that of Giessen, in 

 Germany, Prof H. Hoffmann expresses his regret that for the 

 greater part of Italy we possess no observations of the kind to 

 which he wishes to direct attention. A knowledge of the rela- 

 tive state of vegetation at many different places would help 

 invalids to the choice of a residence congenial to them, and 

 dispel the false estimates of Italian climate now so common. In 

 the course of a rapid visit to Italy In March and April, 1874, he 

 took a number of observations, and compared them on his return 

 to Giessen with like observations simultaneously taken at that 

 place. The weather was fortunately fine and fairly unifonn 

 oyer Central and Southern Europe during the period of 

 his travels. The average state of vegetation in open situa- 

 tions can be roughly calculated under normal conditions by 

 reckoning for every degree southwards an advance of 3J days. 

 Direct observation shows this rule generally to hold good. 

 Rome is S° south of Giessen, Naples 9° ; this gives, at the rate 

 above mentioned, an advance for Rome of 30, for Naples of 34 

 days.^ On looking at the map which accompanies Prof. Hoff- 

 mann's paper, we find the real difference to have been for Naples 

 35, for Rome 23 ; and so with many other places in Italy. If 

 we have the number of days' advance in the spring, by doubling 

 it we obtain the relative length of summer, or the period of 

 vegetation. The Riviera di Porrente is quite abnormal, having a 

 warm and early spring. Prof Hoffmann's method consisted in 

 taking the mean of the number of days' advance before Giessen, 

 of the bursting into leaf or flower of several common kinds of 

 trees in a certain place, and making this number the criterion of 

 climate. In conclusion, he affirms that the extended observation 

 of a single species of tree in the above manner, with regard also 

 to the time of first fruits, would give us a new insight into com- 

 parative climatology, and that after various species had been so 

 dealt with, maps might be made, exhibiting for each month a 

 fair example in the development of one of these species. A 

 list of the plants observed is appended. Among the Klcinere 

 Mtillieil unveil, in a communication from Dr. Hildebrandtson, 

 director of the Meteorological Department of Upsala Observa- 

 tory, we find that he arrives at results similar to those of Mr. Ley 

 respecting the movements of cirrus, this cloud appearing to 

 move away from tlie centre of a cyclone and towards the centre 

 of an anticyclone. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



Manchester 

 Literary and Philosophical Society, Oct. 20.— Edward 

 Schunck, F.R.S., president, in the chair.— E. W. Binne)', F.R.S., 

 stated that he had been so fortunate as to find a specimen of Stig- 

 maiia which he exhibited to the Society, from the bullion coal at 

 Clough Head, near Butnley, having the medulla perfectly pre- 

 served.— Mr. R. D. Darbishire, F.G.S., exhibited and described 

 the Palaeolithic (French and English drifi) implements collected 



