December 19, 1912] 



NATURE 



455 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, December 9. — M. Lippmann in 

 the chair. — E. Bouty : An attempt at the determination 

 of the dielectric cohesion of a rare gas with small 

 quantities of material. An exact determination of the 

 dielectric cohesion of a gas requires at least 200 c.c. of 

 the material. An apparatus capable of dealing with 

 as little as 5 c.c. of gas has been constructed. It 

 requires empirical calibration with gases of known 

 dielectric cohesion, and experiments have been carried 

 out with neon, helium, and argon. The apparatus 

 will prove useful in following the stages of purification 

 •of a rare gas. — L. Maquenne and E. Demoussy : The 

 use of a manometer in the study of the 

 respiration of plants. A description of a closed water 

 manometer, independent of the barometric pressure, 

 applicable to the qualitative study of plant respiration. 

 — A. Righi : A new experiment on ionomagnetic 

 rotations. — JNI. Decombe : The dissipation and dis- 

 continuitv of energy-. — J. Taffanel and H. Dautriche : 

 The propagation of the explosive wave in solids. — M. 

 Lemeray : .A theorem of M. Einstein. The author 

 shows that the total energy radiated by a symmetrical 

 radiator is the same, whether it is displaced or not 

 relatively to the observer. This result is not in accord 

 with the conclusions of Einstein. — G. Reboul : The in- 

 fluence of the geometric form of solid bodies on the 

 •chemical actions which they undergo at low pressures. 

 Details of experiments proving that copper when 

 attacked by sulphur compounds at pressures of the 

 order of o'l mm. in a manner depending on its geo- 

 •metrical form. The attack commences on those por- 

 tions of the metal where the curvature is greatest. — 

 R. Swyngedauw : The relation of the longitudinal 

 ampere-turns to the moment of commutation in con- 

 tinuous-current dynamos. — A. Cotton : The optical pro- 

 perties of a liquid submitted to the simultaneous action 

 of two electrical and magnetic fields, and on molecular 

 symmetry. .Attention is directed to the valuable results 

 which would be obtained by a study of the optical 

 properties of a liquid submitted simultaneously to the 

 action of povi'erful magnetic and electrostatic fields. 

 The chief difficulty would be the construction of the 

 very large electromagnet necessary for such a study. — 

 Pierre Weiss and Auguste Piccard : The magnetisation 

 of water and of oxygen. The exact value of the 

 coefficient of magnetisation of water has been deter- 

 mined by two independent methods with concordant 

 results. The mean value is x = — o'7i93.io-'^ at 

 20° C, with a temperature coefficient of +o'oooi3 in 

 the neighbourhood of 20° C. — R. Fortrat : A new 

 measurement of the magnetic decomposition of the 

 lines of the second secondary series of zinc, and the 

 quantitative verification of Preston's law. — Ch. Fery 

 and M. Drecq : The diffusive power of platinum black 

 and Stefan's coefficient. The method described gave 

 a value of o'82 for the coefficient of absorption of 

 platinum black. From this, platinum black would not 

 appear to be superior to lamp-black for use in absolute 

 measurements of radiation. — M. Tournier : A method 

 of measuring very great resistances. An electrometric 

 method for resistances of the order of a megohm. — 

 Jean Meunier ; Some new forms of gaseous combustion 

 In vortices and their analogy with the appearance of 

 certain astronomical phenomena. — Ch. Boulanger and 

 G. Urbain : The theory of the efflorescence of the saline 

 hydrates. — A. Colani : The action of acids upon uranous 

 oxide. The action of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids 

 upon uranous oxide was found to depend verv largely 

 on the mode of preparation of the latter.'— E. E. 

 Blaise : Syntheses by means of mixed organo-zinc com- 

 pounds. o-Polychloroketones. The constitution of 

 ordinary trichloracetone. — J. B. Senderens and Jean 

 Aboulen'c : The esterification of the cyclanols by the 

 NO. 2251, VOL. 90] 



aromatic acids. The catalytic esterification of the 

 cyclanols, in presence of sulphuric acid, gives as good 

 results with aromatic acids as with acids of the fatty 

 series, provided that the carboxyl group is not directly 

 united to the nucleus. — Raymond Hamet : The 

 abnormal structure of the stem of Kochea coccinea. — 

 L. Blaringhem and A. Prevot : Hybrids of wild and 

 domestic guinea-pigs.— Raoul Dupuy : Contribution to 

 the treatment of backward children by associated 

 endocrinian extracts. — R. Anthony and L. Gain : The 

 development of the skeleton of the wing in the 

 penguin. — A. Gruvel : The anatomy of Xenohalanits 

 globicipitis. — E. Sollaud ; \ new poecilogonic varietv of 

 Palaenioneles variant. — E. Faure-Fremiet : The action 

 of the X-rays on the segmentation of the egg of 

 Ascaris tnegalocephala. 



New South Wales. 



Linnean Society, September 25.— Mr. W. W. Frog- 

 gatt, president, in the chair. — Cuthbert Hall : The 

 Eucalypts of the Parramatta district, with description 

 of a new species. Twenty-four species of Eucalypts 

 are to be found in the area. Five are restricted mainly 

 to the Hawkesbury Sandstone area, ten to the deep 

 clay of the Wianamatta Shale Series, six to thin 

 layers of clay overlying sandstone, two are uniformly 

 distributed, and one grows in swampy ground. One 

 species, which seems hitherto to have been confused with 

 E. tereticornis, is described as new. — R. J. Tillyard : 

 Some Australian Anisoptera (Neuroptera : Odonata), 

 with descriptions of new species. The new species 

 described are all distinct forms, including a new 

 species of the genus Synthemis, from West Australia, 

 a peculiar Austrogomphus, and a large Petalura. A 

 stud'- is made of the allied forms Austroaeschna parvi- 

 stigma, Selys, and var. nndtipunctata, Martin, the 

 conclusion being that these are distinct species. — R. T. 

 Baker : Two unrecorded Myrtaceous plants from New 

 South Wales. A Eucalypt collected at Black Moun- 

 tain, New England district (C. F. Laseron), and a 

 tea-tree (Melaleuca) from swamps on the Lawrence 

 Road near Casino (L. G. Irby), are described as new. 

 The former is locally considered to be a hvbrid between 

 the silver-top stringybark (E. laevopinea) and E. 

 stelliilatq ; in botanical sequence it may be placed 

 between the stringybarks and the gums or smooth- 

 barked Eucalypts. The Melaleuca finds its place in 

 Mr. Bentham's Series v. fSpiciflorfe) of the genus, 

 next to M. styphelioides, Sm. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Forty-first Annual Report of the Local Government 

 Board, 191 1-12. Supplement containing the Report 

 of the Medical Officer for 1911-12. Pp. lxxx + 366. 

 (London: H.>LS.O. ; W'vnian and Sons, Ltd.) 

 3^. 8d. 



A Laboratory Manual of Alternating Currents. By 

 Prof. J. H. Morecroft. Pp. viii + 247. (London : 

 Longmans and Cq.) ys. 6d. net. 



The Theory of Evolution in the Light of Facts. 

 By K. Frank. With a chapter on Ant Guests and 

 Termite Guests, by P. E. Wasmann. Translated 

 from the German by C. T. Druery. Pp. xii + 241. 

 (London : Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd.) 55. net. 



Hazell's Annual for 1913. Edited by H. Hall. Pp. 

 cxi -1-592. (London : Hazell, Ltd.) 35. 6d. net. 



Geometrical Optics. By A. S. Percival. Pp. vii + 

 132. (London : Longmans and Co.) 4.?. 6d. net. 



God and the Universe. By G. W. de Tunzel- 

 mann. Pp. 256. (London : S.P.C.K.) 4^. 



