April 27, 19 16] 



NATURE 



195 



regarded as the connecting-link between the first and 

 fourth of the six sections into which it is proposed to 

 divide the genus Lacerta.— R. Gurney : Fresh-water 

 Entomostraca collected by Mr. G. W. Smith in Oylon 

 in 1907. The collection contained examples of thirty- 

 five species, and one species of Copepoda and two of 

 Ostracoda were described as new, one of the latter 

 belonging to the typically African genus Oncocypris. — 

 Major k. Meinertzhagen : The Sitatungas (Limno- 

 tragus) of the Sesse Islands. The author found that 

 the Bugalla Island antelopes of this genus seem to be 

 of the same race as the mainland form, Lininotragus 

 spekei, but that the Nkose Island form, which he 

 proposed as a new subspecies, differed in the short- 

 ness of its hoofs and other characters. 



Geological Society, April 5.— Dr. A. Marker, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — G. W. Tyrrell : The picrite-teschenite 

 :I of Lugar (Ayrshire) and its differentiation. This 

 11 is e.xposed in the gorges of the Bellow and Glen- 

 mir Waters, just above the confluence of these 

 reams to form the Lugar Water. It has a thick- 

 ness estimated at 140 ft., and is intrusive into sand- 

 stones of the Millstone Grit. The contacts consist of 

 contorted basaltic rock passing into teschenite. The 

 upper teschenite becomes richer in analcite downwards, 

 and ends abruptly at a sharp junction with fine-grained 

 theralite. The lower teschenite becomes richer in 

 olivine upwards, but passes rapidly into hornblende- 

 peridotite. The central unit of the sill is a graded 

 mass beginning with theralite at the top and passing 

 gradually into picrite, and finally peridotite, bv gradual 

 enrichment in olivine and elimination of felspar, 

 nepheline, and analcite. The average rock of the 

 sill is much more basic than the rock now forming 

 the contacts. Hence the main differentiation cannot 

 have occurred in situ. The theory is advanced that 

 the differentiation units were produced by the process 

 of liquation, but that their arrangement within the 

 sill took place under the influence of gravity. The 

 sill is compared with other teschenite-picrite sills in 

 Scotland, those of Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Blackburn, 

 Barnton, and Inchcolm. 



Linnean Society, April 6.— Prof. E. B. Poulton, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — Prof. G. C. Bourne : A description 

 five new species of Edwardsia, Quatr., from New 

 'uinea, with an account of the order of succession of 

 !<■ micromesenteries and tentacles in the Edwardsidae. 

 Prof. W. J. Dakin : A new species of Enteropneusta, 

 irom the Abrolhos Islands. 



Academy of Sciences, April 10.— M. Camille Jordan in 

 c chair.— G. Bigourdan : Some works of Peiresc. 

 ' irticulars of some obser\'ations recorded in a manu- 

 lipt dated November, 1610, to June, 1612, including 

 ork on the satellites of Jupiter, the moon and planets, 

 nd the nebula of Orion. — B. Bailland and M. Pour- 

 j *«•" : The calculation of right ascensions and declina- 

 tions of stars of the photographic catalogue. The 

 ■ethod worked out is illustrated bv a numerical 

 sample for one star.— Ch. Lallemand': A project for 

 j the modification of the legal time. An adverse criticism 

 i of the daylight saving scheme proposed in France (see 

 • 183).— Pierre Duhem : The general problem of elec- 

 odynamics for a svstem of immovable conducting 

 'JOdies — C. Guichard : Plane networks which are at 

 once the orthogonal projection af a netw^ork O and the 

 orthogonal projection of a network G.— M. Cerf : The 

 r^"^^""^**'^" °^ partial differential equations.— Paul 

 uanbert : A crystalline modification of sulphur show^ing 

 spheruhtes arranged helicoidallv.— G. Lecointre : The 

 geology of Djebel Ouitita and 'the neighbourhood of 

 tJar bel Hamri, western Morocco.— Raoul Blanchard : 



NO. 2426, VOL. 97] 



The existence of a glacial island at Grenoble. At the 

 junction of the solt rocks of Gr^sivaudan and the 

 hard rocks of Chartreuse and Vercors such a glacial 

 formation might be expected, and one has been iden- 

 tified by the author near Grenoble. — Henri Devaox : 

 The rapid action of saline solutions on living plants; 

 the reversible displacement of a part of the basic sub- 

 stances contained in the plant. A living plant, 

 Elodea, was washed with distilled water and no cal- 

 cium could be detected in the washings. The plant 

 was then treated with a solution of sodiurr> or potassium 

 chloride (i in 1000). Calcium was proved in the 

 liquid, which must have been extracted from the plant 

 cells. This decalcifying action is accompanied by 

 fixation by the plant of a portion of the alkaline metal. 

 — G. Andre : The relations which exist between the 

 presence of magnesium in leaves and the function of 

 assimilation. It is known that crude chlorophyll ex- 

 tracted from leaves by alcohol, or light petroleum, 

 always contains magnesium, the latter being left as 

 phosphate on ignition. It has also been shown that 

 magnesium is the only fixed element forming part of 

 the chlorophyll molecule. Experiments were carried 

 out on the leaves of horse chestnut, lilac, and Spanish 

 chestnut, at different stages of growth (April to July), 

 determinations of the phosphorus and magnesium both 

 in the extracted and residual portions of the leaves 

 being made. — Jules Courtier : Variations of the peri- 

 pheral temperature of the body during suggestions 

 of heat and cold. Under suggestion of cold there was 

 an average increase in the peripheral temperature 

 of 028° ; under suggestion of heat, an average fall 

 of 02°. These variations were in the opposite sense 

 to those expected from the normal behaviour of the 

 body under the action of heat and cold. The vaso- 

 motor reflexes do not appear to be affected by sug- 

 gestion. — J. Havet : Relations between neurology- and 

 vascular apparatus in the Invertebrates. — F. 

 d'HereUe : Contribution to the study of immunity. 

 In the case of Bacillus typhi muriutn attempts to 

 prepare an immunising serum have failed. It is now 

 shown that the antiseptics used to kill the organisms 

 in the preparation of the serum w'ere too strong, 

 not only killing the bacillus but profoundly modify- 

 ing the toxins. It has been found that various 

 volatile essences (mustard, cinnamon, thyme) can kill 

 the bacillus without affecting the toxin, and a vac- 

 cine has been prepared on these lines capable of 

 partially immunising mice against the infection. — 

 Maurice Beaussenat : W^ound of the heart by a shrap- 

 nel ball. Cardiotomy and extraction of the projectile 

 from the right ventricle. Cure. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa. Bulletin 

 No. 56. Green-Manuring in India. By A. C. Dobbs. 

 Pp- 55- (Calcutta : Superintendent Government Print- 

 ing, India.) 



Report of the Agricultural Research Institute and 

 College, Pusa (including the Report of the Imperial 

 Cotton Specialist), 1914-15. Pp. iv+119. (Calcutta: 

 Superintendent Government Printing, India.) 



Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tas- 

 mania for the Year 1915. Pp. 128 + plates x. 

 (Hobart : Royal Society of Tasmania.) 6s. 



Annual Report of the Board of Scientific Advice for 

 India, for the Year 1914-15. Pp. 191. (Calcutta : 

 Superintendent Government Printing, India.) 15. 6d. 



Report on the Calcareous Sponges collected by Mr. 

 James Hornell at Okhamandal in Kattiawar in 1905-6 

 (with two plafes). By Prof. A. Dendy. (London : 

 W^illiams and Norgate.) 



