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and Pastimes, Athletic, Scientific, and Recreative. A New Edition, thoroughly Revised and considerably Enlarged. (Lockwood & Co.) -We are glad to see a new edition of this book; certainly one of the best ever written for boys, and having the advantage of containing matter for boys of all ages. The new edition is a very handsome volume of nearly 700 pages, richly illustrated. It relates to all kinds of sports and pastimes, indoor and out, and mingles with cricket, archery, gymnastics, etc., directions for keeping birds, rabbits, and other domestic pets, and enough scientific recreations of various sorts to stimulate to graver studies in their proper place. It is a book we cordially recommend as a new year's gift.

ON THE MIDDLE AND UPPER LIAS OF THE SOUTH-WEST OF ENGLAND. By Charles Moore, F.G.S. Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archæological and Natural History Society, Vol. XIII. 1865-6. (Taunton: F. May.)—A very useful monogram on the subject of which it treats, illustrated with seven nicely executed plates, containing numerous figures.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— Dec. 4.

Robert Etheridge, Esq., in the chair.

Henry Alleyne Nicholson, Esq., read a paper on the Graptolites of the Skiddaw series, premising that the slates of that series corresponded with the Quebec group of Canada. He described twenty-four species.

P. Martin Duncan, Esq., M.D., described in a concluding paper the Fossil Corals of the West Indies. Dr. Duncan mentioned several curious facts in the distribution of West Indian corals, both fossil and recent, and especially the circumstance that, whilst Jamaica, San Domingo, and Guadaloupe present solitary species, mixed with those inhabiting shallow water or a reef, Antigua and Trinidad offer for consideration only reef species. In conclusion, the author drew attention to the confirmation by subsequent discoveries of his theory of an Atlantic Archipelago, which he had put forward in his earlier papers.

ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.-Dec. 12.

James Glaisher, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair.

C. Stewart, Esq., read a paper describing the pedicellariæ of the Cidarida. In the discussion which ensued, Mr. Jabez Hogg stated that he had seen pedicellariæ in certain star-fish pass fragments of food from one to another towards the mouth. A Fellow remarked that Agassiz had noticed their removal of fæcal matter from the neighbourhood of the anus. Mr. Stewart said that although such

actions might have been observed in certain species, many pedicellariæ were so situated as not to be capable of performing these functions, and that their real purpose was still undecided.

H. J. Slack, Esq., Sec. R.M.S., read a paper on a microscopic ferment found in red French wine, and probably being the same as M. Pasteur's mycoderma vini, though larger than that gentleman's measurements as given in "Comptes Rendus." The mycaderm he examined consisted of minute cells, which, when the wine was poured out, rose to the surface like a fine powder. It had not turned the wine sour. He succeeded in growing the penicillium glaucum from it in abundance, by simply exposing the wine to the air in a tumbler. Some of the cells placed in moist sugar and water occasioned a butyric fermentation, which seemed to be caused by their decay. After a few weeks the butyric acid and other compounds of nauseous odour disappeared, and the remaining cells then increased in number, and excited a vinegar fermentation. A mixture of the wine containing the cells with treacle and water, kept in a warm place, produced penicillium glaucum, and the fluid became only slightly acid.

NOTES AND MEMORANDA.

COMET III., 1867.-M. Hoek, of Utrecht, writes to the "Astronomische Nachrichten" as follows:-" In my researches on cometary systems, I instanced Comets III. and V., of 1859, as probably belonging to the same system. I did not hesitate to attribute to them this character, on account of the extreme resemblance of their elements, and the short interval between their appearances. Now, all of a sudden comes a new comet to supply un unexpected confirmation of these views; for the circles which represent the planes of these three orbits cross each other at the same point in the heavens. The three planes cut each other in the same line of intersection. Thus this line is necessarily parallel to the direction of the initial movement common to the three bodies at the moment they entered into the sun's sphere of attraction." M. Hoek then gives the elements of their orbits, and states his belief that they had one common origin. Their aphelion points are situated at a considerable distance from the common point of intersection, or rather from the radiating point of their orbits. Their aphelion points are all on the same side of the line of radiation. Captain Jupman, who observed this comet at Portsmouth, in October, found it equal to a star of 8.0 or 8.1 mag., with faint coma and no tail.

NEW PLANET 95.-This body was discovered by Dr. Luther, at BilkDusseldorf, on the 23rd Nov., 1867. It appears of 10 to 11 mag.

NEW STARS NEAR & LYRA.-Mr. Buckingham reports the discovery of three very minute stars near Vega. One, c, is in a line between the well-known B and the great star; e is in the same direction, on the other side of it; d is like c, near Vega, but to the left of B on the meridian. The observations were made with the large object-glasses made by Mr. Wray, one of which (new) is 21 inches in diameter, and, according to Mr. Buckingham's report, works well with powers up to 1800. c and d, in the large object-glass, are little brighter than the companion of Polaris, seen with an aperture of 1.7 inch. (See "Monthly Notices" for November.)

CONFLAGRATION COLOURS AND MOONLIGHT.-On the night of the 6th of December, the burning of Her Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket occasioned

many curious chromatic effects. Immense flames and flame-coloured clouds of highly luminous orange and red tints made the moon (about 11 days old) look positively blue. Sirius, which was flashing splendidly, varied in hue from blue to deep violet.

FECUNDITY OF THE AXOLOTLS.-These curious amphibians, of which in 1864 the museum in Paris possessed five males and one female, have multiplied in captivity, so that more than 3300 have been produced from their eggs in two years and nine months. Some have been consumed in experiments, others died young, but at least 2500 have survived. Axolotls may be seen in the tanks of the Zoological Gardens.

PARALLAX OF THE SUN.-Notwithstanding the efforts hitherto made by astronomers, the exact parallax, and consequently the exact distance of the sun from the earth is not fully settled, and great interest is felt in the opportunities that may be afforded by the transit of Venus in 1874 and 1882. Meanwhile Mr. Simon Newcombe (U.S.) has been at work discussing minutely the observations of Mars in 1862. His results, communicated by M. Delaunay to the French Academy, make the solar parallax 8".85, with a probable error of ± 0′′.013. This corresponds with a distance of the sun from the earth of a little more than 23,307 terrestrial radii, rather more than 148 millions of kilometres. Taking the earth as unity, the mass of the sun will be 326,800 + 1360, and that of the Taking the sun's mass as unity, the mass of the earth and

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ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS.-M. Pisani, writing from Resina, 13th November, 1867, says: "At half-past twelve to-night, Vesuvius has opened a new crater, to the right of the two cones of last year. At the half (à la moitié) of the great cone on the side of Bosco Reale, another crater has opened, pouring forth a current of lava. In the same direction, and precisely in the plane of the lava of last year, two other little craters, which cast up many streams, have been formed. The principal cone is full of crevasses, through the strong shocks it has received.

EGYPTIAN LAND SURVEYING.-The British Museum has obtained possession of a papyrus containing, in hieratic characters, a fragment of a treatise on geometry applied to land surveying, with illustrative figures. It shows how to measure squares, parallelograms, and various triangles. It is supposed to belong to the date of the twelfth dynasty, contemporary with Solomon, and it is copied from a more ancient treatise.

INDEX.

ABSORPTION of obscure heat, 240.
Abyssinian expedition, 227.
Action of electric current on the Mi-
mosa pudica, 146.

Action of green light on plants, 240.
Active wheel cilia, 290.
Africa, eastern coast, 229.
Agaricus, 20.

Agricultural implements found in
France, 236.

Agricultural products of Abyssinia, 233.
Air columns, 46.

Air-vesicles of Bladderworts, utricu-
laria, 207.
Alchemilla alpina, 25.
Aluminium bronze, 152.
Amiens gravel, 395.
Ammodytes tobianus, 252.
Anatomy of thysanura, 239.
Ancient ornaments, 310.
Andromeda, 379.
Anemometer, new, 392.
Anglo-Saxon remains, 459.
Animal life in Himalayas, 132.
Animal oxidation, 88.
Annelids, structure of, 266, 365.
Annuloida, 296.

Antiquarian relic at Andover, 310.
Ant's eggs, 322.

Apennines, lunar, 274.
Aphrodita aculeata, 272.
Arbroath Abbey, 26.
ARCHEOLOGIA. Archeological asso-

ciated bodies, 148; tumulus at
Thruxton, 149; Roman pottery at
Thruxton, 149; excavations at
Wroxeter, 149; Roman city of Uri-
conium, 149; Wigmore Abbey, 150;
grave-mounds of Derbyshire, 180,
254, 342, 459; Celtic period, 181;
barrows, 182; sepulchral urns, 185,
344; stone cists, 185; chambered
tumuli, 187; Blackmore Museum,
233; Roman lead mining, Roman
work, 231; Stonehenge, 235; stones
of Stenness, 235; Roman town in
France, 233; agricultural imple-
ments, 236; sepulchral interments,
236; sepulchral deposits of Roman
period, 236; flint implements, 254;
arrow and spear-heads and dagger-
blades, 254; flint knives, 256; stone
implements, 256; jet articles, an-
VOL. XII.-NO. VI.

cient, 257; bone implements, 258;
bronze implement, 258; skeletons,
258; bronze daggers, 259; pottery,
Celtic, 260, 348; cinerary urns, 260;
food vessels, 260; drinking cups,
260; incense cups, 260; sepulchral
urn, 261; Roman station at Vin-
domis, 310; Yorkshire barrows,
310; skeletons in Yorkshire, 310;
bronze ornaments, 310; armlets
and necklaces, 311; Roman road,
311; Roman antiquities, 311;
Cheshire archæological produce,
312; flint implements, 312; Ro-
man coins, 312; Saxon beads,
312; excavations at Wroxeter, 312;
Birmingham of Roman Britain,
312; intaglio, 312; Roman coins,
313; coins of Tetricus, 313; Roman
roads, 342; pigs of lead, 342; armour
in tumuli, 344; ornaments in bronze,
iron, and silver, 345; iron knives,
345; coins in Derbyshire, 347;
beads, 348; Roman pottery, 348;
Roman cemeteries, 349; Roman
Salopian ware, 350.

Arctic fox, 364.

Ariadæus, second great cleft, 96.
Arid countries prevent rain, 337.

Armlets, and necklaces, 311.

Armour interred with skeletons in tu-
muli, 344.

Arrow and spear-heads, and dagger-
blades, 254, 460.
Arthropodes, 270.
Asplanchna, 287.

ASTRONOMY.-Notes on star streams,
1; milky way, 1; section of galactic
nebula, 4; stream formations, 8;
clustering in the milky way, 10; rolls
of stars, 11; streams of light, 12;
stippling, 12; doubts and facts con-
cerning Linné, 36; new crater, 36;
shallow crater, 37; observations on
Linné, 39; Wolf on Linné, 40;
Mare Vaporum and the lunar clefts,
52; cracks or rills, 52; supposition
of life in Moon negatived, 55;
absence of noticeable atmosphere in
the Moon, 55; meteoric appearances,
80; Mars during the late opposition,
81: colours of Mars, 82; undis-
covered satellite, 85; lunar clefts,

I I

95; Mare Vaporum, 95; Ariadæus,
96; Hyginus, 98; Triesnecker, 102;
Jupiter's satellites, 103; occultations,
104; Jupiter without satellites, 144;
outline lunar map, 155; constitution
of Sun and stars, 159; 92nd planet,
159; November shooting stars, 190;
motion of rotation, 192; radiant
point, 192; meteoric orbit, 196;
meteoric streams, 197; Gruithui-
sen's city in the Moon, 214; clefts in
the Moon, 215; rampart-work, 216;
selenites, 217; Rhæticus, 216; hills
in the Moon, 219; Jupiter's satel
lites, 222; occultations, 223; lunar
eclipse, 223; colour of the Moon,
225 colour seen during the lunar
eclipse, 226; luminous meteors, 239;
lunar Eratosthenes and Copernicus,
273; Apennines, 274; zone of Eras-
tothenes' shadows in terrestrial sun-
shine, 275; lunar penumbra, 275;
lava currents, 279; transit of Jupi-
ter's satellites, 280; occultations,
280; theories of Copernicus and
Ptolemy, 317; colour question and
lunar eclipse, 319; two new planets,
320; coming star showers, 320;
lunar details, 370; Copernicus, 370;
craters in the Moon, 370; Gay
Lussac, 370; light streaks, 371;
crater chains, 372; Eratosthenes,
374; Sinus Estuum, 374; double
stars, 375; Lyra, 376; Cygni,
376; Andromeda, 379; clusters and
nebulæ, 380; Jupiter's satellites,
381; occultations, 381; day view of
Venus, 399; new planet, 479.
Atherinæ, 251.

Atmosphere in the moon, absence of, 55.
Atmospheric agency among the Ched-
dar rocks, 34.

Autograph of Sir Isaac Newton, 352.
Auvergne, its thermo-mineral springs,
climate, and scenery, 156.
Axolotls, fecundity of, 480.

BARBETS and their distribution, 241.
Badger, 202.
Baridia, 119.
Barbatula, 243.

Barks of various plants, value of, 49.
Barrows in Derbyshire, 180, 257, 342.
Bassunt bari, Indian bird, 212.
Beads, old Roman, 348.

Bee-eaters, 245.

Bell-bird, 241.

Bell rock lighthouse, 27.

Bichromate of potash and albumen,
polariscope object, 240.

Bilberry and mountain or cloud berry,

25.

Belona vulgaris, 253.

Birmingham of Roman Britain, 312.
Blackmore Museum in Salisbury, 233.
Bladderworts, air vesicles of, 207.
Blasting power, new, 315.
Blood corpuscles, function of, 87.
Blood discs, 199.

Body and appendages of annelids, 267.
Bologna phosphorus, 137.
Bone implements, 258.
BOTANY.-Fungi on the plains of
India, 18; Polyporus lucidus, 18;
Schezophyllum commune, 18; Irpex
flavus, 18; Dædalea sanguinea, 18;
Agaricus, 18; Dum-dum collection
of fungi, 18; Agaricus malleus, 20;
Agaricus alliciens, 20; Agaricus
holophlebius, 20; Podaxon carce-
nomalis, 21; Phallus truncatus, 21;
ferns of Glen Clova, 23; oak fern,
23; beech ferns, 23; brittle bladder
fern, 23; tooth bladder ferns, 24;
Wilson's film fern, 24; holly ferns
24; hard fern, 24; Woodsia ilven-
sis, 24; Lastrea spinulosa, 24;
Polystichum lonchitis, 24; Bilberry
and mountain or cloud-berry, 25;
Alchemilla alpina, 25; hart's tongue
ferns, 27; sea spleenwort, 27; marsh
fern, 28; green spleenwort, 29; pot-
tery tree of Para, 50; Moquilea
utilis, 50; bark of pottery tree, 50;
silex in bark, 51; Handybook to col-
lection of fungi and lichen, 79; forest
trees of Himalayas, 131; orchids,
131; Magnolias, 132; Rhododen-
dron, 132; Magnolia excelsa, 132;
Rhododendron argenteum, 132;
Magnolia Campbelli, 132; Gen-
tiana coronata, 132; Foxglove, 132;
Viola repens, 132; Bladderworts,
207; Utricularia vulgaris, 207; air
vesicles of bladderworts, 207;
utricles, 207; leaf-bearing branches,
208; gaseous evolutions in aquatic
plants, 213; Hottonia, 212; Ranun-
culus aquatilis, 212; subjecting
fruits to electricity, 399: haricot
beans electrified, 399; hybrid cot-
ton, 399; electro-capillary currents
in plants, 399.
Brachion mastax, 292.
Brachions, 284.
Bradycinctus, 128.

Brama Raii, 253.

Breadth of meteoric stream, 197.
Breech-loading gun, 74.
Brimstone moth, 328.
British Association, 237.
Bronze implements, 258.

Bronze and iron ornaments, 345.
Bronze ornaments, 310.

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