24 



NA TURE 



[November 7, 1907 



soluble plant-food in the limed soils after ;t niontii thiin in 

 the original soils, but more than in the untreated soils 

 after a month. The action of lime is largely to increase 

 the amount of nitrogen as nitrites ; the nitrate-nitrogen 

 is almost the same in the limed and the unlimcd soils, 

 except with the clay soil, where the nitrates are diminished. 

 The total nitrogen as nitrite and nitrate is increased by 

 liming, and the action of lime would appear to be to favour 

 the development of the nitrous organism in particular. 



September 4. — Mr. H. .\. Lenehan, vice-president, in the 

 chair. — The one-wheeled car : L. Hargrrave. The paper 

 points out the adaptability of the gyro-engine, a combin- 

 ation of the gyroscope and revolving cylinder engine, for 

 balancing and driving all sorts of vehicles on one wheel 

 over country that would otherwise be impracticable. — The 

 steady deflection method of current measurement with an 

 electrometer: Prof. J. A. Pollock. The steady deflection 

 method of measuring currents with an electrometer consists 

 in arranging that the charge on the ordinarily insulated 

 quadrants shall leak to earth at a suitable rate proportional 

 10 the potential difference between the two pairs of quad- 

 rants. In the paper two ways which have been proposed 

 for carrying out the method are mentioned and discussed. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY. November 7. 



RovAl. SociETV, at ...10— Th» Effect of Pressure upon the Arc Spectra of 



Metals : W. Geoffrey Duffield.-The Electric Disdi-ir^e in Monalomic 



Gases: F. .Soddy and T. D. Mackenzie.— The Diurnal Variation of 



Terrestrial Magnetism: Prof. A. Schuster, F.R.«.— On the Measure- 



of Temperatures in the Cylinder of a Gas Engine ; Prof. H. L. 



Callendar, F.R.S.. and Prof. W. E. Dalbv.— No 



Helium and Thorium in Minerals : Hon. R. J. 



Results of the Experimental Treatment of Tr 



I the 



of 



F.R.S.-Furthe 

 ■omiasis in Rais 

 ; of the Royal Society) : 



RoNTGEN SOCIE' 



of High Freq 

 F.R.S. 



LiNNEAN SOC 



:dla 



8.— The Origin of the Di-trimerous Whorls among 



rjowers of Dicotyledons: Rev. George Henslow. — Unrecorded Acari 



from New Z-aland: Albert D. Michael.-On .-Emg-wntistcs a/rhanus. 



nus and Species of Diptera: R. Shelford.— ^.r/j;Vv/j;— A copy of 



" Flora Anghra •' 177S, wiih numerous annotations by the Rev. 



Kirby :__AIexaiider Stevenson.— Abnormal Stem o! Enca/y/iliis 



Hudi 

 Willi 

 siilmonophloia, F. Muell., from West Australia : Dr. A. IB, Rend 



Chemical .Society, at 8.30.— Gaseous Nitrogen Trioxide : H. B. Baker 

 and Mrs. M. Baker.— The Atomic Wtieht of Tellurium : H. B. Baker and 

 A. H. Bennett.— The Isomerism of the Double Sulphites of Sodium and 

 Po(a-sium: W. H. Godby.—Sludies in the Camphane Series, Part xxiv, 

 Camphoryldithioc.trbamic Acid and Camphorylthiocarbimide : M. O. 

 Forster and T. Jackson.— The Vapour Pressures of Triethylamine, of 

 jy/H-Trimethylpyridine, and their Mixtures with Water: R. T. Lattey.— 

 Liquid Triethylamine: R. T. Lattev.— The .\rtion of Sulphuretted 

 Hydrogen on Solutions of Sodium Hvdrosulphite : F. S. Sinnalt.— 

 The Alkyl Compounds of Gold. Diethylauric Bromide. Preliniin.-iry 

 Note : W. J. Pope and C. S. Gibson.— Note on the Consiitution of 

 Homoeriodictyol : F. B. Power and F. Tutin— The Interaction of 

 Methylene Chloride and the Sodium Derivative of Elh^l Malonate: 

 F. Tutin.— Preparation of Aliphatic Nitrocompounds by the Inter- 

 action of the Alkyl Iodides and Mercurous Nitrite: P. C. Ray and 

 P. Neogi.-Some Mercury De.ivatives of Camphor: J, E. Marsh and 

 R. de J. F. Siruthers.-Conlribulion 10 the Chemistry of the Terpenes. 

 II. The Oxidation of Limonene with Cbromylchloride : G. G. 

 Hendeison.— Ths Synthesis of .\cridines and Phenonaphthacridines : 

 Tetra- and Hexa-melhylaciidines : Dimethylpbenonaphlhacridines : 

 Dixylylmethylenediamines : A. Sniier and A. Compton. 

 FRIDAY. NoVEMiiFR S. 



Royal Astronomical Soi iety, at v— '1 he Nebula }j. iv. 74 Cygni : Max 

 Wolf.— Note on the Permanency of Some Phoio-visual Lenses : W. J. S. 

 Lockyer.— Occultation of the Hyades: Walter Healh.— Disappearance of 

 Saturn's Ring System. 1907 October: R. T. A. Innes.— (i) The Ultra- 

 violet Region in Sun-spoi Spectra ; (2) The Spectrum of Comet •/ 1907 

 (Daniel): J. Evershed.— Tables for computing Standard Coordinates on 

 Photographic Plates: A. R. Hinks. 



Malacological Society, at 8.- Description of a New Species of CLath- 

 urella, probably from Ceylon: H. B. Preston.- On Ihe Mollusca of 

 Hirket-el-Qurun, Egypt: C. A. Smnh.— Turbo giniioliratiis (New 

 Guinea) ; Sistruiti cUrysalis. Purfiura I'Ougci, hatica hougt-i (New 

 Caledonia); Urosalpinx walkcri, l.istra umlki-H C^. W. .'Australia); 

 Ainalthcn coMt (Votl Stephens); Fitaria .Va/n (Sierra Leone) ; all new 

 siecies: G. B. Sowerby.— Note on the Originals of the Illustrations for 

 E. M. da Costa's " Historia Naluralis Teslaceorum Britannia:, 

 1778 : Alex. Reynell. 



Physical Society, at 8 —Discussion on Mr. Campbell's Paper 

 of Variable Mutual Inductarce^. -A Graphic Method for Sti 

 Equipotential Surfaces : L. F. Richardson.— On the 1 

 Bars Supported at two Points with one end O' 

 Morrow. 



MONDAY, NuvEMBER 11. 



Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.— The Great Douglas Glacier of 

 New Zealand and its Neighbourhood : J. Mackintosh Bell. 

 TUESDAY, November 12. 



Institution of Civil Enginebrs, at 8.— Tne Extension, Widening and 

 =— nglhenng of Folkesione Pier : H. T. Ker.— The Tranmere Bay 

 :-Works : S. H. Ellis. 



' London, 



-lines and 



al Vibratii 

 inging : Dr. 



DevelopiT 



NO, 1984, VOL. Jj'\ 



ZrioioGlCAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.— On the Scales of Fish: E. S. Goodrich, 

 F.R.S.— The Rudd Exploration of Soulh Africa. VIIL, List of Mam- 

 mals obtained by Mr. Grant at Beira : Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S., and 

 K. C. Wroughton. — Notes on two African Mammals: R. Lydekker, 

 F.R.S -Notes on the Feeding of Serpents in Captivity : Dr. P. Chal- 

 mers Mitchell, F-K.S., and R. I. Pocock.— Descriptions of new Loricariid 

 Fishes from Soulh America : C. Tate Regan.— Notes on Mayer's Pigron : 

 Lt.-Col. N. Manders.-On some Points in the Structure of Calidktis 

 striata : F. E. Bedd.ird, F.R.S. 



Sociological Society, at 3.— Ihe Genealogical Method in Anthropo- 

 logical Inquiry: Dr. W. H. R. Rivers. 



M INERALOGICAL EociETY, at 8. — Anniversary meeting. — On Hopaite and 

 other Zinc Phosphates and Associated Minerals from Rhodesia, Broken 

 Hill Mines: L. 1. Spencer.— Notes on Zeolites from Cornwall and 

 Devon : A. Ru5>ell.— The Question of a Relation between Isomorph. us 

 Miscibility and Parallel Growth of Crystals : T. V. Barker.- On Binnite, 

 Anatase, Brookite and Molybdenite from the Binn.iithal : R. H. Solly. 

 —Note on the Crystallisation of Potassium Bichromate : H. A. Miers. 



THURSDAY, November 14, 

 Royal Society, at i,.^o.—Proinl>lc Papers -.—On the Cranial and Facial 

 Characters of the Neanderthal Race : Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S.— Some 

 Features in the Hereditary Transmission of the Self-Black and the 

 " Irish ■■ Coat Characters in Rats : G. P. Mudge.~On the Inheritance o( 

 Eye-colour in Man : C. C. Hurst— On the Result of Crossing Round 

 with Wrinkled Peas, with Special Reference to their Starch Grains : A. 



D. Darbishire.— On the Ra'e of the Elimination of Chloroform from the 

 Blood after Ana;sthesia ; ij. A. Buckmaster and J. A. Gardner.— Im- 

 plantation of Actively Proliferaiing Epithelium : J. O. VVakelin-Barratt. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.-The) Dielectric Strength 

 or Insulating Materials and the Grading of Cables : Alexander Russell. 



Mathema rlcAL SociLTV, at 5.30 —Annual General Meeting.— Election of 

 Council and Officers.- (3n Hypercomplcx Numbers: J. H. Maclagan 

 Wedderburn.— Addendum to a Paper on the Inversion of a Repeated 

 Infinite Integral : T. 1. lA. Bromwich.— Generalisation of a Theorem in 

 the Theory of Divergent Series: G. H. Hardy.— Uniform and Non- 

 uniform Convergence and Divergence of a Series and the Distinction 

 between Right and Left : Dr. W. H. Young.— Applicalion of Quaternions 

 to the Problem of the Infinitesimal Deformation of a Surlace : J. E. 

 Campbell.— Nodal Cubics through Eight given Points : J. E. Wright.— 

 The Invariants of a Binary Qninlic and the Reality of its Roots: Dr. 

 H. F. Baker.— On a Transformation of Hypergeometric Series : Rev. Dr. 



E. W. Barnes.— On a Translormation of aCertain Hypergeometric Series : 

 Prof. M. J. M. Hill.— A General Theorem on Integral Functions of Order 

 less than One-half: J. E. Littlewood. 



FRIDAY, November 15. 

 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 8. — Labour-saving Appli- 

 ances at the Mines of the New Kleir.fontein Co., Transvaal : E. J. Way. 



CONTENTS. PAGH 



Scientific Worthies. XXXVI. —Sir William Crookes, 



F.R.S. Bv Prof. P. Zeeman i 



The Soils of'ireland. By A. D. H 4 



Scholarships and Industry. By Prof. Walter M. 



Gardner . . 4 



Personal Hygiene 5 



Our Book Shelf: — 



Perry : " Practical Mathematics" 6 



Rey : " La Thiorie de la Physique chez les Physiciens 



contemporains." — T. P. N 6 



Wood : ** How to tell the Birds from the Flowers : a 



Manual of Flornithulogy for Beginners " 7 



Letters tc the Editor- 

 Winding of Rivers in Plains. — Sir Oliver Lodge, 



F.R.S 7 



Recalculation of Atomic Weights. — H. E. Watson . 7 

 The Fauna of Madagascar. — Frank E. Beddard, 



F.R.S S 



The Inierpretalion of Mendelian Phenomena — Geo. 



P. Mudge ; G. Archdall Reid 8 



Newton's Riiit^s in Polarised Light. — P. V. Bevan 9 



The Fishes of the Nile. (Illiistyali-d.) By W. C. M. . 10 

 Some Recent Papers on Meteorites. {liiKstnitcd.) 



By L.J. S 12 



Notes 13 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet Mellish (1907,) 17 



The Transit of Mercury iS 



Changes on Saturn's Rings iS 



A Bright Meteor 18 



The New Municipal Technical Institute, Belfast. 



(Hlitstralr.l.) 18 



London Day Training College for Teachers .... 19 

 Immunity to Disease among Plants. By Prof. F. E. 



Weiss 20 



The Bed of the Western Pacific Ocean 21 



Hydrology in Egypt 21 



University and Educational Intelligence ..... 21 



Societies and Aca emies 22 



Diary of Societies 24 



