450 
Societies and Academies. 
Lonpon. 
Royal Society, March 22.—L. T. Hogben and F. R. 
Winton: The pigmentary effector system. III.— 
Colour response in the hypophysectomised frog. 
After complete removal of the pituitary gland, the 
melanophores remain permanently contracted, even 
when the frogs are exposed to conditions which are 
optimum for darkening of the skin; they can be 
made to expand by pituitary extract, but the animals 
regain pallor under conditions which invariably 
produce darkening in the normal or partially hypo- 
physectomised (anterior lobe alone) frog. The mini- 
mum dose of pituitary extract for melanophore 
expansion was compared in normal and pituitaryless 
frogs. The experiments provide evidence that: 
(1) the rhythm of colour change in normal life is 
correlated with fluctuating amounts of pituitary 
secretion, and (2) direct nervous influences do not 
play a significant réle in co-ordinating pigmentary 
responses in Amphibia.—H. R. Hewer: Studies on 
amphibian colour change. The presence of “‘ frayed ”’ 
ends to processes and isolated granules and irregular 
edges to the concentrated mass of granules precludes 
any theories postulating amoeboid movement of 
cell processes. This is supported by (1) irregular 
movements of the granules; (2) slight massing of 
granules towards tips of processes in dispersed phase ; 
and (3) stained sections of skin. Adult Rana 
temporaria respond, similarly to other Amphibia, 
to factors of normal environment. Dryness and 
light background cause concentration ; moisture and 
dark background dispersion. Low temperature causes 
dispersion and medium temperature concentration. 
Higher temperatures appear to have an intermediate 
effect. Neither nitrogen nor hydrogen produced 
any effect during three hours; carbon dioxide did 
not affect colour before proving toxic; oxygen 
produced concentration in melanophores; chlorine 
changes melanin granules to a red colour.—J. Walton : 
On Rhexoxylon, Bancroft: a Triassic genus of 
plants exhibiting a liane-type of vascular organisation. 
The genus Rhexoxylon was instituted in 1913 for 
a fossil stem from South Africa. The evidence 
given by certain structural details was in favour of 
attributing it to the Palzozoic group of polystelic 
arborescent plants, the Medullosez. The study of 
additional specimens from South Africa shows that 
the organisation of the vascular system resembles 
very closely that of certain modern South American 
Lianes, especially in the anomalous methods of 
secondary thickening of the axis. Histologically, the 
secondary wood of Rhexoxylon resembles that of 
the group Dadoxyla, characteristic of the southern 
botanical province during the latter part of the 
Paleozoic era. Possibly Rhexoxylon, as a specialised 
ecological type, bore much the same relation to the 
gymnospermic Dadoxylon stock as the modern 
Liane bears to the angiospermic group at the present 
day, and the occurrence of an anomalous type of 
vascular system in the modern Liane is an example 
of a repetition, in a distinct phylum, of a specialised 
organisation evolved in Palwozoic times. The fossil 
stem Antarcticoxylon priestleyi Seward, from South 
Victoria Land, Antarctica, has some of these 
peculiarities, and its occurrence in the “Beacon 
Sandstone Series of Antarctica points to a probably 
close relationship between portions of this series 
and the Stormberg Series of South Africa, from 
which came the majority of specimens of Rhexoxylon. 
—G. Hewett: The Dusuns of British North Borneo. 
The Dusuns themselves claim descent from the 
Chinese who settled in North Borneo. The general 
NO. 2787, VOL. 111] 
NATURE 
[Marcu 31, 1923 


political conditions in Asia during the thirteenth 
century led to the invasion of North Borneo by 
Kublai Khan. The Bruni tribute was transferred 
from Majapahit to China, and the Chinese acquired 
the throne of Bruni. The Bruni government based 
its claim to the whole territory of North Borneo 
on the marriage of Sultan Akhmed to the Chinese 
daughter of Ong Shin Ping, who was in all probability 
the occupant of the Bruni throne at the time. The 
Chinese occupation and development probably lasted 
some four hundred years.—M. Tribe: The develop- 
ment of the hepatic venous system and the postcaval 
vein in the Marsupialia. The development of the 
hepatic veins is subject to variation. Two venous 
rings of vitelline origin are transformed into a spiral 
vessel encircling the gut. In most genera the left 
allantoic vein becomes the more important and in 
some genera it anastomoses with the spiral vessel. 
The mesenteric vein is probably derived, in part, 
from the caudal venous ring. The postcayal is 
derived from three sources. The postrenal section 
takes origin from the paired supracardinal plexus, 
the renal section from the subcardinal veins, the 
hepatic and prehepatic sections from the vitelline 
veins. The azygos and lumbar veins, and the supra- 
renal sinusoids, are derived from the supracardinal 
plexus. The left suprarenal vein is the persistent 
left subcardinal vein.—J. Gray: The mechanism 
of ciliary movement. III,—The effect of tempera- 
ture. Between o° and 33° C. the speed of the cilia 
on the gills of Mytilus increases with a rise in tempera- 
ture, although the amplitude remains normal. 
Between 34° and 40° C. there is a marked falling 
off in the amplitude of the beat, followed by a reduc- 
tion in speed. At 40° C. the cilia come to rest in 
the relaxed position. At 45° C. the cilia occupy 
the contracted position. The temperature coefficient 
of movement between o° and 32°5° C. varies from 
3:I-1-92. High temperatures have a destructive 
effect on individual cells of the epithelium. In well 
aerated tissue the oxygen consumption is directly 
proportional to the speed of the beat between 
o°-30° C. At about 30° C. the initial oxygen 
consumption is not maintained, due to the dis- 
integrative effect of the temperature on the epithelium. 
The effect of temperature on the activity of cilia 
is closely parallel to its effect on cardiac muscle, 
—E. Ponder: The inhibitory effect of blood serum 
on hemolysis. The hemolytic action of saponin is 
inhibited by the proteins of serum, and also, to a 
lesser extent, by the cholesterol. The action of the 
bile salts is inhibited by the proteins, and by the 
lecithin of the serum. The inhibitory power is 
fairly constant in man and animals, is altered by 
drying the serum, and is affected by bacterial action. 
A quantitative study of the inhibition produced by 
serum shows inhibition is probably due to the forma- 
tion of a loose compound between the proteins of 
the serum and the hemolytic agent. The inhibitory 
effect of haemoglobin on hzemolysis produced by 
saponin and bile salts is considered. Probably the 
reaction which takes place between saponin or bile 
salts and red cells is a chemical one of the first 
order. 
Royal Anthropological Institute, March 13.—Mr. 
H. J. E. Peake in the chair.—Miss M. Edith Durham: 
“ Bird Men” and kindred customs in the Balkans. 
On the western side of the Balkan peninsula a con- 
siderable part of the population still identifies itself 
with birds. Thus the Albanians call themselves 
Shkypetars, and derive the word from Shkyp, an eagle, 
and regard the killing of an eagle as unlucky. In 
Montenegro also there is a strong bird tradition. Here 
it is the ‘‘soko,’”’ the falcon. Officers address their 
