i66 



NATURE 



'\ 



and the influence upon it of human op<'rations, had been 

 dealt with. In the present communication the composi- 

 tion of the flora of Clare Island, the plant societies, and 

 the relation of the flora to that of the adjoining islands, 

 were dealt with. The floras of all the islands is remark- 

 ably large in comparison with those of adjoining mainland 

 areas, pointing to former easy migration by means of post- 

 glacial land-connections. — The following papers were also 

 rrad, in ronnection with the Clarr Island Survfy : — Claude 

 Money : Ilymenoptera. — D. R. Pack-B«r*aford : .'\reneida 

 .111(1 I'hnlang'da (Spidors and Ilarvestmen). 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, November 20. — M. Armand (jauiier 

 in the chair. — J. B. Charcot : The laboratory for scientific 

 maritime researches of the I'ourquoi-l'as? It is suggested 

 that the vessel Pourquoi-Pas? which served for the last 

 French Antarctic expedition, would form a very service- 

 able laboratory for marine biological researches. Its pre- 

 sent equipment is described, and an appeal for the 

 necessary funds is made. — M. Borrelly : Observations of 

 the periodic Borrelly comet (1911c) made at the Observa- 

 tory of Marseilles with the comet finder. Data are given 

 for November 13, 14, 15, and 16. The comet is moderately 

 bright, of the tenth magnitude, its extent being 2'. — P. 

 Montel : Some analytical functions which admit of two 

 exceptional values within one region. — G. tl€Bnlg% : 

 Surfaces which, in the course of a given movement, are 

 continually osculating to their conjugated profile. — Raoul 

 Bayaux : .An apparatus of precision for the use of gaseous 

 oxygen in physiology and therapeutics. In the instrument 

 described and illustrated the usual indiarubber bag is re- 

 placed by a small cylinder of compressed oxygen controlled 

 by a double metallic governor composed of two capsules 

 similar to those used in the aneroid barometer. There is 

 a specially designed sensitive tap for the distribution, and 

 the amount of gas available at any instant can be read 

 directly. — C. Qutton : The velocity of propagation of 

 electromagnetic waves along a line of metallic wires. — 

 V. Augrer : The action of hydrogen peroxide upon the 

 oxygen compounds of iodine. Details are given of the 

 interaction of hydrogen peroxide with neutral and basic 

 alkaline periodates, periodic acid, and iodic acid. — MM. 

 Deaarres and Feuillitf : The estimation of urea. The 

 methods of Folin, Morner, and Sjoeqvist are exact, but 

 require too much time for biological investigations, necessi- 

 tating a large number of estimations. The method 

 described is based on the use of Millon's reagent. It has 

 been objected that Millon's reagent acts upon other nitro- 

 genous substances besides urea, but experiments made with 

 salts of ammonia, uric acid, creatine, creatinine, hypo- 

 xanthine, tyrosine, xanthine, leucine, guanine, and allan- 

 toin showed that the last-named substance alone interferes. 

 The proportion of allantoin in human urine is so small 

 that this complication cannot be considered as a real objec- 

 tion to the process. The necessity of suitably fixing the 

 temperature at which the reaction is carried out is 

 emphasised. — Marcel Qodchot and F^lix Taboury : 

 Some derivatives of cyclopentanone. In a previous com- 

 munication a new ketone, C|„H,,0, was obtained by the 

 hydrogenation of cyclopentanone by the method of Sabatier 

 and Senderens, and its constitution was provisionally sug- 

 gested as a-cyclopentylcyclopentanone. In the present 

 paper this formula is confirmed by additional experiments. 

 —J. Vallory : Studies in the reproduction of Chaetomium 

 kunzeanum, var. chlorinum. — P. Dearoche : The mode of 

 action of coloured light on the Chlamydomonas. Blue 

 rays have a paralysing action on the zoospores, whilst the 

 red rays have a stimulating action. — J. Tournoia : Floral 

 anomalies of Humulus japonicus. — C. L. Qatin and M. 

 Fluteaux : The anatomical modification produced in 

 certain plants by the dust from tarred roads. It has been 

 shown in a previous communication that the trees in 

 certain parts of the Bois de Boulogne have been adversely 

 affected by the action of the dust from the treated road. 

 In the present paper it is shown that these effects are 

 accompanied by certain anatomical modifications in the 

 plant. — E. Milliau : The detection of carbon bisulphide in 

 oils.— E. Vaaticar: The structure of Corti's fibres.— R. 

 Robinaon : New arguments in favour of the action of the 

 <;uprarenal capsules on the determination of s^x. A 



NO. 2196, VOL. 88] 



summary of the facts known on the relation b* 

 condition of the suprarenal r.npsulrs and the %• 

 embryo. — A. ^teard : The '!■ m of the 



sexual characters in the G -Anna Or, 



Rapid modifications of form uii(i<r the influenc ' 

 privation of oxygen in a .Medusa, Eleutheria dichoto' 

 Albert Prouin and Arthur Compton : The loss of :.. 

 of trypsin by dialysis into distilled water, and th< 

 j tion of the activity by the addition of salts, i 

 I experiments described the authors conclude that 

 I presence of salts is necessary for the trypsin to >>%• 

 proteolytic action. — Louis Oormain : Atlantis, 

 of the principal palaiontological and zoological 

 , in favour of the actual existence of the vanished — 

 .Atlantis. — Maurice Plottro : The melanins. — .\. Mout 

 The mechanism of general or local troubles of th- ^ 

 circulation leading to get^eral or local arteri' 

 Instruments such as sphygmomanometers are g',; 

 garded as measuring the pressure of the blood 

 interior of the artery. This the author has shown ■ 

 erroneous, the force of compression being exclusiv- 

 function of the elastic state of the arterial wall, ar 

 dependent of the manometric pressure. .Additional • 

 mental evidence in favour of this view is given. 

 Mourau and A. Lopape : The ratios of the rare . 

 between themselves and with nitrogen in fire-damp, 

 examination of the inert residues from six samples ot 

 damp shows that the crude nitrogen from the fire-da™ 

 presents a striking analogy with crude nitrogen from od 

 natural mixtures. — .Alfred An^ot : The earthquake 

 November 16, 191 1. The true amplitude of the horizon 

 movement of the ground at Paris was of the order 

 millimetre. 



Cape Town. 

 Royal Society of South Africa, October 18. — 1 

 H. H. W. Pearson, vice-president, in the chair. — J. M< 

 The spectrum of ruby. Part iii. Two further very &| 

 spectrum lines are described. The artificial ruby has 

 analysed, and chromium detected as the colouring mafl 

 When a ruby is heated above 300° C. it changes, thrc 

 scarlet and brown, to the colour of chromium glass, 

 all the characteristic spectrum lines disappear. It recov 

 completely on cooling. The effect of heat on the 

 fringence of corundum has been studied, and has 

 found to be insignificant The spectrum of ruby is the 

 fore due to chromium in a special atomic condition, ^ ' 

 does not apparently occur elsewhere in nature. — Dr. 

 Mrs. J. R. Sutton : Some causes and effects of variat 

 in the range of temperature. The paper contains 

 results of a discussion of some of the more salient tnet 

 ological aspects of a variation in the range of temperat 

 It deals in a general way with the changes of temperat 

 moisture, pressure, and sunshine, which go with a 

 tion in the range of temperature, monthly means be 

 used. Harmonic constants of barometric pressure^ 

 temperature are computed for months of great and 

 range of temperature respectively. — R. T. .A. 11 

 .Algebraic development of the elliptic perturbative 

 tion used in the theories of planetary motion. The 

 presents tables whereby the functions which operate on 

 ratio of the semi-axes can be easily calculated to 

 order of the eccentricities and mutual inclination, so 

 as regards primary and secondary terms, which alone 

 any importance in the planetary theories. The papov 

 eludes with an explicit development of the secular ~ 

 the perturbative function to any order. — B. de 

 Van der Riot : A supposed new mineral from Du 



Pan, Kimberley. The supposed new mineral from 



Toit's Pan, Kimberley, reported in Nature of September 

 by Mr. J. R. Sutton, appears to the author to be (^ 

 from a well-known artificial material, viz. comn 

 calcium carbide. It is certain that acetylene gen^ 

 have been in use on the mine for years, and it i? 

 possible that a portion of the waste from the ac 

 machines has in some manner found its way to th 

 sator. where the supposed mineral was discovered. ' 

 been found possible to compare specimens of the sub- 

 referred to (kindly supplied by the general manac 

 De Beers' Co.) with the lumps and pellets which se' 

 the lime residue from generators supplying acet^'ler 

 to the chemical laboratory of Victoria College 



