bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
III. Account of a Series of Experiments, shewing the Effects of Compression in modifying the Action of Heat
Authors: Hall James
Published: January 2013

Ancient Revolutions of the Mineral Kingdom.—Vain attempts to explain them.—Dependence of Geology on Chemistry.—Importance of the Carbonate of Lime.—Dr Black's discovery of Carbonic Acid, subverted the former theories depending on Fire, but gave birth to that of Dr Hutton.—Progress of the Author's Ideas with regard to that Theory.—Experiments with Heat and Compression, suggested to Dr Hutton in 1790.—Undertaken by the Author in 1798.—Speculations on which his hopes of success were founded.
I.—Chapters on the Mineralogy of Scotland. Chapter Fifth.—The Micas; with description of Haughtonite, a new Mineral Species
Authors: Heddle
Published: January 2013

Muscovite is so easily recognised by its optical properties that the only cases which seemed to me to call for analysis were those which, from being possessed of characteristic colour, were of special interest. Of these the most singular is a variety found rarely in the great vein of Ben Capval, Harris; it occurs in crystals of a peculiar green tint, the crystals are small and have somewhat of a pearly lustre.
VIII.—On the Transmission of Sound by Loose Electrical Contact
Authors: Blyth James
Published: January 2013

In a paper published in the Transactions of this Society for Session 1877–78, I described an experiment which showed, that if a moderately strong current, such as that from four or five Bunsen cells, be led through two jam-pots filled with fragments of carbon, and if any sound be uttered strongly in the one jampot it will be reproduced distinctly, although faintly, in the other. In this experiment it has been found that the fragments of carbon may be replaced by any kind of loose contact, such as microphones, or a handful of screw-nails put into each jam-pot, or vibrating springs beating against metallic stops, or nails laid across each other in log-hut fashion, and that in each case an effect similar in kind, although it may be differing greatly in degree, is produced. Hence it may be almost laid down as a general experimental result, that if an electric circuit conveying a tolerably strong current contain two places of loose contact, A and B, and if any sound be produced loud enough at A a similar sound will be heard proceeding from B.
IV.—On some new Crustaceans from the Lower Carboniferous Rocks of Eskdale and Liddesdale
Authors: Peach B. N.
Published: January 2013

By the permission of Professor A. C. Ramsay, LL.D., F.R.S., Director-General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, and Professor Geikie, LL.D., F.R.S., Director of the Geological Survey of Scotland, I have been permitted to describe several new Crustaceans which have come under my notice in my capacity of Acting Palæontologist to the Scotch Survey. They are from the cement-stone group of the Calciferous Sandstone series of the Scottish border, and, with a very few exceptions, were got from one locality on the river Esk, about four miles south of Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, and were almost all collected by A. Macconochie, Fossil Collector to the Geological Survey of Scotland. They belong to two orders, viz., Phyllopoda and Decapoda.
X.—Researches in Contact Electricity: Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Science
Authors: Knott Cargill G.
Published: January 2013

At the surface of separation of any two different substances in contact, there exists in general an electromotive force tending to maintain a certain difference of potential between them. This principle, established for metals by Volta in 1796, has been extended by later investigators to other substances, including liquids and gases. From these early researches of Volta, and the later more elaborate inquiries of Kohlrausch, Hankel, and Gerland, there have been deduced certain fundamental laws, which have been fully corroborated by the recent work of Clifton, and Ayrton and Perry. If, of a number of conductors set serially in contact, the difference of potential between each successive pair is quantitatively estimated and reckoned positive or negative, according as the first member of the pair is at a higher or lower potential than its successor, then the difference of potential between the first and last members of the chain is equal to the algebraic sum of the potential differences between the successive contiguous pairs.
XII.—On Dust, Fogs, and Clouds
Authors: Aitken John
Published: January 2013

Water is perhaps the most abundant and most universally distributed form of matter on the earth. It has to perform more varied functions and more important duties than any other kind of matter with which we are acquainted. From its close connection with all forms of life, it has been the subject of deepest interest in all ages. It is constantly changing from one of its states to another. At one time it is solid, now liquid, and then gaseous. These changes take place in regular succession, with every return of day and night, and every successive season; and these changes are constantly repeating themselves with every returning cycle. Of these changes, the one which perhaps has the greatest interest for us, and which has for long ages been the subject of special observation, is the change of water from its vaporous state, to its condensation into clouds, and descent as rain. Ever since man first “observed the winds “and “regarded the clouds,” and discovered that “fair weather cometh out of the north,” this has been the subject of intensest human interest, and at present forms one of the most important parts of the science of meteorology, a science in which perhaps more observations have been made and recorded than in all the other sciences together.
II. The Theory of Rain
Authors: Hutton James
Published: January 2013

There is an atmospherical appearance which is not explained by the known laws of heat and cold. It is the breath of animals becoming visible, in being expired into an atmosphere which is cold or moist; and the transformation of transparent steam into the state of mist, when mixed with air which is of a colder temperature. Natural philosophers have certainly considered these appearances as being explained in the general law by which heat and cold are communicated among contiguous bodies, otherwise they would have endeavoured to point out this particular law, which seems to depart from a more general rule, or does not follow the natural course of things observed on other occasions. The subject of this paper is to investigate a certain rule which, in the case now mentioned, may be discovered as directing the action and effects of heat and cold; and to form a theory of rain upon that investigated rule, concerning the evaporation and condensation of water.
XIII. On the Theory and Construction of a Seismometer, or Instrument for Measuring Earthquake Shocks, and other Concussions
Authors: Forbes James D.
Published: January 2013

Having been requested to act on a Committee of the British Association, appointed to devise and apply methods for measuring the comparative intensity of earthquake shocks, and having been shewn several ingenious contrivances by Mr David Milne (who suggested the inquiry) Lord Greenock, and other persons, an apparatus occurred to me which should unite the requisites of Simplicity, Compactness, Comparability, and an easy adjustment of Sensibility according to circumstances.

Mr Milne had not failed to distinguish the ends for which instruments (which for obvious reasons were to be self-registering) ought to be devised, such as the measurement of horizontal concussions, of vertical elevation, and of heaving or angular motion of the surface. It is no part of my present object to consider the probable movements of the soil in earthquakes. I limit myself to the description of a single instrument intended to measure lateral shocks, such as are experienced by objects placed upon a table which is abruptly shoved forwards.
XXII.—On the Property belonging to Charcoal and Plumbago, in fine Plates and Particles, of Transmitting Light
Authors: Davy John
Published: January 2013

I am not aware that this property has yet been known to belong to these substances; they are commonly considered and spoken of as opaque, without any qualification.

It was in examining the charcoal of the pith of the elder, that I was first led to entertain doubt of the accuracy of the current opinion.

The pith of the elder consists of polyhedral cells, commonly pentagonal, of from about to inch in diameter, formed of woody matter of extraordinary fineness, as may be inferred from their transparency when seen under the microscope, and their great lightness. They are unaltered in form, when converted into charcoal. The charcoal obtained (that which I examined was from a shoot of this year gathered in December) was brilliant, as might be expected, from its consisting of plates, and very soft and brittle; in other respects, in mass, it was nowise peculiar, having the ordinary colour and opacity of charcoal. When broken up, however, and seen with a high magnifying power, the detached plates were found to be transparent in different degrees (allowing lines drawn on the glass-support to be seen under them), and of different shades of brown—passing into black on one hand, and into almost white on the other, especially as seen by reflected light. In general appearance they were not unlike mica viewed with the naked eye. No pores were visible in them; but in some there were foramina, circular, or oval, varying in diameter from about of an inch to . The plates themselves varied in size from about to of an inch, estimating their width, and selecting the most entire. So thin were they, that, under a glass magnifying 800 diameters, the most transparent had no apparent thickness; the darker, less transparent, may have had a thickness of from about to of an inch, judging from one, the edge of which, when floating in water, was so inclined as to offer a tolerable view of it.
XXIX.—On the Determination of Heights, by the Boiling Point of Water
Authors: Forbes James D.
Published: January 2013

It was observed by Fahrenheit, that the boiling point of water depends on the height of the barometer, the pressure of the air hindering the conversion of water into steam by a resistance which must be overcome by an increase of heat. Deluc and De Saussure contrived apparatuses for making the observation in the open air, and at great heights, and appear to have contemplated the substitution of the thermometer for the barometer upon occasion. They, as well as Dr Horsley, Sir George Schuckburgh, and Mr Cavendish, seem to have regarded the question as one which concerned the fixity of the point used in graduating thermometers, and its requisite corrections, rather than as applicable to barometric purposes generally.
XXXII.–Geological Account of Roxburghshire
Authors: Milne David
Published: January 2013

It seems extraordinary, that no one should have undertaken a geological survey of Roxburghshire, more especially as the counties to the east and west of it have been examined, and accounts of their formations were published some years ago. It cannot be from its uninteresting character, that the intervening district has been neglected; for it presents as great a variety of apparently distinct formations, as there are in the adjoining counties of Dumfries and Berwick; and some of these have long been the special subjects of speculation and controversy among geologists. The British Association, in the Report of its Meeting held at Cambridge in 1833, propounded the following questions for geological inquiry.
XXXIV.—On the Vibrations of an Interrupted Medium
Authors: Kelland Philip
Published: January 2013

In certain investigations which I have presented to the Society, relative to the modifications which light undergoes when it meets with a medium more dense than that in which it is travelling, the law of force has been supposed to be that of the inverse square of the distance. On re-examination of this subject, I find that there is no necessity for restricting the computations by the hypothesis of any particular law. The conclusions are perfectly independent of the law, provided one of the equations of reduction, the value of which it is not possible to compute by any known methods of analysis, be admitted as an experimental result. The object of the present Memoir is twofold : 1st, To present the analysis of the general theorem of vibrations at the surface of an interrupted medium in its most simple form; and, 2d, To apply the results to the case of reflection unaccompanied by refraction.
I. An Account of Observations made in Scotland on the Distribution of the Magnetic Intensity
Authors: Dunlop James , Hansteen
Published: January 2013

Makerstoun, Kelso, 15th March 1830.

My Dear Sir,

Accompanying I beg leave to transmit you Mr Dunlop's paper on the distribution of the magnetic intensity over this country, which I formerly mentioned when I had the pleasure of seeing you, and which I request you will lay before the Royal Society.

Mr Dunlop has so fully and clearly detailed his mode of proceeding with these observations, that it would be unnecessary for me to enlarge upon them further, than to state, that, in point of number, extent of country, combined with precaution, accuracy, and consistency, I consider they are unrivalled in this or any other country.
VIII. A New Series for the Rectification of the Ellipsis; together with some Observations on the Evolution of the Formula (a2 + b2 − 2ab cos θ)n
Authors: Ivory James
Published: January 2013

Dear Sir,

Having, as you know, bestowed a good deal of time and attention on the study of that part of physical astronomy which relates to the mutual disturbances of the planets, I have, naturally, been led to consider the various methods of resolving the formula (a2 + b2 − 2ab cos θ)2 into infinite series of the form A + B cos θ + C cos 2θ + &c. In the course of these investigations, a series for the rectification of the ellipsis occurred to me, remarkable for its simplicity, as well as its rapid convergency. As I believe it to be new, I send it you, inclosed, together with some remarks on the evolution of the formula just mentioned, which, if you think proper, you may submit to the consideration of the Royal Society.
XXX. Description of a Monochromatic Lamp for Microscopical purposes, &c. with Remarks on the Absorption of the Prismatic Rays by coloured Media
Authors: Brewster David
Published: January 2013

In a Paper on Vision through coloured Glasses, which I had lately the honour of submitting to the Society, I pointed out the advantages of coloured media in Microscopical and Telescopical observations. Having experienced the great utility of Green and Red lenses, in developing vegetable structures that required to be examined with high powers, I was anxious to derive from this new principle all the advantages which it appeared to possess. In attempting to do this, it became necessary to ascertain the power of giving distinct vision, which belonged to each separate colour of the spectrum, and though I had stated in my former paper, ‘that it was difficult to discover ‘any reason why one coloured medium should be preferred ‘to another, provided each of them transmits equal quantities ‘of homogeneous light;’ yet it was desirable to put this theoretical opinion to the test of direct experiment.
XVI. Observations on the Natural History of the Salmon, Herring, and Vendace
Authors: Knox Robert
Published: January 2013

The inquiries of scientific persons into the various departments of knowledge, have very generally for their sole object the investigation of truth, and the progress of science, without any reference to trade or the usual business of life. Hence to the practical man they seem generally dry and without interest, his mind being directed towards immediate utility, public or individual. Should I in the course of the present inquiry, (which in its essential nature is strictly anatomical and physiological, and can be investigated with advantage only by the anatomist and physiologist,) seem to the strictly scientific to have paid too much attention to practical details, apparently unconnected with the scientific part, and consequently out of the line of my vocation, my apology is, that in the course of the observations, I found this to be unavoidable, although my utmost efforts were made to prevent the inquiry running into this laborious and expensive train; and I entertain a firm belief, that, on a careful perusal of the observations, taking all matters into consideration, it will be found that I could not have done otherwise.
XXIX.—On the Chronology of the Trap-Rocks of Scotland
Authors: Geikie Archibald
Published: January 2013

In the Geology of Scotland, no feature comes at once more prominently before the observer than the number and variety of the trap-rocks. From the Sheant Isles to the Cheviot Hills the map is dotted over with trappean patches, which occur sometimes as long, narrow dykes, and often as irregular sheets, that extend almost over entire counties. The appearance of the rocks on the face of the country is scarcely less marked than on the map, and to their ever-changing varieties, we owe not a little of the characteristic scenery of Scotland. Throughout the wilds of the Inner Hebrides it is the trap-rocks which form many of the precipitous cliff-lines, and the craggy irregular hills. The soft pastoral valleys of the Ochils and the Pentlands lie among trappean rocks, while the hill-ranges, which break up the great central valley of Scotland, more especially the abrupt solitary crags that form such prominent landmarks, owe their existence to the permanence of the trap-rocks of which they consist. In short, there is no group of rocks more constantly found throughout the length and breadth of the island, and none, therefore, which so frequently obtrudes on the geologist or more imperatively demands his attention.
XVIII.—On the Bands formed by the Superposition of Paragenic Spectra produced by the Grooved Surfaces of Glass and Steel. Part I
Authors: Brewster David
Published: January 2013

In examining the colours produced by thin laminæ of the crystalline lens of fishes, I observed a series of rectilineal serrated fringes perpendicular to the direction of the fibres, and produced by inclining the laminæ in a plane cutting these fibres at right angles. I was thus led to imitate these fringes or bands by combining grooves or striæ cut upon glass or steel surfaces, or grooves taken from these surfaces upon isinglass or gums.
X.—An Investigation into the Structure of the Torbanehill Mineral, and of various kinds of Coal
Authors: Bennett John Hughes
Published: January 2013

The investigation of which I am now about to give an account, was undertaken with the view of determining whether the structure of the Torbanehill mineral was similar to or unlike that of coal. I was aware that the subject would be brought before a court of law, and that many scientific persons of great eminence had already spent much time in the inquiry. With the understanding, therefore, that my evidence, should it be required, was to be limited to the structure of coal and of the mineral in question, I gave directions to Mr Bryson, the optician, of this city, to make thin sections of attested specimens of various coals and of the mineral, conceiving that a careful examination of them would easily determine the point. It was soon apparent, however, that a far more extended series of researches was necessary than I at first anticipated; but as it was also evident, from the marked structural differences which were observed in the sections, that the investigation would not be destitute of positive results, I determined on pursuing it to a conclusion.
XVII.—On Superposition
Authors: Kelland Philip
Published: January 2013

The subject which I propose to discuss in this paper is the value of the method of demonstration by superposition. I am satisfied that it has been much under-rated, and in some cases misunderstood. It may be stated, that the essential characteristic of this method of demonstration, is the mental comparison of two magnitudes, by placing one of them upon the other. Euclid's axiom of equality (which, perhaps, is rather a definition) is this: “Magnitudes which coincide with one another, that is, which exactly fill the same space, are equal.” Accordingly, in his first four books, Euclid never regards two magnitudes as equal, except under circumstances wherein it can be shown that this condition is satisfied. Only in one proposition has he avoided the labour which a strict attention to this requirement necessarily imposes; and perhaps, even in that case, it is hypercritical to object to what he has done. All that he assumes is this: it being admitted that when A fills the same space as B, A is equal to B; it must therefore be admitted, that when A and C together fill the same space as B and C together, A is also equal to B.
XXXV.—On the Products of the Destructive Distillation of Animal Matter. Part IV.
Authors: Anderson Thomas
Published: January 2013

Owing to the great length of time over which the investigation of the products of the destructive distillation of animal substances has stretched, and various circumstances which it is unnecessary to detail, the inquiry has been pursued in a somewhat fragmentary manner, and with less continuity than might have been desired. The difficulties attending many of the experiments, and the occasional exhaustion of materials prepared by laborious processes, extending in many instances over considerable periods, have occasioned long intervals in the regular course of the inquiry which it became necessary to occupy with the examination of such matters as could be taken up at the moment. In this way a number of facts required to complete the history of the bases already described have gradually been accumulated, some of the products of their decomposition examined, and the pyrrol so frequently adverted to in the previous parts of this paper has been subjected to a full investigation. The details of these experiments form the subject of the present communication.
IX.—On the Glacial Succession in Europe
Authors: Geikie James
Published: January 2013

For many years geologists have recognised the occurrence of at least two boulder-clays in the British Islands and the corresponding latitudes of the Continent. It is no longer doubted that these are the products of two separate and distinct glacial epochs. This has been demonstrated by the appearance of intercalated deposits of terrestrial, freshwater, or, as the case may be, marine origin. Such interglacial accumulations have been met with again and again in Britain, and they have likewise been detected at many places on the Continent, between the border of the North Sea and the heart of Russia. Their organic contents indicate in some cases cold climatic conditions; in others, they imply a climate not less temperate or even more genial than that which now obtains in the regions where they occur. Nor are such interglacial beds confined to northern and north-western Europe. In the Alpine Lands of the central and southern regions of our Continent they are equally well developed. Impressed by the growing strength of the evidence, it is no wonder that geologists, after a season of doubt, should at last agree in the conclusion that the glacial conditions of the Pleistocene period were interrupted by at least one protracted interglacial epoch. Not a few observers go further, and maintain that the evidence indicates more than this. They hold that three or even more glacial epochs supervened in Pleistocene times. This is the conclusion I reached many years ago, and I now purpose reviewing the evidence which has accumulated since then, in order to show how far it goes to support that conclusion.
X.—On Some Eurypterid Remains from the Upper Silurian Rocks of the Pentland Hills
Authors: Laurie Malcolm
Published: January 2013

The Upper Silurian rocks of the Gutterford Burn, in the Pentland Hills, have for some time been known to contain Eurypterid remains, but the fossils procured from these beds—chiefly owing to the exertions of Mr Hardy of Bavelaw Castle, and Mr Henderson, late Curator of the Phrenological Museum—have never been submitted to a thorough examination. When, therefore, by the kind permission of Sir R Murdoch Smith, Director, and Dr E. H. Traquair, Keeper of the Natural History Collection in the Edinburgh Museum, I was given an opportunity of examining Mr Henderson's collection, which was acquired by the Museum some years since, I entered upon the work with the expectation of finding some new and interesting forms which would repay description. My expectations in this respect have been more than fulfilled, as the collection has yielded five undoubtedly new species, one of which I have made the type of a new genus. If to these one adds at least two other new species which are in the collection of Mr Hardy of Bavelaw, and which I hope to have the pleasure of examining and describing at some future time, one is justified, I think, in saying that the Gutterford Burn is unequalled among Eurypterid localities with regard to the variety of forms it has yielded. Unfortunately the bed which has yielded these specimens is limited in extent, and further work on it would entail quarrying operations on a somewhat extensive scale.
XIV.—A Comparison of the Minute Structure of Plant Hybrids with that of their Parents, and its Bearing on Biological Problems
Authors: Macfarlane J. Muirhead
Published: January 2013

Short synopses of my earlier results were given in the Gardeners' Chronicle for April and July 1890. Until after the publication of these I was not aware that some advance had already been made in the direction indicated, and my best thanks are due to Dr Masters for calling my attention to one or two publication's on the subject.

In 1831 Professor J. S. Henslow compared a hybrid Digitalis with its parents in a wonderfully minute way, when we consider the degree to which histology had advanced in his time. He demonstrated that in the size and shape of the hairs and other structures, the hybrid was intermediate between its parents. Wichura and Kerner have proved that the same is true of Willows and Pulmonarias respectively.
XXIV.—The Anatomy and Relations of the Eurypteridæ
Authors: Laurie Malcolm
Published: January 2013

Though a great deal has been written on the Eurypteridæ, and many points of their anatomy elucidated in the brilliant memoirs of Huxley and Salter, Hall, Woodward, Schmidt, &c, nevertheless many points of morphological importance remain obscure. This is perhaps to be attributed to the fact that nearly all the writers on this group have treated them rather from the systematic than the morphological standpoint. In dealing with remains so fragmentary and obscure as the majority of these fossils are, the value of some theory as to their relations among recent forms is enormous, both as suggesting points to be looked for and aiding in the interpretation of structures observed. The greater part of the work on this group was done before the arachnid relationship of Limulus was fully appreciated, and it is in the light of a possible relationship to this form, and also to the lower orders of terrestrial Arachnida, that it seemed to me to be worth while to revise the anatomy of the group. It has been necessary to include a certain amount of what is already well known in the description of the different genera, and I have taken special care to confirm, as far as possible, points which seemed to me to rest on insufficient grounds.
IV.—On the Equilibrium of Elastic Solids
Authors: Maxwell James Clerk
Published: January 2013

There are few parts of mechanics in which theory has differed more from experiment than in the theory of elastic solids.

Mathematicians, setting out from very plausible assumptions with respect to the constitution of bodies, and the laws of molecular action, came to conclusions which were shewn to be erroneous by the observations of experimental philosophers. The experiments of Œersted proved to be at variance with the mathematical theories of Navier, Poisson, and Lamé and Clapeyron, and apparently deprived this practically important branch of mechanics of all assistance from mathematics.
XVII.—On the Weight of Aqueous Vapour which is condensed on a Cold Surface, under given conditions
Authors: Dalmahoy James
Published: January 2013

In the accompanying tables are contained the results of some experiments respecting the rate at which aqueous vapour condenses on a cold surface.

These results are not so consistent as could be desired, but having been obtained by a definite and carefully-conducted process, they may claim at least to be received as approximately true.

In planning the experiments, it was assumed that c = m (f“ − f“ʹ), where c is the weight of moisture which is condensed on a surface of given area in a given time; f“ the tension of vapour at the dew-point; f“ʹ its tension at the temperature of the condensing surface; m a coefficient varying with the velocity of the current of air.
I.—On some Type Specimens of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera in the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art
Authors: Grimshaw Percy Hall
Published: January 2013

In the year 1819 the University of Edinburgh acquired by purchase a large zoological collection from M. Dufresne, of Paris, including a cabinet containing upwards of 12,000 specimens of insects. Some years later (in 1855), when the whole of the University collections were formally transferred to the Science and Art Department, the Dufresne cabinet became public property.

While consulting lately the volume by Godart devoted to the article “Papilio” in the famous Encyclopédie Méthodique, I was surprised to see a reference to the “Dufresne cabinet” in one of the descriptions of new species, and it immediately occurred to me that the specimen in our possession must be the actual “type” of the species, which discovery led me to search carefully through the whole of the volumes devoted to insects in this well-known work, with a view to finding as many types as possible. At the same time, I thought it possible that Olivier, who wrote his great Histoire Naturelle des Insectes—Coléoptères about the same time, might also mention some of Dufresne's specimens, and this I found to be as I had anticipated.
VIII.—A Contribution to the Comparative Anatomy of the Mammalian Organ of Jacobson
Authors: Broom R.
Published: January 2013

Since the Organ of Jacobson was first described in 1811, a large amount of study has been given to its structure, development, and morphology; and as a result of these investigations, we have now a very good idea of the distribution of the organ in the animal kingdom, of its relations in many typical forms, and of its minute anatomy in a few representative types. With the exception, however, of Seydel's work among the Amphibia, very little has been done to the study of the comparative anatomy of the organ, and it is hoped that the present contribution will assist towards a clearer understanding of its comparative anatomy in the Mammalia.
XIII. The Old Red Sandstone of the Orkneys
Authors: Flett John S.
Published: January 2013

As the result of two visits to Orkney, in which he was accompanied by Mr B. N. Peach, he pointed out that the yellow sandstones of Hoy did not pass down conformably into the flagstones which form the basis of that island, but were separated from them by a marked unconformity. At the base, of the upper sandstones lay a series of contemporaneous lavas and ash beds, which were in all probability erupted, from certain ‘necks’ in the low-lying district at the foot of the Hoy Hills. These rocks he regarded as belonging to the upper Old Red Sandstone. The lower Old Red Sandstone consisted principally of a great thickness of flagstones, with which were interstratified beds of yellow and red sandstone, and occasionally of conglomerate. The fossils belonged exclusively to this lower series; and a table is given, compiled by Mr C. W. Peach, showing the distribution 9f fossil fishes in the lower Old Red Sandstone of Lake Orcadie, including those of Orkney so far as known at that time. As Sir Archibald Geikie anticipated, subsequent revision has necessitated “considerable pruning of the fossil lists.” The conglomerates around the granite axis of Stromness formed merely a local base, “due to the uprise of an old ridge of rock from the surface of the sheet of water in which these strata were accumulated,” and were presumably not on the same horizon as the thick conglomerates on which, in Caithness, the lowest flagstones rest. The sandstones interbedded with the flagstones in South Ronaldshay were regarded as in all probability the northward continuation of the similar rocks at Gill's Bay, Huna, and John o'Groats, on the south side of the Pentland Firth. From a geological point of view, the brief notice of the Old Red Sandstone of the Orkneys contained in this paper forms by far the most important contribution to the knowledge of the subject published up to that time.
XII.—Ice-Erosion in the Cuillin Hills, Skye
Authors: Harker Alfred
Published: January 2013

Since the publication in 1840 of a brief but valuable memoir by J. D. Forbes, in which that author drew attention to “the traces of ancient glaciers” in the Cuillin Hills, that district has remained almost unnoticed by glacial geologists for half a century. This neglect is doubtless attributable chiefly to the difficulty of access to the mountains, a consequence of their peculiar configuration, which in turn is closely bound up with the glacial history of the district. The present contribution is the outcome of observations made during the years 1895–1900 in mapping the central part of Skye for the Geological Survey of Scotland. In traversing the mountains day after day throughout several successive seasons, the writer has been struck especially by the impressive evidence which they present of glacial erosion as the dominant factor in their sculpture, and to enforce this is the chief object of the present communication.
XVIII.—On Pennella balænopteræ: a Crustacean, parasitic on a Finner Whale, Balænoptera musculus
Authors: Turner William
Published: January 2013

In September 1903 I received a bottle containing twelve specimens of a large parasite presented to me by Mr Chr. Castberg, the manager of a Norwegian whaling company which has established a fishing station at Ronasvoe in the north of Shetland. In his letters Mr Castberg stated that the parasites were attached to a Finner whale, which, from its size, the mottled character of the whalebone and the pointed head, was obviously a Razorback—Balænoptera musculus. The parasites were numerous, and were fixed to the back of the whale, and the attached end penetrated through the skin into the blubber. Although Mr Castberg had seen many hundred whales, this is the first occasion on which he had met with this form of parasite.
XXI.—The Meteorology of Edinburgh
Authors: Mossman R. C.
Published: January 2013

In my previous papers on “The Meteorology of Edinburgh” the data referring to local climate were reduced down to the end of 1896. In the time that has elapsed since their publication a number of memoirs from places on the Continent and elsewhere have appeared in which the data, mostly dealing with long periods, were brought down to the end of 1900. In order to facilitate the comparison of the Edinburgh record with those referred to, I have completed new monthly and annual averages for the ten years 1891–1900, the fifty years 1851–1900, and for longer periods, which embrace 137 years in the case of mean temperature, 131 years for mean barometric pressure, 130 years for the non-instrumental phenomena, and 124 years for rainfall (see Tables I. to IV.). The values previously published have been carefully examined, and a number of errors which escaped detection at the time eliminated. A Table of Errata (see Table XXIX.) is appended. Tables V. and VI. show respectively the mean monthly and annual departure from the normal of the mean maximum and minimum temperatures for the fifty years 1851–1900. A few of the values formerly published (see Table XVIIL, Trans., vol. xxxix. pp. 130–133) are about 0°·6 too high, but they have been corrected.
XXVII.—On the Effect of Temperature on the taking of Salmon with Rod and Fly in the River Spey at Gordon Castle in the Autumus of 1898, 1899, 1900, and 1901
Authors: Muirhead George
Published: January 2013

The Duke of Richmond and Gordon's salmon fishings on the Spey extend on both sides of the river from the Boat o' Brig, where the Highland Railway crosses the stream between Keith and Elgin, to the sea, a distance of about nine miles.

The river here varies in breadth from 50 to 140 yards, and in depth from 2 feet, where the stream is broad, to about 10 or 12 in some of the pools. Its course is rapid, the fall being about 16 feet to the mile, and its volume is quickly increased when there is much rain, or when snow melts in the Monadhliadh and Grampian Mountains.

There are many excellent pools for salmon fishing with the rod on the Gordon Castle water, and in them large numbers of fish are usually taken with the fly every year during the month of September and the first half of October.
XXIX.—On the Applications of Quaternions in the Theory of Differential Equations
Authors: Maclagan-Wedderburn J. H.
Published: January 2013

The object of this paper is twofold: in the first place, to classify and sytematise vector differential equations; and in the second place, to show the applicability of quaternions to the theory of differential equations. So far as I am aware, the only paper of importance on the subject is one by Tait. He, however, deals only with simple cases.

In the classification of forms I have followed in general the treatment adopted by Forsyth. Reference will also occasionally be made to Jordan. In what follows the order of the highest occurring differential coefficient will be called the rank of the equation; while the order of the equation will be used, as usual, to denote the order of the equivalent normal system.
VIII.—On the Comparative Histology and Physiology of the Spleen
Authors: Whiting A. J.
Published: January 2013

The following general description of the capsule, trabeculæ, and sheaths of the splenic vessels is based on the examination of the spleen of the Kitten.

The Tunica serosa consists of a single layer of somewhat thick endothelial cells, which is continuous with the peritoneal lining of the body cavity, and in addition of a thin layer of very finely fibrillated connective tissue that lies immediately subjacent to the endothelial layer.

The Tunica propria differs from a true capsule in that it blends along its whole under surface with the splenic parenchyma, from which it cannot be detached without tearing the splenic substance.
XX.—On the Connection between Chemical Constitution and Physiological Action. Part II.—On the Physiological Action of the Ammonium Bases derived from Atropia and Conia
Authors: Brown A. Crum , Fraser Thomas R.
Published: January 2013

Atropia is a nitrile base, obtained from Atropa Belladonna. All we know of its constitution is, that by the action of strong acids and bases it is decomposed, in accordance with the equation—

So that atropia may be considered as tropia, in which one atom of hydrogen has been replaced by tropyl, the radical of tropic acid.

Atropia has a somewhat complicated physiological action, for it directly influences the functions of the cerebro-spinal and sympathetic nervous systems. The principal effects produced by it on the former system are paralysis of the sensory and motor nerves, and excitation of the spinal cord. By its action on the sympathetic nerves, it influences the contraction of the unstriped muscles; but as the mechanism of this action is by no means exactly defined, we shall merely allude to it in our comparison of the actions of the methyl and ethyl derivatives, with those of the alkaloid itself. In addition to these general actions, atropia influences, in a special manner, the functions of the vagi nerves and of the iris, suspending the cardiac inhibitory power of the former, and producing contraction of the latter.
XXX.—A Monograph on the general Morphology of the Myxinoid Fishes, based on a study of Myxine. Part I. The Anatomy of the Skeleton
Authors: Cole Frank J.
Published: January 2013

The present work was commenced in the summer of 1902, with the object of writing a complete monograph of the morphology of Myxine. It had previously been undertaken by the late Professor G. B. Howes, F.R.S., but, owing to the pressure of other work, and the first indications of the illness which subsequently proved fatal, he handed the work over to me. During the earlier stages, however, he exhibited a characteristic interest in the research, and most generously placed his material and the late Dr Pollard's sections at my disposal. His death has removed a kindly and a stimulating figure from our midst; a man whose life was devoted to the service of his friends and the advancement of his favourite study, and whose generous and sympathetic nature was the wonder and the delight of all who knew him.
VIII.—On Impact
Authors: Tait
Published: January 2013

The present inquiry is closely connected with some of the phenomena presented in golf:—especially the fact that a ball can be “jerked” nearly as far as it can be “driven.” For this, in itself, furnishes a complete proof that the duration of the impact is exceedingly short. But it does not appear that any accurate determination of the duration can be made in this way. Measurements, even of a rude kind, are impracticable under the circumstances.

In 1887 I made a number of preliminary experiments with the view of devising a form of apparatus which should trace a permanent record of the circumstances of impact. I found that it was necessary that one of the two impinging bodies should be fixed:—at least if the apparatus were to be at once simple and manageable. This arrangement gives, of course, a result not directly comparable with the behaviour of a golf-ball. For pressure is applied to one side only, both of ball and of club; but when one of two impinging bodies is fixed it is virtually struck simultaneously on both sides.
XII.—Petrology and Petrogenesis of some Garnetiferous Peridotites
Authors: O'Hara M. J. , Stewart F. H.
Published: January 2013

Synopsis

Garnetiferous peridotite masses which occur among gneisses in the Tafjord district of Norway are cold intrusions emplaced as crystalline rocks late in the metamorphic history of the region. No relationship other than similarity of mineral facies can be established between the peridotites and the eclogite bodies in the surrounding gneiss. Chemical analyses of twelve olivines, fourteen orthopyroxenes, nine chrome diopsides, nine garnets, three amphiboles and two rocks are presented, representing material from the Tafjord and Almklovdalen districts of Norway, a garnetiferous peridotite mass near Bellinzona, Switzerland, and the garnet-peridotite inclusions in the kimberlite pipes of South Africa. Optical and X-ray data for the analyzed and some unanalyzed assemblages are also presented. The mineral assemblages of these rocks are compared with each other, and with data from the peridotites of layered tholeiitic intrusions, alpine-type peridotites and the peridotite nodules in basalts. The garnet-peridotites of Norway, Switzerland and South Africa are believed to be little altered fragments of the mantle, whereas the peridotite nodules in basalts and the alpine-type peridotites are believed to be of igneous origin. Examination of the distribution of cations between the coexisting phases suggests that there are too many variables to permit a reliable interpretation of the results.

The orthopyroxenes from the garnetiferous peridotites are not rich in A1203, contrary to expectations based upon recent experimental work.
II. On the Poisonous Fishes of the Caribbee Islands
Authors: Ferguson William
Published: January 2013

The subject of poisonous fish has long been a source of puzzle and speculation to the inhabitants of the West Indies. Much has been conjectured upon it, and numerous tests and theories been proposed, which have had for a time their believers and advocates; but all have been found to be equally baseless. The author of this paper, by a narrative of what he has himself seen and observed on the subject, proposes rather to shew to the Society what it is not, than what it actually is, and thereby to clear the way for the future successful investigation of this curious and interesting phenomenon, by dissipating many erroneous notions that stand in the way of the discovery of truth.

Throughout the greater part of the West Indies, the accident of meeting a poisonous fish is a rare and extraordinary occurrence. At Barbadoes, for instance, it happens so seldom, that the majority of even the best informed inhabitants can scarcely be made to believe, that it has ever taken place amongst them.
Visual recovery of desert pavement surfaces following impacts from vehicle and foot traffic in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica
Authors: O'Neill Tanya A. , Balks Megan R. , López-Martínez Jerónimo
Published: January 2013

Sites of past human activity were investigated to assess the visual recovery of the desert pavement following impacts from human trampling and vehicle traffic. Visually disturbed and nearby control sites were assessed using comparative photographic records, a field-based Visual Site Assessment, and Desert Pavement Recovery Assessment. Sites included: vehicle and walking tracks at Marble Point and Taylor Valley; a campsite, experimental treading trial site, and vehicle tracks in Wright Valley; and vehicle and walking tracks at Cape Roberts. The time since last disturbance ranged from three months to over 50 years. This investigation also attempted to determine what has the greatest lasting visual impact on soil surfaces in the Ross Sea region: dispersed trafficking or track formation? Walking tracks remained visible in the landscape (due to larger clasts concentrating along track margins) long after the desert pavement surface had recovered. However, randomly dispersed footprints were undetectable within five years. For many sites, allowing widespread trampling will give lower medium-term visible impact than concentrating traffic flow by track formation. For steep slopes and sites where repeated visits occur, use of a single track is recommended. Some 1950s vehicle tracks remain visible in the Antarctic landscape, but where visually obvious impacts were remediated, evidence of former occupation was almost undetectable.