May 31, 1906J 



NA TURE 



119 



tliL- conditions described) in small and carefully regulated 

 dc.-rs resulted in the production of an antiendotoxin. 



[1} The antiendotoxin value, as so far tested, reached a 

 point at which 1/50 c.c. of the serum neutralised thirty 

 lethal doses of the toxic typhoid cell juice. This action was 

 not demonstrable in 3 c.c. of normal goat's serum, and was 

 obtained after about four months' treatment of the goat. 

 The results, after a more rapid method of immunisation, 

 are better qua goat and rabbit than those obtained by Dr. 

 Besredlva in the course of two years with dead and living 

 bacilli q»a horse and guinea-pig. 



(3) The serum was also agglutinative for the h. typhosus, 

 the titrate rising to 1/1,000,000. 



(4) The serum was also bacteriolytic, 1/10,000 c.c. 

 neutralising ten lethal doses of the B. typhosus. 



(5) The serum did not give a precipitin reaction with 

 typhoid cell juices. 



(6) The serum, whilst neutralising the typhoid, did not 

 neutralise the cholera endotoxin. 



Entomological Society, May 2. — Mr. F. Merrifield, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — Fourteen examples of both sexes of 

 Hystrichopsylta talpae, Curtis, the largest British flea, 

 taken in the nest of a field-mouse in a tuft of grass at 

 Grange, near Gosport, Hants, on March 28 : Commander 

 J. J. Walker. — Living specimens of Apate capuctna 

 Dcilus jugax, a Cryptoccphalus (rugicoUis), two species of 

 Anthaxia, &c., forwarded by Dr. T. A. Chapman from Ste. 

 Maxime, South France : G. C. Champion. — .An example of 

 the weevil Procas armillatus, F., taken near Dartford. 

 Kent, on April 13 ; F. B. Jennings. This species appears 

 to be extremely scarce in Britain, and, with the exception 

 of a single specimen taken near Chatham by Commander 

 Walker in iSgO, has not been recorded from this country 

 for a considerable period. — Beetles from New Guinea, in- 

 cluding Aescrnia niecki, Jac, A. costata, Jac, .4. gcstroi, 

 Jac, and Cetoniadje and Lucanid^ from South Africa and 

 Borneo : M. Jacoby. — Specimen of Hydrochus iiitidicollis, 

 Muls., a beetle not hitherto recorded in Britain, taken at 

 Vclvf-rton, in the River Meavy, in April : H. St. J. Donis- 

 thorpe. — Lantern-slide photographs (from nature) of the § 

 calcaria postica in Hymenoptera belonging to divers groups, 

 mostly Aculeate, but including also representatives of 

 chrysids, ichneumonids, and sawflies : Rev. F. D. 

 Morice. Mr. Morice submitted that, in all the examples 

 shown, the structure of the calcaria themselves (and also 

 of the parts adjacent to them) clearly indicated that their 

 main function was that of an elaborately constructed instru- 

 ment for toilet purposes. — Specimens of Mylothris agathina, 

 Cram., and of Bclenois ihysa, Hopff. : Dr. F. A. Oixey. 

 The close resemblance between these species obtained chiefly 

 in the dry-season form of the latter, and not in the wet. Dr. 

 Dixey considered this to be a fresh illustration of the special 

 liability to the attacks of enemies experienced under drv- 

 season conditions, leading in some cases to the adoption 

 of a cryptic coloration, and in others, as here, to mimicry 

 of a protected form such as M. agathina. — .A criticism of the 

 late Prof. Packard's paper on the markings of organisms : 

 H. Eltringrham. — The genus Imma, Walk. ( = Tortrico- 

 niorpha, Feld.) : E. Meyrick. 



Royal Astronomical Society, May xi. — Mr. W. H. Maw, 

 president, in the chair. — Some points arising out of a 

 discussion of the double stars in Struve's " Mensura? 

 Micrometricae " : T. Lewfis. A memoir upon the subject 

 had just been completed, and was about to be published 

 by the society. Questions concerning the distribution of 

 double stars, and the relation between those relatively 

 fixed and those in motion, were considered. The facts 

 appeared to point to the conclusion that the sun is situated 

 in a cluster, but not centrally. — The orbit and mass of 

 85 Pegasi : W. Bowyer and H. H. Furner. — Some con- 

 siderations concerning the number of the stars : Miss W. 

 Gibson. The conclusions were derived from a discussion 

 of seventy-two stars, and the relations between parallax, 

 magnitude, and proper motion were considered. — Observ- 

 ations of Jupiter's sixth and seventh satellites, from photo- 

 graphs taken at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich : 

 Astronomer Royal. A large number of plates had been 

 taki n for the positions of the satellites with exposures of 



NO 1909. VOL. 74] 



five minutes to nearly three hours. Photographs of Jupiter 

 had also been taken, which showed that the tabular errors 

 are very small. The results were confirmed by meridian 

 observations. — Prints from negatives of the solar eclipse 

 of August, 1905 : Astronomer Royal. — Seismographic 

 records taken at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh : Prof. 

 F. W. Dyson. The records showed that the trace of the 

 San Francisco earthquake reached Edinburgh in about 

 seven minutes. — Observations of the magnitude and posi- 

 tion of Nova Geminorum : E. E. Barnard. — Photo- 

 graphs of the Milky Way taken at Mount Wilson, Cali- 

 fornia, during the spring and summer of 1905 : E. E. 

 Barnard. — The president announced that news had been 

 received that no injury had been caused to the Lick 

 Observatory by the recent earthquake. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, May 14. — M. 11. Poincarc in the 

 chair. — .\ singular effect of friction : E. Guyou. .An e.x- 

 planation of an experiment of M. de Saintignon. A 

 spherical glass globe, filled with water and containing a 

 fine powder, is rotated with a high velocity round one of 

 its diameters as axis. The powder, if lighter than water, 

 collects along the axis of rotation, but if heavier than 

 water the sphere is divided into three zones, separated by 

 two parallels of latitude equidistant from the equator. 

 The upper and lower segments are clear, the powder being 

 distributed in the central zone and mainly on the two 

 boundary lines. A simple explanation is given of this 

 parado.xical effect. — The influence of velocity on the law 

 of deformation of metals : P. Vieille and R. Liouville. — 

 Low temperatures and chemical analysis : MM. d'Arsonval 

 and Bordas. An arrangement is described permitting of 

 the direct determination of water in aqueous solutions by 

 distillation at the ordinary temperatures, the receiver being 

 kept at —80° C. The method is very rapid compared to 

 those in ordinary use. — New researches on diastatic 

 saccharification : L. Maquenne and Eug. Roux. The 

 action of malt on starch has been studied under varying 

 conditions of time, acidity, and nature of the starch, and 

 the experimental results tabulated. — Three toxins of human 

 trypanosomiasis of different origin : .A. Laveran. The 

 cases studied came from Gambia, Uganda, and Ubanghi. 

 From the morphological point of view, no difference could 

 be noted between them. Experiments with guinea-pigs, 

 rats, and mice showed slight differences only. All the 

 observations support the view that the three t'rypanosomes 



from the different localities belong to the same species. 



The centres of gravity of discontinuous systems : Haton 

 de la Goupillifere.— A new octane, hex'amethylethane : 

 Louis Henry. This hydrocarbon is formed as a bye-oro- 

 duct in the action between the magnesium compound of 

 tertiary butyl bromide and acetaldehvde. probably by the 

 action of some unchanged butvl bromide upon the mag- 

 nesium compound. It is a solid, volatile at the ordinary 

 temperature, and possessing a penetrating odour. It boils 

 at 106 C. to 107° C. under 76;; mm.— An account of an 

 earthquake at Bogota on Januarv 31 last: M. Souhart. 

 —A new arrangement for the spectrosropv of phosphor- 

 escent substances: C. de Watteville. The' phosphorescent 

 substance under examination is illuminated bv an electric 

 spark about eighty-two times per second, the interval of 

 time elapsing between the exposure to the spark and ex- 

 posure to the photographic plate being about t '3000th of a 

 second. The period of the spark is governed bv a rotating 

 disc and IS independent of the speed of the contact breaker 

 of the coil. The phosphorescence of bodies examined with 

 this apparatus is very bright, and in the spectra obtained 

 which are rich in ultr.a-violet lines, none of the lines 

 corresponding to the metal of the electrodes are visible — 

 Ihe me.Tsurement of very short intervals of time bv means 

 of a condenser: M. Dewaux-Charbonnel. The method is 

 based on the measurement of the charge of a condenser 

 through a variable resistance, first during the short 

 interval of time m be measured, and then completely 

 fcxperimental results are given showing the accuracy 

 obtainable to be of the order of ooooi sec— The conduc- 

 tivity of ammonium sulphate in mixtures of sulphuric acid 

 and water : G. Boi»ard.-The complete synthesis of some 



