454 



NA TURE 



[March 12, i< 



influence Ihc height of the barometer on board ship, it 

 appears that until the two chief ones — the wind and the 

 vertical acceleration ,efi>ects — are eliminated, it will be 

 impossible to draw any satisfactory conclusions regarding 

 the relative values of atmospheric pressure over sea and 

 land. It can be said in general that there appears to be 

 a tendency for the barometric pressure to be lower between 

 Falmouth an3 Brest than would be expected from the land 

 observations. 



Geolopical Societv. February 19.— Sir Archibald Geikie, 

 K.C.B., Sec.R.S., president, in the chair. — The two earth- 

 movements of Colonsay : \V. B. Wright. The supposed 

 Torridonian rocks of Colonsay exhibit in their folding and 

 cleavage the effects of two movements analogous in their 

 results to those proved by Mr. Clough in the Cowal dis- 

 trict of Argyll. Not only the planes of the first or slaty 

 cleavage, but also the quartz veins formed along them, 

 have been folded by the second movement, and may be 

 observed to be crossed at considerable angles by the 

 cleavage produced during this second movement. An 

 extensive series of lamprophyre dykes, obviously later than 

 the first cleavage, are found to be folded and cleaved by 

 the second movement. Moreover, some of these dykes 

 traverse and are chilled against a mass of syenite, which 

 can also be proved to be later than the first cleavage. 

 The distinctness of these two movements is, therefore, con- 

 sidered to be completely established. The second cleavage 

 being of the nature of strain-slip, its development along 

 the axial planes of the folds is of interest, and is briefly 

 discussed. — Notes on the River Wey : H. Bury. The part 

 of the River Wey w'ithin the Wealden area is divided into 

 six sections : — (i) the consequent river cutting the Chalk 

 at Guildford; (2) the subsequent stream coming in from 

 the east at Shalford ; (3) the western subsequent stream 

 parallel to the Hog's Back ; (4) the continuation of the 

 last westward (the Tilford River), rising at Selborne and 

 receiving many tributaries, including the Headlev River, 

 from between Blackdown and Hindhead ; (5) the short 

 obsequent section from Farnham to Tilford (the Waverley 

 River) ; and (6) the portion above Farnham coming from 

 Alton and beyond (the Farnham River). Part i. deals with 

 the relation of sections (6), (5), and (4) to the Blackwater ; 

 part ii. with the Palajolithic Gravels of Farnham ; and 

 part iii. with the Farnham branch of the Wey and the 

 Alton district, which is remarkable in that there is a 

 complicated series of Chalk valleys, which spread over 

 some fifty square miles of countrv and discharge their 

 waters into the Wealden area. 



Royal Microscopical Society. February 19. — Mr. A. N- 

 Disney in the chair. — An improved type of mercurv vapour 

 lamp for use with the microscope : j. E. Barnard. — Eye- 

 pieces for the microscope : Mr. Nelson. — Results of 

 observations, extending over a period of four years, on a 

 rare protophyte : Rev. E. Tozer. — Dimorphism in the 

 recent foraminifer Alveolina boscii : F. Chapman. — 

 Biddulphia mobiliensis : Mr. Nelson. The author described 

 some exceedingly minute secondary markings in the 

 primary areolations of this diatom, discovered by him. 



Faraday Society. February 25.— Dr. T. M. Lowrv in 



the chair. — Hydrolysis as illustrated by heats of neutralisa- 

 tion : V. H. Veley. It is pointed out that a correlation 

 of hydrolysis values and basic constants deduced there- 

 from with those of heats of neutralisation presents 

 important issues. Determinations by an accurate method 

 at different temperatures are required to test the validity 



of Nernst equation Q = RT-e °^^ ^ . Relationships of a 



general character are discussed for the hydrochlorides of 

 nitrogen bases, also of certain sodium salts of phenols and 

 organic acids. The effect on thermoneutrality and basic 

 constants by the introduction of a second amino-grouping 

 is considered. Finally, it is pointed out that determina- 

 tions are required of hydrolysis values at considerable 

 dilution of certain metallic chlorides. — .A study of the 

 sulphur anion and of complex sulphur anions: Joseph 

 Knox. The solubility of HgS, red and black, in Na,S, 

 K^S, and BaS solutions has been determined, and has been 

 found to depend on the formation of the complex anion 

 NO. 2002, VOL. 77] 



llgS". By its greater solubility in these solutions the 

 black modification of HgS has been shown to be the less 

 stable form. The constant for the formation of the com- 

 plex anion from the ions Hg" and S" is 





[HySo"1 



= 5-1 X lo'-'. 



From saturated solutions of Na,S and HgS a crystalline 

 double sulphide of sodium and mercury, 2NaS,5HgS,3H,0, 

 has been isolated. From the study of the complex forma- 

 tion between HgS and Na^S it is concluded that Na,S is 

 almost completely hydrolysed into NaOH and NaSH. 



Royal Anthropological Institute, February 25. — Mr. 



.A. I.. Lewis in thr chair. — .Montenegrin manners and 

 customs : .M. Edith Durham. .An account was given of 

 the people's beliefs in spirits and fabulous serpents, with 

 their marriage arrangements and funeral ceremonies. All 

 cousins, to whatever degree, are considered as blood rela- 

 tions, and marriage between them is prohibited, and it is 

 interesting to note that godfatherhood is also a recognised 

 relationship, a godson becoming of blood kin to all his 

 godfather's relations. 



C.^^[BRIUGE. 



Philosophical Society, jannaiy 27. — Dr. Hnbson, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — (i) Exhibition and description of a 

 portion of a fossil jaw of one of the Equida' (British East 

 Africa) ; (2) exhibition of zebra skins (thirteen) and skulls 

 (four) from British East .Africa, with special reference to 

 the problem of the centre of distribution of the three species 

 of zebras : Prof. Ridgreway. — A new genus of Ixodoidea, 

 together with a description of eleven new species of ticks : 

 Prof. Nuttall and C. Warburton. — (i) Report on the 

 brain of a microcephalous idiot ; (2) description of a micro- 

 cephalous new-born pig : Dr. Duckworth. 



February 10. — Mr. S. Ruhemann, vir'-prr>ident, in the 

 chair. — The nature of 7 rays ; Prof. J. J. Thomson. The 

 author supported the view that the 7 rays have a structure 

 similar to that ascribed to the Rbntgen rays in his " Dis- 

 charge of Electricity through Gases," consisting of small 

 pulses of electric force, the pulses having a very small 

 area as well as being very thin. These pulses form a 

 system made up of separate units, which may be at con- 

 siderable distances from each other. Each of the units 

 possesses mass, momentum, and energy. It was shown 

 that all the properties of the 7 rays could be explained on 

 this view without the introduction of the somewhat far- 

 fetched hypotheses which are necessary if the view that the 

 7 rays are combinations of positive and negative ions is 

 adopted. — The velocity of kathodic secondary radiation : 

 Prof. J. J. Thomson. A method of measuring the 

 velocity of secondary kathode rays from gases was de- 

 scribed, and by the use of this method it was shown that 

 the maximum velocity of the secondary rays is independent 

 of that of the primary rays. Cases were described in 

 which the velocity of the secondary rays was greater than 

 that of the primary rays from which they originated, 

 showing that the secondary rays result from a kind of 

 explosion of the atoms of the gas through which the 

 primary rays pass. — The spectrum of the discharge from 

 a glowing lime kathode in mercury vapour : F. Norton. 

 The discharge tube used had a kathode consisting of a 

 strip of platinum foil covered with lime or a mixture of 

 lime and baryta. This could be heated by means of an 

 electric current. The anode was either aluminium, 

 platinum, or mercurv. The spectrum showed the lines of 

 the residual gas and those of mercury. On pumping out 

 the residual gas its spectrum gradually disappeared and 

 the mercury spectrum increased in brilliancy, and, at the 

 same time, three new lines appeared in the orange and 

 two new lines in the red. These lines were quite sharp 

 and bright, and are not given in the ordinary tables of 

 mercury lines. Experiments showed that these lines were 

 not due to calcium or barium, but were connected with 

 the presence of mercury vapour in the discharge tube. It 

 seems probable, therefore, that the method of producing 

 the ionisation used in these experiments gives rise to 

 spectral lines which do not occur in the ordinary vacuum 

 tube, arc, or spark spectra of mercury. — .An example of 

 complex double integration : Dr. A. C. Dixon. 



