December 3, 1908J 



NA TURE 



149 



in the author's possession, the result of several years' 

 work, deals with the genus -Macronyx, and brings up to 

 date the geographical memoranda detailed by Reichenow 

 and Shelley. Macronyx is a purely Ethiopian genus, being 

 confined to the African continent, where the birds are 

 popularly known as " longclaws," from the abnormal 

 development of their claws. They may be divided into 

 two sections, those with a yellow or orange breast and 

 those with a pink breast, .li. croceus^ one of the former, 

 is the most widely distributed, being found over the greater 

 part of .'\frica. The range of the others is more confined. 

 Nine species in all were enumerated, and the range of 

 each was shown. — The draught-inducing properties of the 

 poker : A. H. Gibson. With the view of ascertaining 

 whether there is any scientific basis for the belief that a 

 poker, placed with its lower end against the fender and 

 the other end reared against the bars of an ordinary fire- 

 grate without actually touching the fire, is able to induce 

 a recalcitrant fire to burn up or to burn less smokily, the 

 author undertook a series of experiments, in which the 

 velocity of inflow of air was measured at various points 

 with and without the poker in position. The results 

 showed that the magnitude of the effect was very remark- 

 able. The explanation of the phenomenon appears to be 

 that, when a current of air impinges on a fi.xed body, 

 eddies are formed on its leeward side, where a region of 

 low pressure (below that of the atmosphere) in consequence 

 exists. There is a tendency to inward flow towards this 

 from all surrounding regions, accompanied by a conse- 

 quent inward and upward flow towards and along the 

 under side of the poker and towards the fire, this taking 

 place along its whole length, but particularly from its 

 lower end, which is shielded from the direct influence of 

 the draught. — Notes on the spawning of Eledone and on 

 the occurrence of Eledone with the suckers in double rows : 

 F. H. Gravely. The spawning of Eledone cirrosa was 

 watched in the aquarium belonging to the Liverpool Marine 

 Biological Committee at Port Erin. The female settles 

 upon a vertical surface, to which she clings with the large 

 suckers of the arms. The siphon directs a jet of water 

 into the oral funnel, and then places the eggs there. They 

 are held by the small suckers near the bases of the arms, 

 and are arranged by these in a bunch, the free ends of 

 their individual stalks being fastened by means of a 

 glutinous secretion into a central cord, by which they are 

 united together. When the bunch is completed its strength 

 is tested by the parent, and then it is left. At first it is 

 white throughout, but the central cord, and the disc of 

 hardened glutinous material, by means of which this is 

 attached to the substratum, very soon becomes green, prob- 

 ably through the growth of an alga. The genus Eledone 

 can usually be distinguished from the genus Octopus by 

 the arrangement of the suckers on each arm in one row 

 in the former, but in two rows in the latter. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, November 23. — M. Bouchard in the 

 hair. — The spectrum of the Morehouse comet : H. 

 Deslandres and J. Bosler. This spectrum has been 

 studied at Meudon with two different forms of apparatus, 

 the prismatic chamber and the ordinary spectroscope with 

 slit ; the present note deals chiefly with the results obtained 

 with the latter. Besides the principal bands of nitrogen 

 and cyanogen, there are tliree bands of unknown origin, 

 \ 456-1, 426-7, and 401-3, noticed for the first time in 

 the Daniel comet of 1907. .Ml these, together with 

 two others (X 453-1 and 4700), have proved to be doublets. 

 The cause of this is discussed, and the conclusion arrived 

 at that this cannot be attributed to a Zeeman effect, the 

 .•ipplication of Doppler's principle givine; the best rx- 

 planation of the phenomenon. — The influence of isolated 

 multiple points on the number of double integrals of the 

 second species of an algebraic surface : Emile Picard. 

 — A new method for determining position at sea : E. Guyon. 

 — M. Bouty was elected a member of the physical section 

 m the place of M. H. Becquerel. — Algebraic siirfaces which 

 represent pairs of points of the curve of genus three ; 

 L. Remy, — The geometrical applications of certain re- 

 markable movements : J. Haagr Differential equations 



.mid systems of reservoirs : Edmond Maillet. — The ratio 

 NO. 2040, VOL. 79] 



of the charge to the mass of electrons. The comparison 

 of the values deduced from the Zeeman phenomenon and 

 recent measures on the kathode rays : A. Cotton and P. 

 Weiss. All the lines of metals in Mendel^eff's second 

 group, which belong to the second secondary series, have 

 a single constant K = 5(A.)/Ha.^, which completely defines 

 the magnitude of the Zeeman phenomenon. The authors' 

 values for zinc give K= i.875X 10-', and this, applying 

 Lorentz's calculation, leads to e/m=:2 X 1-767X 10'. A 

 recent measurement by M. Classen, made with kathode 

 rays of low velocity, gives e/m = 1-773 X 10', exactly half 

 that deduced from the Zeeman phenomenon. On the other 

 hand, a recent study by Lohmann of the triplets formed 

 in a magnetic field by the helium lines gives a value 

 fc'/»«= I-77X 10', identical with Classen's figure. The con- 

 cordance of these results with Lorentz's views affords a 

 striking example of the power of the electron theory in 

 connecting phenomena apparently entirely different. — The 

 kinematographical study of the backwash and stream lines 

 produced by the motion of an obstacle : Henri Benard. — 

 The atomic weight of silver : A. Leduc. A criticism of 

 the conclusions drawn by Dubreuil in a recent note on 

 the same subject. — The borotungstic acids : H. Copaux. 

 A detailed account of the preparation and analysis of the 

 two acids B.Oj.aSTuO^.baH.O and B,03.24Tu03.66HjO. 

 The former has a molecular weight of 7682, possibly the 

 highest of any known inorganic substance. — The action of 

 antimony tricliloride on nickel : Em. Vigrouroux. These 

 two substances interact with incandescence at 800° C, 

 witli the ultimate production of crystals of NiSb. The 

 physical and chemical properties of NiSb are given in 

 detail. — Study of the tartrates of the fatty and aromatic 

 amines in the state of solution, making use of the rotatory 

 power : J. Mingruin and Henri Wohlg:emuth. — The pre- 

 paration of o-azocarboxylic acids : P. Freundier and M. 

 Sevestre. — The theory of the preparation of methylamine 

 by solutions of acetamide and bromine : Maurice 

 FranQois. Tlie author holds that the bromacetamide of 

 Hofmann does not exist in solution, and explains the 

 formation of methylamine as the result of an oxidation 

 of the carbonyl group in CH3.CO.NH, by hypobromous 

 acid or free bromine in presence of alkali. — The humic 

 materials in coals : O. Boudouard. Humic acid has been 

 isolated from various kinds of coal by treatment with 

 aqueous potash solution, with or without previous oxida- 

 tion by nitric acid. Analyses and approximate formulae 

 for the humic acids thus obtained are given. — Antique red 

 porphyry : J. Couyat. — The quantitative control of work 

 on chlorophyll : V. Brdiik. — The physiological mechanism 

 of the coloration of red grapes and the autumnal colora-; 

 tion of leaves : J. Laborde. Tannin extracted from 

 different parts of the vine, on exposure to the sun in 

 solution containing small quantities of hydrochloric acid 

 and formaldehyde, develops a deep red colour, and the 

 author attributes the natural colour changes in both fruit 

 and leaf to the alteration of the tannins present in these 

 organs. — The physiological study of some alkaloids of 

 hemlock {Conitim maculatum) : ]. M. Albahary and K. 

 Loffler.— New contribution to the study of the serum of 

 animals after removal of the thyroid gland : L. Launoy. 

 — Note on a map indicating the oceanographical distribu- 

 tion of marine plants in the Roscoff region : L. Joubin. 

 — Studies on cancer in mice : L. Cuenot and L. Mercier. 

 — Experimental growths, and, in particular, the produc- 

 tion of a supplementary head in Saccocirrus : Aug. Michel. 

 — The age of the iron ores of the forest of Lorges (Cfltes- 

 du-Nord) : F. Kerforme. — The distribution of Halobia in 

 the western Peloponnesus : Ph. Negrris. — Continuous 

 luminous effluvia during a storm at the island of Lifou ; 

 M. Nicolas. — A particular class of sea bottom near Thau : 

 L. Sudry. — Earthquake shocks at Constantine : P. Martel. 



Cape Town. 

 Royal Society of South Africa, October 21. — Mr. S. 

 Hough, F.R.S., president, in the chair. — Note on the 

 structure of Tygerberg, Prince Albert : Dr. A. W. Rogrers. 

 In 1906 Dr. Sandberg published a paper throwing doubt 

 on the anticlinal structure of Tygerberg as described by- 

 Mr. A. R. Sawyer and Prof. Schwarz. The present author 

 spent a week in the country between Prince Albert and 



