1 84 



NATURE 



[August 4, 1923 



Societies and Academies. 



Camukidge. 



Philosophical Society, July i6. — Mr. C. T. Heycock, 

 president, in the chair. — W. M. H. Greaves : The 

 possible mechanics of the hydrogen atom. — S. 

 Chapman : The motion of a neutral ionised stream 

 in the earth's magnetic field. — J. I>. Bernal : 

 Analytical theory of crystals. — H. F. Baker : Two 

 geometrical notes: (i) Theory of confocal quadrics 

 and Poncelet's porism of inscribed triangles. (2) A 

 self reciprocal figure, and the associated cubic 

 surfaces. — L. Godeaux : Sur la representation analy- 

 tique des congruences de coniques. — C. T. Preece : 

 Dougall's theorem on hypergeometric functions. — 

 W. L. Marr : A quintic locus defined by five points 

 in a plane. — J. Brill : On the problem of three bodies. 

 — C. G. F. James : Extensions of a theorem of Segre's, 

 with their natural position in space of seven dimen- 

 sions. — T. M. Cherry : -The form of the solution of 

 the equations of dynamics. — R. A. Fisher : Note on 

 Dr. Burnside's recent paper on errors of observation. 

 — C. G. Darwin and R. H. Fowler : Further examples 

 of partition functions. — H. W. Richmond : Real 

 twisted cubics which are geodesies on quadric 

 surfaces. 



Dublin. 



Royal Irish Academy, June 25. — Prof. Sydney 

 Young, president, in the chair. — A. C. O' Sullivan : 

 Corresponding points on the curve of intersection of 

 two quadrics. Corresponding points on the curve of 

 intersection of two quadrics u, v are defined as pairs 

 of points the tangents at which to the curve are 

 generators of the seime species of the same quadric 

 \u -V. There are three kinds of correspondence, each 

 related to one of the three ways in which the roots of 

 the discriminant of \u -v may be grouped. If four 

 points lie in a plane they, with their correspondents 

 of the three kinds, lie in fours on 64 planes, 16 planes 

 passing through each point. There exists a cor- 

 respondence between the lines joining corresponding 

 points and the points of the quartic curve, so that 

 from any proposition relating to the points a pro- 

 position relating to the lines can be deduced. This 

 transformation is expressed in elliptic functions by a 

 quadric transformation which is equivalent to one of 

 the forms of Landen's transformation, thus giving a 

 geometrical interpretation in three dimensions of 

 Landen's transformation for real arguments. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, July 9. — M. Albin Haller in 

 the chair. — Gabriel Bertrand and Mile. S. Benoist : 

 The nature of " celloisobiose." The celloisoboise of 

 Ost and Prosiegel and of Ost and Knoth appears 

 from its properties to be a mixture of procellose, 

 described by the authors in a previous communica- 

 tion, and cellose. — Andre Blondel : The conditions of 

 yield of generating valve lamps having a character- 

 istic of the singing electric arc : the definition of 

 their power. — V. Grignard and R. Escourrou : The 

 tertiary methylheptenols : their catalytic hydro- 

 genation. The product of hydrogenation varies with 

 the catalyst (platinum black, nickel), and also with 

 the pressure of the hydrogen. The best results 

 were obtained with nickel working under a pressure 

 of about 15 mm. of mercury. — Serge Bernstein : 

 The best approximation of functions possessing one 

 essential singular point. — Nikola Obrechkoff : A 

 problem of Laguerre. F. Selety : A distribution of 

 masses with a mean density zero, without centre of 

 gravity. — Th. De. Bonder : The synthesis of the 

 gravific. — Andr6 Kling and Arnold Lassieur : Aqueous 

 solutions. A sketch of a theory explaining the 

 behaviour of water towards indicators and the 



NO. 2805, VOL. I 12] 



hydrogen cell independently of the ionic hypothesis 

 — Pierre Bedos : Ortho-phcnyl-cyclo-hexanol and the 

 bromhydrin of i'2, cyclohexane diol. Ortho-phenyl- 

 cyclo - hexanol is the main product of the reaciioi; 

 between the oxide of cyclohexane and ph(:n\^ 

 magnesium bromide. It would appear to be a 

 stereoisomer of the compound of the same composition 

 obtained by Braun, Gruber and Kirschbaum by 

 tlie addition of hydrogen to ortho-oxydiphenyl. — 

 Pierre Jolibois and Chassevent : The setting of 

 plaster. An account of experiments on the maximum 

 solubility of anhydrous calcium sulphate as a function 

 of the temperature to wliich it has been heated. - 

 Victor Lombard: The permeability of nickel \' 

 hydrogen. If d expresses the volume of hydrogci 

 passing through the nickel plate of area i sq. cm 

 then it was found that at constant difference of 

 pressure on the two sides of the plate, d =a* : at 

 constant temperature, the yield of gas d =K JV 

 where P is the difference of pre.ssure. — Roger (' 

 Boussu : Contribution to the study of supersaturatioi) 

 Details of experiments with supersaturated solution- 

 of potassium bitartrate and calcium sulphate. — 

 L. J. Simon : The oxidation of graphite by a mixture 

 of silver bichromate and sulphuric acid. — H. Gau!* 

 and G. Ehrmann: The soluble cellulose - ether sah 

 of the higher fatty acids. Hydrocellulose is treatc<: 

 with an acid chloride and pyridine in the present' 

 of a solvent. Descriptions of cellulose distearat< 

 dipalmitate, and dilaurate are given. — Max an 

 Michel Polonovski : Eserolmethene and its alcohol- 

 ate. — F. Delhaye : Relations between the orogenic 

 movements and the great depressions of Centni' 

 Africa. The graben of Lufira (Katenga). — Mlli 

 J. Boisse de Black : The mode of formation of a 

 frane in Cantal. — Allyre Chassevant and Chouchak : 

 The measurement of the degree of ionisation of 

 mineral waters. — H. Ricome : Growth and heliotrop- 

 ism. — Jean Politis : The mitochondrial origin of the 

 anthocyanic pigments in flowers and leaves. — M. 

 Piettre : The humus in the coffee plantations in 

 Brazil. — M. Aron : The influence of temperature on 

 the action of the testicular hormone. — A. Desgnez 

 and A. Bierry : The action of Vichy water on the 

 urinary reaction. — Jean Camus, J. J. Gournay, and' 

 A. Le Grand : Experimental diabetes. — M. Levy- 

 Solal and A. Tzanck : Puerperal eclampsia and the 

 phenomenon of shock. Arrest by pilocarpine. — M. 

 Bazin : Animal and human neoplasms. 



Official Publications Received. 



Zoologische Mededeelingen, uitgegeven vanwege 's Rijks Museum w. 

 Natuurlijke Histoire te Leiden. Onder Redactie van Prof. Dr. E. ! 

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Department of the Interior: Bureau of Education. Bulletin, uv.. 

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Tlie North of Scotland College of Agriculture. Guide to Experiments 

 at Craibstone, 1923. Pp. 4J. (Aberdeen.) „ „ . 



Department of the Interior : United States Geological Survey. Bulletir. 

 732 : Geology and Ore Deposits of Shoshone County, Idaho. By Joseph 

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