4o8 



NA TURE 



[February 27, 1908 



of a deposit obtained from the sea floor in the Bay of 

 Biscay furnished some minute crystals many of the 

 characters of which corresponded to those of the diamond, 

 and similar crystals were obtained from a specimen of 

 vegetable earth from the forest of Haye, near Liverdun. 

 The quantities obtained were too small to admit of com- 

 plete identification. — Contribution to the study of the 

 alkaline rocks of Central Africa : L. Gentil and M. 

 Freydenbergr. — New obseivations on the anatomy and 

 afhnities of the Malpighiacea' of Madagascar : Marcel 

 Dubard and Paul Dop. — The formation of the nolochord 

 in some larva; of the Tunicatv-^ : lx)uis Roule. — The 

 mechanism of variations in height of the hunan body 

 and some pathological variations ; R. Robinson. — The 

 statistical proof of Mendel's law : Angel Gallardo. An 

 answer to some criticisms of Prof. K. Pearson. — The repro- 

 duction and the variations of development in Glossina 

 palpalis : E. Roubaud. — The fi.vation of zinc by 

 Steriginatocystic nigra : M. Janvillier. A small propor- 

 tion of zinc is favourable to the growth of this mould, and 

 in solutions containing four parts per million of zinc or 

 less the whole of the zinc present is fixed by the mould. 

 With increasing proportions of zinc in the culture solution 

 increasing amounts of zinc are found in the mycelium, 

 but the whole of the zinc present is not taken up. The 

 Sterigmatocyslis is capable of fixing without injury 

 i/iiooth of its weight of zinc. — The purgative action of 

 phenolphthalein and its disodium derivative : C. Fleis- — 

 The frequency of intestinal ulcerations in the course of an 

 attack of influenza ; Gabriel Arthaud. — Contribution to 

 the study of the calorific radiation of the sun : G. Millo- 

 chau and C. Fery. — The predominance of the erosion of 

 the river Sarine on its right hank : Jean Brunhes and 

 Cesare Calciati. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDA y, Febeuakv 27. 



Rov.^L Society, at 4.30.— The Influence of Temperature on Pha£;ocytosls : 

 J. C. G. Ledingham.— The Glycogenic Changes in the Placenta and the 

 Fcetns of the Pregnant Rabbit. A Contribution to the Chemistry of 

 Growth : J. Lochhead and W. Cramer. — On the Maturation of the Ovum 

 in the Guinea pig : Prof. J. E. S. Moore and Miss F. Tozer. 



RovAL Institution, at 3. — Wood; its Botanical and Technical Aspects: 

 Prof. W. Somerville. 



Society of Dyers and Colourists. at 8. -The Deterioration of Modern 

 Dyed Leathers : M. C. Lamb.— A Note on the Germicidal Value of 

 Petroleum Benzine : F. J. Farrell and F. Howies. 



FRIDAY, February 28. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— Explosive Combustion, with Special Reference 

 to that of Hydrocarbons : Prof. W. A. Bone, F.R.S. 



Royal Society of Arts, at 8.— The Removal of Dust and Fumes in 

 Factories: Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.RS. 



Physical Society, at 5— Contact Potential Differences Determined by 

 Means rf Null .Solutions: S. W. J. Smith and H. Moss. -An E.\peri- 

 mental E.vamination of Gibbs' Theory of Surface Tension as the Basis of 

 Adsorption with an Application to the Theory of Dyeing : W. Lewis. 



SA TURD A y, February 29. 



Essex Field Club (at the Essex Museum of Natural History, Stratford), 



at 6.— .\rte.sian Wells on Fowlness Island, Essex, Ancient and Modern : 



W. H. Dalton.— On some Unexplored Fields of Essex A^cha^ologv : 



John French.— Note on a Post-Glacial Deposit on Mersea Island, Essex : 



W. H. Dalto 



MONO A V, March 2. 

 TlTUTE, at J.30.— The Atlantic Islands, and Origin of The: 



Victor 



Fauna: Prof E. Hull, F.R.S 

 Arlstotei IAN Society, at 8.— The Idea of Totality : Dr. S. H. Hodgson. 



TUESDAY, March 3. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Membranes: Their Structure, Uses and 

 Products : Prof W. Stirling. 



Zoological Society, at 8.30.— A Comparison of the Neotropical Species 

 of Corallus, C. cookii, with C. madagascariensis ; and on some Points in 

 the Anatomy of Coyaltiis caninns : F. E. Beddard. F.R.S.— On a Voun^ 

 Female Kordofan Giraffe: Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell, F.R.S.— Descrip'- 

 tion of a New Species of Monkey of the Genus Cercopithecus : R. I. 

 Pocock. 



CiYiL AND Mechanical Engineers' Society, at 8.— Notes on Engineering 

 Works in Austria and Bosnia : A, S. E. Ackermann. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, sAt.— Further discussion: The New 

 York Rapid-transit Subway : W. B. Parsons. 



WEDNESDAY, March 4. 



RWAL Society of Arts, at 8.— Modern Dairy Practice : Loudon M- 

 Douglas, 



GroLornCA I. Society, at 8.— On Meiriorhynrhus brachyrhynchus (Deslon».) 

 from the Oxford Clay near Peterborough : E. Thurlow Leeds.— The Hig'h- 

 Level Platforms of Bodmin Moor, and their Relation to the Deposits of 



Entomological Society, at 8.— Descriptions of New Species of Z<//- 

 doptera hcterocera from South-east Brazil : E. Dukinfield-Jones. 



Society of Public Analysts, at 8.— The Volumetric Determination of 

 Reducing Sugars : Part II. The Limits of Accuracy of the Method under 

 Standard Conditions: A. R. Ling and G. Cecil lones. Part III. The 

 Influence of Cane Sugar : A. R. Ling and T. Rendle. -(i) The Composi- 

 tion of Milk ; (2) The Nitrogen Factor for Casein : H. D. Richmond. 



THURSDAY, March 5. 



ROY'AL Society, at ^.-^.c—Prolabh Papers :— On the .\tomic Weight of 

 Radium : Dr. T. E. Thorpe. C.B., F.R.S.— On the Electrical Resistance 

 of Moving Matter : Prof F. T. Trouton, F.R.S., and A. O. Rankine.— 

 On the Nature of the Streamers in the Electric Spark : Dr S. R. Milner. 

 — The Relation between Wind Velocity at 1000 Metres Altitude and the 

 Surface Pressure Distribution : E. Gold. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Early British History and Epigraphy : Sir 

 John Rhys. 



Chemical Society, at S.30.— The Solubility of Iodine in Water: H. 

 Hartley and N. P. Campbell.— Traces of a New Tin-group Element in 

 Thorianite : Mi.ssC. de B. Evans. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— Fuse Phenomena : Pr.'f 

 A. Schwartz and W. H. N. James. 



Linnean Society, at 8.— On the Morphology of Stigmaria in Coiiipari-- 

 with Recent Lycopodiacea: : Prof F. E. Weiss— On Trichoniscoi:, 

 nlbidus and T, sarsi : Alexander Patience. — Exhibits : Fruit Destroyii.^ 

 Flies: W. W. Froggatt.— Mimicry in the Common Sole: Dr. A. T. 



Masterman. 



FRIDAY, March 6. 

 ; 9.— Recent Earthquakes : Prof. John iMil 



Sti 



nd Wolfram : G. Barrow. 



NO. 2000, VOL. 77] 



Royal Institution, at 

 F.R.S. 



NSTITUTION OF CiviL ENGINEERS, at 8. — Surveying on Thunder l:;i 

 Branch of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Canada: R. V. Morris.- 

 British Practice in Railway Sur\'eying : W. Graham.— Railway Surveyit 

 in Great Britain ; W. C. Crawford. 



SA TURD A Y, March 7. 



-Electric Discharges through Gases : Prof. J. J 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Man and Nature in South. West Africa. By Sir 



H. H. Johnston, G. CM. G 3S5 



Alcohol and its Effects 3S6 



Van der Waals and his Successors. By T. M. L. 387 



American Forage Crops. By E. J. R 3S8 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Berberich : " Astronomischer Jahresbericht " . . . . 3S9 

 van Laar : " Lehrbuch der theoretischen Elektro- 



cheniie auf ihermodyn amischer Grundlage "... 3S9 



Tonge : "Coal" 389 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Speed of Racing Animals. — Prof. John Perry, 



F.R.S 389 



The Isothermal Layer of the Atmosphere. — W. H. 



Dines, F.R.S 390 



The Inheritance of " Acquired" Characters. — Dr. H. 

 Charlton Bastian, F.R.S.; Dr. G. Archdall 



Reid ; A. D. D 390 



The Possibility of Life in Mars.— C. O. Bartrum ; 



Dr. J. W. Evans 392 



The Stresses in Masonry Dams. — H. M. Martin . . 392 



Three Animal Biographies. {Illustrated.) By R. L. 393 



Studies in National Degeneration 394 



Sir Richard Strachey, G.C.S.I., F.R.S. By Dr. 



W. N. Shaw, F.R.S 395 



Notes 397 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Saturn's Rings 401 



The Objective Prism in Solar Spectroscopy 401 



Comet 19073 401 



Uniformly Distributed Dark Spots on Jupiter .... 401 



Double-Star Observations 401 



Planetary Photography. {Illustrated.) By Prof. 



Percival Lowell 402 



Hydrology in the United States 404 



The Testing of Materials. By T. H. B 404 



University and Educational Intelligence 404 



Societies and Academies 406 



Diary of Societies 408 



