March i8, 1920] 



NATURE 



I tinued. Religious animal sacrifices of the ancients 

 1 were an after-effect of human sacrifices, as is possibly 

 our practice of saying grace before meat. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, February 23.— iM. Henri 

 Doslandres in the chair. — M. L. Mangin gave an account 

 of the life-work of Emile Boudier, correspondant in 

 botany. — H. Andoyer : The method of Gauss for the 

 calculation of secular j^erturbations. — L. Maquenne and 

 \\. Demoussy : The absorption of calcium by plant- 

 roots and its antitoxic properties towards copf>er. 

 Talcium does not prevent the absorption of copper 

 by the roots of plants, and copper does not prevent 

 the assimilation of calcium. The antitoxic action of 

 calcium, experimental proofs of which are given, is 

 of a physiological order ; it prevents a dangerous 

 accumulation of the poisonous metal. — Y. Delage : 

 Suggt'stion for the reason for the double fovea of 

 certain birds of prey. — W. Kilian : The repartition of 

 the facies of the Palaeo-Cretaceous in the structural 

 units of the south-east of France. — J. Hadamard : 

 Report on the works examined and retained by the 

 Ballistics Committee during the period of the war.^ — 

 Prof. Michelson was elected a foreign associate in 

 succession to the late Lord Rayleigh, and M. Camille 

 \'iguier a correspondant for the section of anatomy 

 and zoology in succession to the late Gustaf Retzius. — 

 X. Sakellariou : The oblique linear and surface curva- 

 ture of a surface. — H. Villat : Certain cyclic move- 

 ments with or without vortices. — C. Rabut : Light 

 concrete : the calculation of increase of power result- 

 ing from its use in building. Slag' concrete is lighter 

 than concrete made up with sand or gravel. -A sketch 

 of the theory of its application is given. — P. Le 

 Holland : The influence of the deformation of the 

 knife-edge and of the plane of suspension on the 

 time of swing of a pendulum. — H. Georges : A new 

 alternating mercury arc. A description of a new- 

 quartz mercury lamp which with electromotive forcjs 

 of more than 500 volts starts cold. — L. Guillet : The 

 alloys of copper, zinc, and nickel. An account of the 

 mechanical properties of alloys containing copper, 

 46 and 405 per cent. ; zinc, 432 and 447 per cent. ; 

 and nickel, 10-4 and 144 per cent. Comparisons with 

 brasses free from nickel are added. Compared with 

 brass, these alloys possess advantages in colour, 

 greater resistance to oxidation, and facility of forging 

 at high temperatures.— C. Matignon and M. Frejacques': 

 The dissociation of ammonium carbamate. Dissocia- 

 tion pressures are given for temperatures ranging 



from 100° to 



C— M. Tiffeneau and A. Orekhoff : 



The transposition of the phenyl group in the tetra- 

 hydronaphthalene series. — R. Soueges : The embryo- 

 geny of the Chenopodiaceae. Development of the 

 embryo in Chenopodium Boniis-Henrictis. — L. Em- 

 berger '. The evolution of the chondriomc in the forma- 

 tion of the sporangium in ferns. — J. Pettier : The 

 generalitv of the foliar asvmmetry in mosses. — P. 

 Dangeard : The evolution of the vacuolar system in 

 Gvninosperms.^ — P. Portier and Mme. Lucie Randoin : 

 The creation of vitamin<>s in the intestines of rabbits 

 receiving nourishment sterilised at a high tem- 

 perature. 



Books Received. 



Card Test for Colour Blindness. By Dr. F. W. 

 Kdridge-Green. 24 cards. (London : G. Bell and 

 Sons, Ltd.) 25s, net. 



The Development of the Atomic Theory. By A. N. 

 Meldrum. Pp. ii+13. (London: Oxford I'niversity 

 Press.) IS. 6d. net. 



The Social Worker. By C. R. Attlee. Pp. viii-f- 

 -.%. (London : G. Bell and Sons, Ltd.) 6s. net. 

 NO. 2629, VOL. 105] 



Smithsonian Meteorological Tables. Fourth revised 

 edition. Pp. lxxii-l-261. (Washington : Smithsonian 

 Institution.) 



The Sumner Lin. , 01 line of Position as an Aid to 

 Navigation. By G. C. Conistock. Pp. vi + jo. (New 

 York: J. Wilev and Sons, Inc.; London: Chapman 

 and Hall, Ltd.") 6s. net. 



Blank Reduction Forms for Line of Position 

 Observations (Marc St. Hilaire Method). Bv G. C. 

 Comstock. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; 

 London : Chapman and Hall, Ltd.) 25. 6d. net 



Silvanus Phillips Thompson, D.Sc, LL.D., F.R.S. : 

 His Life and Letters. By J. S. and U. G. liiomp- 

 son. Pp. ix + 372. (London : T. Fishtr I. nwin, 

 Ltd.) 2 IS. net. 



Wild Life in Canada. By Capt. A. Buchanan. 

 Pp. xx+264. (London : J. Murray.) 15s. net. 



Collected Scientific Papers. By Prof. J. H. 

 Poynting. Pp. xxxii + 768. (Cambridge: .\t the 

 University Press.) 37s. 6d. net. 



The Principles of Aerography. By Prof. A. McAdie. 

 Pp. xii + 318. (London: G. G. Harrap and Co.) 21s. 

 net. 



General Science : First Course. By L. FlhuPf. 

 Pp. viii + 435. (London: G. G. Harrap and Co.) 

 5s. net. 



Quantitative Analysis by Electrolysis. By A. 

 Classen and H. Cloeren. Revised English edition 

 by Prof. W. T. Hall. Pp. xiii + 346. (New York: 

 T. Wilev and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and' 

 Hall, Ltd.) lys. 6d. net. 



Practical Histology. By Prof. J. N. Langlev. 

 Third edition. Pp. viii + 320. (Cambridge: W. 

 Heffer and Sons, Ltd.) los. 6d. net. 



Fuel Production and Utilization. Bv Dr. H. S. 

 Tavlor. Pp. xiv-t-297. (London : Bailli^re, Tindall, 

 and Cox.) los. 6d. net. 



History of the Great War, Based on Official Docu- 

 ments. Naval Operations. By Sir Julian Corbett. 

 Vol. i. Pp. xiv + 470 + vol. of 18 maps. (London : 

 Longmans and Co.) 17s. 6d. net. 



Nature and Super-Nature : A Kev to the Sniritual 

 World. Bv J. Leslie. Pp. 80. (Aberdeen : W. Jolly 

 and Sons, Ltd.) 2s. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, March 18. 



Royal Institution op Great Britain, at 3.— Stephen Graham: The 

 Spirit of America after the War. 



Royal Society, at 4. 30.— W. B. Brierley : A Form of Botrytis cinerea 

 with Colourless Sclerotia.— R. R. Gates : A Preliminarj' Account of the 

 Meiotic Phenomena in the Pollen Mother Cells and Tapetum of Lettuce 

 {Lactuca saiiva). 



LiNNEAN Society, at 5.— I>r. J. Small : The Chemical Reversal of Geo- 

 tropic Response in Roots and Stems. 



Royal College of Physicians, at 5.— Sir JoSn R. Bradford : The 

 Clinical Experiences of a Physician during the Campaign in France and 

 Flanders, 1914-1919 (Lumlei.in Lecture). 



Royal Institute of Public Health, at 5.— Dr. S. V. Pearson : Sug- 

 gested Reforms in the Campaign against Tuberculosis. . , c • 



Institution of Minmng and Metallurgy (at Geological Society), 

 at 5.30. -W. R. Jones: Tin and Tungsten Deposits: The Economic 

 Significance of their Relative Temperatures of Formation. ^ /-• -i 



Institution of Electrical Enginekws (at Insntution of Civil 

 Engineers), at 6. — Adjourned Discussion on the Papers of W. H. 

 Patchell and S. H. Fowlis read at the Meetin? on March 11. _ 



Chemical Society, at 8.— I. Masson and R. McCall : The Viscosity of 

 Nitrocellulose in Mixtures of Acetone and Water.— H Stephen, W. F. 

 .Short, and G. Gladding: The Introduction of the Chloromethyl Group 

 into the Aromatic Nucleus.-H. E. Cox : The Influence of the Solvent 

 on the Velocity of Reaction between certiin Alkyl Iodides and bodium 

 /3-Naphthoxide.— H. Crompton and P. L.Vanderstichele : The Use of 1:2- 

 Dichlorovinylethyl Ether for the Production of Chloroacetates and Acid 

 Chlorides. 



Society of Antiquaries, at 8.30. 



FRIDAY, March 19. 



Royal Society of Arts (In-iian Section), at 4.30.— Sir William S. 

 Meyer : The Indian Currency System and its Development*. 



Concrrtb Institute, at 6. — Dr. O. Faber : The Practical AppUcition 

 of Reinforced Concrete. . 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 6 — D. Brownlie : Exact 

 Data on the Performance of Mechanical Stokers, as applied to "Lanca- 

 shire" and other Narrow-flued Boilers. 



