Marcu 14, 1912| 
and what steps the Government proposes to take in 
the matter, in view of the unsatisfactory accommoda- 
tion for the University disclosed in the report of the 
Royal Commission on University Education in 
London? In reply, Mr. Asquith said the Government 
has provided accommodation for the London Uni- 
versity throughout its history. The minute cited was 
written before the removal of the old University to 
South Kensington, and refers to the possibility of an 
arrangement between the authorities of the Imperial 
Institute and the Treasury. It must not be construed 
as admitting liability on the part of the Government 
to provide for all possible requirements of the Uni- 
versity in the future. The report of the Royal Com- 
mission points out that the University must depend 
to a large extent upon private endowments for its full 
development. The Government does not think that it 
would be opportune to take any steps in connection 
with the matter before the final report of the Com- 
mission is published. 
SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 
LonpDon. 
Royal Society, February 29.—Sir Archibald Geikie, 
K.C.B., president, in the chair.—Dr. A. Harden and 
Dorothy Norris. The bacterial production of acetyl- 
methylcarbinol and 2: 3-butylene glycol.—II. Péré 
considered that glyceraldehyde was produced during 
the bacterial fermentation of sugars, and advanced the 
hypothesis that all sugars undergoing such decom- 
position were primarily broken down to glycerose. 
The authors have repeated his experiments, and find 
that the volatile, reducing, and levorotatory substance 
which he considered to be glyceraldehyde is in reality | 
acetylmethylearbinol. Hence the above hypothesis 
cannot be considered as proved. A quantitative ex- 
amination has been made of the products formed by 
the action of B. lactis. aérogenes (Escherich) on 
glycerol under anaérobic conditions. These consist of 
ethyl alcohol and formic acid, comprising 60 per cent. 
of the whole, together with smaller quantities of 
acetic, lactic and succinic acids and 2: \ 
glycol, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen.—H. S. Ryland 
NATURE 51 
is given of the lines or curves of progression in rela- 
tion to rotation. Other points to which attention is 
directed are :—muscles involved; strength of effort; 
change of direction; inversion; equatorial section; 
recording surfaces of plasticene and other substances; 
the inertia and momentum of the rhythmic action. 
(2) Locomotion under water.—Here the lantern is not 
needed for ordinary locomotion, particularly over more 
or less horizontal surfaces. ‘There are, however, 
various circumstances, normal and experimental, in 
which it is employed with effect—for example, when 
the urchins are loaded or travelling up a slope on 
certain surfaces, or only partially immersed, or mount- 
ing rapidly up a vertical surface. (3) The locomotor 
| action of the lantern is a particular manifestation of 
3-butylene | 
and B. T. Lang: An instrument for measuring the | 
distance between the centres of rotation of the two 
eyes. The apparent position of a pin fixed at a known 
distance in front of a scale is taken with each eye 
singly. The operation is repeated with the pin at a 
different distance, the other conditions remaining un- 
altered. From the data thus obtained the distance 
between the centres of rotation of the two eyes can be 
calculated. The result is independent of variations in 
the distance between the pupils, and the process can 
be applied in cases of squint. In an alternative 
method three pins in a row parallel to the scale are 
used.—J. F. Gemmill: The locomotor function of the 
lantern in Echinus, with remarks on other allied 
lantern activities. (1) Locomotion out of water (refer- 
ence is made to previous accounts by Romanes and | 
Ewart).—The urchin raises itself from time to time 
on the tips of its teeth in preparation for a forward 
“step ’’ or lurch. The ‘‘ step ’’ is then brought about 
(a) by strong pushing or poling on the part of the 
lantern, (b) by similar but weaker action on the part 
of the spines, (c) by the influence of gravity acting | 
at a certain stage. Active progression by lantern 
alone is possible in small and medium-sized urchins. 
Progression by spines alone is very limited indeed. 
An urchin can travel with the help of its lantern even 
when loaded to the extent of half a pound or more. 
There is usually some rotation as well as progression, 
but the two are not associated as cause and effect. 
The causes of rotation are discussed, and an analysis 
NO. 2211, VOL. 89] 
a rhythmic functional activity which can also sub- 
serve feeding (no doubt the most important function), 
boring, and ‘‘ forced respiration.”’—Captain A. D. 
Fraser and Dr. H. L. Duke: The relation of wild 
animals to. trypanosomiasis. (1) Trypanosoma uni- 
forme was the only species of trypanosome obtained 
as the result of examination of wild animals, in- 
cluding thirty-two Lake-shore antelopes. (2) The 
available evidence points to bush-pig, crocodile, 
monitor, frog, and fowls being refractory to T. 
gambiense. (3) The edible rat, which is susceptible to 
T. gambiense, can, by virtue of its habits, be of little 
importance in considering the question of a reservoir. 
—Dr. H. L. Duke: The transmission of Trypanosoma 
nanum (Laveran). This trypanosome can be trans- 
mitted by Glossina palpalis, the proportion of positive 
flies obtained being relatively large, and indicating 
that this fly may play an important part in the spread 
of the disease in Uganda.—E. H. Ross: The develop- 
ment of a leucocytozoon of guinea-pigs. The paper 
describes an investigation of some remarkable struc- 
tures found in the mononuclear leucocytes (lympho- 
cytes) of the blood of guinea-pigs; they are known 
as ‘‘ Kurloff’s bodies.’”’ There has been considerable 
controversy regarding the nature of these bodies, 
some authorities describing them as vacuoles contain- 
ing secretion products, some as symbiotic structures, 
as chlamydozoa, as cytoryctes, as parasites, and as 
spurious parasites. By a new technique for in vitro 
staining, known as the jelly method, the minute 
structure of these bodies can be seen, while the 
lymphocytes which contain them are stained alive. 
The method shows conclusively that Kurloff’s bodies 
are living parasites. The method also shows how the 
bodies develop within the lymphocyte host, for the 
chromatin within them stains in the various phases, 
and the whole development can be followed from the 
earliest Leishmania-like inclusion in the leucocytes 
until ultimately the leucocytozoon is seen to contain 
a mass of spirochete-like bodies which have been 
likened to gametes. The blood of such guinea-pigs 
shows, when examined with the dark-ground 
illumination, free-swimming spirochaetes, and these 
have been fixed and stained. The details of the jelly 
method are described. 
March 7.—Sir Archibald Geikie, K.C.B., president, 
in the chair.—Sir William Crookes: The devitrifica- 
tion of silica glass. A clear and transparent tube of 
silica glass with a bulb blown at one end was ex- 
hausted to a high vacuum. It was heated in an 
electric resistance furnace in such a manner that the 
bulb was exposed to the greatest heat while the lower 
part of the tube was comparatively cool. After being 
kept at a temperature of 1300° C. for twenty hours 
the bulb and upper part of the tube had devitrified, 
becoming white and translucent like frosted glass. 
The tube was resealed, exhausted, and exposed to 
1300° for eleven hours. On cooling, the point of the 
tube was broken under mercury, and from the 
