624 



NA TUKE 



[April 25, 1895 



February 23, 1895. — Prof. Hubrecht brought forwarj a new 

 hypothesis to explain the origin of the amnion. Birds and 

 reptiles have been looked upon as possessing the normal type 

 of amniogenesis from which that of the Mammalia had to 

 be further derived. The primitive Insectivores offer far better 

 s'.ariing points. In the development of the heigeh^g's amnion, 

 another path is found along which it is easy to connect both 

 the higher Mammalia and the Sauropiid.T. The hedge- 

 hog allows a comparison to be made between the tro- 

 phoblast with the outer layer of the amphibian ecto- 

 derm. Thus it would be possible to trace the first origin 

 of the amnion in the Anamnia. — A paper containing full 

 particulars, and accompanied by several plates, was presented 

 for publication in the Academy's I'erhandelitigen, under the 

 title: "Ueberdie Phylogencsedej Amnions und die Bedeutung 

 des Trophoblastes." — Mr. Suringar read a paper on "family 

 relations in the vegetable kingdom," as set forth in a sketch in 

 the form of a genealogical tree, designed by the author to 

 illustrate his University lectures. — Mr. Franchimont pre- 

 sent^J, on behalf of Dr. P. van Roniburgh, two papers. 

 (a) On some nitro derivatives of dimethylaniline. By nitration 

 of dimelhylanilioe in a great quantity of sulphuric acid, as well 

 as by treating meianitrodimethylaniline with diluted nitric acid, 

 '.wo diniiro derivatives were obtained ; a yellow one fusing at 

 176°, and a red one fusing at 1 12 . In the yellow one there is 

 a nitro group that may easily be substituted. By further nitration 

 it yields two triniiro derivatives : a yellow one melting at 154° 

 and an orange-coloured one melting at 196. The red diniiro 

 derivative yields onlv the orange-coloured trinitro derivative. 

 All of them are finally converted into the same tetranilrophenyl- 

 moDomethylnitramioe, viz. : 



C.H.(NO-), (2, 3, 4, 6) (N.CH,.NOo) (i). 



From their relations or properties the following structure is 

 deduced : 



Trinitro Dimethylatxilint. 



IS4' = C6H,N(CH3U (I), (NOo), (2, 3, 4). 

 I96°=C«H,N(CHA. (I). (NO.,)3 (3, 4, 6). 



Diiiilio Dimethylaniline. 



176°-C«H,N(CH:,1.. (I). (N0.,)..(3, 4)- 

 ii2*=C,H,N(Ciy,(i), (NO..). (3, 6). 



{b) On addition products of symmetrical trinitrobenzol. Hepp 

 has found that with aromatic amines S. Irinitro-benzol yielded 

 coloured addition products. With brucine. Dr. van Romburgh 

 arrived at the same result : it formed brownish red needles 

 fusing at 15S' ; strychnine did not do so under the same cir- 

 cumstances. With trinitro-benzjl, indol yielded gold-coloured 

 needles melting at 187 , .skatol, orange-coloured ones melting 

 at 183°, and pyrrol, gold-coloured ones melting at 95° ; ihe 

 last-mentioned gave off the pyrrol to the air in a few hours (at 

 25°). All these compounds consisted of one molecule to one 

 molecule of trinitrobenzol. Pyridine and quinoline did not 

 form such compounds ; the former caused trinitrobenzol to 

 crystallise in large crystals. Piperidine, nicotine and phenyl- 

 hydrazine gave rise 10 red tints, but crystallised compounds 

 could not be obtained. With other nitro compounds, too, as : 

 C,Hj NMe, NH,NO, (1 ; 3 : 4), and C„H,N.Mej.NUMe.NO.., 

 (I : 3 : 4), trinitrobenzol yielded crim-on products, melting 

 reipectively at 130 and 144', ani being composed of a mole- 

 cule of each of the constituents. 



March 30. — Prof. Van de Sande Bakhuyzen in the chair. — 

 Mr. Bakhuis Roozeboom has, in conjunction with Dr. 

 Hoilscnia, investigated the behaviour of hydrogen to palla- 

 dium, from o' to 190 , and from o to 6 aim. pressure. It 

 results (torn Ihe observations that, contrary to the opinion 

 of Troost and Ilautefeuillc, there exists no such compound 

 a< I'd, II, neither can the phenomena observed be explained 

 by admitting the existence of two solid solutions. The 

 absorption proceeds gradually, as if there exists but one solid 

 kolution. There is, however, at low temperatures a period in 

 which the concontralion rises much more rapidly with the 

 prcmure of hydr Jgcn than before or afterwards. This behaviour 

 pre-ent> an analogy to the conduct of gases near their critical 

 temperature. 



GoTTINGEN. 



Royal Society of Sciences. — In the Nachrichlett, part 

 I, lor 1S95. appear the following contributions in the depart- 

 ment of mathematics and physics : — 



December 1S04 — I. R. Schutz : i Complete and general 



solution of a fundamental problem in the theory of the potential. 



-Robert Fricke : On the theory of ternarv quadratic forms with 



integral complex coefiicienls. — J. Orth : On bacterial disorders 



ol excretion in the renal medulla. 



januar)' 1S95. — !• J*- Schu;z : Extension of Maxwell's law 

 of the distribution of velocities, deduced from the principle of 

 the minimum path. — E. Ehlers : On the viscera of ZiTtii/oiiV^n. 

 — I.udwig Rhumbler : Sketch of a natural system of classifica- 

 tion for the Tlialamoplioia. — Hermann \Vagner : The areaofthe 

 land surfaces of the earth according to zones. — R. Dedekind : 

 On the basis of the theory of ideals. — Ileinrich Burkhardt : Con- 

 tributions to researches on the foundations of geometry. — Franz 

 Meyer : On the structure of the discriminants and resultants of 

 binary forms. — Wilhelm Ilallwachs : On an aperiodic 

 amagoetic quadrant-electrometer, free from residual action. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, and SERIALS RECEIVED. 



Books.— Royal linivcr.«iity of Ireland, Cal>;nd.-ir 18^5 (Dublin, Thoni) — 

 Soci^t^ d' Encouragement pour I'lndusirie Nalionale, .Annunire iSgs 

 (Paris).— Land. Bird^ and Gamc-Birds of New Knjland ; H. D. Minor 

 (Boston, Houghion).—Ttie Moon: T. G. Eljer (Philip) —R. Bradsha»\ 

 Bathing Places and Climatic Health Resorts (K. Paul).— Soiialc Evolu- 

 tion : B. Kidd, aus dem Englischen Ubersekt von E. Pfleidcrer (Jeii.i, 

 Fischer). — Motive Powers and their Practical Selection : R. Bolton (Long- 

 mans). 



Pamthlets. — Indexes to the Literatures of Cerium and Lanthanum : 

 Dr. W. H. Magcc (Washington). — Reports of Observations and Experi- 

 ments in the Practical Work of the Division of Entomology, U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agricultnre(Washington). 



.Skijials. — Journal of Anatomy and Physiology. April (Griffin) — Roy.il 

 Natural History, P.art 18 (Warnc) — American Naturalist. April (Pliil.i- 

 delphia). — Insect Life, Vol vi. No. 5: Vol. vii Nos. 1-4 (Washington) — 

 Ergebnisse der Meieorologischen Beobachtungen, Jahrg. xvi. (Hamburg) 



CONTENTS p.\GE 



Controversial Geology. By Prof John W. Judd, 



F.R.S 601 



Popular Weather Forecasts 602 



The Mycetozoa 603 



A New Work on Dyeing. By Walter M. Gardner. 604 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



"The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and 



Hurnia."— W. F. Kirby 605 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Oricin of the Cultivated Cineraria. —W. Bate- 

 son. F.R.S. . 605 



The Age of the Earth.— Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, 



F.R.S. ; C. Davison 607 



Thf Burmese Chinped Flints. Pliocene not Miocene. 



Dr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S . 60S 



The Mandrake. — Kumagusu Minakata 608 



A Claim for Priority. —Alex. E. Outerbridge . . 60S 

 An Improved Method for the Microscopic Investi- 

 gation of Crystals. By A. E. Tutton ... 608 

 Microbes and Metals. By Mrs. Percy Frankland . 611 



Professor James Dwight Dana 611 



Notes 612 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Tli'j Variable Star Z I lerculis 616 



The Diameter of Neptune 617 



Induced Magnetism in Volcanic Rocks 617 



The Freezing-Point of Dilute Solutions. By J. W. 



Rodger 617 



The Examination Curve. ( ll'tlh Diagrams.) By 



Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan 617 



University and Educational Intelligence 6iii 



Scientific Serials 619 



Societiefi and Academies 620 



Books, Pamphlets, and Serials Received 624 



NO. 



1330, VOL. 51] 



