Chemistry and Physics. 223 



5. Chemical Abstracts, published by the American Chemical 

 Society. 8vo, Semi-monthly. Price, $6.00 per annum. — The 

 first two numbers of a new Journal, which will undertake the 

 abstracting of the entire current chemical literature of the world, 

 are at hand. The work is in charge of William A. Noyes, edi- 

 tor, and C. E. Waters, associate editor, together with 129 assist- 

 ant editors and abstractors. A very wide field is covered, 

 particularly in applied chemistry, so that the new Journal should 

 appeal to a very large circle of readers, as will be seen from the 

 following list of headings under which the abstracts are classified: 

 Apparatus ; General and Physical Chemistry ; Radio-activity ; 

 Electrochemistry ; Photography ; Inorganic Chemistry ; Ana- 

 lytical Chemistry ; Mineralogical and Geological Chemistry ; 

 Metallurgy ; Organic Chemistry ; Biological Chemistry ; Foods ; 

 "Nutrition ; Water, Sewage, Sanitation ; Soils and Fertilizers ; 

 Fermented and Distilled Liquors ; Pharmaceutical Chemistry ; 

 Acids, Alkalies, Salts ; Glas* and Pottery ; Fuel, Gas, Coke ; 

 Cements, Mortars, Structural Materials; Petroleum, Asphalt, 

 Wood Products ; Cellulose and Paper ; Explosives ; Dyes and 

 Textile Fabrics ; Pigments, Resins, Varnishes, India Rubber ; 

 Fats and Soaps ; Sugar, Starch and Gums ; Leather ; Patents. 



The two numbers for January, 1907, comprise 262 pages, a 

 rate at which the annual volume would cover more than 3000 

 pages. The work of abstracting appears to be well done in all 

 the departments, so that the new Journal will be a most useful 

 addition to American chemical literature. h. l. w. 



6. Perception of Sound Direction. — In an interesting paper on 

 this subject Lord Rayleigh finds " that when a sound of low pitch 

 reaches the two ears with approximately equal intensities but with 

 a phase difference of one quarter of a period, we are able so 

 easily to distinguish at what ear the phase is in advance, must 

 have far reaching consequences in the theory of audition. It 

 seems no longer possible to hold that the vibratory character of 

 sound terminates at the outer ends of the nerves along which 

 the communication with the brain is established. On the 

 contrary, the processes in the nerve must themselves be vibra- 

 tory, not of course in the gross mechanical sense, but with 

 preservation of the period and retaining the characteristic of 

 phase — a view advocated by Rutherford, in opposition to 

 Helraholtz, as long ago as 1386. And when we admit that 

 phase differences at the two ears of tones in unison are easily 

 recognized, we may be inclined to go further and find less 

 difficulty in supposing that phase relations between a tone and 

 its harmonics, presented to the same ear, are also recognizable." 



" In observing fog signals at sea it is of course of great import- 

 ance to be able to estimate the bearing. If a sound is of suffi- 

 ciently long duration (5 or 6 seconds), it is best by turning the body 

 or head to bring it apparently to the right and to the left, and to 

 settle down into the position facing it where no lateral effect 

 remains. If, as for most fog signals, the duration be decidedly less 



