Jan. 28, 1 875 J 



NATURE 



!57 



ments of Prof. Haughton are more nearly represented by (3), but 

 that they are in themselves more accurate, is, as will be seen, a 

 matter of doubt. One of the deductions which Trof Haughton 

 makes from (3) is the determination of his so-called " angular 

 velocity," -di = 0'666 ""- = ro472.* The mean value of w as 



determined from several observations is I'oo. Hence {2) 

 becomes — 



Total work = aUv + -V. (4). 



Besides the difficulties already noticed, the conclusion arrived 

 at in (4) is open to several fatal objections, a few of which I 

 will detail. 



1. In his reduction "resulting in'(3). Prof. Haughton assumes 

 the truth of the following law (Prin. An. Mech., p. 442) :— 

 "When the same muscle (or group of muscles) is kept in con- 

 stant action until fatigue sets in, the total work done, multiplied 

 by the rate of work, is constant." By "rate of work " is meant 

 the work per second. But in these experiments the muscles 

 were not " kept in constant action," and even during the interval 

 of work the action of the muscle constantly varies. The "rate 

 of work " is therefore also entirely indefinite. 



2. The method of experiment used by me, and which seems 

 to liave been followed by Prof Haughton, I have found entirely 

 unreliable, as will be hereafter shown. 



3. Putting ;8 = ("") in (3) and it may be reduced to 



the form — 



"^^A-&nt (3'). 



Anyone who will take the trouble to calculate aiul co-ordinate 

 the values — and « t from Prof. Haughton's observations, pp. 

 46S 474, will see that these co-ordinated values form a curve, 

 instead o'f a straight line. This is much more plainly marked in 

 an unpublished series now in my possession. These latter expe- 

 riments were made with an apparatus and method to be described 

 in the next paper. They are more accurate than those before 

 published, but not as accurate as can be obtained. It is certain, 

 however, 'that the value of tw in {3) is not constant. Assuming it 

 to be constant, however, and its value in the series referred to, 

 lies between 0^30 and o'50. This illustrates very forcibly the 

 futility of attempting theoretical reductions on the basis of assumed 

 " laws " until we have first made sure of our facts. 



Another series of mine which was also reduced by Prof. 

 Haughton consisted in raising a varying weight, w, through the 

 length of the arm in a time / = 1-164 sec. Tlie experiments 

 ■were otherwise conducted as before described. Mr. Haughton 

 malies use of the above-quoted law in this reduction, and finds 

 the relation to be — 



('w + j" = 



(-0 



(5)- 



r For my right arm the constants are A' = 1000 and n = 2'0. 

 The comparison of « (calc.) and n (obs.) is satisfactory, and for 

 want of space it is omitted. Solving (5) for « and making 

 'ui = 7-0, and making i = I '164 in (3), and the values of « are 

 evidently identical, or — 



„ _A^ ^ A I '164 



(7^+0= ,+(^^,-164)' 



where Z should equal unity. Solving for Z and introducing the 

 values of the constants, and we find Z = r4i- Although this 

 discrepancy was pointed out to him, Prof Haughton has trans. 

 ferred unreduced, from the observations leading to (5), the first 

 value of « (t = 1-164) ™ Table I. It is to be regretted that Prof. 

 Haughton did not leave unpublished the last 43 pages of his in- 

 teresting and valuable work. FRANK E. NiPHER. 



{To be continued!) 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



The current number of the Journal of Anatomy and Physi- 

 ology commences with a suggestive description, by Dr. J. F. 

 Goodhart, of three cases of malformation of the spinal column 

 light be dropped without impairing the accuracy 



associated with lateral curvature, w-hich lead him to the conclu- 

 sion that cases of asymmetry of the two sides of the spinal 

 column are due to original malformation of the bodies of the 

 implicated vertebrae in the direction of a bi-lobed or double 

 nucleus, and the subsequent unequal growth of the two halve?. 

 — Prof Struthers has also a lengthy article on variations of the 

 vertebrre and ribs in man, which will be read with interest in 

 connection with that of Dr. Goodhart, and by all comparative 

 anatomists, several very instructive abnormalities being described. 

 — This paper is followed by one from the pen of Dean Byrne, 

 on the development of the powers of thought in vertebrate ani- 

 mals in connection with the development of their brain ; in which 

 the author, by a comparison of the cerebral capacities of the 

 different families of Mammalia with those of comparative ana- 

 tomical structure and embryonic development, endeavours to 

 prove that the functions of the anterior lobes of the brain belong 

 to the act of thinking single objects of sense, those of the middle 

 lobes to the act of thinking sucli objects with a sense of succession 

 of them and as part of that succession, and those of the posterior 

 lubes to the act of thinking a co-existence or succession of them as a 

 case of a general principle. — Prof. M. Watson continues his con- 

 tributions to the anatomy of the Indian elephant, describing the 

 muscles and blood-vessels of the face and head. The same 

 author also, with a drawing, describes a remarkable case of 

 pharyngeal diverticulum, which opened on the free margin of 

 the posterior pillar of the fauces, occupied the anterior tri- 

 angle of the neck, and had a duct-like communication with its 

 orifice, running between the internal and external carotids. — Dr. 

 Arthur Ransome records the position of the heart's impulse in 

 different postures of the body, from chest-rule measurements 

 made by Mr. W. A. Patchett. — Baron A. de Walteville de- 

 SC1 ibes the cerebral and spinal nerves of Rami escidmta, from a 

 scries of dissections recently made. — Prof Turner gives an 

 account of the occurrence of Phoca greeiilandica as a British 

 species, from a specimen captured in Morecambe Bay and iden- 

 tilied by Mr. T. Gough. — Mr. J. C. Ewart records notes on the 

 minute structure of the retina and vitreous humour. — Mr. [. C. 

 Galton also has a note on the Epitrochleo-anconeus or Anco- 

 neus Sextus (Gruber) as a supplement to Prof. Gruber's paper, 

 giving drawings of it in Taniaiidiia tetradactyla, Choloptis didac- 

 lyliis, Phascolomys tvoiidiata, and Echidna sdosa. — The remain- 

 ing short papers are by Mr. J. Reoch, on urinary pigments ; by 

 Dr. J. J. Charter, on abnormalities of the arteries of the upper 

 extremity ; by Mr, J. Ilarker, on a four-toed fcetus without 

 head or upper limbs ; and by Dr. J. Cantlie and Mr. Bellamy, 

 on the absence of the quadriceps-femoris muscle, and on the 

 presence of a sixth lumbar vertebra, the first rib being rudi- 

 mentary. 



The Scottish Naturalist for January maintains the prestige of 

 this interesting quarterly, now entered on its fifth year and third 

 volume. It commences with an article of a more popular character 

 than most : — "Illustrations of Animal Reason," by Dr. Lauder 

 Lindsay, the authenticity of the anecdotes being vouched for by 

 the writer. Among the botanical notes, the most interesting is 

 that of the discovery in Aberdeenshire by Mr. Sadler, during an 

 excursion of the " Scottish Alpine Club," of two plants new to 

 Britain, Cai-cx frigida axASalix Sadler i, the latter now described 

 for the first time, and probably a hybrid between S. reticulata 

 and J'. lapponum or lanata. We have further instalments 01 

 "The Lepidoptera of Scotland," by Dr. Buchanan White, and 

 "The Coleoptera of Scotland," by Dr. Sharp. 



Poggendorff's Annattn der Physik iind Chcmit, 1S74, No. II. 

 — The first paper is by W. Miiller, of Perleberg, on the re- 

 duction of metallic oxides by hydrogen, and the application 01 

 this process for the quantitative determination of metals. The 

 v.ilue of this method of quantitative determination depends 

 on the fact that hydrogen reduces different metallic oxides at 

 dilTerent temperatures. The results of Midler's experiments 

 show that the quantities of several metallic oxides may be deter- 

 mined in this way, when the mixtures are heated in hydrogen, 

 and care is taken with regard to regulation of temperature. The 

 method proved successful for copper and zinc, copper and silver, 

 copper and bismuth, copper and cadmium, copper and lead, 

 copper and tin, copper and iron ; also for copper, iron, 

 and zinc, and pretty well for copper, cadmium, and zinc ; 

 but it was unsuccessful in the case of silver and iron, 

 silver and lead, arsenic and antimony. The apparatus is 

 simple enough, but the experiments take a very long time, and 

 will not be of much general practical use. — The next paper 

 records some thermo-electric studies by E. Budde.— Dr. Kurd 



