638 
naked spores (sporiferous, in contradistinction to sporidtferous) 
at the apex of simple or branched threads. It promises to con- 
tain much valuable information. Other interesting papers are by 
Dr. Braithwaite, on the Geographical Distribution of Mosses ; 
M. de Brebisson, on French Diatomacee ; and Mr. B. T. Lowne, 
on the Cornea of the Bee. 
THE Fournal of the Ethnological Society for April contains a 
valuable report by Lieut. Oliver, R.A., illustrated by several 
very beautiful lithographs, on the present state and condition 
of Pre-historic Remains in the Channel Islands. Notwithstand- 
ing the wholesale and wanton destruction of these monuments in 
the Channel Islands within the last half-century, there are never- 
theless few localities, Brittany excepted, in which the sepulchral 
stone structures of the neolithic period can be studied with 
greater advantage. Lieut. Oliver describes in detail the monu- 
ments still remaining in Guernsey, Herm, Serk, Jersey, and 
Alderney ; and notes the remarkable resemblance borne by them 
to the monoliths and stone tombs of Madagascar, erected by the 
hill-tribes of Hovas even at this very day. Mr. C. T. Gardner 
contributes an essay on the Chinese Race, their Language, 
Government, Social Institutions, and Religion ; Mr. G. Busk, a 
description of, and remarks upon, an ancient Calvaria from 
China, which had been supposed to be that of Confucius ; and 
Mr. H. H. Howorth, a continuation of his article on the West- 
erly Drifting of Nomades, from the fifth to the nineteenth 
century. 
Geological Magazine, vol. vii. No. 4, April 1870,—This 
number opens with the first of a series of notices of eminent living 
geologists, and the editor’s choice has worthily fallen upon the 
veteran Professor Sedgwick. Professor Huxley has a paper, 
illustrated with a plate, on the milk-dentition of Paleotherium 
magnum. From Professor Rupert Jones we have a series 
of notes on the Tertiary Entomostraca, containing supple- 
mentary remarks and corrections to his monograph of those 
minute fossils published by the Palceontographical Society 
in 1856, and including a revised list of the species. The other 
papers are, an article on the superficial deposits of Belgium, 
illustrated with a map prepared by Mr. H. M. Jenkins for his 
paper on Belgian agriculture, published by the Agricultural 
Society ; a notice of the Basaltic Rocks of the Midland Coal- 
fields, by Mr. S. Allport ; a note on the Middle Drift-beds in 
Cheshire, by Mr. J. E. Taylor ; and an extract from a letter of 
Mr. F. B. Meek to Dr. Bigsby, giving an account of the fossils 
found in some silver-bearing rocks near Central Nevada, which 
appear to be of Devonian age. The number contains the usual 
notices, reviews, reports, and miscellaneous matter. 
Tue Revue des Cours Scientifigues for April 9th is occupied by 
a sketch of the biological labours of the late Prof. Sars, by 
Emile Blanchard ; a translation of Mr. Andrews’ paper, read 
before the Royal Society, on the continuity of the liquid and 
gaseous states of matter. The number for April 16th contains 
a translation of the Anniversary Address before the Hunterian 
Society by H. J. Fotherby; and a report of a lecture by 
Claude Bernard on Blood and its General Properties. 
In the Monthly Microscopical Fournal for April we find a 
description (with illustrations) by Dr. Carpenter of some peculiar 
fish’s ova, the peculiarities having reference to the shape of the 
ova, the mode of their attachment to the surface of the shell, 
and the position and remarkable distinctness of the micropyle ; 
and a description (with plate), by Mr. C. A. Barrett, of a new 
tube-dwelling stentor, found on a piece of weed taken from the 
Thames at Moulsford ; an article on the polymorphic character 
of the products of development of Monas lens, by M. Johnson, 
with others of less importance. 
THE Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin, vol. 5, 
section I, contains several very interesting papers of travel. An 
Ascent of the Peak of Teneriffe, by E. Hackel, Sketches of a 
Journey from Chartum to the Gazelle River, by G. Schwein- 
furth, both these articles being abundantly full of valuable 
natural-historical details ; a report of the Western-Australian 
Expedition, by Mr. Forrest, in search of traces of Leichardt ; an 
account of Dr. Nachtigall’s Journey to Tibesti, and other shorter 
articles. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 
LONDON 
Royal Society, April 7.—‘‘On supraannual cycles of tem- 
perature in the earth’s surface-crust.’’ By Prof. C. Piazzi Smyth, 
F.R.S. The author presents and discusses here the completely re- 
NATURE 
[April 21, 1870 
duced observations, from 1837 to 1869 inclusive, of the four great 
earth-thermometers sunk into the rock of the Calton Hill, at the 
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, by the late Principal Forbes, 
pursuant to a vote by the British Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science. Leaving on one side the several Natural- 
Philosophy data which have been investigated from smaller 
portions of the same series of observations both by Principal 
Forbes and Sir William Thomson, the author applies himself 
solely to trace the existence of other cycles than the ordinary 
annual one, in the rise and fall of the different thermometers. 
Of such cycles, and of more than one year’s duration, he con- 
siders that he has discovered three; and of these the most marked 
has a period of 11° years, or practically the same as Schwabe’s 
numbers for new groups of solar spots. Several numerical cir- 
cumstances, however, which the author details, show that the 
sun-spots cannot be the actual cause of the observed waves of 
terrestrial temperature, and he suggests what may be; concluding 
with two examples of the practical use to which a knowledge 
of the temperature cycles, as observed, may at once be 
turned, no matter to what cosmical origin their existence may 
be owing. 
“On the Constituent Minerals of the Granites of Scotland, as 
compared with those of Donegal.” By the Rey. Samuel 
Haughton, M.D., Dubl., D.C.L. Oxon., Fellow of Trinity 
College, Dublin. This paper contains analysis of Orthoclase from 
the following localities :— 
No. 1. Stirling Hill, Peterhead. Occurs in an eruptive 
Granite, in veins, in well-developed reddish pink opaque crystals, 
encrusted with crystals of Albite.—No. 2. Rubislaw, Aberdeen. 
Large beautiful reddish pink opaque crystals, in veins, associated 
with white Mica. The Granite of Rubislaw is of metamorphic 
origin, and different in character from the eruptive Granite of 
Peterhead. No Albite has been found in it.—No. 3. Peter- 
culter, Aberdeen. In Metamorphic Granite; white, translucent, 
large crystals.—No. 4. Callernish, extreme west of Lewis. In 
Metamorphic Granite ; in large grey crystals, with a slight shade 
of pink, translucent—The Granites of central and western 
Scotland are metamorphic rocks, like those of Donegal and 
Norway, with which they are geologically identical ; and truly 
eruptive Granite occurs at only a few localities, as, for example, 
near Peterhead. The second felspar, associated with Orthoclase 
in the Metamorphic Granites, is Oligoclase, as in Donegal ; 
while the second felspar associated with Orthoclase in the 
eruptive Granites, is Albite, as in Mourne, Leinster, and Corn- 
wall. The fact thus indicated by the Scotch Granites is com- 
pletely in accordance with the mode of occurrence of Oligo- 
clase and Albite in the Irish Granites. (Then follow analyses 
of two Oligoclases.)—No. 1. This Oligoclase occurs in the 
Granite of Craigie Buckler, near Aberdeen; it is white and 
opaque, and so much resembles Cleavelandite in appearance as 
to have been mistaken for that variety of Albite; its analysis 
proves it to be Oligoclase. The crystals do not exhibit stria- 
tion.—No. 2. From the Granite of Rhiconich, in the west otf 
Sutherlandshire ; it is greyish white, semitranslucent, in large 
striated crystals, and resembles the Oligoclase of Ytterby, in 
Sweden.—Analysis of an Albite which occurs at Stirling Hill, 
near Peterhead, in eruptive Granite, and is found asso- 
ciated with red Orthoclase in veins. It encrusts the large 
crystals of Orthoclase, and is semitranslucent; and is 
generally stained on the surface by peroxide of iron. 
This mineral is evidently a typical albite. ‘There are two kinds 
of mica found in the Scotch granites, and both micas resemble 
very closely the corresponding minerals of the Donegal granites. 
The specimen of mica analysed came from veins in the granite 
quarry of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen, and occurs in large plates, 
associated with red orthoclase. It was carefully examined for 
lithia, but no trace of this alkali could be found in it. The 
angles of the rhombic plates were 60° and 120° exactly, and the 
angle between its optic axes was found to be 70° 30’... The black 
mica, in large crystals, is very rare, but it seems abundantly 
disseminated, in minute scales, through most of the Scotch 
granites. An analysis was made on specimens found near 
Aberdeen by Professor Nicol, and kindly forwarded to me by 
him, for the purposes of this paper. This mica was carefully 
examined for fluorine, and found not to contain any. 
Researches on Vanadium. Part II1I.—Preliminary Notice. 
By Henry E. Roscoe, B.A., F.R.S.—1.—Metallic Vanadium.— 
11.—Vanadium and Bromine.—1.—Vanadium  Tribromide, 
VBr,;, molec. wt.=291.3.—2—Vanadium Oxytribromide, or 
Vanadyl Tribromide, VOBr3, molec. wt.=307°3.—The specific 
