Fune 24, 1886] 
NATURE 187 
field for ethnological inquiry.—Miss Buckland read a paper on 
American shell-work and its affinities, in which it was pointed 
out that the resemblance in shell ornaments found in mounds in 
various States of North America to those existing in the Solod 
mon and Admiralty Islands renders it highly probable that a 
commerce was carried on between the islands of the Pacific an- 
the American continent prior to the Spanish conquest.—A paper 
by Mr. C. W. Rosset, on the Maldive Islands, was read. The 
group contains upwards of 12,000 islands, which lie in clusters 
called atolls, of which there are more than twenty. The king’s 
or sultan’s island is situated in Male Atoll, and here Mr. Rosset 
spent seventy days, as the sultan would not allow him to visit 
the other atolls. The natives live almost entirely upon fish and 
rice ; and as the islands are not capable of producing grain of 
any kind, the rice has to be imported from India, the nearest 
point of which is about 350 miles distant. The author gave an 
interesting description of the customs of the natives, and ex- 
hibited a large collection of photographs, dresses, and other 
objects of ethnological interest. 
Royal Meteorological Society, June 16.—Mr. W. Ellis, 
F.R.A.S., President, in the chair.—The Rev. J. R. Boyle and 
Mr. H. B. de la Poer Wall, M.A., were elected Fellows of the 
Society. —The following papers were read :—Note on a sudden 
squall, January 13, 1886, by Mr. R. H. Scott, F.R.S. This 
is an account of a remarkably sudden squall of about ten 
minutes’ duration, which passed over the south of England on 
the morning of January 13. It was first recorded at Falmouth 
at 8.20 a.m., and passed over London at 10.40 a.m.—The 
floods of May 1886, by Mr. F. Gaster, F.R.Met.Soc., and Mr. 
W. Marriott, F.R.Met.Soc. The month of May 1886 will 
long be remembered for the heavy rains that occurred between 
the 11th and 13th, and the floods they produced over the greater 
part of the west and midland counties of England. In fact, at 
Worcester the flood was higher than any that have occurred 
there since 1770. On the 11th and r2th heavy rain fell over 
the east of England, there being over 3 inches during these two 
days at several places in counties Down, Dublin, and Wexford ; 
the greatest reported being 3°52 inches at Kilkeel, co. Down. 
Over the other parts of the United Kingdom the rainfall on the 
Iith was under 1 inch. Rain, however, commenced falling 
about noon on Tuesday over the midland counties, and con- 
tinued with increasing intensity till Friday morning ; the dura- 
tion at most places being about sixty hours. The heaviest 
rainfall occurred in Shropshire, where over 6 inches fell at 
several stations ; while at Burwarton as much as 7‘09 inches 
was recorded, the amounts for each day being 0°60 inches on 
the rrth, 3°10 inches on the 12th, and 3°39 inches on the 13th 
Very serious floods followed these heavy rains. At Shrewsbury 
the extreme height of the flood on the Severn was 16 feet, and 
at Worcester 17 feet 1 inch, above the average summer level. 
At Ross the flood on the Wye was 14 feet ; at Nottingham the 
rise of the water in the Trent was 121 feet ; at Rotherham the 
flood was 8 feet 5 inches; and in North-East Yorkshire the 
Derwent rose to nearly 11 feet above summer level. These 
fluods caused great damage to property and loss of life:; 
bridges were washed away; railway traffic suspended; and 
thousands of workmen thrown idle. In several places 
the waterworks were flooded, and the towns’ water-supply was 
consequently cut off. Mr. Gaster drew attention to the complex 
character of pressure-distribution during the time referred to, 
and showed how the region of maximum rainfall followed cer- 
tain of the shaliow depressions which appeared over the British 
Islands. He drew attention to the peculiarities of this type of 
depression, showing how in many, if not in most, cases the rain- 
fall was heaviest in their rear, and was brought by the easterly, 
not by the westerly, wind. He also referred to some previous 
instances of heavy floods, in which similar atmospheric condi- 
tions prevailed, and explained how it was that, as the disturb- 
ance passed off, snow fell instead of rain, this in its turn being 
followed by severe cold and in some places frost.—On atmo. 
spheric pressure and its effect on the tidal wave, by Capt. W. N. 
Greenwood, F.R.Met.Soc. The object of this paper is to show 
how a little knowledge of weather-forecasting, with some 
practical knowledge of local weather changes and a ‘good baro- 
meter, will go far towards forming a right correction for applica- 
tion to the predicted height of the tide, and also to determine 
what that correction should be in its relation to the fluctuations 
of the barometer and the prevailing gradient.—Meteorological 
results at Levuka and Suva, 1875-85, with notes on the climate 
of Fiji, by Mr. J. D, W. Vaughan, F.R.Met.Soc. The climate 
Diseases such as fevers of an 
aggravated and malarious character, cholera, and liver com- 
plaints are unknown. 
EDINBURGH 
Royal Society, June 7.—The Hon, Lord Maclaren, Vice- 
President, in the chair.—Dr. H. R. Mill and Mr. J. T. Mori- 
son, of the Scottish Marine Station, read a paper on tidal 
variations of salinity and temperature in the estuary of the Forth. 
They divide a river-system into four parts : (1) the 7¢2ver proper 
with its tributaries and feeding-lakes, in the whole of which the 
water is fresh ; (2) the es¢zarvy, in which the river-water meets 
that of the firth or sea, and in which there is rapid change of 
salinity with position and great tidal differences ; (3) the firth or 
_ sea-inlet, in which there is a very uniform and gradual increase 
of salinity from estuary to sea ; (4) the sea proper adjacent to the 
mouth of the firth. It was shown that the temperature of the 
river in spring and summer being higher than that of the firth, 
and in consequence surface-water being warmer as well as 
fresher than bottom-water, the curves representing vertical 
distribution of salinity and of temperature were identical. 
Hence the interaction of river and firth waters can be studied 
as completely by the thermometer as by the hydrometer. In 
the estuary of the Forth translational motion of the whole mass 
of water is found to characterise both flood and ebb tide, 
but about the times of high and low water considerable shearing 
motion takes place. So long as no shearing occurs, the water is of 
nearly uniform salinity from surface to bottom at any given time. 
—Mr. J. J. Barlow communicated a paper on a new method and 
reagents for detecting chlorides, bromides, and iodides in the 
presence of each other, and also in the presence of nitrates and 
chlorates.—Mr. J. A. Thomson gave a paper on the anatomy of 
Suberites domuncula, and also, in conjunction with Mr. P. 
Geddes, a paper on the history and theory of spermatogenesis. — 
Dr, J. Waddell gave an account of experiments by which he 
has determined the atomic weight of tungsten. The methods 
he used are superior to those previously employed.—Mr. A. H. 
Auglin discussed certain theorems mainly connected with 
alternants. 
Paris 
Academy of Sciences, June 15.—M. Jurien de la Gravieére, 
President, in the chair.—On the earthquake which occurred in 
Brazil on May 9, extract from a letter of H.M. dom Pedro 
d’Alcantara. This disturbance, the first on record, took place 
in the Petropolis district on May 9 at 3.20 p.m. The vibration, 
which was of a mild character, lasted scarcely four seconds, and 
was also felt along the coast as far as Rio de Janeiro, and inland 
266 kilometres from that point. It was accompanied by excep- 
tional cold weather, the glass falling to — 5° C. in some parts of 
the province of Minas Geraes, and — 3° in other places.—On 
the absorption spectra of oxygen, by M. J. Janssen. In con- 
tinuation of his studies on the absorption spectra of the gases, 
the author deals here with those of oxygen, which reveals some 
features of great interest for molecular mechanics.s—Remarks on 
the decomposition of the sal ammoniacs by the bases and metallic 
oxides, by M. Berthelot.—On the ammonia present in the ground 
(third note), by M. Th. Schleesing, in reply to MM. Berthelot 
and André. The question is discussed whether the quantity of 
ammonia present in vegetable soil is, as a rule, comprised 
between 0 mg. and 20 mg., as determined by the author, M. 
Boussingault, and other analysts, or whether this quantity ranges 
from 78 mg. to 118mg., as determined by MM. Berthelot and 
André. It is pointed out that the difference between the two 
views is a question of quantity ; and as the quantity depends on 
the process of analysis by which it is determined, it ultimately 
resolves itself into a question of analytical processes. —Lavoisier 
and the Commission on Weights and Measures, by M. E. 
Grimaux. Some unpublished documents are printed, showing 
the action taken by the Commission on behalf of Lavoisier, at 
that time under arrest as a farmer-general. From one of these 
documents it appears that, in consequence of said action, 
the illustrious names of Laplace, Delambre, Borda, and 
others, were themselves removed from the Commission on the 
3rd Nivose of the second year of the Republic (December 26, 
1793).—Observations on Fabry’s comet, by M. L. Cruls. The 
spectral ana'ysis made at Rio de Janeiro during the month of 
May with a spectroscope of slight dispersive power showed dis- 
tinctly the three bands characteristic of carbon compounds.— 
Comparative dimensions of the satellites of Jupiter, deduced 
from observations made during the year 1885, by Dom Lamey- 
