190 



NA TURE 



[December 26, 1907 



subzonc of Lonsdalia floriformis ; D,, subzone of Dibuno- 

 phylhim 6. An abnormal development of the Lonsdalia 

 subzone forms a conspicuous local feature in parts of the 

 western area. A local unconformity occurs in the eastern 

 part of the area. A close similarity exists between the 

 l)ibunophyIUmi zone of ihe Midland area and that of Xorlh 

 Wales. A comparison of the Dibunophyllum zone of the 

 Midland with that of the S.W. province brings out 

 important differences : — (a) the brachiopod fauna of the 

 Lonsdalia subzone of the Midland province is richer than 

 that of the equivalent part of the S.W. sequence ; (b) the 

 Cyathaxonia subzone of the Midland province is practically 

 undeveloped in the S.W. province. — Brachiopod homceo- 

 morphy : Spirifer glaber : S. S. Bucktnan. The smooth, 

 catagenetic stage of shells may have been attained by the 

 loss of distinctive features, pointing to polygenctic origins. 

 The series of shells figured by Davidson as Sfirifcra glabra 

 do not all agree in being smooth. There is evidence that 

 some forms ranged under this species are Reticulari;c 

 (M'Coy). The use of the generic name Martinia for 

 various smooth Spiriferids becomes unjustifiable. The 

 author restricts the genus Spirifer, and allocates several 

 British and foreign species among the genera Fusella, 

 Choristites, Trigonotreta, Brachythyris, Martinia, and 

 Reticularia. 



Linnean Society, December 5. — Prof. W. A. Herdman, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — A series of specimens of 

 Spartina toivnsendi, representing different stages of 

 development and tall and dwarf forms, and for comparison 

 also typical specimens of S. alterniflora and S. striata : Dr. 

 O. Stapf. The specimens of 5. townsendi and .S. stricia 

 were collected by the exhibitor in the Isle of Wight ; those 

 of S. alterniflora near Millbrook Station in Southampton 

 Water. — A collection of plants from Gunong Tahan, 

 Pahang : H. N. Ridley. — Report on the Alcyonaria of the 

 Sudanese Red Sea : Prof. J. A. Thomson and J. M- 

 McQueen. The collection was made in 1906 by Mr. Cyril 

 Crossland, from .Suakim, Khor Dongola, and nine other 

 localities, and includes three species of Stolonifera, 

 eighteen of Alcyonacea, one being new, and four of 

 Pseudaxoni.a. — Report on the Crinoidea of the Sudanese 

 Red Sea : H. C. Chadwick. The collection consisted of 

 six species, only two of which had been previously recorded 

 from the Red Sea. — Notes on some marine alga^ from the 

 Red Sea: Prof. R. J. Harvey-Gibson, From material 

 collected by Mr. Cyril Crossland in 1(504 and 1905, under 

 the direction of Prof. Herdman, F.R.S. The totaf number 

 is thirty-five species ; twelve belong to the Chlorophyccte 

 and as many to the Ph.TBophycea:, with eleven Rhodo- 

 phycese. In an appendix the following phanerogams were 

 mentioned as having been collected at the same time : — 

 Cymodocca tiodosa, Aschers., Halophila stipulacea, 

 Aschers., Najas major, AH., and fragments of Salicornia 

 fntticosa, Linn. — Report on the Hydroida of the Sudanese 

 Red Sea : Miss L. R. Thornely. 



Mathematical Society, December 12.— Prof. W. Rurn';ide, 

 president, in the chair. — A formula in finite differences 

 and its application to mechanical quadrature : S. T. 

 F'hoveiton. — Weierstrass's E-function in the calculus of 

 variations : A. E. H. Love. 



Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, December 19. 

 — Prof. William Gowland. president, in the chair. — The 

 .-issay of telluride ores : G. T. Holioway and L. E. B. 

 Pearse. The authors have, in view of the difH- 

 riiUy experienced by assayers in the determination 

 of the precious metals in ores containing tel- 

 lurium and selenium and the discrepancies observ- 

 able between duplicate assays by diflferent assayers, 

 endeavoured to ascertain how and why, and in which por- 

 tion of the a.ssay work, the losses occur, and what means 

 should be adopted to prevent them. The possible sources of 

 loss appear to be as follows : — volatilisation during roasting ; 

 volatilisation and slag loss in the scorification assay ; 

 vnl.-uilisation and slag loss in the crucible assay; loss by 

 volatili^alion or in the slag in scorifying the lead button 

 obtained in the scorification or crucible assay; or loss by 

 volalilisalion and absorption during cupellation. The paper 



NO. 1 99 1, VOL. 77] 



contains details of a number of actual assays, and gives 

 much valuable information in regard to the methods adopted 

 and the results obtained. — A cheap form of cyanide plant : 

 C. Hunter. A description of some cyanide plants of a light 

 and portable nature actually supplied to small mining pro- 

 positions in Rhodesia, with copies of the contracts and 

 detailed specification. The cost of running such a plant is 

 also stated. — The deep leads of Victoria, or the Cainozoic 

 buried auriferous river deposits : H. L. Wilkinson. A 

 review of the buried auriferous gravel deposits occupying the 

 beds of ancient rivers once forming the drainage channels of 

 Victoria at the period when large areas were covered by 

 Pliocene seas. These include the Loddon, Avoca, Campaspe, 

 Smythesdale-Pitfield, Stawell, and Ararat leads and their 

 tributaries, and cover the districts of Ballarat and Bendigo. 

 The author points out the effects of enriching belts 

 in aggregating the rich portions of a lead and other factors 

 determining the quantity of alluvial gold in the wash. At 

 the end of the paper are several pages of tabular matter 

 relating to the working costs of alluvial mines. 



Cambridge. 

 Philosophical Society, November II. — Dr. Hobson, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — A critical description of three cases 

 of single hypogastric artery in the human foetus : Dr. 

 Duckworth. — The inheritance of white in poultry : R. C. 

 Punnett. — Sexual phenomena in the free-living nema- 

 todes (preliminary note) : F. A. Potts. The paper com- 

 menced by summarising the work of Maupas, and 

 emphasised the interest and importance of the supplemental 

 males found in the hermaphrodite species. These are 

 chiefly remarkable for their withdrawal from the economy 

 of the species, though in no sense degenerate, or unfitted 

 for reproduction. Confirmation of Maupas's results was 

 drawn from the study of a species of Diplogaster ; some 

 details of the culture methods used were given, and it was 

 pointed out that this species shows that a race propagating 

 exclusively by self-fertilisation does not of necessity show 

 signs of degeneracy. 



November 25. — Dr. Hobson, president, in the 

 chair. — The orientation of 3 : s-dichloropyridine : Dr. 

 Sell. — The action of metallic magnesium on cer- 

 tain aliphatic acids, and the detection of formic acid : 

 Dr. Fenton and H. A. Sisson. In a previous communi- 

 cation -(Trans. Chem. Soc, 1907, 687) it was shown that 

 both carbonic and formic acids may be reduced by means 

 of metallic magnesium to formaldehyde. Experiments have 

 now been undertaken with the object of ascertaining 

 whether an analogous reduction can be effected in other 

 acids, and the results so far obtained appear to indicate 

 that this is only possible in the lower members of a series. 

 Further, it is shown that this reduction by means of mag- 

 nesium affords a characteristic and fairly delicate test for 

 formic acid, the special reactions for formaldehyde being 

 of a far more positive character than those for formic acid. 

 — Some colour-reactions of organic acids with phenols : 

 Dr. Fenton and G. Barr. Remarkably brilliant colour- 

 reactions are often obtained when certain organic acids are 

 treated with phenolic compounds in presence of strong 

 sulphuric acid, and it appeared desirable to tabulate the 

 results obtained with some of the less common acids in 

 order to ascertain whether the reactions might be employed 

 for the purpose of preliminary identification. By comparing 

 the colours obtained in this way with two or more phenols, 

 information of a positive character may often be obtained. 

 The method has the advantage of being applicable, not 

 only to the acids themselves, but also to their salts or 

 esters, and is useful for provisional identification when only 

 minute quantities of the substance are available. — Contribu- 

 tions to the knowledge of the oxaloimidochlorides : S. 

 Ruhemann. — The absorption spectra of collidine and 

 9-chlorcollidine : J. E. Purvis and W. H. Foster. The 

 curve obtained from a study of collidine showed that it was 

 very similar to that of pyridine and hitidine previously 

 studied by Hartley and by Baker and Baly. The differ- 

 ences were that there was a slight shift of the band towards 

 the red end of the spectrum, and also that the persistence 

 of Ihe band was di-crensed a little less th;in that of lutidine 

 and pyridine. — The decomposition and nitrification of 



