336 
NATURE 
[NOVEMBER 13, 1913 
immersion in fresh- and salt-water. Ligia oceanica, 
the quay-slug, is found at various heights above high- 
water mark, but not far inland, and has congeners 
which inhabit fresh-water or are amphibious or terres- 
trial. The gills of these forms are similar, and Miss 
Stewart carried out experiments to determine the 
effect upon the gill structure of prolonged immersion 
in sea-water and fresh-water. 
Paris. 
Academy of Sciences, November 3.—M. F. Guyon in 
the chair.—A. Haller: The alkylation of the f- and 
y-methylcyclohexanones by means of sodium amide. 
The reaction between sodium amide, methylcyclo- 
hexanone, and ethyl iodide gives a condensation pro- 
duct of the ketone in addition to the substituted ethyl 
derivatives. Details are given of the variation of this 
secondary reaction with the experimental conditions. 
—A,. Laveran and G. Franchini: Experimental infec- 
tions of mammals by the flagella of the digestive 
tube of Ctenocephalus canis and Anopheles maculi- 
pennis. Flagelle from both sources are equally 
capable of infecting the mouse and _ rat.—Pierre 
Termier: The excursion Cr of the twelfth Inter- 
national Geological Congress. The Pre-Cambrian 
strata of the Lake region; the tectonic problems of 
the great chains of the west.—E. Belot: Zodiacal 
matter and the solar constant. A discussion of the 
perturbations due to zodiacal matter, the reflection of 
sunlight upon the same, and the variations of the 
solar constant due to absorption by zodiacal matter.— 
M. Giacobini: The comet i1913e. Position of the 
Zinner comet on November 1. The comet appeared 
as a round nebulosity of about 45” diameter, with a 
nucleus of about 9-5 magnitude. There were indica- 
tions that the light from the comet was polarised.— 
M. Couadé: An aviation parachute. A description of 
experiments made with small-scale models.—P. 
Helbronner; The complementary geodesic triangula- 
tions of the higher regions of the French Alps.— 
Bohdan de Szyszkowski: The réle of the neutral mole- 
cule in electrolytes.—B. Szilard : A direct reading static 
voltmeter for the measurement of very small currents. 
——Thadée Peczalski: Compressibility and the differ- 
ences of the specific heats of liquids.—Georges 
Baume: Some physico-chemical applications of the 
Maxwell-Barthoud distribution equation.—Eugéne L. 
Dupuy and A. Portevin: The influence of various 
metals on the thermo-electric properties of the iron- 
carbon alloys. Sixty alloys were studied, the elements 
added to the iron-carbon alloy including chromium, 
manganese, aluminium, tungsten, and molybdenum, 
The thermo-electric power was measured over the 
ranges —78° C. to 0°, and o°—100°.—Amé Pictet 
and Maurice Bouvier; The distillation of coal under 
reduced pressure. The coal was heated to about 
450° C., and the pressure in the retort maintained at 
about 16 mm. The aqueous portion of the distillate 
was acid, and contained no ammonia. The tar con- 
tained neither phenols nor naphthalene, but the pre- 
sence of secondary bases was proved. The hydro- 
carbons belonged nearly exclusively to the fatty series. 
—Aug. Rilliet and L. Kreitmann ; 6-Aminopiperonal.— 
Pierre Lesage: Contribution to a critical examination 
of the action of atmospheric electricity upon plants.— 
J. Beauverie : Frequent presence of the germs of rust 
in the interior of the seeds of the Graminacea.—R. 
Robinson: The physiology of the czcal appendix. 
The hormone of the vermium.—Raoul Bayeux: A new 
distributing gas micrometer for use in intravenous 
injections.—Jules Amar; The respiratory signs of 
fatigue.—L. C. Soula: The mechanism of anaphylaxis. | 
— Gabriel Bertrand and A. Compton: The presence of | 
a new diastase, salicinase, in almonds.—C. Gessard : 
Che salts in the coagulation of the blood.—Fred Vlés : 
NO. 2298, VOL. 92] 
The absorption of the visible rays by the blood of the 
octopus.—Louis Gentil and Pereird de Sousa: The 
effects in Morocco of the great earthquake in Portugal 
of 1755. : ° 
New SoutH WaAtEs. 
Linnean Society, September 24.—Mr. W. S. Dun, 
president, in the chair—W. N. Benson: The geology 
and petrology of the great Serpentine belt of New 
South Wales. Part ii., the geology of the Nundle 
district. The formations present are, the Woolomi: 
Series, the Bowling Alley Series (equivalent to th: 
Tamworth Series), of which five divisions are recog 
nised; and the Nundle Series, equivalent to the Bar 
raba Mudstones. The last lies conformably on the 
Bowling Alley Series, for the Baldwin Agglomerates 
are not developed. The first two contain numerous 
interstratified flows of spilite, and, in the second, sills 
of albitised dolerite are abundant. All three contain 
radiolaria. A well-marked Middle Devonian limestone 
horizon runs throughout the Bowling Alley Series.— 
E. C. Andrews; The development of the natural order 
Myrtaceze. The Myrtacez are widely distributed over 
the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, par 
ticularly in the fertile tropics. The number of specie 
is approximately 3100 (America, 1670; Australia, abou — 
800; Asia, about 235; Africa, 85; Malay Archipelagc 
and Pacific Islands, 310 species; Europe only one). 
By far the greater number of these are of luxuriant 
types, possessing fleshy and indehiscent fruits. The 
capsular genera are endemic in Australasia and the 
neighbouring regions, and the majority of the species 
grow on poor sandy soil, and are strikingly de- 
pauperate in nature, compared with the widely spread 
genera, such as the Myrtles, Guavas, and Eugenias. 
Whereas Ettingshausen considers the modern endemic 
flora of Australia as being of cosmopolitan range in 
early and later Tertiary time, the present author con- 
siders the present endemic flora of Australia as being 
the depauperate descendants of luxuriant and cosmo- 
politan types of the Cretaceous and Eocene periods.— 
Rk. T. Baker: Descriptions of three new species of the 
natural order Myrtaceze. Two species of Melaleuca 
from littoral Eastern Australia, and one of Angophora 
from the New England district, are described as new. 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Index of Spectra. By Dr. W. M. Watts. Appendix 
Pp. iv+92. (London: W. Wesley and Son.) 
Die radioaktive Strahlung als Gegenstand wahr- 
scheinlichkeitstheoretischer Untersuchungen. By Prof. 
L. v. Bortkiewicz. Pp. 84. (Berlin: J. Springer.) 
4 marks. 
The Life of the Fly, with which are Interspersed 
some Chapters of Autobiography. By J. H. Fabre. 
Translated bv A. T. de Mattos. Pp. xi+508. (Lon- 
don: Hodder and Stoughton.) 6s. net. 
The Diesel or Slow Combustion Oil Engine. By 
Prof. G. J. Wells and A. J. Wallis-Tayler. Pp. xvi+ 
286. (London: Crosby Lockwood and Son.) 7s. 6d. 
net. - 
Key to “A New Algebra.” Vol. ii., containing 
parts iv., v., and vi. By S. Barnard and J. M. Child. 
Pp. 447-915. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) 
8s. 6d. 
V. 
Ministry of Finance, Egypt. Survey Department. 
| The Rains of the Nile Basin and the Nile Flood of 
tg1t. By J. I. Craig. Pp. 110+viii plates. (Cairo: 
Government Press.) P.T.10. 
The Johns Hopkins University Circular, 1913, No. 8. 
Catalogue and Announcement for 1913-14 of the 
Medical Department Established in Connection with 
the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Pp. 276. (Baltimore, 
| Md.) 
