2l6 



NATURE 



\yuly 1 6, 1874 



and IINO3, and boiling HCl change it to a pale yellow. The 

 colour is also destroyed by reducing agents. — On ozone as a con- 

 comitant of the oxidation of the essenlial oils. Part I. by Charles 

 T. Kingzett. The author first determined the amount of oxygen 

 absorbed by ether, oil of turpentine, and various essential oils. 

 Various reactions of the so-called ozonised oil ol turpentine have 

 been studied. The oxidised substance resembles both ozone and 

 hydrogen peroxide in certain properties, but its aqueous solution 

 retains its properties after long-continued boiling. The substance 

 is destroyed also by MnOo and by heating with ZnCl.,. The 

 author concludes from his experiment that the supposed ozone is 

 an oxidised compound of the turpentine oil, Ci„H[gO.H„0. — 

 It is much to be regretted that the Society still finds it necessary 

 to advertise on the wra]iper of the present number (as also of the 

 last) a list of books missing from the library. 



American yournal of Science and Arts, June. — The first article 

 is by W. Hilyard, Univ. of Michigan, On some points in Mallet's 

 theory of vulcanicity. He gives a Wsiinic of the slate cf the 

 question. Among other points considered Mr. Ililyard says : — 

 "While Mr. Mallet's theory accounts satisfactorily for earthquake 

 phenomena and volcanic activity as manifested since the cessation 

 of fissure eruption ; and also for the gradual or sudden depression 

 of both large and small areas, even subseqitent to that time ; it 

 makes no provision for their elevation, and therefore leaves un- 

 explained the numerous oscillations of level of which we find the 

 record do%vn to our own time. In assuming the movements as 

 taking place exclusively within the Eolid shell, he (unnecessarily, 

 it seems to me) leaves a point open to objection." . . . "At 

 the first blush the 'squeezing out of sub-mountain liqni 1 

 matter' assumed by Leconle as the consequence o( Uie 

 folding and fissuring of strata by tangential thrust, appears 

 natural enough. Yet it seems hardly possible that the same 

 force which makes and elevates mountain-folds (being the result 

 of interior shrinkage) should at the same time serve to compress 

 the interior liquid, unless either such folding occurs beneath the 

 general level of the liquid ; or the latter is locally confined ; or 

 the movement is so brusque or cataclysmal that viscosity would 

 prevent the lateral or downward escape of the liquid rock." 

 While the assumption of locally limited fire seas, as proposed by 1 

 Dana, would remove the difficulty, calculation shows the required 

 size of the seas to be such that they would approach to nearly a 1 

 general undercrust fluidity. — In the second article Mr. L. ' 

 Lesquereux replies to Dr. Newberry's objections to the Colorado 

 Lower lignite formation being referred to the period of the Lower 

 Eocene. He shows that many of the species it contains are com- 

 mon to Alum Bay and Mount Bolca, and he objects to Heer's 

 statement that the floras of these two localities have "a distinctly 

 tropical and Indo-Australian character," The next article 

 is a continuation of Mr. C. H. Hitchcock's paper On the 

 Helderberg rocks of New Hampshire. The beds in question 

 border on the line of the Ammonoosuc River in three areas, 

 the Littleton, North Lisbon, and Lyman. Of the fossils Jlr. 

 Billings says : " I do not consider the fossils sufficient to decide 

 the age of the rock very closely, but only that it is Upper Silu- 

 rian or LoMer Devonian.' The communication, which occu- 

 pies twenty pages, is illustrated with map and sections. — 

 A description of a new fossil resin, by O. Loew, named by him 

 Wheelerile. Its formula is CsH^O, and it melts at 154° C. — The 

 next article is a completion of Mr. W. M. Fontaine's paper On 

 the great conglomerate on New Iviver, West Virginia. This series, 

 while in some features resembling the lower coal rocks, is dis- 

 tinguished by an almost entire absence of shales. The study of 

 it has led to the consideration, " Does not the successive forma- 

 tion of coal on an extended scale along the south-west border of 

 the Appalachian coal-field, commencing in the Devonian period, , 

 paint to the existence at this time of a continental mass nearer 

 than the azoic of Canada?" — On a felspar from Bamie 

 in Norw.iy, by G. W. Hawes. — Notes on some fossils 

 in Illinois State Geological Reports, vol. v., by F. H. Meek. — j 

 Chemical composition of the wood of Acrogens, by C. 

 W. Hawes. The analyses show that the wood of Acrogens 

 does not differ in ultimate composition from forest trees. — Under 

 the head " Scientific Intelligence," there is a note that a skeleton 

 of a whale [Beluga lermontana) has been found at a depth of 

 12 ft. 6 in. in clay of the Champlain period, at Jacquet River, 

 Dalhousie, New Brunswick. — The flora of the Dakota group of 

 the Cretaceous is, according to Mr. Lesquereux, remarkable for 

 the absence of any European species of the same age. 



The Ceographical Magazine, July. — This number opens with 

 an interesting sketch of the history of Indian Marine Surveys. — | 



Col. H- Yule, C.B., contributes an abstract from the Bulletin of 

 the St. Petersburg Geographical Society of Mr. F. Paderin's 

 account of his visit to the site of Karakaroum in 1873, which is 

 illustrated by a sketch-map.— Another paper by Col. Yule con- 

 tains some valuable information concerning the wonderfully 

 accurate Atlas Sinensis (1655) of the Jesuit Martin Martini. — ■ 

 A number of valuable notes on the Kashgar Mission are given 

 in the form of letters from Lieut. -Cob Gordon and Capt. Bid- 

 dulph. — Baron von Richthofcn sheds considerable light on the 

 question of land communication between Asia and Europe. No 

 one is entitled to speak with more authority than this great 

 explorer of China, and he distinctly states that "the trade-route 

 from Si-ngan-fu, past Hami, to Kuldja, is the best natural Una 

 for a railway from China to Europe." He is confident of the 

 practicability of the undertaking. 



The Journal of Botany, May, June, July. — The nuip- 

 ber for May commences with a short sketch of tire life 

 of a little-known botanist, William Sherard, a contemporary 

 of Ray, who died in 172S, and bequeathed his library 

 and herbarium to the University of Oxford, together with an 

 endowment of 3,000/., for the Professor of Botany. — Mr. F. 

 A. Lees has a useful paper On the flora of the Yorkshire coal- 

 field. — Prof. Thiselton Dyer appends some remarks to a trans- 

 lation of M. Vesque's paper On new species of Dipterocarpus, 

 from the Comftcs Rendtis, some of M. Vesque's names having a 

 claim of priority over those published by Prof. Dyer in the 

 preceding number of the Journal, while others appear identical 

 •>» iiii previously described species, and to have been published on 

 insufficient grounds. — In the number lor June the papers are 

 mostly of a character to interest species-botanists only. — Mr. J. 

 G. Baker describes some new species of Dracrena from Tropical 

 Africa. — The same remark may be applied to the number for 

 July, with the exception of an account of the Botanical Con- 

 gress at Florence, continued from the preceding number, and 

 reprints of the Official Reports of the Keeper of the Botanical 

 Department of the British Museum, and the Curator of the 

 Herbarium and Library at Kew for 1S73. — One or more plates 

 in every number now add to the permanent value of this 

 admirably conducted magazine. 



In the Scottish Naturalist for July, we find papers on Scotch 

 zoology, phytology, and geology. We would call special at- 

 tention to one by Mr. G. Sim, On the food and use of our rapa- 

 cious birds, an eloquent appeal for the protection of our " Rap- 

 tores, " which are now becoming scarcer every year. From an 

 examination of the stomachs of 305 birds which have passed 

 through his hands during the last ten years, eagles, buzzards, 

 ospreys, falcons, merlins, kestrels, sparrow-hawks, owls, &c., the 

 author has come to the conclusion that the injury done by these 

 birds to the farmer and game-preserver is very small compared to 

 the benefit, by far the most abundant articles of their food being 

 mice, shrews, and various insects. Even when ha«ks do kill 

 game, he maintains that it is the weakly and sickly birds that 

 fall victims. — Mr. F. Smith concludes his paper On the geology 

 of the Earn Valley, and Dr. Buchanan White and Dr. .Sharp 

 give further instalments of the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera (rf 

 Scotland. 



The Transactions of the Linneau Society has now entered on 

 its thirtieth volume. The first part, just published, contain; 

 Mr. J. Scott's paper On the trec-lerns of British Sikkim, illus- 

 trated with eighteen plates ; a paper On some recent forms of 

 Lagenit from deep-sea soundings in the Java seas, by F. W. O, 

 Ixymer Jones, witlr one plate ; an enumeration of the Orchids 

 collected by the Rev. E. C. Parish near Moulmein, by Prof. H, 

 G. Reichenbach, f., with six plates; and a most elaborate an<i 

 laborious monograph of the habits, structure, and relations of the 

 three-banded armadillo, Tolyfeutes conurus, by Dr. James Murie, 

 with seven plates. 



Mentorie delta Societa degli Speetroseopisti Italiani, May. — 

 Secchi and Tacchini contribute a table showing the solar pro- 

 minences for November and December 1S72, in which there is a 

 marked aggregation of prominences on either side of the solar 

 equator and a total absence at the poles. — There is also a coloured 

 plate of some prominences and faculre, by Gautier. — Schiapa- 

 relli gives an account of Capt. Tupman's observations on 

 shooting stars, accompanied by a table sliowing the length of the 

 trajectory in degrees and duration of numbers of meteorites. — • 

 Lorenzoni gives a discussion of the results of the researches at 

 the Vienna University on the orbits of meteorites, with a table 

 showing the elements of sixteen meteor streams. — Prof. Bre- 



