Dec. 14, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



609 



fossil Radiolaria. Some few have been found in the 

 chalk. Their pyritisation would tend to their ready 

 destruction. 



The Author, in reply, said that he was not anxious 

 to apply new names. He was doubtful whether any 

 silica remained in the sponge-spicules or the Radiolaria, 

 although some has been detected in the Diatoms. 



"Description of a New Species of Clupea (C. vectensis) 

 from Oligocene Strata in the Isle of Wight." By E. T. 

 Newton, Esq., F.G.S. 



A number of small fishes found by Mr. G. W. Cole- 

 nutt, of Ryde, during his investigations of the Oligocene 

 strata of the Isle of Wight, in beds belonging to the 

 " Osborne Series," were described as belonging to a new 

 species of Clupea. The specimens vary in length from 

 twenty to nearly sixty millim. In all of them the head 

 in much broken ; but the rest of the body is beautifully 

 preserved, showing most distinctly the vertebral column, 

 ribs, fins, tail, and ventral spines. The single dorsal fin 

 has its front rays about midway between the tip of the 

 snout and the base of the tail, the ventral fins being 

 immediately under the front of the dorsal and about mid- 

 way between the pectoral and anal fins. The anal fin 

 commences about halfway between the ventral fins and 

 the base of the tail, occupying about two-thirds of that 

 distance, and the tail is deeply forked. The scales are 

 thin and in most cases much broken ; while the ventral 

 region of the body is armed with a row of strong spines. 

 The spinal column contains about forty vertebras, of 

 which fourteen or fifteen are caudal. The bones of the 

 head are mostly broken, but those of which the outline 

 can be traced agree with the corresponding parts of the 

 sprat. 



These fishes are referred to the genus Clupea; but al- 

 though very closely allied to the common herring and 

 sprat, the relative positions of the dorsal and ventral fins, 

 as well as the number of vertebrae, prevent their being 

 placed in any known species either recent or fossil, and 

 they are therefore regarded as a new form, and named 

 Clupea vectensis. 



The President was not surprised at the discovery of a 

 Clupea in freshwater beds. 



Mr. Whitaker had suggested that the discoverer 

 should send the specimens to Mr. Newton, and con- 

 gratulated himself upon the result. It was another 

 case of the advantage of having good local observers. 



Mr. A. Smith Woodward thought he could distinguish 

 a series of small dorsal scutes in some specimens, and 

 inquired as to the Author's interpretation of the appear- 

 ances. Most of the Eocene Clupeoids of the United 

 States exhibited such scutes, and formed the genus 

 Diplomystus, Cope. If the British fossil proved to be of 

 the same type, the fact would be specially interesting, 

 for, in the Old World, Diplomystus had hitherto been 

 detected only at Mt. Lebanon. 



The Author thanked the speakers for their remarks. 

 Whether or not any dorsal scutes occurred was uncertain ; 

 in some there seemed to be roughening. He thought 

 it better to leave the specimens in the genus Clupea. 



THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 

 At the meeting on the 4th of December, the President, 

 Sir George B. Bruce, being in the chair, the paper read 

 was on " The Influence of Chemical Composition on the 

 Strength of Bessemer Steel Tires," by Mr. J. Oliver 

 Arnold, F.C.S. 



The author observed that there was a growing ten- 

 dency amongst engineers to specify for tires steel pos- 

 sessing a high resistance to tension. This was conducive 

 to economy in wear ; but it was doubtful whether such 

 material was not more liable to sudden fracture than a 

 mora ductile, if less durable, steel. The chemical com- 

 position necessary to obtain high-tensile strain, together 

 with high elongation, was such as to render steel liable 

 to molecular changes, which doubtless produced disas- 

 trous results. The author submitted the data upon 

 which he based this conclusion. The question was 

 rendered intricate by the fact that steel was a complex 

 body, and that the influences of its elements upon each 

 other, with reference to physical effect, had hitherto 

 defied all attempts to reduce them to formulas ; also by 

 the difficulty of insuring in pieces of steel, identical in 

 composition, a uniform and constant molecular structure. 



In conclusion, the author said : It was worthy of 

 remark that the elongation obtained on a 2-inch test- 

 piece, marked at eight equal intervals, in order to ascer- 

 tain the distribution of the elongation, showed that this 

 was less in those parts distant from lines of fracture. 

 The engineer held that a certain resistance to rupture 

 under a falling weight, together with certain results 

 obtained on the tensile testing machine, formed a cri- 

 terion of the capacity of tires to meet strains when at 

 work. This, though true in the majority of cases, had 

 never been exhaustively proved. When the fracture 

 of an axle or a tire led to some fatal disaster, the 

 engineer was to some extent called before the bar of 

 public opinion to account for the accident. In such 

 cases, his explanation, that the breakage was due to an 

 " original but invisible flaw," had become proverbial. 

 An analysis and a tensile-test of the broken article had 

 been made, and the results obtained had thrown no 

 light on the matter. But the important question with 

 regard to the mechanical test arose — Was the test-piece 

 planed from the immediate vicinity of the fracture ? 

 The author had obtained data which proved that in- 

 jurious molecular change might be very local. Return- 

 ing to the question as to how far the tests to which 

 tires were subjected before leaving the makers' works 

 indicated their fitness to meet strains and vibrations, he 

 suggested an investigation upon the following lines : At 

 the works let tires be selected from groups, made from 

 the same blows, each group being marked with a dis- 

 tinctive stamp. Let representative tires from each 

 group be subjected to exhaustive chemical and mechani- 

 cal tests. Let the exact mechanical treatment from ingot 

 to finished wheel be faithfully recorded. When the life 

 of one of these tires was finished, either from breakage 

 or in the natural course, let the chemical and the 

 mechanical tests be repeated. Such a series of tests 

 would indicate whether the influences, encountered by 

 a tire, were such as to bring about molecular change. 

 They would also show the chemical composition, and 

 the mechanical treatment, most conducive to injurious 

 molecular rearrangement, and those most likely to retain 

 a permanently tough molecular structure. Finally, the 

 author referred to the hardening of steel generally, and 

 the effects of molecular changes of steel. 



SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS. 

 At a meeting on 3rd December, 1888, Mr. A. T. Wal- 

 misley, President, in the chair, a paper was read on 

 " High Pressure Steam and Steam Engine Efficiency," 

 by Mr. W. Worby Beaumont, M.Inst.C.E. 



