624 



NA TURE 



\Oct. 28, 18S0 



specimens of Anthocoris 7iciiiorui>i, an hemipterous insect sup- 

 posed to be damaging the hops grown near Canterbury, but had 

 then expressed his opinion that the insect was not the true 

 culprit, its habits being probably carnivorous. This year he had 

 received from the same correspondent some small larvre which 

 had been found in the cones, and these he considered were not 

 only the true enemy of the hops, but were also the food of the 

 Anthocoris. — Sir Sydney Saunders exhibited a series of apterous 

 females of the new species of Sctemdcnim, adverted to at the 

 previous meeting, and read remarks thereon. — Messrs. Kirby, 

 Fitch, Ralfe, and the Rev. E. N. Gilbert exhibited several 

 varieties of lepidoptera taken in this country and on the Continent, 

 some of which, from the structure of the antennse, were consi- 

 dered "hermaphrodite" forms. — Mr. Hildebrand Ramsden 

 communicated a note on Pyrophoriis cmistiais, a Cuban fire-fly. — 

 Mr. Swinton read two papers entitled Some Experiments on the 

 Variability of Lepidoptera undertaken during the year 1880, and 

 exhibited specimens and figures in illustration. — Mr. Butler com- 

 municated a paper entitled Observations on the Lepidopterous 

 Genus Tcrias, with descriptions of hitherto un-named forms from 

 Japan. — Mr. Waterhouse communicated a paper on the Bupres- 

 tida^ from Madagascar. — Messrs. Kirby, Distant, and McLachlan 

 called the attention of -the Society toj a method of publishing 

 descriptions of new species pursued by M. Andre in recent parts 

 of his work on European Hymenoptera. These were not only 

 inserted on the ccoer of his quarterly parts, but even at the end 

 of sheets of advertisements laid loosely between the pages of a 

 part. It was regretted that no other course than that of protest 

 and disapprobation could be applied in the interest of science to 

 such a practice. 



P.-VRIS 



Academy of Sciences, October iS. — M. Wurtz in the chair. 

 — JI. Faye presented the Cciinais:auce des Tcnips for 18S2 (204th 

 volume), and indicated several improvements, viz., tables giving, 

 for all points of the globe where the next Venus transit will be 

 visible, the instants of all pha.-es of the transit, a table for 

 determining the direction of the meridian from the Pole star, 

 the positions of 300 important stars every ten days, and of ten 

 polar stars daily, and empiric corrections of ephemerides of liie 

 moon. — Longitude of the coast of Brazil, by M. Mouchez. A 

 scientific mission from the United States under Messrs. Green 

 and Davis has, with the aid of the Transatlantic cable from 

 Europe, fixed the position of the six points, Para, Pernambuco, 

 Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, and Buenos Ayres ; and the 

 results show that the author's figures for the same places, obtained 

 in i860 and following years, by astronomical and chronometric 

 methods, were nearly e.xact, the greatest error being 2"34s. (The 

 Connaissance dcs Temps had adopted different numbers, which 

 are shown to be in error 27 "4s.) The author's errors being all 

 of the same sign, a mere shifting of the Brazil coast about 2 sec. 

 westwards (nearly ikm.) would malce the longitudes exact to a 

 few tenths of a second. He compares the chronometric and astro- 

 nomical methods, showing that chronometers, in absence of the 

 telegraph, offer the surest and most simple means of determining 

 longitude. Tlie influence of temperature he corrected by means of 

 a simple coefficient. — On the saccharine matters contained in the 

 fruit of the coffee-tree, by M. Eoussingault. He analysed some 

 berries (from Brazil) that had been put in alcohol immediately 

 after plucking, also the alcohol. The berry is poor in saccharine 

 pulp compared with cherries and other stone fruit from which 

 alcohol is got (it has 66 per cent, as against 90 for cherries and 

 95 for I runes). The distillation of the berries of coffee would 

 hardly be lucrative or practicable (as Humboldt imagined). — 

 Order of appearance of the first vessels in the inflorescence of 

 Miiora verna, by M. Trecul. — On the resistance of animals of 

 bovine species to splenic fever, and on the preservation of these 

 animals by preventive inoculations, by AL Chauveau. He men- 

 tions that, contrarily to what is observed in France, it is in 

 animals of bovine species that anthracoid diseases are more 

 frequently met with in Algeria. He is inquiring what it is that 

 favours the effects of spontaneous infection in the bovine species, 

 so resistant to provoked infection, and hopes soon to be able to 

 furnish the explanation. The preventive effect of inoculation 

 he has proved in eight subjects of bovine species (four of which 

 were Algerian). — On the photophone of Prof. Bell and Mr. 

 Sumner Tainter, by M. Breguet. A drawing is given of the 

 arrangement found most effective. At M. Breguet's place the 

 phenomena have been obtained with the electric light over a dis- 

 tance of 15m. The articulation, though not perfect, was demon- 



sti'ative. — Spectroscopic studies of the sun at Paris Observatory, 

 by M. Thollon. The sun has entered on a period of activity. M. 

 ThoUon gives figures of several striking recent protuberances. 

 He frequently observes protuberances |:' in height, and has seen 

 several exceeding 2' and 3', and one about S'. Some of them 

 may nearly reach the limits of the corona. He indicates his 

 new method of ascertaining the direction of the solar equator. — 

 Principles of an algebraic calculus which contains, as particular 

 species, the calculus of imaginary quantities and of quaternions, 

 by M. Lipschitz. — On algebraic equations, by M. West. — Vi- 

 bratory forms of circular pellicles of saposaccharic liquid (second 

 note) by M. Decharme. This refers to the relative position of 

 the nodals of each system. One finds identical laws for vibratory 

 forms of any circular liquid surfaces, and for those of soapy 

 pellicles ; only the width of the zones is about six times smaller 

 in the ca^e of the former. — On the presence of cerium in the 

 coal -formation of the valley of Saint-Etienne, by M. Mayenjon. 

 — On a very perfect reptile found in the Permian formation, by 

 M. Gaudry. M. Roche found it at Igornay, and has presented 

 it to the Paris Museum. M. Gaudry proposes to call it Stereo- 

 rackis doininans. Its vertebrae are in striking contrast with those 

 of other reptiles in the same bed ; the centrums are in one piece, 

 which adheres to the neural arc. Another mark of superiority 

 is tliat its humerus has, in tlie di-^tal part, a neuro-arterial canal. 

 The Stereorae/iis was a pretty large carnivore. It has affinities 

 with the Ganocephali and Labyrinthodonts, and perhaps still 

 more with some of the animals in Mr. Cope's group of Pelyco- 

 saurians, in North America. — On the existence of a reptile of 

 ophidian type in the Osirea columba strata of the Charentes, by 

 M. Sauv.rge. 



Berlin 

 Geographical Society, October 9. — President Dr. Nachtigal, 

 who congratulated Dr. Bastian on his return from his two years' 

 exploration. — A letter from Dr. Buchner was re.ad, dated Sep. 

 tember 27 of last year from Kimbuudo. Since then, it has been 

 learned, he has not only reached the residence of Muata Janvo, 

 but has carried his exploration much farther. It is probable 

 that he has gone northwards. — News was received from Dr. 

 Lenz, which we refer to in our Geographical Notes. By the last 

 news Herr Flegel had reached the confluence of the Niger and 

 Binue, and hi= expedition was doing well. — The German expedi- 

 tion to East Africa was, according to the last news, at Muhatta, 

 with Capt. Ramaeker's Belgian expedition, on the way to Tabora. 

 — Prof. Credner of Halle read a paper on the glaciation of 

 North Germany during the glacial period. 



CONTENTS Page 



Calfouk's " CoMP.\RATivE EMBRYOLOGY." By Prof. E. Ray Lax- 



KESTEK, F.R.S 601 



TwE Sieve-Tubes of Dicotyledonous Plants. By F. Orpen 



Bower ^c:? 



Our Book Shelf :— 



Taylor's " Elementary Geometry of Conies " c 3 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Ceraski's New V!iriable Star.— Prof. Edmund C. PiCKERIXG ; 



George Knott 



" Solid Ice at High Temperatures." — John LeConte ' 



WireTorsion.— Professors John Perrv and W. E. Ayrton. , . 

 On the Skin-Furrows of the Hand.— Dr. Henry Faulds ... 



Metamorphic Rocks, Ireland. — G. H. Kinahan 



The Number of Known Species of Hemiptera-Heteroptera. — Dr. 



F. Buchanan White • 



On the Classification of Rivers. — Surgeon H. B. Guppv .... '-^^ 



Yucc.-is under Cultivation. — Consul E. L. Layard 606 



Intellect in Erutes.—Consul E. L. Lay.vrd; Prof. W. Wni T.MAN 



Bailey to-j 



Atmospheric Phenomenon.— B 607 



Temperature of the Breath.— F. J. II. P 607 



Crossing Rapid Streams.— C 607 



Construction of Telescopes and Microscopes. — P. C 607 



Benjamin Peirce, F.R.S 607 



Recent Chemical Research. By M. M. Pattison Muir . . . 6o3 



Japan, I. (;F/M///«j^r(z//OT«) 610 



Notes 614 



Our Astronomical Column ; — 



Ceraski's Variable of Short Period 01 5 



The Rotation of Jupiter 617 



Chemical Notes ^'7 



Geograi-hical Notes SiS 



On Maxi.mum and Minimum Energy in Vortex Motion. By Su- 



William Thomson, F.R.S. ((r/M/J/a/rizwi) 61S 



On the Spectra OF THE Comtounds of Carbon with Hydrogen 

 AND Nitrogen. By Professors LiVEiNG and Dewar (With Dia- 



S>-^m) 6:0 



University and Educational Intelligence &-~ 



Scientific Serials " • • ^-3 



Societies AND Academies ^^3 



.?! 



