November 25, 1915] 



NATURE 



361 



the attack of enemies. The paper was based upon a 

 statistical inquiry into the possible existence of a 

 correlation between these factors. — C. Boden Kloss ; 

 Mammals from the coast and islands of south-east 

 Siam. More than 500 specimens were collected by 

 the author. One species and twenty-two subspecies 

 were described as new. — Prof. VV. J. Dakin : The 

 fauna of West Australia. (Two papers.) The first 

 paper contained the description of a new land Nemer- 

 tean, the first to be recorded from West Australia. 

 The second paper described a new prawn-like Crus- 

 tacean of the genus Palaemonetes, which genus had 

 not hitherto been recorded in Australia. 



Mineralogical Society, November 9.— Mr. W. Barlow, 

 president, in the chair. — W. Barlow : Crystallographic 

 relations of allied substances traced by means of the 

 law of valency volume. The ordinary parameters of a 

 crystal do not necessarily express the actual ratio 

 between the minimum translations of the crystal struc- 

 ture, and it is justifiable to multiply one or sometimes 

 ^two of them by a small integer in order to obtain the 

 equivalence parameters. . A number of cases were 

 taken which showed that in crystals which either con- 

 tain the same radicle or closely related radicles the 

 similar parts are arranged in identical strata inter- 

 calated between the remaining constituents of the 

 crj'stal. — A. F. Hallimond : Torbernite. From measure- 

 ments made on several specimens the axial ratio, 

 a :c= 1:2-947 '^'^s determined, and the forms 001, 

 loi, 103, III, 112, besides vicinal faces, were observed. 

 The mineral becomes unstable at vapour-pressures 

 about one-third that of water, and passes into Rinne's 

 meta-torbernite I. At higher temperatures the transi- 

 tion-curve rises sharply, and meets the vapour-pressure 

 curve of water at. 75° C, above which torbernite has 

 no stable existence in air. — T. V. Barker : The solution 

 of the problem of four tautozonal poles. The indices 

 of two poles, C, D, may be expressed as functions of 

 those of the other two, A(abc), B (dc/) in the form 

 (pa+qd, pb + qe, pc + qf), {ma + nd, mb + ne, mc + nf), 

 where p. q, m, n are small, positive or negative, in- 

 tegers. Since np cot AD = (np — niq) cot AB -1- mq cot AC, 

 a 'table of natural cotangents enables a numerical 

 example to be solved rapidly. Usually p = q = i, and 

 the equation reduces to » cot AD = (»i — rH) (ot ABf 

 tn cot AC. — L. J. Spencer: Crystals of iron phosphide 

 {rhabdite) from a blast-furnace. The small, acicular, 

 tin-white, and strongly magnetic crystals were found 

 sparingly in cavities in a large mass of metal at the 

 bottom of a blast-furnace near Middlesbrough. They 

 are tetragonal (sphcnoidal-hemihedral) with the axial 

 ration a : c = i : 0-3469. — Dr. G. T. Prior : The meteoric 

 stone of Cronstad, Orange Free State. 



Royal Meteorological Society, November 17. -Major 

 H. G. Lyons, president, in the chair. — J. S. Dines : 

 The mounting- and illumination of barometers and the 

 accuracy obtainable in the readings. The author 

 described the method of mounting and illuminating' 

 the barometer in accordance with the plan adopted 

 at the Meteorological Office, South Farnborough. 

 This consisted in hanging- the barometer against a 

 window, with a thin wooden screen, 6 in. wide, placed 

 behind it about i in. from the tube. In this screen 

 was a narrow slit f in. wide, which came immediately 

 behind the top of the mercury column, and admitted 

 light from the window. The opening in the screen 

 was covered with a piece of ground glass or thin 

 paper, which prevented the passage of direct sunlight 

 and gave a diffused illumination in all circumstances. 

 Another feature of the mounting- was the clamping- of 

 the bottom of the tube as was generally done in the 

 case of instruments of the Fortin type, in order to 

 prevent swinging of the barometer. The paper also 



NO. 2404, VOL. 96] 



contained an account of several sets of comparative 

 readings of the barometer taken by different observers 

 and between different types of instruments, which 

 showed a remarkably close agreement with one 

 another. The prevalent habit of tapping the instru- 

 ment before reading was not considered desirable. — 

 N. A. Comissopulos : The seasonal variability of 

 rainfall over the British Isles. This paper dealt with 

 a method of presenting rainfall statistics brought for- 

 ward the year previously by Dr. H. R. Mill and Mr. 

 C. Salter in a paper entitled " Isomeric Rainfall Maps 

 of the British Isles." The author has treated the 

 paper in a slightly different manner from the methods 

 in the paper he has discussed, and has made use of 

 the standard deviation as a measure of variability. 

 The conclusions relating to the distribution of rain- 

 fall which arise from this method of discussion are 

 the same as those given by the isomeric maps. 

 Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, November 15. — M. Ed. Perrier 

 in the chair. — T. H. Gronwall : Minimum surfaces 

 forming a family of Lamd.— Leon Bouthillion : The 

 application to wireless telegraphy with sparks of the 

 method of charging condensers by dynarhos of con- 

 stant " E.M.F". — Albert Colson : Heats' of equilibrium 

 and the law of saturated solutions. — Paul Bary : The 

 velocity of solution of liquids in india-rubber. The 

 experimental results of G. Flusin are shown to be 

 exactly represented by a simple formula.^ — Emile 

 Saillard : The action of copper solutions on saccharose. 

 The estimation of invert-sugar in presence of sac- 

 charose.— F. Kerforne : The presence of mylonites at 

 the base of the Cambrian at the south of Rennes. — J. 

 Repelin : New observations of the tectonic of the north- 

 east portion of Basse Provence. — Henri Coupin : The 

 ferment action of marine bacteria. Fortv-three species 

 of bacteria of marine origin have been studied from 

 the point of view of their action on sugars and 

 starches. Only four species caused no fermentation, 

 and twenty-eight out of the forty-three fermented 

 glucose. — M. Marage : Treatment of loss of speech 

 resulting from shock. Loss of speech is frequently 

 caused by the explosion of shells of large calibre, with- 

 out any apparent lesions, and this is frequently accom- 

 panied by deafness. Details of treatment are given 

 for five cases. — G. A. Le Roy : Waterproofing military 

 cloths and fabrics. The materials are treated with 

 solutions of sodium aluminate, dried, and then passed 

 through a bath of weak acetic or formic acid. The 

 material thus treated Is waterproof, but not impervious 

 to air. — R. Kcehler : Description of a new species of 

 Astrophiura. — A. Vayssiire : The Eupteropods collected 

 during the scientific expeditions directed bv S.A.S. the 

 Prince of Monaco. — Mile. Janlna Wisznie'wska : Anti- 

 phenol serum. In certain fermentative processes in 

 the Intestine a specific substance is produced, always 

 producing by injection into animals definite lesions. 

 Although behaving like a phenol with the reagents 

 used for detecting phenols, it is distinct from oxy- 

 phenylacetic acid or other known phenol derivatives. 

 By injecting this substance into the horse, an anti-body 

 is produced in the serum of the ani.nal, and this 

 neutralises the antigen, both in vitro and in guinea- 

 pigs, rabbits, and dogs. 



Washington, D.C. 

 National Academy of Sciences (Proceedings No. 11, 

 vol. i.). — R. G. Harrison : Experiments on the develop- 

 ment of the limbs in Amphibia. At the time of 

 appearance of the tail bud, the anterior limb of 

 Amblystoma is already determined in the mesoderm 

 cells of that region of the body-wall which lies close 

 to the pronephros and ventral to the third, fourth, and 

 fifth myotomes. The prospective significance of this 



