February 7, 1895J 



NATURE 



359 



that in the case of water at maximum density, there would 

 be praciically no convection currents, so that equalisation ol 

 temperature would be very slow. As the bulb used wa^ aboui 

 8 cu). in diameter, and all the experiments were made with the 

 temperature rising, he thought that this would account for the 

 high value obtained for the temperature of maximum densiiy. 

 Dr. Burton thought a distinct advantage was gained by com- 

 pensating for the expansion of the gla^s. The value- obtained 

 in different experiments did not seem to be highly concordant. 

 Prof. Rii>;l<cr thought that ihe criticisms which had been passed 

 were, for the most part, just. For such measurements as those 

 recorded, it was not sufficient to know the correciions of the 

 thermometer reading- at a few isolated points ; the portion 

 of the stem over which the readings were taken must be care- 

 fully and minutely calibiaied. The Kew ceriificate not only 

 ignored err-rs of less than 05° (as mentioned by the author ), 

 but it only gave conections for a small uumber of temperatures, 

 separated by considerable intervals. 



Linnean Society, January 17. — Mr. C. B. Clarke, F.R.S., 

 President, in the chair. — .Mr. George Murray exhibited lantern 

 slides rcpreseniing a new part ol /"a. /yM^fa, consisting ol a 

 cup-shaped recepiicle in which Fackytheca was found by Mr. 

 John Sloriie, ol Cardiff. The walls of the cup are composed 

 ©f railialing chambers like those of Acttabuiaria, and in the 

 centre there are iraees of an axile structure. Mr. .Murray con- 

 sidered that this discovery only made the interpretalioii of the 

 nature ol tarhylkcca more difficult than ever. — Mr. Arthur 

 Lister exhiliiled ami made remarks upon a Landrail ' Cre.x pra- 

 lensis) which had been found, a few djys previuu-ly, near Ax- 

 minster, in Devonshire, where it had been killed by coujing in 

 contact with telegraph wires. The occurrence in midwinier of 

 a bird whicn is a summer visitor to this country, .seemed 10 him 

 to be worth notice. — -Mr. J. E. Harting exh biled specimens of 

 northern sea-birds which had been driven upon the east coast 

 of England during recent gales ; amongst 01 hers, the Little Auk 

 ■ {A/£rgultts alba)y of which great numlters had ctmie ashoredead, 

 or in an exhausted condition ; the Litlle Gull {Lams minutiis), 

 obtained at Whitstable on January 5 ; and an example of 

 Briinnich's Guillemot, Uria hriinnictiii^ Sabine {Trans. Linit. 

 Soc. xii. p. 5jii), a species which, though abundant in Green- 

 land, North-East Iceland, and .Spiizbergen, is of such extremely 

 rare occu-trence on our coasts, tnat not more than two or three 

 authenticated instances of Us appearance here have been 

 recorded. The specimen exhibited had been forwarded by 

 Mr. W. J. Clarke, of Scarborough, near which sea-port it was j 

 -hot on December 7, 1S94. — A paper was then read by Mr. i. 

 H. Burkill, on variations in the number,of stamens and carpels. 

 Of Stellaria media about 5700 flowers were examined, showing 

 that towards the end of the file of the plant the number of sta- 

 mens becomes reduced. Kaiiiiiiculiis Ficaria (nearly 800 

 flowers) showed that towards tne end of the flowering period 

 both stamens and carpels become reduced in number with- 

 out their proportion being changed. Smaller numbers 

 were examined of Caltha palustris. Ranunculus arvensis. A'. 

 biilbosus, 1 halictum flaviim, Bocconia cordala, Prunus Padiis, 

 Prunus Lauro-cerasus, Craticgus Oxycanllia, Rusa canina, 

 ^)uerciis Ilex, and Sagillaria montevtdensis, all of which 

 showed, either in carpels or in stamens, a reduction in number 

 towards the end of the flowering period. Of other influences 

 besides age which affect the number of parts, temperature 

 might be one, but nothing could be safely assumed. — Of a 

 kindred nature was a paper by Mr. A. G. Tansley and Miss E. 

 Dale, on variation in the floral symmetry of Fotcntilla Tor- 

 mentilla, Necker. This paper, of which Mr. Tansley uave an 

 abstract, was mainly a recoid of variations tending to alter the 

 normal letramerous actmomorphic symmetry of this flower. 

 From his observations it appeared that independent variations 

 of the epicalyx is considerable, but is probably mainly due 10 a 

 tendency of its segments 10 revert lo a primitively double con- 

 dition. The residual independent variation is small, and 

 roughly equal to that of the calyx and corolla. The number of 

 stamens is more variable, and the carpels extremely so. Corre- 

 lated variation of all ihe whorls is frequent, and produces 

 deviating lypes of symmetry in about 3 per cent, of the flowers 

 examined. The seiies of groups into which the various devi- 

 ating types mifjht be said 10 fall, illustrated the shifting nf the 

 centre ol variation from the penlamer lus type of allied fl iwers 

 to the letramerous lype of P. Tarmentilla. — A discussion fol- 

 lowed, in which the President, Mr. II. N. Ridley, an t others 

 took pan, and Mr. Tansley replied to the criticisms ollered. 



Chemical Society, January 17. — Dr. Armstrone, President, 

 in the chair. — The following papers were read: Ocacetyl- 

 maltose, by A. R. Lingand J. L. Baker. Herzfcld's description 

 of octacetylmaltose is in many respects erroneous. — .Action of 

 diasla-e on starch, by A. R. Ling and J. L. Baker. The 

 isomaltose obtained by Lintner by the action of diastase on 

 starch is not a pure substance. From the product of hydrolysis 

 of slarch paste by diaslae, a triosazone was isolated ; one of the 

 iniducts of the aclion is therefore probably a triose CigHj^Ojr,. 

 —New derivatives from a-dibromocamphor, by M. O. Forsier. 

 Fuming nitric acid dissolves a dibromocaifphor with formation 

 of a neutral substance CioH,.,Rr„0., ; this on alkaline reduction 

 yields a monobromo-rieiivaiive C,„II].,BrO., The latter sub- 

 siance is c 'nverled into a nitro-derivative C,,H]..BrNOj by 

 niiric acid. — .\cid sulphate of hydroxylamine, by E. Divers. 

 Crystalline hydroxylamine hydrogen sulphate is prepared by 

 acting on hy-iroxylamine hydrochloride wiih the calculated 

 quantity of sulphunc acid. — The hypophosphites of mercury 

 and bismuth, by S. Hada. Hypophosjihiies of thecomoosition 

 HgH.,POo, HsjNOa, H„0 and Bi(HjPO„)3, H.,0 have been 

 prepared.— Kamala, part ii., by A.' G.'Perkin. The three 

 acids previously obtained by the oxidation of roltlerine are now 

 shown to be ortho- and paia-nitrocinnamic acids and para- 

 niirobenzoic acid. From the composition of its metallic 

 derivatives roltlerine would seem to have the composition 

 CsjI'siiOj.COOH ; it yields a crystalline subsiance. roltlerone 

 Cj,|H^;i),;. when boiled with sodium carbonate. — The action of 

 aqueous poiassium cyanide on gold and stiver in presence of 

 oxygen, by .1 . S. Maclaurin. The solution of gold or silver by 

 poiassium cyanide solution is dependent on the presence of 

 oxygen, and ihe rate of solution is proportional lo ihe quantity 

 of oxvgen present, and to the coeflicient of vise >sity of the 

 solution. — The crystalline forms of the two dimeihjlpimelic 

 acids, by \V. J. Pope. — Oxidising aclion of ammonia solution 

 on some melals, by W. R. Hodgkin-on and N. E. Bellairs. — 

 Ac.ion of magnesium on some phenylhydrazine compounds, 

 by W. R. Hodgkinson and A. II. Coote. Complicated mix- 

 tures of produc s are obtained on boiling acetyl- or benzoyl- 

 phenylhydrazine with magnesium filings.— Refraction equivalents 

 of the elements and the periodic law, by R. M. Deelcy. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, Januaiy 28. — M. Mareyinihe chair. 

 — Prepaiation and properties of boride of iron, by M. Henri 

 Moissan. A boride of iron of the composiii m FeB is obtained 

 by heating together iron ar.d boron, best in the electric furnace. 

 It forms brilliant grey crystals which remain unaltered in air or 

 dry oxygen. Its density is 7 1531 18° C. Its chemical behaviour 

 with ordinary reagents is fully described — On Fourier's pro- 

 blem, by M. E. Le Roy. — On ih; exact levelling op-rations 

 recently carried out in Russia, by General Venukoft". In a total 

 of 1090 stations scattered through .ut Russia, no altitude was 

 (lete.mined greater than 33S metres The most important result 

 of the survey was the cs ablishment of the identity of level of 

 the Baltic, Black, and Azov Seas.— On the solution of solids in 

 vapours, by M. P. Villird. — .\ction of an electric cuirent on a 

 number of metallic sulphides in ihe fused slate, by M. Jules 

 Garnier. Sulphur is gradually eliminated from ihe fused mass 

 out of contact with air, the copper retaining a greater proportion 

 of sulphur thnn iron and nickel in an ore containing the three 

 sul| hides.— On some properties of bismuth sulphide, by M. A. 

 Ditte. The production and properties of crystalline bismuth 

 sulphide, made in the wet way, are describe!. A remarkable 

 double compound with poiassium sulph dc, Bi.Sj. 4K„S . 4H«0, 

 is obtained in very sharp and brilliant redJish-yellow. trans- 

 parent thombohedra from a solution of BioSjin poiassium sul- 

 phide. The crystals cannot be kept in a moist a' mosphere.as water 

 readily blackens ihem. — Influence of th surrounding medium on 

 the transformation of amorphous zincsulphide, by M. A.Villers. 

 — On carbonylihlorobromideanddibromide, by M. A. Besson. 

 The author obtains the substance": COCIBr and COBr, by the 

 imeraciioni-f COCIjand BBr^. They arc both partially decom- 

 po oi by distilla ion in air. They are very dilatable 1 y heat, 

 and^posse-s very irri aling vapours In contact with mercury at 

 100° in sealed lubei they suffer total decomposition, but are only 

 slowly ajied on by coll wa er — Mixed e her aid ammonium 

 derivatnesof hexameihyl- r amido-iriphenylinetl ane. liy M. A. 

 Ro-Ciisiiehl — On acetic eters (rom sugars, by M. C. Tanret. 



Ihe author shows ihe various reactions given wiih diflT.rent 

 tlases of sugars by acetic acid in presence of fu id sodium 

 acetate and ol zinc chluride respectively. He describes ihrce 



NO. 



(3 IQ. VOL. 5 I 



