48o 



NATURE 



[August 14, 19 19 



over 20 kilometres with this apparatus. — S. Posternak ; 

 The synthesis of the hexaphosphate of inosite and its 

 identity with the phospho-organic reserve principle of 

 green plants. The ester was prepared from inosite and 

 phosphoric acid in presence of an excess of phosphorus 

 pentoxide. The yield is low, 3 to 5 per cent., 

 and the substance is identical in all respects with the 

 natural product from phytine. — R. Levailiant and L, J. 

 Simon : The action of chlorosulphonic acid on methyl 

 . hydrogen sulphate. Methyl chlorosulphonate, 



Cl.S02.(O.CH3), can be isolated from the products of 

 this reaction. — P. Thiery : The geology of. the region 

 of Alais (Gard). — L. Gentil : The genesis of the 

 forms of strata ' in chalk districts called rideaux. — 

 S. Stefanescu : The teeth of elephants and mastodons. 



Cape Town. 

 Royal Society of South Africa, June 18.— Dr. J. D. F. 

 Gilchrist, president, in the chair.— Miss Ethel M. 

 Doidge : South African Microthyriaceae. This group 

 of fungi has been recently revised by von Hohnel and 

 Theissen and others, and the characters of the family 

 Microthyriaceae have been more clearly defined. A short 

 account of the genera represented in South Africa, ana 

 descriptions of species in the Cryptogamic section of the 

 Union Mycological Herbarium, Pretoria, are given. — 

 C. L. Herman : Note on carbolic acid as a fixative 

 for histological preparations. Carbolic acid in 5 per 

 cent, solution was found a most efficient fixative for 

 histological purposes. It has been used since 1912 for 

 all organs, including the central nervous system.' For 

 the thyroid gland it is especially good, as it gives 

 thorough fixation of the colloid without shrinking or 

 distortion. It acts by precipitating the protein with- 

 out, however, entering into combination with it. It 

 rapi(fly penetrates, all tissues, especially the nervou:: 

 tissue, and fixes both the cytoplasm and the nucleus 

 without distortion or alteration. The optical dif- 

 ferentiation becomes very good, and all cell-structures 

 are found well and_ clearly defined. Staining is facili- 

 tated, and all stains are readily taken up.— J. R. 

 Sutton : A contribution to the study of the diamond 

 made, with a note on the internal structure of dia- 

 mond. The first part of this paper describes the 

 aspect and characteristics of riiacles from various 

 South African diamond mines, and gives statistics 

 showing that the standard thickness to which macles 

 tend to conform is almost exactly one-half that of the 

 perfect octahedron standing upon an equal face. The 

 so-called "twinning plane" is not necessarily a true 

 plane at all, but rather an irregular surface. Bult- 

 fontein Mine is remarkable for the large number of 

 irregular twins it produces and the small percentage 

 of macles. In the second part the author discusses 

 the "grain" of diamonds, as revealed by broken 

 macles and by broken simple crystals, in which the 

 fracture lies in a dodecahedral plane of symmetry, and 

 deduces therefrom the primary cubical structure. The 

 points of agreement and disagreement with the struc- 

 ture deduced by Bragg (bv means of X-ray research) 

 are indicated. Three orders of cleavage are shown, 

 i.e. parallel to the faces of the octahedron, cube, and 

 rhombic dodecahedron respectively. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Strawberry Growing. By Prof. S. W. Fletcher. 

 (The Rural Science Series.) Pp. xxii+-^,25 + xxiv. 

 plates. (New York : The Macmillan Co. { London r 

 Macmillan and Co., Ltd., iqiy.) 1.75 dollars. 



A Large State Farm : A Business and Educational 

 Undertaking. By Lt.-Col. A. G. Weigall and Castell 

 Wrey. Pp. xiii+82. (London : John Murray, 1919.) 

 2S. 6d. net. 



NO. 2598, VOL. 103] 



The Flower and the Bee: Plant Life and Pollina- 

 tion. By J. H. Lovell. Pp. xvii-f286. (London: 

 Constable and Co., Ltd., 19 19.) los, 6d. net. 



Utility Ducks and Geese : Their Successful Manage- 

 ment for Egg and Meat Production, with Brief Notes- 

 on Some Ornamental Waterfowl. By J. W. Hurst. 

 Pp. 93. (London : Constable and Co., Ltd., 1919.) 

 25. 6d. net. 



The Farmer and the New Day. By K. L. Butter- 

 field. Pp. ix-t-311. (New York: The Macmillan Co.; 

 London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1919.) 85. 6d. 

 net. 



The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and 

 Burma. Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae (Hispinae and 

 Cassidinae). By Prof. S. Maulik. Pp. xi+439. 

 (London : Taylor and Francis, 1919.) 



The Cactaceae : Descriptions and Illustrations of 

 Plants of the Cactus Family. Bv N. L. Britton and 

 J. N. Rose. Vol. i. (Publication No. 248.) Pp. vii-f 

 236 + xxxvi. plates. (Washington: The Carnegie 

 Institution, 1919.) 



The Iron and Steel Industry of the United Kingdom 

 under War Conditions : A Record of the Work of the 

 Iron and Steel Production Deoartment of the Ministry 

 of Munitions. By Dr. F. H. Hatch. Pp. xii-hi67. 

 (London : Privately printed for Sir John Hunter by 

 Harrison and Sons, 1919.) 



The North Riding of Yorkshire. By Capt. W^ J. 

 Weston. Pp. viii+i6i. (Cambridge: At the Univer- 

 sity Press, 1919.) 25. 6^. net. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Photography. By C. J. 461 



A Record of Scientific Progress . 461 



The Birds of Colombia. By W. E. C 462 



Our Bookshelf . 462: 



Letters to the Editor : — 



A Darwinian Statement of the Mendelian Theory.— 



Prof. Herbert F. Roberts . . 465 

 Wild Birds and Distasteful Insect Larvse.— The Hon. 



H. Onslow .... ... 4H 



The Brussels Meeting of the International Research 



Council. By H. G. L. 464 



The Bournemouth Meeting of the British Associa- 

 tion ... ■ • • ■ 466 



Submarine Acoustics. (Illustrated.) By Dr. F. 



Lloyd Hopwood 467 



Power Alcohol 469 



The Forestry Bill 469 



Notes 470- 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Kopff's Periodic Comet (1906 IV.) 474 



Magnitude of Nova Aquilae 474 



Mass and Momeniun) of Stellar Systems . . . 474 

 The Design of Optical Munitions of War. By 



Roberta. Whipple .-475 



The Outlook of Meteorological Science. By Sir 



Napier Shaw, F.R.b. . -475 



Recent Iron-Ore Developments in the United 



Kingdom. By Dr. F. H. Hatch 477 



University and Educational Intelligence 479 



Societies and Academies 479 



Books Received 480 



ST. 



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