bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
XXIII.—An Investigation into the Effects of Errors in Surveying
Authors: Briggs Henry
Published: June 2016

The paper discusses the effects of errors in linear and angular measurements on the accuracy of surveys, and is divided into six sections, thus:—

Section I. The Sum of Vector Errors.

Section II. The Average Error due to Imperfect Centring.

Section III. The Relative Effects of Errors in Centring and those of Sighting and Reading.

Section IV. The Propagation of Errors in Traversing.

Section V. The Propagation of Errors in Minor Triangulation.

Section VI. A Summary of Results.
XXIV.—On the Temperature Coefficient of Concentration Cells, in which the same salt is dissolved in two different solvents
Authors: Laurie A. P.
Published: June 2016

In a paper read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., xxviii., part v., p. 382 (1908); Zeit. phys. Chem., lxiv. 5) I described a new type of concentration cell, in which the one platinum electrode was surrounded by a solution of ·025 molecules of KI containing ·001 molecules of iodine dissolved in absolute alcohol, and the other electrode was surrounded by ·025 molecules of KI and ·001 molecules of iodine, dissolved in water. This cell developed a considerable E.M.F. of ·198 volts at 25° C. in the direction which would transfer the iodine from water to alcohol and potassium iodide from alcohol to water.
XXV.—The Topography of the Cerebral Cortex of the Guinea-pig
Authors: Abel Williamina
Published: June 2016

This investigation was begun as a result of certain observations made by Dr T. Graham Brown, on reflexes in the guinea-pig (45). In various experiments he removed parts of the cerebral cortex and found that little if any disturbance, either motor or sensory, ensued. It was thereupon suggested that an examination should be made of the cortex histologically and by electrical stimulation in order to locate the position of the various areas.
XXVII.—The Dissipation of Energy in Torsionally Oscillating Wires of Brass and. other Materials, with the Effects produced on the Law of Torsional Oscillation by Change of Temperature, etc
Authors: Ritchie J. B.
Published: June 2016

In the determination of the law of decrease of torsional oscillations of an iron wire, when the range of oscillation is large in comparison with the palpable limits of elasticity, an equation of the form

yn (x + a)= b

has been shown by Dr Peddie (Phil. Mag., July 1894) to give close representation of results where—

y = the range of oscillation.

x = the number of oscillations since the commencement of observations.

n, a, b = quantities, constant for any one experiment, depending on the initial conditions of the experiment and the previous treatment of the wire.
XXVIII.—An Apparatus for inducing Fatigue in Wires by means of repeated Extensional and Rotational Strains, with the Effects produced by such Fatigue in the Laws of Torsional Oscillation
Authors: Ritchie J. B.
Published: June 2016

In the preceding paper the law of torsional oscillation

yn(x + a) = b,

where y = range of oscillation, x = number of oscillations since start of experiment, and n, a, b constants for any one experiment, is considered with reference to wires of various materials, together with the effects produced on the constants of that empirical equation, and in particular on the constant n, by altering the initial conditions of the experiment. The wires were subjected to changes of length, diameter, temperature, and rigidity, and the resultant changes in the values of n, a, and b were given in detail.
XXXI.—On some Nuclei of Cloudy Condensation
Authors: Aitken John
Published: June 2016

There was some difficulty in deciding what the title of this paper should be. It ought to have been “The Abnormal Dust Readings at Kingairloch” but as that would convey no suggestion of its contents, it was thought better to make the paper a continuation of a previous one under the above title, as the Kingairloch abnormal readings are a particular case of the same subject.
XXXIV.—Laboratory Note: A Simple Method of finding the Radius of Gyration of a Body
Authors: Robson W. G.
Published: June 2016

In the course of some work in this laboratory a determination of the radius of gyration of an Atwood's machine pulley was necessary. The radius was found by using a bifilar suspension. Having been unable to find any published record of the method, which is capable of giving fairly accurate results, and as the measurement of moment of inertia or of radius of gyration is a frequently occurring and ill-understood exercise in a physical laboratory, it seemed to me that the following details might be of interest.
XXXIX.—The Absorption of Light by Inorganic Salts. No. IV.: Aqueous Solutions of Cobalt and Nickel Salts in the Ultraviolet
Authors: Houstoun R. A. , Anderson John S.
Published: June 2016

In Kayser's Spectroscopie, vol. iii. pp. 45–49, an account is given of all the different methods that have hitherto been employed for photometry in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum. Photography, phosphorescent plates, selenium cells, and the ionising effect of ultra-violet light have all been used, but with limited success, and Professor Kayser considers that the only really practical method is that which has been recently introduced by Pfluger. Pfliiger has discovered that there is relatively an enormous amount of energy in the ultra-violet spectrum of the electric spark produced by the discharge of a condenser between metal electrodes. He therefore uses the electric spark as a source, and takes the deflections with a thermopile and galvanometer, just as in the infra-red. He finds the deflections to be wonderfully steady, considering the inconstant nature of the spark.
XLII.—The Sectional Anatomy of the Head of the Australian Aboriginal: A Contribution to the Subject of Racial Anatomy
Authors: Berry Richard J. A.
Published: June 2016

So far back as 1867, Flower and Murie (1), in giving an account of the dissection of a Bush woman, stated that “observations upon the comparative anatomy of the different races of Man have hitherto been confined too exclusively to the external characters and to the skeleton. With very few exceptions the arrangement of the muscles, vessels, viscera, and even of the brain and nervous system, constitute at present an unexplored field; and numerous well-marked races of our species are passing away from the face of the earth without the slightest record being left on any one of these points. And yet in discussing questions, daily becoming of greater interest, relating to the unity or plurality of Mankind, and the amount of divergence of races, data such as these afford, whether their testimony be negative or positive, whether they tend to show absence or presence of variation from a given standard, cannot be neglected by the conscientious inquirer.”
III.—The Law of Blackening of the Photographic Plate at Low Densities. (Second Paper.)
Authors: Baker E. A.
Published: June 2016

In a previous paper the relation between the illumination I on a panchromatic plate, the duration t of the exposure, the wave-length λ of the light, and the resulting density D of the deposit on the developed plate was investigated.
IV.—The Evaporation of Water and Salt Solutions from Surfaces of Stone, Brick and Mortar
Authors: Laurie A. P. , Milne John
Published: June 2016

It is generally accepted that one of the main causes of the rapid decay of stone and brick under modern conditions is the crystallisation of calcium sulphate below the surface, causing a break-up of the stone and brick.
VI.—The Distribution of Anopheline Mosquitoes in Scotland
Authors: Ashworth J. H.
Published: June 2016

The distribution of Anopheles in England has been the subject of two important memoirs, in the second of which were more than 650 records of the occurrence of Anopheline mosquitoes. The paucity of information on the distribution of Anopheles in Scotland is sufficiently emphasised by the statement that there are only twenty-one published records of the occurrence of the genus in this country.
IX.—Models Illustrative of the Atomic Process in Ferromagnetism
Authors: Ewing J. Alfred
Published: June 2016

Sir Alfred Ewing exhibited some of the early models used by him in 1890 and subsequent years to demonstrate that the known characteristics of ferromagnetic metals were very completely reproduced by means of groups of pivoted magnets, free to turn on fixed centres, and constrained only by their mutual magnetic forces during the application or variation of an external field. He had been invited to present the models to the National Collection at South Kensington and they were now about to be sent there. The series included models illustrative of his theory of 1890 (Proc. Roy. Soc., vol. xlviii, p. 342) and others of later date which referred to the modified theory communicated to this Society in 1922 (Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xlii, p. 97). The models were arranged to show effects of rotation in a constant field, as well as effects of varying a field of constant direction. A feature now shown for the first time, and incorporated in a new model, was to submerge the group of magnets in a liquid, with the effect that the irreversible movements which occurred when the magnets broke away from stable combinations and fell into other stable combinations, were made nearly dead-beat. The fluid in which the magnets were immersed damped out the oscillations, causing the energy dissipated through hysteresis to be quickly absorbed, and facilitated the study of unstable phases in the operation of the model.
XIX.—Observations on the Fragment of a Horse Skull from an Interglacial Deposit near Pulawy, Poland
Authors: Prawochenski R. , Kaczkowski B.
Published: June 2016

1. By the application of the method of differential analysis it was possible to identify the fragment of a horse skull found in interglacial deposits as belonging to a horse closely allied to the Tarpan (E. ferus Ant.) or the “plateau type” (Ewart).

2. This method was found to be of the greatest help in craniological studies because it permitted a more exact classification of other fossil and non-fossil skulls used for comparison.

3. It must, however, be noted that the method has certain difficulties in calculations and especially in the arrangement of squares of the chessboard table in cases where the data are numerous.
XXIII.—On the Discharge of a Condenser through a Gas at Low Pressure
Authors: Thomson W. G.
Published: June 2016

As is well known, when the conducting surfaces of a charged condenser are in connection with the electrodes of a discharge tube at low pressure, the discharge of the condenser through the tube may take one or other of two forms; it may be of the continuous type or it may pass as a sudden flash, the most noticeable feature of which, as has been pointed out, is the absence of the definite structure usually regarded as normal in a low-pressure discharge.
II.—Mathematical Consequences of Certain Theories of Mental Ability
Authors: Mackie John
Published: June 2016

Researches of recent years have shown that the intercorrelations which exist among the measures of mental qualities are connected in a particular way, from which it has been sought to deduce facts concerning the nature of the mental structure on which the various qualities depend. If we take any four such qualities, there are six correlation coefficients, r12, r13, r14, etc., and it is found that the quantity F = r13r24 — r14r23 is in practice approximately zero. Since the observed correlations are vitiated by errors due to measuring a sample of the population instead of the whole it is legitimate to think that the value of F throughout a set of mental qualities is truly zero.
VIII.—The Photochemical Equilibrium between Hydrogen, Bromine, and Hydrogen Bromide
Authors: Armour R. W. , Ludlam E. B.
Published: June 2016

(1) In accordance with theoretical considerations, it is proved experimentally that hydrogen and bromine combine to a small extent when exposed to the light of the aluminium spark, which radiates strongly at λ=185 μμ. At equilibrium the vapour pressure of hydrobromic acid is 1·4 to 1·8 per cent, that of the bromine, and the equilibrium state is rapidly reached.

(2) The absorption coefficient of bromine increases slowly with decreasing wave-length for wave-lengths shorter than 254 μμ, but the gas is still very transparent even at 185 μμ.

The authors wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to Professor Sir James Walker and Professor Kendall for their interest and very helpful advice during the progress of the work, and also to Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., for a grant covering the expense of some of the apparatus used.
XII.—Studies in Embryonic Mortality in The Fowl. III. Chick Monsters in Relation To Embryonic Mortality
Authors: Hutt F. B. , Greenwood A. W.
Published: June 2016

In an examination of 11,797 eggs which had failed to hatch, 433 specimens exhibiting teratological abnormalities were obtained.

The various types of monsters observed are briefly described and the frequency of each given.

The most common types were characterised by various degrees of abnormality either in the brain, cranium, or eyes, or in two of these structures, or in all three. Hyperencephaly, exencephaly, and microphthalmia constituted 93 per cent. of all the monsters observed.

Other teratological abnormalities encountered included prognathia, duplicity, ectopia, cyclopia, otocephaly, malformed limbs, and absence of premaxillæ.

Monsters accounted for at least 3·6 per cent, of all mortality in the material examined.Since this material included many embryos too decomposed for detection of teratological abnormality, the actual loss is probably considerably higher.

No significant deviations from the normal sex-ratio were evident in any class of monsters.

A decline in the frequency of such abnormalities from February to April was evident.

Evidence is adduced from Stockard's experimental teratology in fish eggs, to show that a very probable cause of the production of monsters in the chick is an arrest of development of the embryo at a critical stage.Presumably such a condition results from the chilling of those eggs laid in the early stages of gastrulation.

Some evidence to indicate the possibility of an hereditary tendency to produce monsters is briefly discussed.
XIII.—The Hydrogen-Chlorine Flame
Authors: Ludlam E. B. , Reid H. G. , Soutar G. S.
Published: June 2016

In a former paper (Ludlam and West, Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., xliv, 185) the emission spectra of the halogens in the ultra-violet region were described and discussed. In connection with the work at that time the flame produced by the union of hydrogen and chlorine was photographed in the hope of gaining some insight into the processes involved and the nature of the energy changes attending the combination. The photograph obtained showed a continuous spectrum in the visible fading rapidly in the violet.
XX.—Bands in Hydrogen Related to the Fulcher System
Authors: Sandeman Ian
Published: June 2016

The 33S→23S system of Richardson and Das is extended, the band previously given as the null band (00) now being taken as (20), while two additional vibrational levels are added on the infra-red side. An analysis of the system based on the new mechanics is given, and various tests are applied to prove the correctness of the new arrangement. A Table giving the constants of the 23S and 33S states is appended.

My thanks are due to Professor H. Stanley Allen of St Andrews for encouragement and helpful criticisms.
XXIV.—The Action of Salts of Polynuclear Bases on Colloidal Suspensions and on the Electro-capillary Curve
Authors: Butler J. A. V. , Kermack W. O.
Published: June 2016

1. Salts of 5:6-benz-4-carboline and its derivatives precipitate colloidal gum benzoin and other negatively charged lyophobic sols at comparatively low concentrations, but at considerably higher concentrations they do not bring about flocculation of these colloids but confer a positive charge on the colloidal particles. These effects are similar to those observed with many dyestuffs.

2. The effect of the simultaneous presence of benzcarboline salts and of gelatin of pH 4·6 and pH 7·0 has been examined. The presence of small quantities of gelatin appears markedly to decrease the adsorption of benzcarboline ions.

3. The effect of various benzcarboline salts on the electro-capillary curve of mercury has been determined. In presence of small concentrations (M/20000) of these salts the maximum of the electro-capillary curve occurs to the right of that of the primitive (negative polarisation of the mercury), and the greatest fall in surface tension occurs to the left of the maximum of the primitive (positive polarisation of the mercury).

4. These results indicate high adsorption of benzcarboline ions even on a positively charged surface. The possible cause of this unexpected result is discussed.

The authors wish to express their indebtedness for a grant from Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., which defrayed in part the cost of the apparatus employed in the electro-capillary experiments. They also wish to express their thanks to Mr W. Leeper and Mr W. Spragg for valuable assistance.
2. On the Constitution of Bebeerine.
Authors: Von Planta A.
Published: June 2016

The author commenced his paper by referring to the analyses of Maclagan and Tilley, which gave for the composition of bebeerine a formula precisely the same as that of morphia, but as that formula appeared to require confirmation, he had undertaken the careful reinvestigation of bebeerine.
2. Astronomical Notices.
Authors: Smyth C. Piazzi
Published: June 2016

These Notices were chiefly derived from the ordinary correspondence of the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh, from the important character of some of which Professor P. Smyth hoped that extracts from the best of the letters might be of interest to the Society.

He alluded first to the astronomers of the United States, a large and increasing body, of no mean order of excellence already, and of the richest promise. Professor Loomis' recent work, which was exhibited, gives sufficient facts to prove the above statements.
1. Biographical Notice of the late Robert Stevenson, Esq., Civil Engineer.
Authors: Stevenson Alan
Published: June 2016

This memoir commences by stating that Mr Stevenson was born at Glasgow on the 5th May 1772, and that he died at Edinburgh, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, on the 12th July 1850. The writer then notices the disadvantages under which Mr Stevenson laboured in infancy and youth, owing to the death of his father, who was a partner in a West India House in Glasgow, and died in the Island of St Christophers soon after the birth of his only child.
2. Historical Notice of the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in Scotland.
Authors: Johnston Alexander Keith
Published: June 2016

There are few places on the earth's surface which, within such a limited area, combine so many of the requisite elements for chartographic delineation as are met with in Scotland. With mountains rising almost to the limit of the snow-line, and an extensive seaboard, broken up by firths and lochs into every conceivable form of promontory, cape, and headland, this portion of Great Britain comprises within itself such a variety of physical features as is only found elsewhere distributed over much more extensive regions.
2. On the Weight of Aqueous Vapour, condensed on a Cold Surface, under given conditions.
Authors: Dalmahoy James
Published: June 2016

The paper was accompanied by two tables, containing the results of sixty-three experiments respecting the rate at which vapour condenses on a cold surface.
1. On a New Source of Capric Acid, with Remarks on some of its Salts.
Authors: Rowney T. H.
Published: June 2016

The author commences his paper by mentioning the different sources from which capric acid has been obtained, and then proceeds to point out a new source for obtaining it, namely, the grain oil from the Scotch distilleries.
2. On Iron and its Alloys. Part II.
Authors: Stirling J. D. Morries
Published: June 2016

The following abstract contains a brief notice of this as well as of the former part of Mr Stirling's paper, read at last meeting:—

The author gave a short description of the various kinds of cast-iron, and a statement respecting their strengths, and of the uses to which they are more especially adapted, pointing out the discrepancies which exist between chemists as to the quantity of carbon contained in each sort.
2. On the Products of the Destructive Distillation of Animal Substances. Part II.
Authors: Anderson
Published: June 2016

The author commenced by referring to the first part of his paper, in which he had determined the existence, among the products of destructive distillation of animal substances, of picoline, which he had before obtained from coal-tar, and of a new base to which he had given the name of Petinine; and had also indicated the existence of certain other bases. On proceeding to the further investigation of these substances, he had been much impeded by deficiency in materials, and had, at length, been compelled to operate on no less than 250 gallons, or about a ton of bone oil.
4. Notice of some of the recent Astronomical Discoveries of Mr Lassell.
Authors: Traill
Published: June 2016

Mr William Lassell, of Starfield, near Liverpool, who has gained a high reputation by his admirable method of constructing large reflecting telescopes, has largely added to his scientific character within the present year (1851), by the discovery of an eighth satellite to Saturn, and determining its period of revolution; and also, by the detection of two new satellites of Uranus.
1. Defence of the Doctrine of Vital Affinity, against the Objections stated to it by Humboldt and Dr Daubeny.
Authors: Alison
Published: June 2016

The object of this paper was to fix attention on the great physiological discovery which has been gradually effected during the present century, of the mode in which certain of the elements contained in the earth's atmosphere, under the influence of light and of a certain temperature, are continually employed in maintaining that great vital circulation, of which vegetable structures, animal structures, the air, and the soil, are the successive links; and to point out that the most essential and fundamental of the changes here effected,—particularly the formation of the different organic compounds in the cells of vegetables,—are strictlychemical changes, at least as clearly distinct from any chemical actions yet known to take place in inorganic matters, as the vital contractions of muscles are distinct from any merely mechanical causes of motion; and justifying the statement of Dr Daubeny, that there appears to be “a power, residing in living matters” and producing chemical effects,—in fact manifesting itself most unequivocally by the chemical changes which result from it,—“distinct, at least in its effects, from ordinary chemical and physical forces.”
1. On the Function of the Spleen and other Lymphatic Glands, as originators of the Corpuscular Constituents of the Blood.
Authors: Bennett
Published: June 2016

The author had been enabled to study the blood corpuscles under circumstances capable of extending our information with regard to their relations, mode of formation, and ultimate destination. In 1845, he had discovered a peculiar condition in human blood, in which the colourless cells were greatly increased in number. This condition he had called leucocythemia, which was always associated with enlargement of the spleen or other lymphatic glands, a circumstance which had induced him to form the opinion that the corpuscles of the blood originated in these organs.
1. On some Improvements in the Instruments of Nautical Astronomy.
Authors: Smyth C. Piazzi
Published: June 2016

The excessive motion of a ship at sea renders the use of the ordinary instruments employed on land impossible, and restricts the sailors to the use of one on the principle of the duplication of images discovered by Hadly.
3. Notice regarding the occurrence of Pumice in the Island of Tyree.
Authors: Duke of Argyll
Published: June 2016

The Duke of Argyll (in connection with other evidences of a more conclusive kind, that, during some portion of the tertiary ages, there had been some subaerial volcanic action in the Hebrides) explained the mode in which pumice occurred in the Island of Tyree. The pumice was found to form a bed or layer along the line of an ancient sea-beach, and was in the shape of balls more or less closely packed together. These appearances seemed to indicate that they had come in on the waters of a tide or current in large numbers at a time. They were manifestly sea-borne; and the only question was as to the most probable source.
3. Researches on some of the Crystalline Constituents of Opium.
Authors: Anderson Thomas
Published: June 2016

The author commenced his paper by referring to the numerous researches on opium which had already appeared, and stated that notwithstanding their number and extent, our information on the properties and composition of its various bases and indifferent constituents was still extremely imperfect. He had therefore submitted some of them to a renewed examination, employing as the source from which they were obtained the mother liquor of the manufacturers of muriate of morphia. By treatment of this liquor in a manner detailed in full in the paper, he obtained from it a large quantity of narcotine, and a certain proportion of thebaine and narceine.
2. On the Glacial Phenomena of Scotland, and parts of England.
Authors: Chambers Robert
Published: June 2016

This paper commenced with an account ofAncient Moraines connected with Corries or Small Valleys. Sir Charles Lyell had described one as forming the retaining dam of Loch Brandy, on the eastern skirts of the Grampians, and Mr Charles Maclaren had discovered another in Glenmessan, near the Firth of Clyde. The author of the paper described a few others which he had discovered. At Corryhashtel, on the side of Ben-Blaven, in the Isle of Skye, there are three distinct parallel lines of blocks along the right side of the valley, which are presumed to mark the right skirt of a local glacier at three points in the history of its shrinking. In a deep rough valley at the opposite side of the mountain, there are several mounds of rough stones mingled with smaller detritus, which are presumed to have been the terminal moraines of a glacier once filling that valley.
On the supposed occurrence of Works of Art in the Older Deposits.
Authors: Smith James
Published: June 2016

The author, after mentioning various cases of this nature, in all of which the evidence was very defective, exhibited a tool of wroughtiron, said to have been found in the coal, but which was only proved to have come out of a coal-pit.
1. On the Structural Characters of Rocks. Part I.
Authors: Fleming
Published: June 2016

While the condition of the mineral masses in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh furnish interesting illustrations of the structural characters of rocks, such as the columnar, the concretionary, and the fragmentary, &c., the author proposed to confine his remarks at present to what he denominated the FLAWED STRUCTURE.

In the ordinary language of quarriers, theflawsare termedbacks, while they are known to masons asdries, and to geologists, when referred to, asslicken-sides. This last term, independent of its provincial character, refers to one peculiar form of the flaw only, and, although explicable according to the same views entertained respecting the origin of the others, is far from being a typical form. Theflawof the lapidary, in reference to crystals or gems, comes sufficiently near in character to justify its adoption.
2. Observations on the Speculations of the late Dr Brown, and of other recent Metaphysicians, regarding the exercise of the Senses.
Authors: Alison
Published: June 2016

The object of this paper was to recal attention to the celebrated controversies on this subject, carried on during the last century; chiefly because some expressions used by Dr Brown, by Lord Jeffrey, Sir James Mackintosh, and M. Morell, convey the impression that the doctrines of Reid and Stewart on this essential part of their system of Metaphysics, are now generally neglected or abandoned.
On the Summation of a Compound Series, and its application to a Problem in Probabilities.
Authors: Terrot
Published: June 2016

The series proposed for summation is

In which series each line or term is the product of two factorials, the first consisting ofp, the last ofqfactors of successive numbers. And in each successive term the factors of the first factorial are diminished each by unity, and the factors of the last increased.
1. On the Species of Fossil Diatomaceæ found in the Infusorial Earth of Mull.
Authors: Gregory
Published: June 2016

The author, after some general remarks on the Infusoria generally, and especially on , their occurrence in the fossil state, mentioned that the earth in question had been discovered by the Duke of Argyll at Knock, near Aros in Mull, and its geological position briefly described by him to the Society, two years ago. The author had undertaken an examination of it, and had found it to contain, besides Phytolitharia, silicified pollen of grasses and coniferse, and spicules and gemmules of fresh-water sponges, the unprecedented number of about 60 species of Diatomaceæ. He had consulted the Rev. W. Smith, who had observed in it the following 59 species, all belonging to fresh water, which he named, the names being those of his forthcoming Synopsis, and one species which he cannot at present refer to any known form.
3. On the Structure and Economy of Tethea, and on an undescribed species from the Spitzbergen Seas.
Authors: Goodsir
Published: June 2016

The author, after a brief summary of the observations of Donati, M. Edwards, Forbes, Johnston, and Huxley, on various species of Tethea, described the structure, and deduced the probable economy of a large species apparently undescribed, some specimens of which he had procured from the Spitzbergen Seas.
On Circular Crystals.
Authors: Brewster David
Published: June 2016

The author, after mentioning Mr Fox Talbot's observation, in 1836, of circular crystals from a solution of borax in phosphoric acid, stated, that about twenty years before Mr Talbot's paper was published, he had obtained circular crystals from oil of mace, and from a mixture of that oil with tallow or rosin. These circular crystals are groups of radiating prisms, in optical contact, so as to appear like individual crystals. Viewed by polarized light, they exhibit four luminous sectors, separated by a rectangular black cross, which often has its arms so divergent, as to form four dark sectors. The arms of the cross are parallel and perpendicular to the plane of primitive polarization. When a bright disc of ordinary light was looked at through these circular spots, there was seen a halo, or two halos, produced by the crystals of the oil of mace.
3. Observations on the Structural Character of Rocks. Part II.
Authors: Fleming
Published: June 2016

In proceeding to consider still farther the physiology of rocks, the author proposed in this communication to confine himself to the illustration of

1.The Columnar Structure.—After enumerating examples of this structure, as occurring in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, in cannel coal, sandstone, clay, ironstone, clinkstone, claystone, greenstone, and basalt, he exhibited examples of similar appearances in oven soles and fragments of the walls of vitrified forts. The ordinary explanation of this structure as the result of cooling from a state of fusion he pointed out as unsatisfactory, even in the case of basaltic pillars, and inapplicable to similar appearances as occurring in sedimentary rocks.
1. Additional observations on the Diatomaceous Earth of Mull, with a notice of several New Species occurring in it, and Remarks on the value of Generic and Specific Characters in the Classification of the Diatomaceæ.
Authors: Gregory William
Published: June 2016

The author, after mentioning his previous communications on this subject, stated, that continued investigations of the deposit had yielded the extraordinary number of about 150 species of Diatomaceæ, and that as several of these had been only recently observed, it was nearly certain that more yet remained.

Of these species, from 12 to 15 appear to be undescribed, and there are also 7 or 8 new to Britain, or not hitherto admitted as British species.
What is Coal?.
Authors: Fleming
Published: June 2016

Dr Fleming, after stating the circumstances which led him to bring before the Royal Society the consideration of this question, pointed out the distinction between amineral speciesand arock, a circumstance which had been greatly overlooked in recent discussions on the subject. He considered coal as a rock, and capable of being traced, in its origin and history, from peat at the beginning of the series, to blind coal or anthracite at the termination.

He illustrated the character of peat in reference to the vegetables from which it was derived—the changes of a mineralizing nature which it had undergone—and the strata of sand, clay, and marl with which it is usually associated.
2. On certain Vegetable Organisms found in Coal from Fordel.
Authors: Balfour
Published: June 2016

The author stated that the coal to which he called attention was found at Fordel collieries, near Inverkeithing, Fife, and that he was indebted for specimens of it to Mr Robert Daw, comptroller of customs at Leith. It is a splint coal, and exhibits numerous vegetable impressions, particularly of Sigillaria and Stigmaria. These plants appear, indeed, the author thought, to have formed the main substance of the coal, as shown not only by its external appearance, but also by its microscopical structure. Cellular and woody tissue have long been recognised in coal; but from what is now seen in the Fordel and other varieties, it would appear that scalariform and dotted tissue are often present, and, moreover, that in some instances peculiar dotted vessels have been mistaken for true punctated woody tissue.
1. On the Total Invisibility of Red to certain Colour-Blind Eyes.
Authors: Wilson George
Published: June 2016

After some remarks on the peculiar difficulties which attend investigations into the functions of the eye, the author observed, that by far the most remarkable variety of colour-blindness, in a scientific point of view, is that which shows itself in the identification of red with black. This appeared to have been overlooked by previous observers, or at least only cursorily described. The probable causes of this neglect were noticed; and the author then proceeded to detail the experience of some twelve parties by whom various objects of a red, crimson, or scarlet colour were mistaken for black, and appeared, from the testimony of those who committed the mistakes in question, to have made neither a colorific nor a luminous impression on the retina. It was further shown, that though the fact had not attracted attention, the published cases of colour-blindness supplied examples of the same blindness to red; and that Dalton, although he had apparently ascertained his own freedom from the blindness in question, had incidentally supplied proof that the red alike of the solar spectrum and of coloured objects frequently appeared to him as dark or nearly black.
2. On the Stability of the Instruments of the Royal Observatory.
Authors: Smyth Piazzi
Published: June 2016

In an observatory where, as in that of the Calton Hill, the principal object of pursuit is the determination of the exact places of the fixed stars, and the investigation of those exceedingly slow secular variations, which require many thousands of years to run their cycle,—the stability of the instruments, as a necessary element to the accuracy of the observations, becomes of the extremest importance.

To secure this quality much invention and no little ingenuity have been employed, but not yet with perfect success; for invariably the more accuracy we demand, the more insuperable difficulties appear to arise. Even nature at last appears to be taxed beyond her powers, for we find when we have passed beyond a certain degree of magnifying power, that there are no bodies absolutely stiff and rigid—none constantly of the same dimensions; but all are expanding and contracting, and giving and limiting with every change of temperature or application of small accidental pressures.
2. On the Action of the Halogen Compounds of Ethyl and Amyl on some Vegetable Alkaloids.
Authors: How Henry
Published: June 2016

This paper contains some details of a continued investigation, of which the first results were communicated to the Chemical Society of London last year. It was then shown that new bases are produced by the action of iodide of methyl and of ethyl upon morphia and codeine, which are closely analogous with the ammonium bases of Hofmann, so that these alkaloids should rank among nitryle bases. The fact was also pointed out, that although one of the new salts produced had precisely the centesimal composition of the corresponding compound of codeine, the base of the artificial product was widely different from this alkaloid; and the conclusion was drawn that the primary molecules of these natural formations are of so peculiar a constitution, that chemists are not yet in the possession of means of imitating the process of their construction; for even the attempt to convert morphia into codeine fails, though the addition of the requisite amount of carbon and hydrogen to the former is readily effected.
1. Notes on some of the Buddhist Opinions and Monuments of Asia, compared with the Symbols on the Ancient Sculptured “Standing Stones” of Scotland.
Authors: Wise Thomas A.
Published: June 2016

The general identity, in idea and design, of the ancient monuments of southern and western Europe with those of Hindostan, was shown and illustrated by drawings of cairns, barrows, kist-vaens, cromlechs, circles of stones, and obelisks, or, as they are frequently called, standing stones, as found in both regions. The connection between the inhabitants of these regions was further shown by the physical conformation of the races, by the similarity of many of their manners, customs, and observances, and by the decided and extensive affinity of the Celtic, and other languages of western Europe, with the Sanscrit.
3. On the Interest strictly Chargeable for Short Periods of Time.
Authors: Kelland
Published: June 2016

Considerable attention has of late been bestowed on the equitable mode of computing the interest which ought to be charged for fractional portions of a year. Various opinions have been offered relative to the solution of the problem. The basis on which they mutually rest, and on which it appears to me that every solution of the problem must rest, is this—“That the interest chargeable for any fractional part of a year shall at the end of the year amount to a sum which bears the same proportion to the whole annual interest that the period bears to the whole year.”
1. Some additional Experiments on the Ethers and Amides of Meconic and Comenic Acids.
Authors: How Henry
Published: June 2016

The author commenced by alluding to his analysis of amidomeconic acid in a previous paper, and to the objections urged against the formula he had assigned to it.

By referring to his former analyses, and to a later one, he showed that the empirical formula of the acid could not be that suggested by Messrs Wurtz and Gerhardt, but that his results could only lead to that which he had formerly given, namely—

C84H89O78N7.
2. On a Revision of the Catalogue of Stars of the British Association.
Authors: Jacob W. S.
Published: June 2016

After a brief allusion to the importance of catalogues of stars in general, as the foundation of exact astronomy, the circumstances connected with the publication of the important Catalogue of Stars by the British Association were mentioned.

Many of the materials were well known to be imperfect at the time of printing, but that step, it was thought, would strongly induce all astronomers to improve the defective portions.
3. Extracts from a Letter from E. Blackwell, Esq., containing Observations on the Movement of Glaciers of Chamouni in Winter.
Authors: Blackwell E.
Published: June 2016

“The accessibility of the glaciers, even up to a considerable height, is at this season a question of mere physical force. I have made within the last few days two excursions into the region of perpetual snow. The first of these was on the 6th of January, and was to the summit of the glacier of Blaitière, several hundred feet above the point where I had noted the line of the névé in September and October; the second was on the 13th, when I succeeded in reaching the junction of the glaciers of Bossons and Tacconaz, near the Grands Mulets. This junction is exactly at the commencement of the névé, as I remarked between the months of August and October, on six different occasions, when I passed there on my way to and from Mont Blanc, the Dôme de Gouté, &c.
2. Notice of the Occurrence of British newer Pliocene Shells in the Arctic Seas, and of Tertiary Plants in Greenland. In a letter from Dr Scoular of Dublin.
Authors: Scoular
Published: June 2016

“I have lately had the opportunity of examining a series of fossils from high arctic latitudes, brought home by Captain M'Lintock, R.N. The series in one sense is extensive, as there are Silurian and oolitic shells, and also other fossils of the tertiary times. Among these last there are some things which, I am sure, will be of interest to you. Among the specimens are some recent and living shells from Baring's Island, of which I will send you a list when I determine the species.
1. Remarks on the Coal Plant termed Stigmaria.
Authors: Fleming
Published: June 2016

The author, after noticing the proofs of Stigmaria being the root of Sigillaria, called attention to the external organs, known formerly as the leaves, and more recently as the rootlets of the former. He stated that in the many examples of stigmaria which he had examined, he had never observed these rootlets articulated to the stem by anything resembling a ball-and-socket joint, considering the appearance which had led to this notion as due to shrinkage and state of preservation.
1. Geological Notes on Banffshire.
Authors: Chambers R.
Published: June 2016

The author described the succession of pleistocene beds at Gamrie, on the coast of Banffshire, as follows (ascending order):—1, boulder clay; 2, a thick bed of sand; 3, a thin bed of brick clay; 4, a thick bed of sand; 5, a thick bed of brick clay; 6, a bed of sand, containing shells of arctic character entire; 7, a moderately thick bed of pure clay; 8, a thick bed of sand; 9, a thin bed of ferruginous gravel (which Mr Chambers regards as the equivalent of the upper till, or coarse gravel, of other geologists); 10, a thick bed of soft blue clay; 11, a thick mass of sand rising to the top of an eminence on which is a vitrified fort.
2. Theory of the Free Vibration of a Linear Series of Elastic Bodies. Part II.
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

The first part of this paper was occupied with the discussion of the validity of Newton's Theory of the Propagation of Sound. In order to discover the velocity of sound, Newton supposes a series of particles ranged in a straight line to be set to vibrate all equally and isochronously, but the epoch of vibration to vary gradually along the line; and he then investigates the circumstances under which such a vibration is possible. The true result of the investigation is this,—that if the two extreme particles be kept vibrating by some external influence, and if all the intermediate particles be fairly started with the velocities appropriate to their positions in the series, the constrained vibrations of the two extreme particles, aided by the elasticities of the intermediate parts, are sufficient to maintain the vibrations of those parts.
1. An Account of some Experiments on certain Sea-Weeds of an Edible kind.
Authors: Davy John
Published: June 2016

The sea-weeds examined by the author, reported on in this paper, were the following:—Carrigeen Moss (Chondrus crispus), Dulse or Dylisk (Rhodymenia palmata), Sloke or Laver (Porphyra laciniata), Tangle (Laminaria digitata), Doughlaghman (Fucus vesiculosus).
3. On the Possibility of combining two or more independent Probabilities of the same Event, so as to form one definite Probability.
Authors: Terrot
Published: June 2016

In this paper the author showed that,aandebeing independent probabilities of the same event, the expressiona + e—a e, given in the article Probability in theEncyclopædia Metropolitanaas the value of their combined force, was erroneous.
1. On Atmospheric Manoscopy, or on the direct Determination of the Weight of a given bulk of Air with reference to Meteorological Phenomena in general, and to the Etiology of Epidemic Diseases.
Authors: Seller
Published: June 2016

The intention of the author in this communication is to recommend the daily determination of the weight, by direct means, of some considerable bulk of atmospheric air. This subject has become of interest to medical observers, owing to the belief which has arisen, on hardly sufficient grounds, that during the prevalence of epidemics the air is of greater weight than usual.
2. Researches on Chinoline and its Homologues.
Authors: Williams C. Greville
Published: June 2016

In this inquiry, which is an extension of an investigation published in the Transactions for last year, the author examines the connection which has been said to exist between chinoline and quinine, and shows that they bear no simple relation to each other. He states, also, that the supposed analogy between the action of heat on quinine and the hydrated oxide of tetramethyl-ammonium does not exist, and that the assertions which have been made regarding the possibility of the formation of quinine from the leukol of coal-tar are founded on error.
3. On Fermat's Theorem.
Authors: Talbot H. Fox
Published: June 2016

The author gave a simple demonstration of the proposition, thatan=bn+cnis impossible, whenn> 2, and either of the numbers,a, b, c,a prime number.
2. On the Laws of Structure of the more disturbed Zones of the Earth's Crust.
Authors: Rogers H. D.
Published: June 2016

After adverting to previous publications on the subject by himself and Professor W. B. Rogers, the author of the paper began the enunciation of the laws of structure of disturbed tracts of strata, by stating the general proposition that in all districts where thestrata have been displaced from the original positions or levels in which they were deposited, they invariably have the form of one or many waves, even where, from a flatness of the undulations, they seemed to retain their original horizontality.
On the Minute Structure of the Involuntary Muscular Tissue.
Authors: Lister Joseph
Published: June 2016

In this paper the author, after a short general account of the different forms in which contractile tissue occurs in the human body, describes at greater length the discovery made in 1847 by Professor Kölliker, that involuntary muscular fibre is capable of being resolved into nucleated elements, supposed to be of the nature of elongated cells, and hence termed “contractile” or “muscular fibre-cells.”
2. Notice of the Vendace of Derwentwater, Cumberland, in a letter addressed to Sir William Jardine, Bart.
Authors: Davy John
Published: June 2016

In this communication the author first gives an account of the occurrence of the Vendace (a fish hither to supposed to be confined to the lochs of Lochmaben in Dumfries-shire) in two of the lakes of Cumberland, viz., Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite Lake, in each of which it seems to be pretty abundant, and to have been long known to the boatmen; secondly, he offers some speculative suggestions as to the diffusion of species in the instance of this fish, giving the preference to that presuming that its transfer might have been accidentally effected by the impregnated ova being conveyed by aquatic animals
3. On the Races of the Western Coast of Africa.
Authors: O'Connor Luke Smyth
Published: June 2016

The British possess three colonies on the western coast of Africa: Gambia, 2490 miles from England, in latitude 13° 30' N., longitude 14° 40' W.; 500 miles south, Sierra Leone, in latitude 8° 30' N., longitude 13° 10' W.; and, 1500 miles down in the Bight of Benin, Gold or Cape Coast Castle, in latitude 5° 5' 25” N., longitude 1° 12' 45” W.