46 
NALRGRE 
[#Zay 13, 1886 
the expansion cylinder, and after performing work upon the 
piston, and returning about 60 per cent. of the power expended 
in its compression, it is exhausted, having been cooled down 
from 70° above to 90° below zero Fahr. Besides its applica- 
tion to the importation of dead meat, live cattle, &c., an inter- 
esting application was made last year in the construction of a 
tunnel through a hill in Stockholm, in the excavation of which, 
some running ground was met with, consisting of gravel mixed 
with clay and water, which it was determined to freeze. The 
innermost end of the tunnel next the face was formed into a 
freezing-chamber by means of partition walls, which were made 
of a double layer of wood filled in between with charcoal. The 
temperature of the freezing-chamber was generally from 6° to 
15° below zero Fahr. after twelve hours’ running, but soon rose 
to freezing-point when the men began to work. The tunnel 
was driven through its length of 80 feet with entire success, the 
daily progress averaging about 1 foot. 
A paper on the distribution of the wheel-load in cycles, 
illustrated by means of fifty-six figures, was read by Mr. J. 
Alfred Griffiths. The author gives the following five points of 
efficiency as applying to cycles generally, viz. reduction of dead 
weight by the avoidance of very large wheels and of heavy or 
purely ornamental or unnecessary framing ; reduction of resistance 
by avoidance of very small wheels, and by employment of the 
best designs in bearings and in driving-mechanism for the 
diminution of internal friction ; perfection of load distribution by 
entire avoidance of wheels that neither transmit motive-power 
nor assist the steering, and by concentration of the load on the 
driving-wheels and reduction of that on the steering-wheels ; 
stability when at rest and when in motion on the straight and 
round curves, when on a smooth surface and also on a rough 
and lumpy road, and when the brake is applied either suddenly 
or gradually ; arrangement of load and driving-mechanism so 
that the distribution of the wheel-load shall be as good on rising 
or falling gradients as on a level. Tables of dimensions and 
distribution of wheel-load were appended. 
A paper on the raising of the wrecked steamship Pee of the 
Realm, which was effected by the platforming method, and with- 
out the aid of divers for any part of the operation, was read by 
Mr. T. W. Wailes, of Cardiff. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE 
OxForpD.—The Council of Somerville Hall have decided to 
build additional rooms for twenty students. Two Entrance 
Scholarships of 357. and 40/. a year are offered for competition 
on May 25. 
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 
American Journal of Science, March.—Examination of Dr. 
Croll’s hypothesis of geological climates, by Dr. A. Woeikof. 
The author subjects Dr. Croll’s theories to a searching criticism, 
traversing all his fundamental principles. The statement that 
the ocean must stand at a higher »ean temperature than the 
land is shown to be quite erroneous, the oceans which receive 
cold currents from Polar seas, and even seas like the Mediter- 
ranean and Red Sea, which receive no such currents, having a 
mean temperature considerably lower than the continents. His 
whole system of estimating temperature breaks down when 
seriously tested, the errors being enormous, in some cases up- 
wards of 100° F., or greater than the difference of annual tem- 
perature between the equator and the North Pole. His hypo- 
potheses, although brilliant and fascinating, cannot be accepted, 
the main points on which they rest being opposed to the most 
certain teachings of meteorology, and the whole fabric in its 
explanation of glaciation and geological climates generally being 
entirely fallacious. —Teniril movements in Cucurbila maxima 
and C. Pefo (concluded), by D. P. Penhallow. The author 
concludes generally that growth is promoted by an increase of 
temperature and humidity, but may be retarded by an increase 
of temperature when other conditions are unfavourable. It is 
also retarded by excessive transpiration, while the conditions 
favourable to growth, arising from temperature and humidity, 
may cause greater growth during the day in opposition to the re- 
tarding influence of light. Movements of tendrils and terminal 
buds, being phenomena of growth, are modified by whatever 
variations of condition affect growth.—Note on a method of 
measuring the surface-tension of liquids, by W. F. Magie. It 
is shown that Poisson’s formula determining approximately the 
heizht of a large liquid drop standing on a level plate holds 
good, without any change, for a bubble of air formed in a liquid 
under a level plate-—Remarks on W. B. Rogers’s ‘‘ Geology of 
the Virginias” (continued), by J. L. and H. D, Campbell. In 
this concluding paper the authors deal with the most salient 
points in the higher formations of the geological system of Vir- 
ginia and West Virginia. Their remarks, based mainly on 
personal observation; are intended to be supplementary to 
Mr. Rogers’s comprehensive treatise on the geology of this 
region,—Observations on the Tertiary of Mississippi and Ala- 
bama, with descriptions of new species, by D. W. Langdon. 
An important result of these observations is the establishment 
of the relation of the Jackson beds to the Orbitoides limestone 
and marl beds of Byram Station. The new species, which will 
be figured in the forthcoming Report of the Geological Survey 
of Alabama are: Verticordia eocensis, apparently the first Verti- 
cordia described from this epoch; and Sulla (Haminea) 
aldricht, an elongate oval shell resembling ABwlla glaphyra, 
Desh.—On the area of Upper Silurian rocks near Cornwall 
Station, Eastern Central Orange County, New York, by 
Nelson H. Darton. ‘The paper contains a careful study of the 
Towsend Iron Mine district and vicinity, where a small mass of 
Lower Helderberg limestone has been protected from the gene- 
ral denudation by a firm backing of coarse strongly cemented 
sandstones. The whole forms a ridge running just west of 
Cornwall Station, its more prominent geological features being 
shown on the accompanying map. 
Rivista Scientifico-Industriale, March 15.—On the crepuscular 
lights that followed the Krakatao eruption, by Prof. Alessandro 
Sandrucci. The author surveys with Hirn the various theories 
propounded to explain this phenomenon, and rejects them all as 
inadequate, or else based on impossible assumptions. He con- 
cludes that for the present the after-glows must be classed with 
the numerous effects the causes-of which have not yet been 
fathomed.—On the origin of atmospheric electricity, by Prof. 
Luigi Palmieri. A simple experiment is described, by which it 
is clearly shown that positive electricity is generated by the 
moisture of the air, when it becomes condensed by a lowering of 
the temperature. This conclusion is reconciled with the theory 
recently advanced by Prof. Edlund, of Stockholm, who argues 
that the electricity of the air is derived from the earth by the 
unipolar induction of terrestrial magnetism, while its return to 
the earth is caused by the condensation of the aqueous vapours, 
and especially by their conversion into the fluid state. 
Rendiconti del Reale Istituto Lombardo, April 1.—Reptiles of 
the Orta-Kenei district, Adrianople, by Prof. F. Sordelli. This 
is an account of the collection recently made at the southern 
foot of the Balkan Range by the Cavaliere Luigi de Magistris, 
and by him presented to the Civic Museum of Milan. Of over 
twelve species of reptiles three only are found in the Po Valley, 
all the rest being of an essentially Eastern character, with a 
range extending from the Balkan Peninsula to the Iranian 
Plateau.—Note on a fundamental theorem in the theory of the 
functions of a complex variable quantity, by G. Morera.—Strati- 
graphic observations in the province of Avellino, by Prof. 
T. Taramelli. The paper contains a systematic study of the 
stratified rocks exposed by the cuttings of the Avellino and 
Santa-Venere line of railway, and ranging through the whole 
series from the Lower Chalk through the Eocene, Miocene, and 
Pliocene, to the more recent Quaternary formations. —Account 
of a rare and interesting ornithological specimen, by Prof. 
Pietro Pavesi. The author describes a fine specimen of Bernicla 
Jeucopsis, Bechst., recently shot at Coranain the Po Valley, and now 
preserved in the Civic Museum of Pavia.—On the rational curves 
in a linear space to any number of dimensions, by A. Brambilla. 
—Meteorologicai observations made at the Brera Observatory, 
Milan, during the month of March. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
LONDON : 
Zoological Society, May 4.—Prof. W. H. Flower, 
LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Mr. E. L. Layard, 
F.Z.S., exhibited a fine example of a rare Beetle of the family 
Cerambycidee (Macrotoma heros), obtained in the Fiji Islands ; 
and a series of specimens of shells of the genus Bulimus from 
New Caledonia and the adjacent islands.—A letter was read 
from Mr. F. W. Styan, F.Z.S., relating to some Chinese ani- 
