bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
2. On the Formation of Buds and Roots by the Leaves of the Ipecacuan Plant (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha)
Authors: Balfour
Published: June 2016

The rapid propagation of Ipecacuan in India is an object of importance, and as such has occupied the attention of the Indian Government. The Edinburgh Botanic Garden has contributed largely to the stock of Ipecacuan plants now in cultivation in India. The plan of sending cuttings of the roots or rather rhizomes enveloped in moss has been very successful. We have been able in 1873 to send these cuttings in small boxes through the post. Dr Henderson, the present interim Director of the Botanic Garden at Calcutta, reports most favourably of this plan. He carried out to Calcutta in 1872 small boxes 8 inches by 2, containing germinating rhizomes of Ipecacuan, and roots of Jalap. These are now thriving under his charge. This mode of transmission will save much trouble and anxiety, and will insure an easy and rapid propagation of the plants. We may expect thus to secure for India a large supply of this invaluable remedy for dysentery.
3. On the Physiological Action of Light. No. II.
Authors: Dewar James , M'Kendrick John G.
Published: June 2016

Since the date of the first communication, we have endeavoured to obtain quantitative results involving time as a variable element in the case of the action of light on the retina and optic nerve, We have therefore found it necessary to construct a true graphical representation of the variations of the electro-motive force occasioned by the impact and cessation of light. It is clear that to register minute galvanometrical alterations, the only plan that could be employed would be to photograph on a sensitive surface, covering a cylinder rapidly revolving on a horizontal axis, the alteration of position of the spot of light reflected from the mirror, just as continuous magnetic observations are registered.
1. On the Thermal Influence of Forests
Authors: Stevenson Robert Louis
Published: June 2016

The opportunity of an experiment on a comparatively large scale, and under conditions of comparative isolation, can occur but rarely in such a science as Meteorology. Hence Mr Milne Home's proposal for the plantation of Malta seemed to offer an exceptional opportunity for progress. Many of the conditions are favourable to the simplicity of the result; and it seemed natural that, if a searching and systematic series of observations were to be immediately set afoot, and continued during the course of the plantation and the growth of the wood, some light would be thrown on the still doubtful question of the climatic influence of forests.
3. On “Tait's Property of the Retina”
Authors: Forbes George
Published: June 2016

Professor Tait having asked me to communicate to the Society some experiments I have made from time to time on the property of the retina discovered by him, and communicated to this Society, 15th January 1872, I prepared the following notes. It will be remembered that he pointed out that when the eye has been rested for a long time the first impression of light gives a red colour. Professor Crum Brown stated at the same meeting, that after Professor Tait had told him of the appearance he had himself observed a like phenomenon. Awaking one morning at grey dawn, and opening his eyes suddenly, he saw a glare of red on the window, and was so struck by it that he hastily rose to discover what house was on fire.
5. Preliminary Note on the sense of Rotation and the Function of the Semicircular Canals of the Internal Ear
Authors: Crum-Brown A.
Published: June 2016

As far as I am aware, the sense of rotation has not hitherto been recognised either by physiologists or by psychologists as a distinct sense, but a little consideration and a few experiments seem to me to be enough to show that it really is so. By means of this sense we are able to determine—a, the axis about which rotation of the head takes place; b, the direction of the rotation; and c, its rate.
2. On the Curve of Second Sines and its Variations
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

The idea of this class of curves arose during an attempt to resolve an important problem in the doctrine of wheel-work; a statement of the conditions of that problem is thus the natural introduction to the subject.

When the shape of the tooth of one wheel A has been assumed, the shape of the tooth of another wheel B, to work along with it, may be deduced by a very simple graphic process; and when these two wheels are made to turn together, the points of contact describe a certain line or path.
1. Remarks on the Great Logarithmic and Trigonometrical Tables computed in the Bureau du Cadastre under the direction of M. Prony
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

The volume marked “Logarithms 0” now placed on the Society's table contains, to 28 places, the Logarithms of all numbers up to Ten Thousand. In preparing it, care was taken that each prime should be placed in connection with two distinct sets of other prime numbers, in order that all likelihood of mistake should be avoided. This amounts to the computation of each logarithm by two independent processes. Opposite each prime, reference is made to the page of the record of calculations; and the accompanying volumes marked “Construction, I., II.” contain minutes of each articulate step, so that the genesis of any logarithm may readily be traced and examined.
1. On the Complete Theory of the Stone Arch
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: June 2016

In the investigations usually given of the equilibrium of the stone bridge, it is assumed that the strains follow the same law as in the suspension bridge, the one being a case of stable, the other a case of instable, equilibrium; and, resulting from this hypothesis, formulæ are given whereby to determine the extrados suitable to a prescribed intrados.
Presentation of the Makdougall Brisbane Prize to Professor Lister
Authors: Home David Milne
Published: June 2016

The Council having awarded the Makdougall Brisbane Prize for the Biennial Period, 1872–74, to Professor Lister, for his paper ‘On the Germ Theory of Putrefaction and other Fermentative Changes,” Dr Crum Brown, in requesting the Chairman to present the medal, addressed the Chairman as follows:—

Mr Chairman,—I have been requested by the Council, and I feel it a very great honour that I have been so requested, on the occasion of the presentation of the Makdougall Brisbane prize to Professor Lister, to state shortly the grounds upon which the Council have made the award.
1. Note of Temperature Measurements in the Great Geysir of Iceland—August, 1874
Authors: Walker Robert
Published: June 2016

I have thought it might be of interest to the Society to lay before it a short account of some temperature observations which I succeeded in making at the Great Geysir of Iceland, in the month of August last year. As the circumstances of my visit to the island obliged me to limit my stay at that remarkable spring to a few hours, and as, during that time and for 48 hours previously, no great eruption occurred, I fear my results must appear somewhat meagre and unsatisfactory. The very interesting nature, however, of the problem of the action of the Great Geysir, and the difficulty of securing any reliable observations at all in so inaccessible a region, will perhaps be deemed sufficient grounds for my taking up the time of the Society with these few remarks. So far as my results go, they confirm very remarkably those of Professor R. Bunsen, who, with a companion, spent more than ten days at the spot in July 1846, and to whom science is indebted for the now generally received theory of the action of the Great Geysir. An account of his observations was given in the “Annalen” for 1847, and to it I shall refer frequently in the course of these remarks.
1. On the Expiatory and Substitutionary Sacrifices of the Greeks
Authors: Donaldson
Published: June 2016

The author gives the results of his examination of the subject in the following propositions:—

1. That the sacrifices of the Greeks were offered to the gods with the idea that the food and drink would gratify them, and that the other offerings would in some way or other be pleasing to them; that the common ′people continued to offer up sacrifices with this belief till the end of Paganism; but that as the more cultivated classes came to believe that the gods did not stand in need of food, drink, or of gifts from them, substitutions became more and more general with them.
1. On High Flood Marks on the Banks of the River Tweed and some of its tributaries, and on Drift Deposits in Tweed Valley
Authors: Home David Milne
Published: June 2016

In many parts of Scotland there are indications that our existing rivers reached much higher levels than at present, and that large bodies of water prevailed over districts which are now dry land.

As these facts suggest important speculations as to the physical conditions and climate of the country, it is desirable that they be investigated, before becoming more indistinct from the combined effects of weather and land improvements.
On the Electric Resistance of Iron at a High Temperature
Authors: Smith C. M. , Knott C. G. , Macfarlane A.
Published: June 2016

The following paper is a continuation of a former brief one, communicated to the Society, and printed in the Proceedings, on the change of electric resistance of iron due to change of temperature. In a note appended to Prof. Tait's paper on a “First Approximation to a Thermo-electric Diagram” (Trans. R.S.E., 1872–73), attention was drawn to the curious phenomenon observed by Gore, that at a temperature about dull red heat, iron wire undergoes sudden changes in length, and also to the further discovery by Prof. Barrett, that if the wire be cooling, a sudden reglow occurs simultaneously with these changes. These phenomena seemed to be connected with other known physical changes which take place in iron at this critical temperature, such as the loss of its magnetic properties, the remarkable bend of the iron line in the thermo-electric diagram, and the interesting alteration in the rate of change of electric resistance with respect to change of temperature, observable in iron at the same dull red heat. The following experiments were made mainly with the view of more thoroughly investigating this last peculiarity.
I.—Andrews' Measurements of the Compression of Carbon Dioxide and of Mixtures of Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen
Authors: Knott C. G.
Published: June 2016

After the death of the late Professor Tait in 1901, I was asked by the Council of the Royal Society of Edinburgh to carry to completion the task which Professor Tait had undertaken of presenting Professor Andrews' epoch-making work in such a form as to make possible the estimation of the true pressures.

At the meeting of February 20, 1899, Professor Tait communicated the first instalment of a paper on “The Experimental Bases of Professor Andrews' Paper on the Continuity of the Gaseous and Liquid States of Matter (Phil. Trans. 1869).”
VII.—The Composition and Character of Oceanic Red Clay
Authors: Caspari W. A.
Published: June 2016

The chemistry of this not the least interesting of deep-sea deposits, though it has received attention from several investigators in the past, still presents some uncertainties as regards both the analytical composition of the material and its chemical nature. It has therefore been suggested by Sir John Murray, to whom directly or indirectly all our knowledge of Red Clay is due, that the subject might with advantage be reopened from the chemical standpoint. The results of this revision, which was carried out in the Challenger Laboratory at Edinburgh, are set forth and discussed in the ensuing pages.
XII.—On an Electrically Controlled Thermostat and other Apparatus for the Accurate Determination of the Electrolytic Conductivity of Highly Conducting Solutions
Authors: Gibson John , Gibson G. E.
Published: June 2016

Kohlrausch and others have recently published investigations which show that the electrolytic conductivity of dilute solutions of inorganic salts may be determined with a maximum error of two or three in ten thousand.

Hitherto such accuracy has not been attained with highly conducting concentrated solutions. With such solutions different difficulties are encountered from those met with in dilute solutions. Temperature variations originating outside the cell, the heating effect of the current within the cell, and polarisation are sources of error which are particularly troublesome in the case of highly conducting solutions.
XX.—Contributions to the Chemistry of Submarine Glauconite
Authors: Caspari W. A.
Published: June 2016

The chemical composition of submarine glauconite is of considerable interest in view of the fact that glauconite is the only silicate which is synthesized at the bottom of the sea, and apparently nowhere else. Numerous analyses of this mineral have been published from time to time, but the results are far from uniform, because the material almost always—certainly in most of the older analyses—was anything but pure. The analysis which inspires most confidence on this score is one which was recently carried out in the Challenger laboratory by Collet and Lee on a purified granular glauconite dredged off the Californian coast by U.S.S. Tuscarora (1879).
XXII.—Borel's Integral and q-Series
Authors: Jackson F. H.
Published: June 2016

In his Theory of Infinite Series, Dr Bromwich gives an account of the recently developed theory of non-convergent and asymptotic series, so far as the arithmetical side of the theory is concerned. The connection between Borel's integral “sum” and Euler's well-known transformation

is discussed. Now, if we apply this transformation to such series, for example, as

which are of great interest in the theory of Elliptic Functions, we obtain results which may be described as formless, or at least of such complexity, owing to the mixture of q-factorials (1 − qn)! with ordinary factorials n!, that the resulting series are practically useless so far as the possibility of applying further transformations is concerned.
XXVI.— A Method for determining Boiling-Points under Constant Conditions
Authors: Smith Alexander , Menzies Alan W. C.
Published: June 2016

A method for determining the boiling-points of solids as well as liquids, such that little material is required, and only constant, easily reproducible conditions are involved, is much needed. None of these qualities is possessed by the distilling flask method.

The apparatus suggested consists of a bulblet with a bent capillary not less than 1 mm. in diameter. This is attached to a thermometer and suspended in a beaker (fig. 1). The latter contains water (for substances boiling below 100°), sulphuric acid (up to 200°), melted paraffin (up to 280°), or a mixture of sodium and potassium nitrates (45·5, 54·5 parts) for use from 220° upwards. A stirrer is provided.
XXVIII.—A Simple Dynamic Method for determining Vapour Pressures
Authors: Smith Alexander , Menzies Alan W. C.
Published: June 2016

Vapour Pressures.—The submerged bulblet apparatus described in a preceding paper may readily be adapted to determining vapour pressures. The apparatus is unchanged, excepting that the lower part of the thermometer is enclosed in a test-tube containing a portion of the bath-liquid (fig. 1). The interior of the test-tube communicates, through the L-tube, with a gauge, with a pump, and with the atmosphere. The bath is brought to constancy at the required temperature with the pressure in the apparatus above the vapour pressure of the substance. The pressure is next lowered gradually until a continuous stream of bubbles issues from the capillary. Then the pressure is allowed to rise until the stream ceases. The details of manipulation and correction may be understood from the former paper without special description.
XXXI.—On Two Relations in Magnetism
Authors: Houstoun R. A.
Published: June 2016

The object of this paper is to derive two relations in magnetism. In substance they are not new, but in method of statement they are, and the derivation presented here is shorter and simpler than other methods.

Consider a ferro-magnetic wire hanging vertically inside a vertical solenoid with heating jacket, a pan being attached to the lower end of the wire for holding weights. Then, if hysteresis be neglected, the state of the wire may be regarded at any time as a function of the three independent variables T, F, and H,—temperature, stretching force, and magnetic field intensity.
XXXVII.—The Vapour Pressures of Mercury
Authors: Smith Alexander , Menzies Alan W. C.
Published: June 2016

An examination of the existing data of the vapour pressures of mercury shows that at the higher temperatures a most astonishing lack of precision characterises all the measurements. The existing tables, especially above 300°, are therefore completely untrustworthy, a fact which might be guessed from the disagreement between the values they give (see table below). Regnault made his measurements with the thermometer bulb completely immersed in 50 kilos of the violently “bumping” metal. Hence his results are much too high. Ramsay and Young's well-known values were based on observations at four points. The two lowest of these were original: one was the boiling-point, taken from discordant data of Regnault's; and one was a measurement of the pressure at the boiling-point of sulphur.
XXXVIII.—A Static Method for Determining the Vapour Pressures of Solids and Liquids
Authors: Smith Alexander , Menzies Alan W. C.
Published: June 2016

The apparatus to be described was developed from the submerged bulblet apparatus, a description of which was recently published in these Proceedings (vol. xxx. p. 487).

The Isoteniscope, Bath, and Stirrer.—The substance is placed in the spherical bulb (20 mm. in diameter). The confining fluid, which, when a liquid is being investigated, is the same material as the substance, occupies the lower part of the ∪-tube (fig. 1). The whole instrument, which we have called the Static Isoteniscope, is 24 cm. long. It is suspended, along with the thermometer and mechanical stirrer, in a tall 2-litre beaker, containing a suitable bath liquid. When the substance is a solid, then the ∪-tube is charged with mercury, melted paraffin, a fusible alloy, or a molten salt or mixture of salts. To secure steadiness and equal distribution of temperature, a cylindrical glass screen (cut from a broken beaker) surrounds the bath, and a very active stirring arrangement is used.
Daniel John Cunningham
Authors: Knott C. G.
Published: June 2016

Daniel John Cunningham was born at Crieff on April 15, 1850. He was a son of the manse, and his father, the Rev. John Cunningham, subsequently became Principal of St Mary's College, St Andrews University. His mother was descended from a brother of Captain Porteous, of the Porteous Riot fame.

Daniel Cunningham was first educated at a small private school started by the heads of six families, who engaged a teacher for their boys. Ere long, however, Crieff Academy was organised, and to it the younger scholars were transferred. Cunningham received the simple, strong education of which Scotland was proud in those days, an education which fitted a promising boy for any walk in life. His first intention was to enter on a business career, and with this object in view he spent a year or two in Glasgow.
II—The Hydroid Zoophytes collected by the British Antarctic Expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton, 1908
Authors: Ritchie James
Published: June 2016

Hydroid Zoophytes were collected by the Nimrod at eleven different stations within the Antarctic Circle. These stations centre round three definite areas of Victoria Land—the open waters of M'Murdo Sound to the west and north-west of Cape Royds (“M'Murdo Sound” in the following pages); the open waters of the Sound from Cape Royds southwards (“Cape Royds” in the following pages); and the Bay, a small indentation in the land to the east of Cape Royds.
III.—The Absorption of Light by Inorganic Salts. No. VII.: Aqueous Solutions of Iron Salts
Authors: Anderson John S.
Published: June 2016

The absorption spectra of aqueous solutions of ferric chloride have been examined qualitatively by Jones and Anderson, and quantitatively by Ewan, but Ewan's measurements were confined to very dilute solutions. It was thought, therefore, that quantitative measurements might profitably be carried out on more concentrated solutions of ferric chloride and on solutions of other salts of iron.
XXIII.—Some New Types of Spectrophotometer on the “Flicker” Principle
Authors: Milne James Robert
Published: June 2016

First of all there is discussed the best method of obtaining an intense beam of parallel rays having each ray of equal brightness, as the production of such a beam is a pre-requisite of all spectrophotometric measurements of light absorption. Next there are briefly described three new types of “flicker“ spectrophotometer, the first of these depending on polarisation, the second on refraction, and the third on reflection. All three are quite successful: which it is best to use depends on the circumstances of the case. Finally, three general governing principles are laid down which would seem to apply equally to all types of flicker photometer.

There remains the pleasant duty of expressing my thanks to the Trustees of the Carnegie Trust for the various grants which have made these somewhat expensive investigations possible.
XXVI.—Plane Strain in a Wedge, with Applications to Masonry Dams
Authors: Carothers S. D.
Published: June 2016

(1) It has been shown that in the case of plane strain the stresses in a body can be obtained from a single stress function χ satisfying

where

Solutions of equation (1) will be applied to obtain the stresses in an infinitely long wedge-shaped cylinder, having normal force varying according to some integral power of the distance from the angle applied to the plane faces, and the same at all corresponding points along the length of the cylinder.
1. On the Electrical Conductivity of Stretched Silver Wires
Authors: MacGregor J. G.
Published: June 2016

The apparatus which I used in a few experiments on silver wires was as follows:—To a beam, supported in stonework, a plate of copper was fastened, upon which a smaller plate could be tightly screwed. Between the two plates a very thick copper wire was secured, vertically. Its lower end was provided with a small plate of copper, fastened by screws. This plate served to make fast one end of the silver wire under investigation. The other end was joined in the same way to a second thick copper wire; this was provided with a horizontal round brass plate, through the centre of which it passed, and which acted as weight-carrier.
4. On the Linear Differential Equation of the Second Order
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

This paper contains the substance of investigations made for the most part many years ago, but recalled to me during last summer by a question started by Sir W. Thomson, connected with Laplace's theory of the tides.

A comparison is instituted between the results of various processes employed to reduce the general linear differential equation of the second order to a non-linear equation of the first order. The relation between these equations seems to be most easily shown by the following obvious process, which I lit upon while seeking to integrate the reduced equation by finding how the arbitrary constant ought to be involved in its integral.
1. Note on Certain Formulæ in the Calculus of Operations
Authors: Stokes
Published: June 2016

“Formulæ like those you sent me are readily suggested by supposing the function operated on to be of the form ΣAxa, or say, for shortness, xa, with the understanding that no transformations are to be made which are not equally valid for ΣAxa.
4. Note on the Volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands
Authors: Nichol J. W.
Published: June 2016

The late Transit of Venus Expedition gave the writer some opportunities of visiting several islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago, some details of which may prove interesting.

They form a group of islands about 10½ hours west longitude from Greenwich, and about 20° to 22° north of the equator, and differ in size from 10 miles long by 6 or 7 broad, to 90 miles by 60, which are about the dimensions of the most easterly and largest, viz., Hawaii (the Owyhee of Cook). The general lie of the islands is from north-west to south-east, those in the east displaying the most recent traces of volcanic activity.
6. Laboratory Notes by Professor Tait (c) The Electric Conductivity of Nickel
Authors: Smith C. Michie , MacGregor J. Gordon
Published: June 2016

Pure nickel foil, obtained in Paris by Dr Andrews, was cut into spiral about 20 inches long, and it was on this spiral that all the following experiments were made. During the month of November 1875 a large number of experiments were made as to its thermoelectric properties, and these were found to be almost identical with that of the specimen from observations on which the line was laid down on the “thermo-electric diagram.” (Trans. R.S.E., 1872–3.) This line, it will be remembered, is a peculiar one, and is very similar to that of iron, with this difference, that the peculiar changes take place at much lower temperatures in nickel than in iron.
Is the Gaelic Ossian a Translation from the English ?
Authors: Blackie
Published: June 2016

The recent revival by a distinguished Celtic scholar of the theory of Laing that Macpherson's Gaelic Ossian is a translation from the English, affords an opportunity of examining that question in a more strictly philological fashion than it has hitherto had the fortune to enjoy. Parts of the question were no doubt touched by Mackenzie in the Report of the Highland Society, published in 1805 by Graham in his dissertation on the authenticity of Ossian, by Dr Clerk of Kilmalie, the distinguished author of the new version of Ossian in the late splendid edition published at the expense of the Marquis of Bute; but systematically grappled with the question has never been.
1. Notes on Dredging in Madeira
Authors: Watson Robert Boog
Published: June 2016

The difficulties in the way of dredging at Madeira are many and considerable. This has probably prevented any of this work having been done since the publication of Mr Macandrew's list of Mollusca, presented to the British Association in 1854. The author having dredged for several years at Madeira, confirms Macandrew's generalisation of the Mediterranean character of the Mollusca— excludes 12 of Macandrew's named list as having crept in by mistake, and to the 115 remaining species identified by Macandrew as Madeiran has added 200 to 250 more, making nearly 400 in all, of which 80 or perhaps 100 are probably new. These he hopes soon to publish.
3. On the Decennial Period in the Mean Amplitude of the Diurnal Oscillation and Disturbance of the Magnetic Needle and of the Sun-spot Area
Authors: Broun J. A.
Published: June 2016

The author, in presenting results relating to the decennial period derived from observations made at Trevandrum during twenty-two years, has sought a redetermination of the mean duration of that period, as shown by preceding magnetical observations connected with his own. The relation of the frequency and area of sun-spots to the amplitude of the diurnal movements of the magnetic needle gives an increased value to this investigation.
4. On the Parallel Roads of Lochaber
Authors: Home David Milne
Published: June 2016

The author referred to the papers written on the subject, beginning with that by Dr Macculloch, in the year 1817; and he explained the various theories suggested.

He intimated his adoption of the Lake theory, and expressed his adherence to the view he took in the memoir read by him in this Society in the year 1846, that the blockages of the lakes had been effected by detrital matter.
2. On Parallel Motions
Authors: Wilson John
Published: June 2016

It has been well said that the transmission of force is an “essential condition in machinery.” It is no less true that directness in transference is important; that the fewer links in the chain binding driver and follower together, the less likely is the machine to be put out of gear. There is no question here as to the comparative values of the different modes of conveying motion from a prime mover,—rolling contact, sliding contact, wrapping connectors, or linkwork. Each has its own excellencies; each its special advantages; and one is to be preferred to another only according to the nature of the work to be done.
4. On New and Little-known Fossil Fishes from the Edinburgh District, No. I
Authors: Traquair R. H.
Published: June 2016

This genus was instituted by the author for the reception of the Pygopterus Greenockii of Agassiz, and characterised in the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History” for April 1875. It differs from Pygopterus in the form of the scales of the flank, which are much higher than broad, and having their articular spine arising from the whole, or nearly the whole of the upper margin; in the structure of the pectoral fin, in which all the rays are articulated for the greater part of their extent; and in the form of the anal, which is in shape like the dorsal, and is not produced backwards in the peculiar fringe-like manner characteristic of Pygopterus.
2. On New and Little-known Fossil Fishes from the Edinburgh District. No. II
Authors: Traquair R. H.
Published: June 2016

Body fusiform, sometimes rather deep; median fins large, the caudal deeply cleft, inequilobate; dorsal and anal triangular, acuminate, the dorsal situated nearly opposite the interval between the ventrals and the anal; base of ventrals not extended; pectoral rays articulated (except a varying amount of the commencement of the principal ones). Fin rays ganoid, closely set, striated; fulcra closely set, minute. Scales sculptured, of moderate size, rhomboidal, their posterior borders frequently denticulated or serrated; the anterior overlapped area very narrow, reduced to a mere margin. Suspensorium very oblique; gape extensive; operculum well developed, oblong; interoperculura square-shaped; no suboperculum. Branchiostegal rays numerous; the anterior one of each lateral series broader than the rest a median lozenge-shaped plate in front.
2. Note on the Measure of Beknottedness
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

In drawing the various closed curves which have a given number of double points, I found it desirable to have some simple mode of ascertaining whether a particular form was a new one, or only a deformation of one of those I had already obtained. Of course the schemes (as described in my former paper) contain the desired information, but it may sometimes be difficult to obtain in this way; for, when the number of intersections is large, we may have to change the crossing which is taken as the initial one several times before we hit upon the same notation for like crossings (if such exist) in the two schemes compared. And the methods of deformation already given often present their results in forms so distorted that it is not easy at once to recognise their identity with other drawings of the very same curves.
3. Note on the Effect of Heat on Infusible Impalpable Powders
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

Several years ago Professor Dewar gave me a specimen of silica in a state of exceedingly minute division, which had been produced in Dr Playfair's laboratory in the preparation of fluosilicic acid. I noticed at the time how much its great mobility is increased by heating—so that it behaves almost like a liquid. And I fancied that I observed close to the surface a thin stratum of what might by the same analogy be called a vapour; consisting of particles thrown up and falling back again, like the little drops thrown up at the surface of soda-water. I was inclined to ascribe these phenomena to heat directly—supposing that the particles were fine enough to behave, though in a very imperfect way, as the kinetic theory assumes the particles of a gas to behave.
3. Laboratory Notes by Professor Tait (c.) Preliminary Experiments on the Currents produced by contact of Wires of the same metal at different Temperatures
Authors: Knott  , Macfarlane
Published: June 2016

These experiments, so far as they go, confirm the results formerly obtained by Mr Durham, Proc. VII. 788.
1. On the Biliary Secretion with reference to the Action of Cholagogues
Authors: Rutherford  , Vignal M.
Published: June 2016

Notwithstanding the fact that substances supposed to affect the flow of the bile have been administered to man for more than 2000 years, there is still very great uncertainty as to what does and what does not augment the biliary excretion. The indefinite state of knowledge regarding this point is due to the circumstance that variations in the flow of bile from the human liver are estimated by simply observing the colour of the dejections,—a method that is of necessity exceedingly rough, for it is impossible thus to detect slight variations in the excretion of bile, especially when, as in the case of rhubarb, the substance gives to the dejections a colour similar to that of the bile, and where, as in the case of sodium sulphate, the substance gives rise to copious dejections of a watery character, whereby the colour is diluted.
6. Note on an Infinitude of Operations
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

The assumption that there is a limit in Professor Tait's problem regarding the interpretation of Limn=∞(cosnx) means that if we start with an angle x, and find the number which is its cosine, then the number which is the cosine of this number, and so on, we shall at last come to a limiting result ω, such that cos ω = ω.
7. Note on Determinant Expressions for the Sum of a Harmonical Progression
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

Taking the harmonical progression

and denoting the sum of n terms of it by Sn we have by means of Euler's transformation,
8. Sevenfold Knottiness
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

From the point of view of the Hypothesis of Vortex Atoms, it becomes a question of great importance to find how many distinct forms there are of knots with a given amount of knottiness. The enormous numbers of lines in the spectra of certain elementary substances show that the form of the corresponding Vortex Atoms cannot be regarded as very simple.
2. Notice of a Saline Water from the Volcanic Rocks of Linlithgow
Authors: Geikie
Published: June 2016

From a boring which has recently been made about a mile west from the town of Linlithgow, water has been obtained differing so much in character from that of the usual wells and springs of the district that some notice of it deserves to be placed on record. When the fact was communicated to me I was asked to explain by what means sea-water could obtain access to underground rocks in an inland district. On visiting the ground I found the site of the bore to be among some hollows of the gravel and sand which cover the country between Falkirk and Linlithgow, its height being about 165 feet above the sea, from which it was distant about three miles. The ordinary wells of the district are situated in the superficial deposits, and supply good potable water, though the supply is necessarily limited.
4. On the Application of Graphic Methods to the Determination of the Efficiency of Machinery
Authors: Jenkin Fleeming
Published: June 2016

The general scope of the paper was to show how by graphic methods we might find the relation between effort exerted at one part of a machine and the resistance overcome at another part. It was shown that for a given machine at any instant a linear frame might be substituted, such that the stresses in the links corresponded to the pressures at the joints between the elements of the machine, including the pressures due to driving effort and resistance. Numerous examples were given of the application of this frame, called the dynamic frame, to the solution of the above problem, the friction, inertia, and weight of all the parts being taken rigidly into account.
6. On Amphicheiral Forms and their Relations
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

If a cord be knotted, any number of times, according to the pattern below

it is obviously perverted by simple inversion. Hence, when the free ends are joined it is an amphicheiral knot. Its simplest form is that of 4-fold knottiness. All its forms have knottiness expressible as 4n.
7. Preliminary Note on a New Method of Investigating the Properties of Knots
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

As we cannot have knots in two dimensions, and as Prof. Klein has proved that they cannot exist in space of four dimensions, it would appear that the investigation of their properties belongs to that class of problems for which the methods of quaternions were specially devised. The equation

where ϕ is a periodic function, of course represents any endless curve whatever. Now the only condition to which variations of this function (looked on as corresponding to deformations of the knot) is subject, is that no two values of ρ shall ever be equal even at a stage of the deformation. Subject to this proviso, ϕ may suffer any changes whatever—retaining of course its periodicity. Some of the simpler results of a study of this novel problem in the theory of equations were given,—among others the complete representation of any knot whatever by three closed plane curves, non-autotomic and (if required) non-intersecting.
2. On the Diurnal Oscillations of the Barometer.—Part II
Authors: Buchan Alex
Published: June 2016

In this communication the author stated that he limited his remarks on the present occasion to some of the more prominent results he has arrived at in the course of this investigation. The paper itself, with the tables, will be submitted when the computations have been finished and thoroughly revised,—a work which must necessarily yet take some considerable time.
5. Note on an Identity
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

Whatever be p and q it is obvious that

Hence

and so on. Finally we see that

absolutely without any restriction on the values of the quantities involved.
5. Notice of some Recent Atmospheric Phenomena
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

On March 25th, at 8.15 P.M., very few clouds being visible, there appeared a luminous arch in a vertical plane, passing true E. and W. nearly through the zenith. This arch, to my surprise, gave everywhere a continuous spectrum. I had, in company with Professor Dewar, observed a phenomenon similar in all respects (continuous spectrum included) some seven years before, and was then inclined to fancy the arch a mere low-lying cloud, and its light due to the town lamps. But on the present occasion, after about forty minutes, when the arch had disappeared, an aurora, showing unmistakably in the spectroscope the characteristic green band, appeared near the magnetic north. And a few days afterwards there appeared in the Edinburgh newspapers several descriptions of a similar arch seen at almost exactly the same time at Colinton, &c., and even so far off as Dunfermline. Most of the observers remarked the entire absence of coruscations as a proof that the phenomenon could not be auroral. The facts stated seem, however, to leave no doubt that it was connected with the aurora and the peculiarity of its spectrum remains to be explained.
1. On New and Little-known Fossil Fishes from the Edinburgh District. No. III
Authors: Traquair R. H.
Published: June 2016

Elonichthys ovatus, sp. nov. Traquair.

Of this I have only seen one specimen, from the limestone of Burdiehouse, and preserved in the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art.

Description.—Allowing for the anterior part of the head, which is deficient, the entire length of the specimen to the extreme point of the upper lobe of the caudal fin would be about 5⅝ inches; the greatest depth of the body in front of the dorsal fin is 1½ inch. The distance from the origin of the pectoral fin to that of the ventral is a little over 1 inch, to opposite the commencement of the dorsal 1¼ inch, to opposite that of the anal 1½ inch, and to opposite that of the lower lobe of the caudal nearly 3 inches. The general form of the fish is thus remarkably short, deep, and ovoid, and its general appearance does not indicate that its peculiar form is due to post mortem distortion or change.
On the Cranial Osteology of Rhizodopsis, and on some points in the Structure of Rhizodus
Authors: Traquair R. H.
Published: June 2016

This paper contains an account of the cranial structure of Rhizodopsis as far as this can be elucidated by an examination of a suite of specimens from the Coal Measures of Fenton, Staffordshire, in the collection of Mr Ward of Longton, supplemented by additional specimens from various other localities.
5. Note on the Surface of a Body in terms of a Volume-Integral
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

In § 25 of my paper on Green's and other Allied Theorems (“Trans. R. S. E.” 1869-70) I gave the following relation between a volume and a surface integral, the limits being determined by any simply continuous closed space:—
4. On the Action of Heat on some Salts of Trimethyl-Sulphine
Authors: Brown Crum , Blaikie J. Adrian
Published: June 2016

The authors describe the preparation, properties, and action of heat upon the following compounds of trimethyl-sulphine:—

1st, The sulphide [(CH3)3S]2S;

2d, The hyposulphite (thiosulphate) [(CH3)3S]2S2O2, H2O;

3d, The oxalate [(CH3)3S]2C2O4, H2O.
5. Extracts from two letters on the Refractive Indexes of Glass and Quartz, as tested by Reflection from the Surface
Authors: Quincke
Published: June 2016

In answer to your question about the alteration of surface in quartz crystals, I place the glass or quartz plate whose refractive index χ is to be determined between two right-angled flint-glass prisms, with oil of cassia, and measure the angle θ, at which total reflection begins from the hypothenuse of the first flint-glass prism; the angle θ can easily be calculated from i, μ the refractive index of the flint-glass, and P the angle of the prism. Sunlight falls from a collimator with a slit upon the system of flint-glass prisms, and after passing through the second prism is examined by a direct vision set of prisms, I turn the system of flint-glass prisms until the spectrum appears to be broken off at a definite Fraunhofer line, measure the angle i, and thus obtain—
1. Proposed Theory of the Progressive Movement of Barometric Depressions or Storms; being in continuation of the Paper read before the Society on July 5, 1875
Authors: Tennent Robert
Published: June 2016

In this paper it is not proposed to discuss in their relations to storms the effects of rain, of the earth's rotation, of areas of high and low pressure external to the storm-area, and of the prevailing westerly winds, which are doubtless occasional factors in the progressive movement of storms. What it is intended to show here is that storms possess in themselves a self-motive power, by which their onward movement over the earth's surface is determined.
1. On Thermal Conductivity
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

This paper contains the results of a laborious series of experiments and calculations carried out during the last ten years, the object being the repetition and extension to other metals than iron of Forbes' experiments, described to the Society in 1862 and 1865.
4. On some Definite Integrals
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

The integrals referred to occur in connection with applications of the Method of Electric Images. A curious special case was given to the Society in July 1875, but was not inserted in the “Proceedings.” It depended on the fact that the image of a sphere, whose surface density is inversely as the cube of the distance from a point, is another sphere with a similar law of distribution. But any desired number of integrals, whose values can be at once assigned, may be obtained by various applications of the following process.
3. Preliminary Note on a Method of Detecting Fire-Damp in Coal Mines
Authors: Forbes George
Published: June 2016

The author exhibited two instruments, both founded upon the same principles, for measuring the quantity offire-damp present in a coal mine. The first instrument consists of a tuning-fork fixed above the open end of a resonating tube, whose other end is closed by a piston whose position (read off on a scale) regulates the length of the resonating tube. The length of the tube, which resounds to the definite pitch of the tuning-fork, depends upon the nature of the gas with which it is filled. The more fire-damp, the longer is the tube. Barometric pressure has no effect upon this instrument.
3. On some Physical Experiments relating to the Function of the Kidney
Authors: Newman David
Published: June 2016

This paper treats of the physical influences which promote the secretion of urine, as far as can be demonstrated by experiments upon animal membranes and the kidneys of animals recently killed. Before going on to consider the subject I may be permitted simply to mention the theory held regarding the means by which the kidney performs its function, and also say a word or two in connection with the structure of that organ. As regards its histology the kidney may be said to be composed of two elements—(1) the blood-vessels, and (2) the tubuli uriniferi. (This is leaving out of account the lymphatic arrangement.) The kidney receives its supply of blood from the renal artery, which, as it passes into the substance of the kidney, penetrates the cortical portion and gives off branches.
1. On the Genus Rhizodus
Authors: Traquair R. H.
Published: June 2016

In this paper the author first sketches the history of Rhizodus, from its discovery by Ure of Rutherglen to the most recent papers on the subject.

Placed by Agassiz among the “Coelacanthi” (i.e., cycliferous Crossopterygia of modern nomenclature) it was classified by Professor Huxley in the cycliferous division of his family Glyptodipterini, along with Holoptychius, Glyptolepis, Dendrodus. The discovery by the author, in 1875, of its subacutely lobate pectoral fin revealed the fact that it was much more closely allied to Rhizodopsis than to Holoptychius, and that it ought, along with the former genus, to be classed in a family (Cyclodipterini) distinct from the acutely lobate Holoptychiidae. The author does not consider the identity of Leidy's genus Apepodus with Rhizodus as proved.
6. On the Wave-Forms of Articulate Sounds
Authors: Jenkin Fleeming , Ewing J. A.
Published: June 2016

By the help of the phonograph we have continued the investigation described in a previous Communication (Proc. R.S.E., p. 582), and have now obtained about two hundred magnified traces of the phonographic records of vowel sounds spoken and sung by various voices, and of these sixty-five have been already subjected to harmonic analysis, extending as far as the sixth partial tone. In each case the results have been accepted as satisfactory only when, after the magnified trace had been obtained, the record on the tinfoil of the phonograph still gave the vowel sound satisfactorily. Our attention has hitherto been almost exclusively directed to the vowels u (the vowel sound in “food,”) and o (as in “oh,”) both of which are well spoken by the phonograph.
1. Excursions in the Troad, with Observations on its Topography and Antiquities
Authors: Robertson William
Published: June 2016

The author had resided for fifteen months, in 1855–56, within a few miles of the Plain of Troy, and had made excursions over it at all seasons.

His paper commenced with a description of the western extremity of the Asiatic coast of the Hellespont, between Abydos and Koum Kaleh, including the River Rhodius and the sites of Dardanus, Ophrynium, Pteleos, Rhætium, and Novum Ilium, all of which he considered positively identified. A minute topographical account followed: first, of the valley of the Dumbrek (Simois); next, of the valley of the Mendere (Scamander); next, of the valley of the Kimair (Thymbrius of Strabo); and lastly, of the hilly country between these streams, and of the relics of antiquity which it included.