January 26, 1900.] 



SCIENCE 



151 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. 



The Journal of Physical Chemistry, Decem- 

 ber, 1899. On ' Thermal and Dynamic Coeffi- 

 cients,' by J. E. Trevor; 'The Electrolytic 

 Reduction of Potassium Chlorate,' by Adolph 

 L. Voege. This is a quantitative study of the 

 reduction of potassium chlorate under vari- 

 ous considerations of density, current strength, 

 poles of different metals, etc. Among the 

 conclusions reached is the greater reduction 

 in acid solutions than in alkaline, and the 

 greater reduction with zinc poles than with 

 those of cadmium or platinum ; ' Note on the 

 Preparation of Metallic Lithium,' by Louis 

 Kahlenberg ; metalic lithium can be obtained 

 without difficulty by electrolysing a solution of 

 lithium chlorid in pyridin, without the aid of 

 a diaphragm. A carbon anode and iron ca- 

 thode are used, fourteen volts difference of po- 

 tential, and 0.2 to 0.3 ampere per 100 sq. cm. 

 of cathode area. The metal is obtained in a 

 dense, well-adhering, silver white coating, pos- 

 sessing all the well-known chemical and phys- 

 ical properties of metallic lithium. 



A JOUBNAL of Petrology is planned under 

 the auspices of a committee appointed at the 

 last International Congress of Geology. The 

 journal is to have the scope of a Centralblatt, 

 and it is proposed that contributions may be in 

 English, French or German. Professor F. 

 Becke, of the University of Vienna, is Chair- 

 man of the committee, and the American mem- 

 bers are Professor J. P. Iddings of the Uni- 

 versity of Chicago, and Professor L. V. Pirsson 

 of Yale University. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



WISCONSIN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ARTS AND 

 LETTERS. 



The thirtieth annual meeting of the Acad- 

 emy was held at Madison, December 28-30, 

 1899. The increasing number of meetings of 

 national societies in Christmas week detracts 

 somewhat from the attendance of members at 

 the meetings of the Academy, but all five ses- 

 sions of the present meeting were very satis- 

 factory. The following list of papers were 

 given and discussed : 



'A study of the lead regions of Wisconsin, Illi- 

 nois, and Iowa, ' by Orin G. Libby. 



'Household words — their etymology,' by James 



D. Butler. 



' A problem in longevity,' by Charles H. Chandler. 



' A new geometrical and analytical solution for 

 determining the principal axes at any point of a 

 rigid body,' by Charles S. Slichter. 



' An elementary explanation of the probability 

 curve,' by Charles S. Slichter. 



' The ice ramparts formed along the shores of 

 lakes Mendota and Monona during the winter of 

 1898-99, ' by Ernest E. Buckley. 



'The principles controlling the deposition of ores,' 

 by Charles R. Van Hise. 



' The nepheline syenite of the Wausau district,' by 

 Samuel Weidman. 



' Chlorine in natural waters — its accurate deter- 

 mination and significance,' by Erastus 6. Smith. 



' The action of light on certain nitroso compounds, ' 

 by Oswald Schreiuer. 



' The sour taste of acid salts and their electrolytic 

 dissociation,' by Louis Kahlenberg. 



' The historical development of chemical symbols 

 from the times of alchemy to the present' (illus- 

 trated by lantern slides), by Oswald Schreiner. 



'The absorption of the sun's energy by water,' by 

 Edward A. Birge. 



' Some of the undeveloped natural resources of Wis- 

 consin : clays, road materials, and marls, ' by Ernest 



E. Buckley. 



' Account of some work done on the State survey, ' 

 by Dexter P. Nicholson. 



' The work of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural 

 History Survey,' Edward A. Birge. 



Two additional papers were read by title : 

 'The Graphite Deposits of Central Wisconsin,' 

 by G. E. Culver ; ' On the Changes of Length of 

 Substances in an Alternating Magnetic Field,' 

 by W. M. Jolliffe. 



At the one evening session a dinner was first 

 given by the Madison members to the visiting 

 members followed by a few speeches, including 

 an eloquent plea by Professor Van Hise for the 

 breadth of knowledge which the Academj' aims 

 to encourage. The company then adjourned to 

 another room, open to the public, where the re- 

 tiring President, Professor C. Dvvight Marsh, of 

 Ripon College, gave his address : The Plankton 

 of Fresh Water Lakes. It was a well-written 

 general discussion of the minute animal and 

 vegetable life of our lakes, with some reference 

 to economic features, and held the close atten- 

 tion of the audience to the end. 



The Academy has now 225 members, and 



