526 



NATURE 



[March 31, 1898 



it contains oiie hydroxyl-group, and is converted by prolonged 

 boiling into a hydrocarbon of the composition CioHjg. — Con- 

 tributions to the chemistry of thorium, by B. Brauner. The 

 author has investigated the properties of a new salt, ammonium 

 thoroxalate, Th(C204)2, 2(NH4)2C204, 7H2O, and has obtained 

 a simple method of purifying thorium compounds by aid of this 

 salt ; it is shown that the tendency to form complex oxalates 

 amongst the rare earths is inversely proportional to the basicity 

 of the earth. — On the atomic weight of thorium, byB. Brauner. 

 From experiments made on ammonium thoroxalate, the author 

 deduces the atomic weight of thorium as Th = 232*44, a result 

 agreeing with the number obtained by Kriiss and Nilson. — On 

 the compound nature of cerium, by B. Brauner. From experi- 

 ments on fractional crystallisation, the author concludes that 

 cerium is associated with an element which possibly has the 

 atomic weight of no; another earth of lower atomic weight is 

 perhaps present. — On praseodidymium and neodidymium, by 

 B. Brauner. The author contributes a quantity of experimental 

 data concerning praseodidymium and neodidymium, and con- 

 siders that the eighth series of the periodic system may assume 

 the form 



— Action of ammonia and substituted ammonias on acetylur- 

 ethane, by G. Young and E. Clark. Ammonia and substituted 

 ammonias react with acetylurethane principally in accordance 

 with the equation 



MeCO.NH . COgEt-f NH2R = MeCO. NH . CONHR-fEtOH, 



but secondary reactions occur under certain conditions. — For- 

 mation of oxytriazoles from semicarbazides, by G. Young and 

 B. M. Stockwell. This paper describes the formation of oxy- 

 triazoles according to the equation 



NHR.NH.CO.NH2 + PhCHO-fO = RPh.C2N30H + 2H„0, 



in which R is an aromatic radicle. — Formation of oa'-dihydroxy- 

 pyridine, byS. Ruhemann. oa'-Dihydroxypyridine hydrochloride 

 is formed on boiling ethylic oa'-dihydroxydinicotinate with con- 

 centrated hydrochloric acid. — Position-isomerism and optical 

 activity ; the comparative rotatory powers of diethylic mono- 

 benzoyl and monotoluyl tartrates, by P. Frankland and J. 

 McCrae. — The action of di-isocyanates upon amido-compounds, 

 by H. L. Snape. — The action of alkyl iodides on silver malale 

 and on silver lactate, by T. Purdie and G. D. Lander. The 

 abnormally high optical activity of the ethereal malates and 

 lactates prepared by the silver salt method is due to the simul- 

 taneous production of ethereal salts of alkyloxysuccinic and 

 alkyloxypropionic acids respectively. — On the optical rotations 

 of methyl and ethyl tartrates, by J. W. Rodger and J. S. S. 

 Brame. 



Anthropological Institute,-March 8.— Mr. F. W. Rudler, 

 President, in the chair. — The Hon. David W. Carnegie ex- 

 hibited and described a large collection of objects of ethnological 

 interest, which he had recently brought from Western Australia. 

 He gave a description of the natives met with in his remarkable 

 journey across the great sandy desert of the interior, between 

 Coolgardie and Kimberley. Some of the men, notwithstanding 

 the miserable character of their surroundings, were upwards of 

 six feet in stature.— Mr. Robert Etheridge, curator of the 

 Australian Museum at Sydney, sent for exhibition a large series 

 of photographs of dilly baskets from North Australia. Many of 

 these objects were highly ornate, and offered curious illustrations 

 of aboriginal decorative art. — A paper on the folk-lore of the 

 native Australians, by Mr. W. Dunlop, was read by Mr. T. V. 

 Holmes. Most of the legends cited were taken down from the 

 lips of the natives nearly half a century ago. 



Entomological Society, March 16.— Mr. R. McLachlan, 

 F.R.S., Vice-President and Treasurer, in the chair. — VTr. 

 Champion exhibited specimens of v4frt«M«a inodora, A. Duges, 

 from Guanajuato, Mexico. This insect, a congener with the 

 common bed-bug, was found in fowl-houses, where it attacked 

 poultry.— Mr. Wainwright exhibited a locust found alive in 

 broccoli ;at Birmingham. The insect was identified by Mr. 

 Burr as Acridium (egyptium. — Mr. Tutt showed a series of cap- 

 tured examples of Calligenia mmiata, varying in colour and 



NO. 1483, VOL. 57] 



the amount of black markings, one example being a clear 

 yellow and another orange. — The Secretary exhibited part of a 

 series of holograph letters, &c., which he had discovered among 

 old papers in the Society's library, including communications 

 from Kirby, Spence, Darwin, Hope, Yarrell, and many other 

 entomologists.— A paper by Mr. E. E. Green, of Punduluoya, 

 Ceylon, entitled " Further notes on Dyscritina, Westwood," 

 was read, and illustrated by specimens and drawings. — The 

 author discovered two distinct species of Dyscritina, which he 

 was able to keep in captivity, and rear from the early larval 

 stage to that of the imago. — Dr. Chapman read a paper entitled 

 " Some remarks on Heterogyna penella," giving a full account 

 of its life.history. 



Manchester. 



Literary and Philosophical Society, March 22. — Mr. 

 J. Cosmo Melvill, President, in the chair. — The President read 

 a description and exhibited two specimens of Strottibus 

 {Conomurex) belutschiensis, just discovered by Mr. F. W. 

 Townsend off the Mekran coast of Beluchistan, having been 

 dredged at seven fathoms on a sandy and muddy bottom. This 

 is a remarkable find, as it is nearly fifty years since any new 

 species of this genus has come to light. It is most akin to S. 

 mauritiamis, Lam., but differs in several marked particulars. — 

 Prof. Hickson communicated a paper by Miss E. M. Pratt, en- 

 titled " Contributions to our knowledge of the Marine Fauna 

 of the Falkland Islands." The Manchester Museum received 

 last summer a number of marine animals collected on the shores 

 of one of the Falkland Islands by Miss Blake. As they were 

 nearly all in an excellent state of preservation, the author was 

 able to identify them, and to compare this common shore fauna, 

 as a whole, with that of other temperate regions in the northern 

 and southern hemispheres. The bearing of the facts of the 

 geographical distribution of the species identified by Miss Pratt, 

 upon Murray's theory of the bipolar distribution of marine 

 organisms, was also indicated. 



Dublin. 



Royal Dublin Society, February 16. — Sir Howard Grubb, 

 F.R.S., in the chair. — Prof. J. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., and 

 Mr. Emil A. Werner made a communication on Goodwin's 

 system of generating and using acetylene gas for illuminating 

 purposes. — Prof. D. J. Cunningham, F.R.S., described the 

 seventh cranial nerve in the orang, with illustrations by lantern 

 projection. — Dr. W. E. Adeney and Mr. James Carson de- 

 scribed the method they have followed in mounting the 21 '5 

 feet concave Rowland dififraction grating, which has recently 

 been acquired by the Royal University, Dublin. 



Edinburgh. 



Mathematical Society, March 11. — Dr. Morgan, Vice- 

 President, in the chair. — The following papers were read : 

 An analysis of all the inconclusive votes possible with 

 fifteen electors and three candidates, and a suggestion for 

 a shortened table of five-figure logarithms, by Prof. Steggall ; 

 note on the centre of gravity of a circular arc, by Mr. John 

 Dougall ; on the wave surface generalised for space of n dimen- 

 sions. Prof. Schoute. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, March 21. — M. Wolf in the 

 chair. — Algebraic solutions of some questions concerning the in- 

 determinate equations of the second degree of three terms, by 

 M. de Jonquieres. — Action of some reagents upon carbon mon- 

 oxide, in view of its estimation in the air of towns, by M. 

 Armand Gautier. A study of the various absorbents proposed 

 for the estimation of carbonic oxide. Of these cuprous chloride 

 and potassium permanganate react also with acetylene and 

 ethylene ; chromic acid is only partial in its action. A one per 

 cent, solution of gold chloride gives an immediate precipitate 

 with the pure gas, even in the cold, and forms a good qualitative 

 test for CO mixed with air. — Observations of the sun, made at 

 the Observatory of Lyons with the Brunner equatorial, during the 

 fourth quarter of 1897, by M. J. Guillaume. Statistics referring 

 to spots and faculse are given. — New series of photographs of the 

 complete chromosphere of the sun, by M. H. Deslandres. — On the 

 singular transformations of Abelian functions, byM. G. Humbert. 

 — On discontinuous functions capable of development in series of, 

 continuous functions, by M. R. Baire. — On the transformation 

 of the X-rays by matter, by M. G. Sagnac. A metal upon 



I 



