640 



NATURE 



[October 25, 1900 



moses, of which three are thoracic. —The proteolytic ferment of 

 seeds during germination, by M. V. Harlay. The proteolytic 

 ferment in lentils during germination is analogous in its behaviour 

 to the animal ferment trypsine. — On early tuberculisation in 

 plants, by M. Noel Bernard.— On the Cretacian of the massif 

 of Abou-Roach (Egypt), by M. R. Fourtau.— Fixation by porous 

 bodies of clay in suspension in water, by M. J. Thoulet. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, June 27. — The President, the Hon. 

 lames Norton, in the chair. — Notes on some Australian and 

 New Zealand parasitic Hymenoptera, with descriptions of new 

 genera and species, by William H. Ashmead. Sixty-four 

 species were represented in two collections brought together by 

 Mr. W. W. Froggatt and Mr. A. Koebele, formerly of the U.S. 

 Department of Agriculture. Of these forty-nine are described 

 as new. — On the Carenides (Fam. Carabidae), Part iii., by 

 Thomas G. Sloane. Nine species referable to the genera 

 Laccoptenim, Caremim, Etttoma and Carenidium are described 

 as new, from Queensland, North-west, West and Central 

 Australia. A synoptic table of the groups of species into which 

 the genus Carenum may be subdivided is given, with notes 

 thereon. — Descriptions of two new species of Diptera from 

 Western Australia, by D. W. Coquillett. A species of Phyto- 

 myza, the larva; of which mine the leaves of the beet, and one 

 of Myiophasia, parasitic upon the Scarabeid Anoplostetlnis 

 opalinus, Burm., are described. The second of these, founded 

 upon male-specimens, may indeed be congeneric with Neophasia 

 picta, Brauer and Bergenst., founded on a female specimen with- 

 out antennae from West Australia. — Descriptions of two new 

 blind weevils from Western Australia and Tasmania, by Arthur 

 M. Lea. Only two species of blind Coleoptera have hitherto 

 ,been recorded from Australia, namely, Halorhynchtcs caecus, 

 Woll., from West Australia, and Illaphanus stephensi, Mac!., 

 from New South Wales, both dwelling close to sea-beaches. An 

 additional species of Halorhynchus from the "outer beach " at 

 Geraldton, Western Australia, is described in the present paper, 

 together with an insect for which a new genus is proposed, and 

 of which the type-specimen was found in the nest of a small red 

 ant near Hobart. — The double staining of spores and bacilli, by 

 R. Greig Smith. An improvement upon Klein's method of 

 double staining spores and bacilli is described. The spore-bearing 

 material is distributed in normal saline in a small test-tube, an 

 equal volume of carbol-fuchsin is added and the mixiure placed 

 in boiling water for fifteen minutes. A loopfu! is then with- 

 drawn, spread over a coverglass, dried and fixed in a flame. The 

 bacilli are decolorised in \\ per cent, (by volume) of alcoholic 

 hydrochloric acid, washed in water and counterstained in methy- 

 lene blue. Even the most refractory spores are stained deep 

 red, the bacilli blue. 



|uly 25. — The President, the Hon. James Norton, in 

 the chair. — Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera, 

 by Oswald B. Lower. Forty species, referable to the 

 Bombycina, Geometrina, Pyralidina, Tortricina, Tinetna 

 {CEcophoridae, Gelechiadae, Elachistidae, 7/«£?V/a«), are treated 

 of, thirty-seven being described as new. — On Didymorchis, a 

 Rhabdocoele Turbellarian inhabiting the branchial cavities of 

 New Zealand crayfishes, by Prof. William A Hasweli, F.R.S. 

 Didymorchis attracted notice during a search for allies of the 

 Temnocephaleae, and is probably the nearest known relative of 

 the group in question. The animal is about i mm. long and 

 less than \ mm. in greatest breadth ; and as far as observed is 

 practically an invariable companion of the crayfish ParanepJifops 

 setosiis, though not occurring in large numbers. A remarkable 

 feature is that cilia are developed only on a portion of the ventral 

 surface of the body, and are entirely absent round the margin 

 and on the dorsal surface. On the whole the animal seems to 

 make a nearer approach to the Vorticida than to any of the 

 other known groups. — Supplement to a monograph of the 

 Temttocephaleae, by Prof. William A. Hasweli, F.R.S. Three 

 additional species of Temnocephala are described — T. tasmanica, 

 allied to the much larger T. quadricornis, occurring in the bran- 

 chial cavities, and occasionally on the external surface oiAstacopsis 

 tasmanicus ; T. aurantiaca, found upon the lower surface of the 

 abdomen of a Tasmanian Astacopsis, at present undetermined ; 

 and T. coeca, found upon the surface of the remarkable burrowing 

 Isopod, Phreatoicopsis terricola, Spencer and Hall. The paper 

 concludes with some remarks on certain points in the structure 

 of the members of the family, mainly suggested by Monticelli's 

 recent paper {Bolletino della Soc. di Nat. in Napoli, xii. 1898). 

 — Observations on the Tertiary flora of Australia, with special 



NO. 161 7, VOL. 62] 



reference to Ettingshausen's theory of the Tertiary cosmo- 

 politan flora, Part i. , by Henry Deane. — On the bacterial flora of 

 the Sydney water supply, .Part i. , by R. Greig Smith. Thirty- 

 two species of micro-organisms commonly occurring in Sydney 

 water are described. These include six new species and four 

 new subspecies. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. ~ 



FRIDAY, OCTOBRR 26. 



Physical Society, at 5.— Exhibition of Experiments illustrating certain 

 Phenomena of Vision : Dr. Shelford Bidwell, F.R.S.— -On the Concentra- 

 tion at the Electrode in a Solution, with special reference to the Libera- 

 tion of Hydrogen by the Electrolysis of a Mixture of Copper Sulphate 

 and Sulphuric Acid : Dr. J. S. Sand.— Electromotive Force and Osmotic 

 Pressure; Dr. R. A. Lehfeldt. 



SATURDAY, October 27. 



Essex Field Club, at 6.30.— Contributions to the Pleistocene Geology of 

 the Thames Valley. The Grays Thurrock Area, Part I. : Martin A. C. 

 Hinton and A. S. Kennard. 



THURSDAY, November i. 



Chemical Society, at 8. — Dehydrohomocamphoric Acid and its Oxida 

 tion Products : Arthur Lapworth. — Derivatives of Ethyl a-methyl-0- 

 phenylcyanglutarate : W. Carter and W. Trevor Lawrence.— The 

 Nitration of Acefamino-(?-Dhenylacelate (diacetyl-(?-aminophenol)— a Cor- 

 rrction : R. Meldola, F.R.S., and p:ikan Wechsler.— Rhamiiazin and 

 Rhamnetin : A. G. Perkin and J. R. Allison.— (i) Luteolin, Part IIL ; 

 (2) Genisteifl, Part II. : A. G. Perkin and L. H. Horsfall.— Colouring 

 Matter of the Flowers of Delphiniuiii consolida : A. G. Perkin and 



E. J. Wilkinson.— The Action of Alkalis on the Nitro-compounds of the 

 Paraffin Series, Part II. : Wyndham R. Dunstan, F.R.S., and Ernest 

 Gouldina. — Hexachlorides of Benzonitrile, Benzamide and Benzoic Acid : 



F. E. Matthews. -The Influence of Solvents on the Rotation of Optically- 

 active Compounds, Part I. : T. S. Patterson.— Note on Gallinek's Amido- 

 methylnaphthimidazole : R. Meldola, F.R.S., and F. H. Streatfeild.— 

 The Action of Heat on Ethyl-Sulphuric Acid: W. Ramsay and G. 

 Rudorf. — The Amount of Chlorine in Rain-water collected at Cirencester : 

 Edward Kinch. 



RoNTGEN Society, at 8.— Presidential Address : Dr. J. B. Macintyre. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The English Gault and Upper Greensand. By 



Prof T. G. Bonney, F.R.S 617 



Th - Principles of Patent Law 618 



Historical Chemistry. By A. S 6x8 



Our Bookshelf:— 



Biitschli : " Untersuchungen liber Mikrostrukturen des 

 erstarrten Schwefels nebst Bemerkungen liber Sub- 

 limation, Uberschmelzung und tjbersattigung des 

 Schwefels und einiger anderer Korper " ; " Unter- 

 suchungen iiber die Mikrostruktur ktlnstiicher und 

 naiiirlicher Kieselsauregallerten (Tabaschir, Hydro- 



phan, Opal)" ... . 619 



_ Co wham : "The School Journey. A Means of Teaching 



Xxeography, Physiography and Elementary Science" 619 

 Richards and Woodman : "Air, Water and Food." — 



J. B. C 620 



Gregory and Simmons : "Elementary Physics and 



Chemistry."— C. P. B 620 



Treille : " Principes d'Hygiene Coloniale."— C. B. S. 620 

 Letters to the Editor: — 



Genesis of the Vertebrate Column.— Herbert 



apencer 620 



Albinism and Natural Selection.— Walter Garstang 620 

 Tenacity of Life of the Albatross.— Prof. John 



Perry, F.R.S. ; Captain Wm. J. Reed .... 621 

 The Peopling of Australia.— Sidney H. Ray . . 621 

 Recent and Proposed Geodetic Measurements. 



{With Map.) 622 



Recent Antartic Boolfs. {Illustrated.) By Dr. Hugh 



Robert Mill 624 



Notes 626 



Our Astronomical Column :— 



Ephemeris for Observations of Eros 630 



Opposition of Eros 630 



New Double Stars 630 



Astronomical Work at Daramona Observatory . . . 630 

 Historical Aspects of the Discovery of the Circula- 

 tion of the Blood. By Prof. T. Clifford AUbutt, 



F.R.S 630 



The Annual Congress of the German Anthropo- 

 logical Society 632 



Anthropology at the British Association 633 



University and Educational Intelligence 638 



Scientific Serials 638 



Societies and Academies 639 



Diary of Societies , 640 



