20 



,\ IT I RE 



s l I'TEMBER 5, U)l8 



garrii irid Western Australia. This pape* 



.•estei Ij trend oi the lake basins, the 

 1 uttin ii- Ii.imI, 1 in l.\ bluffs, and the devi lop: 



iu> hi |i( 1 sand ridges with well-marked inters 



renin s, 1 unnkig in an east-west dii - 



This lattei feature has nol I" tun been discussed in 

 R. \. Kcble : The significance oi lava resi- 

 duals in the development ol thi Western Pori and 

 Pori Phillip drainage systems, ["he oldei and newet 

 basalts of Victoria Unwed down the valleys, partlj 

 occupying or completely submerging them. Subse- 

 quent erosion look place on the softei tlankine 

 in the case of the confined lava-fields. 1 11 the case 

 of the extensive lava-fields erosion proceeded along 

 li< |>i '--Uisaii watersheds, since they were the first to 

 be exposed l>\ vertical erosion, and afforded the line 

 of least resistance. It is submitted that it is possible 

 to reconstruct from these data the pre-basalt streaid 

 systems. — F. Chapman: The age of the Bairnsdale 

 Gravels, with a note on the included fossil wood. 

 The sheet of gravel covering the uplifted coastal 

 plain of the Victorian coast from the hill-ranges of 

 South Gippsland on the west to Cape Howe on the 



1-1 is described, and shown to be of VYernikooian 

 it pper Pliocene) age. Its terrestrial origin is proved 

 bj the physiography of the surrounding country and 

 the nature of the deposits, whereas, if of marine 

 origin, the sand would have been largely removed by 

 continuous tidal action. The included fossil (silicitied) 

 wood is referred to two types of Eucalvpts, the nearest 

 allies of which are yellow box {Eucalyptus melliodora) 

 and white stringy bark (E. piperita). The wood is 

 derived from an older formation, Kalimnan (Lower 

 Pliocene) 01 even Janjukian (Miocene). 

 Calcutta. 



Asiatic Society of Bengal, July 3.— J. N, Rakshit : The 

 isolation of porphyroxine. A solution of opium in 

 lime-water is shaken up with ether, and the ethereal 

 extract dried over calcium chloride and evaporated; 

 the residue thus obtained is washed with boiling 



1 leum, dissolved in dilute hydrochloric acid, 



filtered, the filtrate made alkaline with sodium bi- 

 carbonate, again filtered, and the alkaline filtrate ex- 

 tracted with chloroform. On evaporation of the 

 chloroform extract crude porphyroxine is obtained, 

 which, when crystallised from alcohol, gives the pure 

 alkaloid as a pinkish-brow 11 powder.— M. N. Sana : 

 A new theorem in elasticity. From the equations of 

 motion of an elastic system, a new theorem has been 

 1 expressing the difference between mean 

 kinetic and potential energies. The theorem is ana- 

 logous to Clausius's Yirial theorem in the kinetic 

 1 3, and appears to be of great promise 

 for the relative estimation of kinetic and potential 

 ies in various cases of vibration. — M. N. Saha 

 and S. Chakravarti : The pressure of light. A series of 

 experiments which were recently carried out at the 

 Sir T. N. I'.iii 1 ..ii'iii.iinn of Science for demon- 

 strating, an.1 ou.ni ativel) estimating, the pressure of 

 light 1m i Ii cribed. The apparatus is a modi- 

 fication "I I lull's apparatus for measuring the pressure 

 of light, and is so designed that all disturbing efl cts 

 have been eliminated. Previous workers used the ari- 

 as the source of light, but this being very unsteady, a 



tungsten filan lam] c.j>., ' which gives 



almost as intense a light as in and is absolutely 



steady, has been used ["hi ob 1 ed and calculated 



in essures are in : I 1 ... . de P. Cotter • 



The geotectonics of the Tertian In add> basin. It 



been found necessary, through recent field work in 



t'-nhn and Pakokku districts, to difv previous 



1 the Tertiary history of Burma. The author 



believes that there is no unconformity, it ol an 



ehtirel local character, between the Pegus and Irra- 



1549, VOL. I02] 



waddys ol Che Irrawaddy basin. The supposed un- 

 conformities of Venangyat and Minim are parti) to 

 be explained as missing beds cut out by fold faults. 

 I here is evidence ol rreistoceni and recent upheaval 

 in the (rrawadd) basin.- E. W. Vredenhurg ; Con' 

 sideraiioiis regarding a possible relationship between 

 the di.iiiipil.il' - and the Dharwars. Attention is 

 directed to the possibility of regarding the charnockites 

 as metamorphosed representatives of the igneous n 

 hers of the Dharwars. E. W. Vredenburg : Note on 

 the occurrence of Dolium variegatutn, Lamarck, at 

 Maskat, with considerations on iu geographical dis- 

 tribution at the present da\ .mil in former geological 

 limes. Dolium variegatutn, Lamarck, hitherto known 

 as a recent shell only from Australia, has been noticed 

 in the Indian Museum amongst a collection id" shells 

 from Maskat. In a fossil condition it is known from 

 the Upper Tertiary of Java and of the Makran, in- 

 dicating that its distribution, discontinuous at the 

 present day, was coniinuous in former geological 



times. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Organic Chemistry for Adyanred Students. By 

 Prof. J. R. Cohen. Second edition. 3 parts. Pp. 

 viii + 366; vii+435 ; vii+378. (London: E. Arnold.) 

 545. net. 



An Introductory Treatise on Dynamical Astronomy. 

 By Prof. H. C. Plummer. Pp. xix + 343. (Cam- 

 bridge : At the University Press.) 18s. net. 



Alternating-current Electrical Engineering. By 

 P. Kemp. Pp. xi+494. (London: Marmillan and 

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A History of Chemistry. By Prof. F. J. Moore. 

 Pp. xiv+2q2. (New York : McGraw-Hill Book Co. ; 

 London : Hill Publishing Co., Ltd.) 12s. 6d. net. 



CONTENTS. page 



Waste-paper and Paper-waste I 



The Constitution of Coal. By Prof. H. Louis ... 2 



Analysis and Geometry. By G. B. M 2 



Our Bookshelf 3 



Letters to the Editor: — 



German Naturalists and Nomenclature. — Lord Wal- 



singham, F.R.S. 4 



The Value of Insectivorous Birds.— Dr. Wm. Eagle 



Clarke 4 



A Mistaken Butterfly.— Thos. Steel 5 



Fertilisers after the War. By Dr. E. J. Russell, F.R.S. 5 



The Value of the Herring as Food. By E. J. A. . 6 

 The Metalliferous Ores of the Iron and Steel 



Industry. Bv Prof. H. C. H. Carpenter, F.R.S. . 7 

 Prof. Bertram Hopkinson, F.R.S. By Sir J. A. 



Ewing, K.C.B., F.R.S 8 



Notes • . 9 



Our Astronomical Column: — 



Infra. red Stellar Spectra 13 



Mount Wilson Observatory Report 13 



The Development of New Industries 13 



The British Glass Industry 15 



High-temperature Appliances 16 



Water-power and its Utilisation 16 



University and Educational Intelligence ... 18 



Societies and Academies 19 



Books Received . ... 20 



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