26o 



NATURE 



[May 24, 19 1 7 



genetic and phylogenetic questions will be discussed in 

 a later paper.— Dr. J. M. Petrie : The (x;currence of 

 hydrocyanic acid in plarits. Part iii. treats of five in- 

 digenous and seven cultivated cyanogenetic plants. . 

 Detailed experiments were made with a number of 

 Alocasias, and a description of the distribution of the 

 glucosides in the different parts of the plants is given. 

 — Dr. J. M. Petrie • The chemical investigation of some 

 poisonous plants in the N.O. Solanaceae. Part iv., the 

 chemistry of the Duboisias. This important group of 

 endemic plants include"? the pituri-tree of Central Aus- 

 tralia and the cork-tree of New South Wales. The 

 former is the only nicotine plant known other than the 

 Nicotianas ; and the latter contains the atropine-group 

 of alkaloids, including the new nor-hyoscyamine. A 

 third species, resembling the cork-tree, was also found 

 to contain the same constituents. A complete historical 

 account is given of the numerous chemical researches 

 on the first two of these plants ; and the contradictory 

 evidence has been settled definitelv by new experi- 

 mental data. The proximate composition of the plants 

 is compared and the investigation of their alkaloids 

 described. 



Petrograd. 



Academy of Sciences, February i. — E. S. Fedorov : A 

 new descriptive geometry. — N. Kulagin : The ovary of 

 the elephant. — V. V. Zalenskij : The segmentation of 

 the ovum of Salpa hicaudata. First period. — E. Busch : 

 Ericaceas (Arctostaphylos, Arctous, Vaccinium, Cal- 

 luna) of Siberia and the Far East. — A. M. Nikoliskij : 

 Coluber (Viper a) sachalinensis, Czar., and it^ history. 

 — G. J. Veresiagin : The basins in the vicinity of Lake 

 Baikal. — VI. N. Snitnikov : The reptiles of the province 

 of SemirScje. — N. M. Krylov : Application of the 

 method of W. Ritz to a system of differential equations. 



Historical and Philological Section, January 25. 

 — P. A. Falev : Account of an expedition in Trans- 

 caucasia and to Azerbeidzan in the summer of 19 16. — 

 N. Ja. Marr : (i) The Georgian epic, "The Hero in 

 the Panther's Skin," bv Sota of Rustav, and a new 

 problem touching ancient Georgian culture. (2) A source 

 of new information concerning the history of the Cau- 

 casian peoples. — I Ju. Kra£kovskij : Description of the 

 collection of Korans brought by F. I. Uspenskij from 

 Trebizond. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



A Pocket Handbook of Minerals. By Prof. G. M. 

 Butler. Second edition. Pp. ix + 311. (New York : 

 J. Wilev and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chapman and 

 Hall, Ltd.) 115. 6d. net. 



British Universities and the War : a Record and its 

 Meaning. Pp. xv+88. (London : Field and Queen.) 

 IS. net. 



Actions Physiologiques et Dangers des Courants 

 Electriques. By J. Rodet. Pp. 87. (Paris : Gauthier- 

 Villars.) 3.25 francs. 



Differential Calculus. By' Prof. H. B. Phillips. 

 Pp. V+162. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; 

 London ; Chapman and Hall, Ltd.) 5s. 6d. net. 



Lessons in Pharmaceutical Latin and Prescription 

 Writing and Interpretation. By H. C. Muldoo;}. Pp. 

 vii+173. (New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc.; Lon- 

 don : Chapman and Hall, Ltd.) 65. net. 



Studies in Primitive Looms. By H. Ling Roth. 

 (Halifax : Bankfield Museum.) 25. 



Staying the Plague. By N. Bishop Harman. Pp. 

 viii+120. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd.) is. 

 net. 



Australasian Antarctic Expedition, igii-14. Scien- 

 tific Reports. Series C Zoology and Botany. Vol. 

 iv., part I : — Mollusca. By C. Hedley. Pp. 80 + 9 

 plates. (Adelaide : R. E. E. Rogers.) 8s. 6d. 



NO. 2482, VOL. 99] 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, May 24. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. — The Influence of Vibrations upon the Form of 

 Certain Sponge-Spicules : Prof. A. Dendy and Prof. J. W. Nicholson. — 

 The Lateral Vibrations of Bars of Variable Section: Prof. J. W. 

 Nicholson. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — The Chromosome Theory of Heredity and the 

 Alternatives : Prof. W. Bateson. 



Royal Geographical Society, at 5.30. — The Resources and Future of 

 British Columbia : Dr. J. F. Unstead. 



Linnkan Society, at 3. — Anniversary Meeting. 



Aeronautical Institute, at 8. — The Testing of Materials for .Aero- 

 nautical Construction : Edgar A. AUcut. 



Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, at 5.30. — Shall Great Britain 

 and .\merica Adopt the Metric System ? : W. R. Ingalls. 



FRIDAY, May 25. 



Royal Institution, at 5.30. — Breathlessness : J. Barcroft. 



Physical Society, at 5. — An Investigation of Radium Luminous Com- 

 pound : C. C. Paterson, J. W. T. Walsh, and W. F. Higgins.— The 

 Resistance to the Motion of a Lamina, Cylinder, or Sphere in a Rarefied 

 Gas : F. J. W. Whipple.— The Effect of Stretching on the Thermal and 

 Electrical Conductivities of Wires : Dr. C. H. Lees. 



SATURDAY, May 26. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — The Electrical Properties ot Gases: Sir J. J. 

 Thomson. 



TUESDAY, May 29. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — The Movement of Glaciers: Prof. W. W. 

 Watts. 



THURSDAY, May 31. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — The Art of the Essayist : A. C. Benson. 



FRIDAY, June i. 

 Royal Institution, at 5.30. — The Brontes; A Hundred Years After: 



J. H. Balfour Browne. 

 Geologists' Association, at 7.^0. — The Post-Pliocene Non-Marine 



Mollusca of Ireland : A. S. Kennard and B. B. Woodward. 



SATURDAY, June 2. 

 Royal Institution, at 3.— The Electrical Properties of Gases : Sir J. J. 

 Thomson. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Engineering Aerodynamics , 241 



The Briquetting of Fuels. By H. L 242 



Problems of Behaviour. ByJ. A. T 243 



Our Bookshelf 244 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Stability of Lead Isotopes from Thorium. — 

 Prof. Frederick Soddy, F.R.S. ; Dr. Arthur 



Holmes 244 



The Suspended Publication of the "Kew Bulletin." 



ByJ. B. F • 245 



Conservation of Wild Life in Canada. By Dr. C. 



Gordon Hewitt 246 



Prof. Joseph Riban 247 



Notes 247 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Two Eclipsing Variable Stars 252 



New Zealand Time Service 252 



Stonyhurst College Observatory Report 252 



Continued and Specialised Education in England 



and Wales 252 



The Supply of Cereals 253 



Tests for Glanders in Army Horses 253 



Rhubarb 253 



University and Educational Intelligence 257 



Societies and Academies 258 



Books Received 200 



Diary of Societies 260 



Editorial and Publishing Offices : 



MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd., 



ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C. 2 



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the 

 Publishers. 



Editorial Communications to the Editor. 

 Telegraphic Address : Phusis, London. 

 Telephone Number : Gerrard 8830. 



