168 
into the Society.—Mr. Basset read a paper on the potential of 
an electrified spherical bowl, and on the motion of an infinite 
liquid about such a bowl, upon which Prof, Larmor made some 
remarks.—Mr. Elliott communicated a short paper by M. Z. J. 
Rogers, entitled, notes on the polism of the inscribed and cir- 
cumscribing polygon. —Mr. Kempe, F.R.S., made a brief com- 
munication on pairs of collinear points; and a paper by Prof. 
Mannheim, liaison géométrique entre les sphéres osculatrices de 
deux courbes qui ont les mémes normales principales, was taken 
as read. 
Chemical Society, June 4.—Dr. Hugo Miller, F.R.S., 
President, in the chair.—Mr. Harold Follows was admitted as a 
Fellow of the Society.—The following paper was read :—On 
the constitution of the haloid derivatives of naphthalene, by 
Prof. Meldola. 
Anthropological Institute, June 9.— Francis Galton, 
F.R.S., President, in the chair.—Prince Roland Bonaparte 
exhibited a large collection of photographs of Lapps.—Mr. P. A. 
Holst exhibited three water-coloured photographs out of a col- 
lection of 240, representing all the tribes of the Russian empire. 
—Dr. J. G. Garson read a paper on the physical characteristics 
of the Lapps ; and by the permission of the authorities of the 
Alexandra Palace, the family of Lapps now being exhibited 
there were present in the room with their sleigh, reindeer skins, 
and dog. The group consists of three men, two women, and 
two young children. The average height of the men is 5 feet 
13 inches, that of the women 4 feet 114 inches. The chief 
characteristics of the Lapps may be said to be their low stature, 
round heads, and large cranial capacity.—Prof. Keane read a 
paper on the Lapps: after glancing at their origin, ethnical 
relations and nomenclature, explaining the perplexing terms 
Lapp, Finn, Same, &c., the Professor proceeded to describe 
their present habitat, their national and political divisions, and 
population ; not more than about 30,000 Lapps remain, and their 
number appears to be diminishing. Their social usages were 
then described, and allusion made to their reindeer, dogs, 
sledges, snow-shoes, and tents, and the paper concluded with an 
account of their religion, education, present condition, and 
future prospects.—A paper by Dr. H. Rink on Eskimo dialects 
was taken as read. 
EDINBURGH 
Mathematical Society, June 12.—Dr. Thomas Muir in the 
chair.—Prof. Tait gave an address on the detection of amphi- 
cheiral knots, with special reference to the mathematical pro- 
cesses involved. 
PARIS 
Academy of Sciences, June 8.—M. Bouley, President, in 
the chair.—Action of chloroxicarbonic ether on the cyanate of 
potassium, by MM. Wurtz and-Henninger. In an accompany- 
Ing note it is stated that this important posthumous monograph 
was mostly prepared in 1875, but that its publication was delayed 
by the authors in order to complete their researches on various 
points. After the death of M. Wurtz the work was continued 
by M. Henniger, who was about to publish the results when 
he also fell a victim to his arduous labours. In its present form 
the paper has been prepared and edited by M. Edouard 
Grimaux.—Memoir on the temperature of the atmosphere and 
ground at the Paris Natural History Museum during the years 
1883 and 1884, by MM. Edmond Becquerel and Henri 
Becquerel. This memoir forms a continuation of the researches 
begun twenty-two years ago at the Museum by M. A. C. 
Becquerel, by means of the thermo-electric apparatus invented 
by him.—On the geographical distribution of animal and 
vegetable species as affected by the climatic conditions, the 
character of the soil, the disposition of land and water, the pro- 
gress of culture, and other outward influences of the environ- 
ment, by M. 1I:mile Blanchard.—Propagation of the earth- 
quake shock felt in Andalusia on December 25, 1884, a 
rectification, by M. F, Fouqué.—On a new order of me- 
tallic spectra, by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran.—Note on a 
new vegetable type from the lower coralline formations of 
Auxes, in the neighbourhood of Baune, Céte d’Or, by M. G. 
de Saporta, This type, by the author named Changarniera, 
from its first observer, appears to be of lacustrine origin, and to 
bear a certain relation to the Rhizocaulon from the freshwater 
chalk-formations of the South of France, still surviving in 
Provence. It may, perhaps, represent one of those proangio- 
sperm types, the existence of which has only begun to be 
suspected by botanists.—Note on some recently-discovered 
documents connected with the infancy of Jean Le Rond 
NATURE 
[ Fune 18, 1885 
d’Alembert, by M. L. Lallemand. These inedited records 
show that, contrary to Condorc+t’s statement, d’Alembert was 
sent to the Maison de la Couche, and placed with a nurse for 
six weeks in a Picardy village, after which he was consigned to 
the charge of Jacques Molin (Dumoulin), one of the most dis- 
tinguished physicians of the time.—On a method of rapidly 
analysing al] the nitrogen contained in substances in the organic, 
ammoniacal, and nitric state, by M. A. Houzeau.—On a method 
of employing the sextant in such a way as to obtain by a single ob- 
servation the simultaneous altitudes or angles of two stars, ofa star 
and the moon, or of astar and thesun, by M.Gruey.—Onthe conver- 
gence ofacontinuousalgebraicfraction, by M. Halphen —Remarks 
on the radiations emitted by incandescent carbons, such as those 
prepared for use in lighthouses for the production of voltaic ares, 
by M. Felix Lucas.—Remarks on the apparatus usually em- 
ployed for the measurement of continuous and other electric 
currents, by M. Mascart.—A thermo-chemical study of electric 
accumulators, by M. Tscheltz>w.—Note on the action of silver, 
copper, iron, and some other metals on a mixture of acetylene 
and air, by M. F. Bellamy. The author’s experiments show 
that in the burner these metals, and especially copper, act on 
acetylene in the same way that platinum does on hydrogen.— 
Note on the sulphurets of cerium and lanthane, by M. Debray. 
—On a new reaction for digitaline, by M. Ph. Lafon, This 
reaction, which is extremely : sensitive, will enable the chemist 
to distinguish more sharply than has hitherto been possible 
between the numerous products employed in therapeutics under 
the general name of digitaline.—Note on aseptol (orthoxiphenyl- 
sulphurous acid), by M. E. Serrant.’ For this substance (so named 
by the author from the Greek negative particle @ and onmrdév, cor- 
ruption) it is claimed that it will be found three times superior to 
phenic acid as a practical antiseptic.—On electric alcoholic fer- 
mentation, by M. Em. Bourguelot.—Remarks on the tail of the 
human embryo, by M. H. Fol. From his researches the author is 
sitisfied that during the fifth and sixth weeks of its development 
the human embryo is furnished with a tail in the strict ana- 
tomical sense of the term. Being destitute of all physiological 
use, this organ must be classed with all other rudimentary 
members.—On the natural evolution of the cantharides, by 
M. H. Beauregard. The results are here embodied of three 
years’ research, during which the author has succeeded in 
clearing up many obscure points connected with the physio- 
logical life and functions of these insects.—Note on the extrac- 
tion and composition of the gases contained in the leaves of 
plants, by MM. N. Gréhaut and Peyrou. 
CONTENTS PAGE 
Biitschli’s ‘‘ Protozoa.” By Prof. E. Ray Lankester, 
2). aC ONCEOMOMCECAT boo 0.0} 
Phzenology (20%: sfc 2 ts 5 See 1c) foo 
Our Book Shelf :— 
‘Louis Pasteur, his Life and Labours.”—Dr. E. 
Klein, F.R.S. ; Meno. 
Lee’s « Microtomist’s Vade- Mecum.’ "Dr, E. Klein, 
BvRASr PO a 
Letters to the Editor :— 
The Late Prof. Clifford’s Kinetic.—R. Tuck2r .. 147 
Sky-Glows.—P. K. . cee wo = TAT 
Flying Fish.—Alfred Carpenter ae 2 ea toy AY, 
The Universal Meridian. By Dr. Janssen . waed teh 
Guessings at Truth, I. . . Ss a) Ue 
Professor Fleeming Jenkin, eL, 7a. F.RS. Poy ce isis 
The Geological Survey of Belgium. 2) 6) 3.) ene 
The Congo ((Z/ustrated)). «=< <) . «= =e eee 
Notesi: i Ss 6s oi 2 =O se 
Our Astronomical Column: — 
Cometary Orbits... ... +... «+ «ene 
Binary Stars.. <0 « « «© © © © 16) \e) 9 eee 
Tycho’s Nova of 1572 .... Se Prec) eey 
Astronomical Phenomena for the Week 1885, 
June 2727 og ee) ee) lone ee ene 
Geographical Notes ... 163 
On the Mesozoic Floras of the Rocky Mountain 
Region of Canada. By Sir William Dawson, 
C.M.G., FIRS. 2 ici enue ec ee 
Hydromechanics... <2 4 es oO 
University and Educational Intelligence... . . | 165 
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