620 



NA TURE 



[April 25, 1895 



give no aniform crystallisation product, but always a hetero- 

 geneous mechinical mixture, consisting of solid solutions of the 

 components in each other, and in the liiniiing cases oi ihe com- 

 ponents themselves. The composition of euteciic mixtures — 

 i'.^. those mixtures of two bodies which have the lowest fusioj; 

 points — does not correspond to simple molecular proportions of 

 the components. In euteciic mixtures the process of solidifica- 

 tion is in general more complicated than in chemically homo- 

 geneous bodies, owing to complex supercooling. Equimole- 

 cular solutions often show approximate correspondence of 

 fusing points, 'also for the higher concentrations. Menthol, 

 C,(,H,,OH, exists in two modifications, which explains the 

 diverjjences of the freezing points of even the most dilute solu- 

 tions in menthol. — On glow discharge in air, by C. A. Mebius. 

 Straight lines represen:ing the relation between strength of 

 current and difference of potential for different distances between 

 the electrodes, are not parallel, the divergence increasing with 

 Ihe extent to which the air has been modified by the current. 

 The fall of potential gradually decreases with a constant or an 

 increasing current. These changes are probably due to the 

 formation of nitric oxide, as was proved with the spectroscope. 



Bulletin dt fAcadc'mu KoyaU de lielgiqui. No. 2.— On a 

 new class of ethers : methylene lactate, by Louis Henry. 

 Methylene monolactate, CH0.CH3 CjHOj, obtained by heating 

 lactic acid with polymerised metbanal, is a colourless mobile 

 liquid, with a stiong odour resembling metbanal, and an ex- 

 tremely pungent tasie. Its density is I 1974 at i'^" C.,and it 

 boils with remarkable regularity at 153 to 154°. — Comparison 

 of the astronomical coordinates referred to the instantaneous 

 (astronomical) pole and the (geographical) pole of inertia 

 respectively, by Ch. Lagrange. The discovery of the sensible 

 character of the variations of latitude and longitude is not of 

 such a nature as to render necessary the substitution of geo- 

 graphical axes to instantaneous ones in astronomy. The mean 

 values of the latitude and the longitude will be the geographical 

 characteristics of Ihe spot. But for the points of the heavens, 

 the result of the substitution of geographical for instantaneous 

 axes would have the eminent disadvantage of affecling all their 

 coordinates with diurnal variations 300 times greater. This is 

 a simple geometrical consequence of the fact that every day the 

 geographical and the instantaneous axes describe a cone about 

 the resultant, and that the geographical cone is 300 times more 

 open than the instantaneous cone.— Critical temperatures of 

 mixtures and of water, by F. V. Dwelshauvers-Uery. The 

 critical temperature of water was obtained by finding the critical 

 temperatures of aqueous mixtures of alcohol or acetone contain- 

 ing more and more water. The limiting value for water, as 

 derived from the acetone results, was 638' C, from the results 

 with alcohol, 641 C — Action of heat upon carbon bisulphide, by 

 Henryk Arctowsky. Carbon sesquisulphide, CS3, which is 

 obtained by exposing the bisulphide to the voltaic arc, may also 

 be obtained by keeping it at 250' C. for some time. It is this 

 l»ody whose presence in small quantities in commercial CSo 

 gives this product its pungent odour. 



Thk number of the Journal oj lijtany for April is occupied 

 almost entirely by papers on descriptive botany, viz. on African 

 species of Eriosema, on South American species of I'oly^ala, on 

 British KuH, on hybrid Epihbta, and others on special species 

 or genera. 



The liullelin of the Afinnesola Botanical Studies for March 

 contains a paper on a period ol growth in the fruit of Cucut- 

 tiita Pepo, by Mr. .\. P. Anderson, accompanied by an 

 elaborate series of tables and plates of curves. The other 

 articles in the same number refer exclusively to the Kiora of 

 Minnesota. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, Match 21. — "Experiments upon the In- 

 fluence of .Sensory Nerves upon Movement and Niiiriiion of the 

 Limbi.' (I'rclimii aty communication.) By Ur. V. W. Moll and 

 Dr. C. S. Sherrington, F. K.S. 



Claude Bcrnaid first showed, by cxpctiincnls upon frogs, the 

 impairment of movement in a limb deprived of sensation by 

 cutting the |x»terir>r ipinal roots. The authois have, by an 

 cxteniive and varied scries, of experiments on the monkey, 



NO. 1.^30, VOL. 51] 



demonstrated the important tSle played by sensation in the 

 performance of voluntary movements. 



The experiments deal separately with the upper limb .-ind the 

 lower limb. The phenomena do not essentially differ, but are 

 more striking in the former. 



Summary of Experiments. — The limbs were deprived of all 

 sensation, superficial and deep, by cutting the "whole series" 

 of posterior spinil roots. For the upper limb, 4th cervical to 4th 

 thoracic inclusive. F"or the lower limb, 2ad to loih post- 

 thoracic inclusive. 



Animals with a limb \\\\i% deprived of all forms 0/ sensation 

 from the time of operation onwards, even up to four months, 

 have never been observed to use it in any finer and delicately 

 adjusted movements. For example: the foot is not used in 

 climbing or grasping, nor is the hani. The animal does not 

 use the hand to defend itself, or even to satisfy hunger, when 

 prevented from picking up food by any other w.ay, than by 

 using the desensitised hand. It must be concluded, therefore, 

 that there is actual inabiliiy to perform the movements in ques- 

 tion. Occasionally in struggling, coarse movements of the 

 shoulder and elbow take place ; but, as a rule, the arm hangs 

 do*n helplessly. The movements abolished are those most 

 literally represented in the cortex cerebri. Damage to the 

 pyramidal tract is not the cause of the loss of movement, 

 because degeneration is not found in the spinal cords ; moreover, 

 stimulation of the cortex cerebri evokes movements in the 

 desensitised limb even more readily than the normal. 



The effect of section of the " whole series, "except the one 

 root which supplies the apex of the limb, produces only a very 

 slight impairment of movement. Any trophic changes that 

 occur are due to pressure and microbic infection. 



"Is Argon contained in Vcgeable or .\nimal .Sub- 

 stances?" By George W. MacDonald and Alex. M. 

 Ivellas. 



.\t Prof. Ramsay's suggestion, experiments were undertaken 

 by the authors to see whether argon could be obtained from 

 nitrogenous vegetables or from animal tissues. 



It is concluded that there is no appreciable quantity of argon 

 in peas (or at least that the aigon cannot be obtained with 

 the nitrogen by Dumas' method). 



An experiment with regard to the presence of argon in 

 animal tissues was also negative in its results. Mice were 

 selected for the experiment, because the nitiogen from the 

 whole animal could b.: conveniently coUecied by Dumas' 

 method. 



Chemical Society, March 21. — Dr. .\rmstrong, President, 

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

 metric determination of sugars by an ammoniacal cupric solu- 

 tion, by i,. I'eike. The author has deviled a modification ol 

 Pavy's method of estimating sugars, and gives tables showing 

 the reducing power of amm0niac.1l cupric solution for solutions 

 of various sugars. — The action of hydrogen sulphide on anti- 

 monic acid solutions, by O. lio.^.-k. The author demonstrates 

 the existence of compounds of the composition SbX^ ; he has 

 obtained the tetrasulphide Sb.jSj, and a double compound ol 

 the composition 3KCI, 2SbCl4. — Action of hydrogen sulphide 

 on antimonic, arsenic and telluric acids, by li. lirauner. — The 

 atomic weight of tellurium, by B. Brauner. From its position 

 in the periodic table, tellurium should have an atomic weight 

 between 123 and 125, whilst the number actually obtained is 

 12771 ; for this and other reasons the author concludes that 

 tellurium is not a simple substance, although attempts to elVect 

 a separation of its constituents have failed. The author sug- 

 gests that tellurium is a mixture or compound of two elcmeuts, 

 one of which occupies the position of tellurium in the periodic 

 table, and the other of which is the hypothetical "triargon." — 

 The hydrolysis of maltose by yeast, byG. 11. Morris. — -Studies 

 in isomeric change. Part iv. lithylben/enesulplionic acids, by 

 G. T. Moody. The sulphonation product of ethylbenzene 

 yields only one sulpbonic acid, and not two, as stated by 

 Chtuslschow. The para-acid is obtained thus : the ortho-acid 

 can be prepared by sulphonating and subsequently reducing 

 elhylbromobenzenc. — 18 lithoxyiiaphthalenesulphonic .acids. 

 The arrest of isomeric change at an intermediate stage, by A. 

 I.apworlh. 1 )aring the sulphonation of ethoxynapluhalene at a 

 low temperature the 2 : l-sulphonic acid is the first |>roduct. 

 fjn allowing the mixture to stand, however, this sjiontaneously 

 changes into the 2 : I'-aciJ. Some oxypyridine derivatives, by 

 Miss A. ]'. .Sedgwick and N. Collie. Starting from ^chloro- 

 aa'-dimethylpyridinc and 07 dichloro-a'-methylpyridine, tbe 



