59^ 



NA TURE 



' October 8, 190S 



used proved conclusively that the latter alone, without the 

 electric stimulation, could not cause the development of 

 the eggs. With the electric charges the eggs developed 

 to the larval stage. The possible causes of this action are 

 discussed, and further experiments promised as regards 

 the effect of the sign of the charge, the voltage, time of 

 application, temperature, &c. — The relative stability of the 

 polycarbonic cyclic groups : Louis Henry. In a previous 

 paper the effect of dehydrating dimethvl-isopropvl-carbinol, 

 (CH3),.C(OH).CH(CH,,),, has-been shown to give rise to 

 two isomeric unsaturated hydrocarbons, tetramethyl- 

 ethylene and methyl-isopropylethylene. The dehydration of 

 the closely related cvclic compound, dimpthyl-cyclopropvl- 



carbinol, ; \CII : C(OI 1 llCH.,).,, has now been studied. 



CH„' 

 Acetic anhydride, which readily dehydrates the open-chain 

 compound, transforms the cyclic compound into an acetate, 

 no ethylene hydrocarbons being formed. It is necessary 

 to use a more energetic dehydr;iting agent, phosphorus 

 pentoxide, to produce the latter action. The action of 

 potassium acetate upon the corresponding bromide gives 

 the acetate instead of ethylene hydrocarbons, as with the 

 open-chain compounds, the trimethylene derivative through- 

 out showing the greater stability. — Systems of families of 

 surfaces cutting along conjugated lines : S. Carrus. — 

 Certain properties of curved surfaces ; A. Demoulin. — 

 The sixth geodetic campaign in the higher regions of the 

 French .-Mps : Paul Helbronner. The atmospheric con- 

 ditions were not so favourable as in the preceding year, 

 but the remaining six points out of the thirty-two originally 

 planned were determined. The second part of the work 

 comprised the preparations for the triangulation in detail 

 of Haute-Maurienne. — Wehnelt's interrupter : Paul Bary. 

 The author develops a theory of the action of the Wehnelt 

 contact breaker based on the production and condensation 

 of vapours in narrow tubes under the action of the 

 current. According to this view the action is not 

 dependent on electrolytic action, but is rather analogous 

 to a hydraulic ram or a pulsometer. The theory gives a 

 good account of the experimental results. — The effects of 

 O'idiuit! qiit'rcivttfu on different species of oaks : Ed. 

 Bureau. The species are classified in three groups, those 

 the leaves of which are refractory to the disease, those 

 the younger leaves of which only are attacked, and those 

 all of the leaves of which are attacked. — A seismograph 

 registering electrically at a distance : B. Galitzine. 



New South W.\les. 



Royal Societv. Aiifiist 5. —Mr. \V. \f. Il^im'e'. pre='den', 

 in the chair. — The pines of Australia, part i. : R. T. 

 Baker and H. G. Smith. The Australian pines, Callitris, 

 form a distinguishing feature of the landscape in various 

 parts of the continent. In order to investigate their com- 

 mercial possibilities, a research has been in progress now 

 for same years at the museum, and during this period 

 a very large amount of useful data has been accumulated 

 which it is proposed to publish from time to time. In it 

 is given a full account of the botany and chemistry of the 

 "while or cypress pine," Callitris glauca, a species that 

 has the largest geographical range of the genus, occurring 

 in nearly all the States of .Australia. — Contributions to 

 •the flora of Australia : Dr. A. J. Evvart and Miss Jean 

 White, assisted by J. R. Tovey. The paper contains 

 descriptions of new species and new varieties. It contains 

 also some critical notes on rare and otherwise interesting 

 plants, chiefly from Western Australia, and concludes with 

 some records of introduced plants, together with notes on 

 erroneous records of nnturnlised aliens. 



Linnean Society, Jnlv 29. — Mr. T. H. Maiden, vice-presi- 

 dent, in the chair. — The genus Nannodythemis (Neuro- 

 ptera : Odonata), with descriptions of new species : R. J. 

 Tillyard. The type of this aberrant genus is Nannody- 

 iliemis aiisfralis, Brauer. Two closely allied species, de- 

 scribed in this paper, have now been discovered, one from 

 West .Australia and the other from the Blue Mountains. 

 — Studies on Australian mollusca, part x. : C. Hedley. 

 A series of co-types of rare and unfigured .Aiislrali.ui 

 shells was lent to the writer by the British Museum. 



XO. 2032, VOL. 78] 



With their help many difficult points in synonymy are 

 now elucidated, and drawings are presented of a dozen 

 hitherto unfigured shells, inadequate descriptions of which 

 have troubled systematists for more than half a century. 

 — The acidity of milk : Dr. H. G. Chapman. The acidity 

 of milk determined within one minute of milking varies 

 from 12° to 19°. The rate at which the acidity increases 

 in milk upon standing was determined. For ten hours 

 there is no increase. The acidity of many samples bought 

 in Sydney was found to be between 12° and 20°. This 

 acidity is not due to lactic acid, but to acid phosphate 

 and dicaseinate. 



August 29. — Mr. A. H. S. Lucas, president, in tlie 

 chair. — Some Sydney desmids : G. I. Playfair. — The dis- 

 tribution, origin, and relationships of allcaline rocks : Dr. 

 H. I. Jensen. — The alkaline petrographical province of 

 ca- r- Australia : Dr. H. I. Jensen. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGH 



Superheaters . . . 567 



A Bavarian TextBook of Botany 567 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Mohn : '* Diemringen i Norge" 5^^ 



" Maryland Wcaiher Service " . 5''^ 



Eiheiidge : " A Monograph of the Sdurian and Devo- 

 nian Corals of New South Wales '' 5^9 



"The Fauna of British India, mcludirg Ceylon and 



Burma " 569 



Chamberlain : " How we Travel. A Geographical 



Reader '' . 569 



Letters to the Editor:^ 



Solar Vortices and Magnetic Fields. — E. Percival 



Lewis 569 



Memory in the Germ-plasm. — Hakluyt Egerton . . 570 

 Models of Plane and Spherical Waves. — J. J. D. ; 



G. H. B 570 



The Pendulatini! Theory. — Prof. H. Simroth . . 570 

 Surveying for Archaeologists. V. (///iis/ia/ed.) 



By Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S 571 



The Growth and Shrinking of Glaciers. By Prof. 



T. G. Bonney, F.R S 574 



International Conference on Electrical Units and 



Standards 574 



Mr. Bennett H. Brough 575 



Notes 575 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet Morehouse, 19081. (Il/iislratcd.) 579 



Comet Tempelj-Swift 580 



Bright Bolides 5S0 



The Sixth Satellile of Jupiler 580 



The Solar Rotation as determined from the Motion of 



Dark Calcium Flocculi . 580 



Iron and Steel Institute . 5S0 



Fishing and Sea-Foed Supplies of the Ancient 



Maori. (H/ustra/eii.) 5S2 



Chemical Data for the Geologist. By A. H 582 



The Influence of Humidity on Resistances .... 583 



The Opening of the Medical Session 583 



The British Association : — 



Section L. — Education. — Opening Address by Prof. 

 L. C. Miall, D.Sc, F.R.S., President of the 



Section 5S4 



Chemistry at the British Association 5S9 



Geology at the British Association 591 



Physiology at the British Association. By Dr. 



H. E. Roaf 592 



University and Educational Intelligence . ... 594 

 Societies and Academies 



