February 20, 19 13] 



NATURE 



bgi 



series. — J. Le Roux : The determination of the har- 

 monic functions. — Th. De Donder ; A theorem of 

 Jacobi. — Henri Villat : The determination of problems 

 of hydrodynamics relating to the resistance of fluids. 

 — M. Gernez : Construction and use of maps for ortho- 

 dromic navigation on planes tangent to the poles. — 

 L. Crussard : The deformation of waves in gases and 

 on finite interferences. — Carl Stormer : An important 

 problem in cosmical physics. — Albert Turpain : Record- 

 ing the Hertzian time signals. The possibility of 

 recording directly and determining to a hundredth of 

 a second the Eiffel Tower time signals. A descrip- 

 tion of the results obtained by a photographic recorder, 

 by means of w'hich the beats of a chronometer and the 

 wireless time signals are registered on the same sheet. 

 — Edm. van Aubel : The latent heat of vaporisation 

 of metals. Utilising the experimental data of Weh- 

 nelt and Musceleanu for the latent heats of vaporisa- 

 tion of mercury, cadmium, zinc, and bismuth, 

 Trouton's law is shown to hold for these metals, the 

 constant varying only between 19-36 and 20-2. ^A. 

 <juillet and M. Aubert : Electric losses in the system 

 planc-sphere-atmospheric air. The coefficient of 

 asymmetry and its measurement. — V. Cremieu : A new 

 idiostatic voltmeter. The voltmeter is claimed to be 

 very sensitive, not damaged by excessive voltages, and 

 not so fragile as the gold-leaf electroscope. — Jean 

 Becquerel, L. Matout, and Mile. VV. Wright : Hall's 

 phenomenon in antimony. The Hall effect for 

 antimony increases as the temperature of the metal 

 IS lowered, and depends on the position of the axes 

 of the crystal in the magnetic field. The electromotive 

 force is not always proportional to the strength of the 

 ■magnetic field. — William Duane and Otto Scheuer : 

 The decomposition of water by the a. rays. At 

 — 183° C. the hydrogen and oxygen evolved are in 

 ■molecular proportion ; in the liquid state the hydrogen 

 Is in excess, some hydrogen peroxide being also 

 formed. When steam is decomposed by the a rays 

 Tiydrogen is also in excess. — Daniel Berthelot and 

 Henry Gaudechon : The inversion of saccharose by the 

 ultra-violet rays. A criticism of recent work by other 

 workers in this subject. — Marcel Godchof and Felix 

 Taboury : The catalytic hydrogenation of camphorone ; 

 some new cycZopentane hydrocarbons. Camphorone, 

 treated with hvdrogen and reduced nickel at 130° C, 

 gives quantitatively dihydrocamphorone. At 280° C. 

 the product is methyl- i-tso-propyl-3-cycZopentane. — A. 

 Duffour : An interesting case of dimorphism. Benzyl- 

 "vanillic alcohol crystallises in monoclinic or triclinic 

 <-rystals, according to its method of preparation. The 

 triclinic modification is stable at the melting point. — 

 Robert Mirande : The presence of callose in the mem- 

 Ibrane of some marine Algae. — C. M. Bret : The exist- 

 ence in western .Africa of two stable forms of Hevea 

 ■brasiliensis presenting a different aptitude in the pro- 

 duction of latex. The t\vo forms can be distinguished 

 ■by the anatomical study of the base of the petiolules, 

 the most vigorous plant being the poorest in latex. — 

 H. Bierry and Mile. Lucie Fandard : Adrenaline and 

 glvcemia. The mechanism which governs hyper- 

 glycemia and glycosuria is not so simple as has been 

 Tiitherto supposed. Part of the free sugar in excess 

 In the blood can go more or less rapidly into com- 

 tination without being lost to the organism, the 

 surplus only passing into the urine. — R. Anthony and 

 T,. Gain : The development of the skeleton of the 

 posterior extremity of the penguin. — Armand Dehorne : 

 New researches on maturation mitosis in Sabellaria 

 spiiuilosa. — .'\ndr(? Mayer and Georges Schaeffer : The 

 comnosition of the tissues in non-volatile fatty acids 

 and in cholesterol and the possible existence of a " lipo- 

 cvlic constant."— I'^m. Bourquelof, H. Herissey, and M. 

 Bridel : The biological synthesis of the glucosides of 



alcohols (a-glucosides) with the aid of o-glucosidase. 

 The destruction of the a-glucosidase in strongly 

 alcoholic medium. — Fernand Meunier : The frequent 

 asymmetry of the elytra in Blattida of the Coal 

 Measures of Commentry (Allier), and the phylogeny 

 of the arroups. — Jules Welsch : The primary dunes of 

 Gascony, and an explanation of tlieir formation. 



BOOKS RECEIVED. 



Vergleichende Physiologic wirbelloser Tiere. By 

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One Hundred Simple and Exact Mathematical 

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Les Atomes. By Prof. J. Perrin. Pp. xvi + 2g6. 

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The Observer's Handbook for 1913. Pp. 72. 

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.Annuario Publicado pelo Observatorio Nacional do 

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The Honey-Star. By T. Edwardes. Pp. viii + 344. 

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The Bradshaw Lecture on the Biology of Tumours. 

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Our Vanishing Wild Life : its Extermination and 

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Trees in Winter : their Study, Planting, Care, and 

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" Red Books " of the British Fire Prevention Com- 

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The Fate of Empires : being an Inquiry into the 

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Luftelektrizitiit. By Dr. K. Kiihler. Pp. 151. 

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Health through Diet. By K. G. Haig, with the 

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Diptera Danica : Genera and Species of Flies 

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Das Wissen der Gegenwart in Mathematik und 

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British Birds' Nests : How, Where, and When to 

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The Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature : 

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 Bv E. L. Attwood. Pp. 146. The Earth : its Shape, 

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Handworterbuch der Naturwissenschaften. By E. 

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NO. 



2260, VOL. 90"! 



