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Dec. 30, 1869] 
NATURE 
249 
and possessing two nuclei, but showing no signs of division, 
and others, again, which present at one end a small bud, the size 
of which increases until it equals that of the mother-cell, when 
one of the nuclei passes into the daughter-cell, and as the diyi- 
~ sion between the two cells becomes more distinct, the appearance 
described by M. Gerbe is produced, M. van Beneden could 
could not, however, detect any cell-membrane, 
_ The development of the ovule then goes on much as described 
by M. Gerbe, one of the daughter-cells being enlarged much 
more rapidly than the other, and acquiring a vitelline character. 
When it has attained a diameter of 0°015—o'o18 millimetre, a 
cell-membrane (vitelline membrane) may be detected, which, 
howeyer, only covers the larger cell, With these ova others are 
found in which the smaller or polar cell is no longer to be 
distinguished, but which present at one point a depression repre- 
- senting the surface to which it was attached; the ova when 
deposited never present the least trace of the polar-cell; but 
after oviposition the ovaries contain numerous cells, resem- 
bling the original mother-cells, which are really the polar-cells 
thrown off from the mature ova. These, M. van Beneden 
believes, become the mother-cells of a new set of ovules. He 
supports this opinion by several instances derived from crustacea 
of other groups, such as Caligus, Calvella, Lernanthropus, 
Congericola, Anchorella, Lerneopoda, &c., in which analogous 
phenomena occur, 
M. van Beneden remarks, that in the ova of Sacculina seg- 
mentation of the whole contents of the ovum takes place, and he 
describes the process. This, as he says, excludes the idea of a 
cicatricula, which occurs only where a great part of the nutritive 
material exists outside the protoplasm of the ovicell, as in birds. 
Hence there can be no comparison between the egg of the 
Sacculine and that of birds, nor has it any special analogy to 
that of the Arachnida and Myriopoda. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
LonDON 
Ethnological Society, December 21.—Prof. Huxley, LL.D., 
F.R.S., president, in the chair. An ancient calvaria, which has 
been assigned to Confucius, was exhibited and described by 
Prof. Busk, F.R.S. This calvaria was formerly set in gold, 
richly ornamented, and mounted on a tripod, probably for 
use as a drinking vessel. It was taken from the Emperor of 
China’s Summer Palace at Peking. The author has discovered 
four figures upon the skull in faint relief ; that upon the frontal 
portion being the letter A in a Tibetan form of Sanskrit, refer- 
able to about the seventh or eighth century of our era. The 
skull was evidently that of a male adyanced in age, but all the 
evidence tended to show that it ought not to be attributed to 
Confucius. The President suggested that those portions of the 
skull which now appear sculptured in relief might have been 
originally covered with some solid material which would have 
served asa protection, while the surrounding surface was worn 
down by constant handling. The Australians still use calvaria, 
ornamented in a like manner. Mr. Fergusson alluded to the 
character of the workmanship displayed by the ornamentation, 
which had been barbarously removed. He regarded the skull 
as that of a distinguished personage—either a friend or a foe 
of some Chinese emperor; and thought that its use as a 
drinking-cup was supported by a passage in ‘* Herodotus.” 
Mr. Mummery, the present owner of the calyaria, explained 
the curious manner in which it came into his possession. Dr. 
Campbell referred to the Buddhist practice of using human 
thigh-bones as trumpets for calling to prayers, Mr. Donovan 
regarded the skull, from its small size, as belonging to an 
uneducated female.—At the same meeting Major Millingen, 
F.R.G.S., read a long paper on the ‘*‘ Koords and Armenians,” 
in which he gaye his reasons for identifying the modem Koords 
with the ancient Karduks mentioned by Xenophon. The lan- 
guage spoken in Koordistan is entirely different from either 
Persian or Turkish, and is said to be divided into seyeral 
dialects. The Koords were described as a rapacious and faith- 
less people, rejoicing in plunder and slaughter; and not the 
least interesting part of the paper was the description of a 
peculiar system of female brigandage. The Koordish race were 
_ said to be remarkably handsome, and to exhibit a great variety 
of complexion; a dark skin, with black hair and black eyes, is 
‘the most common, but light hair and blue eyes are also to be 
seen, 
Statistical Society, December 21.—Mr. Newmarch,I’.R.S., 
president, in the chair. A Report on the Seventh International 
Statistical Congress at the Hague was read by Mr. Brown, after 
which Mr. R. H. Inglis Palgrave read a paper ‘‘On the House 
Accommodation of England and Wales.” Mr. Palgrave com- 
menced by stating that the population of England is now 
probably better housed than at the commencement of the century, 
The average number of inhabitants to a house has slightly 
diminished since 1801. Mr. Palgrave continued to point out 
that, covered by a general average, which appeared to show 
ample accommodation, were great inequalities, “The information 
obtained in the English census inquiries scarcely gives the means 
of tracing the subject further; but the last census in Scotland 
showed that one-third of the population lived each family in 
dwellings of only one room ; another third in dwellings of two 
rooms ; only the remaining third being lodged with comfort and 
decency. Mr. Palgrave showed by an analysis of Mr. Dudley 
Baxter's calculations, that the lowest section of the population in 
England was nearly twice as closely packed as the general average, 
in dwellings more than proportionately inferior ; and by a refer- 
ence tothe Report on the Employment of Children and Women 
in Agriculture, that the condition of some rural districts appa- 
rently well provided for was scarcely superior to that of Scotland. 
Mr. Palgrave concluded by proposing that the census inquiry 
for 1871 should include more details on the house accommoda- 
tion of England, Wales, and Scotland, thus to ascertain present 
deficiencies, and to assist those who desire to remedy the eyils 
arising therefrom. The following gentlemen were elected 
Fellows, viz.:—Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., M.P., Hon. H. N. D. 
Beyts, Dr. Macaulay, Messrs. J. O. Chadwick, A. H. Smee, 
| C. Inglis, M.D., Hammond Chubb, S. Ingall, and James M, 
Davies. 
Institute of Actuaries, December 21.—Mr. S. Brown, 
president, in the chair, The following gentlemen were elected 
members, viz.:—Fellows, Messrs. Cornelius Walford and Joseph 
J. Dymond ; and Associates, Messrs. A. C, Waters, Ainslie, 
Talon, E. J. Sims, jun., Henry Jeula, James D, Hobson, J. 
Ashton, J. H. Elder, and Joseph Burne. Mr. J. B. Sprague, 
M.A., read a paper “ On the rate of mortality prevailing among 
assured lives, as influenced by the length of time for which they: 
haye been assured,” 
EDINBURGH 
Royal Society of Edinburgh, December 20.—Professor 
Kelland, president, in the chair. The Keith Prize for the 
biennial period ending May 1869 having been awarded by 
the Council to Professor P. G. Tait, for his paper ‘On the 
Rotation of a Rigid Body about a Fixed Point,” the medal 
was formally delivered to him, after which Professor Kelland, 
in making the presentation, said he had great pleasure in 
accompanying it with the sum of £57 os. 10d. He briefly 
referred to the manner in which Professor Tait was apply- 
ing the method of quaternions, and mentioned that he was 
now putting on a more solid basis what they might call the 
mechanical sciences. On every account Professor Tait was 
entitled to the honour which had been conferred upon him, and 
he had no hesitation in saying that this was only the first of a 
series of successes.— Mr. Archd. Geikie read a paper “On 
the Geological Structure of some Alpine Lake Basins.” In this 
paper the author reviewed the arguments which had been adduced 
by the geologists of Switzerland to prove that the great lakes of 
that country are essential parts of the architecture of the Alps. 
He stated that this view was untenable, for the lakes, instead of 
coinciding with the foldings and fractures of the rocks, ran 
directly across them.. He entered in some detail into the geolo- 
gical structure of several of the Alpine lakes, particularly of the 
Lake of the Four Cantons, with the view of showing that 
between the contortions and dislocations of the rocks and the 
trend of the lake there is no ascertained connection, By a series 
of diagrams he pointed out how vast an amount of rock had been 
removed from the site of the lake and the adjacent mountains, 
and that it was physically impossible that any remnant of the 
original surface at the time when the rocks were folded could 
now remain. Particular attention was called to the fact that the 
greatest of the known dislocations of the Alps—the fracture 
which has brought down the miocene against the older tertiary 
and secondary rocks—has not given rise to lakes and valleys, 
but actually crosses them, as at the lakes of Geneva, Thun, and 
Lucerne, and in the valleys of the Rhine and Linth. After 
combating the explanation by which the lakes are referred to 
