264 



NA TURE 



[January 16, 1908 



such as j:iiii-. swoftcned condensed milk, or saccharine 

 liquids, iVc, and to which the manufacturer has added no 

 formaldfhvde, by the usual analytical operations of dis- 

 tilling a slightly acidified aqueous solution of the substance 

 and icsting the distillate, since the act of distilling a 

 -.accliarinr- liquid resulls in the formation of formaldehyde. 

 Linnean Society, Nnvctnlier 27, igoy. — Mr. T. H. Maiden, 

 vice-president, in the chair. — The geology of the Nandewar 

 -Mountains, New South Wales : H. I. Jensen. The 

 physiography and geology of the N'andewars offer points 

 of similarity to those of the Warrunibungle .Mountains, 

 b'or example, the Nandewars present the features of arid 

 '•rosion, and the level country to the west of them forms 

 .an arid-erosion peneplain, in late Palaeozoic times the 

 present line of trachyte necks was practically a shore-line, 

 with land to the west and sea to the east. By the end of 

 ihe permo-Carbonifcrous period, the sea had given place 

 to a fresh-water lake. In Triassic and Cretaceous times 

 sedimentation took place west of this line, and erosion 

 east of it. During late Mesozoic times the area of the 

 Nandewar Mountains was reduced to a peneplain ; basic 

 laccolites were injected, and basic lavas flowed over parts. 

 During early Tertiary times much faulting took place. 

 Lavas escaped from the main fissure and from numerous 

 cross-fractures. Tuffs, ashes, and breccias were ejected, 

 and alkaline lavas solidified in their vents. Gradually 

 more basic types of lava were emitted. In one respect the 

 Nandewar Mountains differ from the Warrumbungles in 

 That, in the Nandewars, sill-structure is represented on a 

 i^rand scale. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, January 16. 



Royal Society, at 4.30.— Alternalc Current Measurement : Dr. \V. E. 

 Sumpner.— Prominence and Coronal Structure : Dr. W. J. ?. Lockyer. 

 —The Conversion of Diamond into Coke in Hiah Vacuum by Kathode 

 Rays : Hon. C. A, Parsons, C.B., F.R.S., and .\. A. Campbell Swinton. 

 On the Percention of the Direction of Sound: Prof. C. S. Myers and 

 Prof. H. A. Wilson, F.R.S.-PreliminarY Note on Certain Phenomena 

 of the Electric Discharee through Rarefied Nitrogen : Dr. G. I. Burch, 

 F.R.S., J. E. Marsh, F.R.S., and R. de J. F. Slruthers. 



RovAi. Institution, at 3.— The Building of Britain : Prof. W. W. Watts, 

 F.R.S. 



Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, at 8.— The Vaal River 

 Diamond Diggings: M. Park.— The Eruptive Diamond-bearin^ Breccias 

 of the Boshof District. South A'rica : J. P. Johnson.— The Auriferous 

 Banded Ironstones and Associated Schists of South Africa : (J. Letcher. 



Society of Arts, at 4.30. — Indian Agriculture : Henry S. Lawrence. 



Linnean Society, at 8.— (i) Brassica Crosses, illustrated by lantern slides : 

 (2) Notes on Wild Types of Tuber-bearing Solanums, illustrated by 

 lantern slides: A. W. Sutton.— Revision of the genus llligera, Blume : 



^ S. T. Dunn. — New Coniferse of Formosa ; Bunzo Hayata. 



Chemical Society, at 8.30. — Colour and Constitution of Azo-compounds. 

 Part II. The Salts of /-Hydroxyazo-compounds with Mineral Acids- 

 J. J. Fox and J. T. He*itt.— Ihe Oxidaiion of Aromatic Hydrazines by 

 Metallic O.vide-, Permanganates, and Chromates : F. D. Chattaway. 

 —Studies in Fermentation. II. The Mechanism of Alcoholic Fermenta- 

 tion : A. blator. —Organic Derivatives of Silicon, Part IV. The Sul- 

 phonation of Benzylethylpropylsilicyl Oxide and of Benzylethyldip'opyl- 

 silicane : H. Marsden and F. S. Kipping.— I he Formation and Re- 

 actions of Imino-compounds. Part VI. The Formation of Derivatives 

 of Hydrindene from ^-Xylylenedinitrile : C. W. Moore and J. F. Thorpe. 



FRIDAY. JANDARV ,7. 



CeTitenary_of Davy's Discovery of the 



Royal Institution, 

 .Metals of the Alkalis 



Institution op Meci 

 Gas-Engine Research Co 



>f. T. E. Tr.orpe, C. B. 



ICAI. 



F. K.S. 



-Third Repo 



to the 



Prof. F. W. Kurstall 



at 8.— The Principles of Engineering 



logy: Dr. Herbert Lap' 



SATURDAY, January 18. 



It 3 —The Electrification of Railways : Prof. Gisbert 



Royal Institu 



Society of Art* 

 H. H. Cunyngh; 



ce of Clock Making ; 

 Jewish Ideas and 



MONDAY, January ; 

 t 8.— The Theory and Pi 

 ,C.B. 



victoria l-XSTiTUTE, at 4.30. — Resemblances betwi 

 Customs and Those of India : Col. T. H. Hendley. 

 TUESDAY, jANt>ARY 21. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— The Internal Ear of Different AniTii:ils: 

 Dr. Albert A. Gray. 



Royal Statistical Society, at 5. 



^Iinfkalogical Society, at 8. — On Zeolites from the Neighbourhood of 

 Belfast: F. N. A. Fleischmann,-On Striiverite and its Relation to 

 llmencrutile: Dr. G. T. Prior and Dr, F. Zambonini.— Twin-struriure • 

 Dr. y W. Evans.— On a Simple Method of Drawing Crystals of Calcite 

 :.nd other Rhom bohedral Crystals, and of Deducing the Relations of their 

 S>nibol.: Prof W. J. Lewis. 



I.VSTITUTION OF CuiL ENGINEERS, at 8.— Experimental Investigations of 

 the Stresses in Masonry Dams Subjected to Water Pressure: Sir J. W 

 Ottley, K.C.I.E., and Dr. A. W. Brightmcre.— Stresses in Dams: an 

 Kxperimental Investigation by Means of India-Rubber Models : J. S 

 Wilson and W. Gore.— Stresses in Masonry Dams : E. P. Hill. 



NO. 1994, VOL. 77] 



WEDNESDA Y, January 11. 



Geological Society, at 8. — The Origin of the Pillow-Lava near Port 

 Isaac in Cornwall : Clement Keid, F R.S., and Henry Dewey.— On Sub 

 division of the Chalk of Trimmingham (Norfolk) : R. M. Brydone. 



Society of Arts, at 8.— Siam and its People : H. Hillman. 

 r/ZC'A'.TO.-ll', January 23. 



Royal Society, at 4.30. — Fycha^U Pa/'ci-s : Report on the Eruption of 

 the Soufiiere in St. Vincent in 1Q02, and on a Visit to Montague Pelie in 

 Martinique. Part II. : Dr. Tempest .Anderson. -On the Intimate Struc- 

 ture of Crystals. Part VL, Titanic Oxide, its Polymorphs and Isomorphs ; 

 Prof. W. J. Sollas, F.R.S— Dietetics in Tuberculosis. Principles and 

 Economics : Dr. N. D. Bardswell .and Dr. J. E. Chapman.— The Origin 

 and Destiny of Cholesterol in the Animal Organism P.art I., On the 

 so-called Hippocoprosterul ; C. Doric .and Dr. J. A. Gardner. 



Royal Instiiution, at i.— Recent Light on Ancient Pbysiograj hies : 

 Prof. W. W. Watts, F.R.S. 



Institution of Elhctricai. Engineers, at 8.— Standard Perforir. nces 

 of Electrical Machinery: R. Goldschmidt. 



FRIDAY, January 24. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— The Extinction of Malta Fever : Col. David 



Physical 'so'cif!ty, at 5.— Recalescence Curves : W. Rosenhain.— An 

 Experimental Examination of Gibbs' Theory of Surface Concentration 

 Regarded as the Basis of Adsorption, and an .Application to the Theory 

 of Ujeing: W. C. M. Lewis. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— A Cost Theory of Reinforced- 

 Concrete Beams : J. R. Wade.— The Neutral Axis in Reinforced.Concrete 

 Beams : E. I. Spiers. 



SATURDAY, January 23. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — The Electrification of Railways: Prof. 

 Gisbert Kapp. 



Mathematical Association, at 2.30.— -Address by the President, Prof. 

 G. H. Bryan, F.R.S.— On the Teaching of Elementary Mechanics, with 

 Special Relerence to the Preparation and Use of Simple and Inexpensive 

 Apparatus: W. /. Dobbs.— On the Teaching of t>ie Elements of Analysis : 

 C. O. Tuckey.— On the Geometrical Treatment of Series in Trigonometry, 

 with Lantern Illustration. : F. J. W. Whipplr.— On a New Treatment of 

 Similarity in Elementary Geometry : W. E. Bryan.— Machine for Draw- 

 ing RectanL;ulttr Hyperbolas: H. L. Trachtenberg. 



CONTENTS. P-GE 



The Cotton Plant. Hy F. Fletcher 241 



A Concise Work on Evolution. By R. S . . . . 242 



Studies in Education 243 



Maintenance of Roads 244 



Our Book Shelf: — 



Bauer: "A History of Chemistry" 244 



Hubbard and Hubbard : " Neolithic Dew-ponds and 



Cattle-ways."— W. E. Rolston 245 



Biltz and Biltz : " Ubungsbeispiele aus der anor- 



ganischen Experimentalchemie." — F. M. P. . . . 245 

 Partridge : " The Bacteriological Kxaniination of Dis- 

 infectants."— Prof. R. T. Hewlett 246 



Spengel : " Ergebnisse und Fortschritte der 



Zoologie." — R. L 246 



Letters to ttie Editor : — 



Seismographs and Seismograms. — R. D. Oldham . 246 

 An Early .-\coustic,il Analogue of Michelson's Echelon 



Grating. — Prof. P. Zeeman 247 



The Inheritance of "Acquired" Characters. —Rev. 



E. C. Spicer 247 



The Diamantifeious Rock of Kimberley. — Prof. 



T. G. Bonney. F.R.S 24& 



Musical Sand-. — Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S.; 



Sidney Skinner 24*4 



Intensity of Specttum Lines- A. D. Cowper . . . 24'i 

 Notes on Ancient British Monuments. IV. {////is- 



Ira:,;/.) By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S. 249 

 The Californian Earthquake of 1906. (Jl/iis/ru/ed.) . 251 



Public Clocks and Time Distribution 25J 



Lord Kelvin and the Royal Society of Edinburgh . 253 



Notes 254 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comets due to Return this Vear 25S 



Determination of the Moon's Light with a Selenium 



Photometer 258 



The Appearance of Neptune in Small Telescopes . . 25S 



The " Annuaire Astronomique " for 1908 258 



Simultaneous Observations of Jupiter. (Il/iist.ulc-d.) 



By \W. E. R 259 



The New School of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin. 



{irUhDiiixraiii.) 260 



On the Colouring Matters of Flowers. By Dr. H. C. 



Sorby, F.R.S 260 



University and Educational Intelligence 261 



Societies and Academies 262 



Diary of Societies . . 264 



