64 



NATURE 



[July 14, 19 10 



Maurice Nicloux : The products of decomposition of 

 chloroform in the organism. ^ — M. Caullery and A. 

 Lavallee : Experimental investigation on the initial 

 phases of infection of Amphiura sqtiamata by Rhopalura 

 ophiocomac. — Alfred Angot : The earth tremor of June 24, 

 1910. — P. Vialla and P. Pacottet : The culture of the 

 Roesleria of the vine. — A. Marie : The neutralising proper- 

 ties of a substance isolated from a normal brain. 



July 4. — M. nmile Picard in the chair. — J. Boussinesq : 

 The probable applicability, to rays or kathode currents, of 

 the principle of mass constancy. — Ch. Lallemand : The 

 probable exactness of different evaluations of the altitude 

 of Lake Chad. Taking all accounts into consideration, a 

 shore of 240 metres, in round numbers, seems nearest the 

 truth. — D. Gernez : The nature of the product called by 

 the name of black phosphorus. — Armand Gautier and P. 

 Clausmann : The action of iron and its oxides, at a red 

 heat, on carbonic oxide. Application to some geological 

 data. The resulting products are carbides of iron, free 

 carbon, and carbon dioxide, together with certain iron 

 oxides. — Th. Schloesing-, fils : The production of nicotine 

 by the cultivation of tobacco.- — E. L. Bouvier : The 

 pycnogonids with five pairs of paws collected by the Jean 

 Charcot expedition on board the Pourquoi-Pas? — A. 

 Calmette and C. Guerin : The re-absorption of tubercu- 

 lous bacilli by cattle following on the injection of mixtures 

 of serum of animals rendered hyper-immune, and bacilli 

 cultivated in series on beef bile. — A. Perot : A study of 

 the variation of the wave-length of solar light at the sun's 

 circumference. — D. Eginitis : Some phenomena shown by 

 Halley's comet after its passage across the sun. It seems 

 evident that much of the shortening of the tail was due to 

 the angle under which the comet was seen, besides it being 

 not unlikely that some disintegration was brought about 

 by the earth itself. — Fr. Iniguez : Physical observations on 

 Halley's comet. — Serge Bernstein : Mechanical equations 

 and the calculus of variations. — F. Ducretet and E. 

 Roger : An apparatus for receiving time on land and on 

 board ship by wireless telegraphy. — P. Beaulard : The 

 electric absorption exercised by some alcohols. — Mdlle. L. 

 Blanquies : The constituents of radio-activity induced from 

 actinium. — A. Dufour : The rotation of a mercuric arc 

 in a magnetic field. Observations on Doppler's pheno- 

 menon. — Louis Maicies : The appearance of certain 

 dielectric anomalies by changing the state of the insulating 

 medium. Pure vaseline, an insulator at ordinary tempera- 

 tures, but a conductor in the liquid state, acts as a medium 

 charged with free ions of both signs, the mobility of which, 

 while non-existent when the substance is semi-fluid, only 

 shows itself on the attainment of a clearly liquid state. — 

 Jean Viliey : An electrometric micromanometer. — Maurice 

 de Brogrlie : The exclusive presence in the gases evolved 

 from some hydrogenated flames of ions altogether 

 analogous to those produced by Rontgen rays. It was 

 observed, notably in the case of hydrogen, ether, aldehyde, 

 acetone, &c., that the flames of combustion gave ions 

 closely agreeing with Rontgen radiation in velocity.— V. 

 Augrer : Manganate of sodium and its hydrates. It is 

 possible to obtain manganate of sodium by the decomposi- 

 tion of the corresponding permanganate by means of 

 excess of soda. — M. Barre : The decomposition of thorium 

 sulphate by water. — Li5o Vignon ; The adsorption of 

 certain colouring matters. — E. Andre : Acetylenic ketones. 

 The author gives the various physical constants for acetyl, 

 propionyl, butyryl, isovaleryl, and caproyl-phenyl-acetylene. 

 — A. Backe : Researches on I'so-maltol. The author 

 considers the probable formula of this substance to be 

 CH-0— CH 

 II II 



CH3— C— CO— C— OH. 



— Em. Bourquelot and Mdlle. A. Fichtenhoiz : The 



presence of a glucoside in the leaves of a pear tree, and 

 its extraction. — Paul Becquerei : The abiotic action of 

 ultra-violet rays, and the hypothesis of the cosmic origin 

 of life. Although the effect of dryness, low temperature, 

 and_ cold may serve to retain the vitality of living spores 

 in inter-stellar space, yet the fact that this space is full 

 of ultra-violet radiation, which is shown to have a most 

 destructive effect on spore life, goes far to discredit any 

 theory of the cosmic origin of life. — Maurice Arthus : 



Cobra poison and curare. — M. Szreter : The oxidation of 

 pure o.xyhaemoglobin by pure oxygenated water. — Pierre 

 Girard : The electrostatic mechanism of osmosis. — C. 

 Viguier : The very rapid maturity of a Spionid larva. — 

 Edmond Hitzel : A double bend in the south wall at the 

 base of the peak of Plat^, near Chedde (Haute-Savoie). — 

 L. Cayeux : The existence of calcareous phosphates in 

 diatoms from Senegal. — L. De Launay and G. Urbain : 

 The formation of blende, and minerals derived from it. — 

 M. Ferret : Some oscillations of the sea observed at 

 Bonifacio. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society. May 25. — Mr. C. Hedley, president, 

 in the chair. — E. C. Grey : The fatty acids of brain 

 lipoids, part i. — E. Meyrick, F.R.S. : Revision of 

 Australian Tortricina. The author dealt with the Tortri- 

 cina of Australia (and New Zealand) in two papers con- 

 tributed to the society's Proceedings for 1881 (vol. vi., 

 pp. 410 and 629), the number of Australian species therein 

 recorded being 132. The revision increases the number to 

 434 species,- of which about 232 are described as new; 

 the present paper, the first instalment of the revision, is 

 concerned with 290 species, comprised in the Carposinidae, 

 Phaloniad;e, and Tortricidae. For this result the author is 

 greatly indebted to the aid of a number of Australian 

 correspondents who forwarded collections ; these, together 

 with the material which he had himself accumulated, were 

 taken to the British Museum, and a close comparison 

 instituted with Walker's types, with the result, it is 

 believed, that every one of these was identified satis- 

 factorily. The Tortricina are considered to have originated 

 fiom the Hilarographa group of the Plutellidoe. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Totemism Unveiled. By A. E. Crawley 31 



A Theory of Prehistoric Rhodesia 32 



The Marine Fauna of Japan. By S. J. H 34 



The Cambridge Public Orator. By Dr. R. Y. Tyrrell 35 



Psychical Research. ByJ. A. H 36 



Pseudocytology 36 



Biology and Human Life. ByJ. A. T 37 



Alpine Flowers 37 



Our Book Shelf 38 



Letters to the Editor :— 



Ooze and Irrigation. — Rev. Hilderic Friend ; A. R. 



Horwood .... 39 



A Singular Mammal called "Orocoma." — Kumagusu 



Minakata 40 



Pwdre Ser. — F. M. Burton 40 



Curve Tracing and Curve Analysis. — A. P. Trotter . 40 

 The Akikuyu of East Africa. (Illustrated.) Sir H. H. 



Johnston, G.C.M.G., K.C.B 41 



Temperatures in the Free Atmosphere. By E. Gold 42 

 The Gulf Stream Drift and the Weather of the 



British Isles. By Dr. H. Bassett 44 



Prof. G. V. Schiaparelli. By W. E. P 44 



Prof. J. G. Galle 45 



The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls. By Dr. William 



J. S. Lockyer 46 



Notes 46 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Halley's Comet • 52 



Prevention of Dew Deposit upon Lens Surfaces ... 52 



A Variable Star as a Time Constant 52 



Radiation and Absorption 52 



The Fifth International Congress of Ornithologists. 



By E. H S3 



The Dangers of Ferro-silicon. By Prof. A. McWilliam 53 

 The Position of the Negro and Pygmy amongst 



Human Races. By Prof. Arthur Keith 54 



Trees and Forests .55 



Tinctorial Chemistry, Ancient and Modern. By 



Prof. Walter M. Gardner 56 



The Medical Inspection of School Children ... 57 

 Notes on the Origin of the Hausas. By Capt. 



A.J. N. Tremearne sS 



Models of Meteorological Conditions in the Free 



Air. (IlliisiratiJ.) 59 



University and Educational Intelligence 60 



Societies and Academies 60 



NO. 2124, VOL. 84] 



