The annual exports having amounted to 382,000 cwt. petroleum industry increased at a greater rate even than coal mining, the production having risen from 19,000,000 gallons in 1897 to 88,000,000 gallons in 1903. Rubies form, next to petroleum, the chief source of revenue from minerals in Burma, the value of the output having risen from 57,950l. to 98,5751. In the case of mica, India is the leading producer, and supplies half the world's consumption. The value of the mica produced in 1898 was 53,8gol., and in 1903 86,2771. The waste heaps are now turned over to supply the cheaper varieties required for the manufacture of micanite for electric insulation. The rapid development of the manganese ore industry has been very remarkable. Twelve years ago mining had hardly begun, and now more high-grade ore is produced than in any other country except Russia. The value of the output in 1898 was 27,4261., whilst in 1903 it was 132,741. Jadestone, which is being exported in increasing quantities to the Straits and China, with an average annual value of 44.770l. for the mineral exported, must be classed among the important minerals, its value being seven times that of the tin and half that of the rubies. Iron ore is mined to supply the Barakar works and the old charcoal furnaces still persisting in the more remote districts. In view of the fact that the imports of iron and steel are increasing year by year, there appear to be good grounds for utilising the abundant ore supplies by starting iron works on a large scale. During the period under review the graphite deposits of Travancore and the magnesite deposits of Salem received attention, and now form serious items in the comparatively limited markets of these minerals. Tin is more widely distributed in India than is generally recognised, and in South Burma river gravels are washed for tin with considerable commercial success. The minerals for which statistics of production are incomplete are of a very varied nature, the list including alum and aluminium ore, amber, antimony, arsenic, asbestos, borax, building stones, chromite, clays, copper ore, corundum and other abrasives, gem stones, glassmaking sands, lead, silver and zinc ores, millstones, mineral paints, mineral waters, phosphates, rare earths, slate, sodium compounds, steatite, and sulphur. It is evident that there is great scope for development in the mining of metalliferous minerals and of minerals that are needed for the more complicated chemical and metallurgical industries. This is not surprising in view of the fact that by-products are indispensable sources of profit in modern chemical and metallurgical practice; and India must continue to pay taxes on imports until industries arise demanding a sufficient number of chemical products to complete an economic cycle. Until that time, ores that will not pay to work for their metal contents alone must necessarily be neglected. DISEASES OF FOREST TREES. THE Board of Agriculture and Fisheries has recently issued a set of nine diagrams illustrating the diseases of forest trees. The set is composed of forty-five coloured figures. Very scant attention has been paid to this important branch of forestry in the past, and it is only within comparatively recent times that such works as those of Hartig and Sommerville, Tubeuf and Smith, Marshall Ward, Massee and others have directed attention to the importance of the study of tree diseases from a practical point of view. By such means the public has come to realise that plants, like animals, are subject to various ailments which, if not attended to, may become epidemic and cause serious loss, not only in forestry, but also in the sister industries of agriculture and horticulture. instance of the serious loss which may be caused by fungus disease in trees, we need only mention the larch canker fungus, which has in many cases reduced one of the most stately trees of Europe to an unsightly cripple, and is thereby responsible for the loss of many hundreds of thousands of pounds in this country alone. Its ubiquity in this country is no doubt in a large measure due to the Jack of proper care in the selection of localities and proper treatment of this timber tree. This is only one of the many examples of the havoc which may be wrought by epidemics among forest trees, and in addition to this the As an fruit-grower, the farmer, and the gardener could also furnish parallel examples to swell the list. As we have already stated, the importance of these matters is becoming greater as scientific investigation proceeds. It is of vital importance in practice that a plant disease of any kind should be recognised in its earliest stages, as it is then in most cases capable of being stamped out. It is too late to adopt preventive measures when the presence of the disease is made known by the destruction of the crop. The importance of the whole subject to the public in general is shown by the fact that the Board of Agriculture has issued the above valuable series of diagrams, each illustration being accompanied by a printed description on a separate sheet. The set contains the best series we have of the diseases of forest trees, and should find a place not only in all our universities and colleges, but in every school throughout the country. It is absolutely indispensable to all foresters and to those interested in the growth and production of timber. The price, which is one shilling per diagram, should bring the set within the reach of all. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL CAMBRIDGE.-The council of the Senate has had under its consideration an offer received from the Surveyors' Institution to provide scholarships in the university, with the object of affording facilities for the higher education of surveyors in branches of scientific knowledge cognate to their profession. The council, after consultation with the Board of Agricultural Studies, is of opinion that the offer should be gratefully accepted. The scholarships will be called "The Surveyors' Institution Scholarships "; they will be three in number, one to be awarded annually. Each scholarship will be tenable for three years, and will be of the value of Sol. per annum. The general board of studies has approved the name of Mr. A. N. Whitehead for the degree of Doctor in Science. In the mathematical tripos, part i., the senior wranglers (bracketed equal) are Mr. J. E. Littlewood and Mr. J. Mercer, both of Trinity. OXFORD.-The following have been appointed examiners in the science schools:-P. J. Kirkby (physics), D. H. Nagel (chemistry), Gustav Mann (physiology), J. G. Kerr (zoology), Robert Howden (anatomy), James Ritchie (pathology), D'Arcy Power (surgery), W. W. Fisher (preventive medicine and public health). Decrees have been passed to authorise the expenditure of 475. on extending the system of electric lighting in the university museum, to raise the total emoluments of the Wykeham professor of physics to 8ool. a year, and to raise the salary of his demonstrator in advanced work by 100l. a year, so that he may take charge of the laboratory both in vacation and term time on occasions of the absence of the professor. The honorary degree of D.Sc. has been conferred on Prof. Ray Lankester, who delivered the Romanes lecture on June 14, and the degree of D.M. on Prof. William Osler. Only one man of science-Prof. G. H. Darwin--is included in the list of honorary degrees for the Encænia this year. PROF. A. S. MACKENZIE, professor of physics in Bryn Mawr College, has been appointed to the chair of physics in Dalhousie College. THE Senate of the University of Birmingham has decided Huxley lecture in 1906. to invite Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S., to deliver the WE learn from Science that it is announced that Harvard University has received an anonymous gift of 20,000l. for a museum of social ethics, and 10,000l. from Mr. Jacob H. Schiff, of New York, for explorations in Palestine. AN exhibition of practical work executed by students of technical classes and by candidates at the recent annual examinations of the City and Guilds of London Institute will be opened at the Imperial Institute on Wednesday, June 28, by the Right Hon. Earl Spencer. THE announcement is made in Engineering that Mr. Yarrow has placed at the disposal of the council of the Institution of Civil Engineers the sum of 10,000l. to be applied to the education of necessitous members of the engineering profession. It is pointed out that the engineering industry of the country will benefit from this help to technical education. The old system of premium apprenticeship is passing away, and it is coming to be recognised that the prosperity of any manufacturing nation rests on engineering, and that a foundation for the commercial success of a country cannot be maintained without the aid of a body of scientific engineers. The era of happy-thought invention is fast passing, and the opportunity for original work must chiefly depend on the application of science to perfecting known principles. Gratitude should, therefore, be felt for the public spirit which has placed in the hands of the Institution of Civil Engineers the means of giving a better training to a class that has had few opportunities in the past. 44 THE foundation-stone of the new buildings of University College, Reading, was laid on June 6 by Lord Goschen, Chancellor of the University of Oxford. The freehold of the new buildings is a gift to the college by Mr. Alfred Palmer. The erection of the college hall and the buildings for the practical study of various branches of pure and applied science will be undertaken immediately, but substantial additions must be made to the building fund before the scheme as a whole can be carried out. At the luncheon following the ceremony, Mr. W. M. Childs, the principal of the college, said the day would be memorable in the annals of the college because of a splendid benefaction. Throughout its history the college had been exposed to peril by the absence of endowment. He then announced that Mr. George William Palmer had informed the president of the college of his intention to offer a sum of 50,000l. as a permanent endowment fund, to be called The George Palmer Endowment Fund." In a letter to the president announcing his intention, Mr. Palmer said :"My intention is to provide that the capital fund of the endowment shall not be applied to the erection of buildings, but shall be permanently invested, and that the income shall be applied to the educational work of the college. I also desire to make it a condition of my gift that the college shall maintain its status as a university college in the town of Reading, and that it shall always give higher teaching in literature and in science, and, further, that it shall carry on evening classes, open at moderate fees to those engaged in earning their living during the day-time." Lord Goschen, in the course of a few remarks, referred to the direct missionary work which had been conducted by the old universities through the university extension lecturers. They were, he said, the missionaries of culture throughout a great part of our islands, and they had carried the flag of culture into many a town. A great variety of subjects is now taught in the college, but all that is taught, said Lord Goschen, is taught in a thorough, academic, and scientific manner. It is for the professors to see that the cause of culture, the cause of scientific study, shall not be neglected in these days. Amid the hustling of those who champion various " continued Lord Goschen, "may I at least put in a word for higher culture? May I echo what Mr. George William Palmer has written, that literature and science may hold their own in this country apart from useful knowledge? The president of the college announced that 80,000l. is required for the building fund, and of that sum 35,700l. has been subscribed. causes, 66 SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. Royal Society, May 11.-" On the Resemblances existing between the Plimmer's Bodies' of Malignant Growths, and Certain Normal Constituents of Reproductive Cells of Animals." By Prof. J. Bretland Farmer, F.R.S., J. E. S. Moore, and C. E. Walker. The authors, continuing their investigations on malignant growths, have examined the so-called "Plimmer's Bodies" of cancer cells in connection with the cytological changes that occur in cancer and in reproductive cells respectively. FIGS. 1 and 2.-Examples of " Plimmer's Bodies" from carcinoma. 1. Three small "Bodies" in an archoplasm. 2. Later stage in the development of the "Bodies." tumours of a glandular or glandular-epithelial origin. They lie in the cytoplasm of the cancer cell, and usually in close proximity to the nucleus. In size, they vary from excessive minuteness to that of the nucleus itself. to The special interest attaching to them depends on the fact that they have commonly been regarded as peculiar cancerous cells, although Honda believes he has occasionally also encountered them in inflammatory tissues. They have been variously interpreted. Some investigators have regarded them as parasitic organisms, more or less intimately connected with the etiology of the disease, whilst others have seen in them a differentiation of the cytoplasm of the cancerous cell itself. It has been suggested also that they might be derived from the centrosomes within the archoplasm, but that centrosomes coexisted inthe observations of Benda dependently of them in the cell have rightly been held to disprove this hypothesis. The authors' investigations indicate, however, that there are good grounds for re-considering the whole position, and a comparison of the pro cesses that normally obtain during the final stages of development of the reproductive elements in man and the other mammalia appears strongly to suggest that a parallel between the Plimmer Bodies of cancer and certain vesicular structures occurring regularly in the gametogenic, but not in the ordinary somatic, cells, may be found to hold good. FIG. 3.-Archop'asm with centrosomes lying outside it in prophase of the first maiotic division in testis of mouse. It was shown in 1895 that during the prophase of the heterotype (first maiotic) mitosis of the spermatogenetic cells, the archoplasm undergoes a highly characteristic and peculiar metamorphosis. In normal somatic, or premaiotic, cells, the archoplasm is seen to lie beside the nucleus as a dusky mass of protoplasm in which are con tained the centrosomes. That is, the attraction sphere consists of the archoplasm plus the centrosomes. But during the prophase of the heterotype mitosis these constituents become separated. The centrosomes are found to lie outside of, and detached from, the archoplasm (Fig. 3). At the same time the archoplasm itself undergoes a change. It becomes vesiculated, and finally, at the close of this cell generation, it is lost in the general cytoplasm of the daughter cells. In the prophase of the second maiotic division (homotype) the same phenomena recur. When the homotype mitosis is over, the constituents of the sphere, or at least some of them, enter into direct relation with parts of the FIG. 4 64 When fully developed it often assumes a size approximating to that of the nucleus. Indeed, the latter is often deformed and made to assume a crescentic or cup-like shape owing to the enlargement of the adjacent archoplasmic vesicle. The vesicle and its contents ultimately form the so-called cephalic cap" of the spermatozoon. The remarkable similarity between the structure just described and those known as "Plimmer's Bodies will have become obvious. It is not, perhaps, accidental that just as in the case of nuclear divisions, so also in the cellular inclusions, a parallelism between the cells of reproductive tissues and of cancer cells should be found to exist. But the cells of cancer are not therefore regarded as identical with those of the sexual cells, as was carefully pointed out in the first communication of the authors in 1903. But the resemblances between what have been termed gametoid and the true gametogenic cells now seem to be even more significant than they appeared to be at that time. Both classes of cells are autonomous to a very high degree, and both possess the faculty of continuous or intermittent multiplication independently of the tissue requirements of the organism. And finally, both exhibit cellular and nuclear metamorphoses which not only, mutatis mutandis, resemble one another, but differ materially from those pertain- FIG. 6.-Slightly later stage in the spermatid of man, with centroing to the normal somatic somes and tail. cells. It is possible that the malignant elements are the outcome of a phylogenetic reversion, but the matter is obscured by the disturbing influences that have been operative during the actual ontogeny of the cells and tissues from which these elements have sprung. If this be so, the connection apparent between gametoid and the true reproductive cells will acquire a still deeper significance; the full discussion of this question is reserved for another occasion. May 18.-" The Atomic Weight of Chlorine: an Attempt to Determine the Equivalent of Chlorine by Direct Burning with Hydrogen." By Prof. H. B. Dixon, F.R.S., and E. C. Edgar. In the whole of nine experiments described by the authors 9-1786 grams of hydrogen combined with 323-0403 grams of chlorine; hence the equivalent weight of chlorine, calculated in mass, is 35-195. The number obtained for the atomic weight of chlorine is appreciably higher than that calculated by F. W. Clarke from the previous determinations, and is slightly higher than Stas's value : FIG. 5. spermatozoon which arises by further differentiation of the This body, originally described in 1895 as the archoplasmic vesicle, is a very conspicuous and apparently constant feature peculiar to the spermatogenetic cells of, at any rate, the Vertebrata, and it has since been encountered beyond the limits of that group. G. P. Baxter quotes the value 35-467 as being obtained by Richards and Wells for the atomic weight of chlorine -a number slightly higher than the authors'. Chemical Society, June 1.-Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., president, in the chair. The constituents of the seeds of Hydnocarpus Wightiana and of Hydnocarpus anthelmintica. Isolation of a homologue of chaulmoogric acid: F. B. Power and M. Barrowcliff. The authors found that the oils of these two seeds very closely resemble chaulmoogra oil, consisting chiefly of the glyceryl esters of chaulmoogric acid and a lower homologue of the same series, which has the formula C,H,O,, and is designated hydnocarpic acid. The oil of Hydnocarpus Wightiana appears to contain also a very small proportion of an acid or acids belonging to the linolic or linolenic series.-The constituents of the seeds of Gynocardia odorata: F. B. Power and M. Barrowcliff. The oil expressed from the seeds was found to consist of the glyceryl esters of linolic acid or isomerides of the same series, palmitic acid, linolenic and isolinolenic acids, and oleic acid.-The relation of ammonium to the alkali metals. A study of ammonium magnesium and ammonium zinc sulphates and selenates: A. E. H. 1utton. With regard to molecular volume, the topic axes, and molecular refraction, the ammonium salt of any double salt group of the series behaves almost exactly like the rubidium salt.-Camphorylazoimide M. O. Forster and H. E. Fierz.-Influence of substitution on the formation of diazoamines and aminoazo-compounds, part iii., azo-derivatives of the symmetrically disubstituted primary metadiamines G. T. Morgan and W. O. Wootton. The following new diamines have been prepared and characterised :-6-chloro4-nitro-m-phenylenediamine, 6-bromo-4-nitro-m-phenylenediamine, and The di-iodo-m-phenylenediamine.—Diazo-derivatives of monoacylated paradiamines: G. T. Morgan and F. M. G. Micklethwait. The significance of optical properties as connoting structure; camphor-quinonehydrazones-oximes: a contribution to the theory of the origin of colour and to the chemistry of nitrogen: H. E. Armstrong and W. Robertson.-Solubility as a measure of the change undergone by isodynamic hydrazones. (1) Camphorquinonephenylhydrazone; (2) acetaldehydephenylhydrazone: W. Robertson. The design of gasregulators for thermostats: T. M. Lowry. Two new patterns are described. By means of one of these the temperature of a bath of water may be maintained within toor C. during several weeks, the average fluctuation being about 10°.002 C.-The constitution of barbaloin, part . H. A. D. Jowett and C. E. Potter. authors have made a number of analyses and molecular weight determinations of carefully purified barbaloin and tribromobarbaloin, and their results agree best with Tilden's formula.-Influence of substitution on the formation of diazoamines and aminoazo-compounds, part iv., 5-bromo- as(4) - dimethyl - 2 - 4 - diaminotoluene : G. T. Morgan and A. Clayton. The action of magnesium methyl iodide on pinenenitrosochloride: W. A. Tilden and J. A. Stokes. Two principal products are obtained, the oxime C12H,,(CH ̧): NOH (m.p. 193°), and a base CH1N(CH), (m.p. 122°).-The action of hypobromous acid on piperazine: F. D. Chattaway and W. H. Lewis. -Racemisation phenomena during the hydrolysis of optically active menthyl and bornyl esters by alkali: A. McKenzie and H. B. Thompson.-Estimation of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of potassium persulphate: J. A. N. Friend. The author now shows that if a slight excess of permanganate is rapidly added from a burette to the mixture of peroxide and persulphate, and the excess of permanganate estimated iodometrically with thiosulphate, accurate results may be obtained in the presence of any weight of potassium persulphate not exceeding o 08 gram.-Some oxidation products of the hydroxybenzoic acids and the constitution of ellagic acid: A. G. Perkin and M. Nierenstein.-The reduction of isophthalic acid, part ii.: W. L. Goodwin and W. H. Porkin, jun. The authors describe a convenient method for the preparation and separation of the cis- and transmodifications of hexahydroisophthalic acid.-Complex ammonium antimonious halides: R. M. Caven.-The replacement of hydroxyl by bromine: W. H. Perkin, jun., and J. L. Simonsen. The authors find that good results are obtained when the acetate of the alcohol is heated at about 150° with a solution of hydrogen bromide in acetic acid (saturated at o°).-The ethereal salts and amide of dimethoxypropionic acid derived from d-glyceric acid : P. F. Frankland and N. L. Gebhard. The influence of phosphates on the fermentation of glucose by yeast juice. Preliminary communication: A. Harden and W. J. Young. It has previously been shown by the authors that the amount of glucose fermented by a given volume of yeast juice is greatly increased by the addition of boiled and filtered yeast juice. A similar initial rapid evolution of carbon dioxide occurs when a solution of sodium or potassium orthophosphate is added instead of the boiled juice, but in this case no marked prolongation of the fermentation is observed.-A contribution to the study of alkylated glucosides: J. C. Irvine and A. Cameron. Linnean Society. Jure 1.-Prof W. A Herdman, F.R S., president, in the chair.-Models of restorations of some extinct Dinosaurs, Ceratosaurus and Diplodocus, also of Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Scelidosaurus, and Stego saurus: H. E. H. Smedley.-Two photographs of a palm, Corypha clata: J. F. Waby. At the general meeting of June 18, 1903, photographs were shown of two specimens of equal age; one had normally flowered, fruited, and died; the other, instead of flowers, had thrown up a secondary central growth of leaves. The information now sent completes the record; the survivor in its turn had flowered and died, the inflorescences being developed from the secondary crown of foliage. On being cut down it proved to be 68 feet in height, diameter at base 3 feet 6 inches, diameter at base of secondary growth, i fout 10 inches. The secondary growth itself was 4 feet in height, and the height of the spadix an additional 20 feet, 5 feet of this being bare stem, the remaining 15 feet crowded with twenty-nine huge branches. The crop of fruit numbered more than 51,000 and weighed half a ton, most of the spadices being abortive.-The botany of Gough Island, part ii., the cryptogams, exclusive of the ferns and unicellular algæ: R. N. Rudmose Brown. The president reminded the meeting that when part i. of this paper was read on May 4 it had been suggested that a visit to the Tristan da Cunha group might form part of the programme of the Cape session of the British Association. The matter had, however, received so little outside support that the project had been abandoned. Geological Society, June 2-Dr. J. E. Marr, F.R.S., president, in the chair. On the igneous rocks occurring between St. David's Head and Strumble Head (Pembrokeshire) J. V. Elsden. The author finds that the contemporaneous lavas of the Llanrian area agree generally in character with the eruptive rocks of apparently Ordovician age in the Strumble Head and Prescelly districts. These are all of an essentially acid type. The intrusive rocks of the area are of later date, and belong to three distinct types: (1) the gabbros and diabases of the Strumble Head area; (2) the norites and associated rocks of St. David's Head and the surrounding district; and (3) the lime-bostonites and porphyrites of the AbercastleMathry district. Detailed petrographical descriptions of the different types are given, accompanied in many cases by analyses and comparisons with corresponding or related rocks of other areas.-The Rhætic and contiguous deposits of Glamorganshire: I.. Richardson. The chief sections in the county described in detail are those at Lavernock (near Cardiff), Barry, Tregyff (near Cowbridge), Quarella (Bridgend), and Stormy Down. The Sully beds, name given to the fossiliferous portion of the Grey Marls of Etheridge, are determined to belong to the Rhætic series, on account of the fossils that they contain. They are quite distinct from the Tea-Green Marls," in which fossils have not been observed.-On the occurrence of Rhætic rocks at Berrow Hill, near Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire): L. Richardson. About two miles southeast from Chase-End Hill (Malvern Hills) there is a small outlier of Lower Liassic and Rhætic beds, in a basinshaped area, supported and surrounded by Keuper Sandstone. A detailed section is given, mainly obtained by excavation, and this is compared with the nearest locality where the whole of the Rhætic may be studied, namely, at Wainlode Cliff. a CAMBRIDGE. Philosophical Society, May 15.-Prof. Marshall Ward, president, in the chair.-Exhibition of lantern slides of fungi: Prof. Marshall Ward.-Infection phenomena in various species of Uredineæ: I. P. B. Evans.-The abortive development of the pollen in certain cross-bred sweet peas: R. P. Gregory. Among the offspring produced by the self-fertilisation of a certain hybrid sweet pea, Mr. Bateson obtained, during 1903, a certain number of individuals the anthers of which were contabescent. The same phenomenon was repeated in 1904, with every indication that the sterility is a character which undergoes segregation in accordance with Mendelian principles. The above paper dealt with the abnormalities observed in the nuclei of the pollen-mother-cells of the sterile plants. The vegetative mitoses are perfectly regular, the first indication of abnormality being observed in the prophase of the heterotype (reduction) division. From this point onwards the distribution of the chromatin becomes more and more irregular, with the result that no normal pollen is pro of an electric conductor. The Nudibranchiata of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Sir Charles Eliot. The paper contained the description of two new genera and two new species. MANCHESTER. Literary and Philosophical Society, April 4.-Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., president, in the chair.Portion of a stem of Sigillaria vascularis giving off a branch with the structure of Lepidodendron selaginoides, thus confirming Dr. Williamson's conviction of the identity of these two Coal-measure plants: Prof. F. E. Weiss and J. Lomax. Notes on the Wilkinsons, ironmasters: F. Nicholson. duced. The sterility is confined to the male organs, and the development of the embryo-sac is normal.-Crosses between fully fertile varieties of barley and varieties bearing unisexual and sexless flowers: R. H. Biffen.-The seed-bearing habit in the Lyginodendreæ: E. A. N. Arber. Although the seed (Lagenostoma) of Lyginodendron, one of the most fern-like of Upper Palæozoic plants, is known, there has, so far, been no evidence as to the manner in which the seeds were borne. A new species, Lagenostoma Sinclairi, has, however, been recently discovered, in which the seeds are still attached to a highly branched axis, which is of the nature of a compound frond with reduced lamina. In this respect the Lyginodendreæ agree with the other known members of the class Pteridospermeæ.-Experiments on penetrating radiation: H. L. Cooke. The experiments described are in continuation of a previous research by the author on penetrating radiation. By means of a small portable ionisation vessel the radiation in the Cavendish Laboratory is compared with that on the roof of the build-coating it with a diffusing film of resin or butter, was ing; also when the apparatus is buried in earth, and when deeply submerged in water. A discussion of the results follows. DUBLIN. Royal Dublin Society, May 16.-Dr. W. E. Wilson, F. R.S., in the chair.-The influence of water-vapour upon nocturnal radiation: J. R. Sutton. The author shows a connection between the rate of cooling of a thermometer exposed between 8 and 10 p.m. near the surface of the ground and the relative humidity of the atmosphere, and points out that his observations will not permit of any such connection between the rate of cooling and the absolute humidity. The observations were made at Kimberley, South Africa.-On floating breakwaters: Prof. J. Joly. A description of breakwaters which will not rise and fall to the motion of small waves, and will not transmit them. These breakwaters are suitable for use in the shallower waters of partially protected localities.-The gases liberated on pulverising minerals-monazite: R. J. Moss. reducing Norwegian monazite to powder in vacuo gas was obtained in the proportion of nearly 0-04 c.c. per gram of the mineral; 100 volumes of this gas contained :-hydrogen, 45.63 volumes; helium, 763; nitrogen, 28.93; oxygen, 09: carbon dioxide, 10 67. The nitrogen and oxygen being in atmospheric proportions were probably due to leakage. In addition to those gases a small quantity of water was liberated in the pulverisation of the mineral. Relatively to the helium, the quantity of hydrogen is much greater than was found in gas obtained by the same method from pitchblende, EDINBURGH. On This paper Royal Society, May 15.-Sir John Murray in the chair.A new form of bolometer adapted for physiological investigation: Dr. W. Colquhoun. By using thin metal gratings of low resistance in a Wheatstone bridge arranged as delicately as possible, the author was able to demonstrate with it the heat produced by the beating of a frog's heart. The magnetic quality of a Boschovichian assemblage of molecular magnets: Dr. W. Peddie. gave a development of the theory of molecular magnetism which applies to crystals of the cubic system. The closepacked arrangement of centres was adopted, but similar treatment would apply to any other arrangement. The results were applied to the experimental data obtained by Weiss in observations on magnetite. The conclusions were: (1) the theory is capable of giving a good account of observed phenomena; (2) in Wallerant's formula, which gives the correct mathematical relation between quantities, the quantities which he interprets as magnetisation and esternal force should be interpreted as internal force and magnetisation respectively. Here "internal force the force exerted by the group of molecular magnets. The internal action is completely represented by the quartic surface '+y'+'=1.-Suggestions towards a theory of electricity based on the bubble atom: J. Fraser. This extension of a previous communication on the constitution of matter consists essentially of suggestions without rigid mathematical development. The treatment of conduction was of interest as suggesting a possible model of a dynamical system the properties of which simulate those means April 18.-Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., president, in the chair.-A new method of producing coloured diffusion bands: H. Stansfield. One surface of a piece of plate glass, rendered diffusive by spoiling the polish or fixed so as to be nearly in contact with the reflecting surface of a polished silver mirror, the surfaces being separated at the corners by a single thickness of stampedging. Greater dispersion of the colours is obtained in this way than by breathing on the glass surface of a silvered mirror, as the air film can be made much thinner than the mirror glass.-Notes on chlorine: C. H. Burgess and D. L. Chapman. May 2.-On some constituents of Manchester soot : Prof. E. Knecht. The author pointed out at the outset that smoke and soot did not consist of carbon alone, as was popularly supposed, and went on to show that the soot obtained from the "fat" coal which is used in the Manchester district contains at least 50 per cent. of substances other than carbon. A variety of interesting products were shown which had been isolated from an average sample of household soot collected in Manchester. These included snow-white samples of ammonium chloride, ammonium sulphate, calcium sulphate, and a beautifully crystallised paraffin hydrocarbon which was similar in properties and composition to one which was known to exist in bees' wax. The amount of heavy hydrocarbon oils contained in our household soot was found to be no less than 13 per cent. From the brown coloured acid constituents the author had prepared a dye-stuff which was capable of producing absolutely fast shades of brown on cotton, dyed samples of which were shown. Comparative analyses of samples of soot collected in London and in Prague showed that these (especially that from Bohemian lignite) were much cleaner than the Manchester soot. After commenting on the drawbacks attendant on the presence of soot in our atmosphere, chiefly due to household fires, the lecturer expressed the opinion that no amelioration could be hoped for unless the use of more efficient fire-grates could be made compulsory. PARIS. Academy of Sciences, June 3.-M. Troost in the chair.— Observations on the methods employed in calorimetry, with especial reference to the determination of the heat of combustion of organic compounds: M. Berthelot. A polemical paper in reply to Julius Thomsen. The author strongly supports the accuracy of the results obtained by the calorimetric bomb as against the combustion under atmospheric pressure.-On the dynamics of the electron : H. Poincaré. A discussion of a recent paper by Lorentz on electromagnetic phenomena in a system moving with any velocity smaller than that of light.-Photographs in colour of the spectrum, negative by transmission: G. Lippmann. In the case of photographs on bichromatised gelatin films it has been hitherto necessary to moisten the film each time it is desired to observe the colours. By alternate treatment with solutions of potassium iodide and silver nitrate the colours become permanent and visible after drying. The preparation and properties of the chloride and bromide of thorium: H. Moissan and M. Martinsen. The chloride of thorium was prepared by the action of well dried chlorine on metallic thorium prepared in the electric furnace. Owing to the extremely hygroscopic properties of the thorium chloride it was impossible to transfer it mechanically to a vessel for analysis, and it was therefore volatilised directly into a |