384 



NA TURE 



[February 16, 1899 



not completely precipitate the Ix'vorotatory substances present in 

 urine. If acid mercurous nitrate is used as the precipitating 

 agent, the two methods agree. — Influence of light on the form- 

 ation of living nitrogenous substances in the tissues of plants, by 

 M. \V. Palladine. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDA Y, Feuriarv i6. 



Royal Society, at 4.30.— On th^ Reflex Electrical EflTecis in Mixed 

 Nerve and in the Anterior ;ind Posterior Routs : Miss Sowton.— The 

 Ch.iracteristic of Nerve: Dr. A. D. W.iller, F.R.S.— Observation.s on 

 the Cerebro-spin.il Fluid in the Human Subject : Dr St. Clair Thomson, 

 Dr. L. Hill, and Prof. H.alliburton, F.R.S.— The Thermal Deformation 

 of the Cryst.-ilhsed -Normal Sulphates of Potassium, Rubidium, and 

 Casium : A. K. Tuiton. 



RovAL Institution, at 3.— Toxins and Antitoxins: Dr. Allan Mac- 

 fadyen. 



LlNNGAN Society, at 8.— On the Genus I.timnalia, Gray, with an 

 Account of the Branching Systems of the Order .\lcyon.acea : Gilbert C. 

 Bourne— On some African i«/.;V./a<-, with Alternate Leaves : J. H. 

 Burkill and C H. Wright —Report on the Marine Mollusca obtained 

 during the First Expedition of Prof. .\. C. Haddon to the Torres Straits : 

 James Cosmo Melvill and Robert St.anden. 



Chemical Society, at 8. — On the Absorption Spectrum and Constitution 

 attributed to Cyanuric .\cid: W.N.Hartley, F.R.S.— Ballot for the 

 Election of Fellows. 



FRtDA K, Febrvarv 17. 



Geological Society, at 3- — Annual Genera! Meeting. 



Qubkett Microscopical Club, at 8. —Annual General Meeting. 

 SATURDAY, Feuriarv 18. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Mechanical Properties of Bodies: Lord 

 Rayleigh, F.R.S 



MONO A y, February 20. 



Society ok Arts, at 8.— Cycle Construction and Design : Archibald 

 Sharp. 



Imperial Institute, at 8.30.— Thirty-eight Years in Queensland : Hon. 

 Sir,Horace Tozer, K.C.M G. 



■Victoria Institute, at 4.30.— Life : Prof. Bealc, F.R.S. 

 TUESDAY. February 21. 



KOYAL Institution, at 3.— Morphology of the Mollusca: Prof. E. Ray 

 Lankester, F.R S. 



Society of Arts, at 8.— Vitreous Enamels : Cyril Davenport. 



i;<tuLO(ilCAL SociETV, at 8.40. — On a Portion of Skin, named Xeomylodon 

 listiii, from a Cavern near Consuelo Cove, Last Hope Inlet, Patagonia. 

 With a Description of the Specimen l>y Mr. A. Smith Woodward : Dr. 

 F. P. Moreno.— On the Formation of the Coral-Reefs of the North west 

 Coast of Australia : Surgeon P. W Bassett-Smith.— On a Collection of 

 Reptiles and Batrachians made by Mr. J. D. La Touche in North-west 

 Fokien, China: G. A. Boulenger, F.R.S. 



'Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— Paper to be further discussed : 

 The Lake Superior Iron Ore Mines, and their Influence upon the Pro- 

 duction of Iron and Steel : Jeremiah Head and Archibald P. Head. 



'Royal Statistical Society, at 5. — Comparative Statistics of Aus- 

 tralasian Railways : Price Howell. 



Royal Photographic Society, at 8 — Demonsiration with Violet 

 Electric Waves for Actuating Photographic .Apparatus, and for Photo- 

 graphing Lightning in Daylight : F. H. Clew. 



WEDNESDAY, February 22. 



Society op Arts, at 8.— Electric Traction, and its .\pplication to Rail- 



* way Work : Philip Dawson. 



Geological Society, at 8.— On Varieties of Serpentine and .Associated 

 Rocks in Anglesey : Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., and Miss C. A. Raisin. 

 — Remarks on the Genera Ectomana, Koken, and Hormotoma, Salter ; 

 with Descriptions of British Species : Miss. J. Donald. 



Institution of Mining K.vgineeks (Stoke-upon-Trent), at 11.30.— The 

 following Papers will l>e read or taken as read :— Historical Sketch of the 

 First Institute of Mining Engineers : Bennett H.Rrough. — Furtlier Notes 

 on Pit-props : Prof. H. Loub.— The Working of the Boiler Explosions 

 Acts, 1882 and iSgo: E. G. Hiller.— Alternating Currents and their possible 

 Applications to Mines : Sydney F. Walker. — Notes on Coal-cutting 

 Machinery: L. .W. de Grave. -Safety Explosives: W. J. Orsman.— 

 The Occurrence of Anhydrite in the North of England : C. E. de Ranee. 

 —Sulphur-Mines in the South of Spain : Arthur P. Wilson. 



THURSDA Y, February 23. 



Royal Society, at ^.-io—Probal'U Paptrs: The Efficiency of -Man, or 

 Economic Co«flicient of the Human M.achine : Dr. Marcel, F.R S., and 

 R. B. Floris.— Some Experiments hearing on the Theory of Voltaic 

 Action: J. Brown.— Deposition of Barium Sulphate as a Cementing 

 Material of Sandstone : Dr. F. Clowes. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— Toxins and Antitoxins: Dr. Allan Mac- 

 fadycn. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. 



FRIDAY, February 24. 

 Royal Institution, at 9— Coherers: Prof. Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. 

 Physical Society, at 5.— The Joule-Thomson Therm.Tl Effect ; E. F. 



J. Love —(1) A Study of an Apparatus for Ihe I)ctermin.alion of the R.lte 



of Din'usion of Solids dissolved in Liquids; (2) Note on the Source of 



Energy in DiflTusive Convection ; Albert Griffiths. 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— The Loss of Heat from 



Buildings : R. Gordon Mackay. 



SATURDAY, February 25. 

 Royal Institution, at j. — Mechanical Properties of Bodies: l^rd 



R.iylcigh, F.R.S. 



NO. 1529, VOL. 59J 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Bi.oKS.— A DiResl of Met.-ibolism Experiments: Dts. Alw.ater .and I^n^- 

 worthy (WashinRton). — De la Mithode dans la Psychologie des Senti. 

 ments: Prof. K Rauh (Paris, Alcan)— La Photographie Animte : E. 

 Trulat (Paris, ( Jauthier- Villars).— Medical Works of the Fourieenlh 

 Century : Rev. Prof Henslow (Chapman).— The Story of the Mind : J. 

 .M. Baldwin (Newnes). — Les Formes fepiloqueset I'Evolution des Cirra- 

 tuliens : .M. Caullery and F. Mesnil (Paris, Baillicre) —The Foundations of 

 Zoology: Prof. W. K. Brooks (Macmillan).-Commercial Cuba: W. J. 

 Clark (Chapman).— Remarkable Comets : W. T. Lynn, 7th edition (Stan- 

 ford).— General Physiology : Prof. Max Verworn, translated and edited 

 by Dr. F. S. Lee (Macmillan).— SiddhSnla-Darpana. a Treatise on As- 

 tronomy : M. S. S. C. Simha, edited, &c., by Prof. J. C. RSy (Calcutta). 



Pamphlets. — Biblical Antiquities: C. Adier and I. M. Casanowicz 

 (Washington) —Manchester Museum, Owens College .Museum Handbooks, 

 Publication No. 24 (Manchester). 



Serials —Bulletin de la Acadimie Royale des Sciences, &c., de Bel- 

 gitjue, 1898, No. 12 (Bruxelles).— Bulletin from the Laboratories of Natural 

 History of the Slate LTniversity of Iowa, December (Iowa).— Atlantic 

 Monthly, Febru:iry (Gay). — Encyklopiidie der Mathemalischen Wisscn- 

 schattcn. Band 1, Teil i. Heft i (Leipzig. Teubner).—(Ju.arterly Journal 

 of Microscopical Science, January (Churchill). — Monthly Weather Review, 

 November (Washington) —.Vmong British Birds in their Nesting Haunts: 

 O. A. J. Lee, Part xiii (Edinburgh) —Bulletin of the New York State 

 Museum, November (Albany).- (Ju.arterly Journal of the Geological 

 Society, February (Longmans). — Agricultural Ga/ette of New South 

 Wales, December (Sydney). — Himniel und Erde, February (Berlin). — 

 Proceedings of the American Association, August iSoS (Salem). 



CONTENTS. PACK 



Technical Chemists as " Made in Germany." By 



Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S .361 



Sewage Purification and Sewerage 363 



Dr. Dreyer on Darwinism. By Prof. W. F. R. 



Weldon, F.R.S 364 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Merriman : " Elements of Sanitary Engineering " . . 365 



Labbc : " La Cytologie Experimentale " 366 



Nitsche : " Studien liber Ilirsche (Gattung Cimiis im 



weitesten Sinne). " — R. L .... 366 



Fison : " Recent Advances in Astronomy ' .... 367 

 Vounghusband : " Among the Celestials " .... 367 

 Gibbs : " A Cotswold Village : or, Country Life and 



Pursuits in Gloucestershire" 367 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Protluction of Magnetisation by Circularly Polarised 



Light.- Prof. Andrew Gray, F.R.S 367 



Magnetic Perturbations of the .Spectral Lines. — 

 Further Resolution of the (,)uartet.— Prof. Thomas 



Preston, F.R.S 367 



The Density of the Matter Composing the Kathode 



Rays.— W. B. Morton 368 



Earthquake Echoes. (//iuslra/ed.)—Pio{. John 



Milne, F.R.S 36S 



Is Natural Selection all Metaphor ?— Prof. J. C. 



Ewart, F.R.S 369 



Geometry t'c/iw Euclid. — Prof. Geo. M. Minchin, 



F.R.S 369 



The Cataloguing of Periodical Scientific Literature. — 



Frank Campbell 370 



Pl.ague in China. — Kumagusu Minakata .... 370 

 A Simple Spectroscope and its Teachings. I. 

 (llliislraleil.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., 



F.R.S 371 



Thomas Hincks, F.R.S. By S. F. H 374 



Notes 374 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Wolfs Comet, 1898 IV ' . 378 



Comet Chase, 1898 VIII 379 



Variation of Spectrum of Orion Nebula 379 



Ijilitude Determination 379 



Lynn's " Remarkable Comets" 379 



The Theory of the Stassfurt Salt Deposits ... 379 

 The Natural History of Cordierite and its Asso- 

 ciates. Hy J. J. H. Teall, F.R.S 380 



University and Educational Intelligence 381 



Societies and Academies 381 



Diary of Societies 384 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 3S4 



