NA TURE 



\yan. 14, 1 886 



commuiiicateil a paper on the temperature of Loch Lomond 

 and also one on oceanic islands and shoals. — Prof. Herdman 

 discussed elaborately the phytogeny of Tiinka'a. — Mr. John 

 Aitken gave a communication on dew, which will be found in 

 full at p. 256. — Mr. Frank E. Beddard read a paper 

 on the structure of Liintbriciis complanalus, Dug^s. — In a 

 paper on the salinity of the water about the mouth of the Spey, 

 Messrs. H. R. Mill and T. Morton Ritchie show that the sea- 

 water slowly forces its way like a wedge between the river-water 

 and the bottom as the tide rises, and dams back the water 

 further up the stream, while the surface-water always remains 

 quite fresh, and abr.ackish zone separates the two strata. When 

 the ebb sets in the salt water runs out very rapidly, and before 

 half ebb there is only fresh water inside the bar. The salinity 

 of the water in Spey Bay was also studied. The river-water 

 could be traced as a stream sweeping to the north-east, with a 

 sharply-defined western margin. Alkalinity and temperature 

 observations were also given. — Mr. A. Wynter Blyth discussed 

 the distribution and significance of micro-organisms in water. 



January 4, i8S6.' — The President submitted notes on the 

 recent experiments at the South Foreland lighthouse. — I\Ir. 

 Omond, of the Ben Nevis Observatory, communicated an 

 account of the glories, halos, and coronse observed there. The 

 small number of glories seen is remarkable. Only four have 

 been noticed since the Observatory was established. — Prof. 

 Crum-Brown read a note on the simplest form of half-twist 

 surface. — The Rev. T. P. Kirkman submitted a discussion of 

 the linear section PR of a knot AT,,, which passes througli two 

 crossings, P and R, which meets no edge, and which cuts away 

 a (3 + '')-gonal me-h of M„. — Messrs. Rainy, Ellis, and Clark- 

 son gave an account of the exploration of the central portion of 

 the field of a flelmholtz galvanometer. — In a paper on systems 

 of colliding spheres, Prof. Tait showed that Maxwell's law of 

 the distribution of energy between two different sets of mole- 

 cules is erroneous. If two sets of molecules at a given tem- 

 perature and pressure be mixed, the resultant temperature and 

 pressure will be the same, hut the average kinetic energy of the 

 less massive molecules will exceed that of the more massive 

 molecules. In the case of hydrogen and oxygen the excess will 

 be 25 per cent. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, January 4. — M. Jurien de la 

 Graviere, President, in the chair. — On the potential of two 

 ellipsoids, by M. Laguerre. — Researches on the sulphur of anti- 

 mony, by M. Berthelot. Here the author determines the 

 measure of the heat of formation of this compound under its 

 various conditions, that of its chlorides and oxichlorides having 

 already been ascertained by MM. Thomsen and Guntz. — Re- 

 marks on Dr. A. Sprung's treatise on meteorology (" Lelirljuch 

 der Meteorologie "), recently published at Hamburg, liy M. 

 Faye. The author's comments are confined chiefly to the vexed 

 question of the ascending or descending movement of the air in 

 whirlwinds or cyclones. Three points he considers now settled : 

 (1) that the movement of translation is inexplicable according to 

 the old theory ; (2) that this rapid movement of translation cor- 

 responds with the upper cirrus-bearing currents ; (3) that a 

 descending movement cannot be denied within the cyclones 

 themselves. Another ;tep, and the old ascending will give 

 place to the new descending theory. — Note on the differential 

 invariants of M. Halphen, by Prof. Sylvester. — Note on the 

 angular movement which a vessel takes on a wave of given size 

 and velocity, by M. L. de Bussy. — Rectangular co-ordinates 

 and ephemeris of Fabry's comet, by M. Gonnessiat. — Note on 

 the new star in Orion, by M. Ch. Trepied. The magnitude of 

 this star is 67, its colour an orange-red, and Its spectrum very 

 remarkable, showing six dark bands, two in the red and orange, 

 four in the green and blue ; bright lines have also been doubt- 

 fully detected in the green. — Note on the transformation of the 

 Fuchsian functions, and on the reduction of the Abelian 

 integrals, by M. II. Poincare. — A tentative application of the 

 calculus to the study of colour sensations, by M. R. Feret. — On 

 the emetics of tellurium, by M. Daniel Klein. The author has 

 succeeded in preparing some tartrotelluric emetics with the 

 tellurites of the alkaline bases, .which are alone soluble, and 

 treating them with tartaric acid in due proportion. — On the 

 transformation of the essence of turpentine to an active terpi- 

 lene, by MM. G. Bouchardat and J. Lafont. — Note on the 

 employment of the metallic oxides for the purpose of 

 detecting in wines colouring substances derived from coals, 

 by M. P. Cazeneuve. — Note on the cultivation of beet- 



root in the Wardrecques di.strict, Pas-de-Calais, during the 

 year 18S5, by MM. Porion and Deherain. — On the toxic action 

 of the alkaline salts, by M. A. Richet. From a series of ex- 

 periments made on fishes, pigeons, and guinea-pigs, the authors 

 conclude that in absohtte weight the metals are the less toxic 

 the higher their atomic weight, which reverses the law formu- 

 lated by Rabuteau ; also, that the chlorides are, in absolute 

 weight, more toxic than the bromides, and these than the 

 iodides. But, with equal molecular weight, the reverse is the 

 case. In general the alkaline salts are toxic through their 

 chemical molecule, and the higher the weight of this molecule 

 the more toxic it becomes, although the difference is slight and 

 the molecule always about equally toxic. — On the circulation in 

 the ganglionary cells, by M. Alb. Adamkiewicz. — On the mor- 

 phology of the ovary in insects, by M. Armand Sabatier. — Note 

 on the trunks of fossil fern-trees occurring in the Upper Car- 

 boniferous formations, by MM. B. Renault and R. Zeiller. — On 

 the present value of the magnetic elements recorded at the 

 Observatoiy of the Pare Saint-Maur. — Notes were presented by 

 M. Ch. Beaugrand, on the meteoric dust collected in the atmo- 

 sphere on November 27-30, 18S5 ; by il. L. Sandras, on the 

 modifications of the human voice by means of inhalations ; and 

 by M. Durif, on a remedy for diseased vines. — This number of 

 the Comptes rmdus contains a complete list of the members of 

 the Academy on January I, l8S6, and announces the election of 

 M. Gosselin as Vice-President fcr the current year. 



CONTENTS 



Page 



The Vegetable Garden. By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters, 



F.R.S . . 241 



Professor Marshall on the Frog 242 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Whitman's " Methods of Research in Microscopical 



Anatomy and Embryology " 243 



Blakesley's " Alternating Currents of Electricity " . 243 

 "Third Annual Report of the New York -Agricultural 

 Experimental Station, for the Year 1SS4." — Prof. 



John Wrightson 243 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Major Grcely on Ice, &c.— Dr. John Rae, F.R.S. 



(illustrated) 244 



Hydrophobia — A Further Precaution. — H. M. Tom 



lin 24s 



Rotation of Mars. — Richard A. Proctor 24S 



A Meteor. — W. Ainslie Hollis 245 



Meteorological Phenomena. — Henry Toynbee ; 



Capt. i". Mackenzie ; Charles West .... 254 

 The .VdmiraUy Manual on Terrestrial Magnetism. — 



Prof. Geo. Fras. Fitzgerald 246 



Anchor Frosts. — T. Hands 246 



Curious Phenomenon in Cephalonia. — Rev. E. 



Ledger 246 



Sir F. J. O. Evans, K.C.B., R.N., F.R.S 246 



John Morris 248 



Distribution of Driving-Power in Laboratories. 



{Illustrated) 248 



Radiant Light and Heat, I'V. (conlinued). By Prof. 



Balfour Stewart, F.R.S. {Illustrated) 251 



Notes 254 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Leyden Observatory 256 



Fabry's Comet 256 



Brooks's Comet 256 



Barnard's Comet 256 



Gore's Nova Orionis 256 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1886 



January 17-23 256 



Mr. Aitken on Dew 256 



Telescopic Search for the Trans-Neptunian Planet. 



By David P. Todd 258 



Prime Meridian Time 259 



Societies and Academies 262 



