202 



NATURE 



are cyclopentanc, cyclopentanol, and a compound 

 C,,H,,0, isomeric with camphor, formed by the inter- 

 action of two molecules of the cyclopcntanonc and one 

 molwult! of hydro^jeii. — L. Duparc and M. Wundar : '1 he 

 serpentines of Krebct-Salatim (,^orth Ural). — MM. 

 Tschirch and RavaainI : The wild fig in its relations to 

 certain types of cultivated fig. — Francois Kttv««»l : New 

 researches on the supposed utilisation of nitrogen from 

 the air by certain special organs of plants. The develop- 

 ment of the spt!cialiscd organs studied by Jamieson, 

 Zemplen, and Roth is not interfered with by the complete 

 absence of gaseous nitrogen, and hence cannot be regarded 

 as causing the assimilation of this gas. — .M. D««roch« : 

 The phototropism of the zoospores of Chlamydomunas 

 Steinii. — A. DvaKr** and F. Caius : The ptomaines of 

 tinned fish and Crustacea. All the samples examined con- 

 tained ptomaines in proportions between 02 to 06 gram 

 per kilogram. The bases thus isolated are relatively 

 slightly toxic. — Jean Qautrelet and Louis Thomas : The 

 intTuence of the ablation of the suprarenals on the nervous 

 system. — Jules Qlovar : Classification of the voice. — MM. 

 Bordas and Touplain : Considerations on the estimation 

 of phosphate in the ash of milk. No phosphorus is lost 

 in reducing milk to an ash. — Gabriel Bertrand and M. 

 Javillier : The combined influence of zinc and manganese 

 on the development of Aspergillus niger. — L. Massol : 

 The action of ultra-violet light upon starch. Under the 

 influence of rays from a quartz mercury lamp, starch 

 loses its property of bluing with iodine, and the solution 

 acquires reducing properties. — R. Bierry : The digestive 

 ferments of the hexotrioses and of stachyose. — E. 

 Brumpt : The decimation of the stags of the forest of 

 Chantilly by worms. — E. L. Trouessart : The Indian 

 wolf, Canis pallipes, and its relations to the domestic dog. 

 — E. Sollaud : Desmocaris trispinosus, a type of a new 

 genus. — MM. Orenet and Salimbeni : The resistance 

 opposed to the passage of micro-organisms by filtering 

 candles with collodion layer. — E. Bataillon : The two 

 factors of traumatic parthenogenesis in amphibians.— 

 Armand Dehorne : The non-copulation of the exchanged 

 nucleus and of the stationary nucleus, and the disappear- 

 ance of the latter in the conjugation of Paramecium 

 caudatum. — Stanislas Meunier : The otogenic efficacity 

 of earthquakes. — A. Briquet : The morphology of the 

 Gallo-Belgic littoral. — Ph. NigriB : The discovery of 

 Eocene breccia in Greece and their importance. — Jean 

 Brunhes : The confusion produced by the use of the 

 morphological pseudo-term "cala." — Ch. Moureu and Ad. 

 Lepape : The constancy of the ratio of krypton to argon 

 in natural gaseous mixtures. This ratio was measured 

 in twenty gases of natural origin, and was found to be 

 nearly constant. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, April 6. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. — Bakerian Lecture: A Chemically-active Modi- 

 fication of Nitrojjen produced by the Electric Discharge : Hon. R. I. 

 Strutt, F.R.S. — Hapers : The Association ol Lead with Uranium in Rock- 

 minerals, and its Application 10 the Measurement of Geological Time : 

 A. Holmes. — The Path of an Electron in Combined Radial Magnetic 

 and Electric Fields : Dr. H. S. Allen. — On the Dynamical Nature of the 

 Molecular S\ stems which emit Spectra of the Banded T)pc : Prof. E. T. 

 Whittaker, F.R.S. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Surface Combustion and its Industrial Appli- 

 cations : Prof. W. A. Hone, F.R.S. 



LiNNEAN Society, at 8. — On the Brown Seaweeds of the Salt Marsh : 

 Miss S. M. Baker. — On the Genus S.^licornia: Dr. C. E. Moss (Hist. iry. 

 Synonymy, and Phylogeny), E. J. Salisbury (Characters of the Species), 

 and Dr. Ethel de Fraine (Anatomy). 



ROntgen Society (King's College), at 8.15. — Secondary Rays: Piof. 

 Barkla. — An Improvenient in High Tension Discharge Apparatus : 

 Prof. Wilson. 



Institution of Naval Architects, at n.30 a.m.— Diesel Engines for. 

 Sea-going Vessels: J. T. Milton. — The Influence of Longitudinal Dis. 

 tribution of Weight on the Bending Moments of Ships among Waves ' 

 F. H. Alexander. — Considerations affecting Local Strength Calculations 

 of Ships : J. Montgomerie. — At 7.30 : The Acceleration in Front of a 

 Propeller : Dr. R. E. Froude, F.R.S. — An Investigation into the Stresses 

 in a Screw Propeller Blade : Engineer-Lieutenant A. Turner. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — Wireless Telegraphy 



Working in Relation to Interferences and Perturbations: J. E. Taylor. 



FRIDAY, April 7. 



Royal Institution, at 9. — A New Method of Chemical Analj-sis ; 

 Sir J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. 



Malacological Society, at 8. — A List of Marine Shells occurring at 

 Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, with Description of New Species : 



E. A. Smith. 

 L«..Col. H. H 

 EMrychlnnii \ / 



InHTITUTI' 



the Anli^ 



mcnl^ nil 



R:i 

 of 

 Dr 



[April 6, 191 1 



>»ri, D. kp., from Burma : 

 N >te on the Habiti of 

 R.A 



Civil Enoinebrs, at 8.— Retaining Walb : E. K. 



10 (he lialanriog 

 ,. —At 7. JO : The 

 uc MciliuUs, of the Diuritnition of Slr«»» 

 in ^ • '. Coker.— Some Note* on a New Detiun of 



Mr, 



Institution 



Farrant. 



GEOLOtiisTs" Association, at 8— (1) The Scenery of GlouccMcrthire : 

 (a) On the Sections of Forent Marble and Great Oolite on the Midland 

 and Souih-Western Junction Railway between CirciKester and Ched- 

 worth, Gloucestershire : L. Richardson. 



SA TURD A y, Aphil 8. 

 Royal Institutiok, at 3.— Radiant Energy and Matter: Sir J. J. 

 Thomson, F.R.S. 



MONDAY, April 10. 

 Koyal Gkographical Society, at 8.30.— -On the Plant of the Auttralian 

 Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1912 : Dr. Douglas Mawton. 

 TUESDAY, April ij. 

 Institution of Civil Enginf.f.hs, at Z.—Furthtr dhciunom: The Im- 

 provement of Highways to meet Modem Conditions of Traffic : J. W. 

 Smith. — Recent Development in Road-traffic, Road-consiniction and 

 Maintenance : H. P. Maybury. 



WEDNESDAY, April ij. 

 Royal Astronomical Society, at 5. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Arts and Industries in the Encyclopaedia Britan- 



nica 



Organic Chemistry of Nitrogen By H. O. J. . . . 



Science and History 



The Theory of Functions. By G. B. M. . 



Physiology of Reproduction 



South African Crustacea. By W. T. C. 



Science for the General Reader 



Our Book Shelf 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Stability of Aeroplanes. — Prof. Herbert Chatley . 



The Daintiness of the Rat. — J. Y. Buchanan, 

 F.R.S 



The Fox and the Goose. — E. W. Swanton "" 



Ttie Rusting of Iron. — Beitram Lambert ; T. M. L. 



April Meteors. — ^John R. Henry 



Insurance against Rain. — C. O. Bartrum .... 



The Use by Men of Science of an Artificial Language. 

 — Bernard Hobson 



A Wave Theory of Gravitation. — Rev. H. V. Gill; 



S.J 



An occurrence of the Barium-felspar Celsian in North 



Wales. — Arthur Russell . . 



An International Vulcanological Institute . 

 Through Persian Deserts to India. {Illustrated) . 

 The Problem of Industrial Training. By C. T. 



Minis 



Daylight Saving? By Prof. John Milne, F.R.S. . . 



The Destruction of Locusts 



Total Eclipse of the Sun, April 28, 1911 ; Charles 



P. Butler 



Notes . . 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Halley's and Faye's Comets 



Comet 191CXZ ... 



A Proposed Method of Determining Sj)ectral Types 

 Quantitatively 



Meridian Observations at the Royal Observatorv. 

 Belgium 



Popularising Astronomy 



Relations of Phenological and Climatic Variation. 



By J. Edmund Clark 



Non-Euclidean Geometry. By G. B. M 



Microbiology in New South Wales 



Science and Education in the Civil Service Esti- 

 mates 



The Imperial Education Conference 



Agricultural Bulletins 



Tree Planting in Towns. By E. P. Stebbing 



University and Educational Intelligence 



Societies and Academies 



69 



70 

 71 

 72 

 73 

 74 

 74 

 75 



77 



77 

 78 

 78 

 79 

 79 



80 



80 



80 

 80 

 8t 



82 

 83 

 84 



II 



9t 

 91 



91 



91 

 92 



92 

 92 

 93 



93 

 94 

 94 

 95 

 98 



99 



Diary of Societies 202 



NO. 2162, VOL. 86] 



