48o 



NATURE 



[August 9, 191 7 



derivatives of isostatic suspension bridges, and the 

 latter are only particular cases of one single and 

 unique system which includes all. — M. Siegbahn : 

 High-frequency spectra. Some of the work recently 

 published by MM. R. Ledoux-Lebard and A. Dauvillier 

 has been anticipated by the author and E. Friman 

 {Phil. Mag., July, igi6).— P. Chevenard : The mechan- 

 ism of the tempering of carbon steels. The results of 

 the experiments described completely confirm the con- 

 clusions recently published by MM. Portevin and 

 Garvin. — .\. Portevin : The manganese steels. The 

 steals were submitted to very slow cooling, seventy-five 

 hours in cooling from 1300° to 100° C. The results, 

 given in detail, differ considerably from the effect of 

 a normal annealing (three to five hours from 1000° C). 

 — E. Urbain : A method of determining molecular 

 weights. The method is based-on determinations of 

 the boiling point of a mixture of the liquid the mole- 

 cular weight of which is to be measured with a non- 

 miscible liquid, such as water, and the composition 

 of the distillate. Examples are given of the measure- 

 ment of the molecular weights by this n^ethod of 

 benzene, carbon tetrachloride, and limonene. — Mile. 

 Y. Dehorne : The presence of the genus Stromato- 

 porella in the Senonian in the neighbourhood of Mar- 

 tigues (Bouches-du-Rhone). — L. Bordas : The egg de- 

 position of Rhynchites conicus and the anatomv of its 

 larva. This parasite has caused great damage to 

 apple, pear, cherry, and peach trees in Rennes and its 

 peighbourhood. — A. Compton : Cerebrospinal meningitis 

 and meteorology 



July 16. — M. Camille Jordan in the chair. — A. 

 Lacroix : The felspathic ortho-amphibolites and ortho- 

 pyroxenites of Madagascar. — G. Bigourdan : A gardener- 

 astronomer of the seventeenth century, Elz6ar Feronce : 

 Calignon de Peyrins and the reciprocation of the 

 pendulum. — G. Gouy : Interferences with large dilTer- 

 ences of path. — G. A. Bouleager : The evolution of the 

 poison apparatus qi snakes. Remarks on a recent 

 communication of Mme. Marie Phisalix. — J. PriwalofI : 

 The convergence of conjugated trigonometrical series. 

 — E. Vessiot : The canonical equations and develop- 

 ments in series of celestial mechanics. — M. Amsler : 

 The development in a continued fraction of a quadratic 

 irrational. — V. M. Hegly : Flow over a weir in a free 

 sheet with lateral contraction. — MM. Luizet and 

 Guillaume : Occultations observed during the total 

 eclipse of the moon of July 4, 1917, at the Lyons 

 Observatory. — St. Procopiu : Induction apparatus for 

 detecting prpjectiles in wounds. A modification of the 

 Hughes induction balance in which a galvanometer 

 replaces the telephone. The deviations of the galvano- 

 meter vary with the distance of the projectile from 

 ttie surface.^ — -A. Colani : Study of the svstem water, 

 uranyl oxalate, sodium oxalate. — A. Pictet, O. Kaiser, 

 and A... Labouchire : The alcohols and bases of vacuum 

 tar. Six alcohols and six bases were isolated. The 

 alcohol of lowest boiling point was proved to be /;-methyl- 

 cyciohexanol (hexahydro-/)-creso!). The other alcohols 

 were not identified, but belong to the hydroaromatic 

 series. It is probable that these alcohols exist in the 

 coal, since the benzene extract contains these alcohols 

 in practically the same proportions as the vacuum tar. 

 — Em. Saillard : The action of acids on the rotatory 

 power of saccharose and invert-sugar in the presence 

 of soluble salts. — F. X. Skupienski : Sexuality in the 

 Myxomycetes group of fungi. — ^Mme. M. Phisalix : The 

 subjective value of the evolution of the poison appa- 

 ratus of snakes and the physiological action of the 

 poisons in systematic classification. — MM. Denier and 

 Vernet : The bacteriological study of the natural co- 

 agulation of the latex of Hevea brasiliensis.—A. 

 Policard and B. Desplas : The histological mechanism 

 of granulation of wounds in man. 



NO. 2493, VOL. 99] 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Scientific Treatise on Smoke Abatement. By H. 

 Hamilton. Pp. xiii + 155. (Manchester: Sherratt and 

 Hughes.) 55. net. 



History of the Spanish Conquest of Yucatan and of 

 the Itzas. By P. A. Means. Pp. xv + 206 + plates. 

 (Cambridge, Mass. : The Peabody Museum.) 



Notes on the Order of my Categories and Alphabet. 

 By R. E. Dennett. Pp. 18. (Lagos : Government 

 Printer.) 



The African Table of Periodic Law. By R. E. 

 Dennett. Pp. 12. ^Lagos : Government Printer.) 



Studies in Psychology. Contributed by Colleagues 

 and Former Students of E. Bradford Titchener. Pp. 

 337. (Worcester, Mass. : L. N. Wilson.) 



Results of Atmospheric-Electric Observations made 

 Aboard the Galilee (1907-8) and the Carnegie (1909-16). 

 By L. A. Bauer and W. F. G. Swann. (Washington : 

 Carnegie Institution.) 



The Magnetic Work of the Galilee. By L. A. 

 Bauer, W. J. Peters, and J. A. Fleming. (Washing- 

 ton : Carnegie Institution.) 



The Magnetic Work of the Carnegie (1909-16). By 

 LA. Bauer, W. J. Peters, J. P. Ault, and J. A. 

 Fleming. Some Discussions of the Ocean Magnetic 

 Work (1905-16). By L. A. Bauer and W. J. Peters. 

 (Washington : Carnegie Institution.) 



A Class-Book of Organic Chemistry. By Prof. J. B. 

 Cohen. Pp. viii + 344. (London :• Macmillan and Co., 

 Ltd.) 45. 6d. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Charts and Projections 461 



Mental Aspect of Sound. ByJ. G. M 462 



Our Bookshelf : — 



Taggart : "Cotton Spinning" 462 



Bastin : " How to Know the Ferns." — C. H. W. 463 



Findlay : '* Chemistry in the Service of Man " 463 

 Chemistry and the War. By Sir T. E. Thorpe, 



C.B., F.R.S. .463 



Science and Industry. {Ilhutiated.) ...... 465 



Rainfall and Gunfire. By E. L. Hawke 467 



Notes 468 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Discovery of a New Star 472 



Stellar Motions and Absolute Magnitudes 472 



Union Observatory, Johannesburg 472 



The Examinations for Class L of the Civil Service 473 

 Radio-active Halos. II. (With Diagram.) By Prof. 



J. Joly, F.R.S. 476 



University and Educational Intelligence 47S 



Societies and Academies 479 



Books Received 4S0 



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