NovEMBER 15, 1906 | NATURE 71 
the percentage of its total length by which the animal MANCHESTER. 
increases between two moults; this is apparently con- Literary and Philosophical Society, October 26,— 
stant for every moult. This law is also very clearly 
observable when applied to the measurements of lobster 
larvee recorded by Herrick—Three graphic methods of 
recording temperature observations in use in the section 
of the International Investigations of the North Sea con- 
ducted by the Scottish Fishery Board: Prof. d’A. 
Thompson. One method recorded the surface tempera- 
tures at any date and any position along a given line, 
another the temperature at any date and depth at a given 
position; the third showed the daily sequence of tempera- 
tures for the year at any given position in the form of 
sine curves. 
Linnean Society, November 1.—Prof. W. A. Herdman, 
F.R.S., president, in the chair.—The structure of bamboo 
leaves: Sir Dietrich Brandis. While the leaves of other 
grasses exhibit a great variety of structure, those of 
bamboos are exceedingly uniform. In bud they are always 
convolute ; they all have in the upper epidermis, alternating 
with the longitudinal nerves, bands of large bulliform cells 
known as motor-cells. In most species these motor-cells 
are filled, entirely or partially, with solid bodies of silica. 
Between the bands of bulliform cells and the longitudinal 
nerves, bamboos (with one exception so far as known, 
Chusquea pinifolia, of south-east Brazil) have large 
apparent cavities, which are completely filled by large flat 
thin-walled cells, lying one over the other, like the leaves 
of a book. This tissue is entirely different from that which, 
in a young state, fills the cavities in the leaves of Glyceria 
aquatica, G. fluitans, and other aquatic grasses. The 
species placed by Dr. Stapf in ‘‘ Flora Capensis’”’ in the 
new tribe Phareze have, so far as known, leaves with a 
structure similar to bamboo.—Crustacea from the Inland 
Sea of Japan: Dr. J. G. De Man. Thirty-nine species 
were fully described, and ambiguities in previous authors 
cleared up.—The systematic position of Hectorella 
caespitosa, Hook. f.: Prof. A. J. Ewart. This plant has 
been regarded as belonging to the Portulacez, but the 
author suggested it might be transferred to the Caryo- 
phyllacez. 
Mathematical Society, November 8.—Annual general 
meeting.—Prof. A. R. Forsyth, president, in the chair.— 
Partial differential equations: some criticisms and some 
suggestions. Presidential address by Prof. Forsyth. The 
address dealt chiefly with the present state of the methods 
of practical integration ; a number of exceptional cases, in re- 
gard either to method or classification, were pointed out, and 
various gaps in the theory were indicated. Some sugges- 
tions as to hopeful lines of advance were made.—Harmonic 
expansions of functions of two variables: Prof. A. C. 
Dixon. A function of two real variables, having a con- 
siderable degree of generality, is expanded in a double 
series each term of which is the product of two functions 
containing the two variables separately, and also contain- 
ing parameters which differ from term to term of the series. 
The series is transformed into a multiple integral. The 
series that are founded on this expansion are found to be 
equally complete with double  Fourier’s series.—The 
inversion of a definite integral: H. Bateman. The paper 
contains a classification of integral equations of the first 
kind, two practical methods of proceeding to a solution, 
and a number of illustrative examples.—Partial differential 
coefficients and repeated limits in general: Dr. E. W. 
Hobson. Among the matters treated is the formulation 
of the most general conditions in which the equation 
fa) =) ud &) 
ox \Ov/ Ov ax 
holds good.—Backlund’s transformation and the partial 
differential equation s=F(x,y,s): J. E. Campbell. The 
form of differential equation in the title includes the differ- 
ential equation of all pseudospheres, or surfaces of constant 
negative curvature. In this case the equation admits of 
being transformed into itself by a transformation due to 
Backlund. The transformation succeeds also in one other 
case.—Subgroups of a finite Abelian group: H. Hilton. 
The general solution of Laplace’s equation in n dimensions : 
G. N. Watson. 
NO: 1933; VOL. 
ad 
Hid) 
| vitelline from hens’ eggs : 
Sir William H. Bailey, president, in the chair.—A develop- 
ment of the atomic theory which correlates chemical and 
crystalline structure and leads to a demonstration of the 
nature of valency: Prof. W. J. Pope and W. Barlow. 
October 30.—Mr. Charles Bailey in the chair.—(1) A 
journey to North-East Rhodesia during 1904 and 
(2) a collection of birds from North-East Rhodesia : 
Neave. 
1905; 
Sars 
Paris. 
Academy of Sciences, November 5.—M. H. Poincaré in 
the chair.—The alcoholysis of fatty bodies: A. Haller. 
The hydrolysis of fatty substances by an aqueous solution 
of various acids well known. The author has found 
that if the acids are employed in alcoholic instead of 
aqueous solution the glycerol is split off as before, but the 
alkyl ester of the acid is formed, and hence the process 
may be fitly called alcoholysis. All fatty bodies, whatever 
their constitution or consistency, undergo this change with 
more or less facility. Full details are given of the methods 
used in carrying out this reaction, which has been applied 
to a large number of glycerides. Owing to the low 
temperature at which the reaction can be completed, the 
replacement of water by alcohol possesses certain 
advantages.—The transformation of volcanic rocks into 
phosphate of alumina under the influence of products of 
physiological origin: A. Lacroix. The change takes place 
under the influence of the excrement of sea birds.—The 
seeds and flowers of Callipteris: M. Grand’Eury. The 
frequent presence, along with Callipteris, in the neighbour- 
hood of Autun, of seeds catalogued thirty years ago under 
the name of Carpolithes yariabilis, found with an intimate 
mixture of the same seeds with Call. conferta in the coal 
deposits of Bert, formed exclusively of this fossil, led the 
author to the view that these belonged to the same plants. 
In the present paper an account is given of a study of the 
flora of the Autun boghead which confirms this view.—The 
perturbations of Vesta depending on the product of the 
masses of Jupiter and Mars: M. Leveau.—Certain linear 
groups: Léon Autonne.—The potentials of an attracting 
volume the density of which satisfies the equation of 
Laplace: A. Korn.—Certain kathode rays: P. Villard. 
Some remarks on the nature of the non-deviable rays 
observed in a Crookes’s bulb by J. J. Thomson.—The 
establishment of an exclusive correspondence, independent 
of syntonisation, between a transmitting post and one of 
the receiving posts of a wireless telemechanical installa- 
tion: kdouard Branly.—The conditions of precipitation and 
re-dissolution of metallic sulphides: H. Baubigny. Re- 
marks on a paper by M. G. Bruni and Padoa, the author 
referring to papers by himself on the same subject pub- 
lished in 1882 and 1889.—The gases observed in the attack 
of tantalite by potash: C. Chabrié and F. Levaliois. 
Experiments on tantalite and the corresponding ferrous 
titanate show that the hydrogen observed in the reaction 
with potash is not present in the mineral, but is due to a 
chemical reaction between ferrous oxide and the alkali. 
Contribution to the study of selenium: (échsner 
de Coninck. By the reduction of selenious oxide by 
glucose, an amorphous, brick-red selenium is produced. 
This dissolves gradually in concentrated sulphuric acid, 
forming SeSO,. This latter substance in contact with 
water deposits a new stable variety of selenium, the proper- 
ties of which are detailed.—The chlorination of paraldehyde 
and on butyric chloral: P. Freundier.—Phenyl migration ; 
the structure of the intermediate compounds: M. 
Tiffeneau.—Study of the constitutional formule of some 
dimethylanthracenes: James Lavaux.—The toxicity of 
some rare earths: their action on various fermentations : 
Alexandre Hébert. The sulphates of thorium, cerium, 
lanthanum, and zirconium possess certain toxic powers. 
Experiments on frogs, fish, the seeds of plants, Aspergillus, 
yeast, diastase, and emulsin are described.—An albumin 
extracted from the eggs of fish: comparison with the 
L. Hugouneng. By hydrolysis 
with dilute sulphuric acid the albumin from the egg of 
Clupea Harengus (clupeovine) gave arginine, histidine, 
lysine, aminovaleric acid, tyrosine, leucine, alanine, serine, 
phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. These correspond closely 
Is 
