ii6 



NATURE 



{Dec. 2, 1880 



the sap to run to the extremities and thus cause an excess of de- 

 velopment above with simultaneous arrested condition below. — 

 A paper on the classification of the Gasteropoda (part 2) was 

 read by Dr. J. Dennis McDonald. In this communication the 

 author gives farther data in support of his mode of arranging the 

 group dependent on anatomical characters. — " Novitates Ca- 

 penses " was the title of a paper by Messrs. P. MacOwan and 

 H. Bolus, in which, among other novelties described of South 

 African plants, \\ere/!aiiti>icu/iis Baitrii, Ericindlci passerimoidis, 

 Oiihosiphon amhiguens, and Hcrpolirion capmsis, the last a re- 

 presentative of a form hitherto known only from Austraha. — A 

 communication from the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, on Australian fungi 

 (part 2), principally received from Baron F. von Miiller, was 

 taken as read. — Lieut. -Col. H. Godwin-Austin was elected a 

 Fellow of the Society. 



Entomological Society, November 3. — Sir Jno. Lubbock, 

 Bart., vice-president, in the chair. — Mr. E. Meyrick of Hunger- 

 ford, Wilts, and Capt. Thos. Broun of Auckland, New Zealand, 

 were elected as Ordinary Members, and Dr. J. E.Brandt, president 

 of the Russian Entomological Society, was elected as a Foreign 

 Member of the Society. — Mr. Waterhou^e exhibited, on behalf 

 of Mr. Sydney OUiffe, a i^air of dwarfed specimens of Epioite 

 vapaiaria, taken at Arundel. — Mr. McLachlan exhibited some 

 curious galls on a broad-leaved Emalypttis from Australia, whicli 

 were stated to be made by a lepidopterous larva, and also men- 

 tioned that in a letter he had received from Mr. Rutherford, 

 dated from Camaroons, West Africa, the writer stated that he 

 had taken Papilio merope and Papilio cenea in copula. Mr. 

 Trimen doubted that the butterfly referred to by Mr. Rutherford 

 was P. cenea, StoU, which, to the best of his knowledge, was a 

 form of the female confined to South Africa, and was more 

 probably either //JZ/cceci/?, Fab., or one of the other prevalent 

 West African forms. — Prof. Westwood exhibited a globular gall 

 on the surface of a sallow leaf made by a species of Tcnthrc- 

 dinidc, and also a dipterous larva (Syrphus) found closely 

 adhering to the stem of a pelargonium. — Mr. Kirby exhibited a 

 remarkable variety of Eptinda lutidcnta, and also a remarkable 

 form of Apatuya, stated to have been taken by Mr. Ralfe in 

 Pinner Wood. — Sir Jno. Lubbock exhibited some interesting 

 larvjs which Mr. Culvert had forwarded to him from the Troad 

 through Sir Joseph Hooker. He stated that these larvre had 

 recently appeared there in great numbers, and were likely to 

 prove most useful, as they fed on the eggs of locusts. These 

 larvK were probably coleopterous, and Sir Jno. Lubbock sug- 

 gested that if the species does not exist in Cyprus it might be 

 worth while to introduce it there. — Mr. Trimen exhibited a 

 wingless female specimen of the Hymenoptera, which he had 

 strong grounds for believing was the female of the well-known 

 Dorylus helvolus, Linn. — Mr. Trimen also exhibited six cases 

 fabricated by a South African lepidopterous larva, of which the 

 outer covering consisted of particles of sand and fragments of 

 stone, which gave them a most peculiar aspect, resembling in 

 general appearance a myriapod. — Sir Sydney Saunders read a 

 paper on the habits and affinities of the hymenopterous genus 

 Scleroderma, with descriptions of new species. — Mr. Edward 

 Saunders read a paper entitled a synopsis of British Hcterogyna 

 and fossorial Hymcnoftci-a. — Prof. Westwood read a paper con- 

 taining descriptions of new species of exotic diptera, with a 

 supplement containing descriptions of species formerly described 

 by the author in somewhat inaccessible publications. 



Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, November 15. — ^L Edm. Becquerel 

 in the chair. — Researches in isomerism, benzine, and dipro- 

 pargyl, by MM. Berlhelot and Ogier. — On papame ; new con- 

 tribution to the study of soluble ferments, by M. Wurtz. In one 

 experiment o'05 gr. of papaine fluidified about two thousand times 

 its weight of moist fibrine. It seems that it begins by fixing on 

 the fibrine, and the insoluble product gives, by action of water, 

 soluble products of hydratation of fibrine, while the ferment, 

 becoming free again, may act on a new portion of fibrine. The 

 action is thus related to that of chemical agents, e.g. sulphuric 

 acid. — Enrichment of plumbic earths by a current of compressed 

 air, by M. Delesse. The apparatus, called triettr a soiifflct, 

 effects a sorting of pulverulent matters, which cannot be sepa- 

 rated by water. Earths of very fine grain cannot well be treated 

 with it, and unfortunately it is they that contain most lead. The 

 lead-dust produced is unhealthy for the workmen. — Observations 

 of JL de Quatref ages'on'the Marquis de Nadaill^c's work, " Les 

 premiers Hommes et les Temps prehistoriques." M. de Quatre- 



fages-thinks that man probably existed in Portugal in the Tertiary 

 epoch. — Observations on the publication of Dr. Guerin's works, by 

 ^I.de Quatrefages. — On the arrangement of the cervical vertebrae 

 in the Chelonians, by M. Vaillant.— Experimental researches on 

 the heat of man during movement, by M. Bonnal. Inter alia, 

 all muscular exercise raises the rectal temperature. The increase 

 is not directly related either to duration of the exercise or to 

 apparent fatigue. The altitude, state of the atmosphere, energy 

 of movements, and nature of clothing affect the increase. All 

 rapid exercise diminishes the peripheral temperature (in mouth, 

 armpit, or groin). The rectal heat may reach 39'5°. In rapid 

 climbing it is in the first half hour that the rectal temperature is 

 most raised, it may then become stationaiy or fall. In general, 

 a rigorous application of the laws of mechanics to the human 

 system is not warranted. — Studies on the habits of phylloxera 

 dnring August to November 18S0, by M. Fabre. The young 

 insects showed (in the author's experiments) a strong liking for 

 light. The present year seems very unfavourable to the parasite. 

 — On some linear differential equations, by M. Brioschi. — On 

 the equilibrium of flexible and inextensible surfaces, by M. 

 Lecornu. — On the compressibility of oxygen and the action of 

 this gas on mercury when put in contact with it, by M. Amagat. 

 Oxygen and mercury (pure and dry) he found to remain in- 

 definitely long in contact without absorption. He operated at 

 50° and 100°, and with pressitres from no to 420 atm. The com- 

 pressibility of oxygen follows the laws he gave in his memoir of 

 August 30. MM. Chevreul and Damas made remarks on the 

 subject. — On the liquefaction of ozone in presence of carbonic 

 acid, and on its colour in the liquid state, by MM. Ilautefeuille 

 and Chappuis. Gradual compression of a mixture of ozonised 

 oxygen and carbonic acid at - 23" gives ,a blue liquid of the 

 same shade as the gas above. The products of decomposition of 

 carbonic acid by the eftluve are proved (by the blue colour on 

 compressing) to contain a large proportion of ozone. — On malle- 

 able iron, by M. Forquignon. It seems to be intermediate 

 between steel and grey pig-iron, diflfering from the latter by 

 the special nature of its amorphous graphite and its greater 

 tenacity ; from steel, by its small elongations and its large 

 proportion of graphite. — On the presence of phosphorus in 

 the rocks of Brittany, by M. Lechartier. — On the composi- 

 tion of petroleums of the Caucasus, by MM. Schiitzen- 

 berger and [lonine. — On the temperatures of inflammation of 

 gaseous mixtures, by MM. Mallard and Le Chatelier. Among 

 other results, mixtures of protocarburetted hydrogen not only 

 enter into slow combustion, but, when submitted to a certain 

 temperature, may be inflamed after a variable time (which is 

 longer the lower the temperature). — On the secondary Mave of 

 muscle, by M. Richet. A second contraction occurs, without 

 fresh stimulation. — On the contagion of boils, by M. Trastour. — 

 On the use of boring machines without use of explosive matter, 

 by M. Biver. The advantages of Mr. Brunton's system are 

 indicated. 



CONTENTS J 



Political Economy 



Our Book Shelf : — 

 Sharp's "Avis preliminaire d'une nouvelle Classification de la FaniUIe 



des Dytiscidas 



*' Aid to the Identification of Insects" 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Geological Clim.ites.— Prof. Saml. Haughton, F.R.S 



" Sulphuric Acid and Alkali. "—Prof. H. E. RoscOE, F.R.S. . . 

 K General Theorem in Kinematics. — Prof. J. D. Everett, 



F.R.S 



Phosphorescent Centipedes.— B. E. Broditukst 



The Vang-tse, the Yellow River, and the Pei-ho.— Surgeon H. B. 



GUPPY 



Aurora obser\'ed at Ovoca, Co^ Wicklow, November 3— Observa- 

 tions from 5.30 p.m. to Midnight. — G. H. KiNAHAN .... 



Mr. Spexcer and Prof. Tait. By Herbert Spencer 



Notes on the Geology of East-Central Africa. By Joseph 



Tho.mson {}Vith Diagrams) 



Incandescent Electric Lights 



Subterranean Forest in India {}Vith Diagrajns) 



Notes 



Abnormal Variations of Earo.metric Pressure in the Tropics, 

 AND their Relation to Sun-Spots, Rainfall, and Famines. 



By Fred. Chambers 



The Royal Society — Address of the President. By Willia-m 



Spottiswoode, D.C. L., LL.D • 



Our Astronomical Column; — 



Lunar Eclipses, 1880-84 '" 



A Prubable Variable Star 



Faye's Comet . . • • 



Swift's Comet 



University and Educational Intelligence 



Scientific Serials 



Societies and Academies 



