JULV 30, 1896] 



NA TURE 



We loam from Science that a State Veterinary College has 

 been estalilished in New York. It is pointetl out that the 

 animal industry of the State is so important and extensive, and 

 the relaticms of animal diseases so intimately interwoven with 

 human health and well-being, that the financial and sanitary 

 interests of the Slate will derive benefit from the knowledge 

 and continued investigations of the body of experts which the 

 College will bring together. The following have already been 

 appointed upon the statT of the College : — Director and Pro- 

 fessor of Veterinary Medicine, Principles and Practice, Zymotic 

 Diseases, and State Medicine, Dr. James Law ; Professor of 

 Veterinary an<l Comparative Pathology and Bacteriology, Dr. 

 \'. A. Moore ; Assistant Professor of \'eterinary and Compara- 

 tive Physiology, Materia Medica and Pharmacy, Dr. P. A. 

 Fish ; Assistant Professor of Veterinary Anatomy and Anatom- 

 ical Methods, Dr. G. S. Hopkins ; Professor of Microscopical 

 Technology, Histology and Embryology, S. H. Gage ; 

 Instructor in Microscopy, Histology and Embryology, Dr. 

 B. F. Kingsbury ; Assistant in Veterinary Bacteriology, Dr. 

 R. C. Reed. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 

 IVicdeiiianit' s Aniiahn der Pliysik tiiid Chemie, No. 7. — 

 Polarised fluorescence, by L. Sohncke. The polarisation of 

 fluorescent light is capable of giving hints concerning the 

 manner in which the molecules of a solid substance vibrate, and 

 its study may form the basis of the kinetic theory of solids. 

 Theoretically, all doubly-refracting crystals should emit polar- 

 ised fluorescence. This is found to be the case. Crystals of the 

 regular system are the only crystals which do not. The author 

 has investigated the fluorescence of a large number of substances 

 in confirmation of this view. — Uniformities in the spectra of 

 solid bodies, by F. Paschen. The author investigates the dis- 

 tribution of energy in the spectrum of glowing iron oxide at 

 various temperatures. Of the formula hitherto proposed for its 

 expression, that of Weber most closely approaches the reality. 

 It gives a nearly parabolic curve in which the energy declines on 

 both sides from a maximum which decreases in wave-length as 

 the temperature rises. But the want of symmetry in Weber's 

 curve is greater than in reality. The author finds a new formula, 

 for which he claims that it covers all the observations. — The 

 electrical behaviour of vapours from electrified liquids, by G. 

 Schwalbe. The author finds that the vapours rising from 

 electrified liquids are not capable of bearing away with them 

 any portion of the electric charge, and that Exner's theory of 

 atmospheric electricity must therefore be abandoned. — The 

 damping action of magnetic fields upon rotating insulators, by 

 William Duane. Cylinders and discs of glass, sulphur, paraffin, 

 ebonite, or quartz, o.scillating between the poles of a magnet 

 with their axes vertical and at right angles to the lines of force, 

 experience a damping actipn proportional to the field intensity 

 and to the speed of rotation. This is not due to an action on 

 the suspending threads, nor on the viscosity of the air, nor an 

 electrostratic effect from the current in the coils, nor to induction 

 currents in the substance, as was proved by test experiments and 

 calculations. It must therefore be regarded as a hitherto unob- 

 served magnetic effect upon the insulators in question. — Effect of 

 magnetism upon electromotive force, by A. H. Bucherer. The 

 author finds that in solutions of neutral ferrous salts no E. M.F. 

 exceeding o-ooooi volt can be produced by the magnetisation 

 of one of the two iron electrodes. The E.M.F.s observed 

 by Gross and others must be attributed to changes of 

 concentration produced by the magnetised electrode during 

 its solution. — On the measurement of flame temperatures 

 by thermo-elcments, especially the temperature of the Bunsen 

 liurner, by W. J. Waggener. The temperatures were determined 

 by various thermo-couples in different parts of the flame. The 

 highest temperature, I700°C., was indicated in the lower portion 

 of the external mantle. But an infinitely thin thermo element 

 free from conduction would probably indicate over 1770°. A 

 wire 0'05 mm. thick still suflcrs from conduction, and it is 

 actually (used in the hottest portion. .\ more refractory metal 

 is requiretl for these measurements. 



Bolkltino delta Socteli Sismologica Ilaliana, vol. ii., 1896, 

 \o. I. — \elocity of propagation of the Paramylhia (Epirus) 

 earthquake of the night of May 13-14, 1895, tiy I^f- G. 

 .Vgamennone. From time-observations obtained at several 

 places near the epicentre, at six Italian observatories and at 



NO. 1396, VOL. 54] 



Nicolaiew, it appears that the early tremors travelled with a 

 velocity of I '94 km. per sec. , and the oscillations constituting 

 the maximum phase at the rate of I '42 km. per sec. There is 

 no evidence of any change in the velocity with the distance 

 from the epicentre. — Vesuvian notes (July-December 1895), by 

 Prof. G. Mercalli. 



The last number of the Izveslia of the Russian Geographical 

 Society (1S95, vi. ) contains a new map of Lake Onega, in which 

 last year's measurements of the depths of the lake are embodied. 

 The greatest depths are in its western part, where they attain 

 from 31 to 68 fathoms. This last depth is reached in the branch 

 by which the lake protrudes towards the north-west. A narrow 

 valley is thus formed at its bottom, and runs north-west to south- 

 east, in the direction of the glacial striation in that region. 

 Another great depth is found at the top of the other fjord-like 

 bay in the northern portion of the lake, also directed to the 

 north-west. 



We find in the last numbers of the hvestia of the East-Siberian 

 branch of the Russian Geographical Society (1895, Nos. I to 5) 

 a very good sketch of the Yakutes of Verkhoyansk, by S. 

 Kovalik ; and an interesting note on the little-known customary 

 hunting laws of the Burj'ates, by M. CroU ; as also a full trans- 

 lation, from the Mongolian, of the renowned Buddhist " Mirror 

 of Wisdom," which gives the "History of the Kingdom of 

 Sukawadi."' — M. Prein's preliminary article on the presence of 

 the lime-tree in the neighbourhood of Krasnoyarsk is especially 

 interesting. It is known that that tree does not appear to the 

 east of the Urals, and only reappears in the Amur region on the 

 very slopes of the high central plateau. But it was lately found 

 in the Kuznetsk Alatau mountains, and has now been discovered 

 further to the north-east, in the neighbourhood of Krasnoyar sk. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Royal Society, June iS. — " Magnetisation of Liquids." By 

 John S. Townsend. 



The experiments on the coefficient of magnetisation of liquids 

 were made with a sensitive induction balance. Both circuits 

 were commuted about sixteen times a second, so that very small 

 inductances could be detected by the galvanometer in the 

 secondary circuit. The principle of the method consisted in 

 balancing the increase of the mutual induction of the primary on 

 the secondary of a solenoid arising from the presence of a liquid 

 in the solenoid against known small inductances. Thus, if the 

 sum of the inductances be reduced to zero, as shown by the 

 galvanometer in the secondary giving no deflection, the balance 

 will be disturbed to the extent 47r/C'M, due to the insertion of a 

 liquid into the solenoid whose coefficient of magnetisation is Ii, 

 and the galvanometer in the secondary circuit will give a 

 deflection when the commutator revolves. An adjustable 

 inductance is then reduced by a known amount, 111, till the 

 deflection disappears ; so that we get 



47r/C-M = w .•./■ = OT/4TrJI, 



where m and M are quantities easily calculated. 



Since the formula does not contain either the rate of the 

 rotation of the commutator or the value of the primary current, 

 no particular precautions are necessary to keep these quantities 

 constant. 



In all the determinations the magnetising force was varied from 

 I to 9 centigram units, and in no case was there any variation 

 in k. The densities of the salts in solution were also varied 

 over large ranges, and showed that the coefficient of magnetisa- 

 tion for ferric salts in solution dej^ended only on the quantity of 

 iron per c.c. that was present, giving the formula 



\ak = 2660 W - 77 

 for ferric salts, where W is the weight of iron per c.c, the 

 quantity - 7 7 arising from the dianiagnetism of the water of 

 solution. 



A similar result was obtained for ferrous salts, the corre- 

 sponding formula being 



id'k = 2060 W - 77, 



the temperature being 10° C. 



Experiments were also performed to find the efi'ect of heating, 



