264 



NA TURE 



[July 12, 1906 



pyrazolones has been extended to the alkylpropioHc esters. 

 The pyrazolones can also be obtained when the ester is re- 

 placed by the amide or by the P-oxyalkylacrylic esters 

 obtained from the acetylene compounds by a method 

 described in a previous paper. The theory of the reactions 

 is discussed.— Phenyl migrations in the halohydrins and in 

 tile o-glycols : M. Tiffeneau.— Cinnamenyl-paraconic acid : 

 J. Bougault. — Researches on the relations of functional 

 groups in distant positions : cyclic amines : E. E. Blaise 

 and M. Houillon. Octamethylene diamine chlorhydrale gives 

 bv the action of heat an unsaturated hydrocarbon and a 

 secondary cyclic base. This has been proved to be identical 

 with a synthetically prepared specimen of butylpyrrolidene. 

 —The basicity of the xanthyl oxygen : R. Fosse and L. 

 Lesage. A description of a serief of double salts, of which 

 xanthyl-lead bromide, CH(C,H,),O.Br-|-2PbBr„ may be 

 given as a type. — The production of .Ascidia by trau- 

 matisms : L. Blaringhem. — The origin of the materials 

 utilised by the ovary ; Jean Friedel. The assimilating 

 power possessed by the green carpels of many plants is 

 well known. From experiments on Ranunculus acris the 

 author concludes that the ovary utilises both its own pro- 

 ducts of assimilation and the reserves of the peduncle. If 

 the conditions in which it is placed suppress one of these 

 two modes of nutrition, the ovary can arrive at complete 

 development from the other.— The longevity of seeds : Paul 

 Becquerel. Experiments were carried out on 550 species 

 belonging to fifty families, the age of which varied from 

 twenty-five to 135 years. The only seeds preserving their 

 vitality for more than eighty years were those protected by a 

 thick skin and possessing slightly oxidisable reserves.— A 

 disease of the plane tree due to Gnomonia veiicfa : J. Beau- 

 verie. — Some new Madagascan Asclepiadacete producing 

 caoutchouc; J. Costantin and I. Gallaud.— The biology of 

 the Virgularia : C'h. Gravier.— A new form of operculated 

 Cirripede, Pyrgopsis Annandalci : A. Gruvel.— Prehis- 

 toric remains in the neighbourhood of Kayes, Soudan : Fr. 

 de Zeltner. The deposits of stone instruments are large, 

 and formed out of rocks still existing in the district. The 

 instruments cannot be classified with any of the usual 

 European types, are highly polished, and show considerable 

 skill in the'ir manufacture. It is impossible at present to 

 fix their age.— A method of isolating the hsematablasts of 

 the blood in a state of purity : L. Le Sourd and Ph. 

 Pagnier.— Researches on animal electricity : MM. Girard 

 and Victor Henri. The rdle of the cellular elements in 

 the transformation of certain carbohydrates by the intes- 

 tinal juice : H. Bierry and A. Frouin. — The problem of 

 statical work : Ernest Soivay. A criticism on a paper of 

 M. Chauveau on the same subject.— The sensibility of the 

 retina for luminous radiations : Milan Stefanik. Using a 

 spectroscope with glass prisms and a suitable coloured 

 screen the red end of the spectrum is visible with sufficient 

 clearness for measuring the lines down to \ 3830. The 

 photographic results obtained by M. Millochau with the 

 same apparatus give the same limit. It follows that the 

 retina is sensible for all the radiations which pass _ the 

 spectroscope. — The use of sodium chloride in the histo- 

 logical impregnation of tissues by silver : Ch. Achard and 

 M. Aynaud. An experimental proof of the view recently 

 put forward bv M. Quinton that the results are due to the 

 presence of sodium chloride in the intercellular spaces, the 

 chloride of silver thus formed darkening in the light.— A 

 method of detecting iron in living tissues : A. Mouneyrat. 

 — Study of the transmissibility of tuberculosis by ali- 

 mentary casein ; Marcel Guedras. Food products for 

 infants containing dried casein as a base may transmit 

 tuberculosis. Casein dried at a low temperature may still 

 contain the tubercle bacillus. — The extension of the marine 

 invasion of the upper Sparnacian in the neighbourhood of 

 Paris -. Paul Combes, jun. — The existence of the Cretacean 

 in the Oran schists : MM. Ficheur and Doumergue. — 

 The Ypr^s clays of the department of .\isne and the 

 climatic conditions at the Lutetian epoch : Paul Fritei. — 

 The trajectory of electric corpuscles in space under the 

 influence of terrestrial magnetism, with applications to the 

 aurora borealis and to magnetic disturbances : Carl 

 Stormer. — Two relief maps of Paringu and Soarbele 

 (Southern Carpathians) executed from unpublished topo- 

 graphical sketches : E. de Martonne. 



NO. I915, VOL. 74] 



Calcutta. 



Asiatic Society of Bengal, June 6. — Indian meteorites 

 recently acquired by the Geological Survey : L. L. Fermor. 

 The crusts of some of them show interesting flow-struc- 

 tures. — (i) Notes on a rare Indo-Pacific barnacle. Re- 

 marks on Conchoderma hunteri, Owen, which the author, 

 agreeing with Hoek, regards as a variety of C. virgatum 

 (Spengler). (2) Contributions to Oriental herpetology. 

 No. 4. Notes on the Indian tortoises. Remarks on some 

 obscure species, with a list of the Indian Chelonia. 

 (3) Notes on the common Hydra of Bengal : Dr. N. 

 Annandaie. The systematic position of Hydra orientalis 

 is discussed, with a description of its anatomy. As the 

 result of two vears' investigation, the author concludes that 

 the species is dioecious, but that sexual reproduction plays 

 an unimportant part in the life cycle. — Rawals and Merats 

 of Rajputana : R. C. Bramley. — An old reference to the 

 Bhotias : H. Beweridge. — Parasites from the Gharial 

 (Gavialis gangeticus, G^offr.) : Dr. von Linstow. Two 

 new nematodes, each representing a new genus, and a 

 new linguatulid are described. The former were found in 

 the stomach and on the mesentery ; the latter in the lungs 

 and trachea. 



New South Wales. 



Royal Society, May 2. — Mr. H. A. Lenehan, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — Annual general meeting. An address 

 was delivered by the president. — A specimen of diamond in 

 the matrix : E. F. Pittman. The specimen was found by 

 Messrs. Pike and O'Donnell in their claim at Oakey Creek, 

 near Inverell. The diamond is a small one, weighing 

 about one-third carat, and the material in which it is 

 embedded is an igneous rock known as dolerite. The 

 dolerite occurs at Oakey Creek as a pipe or dyke, and the 

 specimen is of special interest as throwing some light upon 

 the question of the origin of the diamond. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Physical Chemistry applied to Chemistry and 



BioloKy. By Prof Benjamin Moore . 241 



The Making of Rocks. By Prof. Granville A. J 



Cole . . 242 



Structures and Materials. By T. H. B. ... 243 



Rational Dairying. By T. S. D 243 



Our Book Shelf : — 



Peirunkewitsch : " Gedanken iiber Vererbung." — 



J. A. T .214 



Riehl : " Giordano Bruno. In Menioriam of the 



17th February, 1600" ... 244 



Letters to the Editor:— 



Geologicnl Survey of Canada —Prof Robert Bell, 



F.R.S. ; F. R. S. . . .245 



Osmotic Pressure.— Earl of Berkeley and E. G. J. 



Hartley ... . . 245 



Family Diseases and Temperaments. — Prof. Karl 



Pearson, F.R.S 245 



Thermodynamics of Diffusion. — Prof. G. H. Bryan, 



F.R.S .246 



F.arly Meteors of the Perseid Shower. — W. F. 



Denning 246 



Western and Central Abyssinia. (Illustrated.) By 



Sir H. H. Johnston, K.C M.G 247 



Opsonins and Tuberculosis 248 



Notes 249 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Finlay's Comet 2^3 



The Radiants of the Perseid Shower 253 



Magnitude Observations of Nova AquilK No. 2 . 253 

 An Objective-Prism Comparison Spectrograph . . . 253 



Russian Astronomical Observations 253 



A New Observatory for Hamburg 253 



Star Transits by Photography. (Illustrated.) . . . 254 



The Museums Association 255 



The Meteorology of the Free Atmosphere . 255 



International Science. Bv Prof. Arthur Schuster. 



F.R.S ■ 256 



University and Educational Intelligence ... 260 

 Societies and Academies 260 



