546 
may also be detected by visual examination; that 
palladium, whilst producing a structure similar to that 
caused by the presence of platinum, yields evidence 
of its presence by the coloration of the parting acid. 
No specific indications were obtained of the presence 
of osmium, but the presence of osmiridium was shown 
to give results closely approximating to those obtained 
from the presence of iridium alone.—G. Maitland 
Edwards: Notes on mines of the Ottoman Empire. 
In this paper the author gives a brief review of the 
mineral resources of Asia Minor, dealing respectively 
with coal, iron, chrome and emery, lead, zinc, silver, 
nickel, gold, mercury, borax, magnesia, phosphates, © 
guano, salt, petroleum, and other deposits. He also 
furnishes a brief review of the laws governing mining 
enterprise in the empire, and of the economic and 
transportation facilities. 
Linnean Society, December 18.—Prof. E. B. Poulton, 
F.R.S., president, in the chair.—J. Parkin: The 
evolution of the inflorescence. ‘The author stated that 
the evolution of all types of inflorescences is to be 
traced from the solitary terminal flower; and he 
indicated the order of development.—C. E, Salmon; 
Hypericum desetangsii, Lamotte, in Britain. In 1893 
the late Mr. T. Hilton, of Brighton, collected what 
he considered to be H. dubium, Leers, in the vicinity 
of Lewes. Some years after, the specimen came into 
the author’s hands and was seen not to be the usual 
plant so named. Various causes prevented him from 
visiting the locality at the proper season until the 
present year, when good examples were examined on 
the spot and afterwards more minutely at home. It 
appears that the Lewes plant must be placed under 
the species published by Lamotte (in Bull. Soc. Bot. 
Fr., vol. xxi., p. 121) in 1874, as H. desetangsii, and 
further elaborated, in the same journal, by Bonnet in 
1878. It may be roughly distinguished from H. 
perforatum—of which it has the golden yellow flowers 
—by its four-angled stem; from H. tetrapterum by 
the colour and size of its flowers, and from H. quad- 
rangulum (H. dubium) by its dotted leaves and nar- 
rower sepals. These are main distinctions; finer onas 
exist. 
MANCHESTER. 
Literary and Philosophical Society, December 2.—Prof. 
F. E. Weiss, vice-president, in the chair.—Prof. E. 
Rutherford: The structure of the atom. The author 
two years ago described a new type of atom—the - 
” 
‘nucleus’? atom—supposed to consist of a central 
nucleus, probably charged positively, of very minute 
dimensions, in which practically all the mass of the 
atom was concentrated. This was surrounded by a 
distribution of negative electrons sufficient to make 
the atom electrically neutral. This type was devised 
to explain the fact that the swift « particles in travers- 
ing matter are occasionally deflected through more 
than a right angle as the result of a single encounter 
with another atom. It was deduced that the number 
of electrons and consequently the charge on the 
nucleus was numerically equal to about half the 
atomic weight. Experiments since carried out by 
Geiger and Marsden have shown that the large angle 
scattering of « particles is in very close agreement 
with this assumption of the atom’s constitution, and 
they showed, in particular, that the variation of the 
number of a particles scattered through different 
angles by different elements agreed closely with the 
theory over a range in number of nearly one million 
times. The deflection of the @ particle is due to its 
passage close to the intense field of the nucleus. In 
his experiments with hydrogen, Mr. Marsden has 
found definite evidence that some of the hydrogen 
atoms actually acquire such a_ great velocity 
by their encounters. with a particles that they 
NO, 2306, VOL. 92| 
NATURE 
[January 8, 1914 | 
are able to travel through hydrogen at least three 
times the distance of the a particle itself through the 
same gas. On the nucleus theory it is supposed that 
the hydrogen atom contains one positive charge and 
the helium two. The author discussed the dimensions 
of the bodies in question, and the probable distance 
apart of the nucleii at the moment of repulsion. It 
was pointed out that the chemical and physical pro- 
perties of the atom are ultimately determined by the 
charge on the nucleus, which should consequently be 
a more fundamental constant than the atomic weight. 
The latter will depend on the inner structure of the 
nucleus, and may not be proportional to the charge 
on the nucleus. 
December 16.—Mr. F. Nicholson, president, in the 
chair.—R. L. Taylor: The action of bleaching agents 
on various natural colouring matters. In estimating 
the bleaching power of the ordinary bleaching agents 
the kind of colouring matter has to be taken into 
consideration. Colouring matters such as indigo and 
turkey-red are quickly and completely bleached by 
chlorine or hypochlorous acid. In ordinary un- 
bleached linen, cotton, and jute, there appear to be 
two quite different kinds of colouring matter, one 
rapidly bleached by chlorine and hypochlorous acid, 
while the other is quite unaffected by these bleaching 
agents, but is bleached by a solution of a hypochlorite 
containing little, if any, free alkali. A considerable 
amount of the colouring matter in linen and jute is 
not affected by chlorine or hypochlorous acid, but in 
cotton the proportion unbleached by these agents is 
very small indeed. However, cotton is not completely 
bleached by either bleaching agent even after pro- 
longed exposure to one of them. 
Paris. 
Academy of Sciences, December 29, 1913.—M. P. 
Appell in the chair.—Paul Sabatier and M. Murat: 
Contributions to the study of benzhydrol: the pre- 
paration of symmetrical tetraphenylethane. The 
reaction between benzaldehyde and phenylmagnesium 
bromide gives a very poor yield of benzhydrol, under 3 
per cent., diphenylmethane and symmetrical tetraphenyl- 
methane being produced by secondary reactions. The 
interaction of hydrogen and tetraphenylmethane in 
presence of reduced nickel at 230° C. gives diphenyl- 
methane and dicyclohexylmethane.—M. de Grossouyre 
was elected a correspondant for the section of 
mineralogy in the place of M. Depéret, elected non- 
resident member.—Ernest Esclangon: Observations of 
the Delavan comet made with the large equatorial 
of the Bordeaux Observatory. Data given for Decem- 
ber 22 and 23.—F. Ollive: The solar system.—Luc 
Picart: The calculation of a circular orbit with the 
aid of a_ single photographic 
Demoulin : The resolution of a problem of the integral 
calculus.—Léon Lichtenstein: Integration of the 
equation A,u=ke" on a closed surface.—Georges 
Giraud: \ group of birational transformations.— 
Alfred Rosenblatt ; The invariants of algebraical varie- 
ties in three dimensions.—Jules Drach: The integrals 
common to several problems of mechanics.—A. Cotton, 
H. Mouton, and P. Drapier: The influence of the size 
of the particles on the electro-optical and magneto- 
optical properties of a mixed liquid. The conclusions 
arrived at theoretically by Pockels are shown to be 
confirmed by experiment.—Jean Pougnet, Emile Segol, 
and Joseph Segol: The variation of the electromotive 
force of a Weston cell under the influence of ultra- 
violet light. Light of short wave-length causes a 
progressive lowering of the E.M.F. of a Weston cell. 
Removed from the radiation, the cell slowly returns 
to its original E.M.F, The change observed was 
0-007 volt.—A. Recoura: Chromium fluosilicate and 
observation.—A. « 
nape o = 
a 
