48o 



NA TURE 



[March 19, 1908 



to its pi.Tioclic:il distribution and the intensity of its pre- 

 cipitation, it might be said there was no. actual period 

 of serioits drought, the rainfall of Sydney being below 

 the average of Melbourne only in the exceptional year 

 1888. The divergencies in the rainfall of these two great 

 cities were so striking as to tend to malvc one careful in 

 formulating any conclusions based on the rainfall experi- 

 ence of either city taken alone. — The Australian Melaleucas 

 and their essential oils, part ii. : R. T. Baker and H. G. 

 Smith. This section (part ii.) of the subject covers an 

 investigation of the two species, Melaleuca uncinala, 

 R. Br., and Melaleuca nodosa, Sm. The former is re- 

 stricted more particularly to Ihc interior of the continent, 

 not having been recorded east of the dividing range. It 

 does, however, occur on Kangaroo Island. It is mostly a 

 slender shrub having acicular leaves terminating with 

 slender hooks. M. nodosa is a coastal plant, and is a 

 more compact shrub. — Aboriginal navigation and other 

 notes: R. H. Mathews. — A short volumetric method for 

 the estimation of sulphuric acid : Dr. T. Cooksey. The 

 method depends upon the volumetric estimation of the 

 excess of barium salt left in solution after the precipita- 

 tion of the sulphuric acid as sulphate of baryta. The 

 barium is estimated by standard carbonate of soda — phenol- 

 phthalein being used as indicator. .Spirit of wine is added 

 to promote. the rapid precipitation of the barium carbonate. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



Royal Society, at 4.30.-00 Vapoui-pies«ure and Ofmotic Pressure of 

 Strong Solulions: Prof. H. L: Callend.ir. F.R.S— On Secondary S-Rays : 

 Prof. J. A. McClelland.— On the Measurement of the Atmospheric Electric 

 Potential Gradient and the Earth-air Current : C. T. R. Wilson, F.R.S 

 —Note on the Trajectories of Rilled Projectiles with Various Shapes of 

 Head: A. M.-illock, F.R.S. 



RoYAi; Institution, at 3.— Standardisation in Various Aspects: (i) Me- 

 chanical Engineering: Dr. R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S. 



Royal Society or .\rt5, at 8.— The Navigationof the Air : Dr.H. S. Hele- 

 Shaw, F.R.S. 



Chemical Society,, at a.30.— The Constitution of Electronegative " Thio- 

 cyanates " : A. E. Di.\on and J. Taylor.— An Improved Form of Pykno- 

 meter: W. R. Bousfield.— The Quantitative Conversion of Aromatic 

 Hydrazines into Diazonium Salts; F. D. Chattaway.— The Action of 

 Heat on a-Hydroxycarboxylic .\cids, Part iv. , Racemicaa-Dihydroxyadipic 

 Acid and Meso aa-Dihydroxyadipic Arid; H. R. Le Sueur.—The Spon- 

 taneous Crystallisation of Sodium Sulphate Solutions : H.Hartley, B. M. 

 Jones, and G. A. Hutchinson.— Quantitative Relations of .Salts of Thallium 

 and Its Separation from Silver: J. F. Spencer and Miss M. Le Pla.— 

 Constitution of Hydroxyazo Compounds, Action of Diazomethane and of 

 Mercuric Acetate : C. Smith and A. D. Mitchell. 



Current 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— Ne\ 



Instruments : Dr. W. E. Sumpner and J. W. Record. 

 I-iNNEAN .Society, at 8.— The Podosomata of the .Atlantic and the Arctic 



Oceans: Rev. Canon Norman. F.R.S.— A Revision of the Genus Codo- 



nopsis : T. F. Chipp.— On the Holothurians from the Red Sea ; E. 



Hindle. 

 Institutio.n 



Me 



Mil 



Me 



:ing. 



LURGY, at 8.— -Annual Ge 



FRIDAY, March 20. 

 RovAL Institution, at 9.— Recent Earthquakes : Prof. J. Milne, F.R.S. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— Stresses in Brick Arches- 

 J. D. W. Ball. 



SATURDAY, U.K-RCH 7:1. 



Royal Institution, at 3.— Electric Discharges through Gases : Prof. I. T 



Thomson, F.R.S. s ;. ., j 



MONDAY, .March 23. 



Royal Society of Art.s, at 8 —Fuel and 



Sociological Society, at 8.— The Defin 



Prof. 



1 of Ma 



:ipal Je 



TUESDAY, March 24. 

 Royal Institution, at i.-The Egyptian Sudan : its History, Monuments, 

 and Peoples, Past and Present : Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge. 



Royal Society of Arts, at 4.30.— The Mineral Resources of Western 

 Australia : Hon. C. H. Rason. 



Faraday Society, at 8.— Presidential Addre- 



of Lord Kelvin : Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S. 

 Royal -\ntheoi-ological Institute, at 8.i5.-(i) Sinhalese Magic, witf 

 : to Charming Ceremnnies and Amulets ; (2) Exhibition 

 nployed by Devil Dancers and Buddhist Votive 



; Aspects of the Work 



al Ref-i 

 of Amulets, -Obje 

 Offerings: Dr. W. L. HTidburgh.' 

 Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.-The Curzon Bridge, at .\llahab.-id ; 

 K. K. Cales.— Ihc Netravati Bridge, at Mangalore : A. S. Napier. 



NO. 2003, VOL. 77I 



I'AL Society 



latevials ; A. S. Jennings, 



TisH Astronomical Associa 



iVEDNESDAY, March 25. 

 Arts, at 8, — Recent Improvements 



THURSDAY, March 26. 

 Royal Society, SLU.io.—Pyi'iailc Papers :—Kakerian Lecture ; The Ther- 

 mal Conductivities of Solids: Prof. C. H. Lees, F.R.S —Comparison of 

 the Board of Trade .\mpeie. Standard Balance and the British Association 

 (.\yrton-Jones) Current Weigher : T. Mather, F.R.S., and F- E. Smith.— 

 Note on the Rise of Meteorological Balloons ana the Temperature of the 

 Upper Air : A. Mallock, F.R.S. 



Ro 



8.— The Navigation of the Aiv : Dr. H. S. 



Royal Institution, at i.- Standardisation in Various Aspects : {2) Ele 



trical Engineering : Dr." R. T. Glazebrook, F.R.S. 

 Chemical Society, at 5.— Annua] General Meeting.— Presidential Address 



The Electron as an Element : Sir William Ramsay, K.C.B., F.R.S. 



FRIDAY, March 27. 

 Royal Institution, at 0. — Radio-active Change in the Earth : 



R. J. Strutt, F.R.S. 

 Physical Society, at 5.— <i) Notes on the Plug Permeameter ; ( 



Use of .Shunts and Transformers with Alternate Current Mecsurir 



ments; (3) On Wattmeters; Dr. C. V. Drysdale. 

 Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 8. — Combustion Pi 



English Locomotive Fire-Boxes : Dr. F. J. Brisiee.- C 



cesses in Ainerican Locomotive Fire-Boxes: L. H. Fry. 



SATURDAY, March 28. 



3 through Ga 



he Hon. 

 Vbn th- 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Coal Mining 457 



Malaria and National Decay. By R. T, H 457 



Electricity Old and New. Ey N. R. C 4';S 



Our Book Shelf: — 



Macdonald : " The Oceanic Languages: their Gram- 

 matical Structure, Vocabulary, and Oiigin." — 



S. H. R 460 



Nerz : "Searchlights: their Theory, Construction, 



and Application." — E. E 460 



Nielzsche : " Beyond Good and Evil. Prelude to a 



Philosophy of the Future " 460 



Letters to the Editor:^ 



The Habitability of Mars.— Prof. Percival Lowell ; 



Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney, F.R.S 461 



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



Dines, F.R.S 462 



Classification of Secondary X-Radiators. — Dr. B. 



Walter 462 



Gods and Codlings. — David Patrick 462 



Tabulated Values of Certain Integrals. — C. E. Adams 462 

 Canadian G\ac\evs.i^(nhistratt'it.) By Prof. T. G. 



Bonney, F.R.S 463 



The Forthcoming Mathematical Congress at Rome. 



By Prof. G. H. Bryan, F.R.S 464 



Prehistoric Chemistry. By Prof. W. D. Halliburton, 



F.R.S 465 



Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S. ByJ. O. A 465 



Notes 467 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



A Possibly new Sitellite to Jupiter 470 



Observations of Jupiter during the present Opposition 471 



Recent Observations of Venus 471 



The System of (," Urso; Majoris (Mizar) 471 



Mars as the Abode of Life 471 



The Variable Star 31, 1907, -Auriga; 47! 



The Carnegie Institution, {/llns/raleii.) 471 



Some London Problems 473 



University and Educational Intelligence 475 



Societies and Academies 476 



Diary of Societies 4S0 



