i8o 



NATURh 



[October 31, 19 18 



S', l>\K.\. 



Royal Society of New South Wales, \.ugusl 7. Mt. 



W. S. Dun, president, in the ehair. !\. T. Baker: 



l!i' techncrlog) anil anatorrn of some silk) oak*' 



I li>- paper 1 ovei s am ini ti ;al ' m into the 



pchnologj and nnai(ini\- of five species uf timber. 



i. [ding trees belonging in the natural ordei Protaeceaj, 



and all vernacularly known as members ol the "silfcj 



family. Two belong to the same genus, \i/. 



'Meet i"hu:sl,i an. I G. hilliana, the others being 



Qrites excelsa, Cardwelli sublimis. ami Embothrium 



harm. I heh ei onomic applications ai e 



enumerated, and the suitability oi some of them for 



flying machines adds a new timber to those valuable 



arms of the Empire the Nav) and Amu. Breaking 



strains, specific gravities, and weights oi e; 



given- R. II. Cambage ; Vertical growth of trees 

 From tests made foi several years on ven young 

 trees il appi are thai aftei the branches air throw n 

 out the trunk does not increase in length to am 

 appreciabl 1 ttenl below such branches, but the pro- 

 longation comes from the terminal shool or growing 

 porrrl ai !: summit. Nails which were driven into 

 very young acacias, cinnarnomums, and eucalypts al 

 4 ft. and 5 ft. from the base were nol carried iijiv, .,. 

 during several years or while the little tree^-stems 

 ai double their length. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 

 The Physical Society uf London. Report on the 

 Relativity Theory of Gravitation. By Prof. A. S 

 Eddington. Pp. vii t-91. (London : The Fleetwao 



Press, I. id. 1 lis. 11.1 



Jungle Peace. By W. Beebe. Pp. 297. (\,w 

 York : 11. I lob and Co.) 



What is War? and Two Other Essays. By H. B. 

 Cowen. P> 38. (London: The Cursitor Publishing 

 Co.) .«/. 



Psychological Principles. By Prof. |. Ward. 

 Pp. xiv + 478. (Cambridge: At the University Press.) 

 2 is. net. 



On th.- Nature of Things. R\ [1. Woods. Pp. v + 

 2:48. (Rrislol: John Wrighi and Sons, Ltd.) tos. 64. 

 net. 



rie- Life and Letters of Joseph Black, M.D. By 

 Sir \V. Ramsay. With an introduction dialing with 

 the life and work' of Sir William RarTTSa) by Prof. 

 F. G. Donnnn. Pp. xrx + r4.8. (London: Constable 

 and Co., Ltd.) 6s. 6d. net. 



I'he Ontario High School Laboratory Manual in 

 iistry. By Prof. G. A. Cornish, assisted In 

 \. Smith. Pp. vif+135. (Toronto: The Macmillian 

 Co. of Canada, Ltd.) 25 cents. 



["he Ontario High School Chemistry. Bv Prof. 

 Cornish, assisted by A. Smith. Pp. vii ( •< ,7 . 

 roronto The Macmillan Co. of Canada, Ltd.) 

 50 cents. 



11 I Long Ago. B\ \V. I I. Hudson. 

 !'(' I I ondon : J. M. Denl and Sons, Ltd.) 



rjs. n. 



Interpol ,,. \| u liipli< aii..n Tables of 



Decimal I i By Or. H. B. Hedrick. Pp. i\ 



ra,. (Washington: The Carnegie Institution of 

 Washington. 



Di.iionars and Grarni lat of the Language of Sa.'a 



and llawa. Sol I i I with \, ,, ,,-nili. eS . B) 



W. G. Ivens. Pp. vii e, ,1 plates. (Washing- 

 ton : The ( '.a n. .1. 1 1, \\ ashington.) 



Papers from the Department of Marine Biology of 

 the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Vol. ix. 

 Pp. 362+10;; plates. (Washington: The Carnegie 

 Institution of Washington.) 



NO. 2557, VOL. T02") 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



MONDAY. Men 1 MB! R 4. 



■> Dr. G. E. Moor Presidential Wdrcss. 



Sonic Judgments of Perception. 



S01 11 . 1 .a 5.30.- sir Richard Cooper, Bart.: Obsc 



to Post-u 



-• ;i Novj ubi . 



Socil iv, :.t 5-30.— Anniversary Meeting.— Dr. G. F. 

 Herberi Smith and I >r. G. I 



D.imfn .-air-. It An hur Russell: The < litel 



of Unst, Shetlands, I'.. G. I Prioi I bi Ni Icelit re 



Bfeteorites -1 Bhiff, 1 handalcap tr, I !r>atca 1 r- d I 1 rhnrm- 



s.d.i I li I l.vah. I.u 'mm K 



buine, anJ Shytal. 

 i , He G. I). Batten : Presidential A 



Institution r>i '-. .it 5.30.— -Sir John A. F. Asp 



I'rcsenlation of the Medals recently Awar. • 

 the Council. 

 Zoological Sociftv, at 5.30. — Prof. H. M. l.efroy : The Sydney 



Gardens. Dr. K. T. Le-iper : 0) Diagnosis of Helminth tn- 

 'fections from the Character of the r^(;> in the 1 .t istration 



.ill,.. N.-u Rabbil Disease 1 1 GemmiH : Ciliary Action 

 internal I ivities-of the Ctenophore. Plcuro 1 abr. 



WEDNESDAY. . 

 SoefETi Pua a ... 11 Di ip. Riehmontf : \ te on the 



Graduation of Gerber Buty.roneters.-B. ti. .McLellan and A. W. Knapp : 

 The Estimation of Cacao Shell 

 ... ...i. ai. Society, at 5.30.— Major Sir Douglas Mawson introduces 



Discussion on the Antarctic Ice-sheet and its Horclers. 

 Entomological Societv, at 8. 



THURSDAY, Nove 

 Roval Societv, at ^.^o.—l'robablc Papers: Prof. G. K. Hai-- 



Nature Of Sun-spots. E O. Her. us and T. II. I.at.y: The Thermal 

 Conductivity of Air. — T. K. Chiumayanandam : Haidingcr's Rings in 

 Mica. 

 Chemical Society, at 'S. 



Institution or Electrical Encini ers, at 6.— Tenth Kelvin Lecture— 

 I.. P. Atkinson : The Dynamical Theory of Electric Eugines. 

 FRIDAY. November 8. 

 Royal Astronomical Society, at 5. 



Malacological Society, at 7.— The Rev. Dr. A. H. Coolce : The Radula 

 of Thais. Drupa, Concholepas. Cronia. Rapana, and the Allied Genera. — 

 W. I . Webster: Notes on the Life-history of Plancrbis coriuas and 

 olher Freshwater Mollusca. 



CONTENTS. 



A History of Chemistry. By W. A. T 161 



Electrical Books for Students 162 



Electro-physiology. By V. H. B 163 



Our Bookshelf 163 



Letters to the Editor: — 



.The Perception of Sound. — Prof. A. Keith, F.R.S. 164 



Epidemic Influenza. — Chas. Harding . 165 

 Supplies of Amoeba froteus for Laboratories. — Prof. 



J. Graham Kerr, F.R.S 166 



Alcohol in Industry 166 



Epidemic Catarrhs and Influenza 167 



Dyestuffs and the Textile Industry ... ... 168 



The Right Hon. Sir Edward Fry, G.C.B., F.R..S. . 169 



Sir W. H. Thompson, K.B.E 170 



Notes 171 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Planet Jupiter 1 74 



The Rate of Stellar Evolution 174 



The Influence of Progressive Cold Work on Pure 

 Copper. {With Diupttm.) By Prof. H. C. H. 



Carpenter, F.R.S 175 



The Rat Pest 176 



The Raleigh Tercentenary 176 



A British Institute of Industrial Art 17S 



Chemical Technology at the Imperial College . . . 17S 



University and Educational intelligence . ... 179 



Societies and Academies . . . 179 



Books Received 1S0 



Diary of Societies 180 



Editorial and Publishing Offices: 



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ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON, W.C.2. 



Advertisements and business letters to be addressed to the 

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Editorial Communications to the Editor. 



Telegraphic Address: Piilsis, London. 

 Telephone Number Gerrard 8830. 



