May 27, 1897] 



NA TURE 



95 



m the mean monthly temperatures of the British Isles. The 

 authors dealt with the means of the daily minimum, average, 

 ami maximum temperatures for the various months of the year 

 in the twenty-five years 1871-95. They pointed out that there 

 is a great difference between the amount of range of temperature 

 at the coast stations and that recorded inland. The range be- 



ween January and July amounts to about 16° at coast stations, 

 !iut to more than 23° at the in'and stations. The contrast be- 



ween the temperature of the air at inland stations and at coast 

 -lations at diflferent times of the year is due to the following 



■auses : (i) The constant tendency of the sun to heat the sur- 

 :ace of the earth ; (2) the equally constant tendency of the earth 



) radiate its heat into space, both of these being modified 

 ^^reatly by the aqueous vapour and the clouds suspended in the 

 atmosphere; (3) the fact that the solid portions of the earth 

 absorb and reflect heat much more rapidly than the water ; and 



4) that while the ocean to the westward is of enormous size 

 ind great depth, the sea to the eastward is, comparatively speak- 

 ing, limited in area and shallow, and separates the eastern 

 -hores of the British Islands from those of continental Europe 



y a small distance. — A paper, by Mr. C. V. Bellamy, on the 

 lainfall of Dominica, West Indies, was also read. The author 

 L,'ave an interesting account of the climate of the island, and 

 then discussed the monthly returns of rainfall from twenty-seven 

 stations during'the four years 1893-96. The rainy season extends 

 from July to November, the other months representing the dry 

 season. The month of November, 1896, was the wettest on 

 record. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, May 17.— M. A. Chatin in the 

 chair. — On the photographic atlas of the moon, published by the 

 Observatory of Paris (second part), by MM. Loewy and Puiseux. 

 — Signification of appendices and their symmetry in the measure- 

 ment of gradation in vegetable species, by M. Ad. Chatin. 

 Plants are classified into two large groups, according as they 

 have appendices or not. The symmetrical relations between the 

 a.ppendices serve to further subdivide the larger series. — Fourth 

 :i' )te on the applications of radioscopy to the diagnosis of diseases 



if the thorax, by M. Ch. Bouchard. The preceding notes deal 

 with the applications of radioscopy to the cliagnosls of pleurisy, 

 pulmonary tuberculosis, and hypertrophy cf the heart. In the 

 present note four cases are described : one of cancer of the 

 lesophagus, and three of diseases of the aorta subsequent to 

 acute rheumatism, in all of which the examination by the Ront- 

 gen rays proved to be of great service. — Demonstration by the 

 Riintgen rays of the osseous regeneration in man after surgical ] 

 operations, by M. Oilier. Studies of this nature have hitherto 

 been very difficult, owing to the fact that accidental deaths at 

 -aitable stages in the osseous development are necessarily rare. 

 rhe form and dimensions of the osseous masses in the new 

 lormation can now be readily demonstrated by means of the 

 X-rays. The exact knowledge afforded in this way of the 

 position of diseased bone (as in osteo-myelitis), renders unneces- 

 sary the immediate amputation of the limb, since the whole of 

 the diseased portions can be removed with precision.— Disturb- 

 ances in lakes and hurricanes, by M. F. A. Forel. It is shown 

 that sudden barometric changes of the order of magnitude 

 actually registered on one or two occasions are sufficient to 

 ncount fur the extraordinary changes of level occasionally 

 observed on the Lakes Leman and Geneva. The effects are 

 magnified by interference, and by the narrowing down 

 of the lake. — M. Klein was elected a Correspondant of 

 the Academy in the Section of Geomelry, in the place of the 

 late Prof. Sylvester. — Converse theory of binomial theorem, by 

 M. Sitanath Chakrabarthy. — On the medicinal properties of 

 (Enothera biennis, by M. Lewis Germain. — On the curves of 

 which the tangents belong to a complex, by M. A. Demoulin. — 

 ()n .some applications of the theory of cyclic systems, by M. C. 

 (hiichard. — On a graphical method of integration for differential 

 equations, by M. Michel Petrovitch. A mechanical apparatus 

 is described capable^of integrating all equations of the form 

 * {y) dyidt + \ ^f_y - af (/) = o, and of certain other 

 equations derived from this by suitable substitutions. — On the 

 kathode rays and some phenomena in vacuum tubes, by M. C. 

 Maltezos. Experiments arc described leading to the conclusion 

 that anode light consists of matter carrying positive electricity. — 

 On the transparency of ebonite, by M. Perrigot. Ebonite in 

 thin films (o'5 mm.) is obviously transparent to red light, and 

 light after passing through ebonite produces distinct effects upon 

 orthochromatic plates rendered sensitive to the red and yellow 



rays. Ebonite plates 2 mm. in thickness, although ojaque to 

 the eye, still affect the photographic plate. These results 

 confirm those of M. Becquerel as to the true cause of the effects 

 observed by M. Le Bon.— New determinations of gravity, by 

 M. J. Collet. The results of a series of pendulum olwervations 

 along the forty-fifth parallel of latitude. The final results are 

 compared with those calculated by Defforges' formula, the 

 experimental results being always slightly lower than the 

 theoretical.— On lithium borate, by M. H. Le Chatelier. The 

 monoborate LiBOo is readily obtained in the dry way ; it dissolves, 

 readily forming the hydrate LiBOoSH.p. The solubility curve 

 shows some peculiarities, there being a temperature of maximum 

 solubility. The heats of hydration, solution, and combination 

 were determined. In the wet way, a diborate analogous to 

 borax i? formed, but the salt is so .soluble that it could not be 

 i.solated. — On the alloys of the silver-copper group, by M. F. 

 Osmond. In spite of the fact that the alloy containing the 

 metals in the proportions indicated by AgsCuj is the only one 

 that does not liquate on solidifying, the alloy is not a homogeneous 

 compound, but a mixture. The results of Heycock and Neville 

 on the melting points of the copper zinc alloys indicate this, 

 and the micrographical study affords results leading to the same 

 view.— Researches on the coloration of glass by the direct jiene- 

 tration of metals or metallic .salts, by ^L Leon Lemal. Glass 

 of a suitable composition can be coloured by a process similar 

 to cementation at temperatures between 500° and 550' C. With 

 silver salts a reddish orange stain is produced. —Remarks by M. 

 Armand Gautier on the preceding note. — The action of water 

 upon phosphoryl trichloride, by M. A. Besson. By the action 

 of small quantities of water upon POCl, at 100°, several chlorides 

 appear to be produced, from which pyrophosphoryl chloride, 

 P.^0nCl4. can be isolated and analysed in a fairly pure state. The 

 residue is .stated to consist of metaphosphoryl chloride, but no 

 analyses are given, nor any indications that the residue was a 

 homogeneous substance. The action of water is thus shown to 

 be analogous to that of hydrogen sulphide. — On some new sym- 

 metrical aromatic ureas, by MM. P. Cazeneuve and Moreau. 

 The authors conclude from their experiments that the best 

 method of preparation of .symmetrical substituted ureas is by 

 acting with primary bases upon the carbonic ethers of the 

 phenols, especially upon the carbonate of guiacol. — On the 

 amido-amidines, by M. Charles Lauth. — RC"le of tannins in 

 plants, and especially in fruits, by M. C. Gerber. One of the 

 chief functions of tannin appears to be to prevent pectic trans- 

 formations, and hence to prevent the fermentation of their 

 sugars. In fruits containing tannins, these disappear com- 

 pletely by oxidation without giving rise to any carbohydrates. — 

 On the Pseudocominis vitis (Debray), and on new proofs of 

 the exi.stence of these Myxomycetes, by M. E. Roze.— The clear 

 rings ("lunure") in sections of oak wood, by M. Emile Mer. — 

 Physiological disturbances due to the X-rays, by M. Destot. 

 The differences between the effects of exposure to the sun and 

 X-rays are clearly marked, the latter not being felt at the 

 moment of application, and only becoming evident after a con- 

 siderable time. — Researches on the causes of disturbances due 

 to groivth with the aid of the X-rays, by MM. Maurice 

 Springer and D. Serbanesco. — Rule for .solving two numerical 

 equations of any degree with two unknowns, by M. Teguor. 



St. Louis. 

 Academy of Science, May 3. — Mr. H. von Schrenk spoke 

 of the respiration of plants, with special reference to the modifi- 

 cation of those growing with their roots submerged in water. 

 The lecture was illustrated by a demonstration of the liberation 

 of carbon dioxide in respiration from the roots of an ordinary 

 flowering plant and freshly gathered fungi, and the more usual 

 aerenchyma structures were made clear by the use of lantern 

 slides. — Prof. F. E. Nipher described a simple means of mea.su r- 

 ing the resistance of a tube to the flow of air, when compared 

 with an accepted standard, by the use of a tubular device, 

 similar in principle to the Wheatstone bridge used in electrical 

 instruments ; the apparatus, in the present instance, consisting 

 of parallel tubes filled with air, connected by a tubular bridge, 

 in the middle of which a drop of water was placed, so as to 

 change position with the variations in the flow of air on the 

 one hand or on the other. 



A.MSTERDAM. 



Royal Academy of Sciences, April 21.— Prof, van de 

 Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair. — Prof. Haga communicated a 

 method of determining the wave-length of X-rays. This method. 



NO. 1439, VOL. 56] 



