April 6, 1905 J 



NA TURE 



55' 



appear. In the species which produce females from un- 

 fertilised eggs (foecilosoma luteolum, Honichroa rufa, 

 Croesus varus) no conjugation between polar nuclei takes 

 place. In all cases the egg-nucleus sinks into the yolk 

 and gives rise to the cells 5f the embryo, and the chromo- 

 some number remains the same as that observed in the 

 maturation divisions. Centrosomes were never seen in the 

 maturation mitoses, but are present in the division-spindles 

 of the yolk-nuclei and blastoderm of both fertilised and 

 virgin eggs. — Densities of the earth's crust beneath con- 

 tinents and oceans compared : Rev. O. Fisher. 



P.4R1S. 



Academy ol Sciences, March 27. — M. Troost in the chair. 

 — On vessels of fused silica, their employment in chemistry, 

 and their permeability : M. Berthelot (see p. 544). — The 

 construction in ' an opaque homogeneous medium of 

 luminous rays which penetrate by a plane face : J. 

 Boussinesq. — On surra and the differentiation of try- 

 panosomes : A. Laveran and F. Mesnil. .Vn experimental 

 comparison of the trypanosomes of surra arising in the 

 island of Mauritius and in India shows that they are 

 morphologicaly the same, but the pathogenic action upon 

 animals in the laboratory showed some differences between 

 the two trypanosomes. It seems clear that the trypano- 

 somes of surra of Mauritius and of India are the same 

 species. There are three species which differ in their viru- 

 lence, the order of activity being India, Mauritius, and 

 Mbori. — On the plants from the Coal-measures found in 

 the borings at Eply, Lesm^nils, and Pont-i-Mpusson : R. 

 Zeiler. The impressions of plants found at Eply corre- 

 spond to a well marked Westphalian ilora. Of the speci- 

 mens from the Lesm^nils boring two, Lonclwptcris 

 Dcfrancei and Cingularia typica, have hitherto been 

 observed in the Sarre coal basin, and hence would appear 

 to point to the beds now being explored being a prolong- 

 ation of this field. The specimens from Pont-a-Mousson 

 also point to the Sarrebriick stage of the Westphalian 

 Coal-measures. — On the monochloro-derivatives of methyl- 

 cyclohexane : Paul Sabatier and Alp. Mailhe. Chlorine 

 acts readily upon methylcyclohexanone at the ordinary 

 temperature, giving rise to numerous chlorinated deriva- 

 tives. Of these a special study has been made of the 

 monochlor-derivatives, the main product being shown to 

 consist of two of the fi%'e possible isomers. — Prof, van 't 

 Hoff was elected a correspondant for the section of 

 mechanics in the place of the late Prof. Willard Gibbs. — 

 The search for Tempel's periodic comet (1867, 2) in 1905 : 

 R. Gautier. This comet, first seen in 1867, and again 

 in 1873 and 1879, did not make its reappearance as pre- 

 dicted in 1885, 1892, and 1898. The date of its possible 

 appearance in 1905 is discussed, and its elements calcu- 

 lated. The author expresses the hope that a special search 

 will be made over the regions indicated by observatories 

 possessing instruments of sufficient power or equipped with 

 photographic apparatus. — On Coulomb's law : L. Lecornu. 

 A reply to some remarks of M. Painleve on the same 

 subject. — On a new arrangement for the use of the 

 methods of interferential spectroscopy : Ch. Fabry. The 

 method is specially adapted for the study of a spectrum 

 formed of numerous brilliant lines, such as that of iron, in 

 the electric arc. The apparatus is a modification of one 

 previously described by the author. Instead of the inter- 

 ference bands being observed directly, they are viewed 

 through a spectroscope, the slit of which may be left 

 fairly large, unless rays very close together are under 

 observation. The arrangement possesses several, advan- 

 tages over the earlier form, the chief being that there is 

 no possibility of mistaking the radiation under examin- 

 ation. — An electrometer with sextants and a neutral 

 needle : M. Guinchant. The theory of the instrument is 

 given, together with its experimental verification. The 

 instrument gave a deflection of 310 mm. for a potential 

 difference of one volt, and the delicacy can be increased 

 three times by a slight modification of the arrangements. 

 — The oxidation of metals in the cold in presence of 

 ammonia : C. Matignon and G. Desplantes. In the 

 presence of ammonia the slow oxidation by oxygen at the 

 ordinary temperature of a large number of metals takes 

 place, including mercury, silver, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, 

 tungsten, and copper. — Cryoscopic studies made in hydro- 



NO. 1849, VOL. 71] 



cyanic acid : M. Lespieau (see p. 544). — Ferric ethylate : 

 Paul Nicolardot. The author has repeated the e.xperiments 

 of Grimaux, and concludes that the soluble ferric ethylate 

 described by the latter does not exist. The compound 

 always contains sodium. — On substituted ureas from 

 natural leucine : M.M. Hugounenq and Morel. From the 

 carbimide of the ethyl ester of leucine the authors have 

 prepared leucine-hydantoic acid, the mixed urea of leucine 

 and aniline, and symmetrical leucine urea. — On some 

 iodomercurates of pyridine : Maurice Franpois. — On the 

 heat of formation of calcium hydride and nitride ; A. 

 Guntz and Henry Basset. By distilling commercial 

 calcium in a vacuum, with rapid cooling of the vapour, 

 the authors succeeded in obtaining the metal in a pure 

 state, and in a finely divided condition suitable for its 

 conversion into the hydride and nitride. The calorimetric 

 results show that all the heats of formation of calcium 

 compounds, based on Thomsen's data, ought to be in- 

 creased by 204 calories. This gives a positive instead of 

 a negative heat of formation for calcium carbide. — Some 

 applications of Watt's principle to the dissociation of the 

 carbonates of lead and silver : Albert Colson. — The heat 

 of formation of o.ximes : Ph. Landrieu. The amount of 

 heat given off by the reaction between aldehydes and 

 ketones has been studied in two ways : firstly, by the 

 interaction of the tvi'o substances in aqueous solution in 

 presence of soda, and secondly, indirectly, by the bomb 

 calorimeter. Figures are given for oximes derived from 

 acetone, acetaldehyde, methyl-ethyl-ketone, benzaldehyde, 

 acetophenone, camphor, and diphenyl-ketone, good agree- 

 ment being obtained between the two methods. — On the 

 origin and composition of the essence of herb-bennet root : 

 Em. Bourquelot and H. Herissey. It is found that the 

 essential oil does not exist preformed in the plant, but is 

 the result of the interaction of a new enzyme upon a 

 glucoside. The smell is due to the presence of eugenol, 

 the latter being identified by conversion into its benzoyl 

 ester. — On the experimental bases of the reticular hypo- 

 thesis : G. Friedel. — On a case of commensalism between 

 a species of Balanoglossus and Lcpidasthenia Digueti : 

 Ch. Gravier. — On the cause of the variations in the 

 length of the intestine in the larva; of Rana esculenta : 

 Emile Yung^. It is shown that the shortening is retarded 

 by the presence of undigested substances, the shortening 

 taking place when the intestine is empty. — On the growth 

 in weight of the guinea-pig : Mile. M. Stefanowska. 

 The relation found between weight and age is shown in 

 the form of two curves, algebraic expressions for which 

 are also given. — On the heats of combustion of the nervous 

 and muscular tissue of the guinea-pig, expressed as a 

 function of the age : J. Tribot. — Contribution to the study 

 of acid dyscrasia : M. A. Desgrez and Mile. Bl. Guende. 

 — The action of calcium permanganate upon the toxins of 

 tetanus, diphtheria, and tuberculosis : J. Baudran. — On a 

 case of osteomalacia causing extreme deformation of the 

 skeleton, and terminated by a spontaneous retrocession 

 of the lesions : P. Berger. — On the favourable action of 

 the X-rays in some cases of non-suppurating tuberculous 

 adenopathy : J. Bergonie. — The palaeontological dis- 

 coveries of M. de Morgan in Persia : H. Douville. — On 

 the discovery of coal at Meurthe-et-Mosclle : C. Cavallier. 

 — On the boring for coal at Meurthe-et-Moselle : R. 

 Nickles. — The discovery of a workable seam of coal in 

 French Lorraine : Francis Laur. — On the course of the 

 solidification of the earth : A. Leduc. A discussion of the 

 views on this question recently put forward by MM. Lcewy 

 and Puiseux. — On the influence of eclipses on the move- 

 ment of the atmosphere : W'. de Fonvielle and Paul 

 Borde. — The relation between the density and salinity of 

 sea-water : A. Chevallier. 



India. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, Maic'n I. — Earwigs nf the 

 Indian Museum : M. Burr. A list of the specimens in the 

 Indian Museum, with descriptions of four new species. — 

 On the fresh-water polype of the Calcutta tanks, with 

 exhibition of living specimens : N. Annandale. The 

 polype of the Calcutta tanks is identical with Hydra 

 viridis. Linn. It varies considerably in colour. What is 

 probably the same species has been seen in the botanic 

 gardens at Penang. — ^The composition of the oil from Bir 



