288 



NA TURE 



{jfan. 20, 1887 



minute of pure water at a temperature of 25° C, has already 

 developed a considerable lake 10 metres deep, by means of which 

 from 500 to 600 hectares of waste land have been reclaimed. 

 Similar results elsewhere give hope that large tracts now unin- 

 habited, but which supported a numerous population in the time 

 of the Romans, will soon be again brought under cultivation. — 

 On the theory of algebraic forms with p variables, by M. R. 

 Perrin. — On the action of the chloride of carbon on the anhydrous 

 oxides, by M. Eug. Demar9ay. Schiitzenbergcr having shown 

 that the tetrachloride of carbon reacts readily on the sulphuric 

 anhydride, forming phosgene and chloride of pyrosulphuryl, 

 the author here describes some experiments he has carried out 

 for the purpose of ascertaining whether the same substance 

 reacts on the oxides, and whether this reaction might not 

 be utilised in the laboratory for facilitating the preparation 

 of the anhydrous chlorides. — On erythrite, by M. Albert 

 Colson. This substance should yield successively by oxidation 

 a monobasic and a tdbasic acid, the latter being tartaric acid, 

 according to Henninger's formula. But no monobasic acid 

 derived from erythrite has yet been described, nor has the 

 transformation of this alcohol into tartaric acid ever given satis- 

 factory results. The author here accordingly resumes the study 

 of its oxidation, testing by the lliermo-chemical process the 

 formulas hitherto accepted for ei-ythrite and tartaric acid. He 

 also treats erythrite with the perbromide of phosphorus, obtain- 

 ing a bromhydrine, C4H(;Br4, fu-ible at 112" C, and identical 

 with the tetrabromide of crotonylene, described by Henninger. 

 — On the glycerinate of potassa, by M. de Forcrand. Having 

 already determined the heat of formation of the glycerinate of 

 soda, and of its ethylic combination, and the conditions under 

 which these compounds have their origin, the author here sub- 

 jects the glycerinate of potassa to a similar process with analogous 

 results. — On the substances derived from erythrene, by i\IM, E. 

 Grimaux and Ch. Cloez. The object of the experiments here 

 described is to ascertain whether erythrene and the carburet of 

 gas oils are really identical, as supposed by Henninger. The 

 result so far shows that the erythrene derived from the oils of 

 compressed gas unites readily with hypochlorous acid, the pro- 

 duct of the reaction being soluble in ether, alcohol, and water. 

 — On the artificial production of zincite and willemite, by ^I. 

 Alex. Gorgeu. The methods by whicli the author reproduces 

 zincite are based on the decomposition of several salts of zinc 

 by heat alone, or aided by the vapour of water. It is merely an 

 application of the process by which M. Debray has obtained 

 crystals of glucine, magnesia, &c. Willemite, SiO.,, 2ZnO, he 

 produces by a method based on the action of silica on a mixture of 

 alkaline sulphate and sulphate of zinc. — Observations on fishes in- 

 habiting veiy deep waters (second communication), by M. Leon 

 Vaillant. The really characteristic types of this class of deep-sea 

 fauna are referred to the sub-order of the Anacanthini, which yields 

 a considerable number of species, living at great depths. There 

 is almost a total absence of Pleuronectes, the solitary exception 

 being P. mcgastoma, Donov., fished up from a depth of 560 

 metres. A striking feature of this ichthyological fauna is its 

 great uniformity, the same genera and even elosely-allied species 

 constantly reappearing and being evidently diffused over the 

 widest ranges. — Researches on the mechanism of respiration in 

 the Myriapods, by M. J. Chalande. Most zoologists suppose 

 that the breathing process is the same in the IVIyriapods as in 

 insects ; but the author's researches show conclusively that this 

 hypothesis is absolutely erroneous. In them respiration is 

 effected by the rhythmical movements of the dorsal vessel, the 

 air also penetrating by diffusion to the most delicate tracheae. — 

 On the age of the Bauxite formation in the south-east of France, 

 by M. L. Collot. This formation, which in the Ariege district 

 occurs between the Coralline and Urgonian deposits, is referred 

 to the successive geological epochs between the Lower Lias and 

 the Urgonian. — On the partial results of the first two experi- 

 ments made to determine the direction of the North Atlantic 

 currents, by Prince Albert of IVIonaco. Of the 169 floats cast 

 overboard 300 miles north-west of the Azores in 1S85, fourteen 

 have been recovered, showing a general south-easterly direction 

 and a mean velocity of 3 '83 miles per twenty-four hours. Of 

 the 510 floated in 1SS6 much nearer to the French coast, nine 

 have reappeared, showing nearly the same direction, with velocities 

 of from 5 'So lo 6^45 miles. — Coincidence of certain solar 

 phenomena with the perturbations of terrestrial magnetism, by 

 IVI. E. Marchand. A comparative study of the folar observations 

 made at the Lyons Observatory in 1885-86 with the curves of the 

 Mascart magnetic recorder shows that there exists a direct rela- 



tion between the terrestrial magnetic disturbances and the dis- 

 placements of certain solar elements accompanying the spots and 

 the facula;. — On the actual value of the magnetic elements at the 

 Pare Saint-Maur Observatory, by M. Th. Moureaux. — Note on 

 the recent minimum of the solar spots, by M. A. Ricco. This 

 minimum, which occurred between October and December, 1886, 

 was specially remarkable for its intensity, no spots or pores being 

 at all visible twice for eleven days and once for eight days during 

 that period. — Remarks on the geological chart of Lake Baikal 

 and the surrounding district, by IVI. Venukoff. A careful studv 

 of this map, drawn to a scale of i : 420,000, shows that the 

 Baikal basin is not a crevasse in the Jurassic beds, as liad been 

 supposed, nor a subsidence due to plutonic or volcanic causes, bu' 

 that its formation dates from pre-Silurian times and is still in 

 progress. 



BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED 



Practical Zoology: Marshall and Hurst (Smith, Elder).— The Garner, 

 vol. i. (Bowers, Walworth). — Massachusetts Institute of Technology — 

 Twenty-second Annual Catalogue of Officers and Students, and Pre- 

 sident's Report (Boston).— Folk-Lore and Provincial Names of Britisl, 

 Birds : Rev. C. Swainson (Stock).— Flora of Leicestershire (Williams and 

 Norgate). — Journal of the Franklin Institute, January. — Transactions of 

 the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, Parts 7, 8, 9 (Taylor, Leeds).— Precious 

 Stones in Nature, Art, and Literature : S. M. Burnham (Triibner). -Health 

 at Schools : Dr. C. Dukes (Cassell).— Deviation of the Compass in Iron 

 Ships : W. H. Rosser (Imray).— Sonnets on Nature and Science : S. Jeffer- 

 son (Unwin).— Logia of the Lord ; Historical Jesus ; Paul the Gnostic 

 Opponent of Peter; Devil of Darkness : G. Massey. — Report of Kew 

 Observatory Committee for the Year ending December 31, 1886 (Harrison). 

 — Explication des Taches du Soleil ; M. Delauney (Paris). — Elementai-y 

 Ideas, Definitions, and Laws in Dynamics: E. H. Hall (Cambridge, 

 Mass.).— Studien (iber das Molekular-volumen einiger Korper : G. A. 

 Hagemann (Friedlander, Berlin). 



CONTENTS PAGE 



The Imperial Institute 265 



The Blastoidea 267 



Tea-Planting in Ceylon 26S 



Geometry 269 



Acoustics 270 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Phillips's " Old or New Chemistry " 270 



Clifford's " Lectures and Essays " 270 



Jeans's " Lives of the Electricians " 270 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Normal School of Science and Royal School of Mines. 



—Colonel J. F. D. Donnelly, C.B 271 



The Cambridge Cholera Fungus. — Walter Gardiner 271 

 Snowstorm of January 7, 1S87. — E.J. Lowe. [Illus- 

 trated) 271 



Auroras. — Dr. M. A. 'Veeder 272 



A Solar Halo.— J. J. ''A^alker 272 



The National Science Collections, II 272 



Transmission of Power by Compressed Air. {Illus- 

 trated) 275 



The Classification of the Caecilians 280 



Notes 280 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



New Variables in Cygnus 2S2 



New Minor Planet 282 



A New Method for the Determination of the Con- 

 stant of Aberration 282 



The Madras Observatory 282 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1887 



January 23-29 283 



Geographical Notes 283 



Experimental Science in Schools and Universities 2S4 

 Aboriginal Art in California and Queen Charlotte's 



Island 285 



University and Educational Intelligence 285 



Scientific Serials 2S6 



Societies and Academies 287 



Books and Pamphlets Received 288 



