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MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED, LONDON. MESSRS. LONGMANS & CO.'S SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. THIRD ENGLISH EDITION. JUST PUBLISHED. THE PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY. By D. MENDELÉEFF. Translated from the Russian (Seventh Edition) by GEORGE KAMENSKY, A.R.S.M., of the TEXT-BOOKS OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. Edited by SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY, K.C.B.. F.R.S. "Collectively the manuals will form an adequate record of the present state of knowledge in a large and important field of chemistry. We heartily wish well to Sir William Ramsay's venture."-Glasgow Herald. THE PHASE RULE AND ITS APPLICATIONS. By ALEX. FINDLAY, M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc., Lecturer and Demonstrator in Chemistry, University of Birmingham. With Figures in the Text. Together with "An Introduction to the Study of Physical Chemistry," by SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY, K.C.B., F.R.S. Crown 8vo. 5s. 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"This admirable text-book is deserving of the highest praise, and will, we confidently believe, do more towards the advancement of a sound knowledge of electro-chemistry among students of the sister sciences of physics and chemistry than any publication previously issued.""-Philosophical Magazine. Part II.--Applications to Electrolysis, Primary and Secondary Batteries, &c. [In preparation. CHEMICAL STATICS AND DYNAMICS. Including the Theories of Chemical Change, Catalysis, and Explosions. By J. W. MELLOR, D.Sc. (N.Z.), NEW AND REVISED EDITION. Works by G. S. NEWTH, F.I.C., F.C.S., A TEXT-BOOK OF ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY. REVISED EDITION, 1903. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. For Electric Light Artisans and Students. (Embracing those Branches prescribed in the Syllabus issued by the City and Guilds Technical Institute.) By W. SLINGO and R. BROOKER. With 383 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 125. SECOND EDITION, 1903. ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM. By G. CAREY FOSTER, F.R.S., Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Physics in University College, London; and ALFRED W. PORTER, B.Sc., Fellow and Assistant Professor of Physics in University College, London. Founded on Joubert's “Traité Elémentaire d'Electricité." With 374 Illustrations and Diagrams. 8vo. 10s. 6d. net. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY of SPEC- LONGMANS, GREEN, & CO., 39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C. A RECENT COMMENT UPON The SYTAM SYSTEM Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd. "Your System will assuredly revolutionize the present method-or want of methodin fitting up Laboratories, Libraries and Offices." Patent No. 7463. This Bottle Element is substantially a Drawer, and is operated as such. It can be placed in a cupboard or underneath a bench or table, or several can be supplied in a suitable outer casing to form a complete cabinet. One hundred 4 oz. bottles occupy less than I sq. ft. of wall chester can be accommodated Single Element, without shelves, £1 0 0 Ditto, with complete fittings, £1 15 0. Standard Cabinet of 5 Elements The Sytam System is also applied to the storing and classifying of Books, Pamphlets, Manuscripts, and all other Documents, Specimens, &c. FOR PARTICULARS APPLY TO THE SYTAM FITTINGS CO., 18 & 19 BASINGHALL BUILDINGS, LEEDS. VARIATION IN ANIMALS AND PLANTS. By H. M. VERNON, M.D. Pp. ix. 415. Crown 8vo. 5s. (The new volume in the International Scientific Series.) E. B. P. in NATURE:-" This little book meets a real wan'. The frequent discussions of recent years upon the problems f SPECIES AND VARIETIES: By HUGO DE VRIES (Professor of Botany in the University of Amsterdam). KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., LTD., THE DOLEZALEK-PATTERN ELECTROMETER Combines great sensitiveness, small capacity and high insulation with convenience in handling. The sensitiveness can be changed in a few moments by changing the quartz fibre suspension. The voltage required for the needle is only from 50 to 200. We are now adding to these instruments a convenient charging key, which enables the needle to be momentarily connected to a source of voltage and then insulated (in this case the fibre is not to be rendered conductive). The needle will thus maintain its charge without appreciable loss for some days, so that accurate quantitative work can be done, even when the only available voltage is that of the electric light leads, or a statically charged rod, &c. Price of the Electrometer complete, with £7: 10: DELIVERY FROM STOCK. Write now for particulars, which will be forwarded by return. THE CAMBRIDGE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT COMPANY, LTD., RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LTD., BREAD ST. HILL, E.C., AND BUNGAY. SUFFOLK. porting Gegenbaur's theory of the origin of limbs. The same material is thought by Mr. Punnett to favour theological observations made at the stations in connection hypothesis of gametic purity-a view from which Prof. Pearson dissents for reasons given. Dr. Beddoe's craniometric formula, lately published in L'Anthropologie, is vigorously impugned by M. A. Lewenz and Prof. Karl Pearson, who produce in evidence the "auto-icon" of Jeremy Bentham preserved at University College. In another paper, Prof. Edmond Gain deals with variation in the flower and heterostylism in Pulmonaria officinalis. Local races are shown to present significant differences in the former respect. The miscellanea include interesting applications of a new method of determining correlation. THE Bureau of Forestry of the United States Department of Agriculture has erected an extensive plant on the grounds of the St. Louis Exposition for carrying out a series of experiments under the direction of Drs. von Schrenk and Hatt on the value and methods of preserving timber. According to the general programme, which is outlined in the Press Bulletin, No. 62, the timber will be subjected both to static and impact tests. Preliminary results indicate that steaming reduces the strength of the timber in proportion to the pressure and duration of the process. UNDER the title "Place-constants for Aster prenanthoides," Mr. G. H. Shull has contributed to the Botanical Gazette (November, 1904) a biometric article based upon the number of bracts and florets which were counted on the inflorescences of this plant as collected in a specified area during the autumn of 1903. In general, the first head to bloom on any stem had the highest number of parts, and the last to bloom the lowest, but precocious flowering on the part of the weakest individuals produced a low mean at the beginning of the season, and the belated flowering of a few vigorous specimens caused a rise towards the end. A PRACTICAL and detailed comparison of the cost of production of sugar on a muscovado estate and in a central factory using the vacuum pan with triple effect, such as that given by the Hon. R. Bromley, administrator of St. Kitts, in vol. v., No. 3, of the West Indian Bulletin, should carry conviction to the planters of Barbados and other islands, who, trusting to the high saccharose yield of their canes, and the profit on molasses, have preferred to retain their simple process of manufacture. Apart from the advisability of manufacturing a product of the best quality, the figures show that the profit per ton of sugar prepared in a central factory is four times that obtained on a muscovado estate. THE Société Helvétique des Sciences naturelles celebrated, at its eighty-seventh congress at Winterthur, the fiftieth jubilee of the discovery of ancient pile dwellings, described by Dr. Ferdinand Keller. The report and appreciation of the work of Keller and others is written by M. F. A. Forel. The same authority lately directed attention (Gazette de Lausanne, January 19) to the discovery at Boiron, near Morges, by the Lake of Geneva, of a tomb or place of burial of the Bronze Age-the age of the old lake-city of Morges. Human bones, cinders and burnt earth, bronze trinkets, vases and other pottery were found, but of special interest was the discovery alongside the calcined human bones in the burial chamber, of legbones of a goat uninjured by fire, and evidently deposited with the flesh as an offering to the shades of the departed. M. Forel concludes from the evidence that a belief in the resurrection of the dead was held in the Bronze Age. We have received a copy of the results of the meteorwith the Deutsche Seewarte (Hamburg) for the year 1903. The stations number sixty-nine, and include hourly readings at four first-order observatories. The tables are arranged as in previous years, and leave nothing to be desired either in thoroughness of discussion or in detailed explanation of the methods employed. Mid-European time was adopted in Germany in April, 1893, but the observations are recorded according to local time as before, with the exception of the occurrences in the remarks column, which are stated in Mid-European time. A table is given showing the difference of these times for each of the stations. 66 THE last published Bulletin of the Philippine Weather Bureau (for August, 1904) contains, in addition to the usual useful summaries of meteorological and seismological observations at various stations, a valuable discussion of the cyclones which affected the archipelago, with a map showing their tracks. The director of the central observatory at Manila, the Rev. J. Algué, S.J., author of the valuable "makes a special work, The Cyclones of the Far East, study of these interesting phenomena, and his discussion of their behaviour is most instructive. During the month in One of them question five typical cyclones are dealt with. (August 17-21) moved at the rate of thirty miles an hour; this storm was experienced by the U.S. Army transport Sherman, near Formosa, and an interesting account of it is given by the second officer of that vessel. A SUMMARY of the present state of knowledge in regard to long range weather forecasts, by Prof. E. B. Garriott, has been published by the Weather Bureau of Washington. It is accompanied by a paper by Prof. C. M. Woodward on the planetary equinoxes. Prof. Garriott finds that at the present time practically no value is to be attached to weather predictions based on astronomical phenomena or observations of birds, animals or plants. At the same time, every attention is being given to the advancement of meteorology on such a basis as may lead to substantial improvements in weather forecasting. In his prefatory "It is to be rereport Mr. Willis L. Moore remarks :gretted that so many newspapers not only give space to these harmful predictions, but actually pay for them. casts of this description may properly be classed with advertisements of quack medicines they are both harmful in the extreme." Fore IN the February number of the Bulletin de la Société astronomique de France, M. J. Loisel presents his annual summary of the climatology of the past year. On one chart he shows the rainfall, the daily temperatures, the humidity, the barometric pressure, the insolation, the amount of cloud, and the declination and phase of the moon. Each of the atmospheric elements is then discussed in detail month by month. Among other outstanding features, one sees that the temperature during July, 1904, was abnormally elevated, whilst that of December was higher than that obtaining during November. The figures and the curve indicating the number of hours of sunshine are especially interesting, and show that in each of the months May, June, July and August there only occurred one day when the sun was completely obscured at Juvisy, whilst in July the number of hours of effective sunshine amounted to 72 per cent. of the theoretical number. A comparison of the solar radiation during 1903 and 1904 shows an increase of about 23,134 calories, or rather more than 16 per cent., in the latter year. MORE than ten years ago Prof. Landolt described a series of experiments which were considered to throw doubt on the law of the conservation of mass in chemical action, and in 1901 Heydweiller concluded that a change in the total mass had been experimentally established in a number of cases. In a paper published by Antonino Lo Surdo in the Nuovo Cimento (1904, series 5, vol. viii.), the question is re-investigated. By excluding all possible sources of error, such, for instance, as a difference of temperature in the two arms of the balance, differences of volume of the vessels used, it is established that the change of mass due to the interaction between iron and basic copper sulphate, which by Heydweiller was considered to be about 0-2 milligram, in reality falls within the limits of the error of weighing, being certainly less than 0.02 milligram. In the experiments described, the sealed tubes in which the interaction took place were not removed from the balance during the whole of the series of weighings, and an ingenious mechanism was designed by which the tubes and weights were manipulated within the case. THE operations of the Smithsonian Institution during the year ending on June 30, 1904, and the work of the U.S. National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the International Exchanges, National Zoological Park, and the Astrophysical Observatory, are described in Dr. S. P. Langley's report which has just reached us. Among the matters mentioned is the removal of the remains of James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution, from the British cemetery at Genoa to America, at the beginning of last year. The report states that the remains rest temporarily in a room at the Smithsonian Institution containing a few personal relics of Smithson, awaiting their final disposal by the Regents. Dr. E. W. Scripture, of Yale University, has been awarded a grant from the Hodgkins fund for the construction of a "vowel organ.' 99 Dr. Scripture expects to be able to construct an organ which can sing the vowels, or a vowel register which, attached to a pipe organ, may be used effectively in church music. An exploration of some of the glaciers of British Columbia has been undertaken by Dr. W. H. Sherzer, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, for the purpose of gathering definite information regarding glacial phenomena, such as the nature and cause of the ice flow, the temperature of the ice at various depths, and its relation to air temperatures, the amount of surface melting, and the possible transference of material from the surface to lower portions. Reference is made in the report to the new building of the National Museum in course of erection in the Smithsonian Park. The floor area in the four stories of the new building will be about 9 acres. The accessions to the museum in the year covered by the report amount to 241,547 specimens, which bring the total number of objects in the collections up to nearly six millions. The work of the astrophysical observatory has been chiefly concerned with solar radiation, and its possible variability. The investigations point to the conclusion that the radiation supplied by the sun may perhaps fluctuate within intervals of a few months through ranges of nearly or quite 10 per cent., and that these fluctuations of solar radiation may cause changes of temperature of several degrees centigrade nearly simultaneously over the great continental areas of the world. The latest report issued by the Engineering Standards Committee deals with British standard specification for structural steel for marine boilers. Copies may be obtained from Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son at 2s. 6d. net. THE ALTERNATING VARIABILITY OF MARTIAN CANALS.— During 1903 Mr. Lowell observed an apparent alternation in the visibility of the Martian canals Thoth and Amenthes, which he suggested might be due to the arti ficial regulation of a deficient water supply for irrigation purposes (NATURE, vol. lxix. p. 496). In a telegram, dated March 10, communicated to Prof. E. C. Pickering and published in No. 4003 of the Astronomische Nachrichten, Mr. Lowell announces that he has again observed "a functional alternative visibility" these two canals, both of which are double. DISCOVERY OF JUPITER'S SIXTH SATELLITE. In No. 100 of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Profs. Perrine and Aitken describe the first observations of Jupiter's sixth satellite, and abstracts of their communications are published in No. 4002 of the Astronomische Nachrichten. Prof. Perrine states that several years ago it was proposed that the Crossley reflector, when reconstructed, should be employed in a search for additional satellites to the outer planets. In accordance with this programme, photographs of Jupiter were taken on December 3, 8, 9 and 10, 1904, and a comparison of them showed that the planet, which was slowly retrograding at the time, was apparently accompanied by an object of the fourteenth magnitude Photographs taken on January 2, 3 and 4 showed that the newly discovered object was following Jupiter in such a manner as to suggest its dependence on that body. The greatest elongation (west) of the new satellite, about 50'. seems to have been passed on December 25, and the inclination of its orbit to the ecliptic appears to be greater than those of the inner satellites. The direction of the satellite's motion, although apparently retrograde, cannot be determined until further observations have been made On January 28, Prof. Aitken, using the 36-inch refractor under unfavourable atmospheric conditions, found the satellite quite easily, using the position predicted from the Crossley photographs, and, after a few minutes' observation, the identification was confirmed by the motion in right ascension. Following the object for nearly an hour. he found it to have an hourly motion in R.A. of about +20", and this agrees with the photographic result. A comparison with neighbouring faint stars showed that the satellite was about as bright as a star of the fourteenth magnitude. FORTHCOMING OPPOSITIONS OF MARS.-As during the oppositions of Mars in 1905, 1907, and 1909 the plane will become successively more favourable for observation, Mr. R. Buchanan has communicated to Popular Astronoms (No. 3, vol. xiii.) the following figures, showing the respective conditions for each opposition: The sun's distance from the earth is taken as the unit of the mean "distance from earth." In the oppositions of 1901 and 1903 the respective apparent brilliancies of the planet were 200 and 23.4. VARIABLE RADIAL VELOCITY OF SIRIUS.-In No. 70 of the Lick Observatory Bulletins, Prof. Campbell discusses the spectrographic observations of the bright component of Sirius made at Lick since 1896, thirty-one plates in all. Before treating the main subject, however, he discusses the difficulty experienced in binary star work through the employment of numerous different systems of nomenclature to define the orbital elements, and then propounds a new |