August 19, 1920] 



NATURE 



795 



Raveau : The isotherms in the neighbourhocKl of the 

 I ritical state. The adiabatic expansion of saturated 

 lluids. -R. Dongier : The point-crystal or point-metal 

 auto-detector telephone receiver. — F. Michaud : The 

 correspondence of bodies in the solid state. — A. Pictet 

 and P. Castan : Glucosane. Glucosane was readily 

 obtained in a pure state by heating glucose under a 

 pressure of 15 mm. to a temperature of 150-155° C. 

 A study of its chemical reactions leads to the con- 

 clusion that it probably has a composition analogous 

 with ethylene oxide. — A. Mailhe : The catalytic hydra- 

 tion of nitriles. If a mixture of steam and benzo- 

 nitrile vapour is passed over thoria at 420° C, benzoic 

 acid is produced by the hydrolysis of the nitrile. The 

 generality of the reaction has been proved by applying 

 it to seven nitriles. — G. Dubois : The discovery of a 

 fossil-lx;aring layer in the Flanders clay at Watten 

 (Nord). The fauna found in this layer confirms the 

 stratigraphical identity of London clay, Cuise sands, 

 and Flanders clay.— A. Carpentier : Some siliceous 

 fossil plants from the neighbourhood of Sainte-Marie- 

 aux-Mines (Alsace). — I.. " Blaringhem : The heredity 

 and nature of peloria in Digitalis purpurea. — R. 

 Souiges : The embryogeny of the Compositae. The 

 first stages of the development of the embryo in 

 Senecio vulgaris.— F. Chifflot : The gum-bearing 

 secreting canals of the roots of the Cycadaceae, and 

 more particularly those of Stangeria paradoxa. — Em. 

 Perrot : Biological notes on the Acacias producing 

 gum, known as gum arable, in the Egyptian Sudan. — ■ 

 H. Ricome : The action of gravity on plants.— 

 L. Emberger : Cytological study of the Selaginella.— 

 A. Guiliiermond : New cytological observations on 

 Saprolegnia. — G. Truffaut and N. Bezssonoff : Com- 

 parative study of the microflora and the amount of 

 nitrogen in soils partly sterilised by calcium sul- 

 phide.— A. Lumlire : Are vitamines necessary to the 

 development of plants? It is generally admitted that 

 vitamines are necessary to the growth of plants. 

 The author, whilst admitting the accuracy of the 

 experiments on which this view is based, considers 

 that the experimental results have been misinter- 

 preted. Fresh yeast, rich in vitamines and rapidlv 

 curing polyneuritic troubles in pigeons, after heating 

 to 135° C. for one hour, completely loses all its anti- 

 scorbutic properties, but still serves for the prepara- 

 tion of culture fluids, giving good development of 

 fungi. Even after heating to incipient carbonisation 

 to 250° C. these extracts retain their fertilising- pro- 

 perties.— .\. H. Roffo and P. Girard : The efl"ects of 

 electrical osmosis on cancerous tumours of rats.— 

 M. Faure-Fremiet, J. Dragolu, and Mile. Du Vivier 

 de Streel : The growth of the foetal lung in the sheep 

 and the concomitant variations in its composition.— 

 R. Sazerac : Culture of the tubercle bacillus on a 

 medium of autolvsed yeast. It has been proved that 

 both human and bovine tubercle bacilli will grow 

 normally on this medium, the detailed preparation of 

 which is given. It contains, in addition to autolvsed 

 yeast, t; per cent, of common salt and 4 per cent, of 

 glycerol.— I. Nageotte : Osteogenesis in grafts of dead 

 bone. — A. Trlllat : The influence of the presence of 

 infinitesimal traces of nutritive substances in air- 

 moisture on contagion. 



Philadelphia. 

 American Philosophical Society, April 23. Dr. .\. A. 



Noyes, vice-president, in the chair.— Dr. D. T. 

 MacDongal : The components and colloidal behaviour 

 of protoplasm. The living matter of plants is com- 

 posed chiefly of mucilages and albuminous com- 

 pounds in varying proportions mixed in the form of 

 an emulsion or as n jelly. The molecules of solid 

 matter are aggregated into groups, which also include 

 NO. 2651, VOL. 105] 



a number of molecules of water. Growth consists of 

 the absorption of additional water to these groups, 

 with' more solid material being added at the same 

 time, the process being termed "'hydration." The 

 resultant increase may t)e detected by determinalion 

 of increased dry weight or measured as increase in 

 length, thickness, or volume. More exact studies in 

 growth have become possible by the establishment 

 of the fact that mixtures of 25-50 per cent, mucilage 

 and 50^5 per cent, albumin show the hydration re- 

 actions of cell-masses of plants. It is also found 

 that certain amino-compounds, such as histidine, 

 glycocoll, alanine, and phenylalanine, which are known 

 to promote growth, also increase the hydration of 

 the " biocolloids," as the above mixtures are called. — 

 Prof. W. J. V. Osterhout : Respiration. A simple 

 method of measuring respiration has been developed 

 whereby determinations can be made at frequent 

 intervals (as often as once every three minutes). The 

 application of this method^ to the study of anaesthesia 

 shows the incorrectness of the theory of Verworn, 

 according to which anaesthesia is a kind of asphyxia, 

 due to the inhibition of respiration by the anaesthetic. 

 —Prof. B. M. Davis: (i) The behaviour of the sul- 

 phurea character in crosses with Oenothera biennis and 

 with Oenothera franciscana. (2) Oenothera funifoliOy 

 a peculiar new mutant from Oenothera Lamarckiana. 

 — Prof. G. H. Shull ; A third duplication of genetic 

 factors in shepherd 's-purse. In the third generation 

 of a cross between a wild biotype of the common 

 shepherd 's-purse {Bursa bursa-pastoris) from Wales 

 and Heeger's shepherd 's-purse {B. Heegeri) there 

 appeared a small number of plants of unique type, 

 having a more coriaceous texture than in the plants 

 of either of the two original strains involved in the 

 cross. This nev;' type has been designated coriacea. 

 — Prof. E. M. East': Some effects of double fertilisa- 

 tion in maize. — Dr. T. B. Osborne : The chemistry of 

 the cell. — Prof. G. A. Hulett : The relation of oxygen 

 to charcoal. — Prof. C. E. Munroe : Products of 

 detonation of T.N.T. It is known that among the 

 products are considerable quantities of carbon 

 monoxide, hydrogen, and some hydrocarbons, such 

 as methane, together with free carbon in a soot-like 

 form. Hence T.N.T. is not suitable for use in under- 

 ground work or close places, because the gas evolved 

 is poisonous and inflammable, and can form explosive 

 mixtures with the atmosphere in these close places. — 

 Prof. J. W. Harshberger : A new mao of the vegeta- 

 tion of North America.— Prof. A. G! Webster: The 

 vibrations of rifle-barrels. (Dr. H, L. Carson, 

 vice-president, in the chair.) — Dr. L. Witmer : Sym- 

 posium on psychology in war and education.— Dr. 

 J. McK. Catteli : Methods. The speaker reviewed the 

 development of experimental and quantitative methods 

 in psychology, and especially the transfer of its main 

 concern from introspection to the study of individual 

 differences in behaviour. By co-operation with other 

 sciences it is possible for psychologv to change the 

 environment, and behaviour can be controlled more 

 effectively by a change in the environment than by a 

 change in the constitution of the individual. — Dr. 

 R. M. Yerkes : Psychological examining and classifica- 

 tion in the United States Army. The initial purpose 

 of examining was the discovery and prompt segrega- 

 tion or elimination of men of markedly inferior intel- 

 ligence. The uses which were actually made of 

 results of psychological examinations were extremely 

 varied, and covered the classification of men to facili- 

 tate military training, the selection of men of superior 

 ability for trainini? as officers or for special tasks, 

 the segregation and special assignment of men whose; 

 intelligence was inadequate to the demands of regular 

 military training, and, finally, the elimination of the 



