552 



NA TURE 



[Oct. 7, 1880 



air, by G. Schmidt.— Time of discliarge of the Ley den batleiy, 

 by P. Riess. 



'journal of the Royal Microscopical Society , vol. iii. No. 4 

 (August, 1880), contains : John Badcock, notes on Acinetina 

 ITrichopluya ipistylitlis and Podophrya qicadripariita) with a 



pjjte J. W. Stephenson, on the visibihty of minute objects 



mounted 'in phosphorus, solutions of sulphur, bisulphide of 

 carbon, and other media.— Dr. George Hoggan and Dr. F. 

 Elizabeth Hoggan, on the development and retrogression of 

 blood vessels, with a plate.— Dr. Jas. Edmunds, on a paraboliscd 

 <Tas slide.— The record of current researches relating to in\enc- 

 brata, cryptogamia, microscopy ; bibliogi-aphy, and proceediiiLrs 

 of the society. 



Journal dc Physique, September.— On the alternating currents 

 and the electromotive force of the electric arc, by M. Joubert.— 

 On the formula of interpolation of M. Pictet, by M. Szily.— 

 Absolute measurement of Peltier's phenomenon in contact of a 

 metal, and its solution, by M. Bouty. 



Bulletin de f Acadhnie Royalc des Sciences {de Belgique), No. S. 



On the embryonal leaves and the notochord in Urodela, by 



M. van Bambeke.— Researches on the spectrum of magnesium 

 in relation to the constitution of the sun, by M. Fievez.— Uii the 

 presence of phosphoric acid in the urine of cows, by M. Chevruii. 



Excretory apparatus of Trematodes and Cestoides (2nd p.ii'cr), 



by M. Fairfont.— r-lesearches on fusel oil (amylic alcohol, &c.) in 

 commercial alcohol, brandies, &c., by M. Jorissen.— On the 

 structure of the venomous apparatus of Araneides, by Mr. 

 MacLeod.— On the gastric gland of the American ostrich, by M. 

 Remouchamps. — On the geometric representation of co-varianls 

 of a biquadratic form, by M. Le Paige. 



Morphologisches Jahrhiich (Cegeiiiaiir's), Bd. vi., Pleft 3.— J. 

 E. V. Boas, on the heart and arch of the aorta in Ceratfuhis 

 and Protopterus, with three plates and woodcuts (a memoir lioth 

 descriptive and critical of the various researches on this subject 

 by Hyrtl, Owen, Peters, Lankester, and Giinther).— G. v. 

 Koch, notes on corals, with a plate.— George Ruge, researches 

 on the process of development of the sternum, and on tlie 

 sterno-clavicular attachments in man, with three plates. — W. 

 Salensky, contribution to the developmental history of the ear 

 cartilages in mammals, with a plate. 



Zeitschrift fiir wissenschaflliche Zoologie, Bd. xxxiv.,_ Heft. 3, 

 July. — Gustav Hiiuser, physiological and histological investiga- 

 tions on the organ of smell in insects, three plates (finds in most 

 insects well-marked nerves springing from the cephalic ganglia 

 distributed to the antennre, where special hypodermic cells re- 

 ceive them ; the development and structure of these are beauti- 

 fully illustrated).— O. Zimmermann, on a peculiar formation in 

 the abdominal vessels in an Ephemeris larva. — Prof. F. E. 

 Schulze, researches on the structure and development of the 

 sponges : No. 9, the Plakinida:, three plates (three new genera 

 and five new species described).— John Honigschmied, brief 

 notices concerning the distribution of the gustatory papilla- in 

 mammals.— Dr. J. W. Spengel, contribution to a knowledge of 

 the Gephyrea, four plates {Echiurns Pallasii). 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, September 27. — M. Wurfa in the 

 chair.— The following papers were read :— On the non-recurrence 

 of the anthracoid affection, by MM. Pasteur and Chamberland. 

 Tlieir experiments prove that in the case of charbon, as in that of 

 chicken cholera, inoculations that do not prove fatal are pre- 

 ventive of a recurrence of the disease. M. Pasteur argues against 

 M. Chauveau's theory that such non-recurrence is due to produc- 

 tion of matters adverse to the proliferation of the bacterium. 

 Experiments had been made with a view to testing a remedy for 

 charbon devised by M. Louvrier, but were indecisive. — On the 

 results obtained by M. Rondaire in his exploration of llie 

 Tunisian and Algerian chotts, by M. de Ixsseps. M. Rondaire's 

 conclusions are entirely favourable to filling the basin situated 

 between the Gulf of Gabes and the projected line of railway 

 from Biskra to Tuggurt. This would make an interior sea about 

 400 km. in length and 1,600 km. in circumference. — A vapour- 

 tension manometer for analysing liquids and measuring pressures, 

 by M. Perrier. A glass tube, tapering at the lower end, stands 

 with this (open) end in mercury, contained in, but not fillin;;, an 

 oblong closed bulb, a few drops of a volatile liquid being im- 



prisoned above the mercury. The liquid to be determined is; 

 heated in a small boiler and the bulb referred to is placed in thai 

 vapour. The liquid of the manometer (which should emit, 

 vapour of greater tension than the liquids examined) acts by its 

 vapour on the mercury, forcing it up the tube to various heights. — 

 On a ]5roperty of Poisson's function, and on the integration of 

 equations with partial derivatives of the first order, by M. 

 Gilbert. — On the theoi7 of sines of superior orders, by M. 

 Farkas. — On the invention of binocular telescopes, by M. Govi. 

 The invention is commonly attributed to the Capuchin monk 

 Schyrleus de Rheita, who published an account of it in 1645. 

 M. Govi finds, from the papers of Peirescq in the Bibliotheque 

 Nationale, that a spectacle maker in Paris, D. Chorez, made^ 

 and presented binocular glasses to the king in 1625, i.e. tweni ' 

 years earlier. — On the difficulty of absorption and the local 

 effects of the poison of Bothivps jararaca, by MM. Couty am' 

 Lacerda. Whichever the mode of introduction, cellular, mus 

 cular, or serous tissue, brain, heart, or lung, and whatever th( 

 quantity of poison injected (vascular ruptures and antecedent^ 

 wounds apart), there is no distinct sign of penetration of the' 

 poison into the blood. There is always local inflammation, 

 which for some organs may prove rapidly fatal. The lung is 

 most sensitive in this respect, the stomach and intestine least. 

 — Study of the vertebr;e in the order of Ophidians, by M. 

 Rocliebruue. — On the ciliated embryo of the Bilharzia, by M. 

 Chatin. The si^;nification assigned by helminthologists to this 

 embryo in the cycle of development of the species requires (in 

 the author's opinion) to be profoundly modified (a superiority of 

 constitution being observed). — Researches on the presence of 

 micrococcus in the diseased ear ; considerations on the role of 

 microbes in auricular furuncle (boil) and general furunculosis ; 

 therapeutic applications, by M. Loewenberg. He has observed 

 a microbe in furuncle of the ear. These small abscesses spread 

 in the ear by what he calls autocontagion, and from individual 

 to individual contagiously. In treatment he employs thymic or 

 boric acid. In cases of neglected otorrhea or wetness of the 

 ear, esiecially with fetidity, he has always found micrococcus in 

 large quantity. 



CONTENTS Page 



The Place of Science in Education 5=9 



Chemistry of the Cakbon Compounds. Ey.M. M. Pattison 



MuiR 53° 



Our Book Shelf :— „ ,. , „ 



Aldis's " Elementary Treatise on Solid Geometry 531 



Hulme's "ramiliar Wild Flowers" . . ■ • -. • •.•.,•,•,.• 53^ 

 Messer's "New and Easy ^rethod o£ Studying British Wild 



Flowersby Natural Analysis" . . . . . ■ • ■ • ■ • ; 53= 



Buchan.in's " Manual of the Indigenous Grasses of New Zealand 532 

 Lettehs to the Editor:— t. t> c 



Geological Climates.— Rev. Prof. Saml. Haughton, F.R.S. . . 533 



The Naini Tal LandsUp.— E. Douglas Archibald 533 



Branch-CuUing Beetles.— Fritz Muller 533 



The Tay Bridge Storm.— Hon. Ralph Aeeecrombv 533 



Ddtocyatluis Italiais, Ed. and H.— P. Maktin Duncan ... 534 



Temperature of the Bre.-ith.— C. J. McNally 534 



Swiss Chalets.— Rev. George Henslow 534 



Fascination— Thomas R. R. Stebbing 534 



Air-Bladder of Herring.— Alfred C. HaddON 534 



The "Waiting Carri.age."—W. M. F. Petrie 534 



A New Kind of Electric Repulsion. By Dr. Arthur Schuster, 



F.R.S 535 



Physics without Apparatus, VII. {With Ilbisirations) 537 



The Jamaica Hurricane and the Botanical Gardens. By D. 



MoKKis 53S 



Notes 539 



Our Astronomical Column ; — 



The Binary Star • Ccnt.-iuri 54' 



The Variable R. Hydra: 54= 



A New Comet 54= 



Chemical Notes 54= 



Physical Notes 543 



Geographical Notes 544 



Science AND Culture. By Thomas H. Huxley, F.R.S 545 



On a Septum Permeable to Water, and Impermeable to Air, 

 WITH Application to a N.wigational Depth Gauge. By Sir 



William Thomson, F.R.S. ()r;V/i///i«/ra<w«) 548 



On the Classification of Birds. By P. L. Sclater, M.A.. Ph.D., 



F.R.S 549 



The Green Colour OF Oysters 549 



Modern Entomology. By Prof. S. H. Scudder S5o 



Scientific Serials ' 55' 



Societies and Academies 55= 



