June I, 1882] 



NATURE 



119 



the authors and Mr. Cbas. Darwin, the latter had expressed 

 doubts as to whether two varieties could affect the character of 

 the buds produced by either, it appearing more probable to him 

 that the so-called new variety was due to bud-variation. The 

 Baron de Villa Franca thereupon forwarded a document signed 

 by eight distinguished Brazilians, testifying to the fact that valu- 

 able varieties have been raised by the process in question. Dr. 

 Glass furthermore describes in detail his early but fruitless 

 attempts to graft two varieties of the sugar cane, though he 

 succeeded with another monocotyledon, viz. Dracaena. — Mr. S. 

 Grieve gave a notice of the discovery of remains of the Great 

 Auk (Alca impennis) on the Island of Oronsay, Argyllshire. 

 Wing and leg-bones were obtained, along with a various assort- 

 ment of remnants of the Guillemot, Red Deer, Otter, Seal, and 

 other mammals, mingled w ith fish-bones and shells. These were 

 dug out of a large mound, which, the author believes, must in 

 early times have been occupied by man. The exceeding rarity 

 of the Garefowl remains in Britain gives a special interest to the 

 record of their being found in these western Scottish Isles. — 

 Then followed the reading of notes on some Cape orchids, by 

 Mr. Harry Bolus, wherein several new species were described, 

 and details given in elucidation of particular structural points 

 in the flowers of certain forms, accompanied by a full list 

 of the Cape orchids named by previous writers. — A note was 

 read, on the dimorphic florets of Catananche lulea, by Mr. 

 B. D. Jackson, which was followed by a paper on the clasping 

 organs auxiliary to the generative parts in certain Lepidoptera, 

 by P. H. Gosse. After some general remarks the latter author 

 mentioned his mode of manipulation, and proceeded to a descrip- 

 tion of the organs in question, finally dealing with the modifica- 

 tion of the apparatus as investigated in a very considerable number 

 of species. 



Zoological Society, May 16.— Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., vice- 

 president, in the chair. — The Secretary read a report on the 

 additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during 

 the month of April, 1882, and called special attention to the 

 following birds, all of w hich were said to be new to the collec- 

 tion : — (1) a male Rifle-bird (Plilorhis paradisea) , in immature 

 and worn plumage, changing very slowly into the adult dress, 

 but apparently in good health ; (2) a pair of Black-headed 

 Tragopans (Ceriornis melanocephala) ; (3) four Kuppell's Parrots 

 (Pyocephalus rueppelli), from Western Africa ; (4) a We- tern 

 Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus naso), conspicuously differing 

 from the eastern C. banksi in its smaller size ; (5) a male Cabot's 

 Tragopan (Ceriornis caboti), making a fine addition to the galli- 

 naceous series ; and (6) two of the recently described Uvsean 

 Parrakeet (Nymphicus uvieensis). — There was exhibited, on 

 behalf of Mr. Henry Stevenson, a specimen of the Dusky 

 Petrel (Puffinus obscurus), which had been picked up dead in 

 the neighbourhood of Bungay, Norfolk, in 1S58. — A communi- 

 cation was read from the Rev. O. P. Cambridge on some new 

 genera and species of Araneidea. Of the sixteen species de- 

 scribed, two were from Caffraria, one from St. Helena, two 

 from Ceylon, and the remaining eleven from the Amazons. — 

 Mr. W. A. Forbes ealled attention to a peculiarity recently 

 observed in a young male specimen of Pilhecia satanas, in which 

 the third and fourth digits of both hands were completely 

 "webbed." — Mr. W. A. Forbes also read a paper on certain 

 points in the anatomy of the Todies (Todus), and on the affini- 

 ties of that group. He dissented from the views of most 

 previous authors as to the close affinities of these birds to the 

 Momotidce, considering that they must form a group by them- 

 selves, to be called Todijormes, of value equivalent to the Pici-, 

 Pasttri; and Cypseli formes of Garrod. There were many 

 grounds for supposing that Todus is a very ancient form, more 

 nearly representing the ancestors of the whole group of Anoma- 

 logonatous birds than any other living form. — A communication 

 was read from Mr. Roland Trimen, F.Z.S., containing a de- 

 scription of an apparently undescribed Sun-Bird obtained in the 

 province of Mossamedes, South-western Africa, which he pro- 

 posed to name Cinnyris erikssoni, after its discoverer Mr. Abel 

 W. Eriksson.— Mr. P. L. Sclater read some notes on a species 

 of Duck (Anas gibberifrons), examples of which had recently 

 bred in the Society's Gardens. — Mr. W. E. Forbes gave an 

 account of some points in the anatomy of a rare Australian Duck 

 Biziura lobata) from examples that had recently died in the 

 Society's Menagerie. 



Physical Society, May 20.— Prof. Fuller in the chair.— 

 Prof. W. Chandler Roberts, F.R.S. communicated the results 



he had obtained in repeating the experiments of M. W. Spring, 

 Professor at the University of Liege, on the union of finely- 

 divided particles of metal by pressure. M. Spring had shown 

 that at a pressure varying from 5000 to 7500 atmospheres, metallic 

 filings may be united into coherent discs. Thus at a pressure of 

 6coo atmospheres bismuth filings may be united into a disc which 

 has a crystalline fracture and a density which is identical with 

 that of the metal cooled from the molten state. Zinc again, also 

 a very crystalline metal, will weld into a disc at a pressure of 

 70:0 atmospheres, and the metal will even " flow " into cracks 

 between the die and the collar surrounding it, just as in the ex- 

 periments of M. Tresca, lead " flowed " under similar circum- 

 stances. Prof. Roberts had repeated and confirmed many of the 

 experiments of M. Spring, whose more recent results are of 

 special interest, as he has shown that if filings of bismuth, lead, 

 and cadmium be mixed in suitable proportions, such, for instance, 

 as in Wood's alloy ; and if the mixture be submitted to a pressure 

 of 7500 atmospheres, an alloy is obtained which will actually 

 fuse at 70° C. the true fusing point of Wood's alloy being 

 63° C. Prof. Roberts showed to the Society an alloy he 

 had prepared which melted below ioo" C, although of 

 the constituent metals the lowest melting-point is 230 C, 

 and he pointed out the great interest both to the physicist 

 and metallurgist of M. Spring's results. — Mr. Walter Baily 

 then showed mathematically that the repulsion between the 

 magnet and revolving copper disc in the experiment shown 

 by Prof. Guthrie at the last meeting of the Society ought 

 to vary as the square of the velocity of rotation of the' disc, a 

 result which Prof. Guthrie had found. — Mr. Lecky gave the 

 results of tests of Mr. Bennet's cell (described at the last meeting) 

 made by Prof. Guthrie. The electromotive force was I '14 

 volts ; the internal resistance 0'8 ohms, but both quantities vary 

 under certain conditious. Prof. Macleod also gave the results of 

 tests made by him. These show that the cell rose in E.M.F. 

 from 1 '005 volts on changing to I 213 volts after standing three 

 days. The internal resistance was then 1007 ohms. Both 

 quantities varied under different conditions of working. — Mr. C. 

 V. Boys then exhibited an improved form of his vibratory meter 

 for measuring electric currents, and specially designed for electric 

 lighting furposes. He has applied to the form formerly shown 

 to the Society, the contact-making device employed in Hipp's elec- 

 tric clocks, which, though imperfectly adaptable to the clocks, is 

 perfectly adaptable to the meter. The force is proportional to 

 the displacement. No sliding contacts are employed. Mr. 

 Boys also explained some other plans for current meters, one of 

 which he believes to be the final form for practice, and which, 

 besides being remarkably simple in construction, is free from the 

 objection of being tampered with by means of extraneous mag- 

 nets. In reply to Prof. Foster he stated that self-induction does 

 not disturb their action. 



Academy of Sciences, May 22. — M. Jamin in the chair. — 

 The following papers were read : — Note on the application of a 

 theory of Poncelet to approximate calculation of the arcs of 

 plane curves, by M. Resal. — Researches on the absorption of 

 gases by platinum, by M. Berthelot. He investigates the libera- 

 tion of heat in absorption of hydrogen and oxygen by platina 

 in different states. It is shown that the state of porous bodies 

 changes continually while they absorb gases. — Action of oxy- 

 genated water on organic substances and fermentations, by MM. 

 Bert and Regnard. Inter alia, dilute oxygenated water stops 

 fermentations due to living organisms, and putrefaction of all 

 substances which do not decompose it ; it does not act on dias- 

 tasic fermentations. It is rapidly destroyed (under 70 ) by 

 collagenous azotised matters, by musculine, blood fi brine, and 

 azotised vegetable matters ; but not by fats, amylnceous matters, 

 soluble ferments, egg albumen, caseine, peptones, creatine, crea- 

 tinine, or urea. — Reply to objections made by M. de Lesseps in 

 the last siance, by M. Cosson. — A new scientific cruise of the 

 Travailltur in the Atlantic, in July and August, as far as 

 Madeira and the Canaries, was announced by M. Alph. Milne- 

 Edwards. — M. Demontzey was elected Correspoi dent in Rural 

 Economy, in room of the late M. Pierre. — On the measurement 

 of carbonic acid contained in the atmosphere, by M. Mascart. 

 He describes a method based on direct measurement of the dimi- 

 nution of pressure of a mass of air at constant volume and tempe- 

 rature, when the CO, is removed. Travellers may take about 

 500 cc. of air in glass tubes sealed at a lamp, and afterwards 

 analyse at leisure. — Quantity of carbonic acid contained in the 



