AUGUST 20, 1914] 
NATURE 
055 
of latex, the author concludes that the latex tubes 
do not serve for conduction of useful organic sub- 
stances, that such substances when present in latex 
are probably not utilised at all by the other tissues 
of the plant, and that the question belongs to ecology 
rather than to physiology, the chief functions of latex 
being essentially that of protection against animals, 
and in some cases that of closing over injuries to the 
plant. 
(6) Koriba deals in this long and very detailed 
paper with the many problems raised by the curious 
flower-spike of the orchid genus Spiranthes, in which 
the inflorescence is so twisted as to bring the flowers 
into from one to three rows. The paper is of great 
general interest, since, in addition to his own exhaus- 
tive observations extending throughout the life-history 
of tthe plant from germination to flower develop- 
ment, the author discusses the general question of the 
arrangement of leaves and other lateral organs in 
plants, torsion and other displacements of organs, etc., 
with a very full bibliography of these aspects of 
general morphology, nowadays somewhat neglected 
by botanists. Fie Os 
ROYAL SOCIETY OF SCANADA. 
HE annual meeting of the Royal Society of Canada 
was held this year at Montreal on May 26-28, 
under the presidency of Prof. Frank D. Adams, F.R.S. 
The general and sectional meetings were held in the 
new medical building, McGill University, and in the 
Laval University, and there was an excellent attend- 
ance of fellows and of visitors. Dr. R. F. Stupart 
presided over Section III]. (Mathematical, Physical, 
and Chemical Sciences), and in the absence of the 
president of the section, Prof. A. P. Coleman, Prof. 
A. H. R. Buller presided over the proceedings of Sec- 
tion IV. (Geological and Biological Sciences). 
In his presidential address, Prof. Adams spoke on 
the national domain in Canada and its proper con- 
servation. As a member of the Canadian Commission 
of Conservation, Prof. Adams was well qualified to 
review in all its aspects the national importance of the 
proper conservation of the natural resources of the 
Dominion, and he considered, in a comprehensive 
manner, agriculture, forests, water-powers, mines, 
fisheries, and the fur trade. By means of statistics 
and charts he described the manner in which the sup- 
plies of iron and coal were being exhausted, how the 
supply of merchantable timber, which is usually over- 
estimated, is disappearing at a rapid rate, and the 
reckless destruction of the natural fertility of the soil 
brought about by growing only a single crop and bad 
farming. He indicated the manner in which the con- 
servation of these resources was dependent upon the 
application of scientific methods to the various forms 
of production and the dependence of manufactures and 
transportation systems upon careful conservation. 
Conservation does not mean hoarding up, but develop- 
ment without waste. ‘‘Each generation,’ the presi- 
dent said, ‘‘is entitled to the interest on the natural 
capital, but the principal should be handed on un- 
impaired.”’ 
The president of Section III. (Dr. Stupart) con- 
sidered in his address the present position of meteoro- 
logical science. He contended that the _ success 
achieved in storm warnings and forecasts was ample 
warrant for the system, largely empirical, now in 
vogue in all civilised countries. The general inter- 
national scheme for the exploration of the upper atmo- 
sphere was outlined and a comparison was given of 
the results obtained in Europe, Canada, and the 
equatorial regions. The present ignorance of many of 
disturbances in higher latitudes was pointed out, and 
the factors concerning which more knowledge was 
available were described. In opening a discussion on 
the structure of the atom, Drs. A. S. Eve and J. C. 
McLennan considered the rapid progress in blending 
the Thomson electron rings with the Rutherford 
nucleus, Moseley’s experiments on the atomic number 
with the isotopic theory of Fajans and Soddy, Bohr’s 
views with the Rydberg number of Planck’s quanta, 
and the hydrogen nucleus as positive electron, accord- 
ing to Rutherford’s recent suggestion. 
Among the series of important papers presented 
before Section III., the following may be mentioned. 
Prof. H. T. Barnes, in a paper on the expansive force 
of ice, showed that an ice-sheet over water expands 
and contracts similarly to a bimetallic rod, and results 
in the formation of peculiar cracks. An estimate was 
given from available data of the expansive pressure 
and the tensile strength of ice. Prof. C. J. Lynde 
described a new method of showing that soil solutions 
move through the soil by osmotic pressure from points 
of low concentration to points of high concentration. 
Dr. J. S. Plaskett discussed prism material for stellar 
spectrographs, and showed that a marked gain in 
efficiency, especially towards the ultra-violet, was 
gained by the use of lighter flint. He also described 
the new 72-in. reflecting telescope which is to be 
erected by the Dominion Government near Victoria, 
B.C. Dr. F. T. Shutt read a paper on the nitrogen 
compounds of rain and snow. For the year ending 
February, 1914, the eighth of the investigation, the 
total nitrogen furnished by precipitation amounted to 
6-207 Ib. per acre, and for the total period during 
which the inquiry has been carried on the average 
per annum is 6-182 Ib. 
A large proportion of the papers communicated to 
Section IV. were of a physiological character. Prof. 
A. T. Cameron described the distribution of iodine in 
plant and animal tissues. He showed from a wide 
series of iodine analyses that iodine is an almost in- 
variable constituent of all organisms, plant and 
animal, the amount present depending upon the diet 
and mediums of the organism. With greater develop- 
ment there is greater specificity of the tissue concerned 
in storing iodine, until in the vertebrates no tissue 
except thyroid contains appreciable quantities. Miss 
D. Duff described the trematode, Amphistomum sub- 
triquetrum, Rudolphi, found in the cacum and colon 
of the Canadian beaver. This species was described 
by Rudolphi as a parasite of the European beaver, a 
fact of interest from the point of view of geographical 
distribution. Mr. L. Lambe described a new species 
of Aspideretes from Alberta, and a new species of 
Platysomus, noteworthy on account of its large size. 
Dr. C. Gordon Hewitt communicated the results of 
a series of observations on the feeding habits of the 
stable-fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, in which investigation 
the flies had been fed chiefly on human blood. Dura- 
tion of feeding lasted from two to twenty-five minutes ; 
the time required for the digestion of the whole meal 
varied from 493 to 95 hours. Prof. A. H. R. Buller 
described the subterranean parts of the fruit bodies of 
certain Hymenomycetes, such as Collybia radicatu, 
C. fusipes, Mycena_ galericulata, Coprinus macro- 
rhizus, etc., in which the extensions of the fruit bodies 
below the ground occur when the mycelia are deep- 
seated. Development is from below upwards, and a 
useful purpose is served in allowing the fungus to 
reach the surface of the ground before the spore-pilei 
are developed. 
Instead of the annual popular lecture, illustrated 
addresses on popular subjects were given by repre- 
sentatives of the sections.. Dr. L. G. Herdt, repre- 
the factors which lead to cyclonic and anti-cyclonic | senting Section III., dealt with ‘*The Development 
NO. 2338, VOL. 93] 
