500 



NATURE 



[August i6, 1917 



pearances of granite. — M. DfUoni : The fades of the 

 Lower Miocene to the south of Tell and the fauna of 

 the Cartennian of Uzes-le-Duc, Algeria. — (The late) A. 

 Cochain : Considerations on volcanic action. — C. 

 Sauvageau : The proper motion of the chromatophores. 

 — M. Molliard : The artificial production of a gall. — 

 V. Galippe : Normal parasitism and microbiosis. — 

 W. T. Porter : Observations on traumatic shock. It 

 is shown that the increase of respiration produced by 

 the administration of carbon dioxide is of great service 

 in cases of shock ; three examples of this treatment 

 following severe operations are cited in ■ which good 

 results were obtained. 



Washington, D.C. 



National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings, vol. iii., 

 No. 6 (June 15).— H. Nyquist : The Stark effect in 

 helium and neon. An improvement of Lo Surdo's 

 method is applied.^F. W. Clarke and R. M. Kamm : 

 New analyses of Echinoderms. A progressive enrich- 

 ment in magnesia, following increase of temperature, 

 is unrpistakable. — C. B. Davenport : Utilising the facts 

 of juvenile promise and family history in awarding 

 naval commissions to untried men. A study, with 

 family charts, of a number of naval officers. — Gladys 

 A. Aiislow and Janet T. Howell : The triplet series of 

 radium. — C. Barus : The measurement of small angles 

 by displacement interferometry. — S. Flexner : Mechan- 

 isms that defend the body from poliomyelitic infection, 

 (a) external or extra-nervous, (b) internal or nervous. 

 A report upon the results of recent experiments. — J. B. 

 Brinsmade and E. C. Kemble : The occurrence of har- 

 monics in the infra-red absorption spectra of diatomic 

 gases. The discontinuities in the structure of these 

 bands force the conclusion that the angular velocities 

 are distributed among the molecules in the discon- 

 tinuous manner predicted by the older form of the 

 quantum theory, and the proved existence of harmonics 

 is almost equally good evidence that the vibrational 

 energy of the molecules is distributed in the same 

 manner.— W. Wilson : The loss in energy of Wehnelt 

 cathodes by electron emission. The emission of the 

 electrons from Wehnelt cathodes is due to a similar 

 mechanism to that causing the emission from heated 

 pure metals. — E. C. Miller : Daily variation of water 

 and dry matter in the leaves of corn and the sorghums. 

 Under the conditions of these experiments the 

 sorghums, particularly milo, absorb water from 

 the soil and transport it to the leaves more 

 rapidly in proportion to the loss of water from the 

 plant than does corn, and thus the sorghums can pro- 

 duce more dry matter for each unit of leaf area under 

 severe climatic conditions than can the corn plant. — C. 

 Barus : Note on complementary Fresnellian fringes. — 

 — C. Barus : The displacement interferometry of long 

 distances. In preceding notes two methods for measur- 

 ing small angles have been suggested. Application is 

 here made to the determination of distances, and it is 

 shown that nn object at about a mile should be located 

 to about 30 ft. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Morphology of Gymnosperms. By Prof. J. M. 

 Coulter and Prof. C. J. Chamberlain. Revised edition. 

 Pp. xi-4-466. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press.) 



The Nutrition of Farm Animals. Bv Dr. H. P. 

 Armsby. Pp. xvii + 743. (New York: The Macmillan 

 Co.; London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) iis. net. 



A First Course in Hiffher Algebra. By Prof. H. A. 

 Merrill and Dr. C. E. Smith. Pp. xiv + 247. (New 



York: The Macmillan Co.; London: Macmillan and 

 Co., Ltd.) 6s. 6d. net. 



Dutch N.W. New Guinea : A" Contribution to the 

 Phytogeography and Flora of the Arfak Mountains, 

 etc!^ By L. S. Gibbs. Pp. iv + 226. (London: Taylor 

 and Francis.) 125. 6d. 



Le Paludisme Mac^donien (Collection Horizon). By 

 P. Armand-Delille, P. Abrami, G. Paisseau, and H. 

 Lemaire. Pp. viii+109. (Paris: Masson et Cie.) 

 4 francs. 



Problems in Dynamics (with Full Solutions). By 

 Atma Ram. Pp. 245 + diagrams 16. (Lahore-: Atma 

 Ram and Sons.) 3 rupees. 



The National Food Supply in Peace and War. By 

 Prof. T. B. Wood. Pp. 44. (Cambridge : At the 

 Univ'ersity Press.) 6d. net. 



A Defence of Idealism ; Some Questions and Con- 

 clusions. By M. Sinclair. Pp. xxi + 396. (London : 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 12s. net. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Aviation and Air-power 481 



The Glastonbury Lake Village 482 



Mechanics and Metallurgy. By E. S. H 483 



Our Bookshelf . 483 



Letters to the Editor: — 



A Plea for the Fuller Utilisation of Coal.— Major 



Arthur J. Martin . . 484 



Devitrification of Quartz Glass. — A. C. Michie . . 484 

 The Revision of the Civil Service Examinations. 



By Prof. J. Wertheimer 485 



The New Education Bill 485 



The Regeneration of the British Scientific Instru- 

 ment Trade after the War. By E. S. Hodgson . 488 



Dr. Felix Le Dantec 488 



Notes 489 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



The August Meteors of 191 7 493 



New Elements of Mars 493 



Elements of Sun's Rotation 493 



The British Synthetic Colour Industry in War 



Time. By Prof. G. T. Morgan, F.R.S 494 



The Rotation of the Moon. By A. C. D. C. ... 494 

 Adaptation and Disease. By Lt. -Col. J. G. Adami, 



F.R.S 495 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 499 



Societies and Academies 499 



Books Received 500 



Editorial and Publishing Offices : 

 MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd., 

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



ST. 



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the 

 Publishers. 



Editorial Communications to the Editor 

 Telegraphic Address : Phusis, London. 

 Telephone Number: Gerrard 8830. 



NO. 2494, VOL. 99] 



