440 



NATURE 



[July 26, 19 17 



June 25. — M. A. d'Arsonval in the chair. — A. 

 Lacroix : The transformation of some basic eruptive 

 rocks into amphibolites.— G. Bigourdan : The observa- 

 tions attributed to Prince Louis of Valois ; and on the 

 astronomer, Jacques Valois. The observations attri- 

 buted to Prince Emmanuel of Valois (1596 to 1663) 

 were really due to Jacques Valois (or de Valois), 

 whose life is only known through his correspondence. 

 — L. Maquenne and E. Demoussy : The influence of 

 water and mineral matter on the germination of peas. 

 The presence of traces of mineral matter derived from 

 glass favours the germination of seeds, and if it is 

 required to study the process of germination in dis- 

 tilled water, it is necessary to u«e a quartz condenser 

 in making the distilled water and to store the 

 water in quartz or platinum vessels. Com- 

 parative experiments, germinating peas in quartz 

 and glass vessels, always gave a better develop- 

 ment of roots in the glass than in the quartz vessels. 

 The magnitude of the effects observed was unexpected, 

 and it is pointed out that in botanical and physio- 

 logical experiments attention must always be paid to 

 the possible intervention of soluble products derived 

 from the glass. — A. Gautier : An artificial soil, nearly 

 free from all mineral or organic material, suitable for 

 the study of plant cultures and for the examination of 

 the influence of various chemical manures. The 

 medium proposed is powdered charcoal {braise de 

 boulanger) first heated to redness, then boiled with 

 hydrochloric acid, and extracted with distilled water. 

 This may advantageously replace glass pyowder, cotton, 

 or sand media for botanical cultures. It has been 

 especially useful in studying the effects of traces of 

 fluorides on vegetation. — E. Aries : The specific heats 

 of fluids maintained in the saturated state.- — G. Julia : 

 Binary indeterminate conjugated forms remaining in- 

 variant by a group of linear substitutions.- — W. Sier- 

 pinski : An extension of the notion of the density of 

 ensembles.— E. Jablonski : Contribution to the study of 

 the most general case of shock in a system of material 

 points submitted to Newton's law. — E. Belot : Some 

 principles applicable to comparative planetography. — 

 P. Th. Dufour : Experimental researches on the terres- 

 trial tetrahedron and the distribution of land and sea. 

 Globules of liquid paraflin wax are immersed in methyl 

 alcohol of the same density as the paraffin, 

 and carried to a temperature slightly above the 

 melting point of the wax. On allowing to cool 

 slowly, the liquid gloibule remains perfectly spherical. 

 If the bath is kept in motion, so as to pro- 

 duce a regular solidification, symmetrical tetra- 

 hedral globules are obtained, with convex faces 

 and rounded points. The effect of variations in 

 the density of the earth's crust on the form assumed by 

 slow cooling is discussed in connection with these 

 experiments. — A. Leduc : The expansion of argon and 

 neon. Internal pressure in the monatomic gases. The 

 coefficient of expansion of argon between 5-47° C. and 

 29-07° C. is 0-003664; of neon between 11-95° C. and 

 31-87° C, 0-003669, with a possible error of 2 in the 

 last figure.— P. Chevenard : An anomaly of cementite 

 in carbon steels, annealed, tempered, or half-tempered. 

 — J. Bougault : A new method of estimating aldehydic 

 sugars. The method is based on the oxidation to the 

 corresponding acid by iodine and sodium carbonate, 

 the iodine used being determined. A small correction 

 is required on account of a secondary reaction. — Ph. 

 Glangeaud : The ancient glaciers of the Monts-Dore 

 volcanic massif. — L. Moreau : Radiological researches 

 on the angle of inclination of the human heart. The 

 angle of inclination of the normal human heart is 

 usually given in the treatises on anatomy as between 

 55° and 60°. One hundred subjects examined by a 

 radiological method gave a figure which, in 74 per 



NO. 2491, VOL. 99] 



cent, of the cases examined, was between 65° and 78°. 

 — L. G. Seurat : The evolution of Maiipasina Weissi. — 

 H. Valine and L. Bazy : The active vaccination of man 

 against tetanus. The liquid injected consisted of a 

 tetanotoxin neutralised with a solution of iodine in 

 potassium iodide. Vaccinated rabbits resisted the effect 

 of a quantity of toxin sufficient to kill 2000 kilograms 

 of living substance. The vaccination treatment is 

 more especially proposed to combat latent tetanus. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



A Bibliography of Fishes. By B. Dean. Enlarged 

 and edited by C. R. Eastman. Vol. i. Pp. x-f 718. 

 (New York : American Museum of Natural History.) 



Bibliography of the Published Writings of H. Fair- 

 field Osborn for the Years 1877-1915. Second edition. 

 Part i.. Classified by Subject. Part ii.. Chronologic. 

 Bibliography. Pp. 74. (New York : American Museum 

 of Natural History.) 



A Chemical Sign of Life. By S. Taghiro. Pp. ix4- I 

 142. (Chicago : University of Chicago Press ; Lon- | 

 don : Cambridge University Press.) i dollar, or 4s. 

 net. 



Manuals of Health. I.. Food. By Dr. A. Hill. 

 Pp. 64. (London : S.P.C.K.) gd. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



After the War. By Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. . 421 



American Sylviculture 422 



Manuals of Chemistry. By J. B. C 422 



Our Bookshelf 423 



Letters to the Editor:— 



Visibility of. Interference Fringes and the Double Slit. 



—Prof. J. K. .Robertson 424 



Relations between the Spectra of X-rays. — Dr. Jun 



Ishiwara 424 



Meteorology and Aviation. By W. H. Dines, 



F.R.S. . . '. 424 



North-East Siberia. (Illustratea.) By Prince 



Kropotkin . 426 



War Bread • 427 



Notes 427 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Meteors on July igf • 43' 



Annuario of the Rio de Janeiro Observatory .... 43* 



Solar Prominences 432 



Fuel Research 432 



Glass Technology 432 



Plankton Research at Plymouth. By J. J 433 



Correction for Atmospheric Refraction in Geodetic 



Operations. By Dr. A. C. D. Crommelin 433 

 The^ Complexity of the Chemical Elements. II. 



By Prof. Frederick Soddy, F.R.S 433 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 43^ 



Societies and Academies 439 



Books Received 44° 



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Editorial Communications to the Editor. 

 Telegraphic Address : Phusis, London. 

 Telephone Number : Gerrard" 8830. 



