July 26, 1906 J 



NA rURE 



3" 



possible source of error in Stas's nitrogen ratios : R. W. 

 Gray. The researches of Rayleigh, Leduc, D. Berthelot, 

 Guye, and Ihc author confirm Stas's lower value for the 

 atomic weight of nitrogen, and an indirect comparison of 

 the atomic weights of nitrogen and silver from the results 

 of Marignac, Scott, and Richards leads to the same result. 

 — Electrolytic oxidation : H. D. Law. On oxidising 

 benzoin by the electrolytic method, benzil, benzaldehyde, 

 and benzoic acid are formed. In addition, a certain amount 

 of tarry matter is always obtained, the formation of which 

 is a property cuf high potential discharge at the anode, and 

 always takes place in the case of unsaturated compounds. 

 — The ethyl esters of acetonyloxalic and acetophenyloxalic 

 acids and the action of cihyl oxalate on acetanilide and its 

 homologues : S. Ruhemann. — An oxidation product of 

 indigotin : .\. G. Perkin. On sublimation with limited 

 access of air, pure indigotin gives a small quantity of a 

 yellow sublimate, which crystallises in needles and has 

 the formula C,sH,O.N,. — Indigo-yellow : A. G. Perkin. 

 In 1904 it was shown that the yellow colouring matter 

 present in Java indigo is kampherol. Examination has 

 now shown that it is derived from a glucoside (kampheritrin) 

 present in the leaves of Indigofera arrccta. It is hydro- 

 iysed by acids into kampherol (i mol.) and rhamnose 

 (2 mols.). — I : 3-Diphenylbarbituric acid and some coloured 

 derivatives. Synlhosis of i : 3-diphenyluric acid : Miss 

 M. A. Whiteley. — The alkylation of rhamnose : T. Purdie 

 and C. R. Young. Dimethyl acetone-rhamnosidc, 

 trimethyl methylrhamnoside, di- and tri-methylrhamnose, 

 and a number of their derivatives are described. — The 

 alkylation of ?-arabinose : T. Purdie and R. E. Rose. 

 By methylating Fischer's o-methylarabinoside with silver 

 oxide and methyl iodide, trimethyl a-methylarabinoside is 

 obtained in large, well-formed crystals, and by hydrolysing 

 this with dilute hydrochloric acid, trimethyl arabinose is 

 produced. Descriptions of these substances are given. — The 

 esters of triacetic lactone and triacetic acid : F. Sproxton. 

 The methyl and ethyl esters are described. — Optically active 

 reduced naphthoic acids, part ii., the resolution of the 

 tetrahydronaphthoic acids : R. H. Pickard and J. Yates. 

 — The velocity of chemical change in the pentamethylene 

 series : N. Menschutkin, sen. A rt<.!M»u' of the results 

 obtained in the study of the velocity of chemical change 

 in polymethylene derivatives is given. — Hydrolysis of 

 ammonium salts by water : E. G. Hill. The constants 

 obtained in the case of the salts of monobasic acids are 

 inversely proportional to the molecular conductivities of the 

 acids, and agree well with the values obtained for the 

 strength of the acids by the various dynamical methods. 

 In the case of dibasic acids, the constants are irregular. — 

 The addition of alkyl halides to alkylated sugars and 

 glucosides : J. C. Irvine and Miss A. M. Moodie. The 

 results point to the formation, during cooling, of oxonium 

 compounds of the sugar with alkyl halides, and the a-form 

 of the aldose appears to be more reactive than the 

 /3-isomeride. — The following notes have been received since 

 the meeting : — Note on the preparation of ethyl acetone- 

 dicarboxylate : E. Ormerod. — The interaction of nitro- 

 formazyl, carbon disulphide, and potassium hydroxide. A 

 contribution to the chemistry of the thiobiazalones and the 

 xanthates : E. Ormerod. — Aldehydrol and the hvdrates of 

 compounds containing a carbonyl group : W. M. Colles. 

 Concentrated aqueous solutions of aldehyde acetone, formic, 

 acetic, monochloroaeetic, and trichloroacetic acids were 

 cooled to low temperatures in a special apparatus. The 

 following compounds of special interest were obtained : — 

 aldehydrol, CH,rH(OH). ; a hydrol of formic acid", possibly 

 o-formic acid. HC(OH),": o-acetic acid, CH^CCOH)., ; and 

 ..-monochloroaeetic acid, CH .ClCfOH) ,. 



Challenger Society, June 27.— Capt. Wilson-Barker in 

 the ch.iir. — A series of deep-water fish from the N.E. 

 .Atlantic slope : Messrs. Holt and Byrne. The series in- 

 cluded Chimaera mirabilis, CoUett, Macrurus labiatus, 

 Koehler, and Scurpaena cchinata. Koehler. Several of 

 the rarer species filled gaps in the known area of dis- 

 tribution. — A photograph of so-called oily patches at sea, 

 supposed to be rich in plankton : Captain Wilson-Barker. 

 — New charts published by the society. Six of these, pre- 

 pared by Dr. Schott, showed the mean annual isotherms 

 of the ocean, and the seventh was a small blank chart of 



NO. IQI7, VOL, 74] 



the world for plotting distributions, &c. — A destructive 

 test of Hensen's theory of the uniformity of plankton over 

 large areas : Dr. Fowler. It was shown that great 

 variations in the plankton occurred on successive days at 

 stations close together in a district apparently unappreci- 

 ably affected by currents. — The scientific cruise of his 

 yacht. Silver Belle, in 1906 : Dr. Wolfenden. The vessel 

 was chiefly occupied with trawling and hydrographic work, 

 from Dublin to Funchal, and from Gibraltar to the 

 Josephine Bank and N. coast of Morocco. Mr. Byrne 

 exhibited and commented on some of the fish obtained 

 during the cruise, of which the most interesting was a 

 fine specimen of the little-known Himantolnphus reinhardi, 

 I.iitken, said to have been taken in shallow water near 

 Gibraltar. 



Faraday Society, July 2.— IVof. S. P. Thompson, 

 F.R.S., in the chair. — The oxidation of atmospheric 

 nitrogen in electric arcs : Prof. Kr. Birkeland. This 

 will be dealt with in a later number. — Preliminary 

 report on the experiments made at Sault Ste. Marie, 

 under Government auspices, on the smelting of 

 Canadian iron ores by the electrothermic process : 

 Dr. E. Haanel. The results obtained are summarised as 

 follows : — (i) Magnetite (which is the chief Canadian ore) 

 can be as economically smelted by the electrothermic 

 process as hematite. (2) Ores of high sulphur content not 

 containing manganese can be made into pig-iron containing 

 only a few thousandths of i per cent, of sulphur. (3) The 

 silicon content can be varied as required for the class of 

 pig to be produced. (4) Charcoal, which can be cheaply 

 produced from mill refuse or wood which could not other- 

 wise be utilised, can be substituted for coke as a reducing 

 agent, without being briquetted with the ore. (5) A ferro- 

 nickel pig can be produced practically free from sulphur 

 and of fine quality from roasted nickeliferous pyrrhotite. 

 (6) The experiment made with a titaniferous iron ore con- 

 t.aining 17.82 per cent, of titanic acid permits the con- 

 clusion that titaniferous iron ores up to perhaps 5 per cent, 

 titanic acid can be successfully treated by the electric 

 process. — Electrolysis of dilute solutions of acids and 

 alkalis at low potentials : dissolving of platinum at the 

 anode by a direct current : Dr. G. Senter. When dilute 

 solutions of sulphuric acid and of sodium hydroxide are 

 submitted to electrolysis at a potential below that at which 

 oxygen is evolved in the gaseous form, an oxidising agent 

 is formed in a very small amount at the anode. The sub- 

 stance is very stable, and is not destroyed by boiling ; it 

 is not hydrogen peroxide. In the course of the experi- 

 ments with dilute sulphuric acid, it was observed that 

 traces of platinum went into solution from the anode, 

 although the average current density was only about 

 1-5x10-' amperes per sq. cm. 



Dublin. 



Royal Dublin Society, June ig. — Prof. J. A. McClelland 

 in the chair. — The absorption of /3 radiation by matter : 

 Prof. J. A. McClelland and F. E. Hackett. .As pointed 

 out in a previous paper, the coefficient of absorption of 

 B radium rays as usually measured gives little information 

 as to the stopping power of different types of atoms. 

 This arises from the fact that the secondary radiation of 

 B particles is important, and must bo allowed for before 

 a true coefficient is obtained. The measurements in the 

 present paper are made in such a way that this necessary 

 correction can be applied. The results show that the 

 quotient of this true coefficient of absorption by the density 

 is not constant, but depends on the atomic weight of the 

 absorbing substance. The main feature is that the 

 quotient increases as the atomic weight increases ; the rate 

 of increase is not, however, uniform, and there is evidence 

 that the elements fall into divisions with respect to this 

 quotient corresponding to the chemical periods. This may 

 be compared with the previous work by one of the present 

 authors, showing that the emission of secondary radiation 

 is determined by the atomic weight of the substance acted 

 upon. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences. Julv 9.— M. H. Poincare in the 

 chair. — Remarks by M. Berthelot on his work " Arch^o- 

 logie et Histoire des Sciences." — Trypanosomiasis of the 



