iM 



NA TURE 



[June 27, 1907 



These remain in an infantile condition. The subsequent 

 tjrowth and general nutrition of the animals seem to be 

 unaffected. 



(2) The removal of the ovaries in adult animals (rodents) 

 leads to fibrous degeneration of the uterus and Fallopian 

 tubes (most marked in the mucous membrane). The 

 animals' subsequent health and nutrition remain good. 



These observations, for the most part, support the 

 evidence obtained clinically in the human subject after 

 surgical operation. 



(3) The removal of the uterus in a young animal has no 

 influence in preventing the further development of the 

 ovaries. These are capable of ovulating and forming 

 corpora lutca after adult life has been reached. 



(4) The removal of the uterus in an adult animal does 

 not give rise to any degenerative change in the ovaries, 

 if the vascular connections of the latter remain intact. 



These latter observations do not support the contentions 

 of those surgeons who advocate subtotal hysterectomy, 

 believing that the functional activity of the ovary is in 

 some way dependent on the presence of the uterus. 



"On Mitosis in Proliferating Epithelium." By Dr. 

 J. O. Wakelin Barratt. Communicated by Prof. C. S. 

 Sherrington, F.R.S. 



(i) In epithelial proliferation brought about by scharlach 

 R, both normal somatic and reduced mitoses occur. This 

 statement applies to epithelium proliferating in situ, and 

 also to the same implanted under the skin. 



(2) In the reduction mitoses the number of chromosomes 

 which could be counted varied from fourteen to eighteen. 

 In the somatic form the number counted varied from 

 twenty-fight to thirty-si.\. 



(3) Reduction mitoses could be recognised less frequently 

 than somatic mitoses. 



(4) Post-reduction mitoses were met with. 



(5) The character of the mitoses occurring was not 

 definitely altered by implantation under the skin. 



" The Solubility of .Air in Fats, and its Relation to 

 Caisson Disease." Bv Dr. H. M. Vernon. Communi- 

 cated by Dr. J. S. Haldane, F.R.S. 



At body temperature, fats dissolve more than five times 

 as much nitrogen as an equal volume of water or blood 

 plasma. 



The special tendency of the fat-containing tissues (such 

 as subcutaneous tissues, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves) 

 of caisson workers and divers to suffer injury from the 

 liberation of gas bubbles after rapid decompression is 

 dependent on this great solubility. 



Geological Society, June 5.— Sir Archibald CeiUie, 

 Sec.R.S., president, in the chair. — .\ marine fauna in the 

 basement beds of the Bristol coalfield : Herbert Bolton. 

 During e.\ploralion at the .Ashton Vale Colliery, fossil- 

 iferous shales were traversed in the lowest Coal-measures 

 resting upon the Millstone Grit. .A section of the Coal- 

 measures in this part of the coalfield is given, and the 

 chief fossiliferous shale is localised at a depth of 84 feet 

 below it. The feature of the fossils is their dwarfed con- 

 dition. The thickness of the Millstone Grit appears to be 

 about 980 feet. The paK-uontological description embodies 

 a list of fossils from the marine horizon, which shows 

 correspondence with the list from the marine beds 

 associated with the gin coal of North Staffordshire, but it 

 is not desirable to conclude that the horizons are identical 

 until further evidence has been obtained from the Bristol 

 area. The brachiopod fauna contains forms identical with 

 or closely approximating to species occurring in the 

 Cyathaxonia and Dibunophyllum zones. The description 

 includes notes on Productus, Chonetes, Derbva, and 

 Orthothetes, contributed by Dr. A. Vaughan, and new 

 species * of Chonetes, Raphistoma, and Loxonema. — 

 Brachiopod morphology : Cincta, Eudesia, and the develop- 

 ment of ribs: S. S. Buckman. The test ornament of 

 brachiopods is found in three main phases, smooth, ribbed, 

 and spinous, and of these a costate species is more 

 advanced than a smooth one and less advanced than a 

 spinose one. The first phase of development dealt with 

 may be called the lenticular stage : the next phase would 

 be the Cincta stage, in which the front margin is rounded 

 in youth, truncate in adolescence, incipientlv excavate and 

 bilobatc in the adult. The Cincta stage may develop in' 

 NO. 1965, VOL. 76] 



two directions — out of broad forms the quadrifid stage, out 

 of narrow forms the cornute stage. The next development 

 may be called the quadricarinate or trigonellid stage, and 

 the fourth stage the multicarinate or pectunculiis stage. 

 In Eudesia there is a highly developed multicarinate stage. 

 In degree of ribbing it is higher than Cincta, and even 

 higher than the ptclniuiilus stage, but both the ribbing 

 and the loop forbid connection with Cincta. 



Chemical Society. June 6. — Sir William Ram«ay, 

 K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair. — The relation 

 between absorption spectra and chemical constitution, 

 part vii., pyridine and some of its derivatives : F. Balcer 

 and E. C. C. Baly. The absorption spectra of pyridine 

 and the pyridones are consistent with the view that the 

 nitrogen atom tends to restrain the motions of the ring, 

 this restraint being very much lessened by the addition of 

 acid to the solutions. — The interaction of methylene 

 chloride and the sodium derivative of ethyl malonate ; 

 F. Tutin. — The constitution of the diazo-compounds : J. C. 

 Cain. The author proposes for diazo-benzene chloride the 

 quinonoid formula, which bears much analogy to the 

 formula of quinonerhloroimide, which, like diazo-salls, loses 

 nitrogen on boiling with water. — Dibromoaminoazo- 

 bcnzene : J. T. Hewitt and N. Walker.— Phenol-f- 

 sulphoxide : S. Smiles and A. \\'. Bain. — />-Cresol 

 sulphoxide and sulphide : S. Smiles and T. P. Hilditch. 

 — Molecular weight of ^-naphthol in solution in solid 

 naphthalene: E. P. Perman and J. II. Davies. It is 

 concluded from vapour-pressure measurements that in dilute 

 solutions /3-naphthol has the same molecular weight as in 

 the gaseous state, whilst it associates in more concentrated 

 solutions. — Synthesis of hexatriene derivatives. (Pre- 

 liminary note) : Miss I. Smedley. — The reduction of 

 aromatic nitro-compounds to azo.xy-derivatives in acid solu- 

 tion : B. Flurscheim and T. Simon. The conditions 

 which favour or prevent the formation of azoxy-products 

 by reduction of nilro-bodies in acid solution have been 

 determined. — Action of selenium and tellurium on arsine 

 and stibine : F. Jones. It is found that the action of 

 arsine and stibine on sulphur, selenium, and tellurium 

 corresponds with the rise in the atbniic weights of these 

 elements, stibine being readily decomposed by sulphur, 

 more slowly by selenium, and still more slowly by 

 tellurium. — The double nitrites of mercury and the alkali 

 metals : P. C. Ray. — Silver-mercuroso-mercuric hydroxy- 

 nitrates and the isomorphous replacement of univalent 

 mercury by silver : P. C. Ray. — The molecular weights of 

 amides in various solvents : -A. N. Meldrum and W. E. S. 

 Turner. — Some experiments on the oxidising action of 

 hydrogen peroxide : W. H. Perkin, jun. Brazilein, 

 hajmatein, benzil, phenanthrenequinone, and aurin are 

 oxidised by 30 per cent, hydrogen peroxide, yielding pro- 

 ducts which are still under investigation. Experiments are 

 in progress with the view of determining the special con- 

 ditions under which hydrogen peroxide may be employed 

 with success in the investigation of such substances. — 

 .Action of hydroxylamine on o-benzoquinonediazides. 

 3 : 5-Dibromo-o-azoiminobenzoquinone : K. J. P. Orton, 

 W. C. Evans, and E. Morgan. — Oxime formation and 

 decomposition in presence of mineral acids : A. Lapworth. 

 The conversion of stable hydroximido-compounds into the 

 corresponding ketones or aldehydes is, as a rule, to be 

 effected by the use of hydrochloric acid in presence of 

 formaldehyde. The latter is converted into formic acid in 

 the process, while the nitrogen of the oxime appears mainly 

 as ammonium chloride. When benzaldchydc is substituted 

 for formaldehyde, benzaldoxime and sometimes benzonitrile 

 are formed. — Note on the constituents of the seeds of the 

 Para rubber tree (licvea brasiliensis) : W. R. Dunstan. 

 The kernels of the seeds of the Para rubber tree contain 

 about 50 per cent, of a fixed oil resembling linseed oil. 

 The seed kernels, when ground with water, evolve small 

 quantities of hydrocyanic acid and acetone, whence it 

 appears that a cyanogenetic glucoside is present, similar 

 to, if not identical with, phaseolunatin. A mixture of 

 enzymes was prepared from the seeds which probably 

 includes, besides a lipase-like enzyme, one capable of de- 

 composing the cyanogenetic glucoside. The nature of the 

 fixed oil, the cyanogenetic glucoside, and the enzymes is 

 being fully investigated in this and the related species, 

 Hcvea paticiflota and Hevea confusa. 



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