432 



NA TURE 



IMarch 3, 1887 



iron, tin, cailmiiim, antimony, and aluminium. — Action of sul- 

 phuric acid on the sohibility of the sulphates, by M. R. Engel. 

 Sulphuric acid, acting on solutions of sulphates incapable of 

 combining with it to form acid sulphates, determines a diminution 

 of the solubility of the salt. But this is shown to take place 

 according to a law different from that observed for the chlorides 

 in presence of hydrochloric acid. — On the reproduction of the 

 micas, by MM. P. Hautefeuille and L. Pean de Saint-Gilles. In 

 this preliminary paper the authors confine themselvei to some of 

 their researches on the fusion of the elements of the micas with 

 the fluosilicate of potassa. — Remarks on M. Boutroux's note 

 regarding the action of nitric acid on sug.-ir, by M. E. 

 Maumene. M. Boutroux's statement that by the action 

 of sugar and nitric acid he obtained saccharic acid and 

 oxalic acid, but not hexepic acid, is shown to be erroneous. 

 — On the treatment of new wines with sugar, by MM. O. 

 Klein and E. Frechou. The authors' experiments show 

 the possibility of obtaining with alcohol of aljout the theoretic 

 quantity right fermentations by means of which poor vintages 

 may henceforth be converted into good wines capable of preser- 

 vation. — A contribution to the study of the alkaloids, by M. 

 Oechsner de Coninck. — Researches on the mode of action of 

 colchicine taken as a therapeutic, and on the mechanism of this 

 action, by MM. A. Mairet and Combemale. The authors' ex- 

 periments show that this substance has the same diuretic or 

 purgative action on men as on animals, but the former are three 

 times more sensitive to its action than the latter. — Fresh studies 

 on the embryogeny of the Neinatodes, by M. Paul Hallez. — On 

 the development of the Nematodes of the beetroot during the 

 years 1S85 and 1S86, and on their modes of prop.igation, by M. 

 Aime Girard. — On the oscillations produced during the Eocene 

 period in the Laval basin, by M. D. CEhlert. — On the geological 

 constitution of la Montagne-Noire, Castelnaudary district, by M. 

 J. Bergeron. 



Berlin 



Physical Society, January 21. — Prof, von Bezold in the 

 chair. — Dr. Konig spoke of the disadvantages of the hydro- 

 oxygen lamps, and demonstrated a new lamp constructed by 

 Herr Linnemann, in which the unsteadiness in the light, arising 

 from the fact that in the common lamp the flame burned now in 

 the burning tube and now outside of it, was avoided. In the 

 new lamp the coal-gas or the hydrogen issued from a ring- 

 shaped opening in the burner, while the oxygen in the centre was 

 admitted through a capillary tube and did not come into contact 

 with the burnin;^ gas till outside of the burner. In the middle 

 of the blue flame was seen a bright point which gave the heat- 

 maximum. Instead of the lime cylinder, Herr Linnemann used 

 in his lamp zircon plates, which, at the place of the bright point, 

 gave a highly intense constant light. The speaker made use of this 

 light in order, with the aid of the optical bench of Prof. Paalzow, 

 to demonstrate by projection a long series of phenomena in con- 

 nection with the doctrine of the polarisation of light. For all teach- 

 ing purposes and demonstrations this method of representing 

 the most important optical phenomena could not be surpassed 

 by any other. — Dr. Lummer described the experiments of M. 

 Mace de Lepinay, who by a new method had determined the 

 wave-length of the ray of light Do, ascertaining, as he had done, 

 by weighing, the volume of a quartz cube, the size of which was 

 determined in units of the wave-lengths, and fro)n the volume of 

 the cube finding the length of the light-wave. The speaker 

 showed a series of inaccuracies in the measurements of M. de 

 Lepinay, and, in view of the fact that the wave-lengths of the 

 rays of light were now measured with a precision of 1/60,000, 

 whereas the determination of the centimetre was affected with 

 an uncertainty of 1/4000, he purposed inversely ascertaining the 

 length of the centimetre from the wave-length. The motle of 

 procedure should be the same as that made use of by M. de 

 Lepinay, yet several improvements in the measuring and weighing 

 were stated, such as the speaker hoped to be able to effect later 

 on. — Dr. Dieterici showed an apparatus designed by Prof. 

 Koppen which enabled one to fill a barometer free of air very 

 rapidly. An upright standing communicating-tube open atone 

 end for the admission of the quicksilver issued at the other end 

 in a capillary tube pa sing at the bottom into a vessel. The open 

 leg of the siphon was longer than the other. On pouring in the 

 quicksilver it rose uniformly in both legs, forced up the air in the 

 closed leg and through the capillary outwards. When the closed 

 leg was entirely filled wiih quicksilver, and yet more continued 

 to be poured in, it drained itself off through the capillary, 

 bearing along with it all the air, in the same manner as did the 



.Sprengel pump. The quicksilver became collected in the lower 

 vessel and closed the lower opening of the capillary. The 

 vacuum was thus established, and in the closed leg of the com- 



r^' 



raunicating-tube the quicksilver sank to barometer height. — Prof, 

 n. W. Vogel presented photographs of coloured objects which 

 in the distinctness of their nuances perfectly corresponded with 

 the impression conveyed by the objects themselves to the eye. 

 The speaker had, in conjunction with Herr Oberneth, succeeded 

 in finding in eosin-silver a substance rendering the photo- 

 graphic plates most highly sensitive for the yellow-green rays, 

 corresponding with the utmost sensitiveness of the retina for those 

 rays. The photographs of solar spectra and difterent landscapes 

 attested the excellence of this ' ' sensibilisator. " 



CONTENTS PAGE 



Endowment of Medical Research 409 



The Electric Motor. By Prof. Silvanus P. Thomp- 

 son 410 



The Flora of Leicestershire. By J. G. Baker . . 411 



Geology of Jersey 412 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Sedgwick and Wilson : " General Biology " . . . . 413 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



Industrial Studentships. — Colonel J. F. D. Don- 

 nelly, C.B 413 



Top-shaped Hailstones. — C. S. Middlemiss. (Illiis- 



tratcd) 413 



Snowflakes. — Samuel Lockwood 414 



" Invisible at Greenwich." — A. C. Crommelin . . 414 



Lunar Halos. — Prof. S. T. Moreland 414 



The Beetle in Motion. — A. Wilkins 414 



A Recently- Discovered Deposit of Celestine. — R. H. 



Solly ! 414 



The Vitality of Seeds.— N. E. P 414 



The Relations .between Geology and the Mine- 

 ralogical Sciences, II. By Prof. John W. Judd, 



F.R.S 414 



Dr. William Traill, of Woodwick 419 



The Earthquake 419 



Notes 421 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet 1S87 i (Brooks, January 22) 424 



Comet 1887 <: (Barnard, January 23) 424 



Comet 1S87 (/(Barnard, February 15) 424 



A Method for the Determination of the Constant of 



Aberration 424 



The Harvard College Observatory 424 



New Minor Planet 425 



Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1887 



March 6-12 425 



On Radiant-Matter Spectroscopy ;— Examination of 

 the Residual Glow. By William Crookes, F.R.S. 



[lUuslraleJ) 425 



Pre-Scientific Theories of the Causes of Earth- 

 quakes 428 



On the Effect of Certain Stimuli on Vegetable 

 Tissues. By Miss Anna Bateson and Prof. 



Francis Darwin, F.R.S 420 



Societies and Academies 430 



