November 26, 1908] 



A'rl JURE 



1 19 



examplis of certain larva; and a single pupa of insects 

 belonginj^ to the dipterous family Culicidre. In addition 

 to these, a number of different families of Diptera were 

 represented, including one or two excellently preserved 

 specimens of Culicidte. The insects are preserved in a 

 light grey laminated shale, and the fossiliferous deposit is 

 evidently of fresh-water origin, and appears to belong to 

 the Tertiary age. 



November 3. — Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in 

 the chair. — The nature of the o particle : Prof. E. Ruther- 

 ford and T. Royds. In order to give a definite proof 

 of the identity of the a particle with a helium atom, it is 

 necessary to show that helium can be obtained from 

 accumulated a particles, quite independently of the active 

 matter from which they are expelled. This has been done 

 by the authors. In the experiments every precaution was 

 taken to prevent possible contamination of the apparatus 

 with helium. The experiments afford a conclusive proof 

 that the a. particle after losing its charge is an atom of 

 helium. Other evidence indicates that the positive charge 

 on the a particle is twice that carried by the hydrogen 

 atom. — The action of the radium emanation on water : 

 T. Royds and Prof. E. Rutherford. — Some properties of 

 the radium emanation : Prof. E. Rutherford. In 1906 

 (Nature, October 25) the author directed attention to the 

 fact that the emanations of radium, thorium, and actinium 

 were completely absorbed bv cocoa-nut charcoal at ordinary 

 temperatures. He has recently repeated these experiments 

 with much larger quantities of radium emanation, and has 

 found that the actual volume of emanation capable of 

 absorption by charcoal at room temperature is very small. 

 For example, several grams of cocoa-nut charcoal are re- 

 quired to absorb completely the emanation from 200 milli- 

 grams of radium at ordinary temperature, although the 

 volume of the gas is only one-tenth of a cubic millimetre. 

 As was to be expected, the absorptive power of charcoal 

 for the emanation increases rapidly with lowering of the 

 temperature. It appears from the results that at 10° C. 

 the charcoal absorbs about 003 cubic mm. of emanation 

 per gram, and at —40° C. about o-o6 cubic mm. per 

 gram. 



P.\RIS. 



Academy of Sciences, November 16. — M. Bmich.ird in the 

 chair. - ('iim[)ensation of a closed chain of triangulation : 

 P. Hatt. In a closed chain of triangles resulting from 

 a survey, there is necessarily a slight discrepancy at the 

 junction owing to the experimental error. The problem 

 of the distribution of this error round the whole system, 

 giving a polygon with a minimum deformation, in the 

 general case is extremely cornpllcated, and involves an 

 amount of labour out of all proportion to the value of 

 the result. K shortened approximate method of dealing 

 with this problem is given in the present paper. — The 

 turning of aeroplanes : E. L. Bertin. — The use of calcium 

 cyananiide in agriculture : \. Muntz and P. Nottin. It 

 has been shown in previous papers that the rapidity with 

 which nitrogenous manures are converted into nitrates is 

 a measure of their usefulness as manures, and calcium 

 cyanamide has been studied from this point of view. It 

 proved to be as active as ammonium sulphate, and this 

 result was confirmed by culture experiments. — \ new 

 species of Sarcocaulon of south Madagascar and the 

 resinous bark of .Sarcocaulon : Edouard Meckel. The 

 resin is present in the bark to the extent of 20 per cent, 

 to 30 per cent., and owing to its perfume may prove to 

 be of commercial value. — Report on a memoir entitled 

 " Experimental Researches on the Resistance of the Air 

 i-.irrifcl out by M. G. Eiffel " : Maurice Levy and M. 

 Sebert. .An account of experiments on the resistance of 

 the air to falling bodies, carried out on the Eiffel Tower. 

 — Yellow fever at Saint-Nazaire : M. Chantemesse. 

 The infection was brought from Martinique by the steam- 

 ship J.a France on -September 24, and as no case had 

 developed during the nine days' voyage from the infected 

 port, the vessel w'as not placed in quarantine by the port 

 authorities. Eleven cases resulted, seven of which were 

 fatal. The infection w-as carried by the mosquito 

 S/ctjomvd fasciata, specimens of which were caught on the 

 ship after the epidemic broke out. — Differential eouations 

 of the third order the general integral of which is 



uniform: R. Gamier. — The resistance of fluids:^ the 

 necessary experiments : Marcel Brillouin. The rational 

 construction of aeroplanes requires the experimental deter- 

 mination of numerous coefficients, the more important of 

 which are indicated. — Different curves of the same sung 

 vowel : M. Marage. — The radio-activity of the soil : F. 

 Bordas. The radiations from radio-active materials are 

 known to possess the property of causing colorations in 

 glass and porcelain, and the fact that in certain regions 

 near the nitrate mines of the province of Aconcagua white 

 glass became coloured has led to the discovery that 

 at certain spots the soil is strongly radio-active. — The 

 volumetric composition of aminonia gas and the atomic 

 weight of nitrogen : Ph. A. Guye and A. Pintza. 

 .'\mmonia, set free from a weighed apparatus, was de- 

 composed by passing over an electrically heated platinum 

 spiral and the mixed gases measured at a definite tempera- 

 ture And pressure. The method, which is not capable of 

 high precision, gave 14-014 as the atomic weight of 

 nitrogen (0 = i6), the extreme values being 14-002 and 

 14-022 a new confirmation of the international value 14-01. 

 —Some constituent principles of Sderostomum equinuni. 

 The presence in this parasite of a crystallised alkaknd 

 possessing great ha^molytic power : Th. Bondouy.— Ihe 

 colloidal properties of starch and its spontaneous jelly 

 formation : E. Fouard.— The preparation of fused alumma 

 in the amorphous state and the reproduction of the blue 

 colour of the Oriental sapphire : Louis Paris. The addi- 

 tion of small quantities of lime (2 per cent, or less) to the 

 alumina before fusion has the effect of retaining the blue 

 colour due to cobalt or iron oxides. Without this addition 

 the alumina, on solidification, is colourless, with an 

 external deeplv coloured crust.— Comparative effects of 

 amides as food' on the development of the adult plant, the 

 seed, and the free embryo : J. Lefevre.— The presence^ot 

 Plattaria alpina in .-^uvergne : C. Bruyant.— Ihe 

 riumulariidEe of the ChaUenger collection : Armand 

 Billard.— A new parasite of CEnophtira pilleriana of the 

 vine : Henri Sicard. — The extent of the possible colour 

 chanrtcs of Hippolvic variaiis : Romuald Minkiewicz.— 

 The shaping of mountain slopes : P. Berthon.— The stenis 

 of Clepsvdropsis : Paul Bertrand.— The seismic disturb- 

 ance of November 11, iqoS : .\lfrrd Angot. 



New South Wales. 

 Royal Society, Seniember 2.— Mr. W. M. Hamlet, presi- 

 dent in the chair.— The discharge of electricity from glow- 

 ing carbon ; Prof. J. A. Pollock and A. B. B. Ranclaud. 

 The flow of negative electricity from hot carbon, m a 

 circuit containing an air-gap, up to three millimetres m 

 length between a hot and a cool carbon rod, has been 

 investigated for temperatures of the hot rod from iioo C. 

 to iSoo° C, and for various voltages up to the pomt at 

 which an arc forms between the carbons, the experiments 

 being made in air at natural pressure. A suggestion is 

 made as to the development of the arc from the non- 

 luminous discharge which seems to account _ for the 

 observed phenomena. The discontinuity of potential at the 

 surface of the heated carbon, due to the projection of 

 electrons, is found to range from i-i volts at 1300 abso- 

 lute to 16-7 volts at 3690° absolute. From these values the 

 velocities with which electrons are projected from hot 

 carbon are deduced, the results being of the order of 10 

 centimetres per second.— The re-lighting of the '•/rt'O" =>''^" 

 Prof. J. A. Pollock, Dr. E. M. Wellisch, and A. B. B. 

 Ranclaud. In connection with the re-lighting of the 

 carbon arc, without movement of the electrodes, when the 

 circuit is opened and re-closed, the relation between the 

 potential difference, established between the carbons at the 

 moment of the re-making of the connections, and the 

 maximum time of interruption of the circuit, within which 

 the arc will re-form, has been investigated for various 

 conditions.— Evidence of recent submergence of coast at 

 Narrabecn : Prof. T. W. E. David and G. H. HalliK^n. 

 The general physical features of the N.S. Wales coast 

 are described, as showing distinct evidence of recent 

 coastal submergence. The evidence supplied by bores, 

 shafts, &c., in' /.- vicinity of Sydney and Newcastle, is 

 traversed, and its bearing upon the subject of land move- 

 ment is discussed. The strongest evidence of all is the 



NO. 2039, VOL. 79] 



