I20 



NATURE 



{Dec. lo, 1874 



Royal Horticultural Society, Dec. 2. — Scientific Committee. 

 — Andrew Murray, F.L.S., in the chair. — Models were exhibited 

 of the fruit of Sicfkaiiotis floribunda. — Tlie Chairman made a 

 communication on the Larch disease. It appeared to produce 

 a local destruction and ulceration of the cambium layer ; the 

 trees affected by it also suffered from "piping," i.e., premature 

 decay of tlie heart wood. The disease was now beginning to 

 attack the Spruce and Pinus exceha. — Prof. Thiselton Dyer ex- 

 hibited part of the stem of a Calamus from Silvkim, in which the 

 midrib of a sheathing leaf had produced an adventitious bud on 

 its under side. — Dr. Denny raised a discussion on the possibility 

 of superfcetation in plants. 



General Meeting. — W. Lindsay, secretary, in the chair. — 

 Prof. Thiselton Dyer commented on the investigations lately 

 undertaken with respect to the potato disease. Prof, de Bary 

 was disposed to believe that hetercecism occurred in the case of 

 the potato parasite, that is to say, that part of its life was passed 

 upon some other host besides the potato. Mouillefert had re- 

 cently suggested that this might be clover, and Mr. Jenkins, secre- 

 tary of the Royal Agricultural Society, supposed tliat botli clover 

 and straw might harbour the unknown stage of Firoiw^/oya 

 infeslans, and that this" would justify tlie prevailing opinion that 

 farm-yard manure encourages the ravages of the potaio disease, 

 especially when applied in spring, because the spores of the 

 fungus would be in the manure which had been used for litter." 



Royal Microscopical Society, Dec. 2.— Chas. Brooke, 

 1'. K. S., president, in the chair. — A paper by Dr. Hudson, 

 " On the discovery of some new male Rotifers," was read by the 

 secretary, in the absence of the author. It described the male 

 forms of Lascinularia, Floscularia, and Notommata, hitherto 

 believed to be unisexual, and was illustrated by a number of very 

 beautiful diagrams. — A paper by Dr. Schmidt, of New Orleans, 

 upon the development of the small blood-vessels in tlie human 

 embryo, was taken as read. 



Victoria (Philosophical) Institute, Dec. 7. — The proceed- 

 ings were commenced by the election of sixty-five new members 

 and associates. It was stated that the total number of subscribing 

 members was now 544. — Prof. II. Alleyne Nicholson, M.D., 

 read his paper On the bearing of certain pala;ontological facts 

 upon the Darwinian theory of the Origin ol Species, and on the 

 general doctrine of Evolution. The paper, alter discussing the 

 nature of the views usually held as to Evolution, examined in 

 detail the difficulties which Palaeontology offers to the acceptance 

 of the Darwinian theory of the Origin of Species, and the argu- 

 ments employed by Mr. Darwinto lessen or remove these diffi- 

 culties. 



Edinburgh 



Royal Society, Dec. 7.— Sir W. Thomson, president, in the 

 chair. — The President delivered to Prof. Tail the Keith Prize for 

 the biennial period (1871-1873), which had been awarded to him 

 by the Council for a memoir published in the last part of the 

 Transactions of the Society, entitled " First Approximation to a 

 Thermo-Electric Diagram." — The President then delivered an 

 address on " Stability of Steady Motion." 



Paris 



Geographical Society, Nov. 18.— President, M. Delesse.— 

 M. Vinot announced that an interesting discovery had been made 

 on the summit of the Puy de Dome, ot the ruins of an ancient 

 monument which stems to date from the first century after the 

 conquest of Gaul by the Romans. — Dr. Hamy, in tlie name of 

 M. ae la Porte, chief of the last expedition to Cambodia, read 

 a note containing interesting details concerning the country 

 which he has explored. With the exception of a few principal 

 points, Cambodia is in great part still unexplored. A new map 

 of the country by M. de la Porte and M. iMoura, representing 

 the French protectorate in Cambodia, will shortly be published. 

 M. de la Porte believes that many archa:ological discoveries of 

 the highest importance are yet to be made in Cambodia, and he 

 exptc'.s considerable results from the exploration about to be 

 made by M. llarmaiid in the regions to the west of the French 

 cjlony. 



Academy of Scietices, Nov, 30.— M. Fremy in the chair.— 

 The following papers wtre read :— Note on two properties of 

 the ballistic curve, whatever may be the exponent of the power 

 of the velocity to which the resistance of the medium is propor- 

 tional, byM. H. Resal.— On the carpellary theory according to 

 the Liliacex, by M. A. Trccul.--On the distribution of the 

 bands in primary spectra, byM. G. Salet.— On the mechanism 

 of the int'.a stomachal solution of the gastric concretions of crabs, 



by M. S. Chantran. — M. Dumas called the attention of the 

 Academy to the recent appearance of Phylloxera in Pregny, 

 near Geneva, and M. Pasteur made some observations thereon. 

 Letters from M. Schnetzler and M. Max Cornu to M. Dumas 

 on the subject of Phylloxera were also read. — Letter from 

 Mdme. V' Bouchard-Huzard to the President, offering to the 

 Academy documents relating to a great number of its members ; 

 documents composing the collection made by J. B. Iluzard. — 

 On the heat disengaged by the combination of hydrogen with the 

 metals, by M. J. Moutier. The author has shown that the 

 formula deduced by Clausius from Carnot's theorem for changes 

 of state is applicable to dissociation. The formula is — 



L representing the heat of combination of two bodies at the 

 absolute temperature T under the pressure /, equal to the 

 tension of dissociation at that temperature, v the specific volume 

 of the dissociated elements, and -<'' the specific volume of the 

 compound under the same conditions of temperature and pressure. 

 A is the thermal equivalent of work. From this formula the 

 value of L can be found when we have tables of the tensions of 

 dissociation of the compound at different temperatures. — The 

 recent experiments of MM. Troost and IlautefeuUlehave made 

 known these tensions for combinations of hydrogen with palla- 

 dium, potassium, and sodium, at diflerent temperatures. — Orbit, 

 period of revolution, and mass of the double ttar 7o/>0phiucus, 

 by M. C. Flammarion. — Observations of the zodiacal light at 

 Toulouse, the i6th, 21st, and 23rd of September ; 9th, lotb, and 

 nth Oct. ; loth and I2th of November, 1S74, by M. Gruly. — 

 Laws of double internal reflection in birefringent uiu-axial crys- 

 tals, by M. Abria.— Researches on the decomposion of certain 

 salts by water, by M. A. Ditte. In this third note the author 

 has examined the double sulphate of potassium and calcium. — 

 On the additive product of propylene and hypochlorous acid, 

 by M. L. Henry. — Employment of gas-retort carbon in the dis- 

 tillation of sulphuric acid, by M. F. M. Raoult. — Influence of 

 boiling distilled water on Fehling's solution, by MM. E. Boivin 

 and D. Loiseau. — Iron in the organism, by M. P. Ficard. — On 

 experimental septicemy, by M. V. Feltz. — On the birth and 

 evolution of bacteria in org.inic tissues sheltered from the air, by 

 M. A, Servel — Note on a stony concretion, by Dr. T. L. Phip- 

 son. — On some passages in " Stan. Bell," from which it may be 

 concluded that Ainaranthus bliliim is cultivated in Circassia for 

 the nitre which it contains ; extract from a letter from M. Brosset. 

 — Note on the lowering and natural elevation of lakes, by M. 

 Dausse. — The compound flute duiing the reindeer period, by M. 

 Ed-. Piette. 



BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED 



British.— The Straits of Malacca, Indo-Ch!na, and China : J. Thompson, 

 F.R.G.S. (Sampson Low). — Travels in South America : Paul Marcuy 

 (lilackie and Son). — Supplement to Harvesting Ants and Trapdoor Spiders : 

 J. Traherne Moggridge. F.L.S., F.Z.S., and Rev. U. Pickard-Cambridge 

 (L. Reeve and Co )— English Men of Science ; their Nature and Culture : 

 Francis Gallon, F.R.S. iMacmillan and Co.)— Selections from Uerkeley: 

 Ale.v. Campbell Fr.iser, LL.D. (Clarendon Press).— Elements of Animal 

 Physiology : lohn Angell (Wm. Collins.) — Elements of Magnetism and Elec- 

 tricity : John Angell (Wm. Collins). — Principles of Metal Mining: J. H. 

 Collins. F.G.S. (Wm. Collins).— Evolution and the Origin of Life : H. 

 Charlton Bastian, JLA., M.D., r.R.S. (Macmillan and Co.)— The forces 

 which carry on the Circulation of the Blood : Andrew Buchanan, M.D. 

 (J. and A. Churchill). 



CONTENTS pagb 



On the Classification of the Anim.\l Kingdo.m. By Prof 



HuxLKV, Sec. R.S ,01 



The " Times" ON the Importance OF Scientific Research . . 102 



Agricultural Education, By Prof. Thomas Baldwin ... 104 



The Sheep ,00 



Clowes's Pr,\ctic.\l Chemistry 107 



Lhtteks to the Editor ; — 



Royai Agricultural Society and the Potato Disease. — H. M. 



Anabas Scandens — G. E. DoBSON 109 



Fertilisation of Flowers by Insects, VIII. By Dr. Hepmann 



MULLER (With Iltustrations) 1,0 



The Transit of Venus u^ 



On the Mokthern Range of the Fallow Dhek in Europe. By 



Prof. W. BovdDawkins, F.R.S .112 



The English Arctic Expedition 114 



^otes 114 



The " Challenger" Expedition, II. By Prof. Wvvii.le Thomson, 



F.RS " ,,6 



Scientific Serials 1,9 



Societies AND Academies 119 



Books and Pamphlets Received 120 



