June 14, 1906] 



NA TURE 



167 



steel balls of equal size \>p dropped into a smooth, hollow 

 tee-lotum they will take up equidistant positions round the 

 edjjc. These results suggest the possibility of seismic dis- 

 turbances being related in some such way. The above 

 principles were applied to the disturbances which character- 

 ised the month of April — Vesuvius, April 8 ; l'"ormosa, 

 April 14 ; San Francisco, April i8. The possibility of this 

 explanation being correct is supported by observed facts in 

 connection with displacement of the poles associated with 

 great earthquakes, and also by the positions of the locali- 

 ties referred to. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, May 2S.— M. H. Poincare in the 

 chair. Keni.irks on work recently carried out at the 

 Observatory of Besancon : .M. Loewy. — Centres of gravity 

 of spiraloid systems: llaton de la Goupilli^re. — An ex- 

 pedition in an aeroslat, projected for the exploration of 

 the North Pole: J. Janssen. .Vn account of an expedition 

 projected by Mr. Walter Wellman, and supported by the 

 Geographical Society of Washington. — Addition to the note 

 on the use of low temperatures in chemical analyses : MM. 

 d'Arsonval and Bordas. In the majority of cases the 

 vacuum obtainable by an ordinary pump is suflicient. In 

 certain cases, however, the authors have found it advan- 

 tageous to use either a mercury pump, or charcoal and 

 liquid air, according to Dewar's method. — Magnetic observ- 

 ations at Tananarivo : Kd. El. Colin. Three tables are 

 given showing the results of the absolute measurements of 

 the declination, inclination, and the horizontal component 

 at the Observatory of Tananarivo, taken weekly from May, 

 1905, to .\pril, 1906. — -M. Charles Tripled was elected a 

 corre.spondant in the section of astronomy in the place of 

 M. Perrotin. — The properties which correspond to mono- 

 geneitv for functions of a hypercomplex variable : Lf^on 

 Autonne. — .\ particular class of 0-functions : Henry 

 Bourget. — The resistance of electrolytes for high-frequency 

 currents : Andr^ Broca and S. Turchini. The authors 

 showed a year ago that the theory of Lord Kelvin relating 

 to the resistance of cylindrical conductors for currents of 

 high frequency leads, in the case of metals, to results 

 presenting systematic differences from those obtained ex- 

 perimentally. In the experiments in the present paper the 

 conductor is an electrolyte. The resistance was first 

 measured for a low-frequency current (42), and this assumed 

 to be the same as with a continuous current. The resist- 

 ance of the same solution was then measured with high- 

 frequency currents (iqo.ooo to 3,000,000). For very dilute 

 acid or sulphate of copper solution the ratio of the two 

 resistances thus measured was unity, but for solutions of 

 higher conductivity the heating is less with a high-frequency 

 current than with a iow-frequency current, contrarv to the 

 result predicted by theory. — X-ray tubes with an automatic 

 legulator: G. Berlemont. — The variations in the state of 

 amorphous carbon under the influence of temperature and 

 under the action of oscillations of temperature : O. 

 Manville. .•\morphous carbon, heated in a current of 

 oxygen, commences at a definite temperature to give carbon 

 dioxide, and at another, higher, temperature, carbon 

 monoxide. These temperatures are a function of the 

 temperature to which the carbon has been previously heated. 

 — The acid phosphites of primary cyclic amines : P. 

 Lemoult. The acid phosphites of aniline, o-toluidine, and 

 Hi-xylidine are described, together with an advantageous 

 method for preparing them. — The absolute atomic weight 

 of terbium : G. D. Hinrichs. If the atomic weights of 

 oxygen, sulphur, and hydrogen used in the determination 

 of the atomic weight of thorium from the analytical figures 

 be taken as the round numbers 16, 32, i, then the atomic 

 weight of thorium becomes also the round number 159, in- 

 stead of the 159-22 deduced by M. Urbain. — .\ contribution 

 to the study of pure ferrotungstens ; Em. ViRouroux. 

 Using the aluminothermal method, tungsten steels can be 

 obtained containing 4625 per cent, of tungsten ; these, when 

 extracted with dilute hydrochloric acid, vield the whole 

 of the free iron, leaving a substance containing ()S.7 per 

 cent, of tungsten, a figure corresponding to Fe,W,. — 

 Combinations of mercuric iodide and free methylamine : 

 Maurice Francois. — Some hydro-anthracene derivatives : 

 Marcel Godchot. -A description of the mode of prepar- 

 ation and properties of octahydro-anthranol and its phenvl- 



NO. 191 I, vol. 74] 



urethane, ^-anthracene hexahydride, 7-anthracene tetra- 

 hvdride and its dibromo-derivalive. — The rapidity of 

 absorption of odours by milk : F. Bordas and M. Tout- 

 plain. In an atmosphere containing only 1/100,000 of 

 formaldehyde a few minutes' exposure is sufTicient for the 

 milk to show clearly the reaction of the aldehyde. The 

 fresher the Tuillc the more rapidly the absorption appears 

 to take place. -.\ i|u.ilitative reaction of phosphorus : 

 M. Mauricheau-Beaupr^. The reaction is based on the 

 depollshing of glass by the action of a flame containing 

 small amounts of phosphorous compounds. ^ — K new method 

 for the microscopical analysis of flour and ihe deiermin- 

 ation of rice starch in wheat flour : G. Gastine. The 

 flour is treated with certain colouring materials in solu- 

 tion, the whole slowdy dried on the slide, and mounted in 

 Canada balsam. The differential staining of the hilum 

 is the basis of the method. — Oxydising catalysers and the 

 generalisation of flameless combustion ; C. Matienon and 

 R. Trannoy. — Autocatalysis and the decomposition of a 

 photochemical system : B^la Sxilard. Details are given 

 of the action of light on a solution of triiodomethane in 

 chloroform. — The study of heterogeneous equilibria under 

 varying pressures : E. Briner. The increased pressures 

 are obtained by the use of a cylinder of compressed carbon 

 dioxide, whilst the constancy of temperature during the 

 reaction is ensured by a vapour jacket. \ diagram of the 

 apparatus used is given. — The nearly total transformation 

 of the dextrins arising from the saccharification of starch 

 into maltose : A. Fernbach and J. Wolff. The rate of 

 production of maltose from the dextrins is much slower 

 than the conversion of the starch into the dextrins, so ■ 

 that it is incorrect to assume that the reaction is finished 

 when the liquid no longer gives the iodide of starch re- 

 action. It is proved experimentally that if there exists a 

 dextrin not transformable into maltose, it can represent 

 only a minute fraction of the original starch. — The prin- 

 ciples of gutta-percha obtained from Palaqiiium Treiibi : 

 E. Jungfieisch and H. Leroux. From the crude gutta 

 from the leaves of this plant a new substance has been 

 isolated, to which the provisional name of paltreubin is 

 given. It appears to be a mixture of two isomeric alcohols 

 of the formula C3„H|,.OII, the acetates of which w-ere pre- 

 pared. — The spores of a Streptothrix : MM. Brocq- 

 Rousseu and Piettre. Under certain conditions of culti- 

 vation the spores could be obtained in such abundance 

 that they could be analysed. The analyses given are stated 

 to be the first published on the spores of the lower fungi. 

 — .\n invasion of algae (Colpomcnia siniiosa) on the oysters 

 of the Vannes River : M. Fabre-Domergue. — The evolu- 

 tion of some crustacean gregarians : L. Leger and O. 

 Dubosq. — Researches on the relations between emotional 

 I states and infection : M. Vaschide. It is known that the 

 leucocytes play an important part in the pathological pro- 

 cesses of infection, the state of infection being especially 

 connected with an increase in the proportion of leucocytes 

 with polymorphic nuclei. The author has found that 

 certain profound emotions are followed by an increase in 

 the polynuclear leucocytes. The author cites well-known 

 facts in pathology in support of his results. — Experimental 

 infection by Trypanosoma britcci. The destruction of the 

 parasite in the spleen : A. Rodet and G. Vallet. Experi- 

 ments on dogs and rats show that in infection by this 

 trypanosome the spleen and the other lymphoid organs are 

 foci for intense destruction of the parasites. The spleen 

 is endowed w-ith an energetic trypanolytic power, and this 

 organ evidently plays an important part in the defence of 

 the body against infection. — The pathogenic importance of 

 bronchial adenopathy : Gabriel Arthaud. — The frequency 

 and the probable etiological roh' of I'ncinaria americatta 

 in beri-beri : F. Noc. — The contradiction of glacial erosion : 

 Jean Brunhes. — The degree of mineralisation of subter- 

 ranean waters : F. Dienert. 



New South W.alf.s. 

 Linnean Society, April 25. — Mr. C. Hedley in the 

 chair. — The geology of the volcanic area of the East More- 

 ton and Wide Bay districts, Queensland : H. I. Jensen. 

 The district investigated lies between the Pacific Ocean 

 and Moreton Bay on the east, and the beds of the Mary 

 and Stanley Rivers on the west ; and betw'een Cooran on 

 the north and North Pine on the south. It is important 



