Februarv 20, 1902] 



NA TURE 



3S: 



nvenlion. The law in this country works very inequitably. 

 As examples, the invention of the microphone by the late Prof. 

 Hughes, the president's invention of the " astigometer " and 

 the invention of wireless telegraphy by Prof. Lodge were given. 



An ordinary meeting of the Society was then held, at which 



Mr. Littlewood exhibited an Attwood's machine. — The Society 

 then adjourned until February 28. ; . . • 



Chemical Society, February 6. — Dr. Armstrong, F.R.S., 

 in the chair. — An investigation into the composition of brittle 

 platinum, by Prof. Hartley, F.R.S. Platinum points repeatedly 

 heated in the course of dental practice become very brittle, 

 owing, the author believes, to the presence of minute quantities 

 of carbon and phosphorus, although such impurities could not be 

 definitely detected. — Conversion of i-hydroxycamphene into 

 3-halogen derivatives of camphor, by Dr. M. O. Forster. The 

 author finds that his supposed "enolic" form of camphor is 

 really i-hydroxycamphene, and has studied the action of 

 halogens upon it, so obtaining the various ^-substituted cam- 

 phors. — Tetrazoline, ii., by Messrs. Ruhemann and Stapleton. 

 The action of methyl iodide upon this substance gives rise to 

 several derivatives of unknown relation to tetrazoline. — The 

 solubilities of the calcium salts of the lower fatty acids, by Dr. 

 Lumsden. The author has investigated the influence of tem- 

 perature upon the solubilities of these salts, and has shown that, 

 with the exception of the formate, they decrease in solubility 

 with increase of temperature. The salts of the normal acids 

 show increasing solubility as the series is ascended, but are less 

 soluble than the corresponding i>»-salts. — The equilibrium 

 between a solid and its saturated solution at various tempera- 

 tures, by Dr. Lumsden. The solubility of a substance is 

 affected by three factors — -the solution pressure of the dissolved 

 molecules, the thermal energy of dissociation of the substance, 

 and the affinity, if any, of solvent and solute. The solubility 

 curve (temperature, weight of substance) may be regarded as 

 expressing a series of equilibria between these influences at 

 the various temperatures included in the curve, and from this 

 point of view it is shown that the solubility curves of calcium 

 salts are not abnormal. — On the union of hydrogen and chlorine, 

 iv. , by Messrs. Mellor and Anderson. The momentary ex- 

 pansion in mixtures of these gases, brought about by exposure 

 to a brilliant light, is shown to be associated with their com- 

 bination and, it is suggested, is caused by some disturbance 

 resulting from the latter. — The influence of temperature on 

 association in benzene solution and the value of the molecular 

 rise of boiling-point for benzene at different temperatures, by 

 Dr. W. R. Innes. With increase of temperature, the complex 

 molecules of phenanthrene, benzophenone, benzil, &c. , produced 

 in their solutions in benzene, become simpler up to 80° ; 

 beyond that point certain (at present) unexplained anomalies 

 appear. — The magnetic rotation of ring compounds, camphor, 

 limonene, carvene, pinene and some of their derivatives, by Dr. 

 VV. H. Perkin, sen. It is shown that the observed rotations of 

 these substances agree closely with those calculated from the 

 formula; generally assigned to them. — Note on the constitution 

 of certain organic nitrates, by Messrs. Marshall and Wigner. 

 The authors express dissent from the view of Vignon and Gerin 

 that mannitol hexanitrate contains a substituted aldehyde group, 

 since the reducing action of the substance can be explained 

 without such an assumption, and, moreover, the amount of 

 nitrous acid formed on hydrolysis does not accord with the 

 structure suggested. — Resolution of trimethylhydrindonium 

 hydroxide into its optically active constituents, by Prof. F. S. 

 Kipping, F.R.S. The deraceniisation of this substance has 

 been brought about by conversion into a salt of rf-bromocamphor- 

 sulphonic acid and crystallisation from chloroform and acetic 

 ether when the salt of the dextro-base separates first. — Resolu- 

 tion of methylbenzylacetic acid into its optical isomerides, by 

 Prof. F. ,S. Kipping, F.R.S. Crystallisation of the quinine 

 salt of the racemic form of this acid leads to the separation of 

 the alkaloidal salt of the dextro-acid in the first fractions. — 

 rf-Methylhydrindone, by Prof. F. S. Kipping, F.R.S. This 

 substance was obtained from the chloride of dimethylbenzylacetic 

 acid by interaction with aluminium chloride. It rapidly race- 

 mises when heated, probably as the result of conversion into 

 the ' enolic ' form. It reacts with hydroxylamine, phenylhydr- 



azone a,nd semicarbazide, furnishing the corresponding ketonic 



derivatives. — Optically active methylbenzylacetic acid, by Dr. 



Lapworth and Mr. Lenton. A repetition of the work described 

 by Dr. Kipping in part ii. 



NO. 1686, VOL. 65] 



Mineralogical Society, February 4.— Dr. Hugo Miiller,. 

 president, in the chair. — Messrs. G. T. Prior and L.J. Spencer 

 contributed a paper on the hornsilvers. They described speci- 

 mens of silver haloid containing all the three halogens, chloritie, 

 bromine and iodine, in large amount, and showed by quantitative 

 analyses that in these holohedral cubic "iodiferous embolites"' 

 the chloride, bromide and iodide of silver could enter into 

 isomorphous combination in very varying proportions besides 

 the particular one found by Lasaulx in iodobromite ; fusion ex- 

 periments indicated that the limiting amount of silver iodide 

 which could enter into such isomorphous combination was- 

 reached for mixtures containing the three halogens in equal' 

 atomic proportions. As the result of the investigation, the 

 authors proposed to include all the holohedral cubic silver 

 haloids under the common group name of hornsilver or cerar- 

 gyrite, and to use the names " chlorargyrite," " bromargyrite," 

 " embolite " and "iodiferous embolite" to indicate sub- 

 species depending on variations in the proportions of chloride, 

 bromide and iodide.— Mr. G. T. Prior described specimens of 

 kilbrickenite contained in the museum of the Mining School at 

 Camborne, Cornwall ; the result of an analysis, combined with 

 an examination of the physical characters, was to prove the 

 identity of kilbrickenite with geocronite. He also gave the 

 results of analyses of miersite (4.'\gI.CuI), of marshite (Cul) 

 and of peculiar crystals of copper-pyrites simulating cubic sym- 

 metry.— Messrs. G. T. Prior and A. K. Coomara-Swamy gave 

 an account of the mode of occurrence and characters of " seren- 

 dibite," a new boro-silicate from Ceylon. This new mineral^ 

 which is of a beautiful blue colour, was discovered by Mr. 

 Coomara-Swamy in intimate association with diopside in narrow 

 contact zones between an acid, moonstone-bearing granulite and 

 limestone which occur in alternating bands at Gangapiliya, twelve 

 miles east of Kandy ; no distinct crystals could be isolated, but 

 examination of thin slices of the rock showed the mineral to be 

 biaxial and probably triclinic ; it was very pleochroic, from 

 colourless to deep indigo-blue, and almost invariably showed a 

 remarkable repeated twinning on as intimate a scale as the 

 albite twinning of a plagioclastic felspar ; the double-refraction 

 is weak, but the refraction nearly as high as diopside ; the hard- 

 ness is about 7, the specific gravity 3'42 ; no cleavage was. 

 observed; it is infusible and is only slightly attacked by acids. 

 Analysis showed the mineral to be a complex and very basic 

 borosilicate of alumina, lime, magnesia and iron with small 

 amounts of alkalis including lithia.— Prof. H. A. Miers ex- 

 hibited three-colour collotype prints of the interference figures 

 of crystals. These were obtained by photographing the figures 

 through colour screens by means of a large Newton polariscope. 

 Some of the prints reproduced with considerable success the 

 colours and the symmetry of the original figures. The work has 

 been executed at the Oxford University Press. He further ex- 

 hibited calcite twins of a rare type from a new locality in 

 Somersetshire, and also some crystalline gold nuggets from 

 Klondyke. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, February 10. — M. Bouquet de la 

 Grye in the chair. — On a very powerful specific treatment for 

 malaria, by M. Armand Gautier. A detailed account of the 

 cure of nine ca.ses of malarial fever by the injection of sodium 

 methylarsenate. These cases, which had all proved refractory 

 to high doses of quinine, were, with the exception of two, im- 

 mediately cured by the injection of a single dose of the methyl- 

 arsenate. The remaining two cases were successfully treated 

 with a second injection. — On the crystallisation of chromium 

 sesquioxide, byM. Alfred Ditte. The crystallisation of chromium 

 oxide during the calcination of a bichromate with common salt 

 is shown to be due to the properties of sodium chlorochromate, 

 and is in no way influenced by the solubility of the oxide in the 

 alkaline chloride. — -The determination of the exact trajectory of 

 aerostats with respect to the soil, by M. H. Deslandres. A curve 

 of the trajectory of the aerostat of M. Dumont on the ascent of 

 October 19 is given and compared with the curve previously 

 given by M. Armengaud. The two curves difter from each other 

 considerably, the author pointing out that his own, which is 

 deduced by a photographic method, is more likely to be accurate 

 than that of M., Armengaud. — Radioconductors with a single 

 contact, by M. Edouard IJranly. The author has followed up 

 some of his earlier experiments on radioconductors of one contact 

 only, and describes two or three types which have proved very 

 sensitive. The combination of a superficially oxidised metal with 

 a highly polished metal has proved to be the most trustworthy. 



