192 



NA TURE 



[Dkcemhek 22, \\ 



ing for somt lime. These hybrids showed markings much 

 more like the markings of theSomali zebra ihan of their Bur- 

 chell sire ; they seemed to be a case of reversion to a very 

 remote ancestor. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, December 12.— M. Wolf in the 

 chair. — Physical study of the elasticity acquired by muscular 

 tissue in a state of physiological work, liy M. A. Chauveau. The 

 experiments cited were all carried out upon the flexor muscles of 

 the fore arm of man, and were so arranged as to eliminate the 

 disturbing influence of the weight of the limb. The elongations 

 in the length of the mu.scle produced by a given increase of load 

 arc compared with the elongations which would be produced in 

 inert substances, and the conclusion is drawn that the law obeyed 

 by the muscle is given by c = / (i + >), where c is the increase 

 or decrease of the force of elasticity which is maintained in a 

 muscle put in statical contraction, p is the charge siistained, and 

 r the muscular contraction.— Influence of metallic armatures 

 upon the properties of mortars, by M. Considere. The use of 

 iron or steel for the interior armature of mortars, although op- 

 posed by military engineers, on account of the results of tests 

 made by tension only, is ju.stified by the results of the ex- 

 periments given. — Observations of the Brooks Comet (October 

 18981, made at the Observatory of Algiers with the 31-8 

 cm. equatorial, by MM. Kambaud and Sy.— Observations of the 

 planet D( ) (Witt) and the Perrine-Chofardet and Chase comets, 

 made at the OI)servatory of Toulouse with the Brunner equa- 

 torial, by M. Kossard.— Observations, made at Athens, of the 

 Leonid and Bielid swarms, by M. D. Eginitis.— On the examirj- 

 ation of the singularities of a function defined by a Taylor's 

 series, by M. Emile Borel.— On systems of partial differential 

 equations reducible to ordinary differential equations, by M. 

 lules Beudon.— On the determination of the group of numerical 

 equations, by M. Edmond Maillet.— On lines composed of 

 rectilinear parts, by M. D. Grave.— On the practical synchron- 

 ising of regulators, by M. L. Lecornu. — Oti the ratio of the 

 wo specific heats of gases, by M. Louis Boltzmann. Remarks 

 on a paper on the same subject by NL Leduc, with especial 

 reference to the ratio found for the new atmospheric gases. The 

 author arrives at the conclu>ions that the molecule of a perfect 

 gas for which k = \\ ought to behave in molecular concussions 

 as a rigid sphere, a condition which is probably only possible 

 for ni.jnatomic gases : in a gas for which X- = i 4, over an extended 

 range of tem])erature, the molecule behaves like two spheres 

 rigidly joined together, a case jirobable for diatomic gases only. At 

 high temperatures, even perfect gases ought to show a diminution 

 of /•. For polyatomic gases this would be evident at ordinary 

 temperatures. — On a curious phenomenon of adherence of 

 metallic filings under the action of the electric current, by M. 

 Thomas Toinmasina.— On the arc with alternating currents, 

 by M. A. Blondel.— On the transformation of the carbonate 

 of ort'hocresol into a homologue of the phthalcin of urthocresol, 

 by M. P. Cazeneuve. The phthalcin is produced by the action 

 of soda lime upon the carbonate.— On the mixed phenyl-ethyl 

 phosphates, by M. Albert Morel.— Chlorination of benzene in 

 presence of aluminium chloride, by MM. A. Mouneyrat and 

 Ch. Pouret. If AlClj is present in the proportion of 30 gr. to 

 1000 gr. of benzene, the latter absorbs a rapid current of 

 chlorine completely at 50° C. Fr.actional distillation of the 

 product gave 760 gr. of pure CgHjCl, together with 450 gr. of 

 dichlorbenzenes. The latter can be obtained readily in quantity 

 by similarly chlorinating monochlorbenzene, the para com- 

 pound predominating. — Action of oxidising agents upon 

 some nitrogen compounds, by M. 'Echsner de Coninck. 

 A study of the reaction between chromic acid and potassium 

 bichromate and numerous nitrogen compounds, including 

 hydroxylaminc, hydmzines, ureas, and amides. — Action of 

 the bacillus Coli ionimiinis and the Eberth bacillus upon 

 nitrates, by M. L. C.rimbert. The nitrogen evolved by the 

 action of these iMcilli upon a nitrated medium, is always at 

 least double that corresponding to the nitrate taken ; hence the 

 nitrogen evolved cannot arise exclusively from the nitrates, but 

 must come in part from the amidocompounds always present 

 in the culture.— The assimilation of nitric nitrogen and of 

 ammoniacal nitrogen by the higher plants, by M. Maze. 

 Details of experiments arc given which confirm the conclusions 

 of M. Miintz, that ammonia, as such, can be absorbed and 

 assimilated by plants.— On the natural dissemination of wine 

 yeasts, by M. Leon Boutroux. Remarks on a paper by ^^ J. 

 A. Cordier. In opposition to the latter, the author holds that 



NO. I 521, VOL. 59] 



the theory of dissemination by insects is more in accord wiih 

 facts than the theory of air dissemination. —The juice of fun;;! 

 as a vaccine against snake poison, by M. C. Phisalix. — Tl. 

 endomorphic modifications of the gabbro of Pallet (Loiii 

 Infcrieure), by .M. A. Lacroix.— On the pari played by 

 subterranean deposition in the constitution of the soil of » 

 portion of the department of Orne, by M. Stanislas Meunier. 



BOOKS and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books.— The Gold- rields of Austr.il.xsia: K. Schmeisser .ind K. Vogd- 

 sane. translated by Prof. H. Louis (M.icniill:in).— The .Microorg.inism ,>f 

 Faulty Rum : V. H. and L. J. Vcley (Frowde),-Twenty.sevenlh Annoal 

 Report of the Local Government Board : Supplement containing the R:- 

 port of the Medic.il Officer for 1897-58 •(London).— Annuaire de rOf 

 serv.itoire Municipal de Paris. 1S99 (Pans, Gauthier-Villars).-Les Re- 

 celtes du Distillateur : E. Fierz (P.lris, Gauthier-Villars).— Ostwiki « 

 Kl.-Lssikcr der Kxakten Wissenschaften, Nr. 07 to 100 (Leipzig. Engcl. 

 1).— Congris National d'Hygiine et de Climatologie M^dicale de 1 



Hayel). - 

 Jniversiiir 



Belgique ct de Congo, premiere partie. Belgique (Bruxelles 

 Recent Advances in Astronomy : Dr. A. H. Fison (Blackie).- 

 College, I^ndon, Calendar for Session 1898-9 (Taylor). „ „ . 



Seriai s —Engineering M.lgazine, December (222 Strand). — Bulletin 

 I'Acadtmie Royale des Sciences, Jtc, de Belgique, 1898, Nos. q and 

 (Bruxelles).— Observatory, December, and Companion (Taylor).— N.i 

 Geographic Maga 



Notes from the I.cyd<-n 

 anthly. December (Gay)i 

 and November (Paul).- 

 ember (Plymouth). -Ab 

 Parts xi., xii. ( Bergen). - 

 Haven). — Morphologisclies 



, Heft (Leipzig).- IJuarterly Journal of Micr> 



:mber (Churchill).— Memoirs and Proceedings of tli« 

 and ;PhilQSophical Society, Vol. 42, Part 5 (Man' 



;mbcr (Washingti _ 



1, April and January (Leiden).— Atlantic 



—Journal of the Anthropological Institute, AugU' 

 Journal of the Marine Biological Associatioi 

 Account of the Crustacea of Norway, Vol. 

 American Journal of Science December (N 

 Jahrbuch. 26 Band, 3 ' " "■■ " ^ 



scopical Science, Nov 

 Manchester Liter.ary 

 Chester). 



1691 



i;2i 



173 

 173 



I74i 



CONTENTS. PAGBl 



Gegenbaur's Comparative Anatomy of the Verte- 



brata. By Dr. H. Gadow, F.R.S 



Elementary Quantitative Analysis. By W. A. S. 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



"The Illustrated Annual of Microscopy. —J. E. B. 

 Bartlett : " Wild Animals in Captivity."— R. L. 

 Kearton : " Wild Life at Home. How to Study and 



Photograph it " ■',',,! j ' ' 



Houston : " A Pocket Dictionary of Electrical Words, 



Terms and Phrases " ' 



Ghersi : " Ricettario Industriale " ._^ ■ ' 



Sydow : " DeutscherBotaniker-Kalender fur 1S99 . I 

 Letters to the Editor:- 



The Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits.— 



Prof. A. C. Haddon 



Transference of Heat in Cooled Metals. —Carl 



Kinsley , V i ■> 



Where do we stand in Bruckner's Weather Cycle. 

 (KVM /)/<(i'ra'«.)-Alex. B. MacDowall .... 



Soakage into Glazed Porcelain.— F. G. . . . . . • 



The Twelfth Movement of the Earth.— Prof. J. f. 



O'Reilly 



The Geminid Meteors.— W. E. Besley . ... • 

 Slug following a Closed Trail.— Vincent Daniel. . 

 Animals Feeding on Poisonous Plants .as 1-ood.— 



Chas. A. Silberrad ,.;;,,, .m 



The Fumigation of Trees. (IlluslraU-J.) By W. F. K. 1,7 

 Curiosities of Orchid Breeding, liy C. C. Hurst . 178I 

 The Meetings of the British and French Associ- ^ 



ations in 1899 '' J 



Notes ... ' 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



A Total Eclipse of the Moon '^5 



Comet Chase . ' * 



Comets: 1S9S and 1881 IV >'5 



Ephemeris of Planet 1S98 DQ • • ■ ■ 'J? 



The Companion to the Ofoi^'a/oO' '"f ''>99 - • • • '^°' 



The Solar Disc during 1897 J|^ 



The Melbourne Observatory . ■ ^ ■.■■,_ •, 

 The Relation of the Toxin and AntiToxin of Snake 

 Venom. By W. D. H. . . . • ■ • • ■ • — 

 Remarkable Effect of the Indian Earthquake of 



Tune 12, 1897. yllluslraleJ.) ■■■■■■■ } '' ' 

 British Association. Conference of the Delegates 01 



the Corrosp.iniling Societies 



University and Educational Intelligence 



Scientific Serials . 



Societies and Academies 



Books and Serials Received 



■75i 

 175 



ir6i 

 176 

 177 



177' 



lS6i 



188 



