DecEMBER 20, 1906 | 
NATURE 
IQ 
pollen or nectar do not carry it, but merely carry the news 
to the hive. A number of bees are sent out to strip the 
flowers, a number carrying pollen only, others nectar only, 
others again water only, when water is needed. The 
number sent out is proportional to the number of flowers 
to be stripped, and by marking the bees with coloured 
talc it was proved that each bee confined itself for the 
time being to one class of work. The same bee might be 
seeking for flowers in the morning and collecting in the 
afternoon, but did not change the nature of its work with- 
out returning to the hive. There seemed to be something 
in the nature of a working arrangement between the bees 
of different hives, as when the work of clearing a certain 
area of flowers had once been commenced by a few bees 
from one hive, these collectors were not interfered with 
by bees from other hives.—Some scientific discoveries of 
Leonardo da Vinci: P. Duhem. A study of the effect of 
the scientific writings of Leonardo da Vinci on the work 
of Mersenne, Roberval, Descartes, Fabry, and Huygens.— 
Glycosuria without hyperglycemia: R. Lépime and M. 
Boulud.—The theory of ensembles: Félix Bernstein. 
The power of orthogonal systems of continuous functions : 
Erhard Schmidt.—The calculation of limits: L. Fejér. 
—A class of differential equations reducible to linear equa- 
tions: M. Rivereau.—The phenomena of magnetic 
rotatory polarisation in crystals: Jean Becquerel.—The 
motor effects of high frequency currents: H. Guilleminot. 
| 
—A colour reaction given by reducing sugars by m-dinitro- | 
benzene in alkaline solution: MM. Chavassieu and 
Morel. A violet colouring matter is produced. It is 
neither more nor less characteristic than other colour re- 
actions of aldoses and ketoses, but has the advantage of 
being very easy to carry out.—A tetrabromo-derivative of 
methylethylketone: M. Pastureau. The ketone is con- 
verted into a peroxide by the action of hydrogen peroxide | 
in acid solution, and this submitted to the action of 
bromine. The tetrabromide thus formed has been shown 
to have the constitution CH,Br—CO—CH,—CBr,, since 
when heated with potassium: carbonate it gives acetol.— 
The distribution of phosphorus in foods: M. Balland.— 
The distribution of vicianine and of its diastase in the 
seeds of Leguminose: Gabriel Bertrand and Mlle. L. 
Rivkind. About forty species were examined, and most 
of them were found to contain a diastase capable of hydro- 
lysing vivianine. The glucoside was only found in plants 
of the genus Vicia, and the distribution of the two sub- 
stances was very irregular even in this one genus. Vicia 
narbonensis, for example, contains neither diastase nor 
vicianine.—The composition of vegetable juices extracted 
from roots: G. André.—The respiration of seeds in the 
state of latent life: Paul Becquerel. It has been found 
that light, the teguments of the seed, and the state of 
hydration are all important factors in the respiration of 
the seed, and the effect of these may be sufficient to 
explain the variable results obtained by different workers 
on this  subject.—Pollen, its origin and _ transform- 
ation: Germand Vert.—A tumour in an_ invertebrate, 
Sipunculus nudus: Marcel A. Hérubel.—A new order of 
dinoflagellated parasites, Blastodiniz: Edouard Chatton. 
—The interpretation of some results in radiotherapy and 
an attempt at fixing a rational technique: J. Bergonié 
and L. Tribondeau.—The conglomerates of Messina and 
those of the Glokova-Varassova synclinal in Greece: Ph. 
Neégris. 
CaLcuTta. 
Asiatic Society of Bengal, November 7.—Latitude of 
the Presidency College Observatory: Babu Phanindra Lal 
Ganguli. A simplified method of making approximate calcu- 
lations in recording observations at the Presidency College 
Observatory.—Further notes on earwigs (Dermaptera) in 
the Indian Museum, with the description of a new species: 
M. Burr. Records of new localities and the description of 
a new species of the genus Anisolabis.—Notes on the habits 
of the earwig, Labidura lividipes, Dufour: Dr. N. 
Annandale. This earwig is sometimes very common at 
light during the hot weather and rains. It uses its 
forceps in opening and folding its wings.—Cirrhipédes 
Operculés de I’Indian Museum, de Calcutta: M. A. 
Gruvel. An account of the sessile barnacles of the Indian 
Museum collection, with descriptions of a new genus, 
NO. 1938, VOL. 75] 
Pyrgopsis, and of new species, four of the genus Verruca 
and one of Balanus. The genus Pyrgopsis is allied to 
Pyrgoma.—Note on the Houbara or bastard bustard 
(Houbara macqueenii): Lieut.-Colonel D. C. Phillott. 
An account of the habits of this bird, its food, way of 
hiding, &c.—Descriptions of two new Indian frogs: G. A- 
Boulenger. The species are Rhacophorus taeniatus from 
the plains of Bengal, and Ixalus annandalii from the 
Sikkim Himalaya.—Notes on pollination of flowers in 
India, Nos. 1-3: I. H. Burkill. The author describes 
(1) the pollination of Thunbergia grandiflora in Calcutta 
by the boring bees, Xylocapa latipes and X. aestuans; 
(2) the pollination of Corchorus capsularis and C. olitorius 
—the two jute plants—in many places in Bengal and 
Assam; (3) the pollination, as observed in the Simla Hills, 
of the flowers of Adhatoda vasica, Dicliptera bupleuroides, 
Morina persica, Salvia lanata, Scutellaria linearis, and 
Teucrium vroyleanum.—Ascaris lobulata, Schneider, ein 
Parasit aus des Darms von Platanista gangetica: Dr. v. 
Linstow. A brief note upon the features of this parasitic 
worm.—Notes on the fresh-water fauna of India, No. ix., 
descriptions of new fresh-water sponges from Calcutta, with 
a record of two known species from the Himalayas and a 
list of the Indian forms: Dr. N. Annandale. Two new 
species and a new variety of Spongilla, a new ‘species of 
Ephydatia, and two of Trochospongilla are described from 
a tank in Calcutta. Spongilla carteri, Bowerbank, and 
Ephydatia robusta, Potts, are recorded from a lake situated 
at the height of 4500 feet above sea-level in the Central 
Himalayas, on the evidence of floating gemmules. The 
list of Indian fresh-water sponges now includes nine species 
| and varieties of Spongilla, four of Ephydatia, and two of 
Trochospongilla. The species recorded from Bombay are 
mostly different from those occurring in Calcutta.—Notes 
on fresh-water fauna of India, No. x., Hydra orientalis 
during the rains: Dr. N. Amnandale. Four-tentacled 
individuals of the polyp have been found during the rains 
bearing four-tentacled buds, but without sexual organs. At 
this season they confine themselves to deep and densely 
shaded parts of the tank, and are small and colourless. 
New SoutH WALEs. 
Royal Society, September 5.—Mr. HH. A. Lenehan, 
vice-president, in the chair.—Port Sydney: L. Hargrave. 
The paper showed how Port Jackson might be made an 
up-to-date port without tampering with vested interests, 
present traffic, or riparian rights. The accommodation 
shown was 8000 yards of quay, with 40 feet of water; six 
miles from Redfern—The international rules of botanical 
nomenclature (adopted by the International Botanical 
Congress of Vienna, 1905): J. H. Maiden. The author 
gives an account of the modern attempts to evolve laws 
for a settled nomenclature, beginning at the International 
Botanical Congress of Paris, 1867. 
Linnean Society, October 31.—Mr. Henry Deane, vice- 
president, in the chair.—Contribution to our knowledge of 
the action of rennin: A. H. Moseley and Dr. H. G. 
Chapman. It was noted (1) that when milk which 
showed an acid reaction to litmus was neutralised with 
alkali, rennin ceased to produce its customary clot, and (2) 
that the addition of quantities of alkali insufficient to 
produce neutrality of reaction to litmus inhibited the 
clotting of the milk with rennin. Upon investigation it 
was found that this action was due to destruction of 
rennin by hydroxyl ions, and was not dependent on any 
specific action of the sodium or potassium ion upon 
caseinogen or casein.—The geology of Samoa, and the 
eruptions in Savaii: H. I. Jensen. The phenomena pre- 
sented by the Savaiian volcano afford some clue to the 
direction in which to look for future developments in the 
forecasting of earthquakes and eruptions. The eruption at 
Savaii was due to a movement along the great structural 
line between Samoa and New Zealand which opened the 
fissure in 1902. The increase of folding consequent upon 
rise of the isogeotherms accompanying the sun-spot 
maximum of 1905 caused the re-melting of magmas at a 
depth, and squeezed them into the fissure, whence they 
have been escaping from several vents. The ingress of 
sea-water has had something to do with the eruption, as 
shown by the hydrochloric acid evolved, and it should be 
