April 16, 1903 J 



NA TURE 



575 



that in strong solutions there exists either a polymeride of 

 the acid or the compound N,0 3 ,H,0; in less concentrated 

 acid there probably exists a compound of the formula 

 (HNO,) 3 ,H,6, whilst in more dilute solutions hydrates of 

 the acid are present. — Salts of an isomeric mercaptoid form 

 of thioallophanic acid, and a new synthesis of alky! imino- 

 thiocarbamates, by Dr. A. E. Dixon. — Derivatives of 

 o-aminobenzophenone and />-aminobenzophenone, by Dr. 

 Chattaway. — Action of caustic alkalis on cinnamic acid 

 dibromide and its esters, by Messrs. Sudborough and 

 Thompson. a-Bromocinnamic and bromoallocinnamic 

 acids are produced together in this reaction, and may be 

 separated by conversion into the respective barium salts. — 

 The composition of Caro's acid, by Dr. T. S. Price. The 

 author finds that on revising his work on the basicity of this 

 acid, using sodium hydroxide in place of barium hydroxide 

 as a titrating agent, it may probably be represented by 

 the formula suggested by Armstrong and Lowry. 



Mineralogical Society, March 24 — Dr. Hugo Muller, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — Dr. A. Hutchinson de- 

 scribed some remarkably interesting experiments which he 

 had made on the diathermancy of antimonite. A cleavage 

 flake of antimonite o'2Q mm. thick and 20 sq. mm. in 

 area, perfectly opaque to light, was placed between crossed 

 nicols and exposed to the radiation from a limelight. The 

 plate was somewhat transparent to radiant heat, and the 

 amount transmitted was measured by Boys's radiomicro- 

 meter. No heat was transmitted when the planes of 

 symmetry of the crystal coincided with the planes of polar- 

 isation of the nicols, but the maximum effect was produced 

 on the radiomicrometer when the plate was turned through 

 45 in its own plane. The results' so far arrived at are in 

 harmony with the orthorhombic symmetry attributed to 

 antimonite. — Mr. J. B. Scrivenor described the occurrence 

 of magnetite in the Upper Bunter Sands at Hinksford, near 

 Stourbridge, and of anatase in the Trias of the midlands. 

 The crystals of magnetite, measuring on an average C067 

 mm., were in cubes or octahedra. The mode of occurrence 

 and the presence of a single set of striations parallel to the 

 cube edge suggest that they are pseudomorphous after 

 iron pyrites. The anatase, in crystals from C025 mm. to 

 o'o6 mm., is found more abundantly in the Keuper than in 

 the Bunter. The crystals show the forms [ill} and |ooif, 

 and according to the predominance of either form are pyra- 

 midal or tabular in habit. Many of them are attached to 

 leucoxene derived from ilmenite or sphene. The anatase 

 has been formed in situ, after the deposition of the sand- 

 stone, as a decomposition product of other titaniferous 

 minerals. — Prof. W. J. Lewis described a large crystal of 

 sartorite from the Binnenthal measuring 4"xi"x -J- An 

 analysis by Mr. Jackson gave the following result : — 

 Pb = 42'93, S = 25'32, As=3i"n. Prof. Lewis also discussed 

 some peculiar twinned crystals of copper-pyrites and cerussite. 

 — Mr. \Y. B. Giles contributed niles on howlite and other 

 borosilicates from the borate mines of California. One of 

 these, for which the author proposes a new name, is a white 

 amorphous mineral resembling in appearance pandermite ; 

 the results of two closely agreeing analyses of material from 

 different localities corresponded to a formula 



SCaO.sB.Oj.eSiOj.eH.O. 

 Mr. Giles also described a tantalite from Green Bushes, W. 

 Australia, which contained 85 per cent, of tantalic with 

 very little niobic acid. — Mr. J. Allen Howe exhibited speci- 

 mens of peculiar pseudo-stalactitic growths of calcite from 

 the north of England. 



Geological Society, March 25.— Prof. Charles Lapworth, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — On a new species of 

 Solenopsis from the Pendleside Series of riodder Place, 

 Stonyhurst (Lancashire), by Dr. Wheelton Hind. — Note on 

 some Dictyonema-Iike organisms from the Pendleside Series 



of Pendle Hill and Poolvash, by Dr. Wheelton Hind The 



geology of the Tintagel and Davidstow district (northern 

 Cornwall), by Mr. John Parkinson. The country described 

 and mapped extends from the coast eastward towards St. 

 Clether. In the eastern part it extends to the Brown Willy 

 mass of granite. Except in the southern coast region, the 

 strike is fairly uniform in an east-south-easterly and west- 

 north-westerly direction, the beds having a northerly dip ; 

 but north and south of Tintagel Head the higher members 



NO. I746, VOL. 67] 



appear, greatly faulted. The most distinctive rocks, utilised 

 as a datum for mapping, are a group of ashes and lavas. 

 Bluish-black slates and fine laminated quartzose beds over- 

 lie and underlie this volcanic series. The remaining rocks 

 are phyllites, closely resembling those from the Ardennes. 

 The author divides them into four groups. The highest of 

 these (Tredorn Beds) overlies the uppermost division of the 

 Blue-Black Slates. The beds underlying the Lower Blue- 

 Black Slates (Hallwell Cottage Beds) are banded phyllites, 

 with quartzose laminae. The underlying phyllites (Pen- 

 pethy Beds and Slaughterbridge Beds) contain no distinc- 

 tive mineral. Taken as a whole, the phyllites consist of a 

 sericitic and chloritic groundmass containing unoriented 

 crystals of white mica, micaceous ilmenite, haematite, and 

 minor quantities of tourmaline and rutile. 



Linnean Society, April 2. — Prof. S. H. Vines, F.R.S. 

 president, in the chair. — The minutes of the general meet- 

 ing of March 19 were read and confirmed. — Mr. A. Gepp 

 read a paper on behalf of the author, Mrs. Antony Gepp 

 (Ethel S. Barton), entitled " List of Marine Alga; collected 

 at the Maldive and Laccadive Islands by Mr. J. Stanley 

 Gardiner." The author stated that there appears to be no 

 record of the marine Algae of these islands. The list now 

 presented includes one new species, Liebmannia Laccadiv- 

 arum, but the bulk of the remainder are already known 

 from the Indian Ocean. — Dr. D. T. Gwynne-Vaughan 

 gave a lantern demonstration of his paper on the compara- 

 tive anatomy of the Cyatheaceae and other ferns. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, April 6. — M. Albert Gaudry in 

 the chair. — Memorial notice of Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 

 by M. Mascart. Sir George Gabriel Stokes had been 

 correspondant of the Academy of Sciences for the depart- 

 ment of physics since 1879. He was nominated as a 

 Foreign Associate in 1900. — On animal heat, by M. A. 

 Chauveau. A consideration of problems raised by a note 

 of Lord Kelvin's on the regulation of temperature of warm- 

 blooded animals. It is shown that the organism is much 

 less resistant to a raised than to a lowered external temper- 

 ature. A fall of 6o° C. in the external temperature has no 

 effect on the temperature of the body, whereas a rise of 

 60° C. soon causes the body temperature to increase several 

 degrees, and death quickly follows. — Note by M. Laveran 

 referring to M. Chauveau's communication. It is pointed 

 out that man is much more competent to withstand an in- 

 crease of exterior temperature than most animals. This 

 is borne out by the author's experience at Biskra, where 

 the temperature sometimes reaches 50° C. in the shade. — 

 On Anopheles and malaria, by M. A. Laveran. Mosqui- 

 toes from paludal districts in all parts of the world have 

 been examined by the author, and it is proved that almost 

 invariably abundance of Anopheles coincides with the pre- 

 valence of malaria. Anopheles may be met with in healthy 

 localities, as they are not in themselves dangerous, only 

 becoming so when infected from malarial patients. The 

 different species of Anopheles are not equally effective in 

 spreading the disease. — On waves of the first order in a 

 vitreous medium, by M. Duhem. — Report of the Equa- 

 torial Geodesic Commission. The work of the commission 

 in the Andes was much hindered by the exceptional 

 weather conditions. At the post of Mirador, altitude 4000 

 metres, observations were nearly impossible for a period 

 of three months, owing to incessant fogs and storms. — On 

 the volcanic conditions of Martinique ; result of the mission 

 to Martinique, by M. A. Lacroix. — Ihe fiery clouds pro- 

 duced in the eruption of Mont Pel<*e have been observed by 

 the author; they consist of large volutins of hot gases and 

 vapours, carrying great quantities of fragmentary products, 

 and are the principal agent of destruction. — On a remark- 

 able property of several developments employed in mathe- 

 matical analysis, by M. stokioff, presented by M. Emile 

 Picard. — On a new transformation of curved surfaces, by 

 M. C. Guichard — On a form of the relation $(p, v, t) = o, 

 by M. Honore 1 Moulin, presented by M. E. H. Amagat.— 

 On a new method of rendering horizontal the optical axis 

 of a telescope, by M. Alphonse Berget, presented by 

 M. Lippmann. — On observations of atmospheric electricity 

 at the summit of Mont Blanc, by M. G. le Cadet, pre- 

 sented by M. Jannsen. The author finds that the diurnal 

 variation of potential in fine weather at the summit of Mont 



