NA TURE 



\_Dcc. 9, 1 8fc;o 



day, and Friday, at 1 1. The last three courses of lectures are 

 intended to meet the requirements of [candidates for the Preli- 

 minary Honour Examination. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 London 

 Geological Society, November 17. — Robert Etheridge, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — Prof. Joseph Henry Thompson, 

 Auckland, New Zealand, was elected a Fellow of the Society. — 

 The President called attention to the portrait of Dr. William 

 Smith, presented to the Society by his grand-nephew, Mr. W. 

 Smith of Cheltenham, which was then suspended behind the 

 chair, and expressed his great satisfaction at this most interesting 

 picture being in possession of the Society. Mr. W. W. Smytli 

 expressed the satisfaction which all must feel in possessing a 

 Genuine relic of this eminent stratigi-aphical geologist. Now this 

 one, which had been so liberally presented to the Society, was a 

 most indubitable portrait of the 'most conspicuous founder of 

 English geology. That portrait was painted by M. Fourau in 

 1S37, and was certainly an admirable likeness. The Society was 

 deeply indebted to the donor, Wr. W. Smith, the cousin of 

 the valued Prof. Phillips. The portrait now hanging on tlie 

 wall was engraved in Prof. Phillips' " Life" of his uncle. He 

 proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the donor. Mr. Evans rose 

 with great pleasure to second the vote of thanks proposed by Mr. 

 Warington Smyth. The portrait was indeed replete with interest, 

 not only tj English geologists, but to all geologists in the world. 

 An additional interest attaching to the portrait was that we had 

 the whole history of it from Dr. Smith's own hand, an extract 

 from which Mr. Evans read. The portrait was an admirable 

 one. He hoped that in the future Mr. Smith's example would 

 be followed, and that we should see many other portraits of 

 eminent geologists on the Society's walls. The Society was also 

 deeply indebted to the president for the interest which he had 

 taken in the matter. The vote of thanks was carried by acclama- 

 tion. — The following communications were read : — On abnormal 

 geological deposits in the Bristol district, by Charles Moore, 

 F.G.S. — Interglacial deposits of West Cumberland and North 

 Lancashire, by J. D. Kendall, C.E., F.G.S. 



Royal Microscopical Society, November 10. — Dr. Beale, 

 F.R.S., president, in thechair. — Photographs of P. angidatutii and 

 Fntstulia saxcnica were exhibited by Herr O. Brandt ; the Tolles- 

 Blackham and eight other microscopes by Mr. Crisp ; "Calotte " 

 diaphragms by Mr. Swift; Hyde's illuminator by Mr. J. Mayall, 

 jun. ; and Dr. Carpenter, C.B., described Wale's "working 

 microscope" with Iris diaphragm, which he highly commended 

 as combining many novel and excellent points for a student's micro- 

 scope. — Mr. Lettsom described Abbe's "stereoscopic ocular," 

 and Dr. Maddox his apparatus for collecting particles from the 

 air. — Notes were read on monobromide of naphthaline (for 

 mounting diatoms to increase their " index of visibility"). — On 

 ebonite for microscopical appliances, and on aperture exceeding 

 iSo° in air ; also papers by Mr. Stewart on the echinometridcc, 

 and by Dr. Royston Pigott on testing object-glasses. 

 Paris 

 Academy of Sciences, November 22. — M. Edm. Becquerel 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read : —Meridian 

 observations of small planets at the Greenwich and Paris Ob- 

 servatories, communicated byM. Mouchez. — The thermal springs 

 of the coast chain of Venezuela (South America), by M. Bous- 

 singault. The most important are those of Onoto (alt. 696 m.), 

 ilariara (533m.), and Trincheras, near Nueva Valencia (300 to 

 350m.). The respective temperatures are 44'''Si 64 'o, and 

 96" '9, showing an increase proportional to the decrease in alti- 

 tude, 1° for a difference of level of 6m. to 7'"- After the 

 springs of Urijino, Japan (100'), those of Trincheras are 

 probably the hottest. The author gives an analysis of their 

 water ; also general desciiptions of the others. — Reconnaissance 

 of the Napo (Equatorial America), by M. de Lesseps. This 

 important affluent of the Amazon has been scientifically explored 

 by M. Wiener, who in seven months has crossed South America 

 in its greatest width, Quito to Para. The river is navigable a 

 thousand miles from its entrance to the Amazon. He indicates 

 a region larger than France well suited for colonisation. — On 

 the treatment of vines with sulphide of carbon, byM. de Lafitte. 

 — On the simultaneous reduction of a quadratic form and of a 

 linear form, by M. Poincarc. — On Leverrier's tables of the 

 motion of Saturn, by M. Gaillot. — On a property of the poly- 

 nomes A'„ of Legendre, by M. Laguerre. — New tables for calcu- 

 lating heights by means of barometric observations, by M. 



Angot. These tables give directly the height of each station 

 above the level where the pressure is 760mm.'; this is near the 

 true altitude, an idea of which may thus be had without com- 

 paring results from two stations. The exactness is at least as 

 great as with the best formula; proposed. The heights calculated 

 differ always from the real height in a sense that can be known 

 a priori. — Researches on sulphide of nitrogen, by .M. Demarcay. 

 —On phytolaccic acid, by M. Terrell. This new organic acid 

 exists in the state of a salt of potash in 'the fruit of "PJiytohicca 

 Kccmpferi. (Its properties are described.) — Measurement of the 

 toxical dose of carbonic oxide in different animals, by M. 

 Grehant. Great differences were observed : a mixture of 3^^; 

 strength was the poisonous dose for one dog, -^t, for another 

 (the animals being made to breathe 200 litres). A rabbit re- 

 quired ^tg (breathing 50 litres). The smallest sufficing dose was 

 that for a sparrow, -j^. — On a new species of Poroxyhn, by M. 

 Renault. This plant is named P. Edwardsii. The Foro.xyktc 

 are found in the Upper Coal and Permian formations. — 

 Transformation of a fructiferous ramification, resulting from 

 fertilisation, into a prothallifoim vegetation, by M. Sirodot. 

 TJiis was observed in Batrachospermiim vagiim (Roth). — In- 

 fluence of light on the respiration of seeds during germina- 

 tion, by M. Pauchon. These experiments were made on 

 the castor-oil plant (as being oleaginous and albuminous) and 

 on the haricot bean (feculent and without albumen). As in 

 previous experiments, a good deal more O was observed in light 

 than in darkness. The castor-oil seeds exhale slightly more COj 

 in darkness than in light, but the opposite w'as the case with the 

 seed of Phaseolus. In darkness the ratio of COo to O was for 

 the haricot at least \ superior to that for the castor-oil plant, but 

 prolongation of the experiment tends to bring the relation equal 

 to unity, whatever the original value. For a given quantity of 

 oxygen absorbed the seed placed in darkness exhales more COj 

 than that kept in light. While in light there is always le,=s COj 

 exhaled than O absorbed, the contrary occurs in darkness. 

 These facts explain the transformation of legumin into asparagin. 

 — Observations on the rSle attributed to maize, used as food, in 

 the production of pellagra, by M. Fua. He considers M. Faye's 

 opinion, that pellagra may be caused by the large use of unfer- 

 mented maize, to be in contradiction with facts. Maize is always 

 eaten in the unfermented state. It forms the chief food of 2. 

 large population in Central Africa, where pellagra does not 

 occur ; and similarly in Naples and in Hungary. He refers to 

 certain alterations of maize (by fungi and oxidation). 



Vienna 

 Imperial Academy of Sciences, December 2. Dr. L. A. 

 Fitzinger in the chair.— On the theory of so-called electric 

 expansion or electrostriction ; Part ii., by Dr. Boltzmann. — 

 Calculation of the absolute value and determination of the 

 general equation of electrostriction, by the same. — On some 

 properties of bromide of ammonium, by Dr. Eder. — Obsei-va- 

 tious on contact-electricity (sealed packet), by Hen- Schulze- 

 Berge. — Results of an investigation of the identity of the comets 

 1880 e and 1S69 III., by Herr Zelber and Dr. Hepperger. — On 

 graphic formulte of hydrocarbons with condensed benzol-nuclei, 

 by Herr Wegscheider. 



CONTENTS Page 



British Earthquakes 117 



The Encvclopjeoia Bkitannica iij 



Our Book Shelf : — , t ..- 



Buckley's "Life and her Children: Glimpses of Animal Lire 



from the Amceba to the Insects" i"5 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Prof. Tait and Mr. H. Spencer.— Prof. P. G. Tait ir.^ 



Geological Climates.— Alfred R. Wallace 1:4 



Pholophonic Music— M '24 



The "Philosophy of Language."— LuDWiG NoiR^ 124 



Notes on the Mode of Flight of the Albatross.— Akthvh \V. 



Bateman • ^25 



A General Theorem in Kinematics.— J. J. Walker 125 



Geometrical Optics.- W. G. LoGE.MaN 125 



Ozone.- J. P '25 



Plants OF Madagascar. EyJ. G.Baker 125 



Bexjamin Collins Bhodie, Bart., F.R.S.. D.C.L. ...... 126 



The Phylloxera IN France. By Maxime Coknu (»;W ,1/(!/>,<) . 127 



Notes '3° 



Physical Notes ^33 



Geographical Note? '34 



Mr. Mundella on Education in Science 134 



The RovalSociety— Address of the President, II. By Wiiliam 



Spottiswoode, D.C.L., LL D t35 



The Royal Society Medals 138 



University and Educational Intelligence 139 



Societies and Academies '40 



