November 13, 1919] 



NATURE 



307 



hostels, there remains this term a long waiting list of 

 students wishing to come into residence. It is hoped 

 that the appeal will enable the college to make provi- 

 sion for the increased demands made upon it by the 

 attentifin now given to higher education for women. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Zoological Society, October 21.— Prof. E. W. Mac- 

 Bride, vice-president, in the ihair. — E. G. Boulenger : 

 Report on the research experiments on methods of 

 rat destruction carried out at the society's gardens. — 

 Dr. A. .Smith Woodward : The zoological position and 

 affinities of Tarsius. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, October 13. — M. Leon Guignard 

 in the chair. — C. Moureu and C. Dufraisse : The 

 stabilisation of acrolein. The methods of spontaneous 

 alteration of acrolein. The spontaneous transformation 

 into disacryl, the soluble resin, appears to be a modi 

 fication undergone by pure acrolein, .\crolein purifi.d 

 with the greatest care always underwent this spon- 

 taneous condensation on standing. The speed of 

 tran.sformation can be modified bv light, high 

 temperature, and the presence of impurities.- R. 

 Bourgeois : A collection of paintings of clouds.— M. 

 Leblanc : Very rapid rotations, — P. Boufroux : .\ familv 

 of multiform functions, integrals of a differential 

 equation of the first order. — J. Andrade : The weighing 

 of ;i friction during the relative sliding of two solids 

 in contact. — E. Belot : The rpovement of translation 

 of a gaseous vortex ring in a resisting medium. — 

 H. Vanderlinden . The ephemeris of the Borrelh .omet, 

 igiqr. — G. Sagnac : The absolute mechanics of waves 

 and the Newtonian relativity of energy. — Q. Majorana : 

 Gravitation. -G. Claude: The industrial employment 

 of extremely high pressures. In compressing gases to 

 pressures of iroo atmospheres, no diflfici;lties may be 

 expected to arise in the pumps of the compressors or 

 in the receivers, which can easily be made of sufficient 

 strength to give security. The real difficulty will arise 

 in the connections, which must be absolutely tight if 

 serious losses are to be avoided. The author has con- 

 structed app.-iratus which, after charging with gas 

 compressed to 1000 atmospheres and immersing in 

 water, allowed iio bubbles of gas to escape, — A. 

 Bolland : Microchemical reactions of thiosulphuric 

 acid. - V. Cremien and A. Lepape : The separation by 

 solidification of pure carbon dioxide from a gaseous 

 mixture. Starting with a mixture containing 05 per 

 cent, of carbon dioxide, coolin« to — So° C. and com- 

 pressing slightly, the solid carbon dioxide precipitated 

 is chemically pure, — 1, Guyot and L, J, Simon : The 

 action of concentrated sulphuric acid on methyl 

 alcohol.- J. R4vil and P. Coinbaz : The age and the 

 conditions of form-ition of the lignites of Voglans in 

 the Chamb(^ry region. A discussion and criticism of 

 the views recently out fnr"-r(l b' M. f ■oti''x. - I. 

 Barthoiix : Succession of old eruotive rocks in the 

 Arabian Desert. — J- Pellegrin : Nevv contribution to the 

 ichthyoloijical fauna of Lake Tchad. — F. Ladreyt : 

 The complex symbiotic cell.- L Amar : Respiration in 

 confined air. — F. Bordas : The preuaration and con- 

 servation of sera and vaccines bv drying in an abso- 

 lute vacuum. The vaccines are dried in a high vacuum 

 and the "•ater-vinou>- evohfd is removr-d by frcczins'. 

 .\fter drying, the tube isi sealed and the vaccine thus 

 removed from the action of both water and oxygen. 

 The nctivity of such preparations can be preserved for 

 several years. 



xo. 261 r. VOL. 104] 



October 20.— M. L^on Guignard in the chair.— 

 M. Henneguy : An account of the work of the late 

 Gustav Retzius. — G. Bigourdan : A project of urano- 

 graphic classification, completing other classifications 

 in present use. — A. Blondel : The characteristics of 

 oscillation of lamps with three electrodes, utilised as 

 generators of sustained oscillations. — M. de Cbardonnet : 

 Remark on a communication of Gen. Bourgeois. The 

 use of autochrome plates instead of hand-paintings 

 for clouds is suggested fig being more practical. .\s 

 regards the question of the stability of the images, 

 some coloured photographs of the sky taken ten 

 years ago, now presented to the Academy, are still 

 in a good state of preservation. — M. Petrovitch : 

 Definite integrals, of which the decimal part is ex- 

 pressed with the aid of prime numbers. — G. Kolossotl : 

 The moveinent of a solid in an indefinite liquid. -- 

 .'\. Foch : The resonance of water-mains provided with 

 an air-chamber. — A. Bichet : A system of aiming at 

 objects in the air. Suggestions for a new means 

 of mounting telescopes, searchlights, and guns for 

 improving the aim at moving objects in the air.— 

 G. Chavanne, L. P. Clerc, and L, J. Simon : Analyses 

 of German aviation petrols. The results given were ob- 

 tained by a combination of careful fractional distillation 

 with the measurement of the critical solution tempera- 

 ture of the fractions in aniline, details of which have 

 been given in earlier communications. Twenty speci- 

 mens were examined, the composition of which averaged 

 10 per cent, aromatic hydrocarbons, 40 per cent, saturated 

 cyclic hydrocarbons, and 50 per cent, paraffins. The 

 deviations of the separate specimens from the average 

 were very small. — P. Robin : The neroxide of benz- 

 aldoxime. .\ study of the decomposition by prolonged 

 boiling in benzene solution, and of the prolonged 

 oxidation v>itb iodine .ind sodium carbonate.- L 

 Barthoux : Cretacean volcanic rocks of Egypt and 

 Sinai. — G. B. M. Flamand : The discovery' of a lens 

 of coal at Port-Guevdon. Two analyses are given, 

 together with reasons for supposing that this deposit 

 really belongs to the Coal Measures. — M. Bezagu : 

 Variations of the respiration of leaf-cells with age. — 

 .\. Sartorv ; A new fungus of the genus Scopulariopsis 

 isolated from a case of onychomycosis. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



The Philosophy of Conflict, and Other Essays in 

 War-time. By H. Ellis. Second series. Pp. 299. 

 (London : Constable and Co., Ltd.) 6x. 6d. net. 



Organic Chemistry for Students of Medicine. By 

 Prof. J. Walker. .Second edition. Pp. xi-l-332. 

 (London : Gurney and Jackson.) los. 6d. net. 



Essays in Common Sense Philosophy. Bv C. E. M. 

 Joad. Pp. 252. (London : The Swarthmore Press, 

 Ltd.) 8i. 6d. net. 



The Struggle in the Air, 1914-1918. By Major 

 C". C. Turner, Pp. yiii-l-288. (London: E. Arnold.) 

 15.?. net. 



Iron Bacteria. By Dr. D. Ellis. Pp. xix-f-179- 

 y plates. (London : Methuen and Co., Ltd.) lo.?. 6(;. 

 net. 



The Venereal Problem. By E. T. Burke. Pp. 20S. 

 (London : H. Kimpton.) -s. 6d. net. 



Some Wonders of Matter. Bv the Right Rev. J. E. 

 Mercer. Pp. 105. (London : S.P.C.K.) 5.?. net. 



Joseph Dalton Hooker. Bv Prof. F. O. Bower. 

 Pp. 62. (London: S.P.C.K.)" 2s. net. 



Herschel. By the Rev. H. Marpherson. Pp. 78. 

 fl ondon : S.P.C.K.) 2.<r. net. 



The Profession of Chemistry. By R. B. Pilcher. 

 Pp. xiv-l-i9C). (London: Constable and Co., Ltd.) 

 fis. 6d. net. 



