98 



NA TURE 



\pec. 3, 1874 



meta-nitroaniline. Para-nitroaniline from ordinaiy dinitro-ben- 

 zene is next treated of, then the reduction of meta-nitroaniline. 

 lodobenzene acted upon by nitric acid yields ortho- and 

 meta-iodo-nitrobenzene, the first of which was converted 

 by the action of nitro - sulphuric acid into a dinitro 

 derivative, which, on treatment with a dilute solution 

 of potassium hydrate, is converted into the potassium salt 

 of ordinary dinitrophenic acid, and by the action of alcoholic 

 ammonia iato ordinary dinitro-aniline. From these reactions 

 the author concludes that this dinitro-iodobenzene has the struc- 

 tural formula 1:2:4. Dinitro-iodobenzene from meta-nitro- 

 iodobenzene has been prepared and proved to be identical with 

 the foregoing body ; at the same time a small quantity of a second 

 dinitro compound is produced, which the author considers as the 

 iodide of the ^ dinitrophenol of Iluebner and Werner. The 

 dinitro-aniline from this body has been prepared, and the consti- 

 tution I : 2 : 6 is assigned to it. The author next enters into 

 the consideration of this dinitrophenol — a table comparing the 

 fusion points of this body and its derivatives with those of the 

 a compounds is given. The brominated derivatives of the aniline 

 have been examined, and the constitution 1:2:4 assigned to 

 the dibromo-aniline. A large section is next devoted to the 

 three isomeric dibromo-benzenes ; dichlorobenzene is also con- 

 sidered, and the three monobromo-toluenes. The action of 

 bromine on the isomeric nitro-anilines has been studied, and con- 

 stitutional formulce are assigned to the resulting compounds. 

 The author then goes on to consider the prepai'ation of the new 

 dinitrobenzene and the products of its transformations. The 

 mono-nitro compound has been submitted to a similar study, and 

 likewise the mono-nitro derivatives of the dichloro-, chloro- 

 bromo-, chloro-iodo-, brorao-iodo-, and di-iodo-benzene. The 

 next section is devoted to the constitution of the principal sub- 

 stitution products of phenol. The isomeric monobromophcnols 

 are first treated of, then the following bodies in succession : — 

 dibromo-ortlio-nitroanisol, the corresponding meta compound, 

 Laurent's broniodinitrophenol, the dmitrochlorophenol of Du- 

 bois, and the corresponding bromo- and iodo compounds ; 

 finally, dinitro-para-dibromobenzene, its phenol and aniline. The 

 three'isomeric tribromobenzenes are next treated of: nitrotribro- 

 mobenzene and the products of its decomposition. The consti- 

 tution of the di-derivatives is discussed, and the present state of 

 our. knowledge with respect to the ortho-, para-, and meta- series 

 of the aromatic compounds is well displayed in a series of tables. 

 The remainder of this paper, of which the foregoing is but an 

 imperfect outline, is entirely devoted to theoretical considerations. 

 ■ — The next p;.per is a preliminary note on the action of hydriodic 

 acid on santonic acid, by S. Cannizzaro and D. Amato. — This is 

 followed by a paper by the same authors on metasantonine, to 

 which the formula CijHjgO^ is assigned. — Quantitative determi- 

 nation of the atomic group C^flaO contained in acetyl substitu- 

 tion products, by Fausto Sestini. — On the action of bromine on 

 anhydrous chloral, by A. Oglialoro. — AUylate of chloral, by the 

 same author. — Transformation of benzamide into benzoic aldehyde 

 and alcohol, by Prof. J. Guareschi. — Action of sulphur on 

 calcium carbonate, by E. PoUacci. — On the production of ozone 

 by means of the electric discharge, by C. Giannetti and A. ^■oIta. 

 — On the necessity for searching for phosphorus in the urine in 

 cases of poisoning, by F. Selmi. The same author contributes 

 a paper on milk. — The concluding paper is by M. Mercadante, 

 on the behaviour of tannic acid when used in agriculture. — The 

 part concludes with notices of current foreign work in technical 

 chemistiy. 



BnUeiin de la 'Socicli if Anthrofologie de Fai-is, tome neu- 

 vieme. — M. Dareste, in reply to the discussion which his paper 

 on double or twin monsters (as given in a former number) had 

 called forth, explains the nature of the observations on which 

 his deductions were based. It would appear that after sub- 

 mitting nearly 8,000 hens' eggs to the process of artificial incu- 

 bation, he obtained nearly 4,000 anomalies or monstrosities, but 

 of these only about thirty were double embryos or twin mon- 

 strosities. A similar result has been observed in the case of 

 osseous fishes ; and Jacobi, who was the first to discover (in the 

 course of the last century) the mechanism of fecundation among 

 these fishes, had noted the proportion of twin monsters in fishes' 

 eggs. His observations and those of Lerebouillet coincide with 

 the result obtained by M. Dareste, that while external conditions 

 may often determine the formation of simple monsters, they are 

 absolutely without effect in regard to the evolutions of double 

 monstrosities. — M. M. A. Bertrand, in a communication specially 

 addressed to the Society, has propounded the novel hypothesis 



that the discovery of the manipulation of metals, as copper, tin, 

 iron, silver, and lead, is due to Oriental peoples, with whom it 

 was far advanced at a period when Europe was still in a state of 

 barbarism. He, moreover, is of opinion that these arts came 

 from a common centre by two channels, viz., the valley of the 

 Dnieper and the valley of the Danube, in the latter of which the 

 semi-barbarous Slavonic tribes still practise these arts very 

 much as they first learned them from tlieir Asiatic neighbours.^ 

 M. Hamy considers, in a short paper, the value as a distinctive 

 pala=ontolo.;ical character of the bifid condition of the canines in 

 the Smeennaas jaw. He had frequently before noticed a trans- 

 versal flattening in other fossil canines, and since his examination 

 of the Smeermaas jaw he has found two other examples of this 

 from the Quaternary period. — M. Broca discusses at length the 

 influence of humidity on the form and dimensions of fossil 

 crania, and deduces from his observations the general conclusions 

 that the capacity of crania varies greatly in accordance with the 

 hygrometric condition of their walls ; that in drying, after re- 

 moval from a humid soil, they undergo a considerable retraction, 

 amounting in some instances to fully twenty cubic centimetres ; 

 that the walls of fossil crania are hygrometric ; and that, con- 

 sequently, no comparative observations of cranial capacity have 

 any value unless all the crania have been exhumed for a space of 

 many months. 



The August number of the BnUeiin de la SocUle d'Acclhnala- 

 tion dc Paris opens with a list of the various animals and plants 

 which the society is prepared to lend to its members, with a view 

 to establishing any new or rare forms of animal or vegetable life 

 in different parts of the country. This is an organisation which 

 might usefully be adopted in England.— A paper by M. B. Rico 

 shows how varieties of SalmonidK may be kept in enclosed 

 waters, and points out — as Mr. Buckland has proved in England 

 — that salmon and trout will keep in good condition in enclosed 

 places with a good supply of food and of running water. — Dr. 

 Turrel, in a paper entitled " Les Oiseaux et les Insectes," combats 

 the theory of M. I'erris that birds have very little effect in check- 

 ing the increase of insects. He thinks that to the indiscriminate 

 slaughter of small birds may be traced, to a certain extent, the 

 sprea'l of the Phylloxera. — Mr. R. Trimen contributes an interest- 

 ing paper on the animals and useful plants of the Cape of Good 

 Hope, from which it appears that there are no mammalia indi- 

 genous to South Africa which have been employed as beasts of 

 burden ; but the colony is rich in edible animals and valuable 

 birds. — M. Cabonnier announces the arrival from India of several 

 specimens of three varieties of fish never hitherto brought to 

 Europe— the Anahas scandens or Climbing Perch, the Telescope 

 Fish, and the Gourami. — The Phylloxera is the object of various 

 notes and suggestions, with the view of providing some means of 

 rresting its progress. 



Reale htitido Lomhardo, Rendiconti, vol. 7, fasc. viii. — 

 Prof Giovanni Cantoni contributes a note, " Researches on Hete- 

 rogenesis." Ten years ago the Academy appointed a committee 

 to investigate spontaneous generation, which from time to time 

 reports its experiments. Dr. Grassi and Dr. Macagno, at Asti, 

 have devoted themselves to the question of vinous fermentation. 

 With saccharine solutions and new wine, they obtained the 

 cryptogams characteristic of vinous fermentation. A certain 

 number appeared in llasks hermetically sealed and heated for 

 half an hour to 100°, and some occurred in llasks containing air 

 filtered through cotton-wool, and washed both in sulphuric acid 

 and an alkaline solution. These observers affirm that raising 

 the temperature of wine does not destroy Pasteur's germs, owing 

 to a special combination between the liquid and the small quan- 

 tity of free oxygen remaining in the sealed vessel. — The next 

 paper, On the limits of electrical resistance in non-conductors, 

 is by the same author. — Prof Giovanni Zoga gives an account 

 of the Anatomical Museum of Pavia, which contains 638 pre- 

 parations, of which 38 are complete skeletons, 26 male and 12 

 female, varying in .age from the foetus of two months to loi 

 years. Most of them are Italian, though two are German, one 

 American, one Moor, and one Egyptian. There are 200 skulls 

 and 400 portions of different skeletons. Of these skulls only 46 

 are females, and although the greater part are Italian, they in- 

 clude representatives of the various nations of Europe, Asia, and 

 America, and of different social grades. The author mentions 

 peculiarities seen in the several bones, and gives measurements 

 of the skulls. — The last article is by Dr. Guido Grassi, and is 

 devoted to the explanation of a new reflecting balance. This is 

 a common balance with a reflector fixed above the index. He 

 details experiments to show the way in which it may be used, 



