Ma.v 24, 1906J 



NA rURE 



93 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Zoological Society, May i. — Dr. Henry Woudnard, 

 F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — .Sliin of a reniark- 

 ub\K new duilcer from Nvasaland, presented to the British 

 Museum l)y Mr. S. W. ■lM-anl< : Oldfield Thomas. The 

 animal was named Cfjihalophiis -cutilkuri, sp.n. — Further 

 notes on anthropoid apes ; Hon. \\ . Rothschild. The 

 author exhibited five mounted specimens, one slcelelon, si.x 

 skulls, and a photograph of the following races ; — Gorilla 

 gorilla, darU-headed race, G. gorilla, red-headed race, 

 G. gorilla matschiei, G. gorilla diehli, Simla vellcrosus, 

 and S. vellcrosus fuliginosus. — Mammals collected in Soulh- 

 Wesi Australia for iMr. \V. E. Balston ; Oldfield Thomas. 

 Thirtv-two species and subspecies were enumerated, of 

 which the following were described as new : — Scoteinus 

 balsloni, sp.n., Tachyglossus aculcatus incpius, subsp.n.-^A 

 series of papers on the Lcpidoptera collected in South Tibet 

 by the ollicers during the recent expedition to that country 

 under Colonel Sir Frank Younghusband. Mr. H. J. 

 Elwes gave an account of the butterflies contained in the 

 collection, which comprised thirty-three species and varie- 

 ties, four of which were described as new. The molhs, 

 exclusive of the Tineid;e, have been worked out by Sir 

 George Hampson, Bart., who enumerated the sixty-three 

 species of which specimens were obtained. Of these, 

 examples of thirty-six species were taken at moderate 

 elevations in Sikhim, and belonged to the Indian fauna, 

 two being described as new; twenty-seven species belonged 

 10 (he PaU-carctic fauna, of which nine were widespread 

 and eighteen Tibetan ; ten of these were described as new. 

 .An account of the Tineidre was supplied by Mr. J. Hartley 

 Durrant ; they were referred to four species, two of which 

 were new. — Contributions to the knowledge of the vascular 

 and respiratory systems in the Ophidia and to i ■ anatomy 

 of the genera Boa and Corallus : F. E. Beddard. 



Chemical Society, May 3. — Prof. H. E. Armstrong, F.R.S., 



past-president, in the chair. — The chairman gave e.xpression 

 to the sense of loss sustained by the Chemical Society in 

 ihi- death of Prof. Pierre Curie. The meeting endorsed 

 the letter of condolence addressed by the president to Mnie. 

 Marie Curie, an honorary and foreign member of the 

 society. — The relation between absorption spectra and 

 chemical constitution, part v., the isonitroso-compounds ; 

 E. C. C. Baly, Miss E. G. Marsden, and .\. W. Stewart. 

 From observations of the absorption spectra of several 

 isonitroso-compounds in neutral and alkaline solution it is 

 found that the free substances most probably have the 



R.C:0 

 constitution • * but in presence of sodium hydroxide 



R.CH.NO 

 the starred hydrogen atom is replaced by sodium and be- 

 comes labile. Isorropesis then takes place between the 

 >C : O and >C : N groups, a tautomeric process being the 

 actuating mechanism. — The residual afhnity of coumarin 

 as shown by the formation of oxonium salts : G. T. 

 Morgan and Miss F. M. G. Micklethwait. Platini- 

 chlorides of coumarin, b-aminocoumarin, ethyl-6-amino- 

 coumarin, dimethyl-6-aminocoumarin, acetyl-6-amino- 

 coumarin, and a coumarin hydriodide periodide were 

 described. The formation of these salt-like additive com- 

 pounds of coumarin agrees with the results of earlier 

 investigators. Coumarin also exhibits an amphoteric 

 character in combining with metallic oxides and hydroxides. 

 — Brazilin and hiematoxylin, part vii., some derivatives of 

 brazilein : P. Engels and W. H. Perkin, jun. Brazilein 

 is the colouring matter produced when brazilin is oxidised 

 in alkaline solution by means of air. Trimethylbrazilein, 

 trimethylbr.azilein formic acid, trimethylisobrazilein sulphate, 

 and trimethylbrazilein hydroxylamine were described. — 

 The action of tribromopropane on the sodium derivative of 

 ethyl malonate : W. H. Perkin, jun., and J. L. Simonsen. 

 — Pipitzahoic acid : J. McConnell Sanders. The author 

 considers that the composition is best represented by the 

 formula C,„H,,0;, it being thus isomeric with camphor- 

 quinone, and similar to, although not identical with, the 

 rtocamphorquinone discovered by Manasse. The acid 

 seems to behave as a hydroxy-ketone, forming a resinous 

 acetyl compound and a greenish-brown copper derivative. 



— The constitution of the hydroxides and cyanides obtained 

 from acridine, methyl-acridine, and phenanthridine meth- 

 iodides : C. K. Tinkler. — The constitution of ammonium 

 amalgam : Miss E. M. Rich and M. \V. Trawers. The 

 results of determinations of the freezing points of a series 

 of samples of ammonium amalgam have led the authors 

 to the conclusion that it is a true solution of ammonium 

 in mercury. — .\ction of light on potassium ferrocyanide : 

 G. W. A. Foster. When a neutral or alkaline solution of 

 potassium ferrocyanide is exposed to light, a purely photo- 

 chemical action ensues, and ferric hydroxide is slowly pre- 

 cipitated. A mercury vapour lamp was used as a source 

 of light. — Note on the constitution of cellulose : A. G. 

 Green and .\. (i. Perkin. The supposed tetra-acetate of 

 cellulose has been re-investigated and found to be in reality 

 a triacetate. This affords further evidence of the correct- 

 ness of Green's formula for the nucleus of the carbohydrate. 

 — Some new derivatives of pinene : F. P. Leach. When 

 pinenc nitrosochloride is treated with potassiuiii cyanate in 

 alcohol at 50° to 60°, a compound, Ci.HijO^N,, separates. 

 When heated with concentrated sulphuric acid it yields a 

 base, C,„H,,ONj. This is amphoteric, and appears to be 

 an amino-o.xime ; it is also obtainable from pinene nitroso- 

 chloride by the action of ammonia. — Glutaconic and 

 aconitic acids : S. Ruhemann. A criticism of Rogerson 

 and Thorpe's work on these acids. 



Anthropological Institute, May 8.— Mr. II. Balfour, ex- 

 president, in the chair. — Phonograph records of native 

 songs from the Congo, collected by Dr. J. L. Todd, were 

 exhibited. The songs w'ere all collected in the upper 

 waters of the Congo, and were of great interest as speci- 

 mens of native African music. — Notes on the ethnography 

 of the Ba-Mbala : E. Torday and T. A. Joyce. The data 

 on which the paper was based were collected by Mr. 

 Torday. The Ba-Mbala are a Bantu tribe inhabiting the 

 district between the Kwilu and the Inzai, tributaries of 

 the Kasai, in the Congo Free State. The country had 

 not previously been visited by a white man, at least for 

 many years. The most interesting feature connected with 

 these people is perhaps the fact that they are cannibals, 

 men, women, and children all indulging, with the excep- 

 tion of a particular class known as Mitri, who are dis- 

 tinguished by wearing a particular kind of bracelet. 

 .Another interesting feature of these people is that they 

 appear to have borrowed all their knowledge of crafts 

 from the neighbouring tribes. The paper was illustrated 

 by a collection of specimens sent home by Mr. Torday, 

 and also by lantern-slides. 



Physical Society, May 11. — Dr. C. Chree, F.R.S., vict- 

 president, in the chair. — The dead points of a galvano- 

 meter needle for transient currents : .A. Russell. \\"hen 

 many types of needle galvanometer are connected with a 

 condenser and a battery in the ordinary manner by a 

 charge and discharge key the following phenomena can 

 easily be observed. When the needle is initially at right 

 angles to the axis of the galvanometer coil, and the spot 

 of light is in the centre, X, of the scale, the throws on 

 charge and discharge are equal. If the controlling magnet 

 be turned through a small angle, or if the suspending fibre 

 be twisted slightly so that the spot of light is not in the 

 centre of the scale initially, the throws on charge and dis- 

 charge are not equal. The algebraic difference between 

 them, however, is constant. Hence, for an initial position 

 P, of the spot of light there is no throw on charge, and 

 similarly for another initial position P, there is no throw 

 on discharge. The author shows that these eflfects can be 

 explained with considerable accuracy by supposing that 

 the magnetism of the needle consists of two parts, one 

 permanent and the other proportional to the magnetising 

 force. He finds that it is easy to arrange with a low- 

 resistance galvanometer so that a, relatively speaking, 

 gigantic charge can be passed through the coil without 

 producing any throw at all. He also finds that all the 

 galvanometers he has tested, whether needle or moving 

 coil, will produce throws when certain transient currents 

 pass through them, even although the integral value of 

 these currents is zero. It also appears that the eiTective 

 internal resistance of ordinary condensers is appreciable in 

 certain cases. 



NO. 1908, VOL. 74] 



