May 12, 1898] 



NATURE 



47 



Dublin. 

 Royal Dublin Society, April 20.— Prof. W. Noel Hartley, 

 F.R.S., in the chair.— Prof. Emerson Reynolds, F.R.S., gave a 

 demonstration of the properties of some new silicon derivatives 

 discovered in the chemical laboratory of Trinity College, Dublin, 

 and showed their use in photography. — Dr. E. J. McWeeney 

 demonstrated a special method of performing the sero-diagnostic 

 test for typhoid fever. It consisted in causing Eberth's bacillus 

 to grow in a hanging drop of neutral bouillon containing 10 per 

 cent, of the serum under investigation. After a few hours at 

 37° C. the individuals originally present (which should be 

 very few — one only if possible), would be found to have multi- 

 plied in such a way as to form chains of short elements devoid 

 of motility. In twelve hours these chains had become very long 

 and beautifully curved and contorted, occupying the whole area 

 of the drop. This chain formation only occurred with typhoid 

 serum. With non-typhoid serum the drop soon became filled 

 up with actively motile separate individuals. Filament-form- 

 ation he did not look upon as significant. Similar appearances 

 had been noted by Charrin and Roger for Pyocyaueus, by 

 Pfaundler for Coli, and by Ledoux-Lebard for pseudo-tuberculosis. 

 Photographs of desiccated and stained hanging-drop cultures 

 were thrown on the screen. — Dr. J. H. Clark contributed a 

 paper on protoplasmic movements : their relation to oxygen 

 pressure. The paper gave a detailed statement of the author's 

 investigations on the subject, of which an abstract appeared in 

 the Proceedings of the Royal Society.— Dr. T. Johnson and 

 Miss Hensman presented a paper consisting of a list of Irish 

 CorallinaccK, with the distribution of the Irish species, and 

 many additions to the list of recorded species. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, May 2.— M. Wolf in the chair.— 

 On the legitimacy of the trapezium rule in the study of the 

 resistances of dams built of masonry, by M. Maurice Levy. 

 A critical examination of the " trapezium " law, according to 

 \v hich the normal pressures exerted upon each arch are connected 

 by a linear relation.— Researches on the state in which silicon 

 and chromium occur in steels, by MM. A. Carnot and Goutal. 

 From a sample of ferrosilicon, by the prolonged action of dilute 

 sulphuric acid, the silicide SiFcj was isolated, which differs 

 from the substance of the same composition obtained by M. 

 Moissan in being ea.sily attacked by warm dilute acids. From 

 alloys containing manganese, a double silicide of manganese 

 and iron is obtained. Starting from chrome steels, similar 

 methods gave Ye^Cr^C-, or CFes.sCjCr., and FegCr^jCj.- Re- 

 marks on some Crustacea obtained from the six scientific voyages 

 of the Prince of Monaco, by MM. Milne-Edwards and E. L. 

 Bouvier. Amongst the decapod Crustacea; only one new form 

 was found, Sympagurus Grinia/dii. —On ortho-benzyl-benzoic 

 and dimethylamido-diethylamido-ortho-benzoyl-benzoic acids 

 and some of their derivatives, by MM. A. Haller and Guyot.— 

 On the autoplastic grafts obtained by the transplantation of 

 large dermic strips. Their stability and the slow modifications 

 which they undergo, by M. Oilier. The transplanted skin 

 undergoes a progressive atrophy, losing always its original 

 dimensions. — The return of the first periodic Tempel Comet 

 (1867 II.) in 1898, by M. R. Gautier. A revision of the 

 elements of this comet, rendered necessary by the varying per- 

 turbations caused by the planet Jupiter.— Relations of com- 

 mensurability between the mean movements of the satellites of 

 Saturn, by M. Jean Mascart.— Reply to a reclamation of 

 priority of M. Marqfoy, by M. Daniel Berthelot.— On the 

 radiations emitted by thormm and its compounds, by M. G. C. 

 Schmidt. Thorium salts emit rays similar to those discovered 

 l)y M. Becquerel for uranium .salts. Quantitative comparisons 

 ot the times required to discharge an electrified plate by the 

 rays from thorium and uranium salts showed that the latter act 

 more powerfully. The sign of the charge in either case is with- 

 out efTect upon the result.s.— On the cycles of magnetic torsion of 

 a steel wire, by M. G. Moreau.— A receiver for Hertzian tele- 

 graphy without wires, by M. E. Ducretet. An improvement 

 upon a similar instrument devised by M. Popoff. A Branly 

 tube, which undergoes sudden changes of resistance under the 

 mfluence of the Hertzian waves, forms part of a delicate relay 

 ystem. The whole apparatus is automatic, the message being 

 ; tinted iri Morse character upon a strip in the usual way, the 

 -I rip ceasing to unroll when the waves stop.— On the electrical 

 conductivity of potassium permanganate, by M, G. Bredig. 

 Remarks on the paper of M. Legrand in a recent number of 



NO. 1489, VOL. 58] 



the Comples renJus, pointing out the prior measurements of M. 

 Bredig and MM. Franke and Loven,— The Perpetual Secretary 

 remarked that the conductivity of some solutions of potassium 

 permanganate was mea.sured by M. Bouty as early as 1884.— 

 Effects of solar and lunar attractions upon the atmosphere. 

 Example of the application of formulae, by M. A. Poincare.— 

 On the iodide of beryllium, by M. P. Lebeau. By the action 

 of dry hydriodic acid gas upon beryllium carbide at 700% the 

 pure iodide Belj is readily obtained as a crystalline sublimate. 

 It forms colourless crystals, readily attacked by moist air, boiling 

 between 585° and 595° C. It reacts violently with water, arid 

 with many organic substances, and from it new compounds of 

 beryllium with sulphur, phosphorus, and cyanogen can be 

 obtained.— On the presence of the chlorides of potassium and 

 sodium in large proportions in the juice of grapes, and in the 

 wines of the salt regions of Oranie, by M. Edmond Bonjean — 

 New reaction of tertiary alcohols and their ethers, by M. G. 

 Deniges. The reaction employed is an acid solution of mercuric 

 sulphate; characteristic yellow mercury compounds are formed. 

 — Action of alkalis upon ouabaine, by M. Arnaud. An acid 

 is formed, termed ouabaic acid, the sodium, strontium, and 

 barium salts of which are described. — Action of bromine upon 

 some phenols in presence of aluminium bromide, by M. F. 

 Bodroux. — On the mono-alkyl-phosphoric ethers, by M. J. 

 Cavalier. — Influence of diffused daylight upon the development 

 of plants, by M. J. Wiesner.— On chocolate-coloured oats, by 

 M. Balland. No differences in the results of analysis could be 

 found between the brown grains and the ordinary white ones. — 

 The bitterness of wines, by MM. F. Bordas, Joulin, and de 

 Raczkowski. A description of the habit and mode of growth 

 of the bacillus causing the bitterness in wine. — Pathogeny and 

 histogenesis of cancer, a parasitic disease, by M. F. J. Bosc. 

 The only specific element in malignant tumours is the parasitic 

 sporozoa described in previous papers. — Softening of bone 

 by phloroglucinol, by M. J. J. Andeer. A solution of phloro- 

 glucinol in hydrochloric acid forms a valuable histological re- 

 agent for softening bone without changing its relation to other 

 structures. 



Amsterdam. 

 Royal Academy of Sciences, March 26. — Prof, van de 

 Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair — Prof. Franchimont and Dr. H. 

 Umbgrove on the action of sulphuric acid of 35 to 40 per 

 cent, at the ordinary temperature upon acid aliphatic nitra- 

 mines, upon neutral ones and upon their isomers. The first men- 

 tioned (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and butylnitramine) very 

 slowly yielded nitrous oxide and an alcohol, and in addition 

 — excepting methyl nitramine — a small quantity of non- 

 saturated carburetled hydrogen. The same result was ob- 

 tained with their potassium, barium and silver derivatives. 

 The neutral nitramines were not attacked ; their isomers, 

 however, were attacked very rapidly. Experiments were 

 made with the isomers of propylethylnitramine, of methyl- 

 ethylnitramine, of dimethylnitramine, and of ethylmethylnitra- 

 mine. All of them, except the last, in which again CH, is 

 united with nitrogen, yielded a little ethane, besides NjO 

 and one or two alcohols. The authors think that through 

 the action of sulphuric acid the acid nitramines 



slowly change into 



C„H2„+iNH - : 



O.H2,.+iN = N< 



OH 



and that the latter, being diazonitramines, are rapidly decom- 

 posed, as well as their alkyl derivatives, the isomers of the 

 neutral nitramines.— Dr. G. C. J. Vosmaer and Prof. C. A. Pekel- 

 haring on the reception of food by sponges. When sponges 

 (Spongillce and Sycones) were fed with carmine, the colour- 

 ing matter was always found first in the collar cells. 

 MetschnikofTs objection against the view, according to which 

 the food is received into the flagellated chambers, may 

 perhaps have arisen from the circumstance that Metschnikoff 

 allowed the moment favourable for the inquiry to slip by. 

 In the case of Leucosolenia just taken out of the sea-water 

 and cut open longitudinally, the movements of the flagellated 

 chambers were found to be most irregular, and without a 

 trace of coordination. The authors think that the regular 

 passage of water through sponges, in consequence of an 



