May 5, 1898] 



NATURE 



23 



Chemical Society, April 21. — Prof. Dewar, President, in 

 the chair. — The following papers were read : — The carbohydrates 

 of barley-straw , by C. F. Cross, E. J. Bevan and C. Smith. The 

 ratio of the furfural-yielding carbohydrates to total carbohydrates 

 in barley-straw is not affected by removing the ears at the flower- 

 ing stage ; the constancy of this ratio under wide variations of 

 the conditions of growth has now been established. — Isomeric 

 bornylamines, by M. O. Forster. The base obtained from the 

 formyl derivative got by heating camphor with ammonium 

 formate, and from the reduction of camphoroxime, is a mixture 

 of bornylamine and an isomeride which the author terms 

 neobornylamine. — Some derivatives of benzophenone, by F. E. 

 Matthews. The author has obtained a benzophenone hexa- 

 chloride, CuH^Cifi.COPh, which yields a mononitro-derivative 

 and a sulphonic acid. ^—Experiments on lauronolic acid, by S. B. 

 Schryver. — The drying of ammonia and of hydrogen chloride, 

 by H. B. Baker. A repetition of the author's previous work 

 shows that ammonia and hydrogen chloride can be dried by 

 phosphorus pentoxide, and that dry ammonium chloride is not 

 dissociated at 350° ; Gutmann's strictures on the work are hence 

 unfounded. — Note on some of the properties of methylene di- 

 iodide, by II. G. Madan. Methylene iodide darkens appreciably 

 in colour on a few hours' exposure to sunlight, and in the cold 

 dissolves sutificient sulphur to raise its refractive index for the 

 D line from 1756 to 1778; it dissolves phosphorus readily, 

 giving a light yellow solution which has the refractive index for 

 D of I "95 at 14"^, and is not spontaneously inflammable on 

 evaporation in the air. — The condensation of chloral hydrate 

 with orcinol, by J. T. Hewitt and F. G. Pope. Chloral hydrate 

 and orcinol condense on heating in aqueous solution, yielding 

 an acid of the composition CigHjgOg, which is easily converted 

 into a lactone C,fiH]405. — -Note on hexamethylene and ^its de- 

 rivatives, by Miss E. C. Fortey. Gallician petroleum, like 

 American light petroleum, contains hexamethylene ; it boils at 

 81 75°, and has the specific gravity of 07899 at o7o°. Its mono- 

 and dichloro-derivatives have been prepared and investigated. 

 — The yellow colouring matter of the leaves of Antostapkylos 

 ttva iirst, by A. G. Perkin. In addition to gallic acid, arbutin, 

 ericolin and gallotannin, the author has separated a yellow 

 colouring matter of the composition CjsHioOy from the leaves 

 of this plant, and has also demonstrated the presence of 

 eilagitannin. — The yellow colouring matters of various adulter- 

 ants of Sicilian sumach, Part iv. , by A. G. Perkin and P.J. 

 Wood. — The hydrolysis of starch by acids, by H. Johnson. — 

 Synthesis of cis- and trans-caronic acids, by W. H. Perkin, 

 Jan., and J. F. Thorpe. On hydrolysing the alkylic salts of a- 

 bromodimethylglutarate, a mixture of cis- and trans-caronic 

 acid is obtained ; caronic acid is therefore, as Baeyer concluded, 

 a dimethyltrimethylenedicarboxylic acid of the constitution 

 /CII.COjH 

 CMe ,< I 



^CH.COjH. 

 — Preparation of solid ammonium cyanate, by J. Walker and 

 J. K. Wood. On mixinc a solution of ammonia and of cyanic 

 acid in anhydrous ether at - 20° and filtering, a residue of solid 

 ammonium cyanate is obtained. — The chlorine derivatives of 

 liyridine, Part i., by W. J. Sell and F. W. Dootson.— Simple 

 experimental illustrations of the law of multiples, by A. W. 

 Jones. Equivalent weights of potassium chlorate and per- 

 chlorate are heated, and it is shown that the residues of potassium 

 < hloride are equal in weight, and that the volumes of the oxygen 

 volved are as three to four in the two cases. — Lauronolic acid, 

 : y R. W. Collinson and W. H. Perkin, jun. Lauronolic acid 

 Melds a hydrobromide, CgHjjO.jBr, and when oxidised gives a 

 syrupy acid of the composition CglljjOj. — The action of alum- 

 inium chloride on camphoric anhydride, by F. H. Lees and 

 W. H. Perkin, jun.— On the action of bromacetal on the sodium 

 derivative of ethylic malonate, by W. H. Perkin, jun. , and C. H. G. 

 Sprankling. On heating bromacetal with ethylic sodiomalonate 

 at 140-150, ethylic acetalmalonate, (CO,jEt)2CII.CH2.CH(OEt)2 

 is obtained. — The sulphonation of benzophenone and of diphenyl- 

 methane, by A. Lanworth. — The separation of optical isomerides, 

 by F. S. Kipping and W. J. Pope. It is .shown that enantio- 

 morphously related substances are not equally soluble in a 

 solution containing a third enantiomorphous substance. 



Zoological Society, April 19.— Prof. Howes, F.R.S., in the 

 chair.— Mr. Ernest W. L. Holt read a paper on the breeding of 

 the Dragonet {Callionyntits lyra) in the Marine' Biological 

 Association's aquarium at Plymouth, and made some remarks 



NO. 1488, VOL. 58] 



on the significance of the sexual dimorphism of this fish, the 

 courtship and pairing of which were described in detail. — A 

 communication from the Rev. H. S. Gorham contained an 

 account of th? Serricorn Coleoptera of St. Vincent, Grenada, 

 and the Grenadines, obtained through the operation of the West 

 India Committee of the Royal Society and the British Associ- 

 ation, for the exploration of the fauna of the West Indies. — A 

 second communication from the Rev. H. .S. Gorham on the 

 Coleoptera of the families Erotylidte, Endoniychida, and Cocci- 

 iiellUiE from the West Indies, obtained in the saiT.e manner, 

 was also read. — A communication was read from Dr. Bashford 

 Dean, describing further evidence of the existence of possible 

 paired fins in the problematical Devonian organism PaUeo- 

 sporuiylus. He maintained his former views, as opposed to those 

 of Dr. R, H. Traquair expressed in a former communication to 

 the Society. 



Mathematical Society, April 7.— Dr. Hobson, F.R.S., 

 Vice-President, in the chair. — The following communications 

 were made: — An essay towards the generating functions of 

 ternariants, by Prof. Forsyth, F.R.S. — On systems of forces in 

 space of n dimensions, by W. H. Young. — Zeroes of the Bessel 

 functions, by H. M. Macdonald. 



Pap IS. 

 Academy of Sciences, April 25.— M. Wolf in the chair.— 

 The Secretary announced to the Academy the death of M. 

 Demontzey, Correspondant in the section of Rural Economy. — 

 Influence of the place and mode of introduction on the develop- 

 ment of the immunising effects of anti-diphtheric serum, by M. 

 S. Arloing. When the anti-diphtheric serum is administered 

 separately its complete antitoxic action is at a maximum when 

 it is introduced into the blood, at a minimum when introduced 

 into the conjunctive tissue. — On rectilinear congruences, by M. 

 C. Guichard. — On differential ecjuations of the second order 

 with fixed critical points, by M. Paul Painleve. — On groups 

 which occur in the generalisation of analytical functions, by M. 

 P. Medolaghi. — On the resistance of thick plates, by M. 

 Ribiere. — On a new standard of light, by M. Ch. Fery. The 

 flame proposed is that of acetylene burnt from a special jet of 

 thermometer tube, o"5 mm. in diameter. For flames whose 

 heights are between 10 mm. and 25 mm., the relation between 

 the intensity and the height of the flame is a linear one. The 

 apparatus is suggested as a suitable one for rapidly determining 

 the quality of a commercial calcium carbide. — On the thermo- 

 electric electromotive forces in crystallised bismuth, by M. Lt)uis 

 Perrot. The chief difficulty in these determinations was obtain- 

 ing the bismuth in large, clearly-defined crystals, a difficulty sur- 

 mounted by slowly cooling the pure metal in a Perrot furnace. 

 The other metal chosen for the couple was copper, measure- 

 ments being made at temperatures varying from il° to 100° C. 

 on surfaces parallel and perpendicular respectively to the prin- 

 cipal axis. The ratios found for the electromotive forces in the 

 two positions of the crystal were between 2 o and 2*4 according 

 to the temperature, the crystalline structure thus exerting a 

 greater influence than had been previously supposed upon the 

 thermo-electric constants of bismuth. — On the constitution of 

 the explosive spark in a dielectric liquid, by M. L. Decombe. 

 Photographs from a rapidly revolving mirror of a spark between 

 metallic poles in melted vaseline, show that the spark differs 

 from that obtained in air in possessing a uniform brightness 

 throughout its whole length. — Remarks on the kathode rays, by 

 M. E. Goldstein. A discussion of some results of M. Des- 

 landres, and more especially of the relation between the 

 kathode rays, and the repulsion of the tails of comets by the 

 sun. — Study of the speaking voice by the phonograph, by 

 M. .Marage. The quality of each vowel is due to a certain 

 number of harmonics, I, U, OU being formed by one only, A 

 by three. — On the industrial treatment of the emerald in the 

 electric furnace, by M. P. Lebeau. A mixture of 100 kilo- 

 grams of emerald with half its weight of coke, submitted for an 

 hour to a current of 1500 amperes in the electric furnace, gave 

 two layers, the upper consisting of silicides of aluminium and 

 beryllium, the lower of impure crystallised silicon. — On the 

 quinoneoximes, by M. Amand Valeur. A thermochemical 

 paper giving the heats of combustion and formation of quinone- 

 oxime, thymoquinoneoxime, and o- and /8-napthoquinoneoximes. 

 As a general result it is found that the replacement of the quin- 

 onic oxygen atom by the residue N(OII) raises the heat of 

 combustion about sixty calories. — On the products of hydrolysis 

 of ouabaine, by M. Arnaud. A study of the sugar pro- 

 duced shows that the crystals were identical in form 



