1 66 



NATURE 



[October 7, 19 15 



elusions on Housinj^ our Workers," at the Royal Sani- 

 tary Institute, 90 Buckingham Palace Road, London, 

 S.W. The admission to all lectures is free. 



The calendar for the current session of Armstrong 

 College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, one of the constituent 

 colleges of the University of Durham, is now available. 

 Since August, 1914, the buildings of the college have 

 been in the occupation of the War Office, and the 

 various departments of the college are housed tem- 

 porarily in different buildings throughout the city. The 

 arrangements for the session follow the general lines 

 of previous years. Complete courses of study leading 

 up to degrees in pure and applied science have been 

 provided. Students who wish to graduate in applied 

 science may take up one of the following branches : 

 general mechanical, marine, civil, or electrical engineer- 

 ing, naval architecture, mining, and metallurgy. Such 

 a degree is accepted by the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers in lieu of their examination for associate 

 membership, and by other corporations. Courses are 

 also provided in preparation for degrees in commerce. 

 A gratifying characteristic of the work done in the 

 college is the active co-operation of employers of 

 labour in the district, who have made it easy for 

 students to obtain experience of workshop conditions 

 during or after their college course. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, September 27.— M. Ed. Perrier 

 in the chair. — Paul Appell : A second form of func- 

 tions of the fourth degree. — Henry Le Chatelier and 

 Jules Lemoine : The heterogeneity of steels. An account 

 of the application of an etching reagent proposed by 

 Stead (methyl alcoholic solution of cupric and mag- 

 nesium chlorides containing hj-drochloric acid), with 

 details of the proportions found to-give the best results. 

 Nine reproductions of microphotographs accompany 

 the paper. — J. Haag : A system of differential formulae 

 concerning the elements of a projectile submitted to a 

 quadratic resistance of air. — Charles Rabut : The cal- 

 culation of the strength of a beam reinforced with 

 metal bands.— P. Vaillant : The laws of flow of liquids 

 in drops. The weight of a drop from a given orifice 

 depends on the number of drops per second. It is 

 proved that the weight of a drop is a parabolic function 

 of the frequency of fall, and experimental data are 

 given in support of this. — P. W. Stuart Menteath : The 

 Permian of the western Pyrenees. — Jules Welsch : The 

 Pliocene lignites of Bidart, Lower Pyrenees. South 

 of Biarritz there are deposits of lignite the age of 

 which is near to the Middle Pliocene. — R. Chudeau : 

 Rain and vapour pressure in western and equatorial 

 Africa. — J. Bergonie : A new method of physical treat- 

 ment of the after results of wounds : pneumatic pulsa- 

 tory massage. A detailed description of the mode of 

 application of mechanical massage to the treatment of 

 masses of cicatricial tissue. Particulars of the results 

 obtained will be published later. — P. Portier : The re- 

 sistance of certain races of B. suhtilis arising from 

 insects to chemical reagents. The organisms, isolated 

 from the larva of Tenebrio molitor and the chrysalis 

 of Myelois cribrella, prove to survive very drastic treat- 

 ment, including 50 hours with 5 per cent, phenol, 

 25 hours with 20 per cent, formaldehyde, 95 per cent. 

 alcohol more than fourteen months, boiling chloroform, 

 and other reagents. This resistance to chemical re- 

 agents is greater than any hitherto observed, and has 

 a direct bearing on the problem of sterilisation of in- 

 struments and bandages. — J. Wolff and lyllle. Nadia 

 Rouchelmann : The properties of a chVomogen univers- 



NO. 2397, VOL. 96] 



ally distributed in plants.— A. de la Baume Pluvinel : 

 The use of Hughes's induction balance for the detec- 

 tion of projectiles in the wounded. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- 

 tion for Ireland. Suggestions for the Teaching of the 

 First Year's Syllabus in Experimental Science for 

 Day Secondary Schools. By E. P. Barrett. Pp. 19. 

 (Dublin : Browne and Nolan, Ltd.) 



Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Calendar, 

 Session 1915-16. Pp. 523. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: 

 Armstrong College.) is. 



Five Figure Mathematical Tables. Compiled by 

 E. Chappell. Pp. xvi + 320. (London: W. and R. 

 Chambers, Ltd.) 5s. net. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, October j. 

 FuGENics EiJUCATiON SOCIETY, at 5.15.— Eugciiics and the Doctrine of 

 the Super-man : Prof. J. A. Lindsay. 



FRIDAY, October 15. 

 Institution ok Mechanical Engineers, at 8.— The Theory of Grinding, 

 with reference to the Selection of Speeds in Plain and Internal Work: 

 J. J. Guest. 



CONTENTS. P 



Practical Engineering 



Botany and Gardening Books. By F. C 



New Methods and Old. By R. & L. H 



Our Bookshelf 



Letters to the Editor:— 



The Masses of Heavenly Bodies and the Newtonian 

 Constant.— Dr. P. E. Shaw . . ... 



The Spectrum of X-Rays.— Prof. B. Cabrera 



Studies of the Cotton Plant.— W. Lawrence Balls; 



The Reviewer 



The Karakoram Expedition. (Illustrated.) By 



T. H. D. L. 

 The Effect of Radium on the Growth of Plants. 



By Dr. E. J. Russell 



Prof. E. A. Minchin, F.R.S 



Dr. T. Albrecht 



Notes 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Measures of Jupiter . 



The Rotation Period of Certain Jovian Markings . . 



R. Coronse Borealis 



A lo-inch Diffraction Grating 



The Solar Physics Observatory, Cambridge 



Long-Distance Wireless Telephony 



Experiments on Homing 



The Institute of Metals 



On the Functions of the Cerebrum 



Geology at the British Association. By W. L. C. 

 Corresponding Societies at the British Association. 



By Wilfred Mark Webb 



The British Association : — 



Section B.— Chemistry.— Opening Address by Prof. 

 William A. Bone, D.Sc, F.R.S., President 



of the Section ... • • 



University and Educational Intelligence 



Societies and Academies 



Books Received 



Diary of Societies . . . ■ ....... • . • ■ • 



139 ':\ 



140 i? 



141 * 



142 '\ 



143 I 



144 :; 



145 



[47 



150 



150 I 

 i 



154 \ 



154 i 



154 .' 



154 ; 



155 't 

 155 • 



155 1 



156 -: 

 156 



157 \ 



158 ^ 



159 ; 



165 I 



166 ' 

 166 i 

 166 \ 



Editorial and Publishing Offices: 



MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd., 



ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C. 



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the j 

 Publishers < 



Editorial Communications to the Editor. 

 Telegraphic Address: Phusis, London. 

 Telephone Number : Gerrard 8830. 



