96 



NA TURE 



[May 28, 1896 



Charles Johnson, for the first time in the Eocence of Texas, of a 

 representative of the genus Scalpellum. It is a new species for 

 which the name Chamberlaini was proposed, in recognition of 

 the services of the Rev. L. T. Chamberlain to palreontological 

 science. 



New South Wales. 



Linnean Society, March 25. — The President, Mr. Henry 

 Deane, in the chair. — The President delivered the annual 

 address, in the course of which the subject of forestry, especially 

 in relation to the needs and resources of Australia, was brought 

 forward, and the experiments of other countries were summarised, 

 as a safe guide to be followed. The question of the origin of 

 the Australian flora was also dealt with at some length, critical 

 objections being offered to Ettingshausen's views on the 

 characters of the Australian Tertiary flora, based upon no more 

 satisfactory evidence than is afforded by leaf-remains. The 

 address concluded with a summary of the salient points of 

 interest in the recently issued first instalment of the " Report of 

 the Horn Expedition to Central Australia" (Zoology, part ii., 

 edited by Prof. Baldwin Spencer), a work which, in its com- 

 pleted form, promises to be the most comprehensive and 

 elaborate account of the natural history of any portion of the 

 continent ever issued in a self-contained form. — The following 

 papers were read : — A contribution to the structure and relations 

 of the organ of Jacobson in the horse, by Dr. R. Broom. — 

 Descriptions of further highly ornate boomerangs from New 

 South Wales and Queensland, by R. E. Etheridge, jun. — Note 

 on the occurrence of callosities in Cyprita other than C. bicallosa 

 and C. rhinocerus : and on the presence of a sulcus in Trivia 

 aiistra/is, by Agnes F. Kenyon. — On a new genus and species 

 of Australian fishes, by J. D. Ogilby. The genus Apogonops is 

 proposed for a small fish of puzzling afiinities from Maroubra 

 Bay. At a first glance it would seem to be naturally referable 

 to the family Apogonid<T. But this view is precluded by the 

 absence of vomerine teeth and the number of its dorsal spines, 

 unless it is to be considered as an aberrant Apogonid with 

 scifenoid affinities. — Catalogue of the described Coleoptera of 

 Australia. Supplement. Part ii. Dytiscidit and Staphylitiida, 

 by George Masters. 



GoTTINGEN. 



Royal Academy of Sciences.— The Nachrichten (mathe- 

 matico-physical series) part I for 1896 contains the following 

 memoirs contributed to the Society. 



January 11. — Pendulum observations at Freden and Alfeld, 

 by A. von Koenen. — The movement of the spinning-top, by F. 

 Klein. 



January 25. — Discovery of Ceratiles itodostis ant. in the 

 Vicentine Trias, and its stratigraphical significance. A new 

 demonstration of Kronecker's fundamental theorem on Abelian 

 Zahlenkdrper. A letter of Gauss to GerIing(on Bolyai's geometry), 

 by Paul Stackel. Continuous groups of quadratic transformations 

 of the plane, by G. Bohlmann. — On the representation of finite 

 groups by means of Cayley's colour-diagrams. 



Februarj' 8. — Researches conducted in the Gottingen Uni- 

 versity laboratory (HI.), by O. Wallach, (i) A new heptyl- 

 amine. (2) Ketones from propenyl-compounds. (3) On reuniol. 

 (4) On pinol hydrate. (5) On isothujone and thujamenthone. 

 (6) Refractive and dispersive powers of a series of isomeric 

 camphors. 



March 7. — The theory of the formation of petroleum, by Fr. 

 Heusler. — On a theorem in the analysis of position, by A. 

 Schoenflies. 



Amsterdam. 



Royal Academy of Sciences, April 18. — Prof. Van de 

 Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair. — On four-dimensional prismoids, 

 by Prof. Schoute. — On the equilibrium of radiation in the case 

 of doubly-refracting bodies, by Prof. Lorentz. — Prof. Kamer- 

 lingh Onnes presented a paper to be published in the report of 

 of the meeting, and entitled " a contrivance for lighting up 

 scales lor mirror-reading," and also, on behalf of Dr. L. H. 

 Siertsema, a communication on measurements of the mag- 

 • netic rotation of gases. This communication is a continua- 

 tion of those published in the Transactions, 1893-94, p. 31, and 

 1894-95, P- 230. After supplementing the descriptions of the 

 apparatus, the method of observation, and the manner of calcu- 

 lation—a plate being added for illustration — the author com- 

 municated the results with respect to air, oxygen, nitrogen, 

 carbonic acid, and nitrogen mono.xide. The results for the first 

 two gases have been deduced from the same observations as the 



NO. T387, VOL. 54] 



previous ones, but have been re-calculated, a better determina- 

 tion of certain constants having been obtained. Moreover, the 

 rotations have been expressed in minutes, by means of a pro- 

 visional reduction factor. The results for COj and N5O must 

 only be considered as provisional, as the pressure was not 

 measured with sufficient accuracy. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books.— The Alternate Current Tr.in^formert Dr. J. A. Fleming. Vol. i, 

 new edition {K/t'ctrician Company). — Physics for Students of Medicine ; 

 Dr. A. Daniell (Macmillan).— The Flora of Dumfriesshire : G. F. Scott- 

 Elliot (Dumfries, Maxwell).— Through Jungle and Desert : W. A. Chanler 

 (M.^cmillan).— The Frog: Prof. A. Milnes M.irshall, 6th edition, edited by 

 Dr. G. H. Fowler (Nutt).— The Great Rift Valley: Dr. J. W. Gregory 

 (Murray).— A Manual of North American Birds : R. Ridg^vay. 2nd edition 

 (Lippincott).— Fur and Feather Series. The Hare : Macpherson, &c. 

 (Longmans) -Press-Working of Metals : O. Smith (Chapman).— Mars : P. 

 Lowell (Longmans).- How Plants Live and Work: E. Hughes-Gibb 

 (tiriffin). — Official Year-Book of the Scientific and Learned Societies of 

 Great Britain and Ireland, 13th annual issue (Griffin).— Reminiscences of a 

 Yorkshire N.atur.alist : Prof. W. C. Williamson (Redway).— Miscellaneous 

 Papers : Prof. H. Hertz, translated by D. E. Jones and G. A. Schott (Mac- 

 millan).— A System of Medicine : edited by Prof. T, C. Allbutt, Vol. i 

 (Macmillan).— Catalogue of the Madreporarian Corals in the Briti-sh 

 Museum (Natural History), Vol. 2 : H. M. Bern.ard (London).— Catalogue 

 of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History-), Vol. 3 : G. A. 

 Boulenger (London). — Lehrbuch der Okologischen Pflanzengeographie : Dr. 

 E. Warming, Deutsche vom Verfasser Genehmigte Durchgeschene und 

 Vermehrte ausgabe : Dr. E. Knoblauch (Berlin, G. Borntraeger).— The 

 Indian Calendar : R. Sewell and ,S. B. Dikshit (Sonnenschein). — Results of 

 Rain, River, and P2vaporation Observations made in New South Wales, 

 1894 (Sydney). 



Pamphlets. — Die Grenzen Geistiger Gesundheit und Krankheit: Dr. P. 

 Flechsig (Leipzig, Veit).— Thoughts on Evolution : P. G. F. (Sonnen.schein). 



Serials. — Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, May (Churchill). 

 —Bulletins de la Socic't^ D'Anthropologie de Paris, 1835, No. 6 (Paris, 

 Masson). — M^moires de laSoci^t^ D'Anthropologie de Paris, tome i, 3*^ s^rie, 

 4"^ Fasc. (Paris, Masson) — Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 

 May (Spon). — Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, May (Long- 

 mans). — Natural Science, June (Rait). — Longman's Magazine, June (Long- 

 mans).— Himmel und Erde, May (Berlin).— Illustrations of the Zoology of 

 H.M. Indian Marine Surveying Si^VLmtir Investigator, s parts (Calcutta). — 

 Good Words, June (Isbister).— Sunday Magazine, June (Isbister). 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Photography of Histological Evidence. By 



Prof. W. F. R. Weldon, F.R.S 73 



The Kew Index of Plant Names ... 74 



The Anatomy of Fear. By Prof. E. A. Schafer, F.R.S. 74 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Zwaardemakcr : " Die Physiologic des Geruchs " . . . 75 



Holnian : " Computation Rules and Logarithms " . . 76 



Lynn: " Remarkable Eclipses " 76 



Ackroyd : " The Old Light and the New " 76 



Letters to the Editor: — 



A Curious Idiosyncrasy. — Francis Galton, F.R.S. . 76 

 Becquerel's and Lippmann's Colour Photographs. — 



C. H. Bothamley 77 



Influence of Terrestrial Disturbances on the Growth of 



Trees.— Prof. B. E. Fernow . 77 



Our Bishops and Science. — Rev. J. F. Heyes . 77 



Blood-Brotherhood.— G. Archdall Reid 77 



Remarkable Sounds. — Kumagusu Minakata . . 78 

 Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia. By Prof. W. 



Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S 78 



Experiments in Mechanical Flight. By Prof. S. P. 



Langley and Prof. Alexander Graham Bell . . . 80 

 The Approaching Celebration of the Kelvin Jubilee 



in Glasgow 80 



Notes 81 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Temperature Errors in Meridian'Observations .... 84 



Search Epheineris for Comet 1S89 V - 84 



Constants for Nautical Almanacs 84 



The Planet Mercur}' 84 



Stellar Photography with Small Telescopes without 



Driving-Clocks. (Illustrated.) By Joseph Lunt . . 84 



The Extinct Vertebrates of Argentina 86 



The Evolution of Modern Scientific Laboratories. 



By Prof. William H. Welch 87 



University and Educational Intelligence 90 



Scientific Serials .9' 



Societies and Academies 92 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 96 



