lOO 



NATURE 



[September i6, 1920 



is under con- 



-A. R6iti, vice- 

 Complete itera- 



oidium. A liandful of sulpliur is distributed round 

 the roots of tlie vine at a depth of lo to 20 cm. — • 

 P. Wintrebert : The time of appearance and mode of 

 extension of the sensibility at the surface of the 

 tegument in fishes and amphibians. — C. Levaditi : An 

 attempt at the culture of the organism of syphilis in 

 symbiosis with the cellular elements. The culture in 

 vitro, in contrast with the virus of poliomj'elitis and 

 rabies, not only did not grow, but rapidly lost its 

 vitality and virulence. — F. Grenet : The appearance 

 of alcoholic yeast in vineyards. It was noted by 

 Pasteur in 1878 that although mould-spores could be 

 found on the stems of the vines and in the soil at all 

 periods of the year, alcoholic yeast appeared only at 

 the time the grape ripened. The cause of this has 

 now been traced to the fly, Drosophila mclanogaster , 

 which carries the yeast-spores, and appears in the 

 vineyards only when the grapes are ripe. The origin 

 of the fly has not been traced, nor is it known 

 whence it obtains the yeast-spores. — E. Joltrain : The 

 value of Bordst's fixation reaction in the diagnosis 

 of plague. This reaction has rendered great service 

 in cases of doubt in convalescents, and when search 

 for the bacillus has given negative results. — C. 

 Gessard : Sub-races of the pyocyanoid bacilli. — L. 

 Scheffler, A. Sartory, and P. P'ellissier : The use of 

 silicate of soda in intravenous injections : phvsio- 

 logical and therapeutical effects. Sodium silicate 

 solutions may be utilised for intravenous injection in 

 doses worked out empiricallv. The treatment is 

 beneficial in cases of arterio-sclerosis, in cardio-renal 

 troubles, and in chronic rheumatism. The treatment 

 of tuberculosis by this method 

 sideration. 



Rome. 

 Reale Accademia dei Lincei, May 2 

 president, in the chair. — S. Pincherle 

 tion of x'-2. The problem has not been resolved 

 for a non-linear function except in very limited cases, 

 of which this is an example. — O. Tedone : Some 

 other formulae of inversion connected with Riemann's 

 method of integration. These formulae have applica- 

 tions to certain mechanical problems, such as finite 

 wave-motion in an elastic fluid. — F. Millosevich : 

 Blodite and other minerals of the saline deposits 

 of Monte Sambuco, in the territory of Calascibetta, 

 Sicily. The salt deposits on the southern face of 

 the mountain, which is in the province of Caltani- 

 setta, are worked by three tunnels, of which the 

 upper cuts through a' deposit of hard salt containing 

 local aggregates of the present mineral, which is 

 synonymous with astrakanite, and occurs in two 

 forms, one of which is coloured by iron oxide. The 

 crystallographic data are given, and the analvsis 

 indicates_ the composition Na,S0,,.MgS0j.4H,0.— 

 E. Bompiani : Point transformations between varieties 

 which satisfy Levi-Civita's parallelism. — R. Raineri : 

 Tripoli Corallinaceae, iii. The species dealt with are 

 Corallina officinalis, L., C. mediterran-ea, Areschoug, 

 and Peyssonelia rubra, Grev. — .Anna Foa : Excretorv 

 system of the silkworm. The peri- and endo-cardiac 

 and peritracheal glands form a system for the excre- 

 tion of certain substances probablv having an acid 

 reaction. A figure is given of a silkworm injected 

 with carmine and Chinese ink. — A. Pais : Con- 

 valescence of chronic malaria by X-ravs. — Comment- 

 ing on the foregoing paper. Prof. B. Grass! concludes 

 that in the sequelae of malaria these rays, when 

 opportunely used, have an almost marvellous curative 

 effect, when other remedies, such as quinine, arsenic, 

 iron, diet, and change of air, are much more tardy 

 and uncertain in their action. On the other hand, 

 these remedies can be usefully employed, especially 

 in rebellious cases, in conjunction with ray treatment, 



NO. 2655, VOL. 106] 



but the latter has been shown to be suitable for 

 adoption in every malarial district. — G. Amanita . 

 .Spermatic secretion, x. The elimination of the sperm 

 in the cavy and rat. — Profs. Roiti and Castelnuovo 

 referred to the deaths of Theodore Reye, Zeuthen, 

 and Hurwitz; and Prof. I^vi-Civita presented reports 

 by C. Guidi on the strength of dykes, and by M. 

 Panetti on the aerodynamic laboratory adjoining the 

 Polytechnic of Turin. 



May 16. — F. D'Ovidio, president, in the chair. — 

 A. A'ngeli : Reactions of some ortho- and para- 

 substitute derivatives of benzol. — .Vnna Fo4 : Excre- 

 tory system of the silkworm, ii. The rectal portions 

 of the Malpighian tubes (with three illustrations).— 

 G. Cotronei : Identity of metamorphoses of Amphibia 

 anura and urodela. 



Books Received. 



A Geographical Bibliography of British Ornithology 

 from the Earliest Times to the End of igi8. Part 6. 

 Pp. viii-|-48i-5s8. (London : Witherby and Co.) 6s. 

 net. 



Lead : Including Lead Pigments and the De- 

 silverisation of Lead. By Dr. J. A. Smythe. Pp. 

 vii+120. (London: Sir 1. Pitman and Sons, Ltd.) 

 3^. net. 



-Vthena : .A Year-Book of the Learned World. (The 

 English Speaking Races.) Edited by C. A. Ealand. 

 Pp. viii+392. (London : A. and C. Black.) 155. net. 



Handbook of Patent Law of all Countries. By 

 W. P. Thompson. Eighteenth edition, completely 

 revised. Pp. vii-l-157. (London: Stevens and Sons, 

 Ltd.) 6s. 



Ancient Egypt. Part iii., 1920. (London : Mac- 

 millan and Co., Ltd.) 2S. net. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The British Association and National Life ... 69 



Ewing's "Thermodynamics." By H. L. C 72 



Forensic Medicine 73 



Industrial Administration. By H. M. V 74 



Fuel Economy . , . . 75 



Text-books of Chemistry. By C. J 75 



Oil Geology. By H. B. Milner 76 



Our Bookshelf 77 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Spiranthei atitumnalis in Scotland. — Right Hon. 



Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., F.R.S. ... 79 

 Associated Squares .nnd Derived Simple Squares of 



Order 5. — Major J. C. Burnett . ... 79 

 The Spectrum of Nova Cygni III. — Rev. A. L. 



Cortie, S.J. 79 



The Timbers of Commerce. {Illustrated ) 80 



The Structure of the Atom. II. {H'lth Diagram.) 



By C. G. Darwin 81 



Obituary : — 



Prof, Wilhelm Wundt. By Prof, G. Dawes 



Hicks . . . . 83 



Armand Gautier.~By Sir T. Edward Thorpe, 



C.B., F.R.S 85 



Notes 87 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Tempel's Comet 91 



Nova Cygni 91 



The Perth Section of the Astrographic Catalogue . . 91 

 Geographers and the Reconstruction of Europe. 



By John McFarlane, M.A 92 



Economics and Statistics at. the British Associa- 

 tion 96 



The International Congress of Physiologists. By 



Prof. D. Fraser Harris 97 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 99 



Societies and Academies 99 



Books Received 100 



