356 



NATURE 



[November 26, 1914 



satisfactorily analysed. The effects of varying spac- 

 ing, date of sowing, and season, upon Egyptian cotton, 

 have been subjected in this way to critical examina- 

 tion by the authors. A secondary aim has been to 

 appreciate the reasons for conventional agricultural 

 practice. For each of twenty different spacings, the 

 numbers of flowers daily, and of fruits, together with 

 the weights of cotton and seed per fruit, have been 

 recorded. The extent to which each of these com- 

 ponents enters into the building up of the final yield 

 is shown. The dense planting conventionally prac- 

 tised by the Egyptian fellah is shown to give the 

 maximum possible yield per unit area under the limita- 

 tions of field cultivation, though the normal extension 

 of the root-system of an isolated plant can utilise more 

 than ten times the soil-surface allotted to it in field- 

 crop. Most of the phenomena of field-crop physiology 

 in the fruiting season are thus shown to be traceable 

 to root-interference. — J. Mcintosh and P. Fildes : The 

 fixation of arsenic by the brain after intravenous injec- 

 tions of salvarsan. After intravenous injections of sal- 

 varsan and neosalvarsan in man and animals no 

 arsenic can be found in the brain. This phenomenon 

 is not due to lack of affinity between the brain and 

 the drugs, but to an inability on the part of the drugs 

 to penetrate into the substance of the brain. Fixation 

 of arsenic by the brain occurs as readily as by the 

 liver, as shown by experiments in vitro and the toxic 

 effects of intrathecal injections. Penetration of neo- 

 salvarsan into the brain cannot be obtained even by 

 frequently repeated intravenous injections.- — A. E. 

 Everest : The production of anthocyanins and antho- 

 cyanidins. Part II. The author brings forward fur- 

 ther evidence to support the conclusions arrived at by 

 him in his previous paper (Roy. Soc. Proc, B, 1914, 

 vol. Ixxxvii., p. 144), namely, that the red, blue, and 

 violet flower and fruit pigments (anthocyans) may be 

 produced by reduction of flavone and flavonol deriva- 

 tives in acid solution. Experiments are described 

 which show that pure disaccharides of the flavonol 

 series pass without hydrolysis to anthocyanins. The 

 flavone and flavonol pigments having been previously 

 synthesised by Kostanecki, the processes described by 

 the author complete the synthesis of the anthocyan 

 pigments.— H. M. Woodcock and G. Lapage : Living 

 observations on the life-cycle of a new flagellate — 

 Helkesitnastix faecicola— together with remarks on 

 the question of syngamy in the trypanosomes. H. 

 faecicola, ng., n.sp., occurs in goat-dung and sheep- 

 dung; it is a "passenger," being carried through the 

 alimentary canal in an encysted state. The authors 

 have cultivated this flagellate in various media. They 

 have observed the entire course of the life-cycle in 

 life, from excystation to encystment. — S. W. Patterson : 

 The antagonistic action of carbon dioxide and 

 adrenalin on the heart. Carbon dioxide alone depresses 

 all the functions of the isolated heart. Adrenalin, 

 besides dilating the coronary vessels, has a specific 

 action in increasing the rate and strength of ventri- 

 cular contraction. The effect of carbon dioxide and 

 adrenalin combined is still to allow of more rapid and 

 stronger contraction and rapid relaxation, and also 

 to lengthen the diastolic period. Thus, greater filling 

 of the heart takes place, and the heart is in a better 

 condition for putting out a maximal output. 



Zoological Society, November 10. — Prof. E. \V. Mac- 

 Bride, vice-president, in the chair.- — R. I. Pocock : 

 Some unrecorded structural differences between the 

 pine-marten (Maries martes) and the beech-marten 

 (Martes foina). The two species, apart from the 

 known differences in the skull and teeth, may be 

 distinguished by the size of the ears, which are 

 broader ?nd longer in M. martes than in M. foina, 

 and by the dimensions of the pads on the feet, which 



NO. 2352, VOL. 94] 



are considerably larger and less overgrown with hair 

 in M. foina than in M. martes. — Dr. F. E. Beddard : 

 Anatomy and systematic arrangement of the Cestoidea. 

 A new genus and species of the family Acoleidae was 

 described, based upon a large number of examples 

 obtained from the Canadian tree-porcupine (Erethtzon 

 dorsatum. — H. R. Hogg : Report on the spiders col- 

 lected by the WoUaston and British Ornithological 

 Union Expeditions in Dutch New Guinea. This collec- 

 tion confirms a good deal of the. work of previous 

 authors, and at the same time brings to light much 

 that is new. Leaving out the Attidae, there are repre- 

 sentatives of nine families, comprising twenty-six 

 genera (of which one is new) and forty-five species or 

 subspecies of which some nineteen are new. 



Pliysicai Society, November 13. — Dr. A. Russell, vice- 

 president, in the chair. — D. Owen : A bridge for the 

 measurement of self-induction. An alternate-current 

 bridge method is proposed for the determination of 

 self-induction in terms of capacity and resistance. The 

 inductance L is given by the relation L = K3riR; in 

 addition to which it is also necessary for balance of the 

 bridge to satisfy the condition K3ri = K4r2. The con- 

 ditions of balance may be secured without mutual 

 interference. The end point is rapidly attained. The 

 possibility of effecting a balance is unlimited by the 

 value of the unknown L. The method is independent 

 of frequency, and it is unnecessary to employ a pure 

 sine voltage. Good results may be attained with a 

 buzzer as source and a telephone receiver as detector. 

 The dependence of sensibility of the bridge on the fre- 

 quency is discussed, and over a wide range the sensi- 

 bility is high. The effects of residual inductance in 

 the resistance coils and leads, and of absorption in the 

 condensers, may be allowed for, the formula then 

 becoming L = K,r,(R — R,). Tests are quoted showing 

 that with the same pair of condensers measurements 

 over the full range from one microhenry upwards may 

 be made. For inductances of the order of 10 micro- 

 henries the error may be kept within a few parts in 

 1000; whilst if the inductance is as high as a few 

 millihenries the error of any measurement may be 

 reduced below one part in 10,000. The application of 

 this bridge to the determination of capacity in terms 

 of self-inductance is discussed, and an example is given 

 of a test of the temperature variation of capacity of 

 a standard mica condenser over the range o°-3o° C. — 

 B. W. Clack : The coefficient of diffusion in dilute 

 solutions. Modifications have been made in the appa- 

 ratus previously described to determine the value of 

 the coefficient of diffusion of salts through water, by 

 means of which the steady state is hastened and results 

 obtained more quickly. The single wide tube pre- 

 viously employed is replaced by a battery of shorter 

 and narrower tubes. The error due to end-correction 

 is investigated and results are given for the salts 

 KCl, KNO3, and NaCl for various concentrations 

 down to very dilute solutions. 



Royal Meteorological Society, November 18.— Dr. 

 H.N. Dickson, vice-president, in the chair. — Dr. H. R. 

 Mill and C. Salter : Isomeric rainfall maps of the 

 British Isles. The average monthly rainfall expressed 

 as a percentage of the average annual fall of each of 

 about 300 stations forms the basis of a set of twelve 

 monthly and four seasonal maps. The most striking 

 features are the occurrence of two types of seasonal 

 march ; one chiefly characteristic of western or wet 

 districts, having a winter maximum and a summer 

 minimum, the other chiefly confined to eastern or dry 

 districts, having a winter minimum, and a summer 

 or autumn maximum. The equinoctial maps show 

 the transitional stages between these two extremes, 

 the spring months having everywhere a low rainfall 



