624 



NA TURE 



[Al'kll. 27, 1899 



the course of Ihi- iwihcrms in the proximity of the plait 

 (Kiint, and specially on the course of the retrograde con- 

 densation in the case of a mixture of carbonic acid and 

 hydrogen (continuation) ; and (4) measurements on the varia- 

 tions of pressure on one component, being substituted for 

 another in mixtures of carbonic acid and hydrogen. A paper by 

 13r. KrnsI Cohen, presented by I'rof. Hakhuis I<oo7.cboom, and 

 entitled, "On electrical reaction velocity." A communication 

 by I'rof. Franchimont, concerning the dissertation of Mr. L. T. 

 C. Schcy, presented to the library of the Academy, and entitled 

 " On neutral glycerine esters (Iriacylincs) from saturated mono- 

 basic acids with an even number of C-atoms." The disserta- 

 tion gives an account of the preparation of the following sub- 

 stances, all of which were obtamed by healing the acid with 

 glycerine in a space filled with rarified air, and with a slight 

 current r>f air : — Tributyrine, tricaproine, tricapryline, tricaprine, 

 Irilaurine, trimyristine, tripalmiline, and tristcarine. The first 

 three are liquids, the others solids. The density, the index of 

 refraction, and the melting-point of each of them, were deter- 

 mined. The melting-point of tricaprine is the same as that of 

 caprine acid ; the melting-points of the lower terms of the 

 acylines are below those of the corresponding acids, those of the 

 higher terms are higher. — This work will be published in the 

 " Recueil des Travaux chimicjues des I'ays-Uas ct de la 

 Uelgique." 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDA y, AiKir. ;-7. 



KoVAL SociKTV, al 4.10. — D.iUi for ihc I'rol.lciii of Kvolulion in 

 .Miin. I. A I'ir%l SluJv of llic Varialjility and Corrclalion of the 

 Han.l : Mi" Wliitclcy an.l I'rof. Karl 1'car.on, K.R.S.— The Luminoiily 

 of Ihc Karc Karlh. when Healed in vacuo liy means of Cathode Rays: 

 A. A. C. .Swinlon.— On a (Juaru Thread Gravity Balance : R. Threlfall 

 and J. A. Pollock— On ihe Klectrical Conducliviiy of Flames conlaininK 

 Salt Va|K)urs: H. A. WiUon.-On a Self-recovering Coherer and the 

 .Sludy of Ihc Coherinn Action of DifTcrenl Melals : Prof. J. C. Hose.— 

 On the Preience of Oxygen in the Atmospheres of certain Fixed Slars : 

 Dr. Gill, F.K.S. 



KovAL Institution, at 3.— The Atmosphere Prof. J. Dewar, I.R.S. 



Institution or Electrical Encinkkks, at 8.— lixperimcnis on Alicr- 

 nate Current Arcs by Aid of Oicillographi : W. Duddell and E. W. 

 Marchant. (Conclusion of Discussion.) — Capacity Measuremenls of Long 

 Submarine Cal.lcs ; J. Ellon Voung. 



Institution ok Mkcuanical ENfilNKKHS. al 7.30. — Address by the 

 President, Sir William H. While, K.C.B., K.R.S. 

 FRIDAY, Ai-Kll. jS. 



Roval Institution, at 9.— Some Features of the Electric induction 

 Motor : Prof. C. A. Caru. Wilson. 



Institution ok Mkcmanical Eni^inkkks, 

 densers : Harry G. V. Oldham. 



MONDAV, Mav 



SociETVOF Arts, at 8.— leather Mannfacti 



7.30. — EvaiMjrati' 



Prof. H. R. Proctor. 

 VicTOHiA Institute, at 4.30. — Nationality : Prof. T. McK. Huish 

 K.R.S. 



TUESDAY, Mav 3. 

 RovAL Institutioh, al 3. — Electric Eddy-Currcnts : Prof. S. 



Thompson, F.R.S. 

 Zooi.iioiCAL Sociktv, al 8.30.— .Sur le Type Primitif des Molaircs Pl< 

 odontesdesMamlnifi-rcs: I>r. F. Ameghino.- Notes ' 



rincipatly fro 

 n a Collectii 



princi^l 



Is, 

 W. E. de Wintoii.- 

 ral Africa : Edgar A. 



IfKDNESDAY, Mav 3. 



SociETVOK Arts, oI 8.— /hUheric Telegraphy : W. H. Precce, C.B., F.R.S. 



SoClB TV OK PuiiLIC Anai.vsts. at 8.— On some Comparative Analvses of, 

 and Digestive ICxprriments wilh While and Whole Meal Breads: Dr. 

 Olio Rosenheim and Dr Phillip Schidrowitj. -The Assayof Belladonna, 

 B.P. : F. C. J, Bird.— On the Use of Boric Acid and Formaldehyde as 

 Milk Preservatives : Dr. S. Rideal and 11. R. Foulcrton.— The Value of 

 the Estimation of Pentosans in Food Materials; Otto Hehnerand W. P. 

 Skerlchly. 



Entomological Society, al 8. 



THURSDAY, Mav 4. 



RoVAI. SoClKTV, at ^.■\o —Onyeena rgutHa (Willd.): a Horn-destroying 

 Fungus: I'rof. Marshall WarJ, F.R.S.-linpu. I with u l.i(|uid Surface 

 studied by the Aid of InsLinlaneous PholoKiaphy. Paper II.: Prol. 

 Wurlhinglon, F.RS., anil K. C. Cole.— The External Fe.itures in the 

 Developntenl of Ltf^utotiren fianuioxa (Fiu.) : J. G. Kerr. — An Observ- 

 ation on Inheritance in I'arlhcnogrnesis : Dr. E. Warren.— The Thermal 

 Expansion of I'urc Ni. ki-l ah.l (...ball : A. K. Tullon. 



LinNEAN SnciRTV. at 8.— The position of Anomalurus as indicated by its 

 Myologv F. G. Parsons -On Nolheia amminla, llarv. el Bail. : Miss 

 Ethel S. Barton.-On Variation in the Desniidia: : (1. S. West. 



Chemical Society, at 8— On the Combustion ..f Carbon Disulpbide : 

 H. B. Dixon and F.J. Russell, -The Action of .Nitric Oxide on Nitrogen 

 Peroxide: H. B. Dixon and J. D. Peterkiu. -On iho Mode of Burning of 

 Carbon: H. B. Dix.m.-Ciyslalline Glvcolli, Aldehyde: Henry J. 

 Horsiman Fentun and Henry Jackson. -On the llbn: .Salt of Fchling'. 

 Solution and other Cupro-tarlr.iles : Otine Masion and 11. D. Steele.— 

 The Preparation of Acid Phenolic Salts of Dibavc Acids : Dr. S. B. 



Schryver.-The Ma 



Preuure of Napthalene Vapour : R. W. 



Institution ok F.r-KCTKiCAi. Engineers, at 8.— Electric Locomotives in 

 Practice and Tractive Resistance in Tunnels, wilh Notes on Electric 

 Locomotive Design : (i. V. McMahon. 



FRIDA V, Mav 5- 

 Royal Institution, ai 9. — Pictures produced on Photographic Plates in 



the Dark: Dr. W. J. Russell. F.K.S. 

 Geologists' Association, at 8.— The Drainage ofCuestas ; Prof. W. M. 

 Davis. 



SATURDAY, May 6. 

 Geologists' Association. — Excursion to the Thame District. Director: 

 A. M. DavicH. Leave Paddington at 9.50. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, andSBRIALS RECEIVED. 



Books -Slai.Miiaiis Vearliook, 1899 (Macmillan).- The Ariihmetic of 

 Chemistry: Dr J Waddell (Macmillan). — How to Know the Ferns. F. 

 T. Parsons (New Vork, Scribner). — Premiers I'rincipes d'ElectriciK In- 

 dustrielle: P. Jancr. Irois edition (P.iris, GautbierVillars).— Royal Uni- 

 versity of Ireland, Calendar, 1899 (Dublin, Thom).— The Spirit of Organic 

 Chemistry : Prof. A Lachman (Macmillan).— A Course of Practical 

 Chemistry : M. M. P. .Muir, Part 1 (Longmans).— Plato and Darwin : The 

 Abbi M. Hcbert, iran^laled by Hon. W. Gibson (l.ongmans).— Cape of 

 Good Hope, Department of Agriculture, Annual Report of the Geological 



897 (Cape Town). 

 . — Field Columbian 

 (Chicago).— Tre Nebulose fotogiafatc 



(Chicago).-Tre Ne 

 P.O. Cais(Roma). 



Museum, Annual Report, 1897-98 

 recenlemenle alia Specola Vaticana : 



Serials —Scienlia, Nos. 1 to 3 (P.lris, Carr*).- Journ.il of Ihe Franklin 

 Institute, April (Philadelphia)— Zoologist, April (West). — Journal of 

 Anatomy and Phy8i..logy, April (GrifTin).— Bulletin de la Cla.«se de» 

 Sciences, 1899, Nos. . and 1 (Bruxclles).— lournal of the Institution of 

 Electrical Engineers, April (Spon).— Among British Birds in their Nesting 

 Haunts: O. A.J. Ix:e, Part xiv. (Edinburgh, Douglas).— Journal of the 

 Sanitary Institute, April (London).— Jahrbuch der K. K. Geologischen 

 Reichianstalt, xlviii. Hand, 1 Heft (Wien).— (Juarterly Review, April 

 (Murray).- Journ.al of the Chemical .Society, April (C.urney). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



A History of Physics. Uy Prof. Arthur Schuster, 



F.RS. ... 601 



Our Sea Fisheries. Ky Prof. W. A. Herdman, 



F.R.S 602 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Barrett : " The I^-pidoptera of the British Islands." — 



W. F. K 



Tarlelon : "An Introduction to the Mathematical 



Theory of Attraction."— A. E. H. L 



.Shaler : " Outlines of the Earth's History : a Popular 

 Sludy in Physiography." — H. R. M 



Mcnd.s: "Admiral Sir William Robert Mends, 

 G.C.U." 



Inmm and Cody : " The Great Salt Lake Trail " . . 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



The Inlerferdineter.— Prof. Thomas Preston, 

 F.R.S 



Absiilule l)clcrniiii.ition of the Ohm. — Prof. 

 Reginald A. Fessenden 



I'ourier's .Scries. — Prof. J. Willard Gibbs .... 



Tasinanian liresiicks. - H. Ling Roth 



Wireless Telegraphy 



The Michelson Echelon Spectroscope, ([lltislrattd.) 



Py Charles P. Butler 



Flight of Birds, liy Prof. Maurice F. FitzGerald . 

 A Popular Work on Insects. (Jlluslraled.) Hy 



W. F. K. 



The Science Buildings at South Kensington. 



(/l/:iilial,;i.) 



Notes 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Astruncmiical Occurrences in May 



Tunic's C.iiRt (18991'-) 



Tempcl'sC.mel (1873 H.) 



Double-Star Catalogue 



Iavi of Tiinperatute in Gaseous Bodies 



Return of II. limes' Comet (1892 HI.) 



The Theory of the Rainbow (lIluslraLci.) By H. B. 

 On TriboluTimicscence. Uy William Jackson Pope 

 Explosions C.iiiscil by Commonly Occurring Sub- 

 stances 



Technical Education in Germany 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 



ScientiRc Serials . 



Societies and Academies 



Diary of Societies 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 



604 



604 



605 



605 

 60s 



605 



605 

 606 

 606 

 606 



607 

 609 



610 

 611 



616 

 616 

 616 

 616 

 616 

 616 

 616 

 618 



619 

 619 

 619 

 621 

 621 



624 

 624 



NO. 1539, VOL. 59] 



