bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
IX.—Gynandromorphism and Lateral Asymmetry in Birds
Authors: Crew F. A. E. , Munro S. S.
Published: June 2016

Shortly after Juhn, Faulkner and Gustavson (1931) had shown that natural differentials in the growth‐rate of individual feathers on one and the same fowl determined, in part, the threshold of their response to œstrin, the faster the growth‐rate the greater being the amount of œstrin required to produce female feathering, Lillie (1931) extended their conclusions to a re‐examination of the cases of lateral gynandromorphism in birds recorded in the literature up to that time. He pointed out that this condition seemed always to be associated with lateral size asymmetry, and argued therefore that, since the male side was the larger and presumably the faster growing, to account for lateral gynandromorphism it was necessary only to postulate that the ovary of the bird should be malfunctioning, producing a sub‐normal amount of œstrin, sufficient to evoke henny‐feathering on the smaller, more slowly growing side, but insufficient to do so on the larger, faster growing side.
XIII.—The Brackish‐water Lochs of Orkney
Authors: Nicol Edith A. T.
Published: June 2016

The Lochs of Stenness and Harray on the mainland of Orkney are the only known stations in Scotland for Neritina fluviatilis L. The Loch of Stenness has a salinity varying between 9 and 26·8 parts per thousand; 24 species of invertebrates live in the loch, as well as several kinds of fish. The distribution of H. jenkinsi Smith and Peringia ulvœ Pennant is peculiar and only partly explicable by the salinity. The Loch of Harray is almost fresh and only slightly affected by spring tides, the salinity varying between 0·6 and 4·3 parts per thousand. Twenty-seven species of invertebrates are to be found in it, most of which are fresh-water species. The calcium content of the lochs varies from 56 to 139 mg. per litre.
XV.—On Rare Defects in Human Populations with Particular Regard to In-breeding and Isolate Effects
Authors: Dahlberg Gunnar
Published: June 2016

In theoretical analyses of the hereditary composition of human populations it is often assumed that crossing occurs at random and that individuals with different hereditary make‐up are equally fertile. This state of things has been called amphimixis. Sometimes such assumptions tally so closely with the actual state of things that it is possible to employ calculations carried out from this point of departure. In other cases processes present in populations cause larger or smaller deviations from amphimixis.
XVII.—The Dynamics of Sheet Intrusion
Authors: Anderson E. M.
Published: June 2016

This communication is largely founded on a paper entitled “Stresses in a Plate due to the presence of Cracks and Sharp Corners,” delivered by Professor C. E. Inglis, to the Institution of Naval Architects (1913). The importance of this contribution to the theory of fracture is recognized, and the results seem, among other things, to have a bearing on some geological problems. They may help, for instance, to explain the inception and development of sheet intrusions, under which class one may include ordinary vertical dykes (but not ring‐dykes), horizontal sills, and other hypabyssal bodies whose thickness bears only a very small proportion to their length.
XII.—Seismic Radiations.
Authors: Knott C. G
Published: June 2016

When a large earthquake occurs in any part of the earth, its tremors can be recorded on suitable instruments all over the surface of the globe. These instruments are of various types, the most familiar being the horizontal pendulum, the evolution of which we owe to the labours of a small band of enthusiasts who were engaged by the Japanese Government in the late seventies and early eighties to teach the students of Japan the scientific methods of the West. The most conspicuous of these is undoubtedly Professor John Milne, who in his seismological laboratory established in the Isle of Wight continues to study the mysterious movements of the earth. Prompted by him, the British Association has installed some fifty instruments in various parts of the world; and from the accumulating records furnished by these instruments, Milne pursues his seismological studies. In addition to these fifty British Association stations, there have grown up in recent years many seismological laboratories in Europe, Asia, and America; and the data supplied from all these sources place us in a much better position than ever before to draw sure conclusions from the character of the records.
XXI.— Preliminary Statement on the Morphology of the Cone of Lycopodium Cernuum and its Bearing on the Affinities of Spencerites.
Authors: Lang William H.
Published: June 2016

IT is a remarkable fact that in spite of the primitive features which appear to be preserved in the existing genus Lycopodium, there is little or no evidence pointing to ancient forms to which this genus itself can be related. Some of the smaller palæozoic Lycopodiales, impressions of which are named Lycopodites, may perhaps have been eligulate, homosporous forms, but in many of the better known examples they appear to have been heterosporous, and suggest comparison rather with Selaginella than with Lycopodium. In the course of a re-examination of the morphology and structure of Lycopodium cernuum, and a comparison of it with other species of Lycopodium, features of interest in the morphology of the cone were disclosed which indicated a remarkable similarity in plan of construction between this Lycopodium and the cone of Spencerites. A preliminary account of the cone of L. cernuum will be given here, leaving the consideration of the anatomy and the comparison with other species until the full account is published.
XXIV.—The Electromotive Force of Iodine Concentration Cells in Water and Alcohol.
Authors: Laurie A. P.
Published: June 2016

In a recent paper (Zeitschrift für Electrochemie, 1906, page 265) Mr Maitland has redetermined with great care the electromotive force of an iodine solution with a platinum electrode against a mercury-calomel electrode. As, however, no observations seem to have been published of the electromotive force of iodine against iodine of different concentrations, it seemed advisable to determine those values before proceeding to the determination of the values for alcohol solutions.
XXVI.—Treatment of Aneurysm by Electrolysis.
Authors: Turner Dawson
Published: June 2016

MANY attempts have been made to utilise electrolysis in aneurysms, especially in those thoracic ones that are not amenable to ordinary surgical treatment; it has been hoped that the clotting which occurs around the poles might serve as a nucleus for further coagulation and deposits of fibrin, and that the aneurysm cavity might in this way become partially filled up. Such attempts have not met with much success hitherto, and the purpose of this research has been to endeavour to determine by experiments on blood serum outside the body what the actual effect of electrolysis is so far as regards clotting. Various methods of electrolysing the blood in an aneurysm have been used by surgeons. Ciniselli introduced needles connected with both poles, and reversed the direction of the current every five minutes; of 38 cases so treated, 27 were ameliorated, but none were cured. In the unipolar method one pole only was introduced, and the other was connected with an indifferent pad placed in the vicinity. The difficult question was which pole to introduce. The positive pole gave the firmest clot, but it was thought that it might be difficult to withdraw, and that hæmorrhage or even rupture of the vessel might follow.
XXXIII.—On the Rate of Elimination of Chloroform when Administered by Different Channels.
Authors: Lindsay Dorothy E. , Paton D. Noël
Published: June 2016

One of us (D. N. P.) has shown in the preceding paper that chloroform, when administered to dogs by the respiratory passages, may produce a purely stimulating action upon hepatic metabolism; whereas when it is given by the mouth, and to a less extent when it is given hypodermically, it exercises a distinctly toxic action, decreasing the activity of hepatic metabolism and leading to degenerative changes in the liver cells.

In attempting to find an explanation of these phenomena, it was necessary to know whether any difference existed in the distribution of the drug throughout the system after it had been given by these channels.

To elucidate this, the following series of observations were undertaken upon rabbits.
XXXIX.—Magnetic Quality in the most open Cubic Arrangement of Molecular Magnets.
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

In a former paper (Proc. R.S.E., 1905) an investigation was given of the magnetic properties of the closest packed homogeneous cubic arrangement of molecular magnets, and it was found that the results were in good agreement with the observed properties of crystals of magnetite. It was also suggested that a parallel investigation of other cubic arrangements might lead to a discrimination of molecular arrangement, so far as the magnetic constituents are concerned, in actual crystals. To settle this point, if possible, the present investigation was undertaken.
XLIII.—Nitric Anhydride as a Nitrating Agent.
Authors: Gibson G. E.
Published: June 2016

IN the ordinary methods for the preparation of tartaric acid dinitrate, a mixture of fuming nitric acid with concentrated sulphuric acid is used as a nitrating agent.

The product is treated with iced water to remove the sulphuric and nitric acids.

As the dinitrate is decomposed by water, even at 0° C, it is impossible to avoid some loss in this process.

By using nitric anhydride as a nitrating agent this difficulty is avoided. Nitric acid, which is the only other product of the reaction, can be removed by evaporation in vacuo.
XLIV.—Combustion Analysis.
Authors: Walker James , Blackadder Thomas
Published: June 2016

The process of Dennstedt for the elementary analysis of organic compounds by combustion in oxygen with the help of platinised quartz was tried in this laboratory, and in expert hands was found to be both rapid and accurate. The average student, however, experienced great difficulty in the conduct of the combustion, and it occurred to us that the advantages of the apparatus of Dennstedt, so carefully worked out by him in detail, might be applied to the ordinary method of combustion by means of copper oxide.

If one inspects a tube in which a copper oxide combustion is being conducted, it is found that the oxide actually reduced to metallic copper, after the combustion of the volatile matter is completed, rarely extends for more than an inch or two along the tube, unless the process has been accidentally “rushed.”
VIII.—Lunar Atmospheric Pressure Variations at Glasgow
Authors: Robb R. A. , Tannahill T. R.
Published: June 2016

1. In a previous communication (Robb and Tannahill, 1935) the lunar atmospheric pressure inequalities at Glasgow for days whose range of pressure was less than or equal to o·1 in. of mercury were investigated. It was found that a large first harmonic was present and that the second harmonic or semi-diurnal component had a phase angle of 285° in contradiction to the phase angle of 90° as predicted by tidal theory.
IX.—Sources of Variation in Human Birth Weights
Authors: Donald H. P.
Published: June 2016

At times when processes of great ontogenetic importance are taking place, the interaction of heredity and environment presents problems of considerable interest. Laying as it does the foundations of future independent existence, prenatal development must be the concern of all those interested in the mental and physical suitability of human beings for the environment in which they have to live. Owing to lack of information, pregnancy from the point of view of the fœtus has perforce been largely neglected by the physician and sociologist, but the need to remedy this defect in our knowledge had been clearly indicated by Hogben (1931). As an of example of a field of research that would repay much attention, the work of Pearson (1914) and S. Hansen (1920) may be mentioned. These author wrote suggestively of the handicap of the first-born, using extensive data on the incidence of disease, mental defect, and the physical qualities of the new-born child in relation to birth order.
XII.—The Molecular Spectra of the Hydrogen Isotopes. II.—The Assumption of a Common Potential Function for the Isotopic States
Authors: Sandeman Ian
Published: June 2016

In Part I (1938) an application of the theoretical work of the late J. L. Dunham (1932) to the Isσ2pσ1∑ and Isσ2sσ3∑ states of D2 has been carried out, and the constants of these states have been calculated and compared with those for the corresponding states of H2. This work shows that the corresponding isotopic states are much more dissimilar than we should have expected.
XIV.—Studies on Reproduction in the Albino Mouse. II. Contributions on the Maturation of the Sperm Cells
Authors: Merton Hugo
Published: June 2016

The morphological characters of mammalian sperm cells taken from theductuli efferentesdiffer only slightly from the sperm derived from thevas deferens. However, it is known that spermatozoa from thecaput epididymis, when kept in physiological salt solution, quickly become immotile, whereas those from thecauda epididymisretain their motility for a long time (Moore, 1928). During the slow passage through the epididymis the spermatozoa undergo a physiological process of maturation, which is said to occur under the influence of the epithelium of the epididymis and to result in a lesser susceptibility on the part of the spermatozoa to extraneous influences (Braus and Redenz, 1924; Redenz, 1926; and Lanz, 1929). Other authors maintain that this maturation of the spermatozoon is not conditioned by environmental influences (Young, 1931). In any case the spermatozoa achieve full functional ability only after they have reached thecauda epididymisand thevas deferens. These are the spermatozoa which enter the female genital tract at copulation, and thus it follows that spermatozoa for artificial insemination in the mouse must be taken from thevas deferensandcauda epididymis.
XX.—Studies on Reproduction in the Albino Mouse. III. The Duration of Life of Spermatozoa in the Female Reproductive Tract
Authors: Merton Hugo
Published: June 2016

The method of artificial insemination in the mouse, which has been used successfully only once previously (Mark and Long, 1911), has made it possible to collect exact data on the duration of life and the fertilising capacity of spermatozoa in the female genital tract. Earlier results concerning the conditions under which spermatozoa from the male genital tract attain their maximum activity (Merton, II) and the exact knowledge of the time of parturition (Merton, I) were helpful in carrying out artificial insemination during the following œstrous period.
XXII.—Integration of a Certain System of Linear Partial Differential Equations of Hypergeometric Type
Authors: Erdélyi A.
Published: June 2016

1. The integration of systems of linear partial differential equations of hypergeometric type has been the subject of a great number of recent investigations (e.g. Appell, 1925; Appell-Kampé de Fériet, 1926). Especially Professor Horn (see references) and his pupils, for instance Borngässer (1933), have done much valuable work in this field.

The first method that suggests itself for integrating systems of this type is to try power-series expansions of the solutions in the neighbourhood of the singular points of the system. This method, however, does not yield in general a complete set of solutions. Those singular points of the system in which more than n singular manifolds intersect, n being the number of independent variables, give rise to considerable difficulties.
I.—The Freezing-Points of Rhombic Sulphur and of Soufre Nacré
Authors: Smith Alexander , Carson C. M.
Published: June 2016

The following symbols may be used to designate the well-characterised forms of sulphur: SI, rhombic; SII, ordinary monosymmetric; SIII, soufre nacré; SIV, Muthmann's fourth modification; Sλ, liquid soluble sulphur: Sμ, insoluble sulphur.
XI.—An Investigation into the Effects of Seasonal Changes on Body Temperature
Authors: Simpson Sutherland
Published: June 2016

Monthly observations, extending over one year, were made on the rectal temperature of 114 domestic fowls (Gallus gallus, ♀) and records from forty-one of these were obtained for two years. Six different breeds were used, each located in a separate pen, all under similar conditions, and the mean temperatures for each group were plotted out to form an annual temperature curve. It was found that—

1. The lowest temperatures occur in December, January, and February, and the highest in June, July, and August, corresponding in a general way with the temperature of the external air.

2. Barometric pressure does not appear to have any influence on the body temperature of the hen.

3. The curve of egg-production does not coincide with the annual temperature curve, the former reaching its highest level in April and May, the latter in June, July, and August.

If we compare the mean rectal temperature at two periods of the year when the external or weather conditions are approximately the same (April-May and September-October), but when the vitality of the birds, as indicated by the curve of egg-production, moulting, etc., is at a maximum and minimum respectively, we find that the figures are practically identical. This would seem to show that cyclical bodily changes have little effect on body temperature as compared with outside influences.
XII.—The Theory of Circulants from 1861 to 1880
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

Robert's theorem concerns the circulant C whose elements are the terms of the expansion of

and is to the effect (1) that there are no odd powers of t in the development of the circulant, and (2) that if in the said development ξ be put for t2, the equation in ξ
XX.—Report on Rock Specimens dredged by the “Michael Sars” in 1910, by H.M.S. “Triton” in 1882, and by H.M.S. “Knight Errant” in 1880
Authors: Peach B. N.
Published: June 2016

I have been entrusted by Sir John Murray, K.C.B., with the examination of some of the coarser materials, more especially the rock-fragments, obtained from the bed of the Atlantic by Sir John Murray and Dr Hjort during the recent Michael Sars Expedition in 1910, and also with the re-examination of the collections dredged from the Wyville Thomson ridge and the Faroe Banks during the former expeditions of H.M. ships Triton in 1882 and Knight Errant in 1880
VIII.—The Path of a Ray of Light in a Rotating Homogeneous and Isotropic Solid
Authors: Anderson E. M.
Published: June 2016

The path of a ray of light in irrotationally moving media was first investigated mathematically by Fresnel, who showed that to account for the observed phenomena it is necessary to suppose that, the æther being fixed, the medium imparts of the amount of its own motion, resolved in the line of the refracted ray, to the advancing disturbance. This conclusion is also a necessary consequence of the modern Theory of Relativity, which, while holding that, with reference to axes with regard to which the medium is stationary at any point, the speed of light depends only on the refractive index, for any other system leads to the above result.
XX.—Changes of Electrical Resistance accompanying Longitudinal and Transverse Magnetizations in Iron and Steel
Authors: Knott C. G.
Published: June 2016

In January 1913 I communicated a paper on the changes of resistance of nickel when subjected to a combination of longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields (1). The following paper contains an account of exactly similar experiments with iron and steel.

Each steel or iron strip formed the core of an anchor-ring coil which was double-wound, with two exactly equal coils of copper wires. When the current was passed through the two contiguous coils in series in the same direction the metal cores were magnetized longitudinally. When the current was passed in opposite directions through the two coils there was no magnetization produced in the cores, but the heating effect was the same as in the first case. At the beginning of each experiment the current was applied in the latter or unmagnetizing arrangement, and was sustained for a sufficient time to permit the temperature to become practically constant. With reversal of the current in the one half of the enveloping coil a longitudinally magnetizing force was established within the region occupied by the iron or steel core. By means of a succession of reversals and rereversals the core could be subjected to a cyclical variation of magnetizing force, while the temperature remained practically constant.
XII.—Studies in Practical Mathematics. I. The Evaluation, with Applications, of a Certain Triple Product Matrix
Authors: Aitken A. C.
Published: June 2016

The solution of simultaneous linear algebraic equations, the evaluation of the adjugate or the reciprocal of a given square matrix, and the evaluation of the bilinear or quadratic form reciprocal to a given form, are all special cases of a certain general operation, namely the evaluation of a matrix product H′A-1K, where A is square and non-singular, that is, the determinant | A | is not zero. (Matrix multiplication is like determinant multiplication, but exclusively row-into-column. The matrix H′ is obtained from H by transposition, that is, by changing rows into columns.) The matrices H′ and K may be rectangular. If A is singular, the reciprocal A-1 does not exist; and in such a case the product H′(adj A) K may be required. Arithmetically, the only difference in the computation of H′A-1K and H(adj A) K is that in the latter case a final division of all elements by | A | is not performed.
I.—The Duration of Life in an Albino Rat Population
Authors: Wiesner B. P. , Sheard N. M.
Published: June 2016

Numerous authors have been concerned with phenomena and problems of senescence, duration of life, order of dying-out, and related subjects. With the exception of studies on Drosophila (Pearl and Parker, 1921; Pearl, 1922), other insects (for literature see Korschelt, 1924) and, in some respects, human subjects (see actuarial literature), most of the research of previous authors was embarrassed by the lack of sufficiently large and sufficiently homogeneous material; many conclusions rest on an insecure basis, since they refer only to isolated specimens or to experiments carried out on small numbers of animals.
XII.—The Brackish-water Lochs of North Uist
Authors: Nicol A. T.
Published: June 2016

About the year 1695 Martin Martin visited the Hebrides, and of the Island of North Uist he writes, “There is such a number of fresh water lakes here as can hardly be believed. … They are generally well stocked with trout and eels and some of them with salmon, and, which is yet more strange, cod, ling, mackerel, etc., are taken in these lakes into which they are brought by the spring tides.” This old reference suggested that the brackish-water fauna of the Hebrides might be of considerable interest and extent. Consequently I spent part of the summers of 1933 and 1935 in North Uist in order to study the fauna of the lochs and the conditions under which the animals were living.
XIII.—Cytological Studies on the Reproductive Organs. Chromosome Behaviour in the Male Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis leucotus)
Authors: Koller P. C.
Published: June 2016

The grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis leucotusGapper), which is a native of the North American continent, was introduced into England and Scotland quite recently and soon became of great economic importance in these countries. In his very excellent monograph, Middleton (1930) states that both sexes of the grey squirrel show diminished activity during the winter and while they do not hibernate in the true sense of the word, they probably sleep if the weather is severe. The breeding habits of the female were studied by Deanesly and Parkes (1933), who ascertained that the female definitely has a period of anœstrus during which the reproductive organs are atrophic. In the male, however, fully functional testes were found throughout the year (Allanson, 1933), and there were no histological changes which would indicate a regular period of quiescence.
V.—Expansion and Contraction of Coal caused respectively by the Sorption and Discharge of Gas
Authors: Briggs Henry , Sinha R. P.
Published: June 2016

So far as we are aware, the only measurements that have been made of the linear extension of a colloidal medium due to gaseous sorption are those of Dr F. T. Meehan, published in 1927. Meehan studied the response of charcoal to carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure and different temperatures, and found it to expand almost equally along and across the grain when it took in the gas. No tests of this kind appear to have been carried out with other rigid gels or with other gases, and none with any gas under pressure.
XII.—Matrices and Continued Fractions
Authors: Turnbull H. W.
Published: June 2016

In a communication to this Society in 1916 Professor E. T. Whittaker gave an illuminating exposition of the use of matrices in dealing with continued fractions. In particular he discussed the problem of differentiating the following function of x:—

the value of f′(x) being obtained in the first instance from the leading element in the square of a certain reciprocal matrix {M(x)}−1 (cf. formula (9), § 3, below) by a method which I have recapitulated at the opening of § 4. The expression for f′(x) was then given as the quotient of two determinants obtained in a simple and specific manner from the matrix M(x) itself. It was remarked that this treatment of continued fractions takes its rise in a work by Sylvester, who incidentally showed that the fraction f(x) could be expressed as the quotient of two determinants. It was clear that this quotient expressed the leading element in the reciprocal of the matrix M(x): and the question naturally arose, what were the values of the other elements of this reciprocal?
XV.—Matrices and Continued Fractions, II
Authors: Turnbull H. W.
Published: June 2016

This communication is a sequel to a former work (Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. liii, 1933, pp. 151–163). An explicit, and apparently new, form is given for the rational reduction of a matrix to diagonal form, applicable to symmetric matrices and also to continuants. An account follows which co-ordinates several existent theories of generalized continued fractions, and concludes with a few determinantal theorems as corollaries.
XVI.—Studies on the Reproductive System in the Guinea-Pig: Variations in the Œstrous Cycle in the Virgin Animal, after Parturition, and during Pregnancy
Authors: Nicol Thomas
Published: June 2016

In the course of an investigation on the effects of intravitam staining with trypan blue on the uterus and ovaries of the guinea-pig at different periods of the œstrous cycle in virgin animals and after parturition, it was found necessary to have definite information with regard to possible variations in the lengths of the cycles. Stockard and Papanicolaou (1917 and 1919) reviewed the earlier work on the œstrous cycle in this rodent, and introduced the vaginal smear technique by which successive cycles could be studied in the living animal. The results of their researches seemed to indicate that the non-pregnant female guinea-pig comes into “heat” regularly about every sixteen days, and that there are only slight time-variations in the periodic rhythm of a given female, and that among different individuals there is a limited variation in the lengths of the cycles. Practically similar results were obtained by Selle (1922), though Voss (1927) indicated that his cases did not confirm the very regular periodicity.
I.—On Fitting Polynomials to Weighted Data by Least Squares
Authors: Aitken A. C.
Published: June 2016

The present paper continues the study, initiated in a previous paper, of methods of fitting polynomials to data by least squares, with the aim of systematising the numerical procedure. The case considered here is that of unequally weighted data. A further paper will deal with the still more general case of weighted and correlated data. The numerical methods put forward for the three cases are quite different, and the only common point in the theory is the use of orthogonal polynomials.
V.—The Weight and Chemical Composition ofEuchœta norvegica, Boeck
Authors: Orr A. P.
Published: June 2016

Euchœta norvegicahas been found to be an important constituent of the food of the American pollack (Willey, 1921), and Bigelow (1926) expresses the opinion that it may form an important part of the food of mackerel and herring in the Gulf of Maine. In Loch Fyne in the Clyde sea-area, whereEuchœtaoccurs in abundance at certain times of the year, it has never been found in the stomachs of herring (Scott, 1907). This is surprising for, as Scott remarks,Euchœtais “rich in oily matter, and apparently is of as much value asCalanusfor herring food.” Macdonald (1927), however, has found that adultMeganyctiphanes norvegicafeed onEuchœta, so, indirectly at least, it contributes to the food of the herring.
IX.—The Photoelectric Thresholds of some Turned Metallic Surfaces
Authors: Hunter J. S.
Published: June 2016

The photoelectric threshold is a property which is characteristic of a surface state. Accordingly, with a view to a more complete investigation of a turned metallic surface, the apparent thresholds of some metal surfaces, examined immediately after being turned on a lathe, were determined.
X.—Note on the Electron Configurations p2s, p4s
Authors: Schlapp Robert
Published: June 2016

In his original paper on the theory of complex spectra Slater (1929) calculated, as one of his examples, the relative positions of the multiplets 3P, 1D, 1S, arising from a configuration of two equivalent p electrons p2. The intervals between these multiplets, in the order written, were found to be in the ratio of 2:3. The same result was shown to hold for p4. Slater's method depends on setting up wave-functions for the atom by combining suitably the wave-functions of single electrons in a central field. With these atomic wave-functions the mean values of the electrostatic energy are calculated for the various multiplets. These mean values involve integration over angular co-ordinates, which can be performed, as well as integrations containing the unknown radial functions, which appear as parameters in the final result. The same method was subsequently applied (Condon and Shortley, 1931) to the configurations p2s, p4s, and extended (Johnson, 1932) to include in addition to the electrostatic energy the energy of the magnetic interaction between the orbits and spins, with which Slater was not concerned.
XII.—Products of the Natural Development of Coal and Oil
Authors: Briggs Henry
Published: June 2016

The discharge of gas from a coal seam or oil pool is at once the sign of a continuing change of composition in the fuel and an indication of the nature of the change. The process of change, which has been termed autometamorphism, is accelerated by warmth and pressure, and the chief by-products are carbon dioxide, methane, and water (Briggs, 1931). Other gases are found in fire-damp, but in proportions that are relatively so insignificant that, in the present connection, they may be altogether disregarded. The mixture known as “natural gas,” occurring in association with petroleum, usually contains other hydrocarbons besides methane; indeed, the “wet” gas set free from oil when the natural pressure is released may consist almost entirely of members of the paraffin series heavier than methane. Nevertheless the natural gas obtained from oilfields is chiefly CH4. The mean of 22 analyses of natural gas from oilfields in various parts of the world gives CH4, 86·3; CO2, 3·0; N2, 6·2 per cent. (Bacon and Hamor, 1916). In a generalised inquiry, then, it will be sufficiently accurate to reckon the whole of the inflammable ingredient of both natural gas and fire-damp as methane.
XVI.—On a New Species of Psygmophyllum from the Upper Carboniferous of Scotland
Authors: Wilson A. R.
Published: June 2016

The material which forms the subject of this present paper was found in Coal Measure Shales exposed in the bank of the River Nethan, near Crossford, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The geological age of these beds is the Productive Coal Measures, Upper Carboniferous. The outcrop is near the position of the Kiltongue Musselband, about 8 fathoms above the Kiltongue Coal.
Sur les Sarcodinés du Loch Ness
Authors: Penard E.
Published: June 2016

Au mois d'Août dernier, Mr Scourfield eut l'obligeance de me remettre à Berne, lors du congrès de Zoologie, trois petits flacons, dont deux contenaient du détritus pris au fond du Loch Ness, et le troisième du plankton provenant du même lac; ces diverses récoltes dataient de 1903, et étaient conservées à l'alcool. Plus tard, en Novembre, Mr Scourfield m'adressa également trois tubes provenant de la même localité, et dont le contenu, récolté le 7 du même mois, était encore dans son eau d'origine, de sorte que beaucoup des organismes s'y trouvaient vivants et souvent en bonne santé.
The Rhizopods and Heliozoa of Loch Ness
Authors: Murray James
Published: June 2016

Dr Penard has examined and reported upon the Rhizopods and Heliozoa collected in Loch Ness at depths exceeding 250 feet. No littoral samples were sent to him, as his object was to investigate the sarcodine fauna peculiar to deep lakes. The majority of the species found in the deep collections were recognised as belonging to the fauna of the littoral region, or of the adjacent moors, only some half a dozen species or varieties being regarded as peculiar to the abyssal region.

In order to complete the list of the Sarcodina of Loch Ness, in so far as this can be done from the observations made by the Lake Survey, I now add the names of several species which were not detected in any of the collections sent to Dr Penard. Nearly all are common bog species.
Note on the Rainfall on the Drainage Area of the Talla Reservoir
Authors: Blyth B. Hall , Tait W. A.
Published: June 2016

In 1895 the Edinburgh and District Water Trustees obtained an Act of Parliament for the introduction of a new water supply to the city of Edinburgh drawn from the Talla Water, one of the upper tributaries of the river Tweed.

The Bill as originally introduced contained provisions for giving off 4,000,000 gallons a day as compensation to the stream, and for appropriating the remainder of the water.

The Tweed Salmon Fisheries Commissioners and other proprietors interested were advised that the proposed amount of compensation was too small, and after various negotiations a clause was ultimately adjusted providing that rain gaugings should be taken over the drainage area for a period of seven years from the 1st January 1896 by the authors of this note (Mr Tait having been appointed in lieu of his predecessor), and that thereafter they should fix—taking all the circumstances into consideration—what was the available annual rainfall of the district.
Notes on the Pelagic Fauna of the Firth of Clyde (1901–1902)
Authors: Browne Edward T.
Published: June 2016

These are stray notes on a few of the pelagic animals found in the Clyde. I noted down their occurrence whilst examining the plankton for medusæ. The records may be useful to students who intend working in the Laboratory at Millport, and should give them an idea as to the time of year at which these animals occur. They may also be useful for comparison with other years and other localities. Most of the species have been previously recorded for the Clyde, and the few which are not mentioned in the “Fauna of the Clyde,” are fairly common on the British coasts. As these notes form a kind of appendix to my Report on the Medusæ, I have curtailed this introduction to avoid repetition.
Evaporation of Musk and other Odorous Substances
Authors: Aitken John
Published: June 2016

In scientific literature the evaporation of musk has a considerable interest. Almost every writer on the divisibility of matter cites it as an instance of the extremely minute division of which matter is capable, our sense of smell enabling us to detect a more minute quantity of this form of matter than can be detected of any other kind of matter by any of the modern refined methods, such as the spectroscope, or chemical processes. It is possible we may shortly have to modify this statement, as extremely small quantities of some kinds of matter can be detected by their radio-activity; but, so far as I know, no reliable numerical values have been obtained in this direction.
On the Opacity of Aluminium Foil to Ions from a Flame
Authors: Carse George A.
Published: June 2016

The apparatus used to show that aluminium was opaque to the ions from a flame consisted (see fig. 1) of a tube A, which was

funnel-shaped at one end, the other end of which led to an enclosure B, one side of which (a b) was made of aluminium foil connected to earth, and on the other side there was an insulated metallic plate (c d), which could either be connected to earth or to a high potential battery. On the other side of the aluminium foil there was an electroscope in a closed case C. The electroscope was of the type used by C. T. R. Wilson in his experiments on the natural ionisation of air in closed vessels.
Note on some generally accepted Views regarding Vision
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

The following beliefs regarding vision meet with very general acceptance:—

First. Very intense light of any wave-length produces practically the sensation of whiteness.

Second. Very weak light of any wave-length produces practically the sensation of whiteness.

Third. A coloured area of normal brightness retains its colour, though with diminished purity, when gazed at steadily for a long time.

Fourth. Small, faintly luminous, objects are seen more easily by indirect vision than by direct vision.
Magnetic Quality in a Boscovichian Assemblage of Molecular Magnets
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

1. The gradual growth of the theory of molecular magnetism from the original suggestions of Poisson and Weber is well known. The recent great development, made by Ewing, and tested experimentally by means of models, has placed the theory on a fairly firm basis, and has made essentially secure the fundamental postulate that magnetic phenomena in material bodies are due to magnetic molecules which may possibly be regarded as free from any directional control other than that supplied by their own mutual action.
A Regular Fortnightly Exploration of the Plankton of the two Icelandic Lakes, Thingvallavatn and Myvatn
Authors: Ostenfeld C. H. , Wesenberg-Lund C.
Published: June 2016

During the last five years the greater part of my time has been taken up by the study of the plankton in the fresh-water lakes of Denmark, and in the spring of 1904 the first part of an extensive paper upon this subject was published by me. In that paper I have compared the results arrived at by me with the results of plankton explorations in other countries, and have tried to collect together everything known at the present moment regarding the periodicity and geographical distribution of the European freshwater plankton.
Chairman's Opening Address
Authors: Maclagan Douglas
Published: June 2016

It is in conformity with time honoured custom, and in the performance of duty, that I offer a short address on the occasion of the opening of the Society's 109th Session.

I confess that I have little to say which can be expected to attract the notice of the Fellows, or to bear to be recorded in our proceedings; but I am glad to be able to state that alike as regards Fellowships, Finances, and the work of the past Session, the Society is in a prosperous condition.
Note on a Theorem regarding a Series of Convergents to the Roots of a Number
Authors: Muir Thomas
Published: June 2016

If the positive integral powers of be taken, and the expansion of each be separated into two parts, rational and irrational, thus—

then the ratio of the rational portion to the coefficient of in the other portion is approximately equal to , the convergence being perfect when the power of the binomial is infinite. This is the simplest case of a theorem discovered by the late Dr Sang, and enunciated by him as the result of a process of induction in his paper “On the Extension of Brouncker's Method to the Comparison of several Magnitudes” (Proc. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xviii. p. 341, 1890–91).
Note on Dr Muir's Solution of Sylvester's Elimination Problem
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

The following method of treating the question occurred to me while Dr Muir was reading his paper at the last meeting of the Society. It seems to throw some new and curious light on the intrinsic nature of the problem. I have confined myself to an exceedingly brief sketch, but it is clear that the proposed mode of treatment opens a wide field of interesting work.
Note on the Thermal Effect of Pressure on Water
Authors: Tait
Published: June 2016

I have just seen in the Comptes Rendus (June 27) an account of some experiments, on this subject, made by M. Galopin in the laboratory of Professor Pictet. As the effects obtained by him seem to be somewhat greater than my own experiments had led me to expect, I was induced to repeat my calculations with the view of trying to account for the difference. Unfortunately, M. Galopin's work is confined to 500 atmospheres, a pressure which lies a little beyond the range of my experiments ; so that no very trustworthy comparison can be made. M. Galopin's results have one advantage over those of the direct experiments of the same kind which I made, inasmuch as he was able to use ordinary thermometers, while I employed thermo-electric junctions, in measuring the rise of temperature by compression. But they have a corresponding disadvantage, in the fact that mine were obtained instantaneously (by means of a dead-beat galvanometer) and required no correction; while his had to be corrected for the heat-equivalent of his apparatus to an amount not easy to estimate with accuracy.
Note on Uniform Convergence
Authors: Cayley
Published: June 2016

It appears to me that the form in which the definition or condition of uniform convergence is usually stated, is (to say the least) not easily intelligible. I call to mind the general notion : We may have a series, to fix the ideas, say of positive terms

the successive terms whereof are continuous functions of x, for all values of x from some value less than a up to and inclusive of a (or from some value greater than a down to and inclusive of a): and the series may be convergent for all such values of x, the sum of the series øx is thus a determinate function øx of x; but øx is not of necessity a continuous function; if it be so, then the series is said to be uniformly convergent; if not, and there is for the value x = a a breach of continuity in the function øx then there is for this value x = a a breach of uniform convergence in the series.
On some Modifications of the Water-Bottle and Thermometer for Deep-Sea Research
Authors: Buchanan J. Y.
Published: June 2016

The instruments exhibited were especially fitted for working with the “messenger,” a perforated weight which is allowed to glide down the line or wire at a suitable interval behind the apparatus which it is to act on. The apparatus immediately acted on in this case is a trigger, or disengaging hook, of very simple construction, which is attached independently to the line above the principal apparatus. Separating the arrangement for freeing the apparatus (whether thermometer or water-bottle or other instrument) has many advantages. Being very light, it can be attached to the line by twine, or to the wire by a small clamp; and the principal apparatus can be attached in any convenient way, without it being necessary to pay minute attention to the knots or hitches that may be required. Further, in almost all cases, the principal apparatus and the separate trigger are much cheaper than the two combined. The separate trigger was exhibited attached to two forms of water-bottle for collecting water at intermediate depths. In one, which is a modification of a bottle for collecting bottom water, and is figured and described in the Challenger Reports, Narrative, vol. i. p. 117, the weights, which are provided to fall down and rest on the india-rubber valves K and H in the figure, are suspended by a line or wire to the trigger, and when the messenger falls on the trigger the line is slipped and the weights fall on the valves, which are then fixed, and enclose the sample. The pressure on the valves may be equally well produced by springs.
Note on the Law of Transformation of Energy and its Applications
Authors: Peddie W.
Published: June 2016

The investigation of the relations which subsist amongst various physical quantities, and which are exemplified in the different transformations of energy, is one of the most interesting investigations in the whole range of physics. On the other hand, the mathematical methods which are usually employed for this purpose are of such a nature as to be unavailable to any who are unacquainted with higher mathematical methods. It is one of the objects of the present note to point out how these relations may be worked out by means of the most elementary methods. For the notation of the calculus, though used below as a matter of convenience, is quite unnecessary, since we might use, e.g., small and capital type of the same letter to denote quantities of the same kind of different magnitudes.
III.—The Effects of Diet on the Development and Structure of the Uterus
Authors: Campbell Malcolm
Published: June 2016

The investigation was undertaken to discover what changes, if any, were produced in the development and structure of the uterus by various diets.

The animals employed in the research were rats. The uteri of 86 animals were examined, both macroscopically and microscopically. The tissue for microscopic examination was removed in all cases from, as nearly as possible , the same area, viz., the junction of the distal and middle thirds of the uterus.
V.—Note on the Change produced in the Conductivity and Density of Lead Wires by Permanent Stretching
Authors: Donaldson James A. , Wilson Robert
Published: June 2016

The wires used were of good commercial lead and well drawn.

The special difficulty in experimenting with lead is due to its softness, involving initial lack of uniformity in section, which is increased on stretching. That the variability of the section of the wire might be allowed for in the computation of specific resistance, etc., the diameter was measured at the ends, at two points respectively one inch from each end, and at eight other points dividing the rest of the length of the wire into equal parts. The ends of the wire were soldered into copper pieces to prevent serious thinning near the ends when it was stretched.
VIII.—Craniometrical Observations on the Skull of Equus prjevalskii and other Horses
Authors: Bradley O. Charnock
Published: June 2016

The peculiarities of the skull of the Prjevalsky horse (Equus prjevalskii) have been extensively studied by Salensky of St Petersburg, and compared by him with the skulls of various other members of the genus Equus. No special attempt, however, has been made to contrast the skull of the wild horse with that of different varieties of the domestic horse. There can be little doubt that given as rich a collection of Prjevalsky horse skulls as were at the disposal of Salensky, and given, at the same time, a representative collection of skulls of different types of the domestic horse, many points of great scientific interest would emerge from a comparison. In default of such a wealth of material, it is clearly desirable that opportunities afforded by even isolated specimens should be turned to as good an account as possible.
XIII.—The Relation between Normal Take-up or Contraction and Yarn Number for the same degree of Twist in Twisted Threads
Authors: Oliver Thomas
Published: June 2016

In a former paper communicated to this Society in February, the author worked out experimentally and analytically a relation between normal take-up and degree of twist in the same thread.