I20 



NA TURE 



[JULV 22, 1909 



Pakis. 

 Academy of Sciences, July 12. — M. Emile Picard in 

 ihe chair. — 'i he iiaiure of the change undergone by crystals 

 of hcptahydrated sodium sulphate in contact witii crystals 

 of the decahydrate : D. Gernez. From an examination df 

 the phenomena occurring with supersaturated solutions of 

 sodium sulphate, sodium chromate, acetate, and hypo- 

 sulphite, it is concluded that the opacity of the lower 

 hydrated crystals in contact with the higher hydrate is due 

 to penetration of crystals of the higher hydrate 'into the 

 crystalline network of the lower. There is no evidence for 

 any change in the proportion of water in the crystals first 

 formed. — Observations on the nature and origin of the 

 gases which form in volcanic fumaroles or which emerge 

 from the craters of old volcanoes: Armand Gautier. The 

 gases from the old crater of Agnano, near Naples, consist 

 almost entirely of carbon dioxide (96 per cent, to 98 per 

 cent.), together with traces of methane and a little more 

 than I per cent, of nitrogen. The latter contains argon, 

 neon, and helium, and possibly the other argon gases. — 

 The influence of anajsthesia on the decomposition of certain 

 glucosides in plants : L. Guignard. Plants of black 

 mustard, submitted to the action of chloroform vapour, 

 produce the mustard essence ; cooling to the temperature 

 of boiling methyl chloride produces the same effect. 

 Similar observations have been described by M. Mirande 

 regarding the formation of hydrocyanic acid. — .\ haemo- 

 gregarian of Pituophis melanoleucus : A. Laveran and 



A. Pettit. — The neutral carbonates of rubidium and 

 cjesium : M. de Forcrand. A thermochemical paper. — 

 The theory of functions : Henri Lebesgrue. A correction 

 of a previous paper. — The singularities of uniform 

 analytical functions : D. Pompeiu. — Systems of reservoirs : 

 Edmond Maillet. — Orthoscopic telescopes : M. Tschern- 

 ing. — Chemical reactions and ionisation : G. Reboul. 

 The apparatus described is capable of measuring ionisation 

 over a wide range ; details are given of the results obtained 

 in numerous chemical reactions. — Remarks on the preceding 

 paper : A. Gautier-. — A new method of separating 

 uranium X, and on the relative activity of this substance . 



B. Szilard. The method is based on the addition of ferric 

 acetate, ammonium acetate, and acetic acid to the 

 uranium solution, and the precipitation of" the iron bv 

 heating ; uranium X is concentrated in the precipitate. 

 — The chemic.il action of the penetrating rays of radium 

 on water : Miroslaw Kernbaum. Radium rays that 

 had passed through glass decomposed water in ' accord- 

 ance with the equation 2H.0 = H,0-I- H,, both the 

 hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide being determined quanti- 

 tatively. .An attempt to obtain a similar reaction by 

 allowing Rcntgen rays to act upon water for 100 hours 

 gave negative results. — The diffusion of ions through 

 metals : Georges Moreau. The passage of ions through 

 heated plates of platinum, nickel, iron, and brass has been 

 studied. A theory of the diffusion has been developed, and 

 an experimental confirmation given. — The action of the 

 o rays on solid dielectrics : Tcheslas Bialobjeski. A study 

 of the alteration in the conductivity of sulphur produced 

 by the a rays of polonium. — The hvdrolvtic decomposition 

 of bismuth bromide : Ren(^ DubVisay. There is only one 

 bismuth oxybromide produced in this reaction ; a rise of 

 temperature does not appreciably affect the hvdrolvtic dis- 

 sociation of bismuth bromide. — A proposed solution for the 

 equation of condition relating to the calculation of atomic 

 weights : G. D. Hinrichs. The author points out that 

 his equation of condition is diametrically opposed to that 

 given by L. Dubreuil. — The cementation of iron bv carbon 

 in a vacuum : Lton Guillet and Ch. Grifnths. — The 

 extraction of lutecium from the gadolinite earths : G. 

 Urbain, MM. Bourion and Maillard. For the final 

 purification from thorium and scandium, the oxides were 

 converted into the chlorides by heating them in the vapour 

 of sulphur chloride. This method of fractional sublimation 

 of the chlorides promises to be of service in the separation 

 of tho^ rare earths. — The condensation of isopropvl alcohol 

 with its sodium derivative : formation of methylisobutvi- 

 carbinol and dimethyI-2 : 4-heptanoI-6 : Marcel Guerbet. — 

 Theiso-indogenides :' A. Wahl and P. Bagard. — The pro- 

 duction of peat on the rocks of tropical .\frica : Aug. 

 Chevalier — The ferment of belladonna : C. Gerber. — The 

 mfiuence exerted by certain vapours on plant cvanogenesis. 



NO. 2073, VOL. 81] 



.\ rapid method for testing plants for hydrocyanic acid : 

 Marcel Mirande. Any cyanogenetic plant, submitted to 

 the action of chloroform vapour, at once gives off hydro- 

 cyanic acid. The latter can be detected by the use of 

 Guignard's picrate paper. — The action of urohypotensine 

 on the arterial pressure : J. E. Abelous and E. Bordier. 

 — The proof of alimentary glycosuria in epileptics : MM. 

 Florence and Clement. — The hypotensive action of serum 

 from a dog which had been deprived of its suprarenal 

 capsules : Jean Gautrelet and Louis Thomas. — The 

 chemical composition of ox bile : N. A. Barbieri. — The 

 life of yeast after fermentation : E. Kayser and A. 



Demolon The action of the ultra-violet rays on cider in 



fermentation : MM. Maurain and Warcoilier. — Experi- 

 mental reproduction of exanthematic typhoid in the ape : 

 Ch. Nicolle. — The chemical effects of immersion in water 

 of the quartz mercury-vapour lamp: J. Courmonti Th. 

 Nogier, and A. Rochaix. No ozone is produced which 

 would account for the observed bactericidal effects, and no 

 other chemical change of importance could be detected. — 

 Symmetry of organs in some species of Syllis : Aug. 

 Michel. — The reactions of some mitochondria : E. Faure- 

 Fremiet. — The ichthyological fauna of Lake Victoria : 

 Jacques Pellegrin. — The Silurian of Nova Zembia : V. 

 Roussanof. — The earthquake of Provence, June 11, igoq : 

 Louis Fabry. — The earthquake of July 7, 1909 : Alfred 

 Angot. 



CONTENTS. PAGE 



The Dressing of Minerals 91 



Dustless Roads 92 



Vectorial Graphics . 93 



The Reconstructional Anatomy of the Kidney. By 



R. D. K. 94 



Greeks and Hittites. By J. G 94 



Some New Chemical Books. By J. B. C 95 



Our Book Shelf:— 



Ladenburg : " Histoire du Devdoppement de la Chimie 



depuis Lavoisier jusqu'a nos Jours " 96 



Schmid : " Biologisches Praktikum fiir hiihere 

 Schulen " : Schurig : " Biologi.sche Experimente 



nebst einem Anhang mikroskopische Technik " . . 96 



Garrod : " Inborn Errors of Met.abolism." — W. D. H, 96 



Stone : "Practical Testing of Gasnnd Gas-meters" . 97 



Clayton : "A CompenJium of Food-microscopy" . . 97 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



Molecular Scattering and Atmospheric Absorption. — 



Prof. Arthur Schuster, F.R.S 97 



The Fixation nf Nitrogen by Soil Bacteria. — A. D. 



Hall, F.R.S. .. ■ gS 



Occasional Unexplained Ringing of House-bells. — 



Sir Oliver Lodge, F.R.S 98 



Musical Sands. — Rev. Dr. A. Irving 99 



Wych Elm Seedlings. — Rosamond F. Shove ... 99 



Popular Natural History. i.Illi(Strated.) 99 



The Adamello Group P,y T. G. B loi 



Tidal Problems. By F. Stratton . 102 



Prof. Simon Newcomb. By Sir Robert S. Ball, 



F.R.S 103 



Notes 105 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



Stationary Meteor Radiants no 



Comparison of the Spectra of the Centre and Edge 



of the Sun's Disc no 



Changes of Form in Sun-spots 1 10 



Mutual Occultation of Jupiter's Second and Fourth 



Satellites no 



The Verkes Observatory .. in 



Prominence Observations Ill 



Scientific Work in India in 



Position Finding without an Horizon. [With 



Diagrams.) Ey Prof. C. V. Boys, F.R.S in 



The Position of Higher Education 113 



Association of Economic Biologists 114 



The Museums Association 115 



Adaptation in Fossil Plants. Ey Dr. D. H. Scott, 



F.R.S 115 



University and Educational Intelligence 118 



Societies and Academies 119 



