356 
leads to the conclusion that North Brittany, north of a line 
drawn from Quimper to Rennes, and West Normandy, north of 
a line drawn from Pontorson to Domfront and Falaise, are 
mainly constituted by the vertical clay-slates of Saint-L6, over- 
lain by the purple conglomerates, schists, and nearly horizontal 
red sandstones. Thus is confirmed the general conclusion 
announced by Dufrénoy in 1835.—On the presence of micro- 
scopic mineral crystals of the feldspar group in certain Jurassic 
limestones of the Alps, by M. Ch. Lory. The crystals here 
described yield on analysis about 47 per cent. of potassic 
and sodic feldspar mixed with a little albite; 45 of quartz 
in bipyramidal crystals and pulverised ; 8 of argile, analogous 
in its composition to that of the carbonates of lime of 
the same horizon.—On the operations prosecuted in Tunisia by 
Commander Landas since the death of Col. Roudaire, by M. 
de Lesseps. The creation of an inland sea, the original object 
of these works, has been definitively abandoned, and attention 
is now devoted to the Wed Melah basin, which, by the sinking 
of Artesian wells, promises soon to recover its former productive- 
ness.—Note on M. Marcel Deprez’s experiments relating to the 
transmission of force between Creil and Paris, by M. Maurice 
Lévy. In this note is embodied the report of the sub-committee 
appointed to verify the results already obtained by M. Deprez 
during the course of the experiments carried out by him at Creil 
since November 1885. The main object of these experiments 
was to show the possibility of transmitting electrically to the 
Paris terminus, a distance of 56 kilometres, a force of 200 horse- 
power generated at Creil on the Great Northern line, with an 
effective yield of 50 per cent. The preliminary operations, con- 
cluded on May 24, show that the force consumed at Creil varied 
from 67 to 116 horse-power, that received at Paris from 27 to 
52 horse-power, the yield being from about 41 to 45 per cent., 
and increasing with the transmitted force. The experiments, 
conducted at the expense of MM. Rothschild, show conclusively 
that with a single generator and a single receiver force may be 
profitably transmitted to a distance of over thirty miles with a 
loss of not more than 55 per cent. on 52 horse-power, without 
exceeding a current of 10 amperes, an angular velocity of 216 
revolutions per minute, or a peripheric velocity of 7°50 m. per 
second. With improved appliances the loss, mainly due to 
absorption by the machines themselves, will probably be reduced 
to 50 per cent., and to still less in operations conducted on a 
larger scale.— Measurement of the intensity of sound by 
means of the manometric flames, by M. E. Doumer. It 
is shown that this apparatus, hitherto used mainly as a 
method of demonstration and summary study of the “mre of 
vocal sounds, is susceptible of far more varied applications, 
and especially may rival the graphic method in deter- 
mining the height or intensity of sound.—On the separation of 
arsenic, antimony, and tin, by M. Ad. Carnot. By employing 
oxalic acid and the hyposulphite of soda or ammonia, sulphurous 
acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, the author has succeeded in 
effecting these separations rapidly and accurately, as he had 
already effected the separation of copper, cadmium, zinc, 
and nickel. His new methods enable him greatly to simplify 
the analysis of the complex alloys, of which these metals are 
constituents.—IHeat of formation of the crystallised seleniures 
and of the amorphous seleniures, by M. Charles Fabre. Here 
are treated the seleniures of iron, manganese, cobalt, nickel, 
zinc, cadmium, copper, thallium, lead, mercury, and silver. In 
general the heat of formation of the seleniures prepared at high 
temperatures is shown to be equal or slightly inferior to that of 
the corresponding precipitated sulphides.—On the combinations 
of chloral and of resorcine, by M. H. Causse.—On the compo- 
sition of the element in the grease of sheep’s wool which is 
soluble in water, by M. E. Maumen¢é.—On the indirect inner- 
vation of the skin, by M. C. Vanlair.—Note on the arterial 
system of the scorpion, by M. F. Houssay.—Fresh researches 
on the production of monstrosities in the hen’s egg by a modifi- 
cation of the germ before incubation, by M. Dareste.—Obser- 
vations on the pollinisation of orchids indigenous in France, by 
M. Paul Maury.—A first survey of the vegetation in the French 
territory of the Congo, by M. Ed. Bureau. The botanical col- 
lections formed by the Mission of West Africa, which have 
already reached Paris, comprise two herbariums, one collected 
by MM. Thollon and Schweébisch, the other by MM. J. de 
Brazza and Pecile. There are altogether 599 species, chiefly 
from the districts of Franceville, Brazzaville, Ossika, Diéle, 
Lékéti, and Nganshu, on the Ogoway, Alima, and Lower 
Congo. 
NA TOLLS 
[August 12) 1 886 
BERLIN 
Chemical Society, May 24.—Dr. W. Will reported on the 
utilisation of myristic acid for lauric acid. According to the 
investigations of C. Reimer and W. Will there was, in the nuts 
of Myristica surinamensis, an excellent material for obtaining 
large quantities of myristic acid. Herr Lutz, student, had 
obtained from it myristinamid, and in accordance with the 
method of Hofmann, had transferred that into myristintridecyl- 
urea, tridecylamin, tridecyl nitrite, tridecylamid, and the cor- 
responding combinations of the twelfth series, inclusive of lauric 
acid.—Herr O. N. Witt reported on experiments for the local 
determination of the sulfo group in the nephthalic acids, which 
led him to the same results as those obtained by Cléve.—Prof. 
C. Liebermann referred to a work undertaken but not yet com- — 
pleted, with a view to the elucidation of the constitution — 
of opianic acid. He showed that there were reasons to — 
support the assumption of an aldehyde group in this com-— 
pound, as also for the oppesite assumption, a fact which led to — 
a discussion on the so-called atom migrations, in which Herren — 
Hofmann, Klason, Liebermann, Kramer, Pinner, and Will 
took part. Prof. Hofmann then called attention to the fact that 
such molecular shiftings of place had been particularly in quite 
recent times observed by him whilst studying the ether of — 
cyanuric acid. He described the formation of a 2/3 iso- and — 
1/3 ortho-ethyl ether of cyanuric acid which he had obtained — 
from cyanurate of silver by means of ethyliodide. This ether 
transformed itself, even at the ordinary temperature, into isotri- — 
ethyl-cyanurate.—In conclusion Prof. Tiemann communicated a — 
work by N. Nagai, on an aromatic ketune isolated from the 
root ofa Japanese peony, having the constitution— 1 
C,H ,(OCH,)(OH)(COCHS). 
BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED , 
“ Madagaskar,” by Prof. R. Hartman (Freytag, Leipzig).—“ Elements of 
the Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates,” by R. Wiedersheim ; translated 
by W. N. Parker (Macmillan).—‘ Bulletin de la Société Impériale des — 
Naturalistes de Moscou,” No. 1, 1886 (Moscou).—‘* Publications of the — 
Leander McCormick Observatory, Virginia,” vol. i. part 2.—‘ Algebra,” 
part 1, by G. Chrystal (Black, Edinburgh).—‘‘ The Gold Fields of Vic- — 
toria : Reports of the Mining Registrars for the Quarter ended March 31, ~ 
1886” (Ferres, Melbourne).—‘‘ Science and Art Directory,” revised to July 
1886. 
CONTENTS PAGE 
Central American Entomology. By Dr. Alfred R. 
Wallace: . cs we 2 6 we) he ee 
Geometrical Optics . . .. < «% +» = » +) =). 
Our Book Shelf :— 
Christy’s ‘‘ New Commercial Plants and Drugs”. . 335 
Mays’s ‘‘ Heidelberg gefeirt von Dichtern und 
Denkern seit fiinf Jahrhundesten” . . . 
Letters to the Editor :— 
Organic Evolution.—The Duke of Argyll ... . 
Aurora.—W. H. M. Christie, F.R.S? 2. . ae 
Mock Suns.—Sir W. J. Herschel ....... 
Meteors. —_W. F. Denning; L.J.H. ..... 
Physiological Selection: an Additional Suggestion 
on the Origin of Species, II. By Dr. George J. 
Romanes)FSRiS)) 2 a. seni) so concn 
Red Sunsets and Volcanic Eruptions. By Prof. S. 
Newcomb - 3 292/26) -15 ci.) eileen 
Mr. Forbes’s Expedition to New Guinea, By Prof. 
R. BowdleriSharpe) (roe ee de 
The Persistent Low Temperature. By Chas. 
Hardinigy (yee ecm -s tees) eh) tons ot em 
The Pliocene Deposits of North-Western Europe. 
By Arch, Geikie, F.R.S., Director-General of the 
Geological Survey of the United Kingdom; Clement 
Reid ease. 2) olin cise! ei eee nes 
Earthquake-Recorders for Use in Observatories. By 
Prof. J. A. Ewing. (Jdlustrated) ......+ + 343) 
The Institution of Naval Architects at Liverpool. 344 
Notes. c)s. = <i wuteiias io. @ubstee wei 4st) Ae ae 
Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1886 ’ 
Aupust T5=20 “55 es es cele op a 
Tenth Anniversary of the Johns Hopkins Uni- 
Versity ele eWete ls ees lee oe nn 
Scientific’Serials’ 250. 2 <<) = «© « « « = olisiieesnOie 
Societies and Academies .......-+-++ + 355 
Books and Pamphlets Received .... 
