326 



NATURE 



[November 3, 1921 



carbon monoxide in a gas engine.^ — H. Copaux : 

 A rapid method for the estimation of phosphoric acid. 

 — A. Mailhe : Petrol prepared from rape oil. Rape 

 oil was treated at 550-650° C. with a copper-aluminium 

 catalyst, and the lighter liquid fractions hydrogenated 

 over nickel. The petrol contained large proportions 

 of aromatic and naphthenic hydrocarbons. — P. 

 Bugnon : The theory of syncotylia and the case of 

 Streptopus amplexifolius. The notion of the phyl- 

 lode applied to the interpretation of the cotyledon of 

 the Monocotyledons. — L. Leger and S. Stankovitch : 

 Artificial impregnation and development of Aspro 

 asper. — L. Blaringhem : The production of the 

 "marbled varieties" of the bean, Vicia Faba. An 

 account of the results of experiments in crossing Vicia 

 Faba, variety pliniana, with the variety equina. — R. 

 Courrier : The determinism of the secondan,' sexual 

 characters in the Arthropods. In agreement with pre- 

 vious observations on vertebrates, the seminal ele- 

 ments do not determine the secondary sexual char- 

 acters in Arthropods. These are probably determined 

 by a hormone produced by an organ physiologically 

 indep>endent of the seminal gland. — Mile. M. Gauthier : 

 Coccidia of Cottus gobio. — L. Fournier and L. Guenot : 

 The treatment of svphilis by bismuth. An account of 

 the treatment of 110 cases of syphilis by tartro-bis- 

 muthate of potassium and sodium : the favourable 

 results fully confirm those of R. Sazerac and Leva- 

 diti, and prove the powerful therapeutic effects of 

 bismuth against syphilis in various forms. 



Brussels. 



Royal Academy of Belgium, July 2. — M. Ces^ro in 

 the chair .^ — G. Cesaro ; An elementary demonstration 

 of the form of the caustic by reflection, and of the 

 formula giving the refractive index of a prism as a 

 function of the minimum angle of deviation. — G. 

 Cesaro : The form of the crystals deposited by a thin 

 layer of crystal-forming liquid on a plain sheet of 

 glass. — C. Servais : Orthological reciprocal tetrahedra. 

 — J. Neuberg : The orthogonal projection of a tetra.r 

 hedron on a plane and on a surface of the fourth order. 

 — F. Swarts : Some fatty fluorides. — A. de Hemptinne : 

 Reduction of metallic oxides by the silent electric dis- 

 charge (fourth communication). — E. van Aubel : A 

 relation between the absolute melting points, boiling 

 points, and critical temperatures of bodies. — E. 

 Henriot and R. Crombes : Variation of the refractive 

 index with temperature. Numerical comparison of 

 the different formulae proposed. 



August 6. — G. Cesaro in the chair.- — C. Servais : 

 The quadrics of revolution. — A. Demoulin : Encircled 

 surfaces. — V. Wlllem : Synchronism of the respiratory 

 movements and the cardiac pulsations of fishes.^ — H. 

 Rouche : Parafluorometanitrobenzoic acid. 



October 8.— G. Cesaro in the chair. — P. Stroobant : 

 Observations of Saturn made in 192 1 at the time of 

 disappearance of the ring. — J. Verschaffelt : The 

 graphical construction of capillary menisci. — J. Ver- 

 schaffelt : The determination, by graphical construc- 

 tion, of the capillary rise of a liquid between two co- 

 axial cylinders.— J. Neuberg : A problem on articulated 

 quadrilaterals. — A. de Hemptinne : The reduction of 

 metallic oxides by the silent electric discharge. — L. 

 Godeaux : A linear congruence of skew cubics. — M. 

 Keelhoff : Airy's formula. 



Washington, D.C. 

 National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings, vol. 0, 

 No. 10. October, 1920. — A survey of research 

 problems in geophysics prepared by chairmen of sec- 

 tions of the .\merican Geophysical Union. This de- 

 tailed research survey has the following major sub- 



NO. 2714, VOL. 108] 



divisions : W. Bowie : Present status of geodesy and 

 some of the problems of this branch of geophysics ; 

 H. F. Reid : The problems of seismology; C. F. 

 Marvin : The status and problems of meteorology ; L. A. 

 Bauer : Some of the chief problems in terrestrial 

 magnetism and electricity ; G. W. Littlehales : The 

 problems and functions of the Section of Physical 

 Oceanography of the American Geophysical Union ; 

 H. S. Washington: The problems of volcanology ; 

 R. B, Sosman : An outline of geophysical-chemical 

 problems. — W. D. Harkins : The ionisation of strong 

 electrolytes. Discussion of the various meanings at- 

 tached to the word "ionise." — A. G. Webster; A 

 condition for Helmholtz's equation similar to Lame's. 

 — W. Duane, H. Fricke, and W. Stenstrom : The ab- 

 sorption of X-rays by chemical elements of high atomic 

 numbers. The critical absorption wave-lengths of the 

 K series of most of the available chemical elements 

 from tungsten to uranium were measured. The values 

 of the wave-lengths are uniformly larger than those 

 obtained by photographic methods, by an amount be- 

 tween I and 2 per cent. — E. H. Hall : The Thomson 

 effect and thermal conduction in metals. A continua- 

 tion of previous papers on thermal conduction. Data 

 are given for eighteen metals, and compared with 

 the theory. — J. Lipka : Motion on a surface for any 

 positional field of force. The complete geometric char- 

 acteristic properties of the system of trajectories are 

 determined. 



Books Received. 



Geography for Senior Classes. By E. Marsden 

 and T. Alford Smith. Pp. x + 521 + 14 coloured maps. 

 (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 75. 6d. 



Islands Far Away : Fijian Pictures with Pen and 

 Brush. By Agnes G. King. Second edition. 

 Pp. xxxii + 256. (London : Sifton, Praed and Co., 

 Ltd.) 185. net. 



Catalogue of Scientific Papers. Compiled by the 

 Royal Society of London. Fourth series (1884-1900). 

 Vol. 17, Marc-P. Pp. v+1053. (Cambridge: At the 

 University Press.) gl. net. 



Relativity and Gravitation. Edited by J. Malcolm 

 Bird. Pp. xiv + 345. (London : Methuen and Co., 

 Ltd.) 85. 6d. net. 



Atomic Theories. By F. H. Loring. Pp. ix + 218. 

 (London : Methuen and Co., Ltd.) 12s. 6d. net. 



Guide Pratique de Sylviculture. By Dr. F. Fank- 

 hauser. Troisieme edition frangaise, by M. Petit- 

 mermet. Pp. 348. (Lausanne, Geneve, and Paris : 

 Payot et Cie.) 



Bartholomew's General Map of Europe, showing 

 Boundaries of States according to Treaties. 35 in. 

 by 23 in. (Edinburgh : J. Bartholomew and Son, 

 Ltd.) IS. net. 



Le Parasitisme et la Symbiose. By Prof. M. Caul- 

 lery. (Encyclopedic scientifique : Bibliotheque de 

 Biologie generale.) Pp. xiii + 400 + xii. (Paris: G. 

 Doin.) 14 francs net. 



Plane Geometry for Schools. By T. A. Beckett and 

 F. E. Robinson. Part i. Pp. viii + 23g + v. (London: 

 Rivingtons.) 55. 



Hellenism and Christianity. By E. Bevan. 

 Pp. 275. (London : G. Allen and Unwin, Ltd.) 

 125. 6d. net. 



Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 

 The Geological Survey of Great Britain and the 

 Museum of Practical Geology : Report of the Geo- 

 logical Survey Board with the Report of the Director 

 for the Year 1920. Pp. 25. (London : H.M. 

 Stationery Office.) is. net. 



