bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
VI.—The Anatomy of a New Species of Bathydoris, and the Affinities of the Genus: Scottish National Antarctic Expedition.
Authors: Evans T. J.
Published: January 2013

The genus Bathydoris was created by Bergh in 1884 in his Report on the Nudibranch Mollusca collected by the Challenger. In his account of the anatomy of the new genus Bergh draws attention to the anomalous combination of characters possessed by the animal, and gives it an annectent position between the Dorids and the Tritonids, but places it among the Dorids on account of the predominance of Dorid features. The single specimen of Bathydoris abyssorum was dredged off New South Wales in 2425 fathoms. A second specimen of this peculiar genus was obtained by the Danish Ingolf Expedition and described by Bergh in 1900. This specimen came from 1870 fathoms in Davis Strait, and resembled B. abyssorum, with specific variations. Thus Bathydoris came to be regarded as an isolated genus with the characters of a connecting link, and appropriately a denizen of deep water. Our anatomical knowledge of the animal is derived almost entirely from Bergh's accounts of the two species mentioned, and is moderately extensive, considering the rather imperfect state of preservation of the material and the fact that he was dependent on single specimens in each case.
XX.—Studies on Plumage in the Male Brown Leghorn Fowl
Authors: Chu J. P.
Published: January 2013

In recent years intensive investigations on the plumage dimorphism characteristically developed in most breeds of domestic fowl have resulted in a great increase in our knowledge concerning the rôle of the endocrine glands, in particular the thyroid and sex organs, in relation to plumage differences. Since, however, the majority of these researches have been directed to the plumage exhibited by the adult bird, it is suggested that an analysis, both observational and experimental, of the earlier plumage phases shown successively from hatching to maturity might yield much valuable data concerning the nature of the hormonic stimuli involved.
XXVI.—The Polychæta Sedentaria of the Firth of Forth
Authors: Cunningham J. T. , Ramage G. A.
Published: January 2013

The studies of which the results are here set forth were carried on at the Granton Marine Laboratory of the Scottish Meteorological Society, in the years 1886 and 1887. Our memoir is by no means a monograph, although our original aim was to investigate every species taxonomically, anatomically, and embryologically. Much further study would have been necessary to carry out this aim at all completely, but in August 1887, both of us, for different reasons, had to abandon our work at Granton and leave Scotland. We have thought it better to publish the notes and drawings we had made, because they will probably be of service to British naturalists interested in the Polychæta, no extensive work on these forms having appeared in English since Johnston's Catalogue of Non-Parasitical Worms in the British Museum, which was published 1865, and which is now a very inadequate guide to the study of the subject. The greater part of the work of collecting, and much the larger part of the drawings, were done by Mr Ramage. A discussion of some anatomical points has been published separately by Mr Cunningham (“Some Points in the Anatomy of Polychæta,” Quart. Jour. Micr. Sci., 1887).
XVIII.—Non-Alternate ± Knots, of Orders Eight and Nine
Authors: Little C. N.
Published: January 2013

1. To complete the census of knots of any given order, that is, minimum number of crossings, it is necessary to include not only those in which the crossings are taken alternately over and under (Alternate ±), but also the Non-Alternate ±, those in which two or more consecutive crossings are alike over or alike under. Professor Tait has figured the forms of the alternate ± knots, of orders three to nine inclusive, on Pl. XLIV. vol. xxxii., Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin.; the object of this paper is to describe the non-alternate knots of these orders.
XVII.—The Genus Primula: Section Nivales
Authors: Smith W. Wright , Fletcher H. R.
Published: January 2013

This section under the above designation was first established by Pax in Engler's Bot. Jahrb., x, 205 (1889). The species chosen as representative of the section was P. nivalis Pall. This species with its numerous and widespread immediate allies affords an admirable centre for an exposition of the members of the section. The original definition of the section is still reasonably adequate, but its clarity was somewhat obscured by the admission of several species which indubitably belong elsewhere. Of the nine components quoted by Pax, five must be removed—P. sikkimensis and P. secundiflora, as well as the American P. Rusbyi and its two associates. In his Monograph (1) published in 1905 Pax made certain additions and corrections. The number of species indicated as within the section was increased to 15 He removed P. Rusbyi to what is now Candelabra, but P. Cusickiana and P. angustifolia were retained; so also were P. sikkimensis and P. secundiflora. On good grounds were included P. pumila, P. Aitchisonii, and P. eximia, but dubiously P. pulchella and P. Prattii. Correctly in our opinion came in P. Maximowiczii and its two allies P. szechuanica and P. tangutica.
XXI. On certain Impressions of Cold transmitted from the Higher Atmosphere, with the Description of an Instrument adapted to measure them
Authors: Leslie John
Published: January 2013

The distribution of Heat over the surface of our Globe, is a capital object in the economy of Nature. The infusion of that active element communicates to bodies the principle of motion, and quickens the ceaseless revolution of the circle of generation and decay. But Heat, unlike air, water, or earth, appears never in a distinct and separate form: It exists onlv in a state of combination with other tangible substances; among which, it migrates from one to another. On the regulated tide of this transmission, depends the stability of the present order of things.
XI.—A Monograph on the general Morphology of the Myxinoid Fishes, based on a study of Myxine. Part IV.—On some Peculiarities of the Afferent and Efferent Branchial Arteries of Myxine
Authors: Cole F. J.
Published: January 2013

The first three parts of this work, on the skeleton and muscles, were published in the Transactions of the Society in 1905, 1907, and 1909.

In 1905 I briefly drew attention to the existence of vascular papillæ on the afferent branchial arteries of Myxine, which had up to that time escaped notice, and which I then described in the following words: “In addition to the definite bloodvessels, Myxine possesses a system of large lacunar spaces, such as the extensive subdermal cavity, the spongy tissue of the head, the peribranchial sinuses, etc., which have been generally regarded as belonging to the lymphatic system. I have, however, long been convinced that these spaces were in communication with the blood vascular stream.
I.—On the Zeolites and Associated Minerals from the Tertiary Lavas around Ben More, Mull
Authors: M'Lintock W. F. P.
Published: January 2013

The special features of interest attaching to the Tertiary igneous rocks of Mull have been made known to geologists mainly through the classic descriptions of Professor J. W. Judd and Sir Archibald Geikie. The point of view of these two investigators is, however, essentially geological, and they refer but little to the occurrence of minerals and rarely give precise localities. It is clear, too, that the late Professor M. F. Heddle did not make an exhaustive examination of many localities in Mull, for his collection in the Royal Scottish Museum contains very few specimens from that island. With a view to filling up this gap I have paid several visits to Mull, and this paper deals with some of the material which I collected. The officers of the Geological Survey who are at present mapping the island have helped me considerably with information and material; and to Mr J. B. Richey, B.A., who has surveyed the area from which a large part of the material was obtained, I am particularly indebted for assistance in collecting specimens from somewhat inaccessible localities.
XIV.—The Anatomy of the Adhesive Apparatus in the Tadpoles of Rana afghana Günther, with special reference to the Adaptive Modifications
Authors: Bhaduri Jnanendra Lal
Published: January 2013

At the instance of Dr S. L. Hora I was sent in the summers of 1929 and 1930 by the authorities of the Zoological Survey of India to Dumpep in the Khasi Hills, Assam, to carry out investigations on the ecology and bionomics of the anuran fauna of the torrential streams. During the second visit I was asked to make observations on and collect the early stages of the tadpoles of Rana afghana and of any species of Megophrys found in that area. I secured a fair series of the developmental stages of the tadpoles of R. afghana, but only mature tadpoles of two species of Megophrys. Dr Hora (1932) studied the tadpoles of R. afghana with special reference to the evolution and development of the adhesive apparatus. In view of the more or less complete developmental series of R. afghana tadpoles now available, Dr Hora very kindly suggested to me the investigation of the anatomy of the adhesive apparatus in this species.
XV.—An Introduction to the Ecology of Intertidal Rock Surfaces on the Coast of Argyll
Authors: Kitching J. A.
Published: January 2013

In order to study the ecology of intertidal plants and animals it is desirable to choose a coast-line which is as simple as possible. When numerous factors vary simultaneously it is impossible to decide which of them is responsible for any change which may occur in the flora and fauna. The complexity of a shore which is ravined or boulder-strewn makes ecological work difficult. Unfortunately, certain major influences, such as wave action, involve a whole complex of subsidiary effects, so that the perfect locality, where each environmental factor would be found to vary in turn independently of all the other factors, cannot exist.
XX.—Ordovician Submarine Disturbances in the Girvan District
Authors: Henderson S. M. K.
Published: January 2013

Investigations have been made into the conditions of sedimentation of the Ordovician rocks of the Girvan district, with special attention to a series of greywackes, the Ardwell Beds, which are remarkable for frequent intraformational disturbances and unconformities.

In presenting the evidence it is proposed to follow the stratigraphical classification of Peach and Horne (1899), who, after careful consideration, adopted Lapworth's (1882) succession, except for a few minor alterations. These authors pointed out that the Llandeilo rocks north of the River Stinchar consist of Kirkland Conglomerate, Stinchar Limestone Group, and Benan Conglomerate, while south of the river they are represented by Tappins Greywackes and Glen App Conglomerate (see table p. 488).
XXII.—Further Observations on the Genus Lyginorachis Kidston
Authors: Calder Mary G.
Published: January 2013

The genus Lyginorachis was proposed by Kidston (1923, pp. 18–19) to accommodate isolated petioles which, whilst their structure was similar in some respects to that in the petiole of Lyginopteris, could not be finally identified with the latter genus. Two species of Lyginorachis have been described (Scott, 1923, pp. 57-60; Crookall, 1931, pp. 27-34, pls. i-iii). Both came from Scottish Lower Carboniferous rocks; the one, Lyginorachis papilio Kidston and Scott, from the Cementstone Group (Calciferous Sandstone Series) at Norham Bridge on the Tweed, and the other, Lyginorachis Taitiana Kidston and Crookall, from the Auldton Limestone (Carboniferous Limestone Series) near Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire. Crookall also described a smaller and simpler petiole (loc. cit., pl. ii, fig. 3) as Lyginorachis sp., from the Cementstone Group at the Langton Burn, near Duns, Berwickshire.
XIX.—On the Structure and Optical Phenomena of Ancient Decomposed Glass
Authors: Brewster David
Published: January 2013

The disintegration of solid bodies by means of active or feeble solvents, or by those invisible processes which go on during long periods of time, has, so far as I know, been studied neither by the chemist nor the natural philosopher. In 1837 I submitted to this Society a paper “On the Optical Figures produced by the Disintegrated Surfaces of Crystals,” containing experiments which I believe have not been repeated, and results which no person has attempted to explain. Since that paper was published, my attention was called to the structure and properties of decomposed glass, in consequence of having had occasion to study the action of its coloured films, in absorbing definite parts of the spectrum.
XXIV.—On Fagnani's Theorem
Authors: Talbot H. F.
Published: January 2013

Before proceeding to the subject of this paper, I wish to advert to the following well-known theorem.

Let ABC be any triangle with its inscribed and circumscribed circles. Then if we take any other point D in the exterior circle, and draw the tangents DE, EF, FD, the last tangent will come again to the original point D. A similar theorem is true of a polygon of any number of sides which is both inscribed in, and circumscribed to, a circle. Also if ellipses are substituted for circles. Of these theorems I remember to have seen a demonstration founded on the theory of elliptic integrals. But this appears to me to be a great waste of analytic power; for the theorem really results from first principles, as I think will be manifest from the following considerations.
XLI.—The Law of the Volumes of Aeriforme extended to Dense Bodies
Authors: Macvicar J. G.
Published: January 2013

It is certain that the unities which constitute aeriform media, when they have been fully separated from each other by an adequate temperature, and relieved from excessive pressure, are all equal to each other in volume, whatever the aeriform may be, either singly or in couples, or in pairs of couples, double pairs of couples, &c., giving such ratios as 1: ½: 4: 8, &c.
XLIII.—On the Reputed Metrological System of the Great Pyramid
Authors: Smyth C. Piazzi
Published: January 2013

In the year 1859, a book of remarkable power and originality was published by Mr John Taylor, of London, entitled “The Great Pyramid, why was it built?”

On first looking into it, I was unfortunately inclined to fear that its results were unlikely to be very sound; though merely because they seemed to bear, in a hitherto nearly barren, or difficult, and certainly most mysterious field, such a remarkably large crop of rich and promising-looking fruit. But considering afterwards, that that was not the proper frame of mind to be indulged in connection with, and certainly not in place of, strict scientific investigation into the merits of the case,—I read the book carefully, and then searched for the data required to test it, both in the original authors appealed to, and in some others.
XLV.—On the Theory of Commensurables
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: January 2013

The general proposition in the theory of commensurables is to determine the conditions under which lines, surfaces, or solidities, connected with prescribed figures or forms, may have their ratios expressible by integer numbers.

The attention of geometers must have been drawn to this subject by the contemplation of incommensurable lines: the altitude of an equilateral trigon is incommensurable with the base; the diagonal of a square incommensurable with the side, and so on. And, when the two sides of a right angle are expressed by two numbers, the hypotenuse is, in the great multitude of cases, incommensurable with the sides: thus, if the sides be 5 and 7 inches respectively, the length of the subtense cannot be accurately expressed either in integers or fractions. However, when the sides are 3 and 4 units, the hypotenuse is exactly 5 of the same units.
VI. An Account of the Hot Springs near Haukadal in Iceland
Authors: Stanley John Thomas
Published: January 2013

Dear Sir,

Part of my promise has been accomplished in a former letter, in which I gave you the fullest account I could of the springs of boiling water that rise in the valley of Rykum. It now remains for me to send you a description of those we visited in the neighbourhood of Haukadal.

These last are the most remarkable in the island, and the eruptions of water from some of them so astonishing, that I doubt whether any adequate idea of their effect can be given by description. Abler pens than mine might fail probably in attempting to do justice to such wonderful phenomena. The objects, however, are so highly interesting in themselves, that even the simplest narrative that can be given of them will be read with more than ordinary attention.
XXXIII.—On the Colours of the Soap-Bubble
Authors: Brewster David
Published: January 2013

The phenomena and colours of the soap-bubble have been the subject of more frequent observation than any other facts in science. For nearly two centuries they have afforded amusement and instruction to the young, and have exercised the genius of the most distinguished philosophers. Hook and Newton ascribed the beautiful colours of the soap-bubble to the different degrees of thickness of the attenuated film, and this opinion has been implicitly adopted by every optical writer down to the present day. In the latest and best Treatise on Light, Sir John Herschel expresses the current theory more distinctly than others, when he says, “that the brilliant colours which appear on soap-bubbles consist of a regular succession of hues disposed in the same order, and determined, obviously not by any colour in the medium itself, in which they are formed, or on whose surfaces they appear, but solely by its greater or less thickness.…It is at first uniformly white, but as it grows thinner and thinner, by the subsidence of its particles, colours appear to begin at its top, where thinnest, which grow more and more vivid, and arrange themselves in beautiful horizontal zones about the highest point, as a centre.”
XL.—On the Arctic Shell-Clay of Elie and Errol, viewed in connection with our other Glacial and more recent Deposits
Authors: Brown Thomas
Published: January 2013

My attention was called to the subject of this paper in May 1862, during a short stay at Elie on the coast of Fife. Close to the friend's house with whom I lived a part of the sea-bank had been laid open by the waves, and among other deposits I found a bed of clay containing fossil shells, such as now live only in the Polar seas. An account of this I had the honour of laying before the Society on the 2d of March 1863. During the following autumn, while residing at Bridge of Earn, I found a similar deposit, with the same species of shells, at Errol on the Tay, and a notice of this I also laid before the Society on the 2d of May 1864, intimating that at some future period I should again ask their attention to the facts thus ascertained and the inferences to be drawn from them. The delay that has taken place has arisen from other occupations, which leave little time for such pursuits, but it has not been wholly without advantage. The cuttings of the East of Fife Railway were carried past the outskirts of Elie, and I had an opportunity of examining the series of beds, while laid open for the time, in a very remarkable way. This last autumn also, while residing on the spot for a few days, I examined with some care a transverse section, nearly at right angles to the two former; and now, in this paper, I shall endeavour first to state in detail the facts connected with these separate localities, and then to bring into one view the general results.
XLII.—On a Lower Limit to the Power exerted in the Function of Parturition
Authors: Duncan J. Matthews
Published: January 2013

The dynamics of natural labour have been the field of very little successful study or investigation. The object of the present paper is to make a contribution to this subject. I purpose to show what amount of pressure per square inch is sustained by the ovum in the easiest class of natural labours, and thence to estimate the propelling power exerted in such cases.

It is well known that natural births are ever and anon occurring, in which the ovum is expelled whole, the membranes containing the liquor amnii continuing entire. Into this category many more cases would enter, were it not a generally-followed rule for the attendant to rupture the bag should it advance entire as far as the external parts. Again, as Dr Poppel has pointed out, the attentive observer of a series of easy natural labours has no difficulty in arriving at the conclusion, that in not a few cases the same force which ruptures the bag of membranes is able to, and actually does, complete the delivery.
III.—Experimental Researches into the Laws of Certain Hydrodynamical Phenomena that accompany the Motion of Floating Bodies, and have not previously been reduced into conformity with the known Laws of the Resistance of Fluids
Authors: Russell John Scott
Published: January 2013

In the summer of 1834, I was led to examine with considerable interest some of the phenomena of fluids, from the circumstance of having been consulted upon the means of improving a system of navigation to be conducted at unusually high velocities. Being well aware, however, of the very imperfect state of that part of Theoretical Hydrodynamics which relates to the Resistance of Fluids to the Motion of Floating Bodies, and that there had been found in its application to the solution of practical questions, discrepancies so wide between the predicted results and the observed phenomena, as to render the principles of the theory exceedingly false guides, when followed as maxims of art, I felt i t impossible to recommend conscientiously any mode of procedure founded on defective principles, and I therefore determined to undertake a series of investigations concerning the laws of the resistance of fluids, and the means of applying them to the formation of rules for the arts of practical navigation and naval architecture. In this investigation, I have now been engaged during the leisure of two summers, and I am still continuing to prosecute the investigation.
The Diurnal Range of Wind Direction on Ben Nevis
Authors: Omond R. T.
Published: January 2013

The weather conditions on the summit of Ben Nevis made it impossible to obtain a continuous record from self-registering anemometers at the Ben Nevis Observatory, but we have in the hourly observations of the wind made by the observers what approximates to a complete and continuous record. The direction and strength of the wind were noted at each hour by day and night, and these observations are to be found tabulated month by month in extenso in this and the preceding volumes of observations. The direction is recorded to 16 points (N., N.N.E., N.E., E.N.E., E., etc.), and the pressure on a scale from 0 to 12 closely akin to the well-known Beaufort scale ; but the situation of the Observatory rendered the record of the wind-pressure or velocity very unsatisfactory.
XVII.—The Superposition of Mechanical Vibrations (Electric Oscillations) upon Magnetisation, and Conversely, in Iron, Steel, and Nickel
Authors: Russell James
Published: January 2013

That mechanical vibrations affect magnetisation has long been known. The simple experiment of hammering an iron rod (Gilbert) in the earth's magnetic field needs only to be mentioned

About twenty years ago Ewing published investigations upon the effects of vibrations on magnetism. These have been summarised in his subsequent work, Magnetic Induction in Iron and other Metals. He states (§ 84, 3rd ed.) that the “influence of vibrations and mechanical disturbances generally” “may be succinctly described by saying that vibration lessens those differences of magnetic condition to which hysteresis gives rise. Thus, if we tap a piece of iron during the application and removal of a magnetising force, we find at each stage of the application that tapping increases the susceptibility, and at each stage of the removal it reduces the retentiveness.”
IX.—A Cytotaxonomic Survey of the Pteridophytes of Jamaica
Authors: Walker Trevor G.
Published: January 2013

Synopsis

Results are presented of a cytological survey of the Pteridophyte flora of Jamaica. Approximately 270 species or cytotypes were investigated, only a few of which have previously been investigated from other parts of the world. Several genera have been cytologically examined for the first time and their phylogeny has been discussed in the light of these findings. A number of species complexes and interspecific hybrids have been revealed. The overall statistics of the survey are compared with those compiled from an investigation of the Pteridophyte flora of Ceylon, by Manton and Sledge (1954). Finally, endemic species are discussed in the light of the cytological results and the time known to have been available for their establishment in Jamaica.
XVI.—Distribution in some Scottish Soils of an Inorganic Gel System related to “Allophane”
Authors: Kirkman J. H. , Mitchell B. D. , Mackenzie R. C.
Published: January 2013

Synopsis

Samples from the various horizons of five soil profiles representative of diverse types widely occurring in north-east Scotland were intensively examined, after separation into particle-size fractions, by appropriate instrumental and chemical techniques including optical examination, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and diffraction, infra-red absorption spectroscopy, thermal analysis procedures, chemical analysis and selective chemical dissolution. The results obtained are presented and assessed with respect to quantitative estimation of the mixed SiO2-Al2O3-Fe2O3 gel system occurring in these soils. At best results can be only semiquantitative, but interesting trends are observable in each profile and marked differences are noted between profiles on different parent materials, although this effect is somewhat obscured under impeded drainage conditions. The maturity of the soil is also a significant factor. Results in general can be explained in terms of current concepts on pedogenesis.
X. Investigation of Formulœ, for finding the Logarithms of Trigonometrical Quantities from one another
Authors: Wallace William
Published: January 2013

The most simple and obvious use of the Trigonomentrical Tables, is to find the logarithmic sine, tangent, &c. corresponding to a given angle; and, reversely, the angle corresponding to a given sine or tangent. However, in their more general application, we have often to find a logarithmic cosine, having given the corresponding sine, or the contrary; also the sine or cosine from a given tangent, and, in these cases, it may be of no consequence to know the exact angle.
XX. Biographical Account of Alexander Wilson, M. D. late Professor of Practical Astronomy in Glasgow
Authors: Wilson Patrick
Published: January 2013

Alexander Wilson, M. D., late Professor of Practical Astronomy in Glasgow College, was a younger son of Patrick Wilson, town-clerk of St Andrew's, and was born there in 1714. He was very young when his father died, and was afterwards brought up by the care of his mother, Clara Fairfoul, a person much respected for her prudence, virtue, and piety.

Having received the usual education at the different schools, he entered to the College of St Andrew's, where he made great proficiency in literature and the sciences, and, after completing a regular course of studies, was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts in his 19th year.
XVIII. On the Poisonous Properties of Hemlock, and its Alkaloid Conia
Authors: Christison Robert
Published: January 2013

Few poisons are of greater interest, in a historical or scientific point of view, than Hemlock. It has been known ever since the most classic periods of antiquity, being generally believed to have been the ϰωνϵιον of Nicander and Theophrastus, and commonly thought to have been the poison with which state-criminals were despatched in ancient Athens. Since that period it has occupied a prominent place in all works on Toxicology; and it has been immemorially familiar as a deadly poison to the vulgar in every part of Europe, where there is scarcely a country or even a province which does not produce it in abundance. For nearly a century, too, since the writings of Baron Storck of Vienna in 1762, it has been constantly in the hands of the physician as a remedy, and has been currently employed at different times in the treatment of some of the most common, as well as in some of the most malignant, of all the maladies to which the human body is liable.
XII.—Results of the Makerstoun Observations, No. I. On the relation of the Variations of the Horizontal Intensity of the Earth's Magnetism to the Solar and Lunar Periods
Authors: Broun J. A.
Published: January 2013

The following communication is intended to be the first of a series, in which I propose to consider the results of observations made at Makerstoun, near Kelso, Roxburghshire, in the Observatory of the President of this Society. These observations, and the tabular results, will be found ultimately in the volumes of Makerstoun Observations, constituting volumes of the Society's Transactions.
XVIII.—Account of some Experiments on the Temperature of the Earth at different Depths, and in different Soils, near Edinburgh
Authors: Forbes James D.
Published: January 2013

The proper temperature of our globe is a question which, formerly abandoned to speculation and hypothesis, has only lately been made the subject of direct experiment. Preliminary to it, and intimately connected with it, is another inquiry of great interest, namely, What is the thermometric effect of the whole solar heat which falls in a year on the surface of the globe ? How much is transmitted to the interior? How much dissipated at the surface? To what depth does the influence of the seasons extend, and in what manner is that influence modified at different depths? It is impossible to say to how many curious and important inquiries a solution of these preliminary questions may lead the way; and it is to them that our attention is at present to be confined. We shall not speak, except incidentally, of the absolute heat of the interior of the globe; we shall only discuss the modifications of the solar heating influence near its surface.
XXXV.—On the Hessian
Authors: Chrystal
Published: January 2013

Let

be the equation to an algebraical curve of the nth degree, the co-ordinates of any point on which in a system of linear co-ordinates are (x, y, z), u0, u1, u2 …. being homogeneous functions of x and y of degrees indicated by the attached suffixes; then

is the equation to its Hessian, which is a curve of the 3(n − 2)th degree.

Every one of the 3n(n − 2) points of intersection of H and U is a point of inflexion on U if it be not a multiple point on U. In this last case the intersection may or may not be a point of inflexion on some one of the branches of U; but in any case where H passes through a multiple point the total number 3n(n − 2) of inflexions suffers a reduction.
XVI.—A Contribution to the Germ Theory of Putrefaction and other Fermentative Changes, and to the Natural History of Torulæ and Bacteria
Authors: Lister Joseph
Published: January 2013

Although the subject of the following communication has of late years attracted a great deal of attention among the public generally, it may, nevertheless, be well for me to preface my statements by a few elementary remarks.

It is well known that organic substances, when left exposed under ordinary circumstances, undergo alterations in their qualities. For example, an infusion of malt experiences the alcoholic fermentation; a basin of paste prepared from wheaten flour becomes mouldy; or, again, a piece of meat putrefies when so treated. The microscope shows that each of these changes is attended by the development of minute organisms. In the fermenting sweet-wort the yeast which falls to the bottom of the containing vessel is found to consist of budding cells, constituting the yeast-plant, Torula Cerevisiæ, represented in Plate XXII. fig 2. In the mouldy paste the blue crust which is the most frequent appearance, owes its colour to the spores of a species of filamentous fungus, Penicillium Glaucum, the commonest of all moulds, of which fig. 1 in Plate XXII. represents a pencil of fructifying threads; and the putrid flesh will be probably found teeming with bodies which, in the most typical form, consist of two little rods, connected endways as by a joint, such as are seen at a, fig. 3, Plate XXII., characterised by astonishing powers of locomotion, and, from their rod-like form, termed Bacteria.
XIII.—On Minding's System of Forces
Authors: Chrystal
Published: January 2013

Minding has proved a remarkable theorem concerning a variable system of forces defined as follows:—the points of application of the different forces and their magnitudes are given, while the directions are such that a pencil of rays through any given point parallel to them moves as a rigid body.
XXI.—On the Differential Telephone
Authors: Chrystal
Published: January 2013

Some time before the telephone was invented, I had occasion to consider very closely the problem of the opposition offered to the passage of the electric current by an electrolyte, and to seek for new methods of dealing with it. It was not difficult to see that the telephone afforded advantages in this kind of electrical measurement. As far as regards the measurement of what is usually called Electrolytic Polarisation, these advantages are perhaps even greater than they might at first sight appear. In the case of what is generally called Electrolytic Resistance, they are, however, less than they appear.
III.—On the Extension of Brouncker's Method to the Comparison of Several Magnitudes.
Authors: Sang Edward
Published: January 2013

The discovery of those numbers which shall, either truly or approximately, represent the ratio of two magnitudes, necessarily attracted the attention of the earliest cultivators of exact science. The definition of the equality of ratios given in Euclid's compilation clearly exposes the nature of the process used in his time. This process consisted in repeating each of the two magnitudes until some multiple of the one agreed perfectly or nearly with a multiple of the other; the numbers of the repetitions, taken in inverse order, represented the ratio. Thus, if the proposed magnitudes were two straight lines, Euclid would have opened two pairs of compasses, one to each distance, and, beginning at some point in an indefinite straight line, he would step the two distances along, bringing up that which lagged behind, until he obtained an exact or a close coincidence.
IV.—On Green's and other Allied Theorems
Authors: Tait
Published: January 2013

I was originally attracted to the study of Quaternions by Sir W. R Hamilton's ingeniously devised and most valuable operator

to which he called special attention (Lectures on Quaternions, § 620) on account of its promise of usefulness in physical applications. But I soon found that in order that its full power may be applied, in general investigations, it is necessary that we should have processes of definite integration, of the kinds required in physics, applicable to quaternion symbols and not merely to scalar variables. I often consulted Hamilton about this want, and he promised to endeavour to supply it at some future time. I fancy that shortly before his death he must have in some way supplied it, though he certainly did not print, nor does he appear even to have written, anything on the subject. In one of the last letters I received from him, he said that he intended to conclude the final chapter of his Elements, which is devoted to physical applications, by some sections on the use of the operator mentioned above. That chapter remains unfinished, and as Hamilton rarely wrote down the steps of even a complex train of mathematical reasoning until he had mentally completed it, it is to be feared that this portion of his investigations is entirely lost. So far as the analytical aspect of Quaternions is concerned, this loss is very serious indeed, for there can be little doubt that Hamilton's solution would have been of immense value from the purely mathematical point of view.
XVIII.—Chapters on the Mineralogy of Scotland. Chapter Seventh.—Ores of Manganese, Iron, Chromium, and Titanium
Authors: Heddle
Published: January 2013

I have thrown together, in this chapter, the ores of several members of a family of the elements, which may be called the family of the magnetics;* and I have also, from its frequent chemical association with iron, placed titanium along with them. No attempt was made by me to analyse the ordinarily-employed iron ores, but only such as, from their apparent purity, or from the excellence of the specimens, appeared to be of mineralogical interest.
XXI.—Further Researches among the Crustacea and Arachnida of the Carboniferous Rocks of the Scottish Border
Authors: Peach B. N.
Published: January 2013

I have again been privileged by Professor A. Geikie, Director-General of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland, in being allowed to bring before this Society the results of a further study of the Crustacea and Arachnida obtained by the Geological Survey from the Lower Carboniferous rocks of the Scottish Border. Since my former papers on those subjects were read, a considerable amount of fresh material has come to light, which has allowed of many species, which were formerly represented by fragmentary specimens, to be more fully described, and several altogether new to science to be added to our former list.
XVI.—On Stichocotyle Nephropis, a new Trematode
Authors: Cunningham J. T.
Published: January 2013

The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, on account of its abundance in the Firth of Forth, and the consequent ease with which it can be obtained from the Newhaven market, is given to the practical classes in the Natural History Laboratory of Edinburgh University for dissection, as an example of the decapodous Crustacea. One day in December last, while I was superintending the work of a class engaged in the study of this animal, one of the students, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, called my attention to some globular protuberances on the intestine of the specimen he was dissecting. At the time I was unable to answer his questions any further than to say that the protuberances were the cysts of a parasite, and I put the specimen by for subsequent examination. On opening the cysts afterwards I found in them a small white worm, which proved to be a Trematode possessing novel characteristics. In the following paper I shall describe this parasite, and show that it is so distinct from all Trematodes hitherto known as to constitute a new genus. On several occasions I had the pleasure of examining the animal in the company of my friend and former colleague, Mr Duncan Matthews, and some of the points in its structure were first noticed by him.
XXII.—Observations on a Green Sun and Associated Phenomena
Authors: Smith C. Michie
Published: January 2013

The appearance of a green or blue sun, though not unknown, is of sufficiently rare occurrence to make a full investigation of all the phenomena connected with it highly desirable. I have therefore tried to obtain as accurate and complete information as possible concerning the appearance of a green sun in India during several days in September 1883.
XXVII.—Fossil Plants of the Calamopitys Type, from the Carboniferous Rocks of Scotland
Authors: Scott D. H.
Published: January 2013

During the last few years Dr R. Kidston, F.R.S., has kindly entrusted to me for investigation certain specimens of fossil plants, showing structure, mostly from Lower Carboniferous horizons in Southern Scotland.

Four of these plants are dealt with in the present communication, namely:

Calamopitys radiata, sp. nov.

Calamopitys zonataKidston, in MS. (nowEndoxylon zonatum).

Bilignea solidaKidston.

Bilignea resinosa, sp. nov.

It will be understood that all the specimens were in Dr Kidston's hands in the first instance; the sections were cut under his direction, and he himself had determined the chief points in the structure of each before I began my observations. It only remained for me to work out the details, and to form my own views as to the probable affinities of the plants.
XXIX.—Notes on Fossil Plants from the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland. II. Nematophyton Forfarense, Kidston sp. III. On Two Species of Pachytheca (P. media and P. fasciculata) based on the Characters of the Algal Filaments
Authors: Kidston R. , Lang W. H.
Published: January 2013

In 1897, a description was given of a silicified specimen from the Old Red Sandstone of Reswallie near Forfar which was named Cryptoxylon Forfarense. In this note evidence is brought forward for placing the plant in the genus Nematophyton.

For an account of the specimen and of its structure reference may be made to the original description and the figures, which are based on photographs. The stem was shown to consist of an apparently parenchymatous tissue, in which groups of smaller cells occurred. These isolated groups form dark spots, which are arranged concentrically in the transverse section and are slightly elongated in the longitudinal direction. In discussing the affinities of the plant it was noted that it appeared to be essentially distinct from Nematophyton, since in that plant the tissue is entirely composed of long tubes.
IV.—A Monograph on the general Morphology of the Myxinoid Fishes, based on a study of Myxine. Part VI. The Morphology of the Vascular System
Authors: Cole F. J.
Published: January 2013

The first five parts of this work on the skeleton, muscles, vascular system, and visceral organs were published in the Transactions of the Society in 1905, 1907, 1909, 1912, and 1913.

The present section deals with a difficult and puzzling system which adds to its fundamental incongruity a range of variation which reduces the normal status to a condition of speculative uncertainty. The works of A. A. Retzius, J. Müller, and Jackson have resulted in a fairly accurate knowledge of the arterial system; but the venous system, which is much more important as regards its morphological bearings, is only imperfectly known, and the series of so-called veno-lymphatic spaces hardly known at all. Unhappily, material for a study of the development of the vascular system of Myxine has still to be obtained. The smallest individual out of many hundreds which I have collected was over 10 cm. long. Beard records a badly damaged 6·5 cm. specimen and Maas one of 8·5 cm. The structure of Beard's example, which I have examined, does not differ in any noteworthy respect from that of the adult, and hence throws no light on embryonic conditions. Consequently the interpretation of the venous system which has been adopted in this paper awaits embryological confirmation, and is to be regarded in the meantime as a working hypothesis only. The spawning grounds of Myxine have not yet been discovered, and it seems likely that the animal spawns in deep water in places remote from its summer resorts.
X.—Geology of the Outer Hebrides. Part III.—North Uist and Benbecula
Authors: Jehu T.J. , Craig R.M.
Published: January 2013

Benbecula signifies “the hill of the fords,” and the island was so designated owing to the fact that there is on it only one hill of any prominence, and that it is connected with the larger islands to the north and south by fords passable only at low water. The origin of the name “Uist” is referred to in a previous communication.

These islands occupy a central position in the Outer Hebrides, lying between South Uist and Harris. They are bounded on the west and north-west by the Atlantic Ocean; on the north-east by the Sound of Harris; on the east by the Little Minch, which at its narrowest part is about 16 miles broad; and on the south by a narrow channel separating Benbecula from South Uist. The area embraced in this communication extends from the Isle of Shillay in the north to the Isle of Wiay at the south-east corner of Benbecula, and includes not only the main islands of North Uist and Benbecula but also a number of smaller isles adjoining the main ones. Including the intervening channels, the total length from Shillay in the north to the southern extremity of Benbecula is about 28 miles.
VI.—A Contribution to Actinian Morphology: the Genera Phellia and Sagartia
Authors: Stephenson T. A.
Published: January 2013

The most serious gap in our knowledge of the anatomy of the British Actiniaria has been the almost complete absence of structural data referring to the genus Phellia. The present paper deals with all the British species belonging to this genus, and adds some notes on other forms.

I wish to make the following acknowledgments. I have received a grant from the Royal Society, which has rendered possible the work described. I am indebted to my wife for preparing serial sections of the species of Phellia, and for drawing text-figs. 2, 3, 5, and 8. I also wish to thank Miss E. M. Stephenson for text-figs. 1, 9, and 10. Text-figs. 1, 6, 7, 11, and 12 have been reproduced before in my Ray Society Monograph on the British Sea Anemones (and text-fig. 12 in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association also), but their repetition here is essential for the demonstration of the several points which they illustrate.
IX.—On the Feeding Mechanism of the Syncarid Crustacea
Authors: Cannon H. Graham , Manton S. M.
Published: January 2013

The work recorded in this paper forms part of an investigation to determine how far the feeding mechanism of the simple Peracaridan Hemimysis lamornæ, which we have recently described (1927), represents a primitive Malacostracan type.

We have not been able to observe any living Syncarid, but have been fortunate in obtaining preserved specimens of the three genera Paranaspides, Anaspides, and Koonunga, together with a series of transverse sections of Anaspides. From a comparison of the structure and arrangement of their mouth parts and trunk limbs with those of Hemimysis and other Malacostraca which we have observed alive, we have been able to deduce their methods of feeding in considerable detail.
X. On the Optical Properties of Sulphuret of Carbon, Carbonate of Barytes, and Nitrate of Potash, with Inferences respecting the Structure of Doubly Refracting Crystals
Authors: Brewster David
Published: January 2013

In examining the changes which light undergoes during its passage through transparent bodies, we not only receive information respecting the properties of that mysterious agent; but we are in some measure made acquainted with the composition of the substances themselves, and with the manner in which their ingredients are combined. The optical phenomena, therefore, which bodies exhibit in their action upon light, are so many tests, to which the philosopher may have recourse, either in supplying the place of chemical analysis, or in correcting and modifying its results. A difference in the optical properties of two bodies, is generally an infallible indication of a difference in their elementary principles; and whatever confidence we may place in the skill of the chemist, or in the accuracy of his methods, the mind can never rest satisfied with the results of an analysis which is directly opposed by optical phenomena.
History of the Society
Authors:   Carta
Published: January 2013

In the original charter of the Royal Society, it was provided that the collections of the Society should be deposited, if belonging to Natural History, in the Museum of the University, and if to Antiquities, in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates. Much inconvenience, however, could hardly fail to result from this arrangement, especially when the researches of the Society, having, as of late, been much turned to Geology, it became an object to collect together the specimens which served to illustrate the subjects under discussion, and to have them at hand when reference should be necessary.