February 28, 19 18] 



NATURE 



519 



-brain. The author describes the nerve-cell areas 

 id the fibre tracts. The cell-areas definitely located 

 -Tuberculum olfactorium, corpus striatum, for- 

 itio pallialis, prtmordium hippocampi, and the para- 

 inal body. The author describes twelve fibre- 

 icts, but he could find nothing to indicate the exist- 

 jce of a corpus callosum in Spinax. — Dr. J. M. 

 Itompson : The anatomy and affinity of certain rare 

 id primitive ferns. The genera Jamesonia, Llavea, 

 id Trismeria were specially considered. The investi- 

 fgation seemed to show that the structural features of 

 Jamesonia are relatively primitive, and the sporangial 

 characters in particular are valuable guides in the con- 

 sideration of relationship. The features of the plant 

 are distinctive, and justify its maintenance as a dis- 

 tinct genus, with a high spore output and a Schizaeoid 

 origin. In the case of Llavea the anatomical state was 

 considered transitional, but suggestive of primitive 

 relationships, and the sporangia seemed to be of an 

 advanced type in which a large spore output had not 

 persisted. This plant was held to be a distinct genus. 

 In Trismeria the anatomical and sporangial characters 

 were considered more advanced, and comparison 

 showed that the plant is in reality a Gymnogramme of 

 Ceropterid type. With Jamesonia and Llavea it seemed 

 to belong to a laxly associated grouo of "Acrosti- 

 choid " derivatives of some Schizaeoid source. Among 

 the comparative points raised was the marked vari- 

 ability of spore size seen in certain of the ferns con- 

 sidered. This variation in ferns of more or less clear 

 Schizaeoid • source was considered suggestive of the 

 origin of heterospory. — Miss M. I. H. Ferguson : A 

 further study of the diets of labouring-class families in 

 Glasgow in war-time. (This was a continuation of 

 previous studies communicated to the society in 1916; 

 see Nature, vol. xcviii., p. 463.) One general result 

 was that in spite of the increased cost of foodstuffs 

 there was practically no change in the diets of Febru- 

 ary, iqiy, and November, 19 17. There was a marked 

 increase in the consumption of potatoes in November 

 as compared with their consumption in February, but 

 this was not apoarentlv accompanied by decreased con- 

 sumption of flour. It appeared that no less than 

 80 per cent, of the energy was obtained from the 

 rationed food, although in 1915-16 this yielded only 

 75 per cent. It is of interest to know that in certain 

 families where the father was on military service the 

 diet was more adequate than when he was at home. 



Dublin. 

 Royal Irish Academy, February 11.— Mr, T. J. West- 

 ropp, vice-president, in the chair. — J. A. McClelland 

 and the Rev. C. J. Power; Electrification by 

 friction. The rate of production of charge on 

 various metals when ptessed against a rotat- 

 ing disc of tightly stretched linen or silk has been 

 measured under various conditions. Results are given 

 showing how the rate of production depends on the 

 speed of the disc, the pressure between the rubbing 

 surfaces, the condition of the metal surface, the tem- 

 perature, and the humidity. The last section of the 

 paper deals with experiments carried out in air at verv 

 low pressures.— G. H. Carpenter and F. J. S. Pollard': 

 The presence of lateral spiracles in the larva of Hypo- 

 derma. The authors describe six pairs of minute 

 lateral spiracles in the fourth-stage larva of Hypoderma 

 bovis and H. lineattim. Each spiracle is open at the 

 surface of the cuticle, but study of transverse sections 

 shows that the vestigial air-tube connected with it is 

 plugged by a core of solid chitin. These plugged tubes 

 become continuous with branches of the tracheal sys- 

 tem in which the normal spirally thickened linintj can 

 be clearlv recognised. The anterior spiracles in Hvpo- 

 derrtia closely resemble these lateral spiracles, and the 



NO. 2522, VOL. 100] 



forward ends of the tracheal trunks leading to them 

 are also plugged with chitinous corfes. The presence 

 of vestigial lateral spiracles in specialised parasitic 

 larvae, like the warble-maggots, is remarkable. No 

 description of such structures in any muscoid larva 

 seems to have been published hitherto, though Pantel 

 mentioned their existence in tachinine maggots in 

 1901. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, January 21. — M. L^on Guignard 

 in the chair. — L. Maquenne and E. Demoussy : The 

 influence of metallic salts on germination in presence 

 of calcium. The presence of any salt at a concentration 

 approaching a harmful dose in pure water reduces the 

 favourable action upon germination which calcium 

 salts exert alone. The effect is particularly marked 

 with 'copper sulphate, which, in amounts 001 to 

 0025 mgr. per seed, has no unfavourable action alone, 

 whilst it reduces the root length by a quarter to a third 

 in presence of 005 mgr. of calcium sulphate. — C 

 Richet, P. Brodin, and F. Saint-Glrons : Some modifica- 

 tions in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis by 

 antiseptic inhalations. Experiments were made with 

 creosote, camphor, phenol, gomenol, iodoform, and 

 terebene, dissolved in vaseline oil, the dose inhaled 

 being controlled by the temperature . of the oil. The 

 same antiseptic was never inhaled on two consecutive 

 occasions. Creosote and gomenol gave the best re- 

 sults, inhaled twice a day for one hour each time. 

 There was a marked improvement after two months' 

 treatment in severe cases, increase of weight and 

 muscular strength, and reduction of expectoration and' 

 cough. — A. de Gramont : Researches on the line spec- 

 trum of titanium and its applications. — W. Kilian : The 

 coalfield in the neighbourhood of Saint-Michel-de- 

 Maurienne (Savoy). The layer of schist, rich in 

 anthracite, has a flora characteristic of levels between 

 the middle Westphalian and the Stephanian, the former 

 predominating. There are numerous seams of anthra- 

 cite, averaging one to two metres in thickness, and it is 

 estimated that as a minimum there are five million tons 

 available with horizontal adits. — R. Garnler : The 

 irregular singularities of linear differential equations. 

 —J. C. Soli : The study of stellar currents. Photo- 

 graphs were taken at intervals of from two to six years, 

 and selected portions of the plates, sixty-two alto- 

 gether, studied stereoscopically, and the direction of the 

 current was determined for each. The results are given 

 in tabular form. — A. Veronnet : The law of densities of 

 a gaseous mass and internal temperatures of the sun. 

 — L. Bloch : The theories of gravitation.^H. Chanmat : 

 A phenomenon of super-voltage in a continuous-current 

 circuit deprived of self-mduction. — C. Matignon and F. 

 Meyer : Invariant equilibria in the ternary system : 

 water, sodium sulphate, ammonium sulphate. — L. 

 Gentil and L. Joleaud : The great tectonic zones of 

 Tunis. — .'\. Mailhe : New preparation of the fatty 

 nitriles by catalysis. The method recently described 

 for the catalytic preparation of aromatic nitriles has 

 been extended to the fatty series, and details are given 

 for isovaleronitrile, butyronitrile, and propionitrile.. 

 The reaction is a general one. — G. Rebonl : The rela- 

 tion between variations of the barometer and those of 

 the wind at the ground level : aoplication to prediction. 

 — R. Leriche and A. Pollcard : The histological mechan- 

 ism of the formation of new bone during osseous re- 

 generation in man. New bone substance appears to 

 be formed by a process analogous with that described 

 by Korff for dentine and some tvpes of bone. With 

 some reserves for certain points of detail and termino- 

 logv, it would anpear th.'\t Korff's conception is more 

 in accord with the facts than the classical theory. — A. 

 Durand : The sense of smell. This depends, accord- 

 ing to the author, upon the following conditions : the 



