December 26, 1901J 



NA TURE 



191 



lowest part of the Malvern black shales a species identical with 

 the Stockingford form, which had been provisionally identified 

 with the Swedish Beyricliia Angelini. The characters of these 

 specimens serve to separate the species from those now placed 

 under the genus Beyrichia, a conclusion in which Prof. T. 

 Rupert Jones concurs. — The sequence of ihe Cambrian and 

 associated beds of the Malvern Hills, by Prof. T. T. Groom, 

 with an appendi.\ on the Brachiopoda by Mr. C. A. Matley. 

 The series, exxlusive of .some 600 feet of igneous rocks, may be 

 estimated at between 2500 and 3000 feet, and consists of the 

 following members, tabulated in descending order : — (4) The 

 bronsil shales, 1000 feet thick ; grey shales containing Dictyo- 

 nema and many Tremadoc brachiopods and trilobites. (3) The 

 while-leaved oak shales ; black shales, including : (b) The zone 

 of Peltura aarabaeoides, Sphaerophthahims alatiis, Ctinopyge 

 pectcfi^ Ct. bisukata and Agnostus trisectits ; 500 feet, {a) The 

 zone containing Kictorgina ptisilla, Prolospongia fcncstrata, a 

 new variety of Acrotreta, and a new genus of the Leperditiadse ; 

 30 feet. (2) The hoUybush sandstone, comprising : {h) Massive 

 sandstone probably not less than 1000 feet thick, and containing 

 Kutorgitia Phillipsi, Ortkolheca fistula, Scolecoderjita aiiliqiiis- 

 sima, and new species of Hyolithus. {a) Flaggy and shaly 

 beds, not less than 75 feet thick ; chiefly flaggy and shaly glau- 

 conilic sandstones, with Kutorgitia Phillipsi, Scohcoderma 

 aiitiquissima, Hyolithus, i:.c. (I) The Malvern quarlzite, con- 

 sisting chiefly of grey quartzites and conglomerates, rarely 

 glauconitic; probably at least several hundred feet thick; contain- 

 ing Kutorgina Phillipsi, Hvolitltus pritnatvus and a new species 

 of Obolella. Three new species of Hyolithus are named and 

 described in full, and four in outline, while a revision of Holl's 

 species H. fistula is given. Notes are also given, by Mr. 

 Philip Lake and the author, on Agiiostiis trisectus, Cheiriirus 

 Frederici and other trilobites, and a name is given to certain 

 cylindrical bodies which appear to be the eggs or e.Kcreta of 

 some animal. 



Entomological Society, December 6. — The Rev. Canon 

 Fowler, president, in the chair. — Mr. J. H. Carpenter exhibited 

 a number of Coltas hyale bred from ova laid by the parent 

 butterfly taken at Sheerness, August iS, 1900. Twelve months 

 ago there was no trustworthy evidence as to how C. hyale passed 

 the winter, but Mr. Carpenter discovered that it hibernates in 

 the larval state and pupates and emerges in the spring. No 

 one has yet successfully bred C. edusa through the winter, as 

 they do not, and cannot, feed up these in this country. Hyale, 

 on the other hand, is perfectly quiescent during the winter 

 months, and nothing would induce the larvce to feed at that 

 period even when subjected to a temperature of between 60^ 

 and 70° F. — Mr. K. S. Standen exhibited specimens of Lycaena 

 dolus, the type, from Bordighera, and also Pieris brassicae with 

 greenish underwings, a common form in the neighbourhood of 

 Florence. — Mr. C. P. Pickett exhibited pupa-cases of Saturnia 

 pai-'onia, one with two openings, one with no openings, and a 

 third containing three pup«, from one only of which the imago 

 had emerged. Mr. J. W. Tutt said that this phenomenon was 

 not unusual in the. case of silkworpis, and commonly occurred 

 also in the case of artificially bred Lasiocampa lanestris, being 

 probably due to overcrowding. — -The Rev. A. E. Eaton ex- 

 hibited specimens of Psyclwdidae of morphological interest, 

 preserved in corked tubes. — Mr. H. St. J, Donisthorpe read a 

 paper entitled " The Life-History of Clythra 4-punctata," and 

 Mr. G. Kirkaldy communicated "A Memoir upon the Rhyn- 

 chotal Family Capsidc. " 



Royal Meteorological Society, December 18. — Mr.W. H. 

 Dine.<, prdsidertt.'iri the chair. — The Hon. Rollo Russell read a 

 paper entitled " Further Observations and Conclusions in rela- 

 tion to Atmospheric Transparency." For a number of years 

 past he had made daily observations on the cleainess of the atmo- 

 sphere at Haslemere, Surrey, and in the paper he gave the results 

 of the same. The principal conclusions derived from these ob- 

 servations are : — Haze and fog are commonly caused by the 

 niixture of currents at difterent temperatures. These currents 

 may be local or general, high or low. Thick haze or fog not 

 dependent on different currents is rare, but diff'ering currents 

 frequently come into contact without producing haze or fog, 

 and fairly clear weather Under opposite currents is not un- 

 common. A fog may generally be taken ipso facto as evidence 

 of the existence in the neighbourhood of a conflict of currents, 

 and prevalent fog or haze' c'omnlonly signifies that a different 

 wind exists at a high level from that on the surface or at a slight 



NO. 1678, VOL. 65 J 



elevation. The production of fog or haze by mixing currents 

 depends chiefly on differences in their temperature. Broadly- 

 extended westerly winds, with westerly upper currents, are the 

 clearest, and visibility may reach the highest figures during their 

 prevalence, whether they are dry or nearly saturated. Easterly 

 and north winds are the most hazy, owing to the ordinary upper 

 current from the west being seldom displaced by them, and to 

 the mixture of these masses of air of different temperatures. 

 When, as an exception, east and north winds are clear, it may 

 be presumed, without direct evidence, that the upper current 

 coincides with them in direction. In winter, therefore, unusual 

 clearness in these winds often signifies a long spell of frost. 

 — The other papers read were : Remarkable phosphorescent 

 phenomenon observed in the Persian Gulf, April 4 and 9, 

 1901, by Mr. W. S. Hoseason ; and the mechanical principle 

 of atmospheric circulation, byCapt. R. A. Edwin, R.N. 



Mathematical Society, December 12. — Major MacMahon, 

 R.A., F.R.S., in the chair.— Prof. Love, F.R.S. (hon. sec.) 

 communicated a paper by Mr. J. IL Michell on the flexure of a 

 circular plate. Prof. Lamb, F.R.S., also spoke on the subject 

 of the paper.— Lieut. -Col. Cunningham, R.E., gave a short 

 sketch of Euler's method of finding " amicable '' numbers and 

 announced the discovery of two new primes A, B ; where 

 X=f.a, ^=f.b.b^. Then, in one pair, (A, B)/= 3*.7.II=.I9; 

 in the other pair (A, B) / = y.^-.\l.l<). In both pairs 

 a = S747, b.b^ = 53-161. 



Camrridge. 

 Philosophical Society, November 25. — Dr. J. Larmor, 

 vice-president, in the chair. — The negative radiation from hot 

 platinum, by Mr. O. W. Richardson. The radiation was investi- 

 gated expernnentally chiefly by measuring its variation with the 

 temperature of the metal.' The radiating surface was that of a 

 fine platinum wire heated by a steady current. The saturation 

 current from the wire to a surrounding cylinder was measured 

 by means of a sensitive Thomson galvanometer through which 

 the cylinder was put to earth. The pressure in the apparatus 

 varied from 'OoS to -16 mm. The temperature of the wire was 

 obtained by determining its resistance. It was shown that 

 there was no sensible current when the wire was charged 

 positively ; with a negative charge on the wire the current rose 

 to as much as 4 x 10 " '' amperes at 1600° C. The results are 

 shown to be consistent with the theory that the effect is due to 

 corpuscles escaping from the metal. — On the ions produced by 

 an incandescent platinum, by Prof. J. J. Thomson. The 

 incandescent metal in these experiments was at a temperature 

 between a dull red and a bright yellow heat. At these tempera- 

 tures only positive ions are produced in the neighbourhood of 

 the wire. Curves showing the relation between the current and 

 the potential difference were obtained ; these curves show three 

 well-marked stages. In the first stage the current increases 

 more rapidly than the potential difference. In the second stage 

 the rate of increase of the current diminishes rapidly, the current 

 becoming towards the end of the stage independent of the differ- 

 ence Of potential ; this at low pressures is followed by a third 

 stage in which the current again increases rapidly, indicating 

 the formation of fresh ions. The currents when the potential 

 difference was increasing differed frequently from those for the 

 corresponding potential when decreasing — the curves often 

 indicating a kind of hysteresis. The saturation current between 

 a hot and a cold platinum plate was found to be independent of 

 the distance between the plates. The masses of the positive 

 ions were determined by the method previously used by the 

 author to determine the masses of the negative ions arising from 

 ultra-violet light or metals at a white heat ; it was found that 

 the carriers of electricity were not all of the same kind ; the 

 mass of the smallest of these had a mass of the same order as 

 that of a molecule of oxygen. — On the action of incandescent 

 metals in producing electric conductivity in gases, by Mr. J. A. 

 McClelland. — On the seniinvariants of systems of binary 

 quantics, the order of each quantic being infinite, by Major 

 P. A. MacMahon.— On the zeros of polynomials, by Mr. J. H. 

 Grace. — The type ■ specimens of Lyginodendroii oldhamium, 

 Binney, by E. A. N. Atber. 



Edinburgh. 

 Royal Society, December 2. — Lord Kelvin, president, in 

 the chair. — The president read an obituary notice of Prof. Tait, 

 which contained interesting reminiscences of their work together 

 when they were preparing " Thomson and Tait." — Dr. Halm, 

 in the second part of his papc, on the state of equilibrium of 



