bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
XXV.—The Early Stages in the Development of Cavia
Authors: Maclaren Norman H. W. , Bryce Thomas H.
Published: January 2013

At the end of 1926 a paper by Dr Maclaren entitled “Development of Cavia: Implantation” was published in theTransactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh(2). In this he dealt with the process of implantation of the blastocyst, and incidentally gave a tentative interpretation of the nature of the layers of which it was formed. The paper was to have been followed by a further contribution dealing especially with the earlier stages in the history of the blastocyst. This was held up for various reasons, and was not ready for publication until 1930, when there appeared appaperd on the subject by Professor Hill and Dr Sansom (6). This forestalled to a considerable extent Dr Maclaren's demonstration of the facts of observation, but there remained to him more than a dozen examples of free blasto-cysts at younger stages of development than the earliest figured in their paper, and indeed of any other worker on the development of Cavia. He then thought that it might be more interesting and instructive if the fixed and sectioned material were controlled by observations on the living blastocyst. A technique for this was developed, and apparatus designed by which living blastocysts could be observed and photographed. Eminently successful in the case of mammals with large blastocysts and tardy implantation, the results obtained in Cavia were disappointing owing to the excessive minuteness of the blastocyst, and to its being very early involved in one of the crypt-like recesses in the mucosa.
XXVI.—Notes on the Kidston Collection of Fossil Plant Slides. No. II. The Anatomy of the Axis ofBothrodendron mundumWilliamson sp.
Authors: Calder Mary G.
Published: January 2013

Whilst the specimens ofBothrodendron mundumWilliamson sp. in the Kidston Collection of fossil plant slides in the Glasgow University Botany Department were being examined, certain structural characters were observed which have not been mentioned in previous descriptions of this species. These characters appear to be of sufficient importance to justify the present description, and at the same time it may be noted that photographic illustrations of the aerial stem of this species have not, so far as is known, been previously published.
XXX.—On the Feeding Mechanism of Certain Marine Ostracods
Authors: Cannon H. Graham
Published: January 2013

Systematists agree that the Asteropid Ostracods are closely related to the other subfamilies of the Cypridinidæ. Asterope agrees with Cypridina in the form of its antennules and antennæ, in the peculiar bottle-brush second trunk limb so characteristic of the Cypridinidæ, and, to a lesser extent, in the gnathobasic armature of its mandibles, and yet, in its mouth parts, especially the maxillules and maxillæ, Asterope differs totally from Cypridina, and, in fact, from any other Crustacean. Attempts to homologize these limbs with those of other Ostracoda have been made by many systematists, but without much success. Thus recently Skogsberg (1920, p. 39), referring to the maxillule of Asterope, states: “This far-reaching modification and the total lack of known transitional forms makes any attempt at homologization merely a caprice, at worst obviously incorrect, at best unverifiable”; and Hansen (1925, p. 69), discussing the maxillule, states that “the chitinization is weak and lobes rudimentary that it may be impossible to interpret all points with real certainty before forms intermediate between Cypridina and Asterope have been discovered—if they exist.” Despite this impasse along purely morphological lines, I think it is possible, by studying the feeding mechanisms, to establish the relationship between the Asteropid and Cypridinid constitution.
XIX.—Temperature Observations in Loch Earn. Part II.
Authors: Wedderburn E. M. , Young A. W.
Published: January 2013

The observations which were made in Loch Earn during August 1911 and described in the Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xlviii, p. 629, demonstrated that in that loch there was during autumn a fairly definite temperature or density discontinuity, and suggested that the loch was a peculiarly suitable one in which to observe in greater detail the boundary waves occurring at the discontinuity. The previous investigation had for its main purpose the demonstration of the existence of standing oscillations at the discontinuity, and in that was entirely successful. The observations showed, however, that in addition to the primary standing oscillations there were other less regular movements about which the observations gave little information, as they were not made at sufficiently close intervals of time.
XXIV.—The Geological Relations and Some Fossils of South Georgia.
Authors: Gregory J. W.
Published: January 2013

The special interest of South Georgia depends on its evidence regarding the geology of the part of the Southern Ocean which lies south of the South Atlantic. According to Professor Suess, the island is an extension of the Andes, which, at the southern end of South America, turn eastward, and by a great horse-shoe-shaped curve pass through South Georgia to the South Orkneys and Graham Land.

The geology of South Georgia is but little known. Thürach † described the island as consisting of metamorphic rocks, ranging from granular gneiss to clay-slate, and of diabase tuff.
XVI.—The Schizopoda, Stomatopoda, and non-Antarctic Isopoda of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition
Authors: Tattersall Walter M.
Published: January 2013

The present report deals with the whole of the Schizopoda and Stomatopoda in theScotiacollections, and with those Isopoda which were taken in localities outside the limits of Antarctica. I am indebted to the courtesy of Dr W. S. Bruce for the opportunity of examining and reporting on these collections. The report on the Antarctic Isopoda is being prepared by Mr T. V. Hodgson.

I also include a few notes on a small collection of Schizopoda which were taken by theDiscoveryon its outward journey to the South Pole, for the opportunity of examining which I am indebted to the kindness of Dr W. T. Calman, of the British Museum. These latter records are most appropriately included here along with those of the species which theScotiacaptured on her outward journey, over very nearly the same ground.
II.—Studies on the Pharmacological Action of Tetra-Alkyl-Ammonium Compounds.
Authors: Marshall C. R.
Published: January 2013

In a paper on “The Pharmacological Action of Protocatechyl-tropeine,” communicated to the Society in 1909, I drew attention to the fact that this substance, when injected intravenously in certain doses produces transient paralysis of the respiration; and I mentioned further that Tappeiner had described a similar temporary cessation of the respiration after the intravenous injection of certain quaternary isoxazol and pyrazol compounds, and of tetra-methyl-ammonium chloride, and Pohl, after the intravenous injection of some quaternary papaverine derivatives. Tappeiner came to the conclusion that the effect was due to stimulation of the terminations of the fifth cranial nerve in the nose; that it was, in fact, of the nature of a Kratschmer-Hering reflex, since he was unable, in the case of methyl-phenylisoxazol-methochloride, to produce cessation of the respiration after anæsthetising the nasal mucous membrane with cocaine; and Iodlbauer, working in Tappeiner's laboratory, also found that anæsthetisation of the nasal mucous membrane prevented the cessation of the respiration produced by tetra-methyl-ammonium chloride. Pohl, on the other hand, was able to produce this temporary paralysis of the respiration after section of the ophthalmic branches of both fifth nerves, and consequently he concluded that the effect was due to an action on the respiratory centre. I came to the same conclusion, since the effect was still obtained with protocatechyl-tropeine after section of both fifth nerves in the base of the skull and after section of both phrenic nerves, and was not synchronous with the effect on the circulation or with the paresis of the nerve-endings in the muscles of the hind limbs. Further work with tetra-methyl-ammonium chloride, however—my stock of protocatechyl-tropeiue being exhausted,—showed that the effect was in large measure peripheral and due to a transient paresis of the nerve-endings in the respiratory muscles.
III.—Polychæta of the family Nereidæ, collected by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (1902–1904).
Authors: Ramsay L. N. G.
Published: January 2013

The collection of Nereidæ brought home by the Scotia proves to be of considerable interest. As other expeditions have indicated, the family is but poorly represented in the antarctic or sub-antarctic regions; and although a large number of specimens were collected at the South Orkney Islands, these have all proved to belong to one species, N. kerguelensis M'Int. No nereids were obtained at any of the deep-water stations farther south—the family being decidedly littoral in its range.

The chief interest, however, lies in the material collected so assiduously throughout the vessel's wanderings. Six other species were obtained, including one from the Falkland Islands, hitherto undescribed.
XXII.—The Structure and Function of the Alimentary Canal of some Tectibranch Molluscs, with a Note on Excretion
Authors: Fretter Vera
Published: January 2013

Owing to the comparatively rare occurrence of most tectibranchs it is perhaps not surprising to find that, in spite of the ever-increasing knowledge of the histological structure and functioning of the alimentary canal of molluscs, little attention has been paid in this respect to these forms. The structure of the radula and gizzard has previously aroused interest, but so far as the rest of the alimentary canal is concerned most workers have been content with a somewhat superficial description of the gross morphology such as was given by Vayssière (1880), Bouvier (1893), Pelseneer (1893, 1894), and Guiart (1901). A more recent account of the digestive tract ofPhiline apertahas been given by Brown (1934), but this includes no histological or physiological consideration.
XXVII.—Further Contributions to our Knowledge of the Fossil Schizæaceæ; Genus Senftenbergia
Authors: Radforth Norman W.
Published: January 2013

Until recently the taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships of some of the Carboniferous plants in the two genera, Dactylotheca and Senftenbergia, could not be defined with any clear degree of certainty. The main reason for this was that workers who had investigated these types had failed to reveal some of their most important structural features. In the past, therefore, it has been impossible with the information available to make adequate comparisons of the types included in these genera. In a previous paper the writer (1938) showed that one at least of the three species of Dactylotheca really belonged to the genus Senftenbergia, and demonstrated that it possessed several Schizæaceous characteristics indicating its alliance with the living ferns of that family. In the present work, an analysis of the structural features of the two remaining species of Dactylotheca, and of one species of Senftenbergia has been made. These three plants are Dactylotheca Sturi Sterzel pro. var., Dactylotheca parallela Kidston, and Senftenbergia pennœformis Brongniart. The experiments on the compressions of D. parallela, however, indicate quite clearly that the plant does not belong to either the genus Dactylotheca or Senftenbergia. Its fructifications were found to be of the nature of synangia and were exannulate. Of these two features, the former removes it from Dactylotheca, and the latter prevents it from being classed within Senftenbergia. For this reason D. parallela cannot be included in the Schizæaceæ, and, therefore, the analysis of its structural features is not recorded in this paper.
I.—On the Number of Dust Particles in the Atmosphere
Authors: Aitken John
Published: January 2013

The solid matter floating in our atmosphere is every day becoming of greater and greater interest as we are gradually realising the important part it plays in the economy of nature, whether viewed as to its physical, physiological, or meteorological aspects. One fundamental point on which we have at present very little information of anything like a definite character, is as to the number of solid particles present in our atmosphere. We know that they are very numerous, and it seems probable that the number varies under different conditions of weather; but what number of particles are really present under any conditions, and how the number varies, we have at present very little idea. In this field of research the physiologists are far in advance of the physicists, as they have devised means of counting the number of live germs floating in our atmosphere, and already we have a good deal of information as to how the number varies under different conditions.
IV.—Eight Years' Observations of the New Earth Thermometers at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, 1879–1888
Authors: Smyth C. Piazzi
Published: January 2013

Of these gigantic thermometers, with their bottle-sized bulbs, their long capillary intermediate tubes, and their upper enlarged bores for scale-reading purposes, an account of their construction and being placed in position for observation on June 26, 1879, is to be found in Part II. Vol. XXIX. of the Transactions of the Royal Society, Edinburgh, for 1879–80, and it is only proposed in the present place to give an account of their performances since that time.
V.—On Neuropteris plicata, Sternberg, and Neuropteris rectinervis, Kidston, n. sp.
Authors: Kidston Robert
Published: January 2013

Neuropteris plicata was described by Sternberg in 1826, from a specimen from Mireschau, Bohemia, but the species seems to be very rare and imperfectly known. As other ferns have been identified as N. plicata in error, I give a figure of what I believe to be Sternberg's plant, an identification with which my friend M. Zeiller entirely agrees.

I also figure and describe a new species of Neuropteris, which is identical with that identified as N. plicata by Roehl, but from which species it is essentially distinct.
XVI.—On the Anatomy, Histology, and Affinities of Phreoryctes
Authors: Beddard Frank E.
Published: January 2013

Some time since I received from Mr W. Smith of Ashburton, New Zealand, a single example of a worm belonging to the little known genusPhreoryctes, and published in theAnnals and Magazine of Natural Historyfor June 1888, a short account of the reproductive organs of this worm, for which I proposed the name ofPhreoryctes Smithii.

More recently (November 1888) I have received, through the kindness of the same gentleman, a large number of specimens of the same species; the study of these enables me to offer to this Society a more complete account of the structure ofPhreoryctes, which is at present very imperfectly known. It will be seen, however, that the present paper, though more extended, and dealing with organs to which little or no reference was made in my former paper, contains no important correction of facts stated in that paper. I have also appended (p. 638) a discussion of the systematic position and affinities ofPhreoryctes.
IX.—Oak Galls in the Historia Plantarum of Theophrastus
Authors: Senn Gustav
Published: January 2013

The following study of the oak galls mentioned by Theophrastus was undertaken at Sir D'Arcy Thompson's suggestion some four years ago. The old Greek gives no full description of any of these galls, but he characterises them so clearly in a few words that it is possible to identify all, or well-nigh all, with certainty. Böhner tried to identify them in his History of Cecidiology, but he used a poor translation and overlooked now and then the small but essential details given by Theophrastus. A fresh attempt may lead to better results.
XII.—On Salpingostoma dasu: A New Carboniferous Seed from East Lothian
Authors: Gordon W. T.
Published: January 2013

In a recent paper (Gordon, 1938) reasons were given for the belief that semi-arid conditions prevailed during Lower Carboniferous times in the neighbourhood of North Berwick, East Lothian. The evidence was opposed, in a measure, to that advanced by Mr George Barrow in the East Lothian Memoir (1910) to substantiate the same position. He had relied on the absence of fossils as part proof; but, in point of fact, fossil plants have been obtained in abundance from the actual bedded ashes of Oxroad Bay that he considered (a) to be unfossiliferous, and (b) to have been formed in a manner similar to beds on the Springbok Flats of the Transvaal. The plants that have now been obtained showed xerophytic features, and, consequently, a semi-arid climate was proved on positive evidence. Other positive evidence of a lithological character was also presented in confirmation (Gordon, 1938, pp. 352, 353).
XIV.—Chironomid Larvæ of the Millport Shore Pools
Authors: Stuart T. A.
Published: January 2013

Chironomid larvæ for a long time have been known to inhabit the brackish pools around the coast, but there are few published records of their life-histories and habits, and in many cases they cannot be correlated with their imagines. This applies equally to the fresh-water types.

The greater part of the systematic work on the Chironomidæ deals with the imagines, and much confusion exists regarding the nomenclature of species, which most authorities admit cannot be rectified until the early stages have been recorded.

The first description of a marine Chironomid larva was given by Johnston (1830), who described it erroneously as a worm under the name ofCampontia erusciformis. Miall and Hammond (1900) give a good account of the life-history and habits ofChironomus dorsalisMg., and several authors, notably Lenz (1921), Goetghebuer (1927–8–32), Thienemann (1938), and Malloch (1915), have reared some imagines from the larvae, but a very great amount of work has still to be done. Lenz (1921) has attempted to bring some order into the early stages and gives a systematic key to the genera for larvæ and pupæ, but no systematic key exists at present for the distinguishing of species.
V.—Studies on the Soils developed on Basic Igneous Rocks in Central Aberdeenshire
Authors: Glentworth Robert
Published: January 2013

Soils developed on basic igneous rocks, or their associated glacial drifts, are of fairly common occurrence in North-East Scotland and occupy a considerable area in Aberdeenshire. So far, only isolated studies with some specific object in view have been made of such soils, and a few descriptions with analyses have been published (Mitchell, 1936; Muir and Fraser, 1940; Whelan, 1939; Ogg, 1935). Interesting and important facts have been brought out in these investigations, but, apart from the work of Muir, no attempt has been made to study the distribution and field relations of the soils, and arable soils are mentioned only incidentally by Muir. In the present study an account is given of the classification and distribution of the various soil types occurring in the Kennethmont, Insch, Old Meldrum district of Aberdeenshire, an area which is highly farmed and which has long had a high reputation for its fertility and productivity. A soil map is given at the end of this study.
VII.—Cytological and Genetical Studies in the Genus Solanum. II. Wild and Native Cultivated “Diploid” Potatoes
Authors: Choudhuri H. C.
Published: January 2013

Artificial interspecific hybrids in “diploid” species of potatoes have been recorded by Bukasov (1938), Emme (1936), Reddick (1939), and others. These authors paid little, if any, attention to the number and behaviour of the chromosomes in their plants, but rather concentrated on interspecific compatibilities, inheritance of flower colour, and resistance to disease or the genetical sequellæ to exposure to low temperature, all with regard to the possible utilisation of the plants in commerce.

The present cytological investigations are primarily concerned with the cytology of two interspecific “diploid” potato hybrids with a view to determining the homology of the chromosomes of the parents and its bearing on sterility.
I.—On the Anatomy and Classification of the Heteropoda.
Authors: MacDonald John Denis
Published: January 2013

Notwithstanding the rapid progress of zoology in other departments, the Heteropoda still remain imperfectly known, if one may form a judgment from the scantiness of definite information respecting them to be found in systematic works. Nearly all the available space is usually occupied with an exposition of the errors and doubts of the great men who gave us the first outlines of the order, while comparatively little is done to improve the subject, or make it intelligible to the student.
XXVI.—Some Observations on Incubation
Authors: Davy John
Published: January 2013

The observations which I have now the honour to submit to the Society were made chiefly with the intent to endeavour to ascertain whether, in the instance of the egg of the common fowl, that which may be presumed to be vital action can for a while be arrested, and yet be capable of renewal. Whilst this was the main object kept in view in conducting the trials, a secondary one was to observe, however cursorily, the changes which take place in the contents of the egg when vital development has been prevented.
XXXI.—Description of Calamoichthys, a new Genus of Ganoid Fish from Old Calabar, Western Africa; forming an addition to the Family Polypterini
Authors: Smith John Alexander
Published: January 2013

In the beginning of the year 1865, I received from the Rev. Alexander Robb, one of the missionaries of the United Presbyterian Church, residing at Creek Town, Old Calabar, Western Africa, a package containing some zoological specimens, preserved in spirits; and in a letter dated 28th October 1864, referring to its contents, he states, there “are also two or three small eel-like fishes.” Some time passed before I was able carefully to examine the package, and I was then at once attracted by these small fish, which I saw belonged to the very distinct and interesting Order of the Ganoid fishes, so abundant in a fossil state in the rocks of our earlier geological epochs, but of which so few representatives are now to be found as living inhabitants of the present waters of our globe.
XXXII.—Note on Formulæ representing the Fecundity and Fertility of Women
Authors: Tait
Published: January 2013

1. Dr Matthews Duncan having requested me to point out to him some simple method of comparing the fertility of different races, I endeavoured, as a preliminary step, to represent by formulæ some of the chief results which he has obtained in his very lucid and elaborate papers recently read to this Society, and printed in their Transactions for 1863–4 and for the present session. Some of the formulæ which I have obtained are so simple, and accord so well with the tables, that I have thought them worth bringing before the Society.
I.—The Nemertines of Millport and its Vicinity
Authors: Stephenson J.
Published: January 2013

The present communication deals with the Nemertines of Millport and its vicinity, the study of which occupied part of the time I spent at the Millport Biological Station during May and June 1909. The material was not completely worked out during my stay there, and most of the section-cutting was left till after my return to India. I wish to acknowledge here the uniform courtesy and kindness which I received from Mr R. Elmhirst, the Superintendent of the Station, to whom my thanks are due for the readiness with which he placed the resources of the institution at my disposal, and for help in other ways.
V.—On the Resistance to Flow of Water through Pipes or Passages having Divergent Boundaries
Authors: Gibson A. H.
Published: January 2013

Some time ago the author published the results of a series of experiments on the flow of water through tubes having uniformly diverging boundaries, in which the loss of energy corresponding to given angles of conicity of the tubes was determined. These pipes, some circular, others square or rectangular in cross section, had the same initial and the same final areas, these being respectively the same as those of circles of 1·5 inch and 3·0 inches diameter, the ratio of initial to final mean velocity of flow being in each case 4 to 1.
VIII.—On the Structure and Affinities of Metaclepsydropsis duplex (Williamson)
Authors: Gordon W. T.
Published: January 2013

While collecting specimens of Diplolabis römeri (Solms) at Pettycur about three years ago, I discovered several blocks of stone containing numerous petrified fragments of another Zygopterid fern—Metaclepsydropsis duplex (Williamson). Two of the blocks were found to be parts of one large mass, and the petrifactions could be traced from the one block into the other. In size the complete mass must have been about 3 feet × 2 feet × 2 feet. The larger portion had to be broken into two before it was possible to remove it. Another block containing similar specimens was obtained later, but the preservation was so poor that the whole of the material was discarded.
IX.—Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Observations on the Anatomy of the Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes Weddelli). Part II.
Authors: Hepburn David
Published: January 2013

In my former contribution I gave a general summary of the animal under consideration, and discussed in detail the peritoneal arrangements of its abdominal cavity and the naked-eye anatomy of its alimentary organs. In the present paper I shall give an account of the genito-urinary system.

The kidneys were situated on each side of the dorsal mesial mesentery. Each was covered on its ventral aspect by the peritoneum forming the dorsal wall of the greater peritoneal sac. The right kidney was quite free from contact with the liver and the duodenum, while the left kidney was equally free from contact with the spleen. Both kidneys were therefore situated well back towards the pelvic end of the abdominal cavity. Each kidney measured 5 inches in the longitudinal diameter and 2 inches in the transverse diameter. The hinder or caudal end of each reached a point two inches from the pelvic inlet, which, as formerly described, was narrow and well defined by the course of the hypogastric (umbilical) arteries.
XXIX.—Petrography of Igneous Rocks from the Vatnajökull Region, Iceland, collected by Mr F. W. Anderson
Authors: Tyrrell G. W.
Published: January 2013

In the following paper ninety-eight rocks collected by Mr F. W. Anderson from the Tertiary lavas and intrusions on the south-eastern margin of the Vatnajökull, and from the Pleistocene and Recent lavas, tuffs and sediments of Kverkfjöll Eystri on the northern margin of the ice-sheet, are described. Interest in the geology of the Vatnajökull region has been revived by several recent expeditions.

The existence of active volcanoes under the Vatnajökull, and the eruptions that occasionally break through the ice-sheet, offer unexampled opportunities for the investigation of the peculiar igneous and sedimentary products which are the results of the contest between ice and volcanism, and for the solution of the “Palagonite Problem”, with which several authors have recently dealt.
V. On the Revolutions of the Earth's Surface
Authors: Hall James
Published: January 2013

If such tremendous agents did in reality exert their influence in the Alps, it is not conceivable that other countries, situated lower, and composed of materials much more frail, could have been spared. We hear in fact of similar traces, more or less distinct, in all quarters of the globe. From the bones of animals, natives of the hottest climates, which are found over a frozen region of vast extent in the Russian empire, Pallas concludes, that an enormous torrent had transported their carcases across the ridge of Tartary.
VII. An Account of the Mineralogy of the Faroe Islands
Authors: Allan Thomas
Published: January 2013

Sir George Mackenzie having already given a paper, entitled, “An Account of some Geological Facts observed “in the Faroe Islands,” it may be necessary to explain why our communications were not combined in one. This was simply owing to our objects being in some measure dissimilar. He was anxious to compare the facts presented in a country decidedly volcanic, with those in a trap district, where no traces of a volcano were to be discovered; consequently, his observations were confined to particular facts: whereas my object is to describe, without relation to theory, whatever appeared to me interesting in a geological point of view.
Abstract of Paper on the Change of Temperature with Height during Anti-Cyclones on Ben Nevis, and at some Continental Stations
Authors: Omond R. T.
Published: January 2013

During almost every winter anti-cyclone, with its accompanying cold but calm and fair weather, the temperature at Fort-William is, for part of the time, nearly as low or lower than that on Ben Nevis, 4400 feet above it. The average difference of temperature is 16° Fahr.; Ben Nevis being that much colder, or about 1° for every 270 feet. But in anti-cyclones this normal difference of temperature is widely departed from, the records showing that Ben Nevis has been 17° warmer instead of 16° colder than Fort-William, a departure of 33° from the normal; and it has frequently been 5° to 10° warmer for a day or two at a time. These data only give the temperatures on the summit of Ben Nevis, and at the sea-level five miles away they give us no information as to what it is in the intermediate air. That there is something unusual in this 4400 feet of atmosphere is hinted at by two facts,—first, with this abnormal temperature arrangement we always have very dry air on the summit, and very damp air at Fort-William; second, the difference of the barometer readings at top and bottom is less than the normal difference for the temperature. The former is an inversion of the ordinary humidity conditions—usually the air on the summit is saturated, or nearly so, with moisture, and at Fort-William dry; the latter, the barometric differences, require a few words of explanation to show what exactly they indicate, and how they bear on the question of temperature.
Hourly Readings of Black Bulb in vacuo at Ben Nevis Observatory
Authors: Omond R. T.
Published: January 2013

For a few years readings of a Black Bulb in vacuo thermometer formed part of the regular hourly routine work at the Observatory on Ben Nevis during the summer months, and a summary of two years' observations, for 1890 and 1891, is given in this paper. The instrument consists of the usual vacuum chamber, a spherical glass globe about 2½ inches diameter, with inside, centrically, a thermometer whose bulb and an inch or so of stem are coated a dull black. The thermometer is an ordinary, not a maximum Fahrenheit thermometer, and therefore gives the Black Bulb temperature at the instant of reading only. It was exposed on a wooden stand in a horizontal position, with the bulb projecting beyond the frame, and pointing south, about 4 feet above the broken stones which form the hill top, and was read immediately after the shade temperature during daylight hours.
II. Observations on Granite
Authors: Hutton James
Published: January 2013

Since reading the paper upon the theory of the earth, I have been employed in examining many parts of this country, in order to enquire into the natural history of granite. In this undertaking, I have succeeded beyond my most flattering expectations; and I am now to communicate to this Society the result of my observations.

In the paper just referred to, it was maintained, from many different arguments, that all the solid strata of the earth had been consolidated by means of subterraneous heat, softening the hard materials of those bodies; and that in many places, those consolidated strata had been broken and invaded by huge masses of fluid matter similar to lava, but, for the most part, perfectly distinguishable from it. Granite also was considered there as a body which had been certainly consolidated by heat; and which had, at least in some parts, been in the state of perfect fusion, and certain specimens were produced, from which I drew an argument in support of this conclusion.
XLVII.—Description of Pygopterus Greenockii (Agassiz), with Notes on the Structural Relations of the Genera Pygopterus, Amblypterus, and Eurynotus
Authors: Traquair Ramsay H.
Published: January 2013

Professor Agassiz, in his “Poissons Fossiles,” vol. ii. p. 78, has mentioned a species of Pygopterus as occurring in the carboniferous shales of Wardie, near Edinburgh, and which he has named P. Greenockii, in honour of Lord Greenock, the first collector of ichthyolites from that locality. He has, however, neither given a figure of this species nor any description of it, beyond saying that the known fragments consist of hardly anything but heads, with the anterior portion of the trunk, and that the scales covering this part of the body are higher than broad—a circumstance distinguishing them from the scales of all the other species of the genus.
II. Minutes of the Life and Character of Joseph Black
Authors: Ferguson Adam
Published: January 2013

The merits of studious men are to be estimated by the aids they have given to the advancement of science, or the literary monuments they have left with posterity; but if the public be gratified by their labours in these respects, readers are generally willing also to be told, who and whence they were.
VIII. Meteorological Abstract for the Years 1797, 1798, and 1799
Authors: Playfair John
Published: January 2013

In drawing up this abstract, I have somewhat enlarged the plan followed in those formerly communicated to the Society. In order to represent more accurately the progress of the seasons, every month is here divided into three parts, and the state of the barometer and thermometer is given for each of these divisions.
XIV. Experiments and Observations upon the Contraction of Water by Heat at Low Temperatures
Authors: Hope Thomas Charles
Published: January 2013

To the general law, that bodies are expanded by heat, and contracted by cold, water at the point of congelation, and for some degrees of temperature above it, seems to afford a very singular and curious exception.

The circumstances of this remarkable anomaly have been for some time believed to be the following:

When heat is applied to water ice cold, or at a temperature not far distant, it causes a diminution in the bulk of the fluid. The water contracts, and continues to contract, with the augmentation of temperature, till it reaches the 40th or 41st degree. Between this point and the 42d or 43d, it suffers scarcely any perceptible change; but when heated beyond the last-mentioned degree, it begins to expand, and increases in volume with every subsequent rise of temperature.
VI.—Account of a New Species of British Bream, and of an Undescribed Species of Skate: To which is added a List of the Fishes of the Frith of Forth, and its Tributary Streams, with Observations
Authors: Parnell Richard
Published: January 2013

In the beginning of July last, I obtained, from the Frith of Forth, a species of bream, which has not been mentioned by naturalists as inhabiting the British seas. A few days after, I procured, from the same quarter, a second specimen of the same species, each exhibiting a conspicuous dark violet-coloured spot at the base of the upper part of the pectoral fins. (See Plate VI.)

On consulting the continental works on Ichthyology, I find this bream to agree best with the description Baron Cuvier has given of the Pagellus acarne, an inhabitant of the Mediterranean; but, as no figure of the fish accompanies his description, the discrimination of the species is rendered somewhat uncertain.
VIII.—On the Optical Figures produced by the Disintegrated Surfaces of Crystals
Authors: Brewster David
Published: January 2013

There is no branch of natural science about which we know so little as that which relates to the structure of crystalline bodies. By assuming the form of an integrant molecule, crystallographers have found no difficulty in building those geometrical solids which minerals and artificial crystals present to our observation. They conceive that these molecules unite by their homologous sides in the formation of the primitive crystal, and by supposing that they arrange themselves in plates on the faces of that crystal, each plate successively diminishing in size by the abstraction of a certain number of these molecules in lines of a given direction,—all the secondary forms of the crystal may be easily deduced.
XVIII.—On the Colour of Steam under certain circumstances
Authors: Forbes James D.
Published: January 2013

In the end of May, or beginning of June last, I happened to stand near a locomotive engine on the Greenwich Railway, which was discharging a vast quantity of high-pressure steam by its safety-valve. I chanced to look at the sun through the ascending column of vapour, and was struck by seeing it of a very deep orange-red colour, exactly similar to that of dense smoke, or the colour imparted to the sun when viewed through a common smoked glass.

I did not pay much attention to the fact at the moment, nor attempt to vary the experiment; but, reflecting on it afterwards, it seemed to me not only as in itself very singular, but as still more extraordinary, because I had never heard of a property of steam which must have been witnessed by thousands of persons. Some months after (in the end of October), being on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, I resolved to verify the fact, which I had no difficulty in doing, and I farther discovered a very important modification of it. For some feet or yards from the safety-valve at which the steam blows off, its colour for transmitted light is the deep orange-red I have described.
III. On a New Combustible Gas
Authors: Thomson Thomas
Published: January 2013

It has been generally known for several years, that, when the acetic acid formed by the distillation of wood is rectified, there is obtained a transparent spirituous liquor, analogous in many respects to alcohol, though very different in others. This liquid has received the name of pyroxylic spirit. It is manufactured by Messrs Turnbull and Ramsay of Glasgow. I have been in the habit for several years of employing it for combustion in lamps instead of alcohol. It is a good deal cheaper, and raises just as good a heat as alcohol; for I can make the small platinum crucible, which I use for drying the products of analysis, red-hot by means of a pyroxylic spirit lamp in a few minutes.

Pyroxylic spirit is as limpid and colourless as alcohol. Its specific gravity, when well rectified, is 0.812. It has an agreeable smell, not, however, quite free from that of naphtha. Its taste is very disagreeable, owing, I believe, to a small portion of naphtha, or empyreumatic oil, which it holds in solution, and from which we cannot free it by any known process. A set of experiments on pyroxylic spirit by Messrs Macaire and Marcet was published in the Bibliotheque Universelle for October 1823. These gentlemen have described several of its properties, and subjected it to an analysis, from which it appears that, like alcohol, it is composed of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, though the atomic proportions are different.
X. An Account of the Formation of Alcoates, Definite Compounds of Salts and Alcohol analogous to the Hydrates
Authors: Graham Thomas
Published: January 2013

In determining the solubility of salts and other bodies in alcohol, it is desirable to operate with a spirit wholly free from water. But anhydrous or absolute alcohol is formed with difficulty, even by the most improved process—that of Richter. In rectifying alcohol from chloride of calcium, as recommended by Richter, I have never obtained it under the specific gravity 0.798 at the temperature of 60°, by a single distillation; but upon rectifying this product again from new chloride of calcium, I generally succeeded in reducing it to 0.796, which is the specific gravity of the standard alcohol of that chemist. The following experiment illustrates this process.
XVIII. Experimental Inquiries concerning the Laws of Magnetic Forces
Authors: Harris William Snow
Published: January 2013

1. In the following investigation, it has been my endeavour to elucidate some of the complicated phenomena observable in all the known operations of Magnetic Forces: The labours of so many profound inquirers in this important department of physical science, are indeed such as almost to discourage those less gifted with similar powers of research from engaging in the same pursuit; but knowledge is progressive, and the splendid researches which have displayed the highest efforts of genius serve rather to assist than to deter others in more humble endeavours to promote the advancement of science.
XXV.—Experiments on the Ordinary Refraction of Iceland Spar
Authors: Swan William
Published: January 2013

According to the theory devised by Huygens, to explain the phenomenon of double refraction in Iceland spar, a pencil of light transmitted through that substance is divided into two pencils; the index of refraction for the one being constant, while for the other it varies with the inclination of the transmitted light to the optical axis of the crystal.

Dr Wollaston, in 1802, verified the spheroidal form of the wave of light, which Huygens had assumed to account for the refraction of the extraordinary pencil, by a careful experimental investigation, conducted by means of his elegant instrument for “examining refractive and dispersive powers by prismatic reflection.” In 1810, Malus, in his Théorie de la Double Réfraction, also demonstrated experimentally the accuracy of the Huygenian law for the extraordinary pencil. I have not had an opportunity of consulting the memoir of Malus, so as to know the precise nature of his experiments, with reference to the refraction of the ordinary ray; but the object of Dr Wollaston's researches was simply to prove the law of extraordinary refraction, and the constancy of the index of refraction for the ordinary ray, is therefore tacitly assumed by him.
XXXIV.—A Biographical Notice of the late Thomas Chalmers, D.D. & LL.D.
Authors: Ramsay E.B.
Published: January 2013

Mr President,—It has been a practice from the foundation of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, to commemorate its deceased distinguished members by memoirs or biographical notices, read at the ordinary meetings of the Society. Some of these have been printed in the Transactions; and our published volumes are enriched by papers of Dugald Stewart, Professor Playfair, Sir John MacNeil, and Dr Traill, on the characters and writings of Adam Smith, Dr Hutton, Professor Robison, Sir Charles Bell, and Dr Hope. A biographical notice is now due to the memory of a distinguished countryman, late Vice-President of the Royal Society; and the following remarks will, in attempting that object, make a deviation from those more severe discussions with which the time of the Society is usually occupied, in connection either with pure mathematics, natural philosophy, or natural history.
XXXVIII.—On the Gradual Production of Luminous Impressions on the Eye, and, other Phenomena of Vision
Authors: Swan William
Published: January 2013

It is well known that a luminous object is seen for some time after its light has ceased to fall on the retina; but less attention seems to have been paid to the fact, that light requires a certain time to produce its full impression on the eye. Accordingly, while it is stated in most treatises on optics, that the sensation of vision continues after the action of light has ceased, only a few writers have mentioned that the total effect of light on the eye is not produced instantaneously, but that a certain time is required for its complete development.
Mean Daily Temperatures at the Ben Nevis and Fort-William Observatories
Authors: Omond R. T.
Published: January 2013

Tables have been prepared of the average temperature at the Ben Nevis and Fort-William Observatories on each day of the year, using the records of the twenty years 1884 to 1903 inclusive. Table I. gives the average daily temperature at Ben Nevis, Table II. that at Fort-William, and Table III. the differences between them. These tables have been prepared as follows :—

Ben Nevis Observatory.—In summer the dry- and wet-bulb thermometers were exposed in an ordinary Stevenson screen 4 feet above ground, and in winter in a smaller-sized double-louvred screen, placed on a ladder-like stand, and moved up or down so as to be always about 4 feet above the surface of the snow. These thermometers were read hourly, and the average of the dry-bulb readings for the 24 hours of each day is taken as the temperature of that day. Table I. is the arithmetical mean of the values so computed on each day of the year.
XI.—Regional Gravity Anomalies in the Western Midland Valley of Scotland
Authors: McLean Adam C. , Qureshi Iftikhar R.
Published: January 2013

Synopsis

In the western Midland Valley of Scotland and the neighbouring areas of the south-western Grampians and Southern Uplands, the regional Bouguer anomalies may be resolved into (i) a westerly-rising component similar to that prevailing throughout western Scotland, and (ii) a broad high over the central zone of the graben with marked decreases towards the bordering mountains.

When allowance is made for the contribution to the gravity anomalies of the light Upper Palæozoic rocks within the graben, the adjusted values outline an accentuated high over the graben with a drop of 25–30 mgal from the maximum to the northern limit of the area and with a corresponding drop to the south. In a profile normal to the major geological structure, the shape of the high approximates to a parabola with its apex 5 miles north-west of the Inchgotrick Fault.

These regional changes may best be explained by a thickening of the Upper Crustal Layer under the Grampians and Southern Uplands, most probably by the addition of thick Lower Palæozoic and Dalradian geosynclinal deposits. Thicknesses of the order of 17,000 ft., additional to those under the Midland Valley, are required to account for the gravity changes. The relative attenuation of the succession in the Midland Valley area, implies that the area of the graben was already a crustal entity in pre-Upper Palæozoic times.

The anomalies accord qualitatively with isostatic compensation of topography. The predominant high positive background values, have, however, no significance peculiar to the graben area.
XII.—The Structure and Form of the Granophyric Quartz-Dolerite Intrusion, Centre II, Ardnamurchan, Argyllshire
Authors: Skelhorn R. R. , Elwell R. W. D. , Tyler R. C.
Published: January 2013

Synopsis

The Granophyric Quartz-dolerite is one of a number of intrusions having arcuate outcrops which are concentric with respect to Centre II, Ardnamurchan. It is composed of three rock types: porphyritic dolerite, aphyric dolerite and granophyre. The granophyre extensively net-veins the two kinds of dolerite. However, the development of the net-veining was only the last stage of its intrusive activity. Relationships between granophyre and aphyric dolerite are such as to indicate that at an earlier stage both were in a magmatic state at the same time; that is, they were intruded together, though movement of granophyre magma persisted after the aphyric dolerite had solidified. Evidence is presented to show that intrusion of the porphyritic dolerite was the first episode, and that this provided the host rock for the simultaneous intrusion of aphyric dolerite and granophyre. In its role as host rock, the porphyritic dolerite was at first incompletely crystallized, but for later intrusions it had consolidated. When both dolerites were solid they were net-veined by the granophyre.

The inner contact of the Granophyric Quartz-dolerite was formed by a later intrusion. The outer contact for much of its extent dips fairly gently outwards, and it would seem that where this is so intrusion was more nearly in a horizontal than a vertical sense. Locally, sheeted relationships between the three members of the Granophyric Quartz-dolerite, being gently inclined, support this conclusion. There are several possibilities as to the form the intrusion might have, and these are discussed.