504 



NATURE 



[March 27, 1902 



Jane Donald. Many of the Palaeozoic shells referred to Mur- 

 chisonia do not agree with the type, and there are at least two 

 separate groups distinguished by the outer lip. The typical 

 group has a slit, the other merely a sinus. From the material at 

 present available, in the British Isles as well as in America and 

 the Baltic provinces, elongated forms with a sinus precede those 

 with a slit. So far, no light is thrown on the question as to 

 whether Murchisonia and Pleurotomaria were derived from the 

 same stock, nor has the author yet met with any specimens 

 showing a transition from sinus to slit. 

 Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, March 17. — M. Bouquet de laGrye 

 in the chair. — Some remarks on the periods of double integrals 

 and the transformation of algebraic surfaces, by M. Emile 

 Picard. — Studies on vegetable earth, by M. Th, SchlcEsing. 

 The earth is separated by a process of levigation into fractions, 

 which are analysed separately. The most striking fact obtained 

 by this method of working is the rapid change in the proportions 

 of iron and phosphoric acid in the fractions. The ratio of iron 

 to phosphorus, however, remained practically constant. — On the 

 culture of the fodder beet, by M. P. P. Deherain. The method 

 of cultivation of the beet, which aims only at producing roots 

 of the largest size, is faulty, as analyses of such roots show 

 that they contain an undue amount of water and nitrates. By 

 planting out so that smaller beets are obtained, it was found that 

 although the gross weight per hectare was somewhat less in the 

 latter case, the weight of dry material was greater and the loss 

 of nitrates was reduced. — M. Vermolofif was elected a corres- 

 pondant in the Section of Rural Economy in the place of the 

 late Sir J. B. Lawes. — On regular groups of finite order, by M. 

 Leon Autonne. — On the theory of algebraic functions of finite 

 order, by M. Beppo Levi. — On the conservation of refractive 

 energy in mixtures of alcohol and water, by M. A. Leduc. The 

 refractive indices of mixtures of alcohol and water can be calcu- 

 lated from the refractive indices of the two constituents within the 

 limits of experimental error, allowance being made for the contrac- 

 tion which takes place on mixing the two liquids. — On the mobility 

 of the ions in gases, by M. P. Langevin. — Research on a unit 

 for mea.suring the force of penetration of the X-rays and for 

 their quantity, by M. G. Contremoulins. The principle adopted 

 for these measurements is the comparison of the intensity of 

 illumination of a fluorescent platinocyanide screen with a screen 

 artificially illuminated with a light of known intensity. — 

 The heat of reaction between bodies in the solid and 

 gaseous state, by M. Ponsot. — The heats of solution of 

 solid and liquid ammonia taken at about - 75° C, and on the 

 latent heat of fusion of solid ammonia, by M. G. Massol. The 

 method adopted was to dissolve first liquid ammonia and then 

 solid ammonia, both as near -75" C. as possible, in water in a 

 calorimeter ; the latent heat of fusion was thus obtained as the 

 difference between these two results. The value thus found for 

 the latent heat of fusion for a gram-molecule of solid ammonia 

 was- I S38, approximating to that of water, - i'43. — The volu- 

 metric estimation of thallium, by M. V. Thomas. The author 

 has modified the iodometric method of Feit, in such a manner 

 as to avoid the conversion into the sulphate. Test analyses are 

 given showing the accuracy of the method as modified. — Acid 

 and basic sulphates of neodidymium and praseodidymium, by 

 M. Camille Matignon. Four new sulphates are indicated, their 

 properties determined, and their thermochemical relations 

 examined. — A method for the alkalimetric estimation of 

 disodium-methylarsenate or arrhenal, by M. A. Astruc. The 

 method suggested is based on the fact that in the presence of 

 rosolic acid one molecule of this substance requires one molecule 

 of a monobasic acid for neutralisation. — On some derivatives of 

 arabinose, by M. G. Chavanne. The exact conditions are 

 given for the production of a pure substance in the interaction of 

 arabinose with acetyl chloride and bromide. The preparation 

 and properties of the phcnylhydrazone of arabinose are also 

 described. — On the supposed binaphthalene-glycol, by M. R. 

 Fosse. It is shown that the body described as binaphthalene- 

 glycol is in reality dinaphthoxanlhydrol, and that the deriva- 

 tives of the supposed glycol are similarly constituted. — On the 

 pseudo-acids, by M. P. Th. Muller. For a true acid the difler- 

 ence of the molecular refractions of the acid and its sodium salt 

 should be equal to the difference of the molecular refractions of 

 sodium hydrate and water, and for a large number of acids of 

 she order of acetic this has been found to be the case, the value 

 of this constant difference being about I 55. Any marked 

 variation from this value would indicate that the constitution 



NO, 1691, v'OL, 65] 



of the acid was different from its neutral salt. This 

 the author has found to be the case for a certait> 

 number of isonitroso-compounds of the fatty series. — On the 

 classification of the Cercomonadines, by M. Louis Leger. — -The 

 use of organic arsenic and phosphorus compounds in the treat- 

 ment of tuberculosis, by M. A. Mouneyrat. Sodium methyl- 

 arsenate taken alone has no effect in preventing the excessive 

 elimination of pho.sphorus in tuberculosis. But by the adminis- 

 tration of this salt, together with an easily assimilable phos- 

 phorus compound, such as nucleinic acid, the desired result was 

 obtained. A marked improvement was noticed in less than a 

 month, with gain in weight, increase in appetite, disappearance 

 of the nocturnal sweats, and of fever. At the end of a month 

 or six weeks the sputum became normal, losing its purulent 

 character and, in the majority of cases, with the disappearance 

 of the tubercle bacillus. — The action of temperature on the 

 mineral absorption in etiolated plants, by M. G. Andre. It 

 was found that the quantity of ash in 100 parts of the dried 

 material is always greater in the normal plant than in the plant 

 etiolated at I5°C. ; the reverse was the case in an etiolated 

 plant growing at 30° C., the difference being entirely represented 

 by silica. — On the assimilation of carbon by a green alg;e, by 

 M. P. G. Charpentier. — A bacteriological study of the massif 

 of Mont Blanc, by M. Jean Binot. The number of germs in the 

 air at the summit of Mont Blanc is extremely small, varying be- 

 tween four and eleven per cubic metre, and increases as the 

 valley is approached. The ice, snow and water on the mountain 

 were made the subject of a separate study. A virulent pyocyanic 

 bacillus was isolated from the ice at the summit, and an exceed- 

 ingly pure water taken near the Montanvert showed twelve 

 colonies of a virulent AW/fr/«« <oli per cc. — Experimental re- 

 searches on the mental life of a xiphopage, by MM. N. Vaschide 

 and H. Pieron. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



WEDNESDAY, AiRii 



Society of Public A^ 



THUKSDAY. Al'RIL 3. 

 RoNTGEN Society, at 8.30. — X-Ray Diagnosis of Renal Calculus ; Dr. 



Ch. Leonard. 

 LiNNEAN Society, at 8.— On the Composite Flora of Africa: W.Spencer 



Moore. — .4 Halonial ^t^-aA ai Lepidophloios /ulipnotut : Piof. F. E. 



Weiss. 



FRIDAY. April 4. 

 Geologists' Association, at 8. — Klondike, its Geology and Mining: 



Prof. H. A. Miers, F.R.S. 



CONTENTS. P.4GE 



A German View of English Schools. By W. R. . 4S1 



Cheese-Mites. By T. R. R. S 482 



Our Book Shelf:— 



" The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of 



England."— R. W 4S3 



Tindall : " Selection of Subject in Pictorial Photo- 

 graphy" 483 



Letters to the Editor: — 



The Teaching of Mathematics.— Prof. John Perry, 



F.R.S. 4S4 



Birds attacking Butterflies and Moths. — Annie E. 



McKay 486 



"Nature-Study" Exhibition.— John C. Medd . . 4S6 

 Sounds Associated with Low Temperatures. — Sir 



W.H. Preece, K.C.B., F.R.S 4S7 



Proofs of Euclid I. 5.— Prof G. H. Bryan, F.R.S. 487 



The National Physical Laboratory 4^7 



The Scenery of England. (Illustrated.) 49° 



The Royal Society and the Proposed British 



Academy 493 



Announce ment of New Mammalian Remains from 



Egypt. {Illuitratcd.) 494 



Bryan Donkin 495 



Notes 49& 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Astronomical Occurrences in April 499 



Origin of Disturbance in Corona, May 17-1S, 1901 . 499 



Foucaull's Pendulum 499 



A Convenient Terminology for the Various Stages 

 of the Malaria Parasite. By Prof. E. R. Lan- 



kester, F.R.S 499 



University and Educational Intelligence 501 



Societies and Academies 5°^ 



Diary of Societies . 504 



