204 



NA TURE 



[July 14, 1904 



Pure nitrogen monoxide, prepared from sodium nitrite and 

 hvdroxylamine sulphate, was reduced to nitrogen by means 

 of a red hot iron wire, and the change of pressure at con- 

 stant volume measured. The value 14.0U1 is deduced from 

 the preliminary experiments as the atomic weight of 

 nitrogen. — .Mlotropic states of antimony sulphide and their 

 Iieats of formation : MM. Guinchant and Chretien. — 

 The action of ammonia gas upon trichloride, tribromide, 

 and triiodide of arsenic : C. Hugot. Arsenic trichloride 

 reacts with ammonia at —40° C, forming arsenic amide, 

 .As(NH,)3. This amide is insoluble in liquid ammonia, but 

 is immediately decomposed by water. The same amide is 

 formed from the bromide and iodide of arsenic. Kept at 

 0° C, the amide slowly loses ammonia and gives the 

 iixiide, As,(NH),, and this, heated to 250° C, gives the 

 nitride, .\sN. — On a method of splitting up fermentation 

 lactic acid into its optically active components : E. Jung- 

 fleisch. The separation is based on the differences in 

 properties of the three lactates of quinine, and full details 

 of the method adopted are given. .Syntheses of penta- 

 mpthvleneglycol, of the nitrile, and of pimelic acid : J. I-. 

 Hamonet. The glycol has been obtained from the corre- 

 sponding dibromopentane, by conversion into the diacetin, 

 and this into the glycol. Pimelic nitrile was obtained from 

 diiodopentane by heating in alcoholic solution with potas- 

 sium cyanide.— The action of mi.xed organoniagnesium 

 compounds on phthalimide and phenylphthalimide ; Con- 

 stantin Beis. — lodo compounds obtained from meta- 

 nitraniline : P. Brenans. — New synthesis of aa-dimethyl- 

 adipic acid : G. Blanc. — On atmospheric formaldehyde : H. 

 Henriet. In a preceding note the amount of formaldehyde 

 existing in the air is estimated to be from 2 to 6 grams 

 per 100 cubic metres of air. M. Armand Gautier has now 

 pointed out that air containing such a proportion of 

 formaldehyde is absolutely irrespirable. The production of 

 carbon dioxide by passing the air over mercuric oxide 

 heated to 250° C. must therefore be attributed to some corn- 

 pound of this aldehyde. — On recent results in porcelain 

 manufacture : F. Garros. — On the mechanism of the con- 

 traction of muscular fibres, and in particular those of the 

 adductor muscles of lamellibranchs : F. Marceau. — On 

 some points in the anatomy of cirripedes : A. Gruvel.— 

 The culture of spermatozoids : Alphonse Labbe. It is 

 possible for the spermatozoid to commence to develop by 

 itself on a simple culture medium, and away from any 

 organised substratum. — The colours of flowers : tj. 

 Coutagrne. — The question of the cultivation of cotton in 

 tropical .Africa : .Aug. Chevalier. — The presence of hydro- 

 quinone in the pear : G. Riviere and G. Bailhache. — 

 On the lateral roots of the pepper plant : H. Jacob de 

 Cordemoy. — New researches on the vegetative apparatus 

 of certain Uredinea; : Jakob Eriksson. — On the culture 

 and development of the fungus which produces anthracnosis 

 in the vine : P. Viala and P. Pacottet. — On' the variability 

 of temperature in the Antarctic regions : Henryk 

 Arctowski. 



Nkw South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, May 25. — Dr. T. .Storie Dixson, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — The botany of south-western New 

 South Wales : F. Turner. The characteristics of the in- 

 digenous and acclimatised vegetation of the country lying 

 between 35° S. lat., and the .Alurray or Hume River (the 

 boundary between New South Wales and Victoria), and 

 141° and 147° E. long., are discussed. The census of the 

 phanerogams and vascular cryptogams now brought for- 

 ward comprises a total of 379 genera and 949 species. — 

 Studies on Australian Mollusca, part viii. : C. Hedley. In 

 .\ugust, iqo2, Mr. G. H. Halligan and the author made a 

 single cast of the dredge in 100 fathoms, 16 miles east of 

 WoUongong — a depth for the first time attained by local 

 workers. The haul was very successful, and produced a 

 large number of Mollusca. The new species largely dupli- 

 cated those of the Thelis expedition, and were noted during 

 the progress of the report thereon. Other species of interest 

 are now discussed. — The bacterial origin of the gums of 

 the arabin group, xi., the nutrition of Bnct. acaciae : Or. 

 R. Greig Smith. Bad. acaciae, the arabin-former, pro- 

 duces gum readily in the presence of suitable nutrients. 

 Levulose, saccharose, maltose, mannite, and giy.'^rin are 

 sources of carbon, while dextrose, galactose, lactose, and 

 raflinose are not. Dextrose or galactose prevents the gum 



.\(J. 1811. \ (JL. 70, 



being formed from levulose or maltose. The organism 

 acquires and readily loses the power of utilising saccharose. 

 It temporarily loses the gum-forming faculty when sub- 

 cultivated upon sugar-free media. The amides are the best 

 nitrogenous nutrients; a trace of asparagine (004 per cent.) 

 is sufficient to produce half the maximum amount of gum. 

 Salts may accelerate, depress or prevent gum-formation. 

 Trace's of alkaline citrate or succinate were most favour- 

 able. Sumach tannin assists the formation of gum upon 

 artificial agar media. Oak tannin hinders the formation, 

 but the retarding effect may be neutralised by the addition 

 of glycerin. The bacterium might be used to distinguish 

 certain tannins. The tannin probably acts physically by 

 making the medium more contractile, so that the bacteria 

 are slowly supplied with nutrients in solution. The 

 optimum temperature is 17° C. The most suitable medium, 

 as deduced from the experiments, serves as a diagnostic 

 for other gum bacteria. Gum acacia has not a cellulose 

 origin. In the host plant it is formed from the wandering 

 sugars, levulose and maltose. Manuring with saline 

 matters does not promise to be a remedy for the prevention 

 of gum-flux in fruit trees. Peqch trees that were inoculated 

 with Bad. acaciae (from .icacia binervata) developed gum- 

 flux. The exudate was a metarabin gum. The host plant 

 can convert Bad. acaciae into Bocf. metarabinum, proving 

 what had been suspected, that the latter is a variety of the 

 former, producing an insoluble gum. This explains the 

 uniformity of the gums from certain species of trees. — The 

 loss of colour in red wines : Dr. R. Greig Smith. Two 

 samples of dry red wine which had exhibited the pheno- 

 menon of " vin tourni " were found to contain acetic 

 bacteria. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Is Radium an Element ? By Dr. Harold A. Wilson 241 



Books on Plant- Physiology. By F. D 242 



Chronological Calculations. By W. T. L. . . 243 



Totemism and Exogamy. By Ernest Crawley . . 244 

 Our Book Shelf :— 



Wassermann : " Immune Sera. Haemolysins, 



Cytotoxins, and Precipitins.'' — Dr. Charhs J. 



Martin, F.R.S. 245 



Crump and Croisland : "The Flora of the Parish of 



Halifax " ... 245 



Wolftum : " Chemisches Praklikum " 245 



Schofield : " The Personality of the Physician "... 246 

 Wood : " Rustless Coatings : Corrosion and Eleciro- 



lysis of Iron and Steel " ... 246 

 Vogel : " Ankauf, Einrichtung und Pflege des Mouir- 



zweirades" 246 



Letters to the Editor : 



Origin of Radium.— Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S. . 246 

 Electric Wave Recorder for Strati's Radium Electro- 

 scope. — F. Harrison Glew 246 



The Memorial to Sir George Stokes . . . . 247 



A story of the Philippines. (H/iislra/ed.) By T. H. H. 248 

 A Probable Cause of the Yearly Variation of iviag- 

 netic Storms and Aurorse. (IVi/h Diagram.) By 



Dr William J. S. Lockyer ... 249 



The Ornithologist in Lapland. (IUustrat,d.) By R. L. 250 



Prof Charles Soret. By Prof. R. Gautier . 251 



Prof. Theodor Bredichin 252 



Royal College of Science, 1903 252 



Notes 252 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



New Elements and Ephemeris for Comet 1904 a . . 256 

 The Solar Paiallax as Del ermine d from the Eros 



Photographs 256 



Experiments on the Visibiliiy of Fine Lines . , . . 256 



Variability of Minor Planets 256 



A Variable Star Chart . . . . 256 



The Leeds Astronomical Society 256 



" Annuario " of the Rio de Janeiro OHservaiory (1904) 256 

 Geological Suiveys of the United States. By 



H. B. W 256 



Disinfecting Stations. (Jllii-.tr,i!,,l.) 259 



University and Educational Intelligence . . . 260 



Societies and Academies . . 260 



