j64 



NA TURE 



[July ii, 1907 



liberated when Norwegian monazite is ground in vacuo 

 consists chiefly of hydrogen and helium, with atmospheric 

 gases. One volume' of helium so obtained is associated 

 with about six volumes of hydrogen. It is shown that 

 this evolution of gas is not due to the heat mechanically 

 produced ; the gases are probably present in the free state. 

 \A'hen the mineral is heated very little hydrogen can be 

 detected in the gas at first evolved, but at a temperature 

 of about 600° C. nearly half the gas evolved is hydrogen. 

 It was found that at temperatures as low as 275° C. some 

 of the o.\ides present in the mineral were reduced by 

 hydrogen, with the production of water, hence the 

 relativelv small quantity of hydrogen in the gas at first 

 evolved in heating the mineral. Hydrogen in other radio- 

 active minerals may escape detection for the same reason. 



Paris. 

 Academy of Sciences, July 3.— M. Henri Becquerel in 

 the chair. — Some formula' relating to the number of 

 classes of quadratic forms : G. Humbert. — The roh- of the 

 spleen in trypanosomatous diseases : A. Laveran and 

 M. Thiroux.' Among animals the spleens of which have 

 been removed, the development of the disease is not 

 sensibly modified. — The direct hydrogenation of the 

 anhydrides of formenic acids : Paul Sabatier and .\. 

 Mailhe. The general method of hydrogenation over finely 

 divided nickel can be systematically applied in this case. — 

 The synthesis of secondary isoamyl alcohol, 

 (CH,),=CH— CHOH— CH3 : 

 Louis Henry. — .\ prehistoric syphilitic skull : L. Lortet. 

 — A mineralogical study of the silicated products of the 

 eruption of Vesuvius (.\pril, 1906), and conclusions to be 

 drawn therefrom : .A. Lacroix. — Finger-prints as a method 

 of identification : M. Oastre. The finger-prints of any 

 particular individual, from the youngest age to the most 

 advanced, are invariable, and the concordance of the 

 Impressions of the ten digits would constitute practical 

 certainty of identification, the calculable chance of error 

 being less than one part in sixty-four billions. — The evolu- 

 tion of forces : Gustavo Le Bon. — The Integrals of the 

 differential equation y^ + k„y'' + A,y' = o : Pierre Boutroux. 

 — .\ mechanism which allows the maintenance of a train 

 of prisms rigorously at minimum deviation : Maurice 

 Hamy. — The ionisation of air : L. Bloch. A current of 

 air across ordinary or, better, distilled water acquires a 

 negative charge, which is, however, a difference between 

 two unequal charges. The intensity of the ionisation thus 

 implied is greatly augmented with increased pressure. — 

 The electrolysis of very dilute solutions of silver nitrate 

 and oxide : MM. Leduc and Labrouste. There is little 

 doubt but that silver liberated by electrolysis under a 

 suflficient voltage behaves as an alkaline metal reacting 

 upon water to produce an oxide. — The absolute atomic 

 weight of chlorine : G. D. Hinrichs. — The volumetric 

 estimation of phosphorous acid : C. Marie and .\. Lucas. 

 — The action of chlorine and sulphur chloride on some 

 oxides ; F. Bourion. — The atomic weight of hydrogen : 

 Daniel Berthelot. The mean result as deduced from the 

 densities of nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, and nitrogen is 

 calculated to be 14.005. — The specific heat and cryoscopic 

 constants of mercuric iodide : M. Guinchant. — Diglycollic 

 acid and its homologues : E. Jungfleisch and M. 

 Godchot. — Synthesis by means of mixed organometallic 

 derivatives of zinc. Unsaturated o^-acyclic ketones : E. E. 

 Blaise and M. Maire. — Some new bromo-derivatives of 

 pyridine : L. Barthe. — The action of some 7 and 5-bromo- 

 ethers on cyanoacctic, malonic, and methylmalonic ether ; 



G. Blanc The alkaline rocks of Central .Africa : A. 



Chudeau. — .\ new Myxosporidia parasite in the sardine : 

 I.. Leger and E. Hesse. — The genital organs of the 

 Taenia nigropuiictata : Pasquale Moia. — The action of low- 

 temperatures on the eggs of Paralipsa gularis, Zeller : 

 J. de Uoverdo. — Calcification and decalcification in man : 

 P. Ferrier. There exists naturally in certain organisms 

 an epoch In life when an elimination of chalk is necessary. 

 This can be brought about by the use of inorganic acids, 

 sodium and magnesium sulphates, sodium phosphate, and 

 alkaline sulphides. — .Artificial serums : C. Fleie. — -A new 

 method of measuring the surface of the human body : M. 

 Roussy. 



NO. 1967, VOL. 76] 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, May 23.— Mr. A. H. Lucas, president. 

 In the chalr.^Special meeting to mark the occasion of the 

 bicentenary of Carl von LInne (1707-1778). 



May 30.— Mr. .A. H. S. Lucas, president, in the chair. — 

 Studies In Australian entomology. No. xlli., new genera 

 and species of Carabida;, with some notes on synonymy 

 (Clivinlni, Scaritini, Cunipectini, Trigonotomini, and 

 Lebiini) : T. G. Sloane. — Dimorphism In the females of 

 Australian Agrlonldae (Neuroptera ; Odonata) : R. J. 

 Tillyard. In IsclDiura heteroslicta the male is bronze and 

 blue ; of the females, form A (ordinary) is dull black, and 

 form B (dimorph) imitates the male ; and the proportion 

 of form B to total number of females Is 30 per cent, to 

 40 per cent. In /. delicaia, c? red and blue; $ form A, 

 dull black or olive-green ; form B, Imitates cf ; 10 per cent. 

 in S.W. .Australia. In Agrioinemis prtiinescens, cJ black 

 with grey bloom ; O form A (wanting) ; form B, orange ; 

 100 per cent. In A. spleiidida, (^ bronze and blue; 

 O form A, similar to S ; fcr" B, red ; 40 per cent. In 

 .1. argenica, cf silvery-white (ground colour black); 

 9 form .A, black ; forni B (wanting) ; o per cent. In 

 A. velaris, rj bronze with red tip; $ form A (wanting); 

 form B, red ; 100 per cent. — The Lake (ieorge Senkungs- 

 feld : a studv of the evolution of Lakes George and 

 Bathurst, N.S'.W. : T. G. Taylor. Lake George, situated 

 twenty-five miles south-west of Goulburn, is the largest 

 lake in New South Wales. It is bounded on the west by 

 a fault scarp nearly thirty miles long and about 400 feet 

 above the level silt-bed of the lake. The rivers running 

 into the lake originally entered the Vass River, but have 

 been blocked by the fault. The old outlet, 300 feet above 

 the lake, is represented by alluvial boulders up to 2 feet 

 in diameter, which can be traced for three miles across 

 the fault scarp. The second portion of the paper deals 

 with the origin of Lake Bathurst. This is a broad valley 

 probably blocked by the talus and debris carried down by 

 the Muiwaree River. 



I 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Wolley Collection of Birds' Eggs, By W. H. H. 241 



Indian Malacology. By(BV)'- 244 



Water and the Public Health. By Prof. R. T. 



Hewlett 245 



Thi:ee Mathematical Tracts. By G. B. M 245 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Robertson: " Practical Agricultural Chemistry " . . 246 

 Hinton : " An "Episode of Flafland, or How a Plane 

 Folk discovered the Third Dimension, to which is 



added an Outline of the History of Ur;T;a." — J. P. 246 



Dlibi : "The Bernese Oberland " 246 



Letters to the Editor: — 



Layard's Beaked Whale (^Mesoplodoii layanli. Flower). 



(JI!iis/nilrd.)—'P. W. FitzSimons 247 



The Radio-activity of Lead and other Metals. — Prof. 



J. C. McLennan 248 



Inheritance and Sex in Abra-xas grossulai-iata. — L. 



Doncaster 248 



The Double-drift Theory of Star Motions. {Ilhis- 



tralcd.) By A. S. Eddington 248 



Seventh International Zoological Congress . . . 250 



The Leicester Meeting of the British Association . 251 



The King and Higher Education in Wales .... 253 



Notes 254 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Transits of Saturn's Satellite Titan .nnd Shadow . . . 258 



Comet I907r/ (Daniel). (JlltistratcJ.) 258 



Mars: the Duplication of the Solis Lacus 258 



Variable Stars 25S 



Names for the Three Jovian Asteroids 259 



The Mira Maximum of 1906-7 259 



Solar Prominence Observations in 1906 259 



Congress of the Royal Institute of Public Health . 259 

 Recent Contributions to Electric Wave Telegraphy. 



By Prof. J. A. Fleming, F.R.S -.259 



University and Educational Intelligence 261 



Societies and Academies 261 



