Fune 25, 1885 | 
degrees of the firmament there will be needed 6000 similar sec- 
tions forming 1500 of our ecliptical charts. Were the work 
undertaken by six or eight observatories well situated in the two 
hemispheres, the whole might be concluded in about five or six 
years. Such a work, containing the photographs of over 20 
million stars down to the 14th or 15th magnitude, and 
bequeathing to future astronomers an exact picture of the starry 
regions at the close of the nineteenth century, would certainly be 
the greatest astronomic undertaking ever carried out.—Remarks 
on the study of the various floras and faunas in their relations 
to physical geography and the geology of the globe, by M. 
Emile Blanchard.—Remarks on M. Alfred Grandidier’s ‘* Avi- 
fauna of Madagascar,” completing the third and last volume of that 
naturalist’s great work on the ‘‘ Physical and Political History 
of Madagascar,” by M. Alph. Milne-Edwards.—Note on the 
fourth part of the Map of Algeria to the scale of 1 : 50,000, and 
on the second and third sheets of the Ordnance Map of France, 
presented to the Academy by M. Perrier.—Experimental re- 
searches on the diphtheric affections of animals, by M. G. Colin. 
—Observations of Palisa’s new planet 248, made at the Paris 
Observatory (equatorial of the west tower), by M. G. Bigourdan. 
—Observations of the same planet made at the Observatory of 
Algiers (0°50 m. telescope), by M. Ch. Tréepied.—Experiments 
on the propagation of waves along the course of rapid streams : 
confirmation of the formulas given by M. Boussinesq in his 
theory on the gradually varied movements of fluids, by M. Bazin. 
—Note on spectroscopic observations through the medium of 
radiant matter : mutual extinction of the spectra of yttrium and 
sanarium, by M. William Crookes. From the numerous 
anomalies presented during his present experiments, the author 
draws the important inference that the conclusions of spectrum 
analysis fer se are liable to serious error unless at each step the 
spectroscopist is controlled by the chemist, who represents the 
last court of appeal.—On the action of cadmium on the nitrate 
of ammoniac, by M. H. Morin.—Note on the sulphur derived 
from the persulphuret of hydrogen, by M. Maguenne.—Note on 
the methylate of soda, by M. de Forcrand.—On the degree of 
volatility in the chloruretted nitrites, by M. L. Henry.—On 
the pretended elective fermentation, by M. Maumené.—On the 
geniculated ganglion of birds, by M. L. Magnien. From his 
researches the author finds that in birds there exists a facial 
ganglion, which must be assimilated to the geniculated ganglion 
of the higher vertebrate animals.—Note on the nervous system 
of the Buccinide and the Purpuride, by M. E. L. Bouvier.— 
Physiology of the composite Ascidians belonging to the family 
of the Diplosomidz, by M. S. Jourdain.—Considerations on the 
Echinide of the Jurassic formations in France, by M. Cotteau. 
Of the fifty genera belonging to the Jurassic formations twenty- 
four are peculiar to this geological system ; four only persist to 
the Tertiary epoch, and two alone (Cidaris and Stomechinus) 
survive to the present time.—An attempt to determine the varia- 
tions in the length of time during which the human body rests 
on both feet while walking, by M. Demeny.—On the respiration 
of plants, by MM. G. Boneier and L. Mangin—Note on the 
artificial production of Strengite (Fe,(PO,). + 4H.,O), by M. 
A. de Schulten.—Symmetrical disposition of the archaic forma- 
tions on both sides of the Guadalquivir Valley, by M. J. 
Macpherson. 
BERLIN 
Physiological Society, May 15.—Dr. Héltzke spoke of the 
results of his investigations into intraocular pressure. It having 
been established that glaucoma was developed in the eye through 
pathologically increased pressure, the question of physiological 
pressure in the eye was of high practical importance. Yet was 
Herr Griinhagen the first, by means of a canula introduced into 
the anterior chamber of the eye, and a fine mercurial manometer 
connected with it, to measure the magnitude of this pressure in 
the eye of a cat and to determine its variations. He found the 
living cat’s eye showing a presswie of 26 mm., which, on the 
death of the animal, sank to tomm. Everything increasing the 
blood-pressure was found to augment at the same time the intra- 
ocular pressure, while, on the other hand, everything lowering 
the pressure in the province of the carotid artery was found to 
lessen the pressure in the chamber of the eye. Stimulation of 
the trigemini raised the intraocular pressure considerably, as did 
likewise stimulation of the medulla oblongata, which pushed the 
_ pressure up to as high even as 200mm. The effect of atropine 
was a diminution of pressure. A few later observers had, with 
somewhat modified manometers, attained like results for the 
influence of the blood-pressure and deviating results for that of 
NATURE 
1QI 
the nerves and the alkaloids. Dr. Holtzke had in his investiga- 
tions, which first of all referred to the effect of the alkaloids 
atropine, eserine, and pilocarpine, laid special weight on the im- 
provement of the methods, and on one hand had, as a trust- 
worthy measurer of pressure, made use of a double manometer, 
which he produced and explained to the Society, and on the 
other hand had confined the application of the alkaloids above 
mentioned to one eye, while the other eye was utilised in the 
way of control in the process of the measurements which were 
always carried out in both eyes. As the result of the measure- 
ments it was ascertained that eserine produced at first a consider- 
able augmentation of the pressure, and then an abatement 
of it to a point below the normal value. Pilocarpine pro- 
duced similar, but more reduced results ; while atropine called 
forth quite the contrary effects. The speaker had further 
determined the pressure, still more directly concerned in the 
case of the production of glaucoma, in the vitreous humour, by 
means of a special canula, and with the same measurer of pres- 
sure. In this case he had found the pressure, both under 
normal conditions, as also under the operation of the alkaloids, 
and the changes of pressure in the blood, to be always similar to 
the pressure in the anterior chamber of the eye.—Dr. Virchow 
described the relation of the blood-vessels of the vitreous 
humour in cyprinoids. After having shown that the occurrence 
of blood-vessels in the vitreous body, and its absence from the 
retina was not a distinguishing character of the amphibia, 
seeing that blood-vessels in the vitreous humour were wanting 
in the case of many amphibia and reptiles, as also in the lowest 
fishes, while in other classes of amphibia such blood-vessels were 
to be found. The speaker commented minutely on the differ- 
ences in the ramification and diffusion of these blood-vessels, 
as also the varying arrangement of their capillaries, and 
demonstrated them on preparations of carps, bleaks, and 
roaches, as well as by enlarged photographs.—Dr. Weyl re- 
ported on the negative results of experiments having for their 
object to ascertain the mode of nitrates in the animal 
body. It was a well-known fact that nitrates occurred in human 
urine, but were regularly wanting in the urine of dogs. By 
feeding dogs with ammoniacal citric acid a nitrate formation was 
not produced, not even when, along with the ammonia, a fixed 
alkali was administered by way of combining the acids arising 
under the flesh aliment. Only in a pathological case, in which a 
dog that had received ammonia died of a disease of the intestine 
and the kidneys, was nitrate found in the urine; consequently 
neither the mode of the formation of nitrates in the organism nor the 
cause of the difference between man and dog in this respect had 
been ascertained. For the demonstration of nitrates in the 
urine the speaker recommended distilling the urine with sul- 
phuric acid, and treating the distillation with one of the many 
reagents of nitric oxide.—Dr. Friedlander demonstrated 
a case of carcinoma hitherto never observed in a pulmonary 
cavern. The carcinoma adhered firmly to the wall of the tuber- 
cular cavity, sent a stalk through the next branch, and at the 
stalk hung a somewhat large carcinomatous swelling in the 
bifurcation. The carcinoma was a horny carcinoma which was 
regularly observed at those places where stratified flattened epi- 
thelium occurred ; on other membranes horny cancer had hitherto 
never been observed. So much the more striking, therefore, 
was it to find horny carcinoma inthe lungs. This riddle perhaps 
found its explanation in two observations noted down in the litera- 
ture of the subject, according to which defects in mucous mem- 
branes caused by abscesses, once in the lungs and once in the 
corpus uteri, became healed over by flattened epithelium instead 
of by cylindroid or ciliated cells. It was possible that the cavity 
occurring in this case also had covered itself with flattened 
epithelium which had became the starting-point for the horny 
carcinoma. 
Physical Society, May 21.—Dr. Kayser demonstrated a 
new cathetometer constructed by Herr Bamberg, explained the 
arrangement of it, and set forth as its special advantages the 
facility of placing it vertically and the circumstance that after 
precise adjustment, by merely changing the eye-pieces, the 
instrument could be used both as a microscope and a telescope, 
without at all altering its position for the least as for the greatest 
distances. —Prof. Neesen sketched a very simple arrangement for 
demonstrating the effect of the lightning-conductor, which was 
particularly well qualified for class experiments.—Dr. Konig 
discussed the principle according to which he was getting a new 
spectro-photometer made, which he showed to the Society, pro- 
Visionally put together. The instrument consisted in the main of 
