24 



NA TURE 



[May 3, 1906 



ties of each of these are given. — A characteristic reaction 

 of ethyl glyoxylate : the action of ammonia on this ether 

 and its derivatives : L. J. Simon and G. Chavanne. By 

 the action of ammonia on ethyl glyoxylate a substance 

 CjHjNjOj is formed. This is blue-black in colour, and 

 possesses very powerful tinctorial properties, and hence 

 may form a useful test for this ester. The composition 

 of this substance has not yet been established. — The acid 

 properties of starch : E. Demoussy. Starch possesses all 

 the characters of a feeble acid, comparable with carbonic 

 acid, and resembling in this respect the other carbohydrates. 

 It forms compounds with metallic hydroxides which are 

 dissociable by water, and can absorb small quantities of 

 neutral salts. These properties probably play a part in 

 the absorption of mineral matters by plants. — The state of 

 colouring matters in crystals coloured artificially : P. 

 Gaubert. It has been shown in previous papers that there 

 are two cases in the artificial colouring of crystals ; in 

 the first case the crystal is only coloured when the solution 

 from which the crystal is depositing is nearly saturated 

 with the colouring material ; in the other case the crystal 

 is coloured, whatever the dilution of the colouring material, 

 ine present paper gives details of measurements made on 

 crystals of the latter class, phthalic acid, with methylene 

 blue in solution. It was found that the ratio of the con- 

 centrations of the methylene blue in the liquid and crystals 

 was practically constant, although the absolute concen- 

 tr.ition of the methylene blue was made to vary within 

 wide limits. Similar results were found with methylene 

 blue and crystals of urea nitrate. — The Vesuvian origin of 

 the dry storm observed at Paris on the morning of April 11 : 

 Stanislas Meunier. h microscopical examination of the 

 dust deposited during this storm showed it to be identical 

 in nature with the dust from Vesuvius in 1822. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY, May 3. 



Royal Society, at 4.— Election of Fellows— At 4.30.-011 a Static Method 

 of Comparing the Densities of Case.: R. Threlfall, F.R.S.— The Stabilitv 

 of Submarines: Sir William H. While, K C.B., F.R.S.— The Action on 

 Bacteria of Electrical Discharges of High Potential and Rapid Fte- 

 quency : A. G. R. Foulerton and A. M. Kellas— The ."iction of Pituitary 

 Kxtracts upon the Kidney : Prof. E. A. Sch.ifer, F.R.S., and P. T. 

 Herring. 



R 'VAL Institution, at 5.— The Digestive Tract in Birds and Mammals : 

 Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell. 



Chemical Society, at 8.30.— The Relation between Absorption-Spectra 

 and Chemical Constitution, part v. : The /joNitroso-compounds : E- C. C. 

 Kaly, E. G. Marsden, and A W. Slew-art.— The .\ction of Tribromo 

 propane on the Sodium Derivative of Ethyl Malonate, part ii. : W. H. 

 Perkin. jun., and J. L. Simonsen.— Brazilin and Hajmatoxylin, part 

 vii., Some Derivatives of Brazilein : P. Eneels, and W. H. Perkin, 

 jun.— Pipitzahoic Acid : J. M. Sanders —The Constitution of the 

 Hydroxides and Cyanides obtained from Acridine, Methyl-acridine and 

 Phenanthridine Methiodides : C. K. Tinkler.— Tbe Constitution of Am- 

 monium Amalcam : E. M. Rich and M. W. Travers.- Action of Light 

 on Potassium Ferrocyanide : G. W. A. Foster. 



LlNNEAN Society, at 8.— Origin of Cyxrmosverms (Contlituation of Dis- 

 cussion): Dr. D. H. Scott, F.R.S. 



Civil and Mechanical Engineers' Society, at 8.— Some Observations 

 on Bacterial Tank Operations : Dr. W. O. Travis. 

 FRIDA y, May 4. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— The Steam Turbine on Land and at Sea: 

 Hon. Charles A. Parsons, C.B., F.K.S. 



Geologists' Association, at 8.-1 he Erosion of the Batoka Gorge of the 

 Zambesi: G. W. Lamplugh, F.R.S. 



MONDA y. May 7. 



Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30. — From the Victoria Nyanza to 

 Kilimanjaro : Col. G. E. Smith, R.E. 



Society of Chemical Industry, at 8.— Some Notes on the Gutzeit Test 

 for Arsenic : J. Goode and Dr. F. Mollwo Perkin.— The Separation of 

 Rrucinc and Strychnine. Influence of Nitrous Acid in Oxidation by 

 Nitric Acid : W. C. Reynolds^ and R. Sulcliffe. —Absorption of Gallic 



Acid by Organic Colloids : \V. P. Dreaper and A. Wilsc 

 'icTORiA Institute, at 4.30.— Tbe Zodiac: its History and Biblic 

 References : Rev. A. B. Grimaldi. 



S.^CU 



TUESDA y. May 8. 

 8. — Damascening, and the Inlaying and Ornamenting 



of Metallic Surfaces : Sherard Cowper-Cot 

 University of London, at 5.— The Atmospheric Circulation and iis 



Relation to Weather : Dr. W. N. Shaw, F.R.S. 

 Royal Institution, at 5.— Glands and their Products : Prof. W. Stirling. 



WEDNESDA K, May 9. 

 Society of--Arts, at 8.— Bridge Building by Means of Caissons, including 



Remarks upon Compressed Air Illness : Prof. Thomas Oliver. 

 Geological Society, at S.— The Eruption of Vesuvius in April, 190S : 



Prof. Giuseppe de Lorenzo.— The Ordovician Rocks of Western Caer- 



marthenshire : D. C. Evans. 



THURSDAY, May 10. 

 Royal St5ciETY,''at 4.30. — ProbabU Papers : "Adsorption" and " Occlu 

 sion": the Law of Distribution in the Case in which one of the Phases 

 possesses Rigidity: Prof. M. W. Travers, F.R.S. — Cyanogenesis in 

 Plants, part iv., Phaseolunatin in Common V\:ix(Linum iisitatissitiiuiii); 

 part v., The Occurrence of Phaseolunatin in Cassava (Manihot Aipi and 

 Manilwt Utilissima): Prof W. R. Dunstan, F.R.S., Drs. T. A. Henry, 

 and S. J. M. Auld— A Variety of Thorianite from Galle, Ceylon : Prof. 

 W. R. Dunstan. F.R.S., and B. Mouat Jones.— The Mechanism of 

 Carbon Assimilation in Green Plants ; the P'hotolytic Decomposition of 

 Carbon Dioxide /<; vitio: F. L. Usher and J. H. Priestley. 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, at S.— Long Flame Arc Lamps : 

 L. Andrews (Adjourned Discussion). 



FRIDAY, May ir. 

 Royal Institution, at 9. — Some Astronomical Consequences of the 

 Pressure of Light : Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S. 



It 8.— The Effect of a Rapid Discharge on the Throw 

 ■ : A. Russell. — Exhibition of Lippmann Capillary 

 iromotor : Prof. H. A. Wilson.— Exhibition of an 

 lonstrating the Movements of the Diaphragms of 

 litters and Receivers and the Current flowing into 

 and out of the Cable during Speech : W. Duddell. 

 RovAL Astronomical Society, at 5. 



Malacological Society, at 8. — Notes on the Subgenus Malluvium : 

 E. A. Smith, I.S.O.— Notes on some Species of the Genus Mitra, with 

 the Description of M. Brctlinghami, n.sp : E. A. Smith, I.S.O.— On 

 some Land- and Fresh-water Mollusca from Sumatra, part ii. : Rev. R. 

 A'hington Bullen. — Notes on a Collection of Nudibranchs from the Cape 

 Verde Islands: C. Crossland and Sir Charles Eliot, K.C. M.G.— Notes 

 on Indian and Ceylonese Species of Glessula : Col. R. H. Beddome. 



Physic 

 of a Galvanomete 

 Dynamo and Ele( 

 Apparatus for de 

 Telepho ■ "" 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Radiobes and Biogen. By J. A. T. § i 



Principles and Practice of Pottery. By 'William 



Burton 3 



The Soil and its Tillage 4 



Inorganic Chemistry for Students. By W. A. B. . . 5 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Klein : " Collodion Emulsion" 5 



Jordan : " Der Gegensaiz zwischen geographischer und 



nichtgeographischer Variation." — F. A. D 



Walker-Tisdaleand Robinson : " Butter-making on the 



Farm and-at the Creamery." — C. Simmonds ... 6 

 Deinhardt and Schlonunn : "The Deinhardt-Schlo- 

 niann Series of Technical Dictionaries in Six Lan- 

 guages : English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, 



Russian " 6 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Osmotic Pressure. — Earl of Berkeley 7 



The Eruption of Vesuvius. — Dr. Hj. Sjogren .... 7 



Lightning Flashes. {!lliistrated.)~'R. T. A. I. . . ti 

 Diurnal Variation of lonisation in Closed Vessels. — 



George G. Simpson S 



August Rainfall. — Alex. B. MacDowell 8 



At the Head of Loch Fyne. {lllusliated.) 9 



The Egyptian Heaven and Hell. (Illustrated.) . . . ]o 



Ancient Eclipses. By P. H. Cowell 11 



Variations of Domestic Poultry. (Illtistrated.) By 



W. B. Tegetmeier 13 



Notes 14 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Astronomical Occurrences in May iS 



Comets 19061! and 19061- iX 



The Total Solar Eclip.se of January, 1908 iS 



Radiant Point of a Bright Meteor 18 



Luminous Particles in the Chromosphere >8 



New Catalogue of Double Stars 18 



Explorations in the Himalayas, {/llintra'i-d.) ... 19 



Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure 19 



Marine Biology on the West Coast. By Frank 



Balfour Browne 19 



Physiological Effects of Mental Actions 20 



Discovery of Seven Thousand Roman Coins. By 



Aquila Dodgson 20 



University and Educational Intelligence 20 



Societies and Academies 22 



Diary of Societies 24 



SUI'I'LEMENT TO "NATURE." 



Localisation of Cerebral Functions. By F. W. M. . iii 



Pioneers of Geology v 



Electrochemistry. By F. M. P vi 



The Vanishing East. By Archibald R. Colquhoun . vii 



Elementary Mathematics ^ui 



Tropical Medicine. By Dr. J. W. W. Stephens . . ix 



Progressive Teaching in Physiology. ByW. D. H. . x 



NO 1905, VOL. 74] 



