76 



NATURE 



[Nov. 27, 1873 



exhibited his JMensurator and Cielomeler, and gave a short 

 account of the objects to which they could be applied. The 

 Mensurator is an instrument designed primarily for the instan- 

 taneous solution of triangles, but capable, from its construction, 

 of many other uses ; such as illustrating most of Euclid's theo- 

 rems with regard to the triangle, of performing addition, sub- 

 traction, rule of three, and extraction of square toots, of solving 

 quadratics and simple binomial equations, and of reducing to 

 mechanism some part of analytical geometry. The Ccelometer 

 is an apparatus consisting of a stand carrying a globe mounted 

 somewhat like a sea compass, and illustrates celestial longitude 

 and latitude, the phenomena of the seasons, the correspondence 

 of the calendar with the solar year, the precession of the equi- 

 noxes, the times of sunrise at any place on any day, the position 

 of the principal stars during the night, and the general relations 

 between the conceptions necessary for nautical astronomy. Me- 

 dals were awarded for both instruments at the Vienna Exhibition. 

 — Mr. S. Roberts (treasurer) read a short note " On the ex- 

 pression of the p ; of a Cartesian by elliptic functions." The 

 author showe 1 thjt the hyper-elliptic part ol the integral which 

 gives the value of an arc of a Cartesian, is reducible to the form 

 which Jacob! has shown to depend on elliptic functions. 



Zoological Society, Nov. 19.— Dr. A. GUnlher, F.R.S., 

 vice-president, in the chair. Mr. Sclater exhibited and pointed 

 out the characters of two new species of birds obtained by Mr. 

 Salmon during his expedition to the State of Antioquia, Colum- 

 bia. These were named Chlorochrysa nitidissinni and Grallaria 

 ruficeps. — A letter was read from Mr. R. Swinhoe, H.B. M, 

 Consul at Chefoo, containing a note on the White Stork of 

 China, and stating that he had recently obtained a live Pitta in 

 China, which appeared to be Pitta nyinplia of the Fauna Japo- 

 nica. — Mr. A. H. Garrod exhibited and pointed out certain 

 peculiarities in the ciecura of a Crab-eating Fox(Ca»/.t taiicn'- 

 z'oi-iis). — Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on a pair of 

 horns of the new Bubahne Antelope from the Bogos country, 

 lately named Akdapliintora by Dr. Gray. — A paper was sent by 

 Dr. Edward L. AIoss, Surgeon in charge R.N. Hospital at 

 Esquimau, on a singular Virgularian Actinozoon taken at Bur- 

 rard's Inlet, close to the northern mouth of the Eraser River. — 

 A communication was read from Dr. O. Finsch, containing the 

 description of a most remarkable and interesting new Passerine 

 Bird which he had received from Mr. T. Klinesmith of Levuka, 

 Ovalou, Feejee Islands. This little bird, which was not only 

 new as a species, but also the type of a new genus, he proposed 

 to call Lainprolia Victoyuv. — A communication was read from 

 Mr. W. S. Atkinson, of Darjeeling, containing the descriptions 

 of two new species of Butterllies from the Andaman Islands, 

 which were named respectively Papilio maya and Eiiplaa anJa- 

 manensis.—'Dr. Cobbold communicated the first of a series of 

 papers entitled "Notes on the Entozoa ;" being observations 

 based on the examination of rare or otherwise valuable speci- 

 mens contributed at intervals by Messrs. Charles Darwin, Robert 

 Swinhoe, Charles W. Devis, the late Dr. W. C. Pecliey, Dr. 

 Murie, and others. — Mr. Edwin Ward exhibited and gave the 

 description of a new Bird of Paradise, of the genus Epimachus, 

 which he proposed to call E. dlioti. — A communication was 

 read from Surgeon-Major Francis Day, containing remarks on 

 Indian Fishes, mostly copied from the original manuscripts of 

 the late Dr. Hamilton Buchanan. — Mr. J. W. Clark read a 

 memoir on the Eared Seals of the Auckland Islands, one of 

 which he recognised as Otaria Iwokeri, thus fixing the locality of 

 this species. 



Linnean Society, Nov. 20. — Mr. G. Bentham, president, in 

 the chair. — Prof. Dyer exhibited a specimen of the fruit of I^uffa 

 cegyptiaca, a gigantic species of gourd, grown in this country. — 

 An account of the flora of Monte Argentaro, on the borders of 

 Tuscany, by Mr. Henry Groves, of Florence, was read. — On the 

 Alga; of Mauritius, by Dr. Dickie. The total number of species 

 recorded is 155. These include 17 well-known European species, 

 most of which are cosmopolitan ; 23 South African species ; 12 

 Australian ; 15 East Indian ; 14 species found in the Red Sea ; 

 12 being peculiar to the island. — On a peculiar embryo of Del- 

 phinium, by the Rev. C. A. Johns. The interesting point in 

 the structure \\-as the non -separation of the two cotyledons, the 

 plumule forcing itself throuL;h a chink in the undivided cotyledon. 

 Dr. Masters staled that this peculiarity is well known to occur 

 occasionally in RanunculaceLv, as well as in some other plants. — 

 On the buds of Malaxis, by Dr. Dickie. This is supplementary 

 to the paper already published in the "Journal" of the Society. 

 —On the Alga: of St. Thomas and Bermuda, by Mr. H. N. 



Moseley. These were the results of the explorations on board 

 the Challenger, one marine flowering plant being also found in 

 flower for the first time. 



Chemical Society, Nov. 20. — Dr. Odling, F.R.S., presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — A paper on "the coefficient of expansion of 

 carbon disulphide," by J. B. Hannay, was read by the secretary. 

 — Dr. Russell then communicated his researches on the action of 

 hydrogen on silver nitrate, giving an account of the precipitation 

 of metallic silver in the crystalline state by means of hydrogen. 

 — There were also a note on the action of zinc chloride on co- 

 deine, by Dr. C. R. A. Wright ; on the chemical properties of 

 ammoniated ammonia nitrate, by E. Divers, M.D. ; and on 

 the analysis of a meteoric stone and the detection of vanadium 

 in it, by R. Apjohn. 



Paris 



Academy of Sciences, Nov. 17. — M. de Quatrefages, 

 president, in the chair. — The following papers were read : 

 — An answer to Jl. Tarry's remarks on the theory of the 

 sun's spots, by M. Faye. M. Tarry's objection to M. Faye's 

 theory was that, instead of a down-rush, he ought to have em- 

 ployed an up-rush as the cause of the spots, as a terrestrial cy- 

 clone rushes up, and not down. M. Faye answered the objec- 

 tions in detail. — Second memoir on the way in which water inter- 

 venes in chemical reactions, and on the connection between 

 electro-motive force and affinity, by M. Becquerel. — Studies on 

 beer ; a new method of brewing it and rendering it unchange- 

 able, by M. L. Pasteur. The author considers the spoiling and 

 souring of beer to be due to germs, and suggests methods for 

 preventing their access or destroying them during the processes 

 of brewing. — An answer to M. Oudemans' observations on the 

 influence of refraction, &c., during the transit of Venus, by M. 

 E. Dubois. — On the use of the prism for the verification of the 

 law of double refraction, by Prof. G. G. Stokes. — On certain me- 

 tallic spectra {lead, chloride of gold, thallium, and lithium) by 

 M. Lecocq de Boisbaudran. The author found that the com- 

 bination of a metal was attended with the loss of some of the 

 lines it exhibited when in the free s^ate. — On the maximum 

 density of water, by M. Piarron de Mondesir. — On the cooling 

 effects of the joint actions of capillarity and evaporation, by .M. 

 C. Decharme. — On the quantity of ammonia contained in 

 atmospheric air at different altitudes, by M. Truchot. The 

 author stated that the ammonia increases as the cloud 

 region is approached, and gave tables of determinations 

 in support of his views. — Remarks on the paper of Pelouze 

 and Audouin on the condensation of liquifiable matters held 

 in suspension by gases, by M. D. Colladon. — Remarks on the 

 paper of M. Derbes on the Pemphigus of Pistacia terebiiithtis 

 compared with the PJiylloxera qiierci'is, by M. Balbiani. — On 

 the swellings produced on vine rootlets by the Phylloxera, 

 by M. Max. Comu.^On triple planes tangent to a surface, 

 by Mr. W. Spottiswoode. — On the direction of the propagation 

 of electricity, by M. Meyreneuf. — An answer to M. Mercadier's 

 last note on the study of the vibratory movements of an 

 elastic wire, by M. H. Valerius. — Observations on the molecular 

 structure of meteoric iron and on solid ferrous chloride in meteo- 

 rites, by Mr. J. Laurence Smith. — On the tertiary supra- 

 nummulitic formations of the department of Hcrault, by M. 

 Rouville. — The death of M. CI. Burdin, correspondent of the 

 mechanical section, was announced. 



CONTENTS Page 



The Southern Uplands of Scotland, II. Ey Prof. R. Hardness, 



F.R.S 57 



Leybold's Excursion to the Argentine Pampas 59 



A Healthy House 60 



Our Book Shelf 6i 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Dutch Photographs of the Eclipse of 1871.— J. A. C. Oudemans 61 

 Elevation of Mountains and Volcanic Theories. — Rev. O. FiSHER, 



F. G.S. Cupt HuttOn 61 



Deep-sea Soundings and Deep-sea Thermometers. — Hy. Negretti 



and Zambra 63 



Raia-gauge at Sea. — W. J. Black- Capt. J. E. Goodenoogh ... 63 



Glaciers.— W. T. Blanford, F.G.S 63 



ToHANN Nepomuk Czermak. By Prof, M. Foster, F.R.S 63 



The Atmospheric Telegraph {IVtth I Ihtstraiiofis) 64 



The Common Frog, V. By St. George Mivart. F.R.S. {With 



Illustrations) 67 



Astronomical Almanacs 69 



Man in the Settle Cave. By Prof. G. Busk, F.R.S 70 



Notes 70 



On some Recent Results with the Towing Net on the South 



Coast of Ireland. By Prof. Allman, F.R.S 73 



Scientific Serials 74 



Societies and Academies • • • • • 75 



