bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
XIX.—Tuesite—A Scotch Variety of Halloysite
Authors: Gregory J. W.
Published: June 2016

The absence of china clay from Scotland has been used as a weighty argument in favour of the pneumatolytic or deep-seated origin of the great china clay masses of Cornwall and Devonshire, of southern Sweden, and of some of those in Germany. Kaolin, which is often regarded—I think correctly—as a synonym of china clay, and kaolinite, have, however, been occasionally recorded as occurring in Scotland. A reported occurrence at Troon may be easily dismissed. Thus it is only recorded doubtfully, with the remark that its composition has not been determined, by J. Sommerville and G. R. Thompson, while John Smith describes it as a bed of finegrained volcanic dust deposited in water. Kaolinite has been recorded by Heddle from several Scottish localities; thus it is found in minute crystals in Shetland, and in a vein at the head of Glen Capel at Abington, Lanarkshire.
XXIII.—Proposals for an Anemometer and a Portable Barometer
Authors: Morrison J. T.
Published: June 2016

For many important meteorological purposes it would be an advantage to be able to keep separate records of the components of the wind in two fixed rectangular directions, the north-southerly and east-westerly directions being those that would naturally be chosen. At present the registering Robinson anemometer records merely the total amount of wind that has passed any spot; a separate pen gives the direction; and a somewhat laborious process of calculation is needed in order to obtain even an approximate estimate of the wind-components. The object of the instrument described below is to resolve the wind into northerly and easterly components and to record their absolute values with two separate pens. The instrument is so arranged that the distance of the one pen from its zero line at any instant will be a measure of the excess of north wind over south wind which has flowed past up to that instant, and the curve traced by that pen will show all the variations of this north-southerly component.
XXV.—The Theory of Persymmetric Determinants in the Historical Order of Development up to 1860
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

As has already been pointed out (Hist., i. pp. 485–487), the special form of determinant named “persymmetric” in 1853 by Sylvester came first to light in 1835 in a paper of Jacobi's on the elimination of the unknown from two equations of the nth degree, the fact being that the adjugate of Bezout's condensed eliminant—in other words, the adjugate of the determinant resulting from Bezout's “abridged method“ of elimination—is there shown to be such that the elements of it whose place-numbers have the same sum are equal.
XXXIII.—On Continuous, and Stable, Isothermal Change of State
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

1. The three physical states of a substance, solid, liquid, and gaseous, are representable, as is well known, by means of three functions of pressure, volume, and temperature; say

f1(p, v, t), f2(p, v, t), f3(p, v, t).

In the case of water-substance, James Thomson represented these functions as surfaces of his geometrical (p, v, t) model.

No attempt has been made to group these three functions in a single form F(p, v, t), though various equations combining f2 and f3, either empirically or as deductions from theory, have been given; first, and notably, that of Van der Waals. In Thomson's model the process of gradual isothermal and isopiestic passage from one state to another is indicated by motion of the representative point along a line parallel to the axis of volume.
XXXIV.—The Significance of the Correlation Coefficient when applied to Mendelian Distributions
Authors: Brownlee John
Published: June 2016

1. At the present moment there is much discussion regarding the means by which properties are hereditarily transmitted from a parent organism to its offspring, and of the extent to which the Mendelian theory is capable of accounting for the facts. In this note it is not proposed to discuss the general question but to investigate the conditions under which the theory of correlation may be applied to Mendelian groupings. Two important papers on this subject have already been published: one by Professor Pearson, entitled “A Generalized Theory of Mendelian Inheritance”; the other, which is largely a criticism of this, by Professor Udny Yule. In Professor Pearson's paper the results produced when two organisms with any number of pairs of different zygotes mate indiscriminately are fully considered. He finds that such a population once established is stable, and he then deduces the parental and fraternal correlation coefficients.
XXXVI.—Specific Volume of Solutions of Tetra-propyl-ammonium Chloride
Authors: McDavid J. W.
Published: June 2016

During the investigation of the viscosities of aqueous solutions of tetrapropyl-ammonium chloride, Taylor and Moore noticed that the density of a concentrated solution was less than that of a dilute solution at the same temperature. The following investigation, undertaken at the suggestion of Dr W. W. Taylor, shows how the density depends on the concentration and temperature of the solution.

Tetra-propyl-ammonium chloride was prepared from tetra-propylammonium iodide. Silver chloride was added to an aqueous solution of the iodide and the mixture allowed to stand in the dark for some time. The tetra-propyl-ammonium chloride solution which was formed was then filtered off from the solid silver iodide and evaporated to dryness in a vacuum desiccator. The solid so obtained was a white crystalline substance which was very deliquescent. It was tested and found to be free from iodide.
XLI.—The Efficiency of Metallic Filament Lamps
Authors: Houstoun R. A.
Published: June 2016

Practical men are accustomed to measure the efficiency of a glow-lamp in watts per candle or, in other words, by the quantity of energy which must be supplied to it for every mean spherical candle-power of light it gives. The energy supplied is measured by an ammeter and voltmeter, and the mean spherical candle-power is obtained on the photometric bench by comparing the light given in different directions with that of some standard source. The watts per candle together with the life and initial cost of the lamp determine its commercial value.

On the other hand, we may regard the lamp as an energy-transforming device, and measure its efficiency by the percentage of electrical energy it transforms into light.
VIII.—Studies on Periodicity in Plant Growth. Part I.: A Four-Day Periodicity and Root Periodicity
Authors: Robertson R. A. , Crosse Rosalind
Published: June 2016

The immediate purpose of this research has been:—

1. To investigate whether a presumably spontaneous growth variation amounting to a four-day rhythm which had been observed in certain organs of limited growth was an individual idiosyncrasy or was of general occurrence in plants.

2. To examine the growth rhythm in roots and ascertain if any correlation existed between the respective rhythms of root and shoot in the same plant.
IX.—The Error caused by “Lag” in a Recording Instrument: An Experimental Study
Authors: Milne J. R. , Levy H.
Published: June 2016

All instruments designed to give a record of some fluctuating quantity as a function of the time, both those employed to give “instantaneous” values of the quantity measured and also those which totalise or integrate it during a given time, are liable to sufler from error due to the inertia of their moving parts and consequent “lag”. In each class instances are given of instruments which are free from the error, but the Robinson cup anemometer—in which the authors are more particularly interested—is not one of those. As nothing was known definitely as to the effects of lag in this case, an investigation was undertaken, using a specially designed apparatus analogous to the cup anemometer, and, for greater accuracy of measurement, currents of water instead of air.

A description of this apparatus is given; and the remainder of the paper is occupied with the mathematical theory and the results of experiment. The most striking of these is the fact that the instrumental error is always positive; that is to say, that when the current fluctuates the instrument registers too great a flow.

The authors desire to record their thanks to Professor MacGregor for the facilities he has provided, and for the kind interest he has taken in their work.

Part of the special apparatus described was obtained by a grant from the Tait Memorial Fund.
X.—A New Method of Starting Mercury Vapour Apparatus
Authors: Anderson John S. , Burnside George B.
Published: June 2016

The mercury vapour lamp, although very economical in its use of electrical energy, is not employed very extensively at the present day for illuminating purposes, chiefly because the light it emits is not white, but of a greenish hue. Many attempts have been made to produce the deficient red radiation, but these have so far not met with any great success. The lamp, however, is useful as an illuminant where the colour of the light is of no great importance, such as in public works, etc. Further, it is very much used, in the form of rectifiers, for changing alternating to direct electrical current. During the past few years there has been an increasing demand for lamps which are rich in ultra-violet radiation, which is useful for photographic and medical purposes, as, for example, the sterilisation of water, milk, etc. This requirement is met by the mercury vapour lamp, for the ultra-violet spectrum of mercury is particularly intense; lamps used for this purpose must be made of quartz, since ordinary glass absorbs ultra-violet radiation. Then, again, the mercury spectrum is extremely useful in spectroscopic work as a reference spectrum.
XIII.—The Absorption of Light by Inorganic Salts. No. X
Authors: Houstoun R. A. , Cochrane Chas.
Published: June 2016

This article describes work done with the spectrophotometer with the view of clearing up four different points arising out of the earlier articles. At the time it was commenced, the hope of finding a mathematical connection between absorption spectra and molecular structure had been given up, at least so far as aqueous solutions were concerned, and attention was being concentrated on some chemical questions arising out of the work. The spectrophotometer and methods were the same as had been used in Nos. II., III., VI., VII., and VIII. of the series.
XXV.—On the Compressibilities of Dilute Solutions of certain Inorganic Salts
Authors: Watson W.
Published: June 2016

The experiments to be described in this communication were undertaken with the purpose of obtaining values of the compressibility of certain salts, the volume of dilute solutions of which is less than the volume of the constituent water. The densities of such solutions, chiefly hydroxides, sulphates, and carbonates, are discussed by MacGregor in a series of papers published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada; and Kohlrausch includes several of them in his paper on the density of dilute solutions.
The Volcanic Eruptions of Iceland in 1874 and 1875
Authors: Burton
Published: June 2016

Shortly after reading “Volcanic Eruptions in Iceland” (the “Scotsman,” May 21), and “An Appeal for Iceland” (the “Times” July 1), I made a trip to Arctis, partly with a view of inspecting and inquiring into the last outbreaks. Perhaps your energetic Society may not be unwilling to have an unprejudiced account of what was seen and heard.
On the Origin of Language—Max-Müller, Whitney
Authors: Blackie
Published: June 2016

Professor Blackie stated that though the origin of language might be considered by some more a metaphysical than a philological question, it was yet so closely connected with philology, that whatever opinions a philologer held on this question could not fail to exercise a strong secret influence on his philological procedure. The primary elements out of which language grew were admitted by all to be three, viz., cries or interjectional exclamation, mimetic reproduction of audible sounds, technically but stupidly called onomatopœia, and gesture.
6. Laboratory Notes by Professor Tait (b) On a Mechanism for Integrating the General Linear Differential Equation of the Second Order
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

I am anxious to explain to the Society a kinematical device for the solution of the General Linear Differential Equation of the Second Order before I become acquainted with the principle of the integrating machine which, I understand, was described last Thursday by our President to the Royal Society.
2. Note on the Origin of Thunderstorms
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

This Note does not refer so much to those great thunderstorms which extend over hundreds of miles in each direction, as to those small local storms which are often seen of from two to five or six miles only in diameter.

It refers particularly to those which are seen, in summer and autumn, to pass down the Tay valley. They almost invariably come from the westward, and I am told each is almost always accompanied by a storm of similar dimensions passing eastwards down the valley of the Forth. So far as I can ascertain, they seem both to commence almost abruptly somewhere in the district about Ben Ledi and Ben Lomond.
2. Notice of the Completion of the Works designed by Sir Charles A. Hartley, F.R.S.E., for the Improvement of the Danube
Authors: Stevenson David
Published: June 2016

In 1868 I presented to the Society, on behalf of Sir Charles A. Hartley, a memoir published by the European Commission of the Danube, on the improvement of that river, and at the same time gave a notice of the works designed by Sir Charles Hartley for effecting that important object. These works have now been completed, and Sir Charles Hartley has again asked me to present to the Society a second memoir published by the Commission, which brings the history of the works constructed under their charge down to the time of their completion in 1873.
4. Abstract of Additional Memoir on the Parallel Roads of Lochaber
Authors: Milne Home D.
Published: June 2016

Mr Milne Home stated that he had been induced to resume his researches in the Lochaber district, in consequence of a lecture, in June last, by Dr Tyndall of London, at the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, and subsequently printed and published. In this lecture, Dr Tyndall controverted the detrital theory of lake barriers, and advocated the glacier theory;—supporting his views by a reference to observations which Dr Tyndall said he had recently made on a special visit to the Parallel Roads.
1. On the Action of Sulphuretted Hydrogen on the Hydrate and on the Carbonate of Trimethyl-sulphine
Authors: Brown Crum
Published: June 2016

The investigation, of which this paper contains the first part, was undertaken with the view of throwing light on the constitution of salts of trimethl-sulphine.

These salts have been represented in two different ways—1st, as compound of tetratomic sulphur, and 2d, as molecular combinations of sulphide of methyl with methylic ethers, just as the ammonia salts have been represented as compounds of pentad nitrogen, or as molecular combinations of ammonia with hydric salts.
2. On Links
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

Though in my former papers on knots I have made but little allusion to cases in which two or more closed curves are linked together, the method I have employed is easily and directly applicable to them. I stated to the British Association that the number of intersections passed through in going continuously along a curve, from any intersection to the same again, is always even—whether it be linked with other curves or not Hence, even when a number of closed curves are linked together, the intersections may be so arranged as to be alternately over and under along each of the curves.
1. On a Problem of Arrangements
Authors: Cayley
Published: June 2016

It is a well-known problem to find for n letters the number of the arrangements in which no letter occupies its original place; and the solution of it is given by the following general theorem :— viz., the number of the arrangements which satisfy any r conditions is

where 1 denotes the whole number of arrangements; (1) the number of them which fail in regard to the first condition; (2) the number which fail in regard to the second condition; (12) the number which fail in regard to the first condition, and also in regard to the second condition; and so on: Σ(1) means (1) + (2) … + (r) : Σ(12) means (12) + (13) + (2r) … + (r − 1, r); and so on, up to (12…r), which denotes the number failing in regard to each of the r conditions.
2. On the Construction of the Canon of Sines, for the Decimal Division of the Quadrant
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

The convenience of having only one system of numeration is so well recognised, that there is no need for any discussion. Already the numerical nomenclatures of all nations having any culture have been converted to one, namely, the decimal system, and traces of the ancient use of dozens, scores, fifteens, or sixties, can be found in only a very few of them. Although we count our hours in sixty minutes, we do not date the present as the year
thirty-one sixties and seventeen. Yet, in the matters of measure,weight, and value, the old and irksome divisions continue to be used; nay, even in those departments of science which most need laborious calculation, we continue to employ the ancient scale of division.
3. On the Arrangement and Relations of the Great Nerve-Cords in the Marine Annelids
Authors: M'Intosh W. C.
Published: June 2016

FAM. EUPHROSYNIDÆ.—In Euphrosyne foliosa, Aud. and Ed., the separate nerve-cords are comparatively large, and lie quite within the body-wall, the oblique muscles, which generally bound the longitudinal ventral muscles, decussating beneath them.

AMPHINOMIDÆ.—The cords are somewhat small and flattened in Chloeia, and occupy an area bounded internally by a transverse band of fibres, and externally by the circular muscular layer and the hypodermic basement-tissue. The oblique muscles are attached at the outer border of each trunk.
2. Notice of Recent Earthquake Shocks in Argyleshire in 1877
Authors: Stevenson David
Published: June 2016

Two earthquake shocks have lately occurred in Argyleshire of so decided a character that a description of their effects, as observed at four of the Lighthouse stations on the west coast of Scotland, will, it is thought, be interesting to the Society.

The first shock occurred on the 11th March, and was observed at the Lighthouse station of Hynish in the island of Tyree, and at Sound of Mull, near Tobermory, the distance between the two places being about 34 statute miles.
3. Additional Remarks on Knots
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

The author, in laying before the Society a revised and condensed version of the various papers recently communicated by him, took occasion to make some additional remarks. Of these only one need be given here. He pointed out that another fundamental term is requisite besides those already used viz., Knots and Links. For three endless cords may be inseparably entangled with one another, or locked together, even if no one of them be knotted and no two interlinked.
5. Laboratory Notes by Professor Tait (a) On an Effect of Heat on Electro-Static Action
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

By means of a very delicate galvanometer, transient currents were detected when one of two plates of the same, or of different, metals, separated by a sheet of mica or glass, was suddenly heated.
1. Chapters on the Mineralogy of Scotland Chapter III. The Garnets
Authors: Heddle
Published: June 2016

In this third chapter Dr Heddle submits the results of his analyses of garnets from thirteen localities.

Notwithstanding the great frequency of the occurrence of the mineral, it is generally so largely contaminated with quartz that he was unable to procure, from many localities, specimens fit for examination.

Three varieties of garnet new to Scotland—one of these being altogether new—have, however, been the reward of the present investigation.
3. Experiments with the Telephone
Authors: Blyth James
Published: June 2016

In the telephones used in these experiments the permanent magnets were of the ordinary horse-shoe form, about 4 inches long. No cores of soft iron were attached to the poles, the insulated wire, No. 26, being wound directly round both, in such a way that a current circulating through it followed the direction of Ampère's currents. The vibrating disc was the bottom of a shallow can of thin tinned iron, 2½ inches in diameter, supported directly above the poles of the magnet, and almost touching them.
4. On the Theory of the Telephone
Authors: Forbes George
Published: June 2016

The Telephone, invented by Mr Graham Bell, is an instrument by means of which any sounds, musical notes or spoken sentences, sounded into an instrument at the sending end of a telegraphic wire may be reproduced at the receiving end. The theory of the Telephone is two-fold. First, the mechanical theory of the nature of sounds and of speech; and secondly, the theory of the action of the instrument. The first part is well known. All sounds consist of a succession of waves propagated through the air, the rate and intensity of their succession determining the nature of the sound, in pitch, loudness, and tone. If the same succession of waves as a speaker makes in using his voice can be reproduced in the air in contact with the ear of any other person, by any means whatever, the latter person will hear a fac-simile of the sound uttered by the former.
5. Remarks on the Phonograph
Authors: Jenkin Fleeming , Ewing J. A.
Published: June 2016

Professor Fleeming Jenkin and Mr J. A. Ewing exhibited a phonograph which they had constructed, and also some curves drawn on paper representing the indentions produced in the tinfoil of the instrument by vowel sounds.

The phonograph exhibited had been constructed from a description of the instrument invented by Mr Edison, and consisted of a barrel about four inches diameter and four inches long, mounted on a spindle on which a square-threaded screw had been cut. One bearing of the spindle was cylindrical, and the other was a nut in which the screw worked. A fly-wheel handle turned the spindle and barrel, which advanced during each turn by a distance equal to the pitch of the screw. A helical groove, about in. in breadth, was cut on the surface of the barrel, having the same axial pitch as the screw on the spindle.
3. On the Action of the Chlorides of Iodine upon Acetylene and Ethylene
Authors: M'Gowan George
Published: June 2016

Before giving the action of ethylene on the chlorides of iodine. I may shortly describe the method of preparing the latter, which I found to be the most advantageous:—

A weighed quantity of perfectly dry iodine being introduced into bulb A of flask 1, perfectly dry chlorine gas is passed over it, A being at the same time heated over a water-bath to about 60° to 80° C. The ICl3, as it is formed, volatilises and condenses almost entirely in B, only a small portion escaping into flask 2. Chlorine is passed until no more iodine remains in bulb A. If the heating be omitted, only the outermost layers of iodine are converted into the trichloride, a kernel remaining unacted on. (Compare Christomanos, Berl. Ber. X. No. 5, p. 434.)
3. On Beats of Imperfect Harmonies
Authors: Thomson William
Published: June 2016

According to a usage which has been adopted from the German of Helmholtz by the best English scientific writers on sound, a sound is called a “simple tone,” or without qualification a “tone,” when the variation of pressure of the air in the neighbourhood of the ear which is the immediate excitant of the sense is according to a simple harmonic function of the time; that is to say, when the whole pressure of the air varies in simple proportion to the distance, from a fixed plane, of a point moving uniformly in a circle.
4. Note of a Method of Studying the Binocular Vision of Colour
Authors: M'Kendrick John G.
Published: June 2016

There are several well-known methods of mixing colours, such as the superposition of two spectra or of different parts of the same spectrum—the method of reflection, Czermak's modification of Schemer's experiment, the use of rotating disks having coloured sectors, and the direct mixture of coloured powders or coloured liquids. In all of these cases the effect may be seen with one eye, and is due to the action of light on a definite portion of one retina. But may sensations of mixed colours be produced by binocular vision of the components ? Regarding this question various well-known observers have arrived at completely opposite results.
3. Notes on the Fungus Disease affecting Salmon
Authors: Stirling A. B.
Published: June 2016

It is widely known that a destructive epidemic has this spring appeared among the salmon of the rivers Eden, Esk, and Nith. The mortality among the fish has been so great as to cause considerable alarm among proprietors, salmon commissioners, taxmen, anglers, and the general public.

The newspapers inform us that within three days the watchers have taken out of the Esk as many as 350 dead salmon. All who have examined the fish carefully, agree in referring the disease to the presence of a fungoid growth.
5. On the Crystallisation of Isomorphous Salts
Authors: Robinson G. Carr
Published: June 2016

It is generally stated that isomorphous salts are capable of crystallizing together in any proportions, or that the isomorphous elements which enter into them are capable of replacing one another in any proportion; e.g., potash alumina alum and potash iron alum can crystallise together in all proportions.
2. On the Focal Adaptation of the Eye in Man and some Animals
Authors: Black James
Published: June 2016

After several introductory observations on the refractive condition of the human eye in infancy, in the prime of life, and in old age; and also in some tribes of artizans, in shepherds, and in mariners, with notices of the focal adjustment in the eyes of oxen, common fowls, and in fishes, as the cod and haddock, the author examined the different theories which have been advanced to account for this adapting power, and expressed his strong opinion that the external muscular apparatus was the principal and initiating agent.
1. On the Mechanism of the Knee Joint
Authors: Goodsir
Published: June 2016

After alluding to the comparatively superficial manner in which physiologists, with the exception of the brothers Weber, have hither-to investigated the structure and movements of the joints, the author gave an abstract of the general results which he had formerly obtained in an examination of the knee-joint, made with reference to Meyer's valuable observations. He had found that, as stated by Meyer, the thigh and leg rotate on one another in opposite directions,—at the close of extension, and at the commencement of flexion; and that the co-ordinated movements in the patella, the ligaments, and muscles correspond generally with the account given by that observer; but in addition he had ascertained what had previously escaped notice,

1. That the articular surfaces of the femur, tibia, and patella are not continuous but faceted surfaces.
2. Remarks on a Slab of Sandstone containing numerous Cavities, apparently produced by Marine Animals
Authors: Maclaren Charles
Published: June 2016

This slab was found lying on the sand about 150 yards within high-water mark, a little northward of the projecting headland called Whitberry Point, on the coast of East Lothian. The head-land is of trap, which rests on a red sandstone, similar to that of the slab. The sandstone covers some acres northward of the headland at low water, running out in a succession of ridges in a north-east direction, and dipping to the south-east. The slab is of a triangular form; its length is 17 inches, greatest breadth 9, and the thickness varies from 1½ to 2 inches.
2. On the Colouring Matter of Persian Berries
Authors: Gellatly John
Published: June 2016

Two varieties of the seeds of the Rhamnus tinctoria are found in commerce, known by the names of Persian and Turkish berries. The former are said to be gathered before being fully ripe, and are carefully preserved; the latter have remained much longer on the branches, and are brown and shrivelled. Kane has examined both varieties, and finds in the former a substance which he names Chrysorhamnine, soluble in alcohol and ether, and crystallizing from the latter in minute silky needles of a brilliant yellow colour. This substance is replaced in the ripe berry by another, which he names Xanthorhamnine, of a much less beautiful yellow, and not crystallizable; this change is effected also by boiling the chrysorhamnine for a few minutes with water. Xanthorhamnine is easily soluble in alcohol and water, but quite insoluble in ether.
3. On a peculiar Ligament connecting the opposite Ribs in certain Vertebrata
Authors: Cleland
Published: June 2016

While examining the bones of a seal which had been for some time in maceration, the author observed that, in detaching one of the ribs from the vertebral column, a long ligament, connected to the head of the former, emerged from the intercostal foramen.

It was then found that the right and left rib in all the pairs articulating with two vertebræ were connected across the mesial plane by a ligament which was attached at each end to a depression on the lower part of the continuous convex cartilaginous surface of the head of the rib, and was lodged in a tube on the floor of the spinal canal, formed by a groove on the upper surface of the corresponding intervertebral disc covered by the superior longitudinal ligament, and lined by a synovial membrane common to the tube, the ligament contained in it, and the entire heads of both the ribs.
5. On some properties of Ice near its Melting Point
Authors: Forbes
Published: June 2016

“During the last month of March. I made some experiments on the properties of ice near its melting point, with particular reference to those of Mr Faraday, published in the Athenæum and Literary Gazette for June 1850, to which attention has been more lately called by Dr Tyndall and Mr Huxley in relation to the phenomena of glaciers.

“Owing to indisposition, I have been obliged to leave my experiments for the present incomplete. But I am desirous, before the session of the Royal Society closes, to place on record some facts which I have observed, and also some conclusions which I deduce from these and other recent experiments and discussions.
1. On the First Properties of Matter—Inertia, Gravitation, Elasticity—referred to a common Law
Authors: Macvicar John G.
Published: June 2016

The author commences by a vindication of the Scottish philosophy, that he may legitimately build upon substance as a reality as well as phenomenon. He then shows that just as the idea of substance presents, a priori, an alternative, viz., those which are wholly fixed, the subject of law imposed from without only, and those which possess a power of changing their mode of being from within themselves; so, in point of fact, common observation has recognised in all ages two orders of substances or beings characterized by this difference, and filling up in the sphere of reality this alternative given by pure thought; the one being the ground of all natural phenomena, and ordinarily designated body; the other the ground of all moral and intellectual phenomena, and designated spirit.
2. Some Remarks on the Roman Edition of the Vatican Manuscript
Authors: Lee Robert
Published: June 2016

Dr Lee commenced with a general account of the existing MSS. of the Greek Scriptures, and particularly of the Uncial MSS. These, though few in number in comparison of the Cursive MSS., are of peculiar value, on account of their greater antiquity and the superior purity of their text. Fac-similes of several of the most important of these interesting documents were exhibited. After making some remarks upon the Alexandrian, the Ephraem, the Beza, and Clermont MSS., Dr Lee remarked that all of these were now, and most of them had long been, available to Biblical scholars by means of the excellent copies which had been issued, the possessors of the documents having afforded every facility and encouragement. The only exception was the Vatican MS., of which he had now to speak, and which had hitherto been withheld from inspection, for reasons which might be guessed but could not be justified.
3. On the Constitution of Flame
Authors: Swan
Published: June 2016

In this communication the author discusses the theory of the constitution of flame advanced by Professor Draper of New York, in his paper “On the Production of Light by Chemical Action,” which appeared in the Philosophical Magazine for 1848.

Professor Draper refers to experiments which prove that the higher the temperature of an incandescent body, the more refrangible are the rays of light emitted by it. He assumes that the temperature of the outer portions of a flame is greater than that of the interior regions; for outside there is a better supply of oxygen, and hence a more intense combustion is maintained.
2. On a new Arrow-Poison from China
Authors: Christison
Published: June 2016

In a newspaper printed at Shanghae, in the spring of 1857, a wonderful account was given of a poison, which was said to be employed in the interior of China for destroying the largest animals. Instant death was said to be produced, when an animal was struck in the trunk of the body with an arrow poisoned with it. Such was its potency, according to the opinion of the Chinese, that a scheme was said to have been set on foot for destroying the British army during the late war, by bringing down to Canton the natives who were in the practice of using it. But the scheme was frustrated by peace being unfortunately proclaimed too soon.
1. On the Gradual production of Luminous Impressions on the Eye. Part II
Authors: Swan
Published: June 2016

The author, in a paper communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1849, described a method of observation by which he had succeeded in measuring the brightness of visual impressions of short duration. This consisted in causing a disc, with a sector of a known angle cut in it, to revolve with a known uniform velocity between the eye and a luminous object. At each revolution of the disc a flash is seen. The time during which the light has acted on the eye is easily computed from the angle of the sector and velocity of the disc; and the brightness of the flash is ascertained by photometric arrangements. By this method the brightness of impressions formed on the eye by light acting for short intervals of time varying from ·1 to ·001 of a second was ascertained with results which have been described in the paper already referred to.
2. On the Destructive Effects of the Waves of the Sea on the North-East Shores of Shetland
Authors: Stevenson Thomas
Published: June 2016

The author stated, that the present communication might be regarded as supplementary to the one describing the results of his marine dynamometer, which would be found in the 14th volume of the “Transactions.” On the Bound Skerry of Whalsey, which is only exposed to the waves of the North Sea or German Ocean, he had found, on first landing in 1852, masses of rock, weighing 9½ tons and under, heaped together by the action of the waves at the level of no less than 62 feet above the sea; and others, ranging from 6 to 13½ tons, were found to have been quarried out of their positions in situ, at levels of from 70 to 74 feet above the sea.
3. Notice of an Unusual Fall of Rain in the Lake District, in January 1859
Authors: Davy John
Published: June 2016

Whilst the average fall of rain during the preceding six years in January has been at Ambleside 4·22 inches; in this month, in the current year, the rain measured has amounted to 14·82 inches.

The quantity of rain that has fallen in other localities of the district during the same month is stated in a table, in which also is included the rain-fall in some other parts of the United Kingdom. In the former, it has ranged from 14·375 to 6·514 inches, diminishing with distance from the central mountains; in the latter, the range has been from 6·48 inches to 0·36 inch, diminishing, it would seem, with distance from the western coasts.
Opening Address, Session 1859–60
Authors: Neaves
Published: June 2016

It has been customary for those who have opened the business of the Session in the Royal Society, from the seat which I now occupy, to give some notice of those members who may have been taken from us by death during the preceding year. The rolls of the Society still exhibit many names illustrious both in science and in literature, but seldom has a year occurred in which we have been deprived of so great a number of eminent members.
1. Some Miscellaneous Observations on the Growth of Birds, their Specific Gravity, and on the Stomach of Fishes in Relation to Digestion
Authors: Davy John
Published: June 2016

On the Growth of Birds.—The author's observations on this subject are chiefly confined to the martin, the common fowl, the turkey, and goose. They all tend to show a rapid growth, varying in degree according to the habits of the species. The young martin was found on leaving its nest heavier than the parent bird; and this the growth, as to time, of about twenty days, reckoning from the hatching of the egg. A turkey poult, the day it quitted the egg, weighed one ounce and three quarters; in five months it had increased to ten pounds. A gosling, in thirty-four days, had increased in weight from six ounces to six pounds.
2. Notice regarding the Branchial Sac of the Simple Ascidiæ
Authors: Murray Andrew
Published: June 2016

In a paper which I read last year before this Society, “On the Structure and Functions of the Branchial Sac of the Simple Ascidise,” I stated that I had fed and injected ascidiæ with indigo and other coloured sea-water, and that in those so fed, the coloured material was never found on the exterior of the sac, but always deposited on the inner wall, and that injection by the mouth into the sac failed to push the coloured matter through its walls, except by rupturing them.

These experiments were not isolated or few in number. I showed the results to various friends—among others, Professor Goodsir, Dr Wright, and Dr Cleland—and never, in any of the experiments which I made, did a single instance occur of the indigo passing through the stigmata of the sac; and, in that paper, I naturally reasoned from this fact.
3. On the Mountain Limestone and Lower Carboniferous Rocks of the Fifeshire Coast
Authors: Brown Thomas
Published: June 2016

The writer stated that this paper was the result of observations made while staying at the sea-coast for a few weeks in autumn. Near Ardross a bed of limestone had been discovered, with peculiar fossils, which promised geological results of some interest. To determine its stratigraphical position, it was necessary to reduce to order a portion of the coast, hitherto held to be in a state of hopeless confusion. This led to fuller inquiries, till the rocks underlying the coal-field had been examined from Burntisland to St Andrews.
3. Notes of the Dissection of a Female Beaver
Authors: Cleland John
Published: June 2016

In this paper the writer directed attention to the remarkably developed parotid glands of the beaver, which form a single large mass covering the whole front and sides of the neck, and cannot be separated from one another. He showed how the apparent disproportion between the anterior and posterior extremities of the beaver was increased by the way in which the parietes of the abdomen overhung the thighs, and the margin of the panniculus carnosus passed over the knees so as to include them in the muscular investment that enveloped the trunk.
2. On an unusual Drought in the Lake District in 1859
Authors: Davy John
Published: June 2016

This occurrence, following an unusual fall of rain in January, took place in May, June, and July. The ordinary amount of rain in these months is,—taking the average of the last eleven years,—at Lesketh How, Ambleside, 12·36 inches; during the months in question, at the same place, it was only 4·54 inches.
4. On a Method of Reducing Observations of Underground Temperatures, with its Application to the Monthly Means recorded in the Report of the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh, &c.
Authors: Everett
Published: June 2016

In this paper the same general method of reduction as that of Professor Thomson, explained in the preceding paper, is followed. The numerical labour is, however, much diminished by using the monthly means given in the observatory report as data for twelve equations of condition, instead of the methods by which Professor Forbes had obtained data for twelve, and Professor Thomson for thirty-two equations of condition. The method adopted in the present communication, although not susceptible of such minute accuracy as the more elaborate methods referred to, seems to be as accurate as is necessary for a fair representation of the phenomena, and has a great advantage in point of simplicity and ease of working.
1. Notes on the Snow Crystals observed during the late Frost
Authors: Allman
Published: June 2016

On the 26th of December last, about half-past 11 A.M., a light snow shower fell in Edinburgh, and lasted about half an hour. The air was at the time still, and the sky overcast with a thin haze, while the thermometer stood at many degrees below the freezing point. The appearance of the snow was very remarkable. It fell in loose open flakes, and lay upon the surrounding objects in little masses like tufts of exquisitely white, soft and light down.
2. The Bifilar Magnetometer: its Errors and Corrections
Authors: Broun John Allan
Published: June 2016

The bifilar magnetometer has been employed in all the magnetical observations, with an exception or two; its theory has been stated generally, but no careful examination of the errors of the instrument, as deduced from experience, has been published. The author has attempted to supply this deficiency.

In the theory of the instrument, the proper elasticity of the wires has been neglected, as of little importance. The author shows that the wires receive a twist in the adjustment, which puts the upper suspension-points into a different plane from the lower ones; that the force so produced enters into the equation of equilibrium in a marked manner. The theoretical conclusion is verified by experiments on the torsion force of the wires.
3. Note on the Bisulphide of Iodine
Authors: Guthrie Frederick
Published: June 2016

An examination of the action of certain compound halogens towards some of the olefines (the results of which I hope shortly to lay before this Society), has led me to consider incidentally the preparation of some of the compound halogens in the pure state.

Of compound halogens, while the constitution of none is more invariable and definite than that of the bisulphide of chlorine, the bisulphide of iodine can scarcely be said to have been prepared, despite the so strong analogy between chlorine and iodine.
2. Notes of Excursions to the Higher Ranges of the Anamalai Hills, South India, in 1858 and 1859
Authors: Cleghorn Hugh
Published: June 2016

The southern ranges of the Anamalai (i.e., Elephant) Hills having been little explored, and only known through the manuscript report of Captain J. Michael, 39th N.I., formerly of the Forest Department, the author was induced to project an excursion to these heights, in concert with Dr D. Macpherson, Inspector-General of Hospitals, and the Collector and Engineer of the Coimbatore District (Messrs Cherry and Fraser). The arrangements were made under the auspices of the Right Hon. Lord Harris, Governor of Madras, and His Excellency Sir P. Grant, complied with the request that Major Douglas Hamilton, 21st N.I., should accompany them as artist, to delineate the characteristic features of the country. (This officer's sketches, seventeen in number, some of them panoramic, were exhibited. A selection will appear in the Transactions).
3. On the Anatomy and Classification of the Heteropoda
Authors: Macdonald John Denis
Published: June 2016

The author considers the usual division of the Heteropoda into the two families of Firolidæ, and Atlantidæ as unsatisfactory, and arranges them in three families, according to the following zoological characters.
1. On the Condition of the Salmon Fisheries of England and Wales in 1861; with a Notice of some of the Modes of Fishing, especially those practised in the Severn and Wye
Authors: Jardine William
Published: June 2016

The author proposed in this paper to give more detailed observations on the salmon fisheries of England and Wales than could be done in the compass of an official report, and at the same time to add notes on the natural history of the migratory species of Salmonidæ met with in these fisheries. The first part related to the Severn and Wye.

No subject has been more legislated upon than that of the regulation of the salmon fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland; and while this indicates the importance attached to them, it has been at the same time mainly caused by the want of a correct knowledge of the facts relating to them, an ignorance of the habits and natural economy of the species, and by parties looking at one or two insulated points only, instead of viewing the subject and the various interests connected with it as one.
7. Formulæ connected with small continuous Displacements of the Particles of a Medium
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

Although most of the results deduced in this Note have been long known, I venture to offer it to the Society on account of the extreme simplicity of the analysis employed, and the consequent insight it affords us into the connection of various formulæ. I intend on a future occasion to give large further developments especially bearing on physics. I employ the calculus of quaternions throughout, but where some unusual expressions occur, I have given them in their common Cartesian form, as well as in the quaternion one.
1. On a Possible Explanation of the Adaptation of the Eye to Distinct Vision at Different Distances.
Authors: Forbes
Published: June 2016

The idea suggested in this paper, occurred to the author three years ago, from reflecting that the destruction of spherical aberration in the eye might be effected by a modification of the curvature of the lens, as well as by the variable density which it is known to possess, and which has usually been accounted for as intended for that purpose.

The author considering the probability to be almost infinite against the sphericity of the surfaces (a necessary evil in our instruments, but inexplicable in a natural organ), a conviction which he afterwards found to be reduced to certainty by experiments which have actually been made on the figure of the lens—he conceived that the variable density of this part of the eye must have some other cause.
1. On a Peculiar Modification of the Doubly Refracting Structure of Topaz.
Authors: Brewster D.
Published: June 2016

While examining, in polarised light, some of the crystals which he had discovered in Topaz, the author observed certain optical phenomena, depending on a peculiarity of structure. This peculiarity is manifested either in the depolarisation of light, when it gives rise to four quadrants of light, separated by the radii of a black rectangular cross similar to the central portion, or the tints of the first order in the uniaxal system of polarised rings, or in the unequal refraction of common light, which gives rise to the mirage of a luminous point, in the form of concentric circles surrounding the centre of force. In every case there was found a quadrangular cavity in the centre of the intersection of the cross, generally dark and opaque, but in one case having a luminous spot in the centre. These cavities are from theto theof an inch in diameter.