February 2, 1905J 



NATURE 



335 



the excrement of various birds showed that entire and 

 apparently uninjured seeds are voided constantly. Red- 

 wings, fieldfares, and other thrushes were compelled during 

 the frost to subsist largely upon hedgerow fruit, and entire 

 seeds of the wild rose (Rosa) and hawthorn (Crataegus), 

 among others, might have been collected from their 

 droppings by thousands. From the excrement of smaller 

 birds the author obtained many undigested seeds of the 

 bramble (Rubus). — The Foraminifera from the coast of the 

 island of Delos, part ii. : H. Sidebottom. Particular 

 attention was directed to those species that are new to the 

 Mediterranean. The dimorphic structure of many of the 

 Foraminifera was also pointed out. 



January lo. — Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., in 

 the chair. — On the supposed antagonism of Mendelian to 

 biometric theory : A. D. Darbishire. The author, after 

 referring to the conflict of the Mendelians and bio- 

 metricians, explained the methods of investigation of the 

 two schools. The biometricians apply statistical methods 

 and deal with masses of individuals, and therefore with 

 average characters ; the Mendelians devote their attention 

 to the study of the individual components of the mass, and 

 endeavour by means of experiments to ascertain the nature 

 and mode of modification of the characters of the units. 

 Mr. Darbishire sought to show that the two views are 

 not irreconcilable, but that the real truth was to be 

 arrived at from a survey of both. — The cause of the period 

 of chemical induction : C. H. Burgess and D. L. 

 Chapman. 



P.ARIS. 



Academy of Sciences, January 23. — M. Troost in the 

 chair. — New researches on the secular alterations of hydro- 

 carbon of organic origin : M. Berthelot. Details are 

 given of the chemical examination of a fatty substance 

 found in an Egyptian vase of about 1600 B.C. — Some 

 metals found in archaeological excavations in Egypt ; M. 

 Berthelot. Analyses of two specimens of bronze dating 

 from about the second dynasty. — On the increase of volume 

 of molten cast iron, saturated with carbon in the electric 

 furnace, at the moment of solidification : Henri Moissan. 

 Iron which is free, or nearly free, from carbon, in passing 

 from the liquid to the solid state, follows the ordinary 

 law, its density increasing. On the contrary, when 

 saturated with carbon at the temperature of the electric 

 furnace, it increases in volume when solidifying.— Study 

 of lunar photographs. Considerations on the course of 

 solidification in the interior of a planet : MM. Lcewy and 

 Puiseux. As the result of an examination of photographs 

 of the moon's crust, the author has been led to support the 

 geological view of the constitution of the earth, that of a 

 thin crust with a liquid core, as against the rigid solid 

 theory of the mathematicians. — Note on the three volumes 

 of the AnnaXcs dc I'Ohservatoire de Nice : M. Bassot. — 

 On a recent ascent of Vesuvius: J. Janssen. Numerous 

 specimens of gases from the fumeroUes and of lava and 

 scoria were collected, and photographs taken of the absorp- 

 tion spectra of the vapours issuing from the cone during 

 an eruption. The description of a detailed examination 

 of these is reserved for a future communication. — The 

 calculation of ordinary and suspension bridges : M. Con- 

 sidere. — Observations of the Borrelly comet (1904 e) made 

 by F. Courty with the large equatorial at the Observatory 

 of Bordeaux : G. Rayet. — On families of surfaces with 

 plane orthogonal trajectories : S. Carrus. — Remarks on 

 the preceding communication : Gaston Darboux. — On the 

 approximation of functions by polynomials considered in 

 relation with the theory of partial differential equations : 

 application to the problem of the initial state in mathe- 

 matical physics : A. Buhl. — On a hyperelliptic surface : E. 

 Traynard. — On the integrals of total differentials belong- 

 ing to an irregular surface : G. Castelnuovo. — On linear 

 differential equations of the second order containing one 

 parameter : M. Tzitzeica. — On a theorem of M. Borel : 

 F. Riesz. — On the deviation of falling bodies towards the 

 south and on the curvature of lines of force : Maurice 

 Fouche. — On the magnetic field to which a body in motion 

 in an electric field is submitted : H. Pellat. — On the ions 

 of the atmosphere : P. Lang:evin. The experiments of the 

 author lead to the conclusion that there are only two kinds 

 of ions present in the air, one having a mobility several 



NO. 1840, VOL. 71] 



thousand times smaller than the other. The apparatus 

 used by Ebert only measures the first of these. — Contri- 

 bution to the study of ionisation in flames : Pierre 

 Massoulier. — On the specific coefficients of magnetisation 

 of liquids : Georges Meslin. — The action of very low 

 temperatures on the phosphorescence of certain sulphides : 

 F. P. Le Roux. Remarks on a paper of MM. A. and L. 

 Lumi^re dealing with the same subject. — On a new mineral 

 containing radium : J. Danne. Some plumbiferous 

 minerals, notably a pyromorphite, found in the neighbour- 

 hood of Issy-l'Kveque, have been found to contain radium, 

 and it is a noteworthy fact that none of these minerals 

 contain uranium. The amount of radium is variable, a 

 ton of the mineral furnishing quantities of radium bromide 

 of the order of a centigram. — The dissociation of strychnine 

 salts as measured by the rotatory power. The rotatory 

 power in homologous series. The influence of the double 

 linkage : J. Mingfuin. The deviations were measured in 

 the first place when the strychnine and acid were present 

 in molecular quantities, and then in presence of an excess 

 of acid. The differences observed point to a dissociation 

 taking place. — On c.-Esium methylamide : E. Rengade. 

 Cffisium dissolves in anhydrous liquid methylainine, form- 

 ing at first a metal methylammonium ; this soon evolves 

 hydrogen and the methylamide is quantitatively formed. 

 The amide detonates on heating, giving rise to caesium 

 cyanide and hydrogen. Water, allowed to act slowly, pro- 

 duces caesium hydroxide and methylamine. — The action of 

 phosphorus pentachloride upon some tertiary cyclic amines. 

 Syntheses of colouring matters and formation of phos- 

 phorus : P. Lemoult. — The products of oxidation of 

 anthracene octahydride : dihydro-oxanthranol and hexa- 

 hydroanthrone : Marcel Godchot. — Thymomenthol and its 

 derivatives : L^on Brunei. This is obtained from thymol 

 by the Sabatier and Senderens reaction ; its physical and 

 chemical properties are given and the preparation of several 

 derivatives described. — Contribution to the study of some 

 derivatives of benzodihydrofurfurane : A. Guyot and' J. 

 Catel. — On the agricultural value of humic materials : J. 

 Dumont. — On the elliptical character of the new Borrelly 

 comet (e 1904) : G. Fayet. It is shown that no parabola 

 can satisfactorily represent all the observations, an elliptical 

 orbit with a period of about eight years better representing 

 the facts. — .An electrical pendulum with free escapement : 

 Ch. Fery. The arrangement described is remarkable for 

 the small expenditure of electrical energy required to work 

 it, less than 0.5 watt per annum. The diurnal variation 

 of a clock beating half seconds fitted with tife apparatus 

 described is less than 0.3 second. — On the nitrates of 

 potassium and ammonia and on the law of Bravais : 

 Fr^d^ric Wallerant. — The coal basin of French Lorraine : 

 Francis Laur. — On the diatom-bearing level of the ravine 

 Oi Egravats, near Mont Dore, Puy-de-D6me : M. Lauby. 

 — On the biology and anatomy of the suckers of Osyris 

 alba : A. Fraysse. — On the biology of the Cestodse : L. 

 James and H. Mandoul. — The action of magnesium and 

 of magnesia on micro-organisms : F. Dienert. 



New South Wales 

 Royal Society, November 2, 1904. — Mr. C. O. Burge, 

 president, in the chair. — Pot experiments to determine the 

 limits of endurance of different farm crops for certain in- 

 jurious substances, part iii., barley and rye : R. Helms 

 and Prof. F. B. Guthrie. The authors describe experi- 

 ments with barley and rye in continuation of those on wheat 

 and maize (Proc. Roy. Soc. New South Wales, xxxvi. p. 191, 

 and xxxvii. p. 165) to determine the tolerance of these plants 

 to certain ingredients commonly present in the soils and 

 water used for irrigating in certain parts of the State, 

 namely, sodium chloride and sodium carbonate ; also the 

 effect produced upon their growth by the presence of small 

 quantities of plant poisons occasionally met with in 

 fertilisers, such as ammonium sulphocyanide, sodium 

 chlorate, and arsenious acid. — The classification and 

 systematic nomenclature of igneous rocks : H. Stanley 

 Jevons. The author concludes that the most convenient 

 general classification for the present time would be one 

 constructed as follows : — (i) Based on alkali-lime-content of 

 principal and minor mineral constituents. Produces two 

 series : alkaline and calcic. (2) Based on similarity of 



