November 30, 191 1] 



NATURE 



167 



chemical as well as physical characters there is an un- 

 mistakable similarity between the two products. Thus 

 (i) slaked lime, which, of course, accompanies carbide 

 pellets, can be detected in some of the cavities on surfaces 

 of the pulsator pellets. (2) Variations in hardness, form, 

 colour, fracture, size of pellets, and peculiar markings are 

 faithfully reproduced. (3) In either case the lumps and 

 pellets vary in composition from iron carbide, attacked by 

 dilute acids, to iron silico-carbide, which is attacked by 

 hydrofluoric acid, but not by hydrochloric and sulphuric 

 acids. (4) The pellets from either source give off an odour 

 of acetylene when crushed. (5) The pulsator pellets, as 

 well as ordinary carbide pellets, do not contain, so far as 

 can be found, notable quantities of titanium. In an iron 

 mineral derived from the ilmenite of " blue ground," by 

 reduction at a high temperature, one should certainly 

 expect to find titanium. — J. C. Beattie : Further magnetic 

 observations in South Africa during the years iqio and 

 igir. The communication contains the reduced results of 

 observations in various parts of South Africa during 19 10 

 and 19H for determining the secular variation of the mag- 

 netic elements. It also contains results of additional 

 observations in the West Transvaal and the east of Cape 

 Province, with a discussion of the magnetic states of these 

 regions. — W. A. Douglas Rudg^e : .Action of radium salts 

 on glass. An account of experiments carried on durin.rj 

 e past three years in order to study the prolonged action 

 if radium salts upon glass. Small quantities of radium 

 ere sealed up in thick-walled tubes, and the extent to 

 hich the coloration extended determined by cutting up 

 ctions of the tube, polishing the ends, and examining 

 ith a microscope. The tint developed depended upon thf^ 

 ture of the glass employed, and the depth of penetration 

 pended upon the structure of the glass. Many kinds of 

 ;lass show a '' zonal " structure, and an abrupt change 

 the depth of coloration appears at the junction of 

 ;ccessive zones. The width of the zones were measured 

 _ th a micrometer, the first and darkest being 0-27 mm. ; 

 the others extended right up to the external walls of the 

 tube, a distance of 248 mm. from the bore. If the colora- 

 tion is due to X particles alone, the range must be much 

 greater than would be deduced from the experiments of 

 Rutherford and Joly. There is evidently some obstacle met 

 with to the free passage of the rays at each zonal layer, 

 as the coloration shows. The action of even a very impure 

 radium salt is comparatively rapid ; a few milligrams of a 

 salt, containing about one-thousandth of its weight of 

 radium, causes a very definite coloration at the end of 

 twenty days, the first zone being then clearly defined. The 

 coloration must be due to B and Y, as well as X, ravs and 

 emanation. — J- Burtt-Davy : \ new species of Mesem- 

 brvantheminn from the Transvaal, and notes on the genus 

 Ficus. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, September 27. — Mr. W. W. Frogpatt. 

 president, in the chair. — .Archdeacon F. E. Havilard : 

 Notes on the indigrnous plants of the Cobar district. The 

 Cobar district may he ^.-lid to comprise the country within 

 a 50-mile radius of the town of Cobar, embracing an area 

 of about 6000 square miles. It is flat, with occasional 

 hills rising abruptly. The town of Cobar is 805 feet above 

 sea-level, and the distance from the coast about 420 miles. 

 The district is droughty, with prevailing high tempera- 

 tures and a dry atmosphere, the average annual rainfall 

 being about 14 inches. The flora is a typical inland, dry- 

 country flora, the general appearance of the vegetation 

 being that of brushwood, few trees of any kind attaining 

 any considerable dimensions. The plants met with repre- 

 sent 161 genera and 284 species of Dicotyledons, 30 genera 

 and 47 species of Monocotyledons, and 5 genera and 6 

 species of Acotyledons. — R. H. CambaKre : Notes on the 

 native flora of New South Wales. Part viii. Camden to 

 Burragorang and Mount Werong. Oni> of the features 

 brought out is the marked influence of climate upon plant 

 ^stribution, for, as the mountain is ascended, the vegeta- 

 tion is found to correspond more nearly with that of 

 Tasmania, where a ■similar climate prevails. Between 

 Camden and Burrn t altitudes ranging up to 1800 



feet, 30 per ceni species are Tasmanian ; but 



' ' 'ween Colong and .Viounr Werong. at altitudes varying 

 n 2000 to 4000 feet above sea-level, about 48 per rent. 



X^. 2T(}6. VOT.. 88] 



of the plants seem to belong to species which occur in 

 i Tasmania. Reference is made to the occurrence of the 

 I narrow-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra) around Colong 

 at altitudes up to 2500 feet, which is unusual in latitudes 

 south of Sydney ; its presence may generally be regarded 

 as an indication that the rock producing the soil upon 

 which these trees grow contains upwards of 60 per cent, 

 silica. Although it will thrive on rather poor siliceous 

 soils, it is absent from excellent basaltic soil a few yards 

 away, but which contains less than 45 per cent, silica ; 

 and the question is raised whether it may not be rather 

 the physical conditions of the soil than the chemical con- 

 stituents which regulate the distribution of this tree. — 

 R. J. Tillyard : The genus Diphlebia (Xeuroptera : 

 Odonata), with descriptions of new species and life- 

 histories. The genus Diphlebia is one of three closely 

 allied genera, grouped by de Selys to form the sixth legion 

 (Amphipteryx) in his classification of the subfamily Calo- 

 pteryginae — Devadetta ( = Tetraneura of Selys) from the 

 Malay Peninsula, Siam, and Borneo, Amphipteryx from 

 Colombia, and Diphlebia from Australia, represented, 

 hitherto, by two species. Two additional species of the 

 last of these are described as new, one from Kuranda, 

 North Queensland (Dodd), and the other from rocky creeks 

 in the Nandewar Ranges, New South Wales. The life- 

 history of the latter has been worked out. In the Aniso- 

 ptera, the characters of the larval gizzard determine the 

 separation of the main groups. The same test should be 

 applied to the unsatisfactory classification of the Zvgoptera. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Chemistry Note-book. By E. J. Sumner. Pp. 92. 

 (Burnley : Cooper Printing Co., Ltd.) 2s. 



Photograms of the Year, 1911-12. Typical Photographic 

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 Ward. Pp. 154. (London : G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd.) 

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The Rainfall of Jamaica from about 1870 to end of 

 1909. By M. Hall. Pp. 27-I-14 maps. (Jamaica.) 



Upon the Inheritance of Acquired Characters. A Hypo- 

 thesis of Heredity, Development, and Assimilation. By 

 E. Rignano. Authorised English translation by Prof. 

 B. C. H. Harvey. With an Appendix upon the Mnemonic 

 Origin and Nature of the Affective or Natural Tendencies. 

 Pp. iv-l-413. (Chicago : Open Court Publishing Co.) 

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The Calorific Power of Gas. A Treatise on Calorific 

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Junior Mathematics : being a Course of Geometry and 

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Ministry of Education, Egypt. Records of the School of 

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 viii-|-i63-6i3-fplates xi^xix. (Cairo: National Printing 

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The Stars from Year to Year ; with Charts for every 

 Month. By H. P. Hawkins. Fifth edition. Pp. 23. 

 (Bedford : Beds. Times Publishing Company, Ltd.) is. 

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The Star Almanac for 1912 ; with Star Charts of the 

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The Star Calendar for 1912, with Revolving Chart. By 

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The Evidence for the Supernatural. A Critical Study 

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Forecasting Weather. By Dr. W. N. Sh.Tw, F.R.S. 

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Boiler Draught. By II. K. Pratt. Pp. vifi38. 

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The Colloidal and Crystalloidal State of Muir. By 

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 I II. E. Polls. Pp. .i;4. (London: Constabl.- .uid Co., I.ld.) 

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