58o 



NA TURE 



[April i i, 1901 



with which it readily formed a solid compound, the pure alde- 

 hyde was easily obtained from this by the usual methods. The 

 specific gravity of the aldehyde at 15° C. was '9477- The specific 

 rotation was [o]d-49"I7°, this somewhat high Isevorotation 

 causes those oils containing it to be laevorotatory, although 

 mostly devoid of phellandrene. It is this aldehyde that causes 

 the oil of E. cnerifolia of South Australia to be laevorotatory. 

 The pure aldehyde has an aromatic odour and is slightly 

 yellowish in tint. It was soluble in the usual solvents. The 

 author proposes the name aromadendral for this aldehyde, and 

 aromadendric acid for the corresponding acid. 



^ - ' - St. Louis. 



Academy of Science, March 18.— Prof. E. H. Keiser 

 delivered an address showing the progress made in the science of 

 chemistry during the nineteenth century. — ^Prof. F. E. Nipher 

 exhibited pieces of pine board a foot square, showing the tracks 

 of ball lightning discharges upon them like those formerly 

 •described by him in No. 6, vol. x. of the Transactions of 

 the Academy. The discharges formerly described had been 

 formed on a photographic film. The balls were very small, and 

 wandered over the plate, leaving a track of metallic silver in 

 •their wake. In the present instance the balls were much larger, 

 and they burned a deep channel in the wood. They are formed 

 at the secondary spark gap of a coil. The terminals are pointed 

 and are under control, so that the gap may be changed in length. 

 To start the balls, the pointed terminals are put upon the wood 

 surface, so near that the spark carbonises somewhat, after which 

 the gap is made longer. These balls travel in either direction, 

 when a direct current is used with a Wehnelt interrupter. This 

 differs from the results reached on the photographic film with 

 the Holtz machine. There the balls came from the kathode. 

 Even when they originated at isolated points on the film, they 

 travelled away from the kathode. In the present results, the 

 balls have been caused to originate at isolated points, and two 

 balls have started in opposite directions. Wood which gives 

 little flame shows the phenomenon to best advantage, but the 

 balls preserve their identity and travel slowly along even when 

 completely surrounded by flames of the burning wood. 



GOTTINGEN. 



Royal Society of Sciences. — The Nachrichten (physico- 

 imathematical section); part 4 for 1900, contains the following 

 memoirs communicated to the Society : — 



December 22, 1900. — W. Voigt: On the parameters of 

 crystallo-physics, and on directed magnitudes of higher orders 

 (tensors, rotors, torsors, &c. ). J. Wellstein : Prime forms on 

 Riemann surfaces. 



February 9. — E. Ehlers : On Atlantic palolo-worms. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, April ii. 



Mathematical Society, at s. 30. — Summation of the Series Sn — va+«; . 



r3(i +«) • 

 Dr. F. Moiley. — On the Projective properties of Cubic and Quartics : 

 A. B. Basset, F.R.S. 



FRIDAY, April 12. 



Malacological Society, at 8. — On the Dates of Publication of Kiener's 

 " Species generates des Coquilles vivants," 1834-805: C. Davies Sherborn 

 and B. B. Woodward. — New Species of Land-Shells from Central and 

 South America : S. I. DaCosta. — Note on the Genus Temesa, with De- 

 scriptions of Two New Land-Shells from South America : E. R. Sykes. 



Gkologists'Association, at 8. — The Zonal Value of Red Strata in the 

 Carboniferous Rocks of the Midlands : Walcot Gibson. 



Royal Astronomical Society, at 5. — Note on some Engraved Charts 

 of Pogson's Proposed Atlas of Variable Stars: Rev. J. G. Hagen. — 

 Meteoric Showers from the Region a-/3 Persei and t] Aurigse : W. F. 

 Denning. — Anomalous Occultations of Stars by the Moon : R. T. A. 

 Innes. — A Method of Mechanically Compensating the Rotation of the 

 Field of a Siderostat : H. C. Plummet. — Variations of R Horologii 

 during 1900 : A. W. Roberts. — Note on Meridian Observations of Nova 

 Persei : A. Graham. — Further Observations of the New Star in Perseus : 

 A. Stanley Williams. — ( i) The Spectrum of Nova Persei ; (2) The Spectrum 

 of Nova Persei, Nova Persei as a Variable Star with a V.iriable Spectrum : 



Rev. W. Sidgreaves. Probable Paper: The Magnitude of Nova Persei 



as deduced from Photographs taken with the Astrographic Equatorial, 

 Royal Observatory, Grreenwich. , 



MONDAY, April 15. 

 Victoria Institute, at 4.30. — The Ice Age : Warren Upham. 



NO. 1641, VOL. 63] 



TUESDAY, Kvmi. 16. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— Cellular Physiology: Dr. A. Macfadyen. 



Zoological Society, at 8.30. — Revision of the Insects of the Order 

 Rhynchota belonging to the Family Coreidae in the Hope Collection at 

 Oxford : W. L. Distant. — On some Earthworms from Tropical Africa, 

 and on the Spermatophores of Polytoreutes and S tuehlmannia : F. E. 

 Beddard, F.R.S. —On the Identity and Distribution of the Mother-of- 

 Pearl Oysters : a Revision of the Subgenus Margaritifera : Dr. H. 

 Lyster Jameson. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Modern Practice in the Manu- 

 facture and Distribution of Gas : Harry E. Jones. 



WEDNESDAY, April 17. 



Society of Arts, at 8. — The Synthesis of Indigo : Prof. Raphael 

 Meldola, F.R.S. 



Royal Meteorological Society, at 7.30. — Special Characteristics^ of 

 the Weather of March, 1901 : W. Marriott. — Vapour Tension in Relation 

 to Wind : R. Strachan. 



Royal Microscopical Society, at 8. — Demonstration on the Meta- 

 morphoses of yEschna cyanea, illustrated by Photographs from Life : 

 Fred Enock. 



Sanitary Institute, at 8. — Sewage Purification and Standards of Purity: 

 Dr. H. R. Kenwood and Dr. W. Butler. 



THURSDAY, April 18. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Naturalism in Italian Painting: Roger Fry. 



Society of Arts (Indian Section), at 4.30. — Madras, the Southern 

 Satrapy : J. D. Rees. 



RoNTGEN Society, at 8. — Meeting for Discussion. Subject: X-Ray 

 Therapeutics : To be opened by Miss M. M. Sharpe. 



Chemical Society, at 8. — Researches on Moorland Waters. Part II. On 

 the Origin of the Combined Chlorine : W. Ackroyd.^Robinin, Viola- 

 quercitrih, and Osyritrin : A. G. Perkin.— Preparation of Orthodimeth- 

 oxybenzoin, and a New Method of preparing Salicylaldehydemethylether: 

 J. C. Irvine. — (i) Action of Alkyl Haloids on Aldoximes and Ketoximes, 

 Part II. (2) The Supposed Existence of Two Isomeric Triethyloxamines: 

 Wyndham R. Dunstan and E Goulding.— ^i) Nitrocamphene, Amino- 

 camphene, and Hydroxycamphene ; (2) Action of Hydroxylamine on the 

 Anhydrides of Bromonitrocamphane : M. O. Forster. — The Influence of 

 Cane Sugar on the Conductivities of Potassium Chloride and Potassium 

 Hydroxide, with Evidence of Salt Formation in the Latter Case : C. J. 

 Martin and O. Masson. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — Replies of Mr. H. 

 Ravenshaw and Mr. S: F. Walker to the Discussion on their Papers 

 read at the last Meeting. — Test-Room Methods of Alternate Current 

 Measurements : A. Campbell. — Note on the Use of the Differential 

 Galvanometer : C. W. S. Crawley. 



FRIDAY, April 19. 



Royal Institution, at 9. — The Existence of Bodies Smaller than Atoms : 

 Prof. J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — The Theory of Cast-Iron 

 Beams : E. V. Clark. 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 8. — Address by the Presi- 

 dent, W. H. Maw. 



SATURDAY, April 20. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Climate: its Causes and Effects: J. Y. 

 Buchanan, F.R.S. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Ostwald's Inorganic Chemistry. By J. W 



An American Zoological Text-Book. By R. L. . . 



Popular Biblical Studies 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Woodward and Woodward : " The Table of British 

 Strata" 



Edser : " Diff"erential and Integral Calculus for Be- 

 ginners " 



Stillman : " Engineering Chemistry " 



Letters to the Editor : — 



Darwinism and Statecraft. — G. P. Mudge .... 



The Royal Library at Nineveh 



Naval Boilers . . 



Forestry in Great Britain 



The Concretions of the Connecticut Valley, {Illus- 

 trated.) By H. B. W 



The Wildfowl of Scotland. {Illustrated.) 



Coopers Hill College 



Notes. {Illustrated.) 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Spectrum of Nova Persei 



Stonehenge and other Stone Circles. {Illustrated.) 

 A Student's Drum Recorder. {Illustrated.) .... 



University and Educationallntelligence 



Scientific Serial 



Societies and Academies 



Diary of Societies 



557 

 558 

 559 



560 



560 

 561 



561 

 562 

 564 

 565 



566 

 567 

 568 

 570 



575 

 575 

 577 

 577 

 577 

 577 

 580 



