6oo 



iV.-l TURE 



,' AruiL 2 1. 1008 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences. Aoril 13. — M. H. Becquerel in tlie 

 chair. — The hovering of birds : Marcel Deprez. The author 

 gives a simple mechanical explanation of the motionless 

 hovering of birds, and has constructed an apparatus capable 

 of imitating this flight. — The determination of longitude 

 at sea by wireless telegraphy : E. Guyou. The views of 

 the Bureau des Longitudes on this subject are stated, 

 especial emphasis being laid on the necessity for inter- 

 national control. — The action of heat on the hvdrates of 

 lithia : M. de Forcrand. .\ description of the methods 

 employed in obtaining LiOH, LiOH.HjO, and Li,0 in 

 a state of purity, together with some thermochemical data 

 relating to these substances. — The adiabatic expansion of 

 saturated fluids : E. Mathias. — ."^n extremely .sensitive 

 electric hygroscope : J. Pionchon. A glass tube is silvered 

 over the whole of its internal surface, and external!- from 

 one end to within about a centimetre of the othci, 

 tube is placed in circuit with a mirror galvanometer a. 

 a battery of 100 volts. The resistance of the unsilvereif 

 portion of the tube varies w-ith the amount of moisture 

 present in the air, and forms a very sensitive hvgroscope. 

 —The magnetic changes in the spec'rum of silicon fluoride 

 observed parallel to the field : \. bufour. It has been 

 possible to separate the bands into three groups, in two 

 of which the Zeeman effect is abnormal, or in a sense 

 agrees with the existence of positive electrons. — The 

 evaporation of water and solutions of sulphuric acid : P. 

 Vaillant. A study of the effect of modifying some of the 

 conditions in the gravimetric method ' described in a 

 previous paper. — A new method of estimating phosphorus 

 in organic materials : Isidore Bay. The substance is 

 burnt in a bayonet tube with sodium carbonate and 

 magnesia. Comparative results with this and the Carius 

 method are given for trimethylphosphine and triethvl- 

 phosphinc. — The sulphur compounds of thorium : A. 

 Duboin. By the action of sulphuretted hydrogen upon 

 thorium chloride in presence of sodium chloride at a red 

 lieat, two new compounds were isolated. On anal\si-,, 

 these proved to be ThS, and ThOS.— Semicatalvsis :" ili.' 

 oxidation of hydrocarbons in air in presence of phosphnrus : 

 -Albert Colson. Solutions of phosphorus in turpentine 

 become oxidised in presence of air, and both the hydro- 

 carbon and the phosphorus are oxidised simultaneously. 

 The product H3PO,,(C,„H,,Oj, was isolated.— A simple 

 reaction producing a disinfectant gas : G. Carteret. A 

 mi.xturc of bleaching powder and paraformaldehvde gives 

 a vigorous evolution of gaseous formaldehyde when mixed 

 with water. — The alloy of platinum with thallium : L. 

 Hackspill. .A description of the preparation and proper- 

 lies of the alloy TIPt.— Austeniie : Ed. Maurer. Start- 

 ing with a metal containing 2-2 per cent, of manganese, 

 1-94 per cent, of carbon, and 0-94 per cent, of silicon, 

 heating for fifteen minutes at 1050° C, and tempering in 

 ice-cold water, the author has been able to obtain pure 

 austenite for the first time. Reproductions of photo- 

 micrographs are given showing pure austenite, the same 

 after deformation and after tempering at 400° C. This 

 steel is not magnetic, and is of relatively small hardness. 

 It can be converted into martensite by mechanical treat- 

 ment at the ordinary temperature, bv re-heating to 

 400° C, or by immersion in liquid air.— Remarks on the 

 communication of M. Maurer relating to austenite : H. 

 Le Chatelier. The previous attempts to prepare austenite 

 are detailed, and the theoretical and practical importance 

 of M. Maurer's discovery pointed out. — The electrical 

 transport of inorganic colloids : Andri? Mayer and 

 Edouard Salles. — Helicoidal structures : Paul Gaubert. 

 — Observations on the development of the pistil in ihe 

 Malvaceas : Jean Friedel.^The cvtological peculiarities of 

 the development of the niothrr cells of the pollen of Xgave 

 itttemiala : Er. de Lary de tatour.— The morphological 

 ■ hkI anatomical connections of the human cardia : R. 

 Robinson. — The thoracic nephridia of the Hermellids : 

 -\rmand Dehorne — The .structure of the epidermis of 

 lynv:s,a luirhrsii : Louis du Reau.— Culture of the para- 

 ""' "f 111'' Hiskr.-i boil (boiiloi, d' (}ri,-iU) : Charles 

 Nicolle. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THi'RSDA y, Ai itiL 23. 



Institctiox of Electric.\i. Engineers, at i.—Conclnswti 0/ Du 

 Electric Supply Prospects ami Ch.irges as affected by Metallic Filament 

 I-amps and Electric Healing : H. W. Handcock and A. H. Dykes 

 .Vf.V/).-))-, Apkii. 27. 



IN.STITUTION OF Civil. En.,ineeks. at i.^/amcs Forrest Lecture: On 

 some Unsolved Problems in .Metal .Mining : Prof. H. Louis. 

 TUESDAY, Kvv.il.:i%. 



RnvAi. l.vsTiTUTioN, at 3.— Tlie Development of the Modern Turbine and 

 its Application : Gerald .Stoney. 



Zoological .Society, at S.3o.~0n the Amphipod Genus Trischizosloma : 

 Mrs. E. W. Sexton.— On the nreedina-habits of a Cichlid Fish C/ //.i/«i 

 lulotica): C. L. Doulengei-.— A Revi.sion of the Sharks of the Family 

 Orectolobidae: C. Tate l<eg.in.— .A Revision of the Oriental I'eK.halid 

 Balrachians (Genus Megalophrvs): G. .K. Boulenger, F.R.S. 



RoVAL SociETV OK AiiTs, at S.— I.ace as a Modern Industry: Miss 

 Isemonger. 



WEDNESDAY, .\prii. 20. 



Royal Society of Auts, at 8.— .Modern Roumania : Alfred Stead. 



Society of Dvehs anu Coi.oukisis (London Section), at 8. The Dyeing 

 and Colouring of Paper Pulp: R. W. Sindall.— Further Notes on ihe 

 Germicidal Value of Petroleum Benzine : F. I. Farrell and F. Howies. 



British Astrono.mical Associatio.m, at 5 — time : Capt. F. L. Grant. 

 THURSDAY, April 30. 



«|val Society, at ^.^o.— /'ro/„Mc Papers: On Scandium: Sir William 



. .Crookes, F.R.S. — Note on the Representation of the Earth's Surface by 



■' Means of Spherical Harmonics of the First Three Degrees: Prof. 

 A. E. H. Love, F R.S.— On the Hysteresis Lo.ss and other Properties uf 

 Iron Alloys under very small Magnetic Forces : Prof E. 'Wil-on, V. H. 

 W.nson, and G. F. O'Dell.-The Kelation between the Crystalline Foim 

 and the Chemical Cons..intion of ihe Picryl Derivatives: G. Jerusalem 

 and Prof. W. J. P.jpe, F.R.S.— The Condensation of Certain Organic 

 ■Vapours : T. H. Laby.— A holographic Deicrmination of the Elements 

 of the Orbits of lupiter's Sutelliles : Bryan Cookson. 



Royal Instii ution, 313.— Mendelian Heredity : William Pateson, F.R..''. 



Royal Society of Arts, at 4.30.— Reminiscences of Indian Life: LoJ 

 Lamington, G.C. M.G., G.C.LE. 



Mathematical Society, at 5.30. -On a General Convergence Theorem, 

 and the Theory of the Representation of a Function 'by Series of Normal 

 Functions: Dr. E. W. Hobson.-On the Multiplication of Serits: 

 G. H. Hardy.— On j-lntegrat.on and Differential Equations: F. H. 

 Jackson. 



FRIDA Y, May i. 



Royal Institution, at 9.- The Scientific Work of Lord Kelvin: P. of. 

 Joseph Larmor, Sec.K.S. 



SATURDAY, May 2. 



Royal In-stitution, at 3.— Chile and the Chilians: G. F. Scott Elliot. 



CONTENTS. PACK 



A New Calculus 1577 



Prehistoric Europe. By Dr. 'William Wright . . . '578 



Chemical Research 579 



Our Book Shelf : — 



Stansbie : " Iron and Steel " 579 



Key : " L'Energetique et le Mechanisme au Point de 



Vue des Conditions de la Connaissance." — T. P.N. 5S0 

 " Abel's Laboratory Handbook of Bacteriology." — 



Prof. R. T. Hewlett 5S0 



Correns : "Die Bestimniung und Vererbung des 



Geschlechtes " . 5S0 



Lorentz : " Lehrbuch der Phy.sik" 5S0 



Letters to. the Editor: — 



The Condensation of Helium. — Pi of. H. Kamer- 



lingh Onnes 581 



Satellites of ^■ellow and Green Lines of Mercury. — 



Prof. H. Nagaoka 5S1 



Mendelian Characters among Shorthorns.— Prof. 



John G. McKendrick, F.R.S 5^2 



loniiiation of Air by Ultra-violet Light. — Frederic 



Palmer, J un. 5S2 



The International Mathematical Congress at Rome. 



By Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S 1,^2 



Jubilee of the Calcutta University 5.S4 



Recent Work on Plague. By L. N 5^5 



Notes 5S7 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Struclure of the Corona 590 



Spectroscopic Binaries now under Observation . . . 5C0 

 The Relation between the Colours and Periods of 



Variable Stars 590 



A Field Method of determining Longitudes .... 590 



Observations of Eros 590 



Variable Radial Velocity of t; Viiginis 590 



Agricultural Experiments and Reports 590 



Recent Earthquakes. (Illustrated.) By Prof. J. 



Milne, F.R.S 592 



University and Educational Intelligence ...... '97 



Societies and Acat'emies 59S 



Diary of Societies 600 



\0. 200S, VOL. 



1] 



