NATURE 



[December 26, 1912 



formula A = \\'", /c, where n has the value 070 to o'7J, 

 and fe is a constant to be ascertained for each par- 

 ticular species. — G. Dreyer, W. Ray, and E. W. A. 

 Walker : The size of the trachea in warm-blooded 

 animals, and its relationship to the body-weight, the 

 surface-area, the blood-volume, and the size of the 

 aorta. Measurements have been carried out on rabbit, 

 i,'uinea-pig-, and ptarmigan. These show that within 

 a wide range of weight in any given species of warm- 

 blooded animal, the sectional area of the lumen (T) 

 of the trachea is proportional to the body-surface, and 

 can be calculated from the body-weight by means 

 of the formula T = W"7fe, where n has the value o'yo 

 to 072, and fc is a constant to be ascertained for each 

 particular species. Since n has now been shown to 

 be o'7o to 072, not only in the case of the blood- 

 volume, the aortic area, and the tracheal area, but 

 also in calculating the surface-area from the body- 

 weight, it follows that the three former measurements 

 aie all proportional to the body-surface, and that the 

 formula put forward (W"/a = fe') is a rational formula. 

 — Studies of the processes operative in solutions : — 

 (i) E. E. Walker : The conversion of ammonia cyanate 

 into urea, especially as influenced by alcohols. — (ii) F. P. 

 Worley : (i) The hydrolysis of cane sugar by dilute 

 acids. (2) The hydrolysis of cane sugar by sulphuric 

 acid, with a note on improvements in polarimetric 

 apparatus. (3I The hydrolysis of methvlic acetate bv 

 acids. — (iii) Dr. H. E. Armstrong and F. P. Worley : The 

 nature of hydrolytic process. — Dr. R. T. Beatty : The 

 direct production of characteristic Rontgen radiations 

 by kathode particles. — A. S. Russell : The penetrating 

 power of the 7 rays from radium C. Attempts have 

 been made to detect a radiation from radium C 

 possessing a greater penetrating power than ordinary 

 y rays. K source of 300 millicuries of radium emana- 

 tion was immersed in a tank of mercury at a distance 

 of 20 cm. below the testing instrument, and sunk in 

 the mercury until the leak in the testing instrument 

 was no greater than the natural ionisation. It was 

 found that the ionisation due to anv radiation pene- 

 trating 25 cm. of mercury is less than 2x10-' of 

 that due to the unabsorbed y-rav beam. The absorp- 

 tion of the 7 rays was measured also for a great 

 range of thickness of mercury. From i cm. to 22'5 

 cm. absorption took place strictly according to an ex- 

 ponential law. Over this range the intensity is 

 diminished in the ratio of 360,000 to i. The value of 

 the absorption coefficient (cm.-' divided bv the 

 density) was found to be o'o438, which is very nearly 

 the same as that found by Soddy and Russell for lead, 

 namely o'0437.— Dr. H."S. Allen: The photo-electric 

 behaviour of iron in the active and passive state. — 

 H. B. Keene : A determination of the radiation con- 

 stant. The mean value obtained for the radiation 

 constant equals s'Sgxio-'^ erg. cm.^ sec. deg.''. The 

 paper contains the calculation of an exact expression 

 for the energy exchange between two radiating coaxial 

 circular apertures ; the ordinary approximate expres- 

 sion which applies when the distance between the 

 apertures is great being insufficiently exact in the 

 present case. — C. G. Douglas, Dr. J. S. Haldane, Y. 

 Henderson, and E. C. Schneider : Physiological observa- 

 tions made on Pike's Peak, Colorado, with special 

 reference to adaptation to low barometric pressures. — 

 Muriel Robertson : Notes on the life-history of Try- 

 panosoma i;(inihinisc, with a brief reference to the 

 cycles of T. iiiininu and T. pecortim in Glossina pal- 

 palis. 



Royal Meteorological Society, December 18. — Dr. 

 H. N. Dickson, president, in the chair. — Prof. H. 

 Bassett : Probable utility of salinity observations in the 

 Irish .Sea for long-date weather forecasting. The 

 cyclones which reach the British Isles nearly all arrive 



NO. 2252, VOL. go] 



from the Atlantic, consequently any alteration in the 

 distribution of temperature in the Atlantic may be 

 expected to affect their number and character. The 

 hydrographic investigations which have been carried 

 out in the North .'\tlantic and in European waters 

 during the past fifteen years have shown that they 

 are affected b}' a periodic change in salinity and tem- 

 perature, the period of which is about one year. This 

 change is of such a nature that the water is Salter 

 and relatively warmer in the winter and spring months 

 and fresher and relatively cooler in the summer and 

 autumn, the time of maximum salinity depending 

 somewhat on the geographical position. The author 

 described the result of a series of salinity observations 

 which he has carried out in the Irish Sea, and he 

 has found that the salinity changes and the time of 

 th'jir occurrence preceded certain seasonal types of 

 weather. He is therefore of opinion that if monthly 

 observations of the salinities were made at certain 

 stations on the line of the Calf of Man — Holyhead, 

 these would enable forecasts of the general character 

 of the wea'her over the British Isles and a consider- 

 able part of Europe to be given four or five months 

 ahead. — J. E. Clark : Air currents at a height of fifty 

 miles, as indicated by the Bolide, on February 22, 

 1909. This meteor, the brightness of which was at 

 least four times that of Venus, was seen at 7.3S p.m. 

 at a height of fifty-eight miles, and it left a remarkably 

 bright streak in the sky, which was watched by 

 observers in the southern counties for the long period 

 of 104 minutes. The author collected the various 

 observations, and after plotting them on charts came 

 to the conclusion that between 495 and 51 miles the 

 streak lay in a west wind of great velocit}-, and that 

 at 5i'5 miles the current was almost from the east 

 with a velocity of about 100 miles an hour. Above 

 this the current changed to south-east and ultimately 

 to south-west, with an increased velocity. — C. 

 Anthony : New form of standard barometer. 



Royal Microscopical Society, December 18. — Mr. P. E. 

 Radley, vice-president, in the chair. — F. Enock : In- 

 sect intelligence. Several instances were given from 

 the life-history of spiders and insects which seem to 

 show real reasoning power, and lead to the conclusion 

 arrived at bv Lord Avebury, who attributes to insects 

 in degree a certain amount of conscious knowledge. 

 When breeding the larvEe of dragonflies the author 

 has repeatedly observed the nymph on leaving the 

 water crawl up a leaf or stem or some twig, and 

 when it has reached a certain point it rests and 

 suddenly flings out its tail as far as it can, and should 

 it come into contact with anything, it changes its 

 position and again flings its tail out, and continues 

 to do so so long as it comes into contact with a leaf 

 or stem; it changes position until, on flinging out 

 its tail, it does not come into contact — then, and 

 not until then, does it affix its claspirg limbs to the 

 leaf or twig preparatory to going through its trans- 

 formation. From this the author gathers that the 

 nymph has conscious knowledge that it will require 

 a certain amount of space so that its large wings 

 do not come into contact with anything when fully 

 developed. 



CAMBRIDGE. 



Philosophical Society, November 25. — Dr. Shipley, 

 president, in the chair. — Prof. Hughes : The gravels 

 of East Anglia. In introducing the subject of the 

 gravels of East .\nglia. Prof. Hughes pointed out 

 that too much importance must not be attached to the 

 absolute height and level of the river terraces, first, 

 because of the rise of the valley from its mouth to its 

 source, and, secondly, on account of the earth move- 

 ments which have affected the area. He showed that 



