48 



NATURE 



[May 13, 1880 



part of the Downs, in a place called the Little Burys, black 

 patches were of frequent occurrence in the sand, which \\ere 

 composed of charcoal, fragments of burnt bone, a flint flake or 

 two, and frequently iron nails. In one particular spot a batch 

 of over ninety iron ttuds was found, mixed up with bone a-hes 

 and charcoal. The authors considered that the patches of char- 

 coal without an urn indicated pauper burials, or the burials of 

 soldiers, as this place was a military station. The pottery and 

 other relics discovered were exhibited.— General A. Pitt-Kivers 

 exhibited a series of plans and relics from Mount Caburn. 



Photographic Society, April 6. — J. Glaisher, F.R.S., 

 president, in the chair.— Mr. ]. H. Dallmeyer, F.R.A.S., read a 

 paper on principles of optics involved in lantern construction ; 

 and on a new enlarging lens especially designed for use with the 

 ma^ic lantern, in which he described all previous existing 

 objective lenses and condensers and the scientific principles 

 which ought to be ob^erved in their construclion, and then ex- 

 hibited and described a new condenser he had constructed con- 

 taining the essentials required, viz., quantity and quality of 

 light ; also a new objective lens which gave equal definition at the 

 margin as well as at the centre of the picture, freedom from 

 distortion, and perfect achromatism.— A paper was read by 

 Capt. Abney, R.E., F.R.S., on the use of silver iodide in a 

 gelalino-bromide emulsion, showing that the introduction of 

 iodide into the ordinary gelatino-bromide emulsion did not 

 decrease its sensitiveness, as also that it permitted the use of an 

 ordinary yellow light to work in — same as for wet coUoilion. — 

 Also a paper, by W. England, on a drying box for gelatine plates. 

 GoTTINGEN 



Royal Society of Sciences, January 10 (continued). — On 

 boracite, by Herr Klein. 



February 7. — The affinity-grouping of old German dialects, 

 by Herr Bezzenberger. — On physiological retrogression of 

 ovarian eggs in mammals, by Dr. Brunn. — On sexual propaga- 

 tion of basycladus dava-fonnis, Ag., by Herr Berthold.— The 

 theory of numerical-theoretical functions, hy Prof. Cantor. — On 

 a class of functions of several variables which arise by inversion 

 of the integrals of solution of linear-differential equations with 

 rational coefficients, by llerr Fuchs. 



March 6. — On the theory of partial line.ar differential equa- 

 tions, by Dr. Krankenhagen. 



Vienna 



Imperial Academy of Sciences, January 22. — The follow- 

 ing papers, &c., were read: — The Diptera of the Imperial 

 Museum in Vienna, by Prof. Brauer.— On projectivities and 

 involutions in plane rational curves of the third order, by Prof. 

 Weyr. — The periods of springs, by Herr Klonne.— On the 

 behaviour of phenanthrenchinon towards ammonia, by Prof. 

 Sommaruga. — On chlorhydrate of morphin, hy Herr Tausch. — 

 The more recent deposits on the Hellespont, by Prof. Neumayr 

 and Herr Calvert. — Survey of the geological relations of a jiart 

 of the ,'Egean coast lands, by Prof. Neumayr, Dr. Bittner, and 

 Fr. Teller. 



February 5. — Communications from the Embryological Insti- 

 tute of Vienna University, by Prof. Schenk.— The respiratory 

 apertures of the Marchantiacea;, by Prof. Leitgeb.— On nectar- 

 secreting trichomes of some species of Rlclampyrum, by Pmf. 

 Rathay.— On the yearly period of the insect-fauna of Austria- 

 Hungary. V. Rhynchota, by Herr Fritsch.— Electric acti-m on 

 the form of flames, by Herr Goldstein.— On the probable errors 

 and the available results of calculation deduced from imperfect 

 numbers, by Dr. Rotter. — Tables of observations at the Central 

 Institution for Meteorology and Magnetism. 

 Paris 



Academy of Sciences, May 3. — M. Edm. Becquerel in the 

 chair. — The following papers were read : — On the transcenrlants 

 which play a fundamental part in the theory of planetary per- 

 turbations, by M. Tisserand.— On the gases retained by occlusion 

 in aluminium and magnesium, by M. Dumas. While silver im- 

 prisons oxygen, aluminium and magnesium specially retain hy- 

 drogen. The substances were heated to a high temperature in 

 vacuo. The 89-5 c.c. gas given off by 200 gr. aluminium (repre- 

 senting 80 c.c.) at »7° and 755 mm., contained rSc.c. CO^ and 

 88'o c.c. H. ; 20 gr. magnesium gave I2'3i-.c. H. and 4"! c.c. 

 CO. (In another case there was both CO and COj.) The wh de 

 of the magnesium was volatilised and condensed in stalactites (in 

 great purity) about the neck of the retort.— On the cholera of 

 fowls ; study of the conditions of non-recurrence of the malady, 

 and of some others of its characters, by M. Pasteur. The extract 



of a filtered culture-liquid of the microbe, when injected, pro- 

 duces sleep (for a time) ; the microbe seems to generate a narcotic 

 during its life. This eflect is independent of disorders produced 

 by multiplication of the parasite in a fowl's body. The malady 

 sometimes occurs in a chronic form. — On extension of the theory 

 of germs to the etiology of some known maladies, by M. 

 Pasteur. lie shows reasons for attributing boils, osteomyelitis, 

 and puerperal fever to the development of minute organisms. — 

 On a letter of Admiral Clone relative to waterspouts, by M. 

 Faye. — Formation of leaves and appearance of their first vessels 

 in Iris, Allium, Funkia, Ilemerocallis, &c., by M. Trecul. — 

 On the law of reciprocity in the theory of numbers, by 

 Prof. Sylvester. — Experimental researches on the decomposition 

 of some explosives in a closed vessel ; composition of the gases 

 formed, by MM. Sarran and Vieille. The products are indi- 

 cated in the case (i) of pure gun-cotton (this gives, per kgm. of 

 sufctance, 741 litres of gas made up of 234 CO, 234 COj, 166 H, 

 and 107 N), (2) of a mixture in equal parts of gun-cotlon and nitrate 

 of potash, (3)of a mixture of 40 parts gun-cotton and 60 nitrate of 

 ammonia, (4) of nitroglycerine, (5) of ordinary blasting-powder. — 

 Cometary paraboloids, by Mr. Chase. — On simultaneous linear 

 equations, and on a class of non-plane curves, by M. Picard. — On 

 Gauss's formula of rjuadrature, by M. Callandreau. — Theorem 

 on cubic and biquadratic equations, by M. Desboves. — General 

 equation giving the relation which exists for all liquids betweei» 

 their temperature and the maximum tension of their vapours at 

 this temperature, by M. Pictet. — Rhumi of the laws which rule 

 matter in the spheroidal state, by M. Boutigny. The fifth law, 

 that of repulsive force at a sensible distance, is represented as 

 the most important, because antagonistic to universal attraction. 

 Non-volatile bodies (as pieces of wax, tallow, stearic or margaric 

 acid, &c.), are suspended in a heated capsule, without vapour or 

 gas arising from their decompo.ition. Water dropped, e.g., 

 from the top of the Pantheon, 70 m. high, on a heated capsule 

 at the bottom, is repelled instantaneously by the repulsive force 

 generated by the heat in the capsule. — Dissociation of the 

 hydrate of butyl-chloral, by MM. Engel and Moitessier. They 

 find here a new confirmation of the law they formulated ; the 

 dssociation of a body whose two components are volatile does 

 not take place in presence of the vapour of one of the com- 

 ponents at a tension above that of dissociation of the compound. 

 —On the determination of glycerine in wines, by M. Raynaud. 

 —On legumine, by M, Bleunard.— On gelose, by M. Porambaru. 

 — Variations of temperature with the altitude for the great colds 

 of December, 1S79, in the valley of the Seine, by M. Lemoine. 

 The data agree with those lately given by M. AUuard.— On the 

 variability of teats in the ovides of the Lower Cevennes, by M. 

 Tayon.— On the structure of some Corallidoe, by M. Merejkow- 

 sl;y__On the analogies which seem to exist between cholera of 

 fowls and nelavan, or the malady of sleep, by M. Declot. 



CONTENTS Pagb 



MioRATORV Birds at Lighthouses =5 



The River of Golden Sand =» 



Ouu Book Shelf :— 



•■The Geological Record foriS77". . . . ••,-,.• ,; • • • =* 



Colve'e's " Ensayo sobre una nueva enfermedad del Olivo ... 29 



Letters TO THE Editoh: — „ „ « 



Winter "Swallou-s."— Prof. Alfred Newton, F.RS. . . . . 29 

 Does Chlorophyll Decompose Carbonic Acid?— Dr. John William 



Draper o*t.' ' "d ^' 



On a Point Relating to Brain Dynamics.— S. I olver I'RESTON . . 29 



Curious Botanical Phenomenon.— M. F 30 



Carboniferous Forest at Oldham.— Jas. Nield 30 



Fungus Inoculation for Injects.- J. P. Lesley 3" 



Carnivorous Wasps.— An Old Entomologist 3» 



Seeing by Telegraphy.— John Perry : W. E. Avrton 31 



Anchor-Ice.-C. F. C ^- ••.■„■••• 3» 



Further Observations AND Researches on Fleuss s System of 

 Diving and Living in Ikkesitrable Atmospheres. By Dr. B. w. 



Richardson. F.RS •,•„■•;,; 'Wot" ''* 



The Adrora BOREAL.S. By Warren Ds La Rue, M A. D C.U 

 F.R.S. ; Hugo W. Muller, Ph.D., F.R.S. : Robert H. Scott 



(With I llustralioii) ■ • ,•„•,• ,,•, •, •.." ; ^\ 



A Scottish Ceannog. By Dr. Robert Munro (/f'/M ///i«<ra/!W(i) 34 



The United States Weather Maps, August, 1878 3° 



The Iron and Steel Institute 37 



Notes f 



Gf-oGHAPHicAL Notes ,, t. *d c \i\y-A 



On Electric Lighting. By Dr. John Hopkinson, F.K.S. (ICiM 



Pk^ufTlNARY ' REpiRT BY ' THE CoMMITTEe' ON SOLAE PHYSICS 

 APPOINTED BY THE LORDS OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON 



Education "[j 



University and Educational INTELLICENCB 45 



ScifNTiFic Serials ^g 



Societies and Academies 



