August 26, 1922] 



NA TURE 



299 



Societies and Academies. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences, July 24. — M. Hallcr Li the 

 chair. — Charles Moureu : The third international 

 conference of pure and applied chemistry. This 

 conference was held at Lyons from June 27 to July 1, 

 and was attended by representatives from 24 nations. 

 The next meeting will be held at Cambridge in June 

 1923. — Maurice Leblanc : The electrification of rail- 

 ways by means of high frequency alternating currents. 

 — V. Grignard and A. C. Purdy : a-/3'-dichlorethyl 

 ether. Three of the four possible dichlorethers are 

 known. The fourth, CH 3 . CHC1 . O . CH 2 . CH 2 C1, 

 has now been prepared by the action of dry hydro- 

 chloric acid upon a mixture of paraldehyde and 

 ethylene monochlorhydrin. — M. Abramesco : The 

 series of polynomials with two complex variables. — 

 Farid Boulad Bey : The geometrical examination of 

 the internal forces and displacements round a point 

 in an elastic body. — Paul Dienes : The displacement 

 of tensors. — Paul Sacerdote and Pierre Lambert : A 

 new method for detecting the presence of a submarine. 

 The plan proposed is suitable for a narrow entrance 

 to a port and is based on the difference between the 

 electric conductivity of the submarine and of sea 

 water. — G. Athanasiu : An actinometer with elec- 

 trodes of mercury covered with a thin layer of 

 mercurous chloride, bromide, fluoride, or sulphide. 

 A cell is constructed of H form, with mercury elec- 

 trodes covered with a thin film of haloid salt. Ex- 

 posure of one electrode to light causes an immediate 

 increase in the E.M.F. of the cell. — St. Procopiu : The 

 variations in the arc spectrum of mercury with the 

 conditions of emission. In a vacuum, working at 14 

 to 15 volts, with low vapour pressure, there are more 

 lines visible in the ultra-violet (up to 2191) than when 

 working with 65 volts and 3-5 amperes. Other 

 modifications are noted if the arc is working in air or 

 in coal gas, the lines forming the triplets in the two 

 secondary series being specially affected. — Mile. Irene 

 Curie : The determination of the velocity of a rays of 

 polonium. The method of deviation in a magnetic 

 field was employed ; and this gave 1-593 x io 9 cm. 

 per second for the velocity of the a rays of polonium, 

 with a precision of about 0-3 per cent. Geiger, by a 

 different method, obtained a result within 0-4 per 

 cent, of the above. — P. Lebeau and M. Picon : The 

 reactions furnished by sodammonium with hydro- 

 carbons. Paraffins and ethylene derivatives are 

 unacted upon by sodammonium : allylene gives 66 

 per cent, of the sodium derivative and 33 per cent, of 

 propylene, and other hydrocarbons of the acetylene 

 series behave similarly. Benzene and its derivatives 

 are unacted upon, as are also the terpenes. Naphtha- 

 lene, acenaphthene, and phenathrene give tetra- 

 hydrides. — Octave Mengel : The fall of dust called a 

 " rain of blood." Remarks on the coloured snow 

 which fell in Briancon on March 12, 1922. The 

 meteorological data suggest that this dust came from 

 the Sahara. — Emile F. Terroine and Rene Wurmser : 

 The utilisation of ternary substances in the growth of 

 Aspergillus niger. This mould would appear to 

 utilise indifferently any sugar in its growth, and shows 

 no qualitative preference. The sugars used were 

 glucose, levulose, saccharose, maltose, arabinose, and 

 xylose. The concentration of the nitrogenous food 

 (ammonium sulphate) was also without effect on the 

 growth, but the nature of the source of nitrogen had 

 a marked influence. — L. Blaringhem : The heredity 

 of the physiological characters in the hybrids of barley 

 (second generation). — Paul Becquerel : The theory of 

 the meriphyte in the phenomena of vascular ontogeny. 



NO. 2756, VOL. I IO] 



— A. Pezard : The idea of the "seuil differentiel" and 

 progressive masculinisation of certain female birds. 

 The experimental results relating to the action of the 

 ovary on the plumage of birds can explain, on the 

 hormone theory alone, some anomalies apparently in 

 disagreement with recent theories of endocrinology. — 

 Paul Wintrebert : The mode of building of the vomer 

 in the course of metamorphosis in the Salamandrida?. 

 — Paul Carnot and Marc Tiffeneau : A new hypnotic 

 in the barbituric series : butyl-ethyl-malonylurea. 

 The hypnotic properties of the dialkyl-malonylureas 

 were studied by E. Fischer from dimethyl to the 

 di-isoamyl derivative ; but the unsymmetrically sub- 

 stituted malonylureas were not examined. This has 

 been taken up by the authors, who find in ethyl- 

 butyl-malonylurea a useful new hj-pnotic. It has 

 three times the hypnotic power of veronal and has 

 given satisfactory results in chnical practice. 



July 31. — M. Guignard in the chair. — The president 

 announced the death of M. Louis Fave. — Emile 

 Picard : The meeting of the International Re- 

 search Council held at Brussels in July 1922. The 

 address given by M. Picard at the opening of the 

 meeting. — L. Maquenne and E. Demoussy : The 

 influence of calcium on the utilisation of the 

 reserves during the germination of seeds. It has 

 been shown that the influence of calcium on the 

 germination of seeds is specific, and other elec- 

 trolytes do not produce the same effect. Calcium 

 salts are almost without influence on the diastatic 

 conversion of the insoluble reserves into soluble 

 products ; it is possible, but not yet proved, that the 

 ferments responsible for the reconversion of the 

 soluble products into plant tissue may be stimulated 

 by the presence of lime. — R. Chodat and E. Rouge : 

 The intracellular localisation of an oxydase and 

 localisation in general. — Jules Baillaud : Some data 

 on the constitution of the galactic cluster deduced 

 from the study of the zone of the Paris photographic 

 catalogue. — Jean G. Popesco : The relation between 

 photo-electric phenomena and the surface tension of 

 mercury. The surface tension of an electrically 

 charged drop of mercury was measured by a photo- 

 graphic method before and after exposure to ultra- 

 violet light. The results of the experiments show 

 that there is a relation between the photo-electric 

 phenomenon and the surface tension. — E. M. Lemeray : 

 The structure of the universe and general relativity. — 

 R. de Mallemann : Molecular double refraction and 

 optical activity. — M. Yovanovitch and Mile. Chamie : 

 The preparation of a standard radium salt. A 

 solution of barium chloride containing radium is 

 precipitated by ammonium carbonate in a special 

 apparatus due to M. Jolibois. The radiferous barium 

 carbonate produced was fairly satisfactory as a 

 standard, different preparations agreeing in their 

 radioactive properties within 0-5 per cent. — Er. 

 Toporescu : The preparation of sodium bicarbonate. — 

 Mile. G. Marchal : The dissociation of beryllium 

 sulphate. The dissociation pressures are given for 

 seventeen temperatures ranging from 590 C. to 

 830° C. — Maurice Francois and Louis Gaston Blanc : 

 A method of preparing the iodobismuthates of the 

 alkaloids in the crystalline state. — H. Gault and T. 

 Salomon : The alkyl-methyl-pyridazinone carboxylic 

 esters. — G Vavon and A. Husson : Catalysis by 

 platinum black. Platinum black may have its hydro- 

 genating power reduced by the gradual addition of 

 catalyst " poison," such as carbon bisulphide. Thus 

 the activity of a certain specimen of platinum black, 

 after treatment with 04 mgr. of carbon bisulphide, 

 lost the power of reducing acetophenone, but retained 

 its catalytic power as regards the reduction of cyclo- 

 hexene. — Kenneth C. Bailey : The direct synthesis of 



