180 



KNOWLEDGE. 



June, 1915. 



aluminium nitrate. The hydmlytic acti\ity of certain plants 

 was stimulated by the presence of aluminium salts, with the 

 result that the proi^ortion of starch was diminisheil. This 

 was notably the case with I'totlea, but not with Spy)Oi;yra or 

 l.emua. In other experiments the formation of starch 

 by leaves placed in a solution of sugar in the dark was coni- 

 l>letely inhibited by the presence of one per cent, of alu- 

 minium nitrate. lilinute (inantities (OOOOl per cent.) of 

 the salt had a slij;litly stimulative effect upon the growth of 

 higher plants, but as little as 0'05 per cent, retarded the 

 growth. The mould-fungus (Aspeiqil/iin ni^er) grew readily 

 on a glvcerine medium containing up to O-l per cent, of 

 aluminium sulphate or chloriile. but the growth stopped in 

 the same medium without the addition of aluminium salts. 



PHOTOGENIC SUBSTANCES IN THE FIKE-FLY.— 

 Previous in\estigations have shown that the factors essen- 

 tial for the production of light by the fire-fly arc the 

 presence of water, oxygen, and a photogenic substance. 

 In the last issue of The Journal Amer. Cliem. Soc. (1915, 

 XXXVII, .'<9(i) IMr. E. Newton Harvey records the results 

 of experiments to isolate the photogenic substance. The 

 dried material from the flies was dried in a vacuum over 

 calcium chloride, and extracted with distilled water for 

 fifteen minutes. Oxygen was then admitted to the appa- 

 ratus, and caused the residue to show bright, glowing points, 

 whereas the extract remained cpiite dark. After extraction 

 for an hour luminescence was completely destroyed. Various 

 other solvents were tried, but it was not found possible to 

 extract the photogenic substance without destroying its 

 activity. The temperature of extraction was not the 

 cause of this destruction, for the dried powder could be 

 heated to the boiling-point of alcohol without losing its 

 luminescence. Cultivations of luminous bacteria behaved 

 Ml an analogous manner, and showed that their photogenic 

 substance was similarly complex and unstable. It is prob- 

 able that an oxidising enzyme plays a part in the production 

 of luminescence, although no direct oxygenase, but only 

 smnll amounts of indirect enzyme (peroxidase), have been 

 found in the fire-fly. 



REPORT ON PATENT MEDICINES.— The Select 

 Committee appointed to inquire into the sale of patent 

 medicines have issued their report as a Parliamentary paper. 

 In the course of the inquiry forty-two witnesses were 

 examined, including medical men, pharmacists, analysts, 

 and manufacturing chemists, and every aspect of the 

 question was considered. It is pointed out that, while in 

 the British Dominions and in foreign countries the sale of 

 such articles is restricted by law, there is in this country 

 no effective control, and many of the remedies put on the 

 market are devised by ignorant people and exploited by 

 cunning swindlers. No department of State has the 

 power to interfere with the sale or the advertisement of 

 proprietary articles which comply with the confusing 

 decisions of the revenue laws, and these are numerous and 

 remarkable. For example, duty must be made upon a 

 remedy for a particular complaint, but not upon one which 

 is stated to be intended for the seat of the complaint. 

 Thus " cough mixture " is dutiable, while " chest mixture " 

 is not ; " corn-paint " contributes to the revenue, while 

 " toe-paint " escapes. In short, " for all practical purposes 

 British law is powerless to prevent any person from procuring 

 any drug or making any mixture, whether potent or without 

 any therapeutic activity whatever (so long as it does not 

 contain a scheduled poison), advertising it as a cure for 

 any- disease or ailment, recommending it by bogus testi- 

 monials and the invented opinions and facsimile signatures 

 of fictitious physicians, and selling it under any name 

 he chooses, on the payment of a small stamp duty, for any 

 price he can persuade the public to pay." 



As remedies the Committee recommend the con- 

 solidation of the Stamp Acts, the removal of anomalies, 

 and the amendment of the Indecent Advertisement Acts, 

 together with the following special legislative enactments : 

 (1) Compulsory statement of the p/oportion of alcohol 



m proprietary remedies ; (2) Prohibition (except by a 

 doctor's order) of the sale of medicines purporting to cure 

 certain specified diseases, such as cancer, consumption, 

 deafness, paralysis, and so on ; (3) Prohibition of advertise- 

 ments relating to sexual matters ; (4) Prohibition of 

 advertisements suggesting that a remedy is an abortifacient ; 

 (4) No change to be made in the composition without 

 notice to the supervising department ; (6) Fancy names to 

 be subject to regulation ; (7) Validity of trade names to 

 be subject to a time-limit ; (8) Any false description to 

 be a breach of the law ; (9) Various specified practices to 

 be prohibited, such as inviting sufferers to correspond with 

 the vendor, using fictitious testimonials, or medical testi- 

 monials without the name and address of the giver, and 

 promises to return money if no cure is effected. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



By A. Scott, M.A., B.Sc. 



GLACIATION OF NORTH JAPAN.— There is con- 

 siderable difference of opinion as to whether the mountains 

 of North Japan have been glaciated or not. The evidence 

 is reviewed by K. Oseki (Scot. Geog. Mag., March, 1915), 

 who comes to the conclusion that there are undoubted 

 traces of glacial phenomena on certain peaks. Thus, on 

 Oyama,at a height of two thousand five hundred metres, there 

 is a corrie with two scries of terminal moraines, while several 

 other mountains likewise show moraines and corries, some 

 of which have a fairly well-defined "step." Occasional 

 glaciated boulders have also been found. The chief evidence 

 against glaciation is the absence of a boreal fauna in the 

 quaternary deposits of the district (cf. Lepsius, Geol. Rund- 

 schau, 1912). 



CLIFF SCENERY OF CAITHNESS. — The coast of 

 Caithness shows a remarkable variety of cliff scenery, due 

 to the varying nature of the country rock. Thus the Muir 

 of Ord granite forms massive cliffs, with the outlines rugged 

 owing to the irregular jointing. Further north, the conglo- 

 merates form similar cliffs, but, in addition, sea-caves 

 and buttresses develop along vertical joints. In the case 

 of the sandstones and flagstones, particularly where the 

 bedding planes are inclined at low angles to the horizontal, 

 the coast-line assumes the form of lofty cliffs with the 

 numerous " goes " and " clefts," which are such a charac- 

 teristic feature of the scenery of the north coast of Scotland 

 ("Geology of Caithness," 1914). The "goes" are long 

 narrow inlets, with parallel walls, which develop along crush 

 or weakness planes between vertical joints. At the upper 

 end of the " goes " there is often a cave where the extension 

 is still in progress (the erosion taking place by undermining), 

 and a talus slope or beach where the sea has retreated. 

 When the bedding planes are inclined at high angles, the 

 " goes " are very irregular in form. The " clefts " are 

 stacks or pillars which have been cut off from the cliffs 

 by erosion and subsidence along joints. They are often as 

 high as the chffs, and their recent origin is shown by the 

 presence of a cap of boulder clay, and occasionally even 

 of peat. 



GEOLOGY. 



By G. W. Tyrrell, A.R.C.Sc. F.G.S. 



SINKING OF CRYSTALS IN IGNEOUS MAGMAS.— 

 Darwin long ago pointed out that the observed diversity in 

 some igneous rock masses might possibly be explained by the 

 sinking of crystals through the liquid magma as they were 

 formed. The minerals of earliest formation are generally 

 the most basic and the heaviest. If the sinking of crystals 

 does take place, heavy minerals of early crystallisation, 

 such as iron-ore, olivine, and augite, should, under suit- 

 able conditions, be concentrated toward the base of the 



