July 20, 1882] 



NA TURE 



287 



changes of crystalline bodies with omni- or uni-lateral pressure, 

 by the same. — On the absorption of heat by gases and a method 

 based thereupon for determination of the amount of carbonic 

 acid of atmospheric air, by H. Heine. — On the absolute system 

 of measurement, by P. Volkmann. — Deduction of the funda- 

 mental law of crystallography from the theory of crystalline 

 structure, by L. Sohncke. — On the molecular-kinetic laws of 

 heat of vaporisation and the specific heat of bodies in various 

 forms of aggregation, by A. Walter. — On the different systems 

 of measures for measurement of electric and magnetic quantities, 

 by R. Clausius. — On the metallic galvanic battery of Perry and 

 Ayrton, by B. J. Goosens. — The Waltenhofen phenomenon and 

 the demagnetisation of iron bodies, by F. Auerbach. — On the 

 behaviour of electricity in gases, by F. Narr. 



Stale Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere, Rendiconti, vol. 

 xv. fa'C. xi. — On some formula: relative to calculation of errors 

 of observation, by S. A. Maggi. — On two fossiliferous planes of 

 the Lias in Umbria, by C. F. Parona. — On the variability of 

 Colitis taenia, by E. Cantoni. — On caffeic acid obtained from 

 Cinchona cuprea, by G. B. Korner. — On an herbarium about 

 3000 years old, by G. Cornalia. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 



Anthropological Institute, June 27. — General Pitt-Rivers, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair.— Mr. VilHers Stuart, M.P., 

 exhibited and described a drawing of the funeral canopy or tent 

 of an Egyptian queen, and some casts of bas-reliefs discovered 

 liy him within a short distance of the tent. — Mr. E. H. Man 

 read a further account of the natives of the Andaman Islands, in 

 which he treated more particularly of their home life ; the food 

 and methods of cooking were fully described ; also the games, 

 amusements, and dances. — A communication was received from 

 Mr. H. C. R. Becher on some Mexican terra-cotta figures found 

 near the ancient pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan ; from a 

 comparison of these figures with those in the museum at Palermo 

 the author argued that they were produced by people of the 

 same race, and that the builders of these ancient monuments were 

 Phoenicians. 



Royal Horticultural Society, June 27.— Sir J. D. Hooker 

 in the chair.— Hollyhock attacked by Fu>t$i : Mr. W, G. Smith 

 exhibited fruits, and an enlarged drawing, showing them to be 

 often badly attacked by Puccinia malvacearum, and a Clado- 

 sporium, which would probably account for the presence of the 

 Credo noticed by Mr. Berkeley in the germinating plants. — 

 Hybrid Lily : Mr. G. F. Wilson exhibited a very remarkable 

 hybrid between L. Washingtonianum and L. superbum, which 

 had the foliage of the former, but flowers more like those of 

 the latter. — Synanthic campanulas : Mr. G. S. Boulger men- 

 tioned that Mr. Gibbs, of Chelmsford, had fertilised a common 

 form of Campanula (with catacorolla), with the pollen of a 

 synanthic blossom. He had raised 200 plants, and many had 

 synanthic flowers. — Rttinospora sport : Dr. M. T. Masters ex- 

 hibited a specimen of R. squarrosa, which had borne a branch 

 « ith the characters of R. pisifera, proving these supposed species 

 to be one. — Monstrous Flowers : Dr. Masters exhibited virescent 

 flowers of Auricula ; Mr. Laing, a rose-pink double Begonia, 

 w ith axillary prolifications of double flowers besides a terminal 

 one, all proceeding from the centre of a male flower ; the 

 female flowers being compact and double, but not proliferous to 

 the same extent.— The Rev. G. Henslow exhibited a branch of 

 wallflower covered with minute and almost capillary leaves. 



July II.— Dr. M. T. Masters in the chair.— Hollyhock disease: 

 Mr. W. G. Smith exhibited fruits of Malva sylvestris with 

 Puccinia malvacearum. They confirmed the correctness of his 

 view that the fruits infected by this fungus fall to the ground, 

 and are then capable of producing seedlings diseased with Utedo 

 without the intervening cecidium stage, as in the case of the 

 hollyhock mentioned abo\e.—Scolopendrium, diseased: he also 

 showed the harts-tongue fern attacked by Didymium effusum, 

 Lk., a myxomycetous fungus, new to Great Britain. It occurs 

 on both sides of the frond, and grows over the ruptured masses 

 of spore-cases, and even amongst the free spores (for description 

 and figures see Gardeners' Chronicle, July 15, 1S82).— Clematis 

 and oat roots attacked by vibrio (Tylenchus, sp. ?) : Dr. Masters 

 showed specimens and observed that it was only one variety of 

 black oat which was attacked, but that to such an extent as to 

 destroy whole crops.— Gardenia and Petroleum : he brought a 

 spray to show its healthiness after being treated by syringing 



with this oil and water (a wine-glass to a gallon), to destroy 

 mealybug. — IVater-lily with foliacious sepal: he also exhibited 

 a specimen in which one sepal had developed a leaf-blade at its 

 apex, proving that (as is usually the case) a sepal is homologous 

 with the basal part of the petiole only. — Coloured pea-peas : Mr. 

 Laxton of Bedford sent green, purple, and speckled pods, the 

 latter a result from crossing the two former. The purple colour 

 appears to overlie the chlorophyll, which it thereby conceals. — 

 Antirrhinum Hetidersoni ; Mr. Cannell forwarded sprays of this 

 race, which has white flowers with crimson border, but which 

 will not set seed, this being apparently due to atrophy of the 

 pollen. The anthers had dehisced even in bud, and such few 

 pollen-grains as were present were minute and abortive. The 

 ovules, however, appeared to be normal ; yet the race does not 

 seem capable of being crossed. Mr. Henslow remarked that 

 when white and purple snapdragons werh crossed the result is 

 usually a streaked corolla with no certainty in the markings as 

 in the present case. — Aerial petato-tubers : the Rev. G. Henslow 

 exhibited tubers found in the axils of leaves. He also showed 

 plum leaves perforated with small circular holes, caused by rain- 

 drops concentrating the sun's rays, which had thus burnt them. 



Edinburgh 



Royal Society, July 3. — Prof. Maclagan, in the chair. — 

 Prof. Tait, in a note on the kinetic theory in relation to dissocia- 

 tion, stated that it followed from that theory as ordinarily enun- 

 ciated that dissociation should take place at all temperatures, 

 though of course very slowly at low temperatures. This, 

 according to the chemists, 'was irreconcileable with the facts. 

 It appeared, then, that a slight modification of the kinetic theory 

 is necessary, so as to restrict the utmost ratio in which the 

 velocity of an individual particle may exceed the velocity oi 

 mean square. This would entirely remove the difficulty, while 

 in no w ay interfering w ith the success of the theory in other 

 directions. A strong analogy in favour of this is afforded by 

 the equation of diffusion and of conduction, from which an 

 infinite velocity is assigned under ceitain cases to a particle of 

 salt in water. This arises at once from the assumption that the 

 diffusion is always directly proportional to the gradient of 

 strength, however small that gradient may be. — Dr. Knott com- 

 municated a brief paper by Mr. Albert Campbell on experi- 

 ments on the Peltier effect, in which the author had obtained by 

 a very simple method the ratio of the Peltier effect for a given 

 pair of metals at 20° C. to that at 100° C. The pairs lie experi- 

 mented on were iron-lead, iron-zinc, iron-german silver, and 

 lead-silver ; and the ratios obtained for the e differed in no case 

 more than S per cent, from the values indicated on Prof. Tait's 

 thermo-electric diagram — a remarkably close a,' eement, con- 

 sidering how much metals of the same name differ in their 

 thermo-electric properties.— Prof. Marshall read the continua- 

 tion of the paper by himself, Prof. C. M:chie Smith, and Mr. R. 

 T. Omond, on the lowering of the maximum density point of 

 water by pressure. They had repeated their former experiments 

 with fresh water, and had investigated similarly salt water 

 of about the same density as sea-water. Salt water apparently 

 had no maximum density point at ordinary pressure — a fact 

 previously known — or rather the maximum density point as 

 calculated from a modification of Thomson's formula express- 

 ing the thermal effect due to any sudden compressio 1 in terms 

 of that compression, is, so to speak imaginary, lying below the 

 freezing-point. The results wiih salt water are important, as 

 giving greater confidence in their method, so that the lowering 

 of the density-point of fresh water by 5° C, by a pressure of 

 one ton weight on the square inch may 1 e accepted as not far 

 from the truth. — The Rev. J. L. Blake read a pa| er on vocalisa- 

 tion and articulation, which was a continuation of his former 

 paper on breath-pressure, and in which he considered specially 

 the actions of the various muscles on the lungs and vocal organs 

 in producing speech, pointing out what he considered the chief 

 differences in the actions which accompam breathing, speaking, 

 and singing. 



Berlin 



Physiological Society, June 2. — In ur ace unt of this 

 meeting (Nature, vol. xxvi. p. 2161, y an ver-i 't a page 

 of the report was omitted. At the c is« "f the notice of 

 Prof. Kronecker's report on Dr. Melzer's experiuie on the 

 action of the vagus, and before the w< 'Since Hunter's 



time," the following paragraph bould I ee inserted:— 



" Prof, du Bois-Reymond 1 e (I a eco on t recently 



instituted researches of Prof. Fmsch i .. he Mediter. 



ranean, on electric fishes. After Fn ch i fied himself 



