; ApRIL 28, 1923] 

NATURE 
587 

Societies and Academies. 
Lonpon. 
Geological Society, March 28.—Dr. H. H. Thomas, 
vice-president, in the chair.—E. Greenly: Further 
researches on the succession and metamorphism in 
the Mona complex. Fragments from the volcanic 
series of Bangor show that the metamorphism of the 
complex is older than that series. The basic schists 
of the Eastern Aethwy region appear to be derived 
from the spilitic lavas. A singular effect of ana- 
morphism in its earliest stages is that quartz-epiclasts 
have been corroded and invaded by the carbonates 
of a calcareous grit. Titaniferous varieties of the 
Bodwrog marble in the Penmynydd Zone furnish 
evidence as to the conditions of development, under 
dynamic metamorphism, of rutile and of sphene. 
As regards the ancient floor, more fragments of 
ancient crystalline schists have been found, one of 
them being in the Fydlyn Beds, a lower horizon than 
any that had hitherto yielded any such fragments. 
The gneissic structures are older than the deposition 
of the bedded succession. Banding resulted from 
deformation of a differentiated basic magma at an 
advanced stage of consolidation. Three generations 
of pegmatite are distinguished, the earliest of which 
is subsequent to the consolidation of the banded 
gneiss. Granitoid banding followed granitoid permea- 
tion, and also the appearance of the basic magma 
from which the hornblendic gneisses were developed. 
Thus, the micaceous gneisses must be regarded as 
the oldest known member of the gneissoid complex. 
Aristotelian Society, April 9.—Prof. A. N. White- 
_ head, president, in the chair.—C. D. Broad: Various 
meanings of the term ‘“‘ unconscious.’’ Six senses 
of the term ‘“unconscious’’ are distinguished. 
(1) As used to differentiate one kind of substance 
from another, it means ‘‘ inanimate.’’ (2) As applied 
to the temporary condition of an animate substance, 
it means “ not at the moment consciously aware of 
anything.” This definition is not complete till we 
have defined (3), ‘“‘ conscious’ and ‘‘ unconscious,” 
asapplied toexperiences. An experience is ‘‘relativel 
unconscious ’’ if it is owned by some mind wich 
is not at the time in control of a body. It is 
“absolutely unconscious’’ if, at the time of its 
occurrence, it is owned by no mind. These are the 
only senses in which we can /iterally talk of ‘‘ uncon- 
scious experiences.’’ (4) The traces and dispositions 
which have to be assumed in order to explain memory, 
instinctive behaviour, etc., are often called ‘‘ uncon- 
scious states.’ There is no reason to think that 
these are, or are anything like, experiences. It is 
best to call them “ mnemic continuants.’’ (5) 
Experiences which were conscious when they happened, 
but cannot now be remembered by normal means, 
are often called ‘‘ unconscious.”’ It would be better 
to call them “ inaccessible.’’ Their traces form part 
of the unconscious in sense (4). They themselves 
are not literally unconscious experiences in sense (3). 
Lastly, (6) the name “ unconscious ”’ is often applied 
to ordinary conscious experiences (especially desires 
and emotions) which are not properly discriminated 
by their owner because the acknowledgment of their 
true nature and objects would be unflattering to him. 
Royal Meteorological Society, April 18.—Dr. C. 
Chree, president, in the chair.—W. H. Dines and 
L. H. G. Dines: An examination of British upper 
air data in the light of the Norwegian theory of the 
structure of the cyclone. A list of dates on which 
temperature observations were available in England 
S.E. was sent to the Meteorological Office, which 
notified all those on which evidence of the polar 
NO. 2791, VOL. 111] 
front might be expected. Graphs of the lapse rate 
from 0-5 km. to 5-0 km. were drawn for such dates, 
but no peculiarities not readily explained by the 
ordinary casual variation were found. The prob- 
ability of finding an inversion appears to be almost 
a linear function of the surface pressure. Kite 
ascents made at Pyrton Hill indicate that an inversion 
is nearly always associated with a decrease in the 
humidity, whereas the Norwegian theory requires 
an increase. The observational evidence for England 
does not support the theory that the superposition 
of equatorial over polar air is the usual form of the 
structure of a cyclone.—T. Kobayasi: On _ the 
mechanism of cyclones and anticyclones. Mathe- 
matical expressions are obtained which represent a 
cyclone having definite properties. As the cyclone 
advances it draws into its inner region a strip of 
air lying near the ground in its track. Meanwhile 
the air outside the two edges of the strip flows round 
the opposite sides of the cyclone, meeting behind it. 
Thus if the portions of air outside the two edges 
of the strip were at different temperatures, then 
by their contact they would produce the instability 
which is characteristic of the squall line.—E. C. 
Shankland: Notes on the fluctuations of mean sea- 
level in relation to change of atmospheric pressure. 
The heights to which tides will rise in the world’s 
principal harbours and estuaries are pre-determined 
by analysis and presented to navigation in the form 
of tidal predictions. Meteorological conditions inter- 
fere with these predictions. Observations show that 
the mean sea-level varies inversely with the height 
of barometer; there is a tendency to increase the 
factor from 13-25 (the specific gravity of mercury 
as compared with sea-water), to a figure approaching 
zo when using the mean isobar of the locality as 
barometric datum. Observations extending over a 
period of autumnal anti-cyclonic weather of con- 
siderable’ geographic extent, point to the acceptance 
of a 1/20 factor under these meteorological conditions, 
the barometric pressure being above normal during 
the entire series. 

Paris. 
Academy of Sciences, April 3.—M. Guillaume 
Bigourdan in the chair—Emile Picard: Two 
elementary theorems on the singularities of harmonic 
functions.—M. de Sparre: The yield of reaction 
turbines furnished with aspiration tubes. Modifica- 
tions of the formule given in earlier communications 
produced by the addition of an aspiration tube, 
with and without partitions. An example is given 
in which the initial maximum yield was 0-816, with 
simple aspiration tube 0-865, and a still higher 
figure for certain cases of tubes with partitions.— 
E. Mathias, C. A. Crommelin, and H. Kamerlingh 
Onnes: The latent heat of vaporisation and the 
difference of the specific heats in the saturated state 
for neon. A table is given showing the molecular 
heats of vaporisation for oxygen, argon, nitrogen, 
neon, and hydrogen.—S. Lefschetz: The integrals 
of the second species of algebraical varieties.—G. 
Valiron: Remarks on a theorem of M. Carlemann.— 
Hilaire de Barenton: A new interpretation of the 
Sothaic period. A new theory of the ancient Egyptian 
calendar.—L. Vegard: The spectrum of the aurora 
borealis and the upper layers of the atmosphere. 
An account of work done at the Troms6é Geophysical 
Institute. The greater number of the lines in the 
spectrum of the aurora borealis can be identified 
with nitrogen lines, but there are four lines not 
given for nitrogen, which cannot be attributed to 
hydrogen, oxygen, or helium. There is no evidence 
for the existence of hydrogen or helium in the upper 
