6o 



NA TURE 



[July 8, 1909 



roots of numerical equations : R. de Montessus. — 



Remarks on a note by M. Petit on a new wave detector 

 for wireless telegrapliy and telepliony : E. Tissot. It is 

 suggested tliat the arrangement of a fine metallic point 

 resting on a crystal of natural pyrites is really one of 

 the thermoelectric detectors. — Comparison between the 

 a rays produced by different radio-active substances ; Mile. 

 Blanquies. — The temperature of the oxyhydrogen flame : 

 Edniond Bauer. Tliis was found to be 2240^ C. — The 

 " mitial re-combination " of tlie ions produced in gases by 

 a particles : M. Moulin. — The magnetic transformation of 

 lead : M. Loutchinsky. The coefficient of magnetisation 

 is ten times greatr-r in lead crystallised by fusion than in 

 lead hammered out or drawn into wire. — The practical 

 method for the simultaneous calculation of atomic weights : 

 G. D. Hinrichs. — The bromide of dimercurammonium, 

 NHg,Br : H. Gaudechon. — The formation of oxygen com- 

 pounds of nitrogen and their metallic combinations (iron 

 and lead) in the production of ozone for the sterilisation 

 of water : Ed. Bonjean. The amount of oxides of 

 nitrogen produced in commercial forms of ozonisers is 

 sufficient seriously to attack lead and iron pipes used in 

 the construction. This has not been considered in the 

 design of sterilisation apparatus on the commercial scale. 

 — The separation of graphite in white cast iron heated 

 under pressure : Georges Charpy. Carbon arising from 

 the decomposition of iron carbide produced at tempera- 

 tures between 700° C. and 1100° C, and under pressures 

 rising to 15,000 atmospheres, separates in the form of 

 graphite. — Contribution to the study of uranyl chloride : 

 Oichsner de Coninck. — A new alkaloid extracted from 

 the barl< of Pscudocinchona africana : Ernest Fourneau. 

 The crystallised alkaloid studied has the composition of 

 quebrachine (C,,H,jN„03), and resembles this alkaloid in 

 many of its properties. They differ in rotatory power, 

 quebrachine being dextrorotatory and the new base Isevo- 

 rotatory. — The formation of lactones from acid alcohols : 

 E, E. Blaise and A. Koehler. An 6-octolactone can be 

 prepared from the acid C,H5.CH(OH).(CH,),.CO,H by 

 slow distillation in a vacuum, but the f-lactone could not 

 be prepared from the next higher homologue in the same 

 way. If the dehydration is attesnpted by heating with 

 so per cent, sulphuric acid, a migration of the hydroxyl 

 group takes place, a 7-lactone being formed in both 

 instances.— Soluble starch : Ch. Tanret.— The action of 

 hydrogen peroxide upon crystallised oxyhaemoglobin : I. 

 Szreter. — The cholalic acids : Maurice Piettre. — Re- 

 generation in species of Syllis : Aug. Michel. — The 

 mechanism of the immunity of snakes against the 



salamandrine : Mme. Marie Phisalix Concerning a note 



of M. Devaux entitled " The Relation between S'leep and 

 the Retention of Interstitial Water": Raphael Dubois. 

 The author points out that this note confirms his results 

 on^ the phenomena accompanying sleep in hibernating 

 animals. — The metamorphosis of the splanchnic muscles 

 in the Muscideae : Charles Perez. — The ratio of the weight 

 of the liver to the weight of the body in birds : J. de La 

 Riboisiere. — The glacial origin of Loch Lomond and 

 Loch Tay : Gabriel Eisenmeng-er. — The hvdrologv of the 

 Bracas (Basse-Pyrenees) and of El-Torcal (Andalousie) : 

 E. A. Martel. — The earthquake at Corinth on May 30, 

 1909 : D. Egrinitis. 



New South Wales. 

 Linnean Society, May 26. — Mr. C. Hedley, president, in 

 the chair. — Metasomatic processes in a cassiterite vein 

 from New England : L. A. Cotton. The vein examined 

 lies some six miles south-west of Inverell. A transverse 

 section, about 11 inches in width, was taken and cut into 

 six pieces, in planes parallel to the plane of the vein. 

 Sections were then cut, and a series of four analyses made. 

 Of the latter, three were of the vein, while the fourth 

 was of the country rock, an acid granite. Examination 

 of the slides showed that the central part of the vein was 

 highly siliceous. The remaining slides of the vein-material 

 showed an abundance of a peculiar pale mica of a 

 paragonite-sericite nature. This mica was found to replace 

 the quartz, felspar, and biotite of the acid granite. 

 Fluorite was also found as a secondary mineral, and it is 

 possible that a small amount of topaz was present. — Note 

 on the Guyra Lagoon, N.S.W. : L. A. Cotton. The 

 Guyra Lagoon lies immediately to the west of the town 

 NO, 2071, VOL. 81] 



of Guyra. It is surrounded by low basalt hills, except 

 for a depression in these to tlie south-east. The lagoon, 

 which, before 1902, had held water so far back as the 

 oldest settlers in the district could remember, is now dry. 

 There has been no diminution in the rainfall to account for 

 this. It is thought that the changing of the limited catch- 

 ment area from pastoral to agricultural country may 

 account for the present dryness of the lagoon. Field 

 observations seem to indicate that the depression is a 

 crater-lake. — Note on diurnal variations in the temperature 

 of camels : Dr. J. B. Cleland. During the examination 

 of a certain number out of 500 camels in the north-west 

 of Western Australia, a wide diurnal variation in their 

 temperatures, sometimes of 7° F., was met with. This 

 would seem to be due to the high temperature of the 

 atmosphere during the day, coupled with the fact that 

 camels only visibly perspire at the back of the neck over 

 a small area, and the coolness of the nights. The wide 

 diurnal range suggests a resemblance to cold-blooded 

 animals. — Some rare Australian Gomphinae (Neuroptera : 

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

 Tillyard. The present paper brings up to date our know, 

 ledge of Australian Gomphin^. Five new species are 

 added to the list, and the male of Austrogoniphiis risi. 

 Martin, of which only the female was known, is described. 

 — Studies in the life-histories of Australian Odonata; i. 

 life-history of Petahira gigantea. Leach : R. J. Tillyard. 

 The species is one of the few remaining forms of a 

 very ancient family. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



Ruwenzori and Central Africa. By Sir H. H. 



Johnston, G.C.M.G., K.C.B 31 



The Planet Mars, 1890-1901. By Dr. William J. S. 



Lockyer 33 



The Geometry of Forces. Bv Sir Robert S. Ball, 



F.R.S .... 34 



The Distribution of Gold Ores. By J. W. G. ... 34 



Swine in America 35 



Our Book Shelf;— 



Beattieand Dickson : "A Text-book of General Patho. 



logy for the Use of Students and Practitioners " . . 36 

 Scheiner : " Der Bau des Weltalls " ; Peter : " Die 



Planeten " 36 



Formanek : " Untersuchungund Nachweisorganischer 



Farbstofi'e auf spektroskopischem Wege " 37 



Redgrove : '• On the Calculation of Thermochemical 



Constants." — A. F. . . . , 37 



Hodgson : " An Angler's Season." — L. W. B. . . . 37 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



A New Departure in Seismology. — Prof. John 



Milne, F.R.S 38 



Tables of Bessel and Neumann Functions. — Prof. 



M.J. M. Hill, F.R.S 38 



Baskets used in Repelling Demons. — Dr. N. 



Annandale 38 



The Sinhalese People and their Art. {^Illustrated.) 

 C. G. S 



By I 



39 



A Discussion of Australian Meteorology. . By 



R. G. K. L 40 



Possibility of an Extra-Neptunian Planet .... 41 



The Sorby Research Fellowship 42 



Prof T. W. Bridge, F.R.S 42 



Notes 43 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Comet 190911, Borrelly-Daniel 46 



A New Form of Comparison Prism 46 



Halley's Comet 46 



The Polarisation of the Solar Corona 46 



The Solar Constant and the Apparent Temperature of 



the Sun 47 



The National Consumption of Water. By Maurice 



Fitzmaurice, C.M.G 47 



The War against Tuberculosis 48 



Vision in Relation to Heredity and Environment . 49 

 Child Employment and Evening Continuation 



Schools . . 50 



Evolution in Applied Chemistry. By Prof. Otto N. 



Witt 51 



University and Educational Intelligence 54 



Societies and Academies 56 



