FEBRUARy 15, 1912] 



NATURE 



'39 



of the late M. Davidson. — J. Guillaume : Observations of 

 the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons during the third 

 quarter of 191 1. Observations were made on seventy-four 

 days, the results being summarised in three tables. — Henri 

 B^nard : 'The formation of lunar craters according to 

 the experiments of C. Dauzere. A reproduction is given of 

 a photograph by C. Dauzere showing the appearance of 

 a surface of beeswax after solidification, and the bearing 

 of this upon the author's theory of the causes of lunar 

 relief is discussed. — G. Pick : Parallel lines and transla- 

 tion, and differential geometry in non-Euclidean space. 

 The results published by the author in a recent paper in 

 the Compies rendiis were obtained by M. Fubini in 1900. 

 — J. E. Littlewood : Some consequences of the hypothesis 

 that the function C{s) of Riemann has no zero in the demi- 

 plane R(s)>^. — G. Cotty : A class of quadratic forms with 

 four variables connected with the transformation of 

 Abelian functions. — J. Tamarkine : The problem of the 

 transversal vibrations of a heterogeneous elastic rod. — 

 Louis Chaumont : The construction and verification of a 

 quarter-wave plate of mica. — Emmanuel Legrand : Test- 

 ing metallic lamp filaments for resistance to shock. A 

 detailed description of the testing apparatus is given. — 

 • ii-orges Meslin : The application of wireless telegraphy 

 i(j the measurement of coefficients of self-induction. The 

 nifthod is distinguished from those in ordinary use in that 

 it reduces to a length measurement a quantity (self-induc- 

 tion) which has the dimensions of a length. — Albert 

 Colson : The theory of solutions compared with experi- 

 ment. The case of nitrogen peroxide. The author regards 

 the identification of the dissolved particle with the gaseous 

 nujiecule as not proven, and considers the thermal changes 

 actually occurring during the process of solution disprove 

 the van't HofT theory. Experimental determinations by 

 a new method of the partial pressures on NOj and N^Oj 

 are given. — M. Barre : Some double carbonates of 

 calcium. A description of the carbonates 



CaC03.Na,C03.2H,0 and CaCOj.K.CO,, 



and a study of the conditions under which they are formed. 

 — E. L6ger : The constitution of chrysophanic acid. This 

 acid is shown to be dioxy-i : 8-meth3'l-3-anthraquinone. — 

 Mouneyrat : The toxicity of the compounds of arsenic 

 .ployed in therapeutics. For equal weights of the 

 arsenic compound, the danger is greater the shorter the 

 time between successive injections. The experiments were 

 carried out on rabbits, and it was found that the animals 

 showed varying degrees of tolerance to the drug.^ — A. 

 Quilliermond : The leucoplasts of Phajus grandifolius 

 and their identification with mitochondria. — F"ran^ois 

 Kttvessi : The influence of electricity (direct current) on 

 I he development of plants. The experiments were chiefly 

 ' arried out with wheat, and show that the current is 

 harmful to the germination of the seed and to the develop- 

 Mi<nt of the plant. — Marin Molliard : Is humus a direct 

 ^mirce of carbon for the higher green plants? If humus 

 1 be assimilated directly by green plants, it must be in 

 ry small proportions. — Louis Ammann : A comparison 

 the results obtained by maceration and diffusion in beet- 

 it distilleries in agricultural centres. Both methods 

 extract the sugar equally well ; the maceration process re- 

 quires less skilled supervision than the diffusion process, 

 but the latter has the advantages of rapidity and of re- 

 c|uiring less liquid. — A. Marie and Ldon MacAuliffe : 

 1 lie morphology of French assassins, suicides, and 

 murderers. — Marcel Baudouin : The wear of the teeth of 

 i\)>: first and second dentition of men of the Neolithic 

 [)• riod is due to earth-eating. — L. A. Pelous : The reia- 

 linns between the phenomena of osmosis and the electric 

 discharge. The osmotic pressure is increased by the silent 

 1 harge. — A. Magnan : The surface of the intestine in 

 animals. — A. Comte : Variation in the moths of Bombyx 

 inori. — M. Trabut : A disease of the date palm, khamedj, 

 nr rotting of the fruit bunch. The disease is due to a 

 Iiarasite, identified as Fhoenicococcus marlntli. 



Melbourne. 

 Royal Society of Victoria, December 14, 191 1. — 

 Prof. E. W, Skeats in the chair. — Olive B. Davie* : The 

 anatomy of the slug Cystopelta petterdi, var. purpurea. 

 The structure was examined by dissections and by serial 

 sections. — Janet W. Raff : Protozoa parasitic in the large 



NO. 2207, VOL. 88] 



intestine of Australian frogs, part ii. Opalina tenius, 

 O. dorsalis, O. acuta, Entamoeba morula are described as 

 new.— R. J. A. Berry and A. VV. D. Robertson : 

 Dioptrographic tracings in three normae of ninety 

 Australian aboriginal crania. — \V. Lowe : The tropics and 

 pigment. Pigment prevents the entrance of actinic rays, 

 transforms them to heat, which indirectly stimulates the 

 sweat glands and is dissipated. — N. Macdonald : Machine- 

 drawn versus hand-drawn milk. With proper precautions 

 as to cleanliness, the machine does no harm either to the 

 milk or the cow. — A. J. Ewart : Bitter pit and the sensi- 

 tivity of apples to poison. Ripe pulp cells of apples are 

 extremely sensitive to poison. One part in ten thousand 

 million of mercuric chloride is toxic. Poison can enter the 

 sound fruit only by the breathing pores, and on doing so 

 will produce bitter pit. Copper and lead are less poisonous 

 than mercury. The poisonous action of copper sulphate 

 and other similar metallic salts may be decreased by add- 

 ing substances which decrease the percentage of free ions. 

 Fungicides will kill the apple long before they kill the 

 fungus. — J. A. Giiruth and L. B. Bull : Enteritis 

 associated with infection of the intestinal wall by cyst- 

 forming protozoa (Neosporidia) occurring in certain native 

 animals (wallaby, kangaroo, and wombat). Wallaby, 

 Sarcocystis macropodi, situated in submucosa ; kangaroo, 

 lleocystis macropodi, situated in mucosa, apparently an 

 epithelial infection, and Lymphocystis macropodi, appar- 

 ently a mononuclear infection ; wombat, lleocystis 

 wombati, epithelial infection. — K. A. Mickle : Flotation of 

 minerals, part ii. Oil attachments. Sulphides adsorb oil 

 more readily than does gangue in acid solutions. Finely 

 divided sulphides in acidulated water attach the oil to 

 form only plastic magma. After this additional oil attach- 

 ments are unstable ; with less oil, less coherent magma is 

 formed, practically non-coherent with o-i per cent. oil. 

 Gas attachments. Gas collected from finely divided dry 

 sulphides in vacuo found to be CO, with smaller amounts 

 N and O. This is probably present as adsorbed film. Gas 

 collected from flotation product in vacuo consists of CO, 

 with varying amounts N and O. Gas disengaged from 

 flotation scum on bubbles bursting is found to consist of 

 CO2 and nitrogen, with smaller amounts of oxygen. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Four Place Tables of Logarithms and Trigonometric 

 Functions. Compiled by E. V. Huntington. Unabridged 

 edition. Pp. 33. (Cambridge, Mass. : Haward Co- 

 operative Society ; London : E. and F. N. Spon, Ltd.) 

 3s. net. 



Cambridge County Geographies : — Midlothian. By A. 

 McCallum. Pp. x -♦- 208 + maps. Buckinghamshire. By 

 Dr. .\. M. Davies. Pp. xii + 222 + maps. Northampton- 

 shire. By M. W. Brown. Pp. xii + 225 + maps. (Cam- 

 bridge : University Press.) is. 6d. each. 



Earth and her Children. By H. M. Livens. Pp. 248. 

 (London : T. Fisher Unwin.) «. net. 



The British Bird Book. Edited by F. B. Kitkinan, 

 Section VII. Pp. 194 + plates. (London and I 

 r. C. and E. C. Jack.) io5. 6d. net. 



Irises. By W. R. Dykes. Pp. xiv+iio+.- .w.v.>..id 

 plates. (London and Edinburgh : T. C. and E. C. Jack.) 

 is. 6d. net. 



Prehistoric Parables. By VV. Bell. Pp. vii + 63. 

 (Halifax : Milner and Co.) i*. net. 



Electro-analysis. By Prof. E. F. Smith. Fifth edition. 

 Pp. xi + 332. (London: Kegan Pcul and Co., Ltd.) 

 105. 6d. net. 



Waves and Ripples in Water, Air, and /Ether. By Prof. 

 J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. S.iond ■dition. Pp. xii + 299. 

 (London: S. P.C.I 



The Forest 1 1 the late Rev. C. A. 



Johns. Tenth edition. Rcvibtd by G. S. Boulger. Pp. 

 xiv-h43i. (London: S.P.C.K.) 65. net. 



University of London. Francis Galton Laboratory for 

 National Eugenics. Eugenics Laboratory Memoirs. XV. 

 Treasury of Human Inheritance. Parts vii. and viii. 

 Section XV. A : Dwarfism, by Dr. H. Rischbieth and A. 

 Barrington. Pp. xi + 355-573 + P'atcs li.-Iviii. + O-Z + 

 A.A.-VV.W, (London : Dulau and Co., Ltd.) 15s. net. 



The 'Migration of Birds, By T. A. Coward. Pp. ix + 

 137. Prehistoric Man. Bv Dr. W. L. II. Durk worth. 



