98 



NATURE 



[September ig, 1912 



usual morphology and reproduction. — C. Maltezos : 

 Contribution to the phenomena of lightning. 



September 9. — M. P. Appell in the chair. — A. 

 Miintz : The evaporation of the soil and of plants as a 

 factor in causing' the persistence of wet and cold 

 weather. — Daniel Berthelot and Henry Gaudechon : The 

 action of the ultra-violet rays upon gaseous hydro- 

 carbons. Remarks on a recent note by Marc Landau. 

 —Em. Bourquelot and M. Bridel : .•X new synthesis of the 

 glucoside of an alcohol with the aid of emulsin. 

 /3-Benzylglucoside. — Ch. Jolin : The specific histo- 

 logical characters of the " luminous cells " of Pyro- 

 soma <;iganteuin and of Cydosalpa pinnata. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, Julv 31.— Mr. W. W. Froggatt, 

 president, in the chair.— Rev. W. W. Watts : The 

 ferns of Lord Howe Island. During a two months' 

 stay, last year, Mr. Watts collected specimens of the 

 unique f^rn-flora of the island. The paper indicated 

 the species to be found on the northern hills, in the 

 central area, and at the southern end of the island, 

 where Mts. Lidgbird and Gower rise to a height of 

 2500 and 2800 ft. respectively. The plateau on the 

 top of Mt. Gower is the home of a number of beau- 

 tiful species to be found nowhere else. — R. J. Tillyard : 

 Some new and rare Australian Agrionidee (Neuroptera : 

 Odonata). In this paper, a considerable number of 

 new .\ustralian species are described, and new genera 

 are proposed for the reception of these and other 

 species. — H. I. Carter : Descriptions of some new 

 species of Coleoptera. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Manuale di Fisica ad uso delle scuole secondarie e 

 superiorj. By Prof. B. Dessau. Volume Primo. 

 Meccanica. Pp. xii + 500. (Milano : Society Editrice 

 Libraria.) 12 lire. 



Mysore Geological Department. Report of the Chief 

 Inspector of Mines for the Year 1910-11. With 

 Statistics for the Calendar Year 1910. (Bangalore : 

 The Government Press.) 2 rupees. 



Practical Chemistry, including Simple Volumetric 

 Analysis and Toxicology. By Prof. P. A. E. Richards. 

 Second Edition. Pp. x+i49. (London: Baillifere, 

 Tindall and Cox.) 3s. net. 



Handworterbuch der Naturwissenschaften. Edited 

 by E. Korschelt and others. Lief. 14-18. (Jena : G. 

 Fischer.) 



Index of Economic Material in Documents of the 

 L".S. Ohio, 1787-1904. Parts i. and ii. By A. R. 

 Hasse. Pp. 1136. (Washington : Carnegie Institu- 

 tion.) 



Department of Commerce and Labour. Coast and 

 Geodetic Survey. Results of Observations made at 

 the Coast and Geodetic Survey Magnetic Observa- 

 tory at Vieques, Porto Rico, 1909 and 1910. By D. L. 

 Hazard. Pp. 94+10 diagrams. (Washington: 

 Government Printing Office.) 



Modern Sanitary Engineering. By G. Thomson. 

 Part i.. House Drainage. Pp. .xv + 266. (London : 

 Constable and Co., Ltd.) 6s. net. 



The World's Cane Sugar Industry, Past and Pre- 

 sent. By H. C. P. Geerligs. Pp. xvi + 399 + plates + 

 maps. (Altrincham : N. Rodger.) 125. net. 



The Origin and Evolution of Primitive Man. Bv 

 Dr. A. Churchward. Pp. 88 + 46 plates. (London': 

 G. .Mien and Co., Ltd.) 5.>:. net. 



Science French Course. Bv C. W. P. Moffatt. Pp. 

 x+'ios. (London: W. B. Clive.) 35. 6d. 



Homo Universitv Library :— The Human Bodv. Bv 

 Prof. A. Keith. Pp. 256. ' The Making of the "Earth. 

 By Prof. J. W. Gregory. Pp. 256. Electricity. By 

 NO. 2238, VOL. 90] 



Prof. G. Kapp. Pp. 256. (London : Williams and 

 Norgate) Each is. net. 



Bacon's New Globe, with Contour Colouring. (Lon- 

 don : G. W, Bacon and Co., Ltd.) 25^. net." 



British Plant-galls. By E. W. Swanton. Pp. .\v + 

 287 + 32 plates. (London : Methuen and Co., Ltd.) 

 7i-. 6d. net. 



Spiderland. By P. A. EUis. Pp. xxii+ioS. (Lon- 

 don : Cassell and Co., Ltd.) 3$. 6d. net. 



Malta and the Mediterranean Race. Bv R. N. 

 Bradley. Pp. 336. (London : T. F. Unwin.) 8s. 6d. 

 net. 



New South Wales. Historical, Physiographical, 

 and Economic. Bv A. W. Jose, T. G. Tavlor, and 

 Dr. W. G. Woolnough. Edited by Prof, f . W. E. 

 David. Pp. xii + 372. (Melbourne: Whitcombe and 

 Tombs, Ltd.) 4.9. 6d. 



Dizionat;io di Merceologia e di chimica applicata. 

 By Prof. V.' Villavecchia, Dr. G. Fabris, Dr. G. Rossi, 

 and Dr. A. Bianchi. Terza Edizione. Vol. ii. Pp. 

 1360. (Milano : Hoepli.) 15 lire. 



Bartholomew's New Reduced Survev Maps for 

 Tourists and Cyclists. Sheet 9, Berwick and Had- 

 dington. Sheet 21, Inverness and Spey. (Edinburgh : 

 J. Bartholomew and Co.) Each is. 6d. net. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Chemical Technology 65 



The Golden Bough. By A. E. Crawley 66 



Some Physiological Monographs. By W. D. H. . . 66 



Our Bookshelf 67 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Practical Mathematics.— Prof. G. H.Bryan, F.R.S. 6S 

 Weather and the UUia-violet Radiations of the Sim. — 



L. G. Schultz 68 



Antiquity of Neolithic Man. — ^J. Sinel 70 



The Stiucture of the Ciliary and Iris Muscle.^ in Birds. 



—C.J. Bond 71 



The Attacks of Birds upon Butterflies.— Prof. E. B. 



Poulton, F.R.S 71 



A Flower-sanciuaiy. — Frank H. Perrycoste .... 71 



The Summer of igi2. By Chas. Harding 71 

 Chiriquian Antiquities. (Illuslrated.) By Dr. A. C. 



Haddon, F.R.S 73' 



The British Association at Dundee 73 



Section D. — Zoology. — Opening Address Ijy P. 

 Chalmers Mitchell, D Sc, F.R.S., President of 



the Section 75 



.Section E. — Geography. — From the Opening .\ddress 

 hy Colonel Sir C. M. Watson, K.C.M.G., C.B., 



President of the Section 81 



Section G. — 0|iening Address by Prof. Archibald 



Barr, D.Sc. President of the Section 83 



Notes 88 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Gale's Comet. 1912.7 92 



The Total Solar Eclipse of October 10 92 



The Perseid Shower of Meteors -93 



The Solar Constant and Climatic Changes 93 



The Leeds Astronomical Society 93 



The Period and Orbit of a Persei 93 



New Rules for Life-saving Appliances in British 



Ships ... 03 



Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature 94 



Plankton Investigations 94 



The Place of Mathematics in Engineering Practice. 



By Sir William H. White, K.C.B., F.R.S 95 



University and Educational Intelligence 96 



Societies and Academies 97 



Books Received 9^ 



