December i, 1904] 



NATURE 



119 



(2) by iron and hydrochloric acid, two isomeric amido- 

 amidines are produced, the former giving rise to that having 

 the a-NH constitution, and the latter to the ^-compound. 

 This difference in action is explained by assuming that in 

 presence of iron the two nitro-groups are fractionally re- 

 duced while with tin both are reduced simultaneously- — 

 Theory of the production of mercurous nitrite and of its 

 conversion into various mercury nitrates : P. C. Ray. 

 Mercurous nitrite is the first product of the action of nitric 

 acid (containing nitrous acid) on mercury. This is con- 

 verted into nitrate by the nitric acid, and finally, under 

 suitable conditions, there ensues an accumulation of nitrite 

 owing to the occurrence of the reaction represented by the 

 following equation : — 



4Hg + 4HN03 = Hg,(NO,),-i-Hg,(N03), + 2H,0. 

 — Amidechloroiodides : G. D. Lander and H. E. Laws. 

 Benzoylaniline imidechloride reacts with hydrogen iodide 

 furnishing an amidechloroiodide to which the constitution 

 Ph.CClI.NHPh is provisionally assigned. — A new synthesis 

 of jsocaprolactone and certain derivatives : D. T. Jones 

 and G. Tattersall. The lactone was obtained by the inter- 

 action of magnesium methyl iodide with ethyl laevulate. — 

 The influence of substitution in the nucleus on the rate of 

 oxidation of the side-chain, part ii., oxidation of the halogen 

 derivatives of toluene : J. B. Cohen and J. Miller. The 

 authors have studied the behaviour of the dichloro-, 

 chlorobromo-, and dibromo-derivatives, and the comparative 

 oxidisability of these compounds is discussed. — The halogen 

 derivatives of naphthacenequinone : S. S. Pickles and 

 C. Weizmann. — The constitution of pyrazolidone deri- 

 vatives : 3-phenylazoisovaleric acid and s-3-phenylhydrazido- 

 butyric acid : B. Prentice. — Preliminary notice of some con- 

 densations of phenanthraquinone with ketonic compounds : 

 F. R. Japp and J. Wood. — The decomposition of ethylene 

 iodide under the influence of the iodide ion : A. Slator. — 

 The spectrum generally attributed to chlorophyll, and its 

 relation to the spectrum of living green tissues : W. N. 

 Hartley. The author confirms his previous observations 

 on the difference in the absorption spectra of alcoholic ex- 

 tracts of (a) fresh green leaves and (b) dried green leaves. 

 — Studies on comparative cryoscopy, part ii., the aromatic 

 acids in phenol solution : P. W. Robertson. The influence 

 of various substituents on the molecular association of 

 aromatic acids is discussed. — Isomeric change of diacyl- 

 anilides into acylaminoketones. Transformation of di- 

 benzoylaminobenzophenone into i-benzoylamino-2-4-dibenz- 

 oylbenzene : F. D. Chattaway and W. H. Le>wis. 



Royal Meteorological Society, November l6. — Capt. D. 

 Wilson-Barker, president, in the chair. — Meteorological 

 observing in the Antarctic : Lieut. Charles Royds, R.N. — 

 Decrease of fog in London during recent years : F. J. 

 Brodie. The author had discussed the number of days of 

 fog reported at Brixton, the London station of the Meteor- 

 ological Ofiice, for the thirty-three years 1871-1903, and 

 found that the mean annual number of fog days was 55, 

 of which 45 occurred in the winter half of the 

 year, and only 10 in the summer half. December is the 

 foggiest month with 95, the next being November with 

 85, January with 82, and October with 7-8. The clearest 

 months are July with 04, June with 06, and May with 08. 

 The greatest number of fog days was 86 in 1886 and 83 

 in 1887, and the least 13 in 1900 and 26 in 1903. Dividing 

 the thirty-three years into three periods of eleven years each, 

 the author showed that the mean for 1871-1881 was 55, 

 for 1882-1892 it was 69, while for 1S93-1903 it was only 41, 

 there being thus a very marked decrease in the number of 

 days with fog during the last eleven years. — Hurricane in 

 Fiji, January 21-22, 1904 : R. L. Holmes. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, November 21. — M. Mascart in the 

 chair. — On the changes in dimensions and volume that the 

 organs and tissues of plants undergo under the influence 

 of desiccation : M. Berthelot. The length of the stem is 

 not greatly affected, but the lateral dimensions, and there- 

 fore the capacity, diminishes to a considerable extent during 

 drying. — Remarks on the necessity of studying the vari- 

 ations of dimensions and volume of organs and parts of 

 living or extinct beings in anthropological and palasonto- 

 logical work : M. Berthelot. — On a general theorem con- 



cerning, algebraic surfaces of linear connection superior to 

 unity : Eniile Picard. — On the removal of moisture from 

 the air blown into the Isabella blast furnace, near Pitts- 

 burg, by freezing : Alfred Picard and M. Heurteau. The 

 efficiency of a blast furnace is dependent to a considerable 

 extent on the amount of moisture in the air supplied to the 

 furnace. An account is given of a plant for removing this 

 moisture by passing the air through a refrigerating chamber 

 cooled to about -10° C. The results obtained show a 

 surprising economy of fuel, the saving in the coke used 

 amounting to 20 per cent. — On the constitution of ricinine : 

 L. Maquenne and L. Philippe. The authors have shown 

 in a previous communication that ricinine is converted by 

 the successive action of caustic potash and hydrochloric acid 

 into a methyloxypyridone. In the present paper a detailed 

 study of this substance is given. — New experiments on the 

 photographic registration of the action of the n-rays on a 

 small electric spark : R. Blondlot. A refinement of the 

 method given in a previous paper, and an investigation of 

 the possible sources of error. The photographic negatives 

 obtained are regarded by the author as establishing beyond 

 cavil the action of the i!-rays on the electric spark. — On 

 continued algebraic fractions : R. de Montessus de Ballore. 

 — The generalisation of a theorem of Weierstrass : Maurice 

 Frechet. — Fourier's series and Taylor's series on its circle 

 of convergence : P. Fatou. — On the chemical composition 

 of the radio-active gaseous mixtures given off from the water 

 of some thermal springs. The presence of helium : Ch. 

 Moureu. The gases evolved from twelve different springs 

 were analysed, and the figures given for the amounts of 

 carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, and gases of the argon 

 group. — The influence of the nature of the anode on the 

 electrolytic oxidation of potassium ferrocyanide : Andr^ 

 Brochet and Joseph Petit. The nature of the metal used 

 as the anode has a very considerable effect on the electro- 

 lytic oxidation of potassium ferrocyanide, the yields varying 

 from 75 per cent, in the case of copper to nil in the case 

 of metals forming a soluble anode. — On the complexity of 

 dissolved sulphates : Albert Colson. On the assumption 

 that the lowering of the freezing point of a solution of 

 sulphuric acid is due to the single molecule H.SO^, the 

 author draws the conclusion that the sulphates of the 

 bivalent metals in aqueous solution are present as double 

 molecules. — The stimulating and paralysing influence of 

 certain bodies in the production of rust : L. Lindet. — On 

 the purification of solutions of vanadate of soda ; observ- 

 ations relating to the methods of double decomposition for 

 the industrial separation of metals : M. Herrenschmidt. 

 An explanation of the use of vanadic acid in preference to 

 sulphuric acid in the separation of silica and vanadic acid. 

 — The action of iodine and yellow oxide of mercury on un- 

 saturated acids. The separation of isomers : J. Bougrault. 

 The results obtained depend upon the position of the ethylene 

 linkage in the molecule. Acids with the &y linking fix 

 hypoiodous acid in a very stable manner, giving rise to 

 iodolactones. — Researches on the action of hydrobromic and 

 hydrochloric acids on triacetin. Formation of some new 

 halogen derivatives of triacetin : R. de la Acefia. — The 

 addition of hydrogen to some aromatic ketones by means 

 of reduced nickel. A new method of synthesis of aromatic 

 hydrocarbons : Georges Darzens. With nickel reduced 

 from its oxide at a temperature of 300° C, and working the 

 Sabatier and Senderens reaction at 190° C. to 195° C, 

 aromatic ketones of the formula C^Hj — CO — R are re- 

 duced to hydrocarbons of the type C^Hj — CH, — R, without 

 the production of any appreciable amount of the hexahydro- 

 derivative. If, on the other hand, the nickel is reduced 

 at the lowest possible temperature, so that it is very active, 

 the addition product makes its appearance. Details are 

 given of the application of this reaction to several ketones, 

 and the method appears to be a general one for the produc- 

 tion of hydrocarbons. — The action of pyridine and quinoline 

 bases on bromosuccinic and dibromosuccinic esters : Louis 

 Dubreuil. — The theory of colouring matters : Jules 

 Schmidlin. — On trehalase, its general presence in fungi : 

 Em. Bourquelot and H. Herissey. Trehalase appears to 

 be an enzyme generally present in fungi, the times of its 

 appearance and disappearance being possibly in close re- 

 lation with the utilisation of trehalose or the storage of 

 the latter in the form of reserve material. — On the measure- 

 ment and the laws of variation of the energy shown by the 



NO. 183I, VOL 71] 



