46 
NATORE 
[May 11, 1899 
SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 
Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, April. 
Prof. F. N. Cole gives an abstract of the Proceedings of the 
February meeting of the Society. For nearly a year plans have 
been under discussion for providing facilities for the publication 
of the increasing number of original mathematical papers pro- 
duced in America. The Committee appointed at the last summer 
meeting have reported that it is desirable and feasible that the 
Society should undertake the periodical publication of Zyvans- 
actions, and that a commencement should be made in January 
1900,—Nineteen papers were presented at the meeting.—Ab- 
stracts are given of papers by Prof. Macfarlane (on the imaginary 
of geometry), by Prof. Osgood (on a means of generating a 
function of a real variable whose derivative exists for every 
value of the argument, but is not integrable), by Prof. Lovett 
(on a certain class of invariants), by Dr. Snyder (lines of curvy- 
ature on annular surfaces having two spherical directrices), by 
Dr. Miller (on the primitive groups of degree 17), by Dr. 
Dickson (concerning the abelian and hypo-abelian groups), by 
Mr. Hedrick (on three-dimensional determinants), and by Dr. 
Ling (an examination of groups whose orders lie between 1093 
and 2000).—Prof. Webster exhibited a large number of curves 
traced by the motion of a rotating top.—Prof. J. M. Peirce 
follows the above notice with an abstract of his paper on deter- 
minants of quaternions, read at the above meeting. —The largest 
linear homogeneous group with an invariant pfaffian, by Dr. 
L. E. Dickson, was read at the October meeting of the Society.— 
Asymptotic lines on ruled surfaces having two rectilinear direc- 
trices, by Dr. Snyder, was communicated (partially) at the 
August and December meetings. There are several diagrams. 
The theorem discussed is every ruled surface contained in a 
linear complex has an asymptotic line, all of whose tangents 
belong to the complex (ci Clebsch, ‘*‘ Ueber die Curven der 
Hauptstangenten bei windschiefen Flachen,” Cye//e, vol. Ixviii. ; 
and Bonnet, ‘‘ Théorie générale des Surfaces,” Journ. de 2 Ecole 
Polytechnique, vol. xxxil.).—There are reviews of ‘‘ Theoretical 
and Practical Graphics,” by F. N. Willson, of ‘‘The repertorio 
di_matematiche superiori, i. Analisi per E. Pascal,’”’ and of 
‘*D’Ocagne’s Cours de Géométrie descriptive et de Géomeétrie 
infinitésimale.” The last two notices are by Prof. Lovett, who 
also contributes a translation of Prof. G. Darboux’s obituary 
sketch of Sophus Lie (Comptes rendus, February 27).—Inter- 
esting notes and publications close the number. 
Bollettino della Socteta Sismologica Italiana, vol. iv., 1898, 
No. 8.—Obituary notice of P. Landi.—On the different methods 
of determining the position of the epicentre in distant earth- 
quakes of unknown origin, by G. Agamennone and F. Bonetti. 
The authors argue that methods which depend on the length of 
the interval between the two series of undulations and on their 
direction cannot give trustworthy results. They prefer one based 
on the time-records of a particular phase of the movement, and 
they would make use of the slow-period pulsations rather than 
the earlier tremors, since the latter may traverse the body of the 
earth with a velocity depending on the density, while the former 
travel along the surface with a nearly constant velocity. —Two- 
component seismoscope, by C. Guzzanti.—Notices of the earth- 
quakes recorded in Italy (November 27—December 31, 1897), by 
G. Agamennone, the most important being the Umbria and 
Marches earthquake of December 18-22. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 
LONDON. 
Royal Society, April 20.—‘‘ Studies in the Morphology of 
Spore-producing Members. IV. Leptosporangiate Ferns.” By 
fF. O. Bower, Sc.D., F.R.S., Regius Professor of Botany in the 
University of Glasgow. 
<\n attempt has been made in this memoir to strengthen the 
characters derived from the sorus by a fresh examination of its 
details, and certain of its features are used for purposes of 
general comparison which have hitherto received little attention ; 
they are :— 
(1) The relative time of appearance of sporangia of the same 
sorus. 
(2) Certain details of structure of the sporangium, including 
its stalk. 
(3) The orientation of the sporangia relatively to the whole 
sorus. 
NO. 1541, VOL. 60] 
(4) The potential productiveness of the sporangium as 
estimated by its spore-mother cells, and the actual spore- 
output. 
Observations of these features extending over all the more 
important living genera, coupled with data of habit and the 
characters of the Gametophyte as collateral evidence, have led 
the author to divide the homosporous ferns thus :-— 
Marattiaceze 
Osmundaceze 
Simplices | Giessen 
Eusporangiate 
Gleicheniaceze 
Matoninez 
Loxsomacee 
Hymenophyllaceze 
Cyatheaceze 
Dicksoniez 
Dennstaedtiinze 
se fThe bulk of the 
Mixtz ... \. Polypodiaceze 
Leptosporangiate 
Gradatee 
The effect of the observations and comparisons in this memoir 
is rather confirmatory of the current classifications than dis- 
turbing. The divisions suggested would supersede those of 
Eusporangiata and Leptosporangiate, though these terms would 
still be retained in a descriptive sense. If the sub-orders 
Osmundacez, Schizzeacex, and Marattiacez be transferred from 
the end of the Synopsis Filicum to the beginning, and grouped 
with Glecchenta and Matonia, we have the ‘‘ Simplices” before 
us. They are characterised by the simultaneous origin of the 
sporangia. The Gradatz, in which the sporangia are produced 
in basipetal succession, include the Cyatheaceze, Dicksoniez 
(Excl. Dennstaedtia), Hymenophyllacee, and Loxsomacez, 
sequences probably of distinct descent, and probably derivative 
from some prior forms such as the Simplices ; and in the arrange- 
ment of Sir Wm. Hooker they hold a position following on the 
Gleicheniacez. The family of Dennstaedtiinze, founded by 
Prantl to include Denmstaedtia and Microlepza, also has its place 
here, but it leads on by intermediate steps to undoubtedly 
mixed forms in which various ages of sporangia appear without 
regular sequence, such as Davadlia, Cystopteris, Lindsaya, and 
the Pterideze. But this sequence is already laid out in this order 
in the Synopsis, and it illustrates one at least of the lines along 
which mixed forms are believed to have been derived from the 
Gradatz. No attempt has been made to follow the natural 
grouping of the Mixtz into detail, or to test the arrangement 
of them in the Synopsis. Sufficient has, however, been said to 
show that the systematic divisions of the ferns now proposed 
fall in readily with the system of Sir William Hooker, notwith- 
standing that they are based upon details of which he cannot 
have been aware. 
“The Physiological Action of Choline and Neurine.” By 
F. W. Mott, M.D., F.R.S., and W. D. Halliburton, M.D., 
F.R.S. 
The cerebro-spinal fluid removed from cases of brain atrophy 
after death or during life, particularly from cases of general 
paralysis of the insane, produces when injected into the circula- 
tion of ancesthetised ‘animals a fall of arterial pressure, with little 
or no effect on respiration. This pathological fluid is richer in 
proteid matter than the normal fluid, and among the proteids, 
nucleo-proteid is present. The fall of blood pressure is due to 
an organic substance, which by chemical methods was identified 
as choline. 
The nucleo-proteid and choline originate from the disintegra- 
tion of the brain tissue, and their presence indicates that some 
of the symptoms of general paralysis may be due to auto- 
intoxication; these substances pass into the blood, for the 
cerebro-spinal fluid functions as the lymph of the central nervous 
system. We have identified choline in the blood removed by 
venesection from these patients during the convulsive seizures 
which form a prominent symptom in the disease. 
Normal cerebro-spinal fluid does not contain nucleo-proteid 
or choline, and produces no effect on arterial pressure. 
Our proof that the material we have worked with is choline 
rests not only on chemical tests, but also on the evidence 
afforded by physiological experiments ; the action of the cerebro- 
spinal substance exactly resembles that of choline. Neurine, 
an alkaloid closely related to choline, is not present in the fluid; 
