November 25, 1897] 



NATURE 



95 



by M. Jose Rodriguez Mourelo. — Production of volatile fatty 

 acids from the waters used in the dhtiintage of wool, by MM. 

 A. and P. Buisine. The acids obtained include acetic, pro- 

 pionic, butyric, valerianic, and caproic, the two first being the 

 chief constituents. — On the decomposition of chloroform, bromo- 

 form, and choral by aqueous potash, by M. A. Desgrez. An 

 aquecsius solution of potash attacks chloroform slowly, with pro- 

 ductic n of carbon monoxide. Light hastens the reaction. 

 Broiioform behaves similarly, except that being much less 

 solujjle in water than chloroform, the action is less. Iodoform 

 is ncjt affected under the same conditions. — On silver cyanamide, 

 by^i. Paul Lemoult. A thermo-chemical paper. — Observations 

 on the crabs of the family of the Dorippidia, by M. E. L. 

 Bouvier. A contribution to the study of the evolution of the 

 deep-sea crabs. The close analogy between the species found in 

 West Indian seas and the Eastern Pacific leads to the conclusion 

 that at no very distant period the oceans were connected at 

 Panama. —On a new type {Metchnikovella) of organisms parasitic 

 to G. spionis, Kdll, by MM. Maurice Caullery and Felix 

 Mesnil. — On a bacterium pathogenic for Phylloxera and for 

 certain Acarians, by M. L. Dubois. — On the determination of 

 sex in hemp, by M. Molliard. From a fixed number of hemp 

 seeds, an alteration of the conditions of growth may cause an 

 alteration in the proportion of male and female plants produced. 

 — Action of mineral salts upon the form and structure of the 

 lupin, by M. Dassonville. The presence of dissolved salts, 

 among other effects, increases the number and diameter of 

 the vessels, and retards lignification in all the organs of the 

 lupin. — On the composition of the oat, by M. Olivier de 

 Rawton. — Composition of buck- wheat, by M. Balland. — On the 

 use of calcium carbide against black rot, by M. G. Rodier. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, September 29. — ^Dr. J. C. Cox, Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — Revision of the Australian Curcii- 

 lionidis belonging to the subfamily Cryptorhynchides, Part i. , by 

 Arthur M. Lea. The subfamily Cryptorhynchides being in con- 

 siderable confusion, it is proposed to examine and redescribe 

 all the Australian genera and species referred to it. The genus 

 Poropterus is treated of in the present communication, seventeen 

 species being described as new. — On a new species oi Eucalyptus 

 from the Sydney district, by Henry Deane and J. H. Maiden. 

 This is a tree of about thirty feet in height, with scaly bark and 

 red timber. The seedling-leaves are ovate to ovate-lanceolate 

 and always alternate. The veins and midribs are reddish and 

 conspicuous. The transverse veins are numerous and fine, 

 making an angle with the midrib of about 50°. The fruits 

 are nearly hemispherical, with a slight tendency to constriction 

 of the orifice, about four lines long by three lines deep, with a 

 sunk rim. The anthers open by pores, showing the affinity of 

 the species, in this direction, to E. hemiphloia, and the 

 " Boxes." Its bark bears a superficial resemblance to that of 

 E. corymbosa, and, because of its scaly nature, the name of E. 

 squamosa is proposed for it. — Descriptions of some new 

 Araneidae of New South Wales, No. 8, by W. J. Rainbow. 

 Ten new species are described and figured, of which four are 

 referable to the genus Epeira, three to Argtope, and one each to 

 Dicrostichus,Cheirac inthium, and Attus. In addition to these, 

 numerous specimens of architecture of spiders are described, and 

 some figured, the families illustrated being the Epeirida, Dras- 

 sid(2, Attidce, and Thomisidie. — Note on the genus Aphritis, 

 Cuv. and Val., by J. Douglas Ogilby. The author contends that 

 whereas five different fishes have been assigned to the genus 

 Aphritis, C. and V., by various authors, these are referable to 

 but three distinct species, each of which represents a monotypic 

 genus ; he distributes them as follows : A. porosus and A. 

 undulatus lege Eleginops maclovinus (C. and V.), Gili ; 

 A. urvillii and A. bassii lege Pseudaphritis urvillii (C. and 

 v.); A. gobio, Gnth., differs greatly from Pseudaphritis, and 

 must receive a new generic name. He concludes by sug- 

 gesting that Elegintis bursinus, C. and V., is identical with P. 

 urvillii, in which case our species would have to be called 

 Pseudaphritis bursinus. — Notes on the species of Cypraa in- 

 habiting the shores of Tasmania, by C. E. Beddome. 



Amsterdam. 



Royal Academy of Sciences, September 25. — Prof, van 

 de Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair. — Mr. Hoek on the results of 

 an inquiry, made by order of Government, into the practice of 

 fishing with so-called " ankerkuilen " (large tow-nets not unlike 



those employed in the Thames estuary for the whitebait-fishing), 

 used in close time (April i-June 15), in the mouth of the river, 

 just below the limit of the farmed-out part, particularly with 

 regard to our knowledge of the habits of the salmon, its 

 migrations, &c. — Prof. Suringar presented a fifth contribution 

 to the knowledge of the Melocacti, as a sequel to previous 

 papers. The author showed the skeleton and a photograph of 

 a specimen of Melocactus humili from Venezuela, described by 

 himself in 1889, and seeds of which he sent at the time to the 

 firm of Damman and Co., near Naples. It seems that the 

 culture of this plant, which does not succeed in hothouses in 

 North and Middle Europe, might be tried with advantage in the 

 sunny climate of the South Italian coast, exposed to sea-winds. 

 Prof. Suringar exhibited a live specimen, now seven years old, 

 raised from the seed by the above firm, and which has already 

 blossomed and borne fruit. With the exception of a slight differ- 

 ence in size and shape, the mother- and the daughter-plant are very 

 similar. In the colony itself, too, the culture will be tried, that 

 it may be possible to send culturable specimens over from there 

 without detriment to the natural flora. The author exhibited 

 photographs and gave a description of five new genera, received 

 from Curasao. The berries of these specimens, which have de- 

 veloped themselves on the plants in tolerably large numbers after 

 the arrival of the latter, will be sent back to the colony, together 

 with those of some known genera, received at the same time 

 and determined in Amsterdam, to be sown there, so that the 

 seedlings will at once go by their right names. In conclu- 

 sion the author presented for inspection the first part of the 

 Iconography announced some time back and published by the 

 firm of E. J. Brill at Leyden, as the third volume of the 

 " Musee Botanique " and entitled " Illustrations de Melocactus," 

 with reproductions of photographs and coloured plates of the 

 thorns, flowers and fruits. — Prof. Lorentz on the partial 

 polarisation of the light emitted by a source in a magnetic 

 field. The author showed how this phenomenon (discovered 

 by Egoroff and Gorgiewsky) may be explained by taking into 

 account the absorption which the rays of one part of the flame 

 undergo in the other, this absorption being modified when the 

 periods of the vibrations are changed by the Zeeman effect. In 

 support of this view the author described an experiment in which 

 the light of a sodium-flame which is placed outside the field, is 

 found to be partially polarised after it has passed through a 

 similar flame standing between the poles. — Prof, van der Waals 

 on the graphic representation of equilibriums by means of the 

 ^-function. The author observed that at a given pressure and 

 temperature, C has three values, and that consequently in general 

 a surface is obtained, consisting of three sheets. Coexisting 

 equilibriums exist if a common tangent plane to points either of 

 the same sheet or of different sheets is possible. Increased 

 pressure causes the heterogeneous region to decrease if the mixing 

 is accompanied by contraction, and conversely. Similarly a 

 rise of temperature causes the heterogeneous region to decrease 

 if a supply of heat is required for the mixing, and conversely. 

 — Prof. Behrens read a paper on mixture crystals of KMn04 

 with KCIO4 and of AgjCrOj with Ag2S04, which may serve to 

 prove the presence of perchloric and chromic acid. That these 

 crystals are not discoloured by saturated solutions of KCIO4 and 

 of AgoSOj, must not be explained by assuming the crystals to be 

 impenetrable, as enclosures are dissolved under similar cir- 

 cumstances. — Prof. Behrens also dealt with micro-reactions of 

 free sulphuric acid, free ammonia and free alkalis. The first is 

 owing to the formation of quinineherapatheite, the second to 

 the formation of palladoammonium chloride. To detect KOH 

 and NaOH together, the solubility of PbCrOi in caustic alkalis 

 may be made use of ; if they are to be separated at the same 

 time, niobic acid hydrate is the best reagent. With KOH it 

 yields a transparent solution, with NaOH colourless needles and 

 rods. Antimonic acid hydrate too easily forms diflicultly soluble 

 salts with KOH. — Prof. Martin read a paper on the geology of 

 the Moluccas, in connection with a work published by himself, 

 supported by Government, and entitled " Reisen in den 

 Molukken, in Ambon, den Uliassern, Seran (Ceram) und Buru, 

 Geologischer Teil." A large portion of Ambon is of volcanic 

 origin, and contains the continuation of the chain of volcanoes 

 in Halmahera ; Wawani in Ambon had an eruption as late as 1 674. 

 On the other hand, Wallace's opinion that Buru and the north- 

 western part of Seran (Ceram) are volcanic, is incorrect. The 

 author ascribed the eruptions in Halmahera, Ternate and Ambon 

 to lateral displacements in the earth's crust, for in the most recent 

 geological part terrific elevations took place ; in Ambon, for 



NO. 1465, VOL. 57] 



