194 



NATURE 



[February 9, 1922 



Linnean Society, January ig. — Dr. A. Smith Wood- 

 ward, president, in the chair.— A, B. Rendle : Speci- 

 men of wood of Orites excelsa, R. Br. (family 

 Proteaceae), one of the Australian silky oaks. The 

 tree, which is a native of northern New South Wales 

 and Queensland, is of unique interest from the 

 deposits of aluminium succinate which occur in cavi- 

 ties of the wood. Aluminium is very rarely found in 

 flowering plants, and only in small traces ; but Orites 

 excelsa absorbs alumina from the soil in large quanti- 

 ties, as shown by analysis of the ash. Occasionally 

 the amount taken up is excessive, in which case the 

 excess is deposited in cavities as a basic aluminium 

 succinate. — E. Marion Del! and Miss M. M. Michell : 

 Studies in Macrocystis pyrijera. After describing the 

 distribution of the alga, the authors reviewed recent 

 accounts of it. The fertile fronds are completely sub- 

 merged, smooth, dichotomously branched, and usually 

 borne on special shoots. They bear sori on both sides of 

 the frond. Exceptional cases were described of dis- 

 continuous sori occurring in the grooves of fronds 

 with wrinkled surface and borne on the long swim- 

 ming shoots, and usually without a swim bladder at 

 the base. The zoospores do not appear to have been 

 previously described. Material brought from the 

 shore in the morning and examined in the laboratory 

 in the evening showed swarming zoospores, the next 

 morning swimming actively, and more slowly. The 

 authors consider that the species occurring at the 

 Cape is Macrocystis angustifolia, Bory, from its 

 rhizome-like attachments. — J. L. Chaworth Musters : 

 The flora of Jan Mayen Island. The flora of Jan 

 Mayen may be divided into four main groups. The 

 floras of the seashore, of the bird-cliffs, of sheltered 

 places in the "tundra," and the mountain flora. The 

 most luxuriant flora, which consists of Taraxacum 

 or Oxyria, grows either under the bird-cliffs or in 

 places where tuff has been re-assorted by water. The 

 limit of flowering plants seems to be about 3000 ft. 

 The total phanerogamic vegetation consists of about 

 forty-three species, all of which are common to both 

 Norway and East Greenland. The origin of the flora 

 presents a verv complicated problem. Seeds have 

 probably been brought there on the feet of wading 

 birds which migrate to and from their breeding- 

 grounds in East Greenland. It is highly improbable 

 that Jan Maven has ever been connected with either 

 Iceland or Greenland. Many plants have probably 

 reached Jan Mayen dr.ring very recent years. 

 Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, January 23.— M. Emile Bertin 

 in the chair. — The president announced the death of 

 M. Camille Jordan, member of the Academy. — D. 

 Riabouchinski : Some considerations on the form of 

 the solid and the kinetic energy of the fluid which 

 surrounds it.— A. Perot : The variation in the wave- 

 length of the telluric lines. From measurements 

 made in 1914 and in 1920-21 on the atmospheric lines 

 of the B group the wave-length has been found to 

 vary with the height of the sun above the horizon, 

 nearly proportional to the sine of the angle. The 

 hypothesis that the variation of the wave-length as 

 measured was caused by an unsvmmetrical widening 

 of the line has been examined and rejected as in- 

 sufficient to explain the observed facts.— H. Colin 

 and Mile. A. Cliaudun : The law of action of sucrase : 

 the velocity of hydrolysis and the reaction of the 

 medium. It is well known that the activity of the 

 hydrolvsing diastases, especially sucrase, depends on 

 the acidity of the medium. Results are given of the 

 velocities of inversion of cane-sugar by sucrase in 

 solutions of varving alkalinity and acidity. The 

 velocity of inversion attains a maximum for a given 

 NO. 2728, VOL. 109] 



acidity, and then falls off with further additions of 

 acid. The addition of acid corresponds with a 

 diminution of the quantity of the enzyme taking pari 

 in the reaction. The apparent immobilisation of a 

 part of the diastase is most readily explained by the 

 hyf>othesis of the formation of a sugar and enzyme 

 complex of a physical nature. — C. F. Muttelet : A 

 new method for the detection of coco-fat in butter. 

 The cholesterol and phytosterol are precipitated by 

 digitonin and converted into acetates. The cholesterol 

 acetate melts at 113-6° to 114-2°, the phytosterol 

 acetate at 125°, and mixtures at intermediate tem- 

 peratures. — P. Lemoine and R. Abrard : The existence 

 of the Upper Cretaceous in the central cavitv of the 

 Channel from the dredgings of the Pourquoi Pas? A 

 map of the Channel is given showing the points at 

 which soundings have been taken and distinguishing 

 between spots where Cretaceous deposits have been 

 obtained and spots where the specimens of rocks do 

 not belong to that period. The deposits from the 

 bottom of the central cavity (fosse centrale) clearly 

 belonged to the Cretaceous period. — L. Dussault : The 

 geology of the province of Sam Neua (Eastern Haut 

 Laos). — R. Bourret : The massifs of the north-east of 

 Tonkin.— P. Russo : The structure of the Trias of the 

 regions of Mekn^s, Innaouen (northern Morocco). — 

 S. Stefanescu : The practical and phylogenetic import- 

 ance of the T^ of the ' molars of mastodons and 

 elephants. — A. Allix : Observations on relief sculpture 

 by ice. An account of the direct study of rock erosion 

 by ice in the large crevasses of Mont Pelvoux. The 

 views of W. D. Johnson and of B. Stracey on rock 

 erosion by ice action are confirmed. — G. Dubois : 

 Modifications of the seashore at Sangatte resulting 

 from the storms of December, 192 1. — L. Besson and 

 H. Dutheil : The displacement of rises and falls of 

 the barometer and the direction of movement of cirrus 

 clouds. — R. Combes : The formation of anthocyanic 

 pigments. A criticism of recent communications on 

 this subject by Kurt Noack and St. Jonesco. The 

 colouring matters obtained by these authors are 

 regarded as derived from phlobatannins, and not from 

 y-pyronic pigments : a red coloration with alkalis is 

 not sufficient proof of the presence of an anthocvanic 

 pigment.^G. Hamel : The algae of Rockall. In June, 

 192 1, the Island of Rockall, 240 miles north-west of 

 Ireland, was visited by the Pourquoi Pas?, and M. 

 Le Conte and three sailors effected a landing and 

 secured specimens of the algae. The only brown alga 

 was Alaria esculenta: neither Fucus nor Laminaria 

 were noted. — E. Chemin : The parasitism of 

 Sphacelaria bipinnata. — W. Koskowski : The action 

 of histamine on the secretion of the gastric juice in 

 pigeons. Histamine is not destroyed in the blood, and 

 is not transformed in the blood into a substance 

 stimulating the gastric secretion, but it undergoes 

 this transformation in other tissues, principally 

 in the skin. — C. Levaditi and S. Nicolau : A pure 

 cerebral vaccine : its virulence for man. Vaccine 

 virus, cultivated in the brain of the rabbit for eight 

 months (no passages), retains its affinity for the 

 human skin. It produces normal vaccination without 

 anv complications, and has the advantage over 

 ordinary vaccine of being absolutelv pure without the 

 addition of antiseptics.— A. Donatien and R. Bosselut : 

 Acute contagious encephalitis of the ox. In 1921 a 

 contagious disease caused the death of nine cattle in 

 the neighbourhood of Algiers. Some of the symptoms 

 suggested rabies, but this was proved not to be the 

 case. The disease was transmissible to cattle, rabbits, 

 and guinea-pigs, and was proved to be neither rabies 

 nor Aujesky's disease. It appears to be new, and is 

 being further studied.. 



