MarcH 5, 1914] 
NATURE 25 
are indicated.—S. Ratner: A new form of electric 
breeze.—Jean Bielecki and Victor Henri: The influence 
of the ethylene linkage and the carbonyl and carboxyl 
groups on the absorption of ultra-violet light. Ten 
substances were studied and the results summarised 
on three diagrams.—Eugene Wourtzel: The decom- 
position of gaseous ammonia under the influence of 
the radium emanation and the influence of tempera- 
ture on the chemical effects produced by the radiations 
of radio-active bodies. Ammonia is decomposed solely 
into hydrogen and nitrogen by the radium emanation. 
The quantity of gas formed per unit of emanation 
destroyed increases with the pressure. Rise of tem- 
perature favours the destruction of the ammonia. The 
number of cubic centimetres of ammonia destroyed 
per unit of radiation is nearly doubled at 108° C., and 
more than tripled at 220° C.—F. Leprince-Ringuet : 
Experiments on the absorption of gases by coal. Three 
kinds of coal were treated with a gaseous mixture 
approximating to the fire-damp of a coal mine, and 
the absorption studied at varying pressures. The 
results afford no explanation of the sudden disengage- 
ment of marsh gas in fiery mines.—F. Ducelliez and 
A. Raynaud: The bromination of manganese in 
ethereal medium. Finely divided manganese and 
bromine, if dry, do not react at the ordinary tempera- 
ture: in presence of ether the compound, 
MnBr,.(C.H;).O, 
is readily formed, and this when heated loses ether 
and yields the anhydrous manganese bromide. When 
the bromine is in large excess another bromide is 
formed having the composition MnBr,(C,H,,O),.— 
Maurice Billy: Improvement in the preparation of 
some pure metals. A description of the preparation 
of pure titanium free from iron, by the interaction of 
titanium tetrachloride and sodium hydride. The use of 
sodium hydride as a reducing agent possesses the ad- 
vantage that the reduction takes place at about 400° C., 
and consequently the whole apparatus can be constructed 
of ordinary soda glass.—J. B. Senderens and Jean 
Aboulenc ; The esterification of glycerol by acetic acid 
in the presence of catalysers. As catalytic agents potass- 
ium bisulphate, anhydrous aluminium sulphate, and 1 
per cent. sulphuric acid were used, the latter being found 
to give the best yields.—E. Gourdon: The minera- 
logical constitution of the southern Shetlands (Decep- 
tion Island).—Miramond de Laroquette: Variations of 
food ration and the weight of the body under the 
action of solar radiation at various seasons of the 
year.—G. Marinesco and J. Minea: Culture of the 
spinal ganglia in heterogeneous media. Spinal 
ganglia from the dog and cat were cultivated in the 
plasma of the rabbit, and the mode of growth studied. 
—A. Moutier: Arterial hypertension.—Jean Gautrelet 
and Henri Neuville: The blood of the mammoth. 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
A Laboratory Manual of Organic Chemistry for 
Beginners. By Prof. A. F. Holleman. Edited by Dr. 
A. Jamieson Walker. Secord edition. Pp. xvii+83. 
(New York: J. Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : Chap- 
man and Hall, Ltd.) -4s. 6d. net. 
Deutsches Meteorologisches Jahrbuch fiir tgtt. 
Elsass-Lothringen. 
G. Fischbach.) 
De la Pirotechnia. 
Pp. vilit+59. (Strassburg i.E.: 
By V. Biringuccio. Pp. Ixxxv+ 
oe (Bari: Societa Tipografica Editrice Barese.) .3 
ire. 
Kaiserliche Marine. Deutsche Seewarte. III. 
Nachtrag zum Katalog der Bibliothek der Deutschen 
Seewarte zu Hamburg. 1 April, 1899, bis 31 Dezem- 
ber, 1912. Pp. viii+341. (Hamburg.) 
NO. 2314, VOL. 93] 
Government of India. Department of Revenue and 
Agriculture. Agricultural Statistics of India for the 
Years 1907-08 to 1911-12. Vol. i., British India. Pp. 
iii+420. (Calcutta: Superintendent, Government 
Printing, India.) 3s. 9d. 
Canada. Department of Mines. Geological Survey. 
Memoir No. 30. The Basins of Nelson and Churchill 
Rivers. By W. McInnes. Pp. vii+146+xix plates. 
(Ottawa : Government Printing Office). 
The Currents in Belle Isle Strait. From Investiga- 
tions of the Tidal and Current Survey in the Seasons 
of 1894 and 1g06. By Dr. W. Bell Dawson. (Ottawa : 
Government Printing Office.) 
The Co-operation of Science and Industry. By S. 
Roy Illingworth. Pp. 91. (London: C. Griffin and 
Co., Ltd as wadamet. 
A Text-Book of Physics : Electricity and Magnetism. 
| By Dr. J. H. Poynting and Sir J. J. Thomson. Parts i. 
and ii., Static Electricity and Magnetism. Pp. xiv+ 
345. (London: C. Griffin and Co., Ltd.) tos. 6d. 
Chemistry and its Borderland. By) Dr ae WV. 
Stewart. Pp. xii +314+ii plates. (London: Long- 
mans, Green and Co.) 5s. net. 
Union of South Africa. Department of Agriculture. 
Report with Appendices for the Period January 1, 
1912, to March 31, 1913. Pp. 373+plates. (Cape 
Town: Cape Times, Ltd.) 9s. 6d. 
Meteorological Office. Geophysical Memoirs Nos. 5, 
6, and 7. (London: H.M. Stationery Office ; Meteoro- 
logical Office, South Kensington.) 
The Change in the Climate and its Cause. By 
Major R. A. Marriott... Pp. 94. (London: E. Marl- 
borough and Co.) 1s. 6d. 
County Borough of Halifax. | Bankfield Museum 
Notes. Second series. No. 3, The Letter Books of 
Joseph Holroyd (cloth-factor) and Sam Hill (clothier). 
Transcribed and edited by H. Heaton. Pp. 41. (Hali- 
fax : F. King and Sons, Ltd.) 2s. 
The Mechanical Engineer’s Reference Book. <A 
Handbook of Tables, Formulas, and Methods for 
Engineers, Students and Draftsmen. By, be - Ea: 
Suplee. Fourth edition, revised and enlarged. (Lon- 
don and Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co.) 18s, net. 
Textiles : a Handbook for the Student and the Con- 
sumer. By Mary S. Woolman and Ellen B. 
McGowan. Pp. xi+428. (New York: The Mac- 
millan Co.; London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 8s. 6d. 
net. 
Engineering Workshop Exercises. For Technical 
Students and Apprentice Engineers. By E. Pull. Pp. 
viiit+8o0. (London and New York: Whittaker and 
Co:)) stanee. 
Wireless Telegraphy : a Handbook for the Use of 
Operators and Students. By W. H. Marchant. Pp. 
xi+241. (London and New York: Whittaker and 
Co.) asieuete 
Test Papers in Elementary Algebra. By C. V. 
Durell. Pp. viiit+233. (London: Macmillan and Co., 
Ltd.) | *gs.c6. 
Le Leghe Metalliche ed i Principii Scientifici della 
Metallografia Moderna. By Prof. D. Mazzotto. 
(Modena, Italy: G. T. Vincenzi e Nipoti.) 6 lire. 
My Garden in Spring... By E. A. Bowles. Pp. x+ 
308+ plates. (London and Edinburgh: T. C. and 
E. C. Jack.) 5s. net. 
Sexual Ethics : a Study of Borderland Questions. By 
Prof. R. Michels. Pp. xv+296. (London and Felling- 
on-Tyne: Walter Scott Publishing Co.) 6s. net. 
Ministry of Finance, Egypt. Survey Department. 
Meteorological Report for the Year t1g11. Part it., 
Climatological and Rainfall Observations. Pp. xvit+ 
198. (Cairo: Government Press.) P.T.15. 
The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland. 
Twelfth Annual Report (for the Year 1912-13) sub- 
mitted by the Executive Committee to the ‘Trustees 
