Jan. 22, 1 8 74 J 



NA rURE 



2y. 



proposed alterations. were adopted by the Society. The follow- 

 ing papers were then read, viz. : — On some Species ot fapatiese 

 Marine Shells and Fishes which inhabit also the North Atlantic, 

 by J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S. The mollusca noticed by the 

 author were procured by Captain St. John in H. IVI.S. Sylvia, 

 (luring the years 1S71 and 1872, on the coasts of North Japan. 

 I lis dredgirtgs varied betweeen 3 and loo fathoms. After pass- 

 ing; in review the works of naturalists who had described the 

 marine shells of Japan, and especially the " Mollusca Japonica " 

 by Dr Lischke, with reference to those species which are common 

 ti) Japm and Europe, Mr. Jeffreys proposc-d to record from 

 ['lain St. John's d- edgings thirty-nine species, and to give the 

 I _;c of depth for such of them as he had obtained in the Porcii- 

 expeditions of 1869 and 1870. He then offered an e.x- 

 j aiiiition of the occurrence of the same species in the Atlantic 

 and Pacific Oceans, by suggesting that it was probably owin;, to 

 imoluntary transport by tides and currents, and not to voluntary 

 migration. Vei'> little is known about the direction and force of 

 deep sea currents ; but high northern species might be trans- 

 ported on the one side to Japan, and on the other to Europe, by 

 a bifurcation of the great Arctic current, whith has been traced 

 as far south as the Straits of Gibraltar in the course of the Por- 

 aipiiie expeditions. The entry of northern species into the 

 MediteiTanean may be accounted for by the former existence of a 

 wide channel, or rather an open sea between the lower part of 

 the Bay of Biscay and the Gulf of Lyons, which has been satis- 

 factorily proved, on geological grounds, 10 have been formed since 

 the Tertiary epoch. A list of the mollusca referred to in the 

 paper was given, with critical remarks, as well as a list of twenty- 

 two species of fish which Dr. Giinther communicated as common 

 to the Japanese Seas and the North Atlantic or Mediterranean. — 

 Dr. CaqDCnter, F. R.S., made some general remarks on Ocean- 

 currents, especially with reference to the zones of temperature in 

 the North and South Atlantic. He stated that it has been ascer- 

 tained that water of 40° F. comes nearer to the surface in the 

 equatorial regions than in the north and south temperate zones. 

 There are, he believes, zones of all temperatures in all deep seas, 

 such as that ol 33° F. observed by Capt. St. John between 

 Socotra and the Seychelles. He hoped that Capt. St. John 

 would, in his future expeditions, be able to obtain a very valuable 

 series of observations of deep-sea temperatures. Dr. G. J. 

 AUman, F. R. S., said the specimens all belonged to types 

 hitherto considered extinct ; and he entered into some descrip- 

 tion of one of the most remarkable forms. — Noie on Japanese 

 Brachiopoda, by Thomas Davidson, F. R.S., communicated by 

 J. Gwyn Jeffreys, F.R.S. 



Chemical Society, Jan. 15. — Prof. Odling, F.R.S., presi- 

 dent, in the chair. Mr. W. C. Roberts handed in a table 

 supplementary to his paper read at the last meetmg, and con- 

 taining complete analyses of all the standard trial plates still 

 extant, dating from A. D. 1477, namely, 17 gold pUtes and 14 

 silver ones. — The first paper was "On the action of tri- 

 chloracetyl chloride on Amines : I. Action on aniline," by Dr. 

 D. Tommasi and Mr. R. Meldola. This reaction gives rise to a 

 substance calien///t'«_)'/-//7<za'/i!/H/'(/t', which crystallises in lustrous 

 I plates. It is acted on by nitric acid with produciion ol dinitro- 

 ' phtnyl-triacdainidc crystallising in yellow needles. — Dr. H. E. 

 Armstrong read a note "On the action of sodic ethylate on 

 elhylic o.xaUte and other ethereal salts." — " On the products of 

 decomposition of castor oil : I. Sebacid acid," by Mr. E. Neison. 

 An account of the preparation and properties of pure sebacic 

 acid, and of many of its salts. 



Geologists' Association, Jan. 2. — Henry Woodward, F.R.S., 

 president, in the chair. — On the nature and formation ol Flint and 

 allied bodies, by Mr. M Hawkins Johnson. The object of the 

 paper was to show the nature of several members of a large group 

 of bodies occurring in sedimentary deposi;s of different ages, aird 

 which are generally known as nodules, and described as concre- 

 tionary. Those specially alluded to were the septana from the 

 London and Kimmeridge clays, the flints from the chalk, the iron 

 pyrites from the chalk, the phosphatic nodules from the gault, the 

 clay iroi!Stone nodules from the carboniferous series, and the iron- 

 stone from the Woolwich beds. By the gentle action of solvents 

 the structure of these bodies is revealed so as to be easily 

 examined by the microscope. They are thus found all to agree 

 in possessing a silicified organic structure, which may be described 

 as a net-work of fibres or a mass permeated in every direction 

 by anastomo.'-ing canals. This structuie was subsequently filled 

 in with other material, such as carbonate of lime, silica, 

 bisulphide ot iron, phosphate of lime, carbonate of iron, &c., the 



particular substance thus filled in depending upon the relative 

 abundance of the substance dissolved in the interstitial water of 

 ihe surrounding matrix. The singular group of coureatric 

 siliceous circular bands seen upon many fossils, and known as 

 orbicular silica, or Beekite markings, were also explained. The 

 fossils on which they occur are imbedded in a matrix more porous 

 than themselves and of irregular constitution, so that the evapo- 

 ration, to which the consolidation of the dissolved silica in tiicir 

 pores was mainly due, occurred .at a number of points on the 

 surface of the fossil, at which points a deposit of ^ilica to ik 

 place forming the central tubercles. Thecessaiion of evaporation 

 was followed by a fresh saturation, with the solution to be again 

 evaporated. But as the evaporating points were no-v plu^-ged 

 up by the previous deposits, the silica last consolidated Was 

 deposited around their margin and upon them intern illy 

 appearing outwardly as a ring round the tubercles. Alterna- 

 tions ol these conditions account for tiie numerous bands seen in 

 some of the groups. 



Anthropological Institute, January 13.— Prof. Busk, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair.— A paper, by Mr. S. E Peal, 

 was read, on the " Nagas and neighbouring tribes." The tract 

 of country occupied by the Nagas lies mainly between lat. 25° N. 

 to 27° 30' N., and long. 93° 30' E. to 96° E. It is bounded on 

 the east by the country of the Singphus or Tsin/pos, a distinct 

 race showing strongly-marked differences in language, physique, 

 and customs ; on the north by Assam ; and on the west are 

 v.arious other tribes, while to the south the boundary is unde- 

 fined. The inhabitants of the tract, although all termed Nagas, 

 are divided and sub-divided to so great an extent that few parts 

 of the world can present such a minute segregation of innu- 

 merable and independent tribes. A common and conspicuous 

 feature of the Nagas, Garos, Kukis, Lushais, and other hill- 

 races of that district, is their custom of taking human heads- 

 either by regular warfare, raids, or casual surprises. Not only 

 is the custom general among them, but it has obviously existed 

 for a long period of time, and, in its present phase, is the true 

 cause of the strongly-irrarked variations both in language and 

 physique that exist among the Naga tribes, no two of whom ara 

 really alike. An almost necessary conseijuence of this mode ot 

 life is that they are a fine, hardy, active race, excelling in all that 

 relates to forest lore and labour, while, on the other hand, they 

 are conspicuously deficient in the arts of pottery, working in 

 metals, and writing. The most singular feature is, perhaps, the 

 almost total absence of agricultural implements ; everything is 

 done with the Daii, or P-shaped axe. The mental capacity of 

 the Nagas is low, although they exhibit smartness or cunning in 

 matters relating to ordinary life ; no individual known to the 

 author was able to count beyond ten. — Mr. C. B. Clarke con- 

 tributed a paper on the "Stone Monuments of the Khasi Hills." 

 The Kbasi Hills form a plateau, at a mean elevation of 4,500 

 feet above the sea, between the plains of Assam on the ni^rth, 

 and Sylhet on tlie south, and are inhabited by a people quite 

 distinct from the neighbouring Hindus. The stones, which are 

 profusely scattered over the range of hills are of three kinds : 

 the funeral pyres, the kists containing the jars of ashes, and the 

 monumental groups. One great feature of the Khasi sepul- 

 ture is, that the ashes of the family are collected from time to 

 time. At first the ashes of a man arc kept in a small kist, then, 

 alter a few years, a great funeral ceremony is held, and the ashes 

 of the various individuals of the family are collected from the 

 smaller kists. The ashes of all the men are collected into one 

 earihen jar, those of the women into another, and these two jars 

 are placed in one large kist ; the jar of the women's ashes is 

 placed next the last stone closed, for the reason that among the 

 Khasi the woman is always mistress of the house. 



Riga 



Society of Naturalists, Aug. 27 — Dr. Buhse presented sonig 

 growing specimens of E'IoJm Canadensis, the American aquatic 

 weed which, siu^e 1836, has appeared and spread over Middle 

 and N orihtrii Europe ; and gave some account of it. Two 

 different an.iKses of the weed, by Fischer and Liebig, show a 

 large pro.iortion of salts in its ashes, and also how widely the 

 proportion of its constituents varies with the nature of the water 

 in which the plant grows. 



Sept. 17— il. Schweder directed attention to a fossil egg now 

 in the St. Petersburg Museum. It was found in the Chersonese 

 Government a lew years ago, and has been secured for 1,000 

 roubles (say 166/.). It is i8cm. length, and iScm. short dia- 

 meter J its capacity is reckoned equal to that of 40 to 44 hen'g 



