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Physical Society, June 8.-Prof. J. Perry, F.R.S., president, in the chair.-The solution of problems in diffraction by the aid of contour integration: H. Davies. The method adopted is to obtain a solution for unbounded space as a contour integral. The special boundary conditions are then accounted for by adding terms to the previous expression. When the complete expression has been obtained it is then evaluated in the form of a series by the aid of Cauchy's residue theorem.-J. Goold's experiments with a vibrating steel plate: Newton and Co. The phenomena peculiar to this plate may be classified under two heads (1) beats, simultaneously audible and visible; (2) dispersion figures. In addition to these, vortexvibration, resonance-effects, and many other experiments may be exhibited by using suitable clamps, &c. The dispersion figures are due chiefly to the interaction of two systems of vibrations of the same pitch working at right angles to each other.-Fluid resistance: Colonel R. de Villamil. Prof. Hele-Shaw, in a paper on the motion of a perfect fluid, remarks that one of the most perplexing things in engineering science is the absence of all apparent connection between the higher treatises on hydrodynamics and the vast array of works on practical hydraulics. The reason for this appears to be the immense difference between the flow of an actual liquid and that of a perfect one, owing to the property of viscosity. According to the author, this is not the only reason. There appear to be two fundamental difficulties to be got rid of before they can be reconciled. Engineers assume that a liquid can be "pushed" in any rectilinear direction. This, though a very popular notion, is not correct. The other difficulty is the assumption that in a perfect fluid there can be no resistance of any kind to any body moving in it at any velocity. It is only in an infinite ocean of perfect fluid that there would be no resistance.

Society of Chemical Industry (London Section), June 11. -Mr. A. G. Salamon in the chair.-Purifying and stabilising guncotton: Dr. R. Robertson. This communication -published by permission of the War Office-deals with large-scale experiments having for their object the best means of obtaining a pure and stable guncotton by a boiling process. For the elimination of impurities from the guncotton and the rapid attainment of a stable product, boiling in dilute acid at the beginning of the process is superior to an alkaline treatment, which has the additional disadvantage of tending towards an undue hydrolysis of the ester itself. The acid hydrolysis must not be unduly curtailed, or elimination of the impurities will be rendered difficult.-The determination of indigotin in commercial indigo and in indigo-yielding plants: C. Bergtheil and R. V. Briggs. The authors have investigated the standard methods of estimating indigotin in commercial indigo. It is shown that all the methods dealt with are trustworthy when applied to pure indigotin, but that in application to commercial indigo the impurities present lead to errors; only those methods depending on the oxidation or reduction of solutions of sulphonated indigo are found to be applicable in this case.-Recent progress in the cement industry: B. Blount. The author compares the condition of the cement industry in 1886 and at the present time, pointing out that at the former date somewhat crude methods of manufacture were in use, whereas now improved processes are in operation under scientific control. The world's production of Portland cement has increased from 2,500,000 tons to some 11,000,000 tons in the last twenty years, and the centre of the industry has shifted from Europe to the United States. The second part of the paper deals with improvements in controlling the quality of cement in the works and by the user which have been made during the last twenty years.

Royal Meteorological Society, June 20.- Mr. Richard Bentley, president, in the chair. The mean prevalence of thunderstorms in various parts of the British Islands during the twenty-five years 1881-1905: F. J. Brodie. The author gives the mean number of days on which thunderstorms, or thunder only, occurred in each month, each season, and in each year at fifty-three stations situated

in various parts of the United Kingdom. July is the month with the largest number of thunderstorms over Great Britain as a whole, and August at some places in the north of Scotland and north-west of England, while June is the stormiest month at nearly all the Irish stations. For the whole year the largest number of thunderstorms is over the northern and eastern parts of England, where more than fifteen occur, while there are less than five in the west and south of Ireland and at most places in the north of Scotland. The summer distribution of thunderstorms is very similar to the annual distribution, while the winter distribution is quite different, when the largest numbers occur along the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland and extreme south-west of England.-Typical squall at Oxshott, May 25, 1906: W. H. Dines. During the morning there was a steady wind from the south-west of more than ten miles per hour until 11 a.m., when there was some falling off for fifteen minutes, then a rise to more than twenty miles per hour, accompanied by a sudden increase of barometric pressure and a fall of a few hundredths of an inch of rain. After the squall the wind dropped suddenly, and there was almost a dead calm for about twenty minutes. The author, who was flying a kite at the time, gave some account of the changes in the wind at a considerable altitude above the earth. At 11.26 a.m. the squall struck the kite, which was then at a height of 2400 feet. Two minutes later the velocity at the kite had risen to fifty-eight miles per hour, and the wire broke under a strain of 180 lb. Three minutes later the kite fell at a spot 2 miles distant from Oxshott.

EDINBURGH.

Royal Society, June 4.-Dr. R. H. Traquair, F. R.S., vicepresident, in the chair.-Recherches sur la Glauconie: Drs. Léon W. Collet and Gabriel W. Lee. The paper contained a careful examination of the chemical composition of the mineral glauconite, which was found in what Sir John Murray called, in the Challenger expedition reports, the blue and green muds of the ocean beds. It was shown that glauconite was ferric silicate, and not ferrous silicate, as had been stated by Calderon and Chaves, of Madrid.—A rare dolphin, Delphinus acutus, recently stranded on the coast of Sutherland: Sir William Turner, K.C.B. There were very few previous records of this species having been found in the vicinity of the Scottish shores.-Contributions to the craniology of the people of the Empire of India, part iii., natives of the Madras Presidency, Thugs, Veddahs, Tibetans, and Seistanis: Sir William Turner, K.C.B. Among the skulls exhibited were those of some of the famous Thugs who practised highway murder with such skill and secrecy as to elude for long the authorities in India. Their crimes were regarded by themselves as a religious duty. The skulls were all well formed, with no resemblance to what some have called a criminal type. Of the two Tibetan skulls, one was of Mongolian type, but the other was that of a Kham warrior from eastern Tibet, and its dolichocephalic form supported Grierson's theory of the Tibeto-Burman stock. The three skulls from Seistan, in south-west Afghanistan, belonged to two types, one approximating to the Afghan and the other to the Beluchistan type.-Interpolation for a table of fractions, with a notice of synthetic division and its use: Dr. James Burgess, C.I.E. All fractions with denominators under 100 and numerators less than 50 were tabulated in order of magnitude. The formulæ q=n/d=(n+q)/(d+1) suggested a simple and rapid way of dividing by any number differing by unity from a simple multiple of 10, 100, 1000, &c.The length of the normal chord of a conic: Prof. Anglin. -The hydroids of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: James Ritchie. The collection brought home by the Scotia was very large. There were forty-five specimens giving one new genus, nine new species, and several new varieties. The new genus had been named Brucella, in honour of Mr. W. S. Bruce. The Scotia collection also extended our knowledge of the geographical range of hydroids, especially towards the Antarctic regions.-Prof. D. J. Cunningham exhibited a photograph taken from a bridge of a large number of salmon resting in the Corrib River, Galway.

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Academy of Sciences, June 11.-M. H. Poincaré in the chair. Some points relating to the study of the specific heats and the application to these of the law of corresponding states: E. H. Amagat. It has been shown in a previous note that the specific heat at constant volume, following an isotherm, undergoes a discontinuity at each intersection of this isotherm with the saturation curve. In the present paper the question is discussed as to whether this discontinuity persists in the neighbourhood of the critical point. The products of the reaction, at a high temperature, of sodium isobutylate and propylate of camphor A. Haller and J. Minguin. Camphor, heated at about 230° C. with sodium isobutylate, gives sodium isobutyrate and isobutylcamphol, various derivatives of which have been prepared. The general action of sodium propylate on camphor at a high temperature is similar to that of sodium isobutylate, but the yields are not so good. -Some attempts made in the German Navy to utilise photography in voyages of exploration: A. Laussedat.-The orthography of the word caesium: M. de Forcrand.— Vaccination against tuberculosis by the digestive tracts : A. Calmette and C. Guérin. The authors summarise the views put forward by them in previous papers as to the exact mechanism of tuberculous infection, laying stress upon the fact that the tubercle bacilli are probably absorbed by the digestive tube, and find their way to the lungs indirectly, and not directly as usually assumed. It has been found that it is possible to vaccinate young calves by the simple intestinal absorption of tubercle bacilli modified by heat, and that this method of, vaccination is quite free from danger.-Remarks by M. Emile Roux on the preceding paper. The results of experiments carried on by M. Roux since November, 1905, are in general agreement with those described in the preceding paper; it is possible to give immunity to cattle against tuberculosis by means of the digestive tracts.-The problem of the elliptical cylinder : Mathias Lerch.-Specific inductive power and conductivity. Electrical viscosity: André Broca. The aurora borealis: P. Villard. A complete theory of the aurora is given, and, using this as a guide, it is shown that the characteristic features of the aurora can be reproduced by means of a large spherical bulb placed between the conical poles of an electromagnet.The liquefaction of air by expansion with external work: Georges Claude. Details are given of the arrangements for compound" liquefaction, this constituting an advance on the previous results. Whereas spontaneous liquefaction under atmospheric pressure gave the author only 0-2 litre of liquid air per horse-power hour, the second step, liquefaction under pressure, gave 0.66 litre per horse-power hour, whilst the compound liquefaction raises the yield to 0.85 litre per horse-power hour.-The magnetic properties of the compounds of boron and manganese: Binet du Jassonneix. Of the two manganese borides MnB and MnB,, the former alone possesses magnetic properties, and the permeability of ingots of manganese boride obtained from the electric furnace is proportional to the amount of MnB present.-The iodomercurates of magnesium and manganese: A. Duboin. These salts give rise to solutions of densities approaching 3.0, and various crystalline double iodides were separated and isolated. The reduction of antimony selenide: P. Chrétien. The determination of the fusing points of mixtures of antimony and selenium in various proportions indicated the existence of three new compounds of selenium and antimony, SbSe, Sb,Se,, and Sb,Se,.-The attack of platinum by sulphuric acid: L. Quennessen. In the case of the sulphuric acid of the usual strength sold, it is the oxygen of the air which intervenes as the oxidising agent. In the absence of free oxygen with acids of high concentration, the necessary oxygen for the solution of the metal is furnished by the sulphur trioxide in solution in the acid.-The chlorination of wool: Leo Vignon and J. Mollard. The estimation of albuminoid and gelatin materials by means of acetone : F. Bordas and M. Touplain. The authors have shown that egg-albumin, casein, and fibrin are completely insoluble in pure acetone. Diastases and peptones are also precipitated by acetone. In all cases the aqueous solutions separated by centrifugal action from the precipitate

gave on analysis no trace of nitrogen, showing the separation to be complete. Details are given for the processes recommended for the analysis of butter, cheese, and milk. -Researches on the development of Botrytis cinerea, the cause of grey rot in grapes: J. M. Quillon.-Note on the bathypelagic Nemerteans collected by the Prince of Monaco. L. Joubin.—Impregnation and fertilisation: E. Bataillon. -The motility of the echinococcic scolex: J. Sabrazės, L. Muratet, and P. Husnot. The graphitic schists of Morbihan: M. Pussenot. The local winds in the neighbourhood of the Canaries: H. Hergesell.

DIARY OF SOCIETIES.

THURSDAY, JUNE 28.

ROYAL SOCIETY, at 4.30.-Sex-determination in Hydatina, with some Remarks on Parthenogenesis: R. C. Punnett.-On the Julianiacex, a New Natural Order of Plants: W. B. Hemsley, F.R.S.-On Ke generation of Nerves: Dr. F. W. Mott, F.R.S., Prof. W. D. Halliburton, F.R.S., and A. Edmunds.-The Pharmacology of Ethyl Chloritle: Dr. E. H. Embley.-The Alcoholic Ferment of Yeast Juice, part ii. The Co-ferment of Yeast Juice: Dr. A. Harden and W. J. Young.-Total Eclipse of the Sun, August 30, 1905, Account of the Observations made by the Solar Physics Observatory Eclipse Expedition and the Officers and Men of H.M.S. Venus at Palma, Majorca: Sir Norman Lockyer, K.C.B., F.R.S., and others.-Researches on Explosives, part iv.: Sir Andrew Noble, Bart., K.C.B., F.R.S.-Tidal Regime of the River Mersey as affected by the Recent Dredgings at the Bar, in Liverpool Bay J. N. Shoolbred.-The Refractive Indices of Water and Sea-water: J. W. Gifford.-The Ionisation produced by Hot Platinum in Different Gases: O. W. Richardson -The Action of Plants on a Photographic Plate in the Dark: Dr. W. J. Russell, F.R.S.-On the Ultra-Violet Spectrum of Ytterbium: Sir William Crookes, F.R.S.-On the Kew" Scale of Temperature and its Relation to the International Hydrogen Scale: Dr. J. A. Harker.-Note on the Production of Secondary Kays by "a" Rays from Polonium: W. H. Logeman.-The Hygroscopic Action of Cotton: Prof. Orme Masson, F.R.S., and E. S. Richards.

THURSDAY, JULY 5.

CHEMICAL SOCIETY, at 8.30.-Saponarin, a New Glucoside, Coloured Blue with Iodine: G. Barger.-The Constitution of Umbellulone: F. Tutin.-Electrolytic Oxidation: H. D. Law.-The Action of Ethy! Jodide and of Propyl Iodide on the Disodium Derivative of Diacetyl acetone: A. W. Bain.

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Kew Publications.—Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.

A Remarkable Lightning Discharge.-Sir Edw. Fry, P.C., F.R.S.

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The Magnetic Inertia of a Charged Sphere in a Field
of Electric Force.-G. F. C. Searle, F. R.S.
The Date of Easter.-Dr. J. L. E. Dreyer; Rev.
C. S. Taylor

Musical Thunder.-G. H. Martyn

How do Inquiline Bees find the Nest of their Host ?-
Oswald H. Latter

The Disturbance of Greenwich Observations. (Illustrated.).

The Sea-Serpent. By R. L.
The Royal Society Conversazione
National Physical Laboratory.
Notes

Our Astronomical Column:-
Astronomical Occurrences in July
The Figure of the Sun

Discovery of Algol Variables.
An Interesting Minor Planet

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(Illustrated.)

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Colour and Race (The Huxley Lecture).-J. BEDDOF, M D., F.R.S.
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