704 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXII. No. 570. 



teids soluble in dilute salt solutions; (3) the 

 determination of gluten seems less valuable 

 than that of total proteids (from total nitro- 

 gen) and the only separation of proteids that 

 seems warranted for analytical purposes is 

 into (a) alcohol soluble, and (b) alcohol in- 

 soluble. 



The last paper of the evening, upon ' The 

 Determination of Mercury and Iodine in Anti- 

 septic Soaps,' was presented by A. Seidell. 

 The method described is briefly as follows: 

 The sample of soap is dissolved in acidulated 

 95 per cent, alcohol and the mercury precipi- 

 tated from the clear solution by a stream of 

 hydrogen sulphide gas. After filtration, the 

 iodine is determined in the evaporated filtrate 

 by adding a few drops of nitrous acid, shaking 

 out the liberated iodine with chloroform and 

 titrating the chloroformic solution with stand- 

 ard sodium thiosulphate. ^_ Seidell, 



Secretary. 



THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OP WASHINGTON. 



The 605th meeting was held October 21, 

 1905, with President Littlehales in the chair. 



Mr. F. H. Bigelow gave informally some 

 account of the Spanish Eclipse Expedition, 

 the three parties, of which had good weather, 

 and of the opportunities enjoyed on the voy- 

 age for meteorological observations by means 

 of kites. 



Mr. E. E. Eowle then presented 'The 

 Seeliger-Halm theory of double stars ' with 

 lantern illustrations. 



According to Seeliger a temporary star is 

 the result of the collision of some dark star 

 with a meteoric cloud. The star is rendered 

 incandescent, a rapidly-expanding chromo- 

 spheric envelope is formed, and it becomes 

 accompanied by a ring of cosmic particles 

 under its own gravitational sway. Halm 

 shows that the expanding atmosphere may be 

 divided into two parts: that directly between 

 the star and the earth causing the dark band 

 displaced towards the violet, and that part at 

 the sides the bright band in its normal posi- 

 tion. The superposition of the spectrum of 

 the ring causes the apparent reversals and the 

 changes in the displacements of the bright 



line. This accounts for the typical Nova 

 spectrum. The evolutionary process of such 

 a system, with simple modifications, accounts 

 for many of the observed spectrum changes. 



Mr. L. A. Bauer spoke of the ' Inauguration 

 of the Magnetic Survey of the North Pacific 

 Ocean by the Carnegie Institution of Wash- 

 ington.' In the prefatory remarks the present 

 status of some of the greater problems of the 

 earth's magnetism was set forth and it was 

 shown that their final solution could not be 

 expected until the completion of an accurate 

 magnetic survey of the oceans as well as of 

 the land, and that, however great this task 

 might appear, it could be accomplished with 

 good system and management, and ample 

 funds, within a period of from ten to fifteen 

 years. 



The Carnegie Institution of Washington 

 has undertaken to do" its part in the removal 

 of this hindrance to progress in terrestrial 

 magnetism by making an initial allotment of 

 $20,000 to inaugurate a magnetic survey in 

 that portion of the oceanic areas — the North 

 Pacific Ocean — where data are especially 

 scarce; practically only results along one line, 

 passing from New Zealand to the Hawaiian 

 Islands and to Yokohoma, from accurate mag- 

 netic observations having been secured thirty 

 years ago by the ChaUenger expedition. The 

 cooperation of existing magnetic institutions 

 is likewise assured through the action of the 

 International Committee on Terrestrial Mag- 

 netism and Atmospheric Electricity, which 

 met at Innsbruck, Austria, last September. 



A brief summary was given of previous 

 expeditions and then with the aid of lantern 

 slides views were shown of the Carnegie Insti- 

 tution vessel, the fast-sailing wooden Galilee, 

 and of the instruments, accompanied by a 

 description of them and of methods in use. 

 The four instruments enable the three mag- 

 netic quantities to be observed in duplicate. 



In conclusion it was shown that whenever 

 conditions of weather and sea permitted the 

 making of the magnetic observations on equi- 

 distant headings of the vessel for a complete 

 ' swing ' forward and back, the average results 

 obtained possessed a very high order of ac- 



