January 31, 1901] 



NA TURE 



619 



west of London was 6* "2 above the average for 40 years, and the 

 mean maximum and mean minimum exceeded the average by 

 about the same amount. The month ranks with the mildest 

 of the last half century, but was equalled by December 1898, and 

 exceeded by December 1868. The number of days (19) on 

 which the temperature exceeded 50° is unprecedented in this 

 series of observations, for there were only 18 such days in 1868 

 and 17 in 1898. The present number of this popular magazine 

 completes the 35th volume. The magazine, while retaining its 

 special interest in rainfall, will in future deal more fully with all 

 branches of meteorological science than it has done in the past. 



BoUeitino della Societa Sismologica Italiana, vol. vi. No. 

 5. — Seismic Greece, by F. de Montessus de Ballore. A study 

 of the geographical distribution of earthquakes in Greece. — On 

 the velocity of the earth-waves of the Roumanian earthquake of 

 September 10, 189^, by C. Davison (in English). Good obser- 

 vations of the time were obtained at Bucharest and Oxford, the 

 latter by Prof. Boys in his experiment on the Newtonian 

 constant of gravitation. They give a mean surface-velocity of 

 3 98 km. per second. — Three-component seismometrograph for 

 strong earthquakes, by G. Agamennone. A first sketch of a 

 proposed instrument. — Seismometrograph with continuous- 

 velocity registration, by A. Cancani. — Notices of earthquakes 

 recorded in Italy (August 4 to 24, 1899), by A. Cancani, the 

 most important being distant earthquakes on August 17 and 24. 



SOCIE-tFES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Chemical Society, January 17. — Prof. Thorpe, President, 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read : — The prepara- 

 tion of iodic acid, by A. Scott and W. Arbuckle. The authors 

 prepare iodic acid by heating powdered iodine with nitric acid 

 in a glass flask fitted with a ground-in reflux condenser and a 

 tube by means of which oxygen is passed through the boiling 

 liquid. — Note on isomeric change and meta-substitution in 

 benzenoid amines, by A. Lapworth. The author explains the 

 action of fuming sulphuric acid on dimethylaniline by means of 

 an extension of his previously published views on the occurrence 

 of isomeric change. — The preparation of esters from other esters 

 of the same acid, by T. S. Patterson and C. Dickinson. It is 

 shown that ethyl tartrate can be converted into methyl tartrate 

 by the action of methyl alcohol and hydrogen chloride, and that 

 methyl tartrate can be converted into ethyl tartrate by an 

 analogous process. — Tecomin, a colouring matter derived from 

 Bigiioniatecoma, by T. H. Lee. The vioodoi Bignoniatecoma 

 }ields a yellow crystalline colouring matter, and is used locally 

 as a. dye for cotton and as a stain for wood. — A new method for 

 the measurement of ionic velocities in aqueous solution, by 

 B. D. Steele. The method consists in enclosing the liquid to 

 be examined between two partitions of gelatine which contains 

 the indicator ion in solution. On the passage of the current the 

 cation of the solution is followed by the cation of the indicator, 

 and the anion of the solution by the corresponding anion of the 

 indicator. It is necessary in all cases that these indicator ions 

 should move more slowly than the ion to be measured ; the 

 motion is followed by means of acathetometer. — Metal-ammonia 

 compounds in aqueous solution. Part ii. The absorptive powers 

 of dilute solutions of salts of the alkali metals, by H. M. Daw- 

 son and J. McCrae. — The amide, anilide and toluidides (ortho- 

 and para-) of glyceric acid, by P. F. Frankland, F. M. Wharton 

 and H. Aston. 



Manchester. 



Literary and Philosophical Society, January 22. — Prof. 

 ■ Horace Lamb, F.R.S., President, in the chair. — The President 

 referred to the loss sustained by the Society through the death 

 of Prof. Ch. Hermite, one of its honorary members. — Mr. 

 Francis Jones showed the mode of detecting small quantities of 

 arsenic by Marsh's, Reinsch's and Gutzeit's methods. He also 

 showed the results obtained by the action of light on the 

 hydrides of arsenic and antimony in contact with sulphur, con- 

 stituting a further test of the presence of these metals. The 

 result obtained from a glass of arsenical beer by Marsh's test was 

 also exhibited, together with a sample of invert-sugar containing 

 arsenic. — Mr. R. L. Taylor remarked upon the occurrence of 

 arsenic in certain green tapers, of which he showed two varieties 

 obtained from half-a-dozen samples purchased in the neighbour- 

 hood of Manchester, and demonstrated the presence of a marked 

 quantity of arsenic in a short piece cut off from one of these 



NO. 1 63 I, VOL. 63] 



tapers. — Dr. C. H. Lees mentioned a very compact formula for 

 the circumference of an ellipse due to Mr. Thomas Muir, which 

 is readily calculated with the aid of Barlow's tables. The 

 accuracy of the approximation is very marked. 



EUINBURGH. 



Royal Society, January 7. — Prof. Copeland in the chair. — 

 Mr. W. S. Bruce, in a paper on exploration in Spitsbergen and 

 soundings in seas adjacent, gave an account of the work he had 

 undertaken in conjunction with the Prince of Monaco in the 

 yacht Princess Alice, and with Mr. Andrew Coats, of Paisley, 

 in the yacht Blencartha (now Pandora). One main object of 

 the Blencartha expedition of 1898 was the determination of 

 salinities and temperatures in the Barentz Sea, an important 

 result being the delineation of the isotherms in the successive 

 summer months. In the expedition of 1899, the Prince of 

 Monaco's chief aim was to survey the littoral regions to the 

 north and north-west of Spitsbergen. The most detailed work 

 was done in Red Bay, which they found to be very inaccurately 

 described in the Admiralty map, and in which they had taken 

 over 2000 soundings and 2700 angles. Many new peaks and 

 glaciers were discovered and named, one to the south of the bay 

 being named Peak Ben Nevis. The greatest depths in the bay 

 were much greater than the depths in the open sea beyond, a 

 fact which seemed to prove the glacier origin of the bay. The 

 paper was fully illustrated by a number of lantern slides, which 

 brought out clearly much of the geological and zoological 

 character of Spitsbergen and Novaya Zembla. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, January 21. — M. Fouque in the 

 chair.— Notice on M. Ch. Hermite, by M. C. Jordan. — Notice 

 on M. Adolph Chatin, by M. Gaston Bonnier. — Influence of 

 the substitution of alcohol for sugar in food, in isodynamic quan- 

 tity, on the value of the muscular work accomplished by the 

 subject, by M. A. Chauveau. The experimental results obtaiiied 

 during a period of 389 days show that the partial substitution 

 of alcohol for sugar in the food ration in a subject doing work 

 has an unfavourable effect from all points of view, there being a 

 diminution in the absolute value of the muscular work, and an 

 increase in the food used up with respect to the work accom- 

 plished. — On the influence of climate upon the evolution of 

 experimental pleuro-pulmonary tuberculosis, by MM. Lanne- 

 longue, Achard and Gaillard. Three hundred guinea-pigs were 

 inoculated with human tuberculosis, and then submitted to 

 varying climatic conditions, some remaining in the laboratory at 

 Paris, others being taken to the sea, open country, mountains, 

 &c. The advantage appeared to be with those remaining in the 

 laboratory. Although in each lot all the animals were inocu- 

 lated with the same virus on the same day, great differences 

 occurred in the development of tuberculosis. —On the supple- 

 mentary condition in hydrodynamics, by M. P. Duhem. — M. 

 Mascart announced to the Academy the death of M. Gramme. 

 — On the telescopic planets, by M. R. du Ligondes. An 

 analysis of the distribution in space of the telescopic planets 

 shows that the assumption that they represent the di>bris of 

 a nearly flat circular ring does not explain all the facts. The 

 more probable hypothesis would appear to be the generation of 

 the planets by successive agglomerations of matter circulating 

 in the interior of the solar nebula. — On the generalisation 

 of a theorem of M. Picard, by M. S. Kantor. — On a theorem 

 in the calculus of probabilities, by M. A. Liapounoff. — 

 On the liquefaction of gaseous mixtures. Variation of the 

 concentrations of the two co-existent liquid and vapour phases 

 along the isotherms, by M. F. Caubet. It is shown that any 

 mixture of CO2 and SOg which, at 66°-3 and under a pressure 

 of 57 -6 atmospheres, can give two co-existing phases, will give 

 a liquid phase of concentration 070926, and a vapour phase of 

 concentration o'33238.— On some properties of sodium per- 

 oxide, by M. de Forcrand. The author points out that the 

 method of preparation of hydrated sodium peroxide, given by 

 M. Jaubert in a recent number of the Comptes rendits, is 

 identical with that published by Prof. Vernon Harcourt forty 

 years ago. — On the combinations of ammonia with aluminium 

 chloride, by M. E. Baud. The author's results differ from those 

 previously obtained by Persoz and Rose. At least four stable 

 compounds exist, Al2Cltf.2NH3, AlaClfi.loNHg, A12C16.I2NH3, 

 and AI2CI6.18NH3. The first of these distils without 

 decomposition at 450° C— On the isolation of yttria, 

 ytterbium, and the new erbium, by MM. G. and E. 



