June 2, 1910] 



NATURE 



419 



Ihe action of the bromides of ortho- and para-anisyl- 

 magnesium upon anthraquinone and /5-methylanthra- 

 quinone. In these reactions substitution derivatives are 

 formed in all respects analogous with those obtained with 

 phenylmagnesium bromide and quinones. The reduction 

 products of the diols obtained are also described. — 

 Ch. Andre : The passage of the earth through the 

 tail of Halley's comet. Observations with both the 

 electrometer and magnetometer gave negative results. — 

 M. de Kerillis : The aurora borealis. Laws and helio- 

 dynamical theories. Observations are discussed tending to 

 prove the accuracy of the heliodynamical theory of the 

 aurora. — A. Blondel : Observation of Halley's comet 

 made at the Toulouse Observatory with the Brunner Henry 

 equatorial of 38-cm. aperture. The apparent position of the 

 comet and the comparison star are given for May 8. — Leopold 

 Fdjer : The partial sums of Fourier's series. — G. Sagrnac : 

 The interference of two beams superposed in the inverse sense 

 along an optical circuit of large dimensions. The arrange- 

 ment figured resembles that of Michelson in using half- 

 silvered plates, the path of the rays being 30 metres. 

 Some of the inconveniences of silvered glass interfero- 

 iheters are discussed. — A. Chassy : The absorption of 

 energy by the passage of an alternating current through 

 a gas at atmospheric pressure. The energ\' has been 

 measured by the amount of heat developed ; above a certain 

 potential the heat developed is proportional to the intensity 

 of the current. — Paul Jegou : A verv' sensitive electrolytic 

 detector working without an auxiliary electromotive force. 

 One of the platinum electrodes is replaced by a mercury- 

 tin amalgam. The detector has a sensibility of the same 

 order as the ordinan.- form, is invariable with the time, 

 and is unaffected by vibrations. — Pierre S%ve : A new- 

 model balance for the determination of magnetic fields. 

 The apparatus described and figured is an improved form 

 of the instrument designed by Cotton and made by Weber. 

 — Georges Claude : The composition of the atmosphere 

 after the passage of Halley's comet. .A determination of 

 the proportion of (helium + neon) showed no variation. — 

 A. Lafay : A modification of the resistance of the air 

 produced by roughnesses suitably arranged on the surface 

 of a body. The experimental results given have a bear- 

 ing on the problem of aerodynamics. — Georges Meslin : 

 The structure of the lines of the spectrum. — C. 

 Chdneveau : The precision of the measurement of mag- 

 netic susceptibilities. A discussion of a method recently 

 proposed by M. Pascal. — Louis Malcl^s : The effect of 

 penetration in dielectrics. — M. Barre : The solubility of 

 silver sulphate in alkaline sulphates. — E. Briner and A. 

 Wroczynski : The chemical action of high pressures : the 

 compression of nitrous oxide and a mixture of nitrogen 

 and hydrogen : the decomposition of carbon monoxide by 

 pressure. No change was observed for nitrous oxide after 

 compressing to 600 atmospheres at a temperature of 420° C. 

 Negative results were also obtained with a mixture of 

 hydrogen and nitrogen up to pressures of 900 atmospheres. 

 Carbon monoxide showed clear evidence of chemical change 

 after exposure to a temperature of 320° C. under a pressure 

 of 400 atmospheres. — Daniel Berthelot and Henri 

 Gaiidechon : The chemical effects of the ultra-violet ravs 

 on gaseous bodies. On exposure to the ultra-violet rays 

 a mixture of cyanogen and oxygen was nearly quanti- 

 tatively converted into carbon dioxide and nitrogen. 

 Ammonia mixed with oxygen gave as a final product 

 water, nitrogen, and hydrogen. Hydrogen does not com- 

 bine with oxygen under these conditions. Formic acid was 

 identified amongst the products of the reaction with a 

 mixture of acetylene and oxygen. — Georges Oenigr^s : The 

 presence of tartaric residues of wine in an ancient flask. 

 The flask dated from the first centur>-. Tartaric acid was 

 detected in the deposit on the sides, proving that wine was 

 originally placed in the flask. — P. Claiusmann : The 

 action of ozone upon carbon monoxide. The interaction of 

 carbon monoxide with ozone produces carbon dioxide. The 

 oxidation is increased by exposure to light and bv the 

 presence of moisture. — H. Cousin and H. Hdrissey : 

 Dehydrodicarvacrol. — ^J. B. Senderens : Ketones derived 

 from benzoic and phenylacetic acids. The properties of a 

 series of ketones prepared by the general catalytic method 

 described in a previous paper. — N. CherchefTsky : The 

 determination of the place of origin of a naphtha or of 



NO. 2 1 18, VOL. 83] 



substances derived from it. — H. Gault : The condensation 

 of ethyl oxalate with ethyl tricarballylate. — H. Pariselle : 

 A new synthesis of natural and racemic erythrite. — W. 

 Lougruinine and G. Dupont : The heat of fixation of 

 some ethylenic compounds. The hydrobromic acid was 

 used in xylene solution, as much more concordant results 

 were obtained with this than with aqueous hydrobromic 

 acid. — Ernest F. L. Marchand : Plasmodiophora brassicae, 

 a parasite of the melon and of celery. — ^J. Capus and 

 J. Feytaud : A method of treatment against Cochylis 

 and Eudemis. These Microlepidoptera are parasitic to the 

 giape, and in recent years have caused great damage. The 

 results of two modes of treatment are given. — R. 

 Robinson : Re-section of the aflBuent veins. — ^f . Hallo- 

 peau : General considerations on the evolution of the 

 treponeme in the human organism. — E. Faure-Fr^miet : 

 Physico-chemical study on the structure of the nucleus of 

 the granular type. — C. Gerber : Comparison between the 

 mode of action of certain retarding salts and of the proteins 

 of milk coagulable by heat on the caseification by ferments 

 of boiled milk. — M. Javillier : The migration of the 

 alkaloids in grafts of Solanaceae. — M. and Mme. M. Rosen- 

 blatt : The influence of the concentration in saccharose 

 on the paralysing action of certain acids in alcoholic 

 fermentation. — H. Bierry and Albert Ranc : The 

 diastatic hydrolysis of some derivatives of lactose. 

 The lactase contained in the gastro-intestinal juice from 

 Helix pomatia possesses unusual powers of hydrolysis, as 

 it splits up, not only lactose, but several lactose derivatives, 

 including lactobionic acid, lactosazone, lactose-amido- 

 guanidine, lactose-urea, and lactose-semicarbazone. Galac- 

 tose is in all cases one of the products, and this agrees 

 with the views of E. Fischer, who regards lactose as a 

 galactoside of glucose. — M. Smoluchowski : The 

 mechanical theory of glacial erosion. A criticism and 

 development of the theorj' put forward by M. de Martonne. 

 — .Alfred Ang^ot : The magnetic and electric variations on 

 the nights of May 18 and 19, 1910. None of the variations 

 noted can be regarded as exceptional. — J. \. Lebei : 

 Observation of the ionisation of the air in a closed vessel 

 during the passage of Halley's comet. — C. Limb and T. 

 Nanty : Observations of the magnetic variometers of the 

 Observatory of Fourviere, at Lyons, during the night 

 May 18-19. The variations were of the same order as 

 those usually observed. — F. Garrig^ou : The presence of 

 metalloids and metals in potable waters. — ^J. Thoulet : 

 The measurement of the colour of marine vases. 



GOTTINGEN. 



Royal Society of Sciences. — The Ncuhrichten (physico- 

 mathematical section), part i. for 1910, contains the 

 following memoirs communicated to the society : — 



December 4, 1909. — W. H. Perkin and O. Wallach : 

 Researches from the Gottingen University laboratory, 

 xxiii. ; on A*-menthenol. 



January 15, 1910. — \V. Schnee : The formula represent- 

 ing the coefficients in the theory of Dirichlet series. 



January 29. — E. Madelung: : Molecular free-vibrations 

 (supplementarv* paper). 



Februar}' 26. — P. Kolbe : Hilbert's method of uniform- 

 isation. — L. Bieberbach : The movement-groups of the 

 n-dimensional Euclidean space with a finite fundamental 

 region. — O. Haupt : Remarks on oscillation-theorems, a 

 letter to Prof. Klein. 



FORTHCOMING CONGRESSES. 



June 19-23. — International Congress of Mining, Metailurgj-, Applied 

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Tri.v 4-8. — International Congress in Xaval .-Vrchitecture and Marine 

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July 27-^1. — International Congress on the Administrative Sciences. 

 Brussels. Secretary of British Committee : Mr. G. Montague Harris, 

 Caxton House, Westminster. 



August 1-6. — International Congress of Entomology. Brussels. Chair- 

 man of Local Committee for Great Britain : Dr. G. B. Longstaff, Highlands, 

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.August 1-7. — French Association for the Ad\-ancement of Science. 

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