December 8, 192 1] 



NATURE 



485 



Societies and Academies. 



. London. 



Royal Society, November 24. — Prof. C. S. Sherring- 

 ton, president, in the chair. — K. Sassa : (i) Observa- 

 tions on retiex responses to the rhythmical stimulation 

 in the frog. In the study of the relation between the 

 frequency and intensity of stimulation and the result- 

 ing reflex reactions, there is an optimal intensity when 

 the rate of stimulation is rapid. There is also an 

 optimal rate for anv given intensity. The reflex con- 

 traction evoked at this rate is often nearly as power- 

 ful as the direct one obtained by similar stimulation. 

 (2) The effects of constant galvanic currents upon the 

 mammalian nerve-muscle and reflex preparations. 

 The main points of inquiry have been : (a) The rela- 

 tion between reflex excitation and inhibition of the 

 decerebrate tonus of the vasto-crureus ; (b) whether 

 the "excitation formula" (Pfliiger's law) holds good 

 in mammalian afferent nerves ; and (c) whether there 

 is continuous excitation during the passage of the 

 current through an afferent nerve. — E. Ponder : The 

 hasmolytic action of sodium glycochoiate. The haemo- 

 lytic power of sodium glycochoiate is greatly increased 

 by the addition of small amounts of histamine or histi- 

 dine. ErAthrocytes can be rendered immune to the 

 haemolysis produced by such mixtures by the previous 

 addition of histamine to the suspension. The haemo- 

 lysis is probably due to changes of surface tension.^ 

 Dorothy J. Lloyd and C. Mayes : The titration curve 

 of gelatine. Hydrochloric acid combines with gelatine 

 in solutions the acid concentrations of which are less 

 than 004 normal, according to the law of mass action. 

 K* for gelatine is 4-8x10-'- if 839 be taken as the 

 reacting weight of gelatine. Combination probably 

 occurs at the free — NH, groups present in some of 

 the amino-acids of the gelatine. In dilute sodium 

 hydroxide (less than 00 r normal), gelatine combines 

 with the base at a slower rate than that calculated 

 fro-n data used in acid experiments. The number of 

 positions of attachment for bases is probablv not the 

 same as the number of positions for aC'ds. — D. H. de 

 Sonza and J. A. Hewitt : Idio-ventricular periodicitv. 

 A perfusion experiment on the excised heart of the 

 frog was described, in which periodic grouping 

 occurred as an independent ventricular phenomenon. 



Zoological Society, November 22.— Prof. E. W. Mac- 

 Bride, vice-president, in the chair. — A. S. Le Souef : 

 The earlv life-histon,- of Ornithorhynchus. — .\. Smith 

 Woodward : A human skull and other remains from 

 Broken Hill, North Rhodesia, upon which the sf>ecies 

 Homo rhodesiensis was founded. In comparing the 

 Rhodesian skull with a Neanderthal skull from La 

 Chapelle, the author stated that the former mav 

 prove to be the next grade after Neanderthal in the 

 ascending series. — C. F. Sonntag : Contributions to the 

 visceral anatomy and myologv of the Marsupialia. — 

 H. Matsumoto : Megalohvrax (Andrews) and Titano- 

 hvrax, g.n.. A revision of the genera of Hyracoids 

 from the Fayum, Egypt. 



Geological Society, November 23.— Mr. P. D. Old- 

 ham, president, irr the chair.— K. W. Earl* : The 

 Lower Carboniferous rocks of West Cumberland. 

 The zonal sequence of the Carboniferous rocks of 

 Westmorland and Lancashire is traced into Cumber- 

 land. The lowest beds resting against the Lake 

 District massif belong to the yetiiatophyllum-mitius 

 sub-zone. The only outlier of Carboniferous Lime- 

 stone within the massif itself consists, at the base, of 

 beds of that zone. The Lake District massif was 

 probably an island in earliest Carboniferous times, 

 tnd complete submergence did not take place until D, 



NO. 2719, VOL. 108] 



limes. The irregular distribution and thickness, the 

 constituent materials, and the high angle of dip of the 

 Polygenetic Conglomerate beneath the gently dipping 

 limestones, confirm earlier conclusions as to its 

 Devonian age. The Millstone Grit is variable in thick- 

 ness, composition, and stratigraphical horizon in van- 

 ous parts of the area, and there are valuable iron-ore 

 deposits in the limestone series near Whitehaven. — 

 W. G. St. John Shannon : A composite sill at Newton 

 Abbot (Devon). The intrusive nature of the sill, 

 which occurs at the sumrnit of Knowle's Hill, is 

 shown by the spotting of the overlying slates. Con- 

 siderable differentiation has taken place, and the 

 sequence is that of a plutonic phase from basic to 

 more acid, in the order: picrite, dolerite, bostonite; 

 mugearite occurs as a modification of the dolerite. 

 The somewhat sharp junctions and the xenoliths of 

 picrite in dolerite suggest that differentiation took 

 place in the magmatic resenoir. Intrusions occurred 

 before the cooling of the earlier rocks, since the 

 newer show no selvage. Intrusion probably took 

 place during the later stages of folding, but before 

 final cessation of the movement. 



Dublin. 

 Royal Dublin Society, November 22. — Dr. F. E. 



Hackett in the chair. — W. R. G. Atkins : (i) Some 

 factors affecting the hydrogen-ion concentration of the 

 soil and its relation to plant distribution. The reaction 

 of the soil is considered in relation to the limiting 

 hydrogen-ion concentrations of solutions of various 

 carbonates, and to these as altered by other salts. 

 The availability of phosphates and iron salts varies with 

 the soil pH values. Heating increases the pH value 

 of alkaline soils. There is a relation between the 

 tvpical reactions of the soil and the rocks, limestone, 

 sandstone, slate, plutonic, etc., giving rise to it. Plant 

 distribution is limited in a very definite manner by 

 the /)H value of the soil, as shown by study of a 

 hundred species. Natural fresh-water has been found 

 to vary from /)Hb-4 to 83, or when insolated with 

 algae to pHgj. (2) The hydrogen-ion concentration 

 of plant-cells. An acidity as great as pHi-^ has 

 been observed in sap; plant-cells are rarely alkaline. 

 Microchemical tests show that the xylem is more acid 

 than the pith and medullary rays. The transpiration 

 stream in Colocasia is almost neutral, but the 

 glandular secretions of Drosera rotundifolia are acid, 

 pW^. The acidity of a tissue is usually near, but 

 below, the optimum for the action of its characteristic 

 enzyme. For such tests diethyl-red is a useful indica- 

 tor. (3) Note on the occurrence of the finger-and-toe 

 disease of turnips in relation to the hydrogen-ion con- 

 centration of the soil. Soil giving a badly infected 

 crop was found to contain 017 per cent, of calcium 

 oxide and to be as acid as. /)H6-6 ; the adjoining field, 

 which gave a good undiseased crop, had 040 per cent, 

 of calcium oxide, and was at, or slightlv more than, 

 /»H6-7 



Edinburgh. 



Royal Society, November 7. — Prof. Bower, president, 

 in the chair. — C. V. Raman : The phenomenon of the 

 radiant spectrum observed by Sir David Brewster. 

 Brewster observed early last century that when a 

 bright image of the sun was observed through a prism 

 of small dispersion there was seen beyond the violet 

 end of the spectrum a bright radiant source. This is 

 explained in terms of the diffraction of the light 

 through the diffracting medium of the eye. — Henry 

 Briggs : Prehensility, a factor of gaseous adsorption. 

 Exoeriments were described on the adsorption of 

 different kinds of charcoal and silica at verv low 



