February i8, 19 15] 



NATURE 



691 



ancestrv, must be abandoned once and for all. — Dr. 

 \V. Nicoll : A new species of liver-fluke from the 

 kestrel. 



Mathematical Society, February ii. — Prof. A. E. H. 

 Love, vice-president, in the chair. — G. H. Hardy and 

 J. E. Littlewood : (i) The zeros of the Riemann zeta- 

 function. (ii) An assertion of Tchebychef.— G. B. 

 Jeflery : The steady motion of a solid of revolution in 

 a viscous fluid. — S. T. Shovelton : Relations amongst 

 Bernoulli's and Euler's numbers. — W. P. Milne: 

 Apolar generation of the quartic curve. 



Calcutta. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, January 6. — Maude L. 

 Cleghorn : A note on the floral mechanism of 

 Typhotiiuni trilobattim. Describes the trap-mechanism 

 of the spathe, by means of which beetles are ingeni- 

 ously captured at night to ensure cross-pollination. 

 The trap-mechanism of this plant resembles that of 

 the Cuckoo-pint {Arum maciilatum) in the entrance 

 and exit of the trap being above and at the same open- 

 ing, but differs from it in the deliberate opening and 

 closing of the passage leading down into the trap. 

 Its floral mechanism does not seem to be so perfect 

 as that of the common Kachu (Colocasia antiquorum), 

 but it appears to be an advance on that of the Cuckoo- 

 pint.- — F. H. Gravely : The evolution and distribution 

 of Indian Spiders belonging to the sub-family Aricu- 

 larinae. The Ischnocoleae found in the Indian Penin- 

 sula and Ceylon form a very compact group, probably 

 related to those of other parts of the world through 

 their most primitive species only. It is concluded that 

 the Poecilotherieae have originated from the Ischno- 

 coleae as a result of their adaptation to a new environ- 

 ment in the Indian Peninsula or Ceylon, to which 

 they are still confined. 



Dublin. 



Royal Dublin Society, January 26. — Prof. H. H. 

 Dixon in the chair.— Prof. W. Brown : The subsidence 

 or damping of torsional oscillations in iron wires is 

 much less than in nickel wires, and is greater in an 

 alternating magnetic field than in a direct field, whilst 

 the reverse is the case with soft nickel wires. With 

 iron wires when the longitudinal load on the wire is 

 -sufficiently increased, the damping curves obtained in 

 the direct and alternating magnetic field are ident,ical. 

 Results are also given for iron wires alloyed with 

 silicon, chromium, and nickel, as well as for two 

 non-magnetic wires. — Prof. H. H. Dixon and \V. R. G. 

 Atkins : Osmotic pressures in plants. V. — Seasonal 

 variations in the concentration of the cell sap of some 

 deciduous and evergreen trees. A series of cryoscopic 

 and conductivity measurements made on the sap 

 pressed from plant organs after treatment with liquid 

 air showed that the greater part of the osmotic pres- 

 sure is due to dissolved carbohydrates. The concen- 

 tration of electrolytes in leaves increases with age. 

 A similar increase was not found in the roots of Ilex 

 aquifoliiim. The concentration of carbohydrates fluc- 

 tuates greatly, and causes large variations in the 

 osmotic pressure. In the leaves of Syringa vulgaris 

 it was found that the osmotic pressure rose from the 

 opening of the buds and reached its maximum in 

 August. The leaves of both Ilex and Hedera showed 

 higher osmotic pressures in winter than in summer. 

 The osmotic pressure of the tissues of the roots of 

 Ilex attained its maximum in September. 

 Paris. 



Academy of Sciences. February 8.— M. Ed. Perrier in 

 the chair. — .\. Lacroix : The existence of grained 

 nepheline rocks in the volcanic archipelago of Ker- 

 guelen. — G. Bigourdan : .Xpplication of the angular 

 comparator to the determination of astronomical re- 



NO. 2364, VOL. 94] 



fraction and its constant. Details of the proposed 

 method for using the instrument described in a recent 

 paper to measure atmospheric refraction. — .\rmand 

 Gautier : The influence ot fluorine on plant growth. 

 In certain rare cases the presence of fluorides in the 

 soil inhibits growth, but in general it has a stimulat- 

 ing effect on growth, flowering, and the formation of 

 seeds. — Ed. Delorme : Wounds of the external genital 

 organs. — J. Guillaume : Observations of the sun made 

 at the Observator}- of Lyons during the second quarter 

 of 19 14. Observation's were made on seventy-one 

 days, and the results are given in three tables show- 

 ing the number of spots, their distribution in latitude, 

 and the distribution of the faculae in latitude. — E. 

 Goursat : A class of integral invariants. — Et. Detaiwu : 

 The theory of unilateral finite linkages. — Leon Bl«eh : 

 The theon of absorption of light in metals and in 

 insulators.— F. Bodroux : ITie preparation of esters. 

 Mixtures of alcohol, water, and formic acid give 

 formates on slow distillation, but formic acid has very 

 slight catalytic power in ester formation from other 

 acids. The mixture of sulphuric and hydrobromic 

 acids obtained by decolorising a mixture of bromine 

 and water with sulphur dioxide is recommended as a 

 catalyst, and details are given of its use in the pre- 

 paration of propyl and isobutyl bromides. — L. 

 Grimbert and O. Ba'illy : A method for distinguishing 

 the glvcerophosphoric mono-esters and on the con- 

 stitution of crystallised sodium glycerophosphate. — A- 

 Sartory and L. Spillmann : The bacteriology of gaseous 

 gangrene. In agreement with the results of Wein- 

 berg, Doven, and Yamanouchi, the authors find pre- 

 sent in all cases Bacillus perfringens in the gangrene 

 pus. Other organisms are present, but this bacillus 

 appears to be the most important as regards pus 

 formation. — P. M«zi : The determination of the rare 

 mineral elements necessary to the development of 

 maize. Boron, aluminium, fluorine, and iodine are 

 necessarv for the growth of maize. — Em. B««r^»el«t, 

 M. Bridel, and .A. Anbry : The biochemical synthesis 

 of the /8-monoglucoside of ordinary propylene glycol 

 with the aid of emulsin. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



International .Association for Tropical Agriculture. 

 Proceedings of the Third International Congress, held 

 at the Imperial Institute, London, S.W., June 23 to 

 30, 1914. Pp- -\i + 407. (London: John Bale, Ltd.) 

 10s. net. 



.\ List of British Birds, compiled by a Committee 

 of the British Ornithologists' Union. Second and 

 revised edition. Pp. x.\ii + 4Jo. (London: W. Wesley 

 and Son.) js. 6d. ^ ^,. . 



Canadian Institute. General Index to Publications, 

 1852-1912. Compiled and edited by J. Patterson. 

 Pp. 518. (Toronto: University Press.) 5 dollars. 



Bartholomew's Route Chart of the World, with 

 Inset Maps (Edinburgh : J. Bartholomew and Co.) 

 IS. net. 



Practical Mathematics. By -\. E. Young. Second 

 Year. Pp. xi4-i64. (London: G. Routledge and 

 Sons. Ltd.) 2s. net. 



.\ First Course in Practical Chemistry for Rural 

 Secondar^• Schools. Bv W. Aldridge. Pp. .xii+122. 

 (London : G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.) is. 6J. 



Practical Heat. Light and Sound. Bv T. Picton. 

 Pp. xv+Jji. (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.) 

 IS. 6d. 



Manuale di tisxa. Bv Prof. B. Dessau. Vol. 11. 

 .Acustica. Termolopia. Ottica. Pp. vii + 6i2. (Milano : 

 Society Editrice Libraria.) L.15. 



Tables .\nnuelles de Consta.ites et Donnas 



