Dec. 24, 1885] 



NATURE 



191 



chance work of people in search of water. — Note on some recent 

 openings in the Liassic and Oolitic rocks of Fawler in Oxford- 

 shire, and on the arrangement of those rocks near Charlbury, 

 by F. A. Bather ; communicated by Prof. J. Prestwich, 

 F.R.S. The River Evenlode rises in the Lower Lias of the Vale 

 of Moreton, traverses the range of Oolites, and joins the Isis 

 opposite Wytham Mill. Lias is exposed to about three-quarters 

 of a mile below Fawler, where Great Oolite is brought down by 

 a fault ; and in the Geological Survey map Lower Lias is 

 brought down the valley to within half a mile of Charlbury 

 railway station. In this paper the author gives reasons for 

 believing that the distribution of the different beds constituting 

 the Lias in the Evenlode Valley do not agree with the Geo- 

 logical Survey map, nor with Prof Hull's description ; recent 

 sections and borings made for clay, used in brick- and pottery- 

 maliing, having exposed Lower Lias clay in a brick-yard^ at 

 Fawler, Marlstone and Upper Lias clay in a neighbouring 

 coombe, and in a long section 100 yards north of the brick-yard 

 Inferior Oolite comes in upon the Upper Lias clay. On 

 e.Kamining the banks of the Evenlode, north of Charlbury, it 

 was found that clays referred in the Survey map to Lower Lias 

 are really Upper Liassic, being above the Marlstone, sections of 

 which are exposed near Culsham Bridge. It was shown how 

 these corrections in the mapping of the ground are explained by 

 the section along the line of the Evenlode and by the dips of the 

 beds. 



Royal Microscopical Society, December g. — k. D. 

 Michael, F.L.S., Vice-President, in the chair. — Mr. Swift's 

 large photo-micrograph of the tongue of the blow- fly, which had 

 obtained the prize medal at the recent Exhibition of the Photo- 

 graphic Society, was exhibited. The plan adopted was to take 

 an enlarged photograph from a small image obtained by a paraffin 

 lamp by artificially strengthening the image where required. — 

 Mr. Crisp exhibited Prof Klein's niicrosco]5e for observing 

 crystals when heated to a high temperature ; also an apparatus 

 for enabling four photo-micrographs to be taken of the same 

 object, so as to give a different length of exposure to each or to 

 photograph different parts of an object rapidly. — Dr. Maddox 

 exhibited a series of photographs of inked surfaces covering 

 pencil lines. Mr. Crisp referred to a curious case in which a 

 forger wanted to add some words to a bond which had been 

 . originally written with veiy pale ink. The added words were 

 darker, and he therefore retraced the whole of the original 

 writing to make it look all alike, but examination with the 

 microscope at once detected the forgery. — Dr. E. Crookshank 

 read a paper on the cultivation of bacteria, which he illustrated 

 by numerous drawings and by a series of preparations. He also 

 exhibited and described a collection of apparatus of the latest 

 and most approved construction for the cultivation of bacteria 

 and the preparation of the media employed. — Mr. Robertson 

 described a method of preparing a section of spinal cord by 

 soaking in picrocarmine before cutting. — Mr. Meates's note on 

 a new highly-refractive medium for mounting sulphide of 

 arsenic was read. — Mr. Cheshire read a paper on the pulvillus 

 of the bee, calling attention to a notch found upon the leg of 

 the bee, and explaining what he considered to be its function as 

 opposed to the explanations given by some other observers. — 

 Mr. J. W. Groves exhibited some mounted sections cut by the 

 large Barrett microtome to show how lartje good sections could 

 be made with the machine. — Eleven new Fellows were elected 

 and proposed. 



DUBI.IN 



Royal Society, November iS. — Physical and Experimental 

 Science Section. — Prof W. F. Barrett in the chair. — On 

 the beryls and iolite of GlencuUen, co. Dublin, by J. Joly, 

 B.E. The beryls of GlencuUen, while presenting the angles 

 and faces of normal beryl, are found, on microscopic examina- 

 tion, to consist of a mixture of beryl and orthoclase. The latter 

 mineral amounts sometimes to 72 per cent, of the entire crystal. 

 There is evidence that this phenomenon was produced by altera- 

 tion, not by inter-crystallisation in the first instance. The 

 orthoclase contains much iolite in sharp well-defined crystals. 

 The beryls of the Dublin granite lose all colour when heated 

 for a few days to a temperature of about 300° C. An hour's 

 heating at 350° C. deprives them of colour. The bearing of 

 this phenomenon on the history of the granite is pointed out 

 by the author. — On the absolute weights of the chemical atoms, 

 by G. J. Stoney, D.Sc, F.R.S. — On a new form of instrument 

 for determining the magnitudes and colours of stars, by John 



Ballot ; communicated by Howard Grubb, M.E. , F.R.S. The 

 apparatus consists of an arrangement attachable to the draw- 

 tube of a telescope, by means of which an image of small 

 illuminated apertures can be thrown into the field of the eye- 

 piece and viewed by an observer at the same time as the image 

 of the star formed by the objective. The light is supplied by a 

 small incandescent Sw.an's light condensed by a reflector, and is 

 passed through four sets of slides or revolving wheels, the first 

 containing a wedge of neutral-tinted glass, the second a set of 

 microscopic apertures of varying sizes, and the third p.nd fourth 

 sets of seven coloured glasses. By those four slides it is possible 

 to regulate the size, colour, and intensity of the ghost-star, and 

 thus form a standard by which the magnitude and colour of 

 any star can be determined. The two coloured slides are sup- 

 plied in order that secondary tints may be obtained by combina- 

 tion of any two primary colours. The accuracy of the instru- 

 ment depends of course on the constancy of the lamp. This 

 constancy can be obtained, within moderate limits, by proper 

 electrical contrivances, but reference should occasionally be 

 made to standard stars. Even though the source of light be 

 not absolutely constant, it appears probable that a better result 

 will be obtainable by such an apparatus than by any in which 

 the constancy of sensitiveness of the human eye has to be 

 depended upon from observation to observation. — Thomas 

 Edmondson exhibited the new circidar calculating-machine in- 

 vented by Joseph Edmondson, Halifax, — Howard Grubb ex- 

 hibited Wilson's new sunshine-recorder. 



Natural Science Section. — Presidential Address to the Royal 

 Geological Society of Ireland by Prof J. P. O'Reilly, C.E., 

 M.R.I. A., &c. — Note on Halcampa chrysanthellum, Peach, 

 by Prof A. C. Haddon. A full and critical note on this 

 species, which is shown to embrace H. villata, Kef, H. hila- 

 teralis. Kef, H. kefersteini, Andr., and H. adresii, Hadd. 

 — On certain sense-organs occupying the perforations in the 

 shell oi the Brachiopoda, by Prof Sollas, D.Sc, &c. The 

 csecal processes occupying the canals in the Brachiopod shell 

 are extensions of the outer epithelium of the m.antle. At the 

 outer end, which lies immediately beneath the chitinous perios- 

 tracum, each terminates in a large cell with a large nucleus and 

 nucleolus, invested by other smaller cells. The large cell is 

 continued into a nerve-fibril, which runs axially down the ccecal 

 process, and enters the nervous layer of the mantle. This is 

 the stracture of a sensory end-organ, which in this case seems 

 to transfer luminous radiations. — Additional note on Macro- 

 zamia dmisonii, by Prof. W. R. McNab, M.D. This Cycad, 

 known in gardens as M. denisonii, but which botanically is 

 M. pcrnaskiana, Miguel, has recently produced a fine female 

 cone in the Royal Botanic Garden, Glasnavin, and was noticed 

 at the June meeting of the Society. The cone was cut on Sep- 

 tember I, and shows in a very beautiful manner the close series 

 of small sterile scales which form the whole baseof the sessile cone. 

 Although the cone looked a terminal structure, it forms a lateral 

 branch, and now (November) the young leaves are developing 

 from the growing axis. — On New Zealand Coleoptera, by D. 

 Sharp, M.B. No beetles from New Zealand were known to 

 Linnaeus, and up to 1867 about 150 species had been noted ; now 

 about 1500 species are known to the author, who estimates that 

 the Coleoptera of New Zealand will probably number from 3000 

 to 3500. In the present paper a special scrutiny is made of the 

 Pterostichini and Otiorhynchini. The Coleopterous fauna is 

 analogous to that of Europe and other continental regions, but 

 contains a large proportion of forms which are to be regarded as 

 little evoluted. Cetoniadse are wanting, and the Buprestidse 

 are represented by two minute and obscure forms. The Phyto- 

 phaga, which, like the two preceding groups are remarkable for 

 the brilliancy of their colouring, are few in number, small in 

 size, and dull coloured. So also with the weevils. There are 

 no Longicornes with tufted antenna;, and no horned Lamelli- 

 cornes. The Coleopterous fauna is remarkable for the number 

 of isolated forms which have little or no connection with the 

 ordinary forms of the island. The Coleopterous fauna of New 

 Zealand seems to have most affinity with that of Chili and 

 Patagonia, and but little with the Australi.an fauna, many of the 

 most characteristic Australian forms being wholly unrepresented 

 in New Zealand. 



Sydney 



Royal Society of New South 'Wales, August 5. — 

 Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S., President, in the chair. — The 

 Rev. P. MacPherson, M.A., read a paper on some causes 



