20 



NA TV RE 



INov. 5, 1874 



U>x the soirk at the Owens College.— Prof. Boyd Dawkins; 

 K.R.S., brought before the notice of the Society the conditions 

 under which the palaeolithic implemerits aie found in the river- 

 strata and in the caves, in association with the extinct mammalia, 

 such as the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. Altliough the 

 number of flint implements from the river-strata in various col- 

 lections was very great, yet it is small when viewed in connection 

 witli the enormous quantity of gravel removed in their discovery. 

 They arc not evenly distributed, but cluster round certain spots. 

 Their discovery in India along with the extinct mammalia proves 

 that man was living, both in Europe and in Southern Asia from 

 the Ganges to Ceylon, in the same rude uncivilised state, at the 

 same time in the life-history of the earth. He also called atten- 

 tion to the art of the hunters of the reindeer and mammoth in 

 the south of France, Belgium, and Switzerland, an art eminently 

 lealistic, and by no means despicable ; and he inferred from their 

 art and implements and the associated animals that they may be 

 represented at the present day by the Eskimos. — On a colori- 

 metric method of determining iron in waters, by Mr. Thomas 

 Carnelly, B.Sc. ; communicated by Prof. II. E. Roscoe, F.R.S. 

 PHILADELrHIA 



Academy of Natural Sciences, June 23. — Dr. Ruschen- 

 berger, president, in the chair. — Mr. B. Waterhouse Hawkins 

 gave his views on the construction of the pelvis of Hadrosaurus. — 

 i'rof Cope described a species of Dipnoan fish of the genus 

 Ctenodus, from the coal measures of Ohio. 



June 30. — Dr. Ruschenberger, president, in the chair.— 

 Anatomical notes by Dr. Chapman were read. On the disposition 

 of the Latissimus Dorsi,' &c., in Ateles geoffyoyi and Macaeus 

 rhesus, and On the Flexor Brevis Digitorum in Ateles geoffroyi. 



On report of the committee to which it was referred, the 

 following paper was ordered to be published : — "On habits of 

 som» American species of birds," by Thomas G. Gentry. 



July 7. — Dr. Ruschenberger, president, in the chair. — Prof. 

 Persifor Frazer, jun., continued the account of his attempts to 

 reconcile the results of the analyses of minerals by the best 

 chemists with formulas which were constructed on the doctrine 

 of quantivalence, i.e., the known atom-saturating power of the 

 elements. — On change of habit in Smilacina bifolia. Mr. Thomas 

 Meehan stated that he had recently seen a case where the stolons 

 had advanced from the ground, and up the trunk of a large 

 chestnut tree, to the height of about 2 ft. ; the original stolons 

 for several years back having died away, and the plant taken in 

 a purely epiphytal character. The roots and stolons mostly had 

 penetrated the coarse rough bark of the chestnut tree, the leaves 

 only being chiefly visible. 



July 14. — Dr. Ruschenberger,-president, in the chair. — Prof, 

 Cope stated that the snakes of the genus Storeria, B. and G., are 

 viviparous like Eutienia and other tropidonotine genera to which 

 tliey are allied. — Prof. Cope gave a synopsis of the result of his 

 work in connection with Ilayden's United States Geological 

 Survey of the Territories during the season of 1873. He stated 

 that the investigation covered principally the palaeontology of the 

 Cretaceous, Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene periods in Colorado. 

 The whole number of species of vertebrata obtained was 150, of 

 which 95 were at the time new to science. The Cretaceous 

 species were both terrestrial and marine, and the Miocene were 

 most numerous. These numbered 75 species, of which 57 were 

 new. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, Oct. 19. — M. Bertrand in the chair. 

 — The following papers were read ; — On series of similar tri- 

 angles, by M. Chasles. — Observation of the solar eclipse of 

 Oct. 10, 1874, with the spectroscope ; tables of the observations 

 of solar prominences from Dec. 26, 1873, to Aug. 2, 1874, by 

 P. Secchi. — On the dissociation of bydrated salts, by M. H. 

 Debray. This is a reclamation of results published by M. G. 

 Wiedermann in a memoir " On the dissociation of the Iiydrated 

 sulphates of the magnesian group." — On magnetic condensation 

 n soft iron, by M. A. Lallemand. The author describes a 

 series of experiments illustrating this property of soft iron. The 

 condensation appears to depend on the intensity of the mag- 

 netism developed in tlie iron. — Hypothesis of the imponderable 

 ether, and on the origin of matter, by M. Martha-Beker. — On 

 the distribution of the sugar and mineral principles in beet, by 

 M. Ch. Violette. The author has an ived at the following con- 

 clusions : — I. The proportions of sugar contained in the saccha- 

 riferous and cellular tissues of beet differ but little. 2. The 

 sugar increases in arithmetical progression along the axis of the 

 root, from the upper extremity to the tip. 3, The mineral con- 



stituents do not undergo any regular variation along the axis, 

 but chlorides are more abundant towards tlie upper extremity 

 than at the tip. 4. Mineral constituents are more abundant in 

 tlie cellular than in the sacchariferous tissues. 5. Chlorides are 

 considerably more abundant in the cellular than in the saccha- 

 riferous tissues. 6. The chlorides are more liable to variation 

 in the two kinds of tissues than the other mineral prin- 

 ciples. — Experiments on the circular compass made on 

 board the despatch-ship Faon and the armour-plated frigate 

 Savoie, by M. E. Duchemin. — Remarks concerning recent 

 notes by MM. Signoret and Lichtenstein on the different 

 known species of the genus Phylloxera, by M . Balbiani. The | 

 author points out that P. LieJitensteinii recently described by him 

 is specifically distinct from P. Rileyi, and again restates his 

 belief that the species seen by M. Lichtenstein on Queirns cocci- 

 /era was not /'. vastatri.x . — Observations relating to a recent 

 note by M. Rommier " On experiments made at Montpellier on 

 phylloxerised vines with M. Petit's coal-tar," by M. Balbiani. — 

 Influence of temperature on the development of Phylloxera ; 

 extract from a letter from M. Maurice Girard to M. Dumas. 

 Other communications relating to Phylloxera were received from 

 various authors. — Generalisation of Euler's theorem on the 

 curvature of surfaces, by M. C. Jordan.— Observations relating 

 to a recent note by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran on supersaluration, 

 by M. D. Gernez. — Researches on the decomposition of certain 

 salts by water, by M. A. Ditte. : When water is added to a solution 

 of mercuric sulphate^a basic sulphate is precipitated. This basic 

 salt forms the subject of the present research. — The colouring 

 matter of the blood (hrematosine) contains no iron, by MM. C. 

 Paguelin and L. Jolly. The authors describe the preparation 

 and purification of haematosine. By repeated macerations with 

 alcoholic ammonia and subsequent filtration, ha;matosine is at 

 length obtained completely free from iron. — On the movement 

 excited in the stamens of Synanthereiie, by M. E. Heckel. — M. 

 F. Garrigou communicated an analysis of the stalactitic deposits 

 found in the chimneys of iron forges. — During the meeting M. Le 

 Verrier presented the meteorological atlas of the Observatory of 

 Paris, containing observations for the years 1869, 1870, and 1871. 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



English— Elementary Treatise on Practical Chemistry: Frank Clowes, 

 B.Sc. (Churchill). — Animal Mechanism (International Series): E. J. Marey 

 (H. S. King and Co.).— A Treatise on Magnetism: H. Lloyd, D.U. (Long- 

 mans). — Brinkley's Astronomy : Stubbs and Briinnow (Longmans). — A Peep 

 at Mexico: J. L. Geiger, F.R G.S. (Trubner).— Pharmacographia : Fluckiger 

 and Hanbury (Macmillan). — Cave Hunting : W. B. Dawkins (MacmiUan). — 

 Telegraph and Travel: Col. Sir F.J. Goldsmid, C.B , K.C.S.I. (Mac- 

 millan).— Sun and Earth great Forces in Chemistry : T. W. Hall, M.D., 

 L.R.C.S.E. (Trubner). —Magnetism: H. Lloyd, M.D., D.C.L. (Longmans). 

 —The Protoplasmic Theory of Life: L. Beale (B.ailhete and Co.)-Leeds 

 Philosophical and Literary Society, Annual Report, 1873-74. — Fiske's Cosmic 

 Philosophy (Macmillan and Co,) 



American.- Butterflies of North America, Parts I. and IL : W. H. 

 Edwards (Hurd and Houghton, New York). 



Foreign. — Atti della Reale Accademia Dei Lincei, vol. xxvi. — Memoire 

 siir la makidie de la Vigne, et sur son traitement ; Louis Faucon (Paris). — 

 Etudes sur la nouvelle maladie de la Vigne : Maxime Cornu (Paris).— 

 Etudes sur la nouvelle maladie de la Vigne dans le Sud-Est de la France : 

 M. Duclaux (P.^ri5)..-Le5 Arachnides de France: Eugene Simon (Paris).— 

 Anthropogenic : Ernst Haickel (W. Engelmann, Leipzig). 



Colonial.— Elementary Dynamics : W. G. WiUson. M.A., &c. (Thacker 

 and Co , Calcutta).— Report of the Meteorological Reporter to the Govern- 

 ment of Bengal : H. F. Blandford (Calcutta).— Patents and Patentees : 

 VV. H. Archer (Melbourne). 



CONTENTS Pack 



The Prospects of the Endowment of Research 



Gresham College .... 



H-eckel's Development of Man 4 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Migration of Birds,— Prof. Alfred Newton, F.R.S s 



Insects and the Colour of Flowers. — Lord Ravleigh, F.R.S. . . 6 



Sounding and Sensitive Flames. — Prof. A. S. Herschel 6 



A New and Simple Method for making Carbon Cells and Plates for 



Galvanic Batteries. — W. Svmons 8 



Ingenuity in a Spider. — John Toph.-vm 8 



Note on the Rhynchosaurus Articeps, Owen.— Dr. T. Ogier Ward S 



The Alpine Club Map of Switzerland 8 



Report of Prof. Paricer's Hunterian Lectures " On the 

 Structure and Development of the Vertebrate Skull," 



VIII. Skull of the Common Fowl (H^it/i Illustrations) . . . g 

 The New Vine-Disease in the South-East of France, II. (UrUA 



IlliistraHim) . u 



Earlv Opening of Kew Gardens '.14 



The Geographical Distribution OF AuROR.-E 14 



Edwin Lankester, M.D., F.R.S 15 



Notes ig 



Scientific Serials ig 



Societies and Academies ig 



Books Received • . so 



