June 7, 19C0] 



NATURE 



143 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Chemical Society, May 17.— Prof. Thorpe, President, in 

 the chair. — The following papers were read: — The chlorine 

 derivatives of pyridine. VI. The constitution of some amino- 

 chloropyridines, by W. J. Sell and F. W. Dootson. — Ortho- 

 substituted nitrogen chlorides and bromides, and the entrance of 

 halogen into the ortho-position in the transformation of nitrogen 

 chlorides, by F. D. Chattaway and K. J. P. Orton. When 

 phenylacetyl nitrogen chloride undergoes transformation, a 

 mixture of 95 to 96 per cent, of para- with 4 to 5 per cent, of 

 ortho-chloroacetanilide is produced. — Ammonium imidosul- 

 phite, by E. Divers and M. Ogawa. A crystalline ammonium 

 imidosulphite, NH(SO.iNH4).2 is obtained on allowing am- 

 monium amidosulphite to decompose below 35° in a current 

 of hydrcgen or nitrogen. — The constitution of ethyl sodio- 

 cyanacetate and of ethyl methylsodiocyanacetate, by J. F. 

 Thorpe. The reactions of ethyl sodiocyanacetate and;'of ethyl 

 methylsodiocyanacetate are best represented by the formulie 

 CN.CH:C(ONa)OEt and CN.CMe:C(ONa)OEt respectively. 

 — The oo,6)3-tetramethylglutaric acids, by J. F. Thorpe 

 and W. J. Young. Ethyl sodiocyanacetate reacts with 

 ethereal iodine solution, yielding ethyl iodocyanacetate, and 

 under certain conditions gives an unstable diiodide which 

 reacts with the excess of ethyl sodiocyanacetate giving ethylic 



CH(CN).C02Et 

 dicyanosuccinate, | . Ethyl methylsodiocyan- 



CH(CN)-COoEt 

 acetate reacts with iodine, forming ethyl methyliodocyanacetate 

 which condenses with ethyl dimethylacrylate, giving the salt 

 COoH.CH(CN).CMe2.CHMe.C02Et; the latter on distillation 

 gives ethyl a-methyl-/85-dimethyl-7-cyanobutyrate, 



CH,(CN).CMe.2.CHMe.C0.2Et, 

 and this when hydrolysed yields oj85-trimethyIglutaric acid. 

 The preparation of cis- and /ra«i--o;8;3oi-tetramethylglutaric acid 

 is also described. — )3-Isopropylglutaric acid and the cis- and 

 /ra«^-methyHsopropylgIutaric acids, by F. H. Howies, J. F. 

 Thorpe and W. Udall. — Methyl iodide acts on the sodio- 

 derivative of the product resulting from the condensation of ethyl 

 sodiocyanacetate with ethyl /3-isopropylacrylate, yielding ethyl 

 a-cyano-o-methyl-3-isopropyIglutarate. The latter on hydrolysis 

 yields ultimately /'/■a«j--a-methyl/3-isopropylglutaric acid and its 

 imide ; the imide is converted into the m-acid by heating with sul- 

 phuric acid. — The racemisation of optically active tin compounds. 

 Dextrpmethylethylpropyl tin dextrobromocamphorsulphonate, 

 by W. J. Pope and S. J. Peachey. Optically inactive methylethyl- 

 propyl tin iodide is wholly converted into dextromethylethyl- 

 propyl tin dextrobromocamphorsulphonate by treatment with the 

 silver salt of the acid and evaporating the filtered solution ; the 

 new salt has the molecular rotatory power [M]„= -f 3 18° in dilute 

 aqueous solution, but after heating and cooling the solution 

 the value [M]n falls to 4- 273°, which is the value [M]d of the 

 acid in aqueous solution. After evaporating the solution to dry- 

 ness and making up to the original volume by dissolving the 

 residue in cold water, the value [M]d= -f 315° was obtained. 

 It is thus proved that the asymmetric tin radicle 

 (CH3)(C2H5)(C3H,)Sn- 

 be easily racemised and easily converted into one 

 illy active component. — Racemic and optically active 

 is of isoamarine, by H. L. Snape. The author has resolved 

 ^tically inactive isoamarine into its optically active components 

 crystallising its tartrate ; the dextro-base has the specific 

 itory power [a]D= + 62 '02°. The crystals of the optically 

 tive bases are orthorhombic and sphenoidally hemihedral. 

 Xinnean Society, May 3.— Mr. C. B. Clarke, F.R.S., 

 •President, in the chair. — Mr. H. E. Smedley exhibited a 

 iber of botanical wax models prepared on an enlarged scale 

 show the morphological structure and also the process of 

 woduction in various types of plants. — Mr. J. E. Harting 

 iibited and made remarks on some skins of willow grouse 

 llected by Prince Demidoff on the N.W. border of Mongolia 

 tween Alta Mountains and the Kobdo River. — On behalf of 

 [iss E. S. Barton, the Botanical Secretary read a paper on a 

 species of Halimeda from Funafuti ; and on behalf of 

 A. L. Smith, a paper on some West Indian fungi, with 

 iptions of a new genus and species. 

 [May 24. Anniversary Meeting.— Dr. A. Gunther, F.R.S., 

 ident, in the chair. — The following were elected into the 



NO. 1597, VOL. 62 J 



Council :— Mr. Clement Reid, Dr. D. H. Scott, Rev. T. R. R. 

 Stebbing, Prof. S. H. Vines, and Mr. A, Smith Woodward ; 

 and as President, Prof. Sydney Howard Vines, F. R. S. ; 

 Treasurer, Mr. Frank Crisp ; Secretaries, Mr. B. Daydon 

 Jackson and Prof. G. B. Howes, F.R.S. — The retiring President 

 then delivered his annual address, choosing for his subject, 

 " The unpublished correspondence of William Swainson with 

 contemporary naturalists (1806-1840)," lately acquired by the 

 Society. ^The Gold Medal of the Society was then presented 

 to Prof. Alfred Newton, F.R.S., in recognition of his important 

 contributions to zoological science. 



Royal Microscopical Society, May 16.— Mr. Carruthers, 

 F.R.S., President, in the chair. — Mr. Chas. Baker exhibited 

 two microscopes ; one made specially for critical work was fitted 

 with eye-pieces of the Society's new Standard gauge. No. 3, of 

 r27 in. The other instrument, named the "Plantation" 

 microscope, was designed for use in the tropics for the purpose 

 of discovering the ova of internal parasites. Dr. Hebb said a 

 paper had been received from Mr. Millett, being Part viii. of 

 his report on the Foraminifera of the Malay Archipelago. 

 This, as on former occasions, would be taken as read. — 

 E. M. Nelson read a paper on the lag in microscopic vision, 

 which he illustrated by diagrams and a series of tables showing 

 the proportionate values of the performance of various objectives 

 under eye-pieces of different powers. In the case of an apochro- 

 matic objective of fine quality, the degree of merit was shown to 

 range from 147 with a low eye-piece, to 77 with a deep one, 

 but the difference was more marked with ordinary dry achro- 

 matic lenses. Mr. Nelson's experiments had shown that in 

 respect to the lag, microscopes with short tubes had some ad- 

 vantage over those with long tubes. Mr. Nelson also read 

 a paper, for Mr. E. B. Stringer, on a new form of fine adjustment, 

 a microscope by Messrs. Watson and Son, fitted with the 

 arrangement, being exhibited. Mr. Nelson said that its working 

 seemed exceedingly good. As the fine adjustment was placed 

 just behind the body, the limb could be made of any length 

 without putting additional strain upon the screw, a matter which 

 would be of great advantage in microscopes made for examining 

 large sections. — In announcing the adjournment of the meeting 

 until Wednesday, June 20, the president said he hoped then to be 

 able to submit and explain a series of lantern slides representing 

 minute structure of some Palaeozoic plants. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, May 28. — M. Maurice Levy in the 

 chair. — Formation of nitric acid in combustions, by M. 

 Berthelot. When sulphur is burnt in the calorimetric bomb in 

 compressed oxygen under a pressure of twenty-five atmospheres, 

 .some nitrogen also being present, nitric acid is formed in 

 quantities amounting to about -001 of the sulphur present. At 

 atmospheric pressure the amount of nitric acid formed is much 

 reduced. With metals such as iron and zinc no nitric acid is 

 formed. — Preparation, properties and analysis of thionyl 

 fluoride, by MM. H. Moissan and P. Lebeau (see p. 137). 

 — On the laws of specific heats of fluids, by M. E. H. 



Amagat. The formula -^ = - AT^ is applied to find the 



relation between the specific heat and pressure of carbon 



d oxide. The values o ^^ and -^-i were found graphically 



from the experimental data, and the results are given in the 

 form of curves.— On some remarkable sub-groups of a group of 

 substitutions or transformations of Lie, by M. Edmond Maillet. 

 —On partial differential equations of the third order which 

 admit of an intermediate integral, by M. A. Guldberg.— 

 Formulce giving the volumes of saturated vapour and the 

 maximum pressure, by M. H. Moulin. The formulDe deduced 

 from theoretical considerations by the author are compared with 

 the experimental data of Young, Tate and Amagat for benzene, 

 fluorbenzene, carbon tetrachloride, ether, acetic acid, methyl 

 alcohol, water and carbon dioxide with satisfactory results.— 

 The energy absorbed by condensers submitted to a sinusoidal 

 difference of potential, by M.M. H. Pellat and F. Beau- 

 lard.— The transparency of some liquids for electrostatc 

 oscillations by M. A. de Heen.— On some photochemical 

 effects produced by the wire radiating Hertzian waves, by M. 

 Thomas Tommasina. — On a lithium peroxide, by M. de 

 Forcrand. Since the combustion of lithium in oxygen gives 



