November 12, 1914] 



NATURE' 



301 



charge. — Prof. C. H. Lees : The flow of viscous fluids 

 through smooth circular pipes. — F. O. Rice : Quan- 

 titative measurements of the absorption of light. I. — 

 The molecular extinctions of the saturated aliphatic 

 ketones. The absorptive power of fourteen of the 

 -saturated aliphatic ketones has been measured quan- 

 tiiatively with an ultra-violet spectro-photometer. It 

 was found that previous observations by otBer authors 

 were inaccurate owing to the presence of impurities 

 in the ketones. The general results of the present 

 observations are considered from two points of vie\\;, 

 namely, the position of the absorption band and the 

 maximum absorptive power. The wave-length of the 

 absorption band depends upon the number and posi- 

 tion of the alkyl groups in the side-chain, and tends 

 to increase with the number of CH, or CHj groups. 

 — Prof. W. M. Thornton : The ignition of gases by 

 condenser discharge sparks. — E. G. Bilham : The 

 ^park spectrum of nickel under moderate pressures. 



Cambridge. 

 Philosophical Society, October 26. — Dr. Shipley, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — H. H. Paine and G. T. R. Evans : 

 The conductivity of extremely dilute acid and alkali 

 -clutions. — N. Wiener: Studies in synthetic logic. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, October 27.— M. P. Appell in 

 ihf chair. — Gaston Darboux : Partial differential 

 equations of the second order with two independent 

 variables and the relations of Laplace formed with 

 such equations. — Andre Blondel : The theorv of alter- 

 nators. — M. Coggia : Observation of Lutit's comet 

 iqi4b made at the Marseilles Observatory. Position 

 i^aven for October 21. — M. Bigourdan communicated 

 a telegram received from Comas Sola, director of the 

 Fabra Observatory at Barcelona, giving the positions 

 of a comet, possibly Encke's comet.^B. Berloty : Ob- 

 -^ rvation of the solar eclipse of August 21, 1914, at 

 Ksara. 



New Sorrii Wales. 



Linnean Society, July 29.— Mr. C. Hedley, vice-presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — E. F. Hallmann : A revision of the 

 Monaxonid species described as new in Lendenfeld's 

 ■ Catalogue of the Sponges in the Australian Museum." 

 Part ii. The second part of the revision deals with 

 the species (twenty-four in number) assigned by 

 Lendenfeld to the families Homorrhaphidae and 

 Heterorrhaphidse. Of these, five have not been 

 identified ; the remainder have been redescribed and 

 figured. With few exceptions, the original descrip- 

 tions have been found to be inaccurate and mislead- 

 ing, a number of them even confusing the external 

 features of one species and the internal features of 

 another; and, in the case of two of the species, the 

 figures given are those of sponges not described in 

 the catalogue at all. — J. H. Maiden : Further notes on 

 the botany of Lord Howe Island. Part v. .\ descrip- 

 tion of a species of Plantago deemed to be new is 

 offered. The paper contains notes on the vegetation 

 of the summit of Mt. Gower by Mr. Hedley, who, 

 and also Mr. W. S. Dun, placed his collections at the 

 disposal of the author. Notes on the vegetation of 

 the Admiralty Islets are given, together with critical 

 observations on some introduced and other plants, 

 the occurrence of which on the island was hitherto 

 considered to be uncertain. Some notes on synonymy 

 included. — E. Breakwell : A study of the leaf- 

 ttomy of some native species of the genus Andro- 

 pogon (N.O. Gramineae). Plants representative of 

 seven species have been examined. In respect of 

 anatomical structure, these fall into three groups. 



.\ugust 26. — Mr. W. S. Dun, president, in the chair. 

 — E. F. Hallmann : A revision of the Monaxonid species 



-cribed as new in Lenderrfeld's " Catalogue of the 



NO. 2350. VOL. Q4I 



Sponges in the Australian Museum." Part iii. The 

 concluding part of the revision deals with the families 

 Desmacidonidae and Axinellidae. Several of the 

 species described are new— among these being Histo- 

 derma actinioides and Raspailia agminata, examples 

 of which are figured in the catalogue erroneously, in 

 illustration of Stylotella polymastia and Halichondria 

 rubra respectively. — F. H. Taylor : The Culicidae of 

 -Australia. Part i. Seven species, referable to six 

 six genera — Stegomyia (i), .TEdimorphus (i), Culi- 

 cada (2), Culex (i), Skusea (i), and Menolepis? (i) — 

 are proposed as new, together with one variety. 

 Additional records, for a number of previously known 

 species, are included. — W. X. Benson : Petrological 

 notes on various New South Wales rocks. The paper 

 describes briefly collections made in various parts of 

 New South Wales. Nullum Mountain, near Mur- 

 willumbah, consists of granophyre intrusive into 

 Palaeozoic schists. It is associated with dykes of 

 trachyandesite, and a rock composed almost entirely 

 of andesine. A well-known basalt-dyke at Gerrin- 

 gong contains abundant inclusions of alkali-felspar 

 gneiss, granodiorite-gneiss, quartz-schist, and a few 

 inclusions of gabbro. Interesting reactions occur be- 

 tween the xenoliths and basalt. Granitic inclusions are 

 recorded from the volcanic necks of Dundas and 

 Norton's Basin. The peculiar, green, fibrous decom- 

 position-product of olivine, that occurs in the basic 

 xenoliths of Dundas, and in the majority of the 

 olivine-basalts of the Sydney district, is recognised as 

 bowlingite. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Water Supplies : their Purification, Filtration, and 

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Royal ObservatorA", Hong Kong. Report on the 

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A First Book in Psychology. By Prof. M. W. 

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English Humour in Phonetic Transcript. By G. 

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Transactions of the Paisley Philosophical Institu- 

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Citv and Countv of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Public 

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Technical Gas -Analysis. By Dr. G. Lunge. Pp. 

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Technical Methods of Chemical -Analysis. Edited by 

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The Whip of God. Bv R. H. .McCartnev. Pp. 30. 

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Catalogue of Coins in the Colombo Museum. 

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Bibliographical Record of the L'niversity of Sydney. 

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Ministry- of Finance. Eg^pt. Survey Department. 

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Meteorology of .Australia. Commonwealth Bureau 

 of Meteorologv. A'ol ii. Nos. 2 to 13. (Melbourne : 

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