4S 



NA rURE 



[May 14. 1896 



Am-.1KK1)A.\[. 



Royal Academy of Sciences, March 28. — Pnif. van <le 

 Sande Bakhiiy/Lii in llie chair. — Prof. Kann.'rlin(j;h Onnes 

 exhibited a .series of extremely clear photographs, obtained 

 with Rontgen rays by I'rof. Haga at Clroningen. The 

 exposure did not last longer than one minute. — Prof. Kamer- 

 lingh Onnes presented, on behalf of Dr. Siertsema, a paper 

 to be ]Hil)lished in the report of the meeting, on measure- 

 ments of magnetic rotation dispersion in gases — Prof. Franchi- 

 mont on the action of nitric acid upon methyl and dimethyl 

 amides at the ordinary temperature. Tlie author showed to 

 what extent the action depends upon the acid-residue of the 

 amides, and proved that the same rules also hold good for the 

 piperidide.s. For this purpose the author, in conjunction with 

 Dr. van Erp, examined oxal-piperide, which enters into an un- 

 stable compound with nitric acid, but is not otherwise influenced, 

 resembling in this tetramethyloxaniide, previously studied in 

 conjunction with Mr. Koufl'aer. The author and Dr. Taverne 

 examined (i) trichloracetpiperidide, a beautifully crystallised 

 substance, fusing at 45° ; (2) benzolsulphonepiperidide ; (3) 

 picrylpiperidide ; and, as they had expected, they found that the 

 first was not influenced, the second yielded nitropiperidine, and 

 the third a picryklehydronitropiperidide as a red, beautifully 

 crystallised body, fusing at 95 . — Prof Franchimont further 

 treated of the action of alkalies upon nitramines, in examining 

 which action Dr. van Erp found that a great quantity of nitrous 

 acid is formed. With some nitramines, as nitrohydantoin, 

 nitromethylhydantoin, nitrolacetylureum, nitroamidoacetamide, 

 when treated with baryta-water, the formation of nitrous acid 

 already takes place at a low temperature ; others, as nitro- 

 acetonyl-urea, ethylenedinitro-urea, dinitroglycoluril, &c,, be- 

 have differently. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



London. 



THURSDAY, ^tAV 14. 



Royal I.mstitution, at 3.— The Art of Working Melals in Japan: W. 

 Cowland. 



Society op .\rts, at 4.30.— Tea Planting in Darjeeling : G. W. Christison. 



Mathematical Society, at 8.— On the Application of the Principal 

 Function to the Solution of Delaunay's Canonical System of Equations : 

 Prof. E. W. Brown. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— The Influence of the Shape 

 of the Applied Potential Difference Wave on the Iron Losses in Trans- 

 formers: Stanley ISeeton, C. Perry'Taylor, and I. M. Harr. 



FRIDAY, May 15. 

 Royal Institution, at 9.— Cable-layingon the Amazon River : Alexander 



Epidemiological Society, at 8. 

 <^uekett Microscopical Club, at 8. 



MONDAY, May 18. 

 Society of Arts, at 8. — Applied Electro-chemistry : James .Swinburne. 

 Royal Geogicaphicai. Society, at 8.30. — Journey from Talifu to Assam : 



H.R.H. Prince Henry of Orleans. 

 Victoria Institute, at 4.30. — Climate in India : Grant " Bey." 



TUESDA Y, May 19. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— Ripples in Air and on Water : C. V. Boys, 

 F.R.S. 



Society of Arts, at 8.— Bronze Casting in Europe : George Simonds. 



ilooLOGiCAL Society, at 8.30. — On an interesting Variation in the Pattern 

 of theTeelh of a Specimen of the Common Field-Vole : G. E. H. Barrett- 

 Hamilton.— Contributions to the Anatomy of Picarian Birds. No. III. 

 The Anatomy of the Alcedinida: : F. E. Beddard, F.R.S. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— The M.ignetic Testing of Iron 

 and Steel : Prof. J. A. Ewing, F.R.S.— Magnetic Data of Iron and Steel : 

 Horace F. Parshall. 



Royal Statistical Society, at 5. 



Pathological Society, at 8.30.— Annual Meeting. 



Royal Photographic Society, at 8.— Photo-mechanical Methods in 

 Austria : Ignatz Herbst. 



Royal Victoria Hall, at 8.30.— A Visit to .\rmenia : Prof. .\. V. 

 Markoflr. 



WEDNESDAY, May =o. 



Society of Arts, at 8.— Orthochromatic Photography : Captain W. de W. 

 Abney, F.R.S. 



Royal Meteorological Society, at 7.30.— The E.tposure of Anemo- 



THURSDA Y, May 21. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30.— On the Changes produced in Magnetised Iron 

 and Steels by c joling to the Temperature of Liquid Air : Prof. J. Dewar, 

 F.R.S., and Dr. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S.— Note on the Larva and of the 

 Post-Larval Development of Leucosolenia variabilis, n. sp., with remarks 

 on the Development of other Arconid^ : E. A. Minchin. — Helium and 

 Argon. Part III. Experiments which have yielded Negative Results : 



NO. 1385, VOL. 54] 



(Open Court Pub- 



Prof. Ramsay, F.R.S., and Dr. Collie.— On the Amount of Argon .and 

 Helium contained in the G.-is from ihe Bath Springs : Lord Rayleigh, 

 .Sec.R.S. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — The Art of Working Metals in Japan: W, 

 Gowland. 



Chemical Society, at 8.— The Diphcnylbcnzcnes. I. Metadiphcnylben- 

 zene : F. D. Cliattaway and R. C. T. Evans, — Derivatives of Camphoric 

 Acid: Dr. F. S. Kipping. — Some Substances e.\hibiting Rotatory Power 

 both in the Liquid and Crystalline states : W. J. Pope. 



FRIDA Y, May 22. 

 Royal Institution, at g.— Hysteresis : Prof. J. A. Ewing. F.R.S. 

 Physical Socikty, at 5.— On Dielectrics : R. Appleyard.— The Field of an 



Elliptical Current : J. Viriamu Jones.— .'Vn Instrument for Measuring 



Frequency : A. Campbell. 



SA TURD A Y, May 23. 



Geologists' Association (Paddington at 11-45). — Excursion to Chippen- 

 ham, Calne, Kellaways, and Corsham. 



Yorkshire Naturalists' UNioN,.at Hellifield.— Four Days' E,vcursion for 

 the investigation of Bowland. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLET, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books.— .Membic Club Reprints. No. 12. The Liquc-faction of Gases : 

 M. Faraday (Edinburgh, Cl.ay).- Report on the Work of the Horn Scien- 

 tific Expediti.m to Central Australia. Part 2. Zoology (Dul.vu) — Hausa- 

 land : C. H. Robinson (Low). — A Theoretical and Practical Treatise on the 

 Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid and Alkali : Dr. G. Lunge, Vol. 3, 2iid edi- 

 tion (Gurney).— Electric Lighting and Power Distribution : W. P. May- 

 cock, 3rd edition, 2 Vols., Vol. i (Whittaker). — The Whence and the 

 Whither of Man : Prof. J. M. Tyler (Blackwood).— Graphical Calculus : A. 

 H. Barker (Longmans).— A Handbook to the Order Lepidoptera : W. F. 

 Kirby. Part i. Butterflies, Vol. 2 (Allen).— Les Rayons X : Dr. C. E. 

 Guillaume, deux edition (P.aris, G.authier-Villars).- Regenwaarnemingen in 

 Nederlandsch-Indie, 1894 (Batavia). — Observations made at the M.agnetical 

 and Meteorological Observatory at Batavia, 1804 (Batavia). 



Pamphlet.— On Germinal Selection: A. Wei 

 lishing Company). 



Serials.— Bulletin de L'Acadimie Royale des Sciences, 1896, No. 3 

 (Bruxelles).— Centralblatt fiir Anthropologic, &c., 1896, Heft 2 (Breslau).— 

 American Journal of Science, May (New Haven). — Journal of the Franklin 

 Institute, May (Philadelphia).— Psychological Review, May (Macmillan). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Flight. P>y G. H. B 25 



Astronomy and Milton. By W. T. Lynn 26 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Hankin ; "Cholera in Indian Cantonments, and how 



to deal with it " 26 



Williams: " Cheinical Experiments, General and Ana- 

 lytical " 27 



Resal : " Traite de mecanique generale." — G 27 



Siebert and Biggin : " Modern Stone-Cutting and 



Masonry '* 27 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Two IJriUiant Meteors.— W. F. Denning 27 



Becquerel and Lippmann's Colour l'h(itograph.s. — 



Prof R. Meldola, F.R.S 2S 



Aquatic Hymcnoplera. — Fred. Knock 28 



Dalton's Atomic Theory.— The Authors; Your 



Reviewer 29 



.\n .\iKance in Riintgen Photography. — Dr. John 



Macintyre 29 



Projects for Antarctic Exploration. By Dr. Hugh 



Robert Mill 29 



The Height of Luminous Clouds. By W. J. S. L. . 31 



The Bishop of Ripon on Huxley and Science . ... 31 



Notes 32 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Comet Swift, 1S96 35 



A Phi. I. .graphic Transit Circle 35 



-Mr. 'IV-libutt's Observatory , 35 



The Royal Society Conversazione 36 



The Iron and Steel Institute 38 



A Remarkable Dust-Gtorm 41 



Science in the Magazines 41 



The Metric System in the United States 42 



University and Educational Intelligence 44 



Scientific Serials .45 



Societies and Academies 46 



Diary of Societies 48 



Books, Pamphlet, and Serials Received 4S 



