March 4, 1920] 



NATURE 



i7 



I'.AKIS. 



Academy of' Sciences, l'\'l)ru.ir\ (). M. ilcmi 

 Deslandres in the chair. 1'. A. Dangeard . I he 

 phistidome, vacuome, and spherome in Sclaginella 

 Kraussiaua. — G. Charpy ; llie minute fissures in steel 

 ingots. The mode of formation and method of detec- 

 tion of minute cavities in steel ingots are described, 

 together with an account of their alteration during 

 ailing and forging. — M. l^clerc du Sablon was 



jcted a correspondanl for the section of botany in 

 iccession to the late M. Farlow, and M. Luj^lon 

 correspondant for the section of mineralogy in suc- 

 cession to M. Walcott, elected foreign associate. — 

 C. Rabut : The reduction of contact transformations. 

 - R. Birkeland : A reductinn of Alxlian integrals. — J. 

 Bourquart : The Quaternarx L^lai i.uion of Central 

 Albania. — L. and E. Bloch -. Some new spark spectra 

 in the extrenie ultra-\ inlet. Mtasurements for wave- 

 lengths between 1S55 and 1500 A.U. are given for 

 the ultra-violet spectra of cadmium, bismuth, nickel, 

 and silver. — J. A. Le Bel : New observations on cata- 

 thermic phenomena. — D. Gauthier : The synthesis of 

 o-ketonic tertiary alcohols. A correction relating to 

 the constitution of a body previously described.— J. 

 Guyot and L. J. Simon : The action of water on 

 methyl chlorbsulphonate.— A. Mailhe and F. de Godon : 

 The catalytic formation of ether oxides. Calcined 

 alum is ian excellent reagent for the conversion of 

 ethyl alcohol into ether, with a yield of 71 per cent. 

 This reaction has been extended to propyl alcohol 

 (vield of ether 54 per cent.), isopropvl alcohol (yield 

 10 per cent.), isoamyl alcohol (yield 28 per cent.), 

 and mixtures of alcohols. In the last case mixed 

 ethers can be prepared^ — P. Bertrand, : The normal 

 succession of the coal flora in the Gard coal basin. — 

 L. Besson : Extraordinary haloes.— A. Loubi^re : The 

 fungi of Brie cheese.- r:. F. Galiano : The histology 

 of the branchial hearts of Sepia officinalis and their 

 appendices. — V. Galippe : Researches on the evolution 

 of the protoplasm of certain plant-cells bv the method 

 of culture.— G. Bertrand and M. Brocq-Rousseu : The 

 destruction of rats by chloropicrin. Both the rat and the 

 rat-flea are readily destroyed by the vapour of chloro- 

 picrin, and. as this substance is without action upon 

 cloth materials and dyes, it can be utilised for the 

 destruction of rats in ships. 



Books Received. 



A Course of Practical Chemistry for Agricultural 

 Students. By L. F. Newman and Prof. H. A. D. 

 Neville. Vol. i. Pp. 235. (Cambridge : At the Uni- 

 versity Press.) 10^. 6d. net. 



A Treatise on the Mathematical Theory of Elas- 

 ticity. By Prof. A. E. H. Love. Third edition. 

 Pp. xviii + 624. (Cambridge : At the University 

 Press.) 375. 6d. net. 



Pastimes for the Nature Lcner. By Dr. S. C. 

 Johnson. Pp. 136. (London : Holden and Harding- 

 ham, Ltd.) 15. net. 



Department of Applied Statistics, University of 

 London, University College. I)rap<r<' Company Re- 

 search Mernoirs. Biometric S( ri< >. X. : .\ Study of 

 the Long Bones of the English Skeleton. Bv Karl 

 Pearson and Julia r.ell. Part i. : The Femur.' Text, 

 chaps, i. to vi., pp. v + 224; Atlas, pp. vii + plates lix ; 

 and . Tables, of iMeasurements and Observations. 

 Part i., section ii. Text, pp. 225-530; Atlas, pp. vii-t- 

 plates Ix-ci. (Cnmbridgi^ : At fhe" University Press.) 

 Part i., Ti'xt and Alla>, .;o\. m t ; nail 1., section ii., 

 Text and- Atlas, 40.S. net! 



Tanks in the Great War, 1914-191S. By Brevet- 

 Col. J. F. C. Fuller.. Pp. xxiv + 331 + vii plates. 

 (London : John Murray.) 215. net. 

 NO. 2627, VOL. 105] 



The Ii<ron of Castle Creek, and other Sketches of 

 Bird LitV. By A. W. Recs. Pp. 218. (London: 

 John MiuiaN.j 7.S. 6d. net. 



rile .Soil : An Introduction to the Scientific Study 

 of the Growth of Crops. By Sir A. D. ll.all. Third 

 edition. Tp- >^v + 352. (London: John Murray.) 

 7.S-. 6d. net. 



Medieval Medicine. B> Prof. J. J. Walsh. Pp. 

 .\ii + 22i. (London: .\. and C. Black, Ltd.) 7.V. 6d. 

 net. 



Laborators Manual of l^lementary Colloid Chemis- 

 try. By E.Hatschek. Pp.135. (London : J. and A. 

 Churchill.) 6s. 6d. 



Euclid in Greek. Book i. With Introduction and 

 Notes. By Sir Thomas L. Heath. Pp. ix + 239. 

 (Cambridge : At the University Press.) los, net. 



Sleeping for Health. Bv Dr. E. F. Bowers. 

 Pp. 128. (London : G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd.) 

 25. 6d. net. 



Animal Foodstuffs : Their Production and Con- 

 sumption, with Special Reference to the British 

 Empire. Bv Dr. E. W. Shanahan. Pp. viii + 331. 

 (London : G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd.) lo.v. 6d. 



I Intermediate Text-book of Magnetism and Elec- 

 tricity. By R. W. Hutchinson. Pp. viii + 620- 

 (London : W. B. Clive.) 85. 6d. 



1 The Mineralogy of the Rarer Metals. Bv E.^ Cahen 

 and W. O. Wootton. Second edition. Revised by 

 E. Cahen. Pp. xxxii + 246. (London: C. Griffin and 

 Co., Ltd.) 105. 6d. , . „ . r^. , 



The Running and Maintenance of the Marine Diesel 

 Engine. Bv J. Lamb. Pp. xii + 231 + 4 plates. 

 (London : C Griffin and Co., Ltd.) 85. 6d. 

 Memoirs of the Geological Survc- 



Scotland. 



Special Renorts on the Mineral Resources of Great 

 Britain. Vol. xi. : Iron Ores (continued). The Iron 

 Ores of Scotland. ' Bv M. Macgregor and others. 

 Pp. vii + 240. (Edinburgh: H.M.S.O.; Southampton: 

 Ordnance Survey Office.) los. net. r, t3 n^^ 



Motion Study for the Handicapped. By b. B. Gil- 

 breth and Dr. L. M. Gilbreth Pp. xvi + 165. 

 (London : G. Routledge and Sons, Ltd.) 8s. 6d. net. 



Oualitative Analysis in Theory and Practice. By 

 Prof. P. W. Robertson and D. H. Burleigh. Pp.63. 

 (London : E. Arnold.) 45. 6d. net. _ t^j-j-* 



Tvchonis Brahe Dani Opera Omnia. Edidit 

 I. L. E. Drever. Tomus vi. Pp. v-i-375. (Hauniae : 

 Libraria Gyldendaliana.) ^ ,, ,. • a 



Moses : The Founder of Preventive Medicine ay 

 P. Wood. Pp. xi4-ii6. (London: S.P.C.K.) ^n- 



Manual of American Grape-Growing. By W. P. 

 Hedrick. Pp. xiii + 45« + x^'^" plates. (New York : 

 The Macmillan Co.; London: Macinillan and Co., 

 Ltd.) 155. net. 



Diary of Societies. 



Royal Institution of Great 1!ritain, at 3.— Lt.-Col. 1<.. oom. 

 The Upper .\ir: fi) Modern Methods of Investigation, and their 



R,fY''A'''soaETY'\'tTlo-Dr. F. F. Blackman : The Protoplasmic 

 ^Faclor^rn pVoto^;nfhi:is.-G. E. Brings : The Beginning of Photo- 



cynthes-s in the Green Leaf -Prof. B. Moore, h. Whuley, and T. A. 



Webster : Siinlieht and the Life of the Sea. ^ ^ „, j c i 



L.NNEAN Society, at 5. -Dr. A. B Rendle, E. G. Baker, and S L 



Monre : A Cont ibution to the Flora of New Caledonia based upon the 



Collections of R. H. Compton in 1914- ,^ . „ „ . , t,, . „• k,. 

 Royal College of Phys.cmns. at 5. -Dr. A. Cao.ellani . The Higher 



Fungi in relation to Human Pathology (Milroy Lectur^). .,.,, , . 



RovAL Institute of Public Health, at 5 -Dr. T. G. Maitland . 



Hospital Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis . . v- ..,,J 



Royal Soc.ktv ok Mkdicin^, at S-SO-Dr, W. Edgecomh J'jcer^ 



Fihrositi.s. -Discussion on paper by Dr. Berreyrolle : Immunity ana 

 1 Mineral Wa'er Treatment. . „ ^ r^ , i u « 



, Chfmical Socif.ty, at B.-E. H. Renn.e >V. T. Cooke, and H.IL 



Finlayson : An Investigation of the Resin from Sp'pies of Xanthorrhoea. 



Not Previously F.xamined.-l .. S. Bagster The React-on between Nitnc 

 i Acid and Copper.— M. Chikashige : Ancient Oriental Chemistry and 



