December io, 19 14] 



NATURE 



4^3 



iin alliance with Athyrium or Aspidium, but rather 

 assigned the plant to a place in the Davallioid series 

 of forms. — Dr. T. Muir : Properties of the determinant 

 of an orthogonal substitution. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, November 23. — M. Ed. Perrier 

 in the chair. — A. Chauveau : Physiological weakness 

 and tuberculosis in armies in the field. The debility 

 caused by exposure to the hardships of a campaign in 

 no way favours the introduction of the tubercle bacillus 

 into the body. But, once the body is attacked by 

 the organism, the reduced power of resistance to the 

 ravages of the bacillus caused by privation and in- 

 sanitan,- conditions ma\- have a marked effect on the 

 rapidity of development of the disease. — E. L. 

 Bouvier : The carcinological fauna of Maurice Island. 

 A description of some specimens collected by M. 

 Carie during the last four years. — Haton de la 

 (ioupilliere : A property of arithmetical progressions. 

 — M. Gonnessiat : Observation of the transit of Mer- 

 cury across the sun, November 6-7, at the Algiers 

 Observatory. The transit was observed under excel- 

 lent atmospheric conditions. The times of the four 

 contacts are given and compared with the calculated 

 data. — Henri Chretien : The transit of Mercur\- across 

 the sun of November 7, 1914. Details of observations 

 made at Nice. — Comas Sola : Photographic observa- 

 tions of a small planet, apparently new. The photo- 

 graphs were obtained on November 15 at the Fabra 

 Observatory, Barcelona. — C. Le Morvan : Photo- 

 graphic positions of cpmet 1913/ (Delavan) obtained 

 with the photographic equatorial at the Paris Observa- 

 tory. Px)sitions are given for September 5 and 6, 

 October 7, 8,' and 9.— Charles Rabat: The La Balme 

 bridge. — Andr6 Rling and H. Copaux : The preserved 

 meat of the Paris camp. A reply to a recent criticism 

 of M. Balland. — Marcel Rostaing : A type of military 

 under-garment. 



New South Wales. 



Linnean Society, September 30.— Mr. W. S. Dun, 

 president, in the chair. — Dr. C. Hall : The evolution 

 of the Eucalypts in relation to the cotyledons and 

 seedlings. In regard to the form of the' embryo in 

 the Eucalypts, the cotyledons in the E. corymbosa 

 group closely resemble those of Angophora, and are 

 entire and reniform. With reference to the cotyledon- 

 leaves of Eucalyptus, these may be divided into two 

 great classes, entire and emarginate ; and each of 

 these into groups, according to size and shape. A 

 study of the cotyledons supports the view that the 

 E. corymbosa group is the most primitive type, while 

 the Stringybarks have cotyledons of similar form. In j 

 response to the xerophytic conditions of Australia, the 

 Eucalpyts have reduced the size of their cotyledons — ! 

 first, by a general reduction in size, while retaining | 

 the entire, reniform shape; secondly, by the introduc- j 

 tion of emargination, which, at last, becomes so 

 extreme that Y-shaped cotyledons come to prevail in 

 many of the dry-country species. The first pairs of [ 

 leaves tend rapidly to assume the typical form of the 

 juvenile foliage of the species, except in the Corym- ; 

 bosas, where, for a few pairs, the peltate form is 

 adopted. Seedlings of about 150 species are figured. ' 

 — Dr. R. Greig-Smith : Note on the bacteriotoxic action 

 of water. When B. prodigiosus is used as a test- ' 

 bacterium, and seeded into filtered tap-water, it gener- 

 ally increases. In boiled water, the rate of multiplica- 

 tion is lessened. Under the same conditions, JB. typhi 

 always decreases, and, in boiled water, the diminution j 

 is increased to such an extent that from three to six j 

 cells, out of 1000 added, remain after twenty hours. — | 

 Dr. R. Greig-Smith : Note on the destruction . 

 of paraffin by B. prodigiosus and soil-organisms. \ 



XO. 2354. VOL.' 94] 



When B. prodigiosus is grown in the presence 

 of paraffin, it attacks the hjdrocarbon. Losses 

 varying from 5 per cent, to 14 per cent, were obtained. 

 Mi.xed soil-organisms, under the same conditions, 

 destroyed from 11 per cent, to 49 per cent. 



C.\PE Town. 

 Royal Society of South Africa, October 21. — Dr. L. 

 Peringuey, president, in the chair. — J. B. Pole-Evans: 

 Some new South African aloes. The paper describes 

 six new aloes from the Transvaal. — '1 h. Wassenaar : 

 Optical illusions. — E. J. Goddard and C. S. Grobbelaar : 

 A new genus of fresh-water Oligochaetes (of uncertain 

 position). — J. S. v. d. Lingen : The space-lattice of 

 liquid crystals. The theory of the identity of mole- 

 cules which cause the different forms of crystals of 

 the same substance was discussed briefly. Experi- 

 ments on the magnetic nature of certain liquid crystals 

 were then described. The principal axis of the mole- 

 cules lies parallel to the lines of magnetic force when 

 the molecules are not influenced by other forces. As 

 regards the optical properties of liquid crystals, the 

 pseudo-isotropic layers behave like uniaxial crjstals 

 cut perpendicular to the axis. Vorlaender's experi- 

 ments on such layers in convergent light show the 

 well-known rings and crosses of uniaxial crystals. 

 He believes that the pseudo-isotropic layers have space- 

 lattices. When Rontgen rays are passed through such 

 layers no interference phenomenon is obtained, hence 

 there is no space-lattice. This indicates that : (i) the 

 molecule itself is a small crystal possessing magnetic 

 axes ; (2) a change in the structure of the molecule 

 itself causes a change in the form of the crystals of 

 the same substance. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Transactions and Proceedings of the Botanical 

 Society of Edinburgh. Vol. xxvi. Pt. 3. Session 

 1913-14. Pp. xxxiii4-299. (Edinburgh: Botanical 

 Society.) 



Canada. Department of Mines. Mines Branch. 

 Magnetite Occurrences near Calabogie, Renfrew 

 County, Ontario. By E. Lindeman. Pp. 16. Moose 

 Mountain Iron-Bearing District, Ontario. By E. 

 Lindeman. Pp. 14 + 8 maps. (Ottawa: Government 

 Printing Bureau.) 



Fighting in Flanders. By E. A. Powell. Pp. 

 xix + 227. (London: W. Heinemann.) 35. 6d. net. 



Boilers, Economisers, and Superheaters : their 

 Heating Power and Efficiency. By Prof. R. H. 

 Smith. Pp. viii+128. (London: Crosby Lockwood 

 and Son.) ys. 6d. net. 



The City of Dancing Derv-ishes and other Sketches 

 of Studies from the Near East. By H. C. Lukach. 

 Pp. xi4-257. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 

 75. 6d, net. 



Through the Grand Canyon from Wyoming to 

 Mexico. By E. L. Kolb. Pp. xix + 344. (London : 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 8s. 6d. net. 



Text-Book of Embryolog\-. Edited by W. Heape. 

 Vol. i., Invertebrata.' By ' Prof . E. W. MacBride. 

 Pp. xxxii 4-692. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 

 25s. net. 



The Excavations at Babylon. By R. Koldewey. 

 Translated by A. S. Johns. Pp. xix + 335. (London : 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 21s. net. 



Macmillan's Geographical Exercise Books. II. — 

 Europe. With Questions. By B. C. Wallis. Pp. 48. 

 (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 6d. 



Bricks and Artificial Stones of Non-Plastic Mate- 

 rials : their Manufacture and Uses. By A. B. Searle. 

 Pp. vi+149. (London : J. and A. Churchill.) Ss. 6d. 

 net. 



