312 



NA TURE 



[July 27, 1905 



of differential equations : Emile Cotton. — A contribution to 

 the study of liquid dielectrics : P. Gourde de Villemontee. 

 The author's experiments were made with reference to the 

 influence of the duration of charge, and the electric state 

 of the mass after discharge. The results show that the 

 propagation of electric charges across petrol and paraffin 

 is comparable with that observed in crystalline dielectrics. 

 — E.\perimental researches on the effect of membranes in 

 liquid chains : M. Chanoz, The electromotive force de- 

 veloped by the chain of the general nature MR|H„0|MR 

 depends for sign and intensity upon the nature of the 

 membrane, the nature and concentration of the salt solu- 

 tion MR, and the relative position of the membranes to 

 the liquids. — On fluorescence ; C. Camichel. Further 

 experiments on the coefficient of absorption in uraniuin 

 glass when fluorescence is excited. — On the velocity of 

 crystallisation from supersaturated solutions : Charles 

 Leenhardt. — On the preparation of binary compounds of 

 metals by means of heating with aluminium : C. 

 Matigrnon and R. Trannoy. The great reducing power 

 of aluiTiinium has been utilised to prepare a considerable 

 number of metallic phosphides, arsenides, silicides, and 

 "borides. — On the reduction of thorium oxide by amorphous 

 Tjoron, and the preparation of two borides of thorium ; 

 Binet du Jassonneux. — On the action of chloroacetic 

 esters on the halogen magnesium derivatives of ortho- 

 toluidine : F. Bodroux. — On the action of ethylamine and 

 jsobutylamine on ciesium : E. Rengade. \\'hen ethvl- 

 amine is condensed on perfectly pure csesium a blue colour 

 appears in the liquid which does not occur with sodium 

 or calcium. In time the metal becomes a mercury-like 

 substance which evolves gas readilv. and is considered bv 

 the author to be csesium-ethyl-ammonium. — Attempts at 

 reduction in the dinitro-diphenvl-methane series of com- 

 pounds : H. Duval. — On the condensation of chloral with 

 aromatic hydrocarbons under the influence of aluminium 

 chloride : Adolphe Dinesmann. By the action of chloral 

 on benzene the author obtains in the given conditions 

 excellent yields of trichloro-methyl-phenyl-carbinol, 



C5H5— CHOH— CCl,. 

 A similar condensation takes place with toluene, para- 

 xylene, and anisol. — On 3 : 3-dimethyl-butyro-lactone : G. 

 Blanc. — On the action of acetylene tetrabromide and 

 aluminium chloride on toluene : James Lavaux. — On 

 gentio-picrine : Georges Tanret. — On coffees without 

 caffeine : Gabriel Bertrand. Coffea Humhlotiana is note- 

 worthy as containing barely a trace of the alkaloid. — On 

 the development of green plants in light, in the complete 

 absence of carbon dio.xide. and in an artificial soil con- 

 taining amides : Jules Lefevre. The presence of the 

 amides enabled plants to find the carbon necessary for the 

 synthesis of both protoplasm and tissues. — On two cases 

 of grafting {Ipomea purpurea with Ouatnoclit coccinea and 

 Helianthus multiflorus with Helianthus annuus) : Lucien 

 Daniel. — On the disinfectant properties of smokes ; 

 attempts at disinfection with the vapour evolved from 

 burning sugar : A. Trillat. — On the identification of the 

 skin of the American admiral Paul Jones, 113 years after 

 his death : MM. Capitan and Papillault. — On the 

 multiple affinities of the Hoplophorida^ : H. Coutiere. — 

 On a new exploration of the abyss of the Trou-dc-Souci : 

 E. A. Martel. — On the mineral constituents of the water 

 supplying Paris : L. Cayeux. — The hailstorm of July 16 : 

 .\. Berget. Hailstones were found to weigh as much as 

 70 grams. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, May 31. — Mr. T. Steel, president, in 

 the chair. — Notes on the Eucalypts of the Blue Mountains, 

 N.S.W. : J. H. Maiden and R. H. Cambagre. The 

 authors enumerate twenty-seven species and one variety 

 collected by them. One of these, for which they propose 

 the name of E. Moorei, is new ; it has hitherto been looked 

 upon as a narrow-leaved variety of E. stelluiata, Sieb., 

 but the juvenile foliage, for example, is very different. 

 The past year was a specially favourable season for 

 natural seedlings of the above genus, and a number of 

 them are described for the first time. Particular notice 

 is devoted to the Blue Mountain form of E. capitellata, 

 Sni. Attention is directed to three plants which cannot, 



NO. '865, VOL. 72] 



in strictness, be referred to any existing species, and whi. * 

 are looked upon as possible hybrids. The Blue Mountain- 

 with their ready accessibility to both plateaux and vallt\ - 

 considerable range in elevation, and rich Eucalyptus flor;i 

 afford special facilities for a study of the genus. — Noti- 

 on the native flora of New South Wales, part iii. : R. II 

 Cambagre. This paper refers to the flora of the counli 

 between Orange, Dubbo, and Gilgandra, and directs attf; 

 tion to the great change that lakes place from dimat 

 causes which are regulated by the change in altitude, th' 

 fall in the country from Orange to Gilgandra amountiiiL; 

 to about 2000 feet. Although much of the true interior 

 flora is to be found at the latter place, it is noted that a 

 number of plants which are typical of the coastal vegeta- 

 tion are also growing there, and the reason may be traced 

 to the fact that a large sandstone area, chiefly Triassic, 

 extends from Sydney across the Blue Mountains, con- 

 tinuing in broken remnants past Gulgong towards Dubbo 

 and Gilgandra ; and many of those plants which are able 

 to withstand the cold of the higher levels cross the moun- 

 tains and continue on the similar geological formation out 

 towards the western plains. Reference is also made to an 

 interesting species of .Acacia, known locally as Motherum- 

 bung, and having affinities with .4. Gnidium, Benth., but 

 which in the absence of full material has not yet been 

 identified. — Descriptions of new species of Australian 

 Coleoptera : H. J. Carter. Fourteen species are de- 

 scribed as new. These are referable to three families and 

 eight genera, namely : — fam. Tenebrionidfe, Pterohelseus, 

 Encara, Menephilus, Otrintus, Adelium (five species), and 

 Coripera (two species) ; fam. OEdemeridas, Pseudolvchus 

 (two species) ; fam. Pedilidae, Egestria. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Agents of Earth Sculpture. By H. B. W. . . 289 



Machinery for Handling Raw Material. By T. H. B. 290 



The Butterflies of India 290 



The State and Agriculture .... 291 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Hanke : " The Treatment of Diseases of the Eye " . 292 



Schneider: "Die Slellung Gassendis zu Deskartes " . 292 

 Poynting and Thom.son : " A Texl-book of Physics, 



Heat."— H. L. C. 293 



" The Oxford Atlas of the British Colonies. Part i." 293 

 Le Chatelier and Boudouard : " High Temperature 



Measurements " 293 



Letters to the Editor: - 



A Comparison between Two Theories of Radiation. — 



J. H. Jeans 293 



On the Spontaneous Aciion of Radium on Gelatin 



Media. — John Butler Burke 294 



The Problem of the Random Walk. —Prof. Karl 



Pearson, F.R.S 294 



British Arch.-eology and Philistinism. — Worthing- 



ton G. Smith . 294 



Graphical Solution of Cubic and Ijuartic Equations. — 



H. Ivah Thomsen ... 295 



The Present Position of the Cancer Problem. By 



Prof. R. T. Hewlett 295 



British Fruit Growing 297 



Notes 298 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Astronomical Occurrences in August 302 



Photographs of the Martian Canals 302 



Dutch Observations of the Corona 303 



The North Polar Snow-cap on Mars, 1904-5 .... 303 



Vegetation and the Sun-spot Period 303 



Visibility of the Dark Hemisphere of Venus . . 303 



Determinations of Meteor Radiants 303 



The Institution of Naval Architects ... . 303 



The Congress of the Royal Institute of Public 



Health 306 



Eclipse Shadow Bands, By A .Lawrence Rotch 307 



The Latent Image. By Prof. J. Joly, F.R.S. . 30S 



Glacial Studies in Canada, (llluslraled) By Prof. 



Grenville A. J. Cole 310 



University and Educational Intelligence . . 311 



Societies and Academies 311 



