30 



NA TURE 



[November 4, 1909 



CsHj.CO.CHj, this was converted into C|,H„.CC1 : CH, 

 by tlie action of pliosphorus pentacliloride, and from this 

 hexahydrophenylacetylene is obtained by the action of 

 potash. The sodium derivative of this, with carbon 

 dioxide, gave sodium hexahydrophenylpropiolate, some 

 derivatives of which are described. — H. Arsandaux : Con- 

 tribution to the study of tlie laterites. — Marin Molliard : 

 Can the amines serve as food for the higher plants? 

 Contrary to the results of Ville and of Lutz, the author's 

 experiments lead to the conclusion that none of the amines 

 can act as food substances for the higher plants. — 

 I. Borcea ; The origin of the heart, the vascular migratory 

 cells, and tlie pigmentary cells in the Teleostea. — .A. 

 Itnbert : The fatigue produced by rapid movements. — 

 C. Fleig : The action of radio-active mineral waters and 

 of artificial serums on the survival of organs or isolated 

 cellular elements of the body. — Maurice d© Rothschild 

 and Henri Neuville : Remarks on the oUapi. — .X. 

 Monvoisin : The acidity of the milk of tuberculous cows. 

 The low acidity of tuberculous milks depends principally 

 upon the diminution in the amount of casein present. — 

 Alfred Angot : The earthquake of October 20-21, igoq. 

 The seismograph records at the Pare Saint-Maur Observa- 

 tory indicate that this earthquake, no mention of which 

 occurs in the newspapers, must have been very violent. 

 Its epicentre was probably in the Himalayas or neighbour- 

 ing mountainous regions. — E. h. Martel : The subter- 

 ranean river of Labouiche or I-^a Grange (Ari^ge). — V. 

 Cremieu : \ new determination of the Newtonian constant. 

 The torsion-balance method, described in a previous paper 

 by the author, gives a value of K = 6.674X 10-', the 

 accuracy estimated being of the order of i in 10,000. — 

 H. Hildebrand Hildebrandsson : Some remarks on the 

 temperatures of summer in various parts of Europe. 

 Calcutt.\. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, Ocioher 6. — T. C. Brown : 

 Stone implements from the Tongyueh district, Yunnan 

 Province, western China (with a short account of the beliefs 

 of the Yiinnanese regarding these objects). \ description of 

 a representative series of twelve stone implements selected 

 from numerous specimens recently examined in Tongyueh 

 is given. Nine of these specimens are fashioned from 

 varieties of jadeite, the other three being cut from red 

 jiate-like, white quartzite, and igneous rocks. The 

 Yiinnanese attribute a celestial origin to these stones, 

 which they believe to possess occult medicinal properties 

 and to be efficacious in the treatment of obdurate diseases 

 in which the medical treatment has failed to produce any 

 beneficial results. Descriptions of the specimens are sub- 

 joined. — H. E. Stapleton : (i) .An alchemical compilation 

 of the thirteenth century a.d. ; (2) contributions to the 

 history and ethnology of north-eastern India, i. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY. Novkmbek 4. 



RoY.\L Society, at 4.30.— (i) The Development of Trypa>w$om<i 

 Gamhiensc in Gtossina J'alpatis ; (2) A Note on tiie Occur- 

 rence of a Trypanosome in the Africin Elephant: Colonel Sir 

 David Bruce, C.E., F.R.S., Captains A. E. Hamerton and H. R. 

 Bateman. R.A.M.C, and Captain F. P. Mackie, I.M..S.-On the 

 Perception of the Direction of Sound: The Lord Rayleigh, O.M., 

 F.R.S.— The Diffraction of Electric Waves: Prof. H. M. Macdonald, 

 F.R.S.— On the Mechanism of the -Absorption Spectra of .Solutions: 

 Robert Houstoun. — (0 Note on the Spontaneous Luminosity of a 

 Uranium Mineral ; (2) The Accumulation of Helium in Geological 

 Time, II: Hon R. J. Strutt, F.R.S.-On the Physical Properties of 

 Gold Leaf at High Temperatures : J. C. Chapman and H. L. Porter. — 

 The Dimensions and Function of the Martian Canals: Dr. H. C. 

 Pocklington, F.R.S. 



Ll.NNE.\N SociETV, at 8.— Some Account of the Field-hotany of Namaqua- 

 land, Damaraland, and South Angola : Prof. H. H. W. Pearson. 



RoNTGEN Society, at 8.15.— Presidential Address : C. E. S. Phillips. 

 FRIDAY, November 5. 



RovAL Anthropological Institute, at 8. 50. — Huxley Memorial Lecture. 

 The North European Race : Prof. G. Retzius. 



MONDAY, November S. 



Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.— Journeys in Bhutan : J. Claude 

 White. 



TUESDAY, November 9. 



Zoological Society, at 8.30. — Some Living Shells, their Recent History, 

 and the Light They Throw on the Latest Physical Changes in the Earth : 

 Sir Henry H. Howorth, K CLE., F.R.S.— The Asiatic Fishes of the 

 Family Anabantida: : C. Tate Regan.— On a Small Collection of 

 Mammals from Egypt: J. Lewis Bonhote. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— The .Single-phase Electrifi. 



cation of the Heysham, Morecambe and Lancaster Branch of the 



Midland Railway: J. Dalziel and J. Sayers.— The Equipment and 



Working-Results of the Mersey Railway under Steam and under Electric 



XO. 2088, VOL. 82] 



Traction: J. Shaw.— The Effect of Electrical Operation on the Per- 

 manent-Way Maintenance of Railways as Illustrated on the Tynemouth 

 Branches of the North-Eastern Railway : Dr. C. A. Harrison. 

 THURSDAY, November ii. 



Royal Society, at ^.-^p.—ProLmbk Papers: The Vacuolation of the 

 Blood-platelets— An E.xperimental Proof of their Cellular Nature : H. C. 

 Ross. -Further Results of the Experimental Treatment of Trypanoso- 

 miasis — being a Progress Report to a Committee of the Royal Society : 

 H. G. Plimmer and Captain W. B. Yry.—Hilllwusia iiiiyabilis, a Giant 

 Sulphur Bacterium : G. S. West and B. M. Griffiths.- 1 he Modes of 

 Division of Spiroclmcta reairretttis and .V. duttoni as observed in 

 the Living Organism : H. B. Fantham and Miss A. Porter. 



Mathematical Society, at 5.30. — Annual General Meeting. — (t) The 

 Ordinal Relations of the Terms of a Convergent Sequence ; (2) The 

 Application to Dirichlet's Series o*" Borel's Exponential Method of 

 Summation ; ^3) Theorems relating to the Summability and Convergence 

 of Slowly Oscillating Series: G. H. Hardy — Notes on Synthetic 

 Geometry: Prof. W. Esson. — Kummer's Quartic Surface as a Wave 

 Surface : H. Bateman.— I he Green's Function in a Wedge, and Other 

 Problems in the Conduction of Heat: Prof. H. S. Carslaw.— The 

 Envelope of a Line cut Harmonically by two Conies : J. L. S. Hatton.— 

 On a Case of y-Hypergeomelric Series: Rev. F. H. Jackson. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8.— Presidential Address: 

 Dr. Gisbert Kapp. 



FRIDAY, November 12. 



Physical Society, at 8.— On the Absorption Spectrum of Potassium 

 Vapour: P. V. Bevan.— Some Further Notes on the Physiological 

 Principles underlying the Flicker Photometer: J. S. Dow.— Exhibition 

 of a Colour.perception Spectrometer : Dr. F. W. Edridge-Green.- Tables of 

 Ber and liei and Ker and Kei Functions, wilh Furthur Formula: for their 

 Computation : H. G. Savidge. 



Royal Astronomical Society, at 5. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Modern Welding, liy F. M. P i 



Problems in Nutrition. By W. D. H 2 



Colour Manufacture 3 



University Administration 3 



Problems of Immortality. By T. P. N 4 



Description of New Minerals. By G. F. H. S. . . 5 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Tuineaure and Maurer : "Principles of Reinforced 



Concrete Construction." — T. H. B 5 



"The Influence of Heredity on Disease, with Special 

 Reference to Tuberculosis, Cancer, and Diseases of 



the Nervous System " . . 6 



Burnet: " The Campaign against Microbes." — Prof. 



R. T. Hewlett 6 



Oakenfull ; " Brazil in 1909." — S. M 6 



Letters to the Editor : — 



The Gallop of the Horse and ihe Dog. {With 

 Z)iag/am.)—Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., 



F.R.S 7 



The Refraclivityof Radium Emanation. — Prof. Alfred 



W. Porter and Clive Cuthbertson .... 7 



Atmospheric Cloudy Condensation. — Dr. John 



Aitken, F.R.S 8 



Magnetic Storms. — Prof. A. Ricco 8 



High Prersute Spark Gap in an Inert Gas. — Rev. F. J. 



Jervis-Smith, F.R.S. . 9 



The Small Motion at the Nodes of a Vibrating String. 



— C. V. Raman . , .... 9 



An Instance of Prolonged Pupation. — Geo. H. Wyld 9 

 A Scientific Mission in Ethiopia. By Sir H. H. John- 

 ston, G. CM. G., K.C.B., F.R.S 9 



The Systematic Motions of the Stars. {Il'it/t 

 Diasiains.) By Prof. F. W. Dyson, F.R.S. ... 11 



The Sea of Aial. By H. N. D 13 



Notes 14 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Changes on Mars 19 



Halley's Comet 19 



Sun-spot Spectra 19 



Designations of newly discovered Variable Stars . 19 



The Motions of Some Stars in Messier 92 (Hercules) 19 

 Solar Vortices and Magnetic Fields. {Illiislralcd.) 



By Prof. George E. Hale, For.Mem.R.S 20 



Recent Agricultural Publications from the West 



Indies 23 



The Quinquecentenary of the University of Leipzig 24 

 International Congress on Pure Foods and Ali- 

 mentary Substances. By Loudon M. Douglas 25 



Education at the Biitish Association 26 



Conference of Delegates of the Corresponding 



Societies, British Association 28 



University and Educational Intelligence 29 



Societies and Academies 29 



Diary of Societies 3° 



