April 22, 1920] 



NATURE 



^51 



metrical. — H. Lecomte : The tier-like structure of cer- 

 tain woods. — P. A. Dangeard : The structure of the 

 plant-cell and its metabolism. A critical discussion of 

 the views of GuilHermond.— M. Maxime Laubeuf was 

 elected a member of the division of the applications 

 of science to industry. — N. E. Ndrlund : A theorem of 

 Cauchy. — Ch. Fremont : Work done in sawing metals 

 by hand. A diagram and description of a pendulum 

 support and guide for a hack-saw. There is an 

 economy of about one-third of the labour.— J. Vallot : 

 The calibration in calories of two actinometers adapted 

 to studies in heliotherapy and agricultural climatology. 

 — J. Guillaume : Observations of the sun made at the 

 Observatory of Lyons during the fourth quarter of 

 19 19. Observations were possible on sixty-six days 

 during the quarter, and the results are tabulated, 

 showing the spots, their distribution in latitude, and 

 the distribution of the faculae in latitude. — M. de 

 Broglie : The K absorption bands of the rare earths 

 for the X-rays.— P. Boucherot : Electrical resonance in 

 a circuit the self-inductance of which contains iron. — 

 r. Cheneveau and R. Audubert : A nephelometer. — P. 

 Job : The constitution of two cobaltammines. — J. 

 Guyot and L. J. Simon: The combustion by mixtures 

 of sulphuric and chromic acids of organic bodies con- 

 taining chlorine. Whilst the combustion of hydro- 

 carbons by the wet method is nearly always incomplete, 

 iiutof nine chlorinated hydrocarbons seven gave correct 

 figures for carbon and only two, pentachloroethane and 

 hexachloroethane, gave low results.— C. .\. Ktenas : The 

 hydrocarbon zone of Western Greece. Sixteen points 

 are marked on a^map of Western Greece where in- 

 dications of oil, bituminous schists, or asphalt have 

 been found.— P. Fallot : Observations on drift pheno- 

 mena in the centre of the Sierra of Majorca. — C. 

 Stormer : The absorption of the penetrating corpus- 

 cular rays in the earth's atmosphere following non- 

 rectilinear trajectories. — G. Reboul and L. Dunoyer : 

 The utilisation of cirrus clouds for weather predic- 

 tion. Rules are given for weather forecasts based on 

 the appearance of cirrus clouds, their displacement and 

 amount. Results of the application of these rules to 

 weather predictions are compared with the observed 

 weather.— V. Bjerknes : The temperature of the upper 

 lavers of the atmosphere. — G. Nicolas : The respiration 

 of plants carrying parasitic fungi. — H. Coupin : The 

 time taken bv cholorophvll to develop its maximum 

 intensity in the light.— P. Portier : Modifications of 

 the testicle of birds under the influence of a diet free 

 from vitamines.— J. Athanaslu : The supposed dynamo- 

 genie power of alcohol. There is no evidence" of in- 

 crease of muscular power at anv period of time after 

 ingestion of alcohol. The exneriments described afford 

 a further proof that alcohol is not a food utilisable bv 

 the organism. — J. E. Abelous and L. C. Soula : The 

 action of secretin upon metabolism. — F. Dienert : The 

 formation of activated sludge.— .A. Fernbach and M. 

 Schoen : New observations on the biochemical pro- 

 duction of pyruvic acid. During the fermentation of 

 sugar by yeast in a solution maintained neutral bv 

 rlialk an appreciable auantitv of pvruvic acid is 

 fo, med.— T. Legendre : the rdlc of domestic animals 

 in the defence against malaria. 



Rome. 

 Accademla del Lincel, Class of Physical, Mathe- 

 matical, and Natural Sciences, Januarv i8. — Prof. A. 

 Roiti. vice-president, in the chair. — O. M. Corblno : 

 k laboratory method for the production of continuous 

 and constant electric currents of high tension. — G. 

 Clanician and C. Ravenna : Influence of some organic 

 substances upon the development of plants (iv.). — 

 A. Angeli and C. Lutri : Chemical researches on the 

 melanins of pvrrole.— O. Majorana : Gravitation (vi.). 

 NO. 2634, VOL, 105] 



A continuation of previous researches (1918) on a 

 rather sensational subject, namely, the screening off 

 of gravitation by a massive spherical sheet (in prac- 

 tice, about 100 kg. of mercury placed between two 

 concentric spheres). Last May the author found, 

 or at least believed he had found, a positive effect, 

 e.g. a just discernible diminution of the weight of a 

 sphere of lead placed within the cavit\- of the said 

 sheet; but later he found a slight increase in the 

 weight instead. In the present note the author gives 

 some further details about the improvement of his 

 apparatus, and discusses possible perturbations of 

 thermal and mechanical origin. The net results of 

 his search for a gravitational screening effect are 

 so far inconclusive. — F. Bottazzi : Researches on the 

 posterior salivary gland of Cephalopodes (iii.). This 

 note deals with the independence of secretive activity 

 of the presence of free oxygen. — E. Bomplani : Metrical 

 invariants and covariants with respect to surface de- 

 formations of higher order (species) (iii.). — A. Rosen- 

 blatt : A theorem of Liapounoff (to be published in the 

 next issue of the Atti)'—L. Tonelli : Primitive func- 

 tions. An old mathematical subject re-inaugurated 

 about twenty years ago by Lebesgue and others. — 

 E. Zavattiero : Relation between the resistance and 

 stress in bismuth. — C. Ravenna : Preliminary note 

 on the synthesis of a peptide from aspartic acid with 

 vegetable enzymes. — G. Sani : Arbusterine and its 

 derivatives. — L. Bernardini : Nicotine in tobacco. A 

 contribution to the study of the genesis and the func- 

 tions of alkaloids. — E. "Pantanelli : Influence of nutri- 

 tion and radical activity upon collapse protluced by 

 cold. — A. Trotter : The supposed parthenocarpy of the 

 hazel-nut and its possible characters (ii.). Results of 

 observation and experiments are given. 



L. SiLBERSTEIN. 



Books Received. 



An Introductory Course in Quantitative Chemical 

 Analysis. By Prof. G. McPhail Smith. Pp. x + 206,. 

 (New York : The Macmillan Co. ; London : Mac- 

 millan and Co., Ltd.) gs. net. 



New Zealand Plants and their Story. By Dr. L. 

 Cockavne. Second edition. Pp. xv + 248. (Welling- 

 ton, N.Z. : Dominion Museum.) 75. 6d. 



The Buzzard at Home. By A. Brook. Pp. 15 + 

 12 plates. (London : Witherby and Co.) 3s. 6'd. net. 



A Svnoptical List of the Accipitres (Diurnal Birds 

 of Prey). By H. Kirke Swann. Part iv. Pp. vi + 

 115-64.' (London : J. Wheldon and Co.) 45. 



Trattato di Chimica Generale ed Applicata all' 

 Industria. By Prof. E. Molinari. Vol. ii. Chirnica 

 Organica. Parte prima. Terza edizione. Pp. xix + 

 62d. (Milano: U. Hoepli.) 28 lire. 



The Principles of .Ante-natal and Post-natal Child 

 Phvsiologv, Pure and Applied. By W. M. Feldman. 

 Pp! xxvii'+694+6 plates. (London: Longmans and 

 Co.) 30s. net. 



Calcutta University Commission, 1917-19. Report. 

 Vol. xiii. Evidence and Documents. Statistics 

 relating to Colleges. Pp. xii+221. (Calcutta: Supt. 

 Government Printing, India.) 1.8 rupees. 



Year-book of the Royal Society of London, 1920. 

 Pp. iv+236. (London : Harrison and Sons.) 75. 6d. 



Hydration and Growth. By Dr. D. T. MacDougal. 

 Pp. vi 4- 176. Fluorescence of the Uranyl Salts. By 

 E. L. Nichols, H. L. Howes, and others. Pp. 241 + 

 I plate. Ex'periments in the Breeding . of Cerions. 

 By P. Bartsch. Pp. 55 + 59 plates. , Contributions to 

 Embryology. Vol. ix. Nos. 27 to 46. A Memorial 

 to Franklin Paine Mall. Pp. v 4- 5.';4 + plates. (Wash- 

 ington ; Carnegie Institution of Washington.) _ 



