alkaloid of the formula C1-HNO Some human brains contamed as much as 4 per cent. of phren sin in addition to other elicosides. The crystallized sugar (galactose) from phrenosin was always accompanied by an almost equal weight of uncrystallizable sugar, of which the nature was not yet ascertained.-The action of chloroform and alcoholic potash on hydrazines, Part 3, by Dr. > Kahemann. The products formed by the action of chloroform and alcoholic potash on hydrazines are to be regarded as derivaCHÍNH N; and in the present comNHCH manication the author describes the di-paratolyl,-orthotolyl, and padocumyl derivatives of this base (cf. Chem. Soc. Trans.,

tves of tetrazine, N.

1889, 2421.

Royal Microscopical Society, December 11, 1889.-The Per Dr Dallinger, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. --Mr. E. M. Nelson read a short paper descriptive of a new semiap chromatic objective which he exhibited.-Mr. C. Rousselet ibited a small tank for Rotifers which could be readily Goved about in such a way as to render an examination of the contents very easy, so that any desired specimens

ld be easily picked out. The lens used was a Zeiss's No 6 Steinheil, the focussing being done by rackwork.Mr Crap called attention to a number of stereoscopic photoographs of embryos, by Prof. Fol. They afforded a conve answer to the question brought forward at their meeting to whether stereoscopica photomicrographic slides had been placed before that time.-Mr. Crisp read some extracts

a paper by Mr. Gill, which he was sorry to say was only handed in at the conclusion of their last meet

as otherwise it could have been read then, and cld have added to the interest of the specimens exGwed at the conversazione, which seemed almost conclusively Love that the **markings" on certain diatoms were apere-Mr A. W. Bennett gave a résumé of his paper on the water Algae and Schizophyceae of Hampshire and Devon. it was the result of collections made, during his summei lays, in the New Forest and on Dartmoor, many of the cies being not only interesting, but also new to science. -Mr. Crisp reminded the Fellows present that at the last Letang mention was made of a new objective with an rture of 160, the price of which was said to be £400. Some ult was expressed at the time as to whether the account was bat since then they had received several communications ar it. A letter from Prof. Abbe, describing the principles of Construction, was read. Letters were also read from Dr. Heurck, describing the performance of the lens, and Cosing a series of remarkable photomicrographs of diatoms in with it, with magnifying powers of 10,000 and 15,000

ameters.

PARIS.

Academy of Sciences, January 6.-M. Hermite in the -State of the Academy on January 1. Full lists are ven of the Members of the various Sections. Amongst the Freign Associates and Correspondents occur the following

sh and American names :-Associates: Sir Richard Owen, St George Biddell Airy, and Sir William Thomson. CorNadent: Geometry-James Joseph Sylvester and George Sklon; Astronamy-John Russell Hind, J. C. Adams, Arthur

ey Joseph Norman Lockyer, William Huggins, Simon Newcomb Asaph Hall, Benjamin Apthorp Gould, and Samuel Langley Gography and Navigation-Rear-Admiral George Henry kichards; General Physics-George Gabriel Stokes ; Czy-Edward Frankland and Alexander William Williamse: Mineralogy-James Hall and Joseph Prestwich ; Botanyseph Dalton Hooker and Maxwell Tylden Masters; Rural F-John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert; Wat my and Zoology-James Dwight Dana, Thomas Henry Baxley, and Alexander Agassiz; Medicine and Surgery-Sir anes Paget.-M. Duchartre was elected Vice-President for the year 1890-Analogy of diamantiferous matrix in South Africa to meteorites, by M. Daubrée. It is argued that the South Afnan diamonds were not formed in situ, but were erupted from great depths together with the fragmentary materials in which they are embedded. The presence of the diamond in the tal stale and as carbonado, as well as transformed from graphite in various types of meteorites, is now placed beyond reasonable doubt. Attention is here called to the analogous conditions of association under which this crystal occurs in

South Africa and in meteorites. M. Daubrée incidentally infers that the diamond is not, as is generally supposed, of vegetable origin, but is of inorganic nature, as is also the graphite occurring in analogous beds.-On some new fluorescent materials, by M. Lecoq de Boisbaudran. The author describes some new fluorescent appearances which he has obtained by employing samaria and the earths Za and Z8 as agents, and calcined silica and zircon as solid solvents. Mr. Crookes's failure to obtain any fluorescences from samaria with SiO, and ZrO,, he considers was probably due to their having been calcined at too low a temperature.-Observations of Borrelly's comet made at the Observatory of Algiers, by MM. Trépied, Ramraud, and Renaux. The observations are for the period December 23-30, when the nebulosity was somewhat elongated, and about 2' in extent.-Observations of Brooks's comet (July 6, 1889) made at the Observatory of Nice with the 0 38m. equatorial, by M. D. Eginitis.-On the elliptic functions, by M. Paul Appell. It is shown that the representation of the elliptic functions by the quotient of functions may be justified a priori by considerations which seem capable of being extended to the functions of two variables with four groups of periods.-On the rational integrals of equations of the first order, by M. P. Painlevé. Given a differential equation of any order, it is shown that the polynomes may always be found which verify the equation by determining a higher limit of their degree.-On the absolute value of the magnetic elements on January 1, 1890, by M. Th. Moureaux. These values are deduced from the mean of the horary observations taken at the Parc Saint-Maur on December 31, 1889, and January 1, 1890, and at Perpignan from the twenty-four horary observations taken on January 1.-On the refracting powers of the simple salts in solution, by M. E. Doumer. Owing to Mr. B. Walter's recent note in Wiedemann's Annalen (1889, No. 9, p. 107), M. Doumer here publishes somewhat prematurely the researches on this subject, which he has carried on for over five years, and during which he has dealt with 90 salts. He concludes that all salts formed by the same acid have the same molecular refracting power when they are constructed on the same type; that the refracting powers of salts belonging to different types are approximately multiples of the same number; lastly, that the molecular refracting powers of all salts are functions of the number of valencies of the metallic element entering into their construction. -Papers were read by M. Georges Vogt, on the composition of the rocks employed in China for the manufacture of porcelain; by M. Charles Combes, on matezite and matezo-dambose; by M. E. Guinochet, on the carballylates; by M. A. Lacroix, on the mineral-bearing cipoline marbles and the wernerite rocks of Ariège; and by M. Thoulet, on the sub-lacustrine relief, geology, and temperature of Lake Longemer (Vosges).

BERLIN.

Physiological Society, December 13, 1889. -Prof. du BoisReymond, President, in the chair.-Prof. Moebius spoke on a "drumming" fish (Balistes aculeatus) from Mauritius. During a recent visit to this island he observed a bright blue-coloured fish in the shallow waters of the harbour; when caught and held in the hand this fish emitted from its interior a most striking noise, like that of a drum. A careful examination of the animal failed to reveal any obvious movements, with the exception of one part of the skin, lying just behind the gill-slit, which was in continuous vibration. Nothwithstanding prolonged endeavours he had not been able to secure a second living example of this fish, and had hence been able to carry out his investigations on the cause of the drumming noise only on dead specimens. The portion of the skin (membrana supra-axillaris) which vibrates stretches from the clavicle to the branchial arch: it is provided with four large bony plates, and lies over the swim-bladder, which in this fish for the most part projects out of the trunk-muscles. Behind the clavicle lies a curiously-shaped long bone, which is attached to the clavicle at one point in such a way as to form a lever with two arms. The long arm of this bony lever (os postclaviculare) is embedded in the ventral trunk-muscles, and is capable of easy movement to and fro. The short arm slides during this movement over the rough inner side of the clavicle, and gives rise to a crackling noise, and this noise is then intensified by the swim-bladder, which lies in close proximity to the short arm of the lever, and acts as a resonator. When the trunkmuscles contract the body cavity is diminished in size, the air in the swim-bladder is driven forward, and the bladder then communicates the vibrations of the bony lever to the membrana

A thick

supra-axillaris, and the latter communicates them to the air. The speaker was of opinion that the above was the explanation of the "drumming" of this fish; he was, at all events, unable to find any other organ in it which could account for the noise. This noise is not known to be emitted by other species of Balistes, although it is known to occur in other groups.-Prof. Fritsch spoke on the anatomy of Torpedo marmorata. In opposition to the revolutionary views of many recent investigators, who deny the nervous nature of the ganglion-cells, he laid great stress upon the extremely close relationship which exists between the ganglia and end-organs, and is so strikingly shown in Torpedo. nerve-fibre runs from each ganglion-cell to the electrical-organ, divides into twelve to twenty-three fibrils before it reaches the organ, and each of these fibrils is connected up with some one special plate of the organ. Now, since each plate, which is of hexagonal shape, owing to the close juxtaposition of the columns, receives one nerve-fibre at each of its angles, it hence follows that the number of the plates must be, on the average, three times as great as the number of the ganglia. The fibres of one ganglion supply eighteen plates, the latter (being hexagonal) require six times eighteen fibres for their supply, and since on an average eighteen fibres run out from each ganglion, it requires six ganglia to supply eighteen plates with nerves. The speaker had counted the plates of an electrical-organ in Torpedo, and obtained a number corresponding closely with an older enumeration of Valentin's made on a Torpedo of the same size; the number of plates he found to be 179,625. He had further counted the ganglion-cells which supply the plates with nerves and found them to number 53,739; this corresponds closely with the enumeration of Boll, who counted 53,760. The counting of ganglion-cells is subject to much uncertainty, chiefly owing to the fact that in sections of the central nervous system many cells are cut through, and are thus liable to be counted twice: hence the speaker had enumerated, most readily by means of photographs, the axis-cylinders of the nerves which supply the electricorgan; he found them to number 58,318, corresponding to the same number of ganglion-cells. The last number is nearly onethird the number of plates in the electrical-organ, and corresponds closely to the number which should be found if the older view is the correct one, that the ganglion-cells are the centres for the nervous end-organs.

BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED.

A Search for Knowledge, and other Papers: A. N. Pearson (Melbourne' -The Magic Lantern (Perkin).-The Fauna of British India, includ Ceylon and Burma; Birds, vol. i.: E. W. Oates (Taylor and Francs-A Text-book of Animal Physiology: Dr. W. Mills (Appleton)-Our Eand its Story, vol. iii.: edited by Dr. R. Brown (Cassell).-Geological = Natural History Survey of Canada; Annual Report, vol. iii., Parts 1 and t Maps, &c., to accompany ditto (Montreal). Stanley's Explorations in Afra a new Map (Philip).-The Scenery of the Heavens: J. E. Gore (Roper an Drowley).-Graphical Statics: L. Cremona; translated by T. Har (Oxford, Clarendon Press).-Annuaire de l'Académie Royale de Belga 1890 (Bruxelles).

DIARY OF SOCIETIES. LONDON.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 16.

ROVAL SOCIETY, at 4.30.-On the Chief Line in the Spectrum of the Nebulæ Prof. J. N. Lockyer, F. R.S.-Observations on the Excretion and Uses of Bile: A. W. Mayo Robson.-On the Theory of Free Stream Lines: J. H. Michell.

LINNEAN SOCIETY, at 8.-Life-History of a Remarkable Uredine on Jasminum grandiflora: A. Barclay.-Certain Protective Provisions in some Larval British Teleosteans: E. Prince.

CHEMICAL SOCIETY, at 8.-On a New Method of estimating the Oxygen dissolved in Water: Dr. J. C. Thresh. ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, at 4.

Fisher: "Flower-Land: an Introduction to Botany."

Magnetism. I. (Illustrated.) By Dr. J. Hopkinson, F.R.S..

249

Lorenzo Respighi. By W. T. Lynn

254

Notes

254

Our Astronomical Column:

On Certain Approximate Formulæ for Calculating the Trajectories of Shot. By Prof. J. C. Adams, F.R.S. . .

255

Societies and Academies

362

Diary of Societies.

264

Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received

204

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