236 



NA TURE 



[August 12, 1922 



('ape Town. 



Royal Society of South Africa, June 21. — Dr. C. F. 

 Juritz in the chair. — S. H. Haughton : On some 

 upper Beaufort Therapsida. A new genus of 

 Cynodont reptile, Cynidiognathus, for the species 

 iceps based on a skull from the Burghersdorp 

 described. Its dental formula is i4Cimio. 

 There are well-marked palatine processes of the 

 premaxillae, no prevomers, and the epipterygoid is 

 retracted from the quadrate. A skull thought to 

 be Cynognathus berrvi is assigned to the new genus 

 under the name of C. broomi. The palate and basi- 

 cranium of yElurosuchus is discussed ; the genus 

 belongs to the Bauriamorpha. — T. J. Mackie : 

 Observations on the protective action of normal 

 serum in experimental infection with Bacillus 

 diphtheria. In guinea-pigs experimentally infected 

 with B. diphtheria, normal serum from various 

 animals, injected subcutaneously at the same time 

 as the inoculation, exerts a definite protective action. 

 No protection occurs if the serum injection is delayed 

 for 2 hours after the inoculation — the effect is pro- 

 phylactic, not curative. The activity of the serum 

 persists at 57° C, but is lost at 70 C. and higher. 

 Serum from one guinea-pig injected subcutaneously 

 into another is fully protective or exerts a delaying 

 effect ; it is noteworthy that serum of an individual 

 of species highly susceptible to experimental B. 

 diphtheria infection should be capable of affording 

 some protection when injected parenterally into 

 another animal of the same species infected with the 

 particular organism. Normal horse serum is also 

 protective in guinea-pigs injected with diphtheria 

 toxin. — W. A. Jolly : Note on the electrogram of 

 the frog's gastrocnemius reflexly excited. Records 

 of the electrical change in the gastrocnemius when 

 contraction is elicited reflexly by mechanical stimula- 

 tion of the heteronymous foot, show that the response 

 of the muscle is of the nature of a tetanus. — J. S. 

 van der Lingen : Note on a cystoscopic irradiator 

 and an ultra-violet light illuminator. The illuminator 

 consists of a lens-system, of two quartz lenses and 

 an iris diaphragm, whereby a field may be illuminated 

 with any desired group of ultra-violet waves. One 

 irradiator takes the form of a quartz-rod or tube 

 shaped like a cystoscope, and the illuminator, by 

 which rays are passed into the organs to be illuminated. 

 The rays pass out only at the spherical tip. The 

 other form consists of an exhausted tube bent into 

 the form of a cystoscope, with a bulb at the external 

 end containing a small quantity of mercury. Carbon- 

 monoxide is introduced into the tube by heating, 

 and this causes the mercury to radiate at a low 

 temperature, when a high-frequency field oscillates 

 in a helix placed over the external end of the tube. 



Sydney. 



Linnean Society of New South Wales, May 31. — 

 Mr. G. A. Waterhouse, president, in the chair. — G. 

 D. Osborne : The geology and petrography of the 

 Clarencetown-Paterson district. Pt. 1. The descrip- 

 tions are based upon an exhaustive survey of about 

 200 sq. miles containing rocks of the Burindi Series, 

 Kuttung Series and the Cainozoic System. It is 

 suggested that the Kuttung Series be divided into a 

 basal stage, a volcanic stage, and a glacial stage in con- 

 sequence of modifications found in the general sequence, 

 the most important of which is the discovery of glacially- 

 produced rocks on a much lower stratigraphic level 

 than hitherto recognised. Five detailed sections of 

 the volcanic stage are described. The work confirms 



the broad stratigraphical succession as given by C. A. 

 Sussmilch. — G. F. Hill : Descriptions and biology of 

 some North Australian termites. Four new species 

 and two hitherto undescribed castes of the genera | 

 Eutermes and Hamitermes are described. — J. B. 

 Cleland : A second bird census. — A census of the 

 numbers of species and individuals observed on a 

 series of journeys in various districts. The districts 

 covered are southern coastal Queensland, Blue Mts., 

 N.S.W., South Western Plains, N.S.W., Adelaide 

 and Renmark Districts, S.A., and the Central Northern 

 District, S.A. 



Royal Society of New South Wales, June 7. — Mr. 

 C. A. Sussmilch, president, in the chair. — A. R. 

 Penfold : The isolation and identification of the acid 

 bodies produced by the oxidation of piperitone by ■ 

 means of potassium permanganate. The ketone 

 used was from Eucalyptus dives, and three acids were 

 identified. — M. Henry : The incidence of anthrax 

 in stock in Australia. Introduced originally about 

 eighty years ago, anthrax attained serious proportions 

 in certain districts, but during the last thirty years 

 there has been a decline in the area infected. The 

 disease has always been definitely localised. It was 

 introduced near Sydney and carried inland and into 

 Victoria but then disappeared from its original areas. 

 At present most of the coastal districts, the table- 

 lands and the Western Division of New South Wales 

 are anthrax free. The real anthrax country consists 

 of a belt in the western slopes ; in Victoria there is 

 a similar belt. Queensland is free, and possibly was 

 never affected, and in the rest of Australia the ' 

 disease is negligible. The season of greatest danger 

 from anthrax is the summer and early autumn. 

 The mortality from it is not heavy. There is an 

 inhibitive factor which has prevented anthrax 

 becoming more widespread. Among human agencies 

 the controlling factors have been vaccination, 

 quarantine, destruction of carcases by fire, breaking 

 up of large estates, and substitution of agricultural 

 for pastoral activities. Contaminated coil is generally 

 the source of infection ; infected feeding-stuffs, the 

 common source of infection in England, do not 

 operate. — E. Cheel : (1) Notes on the species of 

 Darwinia Homoranthus, and Rylstonea in the states 

 of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and 

 Queensland. The plants are known as " Fringe 

 Myrtles " or " Scent Myrtles," and are said to be of ■' 

 importance on account of the essential oil contained - 

 in the leaves. The plants known as Darwinia 

 taxifolia are very variable and great care is necessary 

 in the selection of material if pure grades of oil are 

 required. Plants originally collected at Rylstone 

 and given the name Rylstonea are probably forms 

 ■ ■I Verticordia darwinioides. (2) Notes on Melaleuca • 

 li not) 11 folia and Melaleuca trichostachya. These species 

 are commonly known as " Tea Tree " and " Tee-doo " 1 

 respectively, and are also said to be of importance 

 on account of the essential oil contained in the 

 leaves 



Official Publications Received. 



Imperial Department of Agriculture for the West Indies. Report on 

 the Agricultural Department, St. Kitts-Nevis, 1920-1921. Pp. iv+33. 

 (Barbados.) ad. 



Department of Agriculture, Trinidad and Tobago. Administration 

 Report of the Director of Agriculture for the year 1921. Pp. 12. 

 (Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.) ad. 



On the State of the Public Health : Annual Report of the Chief 

 Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health'for the year 1921. Pp. 115. 

 (London : H.M. Stationery Office.) Is. ad. net. 



NO. 2754, VOL. I IO] 



