NoVEMBliR 2 I, 1907] 



NA TURE 



/ 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, February 7. — "Observations on the Life- 

 liistory of Leucocytes. Part II. On the Origin of the 

 <;ranules."' By C. E. Walker. Communicated by Prof. 

 <J. S. Sherrington, F.R.S. 



The granules that are so frequently found in leucocytes 

 generally seem to lie scattered quite irregularly in the 

 ..ytoplasm of the cells in which they occur. In the- bone 

 marrow, however, where the leucocytes containing granules 

 are often extremely numerous, a section of properly pre- 

 served material will show that the granules are arranged 

 in a more or less definite manner. The granules in these 

 are. as a rule, oval in shape, and seem to lie in sequence 

 close to each other, so that a line drawn through their 

 long axes would appear as a thread or wire coiled up 

 irregularly in the cytoplasm of the cell. There are many 

 gradations in the regularity of this arrangement of the 

 granules. It varies from a mere suggestion of some of 

 them having been strung together, to a very definite order, 

 and the joining of several end to end. There are again 

 other cells in which a large number of granules join 

 together, forming in places a thick, deeply staining thread, 

 the axis of which is continuous with the axis of the strings 

 of separate granules. From these it is possible to pass by 

 almost insensible gradations to cells where there are no 

 granules, but only a thick thread coiled round the nucleus. 

 From this stage it is again possible to pass to cells where 

 the coiled-up thread occupies a space slightly larger than, or 

 equal to the nucleus, until we arrive at some where it seems 

 tn be about the same size in proportion to the nucleus as 

 is the archoplasm in the case of the spermatid. Tliough it 

 has not been possible as yet to trace the origin of this 

 thread farther, it is strongly suggested that it arises in 

 the archoplasm, which is often seen to be connected with 

 it. During the whole of its existence the thread stains 

 very deeply, and always with the basic in preference to 

 the acid slain. When it has entirely broken up, the 

 granules formed from it still stain in the same manner, 

 but as they begin to lose their regular arrangement so 

 they begin to lose their affinity for the basic stain. These 

 phenomena have only been met with among the cells of 

 ihe bone marrow. It has been seen that the staining re- 

 action in some at any rate of the granular cells changes 

 from basic to acid ; the presence, therefore, of cells contain- 

 ing acidoohile and basiphile granules in various proportions 

 is just what one would expect, and is no argument against 

 :i common origin of both from the thread here described as 

 occurring in the cells of the bone marrow. The opDortunity 

 is taken of pointing out the relationship between the struc- 

 tures which arise from the true archoplasm. .^mong such 

 structures are the archoplasmic vesicles found in the cells 

 of the testis, which develop into the cephalic cap of the 

 spermatozoon, the similar structures (Plimmer's bodies) 

 which appear in some of the cells in malignant growths, 

 and the granules in leucocvtes. 



June 27. — " Observations on the Lifc-historv of Leuco- 

 cvtes. Part III." By C. E. Walker. Communicated bv 

 Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S. 



The author in a previous communication described the 

 occurrence of the meiotic phase and of a number of post- 

 meiotic generations among the leucocytes in vertebrate 

 animals. The number of chromosomes in such cells must, 

 if this occurs, be reduced to one-half of that found in the 

 somatic cells. Such leucocytes will, in fact, have passed 

 through that change which appears to be a necessary 

 prelude to conjugation throughout the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms. The present paper describes certain phenomena 

 as occurring in leucocytes, and claims that these are most 

 probably to be interpreted as a process of conjugation 

 between individual leucocytes that have passed through the 

 meiotic phase. This conjugation is said to be accomplished 

 in a somewhat complicated manner. The nucleus of one 

 leucocyte sends out a process which penetrates the cyto- 

 plasm belonging to itself and to that of the partner in 

 conjugation. This process is in the form of a tube, and 

 through it the linin and chromatin of the one nucleus arc 

 drawn into that of the other. The absorption of one cell 

 by another is a well-known phenomenon, but is a com- 



XO. T9S6, VOL. 77J 



paratively simple affair. The absorbed cell is taken into 

 the cytoplasm of the absorbing cell, and is there digested. 

 No nuclear change takes place, and the absorption is 

 apparently carried out in the cytoplasm without the nucleus 

 being directly involved. 



It is claimed that the appearance of a special and com- 

 plex apparatus with no apparent result but the transference 

 of the contents of one nucleus to the other without ex- 

 posing the contents so transferred to the action of the 

 cvtoplasm, shows that some process other than mere 

 absorption of one cell by another is taking place, and that 

 fertilisation is the probable explanation. It is also sug- 

 gested that this may be a form of fertilisation not hitherto 

 observed in unicellular forms, and that its occurrence 

 among leucocytes is a case of phylogenetic reversion. 



Physical Society. October 25. — Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., 

 president, in the chair. — Magnetic oscillators as radiators 

 in wireless telegraphy : Dr. J. A. Fleming. The paper 

 describes experiments made with flat square coils of various 

 sizes used as magnetic oscillators in the quadrangle of 

 University College, London. In one circuit undamped 

 oscillations were set up by means of a Poulsen arc, and 

 the induced oscillations created in the other circuit at a 

 distance were detected and measured by means of the 

 author's oscillation valve or glow-lamp detector. The 

 distance separating the two circuits was varied from about 

 50 feet to 250 feet. Curves were obtained showing how 

 the secondary current varied with the distance of the 

 circuits apart and with their relative position. It was 

 shown that the inductive effect was greatest when the 

 flat coils were in a horizontal position and at a certain 

 distance above the earth. The law of variation with 

 distance proved to be something between the inverse cube 

 and the inverse square of the distance. It was then shown 

 that increase in size of the coils had a very marked action 

 in increasing the inductive effect, and also that for equal 

 power the use of the spark method, creating intermittent 

 oscillations in the primary, gave better effects than the 

 use of the arc or undamped oscillations. It was also 

 shown that for the coils used the true radiation of energy 

 was very small, and therefore that the distance effects 

 obtained were almost entirely due to magnetic or Faradaic 

 induction. Suggestions were then made for increasing the 

 efficacy of the ordinary inductive type of wireless telegraphy 

 bv the use of high-frequency oscillations in the primary 

 circuit, and a suitable detector such as the author's oscil- 

 lation valve combined with a telephone as a receiver in 

 the secondary circuit. Such a method would have a far 

 greater reach than the ordinary low-frequency alternating 

 current inductive telegraphy, and not be open to the objec- 

 tion of disturbing commercial telephonic circuits. — The 

 use of variable mutual inductances : A. Campbell. In 

 connection with wireless telegraphy, the measurement of 

 small inductances and capacities is of importance ; one of 

 the methods described has special reference to small self- 

 inductances. Mutual inductances can be more easily dealt 

 with than self-inductances, for the former can be (i) more 

 accurately calculated from dimensions ; (2) are less affected 

 by change of frequency ; and (3) w^hen variable can be 

 m.ade to pass through zero value. A convenient form of 

 variable mutual inductance consists of a continuously 

 variable part and a series of steps. The first consists of 

 two equal parallel coils with a third coil moving parallel 

 to their planes round an axis eccentric to the fixed coils. 

 The scale thus obtained is very open near zero (which is 

 an advantage), and the graduation is done by experiment, 

 a theoretical discussion being given in an appendix. ^ The 

 steps are obtained by means of another fixed coil of 

 stranded wire, each strand giving an equal subdivision. 

 The model shown had two ranges, from 00 1 up to 200 

 and 2000 microhenries. 



Rntomological Society, Noveniher 6. — Mr. E. Saunders, 

 F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — Exhibits. — A. H. 

 Jones : .A specimen of the longicorn beetle Acanthocinus 

 aedilis, L., a Rannoch species, found in Gray's Inn Road. 

 — Dr. F. .\. Dixey : c? and specimens of a new Pinaco- 

 ptervx, discovered by Mr. S. .\. Neave in northern 

 Rhodesia. The 9 resembled that of P. rubrohasalis, but 

 the c? was quite distinct. Both sexes of P. rubrohasalis 

 and the female sex of Mr. Neave 's species were mimics 



