450 
NATURE 
ACCORDING to the report of the principal chemist of the 
Government Laboratory for the year ending March 31, it 
appears that during the past twelve months the work of the 
Customs branch of the Laboratory has more than doubled in 
magnitude, the increase being due chiefly to the imposition by 
the Budget of April, 1901, of duties on sugar and cognate 
substances, and on the numerous articles in the manufacture of 
which these substances are used. More than 64,000 samples 
were submitted for test as compared with about 34,000 in the 
preceding year. 
A CAREFUL experimental inquiry regarding the nutritive 
value of alcohol has recently been carried out in the chemical 
laboratory of Wesleyan University by Messrs. Atwater and 
Benedict, a report on which forms the sixth memoir of vol. viii., 
published by the National Academy of Sciences. The main 
question studied is the value of alcohol as a fuel in the human 
body and its comparison in this respect with sugar, starch, fats 
and other nutrients of ordinary food materials. Collaterally, 
the question of the effect of alcohol upon the proportions of 
nutrients digested from the food with which it was taken has 
also been examined. Metabolic experiments on an elaborate 
scale have been instituted with the view of investigating the 
problem, and no expense has been spared to obtain complete 
and accurate results, a large share of the costs having been 
borne by the Committee of Fifty for the Investigation of the 
Drink Problem, The results of the inquiry indicate that more 
than 98 per cent. of the ingested alcohol was oxidised in the 
body and that the potential energy of the alcohol was trans- 
formed into kinetic energy as completely as that of the ordinary 
nutrients... Alcohol appears to be very efficient in the protection 
of body fat from consumption, but not quite so efficient as the 
isodynamic amounts of the ordinary nutrients in the protection 
of body protein. The conclusion is drawn that so far as the 
utilisation -of the total energy of the diet is concerned, there is a 
slight advantage in favour of the non-alcoholic diet, especially 
when the body is subjected to hard muscular exertion, but the 
difference is so small as to lie almost within the limits of 
experimental error. 
The additions to the Zoological Society’s Gardens during the 
past week include a Purple-faced Monkey (Semnopithecus cephal- 
opterus) from Ceylon, presented by Miss M. Wheatcroft ; a 
Bonnet Monkey (A/acacus senzcus, 5) from India, presented by 
Mr. C. F. Taylor ; a Green Monkey (Cercopithecus callitrichus) 
from West Africa ; a Bonnet Monkey (M/acacus sinicus) from 
India, presented by Mr, R. M. Drury; an Australian Sheldrake 
(Zadorna tadornoides) from Australia, presented by Mr. W. 
Jamrach ; an Egyptian Monitor (Varanus niloticus) from West 
Africa, presented by Mrs, Mary A. S. Deacon; two Cocteau’s 
Skinks (Macroscincus cocteauz) from the Cape Verde Islands, 
presented by Mr. F. Newton; two Axolotls (Amdlystoma 
tzgrinum) from North America, presented by Mrs. Millicent 
Summers ; a Spotted Salamander (Salamander maculosa), Euro- 
pean, presented by Mr. R. R. Green; a Common Snake 
(Tropidonotus natrvix), British, presented by Mr. E. Crane; a 
Grand Galago (Gadago crasstcaudata, var.) deposited ; a Black- 
necked Swan (Cygnus nigricoll’s, 2) from Antarctic America, 
purchased ; a Rufous-necked Wallaby (AZacropus ruficollis), a 
Common Wallaroo (Aacropus robustus), born in the Gardens. 
CATALOGUE OF NEW DouBLe Strars.—Mr. W. J. Hussey 
publishes, in No. 21 of the Lzck Observatory Bulletin, the fifth 
catalogue of one hundred new double stars which he has dis- 
covered with the 12-inch and 36-inch refractors of the Lick 
Observatory, all these doubles having distances less than 5”. 
Twenty-five per cent. of the five hundred pairs announced 
have distances not exceeding 0”*50, 48 per cent. not exceeding 
1”*00, and 72 per cent. not exceeding 2”*00, The average 
distance for the five hundred pairs is 1'’*52. 
NO. 1714, VOL. 66] 
[SEPTEMBER 4, 1902 
HyPorHesis ON THE NATURE OF SOLAR PROMINENCES.— 
Prof. W. H. Julius has described hefore the Royal Academy of 
Sciences (Amsterdam) a theory as to the nature of solar 
prominences. 
It may be remembered that Prof. Julius accounted for the 
doubling of the arcs in the spectrograms obtained by him 
during the last total solar eclipse, by saying that it was due to 
the anomalous dispersion of the-chromospheric light, and he 
now applies this theory of anomalous dispersion to account for 
solar prominences. He abandons the idea of the existence of 
various layers of different materials in the solar atmosphere, 
and suggests that “‘ throughout the gaseous body, as well inside as 
outside the critical sphere, the various elements are altogether 
intrinsically mixed (granting that in the mixture the quantity of 
materials with greater specific gravity must grow with the 
depth).” It is suggested that, in the whirls formed by the 
ascent and descent of heated gases combined with the rotational 
velocity of the solar atmosphere, we get anomalous dispersion 
at the points where two or more of these whirls intersect and 
break each other ; and the author goes on to propose ‘‘ that the 
whole chromosphere with all its prominences is nothing but 
this system of waves and whirls, made visible within shorter or 
longer distances from the sun’s edge by anomalous dispersion 
of light, coming from deeper layers.” 
Prof. Julius also points out that this theory abolishes the 
necessity for supposing the immense velocities which Fenyi 
and others have observed in connection with solar prominences, 
because it suggests that there is not a transmission of material, 
but only successive appearances of the same phenomena at 
various heights. He likens this to the apparent velocity of the 
line of foam caused by water waves breaking on a coast which 
is inclined to their wave-fronts (Proceedings of the Royal 
Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam). 
VISIT OF THE ENGLISH ARBORICULTURAL 
SOCIETY TO COMPIEGNE. 
THE English Arboricultural Society held its annual meeting 
in London on Monday, August 18, and Mr. George 
Marshall, of Frimstone, Liphook, one of the members of the 
Royal Forestry Commission, was elected president for the year, 
in succession to Dr. Somerville, of the Board of Agriculture. 
M. Daubrée, Conseiller d’Etat and Directeur des Eaux et 
Foréts, was elected honorary vice-president, and four other 
French officers connected with the furests which were to be 
visited by the Society were elected honorary members. 
On August 19, fifty-three members of the Society proceeded 
vid Boulogne to Compiégne. Among these, besides our presi- 
dent, may be noted Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., of Colesborne, 
Gloucestershire ; Mr. Coroner Graham, of Durham ; Mr. F. W. 
Beadon, of Longley Hall, Huddersfield; Mr.*J. Smith Hill, 
principal of the Agricultural College, Aspatria; Sir Hugh 
Beevor; Mr. J. Davidson, the secretary, in charge of the forests 
belonging to Greenwich Hospital; Mr. E. McA. Moir, late of 
the Indian Forest Department ; Mr. Forrest, agent to the Duke 
of Bedford at Thorney; Mr. W. Forbes, forester to Lord 
Masham; Mr. Havelock, forester to Lord Yarborough; Mr. 
Gillanders, forester to the Duke of Northumberland ; Mr. A. C. 
Forbes, forester to Lord Lansdowne, and many other foresters 
and nurserymen. 
On August 20, the party proceeded to Villers Cotteréts (Aisne), . 
the birthplace of Dumas, and spent the morning in inspecting 
the extensive timber yards of M. Carpentier and of the Chemin 
de Fer du Nord. The French band saws are the best in 
existence, and a very large quantity of fine beechwood is now 
being sawn up. The beech is sawn green during summer and 
then carefully seasoned, while oakwood is now being collected for 
autumn and winter sawing, hornbeam wood being sawn up in the 
spring. M. Carpentier sells much hornbeam wood in England. 
The system of creosoting by the Chemin de Fer du Nord is new. 
It is very effective, and was explained in detail and by practical 
illustration by the director. _ Large quantities of beech and oak 
sleepers are thus prepared, the beech absorbing three times as 
much creosote as the oak, and, as an experiment, a few mari- 
time pine sleepers were being tried, this species not being yet 
used by this railway. 
After breakfast, the party visited the Forét detRetz (32,550 
acres with a net revenue of 23,698/.), on undulating land 200 
to 8oo feet in altitude, the soil being chiefly a deep and fertile 
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