532 



NATURE 



[March 28, 1901 



but no true nitro-derivative could be obtained. — On the supposed 

 binaphthylene alcohol, by M. R. Fosse. The compound 

 described by Rousseau as a binaphthylene alcohol is a derivative 

 of trinaphthylmethane. — On the i3;3-diacetylpropionate of ethyl, 

 by M. F. March. — Properties of the alkyl substitution products 

 of the ethyl ester of cyano-acetone-dicarboxylic acid. Action of 

 cyanogen chloride upon the methyl ester of acetone-dicarboxylic 

 acid, by M. J. Derome. — The action of butyryl chloride upon 

 the sodium compound of methyl acetoacetate, by MM. Bouveault 

 and A. Bongert. Two classes of substances are produced in 

 this reaction, there being a true carbon linkage in the one, whilst 

 in the other the carbon atoms are joined through an oxygen 

 atom. The separation of these isomers is described and some 

 of their characteristic properties studied. — On the constitution 

 of gallotannin, by M. H. Pottevin. — The production of acetyl- 

 methyl-carbinol by the Bacillus tartricus, by M. L. Grimbert. 

 By the action of this bacillus upon solutions of glucose or sugar, 

 small quantities of the alcohol CHj- CO -CHOH - CH3 are 

 produced. This substance, which has not been previously noted 

 as a fermentation product, was identified by means of its 

 osazone. — On the diagnosis of tuberculosis, by MM. Albert 

 Robin and Maurice Binet. It is found that the respiratory 

 exchanges are much higher in tuberculous subjects than in the 

 healthy man, and this feature is so constant that it will be of 

 service in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. — The slow conduction 

 of the nerve and negative variation, by M. Aug. Charpentier. — 

 On the opacity of the vitreous body and the rigidity of this 

 medium of the eye, by M. A. Imbert. — On the histology of the 

 branchia and the digestive tube, by M. P. Vignon. — On the 

 absorption of highly diluted metallic poisons by plant cells, by 

 M. \\. Devaux. Both phanerogams and cryptogams are 

 poisoned by solutions of lead and copper salts containing only 

 one or two parts of the salt in ten millions of water. — Influence 

 of darkness on the development of flowers, by M. L. Beaulaygue. 

 — Comparative anatomy of the leaf organs in the acacias, by 

 M. P. Ledoux. — On the tabular icebergs of the Antarctic regions, 

 by M. Henryk Argtowski, 



Cape Town. 



South African Philosophical Society, February 6. — 



T. Stewart, vice-president, in the chair. Mr. E. H. L. Schwarz 



exhibited some photographs and copies of interesting Bushman 



paintings from Groot Riet River, near the boundary of the 



'Ceres and Clanwilliam districts, on the road from the Cold 



Bokkeveld to Whupperthal. The drawings are on the face of a 



-cliff" overhanging a tributary of the Groot Riet River. There is 



^o cave properly speaking, but the river has cut slightly into the 



-cliff at the base, so as to form a shallow recess. The floor of 



the recess is some 20 feet above the present river level, and a 



fine Bushman pot (exhibited) was obtained here. The paintings 



themselves are done in a great number of styles, by different 



?people. They are in red paint, except for three black and one 



brown figure. Mr. Sclater pointed out that one of the photo- 



r graphs evidently represented the drawing of a white rhinoceros, 



. an animal of whose occurrence so far south no written record has 



been preserved. — Mr. A. W. Rogers read a paper on evidence 



of glacial action during the deposition of the Table Mountain 



sandstone. — Mr. Sclater having taken the chair, Mr. Stewart 



read a paper on the rainfall of the Cape Peninsula. The average 



for the last seven years at Signal Hill is 15 49 inches ; at Ronde- 



bosch 41 22 inches ; at Kenilworth 42 "90 inches ; at Disa Head 



• '(2500 feet above the sea) on Table Mountain 39 '96 inches ; and at 



Maclear's Beacon (3478 feet above the sea) on Table Mountain 



86'8i inches. The heaviest rainfall in the Peninsula is registered 



at the last station. The rainfall during the month of January 



last was of an exceptional character, in fact there is no record 



of a previous rainfall during any of the summer months having 



approached the amount recorded. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, Marc* 28. 



iRovAL Society, at 4.30. — (i) On the Arc Spectrum of Vanadium; (2) 

 On the Enhanced Lines visible in the Spectrum of the Chromosphere : 

 Sir N. Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and F. E. Baxandall.— Further Ob- 

 servations of Nova Persei, No. 2: Sir N. Lockyer, K.C.B., F R.S. — 

 The Growth of Magnetism in Iron under Alternating Magnetic Force : 

 Prof. E. Wilson. To be read in title only ; On the Electrical Con- 

 ductivity of Air and Salt Vapours: Dr. H. A. Wilson. 



I.VSTITUTION OF Electrical Engineers, at 8. -^The Electrical Trans- 

 mission of Power in Coal Mines : H. W. Ravenshaw.— Portable Electric 

 Lamps : S. F. Walker. 



^HEMiCAL Society, at 3. — Annual General Meeting. 



NO. 1639, VOL. 63] 



FRIDA K, March 29. 



Royal Institution, at 9. — Poli>h : Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. 

 SATURDAY, March 30. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Sound and Vibrations: Lord Rayleigh, F.R.S. 



Essex FieldClub (Essex Museum of Natural^History, Stratford), at 5.— 



Twenty-first Annual Meeting. At 6.30. — Neolithic Implements from 



the North Downs : J. P. Johnson. — On Borings of the Ash-bark Beetles 

 {Hylesinus) : Miller Christy. — Lantern Demonstration of Colour Photo- 

 graphy as applied to Natural Objects : E. Sanger Shepherd. 

 MONDAY, April i. 



Society of Chemical Industry, at 8. — The Effect on the Marsh Test of 

 some Commercial Products containing Selenium and Tellurium : A. E. 

 Berry. — A New System for the Manufacture of Borax and Nitrates : Dr. 

 W. Newton. — Basic Superphosphate : its Preparation and Use as a 

 Manure : John Hughes. — The Preparation of Pure Cineol from Euca- 

 lyptus Oil by means of the Arsenate : Watson Smith — Action of Caustic 

 Potash and Soda on Stannous Sulphide : Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin. 



Victoria Institute, at 4.30. — The Maori's Place in History: J. 

 Rutland. 



TUESDAY, April 2. 



Zoological Society, at 8.30. — On the Myology of the Tongue 01 

 Parrots, with a Classification of the Order based upon the Structure of 

 the Tongue : G. P. Mudge. — On the Structure of the L.irynx in Cogia 

 and Balaenoptera: Piof. W. B Benham, F.R.S. — On a Collection of 

 Lizards from the Malay Peninsula, made by Members of the " Skeat 

 Expedition," 1899-1900 : F. K. Laidlaw. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at S.^The Burrator Works for the 

 Water-.supply of Plymouth : E. Sandeman. 



Royal Photographic Society, at 8. — Animals and Birds in their 

 Native Haunts : Charles Reid. 



WBDNESDA Y, April 3. 



Geological Society, at 8. 



Entomological Society, at 8. 



Society of Public Analysts, at 8. — On the Maumeni Test for Oils: 

 C. A. Mitchell.— Some Arsenic Estimations relating to Malt Kilns : 

 T. Fairley.— The Aeration Test for Effluents : Dr. S. Rideal. 

 THURSDAY, XvKii. ^. 



LiNNEAN Society, at "8. — On some British Freshwater Rhizopods and 

 Heliozoa : G. S. West. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Book of Antelopes. By R. L. . . . . 509 

 The Science of Ore Deposits. By Prof. Henry 



Louis 510 



Organic Chemistry. By W. T. L • 5" 



Our Book Shelf:— 



D wight : " Description of the Human Spines, showing 

 Numerical Variation, in the Warren Museum of the 



Harvard Medical School " 512 



Prichard : " Where Black Rules White : a Journey 



across and about Hay ti " 512 



Schwalbe : " Untersuchungen zur Blutgerinnung" 512 

 Gregory and Simmons: "A Manual of Elementary 



Science" ... . 5^3 



" The Mind of the Century " 51: 



" Morison's Chronicle of the Year's News of 1900" . 513 

 Steel : " Imitation, or the Mimetic Force in Nature 



and Human Nature" S'S 



Allen: " In Nature's Workshop " 513 



Benedict: " Elementary Organic Analysis " .... 514 



Davis: " Elevation and Stadic Tables " 514 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Recent "Blood Rains." {With Diagram.) — 



Prof. J. W.Judd, C.B., F.R.S. ...... 514 



Note upon a New Form of Spermatophore in an 



Earthworm.— Frank E. Beddard, F.R.S. . . 515 

 Graphic Solutions of the Cubics and the Quartics. — 



T. Hayashi S^S 



"The Principles of Magnetism and Electricity." — 

 Llewelyn B. Atkinson ; The Reviewer . . 515 

 The Land Work of the Belgian Antarctic Expedi- 

 tion. (Illustrated.) S'^ 



The International Association of Academies . . . 519 



Prof. C. F. Lutken. By W. E. H 520 



Notes (Illustrated.) 520 



Our Astronomical Column :^ 



Astronomical Occurrences in April 5^4 



New Variable Stars 525 



Light Curve of Algol 52S 



Chart for Observations of Nova Persei 525 



Photography of the Aurora. (Illustrated.) 525 



The Mississippi River. By W. H. Wheeler . . 525 

 History and Progress of Aerial Locomotion. By 



Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S 526 



University and Educational Intelligence 528 



Scientific Serials 528 



Societies and Academies 529 



Diary of Societies 532 



