778 



NATURE 



[February io, 192 i 



Societies and Academies. 



London. 



Royal Society, January 27.— Prof. C. S. Sherring- 

 ton, president, in the chair. — K. Sa»»a and Prof. C. S. 

 Sherrington : The myogram of the flexor-reflex evoked 

 by a single breal<-shock. In the spinal preparation 

 excess of the reflex contraction over maximal twitch 

 indicates that summation of successive contraction- 

 waves is present in the former. Repetitive discharge 

 from the reflex centre occurs, therefore, in response 

 to a stimulus consisting of a single induction shock. 

 — Sir Almroth Wriglit : " Intertraction " between 

 albuminous substances and saline solutions. It is 

 demonstrated by means of experiments in which 

 serum is directly superimposed upon heavier salt solu- 

 tions, and of corresponding- experiments in which 

 lighter salt solutions are superimposed upon heavier 

 serum, that the fluids thus brought into conjunction 

 interpenetrate with extreme rapiditv. The phenomena 

 are due to an interaction between the salts and the 

 albuminous substances. The designation "intertrac- 

 tion " is applied to this form of interaction; and it is 

 suggested that these forces supplement diffusion. In 

 supplementary experiments it is shown that bv inter- 

 traction microbes lodged in serum are rapidly carried 

 down into heavier, or caught up into lighter, salt 

 solutions. — Dr. S. Russ, Dr. Helen Cliambers, and 

 Gladwys M. Scott : The local and generalised action 

 of radium and X-ravs upon tumour growth. The 

 local effects of the (8- and 7-ravs from radium and 

 X-rays upon rat tumours, under varying conditions, 

 were obtained bv exposing the tumour onlv to 

 measured quantities of radiation. When large doses 

 are employed destructive action upon the tumnur- 

 cells is observed; as the dose is reduced the action 

 tends to become stimulative in character, so that th»^ 

 tumour-cells grow more rapidly. The generalised 

 effects of the ravs used w'ere obtained bv submitting 

 the whole animal to the radiation, the tumour being 

 screened. Larsje generalised doses could not be 

 borne by the animals ; with repeated small doses 

 an increase in body-weisjht and in resistance towards 

 tumour (rrowth was observed. The bearing of the 

 observations on radiation treatment in man is 

 discussed. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, Januarv jo. — M. Georges 

 Lemoine in the chair. — P. Marclial : The utilisation 

 of ladybirds against insects harmful to cultivation in 

 the South of France. Specimens ot Cryptoloenius 

 Montroti::ieri obtained from America have been cul- 

 tivated at Mentone, and colonies were liberated in 

 that town and the neighbourhood. It was proved 

 that the insects could pass the winter in the open air 

 in spite of an unusually low temperature. — M. Lugeon 

 and J. Villemagne : .Xii old glacial bed of the Rhone 

 between Leaz and Pont-Rouge des Usses (Haute- 

 Savoie). — A. Sciiaumasse : Observations of the Skjel- 

 lerup comet (1920b) made with the bent equatorial at 

 Nice Observatory. Positions are given for December 

 16, 20, and 23. The comet was of 10-5 magnitude, 

 about 1-5' diameter, with an ill-defined nucleus. — G. 

 Fayet and A. Sciiaumasse : Provisional elements of the 

 new comet 1920b (Skjellerup). — H. Godard : Observa- 

 tions of the Skjellerup comet made at the Bordeaux 

 Observatory with the 38-cm. equatorial. — S. Posternali -. 

 The tetrabasic polvmolybdates. — E. Chaput : Observa- 

 tions on the old alluvia of the Seine. — L. Cayeux : 

 The mineralogical evolution of the oolitic iron minerals 

 of France, independent of the time factor. — .-\. Guilller- 

 mond : The morphological constitution of the cyto- 

 plasm. — E. De Wildeman : The theories of myrmeco- 



NO. 2676, VOL. 106] 



phily. — G. Mangenot : The " fucosane grains " of the 

 Pheophyceae.— H. Lagatu : The respective roles of the 

 three bases, potash, lime, and magnesia, in cultivated 

 plants. The K : Ca : Mg ratios for a large number 

 of plants are plotted on a rectangular isosceles 

 triangle. The results explain experimental figures 

 recently obtained by the u.se of calcined dolomite as 

 a manure. — E. Lombard : .\ collection of phenomena, 

 clinical and experimental, permitting the study of the 

 functional state of the vestibular apparatus in its 

 relations with or^janic equilibrium. — M. Doyon : The 

 anti-coagulating action of the nucleic acid of the 

 pancreas. The stability and characters of the 

 nucleated plasma. — A. Mayer, H. Magne, and L. 

 Plantefol : The toxicity of the chlorinated methvl car- 

 bonates and chlorocarbonates. Thirteen chlorine 

 derivatives of methyl carbonate were studied ; the 

 results are expressed graphically with substituted 

 chlorine atoms as abscissae and minimum focal con- 

 centrations as ordinates. — P. Chabanaud ; A new 

 Batrachian in intertropical .Africa. The larva found 

 appears to be that of Triton Poireti, although there 

 are some differences. 



Januarv 17. — M. Georges Lemoine in the chair. — 

 C. Guichard : Couples of two O, congruences, re- 

 ciprocal polars, with respect to a linear complex. — 

 T. Varopoulos : Functions having a finite or infinite 

 number of branches. — C. Trimont : The testing of thin 

 metal sheets bv stamping. Two methods are 

 described, one for metal sheets utilised for their 

 rifjidity. the other for resistance to shock. Some data 

 obtained with sheets of steel, copper, brass, and 

 aluminium are given. — H. Villat : The initial flow of 

 a liquid through an orifice opened suddenly. — R. de 

 Mallemann : The variation of the rotatorv power of 

 tartaric acid. The marked increase in the rotatory 

 power of solutions of tartaric acid caused by the 

 addition of certain weak acids (boric, molybdic. tung- 

 stic, etc.) has been attributed to the formation of 

 new chemical compounds of high rotatory power. The 

 author describes modifications of rotatorv power pro- 

 duced bv the chlorides and nitrates of the alkalis 

 and alkaline earths which appear to be due to another 

 cause. The rotatorv power diminishes and then 

 changes its sign ; the dispersion changes follow a 

 definite law. — G. Chaudron : Reversible reactions of 

 carbon monoxide with the oxides of iron. The com- 

 position of the gaseous phase in this equilibrium has 

 been determined bv an interference method. Below 

 580° C. there is a single system corresponding to the 

 eauation 



Fe,0,+4C0 ^ 4CO,+3Fe. 



Below 580° C. there are two equilibria corresponding 



to 



Fe,0, + CO ^ :iFeO+CO,. 

 FeO-(-CO ^ Fe-l-CO.. 



A diagram is given, plotted from the experimental 

 figures showing the three branches of curves corre- 

 sponding to these systems. — J. B. Senderens : The 

 catalvtic decomposition of the chloroacetic acids. 

 Whilst acetone is readily formed by the catalvtic de- 

 composition of acetic acid, the chloroacetic acids are 

 split up in quite a different manner. Monochloro- 

 acetic acid gives carbon monoxide and dioxide, aqueous 

 hvdrochloric acid, and a little ethylene chloride ; tri- 

 chloroacetic acid gives the same gases with a little 

 phosgene, with a condensed liquid containing chloro- 

 form, tetrachloroethylene. and a little hexachloro- 

 ethane. Thoria and kaolin have practically identical 

 catalvtic actions in these decompositions ; but animal 

 charcoal gives different products with trichloroacetic 

 acid, 8:; per cent, of the distillate consisting of chloro- 

 form.— M. Del4pine and P. JaHeux : The two homo- 



