June 20, 1907] 



NA TURE 



191 



directed to the difficulty experienced in causing silica in 

 the form of fine sand to react with metallic aluminium 

 which was in the form of a rough powder. A similar 

 difficulty was met with in the case of boric anhydride and 

 aluminium. Galena does not yield metallic lead and 

 calcium sulphide, but a greyish mass which gives off 

 sulphuretted hydrogen when acted upon with acids, lead 

 in ihe form of a sail being left in solution. Red phos- 

 phorus and calcium unite with explosive violence. 

 Sulphur and calcium also react with great vigour. 



Society of Chemical Industry, June 3. — Mr. R. J- 



Fri^well in the chair. — The nature of the changes involved 

 in the production and setting of plaster of Paris : W. \. 

 Davis. The contradictory character of the present know- 

 ledge of this problem is first discussed. Data are then 

 adduced to show that the first change occurring in the 

 dehvdration of gypsum is the formation of a new, ortho- 

 rhombic form of the dehydrate, CaS0j,2H„0, which by loss 

 of water subsequently gives the half hydrate CaSO,,2HjO 

 (the essential constituent of ordinary plaster). The so-called 

 " soluble anhydrite " is produced from gypsum, not directly 

 as supposed by van 't Hoff, but as a product of the further 

 dehvdration of the half hvdrate. The conditions under 

 which this change occurs and the manner in which it may 

 be reversed are dealt \\-ith in detail. In the setting of 

 plaster, gypsum is not immediately regener.-ited, but the 

 .second form of the dehydrate referred to above is first 

 produced ; it undergoes change into gypsum subsequently. 

 — .Analysis of white lead : \V. A. Davis and C. A. 

 Klein. The authors have investigated the sources of error 

 in the different methods used in the analysis of white lead. 

 These errors are much smaller in the case of dry white 

 lead than in that of white lead ground in oil. — Calorimeter 

 for volatile liquid fueis. Specially adapted for petrol : 

 W. Hansen Ravvles. .A development of the Darling calori- 

 meter. The calorimeter, which was made for the author by 

 Messrs. .\. Gallenkamp and Co., is applicable to solid and 

 liquid fuels. — The influence of temperature of dyeing on 

 resolution : \V. P. Dreaper and .\. Wilson. Basic colours 

 are absorbed by silk fibre in two ways. .Above 40° a 

 more permanent absorption of part of the dye takes place 

 which increases up tf) 100°. A similar effect is noticed 

 with acid dyes on silk. Preliminary boiling with water 

 or acid does not influence subsequent dyeing at low 

 temperatures. A similar result is obtained with direct 

 colours on cotton, so the reaction is a general one. The 

 effect is absent when dveing in alcohol. Fastness against 

 light does not follow the temperature in same way. — The 

 ■ -s rf nitre in the chamber process, part iii. : J. K. H. 

 Fnglis. The author, in continuation of earlier papers, 

 has again analysed samples of the exit gases from sulphuric 

 acid chambers by means of fractional distillation at low 

 temperatures. Indirect analyses were almost completely 

 avoided, and the results show the presence of small quanti- 

 ties of nitrous oxide and of appreciable quantities of higher 

 oxides, the quantity of nitric oxide being considerable 

 when the sulphur e.scapc is high. There is still a con- 

 siderable quantity of nitre unaccounted for, its loss being 

 either due to reduction to nitrogen or to the whole of the 

 nitric acid not being collected in this method of analysis. 



Manchester. 



Literary and Philosophical Society, April 23. — Sir 

 "\Villiam H. Bailey, president, in the chair. — Coal mines 

 in Sutherlandshire : I^r. .M. C. Stopes. The mines are 

 <if Mesozoic and not of Pala-ozoic age, as is the case with 

 the vast majority of coal seams. — Science and poetry : 

 C. L. Barnes. The author enumerated the principal 

 poems handed down by antiquity, enshrining the scientific 

 knowledge of the age which gave them birth. .Among 

 these were the " l'ha:nomcna " and " Prognostica " of 

 .Aratus, originally written in Greek, but made more 

 familiar in Latin and l-'rench translations; Lucretius, " De 

 Rerum Xatura " ; the " Georgics " and "Bucolics" of 

 Virgil: the " Aslronomicon " of Manilius ; Marbodus, " De 

 tlemmis"; Alexander Ncckam, " De Laudibus Divina; 

 Sapienli.t " ; and Philippe de Thaun, " Le Livre des 

 ' ri'ntures." .Allusion was also made to the "Canon's 



■ -man's Tale," Milton's "' Paradise Lost " and " Natura 

 1 pati senium "; Cowley's " Plantarum Libri Duo " and 



" Ode to the Royal Society "; Phineas Fletcher's " Purple 

 Island "; Erasmus Darwin's " Botanic Garden " and 

 "Loves of the Plants"; Rowbotham's "Human Epic," 

 and other poems of less note. 



May 7.— Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., president, in the 

 chair. — A series of photographs illustrating the flora of 

 Corsica, particularly the characteristic bush flora of the 

 mountain slopes : Prof. F. E. Weiss. This " macchia " 

 or " Magius " is made up largely of hard-leaved shrubs, 

 such as the arbutus, rock-rose, tree-heath, and shrubby 

 oaks. -A comparison with the bush of Table Mountain 

 shows certain similarities between the two floras, both in 

 the manner of growth and in the constituent orders, such 

 as EricaceiE, &c. — Science and poetry : C. L. Barnes. 

 Conclusion of paper read on -April 23. Poems were read 

 by Prof. J. C. Maxwell, Prof. Rankine, Archbishop 

 XA'hately, and others. — The compression of gases by means 

 of hydraulic apparatus: J. E. Petavel. 



P.^Ris. 

 Academy of Sciences, June 10.— M. Henri Beequerel in 

 the chair. — The petrographic constitution of the volcanic 

 massif of A'esuvius and Somma : .\. Lacroix. The petro- 

 graphic constitution of these rocks has hitherto been con- 

 sidered as extremely simple. It is found, however, that 

 the old volcano is not simph' constituted by basic rocks 

 and their projection products. Other rocks are present 

 in abundance, a detailed study of which is given, showing 

 their complex nature. — Observations made at the summit 

 of Mont Blanc from .\ugust 31 to September 5, 1906: 

 .A. Hansky and .M. Stefanik. Details are given of the 

 atmospheric conditions, attempts at the determination of 

 the rotation of \'enus, observations on the sun. Mercury, 

 and Jupiter. — Observations concerning the form of the 

 satellite I. of Jupiter : Jos^ Comas Sola. The disc of this 

 satellite appears distinctly elongated. This was confirmed 

 by observations made on the night of February 28, when 

 the conditions were exceptionally favourable. The shadows 

 of both satellites I. and II. were seen close together on 

 the planet. The shadow of II. was clearly circular, that 

 of I. being elongated; the flattening is fixed provisionally 

 at -f — A new Giacobini comet : M. Giacobini. This 

 comet was first seen on the night of June i at Nice. It 

 is badly defined, i''5 to 2' extent. — .\ new class of 

 surfaces : G. Tzitzeica. — The application of the formuhe 

 relating to molecular volumes to the calculation of the 

 variation of the maximum pressure of water vapour with 

 temperature : A. Leduc. — The electric discharge in gases : 

 P. Villard. — Some oxidising and decolorising properties of 

 graphite : Henri Louis Dejust. .A comparison of the 

 decolorising powers of animal charcoal, natural graphite 

 containing 79 per cent, of carbon, and purified graphite 

 containing 93'i per cent, of carbon, litmus being used as 

 the colouring matter. The activity of the graphite is re- 

 duced by purification. Graphite shows an oxidising power 

 analogous to that noted by M. Cazeneuve for animal 

 charcoal. — Modified nickel acetate, a new type of excitor 

 of oxidation for hydroquinone : .Andr^ Job. Pure nickel 

 acetate, heated for a long time at 100° C, loses some 

 acetic acid, but remains completely soluble in cold water. 

 This product acts as an oxydase towards hydroquinone, its 

 activity in this respect being greater than that of mangane.se 

 acetate. The cause of this remains unknown. — Contribu- 

 tion to the study of the ammonio-mercuric base : H. 

 Gaudechon. This base is forjned at once by the action of 

 precipitiUed mercuric oxide upon aqueous ammonia solu- 

 tion, forming hydrates of (NHg,),0. The hydrate with 

 one molecule of water is stable at the ordinary temperature 

 in a dry atmosphere, that with four molecules of water 

 stable in a moist atmosphere at 15° C. The hydrate with 

 5H2O can only exist in the presence of water. — The com- 

 b'nations of hypovanadic acid with some acids containing 

 oxygen : Gustave Gain. — The relation between the diagram 

 of the binary alloys and their malleability : Leon Guillet. 

 — The mechanism of the synthesis of quinoline derivatives 

 (Dobner's reaction) : I,. J. Simon and Ch. Manguin. — 



The ether function of diphenol, | | „]>CCIo : R. 



Delang^e. — The action of hydroxylamine on nitriles, 

 amides, and acetylenic esters, and on the corresponding 



NO. T964, VOL. 76] 



