48o 



NA TURE 



[February 17, 19 10 



were unsuccessful. — A. Trillat : Disinfection by incomplete 

 combustion. — F. Bordas and M. Touplain : Contribution 

 to tlie studv of tlie reactions due to the colloidal state of 

 milk. The authors think that their results demonstrate 

 the uselessness of assuming the intervention of anEer- 

 o.xydasps, catalases, &c., to explain the phenomena of 

 the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in milk. — MM. 

 Maurain and Warcollier : The action of the ultra-violet 

 rays on wine in course of fermentation. It is shown that 

 the sterilisation of white wine is easier than cider. — 

 J. Chevalier : The influence of culture on the amount 

 of alkaloids in some Solanace;c. In the cultivation of 

 belladonna the addition of phosphatic or potash manures 

 did not cause any addition to the alkaloid percentage ; the 

 amount of the latter is considerably increased, however, 

 by the use of nitrogenous manures, a mixture of nitrates 

 and farmyard manure giving the best results. — M. Hesyi : 

 Some observations on the black scab of the potato. This 

 disease, which has caused great damage to the potato 

 crops in Hungary and Germany, has been attributed to 

 Bacillus phytophihorus, propagated by infected tubercles. 

 The author's observations have led to the conclusion that 

 the disease is not propagated by the tubercles, but is due 

 to the bacteria of the soil penetrating through lesions 

 into the interior of the stem. — M. Doyon : The formation 

 in the liver of an anti-coagulating substance under the 

 influence of an alkaloid. — A. Rosenstiehl : The conse- 

 quences of Young's theory. Chromatic construction in 

 space. — Louis RoMie : Fishes of the family of Nemich- 

 thyides. — F,. Vasticar : The structure of the tectoria. — 

 H. Vincent : The experimental bases of anti-typhoid 

 vaccination. — H. Carre : The etiology of intestinal con- 

 gestion in the horse. — L. Cayeux : The limestone algae of 

 the Girvanella group, and the formation of ooliths. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



THURSDAY. pEnRUMiV 17. 

 Royal Society, at 4.30. — Phosphorescence proHiiced bv a- and /3-Ravs : 

 E. Marsden.— Theory of the Luminosilv pro()"ced in Cenain Substances 

 bya-Rays; Prof. E. Rntherford. F.R.S.-(a) The Scatterine of t'-e 

 o-Partides by Matter; (/.) The Ionization produced by an a-Partirle. 

 Part 11.: Connection between lonisation and Absorption : Dr. H. Geiger. 

 —The Influence of Pressure on the Boiling Points of Metals : H. C. 

 Greenwood.— On the Viscosities of the Gases of the Argon Group : 

 A. O. Rankine. 

 Royal Institution, at 3.— Illumination, Natural and Artificial (Experi- 

 mentally Illustrated) : Prof. S. P Thompson, F.R.S. 

 LiNNEAN Society, at 8.— The Plum-moths .f the Seychelles Expedition : 

 T. B. Fletcher. R.N.— Die von Herrn Hueh Scott, auf den Seychellen 

 sesammelten F.mbiidinen, Coniopteryg-den und Hemerob'ideen " Dr. G. 

 Enderlein. — Die Termiten der S-vchellen-Reeion : Dr. Nils Hohngreen. 

 —On the Land and Amphibious Decapoda of Aldabr.1 : L. A. Bo'radaile. 

 Royal Society of Arts, at 4.30. — The Bombay Housing Question ; 



G. O. W. Dunn. 

 Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, at 8. 

 Royal Geographical Society, at 5. — Waves in Water, Sand, and Snow : 



Dr. Vaughan Cornish. 

 Royal A\'Thropological Institute, at 5.— Head Hunters in Assam : 



T. C. Hodson. 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. — Electric Clocks; F. 

 Hope-Jones. 



FRIDAY, February i8. 



Royal Institution, at 9.— Halleys Comet : Prof. H. H. Turner, F.R.S. 



Institution of Mechanical Engineers, at 8.— Annual General 



Meeting. — Further discussion : Ninth Report to the Alloys Research 



Committee; f)n the Properties of some Alloys of Copper, Aluminium. 



and Manganese (with an .Appendix on the Corrosion of Alloys of 



Copper and Aluminium when Exposed to the Sea) ; Dr. W. Rosenhain 



and F. C. A. H. Lantsberry. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8. — Irrigation Works : Sir R. 



Hanbury Brown, K.C.M.G. 



SATURDAY. February to. 

 Royal Institution, at 3. — Electric Waves and the Electromagnetic 

 Theory of Light ; Sir J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. 



MONDAY, February 21. 

 Royal Geographical Society, at 8.30.— Explorations in and around 



Lake Chad ; Captain J. Tilho. 

 Royal Society o"f Arts, at 8.— The Petrol Motor ; Prof. W. Watson, 



F.R.S. 

 Victoria Institute, at 4.30.— Arianism in its Bearing on Modern Ques- 

 tions ; Prof. H. M. Gwatkin. 



TUESDAY, February 22. 

 Royal Institution, at 3.— The Emotions and their Expression ; Prof. 



F. W, Mott, F.R.S. 

 Royal Anthropological Institute, at 8.15.— Notes on the Northern 



Albanians; Miss M Edith Durhnm. 

 Institution op Civil Engineers, at 8. -The Hudson River Tunnels of 

 the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company; C. M. Jacobs. 

 WEDNESDAY, February 23. 

 Geological Society, at 8. — Metamorphism around the Ross of Mull 



Granite ; T- O. Bosivorth. 

 Royal Society of Arts, at S.— Oxy-acetylene Welding ; H. S. Smith. 



NO. 2103, VOL. 82] 



British .Astronomical Association, at 5. 



Royal Meteorological Society (in the Physical Laboratory of the 

 University of Manchester), at .;.— Inve-tigation of the Electrical State 

 of the Upper Atmosphere made at the Howard Estate Observatory, 

 Glossop: Dr. W. M..kower, A. J. Makower, and .Miss M. W.ite.— 

 Results of the Hourly Registering-balloon Ascents from Manchester, 

 Tune 2 and 3, 190Q ; W. \ Harwood. — Line Squalls and Associated 

 "Phenomena ; R. G. K. Lempfert and R. Corless. 



THURSDAY, February 24. 



Royal Society, at t.-^a.— Probable Papers : Colour-blindness and the Tri- 

 chromatic Theory of Colour Vision : Sir William Abney, K.C. B., F.R.S. 

 — Contributions to the Biochemistry of Growth ; (a) The Total Nitrogen 

 Metabf lism of Rats bearing Malignant New Growths ; (6) Distribution 

 of Nitrogenous Substances in Tumour and Somatic Tissue ; \V. Cramer 

 and H Pringle.— The Alcoholic Ferment of Yeast Juice : Part V., The 

 Function of Phosphates in Alcoholic Fermentation ; Dr. A. Harden, 

 F.R.S.. and W. ]. Young.- And other Papers. 



Royal Institution, at 3. — Illumination, Natural and Artificial: Prof. 

 S. P. Thompson, F.R.S. 



Institution of Electrical Engineers, at 8. 



Royal In.stitutk 

 O.M., F.R.S. 



Physical Society, at 5.— Telephone Circuits; Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S.— 

 On the Laws regarding the Direction of Thermo-electric Currents 

 enunciated by M. Thomas; Prof. C. H. Lees, F.R.S.— A New Method 

 of Detrmining Thermal Conductivity; H. R. Nettleton. 



Institution of Civil Engineers, at 8.— Irrigation Works : Sir R. 

 Hanbury Brown, K.C.M.G. 



.■?/) TURD A Y, February 26. 



Royal Institution, at 3. Electric Waves and the Electromagnetic 

 Theory of Light ; Sir J. J. Thomson, F.R.S. 



CONTENTS. PACK 



Aseptic Su'gery 451 



A Naturalist in Ecuador 452 



Australian Animals 453 



Machine Design 454 



The Atrium of South Africa. By G. A. J. C. . . 454 

 Out Book Sh'K ;- 



Philip ; " The Romance of Modern Chemistry." — 



A. S. 455 



Druce : " Hayward's Botanist's Pocket-book " . . . 455 



■' Yoikshire Type Ammonites " 455 



Ficker : " Klimatographie von (iiterreich." Part IV. 455 

 "The Scholar's Book of Travel"; Hughes and 



Hughes: "Cambiidge County Geographies" . . 456 

 Letters to the Editoi 



The Fertilising Influence of Sunlight.— A. Howard 



and G. L. C. Howard 456 



A Note on the Gilded Metal-work of Chiiiqtii, 



Central America.— Oswald H. Evans . . . 457 

 Suggested Common Day of Meeting for London 



Societies.— Major Ronald Ross, C.B., F R.S. 457 

 The Meaning of " lonisation."— Prof. Henry E. 

 Armstrong, F.R.S. ; Pro'. James Walker, 



F.R.S 458 



The Invention of the Slide Rule.— Dr. Potamian . 458 



Transit of Halley's Comet.— Rev. C. S. Taylor . . 458 



Dargerous Lecture Experiments. — M. D. Hill . . . 458 



Aged Tadpoles. —John Don 458 



South Sea Savages. {Illuslialtd.) By S. H. R. . . 459 



The French Antarctic Expedition 460 



Radium in Disease efio 



A Simple Method of Electroplating. By F. M. P. 461 



University College, London 462 



Aspects of Astronomy 463 



Notes 463 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet igia; 468 



The Magnetic Storm of September, 1909, and Solar 



Phenomena ... 468 



The Intrinsic Light of the Sky . . 468 



Elliptic Elements and an Ephemeris for Daniel's 



Comet, 1909c 468 



Publicritions of the Lund Observatory, Sweden . . 468 

 Improvements in Resilient Wheels for Vehicles. 



(llhistralcd.) ... . 469 



The Spectrum of the Zodiacal Light. By W. E. 



Rolston . 470 



Technical Education in Germany and the United 



Kingdom . 47' 



University and Educational Intelligence 474 



Societies and Academies 475 



Diary of Societies 480 



