384 



NA TURE 



S^Feb. 17, 1887 



case of weak currents. The efficacy of this methoil of procedure 

 was confirmed by the experience that a contact which liad been 

 in constant operation for two years remained unchanged. — Dr. 

 Richarz spoke of the formation of peroxide of hydrogen by 

 electrolysis. If a current were conducted through diluteil 

 sulphuric acid, then there was formed at the positive electrode 

 a strongly oxidising substance, formerly taken for per- 

 oxide of hydrogen, but demonstrated by M. Berthelot to be 

 per-sulphuric acid, SjO^. In experiments on the electro- 

 lysis of concentrated 'solutions of sulphuric acid with wire- 

 shaped platinum electrodes, the speaker had obtained in the 

 solution, beside per-sulphuric acid, ozone and peroxide of 

 hydrogen, and assumed that all three bodies made their 

 appearance at the positive electrode. This assumption had 

 been disputed by Traube, and, on the ground of experiments 

 with diluted acids, he had maintained that the peroxide of 

 hydrogen arose' only at the negative electrode by reduction of 

 the atmospheric oxygen. Dr. Richarz repeated his experiments, 

 and found that in concentrated sulphuric acid, on electrolysis, 

 peroxide of hydrogen occurred always at the positive electrode 

 when per-sulphuric acid was formed ; but that it occurred 

 temporarily later on, and was not a direct product of the electro- 

 lysis, but arose through secondary chemical reactions, by oxida- 

 tion of water through the per-sulphuric acid. The following 

 experiment served as a proof thereof : — A 40 per cent, sulphuric 

 acid solution was subjected to electrolysis, and thereby, on 

 account of too great attenuation, no peroxide of hydrogen, but 

 only per-sulphuric acid, came to view. If, now, into the 40 per 

 cent, sulphuric acid 60 per cent, acid were poured, after the 

 electrolysis was finished, then did peroxide of hydrogen show 

 itself in the fluid. — Dr. Dieterici communicated how he rendered 

 galvanometers insensible to the disturbances of the earth's mag- 

 netism by surrounding with an iron cylinder, and setting in an 

 iron box provided with suitable apertures for observation, the 

 windings of the galvanometer up to the height of the mirror set 

 above the needle. Residual magnetism, which was readily 

 recognised, was easily removed by heating and by adjusting the 

 mutual position of the two parts of the iron case. 



Meteorological Society, January 4. — Prof, von Bezold 

 in the chair. — The yearly report having been read by the Secre- 

 tary, and officials elected. Dr. Zenker explained the arrangement 

 and contents of the meteorological calendar edited by him, — Dr. 

 Sprung then read a paper on Hadley's principle. Starting from 

 the phenomenon, now and again observed, of an air-current pro- 

 ceeding in the direction of the meridian, while the gradients of 

 atmospheric pressure operated in a direction perpendicular 

 thereto, the author referred to the circumstance that Hadley h.id 

 last century resolved the direction of the trade-winds into the simul- 

 taneous action of the difference of temperature and of the earth's 

 rotation resulting in a mean course, an explanation which first ob- 

 tained general acce]")tance through Dove. The derivation of the 

 curve described by a mass-particle on the earth when it had 

 received an impulse to the north and was rotating in a parallel 

 with the earth had been attempted in two different ways — one 

 way by Mousson and another by Schmidt. The speaker 

 discussed such derivations for the simplest case — that of a 

 rotating disk and of a mass-point thereupon impelled with a 

 certain energy and free from friction towards the centre. Through 

 analytical development of the results, he adopted the method of 

 taking as approximately accurate Schmidt's derivation, which 

 presupposed the force in the direction of the meridians to be a 

 constant value, but the force in the direction of the circle of 

 parallel to augment with the time. After further consideration 

 of the centrifugal force, a basis for the mechanics of atmo- 

 spheric currents on the earth might be determined by Hadley's 

 principle. 



Chemical Society, January 10. — Prof. A. W. Hofmann, 

 President, in the chair. — Prof. Rud. Weber communicated tlie 

 results of his experiments on some compounds of sulphuric 

 anhydride with phosphoric and iodic anhydrides ; he has isolated 

 compounds of the composition P-iO; -H 3SO3 and I2O5 + 3SO3, 

 and he describes their preparation and analysis. — O. N. Witt 

 described a new method of producing the azines ; they can be 

 obtained from the decomposition of the azo-compounds produced 

 from diazobenzenesulphonic acid and phenyl-, paratolyl-, and 

 xylyl-/3-napthylamine. — C. Friedheim criticised the method re- 

 commended by Weil for the volumetric determination of hydro- 

 gen sulphide ; the method is not only troublesome and com- 

 plicated, but the reaction doer not tak"! place in the manner 



assumed by Weil. The author gives analytical results showing 

 that the method cannot be depended on. — Prof. Pinner read 

 abstracts of papers by Liweh, and Ramsay and Young. 



BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS RECEIVED 



Westindische Skizzen, Reise-Erinnerungen : K, Martin (Brill, Ley- 

 den). — Sitz. der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Mathe- 

 matische-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe), Zweite Abth., i, 2, 4, 5, 6. 7, 

 8. 9. 10: Dritte Abth., 3 to 10; Erste Abth.. i. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8. 9. 10 

 (Gerold's .Sohns, Wien). — Journal of the Chemical Society, February 

 (Gurney and Jackson).— Bulletin dii Musee Royal d'Histoire Nalurelle 

 de Belgique. tome iv. . No. 4. — A Text-book of Euclid's Elements, 

 part I : H. S. Hall and F. H. Stevelis (Macrnillan and Co.).— Obser- 

 vatory Temperature-room and Competitive Trials of Chronometers in 

 18S4-S6 (Washington).— On the Flora of Shetland: W. H. Beeby 

 (Cowan. Perth).- The Coleoptera of the British Isles; W. W. Fowler 

 (Reeve and Co.)— Loch Creran : W. Anderson Smith (A. Gardner).— 

 The Survival of the Fittest; A. S.Wilson {h. Gardner). — Sitzungsbericht 

 der Physikalisch-Medizinischen Societat zu Erlangen. 18 Heft(Erlangen). — 

 Bulletin of the .American Museum of Natural History, vol. i. No. 8 — 

 Eolletino delta Societa Geografica Italiana. .Anno xxi, fasc. 1 (Roma). — 

 Bulletin de la Society de Geographie 4e. trimestre, i886(Paris),— Meteorolo- 

 gische Beobachtungen in Deutschland. 1S84, Jahrg. vii. (Hamburg) — Le 

 Climate de la Belgique en 1886 ; A, Lancaster (Hayez, Eruxelles) — Liste 

 G^n^rale des (Jbservatoires et des Astronomes ; A. Lancaster (Hayez. 

 Bruxelles) — Mineral Physiology and Physiography: T. S. Hunt'(Cassino, 

 Boston).— Notes on South African Hunting ; A. J. Betheil (VVhittaker).— 

 American Journal of Mathematics, vol. ix. No. 2 (Baltimore). — Imperial 

 University of Japan ; Calendar for the Year 18S6-87 (Mamiya, Tokto). — 

 Anuario de la Oficina Central Meteorolojica de Chile, tomo 18, Correspon- 

 diente a 1886 (Santiago). — Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. 

 February (Wdliams and Norgate). — Studies in Life'and Sense : A. Wilson 

 Chatto and Windus). — Proceedings of the .American Association for the 

 -Advancement of Science, Twenty-fifth Meeting (Salem). — Annalen der Physik 

 und Chemie, 1887. No. 2 (Barth. Leipzig).— Lehrbuch der .Allgemeinen 

 Chemie, Erste und Zweite Haft, Zweiter Band ; Dr. W. Ostwald (Engel- 

 mann, Leipzig). — Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, February 

 (Longmans). — Beiblatter .Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 1887. No. 1 

 tBarth, Leipzig). — Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde zu Berlin, 

 Band xiv. No. i (Remier, Berlin).— Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft fiir 

 Erdkunde zu Berlin, Nos. 126 und 127 (Remier, Berlin).— City of York ; 

 Report on the Prevalence of Typhoid Fever In York, 1886 (Johnson. 



CONTENTS PAGE 



The Origin of Mountain Ranges. By Prof. A. H. 



Green, F.R.S 361 



Organic Evolution. By Dr. George J. Romanes, 



F.R.S 362 



Text-book of British Fungi 364 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Miall and Denny : " The Structure and Life-History 



of the Cockroach " 365 



"The Administration Report of the Meteorological 



Department, India, 1S85-86" 365 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Mr. Romanes on Physiological Selection. — Dr. Alfred 



R. Wallace 366 



Instantaneous Shutters. — Colonel H. Stuart- Wort- 

 ley 366 



Svastika Cross and Sun.— Dr. Hyde Clarke ... 366 

 Life-Energy, or the Dynamics of Health and Disease. 



— Surgeon-Major Nathl. Alcock 366 



The Cruise of the " Marchesa." (Illustrated) . . . 369 



The Smithsonian Institution 372 



Notes 37S 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



A Method for the Determination of the Constant of 



Aberration 377 



The Application of Photography to the Determination 



of Stellar Parallax 377 



Observations of Variable Stars in 1885 378 



The Alleged Ancient Red Colour of Sirius .... 378 



Bright Lines in Stellar Spectra 378 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1887 



February 20-26 378 



Geographical Notes 378 



John Hunter 379 



University and Educational Intelligence 380 



Scientific Serials 380 



Societies and Academies 381 



Books and Pamphlets Received 384 



