120 



NA TURE 



\June i, 1882 



air at Coleves, near Nyon (Switzerland), altitude 430 m., by M. 

 Risler. The general average for three years is 3-035 vols in 

 10,000. — Inoculability of tuberculosis by respiration of consump- 

 tives, by M. Giboux. In these experiments air expired by 

 animals in phthisis was introduced twice a day for 105 days into 

 a wooden case containing young rabbits, the grated apertures of 

 the case being closed for two hours. Tubercles appeared in the 

 rabbits' lungs. Other rabbits in a similar case, and similarly 

 treated, except that the infected air was passed through carbolised 

 wadding, showed no organic alteration. — Researches of patho- 

 logical physiology on respiration, by MM. Grehant and Quin- 

 quaud. In the case of bronchial, pulmonary or pleural alterations, 

 even in fever, the exhalation of carbonic acid is considerably 

 diminished. The lesion, apparently, does not act by barring the 

 elimination of C0 2 , so that this accumulates in the blood, but 

 by interfering with general nutrition at the various points where 

 CO„ if formed.— On the persistence of effects of preventive 

 inoculation against symptomatic chorion, and on the transmission 

 of immunity of the mother to her product in the bovine species, 

 by MM. Arloing, Cornevin, and Thomas. The persistence of 

 immunity for seventeen months has thus far been verified. — Ob- 

 servations serving in the study of phylloxera, by M. Lichtenstein. 

 — Telegram from Cairo about the solar eclipse. — On the 

 observations of the telescopic comet at the Imperial Observatory 

 of Rio de Janeiro, by M. Cruls. — On a new case of formation 

 of the dark ligament, and its utility for observation of 

 the transit of Venus, by M. Andre. This was observed, 

 during the recent eclipse, by MM. Gonessiot and Marchand, 

 where the moon's disc came on three sun-spots. The ligament 

 is much less dark than in the case of the transit. Here the laws 

 of diffraction can alone explain it. — On a class of invariants 

 relative to linear equations, by M Poincare. — On uniform func- 

 tions affected by sections, by M. Picard. — On the chemical work 

 produced by the battery, by M. Tommasi. — On the employment 

 of rotating discs, for the study of colour-sensations ; relative 

 intensity of colours, by M. Rosenstiehl. — Influence of introduc- 

 tion of the interior sea on the rigime of Artesian sheets of water 

 in the region of the Chotts, by M. Dru. These Artesian sheets 

 would not be destroyed, but the general rigime of waters in the 

 country would be improved and protected. — Sulphhydrate of 

 sulphide of nickel, by M. Baubigny. — Action of alkaline sul- 

 phides on proto-sulphide of tin, by M. Ditte. — Researches on 

 cuproso-cupric sulphites, by M. Etard. — Basic salts of protoxide 

 of manganese, by M. Gourgeu. — On the addition of hypochlorous 

 acid to monochlorinated chloride of ally), by M. Henry. — The odd 

 eye of Crustaceans, by M. Hartog. It is composed of three simple 

 eyes, anterior to the brain, with optic rods reversed, receiving 

 the conductive fibres of the optic nerve on their external border, 

 and having the pigment layer confounded in one mass. A 

 similar structure is found in Chsetognatha and in some Planaria. 

 To this primitive and ancestral group of Turbellaria, the eyes of 

 Crustacea and Chivtognatha may probably be referred. — Re 

 searches on flagelliferous Infusorians, by M. Knnstler. — On a 

 bed of tertiary mammalia at Anbignas (Andeche), by M. Tore- 

 carpel. — Influence of ethylic alcohol, and of essence of absinthe 

 on the motor functions of the brain, and on those of the muscle- 

 of the life of relation, by M. Danillo. The influence of alcohol 

 (in strong doses) referred to is similar to that of other anaes- 

 thetics (ether, chloral, morphine). Five periods are distin- 

 guished in the case of essence of absinthe, a tonic, a clonic, a 

 choreiform, a period of delirium, and one of resolution. Thus 

 the poisoning is like that from strychnine, in which, however, 

 the period of delirium is absent. 



Vienna 



Imperial Academy of Sciences, April 20. — L. I. Fitzinger 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read : — Fr. Brauer, on 

 the segment mediare of Latreille. — R. Maly, on the ratio of 

 bases and acids in blood-serum and other animal fluids ; a contri- 

 bution to the theory of secretion. — Fr. Emich, on the behaviour 

 of ox-bile to Huefner's reaction, and on some properties of 

 glycocholic acid. — T. Mauthner, on the optic-rotatory power of 

 tyrosine and cystine. — G. Becka, on the orbit of the planet Ino 

 (No. 173). — ft. Suess, on Fr. Bassani's work, " Discrizione 

 dei pisci fossili di Lesina." — T. V. Rohon, on the origin of the 

 nervus acusticus in Petromyzon. — F. T. Paulsen, on the path of 

 the air-stream in the na^al cavity of man. — O. Simony, on a 

 series of new mathematical principles derived from experience. 



May 4. — L. I. Fitzinger in the chair.— The following papers 

 were read : — C. Doelter, on the mechanical separation of 



minerals. — G. Gruss, on the orbit of the " Loreley " (165). — 

 O. Seeliger, on the history of development of the Ascidia. — 

 S. Lustgarten, on test for zodoform, naphthol, and chloroform 

 in animal liquids and tissues. — A. Wassmuth, on the specific 

 heat of strongly magnetised iron and on the mechanical equiva- 

 lent of a diminution of the magnetism by heat. — T. V. Tanovsky 

 and H. v. Perger, a sealed packet containing a paper on a new 

 reaction of the azo-bodies. — A Brezina, report on some new and 

 little-known meteorites (part iv. ) — Z. A. Skraup, synthetical 

 experiments on the chinolin series (part iii.). — R. Wegscheider, 

 on the derivates and constitution of opianic and hemipinic acid. 

 — A. Boehm, on the tertiary fossils of the Isle of Madura. 



Berlin 



Physiological Society, May 19. — Prof, du Bois-Reymond, 

 president. — Dr. Rabt Riickard spoke about the development of 

 the brain in fishes, and about the import of its so-called lobi 

 optici. He especially combated the view that the part covering 

 these lobes is a part of the cerebrum ; he is, on morphological, 

 hi- tiological, and embryological grounds, rather of the opinion that 

 this portion of the brain belongs to the middle brain, and that 

 it is an homologue to the corpora quadrigemina in the brain of 

 the higher orders of animals. He endeavoured to establish this 

 view by the history of the development of the brain in fishes, 

 which he made a minute study of in the trout. — Prof. Hirsch- 

 berg laid before the Society the results of his dioptric measure- 

 ments of the eyes of fishes and amphibia (pikes and frogs), as 

 a further contribution to the comparative dioptrics of the eye. 

 According to his measurements, the cornea in the pike has a 

 large radius of curvature which exceeds the length of the optic 

 axis ; consequently, these animals are very myopic in the air ; 

 when, however, the eye was ophthalmometrically examined 

 under water, the distance of distinct image formation was much 

 greater. The eye in fishes (both those of the pike and roach 

 were examined) behaves quite differently in air and in water. 

 This fact is a contradiction of Herr Rateau's statements, who 

 also found the seeing distance of fishes almost the same in both 

 media. The eye of the frog also behaves differently in water 

 from what it does in air ; the radius of curvature of its cornea 

 is much smaller in proportion to the length of the optic axis, and 

 its myopia in air is much less than in fishes. It is remarkable, 

 that in the case of the eyes of both the frog and the pike, 

 neither a solution of atropine nor of eserine produced any alter- 

 ation in the distance of the formation of images ; it is hence 

 probable that the accommodation of the eye, if it occur at all in 

 these animals, takes place by some other mechanism than that 

 which affects it in the higher vertebra. 



CONTENTS 



■ Da 



. 111. 



Notes, III. By J. Norman Lockyer, F R.S. (With 



Diagrams) 



Biology and Agriculture 



The Transit of Venus, 1874 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Hulme's "Worked Examination Questions in Plane Geometrical 



Drawing" 



Geiger's "Contributions to the History of the Development of the 



Human Race " 



Luys' " Brain and its Functions" 



Peirce's " Ideality in the Physical Science " 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Mr. Charles Darwin's Letters. — Francis Darwin 



Comet (a) i38a.— E. J. Stone 



Sea-shore Alluvion — Calshot and Hurst Beaches, — J. R. Redman 



Difficult Cases of Mimicry.— W. L. Distant 



Deaf-Mutes — Felix Hement 



Caution to Solar Observers.— J. F. Campbell 



Aurora Borealis. — S. Maitland Baird Glbnnill 



On the Mutual Relations of Carbon and Iron in Steel. By 



Mr. George Woodcock 



A Chapter in the History of Conifers. By J. Starkie 



Gardner 



The Brussels Chronograph (With Illustrations) 



A Non-Electric Incandescent Lamp (With Illustration) . . . 

 Observations of the Solar Eclipse of 1882. May 16, made at 

 the Radclippe Observatory, Oxford. By E. J. Stone . . . 



4KNTS 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Comet 



Double Stars 



The Variable Star U Geminorum .... 

 Temperature Regulators. By J. T. Brown 

 University and Educational Intelligence 

 Societies and Academies .... 



