36o 



NA TURE 



[August 13, 1908 



A precipitin has been obtained for ovalbumen by inject- 

 ing certain fatty acids or their esters in the rabbit ; this 

 material possesses all the properties of that obtained by 

 injecting the rabbit with ovalbumen. — The maturation of 

 the egg and cytodiajresis of the blastomers of Farnvoricx 

 candii : Paul Hallez. — Composition of the strata trans- 

 ported from the Peloponnesus to Mt. Ithoma : P. Negris. 

 — The first twilight of the morning and the second even- 

 ing twilight : E. Durand-Greville. This phenomenon 

 appears to be general, and is not peculiar to mountain 

 districts, and hence an explanation cannot be sought in the 

 cooling of the air in the mountain valleys. 



New South Wales. 



Linnean Society, June 24. — Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — A catalogue of the Hemiptera of Fiji : 

 G. W. Kirkaldy. The previous total of Fijian Hemiptera 

 was about forty. This is brought up to 202 (of which 

 seven have not been specifically determined), including the 

 representatives of ten genera, one subgenus, and forty-two 

 species described as new. But the endemic forms were 

 scarcely yet collected, as only three islands had been 

 searched for Hemiptera, viz. Viti Lovu, the largest island 

 and the seat of the present capital ; Ovalau, a small island, 

 the former seat of government ; and Taviuni, an island to 

 the east of Vanua Levu. The whole archipelago must 

 be exceedingly rich in Hemiptera, and probably less than 

 a tenth of the total of that fauna is known. — Revision of 

 the genus Seirotrana (Coleoptera : fam. Tenebrionidae), 

 together with descriptions of new species of other Australian 

 Coleoptera: H. J. Carter. — The new genus Austrogyn- 

 acantha (Neuroptcra : Odonata) : R. J. Tillyard. 



Calcutta. 



Asiatic Society of Bengal, July l. — Proposals for a 

 standard temperature for use in tropical countries : Paul 

 Briihl. Specific gravity and other tables constructed for 

 normal temperatures of 62° F. or 15° or 20° C. do not, as 

 a rule, serve the purposes of the chemist and phvsicist who 

 work in the tropics, and the spread of science in tropical 

 countries will render the choice of one or two standard 

 temperatures speciallv adapted to the tropics a matter of 

 necessity. The author's observations lead hiin to the con- 

 clusion that the most convenient standard temperature for 

 Calcutta is 30° C. at least during the period extending 

 from the beginning of March until the middle of November. 

 During the remaining part of the year 22° C. would be 

 more useful as a standard temperature. Tables of the 

 specific gravity of sulphuric acid at 25°, 30°, and 35° C. 

 have been worked out. — Recent plant immigrants : Paul 

 Briihl. A considerable number of phanerogamic species 

 have found their way into Bengal during the last hundred 

 years, and have become practically endemic. .Some of them 

 belong to the most common weeds found on road-sides 

 and waste-places. One of the most recent iinmigrants is 

 a species of Croton, which was first identified with Croton 

 sfxirsiflonis. Morung, by Colonel Pi'ain, who discovered the 

 plant in the Sunderbuns. A detailed description of the 

 plant is given ; its present distribution is traced as far as 

 possible. A list of those species is added which appear 

 to have immigrated into Bengal during the last century. — 

 Geological notes oji Hill Tipperah (including the I.almai 

 range in Comillah district) : Hein Chandra Das Gupta. 

 This paper gives a sketch of the geology of a district 

 about which little is known, except that the rocks are 

 all of Tertiary age. The account of the tract called " pyaro 

 land " is interesting, as it directs attention to a phenomenon 

 not easily to be accounted for. It mav be an area of local 

 subsidence, set in motion by the earthquakes that have been 

 so numerous in eastern Bengal during the past few years. 

 — DrosoiTietric experiments and observations : Paul Briihl 

 and Bepin Behari Das. The fact that a great number of 

 plants growing in Bengal continue to flourish during the 

 drier seasons of the year, notwithstanding the absence of 

 rainfall during several months, points to the dew plaving 

 an important part in Bengal plant life. The authors have, 

 therefore, during the last three years, made a number of 

 observations on the condensation of dew from the end of one 



NO. 2024, VOL. -S] 



rainy season to the beginning of the next. For this purpose 

 they have constructed a dew-recording instrument, which 

 is described. A selection of the curves obtained is added. — 

 The surgical instruments of the Hindus, with a coinpara- 

 tive study of surgical instruments of the Greek, Roman, 

 Arab, and modern European surgeons. Part ii.. Blunt in- 

 struments : Dr. Girindra Nath Mukerjee. The author 

 describes at length the blunt surgical instruments mentioned 

 by Susruta and other writers, and compares them with 

 instruments known to the Greeks. — Observations on the 

 intensity of daylight illumination in Lower Bengal : Paul 

 Briihl and Bepin Behari Das. — The most complete set of 

 observations on daylight illumination is that made by Prof. 

 Leonhard Weber and his coadjutors in the Physical In- 

 stitute of the University of Kiel. Some observations have 

 also been made in the tropics, especially by Wiener in 

 Java. The authors have collected corresponding data in 

 the Physical Laboratory of the Engineering College, Sibpur, 

 using a Weber's photometer as the observing instrument 

 and a large screen of plaster of Paris for the illuminated 

 surface. The results have been tabulated. — Reduction of 

 Fehling's solution to metallic copper — a method of deposit- 

 ing a shining, mirror-like film of copper on glass vessels : 

 Panchanan Neogi, 



CONTENTS. PAGH 



Geological Explorations in Sinai. By H. B. W. 337 



A Treatise on Aerial Flight 337 



Spectroscopy 338 



Popular Ornithology 339 



Our Book Shelf:— 



" Handbook of Learned Societies and Institutions — 



America." — H M 340 



Halacsy : " Supplemenlum Conspectus Floia; 



Gra:c:e."— Dr. Otto Stapf, F.R.S 34! 



Linck : " Grundriss der Kristallographie ftir StuJier- 



ende und zum Selbstunterricht." — G. F. H. S. . 341 

 Gwinnell : " A Hill Country : its Physical Features 



and their Significance 341 



Letters to the Editor: — 



On the Antiquity of Mummification in Egypt — A 



Correction.— Prof. G. Elliot Smith, F.R.S. . . 342 

 The Mechanics of the Inner Ear. — Dr. Max Meyer ; 



Prof. John G. McKendrick, F.R.S 342 



Elementary Organic Chemistry. — Dr. J. F. Thorpe, 



F.R.S 342 



Space .and Number. -Ottavio Zanotti Bianco . . 342 



The Grouse-Disease Report. By R. L 343 



The International Geographical Congress at 



iGeneva. By Major C. F. Close . 344 



Mammoth-Hunting in Alaska. {Illustrated.) .... 346 



Alphonse Peron 346 



Notes 347 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Sun-spots X'isible to the Naked Eye. {IllustraleJ.) 351 



A Brilliant Fireball 351 



The Large Meteor of June 28 351 



Observations of Encke's Comet 351 



A Variable Star of Remarkably Short Period .... 3,1 



Economic Geology in the United States. (Illustralcd.) 352 



The Synchronisation of Clocks 353 



Education at the Franco-Biitish Exhibition. By 



G. F. Daniell -354 



The Electrochemistry of Light. By C. J 356 



Barometric Gradient and Wind Force 357 



The Work of the Physikalisch-Technische 



Reichsanstalt in 1907 • . . . . 358 



Universitv and Educational Inielligcucc 358 



Societies and Academies 359 



