1 68 



NATURE 



[December 15, 1904 



twelve years, on an average of 150 to 200 infants daily, the 

 conclusions are drawn that milk sterilised at 108° C. pre- 

 servps all its nutritive value, and is in no way inferior to 

 milk pasteurised at 80° C. or simply heated to 100° C. 

 No appreciable decrease in the readiness with which the 

 milk was assimilated could be noticed, and not a single 

 case of infantile scurvy occurred. The percentage of 

 infants incapable of utilising sterilised milk was between 

 3 per cent, and 4 per cent. 



New South Wales. 



Royal Society, October 5. — Mr. C. O. Burge, president, 

 in the chair. — Ethnological notes on the aboriginal tribes 

 of New South Wales and Victoria: R. H. Mathews. — 

 Preliminary observations on radio-activity and the occur- 

 rence of radium in Australian minerals : D. Mawson and 

 T. H. Laby. A brief summary of observations on the 

 radio-activity of minerals and occurrence of radium is given, 

 showing that comparatively intense activity is only found 

 associated in minerals with thorium and uranium. A 

 torbernite and euxenite were found highly active, but the 

 specimens were too small to examine for radium. A 

 Western .Australian gadolinite, found by Prof. Norman 

 Collie to contain one bubble of helium in ten grams, was 

 expected to contain radium, but none could be detected. 

 Twelve monazites were found radio-active ; one, with 

 double the average activity of the others, from Pilbarra, 

 Western .Australia, gave on heating the radium emanation ; 

 five monazite and zircon sands were also active. No re- 

 lation between thoria contents and activity was found, which 

 points to the presence of uranium. — The flood deposits of 

 the Hunter and Hawkesbury Rivers : Prof. F. B. Guthrie 

 and Prof. T. W. Edgeworth David. 

 Cape Town. 



South African Philosophical Society, September 2S. — 

 Dr. J. D. F. Gilchrist, president, in the chair. — A new 

 South .'\frican cypress, Callitris scliwarzii, Marl. : Dr. R. 

 Marloth. The two species of cypress hitherto known from 

 .South Africa belong to the genus Widdringtonia, which, 

 however, is now mostly merged into the genus Callitris. 

 Until recently only one other species of Widdringtonia was 

 known, viz. IF. Commersoni from Madagascar, but lately 

 a fourth species has been found by Whyte on the Shire 

 Highlands, called by Sir H. H. Johnston the Malanje cedar. 

 The South .African species are C juniperoides, the so-called 

 Cape cedar, and C. cupressoidcs, the sapreehout. The 

 former is a tree from 30 to 40 feet high, and occurs only 

 on the Cedar Mountains, while the latter is only 10 to 12 

 feet or rarely 15 feet high, but is common on all the moun- 

 tains of the south-western districts. When recently the 

 author heard that some " Sapree " trees in the Baviaans- 

 kloof Mountains were 50 to 60 feet high, he suspected at once 

 that this must be a different species, and an examination of 

 some ripe cones proved that this tree is quite distinct from 

 the common C. cupressoidcs. — The Glacial conglomerate in 

 the Table Mountain series near Clanwilliam : A. W. 

 Rogers. This communication is an extension of one read 

 before the society in 1901. The conglomerate with glaciated 

 pebbles has now been traced through a distance of about 

 23 miles near Clanwilliam. — South .African Verbenaceae, 

 supplementary note : H. H. W. Pearson. — Further note 

 on factorisable continuants : Thos. Muir. — South African 

 Hymenoptera : P. Cameron. — On the structure of the endo- 

 thiodont reptiles : R. Broom. 



October 26.— Sir David Gill, K.C.B., F.R.S., vice-presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — The rocks of Tristan d'Acunha, brought 

 back by H.M.S. Odin, Commander Pearce, R.N., and their 

 bearing on the question of the permanence of ocean basins ; 

 E. H. I.. Schwarz. Through the courtesy of Commander 

 Pearce, of H.M..S. Odiii. a number of specimens were 

 recently obtained for the South African Museum from the 

 island group of Tristan d'.Acunha. The islands are de- 

 scribed in the Challenger reports, and from the accounts 

 published in them it is evident that while Inaccessible Island 

 .ind Tristan d'Acunha itself are ordinary volcanic islands. 

 Nightingale Island is a gigantic agglomerate neck like 

 those that the author has described from Griqualand East, 

 on the flanks of the Drakensberg Mountains. Two rocks 

 of a type unusual to volcanic islands were brought back by 

 the e.xpedition ; one was a white mica and biotite gneiss 

 from Tristan d'Acunha, the other a lava containing foreign 

 fragments from Nightingale Island. 

 NO. 1833. VOL. 71] 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY. December 15. 



RovAL Society, at 4.30 —On the Ultra-violet Spectrum of Gadolinium : 

 Sir William Crookes, F.R.S.— .\n Analysis of the Results from the 

 Falmouth Magnetographs on " Quiet " Days during the Twelve Years 

 1891 to igoa: Dr. C. Cbree, F R.S.-The Halogen Hydrides as Con- 

 ducting Solvents. P.irt ill. Prelimin.iry Note : B. D. Steele.— The 

 Halogen Hydrides as Conducting Solvents. Part iv. Preliminary 

 Note: P, D. Steele, D. Mcintosh, and E. H. Archibald.— Eff.cts of 

 Temperature and Pressure on the Thermal Conductivities of .Solids. 

 Part i. The Effect of Temperature on the Thermal Conductivities of 

 some tlectrical Insulators: Dr. C. H. Le-s.— The Basic Gamma Function 

 and the Elliptic Functions: Rev. F. H, Jackson. R N— On the Normal 

 Series satisfying Linear Differential Equations : E. Cunningham. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — D scus-on on Mr. 



Magnetic Testing ; Followed by 'J heConibina- 



d Electricity Works, Econo.nically Con- 



8.— The Ecology of Woodland Plants : Dr. 

 Heredity In Rabbits : 



Searle's Paper, Studi 

 tion of Dust D. 

 sidered : W. P. Ada 



LiNNEAN Society, 

 T. W. Woodhead. — Experimental Studies 

 C. C. Hurst. 



FRIDA }', Dece.mber 16. 



Institution op Mechanical Engineers, at 8. — Heat Treatment Ex- 

 periments with Chrome-Vanadium Steel : Capt. H RIall Sankey and 

 J. Kent-Smith.— Messrs. Seaton and Judes Paper on Impact Tests on 

 the Wrought Steels of Commerce will be discussed. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Folkestone Harbour: Cylinder- 

 Sinking at the Root of the Old Pier : R. H. Lee Pennell. 

 MONDA )", December 19. 



Society OF Arts, at 8.— Musical Wind Instruments, Flutes : D. J. Blaikley. 



Institute of Actuaries, at 5.— On the Retrospective Method of 

 Valuation : Frederick Brll. 



Faradav Society, at 3.— The Electric Furnace ; its Origin, Trans, 

 formation, and Applications. Part ii. : A. Miner. — Electrolvtic Analysis 

 of Cobalt and Nickel : F. Mollwo Perkin and W. C. Prel)ble.~(i) The 

 Electrolytic Preparation of Tin Paste, (i) Note on the Electrolytic 

 Recovery of Tin : F. Gelstharp. 



TUESDA Y, December 20. 



Royal Statistical Society, at 5. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Discussion on the Construction 

 of a Concrete Railway-Viaduct: A. Wood-Hill and E. D. Pain. 

 WEDNESDAY. December 21. 



Geological Society, at S.— Certain Genera and Species of Lytocerallda: : 

 S. S. Buckman.— (i) The Leicester Earthquakes of August 4, 189.1, and 

 Tune 21, 1904. (2) The Derby Earthquakes of July 3, 1904. (3) Twin- 

 Earthquakes : Dr. C. Davison. 



Royal Microscopical Society, at 8.— The Theory of Highly Magnified 

 Images: J. W. Gordon, 



Royal Meteorological Society, at 7.30.— Discussion of Mr. F J 

 Brodie's paper, Decrease of Fog In London during Recent Years. 

 Followed by The Study of the Minor Fluctuallons of Atmospheric 

 Pressure : Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R S., and W. H. Dines. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Human Anatomy. By Dr. A. Keith 145 



Earthquakes , 147 



Technical Mechanics. By Prof. George M. Minchin, 



F.R.S 148 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Hill: " Machine Drawing " 149 



Cockin : " An Elementary Class-book of Practical 



Coalmining " 750 



Cecil :" Bird Notes from the Nile." — R. L 150 



Letters to the Editor :— 



Education and National Efficiency in Japan. --Dr. 



Henry Dyer 1^0 



The Ilcatini; Efi'ect of the 7 Rays from Radium. — 

 Prof. E. Rutherford, F.R.S., and Prof. H. T. 



Barnes 151 



Singularities of Curves. —T. B. S 152 



A Christmas Bird-book, (lllustralcd.) By R. L. . 152 

 The Present Condition of the Sea-Fishing Industry. 



(Il/nslra/cd.) 153 



The Eleventh Eros Circular. By Prof. H. H. Turner, 



F.R.S 154 



Notes ... 155 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Relations between Solar and Terrestrial Phenomena . 158 



Sun-spot Spectra 158 



Eclipse Observations 159 



The Appearance of Sp;irk Lines in Arc Spectra ... 159 



The Royal Aslrononiical Society of Canada 159 



The First True Maps. By C. Raymond Beazley 159 



Geological Notes 161 



Scientific Research in the Philippine Islands. By 



Prof. R. T. Hewlett 162 



University and Educational Intelligence 162 



Societies and Academies 164 



Diary of Societies 168 



