December 7, 1905] 



NA TURE 



] 43 



seaweed is now put, that the moderns had effectually 

 removed this reproach that had been put upon it. — An 

 experiment showing some convection effects in a heated 

 liquid: C. H. Burgess. A U-tube is filled in the lower 

 half with hydrochloric acid coloured by a dye, and in the 

 upper with plain acid, and the liquids are allowed i" 

 diffuse so as to give a shaded band. The liquid is then 

 heated by the passage of an electric current, and is resolved 

 into a series of well marked layers. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, November 27. — M. Troost in the 

 chair. — On the distillation of copper : Henri Moissan. 

 Copper can be readily distilled in the electric furnace. 

 When the vapour is condensed on a cool body, a felted 

 mass of copper filaments is obtained, presenting all the 

 properties of ordinary metallic copper. Copper at its boil- 

 ing point dissolves carbon, graphite, partly crystalline and 

 partly amorphous, separating out on cooling. — On the 

 benzylidene derivatives of anthrone and anthranol : A. 

 Haller and M. Padova. Amongst the reduction products 

 of anthraquinone, Liebermann isolated a compound 

 C^H^O, to which one of two formula; could be assigned. 

 The reactions described in the present paper show that this 

 behaves as a tautomeric body, giving rise to derivatives 

 of the ketone, anthrone. — Researches on intensive nitrifi- 

 cation : A. Muntz and E. Laine. The principal aim of 

 the present research was to find out a means of producing 

 nitre on a large scale lor the manufacture of explosives. 

 Animal charcoal has been found to be the best support for 

 the nitrifying 1 rganism when strong solutions of ammonium 

 -;ilts are employed, a litre of animal charcoal giving 8 1 

 grams of nitre per day. The maximum concentration of 

 ammonium sulphate permissible has been found to be 

 75 grams per litre. It is shown that it would lie possible 

 to produce nitrates in quantities sufficient for the manu- 

 facture of explosives in the case of the external supply 

 being stopped. — On the total eclipse of the sun of August 

 jo, 11)05: Ch. Andre. It is shown that the study of the 

 eclipse by a series of micrometric measurements gave 

 results at least as good as the direct determination oi the 

 times of the external contacts. — On the luminous intensity 

 of the solar corona during the total eclipse of August 30, 

 1005 : Charles Fabry. The observations were carried out 

 at Burgos with a Lummer photometer. The intensity 

 found was about three-quarters that of the full moon. — 

 On groups of continuous curves : Maurice Frechet. — On 

 the non-uniform divergence and convergence of Fourier's 

 series : H. Lebesgue. — On the coefficient of utilisation of 

 helices: Edgar Taffoureau. A motor of 205 horse- 

 power, working two helices of 7-767 metres diameter, ran 

 sustain a useful weight of 506 kilograms. — On the definition 

 of the magnifying power of microscopical objectives: L. 

 Maiassez. The author proposes to define the magnifying 

 power as the magnification produced by the objective al 

 unit distance from its posterior face. — Researches on the 

 purity of electrolytes. The determination of an upper limit 

 1 I hydrolysis of concentrated saline solutions by the use 

 of symmetrical liquid chains presenting a fresh surface 

 of contact : M. Chanoz. — The difference of potential under 

 which the kathode rays are produced : Jean Maiassez. 

 The author's experiments tend to show that, contrary to 

 tin views put forward by J. J. Thomson, the difference 

 of potential under which the kathode rays are produced 

 is the difference actually existing between the anode and 

 the kathode. — The decomposition of ammonium sulphate 

 by hot sulphuric acid in the presence of platinum : Marcel 

 Delepine. In the presence of platinum, ammonium 

 sulphate is destroyed by boiling sulphuric acid. The fad 

 has an important bearing on the determination of nitrogen 

 by the Kjeldahl method. — On a commercial silicide of 

 copper : Paul Lebeau. A commercial specimen of copper 

 silicide contained 51 per cent, of free silicon, 44 per cent, 

 of copper silicide, and 4 per cent, of silicide of iron. The 

 silicide was isolated, and, contrary to the accepted 

 view, and in spite of the excess of free silicon, was found 

 to consist of SiCu, instead of SiCu,.— Chemical oxydases 

 acting in the presence of hydrogen peroxide : G. Baudran. 

 — The molecular refraction and dispersion of compounds 

 containing the acetylenic grouping: Charles Moureau. It 

 is shown that the additive law in the case of the mole, ulai 



no. 1884, t'OL- yx\ 



refraction and dispersion of substituted acetylenes does not 

 correspond with the experimental facts. — The petro- 

 graphical examination oi some volcanic rocks from the 

 Tuamotou Islands and Pitcairn Island : Albert Michel- 

 Levy. — On sterile fruits developed without the intervention 

 of the male element : Th. Solacolu. The reserves accumu- 

 lated at the base of the flower or in the neighbouring parts 

 with a view to the normal development of the pistil after 

 fertilisation are utilised in certain species, even when 

 fertilisation has not taken place, with the formation of a 

 false fruit. — On a new enemy of the coffee plant in New 

 Caledonia : I. Gallaud. The disease is known locally as 

 Koleroga or Candellilo, and is caused by a fungus, Pelli- 

 cularia Koleroga. — Statistical researches on the evolution 

 of the height in flax : Mile. M. Stefanowski and M. 

 Henri Chretien. — The cervical covering in the nauplius 

 stage of Art:inin salina : Nicolas de Zograf. — On a sup- 

 posed case of reproduction by budding in annelids : Ch. 

 Gravier. — The trophoplasmic spherules of the ciliated 

 infusoria: J. Kunstler and Ch. Gineste. — Researches on 

 a supposed ovulase of spermatozoids : Antoine Pizon. 

 Pieri's theory, that the segmentation of the egg is started 

 by a ferment (ovulase) of spermatic origin, has been ex- 

 amined experimentally under more rigorous conditions than 

 those obtaining in Pieri's original experiments, and no 

 evidence of the existence of such a ferment was obtained. 

 The author's conclusion is that Pieri's experiments were 

 not carried out with sufficient care. — The toxic power of 

 the seminal fluid and general considerations on the 

 poisonous character of the genital products: Gustave 

 Loisel. — On the influence of the salts intimately related 

 to the albumenoids and to the diastatic materials in 

 proteolysis: G. Malfitano. — On the function of salts on 

 the production of activity in the pancreatic juice : the 

 specific action of calcium : C. Deiezenne. — The oxidation 

 of organic substances bj ferrous sulphate in the presenci 

 oi extracts of animal tissues: [■'. Battelli. — The emersion 

 1 I the land during the Cretaceous period in Greece I'll 

 Negrris. — On the geological structure of the Cantabrian 

 Cordillera in the province of Santander : Pierre Termier. 

 — On the Carboniferous and Permian deposits in Corsica : 

 M. Deprat. — The layer oi lossil vertebrates of Maragha : 

 M. de Mecquenem. -Measurements of the intensity of 

 the earth's electric field and of the ionisation of the 

 atmosphere during the total eclipse of the sun of August 30, 

 1905 : G. Le Cadet. 



Calcutta. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, November 1.— Some remarks 

 on the geology of the Gangetic plain : E. Molony. The 

 present valley of the Ganges in the United Provinces of 

 Agra and Oudh has been excavated from an older alluvium, 

 the eroding power of the river being due to submergence 

 in the lower part of the course of the river at some remote 

 period. The older alluvium sometimes forms islands in 

 1 1" midst of the newer alluviums, or Khadir, and is 

 characterised by the presence of nodular limestone 

 (Kankar). The boundary between the two formation- is 

 usually distinct. The main direction of the course of the 

 river is determined by the channels in the older alluvium, 

 erosion in which takes place very slowly. In stiff clay the 

 average rate is n feet per annum. The records of the 

 Lucknow boring indicate that the strata at a depth of 

 more than 1000 feet are inclined, probably from north to 

 south, and this is taken as evidence of a relative sub- 

 mergence of the southern portion of the Gangetic plain. 

 — Note on the species, habits, and external characters it 

 the dugong: Dr. N. Annandale. The author has ex- 

 amined a considerable series of Indian and Australian 

 skulls and skeletons of Halicore. He regards the differ- 

 ences between them as individual, and sees no reason to 

 recognise more than one species, H. dugong. lb gives 

 the measurements of a fully adult male recently caught in 

 the Gulf of Manaar, and de cribi its external characters 

 especially those of the head and mouth. He points out 

 that the dugong has probably altered its habits considerably 

 within the last half-century, al anj rate i n Indian wal 



and shows that its food includes true algre. Hedyoti's 



sisaparensis, a hitherto undescribed Indian species: Captain 

 A. I. Gage. Description of a new species of Hedyotis 

 found by the author in the Calcutta Herbarium, from the 

 Nilgiri district. It is most nearly related to H. molh\ 



