March i6, 191 i] 



NATURE 



lOI 



i plained by describing them as a cave kitchen-midden. The 

 ! evidence of human occupation includes the larger part of 

 , a human skeleton of the Cro. Magnon type, in addition 

 ! to stone implements, sherds, and shell ornaments. The 

 ; associated fauna is varied. To the list of such animals as 

 i have been recorded already, the following can now_ be 

 ! added, viz. : — wolf, seal (Monachus), and almost certainly 

 ! chamois, with certain birds and reptiles. Special atten- 

 tion was given to the identification of small mammalian 

 bones with the view of ascertaining the presence or 

 ! absence of Arctic rodent types ; the latter were not 

 identified. The author intends to seek further permission 

 [ from the authorities to continue these researches at an 

 I early date. 



I Mathematical Society, March 9.— Dr. H. F. Baker, 

 I president, m the chair. — Prof. G. B. Mathews : The 

 ' reduction and classification of binajy cubic forms which 

 I have a negative determinant. — Major P. A. Macmahon : 

 : The theory of partitions. — Prof. A. E. H. Love : The 

 theory of the transmission of earthquake waves. 



Cambridge. 

 Philosophical Society, February 20.— Sir George Darwin, 

 ' K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair. — Prof. Nuttall : 

 ; The adaptation of ticks to the habits of their host. A 

 I survey of the present knowledge of the structure and 

 ' biology of the Ixodoidea. The views expressed may prove 

 i of practical use in the study of the Ixodidae.— Dr. Cobbett 

 and Dr. Graham-Smith : The entry of bacteria into the 

 lungs. Experiments made by the authors showed that, if 

 B. prodigiosus be placed in the mouths of very young 

 guinea-pigs, these micro-organisms may be found in the 

 lungs a few minutes afterwards. The authors believe that 

 the results obtained give the true explanation of the 

 appearance of tuberculosis in the lungs of animals fed 

 with tubercle bacilli in many experiments, and that they 

 invalidate conclusions which have been drawn from such 

 experiments as to the usual path of infection in pulmonary 

 tuberculosis. — F. Ransom : The action of caffeine on 

 muscle. — W. E. Dixon : Toleration to nicotine. One 

 form of toleration to chemical substances is associated 

 with their destruction and oxidation ; the tolerance to 

 alcohol and morphine are examples. In the case of nico- 

 tine, it has been found that normal animal tissues have 

 the power to destroy a small quantity of the alkaloid. 

 The tissues of animals which have been rendered tolerant 

 to nicotine destroy a considerably larger amount. There 

 is evidence to show that the destruction of the nicotine is 

 not due to a chemical combination with the tissues, but 

 that, on the contrary, it is brought about by ferment 

 action.— Dr. Cow : The action of pituitary extract and 

 adrenalin on peripheral arteries. Employing the method 

 of O. B. Meyer, adrenalin constricted the peripheral 

 arteries with the exception of the intravisceral portion of 

 the pulmonary, the coronary, and cerebral arteries. The 

 coronary and cerebral vessels were dilated, and the intra- 

 visceral portion of the pulmonary was unaffected. Pituitrin 

 produced dilatation of the splenic, hepatic, and gastric 

 arteries except along the first 3 or 4 mm. after their 

 origin from the coeliac axis, in which part constriction was 

 produced. — W. M. Scott : The action of ultra-violet rays 

 on blood sera. Experiments were described showing that 

 exposure to ultra-violet light destroyed the protective 

 properties of immune sera in greater measure than it 

 diminished their anaphylactic toxicity, and was therefore 

 not of practical value for serum therapeutics. — E. A. 

 Owen : The scattering of X-rays. Exf>eriments have been 

 made on the distribution of scattered X-rays. With hard 

 rays, the distribution on the incident and emergent sides 

 of the radiator is found to be the same. With softer rays 

 the intensity is greater on the emergent side. This dis- 

 symmetry increases with the softness of the primary beam. 

 I It is also found that the dissymmetry alters somewhat with 

 the thickness of the radiator. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences. M.irch 6. — M. Armand Gautier 

 j! in the chair. — The presidetnt announced the death of 

 van 't Hoff, correspondant in the section of mechanics, 

 and gave a brief summary of his chief researches. — .Armand 

 Qautler and Charles Moureu : The examination of a new 

 thermal water, presented as a prototype of a modern 



NO. 2159, VOL. 86] 



physico-chemical study of a mineral water. The methods 

 of estimation of small quantities of lithium, manganese, 

 antimony, bromine, fluorine, rare gases, &c. In addition to 

 the ordinary physical properties, measurements of electrical 

 conductivity, ionisation, and radio-activity were made. The 

 radio-active emanation and the radium in the state of salt 

 were estimated separately. Traces of antimony and tin 

 were recognised in the chemical examination, and new 

 methods are given for the determination of traoets of lithium 

 and fluorine. — A. Haller and Edouard Bauer : The action 

 of ethyl chlorocarbonate on the sodium derivatives of 

 ketones prepared by means of sodium amide. Isopropyl- 

 phemylketone was converted into its sodium derivative by 

 treatment with the theoretical quantity of sodium amide in 

 presence of benzene ; the slow addition of ethyl chloro- 

 carbonate resulted in the formation, not of ethyl banzoyl- 

 dimethylacetate, but of its enolic isomer. Other ketones of 

 different types furnished simUar products. — A. Lacroix : 

 The radio-active minerals of Madagascar. A general 

 description of the nature of these minerals and the con- 

 ditions under which they are found. A detailed account of 

 ■their analysis and radio-activity is reserved for a later 

 paper. Complete analyses are given for samples of bloom- 

 strandite, euxenite, samarskite, and fergusonite. — Ch. 

 Bouchard : The toxic theory of sleep. Remarks on a 

 recent paper on this subject by MM. Legendre and H. 

 Pi^ron. Thet author notes that he published analogous ex- 

 periments in 1886. — Edouard Heckei : A new plant from 

 Madagascar giving aniseed oil. From the specimens 

 examined, the author concludes that this plant is probably 

 Pelea madagascarica. The parts of the plant examined 

 contain from 4 to 5 per cerit. of the essential oil, and the 

 results of a physical and chemical examination of the oil 

 are given. — J. Guillaume : Observations of the sun made 

 at the Observatory of Lyons during the fourth quarter of 

 1910. Observations were carried out on forty-seven days 

 during the quarter. The results are given in tables show- 

 ing the number of spots, their distribution in latitude, and 

 the distribution of the faculae in latitude. — Ch. Galissot : 

 ThiQ selective absorption of the atmosphere. During 1909 

 and 19 10 the author has repeated at the Observatory of 

 Lyons the observations of Miiller, using the Nordmann 

 heterochrome photometer. Neither the observations of the 

 author nor those of Muller can be represented on the usual 

 hypothesis that the absorption depends only on the mass 

 of air traversed. — Carl StSrmer : The structure of the solar 

 corona according to the Arrhenius theory. — D. Egrinitis : 

 Observations of the Faye-Cerulli comet made at the 

 Observatory of Athens with thei Gautier 50-cm. equatorial. 

 Positions are given for December 3 and 23, and details 

 of its appearance on those dates. — Robert Jonckheere : 

 The discovery of new double stars at the Observatory of 

 Heim. — Emile Borel : The structure of ensembles. — 

 T. Lalesco : An integral equation of the Volterra type. — 

 Louis Roy : The propagation of discontinuities in the 

 motion of flexible wires. — J. Paillet, F. Ducretet, and 

 E. Rogrei' : A new method for the de-electrification of tex- 

 tile materials by means of high-frequency currents. Textile 

 fibres during the processes of manufacture tend to become 

 electrified. This causes separation of the fibres, leading to 

 losses and deterioration of the product. The current 

 methods of remedying this lead to the production of very 

 moist and unhealthy atmospheres in the factory. The 

 electrical method proposed by the authors is independent of 

 the humidity and temperature, and gives better results in 

 practice than can be obtained by the processes in ordinary 

 use. — Pierre Weiss : An idea of Walther Ritz on band 

 spectra. A discussion of some posthumous notes of Ritz. 

 — F. Leprince-Ringruet : Formulae relating to the trans- 

 mission of heat between a fluid in motion and a metallic 

 surface. — Ch. Fery and M. Drecq : The constant of radia- 

 tion. A reply to some criticisms of MM. Bauer and Moulin 

 on the method of calibration adopted in an earlier paper, 

 and a description of a repetition of the experiments, with 

 some modifications. The results completely confirm the 

 determination published in 1909.— L. Dunoyer : The 

 kinetic theory of gases and the realisation of a material 

 radiation of thermal origin.— H. Quilleminot : The Sagnac 

 radiations. — A. Rosenstiehl : Polymerised water and water 

 of crystallisation. A reply to M. Lccocq de Boisbaudran. 

 — J. Boselli : Reaction velocities in gas-liquid systems. — 

 A. Besson and L. Fournior : The chlorobromides and 



