3o6 



NATURE 



[January 25, 1894 



effectively. The discs were worked by a hand-pulley and fly- 

 wheel, controlled by a clock beating seconds loudly. The 

 residual sensations obtained, by noticing at what speed the 

 sound became continuous, ranged fromoo23i sees, in the case 

 of Uto, frequency 128, to 00049 sees, in the case of Ut,, 

 frequency 1024. The smallest consonant intervals were de- 

 termined by noticing when the beats coalesced into a smooth 

 tone. The residual sensations deduced from these experiments 

 wore found to be about one-third greater than those obtained by 

 the former method. — Petroleum in its relations to asphaltic 

 pavement, by S. F. Peckham. While it has been well known 

 for years that bitumens occur in great variety, the selection of a 

 proper material for softening the asphalt, to the exclusion of 

 others less desirable or wholly unfit, appears to have escaped 

 attention. A properly selected material should enter into 

 chemical union with both the constituents of the bitumen in the 

 asphalt, thereby increasing its adhesive and binding properties 

 upon the other constituents of the mastic. The proportion of 

 bitumen to sand and other non-bituminous ingredients should be 

 as I : 9, a larger amount of bitumen making the pavement too 

 soft, and a smaller amount giving too little stability. — The age 

 of the extra-moraine fringe in Eastern Pennsylvania, by E. H. 

 Williams, Junr. All observations tend to the conclusion that 

 there was but one ice age in Pennsylvania, and that a short and 

 recent one. — The internal work of the wind, by S. P. Langley 

 (see Notes). — Post-glacial seolian action in Southern New 

 England, by J. B. Wood worth. This paper treats mainly of the 

 action of blown sand in carving rocks and boulders. 



In the Botanical Gazette for November, 1893, we find a paper 

 on the Food of green plants, by Mr. C. R. Barnes, in which he 

 proposes the term photo-syntax for the process of formation of 

 complex carbon compounds out of simple ones under the influ- 

 ence of light. — Mr. H. L. Russell continues his account of the 

 Bacterial flora of the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Woods 

 Holl, Massachusetts ; and Miss F. D. Bergen, her useful Record 

 of popular American plant names. 



The third and concluding part of vol. vi. of Cohn's Beitrage 

 zur Biologie der Pflanzen contains three important papers. — 

 Dr. M. Scholtz describes the changes in position which take 

 place in the flower-stalk of Cobcea scandens before and after 

 flowering. It affords the first recorded instance of an organ with 

 complicated anisotropy. During the development of the bud the 

 flower-stalk exhibits strong negativegeotropism and positivehelio- 

 tropism. After the opening of the flower, which is strongly 

 proterandrous, changes take place in the position of the stamens 

 and style which bring the stigma nearly into the position pre- 

 viously occupied by the anthers. — HerrG. Karsten gives further 

 details of the embryology of Gnetiim ; the development of the 

 male, of the imperfect female, and of the perfect female flowers 

 being described in detail. In the perfect female flowers there 

 are always at first several embryo-sacs ; and in some species 

 two or three of these remain till the period of fertilisation, and 

 are capable of impregnation. The actual process of impregna- 

 tion presents some analogy, on the one hand, to that in the 

 Coniferse, on the other hand to that in the Casuarineze. The 

 generative nucleus of the pollen-grain divides within the pollen- 

 tube, as in the Coniferje. The two portions of this nucleus 

 enter the embryo-sac and coalesce with one of its nuclei. In 

 some species secondary embryos are produced. — Pv. Hegler gives 

 details of experiments on the influence of mechanical traction 

 on the growth of plants. 



Bulletins de la Societe d Anthropologie dc Paris, Tome iv. 

 (4e Serie), No. lo. — The greater part of this number of the 

 Bulletins is occupied by the replies of M. J. M. van Baarda to 

 the questions of the Anthropological Society with regard to the 

 island of Halmaheira, or Gilolo, in the Moluccas. M. G. 

 de Mortillet contributes some pal?eographical notes on the 

 lower valley of the Seine ; and MM. E. Fournier and C. 

 Riviere describe the discovery of objects of the Robenhausian 

 period in the Grotto Loubiere, near Marseilles. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 



Royal Society, January 18.— " On the Transformation of 

 Optical Wave-Surfaces by Homogeneous Strain." By Oliver 

 Heaviside, F.R.S. 



"On the Reflection and Refraction of Light." By G. A. 

 Schott, formerly Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. 



NO. 1265, "^'OL- 49] 



Chemical Society, December 21, 1893. — Dr. Armstrong, 

 President, in the chair. — The following papers were read : — 

 Corydaline. Part iii. : Oxidation with potassium permanganate, 

 by J. J. Dobbie and A. Lauder. The authors have investigated 

 corydalinic acid, CiiH5N(OMe)4(COOH)4, obtained by oxidis- 

 ing corydaline with potassium permanganate. — The properties 

 of o-benzaldoxime and some of its derivatives, by W. R. Dun- 

 stan and C. M. Luxmore. Both a-benzaldoxime and its acetyl- 

 derivative may be obtained in the solid state by cooling. The 

 authors are at present examining a number of addition pro- 

 ducts of the former substance with the halogen acids. — The 

 interaction of acid chlorides and nitrates, by H. E. Armstrong 

 and A. Lapworth. — The freezing points of triple alloys, by C. 

 T. Heycock and F. H. Neville. The existence of a compound 

 of silver and cadmium of the composition 2AgCd seems 

 probable from the results of freezing point determinations of 

 mixtures of these metals in tin, lead, or thallium solution. The 

 behaviour of solutions of silver and cadmium in bismuth points 

 to the formation of the compound 4AgCd. Aluminium and 

 gold appear to form the compound AuAL when dissolved to- 

 gether in molten tin. — Synthesis of pentamethylenecarboxylic 

 acid, hexamethylenecarboxylic acid, hexhydrobenzoic acid, and 

 azelaic acid, by E. Haworth and W. H. Perkin, jun. The 

 authors have prepared the acids mentioned above from the pro- 

 ducts of interaction of a mixture of tetra- and penta-methylene 

 bromides and ethylic sodiomalonate. — The conversion of ortho- 

 into para- and of para- into ortho-quinone derivatives : I. The 

 condensation of aldehydes with /8-hydroxy-a-naphthylamine, 

 by S. C. Hooker and W. C. Carnell. — The synthesis of 

 lapachol, by S, C. Hooker. An isomeride of lapachol is ob- 

 tained by heating an acetic acid solution of hydroxynaphtha- 

 quinone with valeric aldehyde and hydrochloric acid. 



Geological Society, January 10. — W, H.Hudleston, F.R.S. , 

 President, in the chair. — The following communications were 

 read : — On the Rhstic and some Liassic Ostracoda of Britain, 

 by Prof. T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S. The published observations 

 on the occurrence of these Microzoa in the Rhsetic and Lower 

 Liassic strata of England, chiefly in Gloucestershire and Somer- 

 set, by the Rev. P. B. Brodie, H. E. Strickland, C. Moore, and 

 others, were given ; and the various notices of the so-called 

 Cypris liassica in various palseontological works were con- 

 sidered. Numerous specimens submitted by the Rev. P. B. 

 Brodie, the Rev. H. H. Winwood, and Mr. E. Wilson, and 

 some few examined in the Geological Society's collection, have 

 been studied, with the result of determining the characters 

 and alliances of Darwinula liassica (Brodie) and of six or seven 

 other species found in the same and the associated series of 

 strata. The Dar-wimda globosa (Duff), from Linksfield, Moray- 

 shire, was also critically re-examined as one of this interesting 

 series of Rhsetic Ostracoda. The other species belong for the 

 most part to Cytheridea ; thus most of them probably lived in 

 brackish or estuarine waters. The President and Dr. Henry Wood- 

 ward spoke on the subject of the paper, and the author replied. — 

 Leigh Creek Jurassic Coal-Measures of South Australia : their 

 origin, composition, physical, and chemical characters ; and 

 recent subatirial metamorphism of local superficial drift, by '. 

 James Parkinson. This paper dealt with the lignitic coal of i 

 Leigh Creek and associated rocks. Analyses were given, as ; 

 illustrating comparisons between the Leigh Creek coal and I 

 Jurassic and other coal-bearing rocks found elsewhere. The | 

 author discussed the origin of the Leigh Creek deposits, and 

 described certain peculiarities noticeable in the superficial 

 materials. The President and Mr. Browne made a few remarks 

 upon the subject of the paper. — Physical and chemical geology ; 

 of the interior of Australia : recent subaerial metamorphism of 

 Eolian sand at ordinary atmospheric temperature into quartz, 

 quartzite, and other stones, by James Parkinson. South of the 

 Flinders Range fragments of stone of all sizes are found on the 

 ground, the origin of which the author discussed. He main- 

 tained that they were formed by subaerial metamorphism of 

 Eolian deposits. A discussion followed, in which the President, 

 Mr. R. D. Oldham, Prof. T. Rupert Jones, Dr. H. Woodward, 

 Mr. Marr, Dr. G. J. Hinde, and Mr. E. T. Newton took part.. 



Zoological Society, January 16.— Sir W. H. Flower, 

 K.C.B., F.R.S., President, in the chair.— The Secretary read 

 a report on the additions that had been made to the Society s 

 menagerie during the month of December, 1893. — Mr. Sclater 

 exhibited and made remarks on a drawing of the head of a 

 monkey {Cercopithecus erythrogaster) in the Paris Museum, for-' 

 warded to him by M. Pousargues, of that institution. — An extract! 



