504 



NA TURE 



[March 23, 1899 



in a percolator with glacial acetic acid or with absolute alcohol, 

 it after a time changes to a green colour. Dilute solutions of 

 indigo in acetic acid or of sulphindigolic acid fade much more 

 quickly than solutions of the coral blue of equal depths of 

 colour. 



Amsikrdam. 

 Royal Academy of Sciences, January aS. — Prof. \an de 

 Sande Bikhuyzen in ihechair. — Prof. Martin read a paper on 

 brackish-water deposits, occurring in the interior of Borneo, 

 especially in the basin of the Kapooas. They came to the 

 author's knowledge chiefly from the iMcIawi (a tributary of the 

 Kapoo,as). In that locality they contain species of Area, 

 Cyrena, Corbiiia, Milaina and Pahidomus, not one of which 

 is known to have been found in other localities. Among these 

 the occurrence of the genus Paludomus, two species of which 

 have been found, both closely allied to still living Bornean 

 species, is of particular importance. The deposits of the Mclawi 

 must be of more recent date than the " intertrappian beds" of 

 India, but still they belong in all probability to the Eocene 

 period. Brackish-water deposits also occur along the .Silat 

 (another branch of the Kapooas), containing, however, a 

 different fauna, chiefly characterised by the presence of two 

 species of Vivzpara. Perhaps these Silat sediments may prove to 

 be older than the Melawi sediments, but they certainly are not 

 older than the Cretaceous formation. — Prof. Van Bemmelen on 

 the isotherms (i, /») at 15° of dehydration, rehydration and re- 

 dehydration of the hydrogel of P'e.jOj (c = percentage of water, 

 / = vapour pressure), and presented on behalf of Mr. B de 

 Bruyn a paper on the equililjrium of systems of three substances, 

 two of which are liquids. — Prof. Cardinaal made a communica- 

 tion concerning Sir R. H. Ball's theory of screws, showing 

 the application of Capcrali's method of representation to screws, 

 belonging to a system of the fourth order. Screws in a plane, 

 or passing through a point, were chiefly discussed. — Prof. Lorentz 

 on the vibrations of electrified systems, placed in a magnetic 

 field. A contribution to the theory of the Zeeman-effect. — 

 Prof. Jan de Vries on trinodal quartics. As is well known, the 

 six points in which a trinodal quartic is cut by the lines that 

 touch it in the nodes, lie in a conic, and there is a second conic, 

 containing the points of tangency of the six tangents, that may 

 be drawn from the nodes to the (juarlic. The author proved 

 that these two conies have two residual poirHs in common. In 

 connection with the theorems, found by Brill (Math. Ann., xii. 

 106, and xiii. 182), according to which the six points of inflexion 

 are on a conic, which cuts the first-mentioned conic on the 

 quartic, the residual points therefore belong to the three re- 

 markable conies. The author also proved that the quartic con- 

 tains three systems of inscribed quadrangles, so that in the case 

 of each system the intersections of opposite sides coincide with 

 the intersections of two bitangents. — Prof. Van der Waals pre- 

 sented a paper by Mr. J. ]. Van Laar, of Utrecht, entitled, 

 " Calculations of the second correction on the magnitude Z' of 

 Van der Waals's phase equation." 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDA V, Makch S3 

 Society of Arts, at S. — London Waler Supply : w.-ilter Hunter. 

 J.vsTiruTioN OP Electrical Engineers, at 8.— The Hissing of the 

 Electric Arc : Mrs. Aynon. (Illustr.ited by Experiments.) 



FRIDA Y, March 24. 



RovAL Institution, at 9.— Transpaiency and Opacity : Lord Rayleieh, 

 F.R.S. 



Thvsical Socibtv, at 5.— On the Criterion for the Oscillalory Discharge 

 of a Condenser: Dr. Barlon .nnd Prof. Morion.— The Minor Variations 

 of the Clark Cell : A. P. Trotter. 



SA TURDA Y, March 25. 



RovAL Institution, at 3. — The Mechanical Properties of Matter: Lord 

 Rayleigh, F.R.S. 



Essex Field CLUR(at Municipal Technical Institute, Stratford), at 6.30.— 

 Annual Meeting.— Presidential Address : Life Problems in Modern 

 .Science: David How.ird— Life-History of the Tiger-Beetle (0'i:m(/<-/<t 

 f.amfttlrU): Fred. Enock. 



MONDAY, March 1^. 



RovAL Geographical Society, at 8.30.— Illustrations of Waves: 

 Vaughan Cornish. 



Institute nv Actuaries, at 5.30 —Some Notes on Sinking Fund Assur- 

 ances : J. E. F.iulks. 



TUESDA Y. March 38. 



Anthroi-ological Institute, at 8.— MiilatSiate of O^ixaca, Mexico): 

 a Stidy of its Ancient Ruins and Rem.-iins : Win. Corii.r. (With Lan- 

 tern I llustr.ilions, Maps, Plans, Drawings, and Anti.iuiti<~). — Mr. Corner 

 will also exhibit a Collection of Recent Photocriphs of North Ai 

 Indians, taken by Rinchaul, Omaha, Neb , U.S.A. 

 Royal Hokticultural Society. —Prof. Henslow's Demonstration. 



nstitution op Civil Enginbbrs, at 8. — Alloys of Iron and Nickel : 



Robert Abbott Harificld. 

 Royal Photographic Society, at 8. — Ozotype with Carbon Tissues, 

 a New Method of Pigment Printing : T. Manly. 



WEDNESDA Y, March 29. 

 Chemical Society, at 3. — Anniversary Meeting. — Election fif Officers 

 .-ind Council. — President's Address 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books. — Report of the Seventh Meeting of the Australasian Association 

 held at Sydney, 1898 (Sydney) — Botanische Untersuchunsen : S. Schwen- 

 dener (Berlin. Borntraeger).— In the Guiana Forest: J. Rodw.iy, new 

 edition (Unwin).— Astronomical Observations and Researches made at 

 Dunsink, Part 8 (Dublin. Hodges).— Energy and Heat : J. Roger (Spon). 

 — The Entropy Diagram and its Applications : Prof. J. Bouloin, translated 

 by B. Donkin (Sponl.— The Administr.itive Control of Tuberculosis : Sir 

 R. Thorne Thorne (Bailliere).— Haunts and Hobbies of an Indian Official : 

 M. Thornhill (Murray).— Funafuti : Mrs. E. David (Murray).-Queens 

 College, Galway, Calendar for 189B-99 (Dublin, Ponsonby).- Karl Ernst 

 von Baer und Seine Weltanschauung : Prof. R. Str.lzle (Regensburg, Na- 

 tional VerlagstansLill)— Report of the U.S. National Museum, 1896 

 (Washington).— The D.-iwn of Reason : Dr. J. Weir, jun. (Macmillan).— 

 Allgemeine Erdkunde, iii. Ableilung (Wien, Tempsky).- The Lepidoptera 

 of the British Isl.inds : C. G. Barrett. Vol. v. (L. Reeve).— Examin.ilion of 

 Water: Piof. W. P. Mason (Chapman).— The Microscopy of Drinking- 

 Waler : G. C. Whipple (Chapman).— Ichthyologia Ohiensis, or Natural 

 History of the Fishes lnh.abiting the River Ohio and its Tributary Streams : 

 C. S. Rafinesc|ue and Dr. R. E. Call (Clevel.and, Burrows).— Organoter- 

 apia : E. Rebuschini (Mil.an, Hoepli)— On Centenarians and the Duration 

 of the Human Race : T. E Young (Layton).— Sitznngsberichte der K. V. 

 Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften. Math. Naturw. Classe. 1898 (Prag). 



Pamimilets -Address delivered by James Stuart, M.P , on the Occasion 

 of his Installation .is Lord Rector of the University of St. Andrews, January 

 23, 1899 (Macmillan).— The Chinch Bug (Washington).- The Water 

 Supply of Sussex from Underground Sources : W. Whitaker and C. Reid 

 (London). — Royal Geographical Society Vear-Book and Record, 1899 

 (i Savile Row).— Report of the Meteorological Council for the Ve.ar ending 

 March 31, 1898, to the President and Council of the Royal Society 

 (London). 



Serials.— American Journal of Science, March (New H.aven).- Himmel 

 und Erde, March (Berlin).— Bibliography of the more Important Contri- 

 butions to American Economic Entomology (Washington). — Journal of the 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, March (Spon). — Proceedings of the 

 Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. xxii. pp. 249-360 (Edinburek). — 

 American Naturalist, March (Ginn). — Popular Astronomy, March (North- 

 field, Minn.).— Zoologist, March (West). 



CONTENTS. 



The Art of Topography. By T. H. H. 



PAGE 

 . 481 



NO. 1534. VOL. 59] 



Gold Mining . . 482 



Old English Plant Lore and Medicine 483 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Simmersbach : " The Chemistry of Coke " 484 



Hughes: Class Book of Physical Geography " . . . 484 

 De M6ric : " Knglish-French Dictionary of Medical 



Terms" 484 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Radiation in a M.agnetic Field.— Prof. Thoinas 



Preston, F.R.S 485 



The Phenomena of Skating and Prof (. Thomson's 



Thermodynamic Relation.— Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S. 485 

 Mammalian Longevity. — Ernest D. Bell : Dr. W. 



Ainslie HoUis 486 



Barnes' " Plant Life. "—Prof. C. R. Barnes; The 



Reviewer . 4S7 



t)ptical i;\pi riiiKiit. — Thorn. D. Smeaton ... 487 

 A Seismological Observatory and its Objects. By 



Prof. John Milne, F.R.S 487 



Saturn's Ninth Satellite. By C. P. Butler .... 489 



Notes ... 490 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet 1S99 .7 (Swift). (IVilh Char/.) . 494 



Tuttle's Comet • 494 



Variable Stars 494 



Relation ol I'.ros to Mars 494 



Measuring Extreme Temperatures. (fl'ilh Dia- 



s^ranii.) li) Prof. H. L. Callendar, F. R.S 494 



The Orbit of the Leonid Meteor Swarm. By Dr. 

 G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S., and Dr. A. M. W. 



Downing, F. R S 497 



A New Photographic Printing Paper 49S 



Local Authorities for Science and Art Instruction. 



By A. T. Simmons 498 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 499 



Scientific Serials . 500 



Societies and Academies 500 



Diary of Societies 504 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 504 



