348 



NA TURE 



[Septembkr I, 1923 



Aag^ne, and R. Duboii : Xanthyl compounds derived 

 from amino acids. — Albert Michel - L*vy and Henri 

 Termier ; The Trapp rocks in the region of Kaon- 

 I'Etape (V'osgcs). — Etienne Patte : The isle of ashes, 

 an Indo-Chinese volcano of recent apj)earance. Tliis 

 volcanic island was discovered in the process of 

 formation by the Japanese ship Wakasamaru on 

 March z, 1923. The volcano was very active a 

 fortnight later. By May 27, the area of the island 

 had been reducecl by about one-third, and the 

 eruption had ceased. — F. Ehrmann and J. Savornin : 

 Compieinent to the stratigraphic scale of the Kabylie 

 des Babors. Algeria. — G. Pontier : The fossil elephants 

 of England. The mutations of Elephas antiquus in the 

 upper Pliocene and English Quartemary. — H. Colin 

 and H. Belval : The soluble hydrocarbons of the 

 wheat grain in the course of development. — A. 

 Policard and G. Mangenot : The state of the oil in 

 the reserve cell of tiic fatty seeds. The seed in 

 germination. — E, Grynfeltt : The anatomical con- 

 stitiition and the signification of the pavilion of the 

 uterine tube in woman. — Jules Amar : The phenomena 

 of respiration. From a consideration of the total 

 surface of the red blood corpuscles and the volume 

 of oxygen consumed per minute, it is concluded that 

 the haematic absorption is subordinate to the pre- 

 liminary solution of the oxygen in the blood fluid. 

 The true function of the red corpuscles is to increase, 

 by their oxygen absorption, and to regularise, like a 

 flywheel, the oxygen reserve of the higlicr animals. — 

 R. Faillie and J. P. Langlois. The energy expenditure 

 of the organism in walking down hill on an inclined 

 plane. — R. Herpin : The swarming in full daylight 

 of a Pionosyllis lamelligcra. — Emile F. Terroine and 

 H. Barthel^my. The composition of the organisms 

 in the course of ovogenesis in the frog, Rana fusca. 

 There is not a synthesis of fat at the expense of the 

 tissues, but a transport to the ovary of fat previously 

 accumulated in the organism. At the moment the 

 eggs are delivered, the animal, without the ovaries, 

 contains a A'ery small proportion of fatty matter.— 

 Ch. Dejean : The origin of the vitreous body and of 

 the zonule. — O. Duboscq and P. Grass6 : The small 

 flagellar of Calotermes flavicollis. — Etienne and 

 Edmond Sergent and A. Catanei : Vaccination against 

 paludism of birds obtained by the inoculation of a 

 small number of living sporozoites. 



Melbourne. 



Royal Society of Victoria, June 7. — E. J. Hartung : 

 The Blount Wilson solar observatory. A general 

 account of the spectroheliograph and the estab- 

 lishment of the observatory^ on Mount Wilson was 

 given. The solar tower telescopes, and the great 

 reflectors for stellar and nebular work, were described 

 and some of the lines of investigation which these 

 instruments have rendered possible, were discussed. 

 In conclusion reference was made to the projected 

 Australian solar observatory on Mt. Stromlo, from 

 which much may be expected. 



June 14. — Mr. Wisewould, president, in the chair. — 

 E. F. J. Love : Acceleration of gravity at the Melbourne 

 Observatory. On taking Wright's determination into 

 account, together with those utilised by the author in 

 his previous paper, the value of g is increased, and the 

 mean error diminished by o-ooi cm. /sec."*. Reasons 

 are given for regarding Wright's recent suggestion of 

 variation in g with the time as unnecessary. — Sydney 

 Pern : Different types of Australian Soomerangs 

 and their flight. The different types of war and 

 return boomerangs, found amongst the various 

 tribes were described, and also the methods of making 



NO. 2809, VOL. 112] 



the bfxjmerangs, and how they were thrown. The 



author attributed the origin of the boomerang to tlu 



slow evolution of the throwing stick, which, wlun 



flattened and slightly twisted, was in-tMi of lm«,,i1\ 



increafied range. Thus stick tcwk 



course, and by modifying it, a bcxju' ! 



return was eventually developed. The 



flights possible with the return Ixxjmcr 



illustrated by wit and the methfKl tr. 



them to attain t. rent flights werf < 



F^our different ways ol makinr .oincranj. 



were shown. 



Sydney. 



Linnean Society of New South Wales, April i S.- 

 Mr. A. F. Basset Hull, president, in the chair. — W 

 F. Blakely : The Ixjranthaceae oif Australia, Pt. \\ 

 A continuation of the systematic descriptions, eleven 

 species and six varieties being dealt with, of which 

 SIX species and five varieties are described as new. — 

 H.I. Jensen : Some notes on the Permo-Carboniferous 

 and overlying systems in Central Queensland. A 

 summary of the results of geological reconr 

 work in the country lying between the ( 

 Railway line and the Longreach Railway iwi- m 

 Western Queensland. Notes are given on the geo- 

 logical sequence in the Camarvons and on the I3owen 

 formations in the type district. — Vera Irwin- Smith : 

 Studies in life-histories of Australian Diptera T^.r.u hv - 

 cera. (i.) Stratiomyiidae. No. 4. The r< 

 system in larva, pupa and imago of M 

 rubriceps Macquart. A contribution to the subject 

 of the post-embryonic development and comparative 

 morphology of the respiratory system in Diptera and 

 in insects in general. 



May 30. — Mr. A. F. Basset Hull, president, in the 

 chair. — H. J. Carter : Revision of the genera Ethon. 

 Cisseis, and their allies. — T. Harvey Johnston and (i. 

 H. Hardy : A revision of the Australian Diptera belong- 

 ing to the genus Sarcophaga. This group of flies is 

 of medical and veterinary interest. Eight names arc 

 placed as synonyms for the first time, one new species 

 is described, one is given a new name, and one, which 

 evidently has been imported from North America, 

 is added to the list, making twenty-three species 

 now known from Australia. — A. A. Lawson : The 

 life-history of Microcachrys tetragona (Hook.). Prac- 

 tically a complete account of the gametophyte 

 structures of one of the rarest and most interest mg 

 of the AustraUan Podocarpineae. — J. McLuckie : 

 Studies in symbiosis, iv. The root-nodules of 

 Casuarina Cunninghamiana and their physiological 

 significance. 



Official Publications Received. 



U.S. Department of Agriculture : Bureau of Biological Sur^'ey. Kortli 

 American Fauna, No. 46 : A Biological Survey of the Pribilof IslanOs. 

 Pp. vi+255. (WaKhington : Government Printing Office.) 



Publikationer fra Det Danske Meteorologiske Institut Meddelelscr. 

 Nr. 5 : Meteorological Problems. 1. Travelling Cyclones. By V. H. Byd. 

 Pp. viii+124. (Kjobenhavn: G. E. C. Gad.) 



South Au.stralia : Department of Mines. Mining Review for the Half- 

 year ended December 31, 192S. No. 87. Pp. 95+1 plate. (Adelaide: 

 R, E. E. Rogers.) 



Madras Agricultural Department. Year Book 1?22. Pp. ii+84-f5 

 charts. (Madras : Superintendent Government Press.) 



Madras Agricultural Department. Bulletin Xo. 8i : A Summary f.f 

 the Results of the Kxperiments on Paddy conducted at the Manganallur 

 Agricultural SUtion. By N. S. K. Pillai. Pp. v+35+12 charts. 

 (Madras : Superintendent Government Press.) 1 rupee 14 ancas. 



Report on the Operations of the Department of Agriculture, Madra.^ 

 Presidency, for the Official Year 15*21-22. Pp. ii+chart+2!>+5. (Madras: 

 Superintendent Government Press.) 4 annas. 



