Oct. 17, 1872] 



NATURE 



507 



and finally to a settlement of the important fundamental physical 

 question, whether the properties of flame, in reference to the 

 absorption and transmission of heat and light, are, as I have ven- 

 tured to suggest, diametrically opposite to those of gases and 

 vapours — whether flames are specially transparent and diather- 

 mous to rays of their own emission, and resist the passage of hete- 

 rogeneous rays ; that a llame is thus not merely heated gas, liut 

 another and distinct form of matter, or rather is matter in a dif- 

 ferent state of activity. 



If this be established, we shall be driven back upon " the 

 wisdom of the ancients," and be forced to admit the classification 

 of the four elements, *' fire, air, earth, and water," or flame, gas, 

 solid, and liquid ; remembering, of course, that they used the 

 term "element " with a different meaning to that of our modern 

 acceptation. They described element.ary or necessary conditions, 

 not elementary constituents. It was the philosophy of material 

 existence, not the composition of material substances, which 

 chiefly occupied their attention. From this point of view their 

 classification may, after all, prove to be correct. 



I must reserve for another communication some remarks I pro- 

 posed to make on the application of the above to Mr. Ericsson's 

 researches on the radiation of the chromosphere. 



VV. Mattieu Williams 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



The part of the Transactions ofthcLinnean Society ]\x'A pub- 

 lished, forming the 2nd part of vol. xxviii, consists of two elabo- 

 rate botanical papers; "Memoir on the Spermogones and I'ycnides 

 of Crustnceous Lichens " by Dr. Lauder Lindsay ; and "On the 

 Hippocrateacc;e of South America " by Mr. Miers. Of the im- 

 portant features of the latter paper we gave a sketch on the 

 occasion of its being read before the Society. It is illustrated by 

 seventeen very beautiful plates executed by the author. The 

 first is an extremely elaborate paper, illustrating the great vari- 

 ation in the spermogones and pycnides in the same species of 

 lichen, and even in the same individual. For this purpose as 

 many as twelve or even 20 specimens of the same species, pre- 

 served in various herbaria, are in some cases minutely described. 

 This paper is also illustrated by eight coloured plates. 



The American Naturalist for August does not contain so 

 many original articles as usual. The Rev. Samuel Lockwood 

 describes a new Entozoon from the eel, belonging to Duvaine's 

 type, the Acanthocephala or spiny-heads, but forming a new 

 genus ; the name proposed is Kolcofs angtiilla. Dr. J. J. 

 Woodward has a paper on the use of monochromatic sunlight, as 

 an aid to high-power definition; and the Rev. 11. J. Bruce 

 describes some of the famihar birds of India. Among the 

 shorter articles there are some very interesting notes. 



The number for September opens with an interesting article 

 by Mr. S. H. Scudder, the curious history of a butterfly. The 

 American butterfly Brcnthis I'cHona occurs in two different forms 

 produced at different times of the year, in both cases the larva 

 hibernates, but with one set when just out of the egg, with the 

 other when half grown, the butterfly appearing in one case in 

 May, in the other in September ; and it seems impossible that 

 these two parallel races of the same species can ever mingle. 

 Prof. N. S. Shaler has a paper on the Geology of the Island of 

 Aquidneck and the neighbouring parts of the shores of Nara- 

 genset Bay ; and Dr. R. II. Ward sends a microscopical contri- 

 bution entitled "The new Immersion Illuminator." Mr. C. V. 

 Riley, who has paid great attention to the Phylloxera and other 

 diseases of the vine, has some valuable remarks on the cause of 

 the deterioration of some of the native grape-vines, which he has 

 contributed to his report as Entomologist to the State of 

 Missouri. 



The Qnciitcrly yoitrnal w/.S'lVt-wrt- for October commences with 

 two meteorological articles, the Origin of the Great Cyclones, 

 by I'rof. T. 1!. Maury, and an anonymous paper on Weather 

 I'rophecies. The author of the former article considers it proved 

 that cyclones are formed chiefly, if not exclusively, along the edges 

 of the great atmospheric currents, the surface currents and the 

 upper currents alike, the polar streams which descend into our 

 valle)s, and the aerial gulf streams which move invisibly over our 

 heads. Capt. Oliver continues his series of piapers on the 

 Amorpholithic Monuments of Brittany, and in continuation of a 

 previous scries we have an article on Natural and Artificial Flight 

 — an Aerial .Ship. Mr. F. C. Danvers, on Paper in the Inter- 

 national Exhibition, gives a shght sketch of the history of the 



manufacture of paper and of the various specimens to be seen 

 in the Exhibition. The Physiological Position of Tobacco, by 

 Mr. E. A. Axon is a powerful attack on the use of the weed 

 as not only unnecessary and destitute of any beneficial results, 

 but positively injurious. 



The first paper in 'iSxz American Journal of Science and Arts 

 for September is by Prof. J. W. Draper, "Researches in Actino- 

 Chemistry," from which we have already reprinted an extract on 

 the distribution of heat in the spectrum. Prof. Shepard con- 

 cludes his account of the Corundum region of North Carolina 

 and Georgia ; and then follows a sketch of BaiTande's account 

 of the origin of Palaeozoic species. Mr. A. A. Hayes has a long 

 article on the red oxide of zinc of New Jersey. In Prof. O. 

 C. .Marsh's continuation of his preliminary description of new 

 Tertiary Mammals are descriptions of a large number of new 

 genera and species. 



In the Geological Magazine iox October (No. 100), the Editor, 

 Mr. Henry Woodward, gives us notes, illustrated with excellent 

 figures, on some British Pakvozoic Crustacea belonging to his 

 order Merostomata. These notes include a full -description of 

 Ilemiaspis liinuloides, a species originally established by Mr. 

 Woodward in 1S65, and also shorter characters of three other 

 species of the same genus, namely, //. speratus (Salt ms.), //. 

 horridns, sp. n., and H. Sahocyi (Salt). These Silurian forms are 

 particularly interesting as they constitute a connecting link 

 between the suborders Eurypterida and Xiphosura. — Of ^.the 

 latter group Mr. Woodward here notices some species of the 

 genus Bellinurus, and describes a new form under the name of 

 B. IConigianus, also a new Trestwieliia, P. BirtuvHi, both from 

 the Coal measures. — Mr. W.T. A veline publishes ashortnotecn 

 the continuity and breaks between the various divisions of the 

 Silurian strata in the Lake district, and Messrs. Davidson and 

 King some remarks on the genera Triincrella, Dinohohis, 

 and iVonomerella. In this paper the authors propose the 

 establishment of a new Brachiopod family, Trimerellida-, 

 allied to the Lingulidx. — Dr. H. A. Nicholson describes 

 a new genus of fossil tubicolar Annelides founded upon 

 a division of the fossils hitherto referred by Pakrontologists to 

 Tentaciilites. The so-called genus Tentacnlites, according to Dr. 

 Nicholson, includes forms belonging to the Pteropodous MoUusca 

 and others which are true tubicolar Annelides, the former 

 being free shells, the latter attached to other bodies. He pro- 

 poses to retain the name Tcniaculites for the Pteropods, and to 

 establish a new genus, Ortonia, for the Annelides. lie describes 

 and figures a new species of the latter from the Cincinnati group 

 of the Lower Silurian of Ohio under the name of Orlonia 

 conica. — The concluding article in the number is a further 

 instalment of Prof. Nordenskiold's account of the Swedish 

 Greenland Expedition of 1870. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



Philadelphia 

 Academy of Natural Sciences, April 2. — Prof. Leidy 

 made some remarks on specimens of fossils of extinct mammals 

 from the Tertiary of Wyoming. One of these is an upper jaw 

 fragment with two molars ; the other a lower jaw fragment with 

 a single molar. The upper molars have ciowns composed of 

 four lobes, of which the outer are like the corresponding ones in 

 Ancliitlterium. Of the inner lobes, the front one is much the 

 larger, and is prolonged outwardly in advance of the antero- 

 extemal lobe. It is homologous with the antero-internal and 

 antero-median lobes as existing in Anchitheriuiii in a completely 

 connate condition. The postero-internal lobe is the smallest of 

 the crown. It is conical and conjoins that in front. A barely 

 perceptible trace of a postero-median lobe is seen. A strong 

 basal ridge incloses the crown, except externally, where it is 

 feebly produced. The three upper molars occupied a space of 

 8 lines. ' The first molar is i\ lines fore and aft and 3} trans- 

 versely ; the second is 2\ Ihies fore and aft, and the last one 

 z\ lines. A question arises as to whether these teeth pertain to 

 any of the animals previously indicated from lower jaw specimens 

 with teeth. They are too large for the known species of Ilyop- 

 sodns or Microsyofs. They nearly accord in size with the lower 

 molars of Xolliarctns, and perhaps belong to this genus. Linno- 

 therium appears not to differ from this, as the number of teeth 

 and their constitution are the same. The lower jaw fragment 

 accompanying the upper one may belong to the same animal. 

 The molar it contains, though resembling those of A^otharctus, 



