494 



NATURE 



[January 2, 191; 



is contributed to Knowledge for December by Mr. 

 H. F. Slack. Written in a popular style, it still con- 

 tains a large array of accurate technical information, 

 which will provide profitable reading- for the trained 

 chemist as well as for the lay reader. 



Under the unassuming- title of " Studies of Chinese 

 Wood Oil, J3-Elaeostearic Acid," Dr. R. S. Morrell 

 describes in the Chemical Society's Journal a series of 

 experiments which represent the starting-pointof a new 

 era in the study of "drying oils." This particular 

 oil, when exposed to light, deposits a crystalline 

 glyceride (C,jH,,0,),C,Hj, which absorbs oxygen with 

 extreme facility, and possesses all the essential pro- 

 perties of a drying oil. But on account of its high 

 melting-point, 61-62° C, it can be separated in a state 

 of chemical purity, and provides for the first time a 

 homogeneous material for the accurate scientific study 

 of the " drying " process. The free acid of the 

 glyceride and five of its salts are described in the 

 paper. It is a remarkable fact that the ethyl ester, ' 

 unlike the glyceride, does not possess the property of 

 setting. 



Exceptional interest attaches to Prof. Kipping's 

 papers on organic derivatives of silicon, issued in the 

 November number of the Chemical Society's Journal. 

 The most recent papers deal with silicane-diols of 

 the type SiX,(OH),. These compounds possess in a 

 remarkable degree the property of forming anhydrides. 

 Thus diphenylsilicanediol, SiPh2(OH),, gives com- 

 pounds such as the diols — 



HO.SiPh,.O.SiPh„.OH, 

 HO.SiPh'.O.SiPh:.O.SiPh,.OH, 

 and the oxides — 



°<SiPh!.O^S'P'^^ ^"^' ^<SiPh;.O.SiPh:>''- 

 These are formed by the removal of water from two, 

 three, three and four molecules of the original diol. 

 Such compounds are undoubtedly typical of a tend- 

 ency amongst silicon compounds to form chains and 

 rings of alternate silicon and oxygen atoms, which 

 are nearly as stable as the " all-carbon " chains of 

 organic chemistry. This tendency serves to explain the 

 prolific character of oxidised silicon, which gives rise to 

 derivatives only less complex than the carbon-com- 

 pounds of organic chemistry. 



On December 18 Mr. W. J. A. Butterfield delivered 

 a lecture on coal gas before the Institute of 

 Chemistry, at University College, London. The re- 

 quirements of a public gas supply were first discussed, 

 the principal points being minimum cost per heat unit, 

 strong smell to facilitate detection of leaks, a luminous 

 flame, and innocuous combustion products. The 

 growth and magnitude of the gas industry here and 

 abroad were then dealt with, the world's production of 

 town gas in 1912 being estimated at 620,000 million 

 cubic feet, for the production of which about 60 million 

 tons of coal would be consumed. As by-products, 30 

 million tons of coke, 3 million tons of tar, together 

 with ammoniacal products equivalent to about 

 550,000 tons of sulphate of ammonia, would be sold. 



NO. 2253, VOL. go] 



As regards the annual consumption of gas per head of 

 population, London heads the list with more than Sooo 

 cubic feet. The predominant use of gas at the present 

 day was stated to be for heating purposes. From this 

 point of view present-day requirements of a gas supply 

 in this country were characterised by (i) a gross 

 calorific power of 540 to 580 B.T.U. per cubic foot; 

 (2) specific gravity between 0*4 and 05 ; (3) oxygen 

 required for complete combustion to be between i-o 

 and I- 1 volumes of the coal gas, but the fluctuations 

 in each of these to be restricted within narrow limits 

 for any one district. 



Messrs. Williams and Norgate have just pub- 

 lished the first number (January) of The British 

 Revic'ii.', with which is incorporated The Oxford and 

 Cambridge Revieii.'. The aim is stated to be "to 

 provide a periodical that shall be in the forefront of 

 the world's movements, showing what there is to 

 observe in mental and moral advancement." Among 

 the articles in the January issue are : — " My Views 

 regarding True and False Science," by Count Leo 

 Tolstoy ; " Bristol University and Some Reforms," by 

 Mr. F. M. .'Atkinson; and "Huxley and the Catholic 

 Faith," by Mr. Cecil Chesterton. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Astronomical Occurrences for January : — 

 Jan. 5. 2h. 37m. Mercury in conjunction with the 

 -Moon (Mercury 5° 41' N.). 

 ,, 7h. jbni. Mars in conjunction with the 



Moon (Mars 4° 25' N.). 

 ,, I5h. 34m. Jupiter in conjunction witli the 



Moon (Jupiter 5° 11' N.). 

 S. 4h. 27m. Uranus in conjunction with tlie 



Moon (Uranus 4° 4' N.). 

 g. 7h. 32m. Mercury in conjunction with 

 Mars (.Mercury 0° 47' N.). 



10. 22b. 2qm. Venus in conjunction with the 



Moon (Venus 1° 28' N.). 



11. 3h. 4m. Mercury in conjunction with 



Jupiter (Mercury 0° 13' S.). 



13. gh. 35m. Mars in conjunction with Jupiter 



(Mars 0° 47' S.). 



14. 2oh. om. Neptune at opposition to the Sun. 

 17. i8h. 46m. Saturn in conjunction with the 



Moon (Saturn 6° 14' S.). 

 21. I4h. 7m. Neptune in conjunction with the 



Moon (Neptune 5° 24' S.). 

 23. I4h. om. Uranus in conjunction with the 



Sun. 

 28. 2oh. om. Saturn stationary. 

 31. igh. 30m. Mercury in conjunction with 

 Uranus (Mercury 1° 23' S.). 

 .\ Bright Meteor Reported. — Two correspondents 

 of The Daily Dispatch (December 21) report the ap- 

 pearance of what was probably a meteor of exceptional 

 brilliancy at 10.50 p.m. on December 18. One de- 

 scribes it as a long, brilliant, bluish light, " about 

 thirty yards long," and tapering to the " tail," around 

 which was a peculiar pale golden glow. Stationed at 

 Handforth, a village about nine miles due south of 

 Manchester, this observer saw the meteor in the 

 southern sky, and states that it appeared to fall slightly 

 during its flight, which lasted eight seconds. The 

 second observer states that the sky was so poor that 

 no stars were visible from where he was, although 

 the moon shone through the mist, yet the meteor was 



