348 



NATURE 



\Aug. 22, 1872 



same legion. No importance could be attached to difference in 

 sjelling, as it was purely a matter of hearing. To one traveller 

 the word might appear to be pronounced one way, and to another 

 traveller another. It was not even a difference of dialect. It 

 was simply a difference in the spelling owing to the difference in 

 the hearing. 



The President, in closing the discussion, s^aid that there was 

 not the slightest doubt that Dr. Living.stone could only draw 

 inferences as to where the waters he saw found an outlet. It was 

 entirely a matter of theory. Geographers dealt with the facts 

 that he had made known to them, and from those facts they 

 drew their conclusions, just as Dr. Livingstone, from the 

 same facts, drew his conclusions. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



The Moiiatsho-iclit J,->- k. pynissichen Akadeiniedcr Wissciuchtif- 

 ten zu Ilerliii, from January to March, 1872. The most numerous 

 scitntific papers in these three numbers of the Berlin Mounts- 

 ba-icht are of a chemical n.-rture, consisting of notes by Prof 

 Hofmann on aromatic phosphines, on Ihe products of oxida- 

 tion of methylphosphine and elthylphosphine, and on derivatives 

 of the ethyl ene-bases, and a paper by Prof. Rammelsberg on 

 the chemical composition of ambygonite. Prof, von Rath gives 

 an account of a nu-teorite which fell at Ibbenbiehren, in West- 

 phalia, on June 17, 1S70, and consists chiefly of silica, pro- 

 toxide of iron, and magnesia, with small quantities of protoxide 

 of manganese, lime, and allumina. Structurally it consists of a 

 granular mass, containing imbedded crjstaline grains, the com- 

 position of both being mainly identical. Piof. H. A. .Schw.arz, 

 of Zurich, communicated a continuation of his investigations 

 upon special mineral surfaces. Prof. Riess has a paper on the 

 reaction of the induced currents in an unaltered circuit upon the 

 main current of the Leyden battery. Prof. Helmholtz commu- 

 nicates a .summary of the results obtained by Dr. W. Dolero- 

 wolsky, of St. Petersburg, by experiments upon the sensibility of 

 the eye to differences in the luminous intensity of various spectral 

 colours The natural history papers consist of a notice by Prof. 

 Ehrenberg of Prof Whitney's recent investigations of the 

 Californian "Bacillarian rocks, a paper by Dr. Roth on the 

 geology of the Philippian islands, and two geographical memoirs 

 by Prof. W. Peters, one givii g the synonyms of the species 

 of the chiropterous genus Mc:^adcnna, and describing a new 

 form (M. cor Peters, from Abyssinia), the other discussing in 

 considerable detail the species of Bati.achia, collected by Spix 

 in Brazil, after an inspection of the original specimens in the 

 museum at Munich. 



Journal of the Chemical Society, June 1S72.— This number 

 opens with a lecture on the "Chemistry of the Hydrocarbons " by 

 C. Schorleinmer, which is a condensed summary of the history of 

 this subject. In the opening part of this paper the definitions of 

 organic chemistry are discussed, Mr. Schorlemmer preferring to 

 define it as " the chemistry of the hydrocarbons and their deri- 

 vatives." The lecturer then proceeds to show how far our know- 

 ledge of the constitution of the hydrocarbons has advanced. 

 The chemistry of the paraffin series of hydrocarbons is first 

 entered upon ; these perhaps have been more completely studied 

 than any of the succeeding series. All the paraffins of known 

 structure may be divided into four groups ; the first or normal 

 paraffins have been to a great extent worked out by the author, 

 and are those in which each carbon atom is directly combined 

 with at least two other carbon atoms forming a symmetrical 

 ch lin. The other three groups have not been studied completely, 

 and are not here discussed. By abslracting two atoms of 

 hydrogen from the paraffins a series of hydrocarbons is obtained 

 called the olefines. Tlie probable constitution is not, as was at 

 one time supposed, that they have carbon atoms with free com- 

 bining units, thus— CHj - CHo — ; but that one carbon atom is 

 linked by two combining units to another carbon atom, thus 

 CH„ = CH„. The hydrocarbons of the acetylene series were 

 nextintroduced ; these are formed by againabstractingtwo other 

 atoms of hydrogen from the olefines ; in acetylene, for instance, 

 it is probable that the carbon atoms may be linked together by 

 three combining units of each atom, thus CH = CH. The 

 aromatic hydrocarbons have been very much worked on during 

 tbe last few years. The jiresent theory of their constitution is 

 due to Kekult", who supposes that the six carbon atoms are 

 united together in a sort of chain or hexagon by one and two 

 combining units alternately, which would then leave six 



combining units unsaturated. These when combined or saturated 

 with hydrogen will yield the hydrocarbon benzol, which may 

 be considered as the starting point of the aromatic series. The 

 differences observed inceitain groups of isomeric aromatic com- 

 pounds may be accounted for by the supposition that the different 

 relative positions of certain elements or radicals as attached to 

 the carbon nucleus c.iusea difference in the physical condition of 

 the substance. The constitution of various other hydrocarbons, 

 such as naphthaline, anthracene, &c., is discussed ; but they are 

 too complex to be here described in detail. — E. A. Letts has 

 prepared benzyl isocyanate by the action of the benkyl chloride 

 on argentic cyanate, benzyl isocyanurate being also formed during 

 the reaction. By the action of ammonia on the former body 

 monobenzyl urea is formed, which by treatment with water yields 

 dibenzyl urea. By substituting aniline in the place of ammonia 

 in the last-named reaction phenyl benzyl urea is produced. — T. 

 E. Thorpe contributes some laboratory notes on various subjects' 

 and Prof. Himly a paper "On the estimation of carbonic acid 

 in sea water," the method recomrrended is to precipitate the 

 carbonic acid by baryta water, and to estimate the baric carbo- 

 nate produced, it having been found that simply boiling the water 

 is insufficient to drive off the whole of the carbonic anhydride. 

 A detailed description of an apparatus for the collection of sea 

 water below the surface is promised, which is also to be provided 

 with the means of adding the reagent below the surface of the 

 sea so as to avoid any loss of carbonic anhydride during and 

 after the collection of the sample. The abstracts which follow 

 the paper are as usual full of interest, containing as they do the 

 pith and substance of many important papers. 



BOOKS RECEIVED 



English.— Tlle Graft Thecry of Disease : Jas Ross (J. and A. Churchill). 

 Magnetism and Deviation of the Compass : Merrifield (Longmans). — A 

 Handbook of Chemical Technolegj': R. Wagner (Churchill). 



Foreign.— Forstzoologie : Dr. li. .Altiim.- Nomenclatur Bolanicns, Vol. i., 

 Mos. 1—6: L. PfeitTer.— Anatomische Untersuchungen : G. Retzius. — Auf- 

 gaben aus der analytischen Mechanik, Nos. 1, 2 : Dr. A. Zuhrmann.— 

 Theorie der Bewegung der Krafte ; ein Lehrbuch der thei 

 Mechanik: Dr. W. Schell.-Faune des Verlebres dc la Suisse 



V. 



Fali< 



CONTENTS Page 



Am AND Rain. By Prof. T. E. Thoepe 3^5 



The Iron and Steel Institute 326 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Solar Outbursts and Magnetic Storms.— Sir G. B. AiRV, K.C.B., 



F.R.S 328 



Ocean Circulation.— A. R. Wallace, F.Z.S. ; Prof J. D. Everett 328 



Spectrum of Ainora.-Capt J. P. Maclear, R N 329 



The Method of Least Squares. — J. W. L. Glaishek 329 



The British Association Meeting at Brighton 330 



Mr. Spouiiwoode's Lecture to Working-men on Sunlight, Sea, and 



Sky 333 



Section A — Sectional Proceedings 336 



Section D.— Opening Addresses to Sub-Sections . 33^ 



Section E.— Opening Address 343 



Sectional Proceedings 34S 



Scientific Serials 348 



Books Received 348 



Errata, — Vol. vi., p. 300, ist col., line 2 from bottom, for "this" read 

 " the ;" 2nd col., line 10 from bottom, for " Fig. 4 " read " Fig. i :" last line, 

 for "Fig. 5" read "Fig. 2;" p. 301, Ist col., line 12 from bottom, for 

 "Fig. 6" read "Fig. 3 ;" p. 302, ist col., line 28, for "Fig. i" read " Fig. 

 4 :" line 39, for " Fig. 2 ' read " Fig. s :" line 45, for " Fig. 3" read " Fig. 6;" 

 2nd col , line 22 from bottom, for "modified" read "modifying;' p. 303, 

 2nd col., line 13, for " the" read " this.'' 



The British Association. — Attthors of papers are requested 

 to favour the Editor of NATURE witk copies or abstracts of their 

 communications as soon as possible, as by these means atone can 

 ait accurate and early notice be insured. The Editor appeals to 

 men of science to aid him in his attempt to give an account of the 

 results of their investigations to thar brethren throughout the xmrld. 



NOTICE 



]Ve ba; leave to state that ive decline to return refected communica- 

 tions, and to this rule we can make no exception. Communica- 

 tions lespectin^ Subscriptions or Advertisements must be addressed 

 to the Publishers, NOT to ihe Editor, 



