32 



NATURE 



[September i, 192 i 



Societies and Academies. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, August i6. — M. L^on Guignard 

 in the chair. — L. Maquenne and E. Demoussy : The 

 respiration of leaves in a vacuum or in atmospheres 

 poor in oxygen. Intracellular respiration and normal 

 respiration, which some authors have viewed as 

 having a common origin, proceed in reality from 

 different causes, and should be regarded as ^auto- 

 nomous functions, as much by their internal working 

 as by their influence on the life of the plant. — P. 

 Vuillemin : A new parasitic fungus in man, Gleno- 

 spora gandavensis. — C. Nordmann : Remark on a 

 recent communication. Further details of the methods 

 of observation in heterochrome stellar photometry. — 

 R. Ledoux-Lebard and A. Dauvillier : The utilisation of 

 constant electromotive forces in radio-diagnostics. — 

 E. van Aubel : The influence of temperature on the 

 viscosity of normal liquids. The formula proposed is 



(p = m+n log (B-t), 



where ^ is the fluidity or reciprocal of the viscosity, 

 e is the critical temperature of the liquid, and m 

 and n are two constants. As a consequence of this, 

 the increase of fluidity for a given rise of tempera- 

 ture is inversely proportional to (6-f). The validity 

 of the relation proposed is proved by comparing the 

 fluidities calculated from the formula with the experi- 

 mental data of Thorpe and Rodger, Hevdweiller, and 

 Meyer and Mylius.— P. Woog : The dimensions of 

 the molecules of the fatty oils and some phenomena 

 of molecular solutions. — H. Gault and R. Weick : The 

 additive properties of the keto-enolic double linking. — 

 E. Chatton : The reversion of scission in ciliated 

 organisms.— E. Grynfeltt : The histological process of 

 fatty osteoporosis of traumatic origin.- — W. Koskowski 

 and E. Maigre : The paralysing action of methylene- 

 blue on the parasympathetic nerve-endings. 



Cape Town. 

 Royal Society of South Africa, July 20. — Dr. A. Ogg 



in the chair. — E. J. Hamlin: Some observed results 

 of the effect of sunlight on lead storage cells. A cell 

 exposed to sunlight is 3 per cent, less efficient than a 

 similar cell shielded from the direct rays ; the useful 

 life of the cell is diminished by approximately 25 per 

 cent, bv the effect of the direct ravs of the sun. — E. J. 

 Hamlin : The effect of evaporation on the efficiency 

 of lead storage batteries. By using a "topping" of 

 3 in. of paraffin the amp.-hour eflficiency of a battery 

 was increased by 17 per cent. This is more eco- 

 nomical than "topping," the battery with distilled 

 water to counterbalance the effect of evaporation. — 

 Dr. J. D. F. Gilclirist : Note on the pectoral fin of 

 the sole, Achirus capensis. The pectoral fin is repre- 

 sented by a small vertical fold of epidermis with rudi- 

 mentary ravs, situated on the body below and con- 

 cealed by the opercular membrane. It functions as 

 an accessory organ in respiration. Suggestions are 

 made as to how it may have arisen and as to how 

 the characters acquired have become hereditary. 



Books Received. 



Modern Motor Car Practice. Edited by W. H. 

 Berry. (Oxford Technical Publications.) Pp. xii + 

 582. (London : Henry Frowde and Hodder and 

 Stoughton.) 315. 6d. net. 



Industrial and Power Alcohol : The Sources, Pro- 

 ductioHi- and Denaturing of Alcohol— -its Manifold 

 Chernical and Physical Applications in Industries and 

 Manufactures, and its Use as a Fuel for Internal Com- 



NO. 2705, VOL. 108I "' "■ 



bustion Engines — Technical, Commercial, and Excise 

 Aspects of the Problem. By Dr. R. C. Farmer. 

 (Pitman's Technical Primer Series.) Pp. x+iio. 

 (London : Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd.) 2s. 6d. 

 net. 



Historical Eclipses : being the Halley Lecture de- 

 livered May 17, 1921. By Dr. J. K. Fotheringham. 

 Pp. 32. (Oxford : At the Clarendon Press.) 25. 6d. 

 net. 



Die Phylogenese : Fragestellungen zu ihrer exakten 

 Erforschung. By Prof. Bernhard Durken and Prof. 

 Hans Salfeld. Pp. 59. (Berlin : Gebriider Born- 

 traeger.) 15 marks. 



Sulphur and Sulphur Derivatives. By Dr. H. A. 

 Auden. (Common Commodities and Industries.) Pp. 

 xviii+ioi. (London: Sir I. Pitman and Sons, Ltd.) 

 35. net. 



Hygiene for Health Visitors, School Nurses and 

 Social Workers. By Dr. C. W. Hutt. Second edition, 

 revised. Pp. xiii + 382. (London : Methuen and Co., 

 Ltd.) I2S. 6d. net. 



Etudes sur les Infusoires d'Eau Douce. By Dr. E. 

 Penard. Pp. vi+33r. (Geneve : Georg et Cie.) 



Nedbariakttagelser i Norge utgitt av det Norske 

 Meteorologiske Institutt. Argang xxvi., 1920. 

 Pp. xiii+78+45. (Kristiania.) 6 kroner. 



The Free-living Unarmored Dinoflagellata. By 

 C. A. Kofoid and Olive Swezy. (Memoirs of the 

 University of California, Vol. 5.) Pp. viii+562+12 

 plates. (Berkeley, Cal. : University of California 

 Press.) 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Census of 1921 i 



Indian Silviculture 3 



The Works of Cavendish. By T. M. L 4 



Paris Weather Statistics. By W. W. B 6 



Soil and Soil Management. By Dr. E. J. Russell, 



F.R.S ... 7 



History and Method of Science. By W. B. ... 9 



Our Bookshelf . 9 



Letters to the Editor:— 



Ruling Test Plates for Microscopic Objectives : Sharp- 

 ness of Artificial and Natural Points. {^Illustrated.\— 



A. Mallock, F.R.S 10 



Biological Terminology. — Dr. Walter Kidd . . 11 

 The "Radiant" Spectrum. (Illustrated.) — Prof. 



C. V. Raman 12 



Remarkable July Rainfall at Blue Hill, Mass. — Dr. 



Alexander McAdie 12 



The Philosophical Magazine. — Sir Oliver Lodge, 



F.R.S 12 



The Present Position of the Wave Theory of Light. 



I. By Dr. R. A. Houstoun 13 



The Extent of the Recent Drought. {With Map) . 15 



The Disaster to the Airship R38 17 



Fuel Problems and Prospects. By Prof. John W. 



Cobb 18 



The " Proletarisation of Science" in Russia. By 



Dr. Boris Sokoloff 20 



Physical Effects Possibly Produced by Vision 



observed by Dr. Russ. By Dr. H. Hartridge . 22 

 Obituary: — 



Prof. G. T. Ladd. By Prof. G. Dawes Hicks . 2? 



Notes . 25 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Large Meteors , 28 



Ancient Eclipses 28 



Calendar Dates in Meteorology 28 



Agricultural Research at Rothamsted 29 



Scientific Research in the United States. By J. W. 



Williamson 29 



Cotton Research in Egypt 30 



University and Educational Intelligence 31 



Calendar of Scientific Pioneers . 31 



Societies and Academies 32 



Books Received 32 



I 



