March i, 1900] 



NATURE 



435 



temperatures, scanty rainfall, and splendid record of sunshine. 

 The winter and summer were singularly warm seasons, while 

 the autumn was also warm, but during the three spring months 

 rather low temperatures prevailed. In the early part of the 

 flowering season, wild plants came into blossom in advance of 

 their mean dates, but after March they were mostly late in 

 coming into bloom. Taking the country as a whole, the best 

 farm crop of the year was wheat ; the yield fof barley proved 

 also good, while oats were slightly under average. The crops 

 mostly affected by the dry weather were those of hay and 

 turnips, the latter being in most districts exceptionally poor. 

 The only part of the British Isles where the summer drought 

 was not severely felt was in Ireland, throughout a great part of 

 which there was abundant keep in the pastures during the 

 whole summer. This year was a very bad one for fruit. The 

 yield of apples, pears, plums and strawberries varied greatly in 

 different localities, but was in most of them much under 

 average.— Dr. R. II. Scott, F.R.S., read a paper giving the 

 results of the percolation experiments which have been carried 

 on at Rothamsted by Sir J. B. Lawes and Sir J. H. Gilbert, 

 from September 1870 to August 1899. Three gauges were 

 used, with 20 inches, 40 inches and 60 inches depth of soil 

 respectively ; the area of each gauge being one thousandth of 

 an acre. The amount of water collected at the depth of 40 

 inches is always in excess of that collected at 20 inches, and 

 also of that collected at 60 inches. In the winter months more 

 than half the amount of rain penetrates into the soil and is 

 available for springs, while in summer this amount only reaches 

 a quarter that of the rain. 



Man'chester. 

 Literary and Philosophical Society, February 20. — 

 Prof. Horace Lamb, F.R.S., President, in the chair. — Some 

 criticisms on the modern theory of solutions, by Edgar F. Morris. 

 By applying the ordinary assumptions of the kinetic theory 

 of solutions to the case of a semipermeable cell depressed below 

 the surface of the solvent, the result is deduced that the per- 

 centage composition of any solution is a linear function of its 

 density. The form of the reaction equation for the catalysis of 

 esters shows that the action cannot be attributed to inde- 

 pendently moving ions. Other facts disproving this theory are 

 the occurrence of electrolytic solutions with normal molecular 

 weights, and of cases where the molecules would have to be 

 regarded as split into most curious fragments to provide a suffi- 

 cient number of ions— in the case of certain metals in mercury 

 solution into more ions than atoms. Prof. Fitzgerald has pre- 

 viously shown the physical basis of this theory to be unsound, 

 and, as the chemical applications give untrue results, it was 

 held that the theory should be abandoned. 



Edinburgh. 



Mathematical Society, February 9.— Mr. R. F. Muir- 

 head, President, in the chair.— Remark on Dr. Peddie's proof 

 of a theorem in potential, by Mr. R. F. Muirhead. — A general 

 mechanical description of the conic sections, by Mr. Alex. 

 Morrison.— On Bessel functions and spherical harmonics, by 

 Mr, John Dougall. 



Dublin. 



Royal Dublin Society, January 17. — Sir Howard Grubb, 

 F.R.S., in the chair.— Mr. W. E. Thrift read a paper on the 

 possible rapidity of movements in cells produced by diffusion, 

 the paper being communicated through Prof. G. F. FitzGerald, 

 F.R.S.— Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S., read a paper on a fractionating 

 rain-gauge. The apparatus was exhibited and described. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, February 19.— M. Maurice Levy 

 in the chair. — Researches on the isomerism of the sulpho- 

 cyanide derivatives, by M. Berthelot. Determinations of the 

 heats of combustion and formation of the sulphocyanides and 

 isosulphocyanides of methyl, ethyl and phenyl. — On the de- 

 termination of the integrals of certain jmrtial differential equa- 

 tions by their values on a closed contour, by M. Emile Picard. 

 — The tetrahedric deformation of the earth and the displace- 

 ment of the pole, by M. Marcel Bertrand. A discussion of 

 Lowthian Green's theory, in which it is shown that no results in- 

 consistent with facts are obtained by the logical development of 

 this view. Six diagrams are given showing the tetrahedron of 

 volcanic fractures and various sections of the earth on 

 the assumption of the existence of the tetrahedron. — 



NO. 1583, VOL. 61] 



On the culture of blue lupins ^(Z«/j«mj angtiUifolius), 

 by MM. P. P. Deherain and E. Demoussy. The experiments^ 

 described show that the blue lupin is incapable of utilising by 

 itself atmospheric nitrogen, although it may attain full develop- 

 ment in the absence of nodules upon the roots. In the latter case 

 the plant appears to profit by work carried out by bacteria living 

 upon certain algce. It was found that the roots of the blue lupin 

 may bear nodules containing bacteria that are of no use to the plant, 

 — On the new Giacobini comet, by M. Perrotin. — M. Stokes wa» 

 elected a Foreign Associate in the place of the late M. Weier- 

 strass, M. Zittel a Correspondant for the Section of Mineralogy, 

 and M. Pfeffer a Correspondant for the Section of Botany. — On 

 calculating machines, by M. L. Torres. — Remarks on a meteor: 

 which fell at Bjurbole (Finland) on March 12, 1899, by the: 

 French Consul in Finland. — Determination of surfaces having a- 

 system of lines of equal curvature, by M. R. Bricard. — Or>> 

 a transformation of isothermal surfaces, by M. C. Guichard.— 

 On the problems of Neumann and Gauss, by M. W. Stekloff. 

 — On functions with four pairs of periods, by M. G. Humbert. - 

 — Theory of helices of propulsion, by M. Rateau. — On the. 

 determination of standard lines in the spectrum, by M. Maurice 

 Hamy. Four rays from a cadmium tube are selected, having 

 approximate wave-lengths 644, 515, 508 and 466, and the 

 exact ratios of the first to each of the last three determined 

 with a high degree of precision. —Determination of new 

 points of reference in the spectrum, by MM. A. Perot and 

 Ch. Fabry. An application of the interference method 

 previously described by the authors to the measurements of 

 eighteen wave-lengths between \ = 4358)11/* and \ = 6'jo-?, nn, 

 the error of the determination being less than one-millionth. 

 — On a method of focussing a photographic telescope, by M. 

 Georges Meslin. — A new interpretation of the results of M. 

 Michelson for the analysis of homogeneous light by Newton's 

 rings, by M. E. Carvallo.— The instantaneous disappearance oi 

 magnetic rotatory polarisation, by MM. H. Abraham and) 

 J. Lemoine. The authors apply the method previously used 

 by them in the measurement of the duration of the Kerr phen- - 

 omenon to the study of the extinction of magnetic rotation^, 

 and find that the polarisation is less than a hundred-millionth of 

 a second (•000,000,01 sec.) behind the current producing it.. 

 Hence the magnetic rotation follows without any lag the 

 variations in the fields which produce it. — On a method of 

 preparation of alkaline arsenides, antimonides, and some alloys 

 of the alkali metals, by M. P. Lebeau. The ordinary method 

 of preparing arsenides by heating together the elements com- 

 posing it, never gives a pure product, but if the crude arsenide 

 thus obtained is extracted with liquid ammonia at -80°, the 

 excess of sodium is removed, and the Na^As is left in a pure 

 state. NajSb, NajBi, and Na4Sn can be prepared in a similar 

 manner.— On iodide of nitrogen, by M. C. Hugot. A study 

 of the action of liquid ammonia upon iodine. The results, 

 obtained are expressed by the author in the equation) 

 i6NH3-f3lo = 3(NH4l.3NH3) + Nl3.3NH3. 

 — Meconine, opianic acid, and hemipinic acid, by M. EmiTff 

 Leroy. A thermochemical paper containing determinations of. 

 the heats of combustion and formation of meconine, opianic 

 acid, its potassium salt, and methyl ether.— Resolution of 

 racemic benzylidene-camphor. Isomorphism^ of the two active 

 components, by M. J. Minguin. The splitting up was effected. . 

 by adding a dextrorotatory crystal to the toluene solution of the 

 racemic compound.— Rapid method for determining the car- 

 bonic acid in various gaseous mixtures, by MM. Leo Vignon 

 and Louis Meunier. The method is only applicable to gases 

 such as air or coal gas, which can be obtained in un- 

 limited quantities, and consists of a titration with lime- 

 water tinted with phenolphthalein.— On the volumetric 

 estimation of boric acid, by M. Alfred Stock. Tho-. 

 solution containing the boric acid is treated with a 

 mixture of potassium iodide and iodate to remove free mineral, 

 acids, and the boric acid, which is without action upon this . 

 mixture, then titrated with soda in presence of mannite. It is. 

 absolutely essential that all the solutions should be boiled tilE. 

 free from carbon dioxide, quite erroneous results being obtained 

 in presence of dissolved carbonic acid. —Researches on the 

 genesis of compounds of the menthol series in plants, by M.. 

 Eugene Charabot.— On a new Epicarid, Crinontscus cquitans,^ 

 by M. Ch. Perez.— Development of the azygospores in Ento 

 mophlhora, by M. Paul Vuillemin.— Relation between th& 

 variation of excitement of nerves and the variation of the; 



