May 17, 1906] 



NATO RE 



61 



disastrous lyddite explosions on record. The specimens ex- 

 hibited were in many cases prepared in the course of an 

 exhaustive investigation recently carried out at the research 

 laboratories of the Royal Arsenal. Several of the salts 

 exhibited have never before been prepared, and the majority 

 have never previously been obtained pure or correctly 

 .malysed. ' 



Director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain: 

 (Mological maps, recently issued bv the Geological .Survey 

 and Museum.— Pro/. John Milne, F.li.S. : Seismograms of 

 recent earthquakes. (1) North-south and east-west com- 

 ponents of the Formosa earthquake of March i6, 1906. 



(2) Two components of the Colombian earthquake of 

 January 31, 1006. (3) ..\n enlargement of the terminal 

 vibrations of the upper part of Fig. 2. It shows the ex- 

 tinction of an earthquake in wave groups. Each group has 

 a duration of about 25 minutes to 3 minutes, and contains 

 about seven waves. One set of groups may approximately 

 resemble another set of groups. (4 and s)'Open diagrams 

 of the same earthquake. The pendulum which recorded 

 the upper part of Fig. 4 weighs 8olb., and has a period of 

 twenty-five seconds. That which recorded Fig. 5 weighs 

 a few ounces, and has a period of fifteen seconds. Both 

 have recorded the period for the large waves as seventeen 

 seconds. (6 and 7) Open diagrams of the .San Francisco 

 earthquake of .April iS, iqob.—Roval Observatory Edin- 

 hurgh: Seismograph records. (i') Indian earthquake 

 ■April 4, iqo5 ; (2) earthquake In Siberia, July 23, 1005 • 



(3) earthquake in Calabria, September 8, 1005- (4) earth- 

 quake ill Greece, November 8, iqos ; (,) San Francisco 

 rarthquake, April 18, iqob.— Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner ■ 

 Dredged rocks off Providence Coral Reef, 844 fathoms 

 (M.M.S. Sealark). These rocks were obtained off the outer 

 slope of a coral reef, half-wav between the Amirante Bank 

 and .Madagascar. They consist of (i) volcanic ash in 

 various stages of consolidation; (2) manganese nodules 

 round nuclei of ash ; and (3) coral rock coated with man- 

 ganese.— Pro/. Wyndhaw Dmulan, F.R.S.: (i) New or 

 rare minerals from Ceylon. Many of the minerals ex- 

 hibited have been collected during the progress uf Mi- 

 mineral survey now proceeding in Ceylon In connection 

 with the Imperial Institute. Others have been found In 

 river gravels sent for e.xaminatlon to the Imperial Institute 

 1 hese minerals illustrate the wide distribution of thorium 

 in Ceylon. (2) Minerals from Canada.— Dr. A. S. Wood- 

 UHtrd, h R.S. : Hind limb of the gigantic extinct marsupial 

 luprolodon aiistralis from Lake Callabonna, South Aus- 

 tralia.— .1/r. F. J. Lewis: Late Glacial and post-Gl.acial 

 plant remains from the Scottish peat deposits and from 

 I. ross bell. I he remains were met with during an invesli- 

 gation of the peat deposits In Scotland and on Cross Fell 

 Cumberland. All the deposits so far examim-d show definite 

 stratification— each layer has its own set of plants, and 

 very different conditions are frequently shown bv strata at 

 different horizons In the same peat deposit. 



The Director. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew : (i) Pre- 

 cocious flowering of plants (exhibited bv Mr W B 

 Hemsley F.R S._). („) Seedling mahogany tree in flowed 

 when about 6 inches high. Leaves simple instead of 

 f,'>""c"'i- "T'' ''"" s'"!''''"" to those of the adult tree. ' 

 ((') Seedling Ailanthus giandulosn in flower when about 

 3 inches high. Leaves trifoliolate instead of multlfoliolate • 

 flowers male, (c) Lilac flowering from the young suckers 

 with or without leaves; flowers normal' In structure' 

 fragrant (d) Coco-nut flowering on Its appearance from 

 tlie shell of the seed. (2) Exalbuminous grass-seeds (ex- 

 hibited by Dr. Otto Stapf). The structure of the seed Is 

 very uniform throughout the Gramine.-e, the presence of a 

 very copious farinaceous endosperm or " albumin " being 

 characteristic of It. A remarkable exception (Melocanna 

 bamhusoides, which is exalbuminous and at the same time 

 viviparous) was recently described by Dr. Stapf who 

 has since discovered three more examples of exalbuminous 

 srass-seeds, all in Bambusea?.— Pro/. Wvndhan, Dinutan. 

 l-.h.S.: Cyanogenetic plants. The specimens illustrated 

 .-in investigation conducted by Prof. Dunstan and Dr. T. A. 

 Henry to throw light on the origin of the prussic acid 

 which IS produced by certain plants. All the plants shown 

 contain the same cyanogenetic glucoside (dextrose ether of 

 .ncetone _ cyanhydrin). which has been named " phaseo- 

 -unatin. ' Accompanying It In each plant Is an enzyme 



Ciipable of effecting Its decomposition.— Mr. /. Stanley 

 Gardiner and M,. U. V. Thomasset : Photographs illus- 

 trativc of the vegetation of the Seychelles Islands. 



The Marine Biological Association : The habits of some 

 fishes from the inshore waters. .\ small collection of living 

 fishes from the shore and from shallow water was shown 

 to illustrate the differences in habit and mode of life 

 adopted by different species.— .Ur. Cecil Warburton: 

 Berlese's apparatus for capturing minute Insects and 

 arachnids.— Pro/. H'. C. Mcintosh, F.R.S.: Thirteen 

 coloured plates (original) for part ill. of the " British 

 Annelids," to be published by the Ray Society, 1907. 

 These are drawings, from life, of specimens procured from 

 Shetland to the Channel Islands.— .Wr. /. E. S. Moore and 

 Mr. C. E. Walker : Recent researches In cell-divlslon. 

 (i) Leucocytes lying In cytoplasm of tissue cells in early- 

 stage of cancer. (2) First maiotic (heterotvpe) division in 

 cancer of breast. Division figures In this form of cancer 

 have been supposed to be rare, (i and 2, joint research 

 with Prof. Farmer, F.R.S.) (3) Specimen showing 

 characteristic permanent forms In chromosomes of first 

 maiotic (heterotvpe) division. (4) Specimen showing plurl- 

 polar mitoses and amitoses in myeloplaxes (bone marrow). 

 (S) Specimen showing division figures in germinal area of 

 lymphatic gland. (6) Specimen showing cells destined to 

 become foot-cells in testis of embryo guinea-pig. — Dr. 

 .Mbert A. Gray : Series of stereoscopic photographs of the 

 membranous labyrinth Illustrating the comparative anatomy 

 of the organ. The examples shown were Illustrative of 

 Amphibia, reptiles, birds, and Mammalia.— Dr. G. t'.. 

 Chithb : Yolk-nucleus In the oocyte of Antedon. The yolk 

 nucleus of .Antedon was shown to be merely a region of llie 

 egg-cytoplasm on to which has diffused' a part of ihe 

 material discharged from the nucleolus throughout I lie 

 growth of the oocyte. 



NO. TQO7, VOL 74I 



NOTES. 



Mme. Curie has been nominated by the council of the 

 University of Paris to succeed her husband, the late Prof. 

 Curie, in the chair of general physics held by him at the 

 time of his death. The nomination has been accepted by 

 the Minister of Public Instruction. 



Dr. .\. C. H.\nDON, F.R.S., university lecturer In 

 ethnology, Cambridge, has accepted an invitation to giye 

 a course of Lowell lectures In Boston, Mass., during 

 November next. He will discourse on racial problems, 

 distribution of culture, and social and religious evolution 

 In Melanesia. 



The Croonlan lecture of the Royal Sucielv will I.- ir- 

 livered on Thursday, May 24, by Prof. J. N. Laiigley. 

 F.R.S., " On the Presence of Special Excitable Substaiues 

 in Striated Muscle and in Tissue Cells." 



The Cleve memorial lecture will be dellviTrd nt the 

 Chemical Society by Prof. T. E. Thorpe, C.B., F.R.S., 

 on Thursday, June 21. 



Prof. J. B. Farmer, F.R.S., who is giving special .-aten- 

 tion to parasitic growths, would be glad to receive speci- 

 mens of such growths. The specimens should be forwarded 

 to Claremont House, Wimbledon Common, Surrey. 



Mr. R. McG. D.^wkins, fellow of Emmanuel College, 

 Cambridge, has been elected director of the British School 

 In .Athens, in succession to Mr. R. C. Bosanquet, lately 

 appointed to the chair of arch.-eology in the University of 

 Liverpool. 



On Thursday next. May 24. Prof. W. J. Sollas will 

 begin a course of three lectures at the Royal Institution 

 on " Man and the Glacial Period." The Friday evening 

 discourse on May 25 will be delivered by Mr. Leonard Hill, 

 on "Compressed .Air and its Physiological Effects." 



