January i8, 1900] 



NATURE 



287 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, January 2.— M. Maurice Levy in 

 ilie chair. — M. Ph. van Tieghem, the retiring President, an- 

 nounced to the Academy the changes that have occurred amongst 

 the members and correspondents during 1899. — M. Maurice 

 ] .( vy delivered a short address on taking the presidential chair.— 

 ( )n the anomaly in the movement of the fifth satellite of Jupiter, 

 ly M. O. Callandreau. This deviation, to interpret which M. 

 Asaph Hall has suggested a modification of the Newtonian law 

 (it attraction, may perhaps be explained in a less drastic manner 

 by admitting that for such bodies as the sun and Jupiter, at 

 the surface of which observation has shown fluids in relative 

 movement in the neighbourhood of the equator, the resultant 

 of the forces, instead of being rigorously normal to the surface 

 at each point, tends, near the equator, to bring the molecules 

 of this plane nearer together. — On the plastic activity of animal 

 cells, by M. L. Ranvier. Some serous secretion from the peri- 

 toneum of the rat, containing some air bubbles, was heated in 

 a moist chamber at 30° to 36". It was observed that the lym- 

 phatic cells moved towards the bubbles, and, on arriving at 

 their surface, were flattened there as against a resisting body. 

 If the whole is cooled down to 21", the cells become again 

 spherical. The name of plastic activity is given to this pheno- 

 menon, which is a vital one. The flattening of the lymphatic 

 cells against resisting bodies had been noted previously by the 

 author ; but it had not appeared to be possible that this effect 

 could be produced by an air bubble. — On the culture of white 

 lupins, by MM. P. P. Deherain and C. Demoussy. As the 

 result of three years' cultures, it was found that the white lupin 

 does not attain its full development when there are no nodules 

 on the roots. These nodules, when present, may differ greatly 

 in size and appearance, the maximum assimilation of nitrogen 

 corresponding with the smallest nodules. — The Perpetual 

 Secretary announced the deaths of Sir James Paget, Corre- 

 spondant for the Section of Medicine and Surgery, and 

 of M. Matheron, Correspondant for the Section of 

 Mineralogy. — The lunar eclipse of December 16, 1899, at the 

 Observatory of Lyons, by M. Ch. Andre. The occultations of 

 several stars were observed under excellent conditions. — Obser- 

 vations of the sun made at the Observatory of Lyons with the 

 Brunner 16 cm. equatorial during the third quarter of 1899, by 

 M. J. Guillaume. The results are expressed in three tables, 

 showing the number of spots, their distribution in latitude, and 

 the distribution of the facul* in latitude. — On orthogonal 

 systems, by M. Servant. — On the elementary law of electro- 

 magnetism, by M. Raveau. In the determination of the action 

 of an indefinite current upon a magnetised needle, MM. Biot 

 and Savart made the assumption that the eftect of the wires from 

 the battery could, owing to their distance, be safely neglected. 

 According to the author this is not the case. — On the manganic 

 oxidation of citric and malic acids, by M. G. Deniges. By the 

 direct oxidation of citric acid with potassium permanganate, 

 a good yield of acetone-dicarboxylic acid is produced, easily 

 separable by mercuric sulphate in the form of an insoluble 

 mercury compound. Malic acid, similarly oxidised, but treated 

 with mercuric acetate instead of the sulphate, gives oxalacetic 

 acid. The author suggests that these reactions may be advan- 

 tageously utilised in analysis.— On acidimetry, by MM. Henri 

 Imbert and A. Astruc. A study of the acidimetry of weak 

 acids, including phenols, fatty and aromatic acids, halogen 

 and nitro-derivatives of the acids, polyphenolic and amine 

 acids, with the three indicators helianthine A, phenol- 

 phthalein, and Porrier's blue. — On some amines containing 

 the camphor ring, by M. G. Blanc. The reduction of 

 isolauronolic nitrile was attempted in the hope of producing 

 /3-aminocampholene, the amide of ;8-campholenic acid. The 

 reduction proved to go further than this, a saturated base 

 C!,H,5.CH.,.NH2 being produced, of which the chlorhydrate, 

 nitrate, chloroaurate, sulphate, oxalate, picrate, benzoyl deriva- 

 tive, and corresponding urea are described. The reaction 

 <if the base with ethyl iodide was also studied. — 

 (Jn the allotropy of benzophenone, by M. Oichsner 

 (ie Coninck. It is shown that among the conditions governing 

 the transformation of the stable modification of benzophenone 

 into the unstable form, the phenomenon of slow oxidation is one 

 of the most important. — The green pigment of Amanita mus- 

 ■ aria, by M. A. B. Griffiths.— On the soluble ferments produced 

 uring germination of seeds with horny albumen, by MM. Em. 

 i ;ourquelot and H. Herissy. The s&tds oi Trigotiella Frenum 

 .J tiei urn z.nd oi Medicago sativa hthi.\G in a similar manner to 



the Carob bean during germination, secreting soluble ferments 

 capable of hydrolising and rendering assimilable the reserve 

 carbohydrates. The action of these ferments is comparable with 

 that of warm dilute sulphuric acid. — The variations of plankton 

 at Lake Chauvet, by M. Bruyant. — On the constitution of the 

 ovarian follicle of reptiles, by Mile. Marie Loyez. The follicle 

 of reptiles is composed of two kinds of cells ; small ordinary 

 follicular cells, and large cells like young ovules, which may be 

 considered as true abortive ovules, and the function of which 

 is probably to assist in the formation of the vitellus — Experi- 

 ments on the freezing of ciders, by M. Descours-Desacres. A 

 study of the fractional freezing of cider and perry. — Researches 

 on beer, by M. Van Laer. It frequently happens that speci- 

 mens of beer, which are clear and brilliant by transmitted light, 

 appear to be turbid when examined by reflection. This disease, 

 which is technically known as double face or tiueeskinde, is due 

 to contamination with a bacillus, named by the author Bacillus 

 viscoius bruxellensis. A detailed account of the methods of 

 isolation and cultivation of this bacillus is given. — On the 

 plagioliparites of Cape Marsa (Algeria), by MM. L. Duparc and 

 F. Pearce. 



January 8. — M. Maurice L^vy in the chair. — Remarks on an 

 earthquake in the province of Rhenish Hesse on December 20, 

 1899, by the French Consul at Frankfort-on-Maine. — Observa- 

 tions of the diameter and flattening of Jupiter, by M. G. 

 Bigourdan. Since the calculated and found values for the 

 motion of the fifth satellite of Jupiter are not in agreement, it 

 appeared to be advisable to redetermine the magnitudes of the 

 planet's diameter and flattening, since both these enter into 

 the calculations. The mean equatorial diameter was found to 

 be 38"-55, the mean polar diameter 36"o9, givinga flattening of 

 1/157. — Observation of the partial eclipse of the moon of 

 December 16, 1899, made at the Observatory of Besan9on, by 

 M. P. Chafardet. The observations were interrupted by clouds 

 at the commencement of the eclipse, but the occultations of 

 six stars were measured. — On the absolute value of 

 the magnetic elements on January I, 1900, by M. Th. 

 Moureaux. — On the theory of errors, by M. Estienne. — 

 On the value of the internal pressure in the equations of Van der 

 Waals and Clausius, by M. Daniel Berthelot. The author plots 

 the curve a>v=/(o)) (where u> is the reduced critical pressure and 

 V the reduced critical volume), and compares the experimental 

 critical isotherm for carbon dioxide (Amagat) with the theoretical 

 critical isotherms deduced from the formulce of Van der Waals 

 and Clausius, and shows that while neither coincides with the 

 experimental curve along its whole length, the Van der Waals 

 formula gives a good approximation for pressures above the 

 critical pressure, deviating considerably at lower pressures ; while 

 the Clausius expression is just the opposite. By empirically 

 modifying the internal pressure term, an expression can be ob- 

 tained which fits the experimental curve closely, and still con- 

 tains only three constants. — Action of the magnetic field upon 

 the Becquerel rays, by M. P. Curie. The author confirms the 

 results previously obtained by M. Becquerel, that the rays 

 emitted by polonium are not deviated by the magnetic field, and 

 hence concludes that the preparation of polonium used by M. 

 Giesel must differ essentially from that of the discoverer. Of 

 the rays given off by radium, those deviated by the magnet form 

 only a small part of the total radiation. The rays which suffer 

 the most deviation in the magnetic field are those possessing 

 the greatest penetrating power. — On the penetration of those 

 Becquerel rays which are not deviable in the magnetic field, by 

 Mme. Sklodowska-Curie. There appears to be a fundamental 

 difference between those radiations from radium which are 

 deviated in the magnetic field and those which are not. For 

 the former, the coefficient of absorption decreases, or perhaps 

 remains constant, when the thickness of the material which 

 they are traversing remains constant, while the non- deviable 

 rays, on the contrary, are more easily absorbed the greater 

 the thickness of the material they have passed through. This 

 singular law of absorption is different from that of any other known 

 radiation.— On the nature of white light, by M. E. Carvallo. The 

 author criticises the current hypothesis that white light consists 

 of an undulation of the form «""*' sin ht. , and shows that it leads 

 to a maximum of intensity at a wave length not corresponding 

 with the maxima found by Mouton and Langley. If while light 

 is due to a damped vibration e'*^ sin Ai, the spectrum given by 

 a grating should not be coloured, but consist of white light only. 

 — Apparatus for instantaneous photography producing the maxi- 

 mum effect, by M. Guido Sigriste. The modifications embodied 



NO. 1577, VOL. 61 J 



