March 23, 1922] 



NATURE 



399 



sub-species are described as new, and a new genus, 

 Calvptophvllum, is erected for the reception of two 

 of the Millipedes. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, February 27. — M. Emile 

 Bertin in the chair. — M. E. I. Fredholm was elected 

 Correspondant of the Academy for the section of 

 geometry, and M. Henri Jumelle Correspondant of 

 the Academy for the section of botany. — T. Carleman : 



The series ^ " . — S. Sarantopoulos : A theorem 



z-av 

 of M. Landau. — E. Cartan : A generalisation of the 

 notion of curvature of Liemann and torsional space. 

 — P. Fox : Measurements of stellar parallaxes at the 

 Deadborn Observatory (United States). A table of 

 the parallax of 34 stars, supplementing earlier lists 

 given in 191 9 and 192 1. — T. Moreux : A new theory 

 of the formation of the spiral nebulae and of the solar 

 system. — G. Perrier : Compensation of the differences 

 of altitude of a chain of triangles of the first order. 

 Apphcation to the triangulation of the meridian arc 

 of the equator. — M. de Laroquette : Measurement of 

 the mean penetrating power of a bundle of X-rays 

 by a new radio-chromometric method. Ten holes are 

 bored in a sheet of lead, and these receive in turn 

 known fractions (from i to 50 per cent.) of the total 

 exposure. Twelve other holes are made in the same 

 plate, and iii these sheets of metal are placed discs pos- 

 sessing filtering power expressed in millimetres of 

 aluminium, up to 66 mm. The scale thus obtained has 

 been compared with Benoist degrees and possesses 

 advantages over the latter in having a wider range 

 and in being applicable to all radiations. — P. de la 

 Gorce : The measurement of power by the differential 

 dynamometer. — M. Chapas : The solubility of the 

 isomeric toluic acids in the three xylenes. The para- 

 acid is verjf slightly soluble in the three xylenes ; the 

 meta-acid is more soluble, but the differences from the 

 ortho-acid are insufficient to form a method of separa- 

 tion. — A. Poucholle : Contribution to the study of 

 tempering. — P. Job : The electrometric study of 

 electrolysis, under the action of baryta, of some 

 complex amine cobalt compounds. — J. B. Senderens 

 and J . Aboulenc : The catalytic preparation of the 

 cvclohexanetriols. Pyrogallol in alcoholic solution is 

 rapidly reduced by hydrogen in the presence of nickel 

 under a pressure of 40 to 50 kilograms at a tempera- 

 ture of 140° C. The reduction is complete and the 

 ])roduct consists of a mixture of two isomeric pyro- 

 gallites (trihydroxy-cy clohexanes) . Phloroglucinol, 

 in aqueous solution, undergoes reduction to phloro- 

 glucite under similar conditions.— M. Godchot and P. 

 Brun : Some derivatives of suberone. The products 

 of reduction of suberone by calcium hydride are 

 described and also the preparation of dibromo- 

 suberone. — E. Grandmougin : The halogen deriva- 

 tives of the isatins. — A. Schoep : Dewindtite, a new 

 radioactive mineral. This mineral is found mixed 

 with chalcolite in the Belgian Congo. It is a lead 

 phospho-uranate of the composition 4PbO, 8UO3, 

 3P.,05, I2H20.— C. Jacob : The structure of North 

 Annam and Tonkin. — J. Savornin : Stratigraphical 

 and tectonic observations at the north-east frontier 

 of Morocco. — J. Thoulet : The neutral lines of sub- 

 marine coast sediments. The agitation of the sea 

 sorts out the minerals of the sea floor and the results 

 are permanent, as the same results are always obtained 

 in the same locality. — A. NSmec and F. Duchon : A 

 new indicating method for evaluating the vitality of 

 seeds by the biochemical method. The method is 

 based on the assumption that the activity of the 

 catalase present is a measure of the vitality of the 

 seed. The catalase is determined by measuring the 

 amount of oxygen evolved by the action of hydrogen 

 peroxide. A table of results for seeds of various dates 



NO. 2734, VOL. 109] 



between 1891 and 1920 comparing the catalase found 

 with the percentage of germination proves the utility 

 of the process. — MM. Warcollier and Le Moal : The 

 progressive disappearance of free sulphurous acid in 

 preserved apples. — L. Mercier : Contribution to the 

 study of the regression of an organ ; the vibrating 

 flight muscles of Apterina pedeslris during nymphosis. 

 — L. Roule : A rare genus of deep-sea Japanese fish, 

 rarely found in the North- African Atlantic Ocean. — 

 T. Monod : The morphology of the buccal parts in 

 the male of Akidognathia halidaii. — A. Policard and 

 G. Mangenot : The action of temperature on the 

 cellular chondriome. A physical criterion of mito- 

 chondrial formations. — H. Grenet and H. Drouin : A 

 bismuth compound of the aromatic series and its 

 therapeutic activity. An account of the therapeutic 

 action of a phenol derivative containing bismuth, 

 concerning the preparation and composition of which 

 no details are given. Its antisyphilitic action is 

 comparable with that of the arsenobenzines. 



Official Publications Received. 



Konlnklijk Nederlandsch Meteorologisch Institut. No. 106 : 

 Ergebnisse aerologischeu Beobachtungen, 8, 1919. Pp. xi+113. 

 No. 108 : Seismische Reglstrierungen in De Bilt, 6, 1918. Pp. xiii +84. 

 (Utrecht : Kemink & Zoon.) 



Thirty-flfth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 

 to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1913-1914. In two 

 parts. Part 1. Pp. 794 +xi. (Washington: Government Printing 

 Office.) 



Department of the Interior : Bureau of Education. Bulletin, 1920, 

 No. 30 : State Laws relating to Education, enacted in 1918 and 1919. 

 Compiled by Wm. R. Hood. Pp. 231. (Washington : Government 

 Printing Office.) 



Agricultural Experiment Station of the Michigan Agricultural 

 College. Chemical Section. Regular Bulletin, No. 291 : Fertilizer 

 Analyses. By Andrew J. Patten and others. Pp. 109. (East 

 Lan.sing, Mich.) ^ „ ^. 



Smithsonian Institution : United States National Museum. Bulleun 

 100, vol. 4 : Contributions to the Biology of the Philippine Archipelago 

 and Adjacent Regions. Foraminifera of the Philippine and Adjacent 

 Seas. By Joseph A. Cushman. Pp. 608+100 plates. (Washington: 

 Government Printing Office.) 



Canada. Department of Mines : Geological Survey. Memoir 12/. 

 No. 108, Geological Series: Beauceville Map-Area, Quebec. By B. 

 R. MacKay. Pp. ill +105 (including 13 plates). Memoir 128. No. 

 109, Geological Series : Winnipegosis and Upper Whitemouth River 

 Areas, Manitoba ; Pleistocene and Recent Deposits. By W. A. 

 Johnston. Pp. ii+42. (Ottawa.) 



Report of the Department of Mines for the Fiscal Year ending 

 March 31, 1921. (Sessional Paper No. 26.) Pp. iil+47. (Ottawa.) 

 5 cents. 



Diary of Societies. 



FRIDAY, March 24. 



Royal Society of Arts (Indian Section), at 4.30. — Prof. H. E. 

 Armstrong : The Indigo Situation in India. 



Royal Society of Medicine (Study of Disease in Children Section), 

 at 5. 



Physical Society of London (at Imperial College of Science and 

 Technology), at 5.— Prof. N. Bohr : The Effect of Electric and 

 Magnetic Fields on Spectral Lines (Guthrie Lecture). 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Informal Meeting), at 7. — 

 Capt. R. P. Stanford : Cheap Transport : Heat and Power, with 

 Special Reference to the D. J. Smith Gas Producer. _ 



Institution of Production Engineers (at Institution of Mechanical 

 Engineers), at 7.30.— E. Fairbrother : Inspection Methods. 



Junior Institution of Engineers, at 8. 



Royal Society of Medicine (Epidemiology and State Medicine 

 Section), at 8.— Dr. J. Brownlce and Dr. M. Young : The Epidemi- 

 ology of Summer Diarrhoea. 



Royal Institution of Great Britain, at 9.— Prof. F. G. Donnan : 

 Auxiliary International Languages. 



SATURDAY, M.iRCH 25. 



Royal Institution of Great Britain, at 3. — Sir Ernest Rutherford : 

 Radioactivity (4). 



MONDAY, MARCH 27. 



Institute of Actuaries, at 5. — G. W. Richmond : Austrian National 

 Life Tables. ,^ ^ , 



Royal Society of Arts, at 8.— G. Radcliffe : The Constituents of 

 Essential Oils (Cantor Lectures), (2). 



Royal Society of Medicine (Odontology Section), at 8. — A. Living- 

 ston : The Experimental Production of Arthritis. 



TUESDAY, March 28. 

 Royal Institution of Great Britain, at 3.— Dr. J. W. Evans: 



Earth Movements (1). . ^ . „ ,,. 



Royal College of Physicians of London, at o.— Dr. A. telling: 



The Interpretation of Symptoms in Disease of the Central Nervous 



System (Goulstonlan Lectures), (3). 



