514 



NA TURE 



[Junk 



■0' 



I9I0 



i-Methyl-2-ethanoyl-cyclohexane. — Marcel Daldpine : Some 

 new cases of spontaneous oxidation with phosphorescence. 

 The compounds CH3.O.CS.CI, C.HjO.CSCl, 



CH3O.CS.CH,, and CSCU, 



all show this phenomenon. — H. Gault : Remark on the 

 acidity of the derivatives of oxalacetic acid. These acids 

 can be titrated with phenolphthalein as indicator either in 

 alcohol or acetone solution. — MM. Brocq-Rousseu and 

 Edmond Gain : The excretions of roots. — Jean Daniel : 

 The structure of the short old branches of some trees. — 

 E. ^oisenet : The formation of acrolein in the 

 xlisease causing bitterness in wines. The presence of 

 this aldehyde in bitter wines was conclusively proved. 

 — C. Oessard : The fibrin ferment. — Mieczyslaw Oxner : 

 Biological analysis of the phenomenon of genera- 

 tion in Lineus ruber and Linens lacteus. — Lucien Mayet 

 and Laurent Maurette : The discovery of a burial cave, 

 probably Neolithic, at Montouliers (H^rault). Fourteen 

 "human skulls and other bones were found, probably of 

 Neolithic age. — H. Guilleminot : Exposure in medical 

 radiography, with or without a reinforcing screen. — 

 Armand Dehorne : The mechanism of reduction in 

 Sabellaria spinulosa. — ^Jules Welsch : The peat deposits on 

 the coast of the west of France. — Carl Stttrmer : Photo- 

 graphs of the aurora borealis and a new method of 

 measuring their altitude. More than 400 successful photo- 

 graphs have been taken of the aurora, and by means of 

 simultaneous photographs at two stations 4-3 kilometres 

 apart the height has been determined. The altitudes found 

 were between 50 and 190 kilometres. 



FORTHCOMING CONGRESSES. 



July 10-25. — International American Scientific Congress. Buenos Aires. 

 Address for inquiries : President of the Executive Committee, c/o Argentine 

 Scientific Society. 269 Calle Cevallos, Buenos Aires. 



July 27-11. — International Congress on the Administrative Sciences. 

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

 Caxton House, Westmin'ter. 



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

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

 Putney Heath, S.W. 



August 1-7. — French Association for the Advancement of Science. 

 Toulouse. President : Prof. Gariel. Address of Secretary : 28 rue 

 Serpente, Paris. 



August. — International Congress of Photography. Brussels. Corre- 

 spondent for United Kingdom: Mr. Chapman Jones, 11 Eaton Rise, 

 Ealinfr, W. 



August 2-7. — International Congress on School Hygiene. Paris. General 

 Secretary: Dr. Dufestel, 10 Boulevard Magenta. Pari*. Hon. Secretaries 

 Tor Great Britain : Royal Sanitary Institute, go Buckingham Palace Road, 

 S.W. 



August 15-20. — International Zoological Congress. Graz ^Austria). 

 President : Prof. Ludwig von Graff. Address for inquiries : Prasidium 

 des VIII. Internationalen Zoologen-Kongresses, Universitatsplatz 2, Graz 

 XOsterreich). 



August iS-26. — International Geological Congress. Stockholm. General 

 Secretary : Prof. J. G. Andersson, Stockholm 3. 



August 29 to September 6. — International Union for Cooneration in 

 Solar Research. Mount Wilson Solar Observatory. British Member of 

 Executive Committee to whom inquiries should be addressed : Prof. A. 

 Schuster, F.R.S., Victoria Park, Manchester. 



August 31 to September 7. — British Association. Sheffield. President : 

 Prof. T. G. Bonnev. F. R S. Address for inquiries : General Secretaries, 

 Burlington House, W. 



September 8-14. — International Congress of Americanists. Mexico City. 

 General Secretary : Sr. Lie. D. Genaro Garcia, Museo Nacional, Mexico, 

 D.F. 



September 13-15. — International Congress of Radiology and Electricity. 

 Brussels. General Secretary : Dr. J. Daniel, i rue de la Pr^vote, Brussels. 

 Correspondents for United Kingdom : Prof. Rutherford and Dr. W. 

 Makower, University of Manchester, and Dr. W. Deane Butcher, Holyrood, 

 Ealing, W. 



September 18-24. — German Association of Naturalists and Physicians. 

 Konigsberg. Secretaries : Prof. Lichtheim and Prof. F. Meyer, Drumm- 

 str. 25-29, Konigsberg. 



September 27-30. — International Physiological Congress. Vienna. 

 President : Prof. S. Exner. General Secretary for United Kingdom : 

 Prof. E. B. Starling, University College, London, W.C. 



October 6-12. — Congres International du Froid. Vienna. Correspon- 

 dent for United Kingdom : Mr. R. M. Leonard, 3 Oxford Court, Cannon 

 Street. E.C. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, June 23. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30.— The Damping of Sound by Frothy Liquids : 

 A. Mallock, F.R.S. — Dispersion of Light by Potassium Vapour: Prof. 

 P. V. Bevan. — Additional Refractive Indices of Quartz, Vitreous Silica, 

 Calcite and Fluorite : J. W. Gifford.— The Absorption Spectra of Sul- 

 phur Vapour at Different Temperatures and Pressures, and their 

 Relation to the Molecular Complexity of this Element : J. I. Graham. 

 — 1 he Wave-making Resistance of Ships: a Study of certain Series of 

 Model Experiments: Dr. T. H. Havelock.— The Blood Volume of 



NO. 2 12 I, VOL. 83] 



MammaU as Determined by Experiments on Rabbits, Guinea-pi. . 

 Mice : and its Relationship to the Body Weight and to the Surface Arr 

 Expre.-sed in a Formula : Dr. Georges Dreyer and William Ray. 

 Autotoxa;mia and Infection : E. C. Hort. 



FRIDAY, June 24. 



Physical Society, afternoon. — Visit to National Physical Laboratory. 

 TUESDAY, June 28. 



Royal Anthropological Institute, at 8.15.— The Classification of ih 

 British Stone Age and .some New and little-known Horizons ai 

 Cultures : W. J. Lewis Abbott. 



WEDNESDAY, June 29. 



British A.stronomical Association, at 5. 



THURSDAY, June 30. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. — Probable Papers: A New Method for the 

 Quantitative Estimation of Hydrocyanic Acid in Vegetable and Animal 

 Tissues: Dr. \. D. Waller, F.R.S. — On the Comparative Toxicity of 

 Theobromine and Caffeine as mea.sured by their Direct Effect upon the 

 Contractility of Isolated Muscle: Dr. V. H. Veley, F.R.S., and Dr. 

 A. D. Waller, F.R.S.— (a) " Muhinyo," a Disea.se of Natives in Uganda; 

 (<^) The Natural Food of Glossina palpalis : Sir David Bruce, F.R.S., 

 and others. — The Relation of Liuht Perception to Colour Perception: 

 Dr. F. W. EdridgeGreen. — The Anatomy and Morphology of the Leaves 

 and Inflorescences of Wehvitschia mirabilis : Miss M. G. Sykes. — The 

 Relative Atomic Weights of Nitrogen and Sulphur; F. P. Burt and 

 F. L. Usher. — And other papers. 



CONTENTS. PAGK 



Indian Entomology. By F. A, D. . 481 



Theoretical Studies in Relation to Nautical Sur- 

 veying. By A. M. F . 482! 



Production of Seed-oils. By C. S 482; 



Zoology of the Indian Ocean. By S. J. H. . . 483 



The Physiology of the Protozoa 484 



Amateur Astronomy 485 



Elements of Physics 485 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Russo : " Studien liber die Bestimmung des weiblichen { 



Geschlechtes " 486 



Hatch : " Report on the Mines and Mineral Re- 

 sources of Natal (other than Coal) " 486 



Carter: " Modelling from Nature " 486 



" The Time of the Singing of Birds " 486 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Tail of Halley's Comet on May 18-19. — 

 Howard Payn ; W. H. Finlay and W. A. 



Douglas Rudge .... 487 



The Colour of Pure Water.— Prof. W. N. Hartley, 



F.R.S 487 



The Temperature Conditions in Clouds. — E. Gold . 488 

 The Fertilising Influence of Sunlight.— F, Fletcher ; 



Dr. E. J. Russell . . .... 488 



Ooze and Irrigation. — Rev. Hilderic Friend . . . 489 

 New Development in Library Work. — J. Y. W. 



MacAlister . 489 



Altruism in Animal Life.— J. H. Elgie .... 489 

 Colours of Plasmodia of some Mycetozoa. — 



Kumagusu Minakata 489 



Korean Geology, illustrated.) By J. W.J, . . . 490 

 In the Torrid Sudan. {Illustrated.) Sir H. H. 



Johnston, G.C.M.G., K.C.B 491 



Pwdre Ser. By Prof. T. McKenny Hughes, F.R.S. 492 

 The Total Solar Eclipse of May 9, 1910. {Illus- 

 trated.) Dr. William J. S. Lockyer 494 



Notes 496 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



July and August Meteors ^0\ 



The Lacings between Jupiter's Belts 501 



Observations of Orionids in 1909 501 



The Cape Observatory 5°' 



The Transit and Tail of Halley's Comet . 501 

 The Royal Society of New South Wales. By 



Prof. A. Liversidge, F.R.S. . 502 



The American Philosophical Society 504 



The Royal Observatory, Greenwich 506 



Agricultural Research . 507 



Chemistry and Pharmaco-therapeutics ...... 508 



The Beginnings of Human Speech 508 



Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions 508 

 Kew and Eskdale Muir Observatories and the 



Meteorological Office 509 



Industrial W^ork and Educational Development . 509 



University and Educational Intelligence 510 



Societies and Academies 5^' 



Forthcoming Congresses 514 



Diary of Societies 5 '4 



