Notes. 
476 
[J u iy> 
correspond to the lowest temperature, the violet flutings to an 
intermediate, and the blue line to the highest temperature. 
The blue line doubtless represents the most simple molecular 
grouping. 
Mr W H. Preece has communicated to the Royal Society a 
paper on some “Thermal Effects of Elearic Currents.” The 
faas elicited are the extreme rapidity with which fine wires 
acquire and lose their increased temperatures, and the excessive 
sensibility to linear expansion which fine wires of high resistance 
evince. 
Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S., and S. West, M.B., have commu- 
nicated to the Royal Society a memoir on the relation of the 
urea to the total nitrogen of the urine in disease. The authors 
conclude that the chemistry of the urine remains the same in 
disease as in health, the urea forming 90 per cent of the total 
nitrogen. ... . , . 
The same authors have also contributed a paper on the deter- 
mination of the “ vital nitrogen ” in man. They give the average 
as 8 grms. = 17-5 grms., or 260 grams of urea. 
Mr. J. Costerns has examined the adtion of saline solutions 
upon the life of vegetable protoplasm. He observes that the 
cellules of the red beet-root, if the air has free access, are inju 
riously affedted by solutions of common salt and saltpetre. 
In presence of very small quantities of air these same liquids 
prolong the life of the cellules —Archives Neerlandaises. 
M. J. A. Roorda Smit concludes that in South Africa the dia- 
mond is found in a primitive gangue which is of volcanic origin 
and has experienced merely secondary modifications. The mines 
are extindf volcanic craters, and the diamonds have been formed 
at the expense of organic matter under the joint influence of 
great pressure and strong heat . — Archives Neerlandaises . 
We have the pleasure of announcing that the New York Anti- 
Vivisedtion Bill has fallen through. 
Mr. T. Wrigley, of Timberhurst, near Bury, has bequeathed 
£10,000 to Owens College. 
M Selzer communicates to the Imperial Academy of Sciences 
at Vienna that he estimates the optic fibres in the human eye at 
438,000, and the retinal cones at 3,360,000. 
The “ Pharmaceutische Central Halle ” recommends the fol- 
lowing mixture for the destrudion of parasites on plants 
Boracic acid 10 P arts * 
Salicylic acid 5 >» 
Rectified spirit 20 » 
Water ••• 200 >» 
The liquid is applied to the plants by means of a spray-producer. 
