648 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 175. 



branch, of the glossopharyngeus and thus ap- 

 parently not by a lateral line nerve proper. 

 This anomaly has been described in certain 

 teleosts, ganoids and elasmobranchs. 



In studying serial sections through the head 

 of a young dog-fish (Squalus acanthias) a condi- 

 tion was found which not only explained this 

 apparent exception, but converted it into an 

 additional support for the specific character of 

 the lateral line nerve roots. The lateral line 

 nerve to the trunk and the glossopharyngeus 

 emerge from the medulla in about the same 

 transverse plane, the former being dorsal to the 

 latter. Close to their exit from the medulla a 

 small intracranial bundle of fibres becomes de- 

 tached from the lateral line root and fuses 

 with the glossopharyngeus. This bundle could 

 be still followed as a component of the latter, 

 however, owing to the greater caliber of its 

 fibres. When the glossopharyngeus emerges 

 from the auditory capsule the bundle in ques- 

 tion soon becomes detached and could be traced 

 to a canal organ. Undoubtedly the fibres, de- 

 scribed by Kingsbury, which the glossopharyn- 

 geus in Amia receives from the root of the 

 lateral line nerve, would be found to have a 

 similar destination if traced in this way — as 

 indeed Kingsbury himself has suggested. 



H. E. Ceampton, 



Sec. pro. tern. 



THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OP ST. LOTJIS. 



At the meeting of the Academy of Science 

 of St. Louis on April 18, 1898, eighteen persons 

 present, BIr. Carl Kinsley read a paper on 'Series 

 Dynamo Electric Machines.' He showed, by 

 the results of tests of machines, that the rela- 

 tions between electromotive force, current and 

 speed can be represented by a surface. This is 

 easily done, since for widely difierent currents, 

 and for both dynamos and motors, the total in- 

 duced electromotive force is strictly propor- 

 tional to the speed when the current is constant. 

 He stated that Frolich's empirical equation 

 can be used to represent large portions of this 

 surface, as suggested by Professor F. E. Nipher. 



It was stated that the way in which a series 

 motor will operate from a series generator can 

 be predetermined ; and, for cases reported, it 

 was shown that computed results throughout 



the complete range of working conditions gave 

 an average agreement with observed results to 

 within 0.05 per cent. The method explained 

 in the paper enables an engineer to design 

 such a power transmission circuit accurately 

 from shop tests of the machinery, and to ope- 

 rate the series motor at constant speed under 

 all loads. 



It was shown that the resistance of the gen- 

 erator does not vary with the speed. This 

 makes it possible to use a small series gen- 

 erator as a speed indicator and so obtain in- 

 stantaneous values of engine speeds from the 

 volt-meter or ammeter readings, if the resist- 

 ance of the outside circuit is kept constant. 

 The practicability of this methed of determin- 

 ing engine speeds was fully shown by the 

 results reported in the paper. 



Professor J. H. Kinealy made some informal 

 remarks on the ventilation of schools, and by 

 means of a number of stereopticon views 

 showed the different methods adopted for sup- 

 plying the air required to the different rooms of 

 schoolhouses. 



Four new members were elected. 



William Tbelease, 

 Recording Secretary. 



NEW BOOKS. 



n Codice Atlantico. Leonardo Da Vinci. 

 Milan, Ulrico Hoepli ; New York, Gustav 

 Stechert. 



Studies of Good and Evil. JosiAH Eoyce. New 

 York, D. Appleton & Co. 1898. Pp. xv+384. 

 $1.50. 



Alternate Currents in Practice. FeANCIS J. 

 MoFFETT. London, Whittaker & Co. ; New 

 York, The Macmillan Company. 1898. Pp. 

 ix + 376. $5. 



Lectures on the Geometry of Position. Theodore 

 Reyl ; translated by T. F. Holgate. New 

 York, The Macmillan Company. 1898. Part 

 I. Pp. xix + 248. $2.25. 



A Treatise on Magnetism and Electricity. An- 

 drew Gray. London and New York, The 

 Macmillan Co. 1898. Pp. xv + 947. $4.50. 



The Development of the Child. Matthew Op- 

 PENHEIM. New York and London, The 

 Macmillan Co. 1898. Pp. 296. $1.25. 



