i8o 



A' A TURE 



[April 8, 1909 



the spectrum : H. Buisson and Ch. Fabry. — The hydro- 

 lytic dissociation of chloride of bismuth : ReniS Dubrisay. 

 If the equation usually given for dissociation, 



BiCI, + H^O = BiOCl + 2HCI, 



the solutioii should be divariant at constant pressure ; from 

 thermocheniical data an elevation of temperature ought to 

 correspond with a diminution in the degree of dissociation. 

 Both these conclusions have been experimentally confirmed. 

 — The calculation of molecular weights by means of vapour 

 densities. The case of toluene : h. Ueduc. The author 

 has applied the formuI^E developed by him in previous 

 papers to the experimental data of Ramsay and Steele for 

 toluene vapour. The molecular weight thus deduced is 

 92083, as against 92-088 deduced from the atomic weights, 

 the difference being less than the experimental error. The 

 method of reduction used by Ramsay and Steele gave a 

 result nearly 05 per cent, different from this. — The radio- 

 activity of the thermal springs of Bagni-res-de-Luchon : 

 Charles Moureu and .'idolphe Lepape. The radio- 

 activities of the gases given off spontaneously by the 

 waters, ajid those of the waters themselves, have been 

 determined. It is noteworthy that, in spite of the close 

 analogy in composition and geological origin of these 

 twenty springs, the radio-activities found are very un- 

 equal, and cannot be connected with any other physical 

 or chemical properly of the waters. — The' impossibility of 

 predicting by thermochemistry the relative stability of com- 

 parable compounds of lead and silver : .Albert Colson. 

 .\ study of the comparative stability of the carbonates and 

 nitrates of lead and silver. The results obtained do not 

 correspond with the heats of formation of these salts..— 

 The preparation of some new silicon chlorides of the 

 silicomethane series : .'\. Besson and L. Fournier. When 

 the silent discharge is passed through a mixture of silico- 

 chloroform and hydrogen a reaction takes place, an oily 

 liquid being deposited. From this the authors were able 

 to isolate SiCl^, SiXl^, Si,Cl„ all of which have been 

 previously described. In addition to these, two new com- 

 pounds are obtained, possessing the composition Si, CI,, 

 and Si,Cl,^. The method of preparation ensures the com- 

 plete absence of oxychlorides.— The purification of hydrated 

 sulphuric acid from arsenic by freezing : M. Morance. 

 ^ crude acid was partially frozen, the crystals formed 

 being about one-half the weight of the acid emploved. 

 The percentages of iron and arsenic in the solidified acid 

 were much less than in the original sample.— The colour- 

 ing and tinctorial properties of picric acid : L^o Vignon. 

 The coloration of solutions of picric acid in various 

 solvents varies in the same sense as the electrical con- 

 ductivity of these solutions. — The condensation of methvl- 

 diketobutyrate with hydrocarbons and with aromatic 

 amines : .\. Giiyot and V. Badonnel. This ester under- 

 goes condensation readily with dimethylaniline, diethyl- 

 aniline, and toluene. The chief properties and reactions of 

 the compounds thus made are given. — .Mlvlcarbinol. 

 Passage to the furfurane series : H. Pariselle. An 

 improved method of preparing this compound from mag- 

 nesium, trioxymethylcne, and allvl bromide is described. 

 The addition of bromine to the all'vlcarbinol gives 



CH,Br.CHBr.CH,.CH,OH, 



and thi-, under the action of caustic potash, gives mono- 

 brom-tetrahydrofurfurane. — The cyclisation of "the acyclic 

 diketones : E. E. Blaise and A. koehler. — The hybrids of 

 barley and the law of Mendel : L. Blaringhem. — The 

 natural immunity of snakes against the venom of 

 batrachians, and in particular against salamandrine : 

 .Mme. M. Phisalix. — The incoagulability of the blood 

 resulliiii^ »rcm the ablation of the liver in the frog : M. 

 Doyon and CI. Gaui^ier. — K method of coloration of the 

 ntyelin of the peripftcral nerve fibres, and on certain 

 iiirilogies between the microchemical reactions of myelin 

 iiul mitochondria : CI. Regaud. — Proof of the presence 

 il I icpoucnia paUidxim in the cephalorachidian liquid 

 u-ii:ing from acquired syphilis of the nervous centres : E. 

 Gaucher and Pierre Merle. — The therapeutical activity 

 of d'.Arsonvalisation : E. Doumer. — General experimental 

 infection with hepatic localisation : .\. Le Play. — Orienta- 

 tion in certain molluscs : Georges Bohn. — Corliineal of 



NO. 2058, VOL. 80] 



the south of France and Corsica : Paul Marchal. — .\ new 

 genus of Zeinas : A. Cligny, — The composition of the Lower 

 Eocene in the south and centre of Tunis and Algeria: J. 

 Roussel. — The Cretaceous escarpment of the S.W. of the 

 Paris basin : Jules Welsch, — The age of the Primary lime- 

 stones of the eastern Pyrenees : O. Mengei. — The Upper 

 Cretacean of the basin of Seybouse (.Algeria) : J. Blayac. 

 — -Analysis of the Arctic submarine deposits : J. Thoulet. 

 — Lithological study of the deposits of the pool of Thau : 

 L. Sudry. 



DIARY OF SOCIETIES. 



FRIDAY, April i6. 

 GiCAL Society, at 8. — Description o{ Po?>!atias Harmcri^ n.sp., 

 from the Red Crag of Essex ; A. S. Kennard. — Fossil Pearl Growths : 

 J. Wilfred Jackson. — The New Zealand Athoracophoridae, with Descrip- 

 tions of Two New Forms : Henry Suter.~On the Family Ampullariid^, 

 No. I, Ampullarina Ufnsu stficto). List of Species, Varieties, and 

 Synonyms, with Descriptions of New Forms : G. B, Sowerby. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Teleology 151 



A Treatise on the Protozoa 152 



The Teaching of Optics 153 



Chemical Crystallography. By G. F. H. S 154 



Natural History of Tierra del Fuego 155 



Our Book Shelf:— 



" Handbook for Egypt and the Sudan " 155 



"Index Kewensis Plantarum Phanerogamarum." — 



A. B. R 156 



Deegener : " Die Metainorphose der Insekten." — 



W. F. K 156 



Letters to the Editor : — 



"Structural Geography." — Prof. J. W. Gregory, 



F.R.S. ; The Reviewer 157 



The Gases of the Ring Nebula in Lyra. — Prof. 



Bohuslav Brauner 15S 



On the a Ra)s from Radium B.— Dr. Howard L. 



Bronson 159 



British Association — Winnipeg Meeting. — Prof. 



Henry E. Armstrong, F.R.S 159 



Fluorescence of Lignum Nephriticnm. — Charles E. 



Benham 159 



The Ancestry of the Marsupialia. — Prof. Jas. P. 



Hill ; The Writer of the Note 159 



Archaeological Researches in Guatemala. (////«- 



trated.) . 160 



Zoology of the Antarctic, (lllusliatid.) 161 



Indian Mineral Resources. By J. W. G 163 



Cotton Growing in the West Indies. By E. J. R. . 164 



Notes 164 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Positions of Daniel's (igoyrf) and Morehouse's (igoSc) 



Comets . . 169 



Sun-spots and Solar Temperature 169 



The Apparent Dispersion of Light in Space .... 169 



Coloured Stars in the Globular Cluster M 13 . . . . 169 



The United States Naval Observatory 170 



Scientific Agriculture. (Illuslmted.) By C. A. E. . 170 

 The Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory's 

 Aerological Expedition to Tropical East Africa. 



By Profs. R. Assmann and A. I'.erson 171 



The Institution of Naval Architects 172 



Rural Education in its 'Various Grades 174 



Some Marine and Fresh-water Organisms 174 



The Influence of Moisture on Chemical Change. 



By Dr. H. Brereton Baker, F.R.S I75 



Functions of a University. By Prof. C. Lloyd 



Morgan, F.R.S i;6 



University and Educational Intelligence 177 



Societies and Academies i/S 



Diary of Societies 180 



