496 



NATURE 



[February 9, 191 1 



mental researches on the etiology of endemic goitre. — 

 H. Hamshaw Thomas : The leaves of Calamites (Calamo- 

 cladus section). Most of the material investigated origin- 

 ally came from the Halifax Hard Bed of the Lower Coal 

 Measures. Most leaves were very small, being only 

 1-2 mm. long and o-8-i mm. broad. They are falcate in 

 shape, and were borne on slender twigs in alternating 

 whorls of four. The structure of these slender twigs 

 differs somewhat from that of the young Calamitean stems 

 already described by Williamson and others, but it may 

 be compared in some features with the structure of the 

 young stems of some modern Equisetums. The tissues of 

 the small leaves show a concentric arrangement. In the 

 centre there is a vascular bundle consisting of four or five 

 small tracheides, surrounded by thin-walled elongated 

 cells. The bundle is surrounded by a zone of cells with 

 dense black contents, termed by Hick the melasmatic 

 tissue, and is probably comparable with the bundle-sheath 

 of the leaves of modern plants. The cells of the palisade- 

 like assimilating tissue abut on to this ; they have large 

 spaces between them. The epidermis is thinner on the 

 concave side of the leaf, and the stomata are situated on 

 this face only. The latter are characterised by trans- 

 versely striated guard cells, similar to those seen in many 

 species of modern Equisetums. These leafy twigs seem 

 to be identical with the impression species Calamocladus 

 charaeformis (Sternb.) ; their structure seems to indicate 

 that they grew in a pendulous manner. Specimens have 

 been obtained showing variations in structure from the 

 normal type. _ Four other types of leaf have been dis- 

 covered differing in size and in arrangement of tissues. 

 In all of these there is a very conspicuous strand of 

 sclerenchymatous fibres running up the adaxial side of the 

 leaf, and forming a large part of its apex. These fibres 

 become more conspicuous in the longer leaves. In some 

 types the thin-vi^alled (phloem) tissue of the bundle is 

 much reduced, or even absent. The melasmatic tissue 

 also varies considerably in amount. Some of these longer 

 leaves were probably identical with C. grandis (Sternb.), 

 others with C. equisetiformis (Schloth.). They are charac- 

 terised by a more compact structure, with smaller and 

 fewer intercellular spaces. The structure of the smaller 

 leaves probably indicates that they grew in a moist situa- 

 tion, or where the atmosphere was humid. The larger 

 leaves are more xeromorphic in character. The results 

 obtained from this work indicate that the Calamites were 

 truly microphyllous. — Dr. J. O. Wakelin Barratt : Com- 

 plement deviation in mouse carcinoma. The object of the 

 present investigation is to ascertain if in mouse carcinoma 

 antibodies are produced in respect of the tumour. The 

 method followed is an application of the complement 

 deviation test, an extract of mouse tumour being employed 

 as antigen. The experiments made fall into two groups. 

 In one the serum of the rabbit or of man was employed 

 as the source of complement ; in the other the serum" of 

 the mouse served as the source of complement. In both 

 cases the same result was obtained, namely, that the com- 

 plement deviating power of the serum of mice with 

 tumours was sometimes greater than that of normal mouse 

 serum, but not unfrequently the serum of a mouse with a 

 tumour was found to be identical in respect of its com- 

 plement deviating power with that of a normal mouse. 



Linnean Society, January 19.— Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S., 

 president, in the chair. — C. H. Wrigrht : Flora of the 

 Falkland Islands. An endeavour has been made to define 

 the distribution of plants in the islands and to show what 

 changes have taken place in the flora since the publica- 

 tion of the " Flora Antarctica " in 1847. The plants are 

 chiefly of dwarf habit, often with aromatic leaves, and 

 conspicuous, often scented, flowers, which are produced 

 chiefly between November and January. The earliest to 

 appear is Draba funiculosa, Hook, f., in September. The 

 extermination of the fox (,Canis antarcticus) has rendered 

 possible the keeping of sheep, with the result that plants 

 previously common have now become rare ; amongst these 

 are the tussac grass (,Poa flahellata, Hook, f.), cinnamon 

 grass (Hierochloe redolens, R. Br.), and blue grass (Agro- 

 pyron repens, Beauv.). Primula farinosa, var. magel- 

 lanica, Hook, f., while still abundant, is much dwarfed 

 in those islets where sheep have been introduced. Veronica 

 elliptica, Forst. f., attains a height of 7 feet, and is the 

 NO. 2154, VOL. 85] 



tallest plant on the islands, the next being Chiliotricbuin 

 amelloideum, Cass. (the F^chima plant). Azorella 

 caespitosa, Cav. (the balsam-bog), forms hard masses up 

 to 10 feet long and 4 feet high, which rapidly decay < 

 being wounded. The flora shows a great affinity w; 

 that of Magellan and Chile. — C. Crossland : The g' 

 logical and geographical position of Khor Dongonab. 

 Mr. Hugh Scott summarised the following five reports ; 

 R. E. Turner : Fossorial Hymenoptcra. The author 

 enumerates twenty-five species, of which thirteen are from 

 the Seychelles, eleven from Aldabra and the adjacent 

 islands, while one (a common Eastern form) was only 

 found in the Chagos. — Prof. J. J. Kieffer : Two familif^e 

 of Diptera, the Cecidomyiidae (gall-flies) and the Chi: 

 nomidae. No species of either family has previously bi 

 recorded from the Seychelles, and they have been but liule 

 collected in the tropics as a whole. Hence it is not very 

 surprising that the twenty-four species of Cecidomyiidae 

 and the forty-eight species of Chironomidae described in 

 these papers are all new. The Cecidomyiidai all belong in 

 genera which are not usually gall-formers; the Chi 

 nomidae, with one exception, all belong to Europ' , 

 genera, and forms of larger size are absent. Thf sc 

 families cannot at present throw much light on the affini- 

 ties of the Seychelles fauna as a whole, owing to their 

 not having been much studied in other lands in the same 

 region, but it is of great importance that one should 

 begin to gain some knowledge of their representatives in 

 such places as the Seychelles. — Dr. K. Kertesz : Report 

 on a family of Diptera, the Stratiomyiidae. This d> 

 with nine species, of which two are new to science ; i 

 new genera are also described, one being established 10 

 receive an already known species. Of the seven species 

 of Stratiomyiidae from the Seychelles and Aldabra which 

 are not new, one is also known from Madagascar, and 

 the other six from various Eastern, localities, such as 

 Cocos-Keeling and various islands of the Eastern Archi- 

 pelago so far as the Philippines.— E. Meyrick : Micro- 

 lepidoptera of the groups Tortricina and Tineina. The 

 author states that in these groups the Seychelles and 

 Aldabra faunas must be considered separately. From the 

 Seychelles he recognises 11 1 species, of which twenty-one 

 are almost certainly imported, while the remaining ninety 

 are probably endemic. These ninety consist in part of an 

 " ancient but highly specialised fauna," analogous to the 

 somewhat similar, but more primitive, fauna found in 

 Mauritius and Reunion, and in part of forms which may 

 have been derived sporadically from various parts of the 

 Indian region. Among the material from Aldabra, Mr. 

 Meyrick recognises nine species, all new, but belonging 

 to widelv distributed genera. 



Mineralogical Society, January 24. — Prof. W. J. LewL, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair.— F. H. Butler: Kaolin. 

 The kaolinite in the Glamorganshire Coal Measures 

 originated in the decomposition of felspar by carbonated 

 underground water. The secondary mica and quartz of 

 the Carboniferous grits and greisens are due primarily to 

 the formation of potassium carbonate and alumohexa- 

 silicic acid (Morozewicz), the acid breaking up into silica 

 and alumdisilicic acid (i.e. kaolin less water of crystallisa- 

 tion), and the latter combining with the carbonate to yield 

 muscovite and free carbonic acid- Kaolinite is destroyed 

 concurrently with the growth of schorl in kaolin rock, and 

 cannot, therefore, be a product of boration. — Dr. G. T. 

 Prior and Dr. G. F. H. Smith : Schwartzembergite. 

 Analyses recently made by the former show that this 

 mineral is a complex iodate and oxychloride of lead, 

 Pb(I03)2.3[PbCl„.2PbO].— A. Hutchinson : An improved 

 form of total reflectometer. The instrument is a gonio- 

 meter of the suspended type with a large base plate, to 

 which a telescope and collimator, a microscope bisecting 

 the angle between them, and other apparatus can be 

 clamped, and is intended for the measurement of minute 

 crystals, and for the determination of the optic axial ^r^ 

 of biaxial crystals, and of the refractive indices by KoM- 

 rausch's method. — ^T. Crook : A case of electrostatic 

 separation. The apparatus consists of two copper plates, 

 one of which is coated on one side with a layer of shellac 

 Good conducting minerals are attracted to the shellac- 

 covered surface of the upper plate when it is charged by 

 means of an electrophorus. 



