May 4, 1916] 



NATURE 



2i5 



crystallisation. A cellular network is formed by fused 

 sodium nitrate, showing close analogy with the similar 

 network described by Cartaud as present in certain 

 rapidly solidified metals. — E. Fleary : The ancient 

 glaciations of the Serra da Estrella (Portugal). — C. 

 Sauvageau : The gametophytes in L. flexicaulis and 

 L. saccharina. — R. Anthony : A brain of a foetus of a 

 chimpanzee. A detailed description and comparison 

 with the adult brain and with the brain of a human 

 foetus of seven to eight months. — E. Bataillon : The 

 rdle of sodium and potassium salts in polyspermia in 

 Batrachians. — Em. Bourquelot and A. Anbry : The bio- 

 chemical synthesis of a galactoside of saligenin, 

 /3-salicylgalactoside. — J. Bergonie : Illusory protection 

 against the X-rays in doctors already affected. 

 Physical or indirect anaphylaxy. A medical man who, 

 as a consequence of grave radiodermatitis, had given 

 up all X-ray work, was recently under the necessity of 

 again working with X-rays. His skin proved to be 

 abnormally sensitive, a dose i/i6ooth of that required 

 to give a reaction with a normal skin sufficing to pro- 

 duce grave symptoms. The nature of these absolutely 

 excluded the possibility of suggestion, and the case 

 might be described as one of physical anaphylaxy. — 

 C. Richet : Remarks on the preceding communication. 

 It is pointed out that although the anaphylaxy in this 

 case is the consequence of a physical action, the cause 

 is really chemical, since the X-rays have determined 

 an alteration in the tissues, which is translated by a 

 chemical modification of these tissues or their secre- 

 tions. 



W.\SHINGTON, D.C. 

 National Academy ol Sciences (Proceedings No. 3, 

 vol. ii., March 1916). — S. Paige : The mechanics of 

 intrusion of the Black Hills (S.D.) pre-Cambrian 

 granite. — C. A. Davis : The fossil Algae of the 

 petroleum-yielding shales of the Green River forma- 

 tion of Colorado and Utah. Scientific, as well as 

 economic, interest has been aroused in these shales 

 because they have recently been discovered to yield 

 petroleum when subjected to destructive distillation in 

 closed retorts. The author finds that these shales 

 may be examined microscopically by the methods of 

 sectioning already in use for peats and coals. — A. V. 

 Kidder : Archaeological explorations at Pecos, New 

 Mexico. The most important results are stratograph- 

 ical, various styles of pottery being found in super- 

 position. — \\. Hougfai : Man and metals. An account 

 is given of the author's study of the uses of fire by 

 man in so far as the development of metallurgy is 

 concerned. — W. W. Campbell and J. H. Moore : The 

 observed rotations of a planetary nebula. The nebula 

 No. 7009 of Dreyer's New General Catalogue is rotat- 

 ing about an axis through the central nucleus 

 nearly at right angles to the plane passing 

 through the observer and the major axis of 

 the image. The mass of the nebula is ap- 

 parently several times larger than that of the sun. 

 It is suggested that the ring nebulaa are not true 

 rings, but ellipsoidal shells. — H. Shapley : A short- 

 period Cepheid with variable spectrum. The star RR 

 Lyrae is a periodic variable in at least three ways : 

 first, in the light of intensity; secondly, in the radial 

 velocity ; and thirdly, in the spectrum which changes 

 from F to A. A similar spectral change is found 

 in RS Bootis.— W. S. Adams and H. Shapley : The 

 spectrum of 8 Cephei. At maximum the high-tem- 

 perature lines are very strong, and the low-temperature 

 lines very weak, while at minimum the reverse is the 

 case. This indicates that at maximum the tem- 

 perature of the gases constituting the star's absorbing 

 envelope is higher than at minimum. — W. S. Adams : 

 Investigations in stellar sf>ectroscopy. I. — A quanti- 

 tative method of classifying stellar spectra. Method 



NO. 2427, VOL. 97] 



replaces to a considerable extent direct estimations 

 ot spectral type by numerical estimates of relative 

 line-intensity, which may be made with much higher 

 accuracy. — W. S. Adami : II. — A spectroscopic method 

 of determining stellar parallaxes. III. — Application 

 of a spectroscopic method of determining stellar dis- 

 tances to stars of measured parallax. The method of 

 computing absolute magnitudes and parallaxes from 

 the variation of the intensities of lines in the stellar 

 spectrum is capable of yielding results of a very con- 

 siderable degree of accuracy. — W. S. Adams : IV. — 

 Spectroscopic evidence for the existence of two classes 

 of M type stars. Two groups of M stars are indi- 

 cated clearly by examination of the intensities of the 

 hydrogen lines. — A. E. Jenks : The failure and revival 

 of the process of pigmentation in the human skin. 

 It is found that, on the one hand, there is an exten- 

 sion of the albinistic areas, and on the other a revival 

 of the process of pigment metabolism within an at- 

 one-time albinistic area. — R. \V. Sayles : Banded 

 glacial slates of Permo-Carboniferous age, showing 

 possible seasonal variations in deposition. A 

 study of the slate and tillite formations of Squantum 

 (near Boston) affords evidence of seasonal changes in 

 the locality, indicating that it was in a temf>erate 

 zone during Permian times as now. — F. Morley : An 

 extension of Feuerbach's theorem. All circular line- 

 cubics on the joins of four orthocentric points touch 

 the Feuerbach circle. — L. P. Eisenhart : Deformations 

 of transformations of Ribaucour. — W. W. Atwood and 

 K. F. Mather : Geographic history of the San Juan 

 Mountains since the close of the Mesozoic era. The 

 study of the geography of this region is closely related 

 to the geologic studies of the range, but may lead also 

 to a study of anthropogeography. — W. B. Clark, E. VV. 

 Berry, and J. A. Gardner : The age of the Middle 

 •■Vtlantic coast Upper Cretaceous deposits. The several 

 Upper Cretaceous formations of the Middle Atlantic 

 coast represent all the major divisions of the 

 European series. — rEdward W. Berry : Upper Creta- 

 ceous floras of the world. The stratigraphic position 

 of the more important of the Upper Cretaceous fk)ras 

 is indicated by a diagram. — S. O. Mast and F. M. 

 Root : Observations on Amoeba feeding on Infusoria, 

 and their bearing on the surface tension theon,-. Sur- 

 face tension is probably only a small factor in the 

 process of feeding in Amoeba. — R. C. Tolman andT. D. 

 Stewart : The electromotive force produced by the 

 acceleration of metals. Successful attempts have 

 been made to change the relative position of positive 

 and negative electricity in a piece of metal by sub- 

 jecting it to a large retardation. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Department of Commerce. Geodesy. Serial No. 7 : 

 Latitude Obser\ations with Photographic Zenith Tube 

 at Gaithersburg, M.D. By Dr. F. E. Ross. Special 

 Publication, No. 27. Pp. 127 and plates A to Q. 

 Serial No. 14 : Triangulation in West Virginia, Ohio, 

 Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. By A. L. 

 Baldwin. Special Publication, No. 30. Pp. 67. 

 Serial No. 15 : Triangulation along the Columbia 

 River and the Coasts of Oregon and Northern Cali- 

 fornia. By C. A. Mourhess. Special Publication, 

 No. 31. Pp. 149. (\Vashington : Government Print- 

 ing Office.) 



The Nemesis of Docility : a Study of German Char- 

 acter. By E. Holmes. Pp. vii4-264. (London: 

 Constable and Co., Ltd.) 45. 6d. net. 



The Marketing of Farm Products. Bv Prof. 

 L. D. H. Weld. Pp. xiv + 483. (New York: The 

 Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan and Co.. 

 Ltd.) 65. 6d. net. 



