352 



NA TURE 



[Mar. 5, 1874 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS 



Ann'i'ican yotinial of Sciences and Arls, January 1874. — This 

 number commences with an account, by Mr. H. Gillman, of 

 some Indian mounds and skulls in Michigan. The numerous 

 tibix- unearthed showed the compression or flattening which cha- 

 racterises platycnemic men ; and the race, from Detroit River to 

 St. Clair and Lake Huron, seems to liave been marked with 

 platycnemism to an extreme hitherto unobserved in any other part 

 of America, or perhaps any other country in the world. The 

 writer thinks the type of bone will be found predominant in the 

 entire region of the great lakes. — Mr. Hilgard follows with a 

 note on silt analyses ot Mississippi soils and sub-soils (the author 

 having used his "churn elutriator ") ; and Mr. Longbridge dis- 

 cusses the distribution of soil ingredients among the sediments 

 obtained in silt analysis, and the influence of strength of acid and 

 time of digestion in the extraction of soils. — Mr. Lesquereux 

 communicates the remarkable discovery that traces of land vege- 

 tation exist in the Lower Silurian of America ; branches or small 

 stems of a species referable to Sicillarin having been found by 

 the Rev. II. Herzer in clay beds of the Cincinnati group. The 

 only records hitherto had of vegetable remains from the Silurian 

 of North America are some fragments of stems and rhizomes of 

 Psilophyton observed by Dawson in the Gaspe group of Canada; 

 the only link of connection of the Devonian flora with that of 

 the Silurian period. In Europe, too, the first remains of land 

 plants have been found in the Lower Devonian ; and as yet 

 only a single specimen of Sigillnria. The same writer, in 

 another note, .argues against the view, recently advanced, that 

 the lignite beds o* the Rocky Mountains have been formed by 

 the heaping up of diiftcd materials. ^Ve also find notes on the 

 geology of Western Texas (Jenney), on the results of recent 

 dredging expeditions on the coast of New England (Verrill), on 

 fossil woods of British Columbia (Dawson), on a combination of 

 silver chloride with mercuric iodide (Lea), Sc. — An appendix 

 contains a paper (with two plates) by Prof. Marsh, treating of 

 the structure and aflmities of the Brontotheridx. 



Poggcudorff' s Annahn dcr Physik iind C/icmie, No. 11, 1S73. 

 — This number contains the concluding part of M. Kundt's 

 paper on the vibrations of square air plates. — Dr. Schiingel de- 

 scribes some experi nents made with reference to change in the 

 pitch of sounds through a movement of translation of the sound- 

 ing body. He arranged an apparatus in which a tuning fork, 

 mounted, with its case, on a little waggon, was rapidly drawn 

 along (by a cord passing round a drum) towards the observer, 

 who stood beside another fork making a slightly greater number 

 of vibrations than the moved one. In this way a different num- 

 ber of beats was obtained ; less than that produced when both 

 forks were at rest. The pressure of a key, giving rise to this 

 motion (through electro-magnets, &c.), caused a telegraphic strip 

 of paper to be at the same time impressed, showing a continuous 

 line ; and a second pendulum, closing a current at each swing, 

 produced a series of points on the same strip. By this means 

 could be measured the time in which a certain number of suc- 

 cessive beats was heard, and the rate of motion of the travelling 

 fork. The author points out how the method may be employed 

 for determining the velocity of sound, and commends it to the 

 attention of physicists for further development. — M. ZoUner re- 

 plies, at some length, to the considerations urged by M. Reye 

 against his explanation of the sun-spots and protuberances ; and 

 M. Behrens communicates a note on porcelain and allied pro- 

 ducts. — A mercury air-pump, of improved construction, is de- 

 scribed by M. Mitscherlich ; and a variation-barometer by M. 

 Kohlrausch ; the latter instrument being formed with the vacuous 

 metallic ring of a Bourdon aneroid. — M. Herwig makes a calcu- 

 lation of the number and weight of ether-molecules contained in 

 electrical conductors. — Among the extracted matter, we note 

 sever.al important papeis ; one by Dr. Ileinrich Streintz (Vienna 

 Acad.), on the changes in elasticity and length of a wire tra- 

 versed by a galvanic current ; one by ^L Plattau (Belgian Acad.) 

 on the measurement of physical sensations, and tlie law which 

 connects the intensi y ..f these with that of the exciting cause ; 

 and one by M. Helmholtz (Berlin Acad.) on galvanic polarisation 

 in gasless liquids. 



Astivnomisdic N'achiMai, No. 1,974. — I" 'his number Brof. 

 Spoerer writes a very interesting account of his sun-spot and 

 prominence observations, from which he concludes that facula: 

 occupy the same places where protuber.ances arise or where the 

 points of the ' ' flaming chromosphere " are situate ; and further, 

 that protuberances are in most cases cuunectcd with spots, and 



are very conspicuous before and at the commencement of a group 

 of spots. In many cases, he says, it is possible to calculate when 

 a spot will appear, from the observation of a flaming protube- 

 rance, and that the spots are produced by the substances thrown 

 up becoming cooled and producing a cloud of products of con- 

 densation. — Dr. Hugo Goricke contributes a number of observa- 

 tions of position of the mmor planets Asia, Flora, Thetis, and 

 Hera. 



Aslronomischc I^achrichten, No. 1,975. — I" '^'^ number Prof. 

 Schmidt gives an account, in full, of his observations on Sun- 

 spots, the number of groups being given for each day in 1873, 

 the maximum number on any one day being 9, and the minimum 

 I. There is no day on which the sun was free from spots. Prof. 

 Schmidt says that clouds have prevented observations on 12 

 days; we, in this country, should be content with missing 120 

 days. Prof. .Schmidt also gives the maxima and minima of a 

 number of variable stars, and we regi'et that want of space 

 prevents our reproducing his results, which are worthy of peru- 

 sal by those interested in the matter. 



Der Natiirforscher, Jan. 1874. In this number we may first 

 note an account of some observations by M. Hann, at Hong 

 Kong and in Ceylon, as to the decrease of temperature with the 

 height. It appears that the yearly average of decrease is much 

 the same in the tropics as in central Europe. During the 

 regular monsoons, the decrease is much more gradual on the 

 windward side of a mountain than on the lee. The quick de- 

 crease in time of rain is due, in part, to increase in quantity of 

 rain with the height, and greater cooling in consequence. — From 

 experiments on alcoholic fermentation, by M. Brefeld, it is con- 

 cluded that alcohol yeast always requires free oxygen for its 

 growth ; it cannot grow on oxygen from a compound like sugar ; 

 further, that living, but non-growing, yeast-ceUs (free oxygen 

 being excluded) may yet excite fermentation in sugar solution. 

 As showing the affinity of the yeast-cell for free oxygen, the 

 author states that it may grow in COo containing less than 1 ^-^ 

 of its volume of such gas, and will fully absorb it. — We also find 

 a note of some experiments on butyric fermentation, by M, 

 Paschutin ; and in the botanical department there are 

 several interesting notes. — On the reaction of plant 

 protoplasm to mechanical injuries, by M. Hanstein ; the 

 cause of periodical motions in leaves, by M. Batalin, 

 stated to be, chiefly, unequal growth, preponderating at 

 one side or the other, through varying conditions of light, tem- 

 perature, and turgescence ; on the morphological differentiation 

 of the lower plants, by AL Pfingsheim, and others. — In a sugges- 

 tive mineralogical paper, M. Hirschwald theorises on the co- 

 hesion-relations in drops and m crystals. — Physics is represented 

 by several extracted notes — on evaporation, on phenomena of 

 polarisation produced through dispersion of light, on relations 

 between capillaiy and electric phenomena, on intennittance of 

 the electric current, &c., most of which have already been 

 noticed elsewhere in our columns ; and in physiology there is an 

 account of a valuable investigation by M. Forster, as to the signi- 

 ficance of ash-constituents in food. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



London 



Royal Society, Feb. 12. — "On the influence of Ethyl Al- 

 cohol on the Bodily Temperature, the Pulse, and the Respirations 

 of a healthy man." By E. A. Parkes, M.D., F.R.S., Professor 

 of Hygiene, Army Medical School. 



The author made a large number of experiments on a strong 

 healthy soldier, T. R., aged twenty-five, height 5 ft. 8 J in., 

 w^eight (naked) 67 "46 kilogrammes, or 148 lbs. 



The course of the experiments was as follows : — His breakfast 

 was taken at 6.30, was finished everyday by 7 .\.M. ; he took for 

 breakfast 8 ounces of bread, i ounce of butter, and 17 fluid 

 ounces of tea with sugar, and with 3 ounces of milk. Imme- 

 diately after breakfast he went to bed again, and did not get out 

 of the recumbent position for any purpose until 2 o'clock. He 

 then dined on 12 ounces of beefsteak, 4 ounces of bread, and 

 8 ounces of w.ater. 



After dinner he took exercise and smoked, had tea (same food 

 as at breakfast) at 6, and a glass of water at 9 P.M., when he 

 went to bed. He took daily precisely the same diet and 

 quantity of water. 



Thermometers (tested for accuracy and exactly coiTesponding) 

 were placed in the axilla and rectum at 5 o'clock, and, except 



