The research of James Croll on the nature of Ice Ages led him into a detailed investigation of ocean currents. By the early 1870s he had calculated from first principles the quantities of heat delivered by ocean currents to high latitude areas and he understood how this heat supply may have altered drastically during ice ages. The publication of his many papers on ocean currents as well as his book, Climate and Time, coincided with Challenger expedition that, in 1872, embarked on a 4-year voyage of scientific exploration of the world's oceans. The expedition was crucially important for Croll since it enabled him to test his theories of ocean circulation using real data. His novel theories of ocean circulation based on this information conflicted with the established views popularly advocated by William Carpenter but they ultimately prevailed. In the many writings of Croll on ocean currents, we encounter, as with other areas of his research, numerous remarkable ideas many decades ahead their time.

We naturally regret our failure to convince the British Geological Survey's Southern Uplands team of the nature and importance of the fault which separates Northern and Central Belts, two of the three fundamental divisions of the Southern Uplands terrane which were so brilliantly recognised and defined by their illustrious predecessors (Peach & Home 1899). We welcome the opportunity to clarify the basis of our argument and correct some quite erroneous impressions.

Our knowledge of this remarkable genus of freshwater Oligochæta is at present entirely due to Dr Gustav Eisen. Within a year or two of discovering the type species, Sutroa rostrata, Dr Eisen found a second species, evidently referable to the same genus, which has been named Sutroa alpestris. Examples of both of these species have been most kindly forwarded to me by Dr Eisen; and I therefore take the opportunity of offering a few observations upon the structure of the genus, and upon its relations to other Oligochæta, as I am able, in a few matters, to supplement Dr Eisen's papers.

The account given by Eisen of Sutroa alpestris is evidently based upon a study of the living worm; it is therefore very full as regards the vascular system, but not quite so detailed where it concerns the generative organs, which are more conveniently studied by the section method. It is more especially to these organs that I desire to again draw attention.

In 1823 and 1826 I communicated to the Society two papers on the nature and properties of two immiscible fluids, which I discovered, in contact with each other, in the cavities of topaz and other minerals. Although the facts contained in these papers were of so extraordinary a nature as to be received with scepticism by some, and with ridicule by others, yet I am not aware that, during the twenty years which have elapsed since their publication, any person has either repeated my observations, or advanced a single step in the same path of inquiry. In shewing to strangers some of the leading phenomena of the two new fluids, my attention has been frequently recalled to the subject; but it was not till last spring, when I discovered cavities in topaz filled with the most beautiful crystals of various form, that I was induced to undertake a new investigation of their nature and properties.

The theoretical determination of the longitudinal seiches of a lake was reduced by Professor Chrystal to the finding of those solutions of the differential equation

which vanish at x = 0 and x = a.

Here x denotes the area of the surface of the lake from one end up to any transverse section, and ranges from 0 to a, a being the total area of the surface of the lake; p(x) denotes the product of the area of the transverse section at x and its breadth at the free surface; λ=σ2/g, σ being the “speed” of the periodic motion and g the acceleration due to gravity; V denotes the total volume of water which has passed the section up to the time t.

An argument which I had stated against the Huttonian Theory of the Earth, in so far as it relates to the operation of a central heat, was honoured some time ago with a reply by a distinguished Member of the Society. Respect for the opinion of Mr Playfair led me to consider attentively the reasoning he employed; and still feeling some confidence in the grounds on which the original argument rests, I propose to offer a few observations with regard to it. The question farther involves the consideration of the mode in which heat is distributed at the surface of the globe. This, when minutely investigated, presents a very perfect arrangement, by which the escape of caloric is prevented, while its equal distribution is more effectually attained; and the subject, under this point of view, may have some interest, independent of its relation to any controversial discussion.

The attempt to account for the behaviour of gases by attributing their apparently continuous pressure to exceedingly numerous, but nearly infinitesimal, impacts on the containing vessel is probably very old. It certainly occurs, with some little development, in Hooke's tract of 1676, Lectures de potentiâ restitutivâ, or of Spring; and, somewhat more fully developed, in the Hydrodynamica of D. Bernoulli, 1738. Traces of it are to be found in the writings of Le Sage and Prévost some 80 or 90 years ago. It was recalled to notice in 1847 by Herapath in his Mathematical Physics, and applied, in 1848, by Joule to the calculation of the average speed of the particles in a mass of hydrogen at various temperatures. Joule expressly states that his results are independent of the number of the particles, and of their directions of motion, as also of their mutual collisions.

The experiments described in this paper were commenced with the view, not only of determining the absolute thermal conductivity of nickel, but also of comparing the results found by Forbes's and Ängstrom's methods for the same specimen. Although some readings were taken for Ängstrom's method, that part of the investigation was not completed, because it was found that the experimental errors — unavoidable, on account of the necessity of measuring rapidly changing temperatures—would be too great for the results to be of any value. The thermal conductivity of a portion of the bar of nickel used for Forbes's method was determined by a direct method involving the determination only of steady temperatures, and the results so obtained are given in the latter portion of this paper.

The paper which follows is based in the main on the magnetic records of the observatories at Lerwick (Shetland) and Eskdalemuir (Dumfriesshire), though reference is made to the data of Abinger (Surrey), Sitka (Alaska), Sodankylä (Finland), Colaba (Bombay), and Mauritius, and to records made at different times at Arctic and Antarctic stations. The situation of the Lerwick observatory, just within the auroral zone, might be expected to give to its records an outstanding value in any investigation connected with magnetic storms; the expectation has not been disappointed. The distance between Abinger and Eskdalemuir is about 470 km., and between Eskdalemuir and Lerwick about 550 km.—both quantities small compared with the dimensions of the earth—yet the mean ranges of disturbance at these three places appear to run roughly in the ratio 1:2: 4½. This at once suggests that in the extreme north of the British Isles we approach a zone of exceptional interest from the point of view of magnetic disturbance; and further,-that with suitable magnetic data some attempt might be made to compute the disturbing electric fields, at least in their main features, and possibly to arrive at some idea of any seasonal and annual changes to which these fields may be subject.

The experiments which form the subject of this paper are designed, in the first place, to test the relation pointed out by Maxwell between Joule's discovery of the lengthening of iron in the direction of magnetisation, and Wiedemann's later researches into the twisting of iron under the influence of longitudinal and circular magnetisations, and, in the second place, to investigate the corresponding properties of nickel.

The facts and observations I have now the honour to bring before the Society, were fully made out, and their general correctness ascertained, somewhat more than three years ago. Since that time I have been in the habit of alluding to them, and demonstrating the strictly anatomical part, in my summer course of lectures on comparative anatomy; so that, in short, they may be considered as having, to a certain extent, undergone the ordeal of public opinion. I have thought it right to mention this circumstance, inasmuch as the statements and opinions to be brought forward this evening are contradictory of others which have been promulgated by some anatomists of high standing, and have been received and admitted by naturalists, and by the non-professional, as observations not to be doubted nor controverted; as matters of fact which call for no deeper inquiry; as statements on which unerring doctrinal points might be founded.

In a previous paper on the anatomy and affinity of Platyzoma microphyllum R. Br. (Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. li, No. 20, 1916), the structure of a single herbarium specimen of this rare Australian fern, collected by Professor Baldwin Spencer in 1902, at Boorroololoo, N.T., was described. Attention was directed in particular to the remarkable heterophylly, the anomalous stelar structure, and the unique sporangia and spores. The facts detailed made it difficult to indicate any known fern with which Platyzoma could be reasonably compared. They might be considered to suggest a probable derivative position for Platyzoma from some Gleicheniaceous source; but their divergence from the Gleichenia characters was so pronounced that it seemed impossible to retain a view of close affinity between Gleichenia and Platyzoma.

The inquiries of scientific persons into the various departments of knowledge, have very generally for their sole object the investigation of truth, and the progress of science, without any reference to trade or the usual business of life. Hence to the practical man they seem generally dry and without interest, his mind being directed towards immediate utility, public or individual. Should I in the course of the present inquiry, (which in its essential nature is strictly anatomical and physiological, and can be investigated with advantage only by the anatomist and physiologist,) seem to the strictly scientific to have paid too much attention to practical details, apparently unconnected with the scientific part, and consequently out of the line of my vocation, my apology is, that in the course of the observations, I found this to be unavoidable, although my utmost efforts were made to prevent the inquiry running into this laborious and expensive train; and I entertain a firm belief, that, on a careful perusal of the observations, taking all matters into consideration, it will be found that I could not have done otherwise.

The mode of growth and increase amongst the Coralligenous Actinozoa in general has been more or less fully treated of by various observers, including such distinguished naturalists as Milne-Edwards, and Haime, Dana, Martin Duncan, Fromentel, Agassiz, and others. I do not, therefore, in the present communication propose to pass the whole of this subject in review, but rather to consider the general and special peculiarities of growth and non-sexual reproduction exhibited by the corals of the Palæozoic Period alone. Many of these peculiarities are of great interest, both from the stand-point of the palæontologist, and also as concerns the systematic zoologist, and they have not yet met with all the attention they deserve. To carry out this inquiry, it will be necessary first to consider the general phenomena exhibited by the Palæozoic corals, as regards their mode of growth and increase. We may then examine the bearing of these phenomena upon various points connected with the classification of these ancient corals, and more especially upon their generic and specific affinities and differences. Finally, we may briefly consider the relations which exist between different parts of a compound corallum as regards their growth, and their influence upon the ultimate form of the colony.

Two new species of Schramocaris from the Viséan, Lower Carboniferous of Scotland and eastern Canada extend the range and distribution of this crustacean along the northwestern coast of the Rheic Ocean. New species from Glencartholm, southern Scotland and Upperton, New Brunswick, Canada represents the first recognised occurrence of this genus in Scotland and Canada. The Scottish species is here named S. clarksoni; it lacks the rugosity of the carinae of Schramocaris gilljonesorum, but has the same relative position of the carinae, as well as similar characteristics of the pleon, such as the relative lengths of the somites and the shape of the telson. The Canadian species is named Schramocaris matthewi on the basis of the papillations on the cuticle and robust second carinae of the carapace. The deposits at both these localities are that of a shallow marine argillaceous environment, although the Glencartholm deposit contains more lime. Schramocaris has previously only been known from the Avon Group (Hastarian) of the Forest of Dean, England.

In the last decade, the identification of bone fragments by peptide mass fingerprinting or zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry is developing as a powerful tool in Quaternary palaeontology. The sequence of amino acids that make up the bone collagen molecule shows slight variations between taxa, which can be studied by mass spectrometry for taxonomic purposes. This requires reference databases that allow peptide identification. Although the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus Rosenmüller, 1794) is a common component in many European Pleistocene cave sites, no peptide fingerprint taxonomic study has paid special attention to this species up to now. For peptide markers in Ursidae, the most recent proposal is based on collagen obtained from a modern brown bear sample. In this work we attempt to cover this gap by studying bone collagen of cave and brown bear samples from different origins and different chronology, applying matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF). We also performed an in-silico study of ursid bone collagen sequences published in databases. In our results we detected some discrepancies between the peptides obtained from both in silico and MALDI TOF analysis of fossil collagen and those published in the literature, in which we conclude that there are some misidentified peptides. The identification of skeletal remains by means of their peptide fingerprint is proving to be a powerful tool in palaeontology, which will bear greater fruit once the limitations of a technique that is in its initial stages have been overcome.

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.”

Magnetic and resistivity geophysical surveys conducted across the only known exposure of the East Kirkton Limestone have produced new information upon its extent. This is important to determine because of its unique faunal assemblage and possible hot spring deposition, suggesting a potential for precious metal mineralisation. Magnetic anomalies are attributed to basalts within the Bathgate Hills Volcanic Formation. Modelling of the magnetic data demonstrates a general dip to the west of about 25°, and the presence of significant local faulting. Modelling of vertical electrical sounding data shows the East Kirkton sequence (the limestone and associated beds) to be a low resistivity layer within the more highly resistive volcanic sequence. The East Kirkton sequence is seen to deepen to the west, and also to the north probably by faulting. Therefore the present exposure is the only near surface occurrence of the East Kirkton Limestone locally, but within the area of the survey no lateral limits to the formation are observed.

The recently published model of evolution and biogeography and the resulting classification of the Tetraconodontinae (Van der Made 1999) were criticised by Pickford (2001) on eight points. It was claimed that Conohyus giganteus is a suine, and that this ‘radically modifies tetraconodont systematics’. However, Pickford failed to demonstrate that the type specimen is a suine, and even if it were a suine, this would affect only one of over twenty species names; not a radical change of the proposed evolutionary model.