540 



NA TURE 



[September 26, 1895 



liquids are obtained by conducting the parallel wires through a 

 long trough filled with the liquid. A bridge is put across them 

 where they enter the water. Another briilge is placeil on the 

 wires in air on the other siile of a Zchnder tube connected with 

 a goKI-leaf electroscope. This is .shilted until the guld-leaves 

 collapse. The distance between the two bridges is then. say. 

 36 cm. The bridge on the water's eilge is then graiUuiUy shifted 

 along the immersed wires, and the ixjints at which the gold- 

 leaves diverge and collapse arc noted. The distance between 

 two successive nodes is 4 cm., so that the refractive index of 

 water for electric waves is 9, and the specific inductive capacity 

 81. Alcohol, glycerine, and other not sexy highly conducting 

 liquids may lie similarly investigated. — Inconstancy of S|>ark 

 p<itenlial, byCi. Jaumann. The author shows that the jxitential 

 which leads to a spark di.scharge de|x-nds u|xin several elements 

 Ijesides the thickness and nature of the dielectric, the chief one 

 being the pre.sence of variations of electric force, «hich hasten 

 the discharge and lower the necessary difference of (xitential. 

 When these variations are avoided, difierences of |x>tential 

 amounting to .several times the ordinary ones may become 

 necessary for discharge. The spark gap is also affected by 

 previous sparks and by a delay in discharging. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



P.^RIS. 



Academy of Sciences, September 16.— M. A. Cornu in 

 the chair. — \ memoir by M. F. \'. Maquaire, on protection 

 against naval collisions, was referred to a Committee. — The 

 perpetual Secretary, in presenting vol. vi. of " Oiuvres de 

 Christiaan Huygens," reminded the Academy of the loss of M. 

 Bierens de Hahn. The Haarlem Society will continue the 

 publication of this work, so ably edited by M. Hahn. — On the 

 "equilaleres" included in the equ.alions O = 2,™ - -/,T," = 11 , 

 O = S,» - '/,T,"= H„ + AH',, by M. Paul Serret.— Researches 

 on Algerian phosphates. The case of a phosphatic rock from 

 Bougie, having the composition of a su|)erphosphate, by M.M. II. 

 and A. Malbot. The results of a number of analyses of rocks 

 from various sources are tabulated. The Bougie rock is de- 

 scrilwd in detail, .-is it presents several peculiarities. With 

 regard to the method of analysis, the conclusions are drawn : 

 (I) The presence of organic matter may produce a loss 

 when the phosphoric acid is estimated by direct precipitation as 

 magnesium ammonium phosphate in citric liquor, and 

 this error is not always diminished by a preliminary 

 evaporation with nitric acid on the sand bath. (2) The 

 same error does not occur if the phosphoric acid be first 

 precipitated as ammonium phosphomolybdate. (3) The 

 agreement Ijetween the two methods is exact when the 

 organic matter is fir-St destroyed by calcination at a red heat. — ■ 

 The neoformation of neri'e cells in the brain of the monkey, 

 following the complete ablation of the occipital lobes, by M. | 

 -Mex. N. Viizou, of Bucharest. A detailed account is given of : 

 the gradual recovery of the power of perceiving extern.il objects 

 by a monkey after complete ablation of the occipital 1oIk;s. An 

 cxaminaliun revealed the fact that the space formerly filled by 

 the occipital lol>cs h.-id been filled up by new tissue which was 

 found to consist throughout of pyramidal nerve cells and nerve 

 tissues, the cells being less numerous than in the ordinar)- occipital 

 lobes of the adult. The new tissue was not due to hypertrophy 

 of the anterior loljcs. On repe-tting the ablation the monkey 

 a;- • ' ■ •' power of perceiving external objects, and is still 

 I" ilion. — M. Ch. \. Zenger records in a note the 



'■■ ^ f atmospheric disturbances at certain points in 



Central Europe on September 10 and 11, as predicted by him. 



New Sorrii Wales. 



Linnean Society, July 31. — Mr. Henry Deane, President, 

 in the chair. — Catalogue of the described Coleopteraof Au.stralia. 

 .Supplement part i. — Citiiidelida and CarahiJic, by tieorgc 

 Ma.<ilcrs. It is pro|x>scd to give as far as ixissible a complete 

 li»t of all the Australian Colcoptera described since the year 

 1886. al.vj to fill in the omissions previous to that dale. The 

 present part contains references to 429 species, besides many 

 corrections, and additional localities. — Australian Terniiliiiic, j 

 jKirt i., by W. W. Kroggatt. The author gives an account of 

 ihe flistribution of TeriiiiU! in general and of the damage done 

 liry Ihcm, and poAscs on lo a consideration of the habits and 

 range of Australian forms, concluding with a general account of 



the structure of the termitaria of both the common mound-build- 

 ing species, and of those of Etilcrmes which form arboreal nests 

 as well as on the ground, (ci) Report on a fungus (Mcliola 

 amphitriiha. Fries.) on Dyso.xy Ion . The fungus is found on the 

 leaves of Dysoxyloit ruftim, Benth., on the Richmond River, 

 N'.S.W., and has not previously been recorded for this colony. 

 (/') Notes on L'rotiiyii: aniygdali ^ Cixtke — a synonym oi Fucciiiia 

 pniiii, Pers. — Prune rust. This leaf rust is of great economic 

 importance, since it attacks such \'aluablc fruit trees as peach 

 and nectarine, plum and apricot, cherry and almond, causing 

 them prematurely to shed their leaves, and as a consequence, 

 cither to bear no fruit, or only small quantities of an inferior 

 kind. Though sometimes called " Peach Yellows," it must not 

 be confounded with the dreaded disease, due lo bacteria, known 

 by that name in the Inited States. Specimens of affected peach 

 leaves, forwarded by Mr. Tryon from (Queensland, yielded both 

 uredospores and two-celled teleulospores. In \ ictoria in the 

 summer season, even as late as July, only the uredos|x>res are at 

 all conmion. (<) Groundsel rust, Piiainin cnwhtilis, McAlp., 

 with triniorphic leleutospores. The ;«;idial stage is common on 

 groundsel : but this is the first record for teleutospores in 

 Australia. The rust is identical with that on ErcihtiUs, de- 

 scribed last year. The specimens were procured at liobart, 

 Tasmania. — By I). Mc.\lpine, tiovernment Pathologist, Mel- 

 bourne. (Communicated by J. II. Maiden). On a new species 

 of Elitocarpus from Northern New South Wales, by J. H. 

 Maiden and R. T. Baker. A large tree (height 80-100 feet, 

 and a trunk diameter of 2-3 feet as seen), found on the Brunswick 

 River. The affinities of this species lie between E. scricopelaliis, 

 F.V.M., and E. riiniiiiattis, F.v.M. ; it difl'ers fron> these two 

 species in the number of stamens, lobed petals, bracts, and 

 fruits. It is named in honour of Mr. William Baeuerlen, 

 Botanical Collector to the Technological .Museum, Sydney. — 

 On a new cone from the Solomon Islands, by John Brazier, 



Brisb.\ne. 



Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. — Annual 

 meeting, July 22. — Mr. J. P. Thomson, President, in 

 the chair.— The Secretary, Mr. J. I'enwick, read the yearly 

 report of the Council, which stated that during the year sixteen 

 ordinary members had been added to the roll of the Society. 

 The library had received some valuable donations and exchanges, 

 and the finances of the Society were in a satisfactory condition. 

 The President read an address on the subject of the physical 

 geography of Australia, after which the election of olTicers took 

 place. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Personality. By Francis Galton, F.R.S 517 



Satellite Evolution. By Prof. G. H. Darwin, F.R.S. 518 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Schwartze : " Die Lehre von der Elektrizitiit imd 



deren Praktische X'erwendung" 519 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Rain in August. (H'H/i Diagram.) — A. B. M. . . 519 

 .Mteration in the Colours of Flowers by Cyanide 



I'liines. Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell 520 



On the Constituents of the Gas in Cleveite. By 



Profs. C. Runge and F. Paschen 520 



Notes 522 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



The Orl.il iif^'- Ii..ntis(2 1938) 525 



The British Association : — 



Section K. — Botany — Opening Address by W. T. 



Thiselton-Dyer, CM. G., F.R.S 526 



Physics at the British Association 532 



Chemistry at the British Association 536 



The Retirement of Professors 538 



University and Educational Intelligence 539 



Scientific Serials 539 



Societies and Academies 540 



NO. 1352. VOL. 52] 



M 



