EDINBURGH

SECTION A.

On Temperative Equilibrium of an Enclosure in which there is a Body in Visible Motion, by Prof. Balfour Stewart, F. R.S.It is now several years since Prof. Tait and the author of this paper came jointly to entertain the belief that there is some transmutation of energy, the exact nature of which is unknown, when large bodies approach and recede from one another. It is desirable to vindicate an idea of this nature, both from the theoretical and the practical point of view-that is to say, we ought, if possible, to exhibit it as a possible deduction from those laws of nature with which we are already acquainted; and, on the other hand, it ought to be supported by observations and experi ments of a new kind. In our case the experiments and observations have been of a difficult nature, and are yet in progress, it is therefore premature to bring them before the notice of this section. A theoretical vindication of the idea has been obtained by Prof. Tait, and more recently one has occurred to the author of these remarks, which he now ventures to bring before the section. Men of science are now sufficiently well acquainted with Prevost's theory of exchanges and its recent extension. We know that in an enclosure, the walls of which are kept at a constant temperature, every substance will ultimately attain the very same temperature as these walls, and we also know that this temperatureequilibrium can only be brought about by the absorption of every particle being exactly equal to its radiation, an equality which must separately hold for every individual kind of heat which the enclosure radiates. This theoretical conclusion is supported by numerous experiments, and one of its most important applications has been the analysis of the heavenly bodies by means of the spectroscope. Let us now suppose that in such an enclosure we have a body in visible motion, its temperature, however, being precisely the same as that of the walls of the enclosure. Had the body been at rest, we know from the theory of exchanges that there would have been a perfect equilibrium of temperature between the enclosure and the body; but there is reason to believe that this state of temperature-equilibrium is broken by the motion of the body. For we know both from theory and experiment that if a body, such for instance as a star, be either rapidly approaching the eye of an observer or receding from it, the rays of the body which strike the eye will no longer be precisely the same as would have struck it had the body been at the same temperature and at rest; just as the whistle of a railway engine rapidly approaching an observer will have to him a different note from that which it would have had if the engine had been at rest. The body in motion in the enclosure is not therefore giving the enclosure those precise rays which it would have given it had it been at the same temperature and at rest; on the other hand, the rays which are leaving the enclosure are unaltered. The enclosure is therefore receiving one set of rays and giving out another, the consequence of which will be a want of temperature-equilibrium in the enclosure-in other words, all the various particles of the enclosure will not be of the same temperature. Now, what is the consequence of this? The consequence will be that we can use these particles of different temperature so as to transmute part of their heat into the energy of visible motion, just as we do in a steam engine; and if it is allowable to suppose that during this process the moving body. has retained all its energy of motion, the result will be an increase of the amount of visible energy within the enclosure, all the particles of which were originally of the same temperature. But Sir W. Thomson has shown us that this is impossible; in other words, we cannot imagine an increase of the visible energy of such an enclosure unless we acknowledge the possibility of a perpetual motion. It is not, therefore, allowable to suppose that in such an enclosure the moving body continues to retain all its energy of motion, and consequently such a body will have its energy of motion gradually stopped. Evidently in this argument the use of the enclosure has been to enable us to deduce one proof from the known laws of heat and energy, and we may alter the shape of the body without affecting the result; in other words, we should expect some loss of visible energy in the case of cosmical bodies approaching or receding from one another. Observations on Water in Frost rising against Gravity, rather than Freezing in the Pores of Moist Earth, by Prof. Jam's Thomson, LL.D., of Belfast. In this paper Prof. Thomson, in continuation of a subject which he had brought before the British Association at the Cambridge Meeting in 1862 on the

adduced some remarkable instances which he had since carefully observed. In one of these observed by him in February 1864, he showed that water from a pond in a garden had in time of frost raised itself to heights of from four to six inches above the water surface level of the pond by permeating the earth bank, formed of decomposed granite, which it kept thoroughly wet, and out of the upper surface of which it was made to ascend by the frost, so as to freeze as continuous columns of transparent ice rather than that it would freeze in the earth pores. From day to day during the frost the earth remained unfrozen, while a thick slab of columnar ice formed itself by new water coming up from the pond, and insinuating itself forcibly under the bases of the ice columns so as to freeze there, pushing them up, not by hydraulic pressure, but on principles which, while seeming to have been previously not noticed, appear to involve considerations of scientific interest, and to afford scope for further experimental and theoretical researches.

SECTION B.

A REPORT On the Publication of Abstracts of Chemical Papers was read by the secretary (Dr. Thorpe). The committee, which consisted of Profs. Williamson, Roscoe, and Frankland, having charge of the matter, said they were glad to be able to announce that regular monthly reports of the progress of chemistry have been published since April last by the Chemical Society. These reports have been rendered as far as possible complete, by giving abstracts, more or less full, of all papers of scientific interest, and of the more important papers relating to applied chemistry. The abstracts have been made by chemists, most of whom are members of the Society, whose

The com

zeal for science has induced them to undertake the work for the small honorarium which the Council has been able to offer. A numerous Committee of Publication has been formed, whose members gratuitously undertake the revision of proofs, and a comparison of abstracts with the original papers. mittee feel that their thanks are due to those gentlemen engaged in the work for having already so far succeeded in accomplishing a task of such difficulty and importance, and they confidently hope that their continued exertions will still further perfect the details of the scheme, so as gradually to increase the usefulness of the report. It is right to state that the funds of the Chemical Society, available for the purpose of the report, although so opportunely aided by a grant of 100/. from the British Association, were insufficient to defray the necessary ex enses, and that voluntary contributions to the amount of upwards of 2007. have been received towards the cost of publication for the first year up to April 1872. There is good reason to believe that the expectations entertained of the usefulness of these reports will be fully realised by their continuance on the present system; and that they will be found largely to conduce to the progress of the science wherever the English language is spoken.

Prof. Williamson said it had long been felt in England that some equivalent was needed for those admirable annual reports which have long been published in Germany, and of which the value was so very great to workers in chemistry. To meet that want was the object the committee had in view.

A vote of thanks was given Prof. Williamson for his exertions in connection with the matter.

Dr. Thorpe read a paper On Phosphorus Chlorides. He said he had attempted to prepare the missing oxichlorides analogous to those obtained from vanadium by Roscoe, but without success. When the phosphoryl trichloride is heated with zinc in a sealed tube, the oxygen is withdrawn and phosphoric chloride is obtained. He had also prepared sulpho-chloride of phosphorus by the action of sulphide of phosphorus on the penta-chloride of phosphorus.

Mr. Pattison Muir made a communication On an Antimony Ore from the Thames, New Zealand. The specimen analysed was beautifully crystallised and almost chemically pure antimony sulphide, containing only traces of arsenic and antimony. Mr. John Dalzell communicated a paper On Suphur Dichloride. He has repeated Hübner's experiments, and finds that the compound actually exists at low temperatures. Dr. Wright gave a résumé of his researches On the Derivatives from Codeia. An account of these investigations has already appeared in our columns. Mr. Tichborne read a paper On the Dissociation of Molecules by Heat, and showed some very pretty lecture experiments on the subject. Mr. J. G. Buchanan read a paper illustrated by diagrams On the rate of Action of Caustic Soda on a Watery Solution of

Chloracetic Acid. He has determined the rate at which chloracetic acid suffers decomposition, when heated simply with water or with caustic soda in a sealed tube. The following papers were also read :-Prof. Apjohn, Some Remarks on the Froximate Analysis of Saccharine Matters; Dr. Gladstone, On Crystals of Silver; Mr. Braham, On the Crystallisation of Metals by Electricity; Mr. J. S. Holden, On the Aluminous Iron Ores of Co. Antrim; Prof. Maskelyne, On Dafrenite and a New Mineral from Cornwall, and on Localities of Dioptase; Rev. Mr. Highton, On a Method of Preserving Food by Muriatic Acid; Mr. Wanklyn, On the Constitution of Salts; Mr. Harkness, On a Method of Testing Wood Naphtha.

SECTION C.

MR. CAFRUTI ERS, F.R.S., read a paper by Mr. Grieve On the Position of Organic Remains near Burntisland, and also a paper by himself On the Vegetable Contents of Masses of Limestone occurring in Trappean Rocks in Fifeshire, and the conditions under which they are preserved. Large masses of plants which formed the coal had been enclosed in the trappean ash, and subsequently calcified by the large amount of lime contained in the rocks. Mr. Carruthers considered that these fragments were enclosed in a peaty condition, because the mass was penetra'ed in every direction by roots, showing the existence of vegetation on this soil. The attention of Mr. Grieve was first directed to the specimens by observing on the shore large masses of limestone which had been polished by the drifting sand. The action of this sand was well shown in the neighbourhood, even the hard basaltic rocks having been polished by it. Mr. T. M'K. Hughes sail that after what had been brought out in regard to the action of the drifting sand, they must take care not to attribute the polishing of rocks in every instance to glacier action.

The second meeting of Section C. was opened by Mr. Pengelly, who read the Seventh Report on the Kent's Cavern Explorations. His clear and lively lecture drew together a good audience. Commencing with some general remarks on the history and working of the Cavern, in order to make the subject | clear, he pointed out the usual section to be, in descending o der:-1. Black mould, containing many objects of recent date, and some of Romano-British times; also remains of animals still living, or which lived in historic times. 2. Granular stalagmite, containing remains of extinct animals, and also a human jaw. 3. Cave earth, yielding a harvest of extinct remains, also flint implements. 4. Crystalline Stalagmitic floor, and Breccia formed of rocks from distant hills; bears only have Leen obtained from these. He then described the work done during the past twelve months, showing what new passages had leen opened, and the number of species which had been obtained. They included hy æna, horse, rhinoceros, Irish elk, ox, ceer, badger, elephant, bear, fox, lion, reindeer, rabbit, bat, wolf, deg, &c. Many of the bones were gnawed by hyxna, others were marked by rootlets encircling them. Altogether, about 2,200 teeth and bones and 366 flint implements and flakes had been obtained since the last year's Report was read.

The Contents of a Hyana's Den on the Great Doward, Whitchurch, Ross, Herefordshire, were pointed out by the Rev. W. S. Symonds, F.G.S. He remarked that the section of the deposits was 1. Superficial soil and stalactitic matter with Roman (?) pottery and human bones. 2. Thin band of stalactitic matter. 3. Cave earth, containing flint flakes and chips, stone instruments, teeth and bones of numerous mammals either extinct or not now inhabiting the district, as the cave lion, cave bear, hyæna, mammoth, long-haired thinoceros, fossil horse, &c. 4. Stratified sand and silt, with rolled pebbles. 5. Thick floor of stalagmite, and cave earth separated every few feet by layers of stalagmite, containing flint flakes.

Mr. Vivian, referring to the length of time during which man had existed on the earth, thought he might have existed for about a million years. Prof. Hull remarked that there was no evidence as yet to bring back man to the Glacial epoch, and therefore opinions about the high antiquity of man should be reserved. Mr. Prestwich concurred with Mr. Hull, but said there was no doubt that man followed very closely upon the Glacial period. Mr. L. C. Miall read a paper On Some Further Experiments and Remarks on the Contortion of Rocks, describing results obtained by subjecting limestone, flagstone, slate, and plaster of Paris to forces of low intensity but of long continuance. Mountain and, magnesian limestone proved to be indefinitely plastic; slate slightly elastic, but almost incapable of permanent

deflection. Remarks on some cases of superficial and modern contortions were appended to the paper.

Prof. Hull and Mr. W. A. Traill, B. A., of the Geological Survey of Ireland, read a paper On the Relative Ages of the Grantic, Plutonic, and Volcanic Recks of the Mourne Mountains, Down, Ireland. They first pointed out the presence of two varieties of granite, differing, as Prof. Haughton had shown, both in composition and origin; the soda granite of Slieve Croob (consisting of quartz, orthocla e, albite, and mica) being of metamorphic origin, and the potash granite of Mourne (consisting of quar'z, orthoclase, albite, and mica) being eruptive. The relative, and as far as possible, the actual ages of these granites, remained to be determined, which the authors considered might be determined by a consideration of the basaltic and felstone-porphyry dykes, by which the district had on several The conclusions thus derived were that occasions been invaded. the granite of Mourne was newer than that of Slieve Croob by a long interval, and that while the former was probably Mesozoic, the latter was of Paleozoic age.

The third meeting of the Geological Section was held on Saturday August 5. The first paper read was by the Rev. Dr. Hume On the Coal Beds of Panama, in reference mainly to their economic importance. The author drew attention to the discovery of a series of seams in the Isthmus of Panama. Analysis proved the coal to contain about 75 per cent. of carbonaceous matter, the remaining portion being water and ash; it had a fair heating and a large illuminating power. There are four points where the coal reaches the surface of the thickness of 9ft., 12ft., and with intervening streaks of shale and clay 25ft.; it, however, improves in value at greater depths. He pointed out the great importance of this coal, in the event of a canal being made through the Isthmus.

The relation of health to certain geological formations was treated of by Dr. Moffatt. He remarked that the district in which he lived consisted geologically of the Carboniferous and of the New Red Sandstone system; that the inhabitants of the former were engaged in mining and agriculture, and those of the latter in agriculture chiefly. Anamia, with goitre, was very prevalent among those persons living on the Carboniferous system, while it was almost unknown among those on the New Red Sandstone; and phthisis was also more prevalent among the former than the latter. He then gave some statistics as to the diseases prevalent among the counties of Chester, Flint, and Denbigh, and stated that the practical deductions to be drawn from the inquiry were, that all young persons living on a Carboniferous formation having symptoms of incipient goitre and anæmia, ought to be moved to a soil upon red sandstone, and persons of strumous habit ought to reside upon sandstone at an elevation of at least 8co or 1,000 feet above the sea. In the discussion which followed the reading of this paper Mr. G. A. Labour mentioned a Carboniferous district in Northumberland containing a thin bed of limestone where the people suffered from goitre. Sir Richard Griffith remarked that goitre was unknown in Ireland, although they had plenty of Carboniferous rocks. Professor Hall agreed with Dr. Moffat respecting the healthful character of the New Red Sandstone.

A paper was then read by the Rev. J. F. Blake On the Yorkshire Lias and the Distribution of its Ammonites.

Some relics of the Carboniferous and other old land surfaces were described by Mr. Henry Woodward.

SECTION D.

THE Committee for the Close Time for Birds, reported by the Rev. Canon Tristram, LL.D., that it had gone on year after year endeavouring, as well as it could, to influence public opinion on the question of the preservation of indigenous life in this country. At the time of its appointment there was no protection whatever for any creature not coming under the Game-laws. Anything not game was treated by law as vermin. A curious

case had arisen in regard to Pallas's sand grouse. That bird made its appearance on the east coast of England, and if it had been allowed to breed on the sand pits of Durham, Yorkshire, and Lincolr shire, no doubt it might have become an indigenous bird. He (Dr. Tristram) summoned some people for shooting it out of season in the spring of the year; but it was decided that, being sand grouse and not Scotch grouse, it was beyond the benefit of the laws. The committee had to congratulate the Association two years ago on having succeeded with very

That

little difficulty in steering a Bill safely through all the perils of Select Committees of both Houses of Parliament. That Bill, however, was shorn of its fair proportions; and although it went into the House a Bill for the Protection of Indigenous Animals, it came out an Act for the Preservation of Sea-Fowl. The seafowl had borne their testimony to the success of the Act so far, and it was something to have to say that within the last year the numbers of sea-fowl that had bred on the Yorkshire coast were, at least, three times as many as they were two years ago. success was a great benefit, at the same time, to those who made their living by sea-fowl, because purveyors of feathers and eggs had found that the Sea-Fowl Act had actually very largely increased not only their profits, but their supply, in the same way as the improvement of the Salmon Acts had restored the salmon to rivers from which it had been almost extirpated. The conmittee, therefore, finding there was a unanimous verdict in favour of the Act regarding sea-fowl, strongly recommended the Association to endeavour to extend the Act in two ways. This they proposed to do next session by introducing amending clauses. One object to be aimed at was to extend the Act to all wading birds and all web-footed birds good for human food. It was desirable to protect the sandpipers, the plovers, the lapwings, and the whole of the duck tribe, which were being rapidly exterminated. Having succeeded in that, the committee should next endeavour to have British law on the subject assimilated to the sternly restrictive laws of every other civilised country, except Holland, Greece, and Turkey-those three being the only countries in the world professing to be civilised which had not a close-time for all creatures.

ORNITHOLOGY.-Prof. Duns, D. D., New College, Edinburgh, read a paper On the Rarer Raptorial Birds of Scotland; the four following propositions were stated:-1. That species occur in pairs, often at long intervals, in localities where they have long since ceased to breed, but where they have been at one time not uncommon. 2. The geographical range of stragglers seems to widen with the lapse of time. 3. Certain species have greatly increased in recent times over wide districts where they were comparatively rare. 4. Year by year the raptorial birds of Scotland are becoming fewer. These positions were all treated of in the paper, which, not giving specific characteristics or descriptive details, yet pointed out all the chief sources of information and enumerated all the localities. R. Sibbald's list in "Scotia Illustrata," 1684, and the many that intervened between it and the author's own lists collected during the last thirty years, were all referred to, and the conclusion come to was that most of the larger raptorial birds were rapidly disappearing from Scotland, and that even the smaller forms which were very common in the southern and central districts were yearly becoming rarer. The author also expressed his belief that both the farmer and the game preserver would lose much when between them they succeeded in destroying all the hawks and owls.

ICTHYOLOGY.-A paper was communicated by Colonel Play. fair, H. B. M. Consul-General at Algiers, On the Hydrographical System and the Fresh Water Fish of Algeria. After describing certain interesting features in the physical configuration of the country, the paper went on to state that in the rivers flowing to the Mediterranean there were sixteen species of fish, only three of which were common to the whole region, one being the common eel. There were eleven species peculiar to the littoral of Algeria, among which was a small trout. The common gold fish, which was very common, was not a native of Algeria, but was supposed to have been introduced by the caprice of a certain Sultan many centuries ago. It was now, however, universal in the streams. The plateau had only afforded seven species, one of them being the same as a South African species. In the Sahara there were some peculiar species. The upper part afforded two species, one being the common eel, and in the lower region two species were found in the salt lakes, and had been frequently ejected by the Artesian wells. It had been concluded that these latter species inhabited a vast subterranean sea occupying the bottom of the Sahara depression. The question had been asked why they were not destitute of eyes, but it was to be remembered that their underground life was simply an episode in the voyages they made between one well and another. When they reached a well they were either forced up or by instinct came to the surface. Owing to the shortness of the rivers and their being extremely rapid in their upper portion, the physical conditions were not such as would admit of the intro

duction into them of the true salmon with any prospect of

success.

Mr. C. W. Peach exhibited some apparently tailless trout which had been sent to him by Mr. Colin Hay, distiller, of Ardbeg, Islay. They were taken in Lochmaorichen, in Islay. That loch was about 1,000 feet above the level of the sea, and not above one acre in extent. It was so shallow that a man could wade through it, and had a stony bottom, with a few weeds. Although it was surrounded by other lochs, these tailless trout were found only in it. The whole of them were "docked," and Mr. Mackay, a keen sportsman, who has fished it often for thirty years, never caught one with a perfect tail. They are in excellent condition, being fed on the small crustaceans which are abundant in the loch. Mr. Peach further stated that Mr. Hay was about to add to his kindness by procuring a further supply of fish, if possible, from the fry to the adult state. He also intended to transport some of the docked trout to a loch at a short distance, in which trout had never been taken, and try to rear a stock from them, and see whether they would all remain "tailless.

Dumfriesshire, and Leadhills, Lanarkshire, there were streams Dr. Grierson said that, at the mines of Wanloch-Head, coming from the shafts in which trout without tails were frequently got, as also trout with deficient fins. The fish referred to were, moreover, frequently blind. Specimens of these fish were to be forwarded to Professors Turner, Traquair, and Dr. Günther for examination.

Mr. A. G. More exhibited some brown trout taken in salt water. It was not, he thought, generally known that the common or brown trout of fresh-water streams was an occasional visitant to the salt water. The salmon and the sea-trout, and the sewin or Welsh sea-trout, descended regularly to the sea after brown trout had seldom been observed under the same circumthey had finished breeding in fresh water; but the common stances. In Scotland Mr. Peach, who had an extensive experience and knowledge of marine zoology, assured him that no instance of the kind had come under his notice, save once, when he found a river-trout in the stomach of a cod-fish. Possibly that trout was captured in salt water, but it might have been dropped by a cormorant, or have been swept down the river in a flood either weak or possibly already dead. In the west of Ireland-in the counties of Donegal, Sligo, Limerick, and Kerry, Mr. More had ascertained, partly through others and partly from his own observation, that the river-trout spontaneously frequented the salt water at the mouths of the rivers. The brown trout

captured in salt water differed from their usual condition in having brighter and more silvery scales, something like those of the young salmon in the smolt condition. Mr. More would like it to be ascertained if these trout were brown trout "pure and simple," or hybrids.

Prof. Duns exhibited a specimen of the spiny shark, Echinorhinus spinosus, Blain, which had been taken at Earlsferry, near Elie, Fifeshire, in the February of this year. He also mentioned that a specimen had also been taken in January 1867 near Boness, Linlithgowshire.

Dr. C. Lütken described a new genus of fish belonging to the family of the sea-devils, allied to, and, in fact, almost intermediate between the curious genus Melanocetus discovered some years since by Mr. Johnson at Madeira and the monstrous Ceratias, which, until the discovery of Mr. Johnson, was the best known example of the Apodal Lophioids. Of the third genus of the almost blind apodal deep sea Lophioids, it was strange that the Greenland seas should have already possessed a species, O. himantolophius, described many years ago by the senior Reinhardt from a mutilated specimen, but which description had been almost forgotten by recent icthyologists. Among the characters dis. tinguishing this genus Oneirodes, there is one both peculiar and suggestive, viz., the curious development of the head of the first dorsal fin-ray, which, with its tentacles, pigmental spots, &c., gave the impression of, as it were, a mimicry of the head, say, of a Nereis. It would not be very wonderful if it were really intended to allure other rapacious fishes, and if the old stories of the angling propensities of the "fishing frog" were found to contain more truth than is generally believed. The new species O. eschrichtii was taken at Greenland.

ENTOMOLOGY.-Mr. Roland Trimen, F. L.S., F.Z.S., read a note on a curious South African grasshopper,* Trachypetra bufo, * Methuen's "Wanderings in the Wilderness," 2nd edition, 1848, App. P. 372, pl. 11., fig. 3.

White, which mimics with much precision the appearance of the stones among which it lives.

He commenced by observing that some tendency existed to separate too widely those cases of mimicry where one animal imitated another from those in which an animal closely resembled either some part of a plant or some inorganic object; and expressed the opinion that these two sets of cases were wholly one in kind, the evident object in all being the protection of the imitator.

Describing a visit paid to the vicinity of Grahamstown in search of this insect, he observed that it was a work of considerable difficulty to distinguish the grasshoppers from the stones, and he was engaged for half an hour in careful search over a known station of the species before discovering an example. He noted the further most interesting fact, that, in certain spots (often only a few square yards in extent) where the stones lying on the ground were darker, lighter, or more mottled than those generally prevalent, the Trachypetra found among such stones varied similarly from the ordinary dull ferruginous-brown colouring in imitation

of them.

It was pointed out that the close imitation of the stones was mainly effected by the modification of the dorsal shield of the prothorax, which is, with the whole thorax, much flattened and widened, and is further much produced posteriorly, and has its surface roughened or granulated in close resemblance to the surface of the stones.

In conclusion, he called attention to the bearing of the case of this insect on the question of the origin of species; and in putting the alternative whether the peculiar station of the Trachypetra had been specially prepared for it immediately before or simultaneously with the creation of the insect, or whether, on the contrary, the insect had been very gradually modified by natural selection in imitation of the stones for the purpose of concealment, he expressed his decided opinion in favour of the latter hypothesis.

Specimens of the insect were exhibited in association with some of the stones among which they were captured, and the very close resemblance between stones and insects excited general remark. Mr. Trimen observed that in nature the mimicry was more effective, the colours of the dead insects having faded considerably, and the shrinking of the abdomen having caused the hind legs to be much more apparent than was the case in living examples.

Echinoderms.-Prof. Wyville Thomson read a paper On the Structure of the Crinoids, to which it would be impossible to do justice in a brief summary. He proposed to make as primary divisions of the family the Astomata and Peristomata. Dr. Lütken of Copenhagen remarked on the great interest of the paper, and referred to Prof. Wyville Thomson's earlier and excellent memoirs on the development of a species belonging to this family. In a paper On the Paleontological Relations of the Fauna of the North Atlantic, Prof. Wyville Thomson exhibited and described a remarkable new genus possibly related to the Diademidæ, in the corona of which the plates overlapped, and which, when taken out of the dredge, rolled about like a soft egg; this was called Calveria hystrix. The Pedicellaria were most beautiful objects, and the species is one of the most remarkable of all living Echinoids. A beautiful recent species called Purpuratus of the genus Porocidaris was also exhibited, as also specimens of Brissinga, Pourtalesia, and Rhizocrinus. A choicer assemblage of rare and remarkable forms was probably never before exhibited to Section D, and it is not possible to refrain from mentioning that most of them will be described and figured in an early number of the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London.

Calenterates.-Dr. Charles Lütken of Copenhagen, in introducing to the notice of the department a recent addition to the fauna of the Arctic region, said they would know that the progress of modern science had given an increased interest and importance to the knowledge of Arctic forms. Naturalists were now busily engaged in looking for the remains of the vegetable and animal kingdoms left in the sedimentary deposits from the glacial epoch in which an immense ice-field had covered a great part of the earth. One of the latest discoveries in Scandinavia was that of a fresh-water deposit at the bottom of a great bog, containing the relics of a truly Siberian vegetation. On the other hand, recent investigations, for which they were in part in debted to the British Government and British naturalists, had shown that many of the lower animals, hitherto thought only to inhabit the Arctic Seas, had a very great geographical distribution. For a long time the seas of Greenland had been one of the principal sources of our knowledge of Arctic life.

It was

about the only country, with the exception of the most northern part of Norway, within the Arctic Zone, where there was established a regular colony with a staff of officials, among whom there was always to be found one or more who were anxious to make their situation profitable to science, and the directors and officers of the Museum at Copenhagen always encouraged these efforts with the view of collecting at Copenhagen as ample material as possible for the study of Arctic life. These efforts have been in later times rivalled by those of the Swedish Government, but their own efforts were greatly promoted by the circumcumstance that the profits of the colonisation of Greenland were derived almost solely from the revenues got from the rich animal life, and that the Esquimaux were very acute observers of that nature from which they also derived their whole sustenance. He now submitted to the notice of the department a new species of Antipathes (A. arctica) found lately in the stomach of a Greenland shark; it belonged to a tribe of corals hitherto believed to be exclusively inhabitants of the warmer seas, not being previously found north of the Mediterranean or South Carolina. He was now informed by Prof. Wyville Thomson that species of that genus did come to the surface during his late dredging expedition in the North Atlantic. This discovery, in addition to that of the Lophioid fish described above, indicated that the treasures of the Arctic Seas were not yet exhausted, and ought to stimulate further attention to them. Prof. Wyville Thomson and others took this occasion to state their admiration at the perfect order and care with which the Scandinavian Museums were kept, and their estimation of the great kindness shown by the officers of these Museums to naturalists in this country in sending over for examination complete series of different forms of Arctic life.

Dredging.-Mr. W. Saville Kent sent an account of the zoological results of the 1870 dredging expedition of the yacht Norna off the coasts of Spain and Portugal.

Rev. R. B. Watson gave a very graphic account of the trials and troubles he had encountered in dredging at Madeira, and appended to his paper a list of the mollusca met with by him in Madeira.

Mr. A. G. More also submitted to the department some account of a recent dredging expedition which he had made to Bantry and Kenmare Bays.

SUB-SECTION. ANTHROPOLOGY.

In

IN the anthropological department on Monday, August 7, Prof. Turner presided, and there was again crowded attendance throughout the day. The first paper was read by Mr. J. S. Phene On the Manners and Customs of the Early Inhabitants of Britain, deduced from the remains of their Towns and Villages. He drew attention to two prominent points, the universality of the circle, curve, or oval, in all the earliest British remains; and the similarity of the physics of the various localities where British remains are still traceable, arguing that though divided into tribes, yet the inhabitants at the time were one people. alluding to the physical features of their settlements, he pointed out that a conical hill towards the east, with a stream between it and the settlement, seemed an indispensable condition in selecting a place of abode, and where hills did not naturally exist they had been formed with great labour, as the Castle Hill at Cambridge. He assumed the object of proximity of the hill was for facility of worship, and the separation by the stream was indicative of purity of sacred separation. He believed that our great cities had been founded on these places, chosen by our so-called barbarian ancestors, and quoted Edinburgh, with Arthur's Seat as the place of worship, and Holyrood as the site of habitation, in illustration of his views.

Mr. Phené also read a paper On an Expedition for the special Investigation of the Hebrides and West Highlands in Search for Evidences of ancient Serpent Worship, and assigning to this worship the shape of many mounds he had examined in Scotland. This paper caused an animated discussion, in which Mr. Boyd Dawkins remarked that there was no invariable relation between the sites of ancient habitation and the neighbouring hills, such as Mr. Phené had inferred. The dwellers in Britain, before the arrival of the Normans, lived in hut circles, placed sometimes on the tops of hills and at others in the bottom of valleys, but in all cases they chose a soil though which the rainwater could easily pass. This was obviously the result of their not wishing to be flooded by the rains of winter. We know next to nothing, he said, of their habits and modes of life, but the remains of the animals round their habitations proved that

they lived on their flocks and herds as well as by the chase. The presence of querns, also, showed that they were pastoral. Besides the ox and horned sheep and the pig, they ate fox, wild cat, and horse, and even the dog, and, to speak in general terms, any other animal they could get hold of. About their religion or symbolism nothing was known.

Dr. Archibald Campbell said he had seen a great deal of serpent worship in India, and on returning to his native Highlands, he had made numerous inquiries as to the traces of serpent worship there, but none of the people he had asked could give any clue.

Dr. Grierson remarked that he did not consider Mr. Phené had brought forward any evidence to prove there had ever been serpent worship in Scotland.

Colonel Lane Fox observed that Mr. Phené had undertaken his expedition in regard to serpent worship with a foregone conclusion, and the result had been that he had rather disproved his case than otherwise.

The third paper was given by Mr. C. Wake On Man and the Ape. He opened his communication by referring to the physical agreement of structure between man and ape, and argued that the latter animal equally possessed the power of reasoning, and affirmed that man had no mental faculty other than the ape possessed. This paper also led to a hot discussion in which Canon Tristram, the Rev. Mr. Brodie, Rev. Mr. Goodsir, and others joined. Mr. Conway thought that Mr. Wake had been accused o' using words such as "nature" and "evolution," which were incapable of definition, but, on the other hand, the department had heard bandied about such words as "creation," equally incapable of definition. The idea that something was produced out of nothing was just as vague an idea, he contended, as that of "nature" or "evolution."

Prof. Struthers, as a person accustomed to dissect men and quadrupeds, said that apes were very like ourselves. He had always regarded this man and monkey question as a very small one, he meant to say, it was only part of a much larger question. If similarity of structure was to prove origin, they must take in a very large portion of the animal kingdom, all made on the same general plan. He looked upon the theory of evolution simply as an hypothesis. He did not think that facts would at present warrant a belief one way or the other, though at the same time there were parts in the human boy which we could not understand on the theory of man having been an independent and original creation. We had within our bodies structures which have no function, and which cannot be explained without going down to the lower animals. He did not say they had sprung from them, but he affirmed the question was not one to be bundled out of doors in the way desired by some reverend friends. He should like to say to his theological friends that scientific men did not, in the examination of these laws, shut the Creator out, it was only the modus operandi, the mode of proceeding, which was the subject of inquiry.

Mr. G. Harris read a paper On the Hereditary Transmission of Endowments and Qualities.

Dr. Charnock and Dr. Carter Blake contributed a paper On the Physical and Philological Charateristics of the Wallons, showing that the ordinary Wallons stood in a similar relation to Belgium to that which the Irish peasant did to the "Sassenach" of England. As evidence of their peculiar character, a Wallon would drag a pig from Namur to Ghent, or even to Bruges or Antwerp, in order to gain a few more sous than he could in his own district. The Spanish armies in the Pay-Bas were made up of Wallons. A special mental and moral character might be predicted of the Wallons of eich district. The language was a spoken, not a written one, the pronunciation differing in different localities.

Mr. G. Petrie read a paper On Ancient Modes of Sepulture in the Orkneys. He said sepulchral mounds were there very frequent, generally on elevations. The skeletons were often discovered in a sitting posture. Mr. Flower remarked that the sitting posture of the skeleton was an interesting discovery, as it had been observed in every country in Europe, as well as in Peru, India, and Africa. Herodotus, in his account of the Autocthones, a people inhabiting what is now the province of Tunis, shows that they always placed their dying friends in a sitting posture to await their last hour, and it seems that they so buried their dead, as they were now found in the old African sepulchres in the same position.

The next paper was a communication received from Mr. J. Wolfe Murray, On a Cross traced upon a Hill near Peebles.

SECTION E.

Most of the papers in this section were purely geographical, having but little reference to Natural Science. Among the most interesting read on the first day, August 3, was one by Mr. Clements Markham on The Somali Coast, contributed by Captain Miles. The paper contained some interesting information in reference to the trade in gum and aromatic spices, as it has been carried on by the natives from ancient times. Mr. D. Hanbury, alluding to a statement in Captain Miles's paper, that in ancient times frankincense was held to have come from Arabia, and from the adjacent coast of Africa, said that, while this was the case, they were taught in all the books that had appeared on the subject in the latter part of the last century, and in the whole of the present till within the last few years, to believe that frankincense was a product of India. It was very desirable to have information on this highly interesting subject. With regard to the different species of gum trees, their information was very poor, and as to myrrh it was even more so. Much had been written as to cinnamon, early authors holding that it was a production of Africa and Arabia. It was a very interesting question, and one which required elucidation, whether the cinnamon mentioned in Holy Writ was the production of Africa and Arabia, or whether it was merely carried thither from India, or from the still remoter regions of Siam and China by way of commerce, and whether in that way the idea was promulgated that it was produced in the land and districts from which it was shipped, by way of the Red Sea, to Europe.

Mr. Clements Markham also read a paper contributed by Captain Elton, on The Limpono Expedition. Captain Elton, who was formerly an officer on Lord Strathnairn's staff in India, undertook the expedition for the purpose of discovering whether the river was navigable to the sea-a point of great importance, on account of the discovery of gold on the banks of the Tati, one of the upper tributaries. Capton Elton's canoe was wrecked, and his journey, amounting to upwards of 900 miles-had to be completed on foot.

One of the most valuable papers in this section was one by Dr. J. D Hooker, descriptive of the botanical features of The Atlas Range, the main features of which we have already chronicled. Dr. Cleghorn stated in the discussion which followed, that, like everything else done by Dr. Joseph Hooker, this investigation had been carefully and thoroughly carried out, and a great desideratum of botanical knowledge had been obtained. The absence of primroses, gentian, and anemones was most remarkable. The observation on the exhausted condition of the forest was also noteworthy.

Commander A. Dundas Taylor, late of the Indian Navy, contributed a paper on The Proposed Ship Canal between Ceylon and India. With the Alderney and other British Parliamentary harbour discussions before the eyes of their understanding, permission, he thought, might perhaps be readily accorded to a student of thirty years in Indian hydrography to bring before the Association his views concerning the proposed scheme. After giving a sketch of the various projects that had been put forward for making a navigable passage between Ceylon and the Indian continent he proceeded to say that the project for deepening the Paumben Passage for large ships had been set aside by its own advocates in favour of the Port Lorne scheme, which had such remarkable advantages as to claim the attention of the Governments and mercantile communities of Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and Ceylon. An interesting discussion followed, in which the President and Sir E. Belcher joined.

The next morning the first paper was one by Mr. E. H. Palmer On the Geography of Moab A grant of 100/. was made by the Association last year, on the recommendation of this sec tion, to promote the exploration of Moab, and though that grant had not been sufficient, and in consequence the exploration had been deferred, Mr. Palmer's paper explained what was already known of Moab, and what had been previously done in its exploration.

Captain H. R. Palmer, R. E., contributed a paper On an Acoustic Phenomenon at Fabel Nagus, in the Peninsula of Mount Sinai; and Dr. Ginsburg made a verbal communication in reference to a treatise On Farther Disclosures of the Moabite Stone. This treatise referred chiefly to the history of the stone. On Saturday, August 5, a communication was read by StaffCommander George, R. N., On a New Artificial Horizon. The old artificial horizon, with its roof, trough, and bottle of quicksilver, was bulky, heavy, and often very inconvenient to carry; while the